FIC: The Alternative School Job (1/?)
Fandom: Leverage
Rating: PG (language)
Pairing: (none)
Summary: The team goes to an alternative school. Co-written with colin_chaotic
“What brings you here, Lydia?” Nate asked, lacing his fingers together and resting them on the table before him.
“Well, um…” she replied, glancing about nervously, as most people did when they realized what sweet digs they could have if they’d gone the criminal route; at least, this was how Eliot interpreted the look, “I lost my job as the principal of this school, this alternative school, because all this money disappeared from the school’s scholarship fund.”
Nate was quiet and gave a glance to the other team members, as he often did before breaking bad news.
“Ma’am, we don’t really do revenge. We simply provide leverage.”
Sophie snorted.
“Nate, she knows the name of the company, don’t beat it to death.” She said under her breath, maintaining the sympathetic smile.
“Bite me, Sophie.” Nate responded in a similar fashion. Eliot rolled his eyes. Nate and Sophie were fighting. Again. For two people that supposedly had something going on, they got in fights pretty frequently. Every case, it seemed.
“No, you don’t understand,” Lydia said, tucking a hair behind her ear, “I was framed. I would never, ever take money from Juvenex.”
Hardison snickered at the name. Eliot jabbed him in the rib with his elbow.
“I built it from the ground up, I’ve put way more of my own money into that place than I could have gotten from the scholarship fund. It just doesn’t make sense. I-I told this to Sophie, and she told me about you guys.”
Nate cocked his head slightly, as if to say the plot thickens.
“Do you have any idea who did it, then?”
“Oh yes,” Lydia said, “Matt. He’s the new principal. He’d been the secretary for a while, and had always been weird about money. Couldn’t seem to manage finances worth anything, that’s why I mostly took care of it. As soon as that money disappeared, he was pointing at me and when I got fired, he, uh, volunteered to take over the principal job in the interim. But as principal he’s in charge of employee management, so he can put it off for as long as he needs to.”
Sophie laid a reassuring hand on Lydia’s shoulder.
“He is gonna take all the money he can get from that school,” she continued with a hitch in her voice, “Until there’s nothing left, and I can’t let him do that. I don’t care about me, but those kids have nowhere else to go. He needs to be exposed for what he is, and that’s all I want. I don’t need money, I don’t even need my job back. I just need him out.” Lydia glanced up at Sophie, who smiled back.
“We’ll take it.” Nate said, “Just give us a day or two to work on the preliminary stuff.”
Lydia smiled, dimpling the bags under her eyes.
---
“So,” Parker said, sidling up to Sophie with her glare of suspicion, “Did you hit that?”
Sophie turned very slowly and stared.
“Parker,” she said, “Have you been on Hardison’s message boards again?”
“Oh hell no!” Hardison yelled from the adjacent room, “Parker!”
Parker’s eyes began to shift furiously, and she shuffled her way toward the exit.
“Damnit, Parker! Now everyone thinks I’m a damn /b/tard!” Hardison stormed through the door.
“There’s a blank spot to put your name when you comment!”
“Ever heard of anonymous?!”
“Well…shut up!” Parkison said, lightly slapping Hardison’s chest.
“No, you shut up!” Hardison replied, slapping away Parker’s hand. The great “Shut up” debate continuing between outstretched slaps; Eliot didn’t have a newspaper - he felt it was a dying medium - so he raised his beer before his face.
“Children,” Nate said, swirling a glass of whiskey as he entered the room, “Let’s, uh...stop.”
Parker and Hardison did so, abruptly, and took a seat.
“And Eliot, what are you doing?”
“Just trying to memorize my beer’s nutrition facts,”
Nate paused, and nodded.
“Anyway,” he said, taking a seat, “Parker and Hardison are set up for their enrollment at the school two days from now.” Nate slid a couple of manila folders across the table, to the aforementioned.
“Know what mental illnesses you have, you’re also gonna have to talk to the counselor, and I assume he is somewhat informed about psychology.”
“Kleptomania?!” Parker yelled, staring at the file, “Are you serious?!”
“Yeah. It’s important that you steal while you’re there, and get caught. That way, there’ll be less doubt as to your credibility.”
“Get. Caught?”
“Sophie will also be undercover, as the substitute Spanish teacher.”
“Where’s the real one?” Hardison asked.
“Not important.” Eliot said, probably too close to the end of Hardison’s sentence, absentmindedly tracing a finger over the top of his beer.
Hardison paused, and scooted his chair further from Eliot.
“Alright,” Nate said, swallowing the last of his whiskey, “Let’s steal…something improbable.”
Rating: PG (language)
Pairing: (none)
Summary: The team goes to an alternative school. Co-written with colin_chaotic
“What brings you here, Lydia?” Nate asked, lacing his fingers together and resting them on the table before him.
“Well, um…” she replied, glancing about nervously, as most people did when they realized what sweet digs they could have if they’d gone the criminal route; at least, this was how Eliot interpreted the look, “I lost my job as the principal of this school, this alternative school, because all this money disappeared from the school’s scholarship fund.”
Nate was quiet and gave a glance to the other team members, as he often did before breaking bad news.
“Ma’am, we don’t really do revenge. We simply provide leverage.”
Sophie snorted.
“Nate, she knows the name of the company, don’t beat it to death.” She said under her breath, maintaining the sympathetic smile.
“Bite me, Sophie.” Nate responded in a similar fashion. Eliot rolled his eyes. Nate and Sophie were fighting. Again. For two people that supposedly had something going on, they got in fights pretty frequently. Every case, it seemed.
“No, you don’t understand,” Lydia said, tucking a hair behind her ear, “I was framed. I would never, ever take money from Juvenex.”
Hardison snickered at the name. Eliot jabbed him in the rib with his elbow.
“I built it from the ground up, I’ve put way more of my own money into that place than I could have gotten from the scholarship fund. It just doesn’t make sense. I-I told this to Sophie, and she told me about you guys.”
Nate cocked his head slightly, as if to say the plot thickens.
“Do you have any idea who did it, then?”
“Oh yes,” Lydia said, “Matt. He’s the new principal. He’d been the secretary for a while, and had always been weird about money. Couldn’t seem to manage finances worth anything, that’s why I mostly took care of it. As soon as that money disappeared, he was pointing at me and when I got fired, he, uh, volunteered to take over the principal job in the interim. But as principal he’s in charge of employee management, so he can put it off for as long as he needs to.”
Sophie laid a reassuring hand on Lydia’s shoulder.
“He is gonna take all the money he can get from that school,” she continued with a hitch in her voice, “Until there’s nothing left, and I can’t let him do that. I don’t care about me, but those kids have nowhere else to go. He needs to be exposed for what he is, and that’s all I want. I don’t need money, I don’t even need my job back. I just need him out.” Lydia glanced up at Sophie, who smiled back.
“We’ll take it.” Nate said, “Just give us a day or two to work on the preliminary stuff.”
Lydia smiled, dimpling the bags under her eyes.
---
“So,” Parker said, sidling up to Sophie with her glare of suspicion, “Did you hit that?”
Sophie turned very slowly and stared.
“Parker,” she said, “Have you been on Hardison’s message boards again?”
“Oh hell no!” Hardison yelled from the adjacent room, “Parker!”
Parker’s eyes began to shift furiously, and she shuffled her way toward the exit.
“Damnit, Parker! Now everyone thinks I’m a damn /b/tard!” Hardison stormed through the door.
“There’s a blank spot to put your name when you comment!”
“Ever heard of anonymous?!”
“Well…shut up!” Parkison said, lightly slapping Hardison’s chest.
“No, you shut up!” Hardison replied, slapping away Parker’s hand. The great “Shut up” debate continuing between outstretched slaps; Eliot didn’t have a newspaper - he felt it was a dying medium - so he raised his beer before his face.
“Children,” Nate said, swirling a glass of whiskey as he entered the room, “Let’s, uh...stop.”
Parker and Hardison did so, abruptly, and took a seat.
“And Eliot, what are you doing?”
“Just trying to memorize my beer’s nutrition facts,”
Nate paused, and nodded.
“Anyway,” he said, taking a seat, “Parker and Hardison are set up for their enrollment at the school two days from now.” Nate slid a couple of manila folders across the table, to the aforementioned.
“Know what mental illnesses you have, you’re also gonna have to talk to the counselor, and I assume he is somewhat informed about psychology.”
“Kleptomania?!” Parker yelled, staring at the file, “Are you serious?!”
“Yeah. It’s important that you steal while you’re there, and get caught. That way, there’ll be less doubt as to your credibility.”
“Get. Caught?”
“Sophie will also be undercover, as the substitute Spanish teacher.”
“Where’s the real one?” Hardison asked.
“Not important.” Eliot said, probably too close to the end of Hardison’s sentence, absentmindedly tracing a finger over the top of his beer.
Hardison paused, and scooted his chair further from Eliot.
“Alright,” Nate said, swallowing the last of his whiskey, “Let’s steal…something improbable.”