Fic: The S Jobs 3 & 4
The Stand Up Job
Summary: The actual job. The Sketchbook Job was supposed to be a one-shot but then Parker had grabby hands and wanted more. She wanted Lorne and was willing to steal my muse until she got ‘im.
Sergeant Ezra Rogers found great amusement in the fact that he, as a preacher’s kid, was among the two Marines that General O’Neill assigned to help Major Lorne recover the Ancient artifact that the museum had acquired. From the twinkle in the general’s eye, he was amused as well.
Ezra’s experience with crypto-security made him an obvious choice. His normal job was constantly updating and improving the intra-net, computers and firewalls of the SGC and Area 51. Sergeant Lance Baker, the other Marine, was Recon through and through. Search and rescues, and escape and evading were his specialties. His job was to ensure that the general’s thieving little group didn’t get caught.
Ezra didn’t know what the Ancient device did and he bet that neither did the scientists at this point in time. It didn’t matter. The device had started emitting energy earlier this week. For the safety of all around, the SGC had to move it to a safe location without the Trust -or anyone else- realizing that it was of interest to the SGC.
While Ezra’s time in the SGC had been one unique experience after another, this was on a different level. The job had begun with a meet with a kid. Hopefully he was twenty, or the general was corrupting minors. The kid had acquired three staff key cards and several of the security codes. Ezra was surprised and pleased at the completeness. The more the kid accomplished beforehand, the less Ezra would be required to do now. The kid also drove them to the museum.
Due to some Trust operative on the Daedalus, the SGC couldn’t use the Asgaurd technology to beam the artifact out of the museum. Ezra wondered if he should consider all the difficulties as a sign, or file it with the fact that General O’Neill was going the low-tech route to keep himself amused.
So here they were.
Ezra followed Baker into the museum and the major took drag. Lance knew his shit. And Ezra knew his. Silently, smoothly, the three entered the museum. Ezra did his bit and honestly, it wasn’t as challenging as Area 51. They had made it past the first three anti-chambers when Baker turned around sharply. Ezra followed suit in time to see a figure in black repel from the ceiling,
“I knew you wouldn’t stand me up, Evan,” she said softly, but in a voice that carried clearly.
“Parker,” the major said.
She wrapped her arm around Lorne’s. “What are we here to steal?”
“Is there any way I can convince you to go home,” Lorne asked the woman.
“Leave our date early?” She was horrified and hurt. The tone was identical to Ezra’s last girlfriend’s when the SGC had called him back to duty unexpectedly.
“Let’s go,” the major told Baker.
Baker nodded once and resumed the lead. Parker coiled up her line and slung it over her shoulder. Ezra had to use his handheld computer and all of the key cards to get the group into the main chamber. Parker watched like a hawk and Ezra got the feeling that he had just barely passed a test. Finally, they entered the correct room. The Ancient artifact was on, and its lights danced around the room.
“Pretty,” Parker said. “It didn’t do that earlier.”
The major stepped forward with a stern look on his face. Ezra knew that Look. He obeyed that Look. The Ancient device shut off. And that was why a gene carrier had been included.
Parker stood there confused. “What just happened?”
No one answered her. Lorne stepped forward to open the case. Parker grabbed his wrist. “Let me do that,” she pleaded. “You’re too honest to let me take something extra and a souvenir of our date. Please?”
Lorne stepped back and handed Parker the inert replica. Ezra watched a professional switch the device from the case. She was slick. Where had the major found her? Ezra glanced around and was relived to note that Baker was keeping watch.
Parker held out the device to Lorne, but the major stepped back and Ezra accepted it and placed it in Colonel Carter’s special box. Baker led the way to the exit and a half-mile away. Once out, Ezra took the security cameras off their loops and breathed a sigh of relief.
Ezra climbed on the motorcycle that had been selected as his ‘get away vehicle.’ Baker climbed unto his and put on his helmet. Lorne handed Parker his motorcycle helmet, but then the kid returned in the car. He left the engine running and motioned to Parker for the helmet. She tossed it to him.
The kid told Lorne to, “Scrub any mess out of the backseat.”
Ezra could see the major’s blush, even in the dark. Lorne hustled Parker into the car and drove away. Ezra started up his bike and followed Baker and the kid to the rendezvous point with the general. General O’Neill was sitting in the park playing with a yo-yo. O’Neill raised an eyebrow when he saw the kid on the bike instead of the major.
“Lorne’s thief showed up,” the general said without any surprise.
“Ya, sure, you betcha,” the kid answered.
O’Neill motioned with his hand to Ezra. Ezra handed over the Carter Box. O’Neill opened the box and was nearly blinded by the lights. Just as fast, the general shut it off.
“Good job,” he told the crew. “Repot to the base at 0800 for a debrief and to fill out your reports. Dismissed.”
Baker and Ezra saluted the general, climbed back on their motorcycles and drove their separate ways.
All was well.
Ezra thought that all SGC missions should be this easy.
*
The Social Networking Job
The Leverage crew stood on at the darkened windows and watched ‘Evan’ walk Parker to the door and kiss her goodnight. So she had caught up to him while he was thieving and neither of them had gotten arrested.
“Hardison, did you find anything on him?” Eliot asked.
“Major Evan Lorne, US Air Force, real name,” the hacker responded immediately. “High praise from most of his CO’s. On the fast track for bigger and better things, specifically a general’s star. Was completely out of contact for more than a year.” Hardison paused. “He’s part of Area 52.”
Eliot winced.
Nate saw the flinch. “What do you know, Eliot?”
“General O’Neill runs it. It’s secret and it’s important. O’Neill’s a good man and he never hesitates getting his hands dirty to do what needs to be done. He’s fair, knows his men and cares for them. He won’t leave any behind if he can help it. Only men like that would move up the ladder.”
“He treats her right,” Nate observed quietly.
“He sees us,” Eliot added.
“He’s an honest thief,” Sophie said. “It appears that she was attracted to someone like her father figure.”
Nate ignored her. “Does he know what he’s getting into? He won’t be able to have a star and Parker.”
Hardison had to laugh. “Hell, no one knows what they’re getting into with Parker.”
*
Evan walked into his hotel room, alone, and was not surprised to see Jack O’Neill’s clone waiting for him. Evan nodded once, “Sir. I see that O’Neill is making good use of you.”
The clone shrugged a bit and took another sip of Evan’s beer. He motioned to the thick files on the table. “That’s what we know about Parker and her unit.”
Evan sense of fairness reared up. “What happens between Parker and I are our business. No one else’s.”
“They hacked you. Hardison went as far as Area 52 and stopped abruptly. He’s crossed us before.”
“I’m leaving for the city in two weeks,” Evan reminded his de-aged CO.
“I bet you twenty bucks that you will have two more ‘dates’ with the lovely Parker before then.”
“Make it fifty and you’re on.”
*
Summary: The actual job. The Sketchbook Job was supposed to be a one-shot but then Parker had grabby hands and wanted more. She wanted Lorne and was willing to steal my muse until she got ‘im.
Sergeant Ezra Rogers found great amusement in the fact that he, as a preacher’s kid, was among the two Marines that General O’Neill assigned to help Major Lorne recover the Ancient artifact that the museum had acquired. From the twinkle in the general’s eye, he was amused as well.
Ezra’s experience with crypto-security made him an obvious choice. His normal job was constantly updating and improving the intra-net, computers and firewalls of the SGC and Area 51. Sergeant Lance Baker, the other Marine, was Recon through and through. Search and rescues, and escape and evading were his specialties. His job was to ensure that the general’s thieving little group didn’t get caught.
Ezra didn’t know what the Ancient device did and he bet that neither did the scientists at this point in time. It didn’t matter. The device had started emitting energy earlier this week. For the safety of all around, the SGC had to move it to a safe location without the Trust -or anyone else- realizing that it was of interest to the SGC.
While Ezra’s time in the SGC had been one unique experience after another, this was on a different level. The job had begun with a meet with a kid. Hopefully he was twenty, or the general was corrupting minors. The kid had acquired three staff key cards and several of the security codes. Ezra was surprised and pleased at the completeness. The more the kid accomplished beforehand, the less Ezra would be required to do now. The kid also drove them to the museum.
Due to some Trust operative on the Daedalus, the SGC couldn’t use the Asgaurd technology to beam the artifact out of the museum. Ezra wondered if he should consider all the difficulties as a sign, or file it with the fact that General O’Neill was going the low-tech route to keep himself amused.
So here they were.
Ezra followed Baker into the museum and the major took drag. Lance knew his shit. And Ezra knew his. Silently, smoothly, the three entered the museum. Ezra did his bit and honestly, it wasn’t as challenging as Area 51. They had made it past the first three anti-chambers when Baker turned around sharply. Ezra followed suit in time to see a figure in black repel from the ceiling,
“I knew you wouldn’t stand me up, Evan,” she said softly, but in a voice that carried clearly.
“Parker,” the major said.
She wrapped her arm around Lorne’s. “What are we here to steal?”
“Is there any way I can convince you to go home,” Lorne asked the woman.
“Leave our date early?” She was horrified and hurt. The tone was identical to Ezra’s last girlfriend’s when the SGC had called him back to duty unexpectedly.
“Let’s go,” the major told Baker.
Baker nodded once and resumed the lead. Parker coiled up her line and slung it over her shoulder. Ezra had to use his handheld computer and all of the key cards to get the group into the main chamber. Parker watched like a hawk and Ezra got the feeling that he had just barely passed a test. Finally, they entered the correct room. The Ancient artifact was on, and its lights danced around the room.
“Pretty,” Parker said. “It didn’t do that earlier.”
The major stepped forward with a stern look on his face. Ezra knew that Look. He obeyed that Look. The Ancient device shut off. And that was why a gene carrier had been included.
Parker stood there confused. “What just happened?”
No one answered her. Lorne stepped forward to open the case. Parker grabbed his wrist. “Let me do that,” she pleaded. “You’re too honest to let me take something extra and a souvenir of our date. Please?”
Lorne stepped back and handed Parker the inert replica. Ezra watched a professional switch the device from the case. She was slick. Where had the major found her? Ezra glanced around and was relived to note that Baker was keeping watch.
Parker held out the device to Lorne, but the major stepped back and Ezra accepted it and placed it in Colonel Carter’s special box. Baker led the way to the exit and a half-mile away. Once out, Ezra took the security cameras off their loops and breathed a sigh of relief.
Ezra climbed on the motorcycle that had been selected as his ‘get away vehicle.’ Baker climbed unto his and put on his helmet. Lorne handed Parker his motorcycle helmet, but then the kid returned in the car. He left the engine running and motioned to Parker for the helmet. She tossed it to him.
The kid told Lorne to, “Scrub any mess out of the backseat.”
Ezra could see the major’s blush, even in the dark. Lorne hustled Parker into the car and drove away. Ezra started up his bike and followed Baker and the kid to the rendezvous point with the general. General O’Neill was sitting in the park playing with a yo-yo. O’Neill raised an eyebrow when he saw the kid on the bike instead of the major.
“Lorne’s thief showed up,” the general said without any surprise.
“Ya, sure, you betcha,” the kid answered.
O’Neill motioned with his hand to Ezra. Ezra handed over the Carter Box. O’Neill opened the box and was nearly blinded by the lights. Just as fast, the general shut it off.
“Good job,” he told the crew. “Repot to the base at 0800 for a debrief and to fill out your reports. Dismissed.”
Baker and Ezra saluted the general, climbed back on their motorcycles and drove their separate ways.
All was well.
Ezra thought that all SGC missions should be this easy.
*
The Social Networking Job
The Leverage crew stood on at the darkened windows and watched ‘Evan’ walk Parker to the door and kiss her goodnight. So she had caught up to him while he was thieving and neither of them had gotten arrested.
“Hardison, did you find anything on him?” Eliot asked.
“Major Evan Lorne, US Air Force, real name,” the hacker responded immediately. “High praise from most of his CO’s. On the fast track for bigger and better things, specifically a general’s star. Was completely out of contact for more than a year.” Hardison paused. “He’s part of Area 52.”
Eliot winced.
Nate saw the flinch. “What do you know, Eliot?”
“General O’Neill runs it. It’s secret and it’s important. O’Neill’s a good man and he never hesitates getting his hands dirty to do what needs to be done. He’s fair, knows his men and cares for them. He won’t leave any behind if he can help it. Only men like that would move up the ladder.”
“He treats her right,” Nate observed quietly.
“He sees us,” Eliot added.
“He’s an honest thief,” Sophie said. “It appears that she was attracted to someone like her father figure.”
Nate ignored her. “Does he know what he’s getting into? He won’t be able to have a star and Parker.”
Hardison had to laugh. “Hell, no one knows what they’re getting into with Parker.”
*
Evan walked into his hotel room, alone, and was not surprised to see Jack O’Neill’s clone waiting for him. Evan nodded once, “Sir. I see that O’Neill is making good use of you.”
The clone shrugged a bit and took another sip of Evan’s beer. He motioned to the thick files on the table. “That’s what we know about Parker and her unit.”
Evan sense of fairness reared up. “What happens between Parker and I are our business. No one else’s.”
“They hacked you. Hardison went as far as Area 52 and stopped abruptly. He’s crossed us before.”
“I’m leaving for the city in two weeks,” Evan reminded his de-aged CO.
“I bet you twenty bucks that you will have two more ‘dates’ with the lovely Parker before then.”
“Make it fifty and you’re on.”
*