#leverage ficlets

She takes him to her tertiaryhiding place in the city, which is in the basement of a nursing home. (Anelderly man saw her once as she was getting down the elevator shaft and thedoors closed a little late, but the nurse told him that it was just his medicationso it worked out fine.)

(She doesn’t take the elevatorshaft this time, but only because the guy crosses his arms and says no underhis breath continuously for six and a half minutes.)

The first thing she does is send amessage to her client that the item she requested is there. Parker doesn’t reallyunderstand the appeal of art, but the client seems to like it enough to payhighly for it, and Parker really understands the appeal of money. Thenshe sends the location to her getaway driver. Usually she works alone, but thecar thing is convenient, and this was just supposed to be a daytrip, an odd job on her day off.

When she turns around, the guy isturning in a circle, looking around the cavernous cement basement. He wrinkleshis nose. “Can still smell the old folks down here.”

She nods in agreement; it’s one ofthe reasons she has two places she’d rather go. He sits down in one of the oldoffice chairs they store down here. “So, uh, what’s your name?”

“Why?” She eyes him piercingly. Itoccurs to her for the first time that he might have been a plant, meant to leadthe security team here. From what she overheard while in the ductwork, the headof security is actually pretty smart.

“So I know what to call you?”

“Why?”

“Gotta know what to yell if a birdcomes in here and goes to fly at you.”

She blinks. “Birds can’t get downhere. I could barely get you down here and you’re probably smarter.”

In her experience, it’s the kind ofremark that makes people glare or look at her strangely, but he just grins. “Thanks.Thanks for that. I think I probably am too.” He sits back in the chair,squiggling it a little from side to side. “I’m Hardison. Or Alec. But,” heclears his throat and his voice drops as he says, “most people call meHardison.” She isn’t sure why his voice changed. Maybe he has a cold.

She looks around for a minutebefore offering quickly, “Parker.” She peers at him, trying to see if the nameis familiar, but it doesn’t seem to be.

“Parker. Cool.” He watches her asshe hoists herself onto the ledge of the basement window. “So, why the wholecrime business?” His fingers jolt in a little flashing motion to underline thewords. She kind of likes it.

“Well, I’m the best at it.”

“The best.”

She nods. “In the world.” Shethinks about stopping there, but he’s been really cooperative so far, and sincethis is the first time she’s ever done something like this, that’s been nice,so she adds, “For a while it was probably Archie, the guy who taught me when I wasa kid, and he does have some nifty canes, but he can’t do a backflip. Can’t do abackbend. Can’t do a back walkover.” She holds up a finger as punctuation,giving him a significant look. “Not even one.”

“Hey, man, respect the skills ofothers. Maybe I can’t do any of that either, but I laugh in the face of theblue screen of death.” He is still holding his computer case securely in hislap. “I was actually going to do that whole dark side bit. Had a hacker nameand everything. But then my nana found out and she said she wanted my collegediploma hanging in her living room and that she didn’t let thieves have Sundaydinner at her place, and since I’m all about the pot roast, now I do the whitehat kind- you know, testing to make sure I’m the only one who can get into mysystems.”

There’s an almost-smile on his facethat Parker recognizes from trying to play normal, but she doesn’t have time toask about it because her phone buzzes and she opens to window behind her,signaling Hardison to follow.

Ten minutes later, after they’vegotten him out through the tiny casement using a combination of threats (hers),wriggling, and muffled moans (his), they head toward the alley where she’smeeting her getaway driver. The car is waiting, but even the engine soundscrabby, and as soon as she opens the door, the driver growls out, “You got me atail, Parker,” and the sirens in the distance take on more significance.

She has the driving skills, and she’sseen him fight his way past worse than the Witchita PD, but it’s still not a greatsituation.

“I’ll throw them off,” saysHardison from behind her.

“What?”

“You get out of here. I’ll stay.”He throws her a smile. “Tall, dark, and distraction.”

“Why?”

“Whatever it is you stole, you hurtanyone in there?”

She doesn’t even answer; her face tellshim clearly enough how very amateur that would be. He nods and shrugs. “Couldhave hurt me and you didn’t. Or maybe that Stockholm’s kicking in.”

Parker looks at him for another tenseconds, and is already moving toward the car as the driver says, “Let’s go,Parker.”

He guns it before she’s sitting,which makes her smile. She sticks her head out the window, hollering “Thanks,Hardison!” over the engine as they speed away. She can barely see him in thealley.

Alec looks for her for the next sixmonths. He thinks he’s caught a glimpse of her once, at the edge of some 3 AMsecurity camera footage from a gallery in Brussels, but even when he slows itdown frame by frame, he can’t be sure whether it’s wishful thinking or actuallythe woman who gave him the weirdest, wildest day of his life.

Two hours before he has to be upfor work on a Wednesday, there’s a knock on his door.

“I heard you were looking for me,”Parker says, a set of lockpicks unused in her hand. He smiles at thatpoliteness. “So I was just thinking…how strict is your nana about her Sundaydinner rule?”