"Students?" Hardison confirmed for the fiftieth time as they sat in the bar.

"Yeah, they're in a couple of my classes. Most of them, actually," Abby replied

"So what's the plan?" Parker asked eagerly.

"Well," Nate began but was promptly interrupted by Sophie.

"Hang on, we're okay with this?" the grifter enquired, looking at the others for support.

"Okay with what?" Nate questioned.

"With, I don't know, sending children to jail?" Sophie clarified.

"They stole a lot of money," Nate pointed out. "Stopped deserving people from going to school. And it's not as if it was out of necessity either. I mean, these guys are rich. They have everything they could ever want."

"Yeah, but-" Hardison began, but Nate did not falter.

"It wasn't because they need it," the mastermind continued. "or weren't raised right, it's because they wanted to." Nate paused to look at his team who were all uncomfortably avoiding his gaze. Except for Eliot, who was comfortably stocking drinks behind the bar. "And besides," he continued, "if we don't do anything, they'll never change and just keep hurting innocent people."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as the rest of the team considered both sides of the argument; it wasn't that they couldn't see Nate's logic, it was that personal experience and personalities with less apathy than their mastermind meant they saw things a little differently.

"I think we should go after them," Abby stated finally. "Maybe not send 'em to jail, but they can't get away with this."

Nate nodded in appreciation as he walked around to the backside of the bar and poured himself a drink. "Anyone have a problem then?" Nate queried, though it was entirely a rhetorical question. He was met with slight head shaking from the rest of the team.

"You have a plan then?" Eliot queried.

"Yup," Nate replied, quickly shooting back the whiskey, "but you're not going to like it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Eliot would you please calm down?" Abby implored as she walked into the school's crowded cafeteria. "I can hear you freaking out over comms and it's not helping."

~"She shouldn't be doing this," Eliot stated as he paced uncomfortably in the corner of the same room.~

"I want to do this," Abby replied as scanned the room looking for their mark.

~"Just stick to the script," he pleaded.~

~"She'll be fine," Sophie interrupted as Abby spotted her mark and walked over towards him in confidence.~

The teenager glared at her confusedly as she welcomed herself to his and his friends table, sitting at the chair opposite him and slipping him a sly smile as she leant forward; he looked surprised to see her.

"I thought you got kicked out?" he queried and Abby just grinned smugly. "Well, you've lasted longer than most of our other scholarship kids," Alan stated with such pretension in his voice.

"Three days?" Abby queried. "What is there some kind of conspiracy to get rid us?" she continued, half joking.

"That would be absurd," Alan replied.

"Yeah, I mean, getting scholarship kids kicked out just so you can pocket their money, that's just insane," she declared laughing ironically.

Alan stood up angrily, staring Abigail furiously in the eyes as his mouth gaped like a fish, deciding whether or not he wanted to say something.

Abby waited patiently for him to respond but he did not. Instead he stormed angrily out of the cafeteria, followed swiftly by his friends. Abby stood up to follow him.

~"No, no," Sophie said quickly. "Let him go Abby."~

"But I didn't…."

~"He'll come to you," Sophie reassured. "Make sure they always come to you."~

"Why?"

~"Control Abigail, control. Always give your mark, or your man, the illusion of control."~

~"Sophie," Eliot growled. "What'd we say about teaching her to con?"~

~"That it was character building," Sophie smirked.~

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"How did you know about that?" Alan asked as Abby faked her way to making the bus. She similarly faked surprise as she turned around and found him leaning against one of the buildings, his left foot up on the wall and a cigarette hanging from his fingers.

~"See?" Sophie grinned. "I told you he'd come to you."~

"Know what?" Abby toyed.

"About the money," he clarified, stepping forward. "About my friends and mine's little job."

"You think a girl from New Orleans with no money makes it this far legitimately?" she grinned as she took a step forward and grabbed Alan's cigarette from his hand. "I mean, how do you think I didn't get kicked out?"

"I dunno, how?"

"You make it so," she smiled, then flicked the cigarette on the ground.

Alan laughed. "What'd you want then?"

"I want in," Abby smiled. "In on the money."

"Sorry, we're not exactly a business," he apologized. "And if we were, we wouldn't have an opening."

"Look, I could help you out," Abby tried to convince. "I know a lot."

"What do you know?" Alan asked mockingly.

"I know you wanna make money," Abby grinned. "Why?"

"What?"

"You have everything you could ever want, you obviously don't need the money," she began. "You see, men are guided by their desires. And you, well, you desire to leave your circumstances; turn your back on the pretty little mansion, maybe have some excitement, take some risks, make a little cash you didn't have to take from your parents?"

"Um," Alan blinked, looking a bit shocked as he tried to recover. Abby held in a smirk; she hit the nail right on the head.

"If you could include me in this," she continued, "give me some of the money, I could help you guys have the most exciting and risk taking con you ever laid your eyes on." Alan hesitantly gazed at the confident expression she wore.

"How would this work?" he queried, only with the slightest hint of caution in her voice.

~"Just like we practiced Abby," Sophie coached.~

"You come meet my boss. He likes you, we do a trial job together. If that works out, he lets you in on more."

"How much of a cut do you get?" he questioned.

"You don't really care about the money do you?" she queried in disbelief.

"A little," he confessed.

"Enough," she divulged. "You should give your friends a call, let them in," she said, nodding to his phone.

"They don't need to know," Alan stated and Abby paused for a moment, unsure of what to do.

~"That's fine, the con'll work with just him. And if he's that controlling it's unlikely the others had a lot to do with the scholarship scam anyway," Nate explained as he fixed his tie.~

"Right then, this way," Abby said and lead their mark to meet the boss.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Didn't think I was meant to be meeting you until next week," Nate said as he heard the door open to the dingy diner they had commandeered, without turning around. Parker sat broodingly in the corner booth, counting money; props from her own private stash.

"Got a guy here that wants to talk business," Abby declared, Alan trailing in, slightly lost, behind her.

"Oh?" Nate said, spinning around on his heels to face the two teenagers.

"Alan this is Simon," Abby introduced. "Simon, Alan."

"Hey," Alan began softly, his eyes squinting at Nate as he realised he recognised him. "You've been at the school for the last couple of days."

"Yes," Nate said matter of factly. "Trying to set up a job…."

"…which you were kind enough to interfere with, thanks very much, with his own little side business," Abby interjected, explaining the situation to Nate; or at least, so it would look that way for Alan.

"I didn't know," Alan defended and then took a moment to collect himself. "Emily here says you can get me in on some action?"

"I can," Nate stated, crossing his arms. "Why?"

"Why not," Alan replied.

Nate raised his brow and stared at Alan for a moment before he turned swiftly to Abby. "Jesse," Nate motioned to Parker, who put down the money and walked over to beside Nate, crossing her arms and looking Alan up and down. "Remember that side job we talked about?" Parker nodded. "Take him along, do it tonight."

"Nuh, uh," Alan rejected to the surprise of everyone.

"You don't want in now?" Nate queried.

"I don't know her," Alan replied, pointing at Parker. "Rule number three of good business; don't work with people you don't know."

~"Well that's a stupid rule," Sophie criticized from the van. "If everyone thought that way I'd be out of a job."~

"She's cool Alan," Abby assured but Alan shook his head again.

"I only work with Emily until I get to know you better," he re-stipulated as Nate pursed his lips and tapped his foot, trying to think of other options.

~"Nate," Eliot growled at the silence, knowing exactly what Nate was thinking.~

"Fine, you'll do it with Emily," Nate agreed; Abby's eyes widened in surprise. She had no idea how to break into anywhere and no idea what she was meant to be doing.

"That'll work fine," Alan agreed, fidgeting and grinning with excitement.

Glad you're all enjoying it, thanks for the reviews =)