The Rule Number 7 Job: Chapter 3
Title: The Rule Number 7 Job
Author: Trapper Creek Kaniac
Category: Leverage
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Humor/Drama/Crime
Summary: A woman asks for the team's help in rescuing her sister from a Russian proposition ring.
Pairings: Implied Nate/Sophie, Parker/Hardison, and Eliot...
"Why do I have to do this, again?" Parker asked Sophie. They were upstairs in the back room of Nate's apartment. It had since been turned into a dressing room, where Sophie was currently helping the thief get dressed for her part of the con.
"Because we need you, Parker. Nate could play my part of the con, but I think Bruno would respond better to me - it would seem a little strange if you and I reversed our roles and we certainly don't want to seem suspicious."
Parker heaved a sigh and fidgeted with her top. "Yeah, I know, it's just that you're so much better at this kind of stuff than me… remember the Rashomon job? I never could have pulled off being two different people."
"Oh, Parker, you'll do fine. You did amazing with that attorney general, and remember when you worked with Monica Hunter? Just remember what I showed you and you'll be great - it's not like you'll be doing it in front of a whole bunch of people, Hardison will take care of all that; it'll just be us." Sophie gave Parker a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "There, all done."
Looking at her reflection in the mirror that had been set up in the corner, Parker hardly recognized herself. Gone were the nondescript clothes that Parker usually dressed in; the woman who stared back at her looked like someone completely different. Sophie had styled Parker's hair so that it had a slightly messy, yet sexy look to it, the smoky eye shadow complimenting and bringing out the color of her eyes. Parker's attire consisted of a silver-accented black bustier that accentuated her bust, a mini miniskirt made of short silver tassels interspersed with longer tassels that reached just past mid thigh, and finally, six inch strappy silver stilettos.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Hardison and Eliot had finished setting up for Parker' part of the con. Since the team had set up shop in Nate's apartment some renovations had been made; more space here, a new wall there to make it a little more con-friendly. For example, the room was set up specifically for faking photos (PhotoShop can only do so much, according to Hardison) and videos - no more throwing an old green blanket over the TV panels to deliver the weather report. So far the team hadn't really needed it for any jobs, but that was about to change. Nate had mysteriously - Eliot and Hardison didn't even bother asking where it came from - produced a pole, which had been set up for Parker to dance with. The green wall was in place and Hardison had rigged up the camera on its tripod, to which he was making some last minute adjustments.
The clicking of heels on the hardwood floor announced Sophie and Parker's presence. Hardison looked up, not quite knowing what to expect. "Whoa," Hardison let out an appreciative whistle. "Hot damn!"
"What?" Parker seemed to be unaware of the effect she was having on Hardison.
"You're-you're…so…so…" Hardison gulped.
Nate appeared in the doorway behind Parker. "Hardison, let's go! We don't have all day." Nate eyed Parker and her getup. "Nice outfit, Parker." Parker grinned at him.
With that, they got down to business. Parker went through the moves that she and Sophie had sort of choreographed; something that would work to her strengths and make her feel more confident in what she was doing. A particular twist with her leg hooked around the pole made Hardison grin behind the camera.
Parker did great, but there was just something missing and Hardison finally put a finger on it.
"Parker, you need to smile a little more."
"Why?"
"Because it makes it more believable," Sophie answered. "You've got all the moves but if you don't smile and flirt with the audience, it looks a bit like it's just a choreographed routine you're performing."
Parker frowned, confused. "But isn't that what we're doing?"
"Yes, but that's beside the point. You have to act like you're out on that stage giving a room full of rowdy guys a live performance. Confidence is key."
Parker almost said something about Sophie's acting skills but a look from Nate standing behind Sophie silenced the retort.
"Are we ready to try this again?"
The door of Nate's apartment opened and Eliot strode in, his arms loaded down with two bulging paper bags of fresh groceries. He had needed something to do while Hardison was working his magic, or whatever he did, on Parker's fake video and Nate's refrigerator gave him the perfect excuse. It needed some serious restocking - the four one-liter bottles of orange soda, partial six-pack of beer, half an onion, and a heel of cheese were a sorry sight.
Nate was playing a game of chess with…Sophie? Eliot chuckled to himself, he'd like to know that game turned out. Nate glanced up and acknowledged his presence. Hardison ignored him, too engrossed in his work and muttering to himself as he punched in various commands on his laptop. Eliot almost asked where Parker was but thought better of it.
Setting the groceries on the kitchen counter, Eliot began unloading the bags, setting aside the ingredients for the lunch he was planning on cooking for the team; everything else went into the refrigerator. A small smile came to Eliot's face as he bent down to put the fresh cantaloupe in the bottom drawer, remembering the pretty checker that had flirted with him - he had flirted back, of course.
"What are you doing?" Parker asked as Eliot straightened up. He'd stopped questioning Parker's ability to almost appear out of thin a long time ago, but once in a while she still caught him off guard.
Eliot flipped the hair that had fallen into his eyes out of his face. "What does it look like I'm doing?"
Parker was causally leaning against the end of the counter, still dressed in her strip club outfit. Eliot took in the bustier, the tiny tassel skirt and…damn, Parker had amazing legs; he almost didn't recognize her. Sure, she'd dressed up for several cons when Sophie couldn't play all the parts and they needed Parker to pick up the slack, but nothing like this. Sneaking up on him in those six inch heels took some doing.
"Trying to cool your face off by sticking it in the refrigerator?"
Eliot heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Luckily, Parker was spared his comment by Hardison.
"Video's done, I'm putting it up on the big screen." The rest of the team stopped and turned to watch. Eliot leaned on against the counter next to Parker; Sophie and Nate paused their game of chess, in which Sophie was using all of her grifting tricks to throw Nate.
"Uploading to website and spoofing views as we speak," Hardison commented to no one in particular when the final frame froze on the screens, a close up of Parker's smiling face.
"Good job, Hardison," Nate nodded to the hacker. "Sophie, I think it's time to pay a visit to our friend, Mr. Brushnikov."
Author: Trapper Creek Kaniac
Category: Leverage
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Humor/Drama/Crime
Summary: A woman asks for the team's help in rescuing her sister from a Russian proposition ring.
Pairings: Implied Nate/Sophie, Parker/Hardison, and Eliot...
"Why do I have to do this, again?" Parker asked Sophie. They were upstairs in the back room of Nate's apartment. It had since been turned into a dressing room, where Sophie was currently helping the thief get dressed for her part of the con.
"Because we need you, Parker. Nate could play my part of the con, but I think Bruno would respond better to me - it would seem a little strange if you and I reversed our roles and we certainly don't want to seem suspicious."
Parker heaved a sigh and fidgeted with her top. "Yeah, I know, it's just that you're so much better at this kind of stuff than me… remember the Rashomon job? I never could have pulled off being two different people."
"Oh, Parker, you'll do fine. You did amazing with that attorney general, and remember when you worked with Monica Hunter? Just remember what I showed you and you'll be great - it's not like you'll be doing it in front of a whole bunch of people, Hardison will take care of all that; it'll just be us." Sophie gave Parker a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "There, all done."
Looking at her reflection in the mirror that had been set up in the corner, Parker hardly recognized herself. Gone were the nondescript clothes that Parker usually dressed in; the woman who stared back at her looked like someone completely different. Sophie had styled Parker's hair so that it had a slightly messy, yet sexy look to it, the smoky eye shadow complimenting and bringing out the color of her eyes. Parker's attire consisted of a silver-accented black bustier that accentuated her bust, a mini miniskirt made of short silver tassels interspersed with longer tassels that reached just past mid thigh, and finally, six inch strappy silver stilettos.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Hardison and Eliot had finished setting up for Parker' part of the con. Since the team had set up shop in Nate's apartment some renovations had been made; more space here, a new wall there to make it a little more con-friendly. For example, the room was set up specifically for faking photos (PhotoShop can only do so much, according to Hardison) and videos - no more throwing an old green blanket over the TV panels to deliver the weather report. So far the team hadn't really needed it for any jobs, but that was about to change. Nate had mysteriously - Eliot and Hardison didn't even bother asking where it came from - produced a pole, which had been set up for Parker to dance with. The green wall was in place and Hardison had rigged up the camera on its tripod, to which he was making some last minute adjustments.
The clicking of heels on the hardwood floor announced Sophie and Parker's presence. Hardison looked up, not quite knowing what to expect. "Whoa," Hardison let out an appreciative whistle. "Hot damn!"
"What?" Parker seemed to be unaware of the effect she was having on Hardison.
"You're-you're…so…so…" Hardison gulped.
Nate appeared in the doorway behind Parker. "Hardison, let's go! We don't have all day." Nate eyed Parker and her getup. "Nice outfit, Parker." Parker grinned at him.
With that, they got down to business. Parker went through the moves that she and Sophie had sort of choreographed; something that would work to her strengths and make her feel more confident in what she was doing. A particular twist with her leg hooked around the pole made Hardison grin behind the camera.
Parker did great, but there was just something missing and Hardison finally put a finger on it.
"Parker, you need to smile a little more."
"Why?"
"Because it makes it more believable," Sophie answered. "You've got all the moves but if you don't smile and flirt with the audience, it looks a bit like it's just a choreographed routine you're performing."
Parker frowned, confused. "But isn't that what we're doing?"
"Yes, but that's beside the point. You have to act like you're out on that stage giving a room full of rowdy guys a live performance. Confidence is key."
Parker almost said something about Sophie's acting skills but a look from Nate standing behind Sophie silenced the retort.
"Are we ready to try this again?"
The door of Nate's apartment opened and Eliot strode in, his arms loaded down with two bulging paper bags of fresh groceries. He had needed something to do while Hardison was working his magic, or whatever he did, on Parker's fake video and Nate's refrigerator gave him the perfect excuse. It needed some serious restocking - the four one-liter bottles of orange soda, partial six-pack of beer, half an onion, and a heel of cheese were a sorry sight.
Nate was playing a game of chess with…Sophie? Eliot chuckled to himself, he'd like to know that game turned out. Nate glanced up and acknowledged his presence. Hardison ignored him, too engrossed in his work and muttering to himself as he punched in various commands on his laptop. Eliot almost asked where Parker was but thought better of it.
Setting the groceries on the kitchen counter, Eliot began unloading the bags, setting aside the ingredients for the lunch he was planning on cooking for the team; everything else went into the refrigerator. A small smile came to Eliot's face as he bent down to put the fresh cantaloupe in the bottom drawer, remembering the pretty checker that had flirted with him - he had flirted back, of course.
"What are you doing?" Parker asked as Eliot straightened up. He'd stopped questioning Parker's ability to almost appear out of thin a long time ago, but once in a while she still caught him off guard.
Eliot flipped the hair that had fallen into his eyes out of his face. "What does it look like I'm doing?"
Parker was causally leaning against the end of the counter, still dressed in her strip club outfit. Eliot took in the bustier, the tiny tassel skirt and…damn, Parker had amazing legs; he almost didn't recognize her. Sure, she'd dressed up for several cons when Sophie couldn't play all the parts and they needed Parker to pick up the slack, but nothing like this. Sneaking up on him in those six inch heels took some doing.
"Trying to cool your face off by sticking it in the refrigerator?"
Eliot heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Luckily, Parker was spared his comment by Hardison.
"Video's done, I'm putting it up on the big screen." The rest of the team stopped and turned to watch. Eliot leaned on against the counter next to Parker; Sophie and Nate paused their game of chess, in which Sophie was using all of her grifting tricks to throw Nate.
"Uploading to website and spoofing views as we speak," Hardison commented to no one in particular when the final frame froze on the screens, a close up of Parker's smiling face.
"Good job, Hardison," Nate nodded to the hacker. "Sophie, I think it's time to pay a visit to our friend, Mr. Brushnikov."