Chapter Text
Ezra cautiously made his way into the smoky bar. The message to meet here had come completely out of the blue. He wasn't even sure how he had gotten the message. No one he knew, not even his mother, had that e-mail address. And he had never expected to hear from his old college roommate.
Ezra scanned the bar and quickly spotted Nathan Ford in one of the u-shaped booths in the rear. There were four other people with him. Ezra stopped at the bar for a scotch and made his way over.
"Nate," Ezra said, still standing. Nate nodded back and slipped over, making room for Ezra to sit.
Nathan looked Ezra over, noting the perfect appearance. Even after being thrown out of the FBI on trumped up charges the Southerner showed no weakness. His suit was of the finest quality. His hair was perfect.
Only someone who had known him as long as Nate had would notice the slight lines of tension at the eyes and mouth. Ezra was apprehensive. Nate couldn't really blame him.
"I heard about the FBI. Sorry," Nate said, idly toying with his glass of soda water.
Ezra nodded and raised his scotch, "I was very saddened to hear about your son."
The two men drank to their personal miseries.
"So, you're probably wondering about why I asked you here," Nate said.
Ezra only smiled and nodded.
"Well, after I left IYS, I made a few new friends. Allow me to introduce you. Ezra Standish, this is Sophie Devereaux. I believe you've met." Nate gestured to the woman sitting on his left.
She reached across Nate to offer Ezra her hand, "Yes, I remember. It was…"
"San Sebastian, Spain. Summer. Five years ago. I couldn't forget a beautiful woman such as yourself, Ms. Devereaux." Ezra kissed Sophie's hand and smiled, flashing his dimples.
Sophie smiled back. "See, Nate? Some people have no problem remembering 'little details'."
Nate huffed and pointed to the young black man at the head of the table, working on his laptop. "This is Alec Hardison. He's somewhat familiar with computers."
The young man looked up sharply, "I am hardly 'somewhat familiar' with computers. I am an electronics god. There are people on the internet who worship me. I could show you sites! Hey, man. Nice threads." Hardison leaned over to shake Ezra's hand. "I couldn't help noticing as I was going through your computer that you are a fellow fan of the good Doctor's. We totally need to talk about Eleven. These guys, they just don't understand."
"I look forward to it. I'm also curious as to how you hacked my computer," Ezra said.
Hardison went back to work on his laptop, "I exploited a little known weakness in your anti-virus program. Don't worry about it though; I'm upgrading your software as we speak."
Ezra looked nonplussed, "Thank you. I appreciate that."
"I thought you'd be taller," the pretty blond beside Hardison cut in, staring at Ezra. She was dressed all in black and didn't seem to be able to sit still. "Nate's been talking about you a lot. He made you sound taller."
Ezra stared back, "I'll have you know I am the perfect size for my height, young lady."
Nate sighed. "This is Parker."
Ezra looked impressed, "The same Parker who is rumored to have stolen the "Kermit the Frog" puppet from the Smithsonian while it was open? I still can't figure out how you pulled that off."
Parker beamed, "It was a challenge but it was so worth it!"
Everyone at the table gawked at her. "What?" Parker looked a little sheepish, "I love 'The Muppet Show.'"
Nate pinched the bridge of his nose, "Moving on. Lastly, this is Eliot Spencer. He's…"
The long haired, blue-eyed man sitting across from Ezra extended his hand and spoke, "I'm the one who's going to kill you if you turn on us. Understand?"
"…very blunt," Nate finished.
Ezra shook Eliot's hand, unsurprised to find the man's grip was like a vice. "I have no intention of turning any of you in. Any of you. Even if you are wanted by the FBI, Interpol and several other governments. I would never betray Nathan's trust like that."
Eliot looked Ezra in the eye for a long minute and nodded back, "Then we won't have a problem."
Ezra turned to Nate, "Your friends are very intriguing, Nathan, but is there a point to all this?"
Nate took a drink and cleared his throat. "Well, Ezra. How bad do you want to screw over the FBI?"