open } { should i give up, or should i just keep chasing pavements?

[tornadoinheels]

If Sara Ellis has learned one thing over the course of her entire life, it's this: no matter what happens to you, the sun rises, life starts up again, and the world moves on. As far as she's concerned, she figures that she might as well too.

That doesn't mean she can't feel the punches as they hit her, but she's better at keeping the rest of the world from seeing it. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, they don't care about how Sara Ellis is feeling, or what may be going on in her personal life. They just want her to come in and do her job recovering what's been stolen from them. It's the part of her work Sara truly enjoys, and she's not going to let anyone ruin that for her, no matter what the case.

Sara's heels click softly on the pavement as she walks towards her usual table at Giancarlo's. She could be heading there for a mark, she could just be heading there for lunch. It doesn't matter the reason, really. She's there, sitting at her table, having a quiet lunch with no one to bother her.

Clearly, someone should.

[Open to all. Canonmates, let me know when, canon-wise, and I will adjust accordingly.]

Comments

[needto-control.livejournal.com]

Eliot had things he had planned to do with his day while they were in New York, and those things hadn't involved meeting some chick Nate used to know. Nate had made some excuses about why he couldn't go, but Eliot didn't believe them. He knew Nate too well.

As he finds the restaurant and looks it over, he still isn't too sure why he agreed to do it. Sometimes he just wishes Nate would grow up and take care of things himself. But he did agree, and he's here, so he might as well go in.

He's dressed a little nicer than what he was wearing two hours ago, but still keeping to what's comfortable to him. Clean jeans and a nice button down shirt. He walks in the door and looks around, and when he spots the woman Nate had shown him a picture of he heads over. He stops at her table and stands there awkwardly for a moment.

"Sara?"

[tornadoinheels.livejournal.com]

She looks up at the sound of her name, but when she doesn't recognize the face, she frowns. She's expecting Nate. She called him specifically, the least he could do is show up in person for an old friend. And now he is late.

But since he is late, that doesn't mean she can't at least talk to this person who seems to know her name.

"Can I help you?"

[needto-control.livejournal.com]

Yeah see, Eliot understands women a little better than Nate. He knows that this probably wasn't the best of choices. He can handle the backlash though, so he's going to go in gently. He's here to do business. He may as well sell himself.

A small smile curls on his lips and he reaches a hand out. "My name's Eliot, a friend of Nate's. He couldn't make it and asked me to come in his place."

[tornadoinheels.livejournal.com]

"Couldn't make it, or decided not to make an appearance?"

Her tone is mostly annoyed, but there's nothing she can do about it right now. It stings, a lot, that Nate doesn't want to see her after all this time, but there are bigger matters at hand, and she doesn't want to get sidetracked too much.

"Sara Ellis. I'm an insurance investigator for Sterling Bosch."

[needto-control.livejournal.com]

He smirks as he shakes her hand then wraps his hand around the chair in front of him. "How well do you know him?" He asks, before offering an answer to the question.

He nods. Nate had told him she did what he used to do, and Eliot had made a comment about her being too hot to do something that dull, but it isn't something that needs to be brought up to her at the moment.

[tornadoinheels.livejournal.com]

"Better than he'd like, apparently," she sighs, before gesturing for him to sit. "It's fine if you can vouch for your people getting the job done just as well as he can, I just would have liked to see him, that's all."

It's been years. She knows that he's been through a lot, but when a man teaches you everything and refuses to see you, it cuts a little bit deeper than any other meeting would. And, for the record, she doesn't find the job dull at all. In fact, there isn't a lot else she would rather do with her time.

[needto-control.livejournal.com]

He sits down and settles in, glancing around a bit as he tries to not feel out of place. His arm rests to the table and he looks at the woman again. He watches her for a moment.

"Then you probably know nothing's ever simple with him." In other words, Nate not being there didn't necessarily reflect on her and how he felt about her. It's just Nate being Nate.

He clears his throat slightly and nods. "But yeah, I can vouch for us. We always get a job done."

[tornadoinheels.livejournal.com]

She pauses for a moment, letting the words sink in and there might be a moment where her face betrays what she's actually feeling -- rejection, mostly -- but it's gone in a flash and she's back to being a cool professional.

"Then let's get down to business," she sighs, before reaching into her bag for her files. "I know you guys normally target corrupt businesses, but I figured that just because you caught hidden bad guys doesn't mean you can't handle literal ones."

[needto-control.livejournal.com]

He sees that moment, but he pretends not to. It's one of the things he's good at. He sits up a bit and watches her move for her bag.

"We don't limit ourselves if that's what you're askin'," he says. They go after the bad guys for the right reason, because they like to help those who need it. Another piece he's not adding on out loud.

[tornadoinheels.livejournal.com]

She nods as she opens the file and turns it around to face him. It's a copy of an official FBI file, and no, he probably shouldn't ask how she got it. She has friends in high places. Or ... low places who got promoted. It depends on who you ask.

"His name is Matthew Keller," she sighs. "The FBI has been after him for years, and they just can't seem to keep a good hold on him. He used to work with Neal Caffrey, but unlike Caffrey, he's way more violent and prone to mowing down whoever gets in his way to get what he wants."

[needto-control.livejournal.com]

Eliot isn't going to ask. It's not his business and he doesn't care. All he cares about is the information. He opens the file and starts to glance it over.

He recognizes Caffrey's name, but doesn't let that show on his face. He nods again at her words. "So is this you asking us to do this or the feds?"

[tornadoinheels.livejournal.com]

"I think the FBI has a bit too much pride to go to a group of thieves to do their job for them." Or at least Peter did -- not thieves that aren't justified as being legit somehow. He works with Neal, but he doesn't trust him. Even Sara can see that. She takes a breath, and her face sobers a bit.

"He kidnapped a very good friend of mine, and wants another one of them dead. I want him back where he belongs. Money's not an object."

[needto-control.livejournal.com]

Eliot wouldn't be all that inclined to help the FBI, so he had to ask at least. He keeps his focus on the file, not her.

"Any idea where he is?" His first thought is find the guy, beat him down, and force him to give back what he took. There's probably a very good reason why Nate usually does this and not him. He almost wishes Sophie had come with him on this, she's a lot better with people than he is. But he hadn't wanted to admit he needed her help, so he let her and Parker go off on their shoe-shopping adventure without telling them where he was going.

[tornadoinheels.livejournal.com]

She pauses for a moment, tipping her head to the side as she gestures to the file. "I only really know what's there. Last actual sighting of him was in Egypt, but there's rumors that he's back stateside and in the city. I don't know if any of that is actually true."

Sara actually approves of that method of dealing with Keller, but that's just her opinion. All she wants is for him to stay away from the Burkes and Neal. So long as that end is achieved, she will be happy.

[needto-control.livejournal.com]

He closes the file and looks up at her. "I'd hafta take it to the team. See what we can find, what we can pull together." He pauses, trying to think of the right thing to say that would be helpful but also truthful.

"If anyone can bring this guy down, we can." He doesn't think of that as an empty promise either, otherwise he wouldn't have said it.

[tornadoinheels.livejournal.com]

"I appreciate it," she says with a nod. She's not expecting miracles, but she knows the reputations of the people Nate is working with. She thinks that they should at least be able to do something to help flush Keller out.

She then reaches down for her bag, slipping it up over her shoulder before looking back at him. "Just keep me in the loop."

[needto-control.livejournal.com]

He nods and leans back in his chair. "Don't worry. I'll have Nate call you." There may even be a smirk on his lips there. He sure isn't going to be Nate's go-between for this entire thing. Pleasant as that might be.

[tornadoinheels.livejournal.com]

She smirks, as she reaches into her bag for a few bills, and places them on the table for her coffee. "Good luck with that one." She has a feeling that whether he wants to be or not, Sara will be seeing very little of Nate during this expedition.

[needto-control.livejournal.com]

He pushes the bills back at her, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it. It's on Nate." He personally plans on enjoying a meal on Nate himself. "And thanks. Think I might need it."

[tornadoinheels.livejournal.com]

She hesitates for a minute, before nodding and putting her money away. "It was nice meeting you, Eliot. Nate knows how to find me if you need me."

[needto-control.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, you too. I hope this works out for you and your friend." He pushes the file out of the way and watches her, ready to get to his feet when she does. Even if he's not leaving it's the polite thing to do.

[tornadoinheels.livejournal.com]

"Me too," she sighs, before pushing to her feet and extending her hand to him as he stands. "Thanks for meeting me."

[needto-control.livejournal.com]

He does get up then and shakes her hand. "Don't mention it." This is probably where Nate offers some final words of wisdom or confidence, but he's not Nate, so he doesn't add anything.

[tornadoinheels.livejournal.com]

She nods, and then turns on her heel to leave, making her way past him to the door. It isn't the meeting she was expecting, but at least it seems like something was accomplished.

Even if Neal won't like that she did it.

[needto-control.livejournal.com]

He watches her go over his shoulder for a moment, then sits back down and glances over at the folder. It's not going to be an easy case, but none of them ever are.

He reaches into his pocket to pull out his cell phone and call Nate. They have work to do.