Fic: The Two Grifters Job
Title: The Two Grifters Job
Author: vickysg1
Fandom: Leverage
Characters/Pairings: Sophie Devereaux, Tara Cole, Nathan Ford. Nate/Sophie.
Category: Friendship, romance
Summary: Neither of them had thought that they could be friends, one day.
Word Count: 5062
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: I own neither the show nor the characters. I don’t earn any money; I just do it for fun.
Author's note: This fic was written back in December for the Secret Santa at leveragexchange. alinaandalion’s prompt was "Sophie and Tara on adventures". It turned out longer than I thought, and I hope that you will like it. Part four is a crossover with Body of Proof.
One.
This isn’t going well, Sophie thought for the third time since she set foot in the mansion. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong, but she knew that her carefully devised plan was going to meet a hitch.
Her eyes scanned the room, looking for familiar faces. She expected to see Nathan Ford or James Sterling - that would explain the feeling she was having - but neither man seemed to be here. She wasn’t certain whether to be relieved or disappointed.
On her third sweep of the room, she still hadn’t found the source of her worry, and she was almost tempted to leave without what she came for. She believed in the “better be safe than sorry” line, and she knew she would have other opportunities to get her hands on it later.
She was about to leave the room when she noticed a blonde woman hanging onto her mark’s arm. Sophie had no doubt that this mysterious blonde was the one who prompted this feeling of unease in her. She observed as the newcomer was tapping on her mark’s chest with her bag, laughing at what he just said. She was a grifter, that was for sure, and Sophie wasn’t known to let her marks fall into another grifter’s hands that easily.
Grabbing two Champagne glasses from a passing waiter, she set off towards the two. She smiled, perfectly in her role, as she stopped beside them.
“Here you are, Paolo,” she said, handing him one of the glasses. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“I’m sorry, cara mia,” he replied in a strong Italian accent. “I had to step out to make a call.”
“A problem at work?” she asked, concerned.
It wasn’t just an act; his job was a demanding one, and if he were to leave, she would have to follow, without her prize. It was one thing to leave early if she was the one making the decision, another to have the decision made for her.
“Nothing to worry about, for now. We can enjoy the party.”
“Good. And who’s your friend?” she asked, sending a smile the blonde’s way.
“Pardon me. This is Diane Proctor. Diane, this is Felicity Shaw. Diane is here on behalf of a very important art collector,” Paolo added as the two women shook hands.
Sophie saw a hint of recognition in the other woman’s eyes; they might never have met, but she had heard of Felicity Shaw, before. It was, after all, a well-known alias of Sophie’s in the grifters’ world. The brunette wondered if “Diane” would leave now that she knew that there was another grifter in the room. Had she been her, she would have risen to the challenge and tried to get to her prize, even with someone else after it. So she wasn’t surprised when she saw the determination in the blonde’s eyes: the game was on.
It had been a while since Sophie last had competition, and a part of her was really looking forward to see how the evening would play out. For the time being, though, she took the arm Paolo was offering her, and the three of them started to walk around the room. She didn’t mind “Diane” staying with them; it allowed them to keep an eye on each other, but Sophie knew that at some point, if she wanted to get her hands on what she had come for in the first place, she would have to leave their company.
An hour later, Sophie was leaving the mansion alone, but with the necklace she had been after safely tucked in her purse. She would be out of town before they even noticed the theft and out of the country before they realised that it was her doing. She would miss Paolo but he had only been a mean to an end; she would never have thought it would be so easy to play a police officer. One just didn’t notice what was happening right before their eyes, she guessed.
As the taxi drove her to the train station, where her luggage was already waiting for her, her mind drifted to the blond grifter. They had been after the same necklace, and if Sophie had been the one to get it, in the end, it had been a close call. She had lost track of the other woman right at the time she made her move, and, for a moment, she had thought she would be too late. She hadn’t been, and when their eyes had met while Sophie was making her exit, it had been clear that the blonde was up for a rematch. Sophie had no doubt that “Diane” was a talented grifter; one had to be in order to enter a room filled with undercover police officers, after all.
Their paths would cross again, Sophie was sure of that, she was even looking forward to it, and when it would happened, she would be prepared.
It took her sources some time to put a name on her face: Tara Cole. A fake name, she was certain, but it wasn’t like Sophie was her real name either.
###
Two.
Nate had broken her, he had broken them all. He had changed them into good guys, and try as she might, Sophie just couldn’t go back to her old ways.
But while she didn’t feel like grifting for her own profit anymore, she still had her aliases to take care of; they might still come in handy to her, one day. That was why she was at a fundraiser in Austin, Texas, an event Indira McAllister had to attend. With it taking place at the Blanton Museum of Art, she would not have usually left empty handed. But not tonight. Tonight, she would just talk to the other attendees, and she wouldn’t even try to seduce one of them for a later purpose.
Nate really had broken her.
Smiling to the couple she had been talking to, she excused herself, and turned around only to bump into someone. When she raised her eyes, she was surprised to find those of Tara Cole.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Tara said, reacting first. “You ok?”
“Yes, thank you. I’m sorry for bumping into you.”
“It’s alright. There are so many people inside that it’s a wonder no one has been hurt, yet. Claire Montfort,” Tara introduced herself, holding her hand out to Sophie.
“Indira McAllister.” They shook hands before Sophie continued. “I was just going to get a drink. Could I offer you one as an apology?”
“I thought that it was an open bar?” Tara replied with a smile.
“Precisely. Shall we?”
Tara nodded before following Sophie to the bar. With their drinks in hand, Sophie then led Tara to a more secluded area where there was no chance of being overheard.
“I didn’t think I’d be seeing you here, tonight,” Tara said. “Word is on the street that you’re not playing on your own anymore.”
“Really?” Sophie said, uneasy. While it was true, she didn’t want it to be widely known; the success of Nate’s cons depended on them not being found out. She felt a pang in her heart as she realised that it didn’t matter anymore as that part was over, too. “Well, you know what they say about rumours, Tara,” she resumed. “They aren’t based on facts.”
“I believe this one is,” Tara replied, but she continued before Sophie could add anything. “So what are you here for, then?”
“Just some Italian painting,” Sophie said, choosing not to elaborate for now. “I hope we’re not after the same one, this time.”
“I doubt we are. Well, I should go, now. I still have a lot to do.”
And with that, Tara was gone.
Sophie realised that with the woman here, the evening wouldn’t be as boring as she had expected it to be. Her plan had been to leave at the start of the fundraiser. Now, she thought she should stick around long enough to see how the blonde fared.
And what she saw next convinced her even more that she had to stay: James Sterling had just entered the room. His eyes scanned the crowd, but instead of falling on her, like she had thought they would, they stopped on Tara. She saw Sterling smile and then proceed to make sure she didn’t notice him.
Hidden from his sight, Sophie kept studying him. She didn’t know what he was doing here of all places. When they had taken Ian Blackpool down, Sterling had become vice president of I.Y.S.. Surely, he had other things to do now than chase after an art thief.
It looked like she had been wrong and there were still some cases he wanted to follow.
She shouldn’t have been so surprised; she had known him for years and she knew that, once he was onto someone, it wasn’t easy for him to let go. On that aspect, he was very much like Nate. Her lips stretched into a small smile as she remembered Parker calling him an “Evil Nate”, once.
Sophie saw Tara moving towards the doors leading to the closed areas, apparently ready to go after her prize. Sterling noticed her too but he stayed put, which surprised her; he had to have something else planned.
As surreptitiously as she could, she made her way towards the exit and, sure enough, she recognized two of his men talking on the phone before making their way towards the rear entrance, where Tara would leave the museum. Sterling was only staying inside in case he had been wrong with this assumption, but he wouldn’t be.
She decided to follow at a safe distance, to help Tara if needed.
The blond grifter hadn’t lost any time to get what she came for and she was already exiting the museum when the two men, followed by Sophie, rounded the last corner.
“Stop right there,” one of them said, surprising Tara who did as she was told. “Now, turn around. Slowly.”
Sophie knew that she had to act now if she wanted to help Tara because Sterling would soon be here. She stepped out of the shadow and stopped just a few feet behind them.
“Hello, boys,” she said.
It startled them just enough for them to turn their heads into her direction. That was all Tara needed to run towards the streets.
“I’ll stay here with her, you catch her,” the tallest of the two said, grabbing Sophie’s arm.
“Ow! Who said you could put your hands on me?” she said, indignantly, hitting him with her bag at the same time.
“Hey, stop that!”
But she wouldn’t; she knew she wasn’t hurting him, just annoying him and it amused her. She had already accomplished her goal by distracting them long enough for Tara to leave, the rest was just acting, and she was a good actress, no matter what some people thought.
“What’s going on here?” Sterling’s voice sounded behind her.
Instinctively, she stopped. She turned towards him as best as she could with his man still holding onto her arm and flashed him a smile.
“Sophie Devereaux, I’ll be damned.”
“Hello Sterling. Tell him to let me go, will you?” she asked, and Sterling gestured for the man to do as she said. “It wouldn’t hurt you to be a little more considerate to women, you know. I bruise easily,” she added, rubbing her arm.
“What are you doing here, Sophie? Working on your own again?”
“I’m attending a fundraiser. I didn’t know it was a crime.”
“Oh, it could be when you’re involved.”
“Sir, she helped Cole escape,” the man said, just as his partner came running back towards them, alone.
Sterling closed his eyes and sighed, wondering why he was stuck with incompetents.
“Of course, she did,” he said, his eyes returning to Sophie. “I suppose you’re proud of yourself.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“And I suppose that if I were to search you, or your bag, I wouldn’t find anything.”
Sophie shrugged and offered him her bag, but he didn’t make a move towards it. She waited until he sent his men to the car to look for Tara, even though they all knew that she was long gone by now. Still, it was probably better for them than to stay beside Sterling at the moment.
“Are you working with her?” he asked, once they were alone.
“No.”
“But you know her.”
“I might have met her a couple of times,” she admitted.
“Is it true that you only came here to attend the fundraiser?” he asked, but before she could answer, he continued. “He changed you.”
“Can I go?” she asked, knowing that he had nothing to hold her; he didn’t really care about her helping Tara.
He gestured for her to go, but as she passed him, he stopped her again.
“Tell him I’m looking forward to arrest him next time.”
She moved away without a word. She wanted to be able to pass the message along to Nate, but she couldn’t. The team was gone.
Later that night, when she stepped into her hotel room, Sophie noticed a piece of paper lying on her bed. She picked it up. She saw that there were only three words written on it, no signature. She smiled.
I owe you.
###
Three.
“So… How’s Nate?” Tara asked over the phone one day.
Sophie sighed. It had always been a difficult question to answer, but recently, it was even more so. She hadn’t seen him since they had left Boston for good. She knew he needed some alone to accept his father’s death. Meanwhile, she barely had news; a text came every other day, assuring her he was fine and he was still on his boat. She had no idea when or even where she would see him again. Granted, they had spent months without seeing each other before, but it had been before them, and she missed him.
“Still sailing, uh?” Tara deduced from her sigh. “You know what you need? You need to stop looking at the ocean in the hope of finding him there and do something productive.”
“I’m not looking at the ocean…” Sophie replied, walking away from the docks and wondering whether Tara could hear the waves crashing against the boats.
“I can hear it, Sophie,” Tara said, thus answering her silent question. “I’ll be here in the morning and you and I are going to have some fun.”
“Tara…”
“See you tomorrow!” the blonde grifter said, and she hang up before Sophie had a chance to say a word.
Sophie rolled her eyes at her friend’s antics, but, truthfully, she was grateful. Tara was right, getting back in the game would be fun. Still, she would have liked making the decision herself. She had never liked others making the decisions for her, unless it was for a con. There she trust Nate enough, even though he often let her have the last word on her parts.
But once Tara had made up her mind on something, she wouldn’t be deterred. Today, it was to take Sophie out of her self-imposed misery. (She was anything but miserable, thank you very much. She was just missing him. A lot.)
And sure enough, the next morning, the blonde was at Sophie’s door, although the latter had no idea how she got her current address.
“Are you ready to get away from here?” Tara asked, walking past Sophie and into the apartment.
“And where are we going?”
“I’ve been working on a little something these past few months, but I think that the final act will be even better if we work together on it.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“What if I told you “Czar Nicholas”?”
Sophie didn’t have to think long before answering.
“The Lost Crown Jewels? I’d say it ought to be fun”, she replied with a Russian accent.
“I thought you might like it.”
They shared a smile; it wasn’t often that they got to work together, and they always enjoyed it when it happened. Of course, the last time had also involved a bomb, something Sophie didn’t like to remember.
When they had met, seven years ago, they had been after the same necklace, adversaries, so to speak. It wasn’t until after Tara had helped the team when Sophie had needed time for herself that they started working together, occasionally. While Sophie enjoyed working with Nate, Parker, Eliot and Hardison, it was different when it came to working with Tara because they were both grifters and instinctively knew how to play off of each other.
“Seriously, though. How’s Nate?” Tara asked, stopping Sophie’s trail of thoughts.
“He’s taking his father’s death harder than any of us, himself included, thought he would. He blames himself for not seeing it coming. After everything, he needed some time to get his priorities in order.”
“You being one of them?”
Sophie didn’t have to answer the question; she knew the answer to it, and so did Tara. She wouldn’t be here, waiting for him to come back, if she wasn’t. She would be out there somewhere, getting her hands on some jewellery or a painting.
“You know,” Tara continued, “you two certainly took your sweet time.”
“The path hasn’t been free of obstacles,” Sophie reminded. “But we’re at a good place, now. I don’t know where we’re going, or if we’re even going somewhere, but I’m fine with that.”
Tara smiled before walking towards the door as she noticed that Sophie had gathered everything she would need. The conversation was over; neither wanted to say or hear more about it.
~~~
Sophie and Tara discussed the plan on the private plane that was taking them to their destination. How Tara had commandeered it, Sophie didn’t know and she wasn’t sure she even wanted to; there were some things that should stay a mystery forever. Tara had the jewels waiting for them at a safe house, and they would only need to get them on their way to their mark.
“Are you sure they look convincing enough to pass off as the real Lost Crown Jewels of Czar Nicholas?” Sophie asked; she’d rather not deal with Russians unless she was certain she wouldn’t be unmasked.
“They might not be the real deal, but I can assure you that they would fool even the world’s expert on the subject. And as it is, we’re going to the third best.”
“Why? The first two weren’t available?” Sophie joked. “What gave you the idea, anyway?”
“It’s just a mystery that I’ve always found fascinating. Knowing that such a treasure was hidden somewhere, maybe buried in the Gobi Desert if the legend is true, that’s just amazing, don’t you think?”
Sophie had to admit that she, too, had some fascination for this lost treasure. Who wouldn’t with the history surrounding these jewels? But she had never thought of even exploring the subject from a grifter’s point of view before. She had to hand it to Tara, she had planned everything and asked her to work on it too. She seemed to have everything covered, and Sophie now had enough experience from working with Nate to have several back-up plans - B through G at the moment, more to come - should anything go wrong with Tara’s.
A car was waiting for them when the plane touched down, and they drove to Tara’s safe house to get the jewels and review the plan one last time. Sophie kept her own plans to herself, not because she didn’t trust Tara, but because she wanted to show her that she did; if the blonde knew that there were back-up plans, she didn’t say anything.
In the end, Tara’s plan worked just as they hoped it would. The appraiser had been completely fooled by the fake jewels that he estimated to be priceless.
“I think I can think of a price,” Sophie had said at that point.
“We’re happy that they will finally be back where they belong,” Tara had added.
“It is a great chance that you have found them and realised how important they are,” the appraiser had continued. “The Russian people will be forever grateful for this present.”
A short while later, they exited the house with a bag full of cash. They had no idea how long the deception would last, but they had no intention of being anywhere close by when it was finally revealed. Sophie didn’t know if she should tell the team about this con. Maybe one day, but for the moment, it was something that would stay between her and Tara.
“Thank you for your help,” Tara said, as the plane flew them back to Portland.
“I know you didn’t really need me, so thank you for taking me along. I needed it, even though I didn’t want to admit it.”
The rest of the flight was spent talking about the team, and what Parker, Hardison and Eliot were up to during this break.
When Sophie left the plane, she didn’t take her share of the money; the time she had spent with Tara was more than enough.
###
Four.
Tara’s call came just as they were about to leave Paris for Venice. Changing their plane tickets had been easy enough, and they were now waiting in line to board their flight to Philadelphia.
“We’ll just have to finish our trip down memory lane, later,” Sophie said. “After all, we have time, now.”
“Indeed,” Nate replied, leaning down to kiss her lips. “Did Tara sound worried on the phone?”
“A bit, yes. She’s certainly anxious to see us. It’s an important matter from what she said, but she refused to elaborate.”
Nate was quiet during the flight, and Sophie knew that he was thinking about what was to come. Even though he didn't know what Tara needed them for, it didn't stop him from making up plans that would ensure their safety. She still didn't know in which one she was dying. So far, everything she had done to find out had failed but she wouldn't give up.
To be honest, Sophie was worried about her friend. Tara had never asked for help before. For her to do so meant her problem had to be quite serious. She hoped that she wasn't in any danger, but she wouldn't know for certain until they saw her.
~~~
“Are you sure we’re at the right place?” Nate asked as the taxi dropped them off in front of the Philadelphia County Medical Center.
“Positive. Look for yourself,” she said, showing her the text that Tara had sent her. “We are to ask about a Kate Murphy.”
“Well, then, let’s go.”
Inside the building, they were directed to the elevators. A redhead followed them inside, and they went to the same floor. Once arrived, the redhead went one way, and stepped to the reception desk.
“Hello, we’re looking for Kate Murphy.”
“Is Doctor Murphy expecting you?” the receptionist asked.
“Yes.”
“Ah, here you are,” Tara said as she walked towards them. “Let’s go to my office.”
Neither Nate nor Sophie said anything, understanding that, whatever was going on, it was better if no one was listening. Still, they had many questions to ask her, and they didn’t just want to know what she had called them about. They were curious about the place and the title she seemed to have.
Tara closed her office door behind them before turning towards Nate and Sophie, knowing that she had some explaining to do.
“Doctor Murphy?” Nate asked, raising an eyebrow.
“This is a part of my life that you should never have learnt about,” Tara said. “Kate Murphy is my real name. I’m the Chief Medical Examiner, here. Tara and my other aliases are a way to escape all of this.”
To say that Nate and Sophie were surprised by this revelation would have been an understatement. They certainly hadn’t expected this when they had received her call, and even less when they had first met her.
“I know this is quite the surprise, and I will explain everything, but not now. Now, I need your help. An intern who worked at the City Hall was found dead. From what her roommate told us, she had an affair with someone she worked with, but we have no way of knowing who it is. There’s no trail, no phone calls, no text messages, no e-mails, nothing. Without evidence, we can’t investigate, and we’re this close to having Doctor Hunt marching in the Mayor’s office. While I understand her frustration, we can’t have that. It would ruin our chance to apprehend them.”
“What do you want from us?” Sophie asked.
“Find a way inside, try to find out who the lover is. I don’t need you to bring me evidence; I don’t want you to. Just find us a way in, anything. Look, I know that I might be asking for too much, especially since you’re both retired, but no one here wants to see a killer walk away unpunished.”
“Do you think the lover is the killer?”
“I don’t know, but sometimes, they’re one and the same. Detective Sullivan and Lucas are looking for other suspects, but for the moment, they have nothing. It’s already been two weeks, and we have no lead. No one here wants this one to become a cold case.
"We're going to help you," Sophie said after sharing a look with Nate. "Now, we need a way in."
"I have one. I have to go to a function at City Hall, tonight. Sophie should come with me and Nate could monitor everything from my apartment. There are cameras everywhere there, I'm sure Hardison could remotely access them so you can see everything on my computer."
"You seem to have everything planned," Nate said. "I will ask Hardison to access the security cameras but I won't be at your place. He'll monitor them and I'll be close by in case you need me with a feed on my phone, just in case."
"See? I didn't have everything planned."
They shared a smile but before any of them could add anything, the door opened on the redhead Nate and Sophie had seen before.
"Kate, we need to..." Megan stopped when she saw that her boss wasn't alone in her office. "Oh..."
"Megan! Is there anything you need?"
"Nothing that can't wait. I'll come back later."
"That was Doctor Hunt that I mentioned earlier," Kate said once the redhead had left her office. "Anyway, so do we agree on this plan?"
~~~
Sophie and Tara arrived at City Hall fashionably late that evening. They walked around, talking to people Kate was familiar with for over an hour, until Nate talked to them through their earpieces.
"The guy with the red tie in the back of the room, he's sad and worried at the same time. I believe that's your victim's lover."
"Should we go talk to him now?" Sophie asked Tara.
"I don't want to tip him off if he's the killer."
"He's not," Hardison said. “I’ve looked into him, and he wasn’t anywhere near Philly when your victim died. Her direct supervisor, on the other hand…”
“What about him?”
“Well I know his job pays well, but not to the point of paying cash for a yacht.”
“Are you saying he was bribed?”
“I’m not saying anything, yet.”
“Well, there’s one way to find out,” Nate said. “He’s responsible of the building permits, right?”
“Right,” Tara replied.
“Well, let’s go steal an empty lot.”
“Doesn’t he ever get tired of saying that?” Tara asked.
“Never,” Sophie and Hardison answered at the same time.
“In the meantime, let’s go get another glass of champagne,” Tara told Sophie.
###
Five.
“This is downright frightening,” Sterling told Nate.
They were sipping whisky while looking at Sophie, Tara and Maggie. The three of them were at the bar, talking to some guys. It was obvious, at least to the trained eyes of Nate and Sterling, that they were conning them, but the men were none the wiser.
“Shouldn’t we warn them?”
“Where would be the fun in that?” Nate replied with a smirk.
Sterling had to admit that he had a point; it was quite entertaining to watch the three women together. He hadn’t been sure about coming, at first, his relationship with Nate and his team still being a bit strained, even now that he and Sophie were working for him from time to time, but he was glad he had let Maggie and Olivia convince him. Speaking of his daughter, she was now with Parker, who was…
“Is Parker teaching my daughter how to pick a lock?” Sterling asked Nate, who redirected his glance back at the two blondes.
“She is. Try to see it that way: she could teach her to pick pockets.”
Sterling wasn’t certain it was a comforting thought; the way the night seemed to be going, it might happen before they left. Sighing, he turned back towards the bar.
“I can’t believe Sophie and Maggie are friends now.”
“Tell me about it,” Nate said before finishing his glass and gesturing for the waiter for another.
At the bar, the three women were starting to get a bit tired of the three men surrounding them. It had been fun at first; Maggie had enjoyed grifting along Sophie and Tara, picking up some things for later use, and they had been offered drinks, but now, the men started to be boring. And they didn’t seem to take a hint. The three women shared a look, and realised that there was just one way to get rid of them.
“Shall we go home?” Maggie asked her two friends. “It’s getting late,” she added, with a pout.
“We should, don’t you think, Tara?” Sophie said.
“Yes, we should,” the blonde grifter replied, before leaning in towards Sophie.
On the other side of the room, Nate and Sterling’s jaws dropped.
“Did they just... kiss?” Sterling asked.
Before Nate could answer, Tara was leaning towards Maggie, this time, and pressed their lips together.
“What the hell is going on, here?” Eliot asked, standing behind the two former insurance investigators.
“Shut up, man and enjoy!” Hardison said, prompting Nate and Sterling to turn and look at him. “Well, I mean… Nevermind,” he finished, knowing that he would only make things worse.
They watched as the three women left the bar together, their arms linked. The men they had been conning were left as stunned as their friends, and if the latters had noticed that, they would have laughed. But as it was, their minds were still on the scene they had just witnessed.
Outside, Sophie, Tara and Maggie had stopped just around the corner, laughing too much to continue walking.
“Well done, ladies,” Sophie said. “I believe that they don’t know what hit them.”
“And did you notice that Nate, James, Eliot and Hardison were looking at us, too?” Maggie said. “I believe we managed to surprise them, too.”
“How long do you think it’ll take them to come and find us?” Tara asked them.
“I think we have time to go back to the hotel and have a few drinks on them,” Sophie answered.
“We should do that again, soon,” Maggie said as Tara was hailing a cab.
“Which one? Kiss or have a night out?” Sophie replied, prompting the three women to start laughing again.
Fin.
Author: vickysg1
Fandom: Leverage
Characters/Pairings: Sophie Devereaux, Tara Cole, Nathan Ford. Nate/Sophie.
Category: Friendship, romance
Summary: Neither of them had thought that they could be friends, one day.
Word Count: 5062
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: I own neither the show nor the characters. I don’t earn any money; I just do it for fun.
Author's note: This fic was written back in December for the Secret Santa at leveragexchange. alinaandalion’s prompt was "Sophie and Tara on adventures". It turned out longer than I thought, and I hope that you will like it. Part four is a crossover with Body of Proof.
One.
This isn’t going well, Sophie thought for the third time since she set foot in the mansion. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong, but she knew that her carefully devised plan was going to meet a hitch.
Her eyes scanned the room, looking for familiar faces. She expected to see Nathan Ford or James Sterling - that would explain the feeling she was having - but neither man seemed to be here. She wasn’t certain whether to be relieved or disappointed.
On her third sweep of the room, she still hadn’t found the source of her worry, and she was almost tempted to leave without what she came for. She believed in the “better be safe than sorry” line, and she knew she would have other opportunities to get her hands on it later.
She was about to leave the room when she noticed a blonde woman hanging onto her mark’s arm. Sophie had no doubt that this mysterious blonde was the one who prompted this feeling of unease in her. She observed as the newcomer was tapping on her mark’s chest with her bag, laughing at what he just said. She was a grifter, that was for sure, and Sophie wasn’t known to let her marks fall into another grifter’s hands that easily.
Grabbing two Champagne glasses from a passing waiter, she set off towards the two. She smiled, perfectly in her role, as she stopped beside them.
“Here you are, Paolo,” she said, handing him one of the glasses. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“I’m sorry, cara mia,” he replied in a strong Italian accent. “I had to step out to make a call.”
“A problem at work?” she asked, concerned.
It wasn’t just an act; his job was a demanding one, and if he were to leave, she would have to follow, without her prize. It was one thing to leave early if she was the one making the decision, another to have the decision made for her.
“Nothing to worry about, for now. We can enjoy the party.”
“Good. And who’s your friend?” she asked, sending a smile the blonde’s way.
“Pardon me. This is Diane Proctor. Diane, this is Felicity Shaw. Diane is here on behalf of a very important art collector,” Paolo added as the two women shook hands.
Sophie saw a hint of recognition in the other woman’s eyes; they might never have met, but she had heard of Felicity Shaw, before. It was, after all, a well-known alias of Sophie’s in the grifters’ world. The brunette wondered if “Diane” would leave now that she knew that there was another grifter in the room. Had she been her, she would have risen to the challenge and tried to get to her prize, even with someone else after it. So she wasn’t surprised when she saw the determination in the blonde’s eyes: the game was on.
It had been a while since Sophie last had competition, and a part of her was really looking forward to see how the evening would play out. For the time being, though, she took the arm Paolo was offering her, and the three of them started to walk around the room. She didn’t mind “Diane” staying with them; it allowed them to keep an eye on each other, but Sophie knew that at some point, if she wanted to get her hands on what she had come for in the first place, she would have to leave their company.
An hour later, Sophie was leaving the mansion alone, but with the necklace she had been after safely tucked in her purse. She would be out of town before they even noticed the theft and out of the country before they realised that it was her doing. She would miss Paolo but he had only been a mean to an end; she would never have thought it would be so easy to play a police officer. One just didn’t notice what was happening right before their eyes, she guessed.
As the taxi drove her to the train station, where her luggage was already waiting for her, her mind drifted to the blond grifter. They had been after the same necklace, and if Sophie had been the one to get it, in the end, it had been a close call. She had lost track of the other woman right at the time she made her move, and, for a moment, she had thought she would be too late. She hadn’t been, and when their eyes had met while Sophie was making her exit, it had been clear that the blonde was up for a rematch. Sophie had no doubt that “Diane” was a talented grifter; one had to be in order to enter a room filled with undercover police officers, after all.
Their paths would cross again, Sophie was sure of that, she was even looking forward to it, and when it would happened, she would be prepared.
It took her sources some time to put a name on her face: Tara Cole. A fake name, she was certain, but it wasn’t like Sophie was her real name either.
###
Two.
Nate had broken her, he had broken them all. He had changed them into good guys, and try as she might, Sophie just couldn’t go back to her old ways.
But while she didn’t feel like grifting for her own profit anymore, she still had her aliases to take care of; they might still come in handy to her, one day. That was why she was at a fundraiser in Austin, Texas, an event Indira McAllister had to attend. With it taking place at the Blanton Museum of Art, she would not have usually left empty handed. But not tonight. Tonight, she would just talk to the other attendees, and she wouldn’t even try to seduce one of them for a later purpose.
Nate really had broken her.
Smiling to the couple she had been talking to, she excused herself, and turned around only to bump into someone. When she raised her eyes, she was surprised to find those of Tara Cole.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Tara said, reacting first. “You ok?”
“Yes, thank you. I’m sorry for bumping into you.”
“It’s alright. There are so many people inside that it’s a wonder no one has been hurt, yet. Claire Montfort,” Tara introduced herself, holding her hand out to Sophie.
“Indira McAllister.” They shook hands before Sophie continued. “I was just going to get a drink. Could I offer you one as an apology?”
“I thought that it was an open bar?” Tara replied with a smile.
“Precisely. Shall we?”
Tara nodded before following Sophie to the bar. With their drinks in hand, Sophie then led Tara to a more secluded area where there was no chance of being overheard.
“I didn’t think I’d be seeing you here, tonight,” Tara said. “Word is on the street that you’re not playing on your own anymore.”
“Really?” Sophie said, uneasy. While it was true, she didn’t want it to be widely known; the success of Nate’s cons depended on them not being found out. She felt a pang in her heart as she realised that it didn’t matter anymore as that part was over, too. “Well, you know what they say about rumours, Tara,” she resumed. “They aren’t based on facts.”
“I believe this one is,” Tara replied, but she continued before Sophie could add anything. “So what are you here for, then?”
“Just some Italian painting,” Sophie said, choosing not to elaborate for now. “I hope we’re not after the same one, this time.”
“I doubt we are. Well, I should go, now. I still have a lot to do.”
And with that, Tara was gone.
Sophie realised that with the woman here, the evening wouldn’t be as boring as she had expected it to be. Her plan had been to leave at the start of the fundraiser. Now, she thought she should stick around long enough to see how the blonde fared.
And what she saw next convinced her even more that she had to stay: James Sterling had just entered the room. His eyes scanned the crowd, but instead of falling on her, like she had thought they would, they stopped on Tara. She saw Sterling smile and then proceed to make sure she didn’t notice him.
Hidden from his sight, Sophie kept studying him. She didn’t know what he was doing here of all places. When they had taken Ian Blackpool down, Sterling had become vice president of I.Y.S.. Surely, he had other things to do now than chase after an art thief.
It looked like she had been wrong and there were still some cases he wanted to follow.
She shouldn’t have been so surprised; she had known him for years and she knew that, once he was onto someone, it wasn’t easy for him to let go. On that aspect, he was very much like Nate. Her lips stretched into a small smile as she remembered Parker calling him an “Evil Nate”, once.
Sophie saw Tara moving towards the doors leading to the closed areas, apparently ready to go after her prize. Sterling noticed her too but he stayed put, which surprised her; he had to have something else planned.
As surreptitiously as she could, she made her way towards the exit and, sure enough, she recognized two of his men talking on the phone before making their way towards the rear entrance, where Tara would leave the museum. Sterling was only staying inside in case he had been wrong with this assumption, but he wouldn’t be.
She decided to follow at a safe distance, to help Tara if needed.
The blond grifter hadn’t lost any time to get what she came for and she was already exiting the museum when the two men, followed by Sophie, rounded the last corner.
“Stop right there,” one of them said, surprising Tara who did as she was told. “Now, turn around. Slowly.”
Sophie knew that she had to act now if she wanted to help Tara because Sterling would soon be here. She stepped out of the shadow and stopped just a few feet behind them.
“Hello, boys,” she said.
It startled them just enough for them to turn their heads into her direction. That was all Tara needed to run towards the streets.
“I’ll stay here with her, you catch her,” the tallest of the two said, grabbing Sophie’s arm.
“Ow! Who said you could put your hands on me?” she said, indignantly, hitting him with her bag at the same time.
“Hey, stop that!”
But she wouldn’t; she knew she wasn’t hurting him, just annoying him and it amused her. She had already accomplished her goal by distracting them long enough for Tara to leave, the rest was just acting, and she was a good actress, no matter what some people thought.
“What’s going on here?” Sterling’s voice sounded behind her.
Instinctively, she stopped. She turned towards him as best as she could with his man still holding onto her arm and flashed him a smile.
“Sophie Devereaux, I’ll be damned.”
“Hello Sterling. Tell him to let me go, will you?” she asked, and Sterling gestured for the man to do as she said. “It wouldn’t hurt you to be a little more considerate to women, you know. I bruise easily,” she added, rubbing her arm.
“What are you doing here, Sophie? Working on your own again?”
“I’m attending a fundraiser. I didn’t know it was a crime.”
“Oh, it could be when you’re involved.”
“Sir, she helped Cole escape,” the man said, just as his partner came running back towards them, alone.
Sterling closed his eyes and sighed, wondering why he was stuck with incompetents.
“Of course, she did,” he said, his eyes returning to Sophie. “I suppose you’re proud of yourself.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“And I suppose that if I were to search you, or your bag, I wouldn’t find anything.”
Sophie shrugged and offered him her bag, but he didn’t make a move towards it. She waited until he sent his men to the car to look for Tara, even though they all knew that she was long gone by now. Still, it was probably better for them than to stay beside Sterling at the moment.
“Are you working with her?” he asked, once they were alone.
“No.”
“But you know her.”
“I might have met her a couple of times,” she admitted.
“Is it true that you only came here to attend the fundraiser?” he asked, but before she could answer, he continued. “He changed you.”
“Can I go?” she asked, knowing that he had nothing to hold her; he didn’t really care about her helping Tara.
He gestured for her to go, but as she passed him, he stopped her again.
“Tell him I’m looking forward to arrest him next time.”
She moved away without a word. She wanted to be able to pass the message along to Nate, but she couldn’t. The team was gone.
Later that night, when she stepped into her hotel room, Sophie noticed a piece of paper lying on her bed. She picked it up. She saw that there were only three words written on it, no signature. She smiled.
I owe you.
###
Three.
“So… How’s Nate?” Tara asked over the phone one day.
Sophie sighed. It had always been a difficult question to answer, but recently, it was even more so. She hadn’t seen him since they had left Boston for good. She knew he needed some alone to accept his father’s death. Meanwhile, she barely had news; a text came every other day, assuring her he was fine and he was still on his boat. She had no idea when or even where she would see him again. Granted, they had spent months without seeing each other before, but it had been before them, and she missed him.
“Still sailing, uh?” Tara deduced from her sigh. “You know what you need? You need to stop looking at the ocean in the hope of finding him there and do something productive.”
“I’m not looking at the ocean…” Sophie replied, walking away from the docks and wondering whether Tara could hear the waves crashing against the boats.
“I can hear it, Sophie,” Tara said, thus answering her silent question. “I’ll be here in the morning and you and I are going to have some fun.”
“Tara…”
“See you tomorrow!” the blonde grifter said, and she hang up before Sophie had a chance to say a word.
Sophie rolled her eyes at her friend’s antics, but, truthfully, she was grateful. Tara was right, getting back in the game would be fun. Still, she would have liked making the decision herself. She had never liked others making the decisions for her, unless it was for a con. There she trust Nate enough, even though he often let her have the last word on her parts.
But once Tara had made up her mind on something, she wouldn’t be deterred. Today, it was to take Sophie out of her self-imposed misery. (She was anything but miserable, thank you very much. She was just missing him. A lot.)
And sure enough, the next morning, the blonde was at Sophie’s door, although the latter had no idea how she got her current address.
“Are you ready to get away from here?” Tara asked, walking past Sophie and into the apartment.
“And where are we going?”
“I’ve been working on a little something these past few months, but I think that the final act will be even better if we work together on it.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“What if I told you “Czar Nicholas”?”
Sophie didn’t have to think long before answering.
“The Lost Crown Jewels? I’d say it ought to be fun”, she replied with a Russian accent.
“I thought you might like it.”
They shared a smile; it wasn’t often that they got to work together, and they always enjoyed it when it happened. Of course, the last time had also involved a bomb, something Sophie didn’t like to remember.
When they had met, seven years ago, they had been after the same necklace, adversaries, so to speak. It wasn’t until after Tara had helped the team when Sophie had needed time for herself that they started working together, occasionally. While Sophie enjoyed working with Nate, Parker, Eliot and Hardison, it was different when it came to working with Tara because they were both grifters and instinctively knew how to play off of each other.
“Seriously, though. How’s Nate?” Tara asked, stopping Sophie’s trail of thoughts.
“He’s taking his father’s death harder than any of us, himself included, thought he would. He blames himself for not seeing it coming. After everything, he needed some time to get his priorities in order.”
“You being one of them?”
Sophie didn’t have to answer the question; she knew the answer to it, and so did Tara. She wouldn’t be here, waiting for him to come back, if she wasn’t. She would be out there somewhere, getting her hands on some jewellery or a painting.
“You know,” Tara continued, “you two certainly took your sweet time.”
“The path hasn’t been free of obstacles,” Sophie reminded. “But we’re at a good place, now. I don’t know where we’re going, or if we’re even going somewhere, but I’m fine with that.”
Tara smiled before walking towards the door as she noticed that Sophie had gathered everything she would need. The conversation was over; neither wanted to say or hear more about it.
~~~
Sophie and Tara discussed the plan on the private plane that was taking them to their destination. How Tara had commandeered it, Sophie didn’t know and she wasn’t sure she even wanted to; there were some things that should stay a mystery forever. Tara had the jewels waiting for them at a safe house, and they would only need to get them on their way to their mark.
“Are you sure they look convincing enough to pass off as the real Lost Crown Jewels of Czar Nicholas?” Sophie asked; she’d rather not deal with Russians unless she was certain she wouldn’t be unmasked.
“They might not be the real deal, but I can assure you that they would fool even the world’s expert on the subject. And as it is, we’re going to the third best.”
“Why? The first two weren’t available?” Sophie joked. “What gave you the idea, anyway?”
“It’s just a mystery that I’ve always found fascinating. Knowing that such a treasure was hidden somewhere, maybe buried in the Gobi Desert if the legend is true, that’s just amazing, don’t you think?”
Sophie had to admit that she, too, had some fascination for this lost treasure. Who wouldn’t with the history surrounding these jewels? But she had never thought of even exploring the subject from a grifter’s point of view before. She had to hand it to Tara, she had planned everything and asked her to work on it too. She seemed to have everything covered, and Sophie now had enough experience from working with Nate to have several back-up plans - B through G at the moment, more to come - should anything go wrong with Tara’s.
A car was waiting for them when the plane touched down, and they drove to Tara’s safe house to get the jewels and review the plan one last time. Sophie kept her own plans to herself, not because she didn’t trust Tara, but because she wanted to show her that she did; if the blonde knew that there were back-up plans, she didn’t say anything.
In the end, Tara’s plan worked just as they hoped it would. The appraiser had been completely fooled by the fake jewels that he estimated to be priceless.
“I think I can think of a price,” Sophie had said at that point.
“We’re happy that they will finally be back where they belong,” Tara had added.
“It is a great chance that you have found them and realised how important they are,” the appraiser had continued. “The Russian people will be forever grateful for this present.”
A short while later, they exited the house with a bag full of cash. They had no idea how long the deception would last, but they had no intention of being anywhere close by when it was finally revealed. Sophie didn’t know if she should tell the team about this con. Maybe one day, but for the moment, it was something that would stay between her and Tara.
“Thank you for your help,” Tara said, as the plane flew them back to Portland.
“I know you didn’t really need me, so thank you for taking me along. I needed it, even though I didn’t want to admit it.”
The rest of the flight was spent talking about the team, and what Parker, Hardison and Eliot were up to during this break.
When Sophie left the plane, she didn’t take her share of the money; the time she had spent with Tara was more than enough.
###
Four.
Tara’s call came just as they were about to leave Paris for Venice. Changing their plane tickets had been easy enough, and they were now waiting in line to board their flight to Philadelphia.
“We’ll just have to finish our trip down memory lane, later,” Sophie said. “After all, we have time, now.”
“Indeed,” Nate replied, leaning down to kiss her lips. “Did Tara sound worried on the phone?”
“A bit, yes. She’s certainly anxious to see us. It’s an important matter from what she said, but she refused to elaborate.”
Nate was quiet during the flight, and Sophie knew that he was thinking about what was to come. Even though he didn't know what Tara needed them for, it didn't stop him from making up plans that would ensure their safety. She still didn't know in which one she was dying. So far, everything she had done to find out had failed but she wouldn't give up.
To be honest, Sophie was worried about her friend. Tara had never asked for help before. For her to do so meant her problem had to be quite serious. She hoped that she wasn't in any danger, but she wouldn't know for certain until they saw her.
~~~
“Are you sure we’re at the right place?” Nate asked as the taxi dropped them off in front of the Philadelphia County Medical Center.
“Positive. Look for yourself,” she said, showing her the text that Tara had sent her. “We are to ask about a Kate Murphy.”
“Well, then, let’s go.”
Inside the building, they were directed to the elevators. A redhead followed them inside, and they went to the same floor. Once arrived, the redhead went one way, and stepped to the reception desk.
“Hello, we’re looking for Kate Murphy.”
“Is Doctor Murphy expecting you?” the receptionist asked.
“Yes.”
“Ah, here you are,” Tara said as she walked towards them. “Let’s go to my office.”
Neither Nate nor Sophie said anything, understanding that, whatever was going on, it was better if no one was listening. Still, they had many questions to ask her, and they didn’t just want to know what she had called them about. They were curious about the place and the title she seemed to have.
Tara closed her office door behind them before turning towards Nate and Sophie, knowing that she had some explaining to do.
“Doctor Murphy?” Nate asked, raising an eyebrow.
“This is a part of my life that you should never have learnt about,” Tara said. “Kate Murphy is my real name. I’m the Chief Medical Examiner, here. Tara and my other aliases are a way to escape all of this.”
To say that Nate and Sophie were surprised by this revelation would have been an understatement. They certainly hadn’t expected this when they had received her call, and even less when they had first met her.
“I know this is quite the surprise, and I will explain everything, but not now. Now, I need your help. An intern who worked at the City Hall was found dead. From what her roommate told us, she had an affair with someone she worked with, but we have no way of knowing who it is. There’s no trail, no phone calls, no text messages, no e-mails, nothing. Without evidence, we can’t investigate, and we’re this close to having Doctor Hunt marching in the Mayor’s office. While I understand her frustration, we can’t have that. It would ruin our chance to apprehend them.”
“What do you want from us?” Sophie asked.
“Find a way inside, try to find out who the lover is. I don’t need you to bring me evidence; I don’t want you to. Just find us a way in, anything. Look, I know that I might be asking for too much, especially since you’re both retired, but no one here wants to see a killer walk away unpunished.”
“Do you think the lover is the killer?”
“I don’t know, but sometimes, they’re one and the same. Detective Sullivan and Lucas are looking for other suspects, but for the moment, they have nothing. It’s already been two weeks, and we have no lead. No one here wants this one to become a cold case.
"We're going to help you," Sophie said after sharing a look with Nate. "Now, we need a way in."
"I have one. I have to go to a function at City Hall, tonight. Sophie should come with me and Nate could monitor everything from my apartment. There are cameras everywhere there, I'm sure Hardison could remotely access them so you can see everything on my computer."
"You seem to have everything planned," Nate said. "I will ask Hardison to access the security cameras but I won't be at your place. He'll monitor them and I'll be close by in case you need me with a feed on my phone, just in case."
"See? I didn't have everything planned."
They shared a smile but before any of them could add anything, the door opened on the redhead Nate and Sophie had seen before.
"Kate, we need to..." Megan stopped when she saw that her boss wasn't alone in her office. "Oh..."
"Megan! Is there anything you need?"
"Nothing that can't wait. I'll come back later."
"That was Doctor Hunt that I mentioned earlier," Kate said once the redhead had left her office. "Anyway, so do we agree on this plan?"
~~~
Sophie and Tara arrived at City Hall fashionably late that evening. They walked around, talking to people Kate was familiar with for over an hour, until Nate talked to them through their earpieces.
"The guy with the red tie in the back of the room, he's sad and worried at the same time. I believe that's your victim's lover."
"Should we go talk to him now?" Sophie asked Tara.
"I don't want to tip him off if he's the killer."
"He's not," Hardison said. “I’ve looked into him, and he wasn’t anywhere near Philly when your victim died. Her direct supervisor, on the other hand…”
“What about him?”
“Well I know his job pays well, but not to the point of paying cash for a yacht.”
“Are you saying he was bribed?”
“I’m not saying anything, yet.”
“Well, there’s one way to find out,” Nate said. “He’s responsible of the building permits, right?”
“Right,” Tara replied.
“Well, let’s go steal an empty lot.”
“Doesn’t he ever get tired of saying that?” Tara asked.
“Never,” Sophie and Hardison answered at the same time.
“In the meantime, let’s go get another glass of champagne,” Tara told Sophie.
###
Five.
“This is downright frightening,” Sterling told Nate.
They were sipping whisky while looking at Sophie, Tara and Maggie. The three of them were at the bar, talking to some guys. It was obvious, at least to the trained eyes of Nate and Sterling, that they were conning them, but the men were none the wiser.
“Shouldn’t we warn them?”
“Where would be the fun in that?” Nate replied with a smirk.
Sterling had to admit that he had a point; it was quite entertaining to watch the three women together. He hadn’t been sure about coming, at first, his relationship with Nate and his team still being a bit strained, even now that he and Sophie were working for him from time to time, but he was glad he had let Maggie and Olivia convince him. Speaking of his daughter, she was now with Parker, who was…
“Is Parker teaching my daughter how to pick a lock?” Sterling asked Nate, who redirected his glance back at the two blondes.
“She is. Try to see it that way: she could teach her to pick pockets.”
Sterling wasn’t certain it was a comforting thought; the way the night seemed to be going, it might happen before they left. Sighing, he turned back towards the bar.
“I can’t believe Sophie and Maggie are friends now.”
“Tell me about it,” Nate said before finishing his glass and gesturing for the waiter for another.
At the bar, the three women were starting to get a bit tired of the three men surrounding them. It had been fun at first; Maggie had enjoyed grifting along Sophie and Tara, picking up some things for later use, and they had been offered drinks, but now, the men started to be boring. And they didn’t seem to take a hint. The three women shared a look, and realised that there was just one way to get rid of them.
“Shall we go home?” Maggie asked her two friends. “It’s getting late,” she added, with a pout.
“We should, don’t you think, Tara?” Sophie said.
“Yes, we should,” the blonde grifter replied, before leaning in towards Sophie.
On the other side of the room, Nate and Sterling’s jaws dropped.
“Did they just... kiss?” Sterling asked.
Before Nate could answer, Tara was leaning towards Maggie, this time, and pressed their lips together.
“What the hell is going on, here?” Eliot asked, standing behind the two former insurance investigators.
“Shut up, man and enjoy!” Hardison said, prompting Nate and Sterling to turn and look at him. “Well, I mean… Nevermind,” he finished, knowing that he would only make things worse.
They watched as the three women left the bar together, their arms linked. The men they had been conning were left as stunned as their friends, and if the latters had noticed that, they would have laughed. But as it was, their minds were still on the scene they had just witnessed.
Outside, Sophie, Tara and Maggie had stopped just around the corner, laughing too much to continue walking.
“Well done, ladies,” Sophie said. “I believe that they don’t know what hit them.”
“And did you notice that Nate, James, Eliot and Hardison were looking at us, too?” Maggie said. “I believe we managed to surprise them, too.”
“How long do you think it’ll take them to come and find us?” Tara asked them.
“I think we have time to go back to the hotel and have a few drinks on them,” Sophie answered.
“We should do that again, soon,” Maggie said as Tara was hailing a cab.
“Which one? Kiss or have a night out?” Sophie replied, prompting the three women to start laughing again.
Fin.