[Leverage: Drabble] "The Huntsman Job" [G]
Title: The Huntsman Job
Author: Ami Ven
Prompt: writerverse phase 22 challenge 20 modernized fairy tale
Word Count: 826
Rating: G
Fandom: Leverage
Character(s): Nate Ford, Sophie Devereaux, Alec Hardison, Eliot Spencer, Parker
Summary: “One of Eliot’s aliases was contacted last night, on the dark web, with a job offer.”
The Huntsman Job
“When I’m good, I am good,” said Hardison, as he came into the room.
“You said we have a client,” Nate frowned.
“Ah. That’s a bit of a technicality.”
“Do we or don’t we?” Parker asked.
“Let me explain,” he said. “Back to how I’m good-”
“Hardison…” interrupted Eliot.
“One of Eliot’s aliases was contacted last night, on the dark web, with a job offer.”
“Which alias?” asked Sophie.
“The Huntsman.”
“The one we never used, the hitman?” Eliot growled. “Dammit, Hardison, I don’t kill people!”
“I know that,” the younger man said, gently. “That’s why I think we need to take this case.”
Nate frowned again. “Explain.”
“This alias gets contacted a few times a year, bad guys putting out hits on other bad guys - I turn them all down, then hack both the guy trying to hire you and the guy he wanted dead, and send all their incriminating data to the cops. But this is different.”
He hit a button on the remote and the wall of monitors lit up. “Meet Xue White.”
“She’s a kid,” said Eliot.
“She’s seventeen years old,” Hardison agreed. “She’s a senior in high school, on the honor roll, and in the school choir. She also volunteers after school at a daycare for underprivileged families and at a food pantry on the weekends.”
“She sounds like a goody two-shoes,” said Parker. “Who does she want dead?”
“Someone wants her dead,” Hardison corrected. “And not just someone, but her own stepmother.”
“So the stepmother is the bad guy?” said Parker.
Hardison snorted. “Oh, yeah.” He changed the picture, an older woman - the kind holding on to her youth with bleach-blonde hair and a spray-on tan. “Mrs. Marsha White, a.k.a. Muffy. She married Xue’s father ten years ago, and he died three years after that. Daughter and stepmother apparently got along okay until about a year ago.”
“What happened?” asked Nate.
“Puberty,” said Hardison. “According to Mrs. White’s social media and online dating profiles - yes, that’s profiles, plural - she enjoyed the company of men who were quite a bit younger than herself.”
“But then Xue grew up,” said Sophie. “And grew up pretty.”
“Right. Now, Mr. White had made his money in manufacturing, but apparently he was the number two guy in the area. The number one guy was - and still is - George Prince. He has a son, Tony, who’s in the same class as Xue.”
“Ah,” said Sophie. “Romeo and Juliet.”
“Worse,” said Hardison. “Xue doesn’t post a lot on social media, but Tony’s little sister, Vanessa, does. Apparently, Mrs. White decided she wanted more than a cut of the number two concern, she wanted in on number one. But instead of setting her sights on George - who is widowed, by the way, nothing stopping her there - she’s decided to go after his son.”
“Ew,” said Parker.
“Definitely ew. Xue and Tony weren’t dating, but Vanessa and most of their friends were shipping it pretty hard.”
“Shipping?” asked Nate.
Sophie patted his hand. “I’ll explain it to you later.”
“But yesterday,” Hardison continued. “Tony asked Xue to the senior prom. And at one AM, the evil stepmother contacted the Huntsman, a.k.a. Eliot.”
“The boy she was after asked out her stepdaughter instead,” said Sophie, “So she’s going straight to murder? That seems more than a little harsh.”
“And excessive,” said Eliot. “There’s gotta be something else going on here.”
“Correct you are,” said Hardison. He clicked another button, changing to photo of the two young people to a series of official documents. “Mrs. White’s financials are hinky. She started off with the trust fund her husband left her, but between her lavish lifestyle and several very bad investments, the money’s nearly gone.”
“Thus her plan to marry rich,” said Nate, then paused. “Does the daughter have a trust fund, too?”
Hardison switched to a different set of bank statements. “Does she. And Xue hardly spends any. Regular kid stuff - going to the movies, new clothes sometimes, regular donations to charity. But she’s still seventeen.”
“And still under her stepmother’s control,” said Nate. “The terms of the trust probably mean Mrs. White can’t touch it now, but if the girl dies before she turns eighteen… Plus, she probably thinks that a grieving young man will be more receptive to her advances.”
“Ew,” Parker repeated, then added, “We’re not going to let her do that, right?”
“No way, mama,” said Hardison. “What’s the plan?”
Nate frowned. “Hardison, you said you accepted the hit contract.”
“Uh, yeah,” he said. “But just in case the stepmother had contacted more than one hitman, so no one would really kill the kid.”
“No, no, that was good thinking. But just the attempted hit won’t be enough. We need to get her for actual murder.”
Parker frowned. “You said Eliot wasn’t going to kill anyone,” she said, then, “Oh! We fake her death.”
“Right,” said Nate. “Let’s go steal a murder.” He paused. “Fake murder.”
THE END
Current Mood:
need coffee
Author: Ami Ven
Prompt: writerverse phase 22 challenge 20 modernized fairy tale
Word Count: 826
Rating: G
Fandom: Leverage
Character(s): Nate Ford, Sophie Devereaux, Alec Hardison, Eliot Spencer, Parker
Summary: “One of Eliot’s aliases was contacted last night, on the dark web, with a job offer.”
The Huntsman Job
“When I’m good, I am good,” said Hardison, as he came into the room.
“You said we have a client,” Nate frowned.
“Ah. That’s a bit of a technicality.”
“Do we or don’t we?” Parker asked.
“Let me explain,” he said. “Back to how I’m good-”
“Hardison…” interrupted Eliot.
“One of Eliot’s aliases was contacted last night, on the dark web, with a job offer.”
“Which alias?” asked Sophie.
“The Huntsman.”
“The one we never used, the hitman?” Eliot growled. “Dammit, Hardison, I don’t kill people!”
“I know that,” the younger man said, gently. “That’s why I think we need to take this case.”
Nate frowned again. “Explain.”
“This alias gets contacted a few times a year, bad guys putting out hits on other bad guys - I turn them all down, then hack both the guy trying to hire you and the guy he wanted dead, and send all their incriminating data to the cops. But this is different.”
He hit a button on the remote and the wall of monitors lit up. “Meet Xue White.”
“She’s a kid,” said Eliot.
“She’s seventeen years old,” Hardison agreed. “She’s a senior in high school, on the honor roll, and in the school choir. She also volunteers after school at a daycare for underprivileged families and at a food pantry on the weekends.”
“She sounds like a goody two-shoes,” said Parker. “Who does she want dead?”
“Someone wants her dead,” Hardison corrected. “And not just someone, but her own stepmother.”
“So the stepmother is the bad guy?” said Parker.
Hardison snorted. “Oh, yeah.” He changed the picture, an older woman - the kind holding on to her youth with bleach-blonde hair and a spray-on tan. “Mrs. Marsha White, a.k.a. Muffy. She married Xue’s father ten years ago, and he died three years after that. Daughter and stepmother apparently got along okay until about a year ago.”
“What happened?” asked Nate.
“Puberty,” said Hardison. “According to Mrs. White’s social media and online dating profiles - yes, that’s profiles, plural - she enjoyed the company of men who were quite a bit younger than herself.”
“But then Xue grew up,” said Sophie. “And grew up pretty.”
“Right. Now, Mr. White had made his money in manufacturing, but apparently he was the number two guy in the area. The number one guy was - and still is - George Prince. He has a son, Tony, who’s in the same class as Xue.”
“Ah,” said Sophie. “Romeo and Juliet.”
“Worse,” said Hardison. “Xue doesn’t post a lot on social media, but Tony’s little sister, Vanessa, does. Apparently, Mrs. White decided she wanted more than a cut of the number two concern, she wanted in on number one. But instead of setting her sights on George - who is widowed, by the way, nothing stopping her there - she’s decided to go after his son.”
“Ew,” said Parker.
“Definitely ew. Xue and Tony weren’t dating, but Vanessa and most of their friends were shipping it pretty hard.”
“Shipping?” asked Nate.
Sophie patted his hand. “I’ll explain it to you later.”
“But yesterday,” Hardison continued. “Tony asked Xue to the senior prom. And at one AM, the evil stepmother contacted the Huntsman, a.k.a. Eliot.”
“The boy she was after asked out her stepdaughter instead,” said Sophie, “So she’s going straight to murder? That seems more than a little harsh.”
“And excessive,” said Eliot. “There’s gotta be something else going on here.”
“Correct you are,” said Hardison. He clicked another button, changing to photo of the two young people to a series of official documents. “Mrs. White’s financials are hinky. She started off with the trust fund her husband left her, but between her lavish lifestyle and several very bad investments, the money’s nearly gone.”
“Thus her plan to marry rich,” said Nate, then paused. “Does the daughter have a trust fund, too?”
Hardison switched to a different set of bank statements. “Does she. And Xue hardly spends any. Regular kid stuff - going to the movies, new clothes sometimes, regular donations to charity. But she’s still seventeen.”
“And still under her stepmother’s control,” said Nate. “The terms of the trust probably mean Mrs. White can’t touch it now, but if the girl dies before she turns eighteen… Plus, she probably thinks that a grieving young man will be more receptive to her advances.”
“Ew,” Parker repeated, then added, “We’re not going to let her do that, right?”
“No way, mama,” said Hardison. “What’s the plan?”
Nate frowned. “Hardison, you said you accepted the hit contract.”
“Uh, yeah,” he said. “But just in case the stepmother had contacted more than one hitman, so no one would really kill the kid.”
“No, no, that was good thinking. But just the attempted hit won’t be enough. We need to get her for actual murder.”
Parker frowned. “You said Eliot wasn’t going to kill anyone,” she said, then, “Oh! We fake her death.”
“Right,” said Nate. “Let’s go steal a murder.” He paused. “Fake murder.”
THE END
Current Mood:
need coffee