Number 06 │ A Leverage Fanfiction

The Stork Job │ Part 1

Leverage Headquarters, Client meet

"Thank you," Ms. Morton said softly as Nate placed two steaming cups of coffee on the table before taking a seat opposite her.

She clasped her hands tightly, her fingers trembling as she spoke. "Joe's still in physical therapy. He spent two weeks in a Belgrade hospital before he was strong enough to fly back home," she said, her voice wavering. "We just wanted a family." Her composure broke, and tears began to spill.

Nate leaned forward slightly, his voice calm and measured. "Right. Why Serbia?" he asked.

Ms. Morton sniffled, wiping her cheeks with a tissue. "Back in college, Joe got busted on a small pot charge. Nothing major, just typical, stupid kid stuff," she said.

"Right, right," Nate nodded, "but that disqualified you from adoption agencies in the States, right?"

"And Korea, and China, and Guatemala," Ms. Morton added, her shoulders sagging. "Irina was the first one to tell us it wouldn't be an issue. All she needed was..." She hesitated, her voice trailing off.

"Money," Nate finished for her, his tone sharp.

Ms. Morton nodded, her lips pressing into a thin line. "'Administrative fees.' That's what she called it," she explained. "After a few months, we got suspicious, so we flew out there. We told her we'd go to the authorities." Her hands shook as she pushed a file across the table toward Nate. "That's when she introduced us to Luca." Her voice cracked as she gestured to the picture of the little boy clipped to the folder. "After that, we gave Irina everything she wanted."

Nate picked up the photo, staring at the image of a wide-eyed boy clutching a toy car, his expression a mix of innocence and unease. "How much money did she take from you?" he asked, still looking at the picture.

"$120,000," Ms. Morton replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "We had to take a second mortgage out on the house."

Nate set the photo down gently, meeting her tear-filled gaze. "Well, we can get the money back," he assured her.

Ms. Morton shook her head adamantly. "We don't want the money," she said firmly, her voice rising with emotion. "All we want is Luca."

Nate leaned back, his expression unreadable as he stared at the boy's picture again. "Right..." he muttered.

<>

Conference Room

"So, Irina let Luca stay with the Mortons for a week. That's when this was taken" Nate said gesturing towards the picture.

'What happened to the boy afterwards?" Sophie asked.

"Don't know" the mastermind shrugged, "A car came along, picked him up, took him away"

"Are we seriously considering this, huh? Swiping a kid?" Eliot questioned.

"Yeah, well –" Nate stopped to double take when he saw the wounds on Eliot's scraped and bruised face. "What happened to you?" he asked

"Well, how was I supposed to know it was a lesbian bar?" Eliot grumbled.

"Okay, listen" Sophie spoke up, "Money, jewels, paintings -- those we steal. But a little boy?"

"We help people who have nowhere else to go" Nate countered, "The U.S. government isn't gonna help because they went outside the system. And over there, it's the Wild West"

"No records, no paper trails" Hardison sighed "We're supposed to find one orphan"

I arched an eyebrow, my voice laced with a little more skepticism than I intended. "What I'm hearing, Nate, is We're supposed to track down a kid who could literally be anywhere in a country with no official record of him."