Leverage Presents: Christmas for Thieves

Christmas for Thieves

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS , and all through the house, Alec Hardison was yelling, "Elliot cut that out!" The two men were going at it, once again, and unfortunately it was only, half past ten.

Eliot Spencer wanted to watch the basketball game, nothing new. Hardison wanted to play video games, nothing new. So they played their game of tug-a-war for the screen while the apartment room slowly became accustomed to their screams.

"Lea! Tell him to give me the control!" Eliot demanded. "LEA!"

The one in which he was calling listened in on their annoying banter. Lea was just behind the sofa the two were fighting on helping Parker break her handstand record. Lea cheered on Parker as she turned red in the face sweating puddles. "C'mon Parker! C'mon Parker," Lea encouraged. She just loved saying her friend's name: 'Parker.' It was originally supposed to be a boy's name, but instead it was the name of a slender blonde woman with a hunger for the thrill. The room filled with their shouting:

"C'mon Parker!" Lea screamed.

Eliot commanding: "Hardison give me the remote!"

Lea screaming again: "C'mon Parker!"

Eliot yelling: "LEA!"

"Shut-up Eliot!" Parker finally shouted with a heavy grunt as she held her feet steady.

Lea loved this. She loved every minute of this. She had no idea that when she joined this group of conmen that it would be this fun, this normal.

Parker with her last gust of breath begged, "Lea can you please tell Eliot to shut-up!"

She nodded at her command, but had no intention of doing so. Listening to the back-and-forth had become her favorite hobby. Lea had been in burning buildings, speeding cars, she dived from skyscrapers, and traveled in submarines, but nothing compared to the thrill she was experiencing at the moment. The night before Christmas, the stolen tree was filled with stolen gifts. The Grinch had nothing on them. She hadn't been this happy since that time a Russian mob boss made her construct a system to create counterfeit money.

"LEA!" Eliot screamed again.

Oh my goodness! Lea couldn't get enough of his raspy deep voice shouting her name. Her heart raced and raced and raced like she was stuck in that garage with the ticking bomb again. Eliot Spencer, was built, heavy with muscles, with soft blue eyes which melted her heart like an internal hard drive she decrypted. He was beautiful, with his rugged scars and plush hands he used to choked the life out of many villainous men...

"LEA!"

This chant did not come from Eliot, but Parker who went tumbling down after so many minutes of being upright on her arms. The sight was quite funny, as Parker's face returned to its normal pale color. Lea laughed her regular awkward giggle, snorting and drooling out the side of her mouth. This enjoyment was broken when she heard the squeaking from Nate's chair.

Nate was in the dining room, most likely concocting some plot to take over the world, or... looking for a recipe for roast turkey. It didn't matter; she didn't want to disturb him. He was the leader of the pack, the one Parker, Hardison, and Eliot revered more than anyone else. Since she'd arrived she made sure to always be mindful and respectful of him.

The older gentleman Nathan Ford researched. He was looking for the best deals on trackers, while also looking for a replacement gun (he had to get another one of those). He didn't even know why he needed it. He was out of the game, retired, he didn't need weaponry--or so he thought... He couldn't tell Parker, Hardison and Eliot retirement was way harder than Sophie and him ever imagined. Yes, they were happily married and in love. But what did happily married and in love mean for him who made a living from perfectly crafting con-jobs and Sophie, who made a living on the run and assuming multiple identities? Was a white-picket fence in the country really their forever? If he was to be honest, they felt more at home being together in this cramped apartment for the Holidays than their just-purchased two story house.