The Past is Prologue Job, for broken_cinders
Title: The Past Is Prologue Job
Recipient: broken_cinders
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~7,150
Warnings: This is a crossover between Supernatural and Leverage set pre-series for both. Readers who are not familiar with Leverage will hopefully still be able to follow. Mild spoilers for Leverage 3.03 Inside Job. Minor off-screen OC deaths, show-level profanity and a tiny bit of angstiness.
Author’s Note: Amazing prompts, it was hard to choose! I hope this fits the bill.
Summary: “Cards on the table, Mr. Peace or whatever your name is. You’re no more an FBI agent than I am. This is your last chance to tell the truth. What are you here to steal?”
Bill Yates had been senior security guard at I.Y.S. insurance for a few years, and in that time he’d had a few bad days, but today so far had to take the cake. About two-thirds of the guards for the day shift had called in sick: bad stomach flu or maybe food poisoning from Harry’s chili, Bill didn’t know and didn’t really care. Then two of the healthy ones, Carlos and the new guard Finn, had collided like stooges. Carlos’ coffee had spilled all over both of them. Minor burns for both of them and of course today had to be the day Carlos had no spare uniform shirt. Damn it had to be Carlos, too; not only was he one of the most experienced on his crew, but Carlos had about 100 pounds on the next man so borrowing a shirt was a no go. He’d had no choice but to send them man home and dock him a half day. Now he was going to have to spend a good part of the day alone at the desk even once Finn got back from the locker room. Normally the guards worked in teams at all times: two on the desk, two on building patrols, two on lot patrols, two permanently stationed on the executive floor. Bill bit his lip, considering. He could call in some of the off duty guards for an extra shift but the tight wads upstairs would bitch about the OT. His boss had told him before he left on vacation that he trusted him to make the right decisions and to deal with any problems. Implied had been an opportunity for promotion if he showed he was ready to handle more responsibility. He’d make do.
So far no one had noticed security was lighter than normal. The lobby was as usual teeming with people coming and going, most of them employees who saw security guards as office décor much like the recessed lighting and the ficus plants. That was actually one of the things Bill liked best about his job: the freedom to indulge in watching the pretty girls without notice or being accused of harassment or that kind of feminist bull. Bill used his security override to wave in a pretty blonde teetering on her heels, a precarious stack of files threatening to spill as she’d tried to scan her badge, and won a brilliant smile for his troubles. ‘That’s right baby, I’m your hero.’ Just as the day was looking up, an official looking badge was being waved in front of his face.
“F.B.I. Special Agent John Peace. I’m here to speak to Nathan Ford.”
Bill scrambled for the guest list, blushing at being caught out like a rookie. Normally he was on top of any unusual visitors that were expected. Agent Peace’s name was listed on the printout; somehow he’d missed it completely. Maybe he was getting sick if an F.B.I. agent coming today had gotten by him. He made a show of looking at the man’s badge carefully, though it looked right enough to send more sweat rolling down his back. He should have eaten Harry’s chili yesterday when he’d had the chance.
“Y-yes, of course, Agent Peace. I’ll call his s-secretary down to escort you.”
The agent nodded curtly, backing away from the desk as Bill picked up the phone. As he advised Ford’s assistant of Peace’s arrival he noted the agent was looking around the lobby. Probably he was noting the inadequate security cameras and the fact that Bill was currently the only guard at the desk. Bill’s face flushed hot with embarrassment. Damn Harry anyway. And Carlos. And Finn, who apparently dressed at the speed of a turtle. Too many humiliating minutes passed by before the agent was collected and disappeared into the elevator. As Bill finally felt he could breathe again, his newest employee slid into the chair next to him with a grin.
“Sorry, boss. Did I miss anything?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Winchester fought the urge to pull at his collar as he waited in the uncomfortable office chair; instead he sat ramrod straight, calmly taking in the modern sleek décor and milling I.Y.S. workers with no hint of the discomfort he felt. He smirked as two workers collided and dropped files, watching them scrambling to unscramble them and right themselves, the female worker grabbing at the man’s suit jacket for purchase as she tottered back onto her heels. Once that floor show was over, he sighed, resigned again to waiting. He would never admit it to his sons...son...but he hated this part of hunting and usually found ways around getting into a suit, but if they had any hopes to succeed in this hunt every detail had to be attended to and no chances could be taken. Two men were already dead and John could only hope that this man would not be the third.
“Agent Peace? Mr. Ford is ready for you now.” The receptionist gave him a perfunctory smile as she led him to a fairly small office. As the man he was coming to see stood to greet him John gave it a quick once over: sparsely furnished with just a phone and computer, the only item of any sentimental value a framed family photo on the desk, not a formal portrait but a candid shot of a smiling blond woman holding a young boy. Something in the child’s expression captured John’s attention almost against his will. The eyes were darker, the dimples not as pronounced, but the boy in photograph looked so much like-
“Sam.”
“What?” Startled, John turned his attention to the man he’d come to see. Nothing in his research had indicated this man was psychic, but-
“The picture. My son. His name is Sam,” Ford elaborated. He picked up the photo and looked at it briefly himself, a small smile creasing his face before he cocked an eyebrow at John, his tone slightly mocking, “Unless you were staring at my wife. Her name is Maggie. Nathan Ford.” He replaced the photo, now facing fully towards himself, and held out his hand to John for a firm handshake.
“Yes. Of course. I’m Special Agent John Peace, Mr. Ford,” John offered. He was slightly out of sorts but he needed to shake it off quickly. He couldn’t lose himself in thoughts of his prodigal son. As he had told Dean time and again, they had no time for family drama when lives were at stake. “Thank you for making time to see me.”
“Anything for the F.B.I.,” Ford drawled, his gaze returning briefly to the picture of his family, his hand absently straightening it. “How exactly is it that I can help you?”
“We’re following up on a couple of suspicious deaths. One was a private detective from New Orleans named Charles Bolduc. I believe you knew him.” John slid a photograph onto the desk that the other man barely glanced at.
“Yes. I was sorry to hear about Charlie’s death, he was a good man. I understood from his family that it was a suicide.” John nodded vaguely at the implied question.
“The locals that investigated thought so. He appeared to have shot himself with one of his guns, he had quite a collection.” Nathan remembered how Charlie would go on about the different guns in his collection, even going so far as to giving some of his favorites names. He’d been a large, cheery sort of man, not the sort that seemed prone to melancholy like Nathan himself was.
“You don’t think so?” Rather than reply the hunter slid another photo on top of the first.
“Fred Piper, also deceased, worked as an insurance investigator for-“
“Sentinel Insurance. They’re a competitor of ours. I had no idea about Piper. How did he die?”
“Single car accident. Witnesses said he drove through a barricade at over 100 miles per hour. They also said he didn’t seem to be trying to stop. There wasn’t enough of the car, or Mr. Piper for that matter, to make a determination, so the police ruled it accidental.” Ford frowned, sitting back thoughtfully in his chair.
“I didn’t know him well, but one thing anyone who met Fred Piper knew about him was that he loved his car to the point of obsession. The man kept pictures of it in his wallet. If he even thought there was a scratch in the paint he would throw a tantrum. He might hurt himself, but hurt that car? That is surprising, ironic even maybe, but in this business one thing you know is unexpected things happen every day.” The insurance investigator shook his head with a sigh. “I’m sorry about their deaths and for their families, Agent, but I don’t understand how an accident and a suicide sparked a government inquiry.”
“The three of you were involved in the recovery of a number of stolen museum pieces that were found in Louisiana. The alleged thief, Margot Delauncet, made threats as I understand it.”
“She wasn’t exactly happy with us,” Ford said, smirking at his own understatement. Peace nodded, scribbling something in a notebook before looking up.
“You wouldn’t by any chance remember her exact words?” he asked with studied nonchalance. Unfortunately, Ford remembered exactly what Margot Delauncet had said, and was surprised by his growing unease.
“She said if we took it, we would get what was coming to us,” he answered gravely.
“Any idea what ‘it’ was that she was referring to?” John asked, glancing through his notes. He wasn’t actually writing down what Ford was saying, he had no need to. Instead he found he’d absently been writing a new training regimen for Sam, and resisted the urge to tear out the page.
“There were about twenty stolen paintings, all of which had been substantially insured. A few urns and statuettes. She could have been talking about anything, one of those things, something else. I assume you asked her.”
“I thought you knew. Margot Delauncet escaped from custody.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“No, no, no, no, dammit!” Bill couldn’t believe it. They’d been having trouble all week with the security tech, specifically the cameras. The company that maintained them had been called out twice - the second time with a hot young tech that Bill wouldn’t have minded if they sent again - but they hadn’t been able to isolate the problem and had of course recommended an upgrade of the entire system. That kind of cost wasn’t in the budget, and the cameras that had been futzing had never gone out for long and hadn’t been in any critical locations, like around the executive offices or the vault. Bill had decided that was a conversation his boss could have with the executives when he came back. “Finn, come in.”
Until now, because today wasn’t actually happening and he was having a chili-induced nightmare. Except he hadn’t had Harry’s chili. Crap.
“What’s up, boss?” Finn responded to his radio hail.
“Cameras just quit around the vault, where are you?”
“Right by the vault. I can stay right here until you call maintenance.”
“Do that.” Bill started running through the team he had left...Buster Daniels and Roy Tuohy were covering the lot patrols and he’d already made them split up, if he brought one of them in half the lot wouldn’t be covered...Sandy needed to stay on the executive floor, he didn’t want her messing anything up and the brass liked the look of the girl guard for some reason...Mick had to stay with her because if there weren’t two guards for the brass heads would definitely roll…hell, this was why he had Finn doing solo floor patrols in the first place.
Bill knew it could be worse. Finn was a new employee, but he wasn’t a kid - in fact security guard was his second career after he’d retired from the force. If any of his guys could handle himself alone up there, other than Bill himself or Carlos it was probably Finn.
“Green light looks like it’s back on, boss.” To his relief, the black screen suddenly flickered back to life and he saw Finn standing in front of the vault, head on a swivel like a veteran as he held the radio at his mouth.
“Yeah, I can see you now. Come on back, we’ll watch the vault from here.”
“Roger that, on my way.”
Bill sat back, relieved as he watched his guard vanish move between the different camera views. He hoped Finn got back in a hurry. He had to take a racehorse piss.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nathan ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. The FBI agent had waited patiently while he’d confirmed with the detective on the case in New Orleans that Margot had escaped. The man had given him an insincere apology and a glib explanation that they had lost his contact information as the excuse for not letting him know. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t believe himself to be in danger from Margot Delauncet. The woman had been a bit spooky, but barely made five feet in heels and was so thin a stiff wind would have blown her over. His irritation was more the principal of the thing and the placid questioning of the detective. Nathan hated that he still couldn’t get a read on what the man was really after.
“Mr Ford? Was there anything in the recovered items that was unusual or unexpected.”
“Yes. Yes, there was a box. Ceremonial, wooden, very old, and I’m not enough of an expert to make a guess at its cultural origin or provenance. The police photographed it for evidence and then handed it over to us, we’re planning to study it further to track down the owner.”
“Understood. This box, it was open or closed when you found it?”
“Closed,” Ford answered through clenched teeth, a tension headache beginning to make its way through his skull. For the first time in many years he found himself really wanting a drink.
“Did anyone open it?” John asked with a casualness that he was sure the other man knew he was faking.
“Yes, we opened it. Charlie opened it. But before you ask, there was nothing inside it.”
“You were there with Mr. Bolduc when he opened the box. Who else was present?” Silence ticked for long seconds as the two men again took each other’s measure, before Ford finally provided the answer that John had hoped he would.
“Only Fred Piper.” Ford frowned as something like relief flashed through the other man’s eyes.
“I don’t want to alarm you, Mr. Ford, but we believe that box wasn’t empty. We think it may have contained something, and that something was released when it was opened.”
“Something like what...like a disease, is that what you’re saying?” Ford demanded, his heart pounding. ‘Oh God, Maggie and Charlie!’
“No, this…contagion...it’s not transmittable from person to person contact. That’s why no one suspected that Bolduc and Piper’s deaths might have another cause,” John quickly reassured the man, having seen the rising panic and knowing the man feared for his friends and family.
“There are no physical symptoms, but it causes some kind of mental confusion that can lead to suicidal behavior.”
“I’m not suicidal, Agent, I assure you,” Ford asserted, his initial feelings of fear fading back into scepticism. John shrugged.
“Different people react at different rates. It was weeks before Bolduc killed himself, and a month later before Piper’s death. We don’t know why, but the most important thing is to get you help and to make sure no one else is exposed. The police told us the box was brought here?” At Ford’s silent nod, he continued. “This is very important, Mr. Ford, has anyone opened the box since that time? Anyone at all that you’re aware of?”
“We sealed the box and packed it for transport. Some university experts are supposed to examine it but I don’t think that’s happened yet, it wasn’t really a high priority.” Ford shook his head in disbelief. “You truly don’t think it’s a leap to go from two men committing suicide to assumed biological contamination?” The other man tucked his notebook into his jacket, ignoring the question.
“The most important thing is that we get the box to our experts as soon as possible so they can do a thorough analysis and we eliminate the risk and identify how you may have been impacted,” John said briskly, standing with a glance at his watch. “Where is it now?”
“In the vault.”
“And you can take me there, yes?” John continued impatiently. Nathan’s eyes narrowed. The sense of ‘something’s not right’ that had been with him since the agent first started his questioning was growing stronger by the moment.
“I can request that it be brought to my office,” Ford offered.
“No. No one else can be put at risk. Take me to the vault now.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey boss?” Finn called out slowly, eyes glued to the parking lot monitor. Bill looked over his shoulder as he pointed at the screen. They both saw a figure carefully popping the lock on a car in the employee lot. The car was partially in shadow and the crime could have easily been missed. Bill gave his man a pat on the back.
“Good eye, Finn,” Bill said, getting on his radio. “Daniels, Tuohy we have a B&E motor vehicle in Lot 2 Space 42. Approach with caution. Roy, wait for Buster to join you before approach, over.” Once he’d received acknowledgement from the two guards he pulled up the parking lot directory and let out an expletive.
“What is it?” Finn asked, still staring at the scene in the parking lot.
“That’s Nathan Ford’s car. Now I’ve got to go up and tell him we’ve had a security breach while he’s got the flippin’ FBI in his office. I need to report this, get the cops out here.”
“Already on it, boss,” Finn replied, phone in hand. Finn was using a personal cell phone, not the official line, but Bill couldn’t see where that made any difference. Hell, a call from one of their own would probably get them here faster. “They’re on their way.” Finn finally reported and Bill nodded. For too many tense minutes they could do nothing but watch helplessly as the man crawled around Nathan Ford’s car, Bill only praying he wasn’t doing too much damage. Finallythe two young guards appeared on the monitor and quickly cornered the would-be thief. One quickly aborted escape attempt and it was over. “They got him, boss!” Finn exclaimed unnecessarily, but Bill didn’t really mind the enthusiasm.
“Good. I hope to God he just got started, I don’t want to be explaining to the top brass how their Benz or BMW got damaged on property.” He noticed that Finn was sliding his chair down to another monitor, the one that showed the outside gate, and we rewinding the tape back to the morning. “Finn?”
“Sorry, the guy just looks familiar. I hope I’m wrong, but if I’m right he wasn’t alone.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“No,” Nathan said quietly but emphatically. The agent looked surprised, then annoyed.
“I don’t think you understand, Mr. Ford, that wasn’t a request. I’m a duly authorized representative of the government.”
“Who doesn’t have a warrant. Which you would need to get near our vault.”
“Mr. Ford, I’ve told you why this is important. Your own health-”
“If I called the CDC right now,” Ford interrupted, “would they put me in quarantine do you think?”
“No, that’s not necessary. I told you-”
“Then if I got in touch with a contact I have at the Pentagon, he would know all about this contagion of yours and would back up your story?”
Before John could answer, the phone on the desk buzzed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“There! I knew it!” Finn crowed, pausing the tape and pointing. “See, that’s the guy we caught, and there’s the other guy...”
“Bastard!” Bill swore, hurrying back to his phone. “Yeah, honey, this is Bill Yates in security again, I need to speak to Mr. Ford right away...right, Yates...Mr. Ford? Bill Yates downstairs in security. That Agent Peace that’s with you? He’s not who he says he is, he came here with someone who we just caught breaking into your car, and that thug was definitely no government agent. Cops are on their way and I’m coming up myself to get him, trust me we’ll get to the bottom of how he got past us in the first place...no, thank *you* Mr. Ford...” He hung up the phone and rubbed his hand over his face. This didn’t have to be a total disaster, sure there would be a review and mistakes had been made, but they had caught the creeps and no damage had been done.
Bill stood and picked up the spare radio from the desk, looking at Finn a bit uncertainly. He knew he should be worried about leaving an employee who hadn’t even been there a month essentially in charge, but he trusted Finn, the man had just saved his bacon. As if sensing his thoughts, Finn waved him off reassuringly.
“I got this covered, boss, you go get your man.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nathan hung up the phone and regarded John with an icy stare. His next words came as no surprise to the hunter.
“Cards on the table, Mr. Peace or whatever your name is. You’re no more an FBI agent than I am. This is your last chance to tell the truth. What are you here to steal?”
“You’re right. I’m not with the FBI, but I wasn’t lying about how dangerous that box is,” John pleaded. Ford didn’t know what to make of the gleam in his eyes. That kind of fervor wasn’t usually fake. “I know you won’t believe me, but please, just listen. Margot Delauncet wasn’t just an art thief. She was also a kind of witch. She cursed that box to hurt and opening that box unleashed a curse. From what I’ve been able to piece together it’s one that takes a material possession that’s important to you and perverts that emotion until it kills you. It killed Bolduc and Piper and it will kill you unless you help me stop it.” John’s eyes wandered to the photo on the desk and he added, “Think of your wife. Think of your son. Let me stop them from losing-” Ford held up his hand to interrupt, his eyes like flint.
“Stop talking. We caught your accomplice breaking into my vehicle. Security has him and the police have been called.” Alarm and concern flashed in the fake agent’s eyes before he hung his head in resignation. He reached into his pocket and Nathan stiffened, but instead of a gun, it was a strange little knotted bag that was tossed into his hands.
“It’s not...he was going to plant one of these in your car. It’s for protection, it won’t stop the curse but it can lessen the effects.” Nathan felt the urge to laugh at the absurdity of the entire situation but tamped it down as the security guard appeared at his door. Bill Yates looked furious but said nothing as Nathan gave the man his final dismissal.
“Enough. Whoever you are, whatever you want, you’re either lying or crazy and I no longer care which. The police have been called and Mr. Yates will take you to them. We’d rather not have the commotion but if you don’t cooperate we’ll have to let them take you out in handcuffs. I suggest you go quietly.”
John did not resist as Yates grabbed him by the arm none-too-gently, but he did have parting words as he watched Nathan sweep the gris gris bag into his office trash basket. He had done all he could to protect Ford from his fate, but John knew from experience once set in motion these things were sometimes impossible to stop.
“I tried to help. Please remember that.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bill Yates couldn’t help but preen a bit as he saw the heads of office drones look on in curiosity as he pulled Peace towards the elevator. The man was silent - not that Bill really wanted to hear what he had to say - but compliant enough as he was tugged along. After an uneasy elevator ride down, Bill glanced at the desk and was relieved to see that Carlos had returned and must have sent Finn on his long overdue break. He saw Carlos trying to get his attention but he knew it would keep until he got this con artist into police custody; knowing Carlos, he probably just wanted a chance to get back in Bill’s good graces. He’d hate the fact that Finn was the new favorite.
Outside the young would be car thief was jawing at Buster and Roy but immediately fell silent as his eyes fell on his partner. The two criminals exchanged silent looks that Bill couldn’t interpret and didn’t want to. He would never understand what low-life scum like that might be thinking.
“Cops are here,” Roy said unnecessarily as they all watched the car smoothly pull up to the curb a few feet away. Two police officers in aviator glasses emerged from the vehicle. Bill was surprised but not at all disappointed to see that one of them was a woman, a hot little redhead who filled out her uniform nicely. The chick cop came over to take their statements and seemed suitably impressed by their heroism. He appreciatively watched her walk back to the car and realized with a start that Peace and his partner were already cuffed and inside it. He was disappointed he’d been distracted from the whole Mirandizing and cuffing part, but it had been a fine distraction. As much of a disaster as the day had been, in the end he and his team had still managed to stop a con artist and a thief from damaging I.Y.S. Pride swelled in his check and he gave both the other guards pats on the back as he headed back inside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Did you get it?” John finally asked once the police car had been pulled up next to the Impala. Parker nodded as she pulled off the short red-haired wig, revealing a blonde ponytail. She turned in her seat to face the Winchesters.
“One creepy box, locked and loaded,” she grinned. “I got lots of stuff for us too. I never thought about robbing an insurance vault before. Not as much cash as a bank, but it was fun. We should do that again, Archie.”
“Perhaps. After Paris,” Archibald Leach conceded, smiling at his protégé’s enthusiasm as he stepped out of the car and opened the back door. “Now, perhaps you would like to get out of those handcuffs?” Both John and Dean pulled their hands out from behind their backs, handcuff hanging open from their left wrists, and the older thief shook his head. “Remarkable natural talent for this sort of thing, the both of you. Bobby Singer had told me, but he didn’t do you justice. Especially for the grift.”
As Dean and then John emerged from the car Leach freed them from their uncomfortable bracelets, tossing the handcuffs into the front seat when he was done. While the professional thief’s words had been inclusive, it hadn’t escaped John’s notice that his speculative gaze had been focused on his son. John gritted his teeth, imagining what Singer might have said that caused Leach to think he might entice Dean away from the hunt. Leach had been more than helpful but the bastard had another thing coming if he thought John Winchester was going to lose another son.
To John’s relief (and to Parker’s if anyone had taken notice) Dean just shook his head as he rubbed his wrist.
“You’re welcome to it, man. This was all a little too ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ for me. Give me a straightforward hunt any day.”
“And you’re welcome to that,” Leach replied amiably. They walked to the police car’s trunk and watched as Parker rummaged through a backpack and pulled out an intricately carved box. She handed it to John like it was a snake that was going to bite her.
“Your thing’s in here, just like you asked.”
“Thank you,” John said, resisting the urge to check. He added grudgingly to the thieves, “We would never have gotten it without your help...”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THREE WEEKS EARLIER:
“Who was that?” Dean asked, running his fingers through his still-damp hair. He watched as his father dropped his cell on the desk, jaw clenched in anger. He hadn’t heard his father yelling at someone like that since...well, it had been a few months.
“Singer,” John growled. “Talking out of his ass about stuff he knows nothing about as always.”
“Bobby? I didn’t know you two were speaking,” Dean ventured carefully. John sighed, releasing the annoyance that Singer’s comments had brought to the surface and that he didn’t want to take out on his loyal son.
“This hunt. The Delauncet box.” Dean nodded but said nothing. He had told his father early on that they were biting off more than they could chew with this hunt, and John had not taken the criticism well. John’s next words nearly had him dropping his towel. “You were right. We can’t take it on, just the two of us, we’ll just end up with our asses in jail.” The bitter implication was that if there were three of them things would be different, but that went unsaid.
“Right. So we’re not doing it?”
“We have to. It’s not just that one man’s life on the line. Joshua said that that curse will kill anyone who opens that box and anyone that’s in the room when it’s open,” John responded definitively. “We’ll just need help.”
“Joshua said no hunters would take this job, Dad,” Dean reminded his father with a frown. While Delauncet had been neutralized by hunters, the curse box wasn’t in police custody and instead was in the hands of the third victim, who’d locked it up in a company vault no hunter had the skill set to crack. John had naturally taken that as a personal challenge, which is why they were holed up outside Pasadena now. It was no revelation that his father was a stubborn bastard, but even Dean hadn’t thought he was stubborn enough to take them on a hunt in California right now. Neither of them would ever admit it but Dean knew his father was just as distracted by the fact that Sam was only half a day north.
“We don’t need more hunters. That’s why I sucked it up and called Bobby. If anyone knows a professional safecracker, it’s him.”
The elegant silver-haired man and young blonde who had showed up in Pasadena a day later were not what Dean had been expecting. As it turned out, planning a heist was nothing at all like planning a hunt, mainly because there was a lot more planning. Dean was restless and his father was largely remaining silent, but it wasn’t a good quiet. Archibald Leach was the best in the business according to Bobby, and his little trainee Parker was gorgeous but had seemed to be confused by Dean’s flirtations. For more than a week the three of them had been just sitting on their asses while Leach ‘laid the groundwork,’ whatever the hell that meant. Finally they were apparently ready to get on with whatever they were doing.
“I’ve already made certain that security tomorrow will be very light, that should minimize the chances we run into any surprises…”
“Thanks for feeding the crew like this, Harry, it smells fantastic!” the man currently known to the guards as Finn crowed. “Three cheers for Harry!” he called to the rest of the guards, sprinkling powder into the pot when no one was looking.
“You and John will arrive early and I’ll make sure you’re caught together on the cameras, trust me that will be important later. John will pretend to be an agent of the FBI and ask to speak to Ford. You commonly charm your way into police stations and the like, this should be no different, except that I will make sure you have an appointment…”
“F.B.I. Special Agent John Peace. I’m here to speak to Nathan Ford.”
Bill scrambled for the guest list, blushing at being caught out like a rookie. Normally he was on top of any unusual visitors that were expected. Agent Peace’s name was listed on the printout; somehow he’d missed it completely.
“Parker will find her own way in...”
Bill used his security override to wave in a pretty blonde teetering on her heels, a precarious stack of files threatening to spill as she’d tried to scan her badge, and won a brilliant smile for his troubles. Parker kept smiling as she entered the elevator with the rest of the employees.
“…and her own way around.”
John watched as Parker collided with a suited employee, her deft fingers plucking the security badge that would allow her full access to the vault floor from his lapel as she pretended to balance herself.
“What do I do when I get to Ford?” John asked quietly, and the older man shrugged.
“What you would normally do. Take your time, lay out your case and, now this is critical, insist you need to get the box from the vault.”
“I can request that it be brought to my office,” Ford offered.
“No. No one else can be put at risk. Take me to the vault now.”
“Umm...if they’ll just let us walk into the vault, no offense but what do we need you for?” Dean blurted out. Leach and Parker both burst out laughing.
“Oh, Ford will never let you into the vault. In fact, nothing could raise his suspicions faster, that’s why you’re going to do it. In the meantime, my two weeks of messing with the security system will help me provide cover for Parker to breach the vault.”
Leach used the remote device to turn off the cameras around the vault, motioning Parker on as soon as he was sure. The young blonde had changed into more appropriate black, a mask pulled over her head so only her eyes were visible. She began plugging a cracker into the tumblers as Leach’s radio crackled.
“Finn, come in,” came Bill Yates’ voice. He winked at Parker before answering in his eager security grunt persona.
“What’s up, boss?”
“Cameras just quit around the vault, where are you?”
“Right by the vault,” Leach answered truthfully. “I can stay right here until you call maintenance.” He checked his watch and whispered to Parker, “ Okay, kiddo, meet you in 30. Don’t forget, you do not open or even touch the package. Use the tongs, get in the container, then have your fun.”
“Don’t be a nag, Archie. ‘Don’t open the spooky box, that’s what it wants.’ I was listening the other fifty times the older hot guy said it, too.” Before he could say anything else she’d cracked the door and slipped inside.
“Think of it this way, Dean. Parker and I are like the magicians, and you and your father are the prestige. You’re the pretty girl that walks around the stage and grabs all the attention so no one is watching the actual trick. At an appointed time, you will break into Ford’s car and we will catch you, thus distracting more guards and letting me ‘discover’ the tape that links the two of you together. Trust me, the man thinks he’s Sherlock Holmes; he’ll make all the leaps from there himself.”
”That Agent Peace that’s with you? He’s not who he says he is, he came here with someone who we just caught breaking into your car, and that thug was definitely no government agent. Cops are on their way and I’m coming up myself to get him...”
“I got this covered, boss, you go get your man,” Leach reassured. As the guard disappeared into the elevator, he shut off the remaining cameras and alarms, pulled the wires from the radio, then strode out the side entrance.
“Just so you know, I look terrible in fishnets,” Dean groused, but nodded.
“Fishnets won’t be necessary, just your usual charm with people abusing their authority,” Leach answered, and Dean raised an eyebrow at his father. He wondered just how well Bobby knew this man that he’d talked about them that much. Before he could say anything Leach went on, “You and your father just need to keep their attention in the parking lot and on the front of the building. They’ll be so busy keeping you away from the vault that they won’t know Parker was ever there.”
Leach waited as Parker rappelled with a war whoop down the building. He hadn’t been able to train that childlike joy out of her, and he wasn’t really sure he cared to. He slung the backpack filled with treasure and the Winchester’s box over his shoulders as she made quick work of her gear. He whispered a quick word of praise, getting a smile in return and in short order the pair was running. A quick change into new disguises at the stashed police car and they were almost done.
“You don’t think that these security guards you’ve been working with will recognize you when you ‘arrest’ us?”
“No,” Parker said definitively.
“Trust me, they’ll hardly notice me.”
“I probably shouldn’t say this, but I don’t know if I could ever be that brave,” Parker gushed, pulling on a lock of fake red hair as the sleazy guard stared at her breasts. She wished punching him had been part of the plan, but Archie had promised that he would get what was coming to him, and Archie always kept his promises. The other two guards were following their bosses’ lead. None of them even spared Leach a glance as he went through the motions of ‘arresting’ the Winchesters. As she walked back to the car, she promised herself a long hot shower when the job was done. Maybe two showers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOW:
“You’re welcome, Mr. Winchester. We’ve been more than adequately compensated with the lovely trinkets that Parker managed to liberate. I wish you luck with your hunting, I imagine we won’t cross paths again.”
A round of handshakes later and Parker and Leach climbed into a nondescript white sedan with rental plates. Not the car he would have expected a pair of successful thieves to be driving, but then maybe that was why they were successful. Parker leaned out the window waving as they drove away, and the Winchesters shared a smile at her enthusiasm.
“We need to get going, by now they know,” John said and Dean laughed.
“Wish I could see the look on that guard’s face.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I don’t believe it. Where the hell is Finn? His ass is so fired!” Yates fumed.
“He’s gone, Bill. I had a bad feeling about that guy,” Carlos declared. “I told you that day one.”
“I know.”
“He shut off the cameras.”
“I know.”
“And the alarms.”
“Dammit, I know! I had the radio, why didn’t you call me?”
“I did, boss, it’s the first thing I did! You didn’t answer, none of you guys did.” Yates came over and checked the radio, eventually picking it up and seeing all the pulled wire.
“Boss, you there?” called Daniels on the spare handset that Yates had picked up earlier. “We’re at the vault, it’s been opened and there’s definitely things missing. We need to call the cops again.”
Bill just sat in stunned disbelief, Carlos giving him a tentative pat on the shoulder before radioing back.
“I’m calling the cops, Buster. You and Roy stay there and I’ll call Sandy to let the guys upstairs know we’ve been breached.”
“Sure, Carlos. What happened to Bill?”
“Bill...isn’t feeling well.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So, about Ford,” Dean began once they’d put a few hours between them and Los Angeles. They’d left his dad’s truck behind when they’d started this hunt. As much as Dean missed driving the Impala, it was better with them together than when his father left him to hunt alone. “Is he gonna be alright?’
“I don’t know, son,” John answered after a long pause. “He touched the gris gris bag, that should keep the curse from killing him according to Joshua. He thinks the curse will still do something though.”
“His obsession? Any idea what it might be?”
“No,” John sighed. “He was a hard man to read. Too smart for his own good, never lets on what he’s thinking, you know the type.” Both men briefly fell into silence at that. They both knew the type all too well.
“You did your best, dad. More than any other hunter would,” Dean reassured his father. John nodded but didn’t really agree, not in his heart. Maybe he had done his best, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough to keep his family safe and together. It wasn’t enough to protect Ford from whatever was to come.
John dismissed his maudlin thoughts. Dean needed a father who was strong and sure, not one plagued with self-doubt. Mary needed a husband who could bring her killer to justice. Whatever Sam needed, he apparently lacked, but he still loved his son whether he needed that or not.
Whatever Ford needed, John could only hope he could get it from someone else.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I tried to help. Please remember that.”
Ford had watched until the police car had disappeared from view. Peace had seemed sincere, had seemed sane, but clearly had not been one of those things. Even if that impossible story had been true and Charlie and Piper had been cursed into their ironic deaths, Nathan knew such a thing would never happen to him. All these years of dealing with greed, larceny, forgery, defacement, had taught him never to hold material possessions too close to his heart. They were all too easily lost, and Ford was too smart a man to set himself up for such a fall.
With one more glance at the photograph on his desk, he let his assistant know he was calling it a day. By the time he was in his car driving home, all thoughts of Peace and his outlandish theories had been banished by his anticipation of seeing and spending time with this family. He couldn’t wait to hear what they’d been up to during his bizarre day, to hear Sam’s giggles and tales of school and friends. His heart swelled at the thought. He loved Maggie of course, but his son, his Sam...
He loved Sam so much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE END
Recipient: broken_cinders
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~7,150
Warnings: This is a crossover between Supernatural and Leverage set pre-series for both. Readers who are not familiar with Leverage will hopefully still be able to follow. Mild spoilers for Leverage 3.03 Inside Job. Minor off-screen OC deaths, show-level profanity and a tiny bit of angstiness.
Author’s Note: Amazing prompts, it was hard to choose! I hope this fits the bill.
Summary: “Cards on the table, Mr. Peace or whatever your name is. You’re no more an FBI agent than I am. This is your last chance to tell the truth. What are you here to steal?”
Bill Yates had been senior security guard at I.Y.S. insurance for a few years, and in that time he’d had a few bad days, but today so far had to take the cake. About two-thirds of the guards for the day shift had called in sick: bad stomach flu or maybe food poisoning from Harry’s chili, Bill didn’t know and didn’t really care. Then two of the healthy ones, Carlos and the new guard Finn, had collided like stooges. Carlos’ coffee had spilled all over both of them. Minor burns for both of them and of course today had to be the day Carlos had no spare uniform shirt. Damn it had to be Carlos, too; not only was he one of the most experienced on his crew, but Carlos had about 100 pounds on the next man so borrowing a shirt was a no go. He’d had no choice but to send them man home and dock him a half day. Now he was going to have to spend a good part of the day alone at the desk even once Finn got back from the locker room. Normally the guards worked in teams at all times: two on the desk, two on building patrols, two on lot patrols, two permanently stationed on the executive floor. Bill bit his lip, considering. He could call in some of the off duty guards for an extra shift but the tight wads upstairs would bitch about the OT. His boss had told him before he left on vacation that he trusted him to make the right decisions and to deal with any problems. Implied had been an opportunity for promotion if he showed he was ready to handle more responsibility. He’d make do.
So far no one had noticed security was lighter than normal. The lobby was as usual teeming with people coming and going, most of them employees who saw security guards as office décor much like the recessed lighting and the ficus plants. That was actually one of the things Bill liked best about his job: the freedom to indulge in watching the pretty girls without notice or being accused of harassment or that kind of feminist bull. Bill used his security override to wave in a pretty blonde teetering on her heels, a precarious stack of files threatening to spill as she’d tried to scan her badge, and won a brilliant smile for his troubles. ‘That’s right baby, I’m your hero.’ Just as the day was looking up, an official looking badge was being waved in front of his face.
“F.B.I. Special Agent John Peace. I’m here to speak to Nathan Ford.”
Bill scrambled for the guest list, blushing at being caught out like a rookie. Normally he was on top of any unusual visitors that were expected. Agent Peace’s name was listed on the printout; somehow he’d missed it completely. Maybe he was getting sick if an F.B.I. agent coming today had gotten by him. He made a show of looking at the man’s badge carefully, though it looked right enough to send more sweat rolling down his back. He should have eaten Harry’s chili yesterday when he’d had the chance.
“Y-yes, of course, Agent Peace. I’ll call his s-secretary down to escort you.”
The agent nodded curtly, backing away from the desk as Bill picked up the phone. As he advised Ford’s assistant of Peace’s arrival he noted the agent was looking around the lobby. Probably he was noting the inadequate security cameras and the fact that Bill was currently the only guard at the desk. Bill’s face flushed hot with embarrassment. Damn Harry anyway. And Carlos. And Finn, who apparently dressed at the speed of a turtle. Too many humiliating minutes passed by before the agent was collected and disappeared into the elevator. As Bill finally felt he could breathe again, his newest employee slid into the chair next to him with a grin.
“Sorry, boss. Did I miss anything?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Winchester fought the urge to pull at his collar as he waited in the uncomfortable office chair; instead he sat ramrod straight, calmly taking in the modern sleek décor and milling I.Y.S. workers with no hint of the discomfort he felt. He smirked as two workers collided and dropped files, watching them scrambling to unscramble them and right themselves, the female worker grabbing at the man’s suit jacket for purchase as she tottered back onto her heels. Once that floor show was over, he sighed, resigned again to waiting. He would never admit it to his sons...son...but he hated this part of hunting and usually found ways around getting into a suit, but if they had any hopes to succeed in this hunt every detail had to be attended to and no chances could be taken. Two men were already dead and John could only hope that this man would not be the third.
“Agent Peace? Mr. Ford is ready for you now.” The receptionist gave him a perfunctory smile as she led him to a fairly small office. As the man he was coming to see stood to greet him John gave it a quick once over: sparsely furnished with just a phone and computer, the only item of any sentimental value a framed family photo on the desk, not a formal portrait but a candid shot of a smiling blond woman holding a young boy. Something in the child’s expression captured John’s attention almost against his will. The eyes were darker, the dimples not as pronounced, but the boy in photograph looked so much like-
“Sam.”
“What?” Startled, John turned his attention to the man he’d come to see. Nothing in his research had indicated this man was psychic, but-
“The picture. My son. His name is Sam,” Ford elaborated. He picked up the photo and looked at it briefly himself, a small smile creasing his face before he cocked an eyebrow at John, his tone slightly mocking, “Unless you were staring at my wife. Her name is Maggie. Nathan Ford.” He replaced the photo, now facing fully towards himself, and held out his hand to John for a firm handshake.
“Yes. Of course. I’m Special Agent John Peace, Mr. Ford,” John offered. He was slightly out of sorts but he needed to shake it off quickly. He couldn’t lose himself in thoughts of his prodigal son. As he had told Dean time and again, they had no time for family drama when lives were at stake. “Thank you for making time to see me.”
“Anything for the F.B.I.,” Ford drawled, his gaze returning briefly to the picture of his family, his hand absently straightening it. “How exactly is it that I can help you?”
“We’re following up on a couple of suspicious deaths. One was a private detective from New Orleans named Charles Bolduc. I believe you knew him.” John slid a photograph onto the desk that the other man barely glanced at.
“Yes. I was sorry to hear about Charlie’s death, he was a good man. I understood from his family that it was a suicide.” John nodded vaguely at the implied question.
“The locals that investigated thought so. He appeared to have shot himself with one of his guns, he had quite a collection.” Nathan remembered how Charlie would go on about the different guns in his collection, even going so far as to giving some of his favorites names. He’d been a large, cheery sort of man, not the sort that seemed prone to melancholy like Nathan himself was.
“You don’t think so?” Rather than reply the hunter slid another photo on top of the first.
“Fred Piper, also deceased, worked as an insurance investigator for-“
“Sentinel Insurance. They’re a competitor of ours. I had no idea about Piper. How did he die?”
“Single car accident. Witnesses said he drove through a barricade at over 100 miles per hour. They also said he didn’t seem to be trying to stop. There wasn’t enough of the car, or Mr. Piper for that matter, to make a determination, so the police ruled it accidental.” Ford frowned, sitting back thoughtfully in his chair.
“I didn’t know him well, but one thing anyone who met Fred Piper knew about him was that he loved his car to the point of obsession. The man kept pictures of it in his wallet. If he even thought there was a scratch in the paint he would throw a tantrum. He might hurt himself, but hurt that car? That is surprising, ironic even maybe, but in this business one thing you know is unexpected things happen every day.” The insurance investigator shook his head with a sigh. “I’m sorry about their deaths and for their families, Agent, but I don’t understand how an accident and a suicide sparked a government inquiry.”
“The three of you were involved in the recovery of a number of stolen museum pieces that were found in Louisiana. The alleged thief, Margot Delauncet, made threats as I understand it.”
“She wasn’t exactly happy with us,” Ford said, smirking at his own understatement. Peace nodded, scribbling something in a notebook before looking up.
“You wouldn’t by any chance remember her exact words?” he asked with studied nonchalance. Unfortunately, Ford remembered exactly what Margot Delauncet had said, and was surprised by his growing unease.
“She said if we took it, we would get what was coming to us,” he answered gravely.
“Any idea what ‘it’ was that she was referring to?” John asked, glancing through his notes. He wasn’t actually writing down what Ford was saying, he had no need to. Instead he found he’d absently been writing a new training regimen for Sam, and resisted the urge to tear out the page.
“There were about twenty stolen paintings, all of which had been substantially insured. A few urns and statuettes. She could have been talking about anything, one of those things, something else. I assume you asked her.”
“I thought you knew. Margot Delauncet escaped from custody.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“No, no, no, no, dammit!” Bill couldn’t believe it. They’d been having trouble all week with the security tech, specifically the cameras. The company that maintained them had been called out twice - the second time with a hot young tech that Bill wouldn’t have minded if they sent again - but they hadn’t been able to isolate the problem and had of course recommended an upgrade of the entire system. That kind of cost wasn’t in the budget, and the cameras that had been futzing had never gone out for long and hadn’t been in any critical locations, like around the executive offices or the vault. Bill had decided that was a conversation his boss could have with the executives when he came back. “Finn, come in.”
Until now, because today wasn’t actually happening and he was having a chili-induced nightmare. Except he hadn’t had Harry’s chili. Crap.
“What’s up, boss?” Finn responded to his radio hail.
“Cameras just quit around the vault, where are you?”
“Right by the vault. I can stay right here until you call maintenance.”
“Do that.” Bill started running through the team he had left...Buster Daniels and Roy Tuohy were covering the lot patrols and he’d already made them split up, if he brought one of them in half the lot wouldn’t be covered...Sandy needed to stay on the executive floor, he didn’t want her messing anything up and the brass liked the look of the girl guard for some reason...Mick had to stay with her because if there weren’t two guards for the brass heads would definitely roll…hell, this was why he had Finn doing solo floor patrols in the first place.
Bill knew it could be worse. Finn was a new employee, but he wasn’t a kid - in fact security guard was his second career after he’d retired from the force. If any of his guys could handle himself alone up there, other than Bill himself or Carlos it was probably Finn.
“Green light looks like it’s back on, boss.” To his relief, the black screen suddenly flickered back to life and he saw Finn standing in front of the vault, head on a swivel like a veteran as he held the radio at his mouth.
“Yeah, I can see you now. Come on back, we’ll watch the vault from here.”
“Roger that, on my way.”
Bill sat back, relieved as he watched his guard vanish move between the different camera views. He hoped Finn got back in a hurry. He had to take a racehorse piss.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nathan ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. The FBI agent had waited patiently while he’d confirmed with the detective on the case in New Orleans that Margot had escaped. The man had given him an insincere apology and a glib explanation that they had lost his contact information as the excuse for not letting him know. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t believe himself to be in danger from Margot Delauncet. The woman had been a bit spooky, but barely made five feet in heels and was so thin a stiff wind would have blown her over. His irritation was more the principal of the thing and the placid questioning of the detective. Nathan hated that he still couldn’t get a read on what the man was really after.
“Mr Ford? Was there anything in the recovered items that was unusual or unexpected.”
“Yes. Yes, there was a box. Ceremonial, wooden, very old, and I’m not enough of an expert to make a guess at its cultural origin or provenance. The police photographed it for evidence and then handed it over to us, we’re planning to study it further to track down the owner.”
“Understood. This box, it was open or closed when you found it?”
“Closed,” Ford answered through clenched teeth, a tension headache beginning to make its way through his skull. For the first time in many years he found himself really wanting a drink.
“Did anyone open it?” John asked with a casualness that he was sure the other man knew he was faking.
“Yes, we opened it. Charlie opened it. But before you ask, there was nothing inside it.”
“You were there with Mr. Bolduc when he opened the box. Who else was present?” Silence ticked for long seconds as the two men again took each other’s measure, before Ford finally provided the answer that John had hoped he would.
“Only Fred Piper.” Ford frowned as something like relief flashed through the other man’s eyes.
“I don’t want to alarm you, Mr. Ford, but we believe that box wasn’t empty. We think it may have contained something, and that something was released when it was opened.”
“Something like what...like a disease, is that what you’re saying?” Ford demanded, his heart pounding. ‘Oh God, Maggie and Charlie!’
“No, this…contagion...it’s not transmittable from person to person contact. That’s why no one suspected that Bolduc and Piper’s deaths might have another cause,” John quickly reassured the man, having seen the rising panic and knowing the man feared for his friends and family.
“There are no physical symptoms, but it causes some kind of mental confusion that can lead to suicidal behavior.”
“I’m not suicidal, Agent, I assure you,” Ford asserted, his initial feelings of fear fading back into scepticism. John shrugged.
“Different people react at different rates. It was weeks before Bolduc killed himself, and a month later before Piper’s death. We don’t know why, but the most important thing is to get you help and to make sure no one else is exposed. The police told us the box was brought here?” At Ford’s silent nod, he continued. “This is very important, Mr. Ford, has anyone opened the box since that time? Anyone at all that you’re aware of?”
“We sealed the box and packed it for transport. Some university experts are supposed to examine it but I don’t think that’s happened yet, it wasn’t really a high priority.” Ford shook his head in disbelief. “You truly don’t think it’s a leap to go from two men committing suicide to assumed biological contamination?” The other man tucked his notebook into his jacket, ignoring the question.
“The most important thing is that we get the box to our experts as soon as possible so they can do a thorough analysis and we eliminate the risk and identify how you may have been impacted,” John said briskly, standing with a glance at his watch. “Where is it now?”
“In the vault.”
“And you can take me there, yes?” John continued impatiently. Nathan’s eyes narrowed. The sense of ‘something’s not right’ that had been with him since the agent first started his questioning was growing stronger by the moment.
“I can request that it be brought to my office,” Ford offered.
“No. No one else can be put at risk. Take me to the vault now.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey boss?” Finn called out slowly, eyes glued to the parking lot monitor. Bill looked over his shoulder as he pointed at the screen. They both saw a figure carefully popping the lock on a car in the employee lot. The car was partially in shadow and the crime could have easily been missed. Bill gave his man a pat on the back.
“Good eye, Finn,” Bill said, getting on his radio. “Daniels, Tuohy we have a B&E motor vehicle in Lot 2 Space 42. Approach with caution. Roy, wait for Buster to join you before approach, over.” Once he’d received acknowledgement from the two guards he pulled up the parking lot directory and let out an expletive.
“What is it?” Finn asked, still staring at the scene in the parking lot.
“That’s Nathan Ford’s car. Now I’ve got to go up and tell him we’ve had a security breach while he’s got the flippin’ FBI in his office. I need to report this, get the cops out here.”
“Already on it, boss,” Finn replied, phone in hand. Finn was using a personal cell phone, not the official line, but Bill couldn’t see where that made any difference. Hell, a call from one of their own would probably get them here faster. “They’re on their way.” Finn finally reported and Bill nodded. For too many tense minutes they could do nothing but watch helplessly as the man crawled around Nathan Ford’s car, Bill only praying he wasn’t doing too much damage. Finallythe two young guards appeared on the monitor and quickly cornered the would-be thief. One quickly aborted escape attempt and it was over. “They got him, boss!” Finn exclaimed unnecessarily, but Bill didn’t really mind the enthusiasm.
“Good. I hope to God he just got started, I don’t want to be explaining to the top brass how their Benz or BMW got damaged on property.” He noticed that Finn was sliding his chair down to another monitor, the one that showed the outside gate, and we rewinding the tape back to the morning. “Finn?”
“Sorry, the guy just looks familiar. I hope I’m wrong, but if I’m right he wasn’t alone.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“No,” Nathan said quietly but emphatically. The agent looked surprised, then annoyed.
“I don’t think you understand, Mr. Ford, that wasn’t a request. I’m a duly authorized representative of the government.”
“Who doesn’t have a warrant. Which you would need to get near our vault.”
“Mr. Ford, I’ve told you why this is important. Your own health-”
“If I called the CDC right now,” Ford interrupted, “would they put me in quarantine do you think?”
“No, that’s not necessary. I told you-”
“Then if I got in touch with a contact I have at the Pentagon, he would know all about this contagion of yours and would back up your story?”
Before John could answer, the phone on the desk buzzed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“There! I knew it!” Finn crowed, pausing the tape and pointing. “See, that’s the guy we caught, and there’s the other guy...”
“Bastard!” Bill swore, hurrying back to his phone. “Yeah, honey, this is Bill Yates in security again, I need to speak to Mr. Ford right away...right, Yates...Mr. Ford? Bill Yates downstairs in security. That Agent Peace that’s with you? He’s not who he says he is, he came here with someone who we just caught breaking into your car, and that thug was definitely no government agent. Cops are on their way and I’m coming up myself to get him, trust me we’ll get to the bottom of how he got past us in the first place...no, thank *you* Mr. Ford...” He hung up the phone and rubbed his hand over his face. This didn’t have to be a total disaster, sure there would be a review and mistakes had been made, but they had caught the creeps and no damage had been done.
Bill stood and picked up the spare radio from the desk, looking at Finn a bit uncertainly. He knew he should be worried about leaving an employee who hadn’t even been there a month essentially in charge, but he trusted Finn, the man had just saved his bacon. As if sensing his thoughts, Finn waved him off reassuringly.
“I got this covered, boss, you go get your man.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nathan hung up the phone and regarded John with an icy stare. His next words came as no surprise to the hunter.
“Cards on the table, Mr. Peace or whatever your name is. You’re no more an FBI agent than I am. This is your last chance to tell the truth. What are you here to steal?”
“You’re right. I’m not with the FBI, but I wasn’t lying about how dangerous that box is,” John pleaded. Ford didn’t know what to make of the gleam in his eyes. That kind of fervor wasn’t usually fake. “I know you won’t believe me, but please, just listen. Margot Delauncet wasn’t just an art thief. She was also a kind of witch. She cursed that box to hurt and opening that box unleashed a curse. From what I’ve been able to piece together it’s one that takes a material possession that’s important to you and perverts that emotion until it kills you. It killed Bolduc and Piper and it will kill you unless you help me stop it.” John’s eyes wandered to the photo on the desk and he added, “Think of your wife. Think of your son. Let me stop them from losing-” Ford held up his hand to interrupt, his eyes like flint.
“Stop talking. We caught your accomplice breaking into my vehicle. Security has him and the police have been called.” Alarm and concern flashed in the fake agent’s eyes before he hung his head in resignation. He reached into his pocket and Nathan stiffened, but instead of a gun, it was a strange little knotted bag that was tossed into his hands.
“It’s not...he was going to plant one of these in your car. It’s for protection, it won’t stop the curse but it can lessen the effects.” Nathan felt the urge to laugh at the absurdity of the entire situation but tamped it down as the security guard appeared at his door. Bill Yates looked furious but said nothing as Nathan gave the man his final dismissal.
“Enough. Whoever you are, whatever you want, you’re either lying or crazy and I no longer care which. The police have been called and Mr. Yates will take you to them. We’d rather not have the commotion but if you don’t cooperate we’ll have to let them take you out in handcuffs. I suggest you go quietly.”
John did not resist as Yates grabbed him by the arm none-too-gently, but he did have parting words as he watched Nathan sweep the gris gris bag into his office trash basket. He had done all he could to protect Ford from his fate, but John knew from experience once set in motion these things were sometimes impossible to stop.
“I tried to help. Please remember that.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bill Yates couldn’t help but preen a bit as he saw the heads of office drones look on in curiosity as he pulled Peace towards the elevator. The man was silent - not that Bill really wanted to hear what he had to say - but compliant enough as he was tugged along. After an uneasy elevator ride down, Bill glanced at the desk and was relieved to see that Carlos had returned and must have sent Finn on his long overdue break. He saw Carlos trying to get his attention but he knew it would keep until he got this con artist into police custody; knowing Carlos, he probably just wanted a chance to get back in Bill’s good graces. He’d hate the fact that Finn was the new favorite.
Outside the young would be car thief was jawing at Buster and Roy but immediately fell silent as his eyes fell on his partner. The two criminals exchanged silent looks that Bill couldn’t interpret and didn’t want to. He would never understand what low-life scum like that might be thinking.
“Cops are here,” Roy said unnecessarily as they all watched the car smoothly pull up to the curb a few feet away. Two police officers in aviator glasses emerged from the vehicle. Bill was surprised but not at all disappointed to see that one of them was a woman, a hot little redhead who filled out her uniform nicely. The chick cop came over to take their statements and seemed suitably impressed by their heroism. He appreciatively watched her walk back to the car and realized with a start that Peace and his partner were already cuffed and inside it. He was disappointed he’d been distracted from the whole Mirandizing and cuffing part, but it had been a fine distraction. As much of a disaster as the day had been, in the end he and his team had still managed to stop a con artist and a thief from damaging I.Y.S. Pride swelled in his check and he gave both the other guards pats on the back as he headed back inside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Did you get it?” John finally asked once the police car had been pulled up next to the Impala. Parker nodded as she pulled off the short red-haired wig, revealing a blonde ponytail. She turned in her seat to face the Winchesters.
“One creepy box, locked and loaded,” she grinned. “I got lots of stuff for us too. I never thought about robbing an insurance vault before. Not as much cash as a bank, but it was fun. We should do that again, Archie.”
“Perhaps. After Paris,” Archibald Leach conceded, smiling at his protégé’s enthusiasm as he stepped out of the car and opened the back door. “Now, perhaps you would like to get out of those handcuffs?” Both John and Dean pulled their hands out from behind their backs, handcuff hanging open from their left wrists, and the older thief shook his head. “Remarkable natural talent for this sort of thing, the both of you. Bobby Singer had told me, but he didn’t do you justice. Especially for the grift.”
As Dean and then John emerged from the car Leach freed them from their uncomfortable bracelets, tossing the handcuffs into the front seat when he was done. While the professional thief’s words had been inclusive, it hadn’t escaped John’s notice that his speculative gaze had been focused on his son. John gritted his teeth, imagining what Singer might have said that caused Leach to think he might entice Dean away from the hunt. Leach had been more than helpful but the bastard had another thing coming if he thought John Winchester was going to lose another son.
To John’s relief (and to Parker’s if anyone had taken notice) Dean just shook his head as he rubbed his wrist.
“You’re welcome to it, man. This was all a little too ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ for me. Give me a straightforward hunt any day.”
“And you’re welcome to that,” Leach replied amiably. They walked to the police car’s trunk and watched as Parker rummaged through a backpack and pulled out an intricately carved box. She handed it to John like it was a snake that was going to bite her.
“Your thing’s in here, just like you asked.”
“Thank you,” John said, resisting the urge to check. He added grudgingly to the thieves, “We would never have gotten it without your help...”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THREE WEEKS EARLIER:
“Who was that?” Dean asked, running his fingers through his still-damp hair. He watched as his father dropped his cell on the desk, jaw clenched in anger. He hadn’t heard his father yelling at someone like that since...well, it had been a few months.
“Singer,” John growled. “Talking out of his ass about stuff he knows nothing about as always.”
“Bobby? I didn’t know you two were speaking,” Dean ventured carefully. John sighed, releasing the annoyance that Singer’s comments had brought to the surface and that he didn’t want to take out on his loyal son.
“This hunt. The Delauncet box.” Dean nodded but said nothing. He had told his father early on that they were biting off more than they could chew with this hunt, and John had not taken the criticism well. John’s next words nearly had him dropping his towel. “You were right. We can’t take it on, just the two of us, we’ll just end up with our asses in jail.” The bitter implication was that if there were three of them things would be different, but that went unsaid.
“Right. So we’re not doing it?”
“We have to. It’s not just that one man’s life on the line. Joshua said that that curse will kill anyone who opens that box and anyone that’s in the room when it’s open,” John responded definitively. “We’ll just need help.”
“Joshua said no hunters would take this job, Dad,” Dean reminded his father with a frown. While Delauncet had been neutralized by hunters, the curse box wasn’t in police custody and instead was in the hands of the third victim, who’d locked it up in a company vault no hunter had the skill set to crack. John had naturally taken that as a personal challenge, which is why they were holed up outside Pasadena now. It was no revelation that his father was a stubborn bastard, but even Dean hadn’t thought he was stubborn enough to take them on a hunt in California right now. Neither of them would ever admit it but Dean knew his father was just as distracted by the fact that Sam was only half a day north.
“We don’t need more hunters. That’s why I sucked it up and called Bobby. If anyone knows a professional safecracker, it’s him.”
The elegant silver-haired man and young blonde who had showed up in Pasadena a day later were not what Dean had been expecting. As it turned out, planning a heist was nothing at all like planning a hunt, mainly because there was a lot more planning. Dean was restless and his father was largely remaining silent, but it wasn’t a good quiet. Archibald Leach was the best in the business according to Bobby, and his little trainee Parker was gorgeous but had seemed to be confused by Dean’s flirtations. For more than a week the three of them had been just sitting on their asses while Leach ‘laid the groundwork,’ whatever the hell that meant. Finally they were apparently ready to get on with whatever they were doing.
“I’ve already made certain that security tomorrow will be very light, that should minimize the chances we run into any surprises…”
“Thanks for feeding the crew like this, Harry, it smells fantastic!” the man currently known to the guards as Finn crowed. “Three cheers for Harry!” he called to the rest of the guards, sprinkling powder into the pot when no one was looking.
“You and John will arrive early and I’ll make sure you’re caught together on the cameras, trust me that will be important later. John will pretend to be an agent of the FBI and ask to speak to Ford. You commonly charm your way into police stations and the like, this should be no different, except that I will make sure you have an appointment…”
“F.B.I. Special Agent John Peace. I’m here to speak to Nathan Ford.”
Bill scrambled for the guest list, blushing at being caught out like a rookie. Normally he was on top of any unusual visitors that were expected. Agent Peace’s name was listed on the printout; somehow he’d missed it completely.
“Parker will find her own way in...”
Bill used his security override to wave in a pretty blonde teetering on her heels, a precarious stack of files threatening to spill as she’d tried to scan her badge, and won a brilliant smile for his troubles. Parker kept smiling as she entered the elevator with the rest of the employees.
“…and her own way around.”
John watched as Parker collided with a suited employee, her deft fingers plucking the security badge that would allow her full access to the vault floor from his lapel as she pretended to balance herself.
“What do I do when I get to Ford?” John asked quietly, and the older man shrugged.
“What you would normally do. Take your time, lay out your case and, now this is critical, insist you need to get the box from the vault.”
“I can request that it be brought to my office,” Ford offered.
“No. No one else can be put at risk. Take me to the vault now.”
“Umm...if they’ll just let us walk into the vault, no offense but what do we need you for?” Dean blurted out. Leach and Parker both burst out laughing.
“Oh, Ford will never let you into the vault. In fact, nothing could raise his suspicions faster, that’s why you’re going to do it. In the meantime, my two weeks of messing with the security system will help me provide cover for Parker to breach the vault.”
Leach used the remote device to turn off the cameras around the vault, motioning Parker on as soon as he was sure. The young blonde had changed into more appropriate black, a mask pulled over her head so only her eyes were visible. She began plugging a cracker into the tumblers as Leach’s radio crackled.
“Finn, come in,” came Bill Yates’ voice. He winked at Parker before answering in his eager security grunt persona.
“What’s up, boss?”
“Cameras just quit around the vault, where are you?”
“Right by the vault,” Leach answered truthfully. “I can stay right here until you call maintenance.” He checked his watch and whispered to Parker, “ Okay, kiddo, meet you in 30. Don’t forget, you do not open or even touch the package. Use the tongs, get in the container, then have your fun.”
“Don’t be a nag, Archie. ‘Don’t open the spooky box, that’s what it wants.’ I was listening the other fifty times the older hot guy said it, too.” Before he could say anything else she’d cracked the door and slipped inside.
“Think of it this way, Dean. Parker and I are like the magicians, and you and your father are the prestige. You’re the pretty girl that walks around the stage and grabs all the attention so no one is watching the actual trick. At an appointed time, you will break into Ford’s car and we will catch you, thus distracting more guards and letting me ‘discover’ the tape that links the two of you together. Trust me, the man thinks he’s Sherlock Holmes; he’ll make all the leaps from there himself.”
”That Agent Peace that’s with you? He’s not who he says he is, he came here with someone who we just caught breaking into your car, and that thug was definitely no government agent. Cops are on their way and I’m coming up myself to get him...”
“I got this covered, boss, you go get your man,” Leach reassured. As the guard disappeared into the elevator, he shut off the remaining cameras and alarms, pulled the wires from the radio, then strode out the side entrance.
“Just so you know, I look terrible in fishnets,” Dean groused, but nodded.
“Fishnets won’t be necessary, just your usual charm with people abusing their authority,” Leach answered, and Dean raised an eyebrow at his father. He wondered just how well Bobby knew this man that he’d talked about them that much. Before he could say anything Leach went on, “You and your father just need to keep their attention in the parking lot and on the front of the building. They’ll be so busy keeping you away from the vault that they won’t know Parker was ever there.”
Leach waited as Parker rappelled with a war whoop down the building. He hadn’t been able to train that childlike joy out of her, and he wasn’t really sure he cared to. He slung the backpack filled with treasure and the Winchester’s box over his shoulders as she made quick work of her gear. He whispered a quick word of praise, getting a smile in return and in short order the pair was running. A quick change into new disguises at the stashed police car and they were almost done.
“You don’t think that these security guards you’ve been working with will recognize you when you ‘arrest’ us?”
“No,” Parker said definitively.
“Trust me, they’ll hardly notice me.”
“I probably shouldn’t say this, but I don’t know if I could ever be that brave,” Parker gushed, pulling on a lock of fake red hair as the sleazy guard stared at her breasts. She wished punching him had been part of the plan, but Archie had promised that he would get what was coming to him, and Archie always kept his promises. The other two guards were following their bosses’ lead. None of them even spared Leach a glance as he went through the motions of ‘arresting’ the Winchesters. As she walked back to the car, she promised herself a long hot shower when the job was done. Maybe two showers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOW:
“You’re welcome, Mr. Winchester. We’ve been more than adequately compensated with the lovely trinkets that Parker managed to liberate. I wish you luck with your hunting, I imagine we won’t cross paths again.”
A round of handshakes later and Parker and Leach climbed into a nondescript white sedan with rental plates. Not the car he would have expected a pair of successful thieves to be driving, but then maybe that was why they were successful. Parker leaned out the window waving as they drove away, and the Winchesters shared a smile at her enthusiasm.
“We need to get going, by now they know,” John said and Dean laughed.
“Wish I could see the look on that guard’s face.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I don’t believe it. Where the hell is Finn? His ass is so fired!” Yates fumed.
“He’s gone, Bill. I had a bad feeling about that guy,” Carlos declared. “I told you that day one.”
“I know.”
“He shut off the cameras.”
“I know.”
“And the alarms.”
“Dammit, I know! I had the radio, why didn’t you call me?”
“I did, boss, it’s the first thing I did! You didn’t answer, none of you guys did.” Yates came over and checked the radio, eventually picking it up and seeing all the pulled wire.
“Boss, you there?” called Daniels on the spare handset that Yates had picked up earlier. “We’re at the vault, it’s been opened and there’s definitely things missing. We need to call the cops again.”
Bill just sat in stunned disbelief, Carlos giving him a tentative pat on the shoulder before radioing back.
“I’m calling the cops, Buster. You and Roy stay there and I’ll call Sandy to let the guys upstairs know we’ve been breached.”
“Sure, Carlos. What happened to Bill?”
“Bill...isn’t feeling well.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So, about Ford,” Dean began once they’d put a few hours between them and Los Angeles. They’d left his dad’s truck behind when they’d started this hunt. As much as Dean missed driving the Impala, it was better with them together than when his father left him to hunt alone. “Is he gonna be alright?’
“I don’t know, son,” John answered after a long pause. “He touched the gris gris bag, that should keep the curse from killing him according to Joshua. He thinks the curse will still do something though.”
“His obsession? Any idea what it might be?”
“No,” John sighed. “He was a hard man to read. Too smart for his own good, never lets on what he’s thinking, you know the type.” Both men briefly fell into silence at that. They both knew the type all too well.
“You did your best, dad. More than any other hunter would,” Dean reassured his father. John nodded but didn’t really agree, not in his heart. Maybe he had done his best, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough to keep his family safe and together. It wasn’t enough to protect Ford from whatever was to come.
John dismissed his maudlin thoughts. Dean needed a father who was strong and sure, not one plagued with self-doubt. Mary needed a husband who could bring her killer to justice. Whatever Sam needed, he apparently lacked, but he still loved his son whether he needed that or not.
Whatever Ford needed, John could only hope he could get it from someone else.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I tried to help. Please remember that.”
Ford had watched until the police car had disappeared from view. Peace had seemed sincere, had seemed sane, but clearly had not been one of those things. Even if that impossible story had been true and Charlie and Piper had been cursed into their ironic deaths, Nathan knew such a thing would never happen to him. All these years of dealing with greed, larceny, forgery, defacement, had taught him never to hold material possessions too close to his heart. They were all too easily lost, and Ford was too smart a man to set himself up for such a fall.
With one more glance at the photograph on his desk, he let his assistant know he was calling it a day. By the time he was in his car driving home, all thoughts of Peace and his outlandish theories had been banished by his anticipation of seeing and spending time with this family. He couldn’t wait to hear what they’d been up to during his bizarre day, to hear Sam’s giggles and tales of school and friends. His heart swelled at the thought. He loved Maggie of course, but his son, his Sam...
He loved Sam so much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE END