Hello lovely readers, Auryn Evroren here. So this is my first Leverage story, try not to hate it too much XD It's also very strongly based on a true story, so if the events are unrealistic to you...well, I'll let you think that one through. I hope you all enjoy it!

Auryn

The Summer Camp Job

By Auryn Rei Evroren

Chapter 1: Sophie

She looked so nervous, sitting there in a bar. It was almost like she'd never been in one before. She didn't look comfortable, that was the main thing. Sophie didn't like it one bit; how were they going to get her to tell them the whole story in a place she didn't feel comfortable? Unfortunately, Nate was so used to holding his interviews here at John McRory's that he was blind to the plight of those who weren't. Sophie sighed and took a sip of her drink, determined to make this case a good one.

The girl who sat across from them was clutching tightly to a tall glass of red liquid- it had been water when she got it, but had magicked itself into KoolAid when she poured a packet of powder in it from her pocket. The girl herself had pale skin, dark auburn hair in a messy ponytail, and black wire-frame glasses. She wore jeans with holes in them and a basic t-shirt that said "CAMP TANGLE CREEK" on it in large letters. Her sneakers were covered in mud, but she didn't seem to care. She'd introduced herself as Ashton Green, also known as "Indigo".

"It just doesn't seem fair," she said, staring down at her scarlet concoction. "Chief said it would be fine if I was underage as long as I had the archery certification. She said she'd help me get it during staff training, but she never did. The 'training' we had only lasted about six hours, and it wasn't useful at all. I tried to ask her about it, but she said if I brought it up again, she wouldn't be able to turn a blind eye to my age. So I'm stuck every day at the range, freaking out about what will happen if someone gets hurt. I'd quit if I could, but I need the money for college." She shook her head.

"So, not having this certification, is that what you're here about?" Nate asked, sounding somewhat confused. Indigo shook her head. "No. I can handle that one myself. I'm here about something bigger." She reached into her back pocket and drew out a school picture of a younger girl. This girl had dark brown hair, almost black, and skin so dark tan that she must have had Native American blood. "This is my little sister, Monkey."

"Monkey?" Sophie asked. "Her name is Monkey?" Indigo laughed in response, but it was a forced laugh, and the smile on her face didn't reach her eyes. "It's her camp name," she explained. "Like mine is Indigo. Her real name is Jennifer. She's not really my sister, either, but we've been calling each other that since the summer started." She took a deep breath as Nate examined the photo.

"Monkey's family, well, they're not the best. Her father doesn't give a damn about her, her mother's a junkie who's always out playing poker, and her older brother and his family treat her like Cinderella. Travis, her brother, even hits her whenever he feels like it, or when he's drunk." She sighed. "I want to get her away from that. But I was ruined, and they'll never let me fix it while that woman's there." Indigo's eyes darkened from sad to angry. "Susan Ingram. She's our camp director, Chief. She fired me in the middle of last week, for having 'outside involvement with a camper against camp regulation'. She used all of the information I have on Monkey as evidence to convince people that I was a creeper, some jerk trying to hurt her." Tears of both rage and sadness brimmed in her eyes. "I'm trying to adopt her, for God's sake, and she knew it! Chief knew, and she still used that to fire me. In the middle of a camp week. There was even a local news reporter who came out to the camp and did a story on it. Now those kids, their parents, they- they all think I'm a terrible p-person who's unsafe to b-be around them." She choked a bit on the last sentence as the tears fell freely down her face. Sophie reached out a comforting hand to calm her down, casting Nate a worried glance. He, of course, was all business. As usual.

"So you want your good name back," he surmised. Indigo nodded shakily. "Why not just go to the police?" Nate asked. Sophie used her free hand to hit him on the shoulder. "She's just told you, dimwit," she said, rubbing Indigo's arm softly. "She's been hired and forced to work illegally. If she goes to the police, they'll arrest her!" Indigo nodded again, the anger slowly dissipating, to be replaced with the same blankness that had plagued her upon the beginning of the interview.

Nate appeared to be thinking. He was trying to decide if they were really right for this job, Sophie could tell. It's not rocket science, Nate, she thought desperately. Tell this girl we can fix her problems! We can do this, we have to!

Finally, Nate spoke. "We'll run it past the team and get back to you as soon as we can," he told her formally, then stood up. Sophie did the same, trying to disguise her shocked expression. They both shook hands with the young camp counselor, and Sophie escorted her from McRory's as kindly as she could. "Don't worry," she told her as she opened the door. "We'll make sure you get your reputation back, and your sister gets to a safe place." Her warmest smile grew on her face, and maybe it was just her imagination, but Sophie could have sworn that Indigo appeared much relieved by it.

"Camp?" Parker asked, sitting on the couch Indian-style. "Never went to camp." Sophie paced back and forth in front of the group as Nate relaxed in his favorite chair. Eliot shared the couch with Parker, sitting on the back of it with his feet on the cushion, a container of take-out Chinese food in hand. Hardison was in the other chair, idly tossing his remote from hand to hand.

"So why are we helping this girl again? It's not like she's an assassin's target from a major corporation or nothing," Eliot muttered. Parker cocked her head to the side, like a puppy that heard an interesting sound. She was curious too. Nate rolled his eyes. "I told you, we don't know if we're helping her yet. This is just a review." Sophie cuffed him over the head. "Of course we're helping her," she snapped. "She's being just as wronged as any of our other clients. Run it, Hardison!"

With a sigh, Hardison began the slides. First up was a picture of Indigo, the camp counselor. "Ashton Green, also known as 'Indigo'. Counselor at Camp Tangle Creek, specifically in charge of archery and field sports." He clicked again. A blonde woman took Indigo's place, wearing a dressy pants suit. She looked more like an expensive lawyer than a camp director. "Susan Ingram, camp director. Hired the girl underage, promised her archery certification that she never got. She's teaching archery illegally. Fired last week for outside involvement with a camper." Another click, and Monkey's photo appeared. "Jennifer Holloway, camp name 'Monkey', program aide at Camp Tangle Creek."

"Program aide?" Eliot asked, raising an eyebrow.

"PA's are pretty common in camps like these," Nate said, doing one of his little 'informative interjections'. "They're like the camp version of interns. Most of them are around fourteen years old. They don't have to pay to come to camp, like the campers, but they don't get paid like counselors. They get paid in small amounts of training for future jobs as counselors, and they do a lot of the work that's either too menial or too simple for full counselors to waste their time on it. It's a popular dump spot for kids who need community service credit."

Hardison nodded and took over. "According to our client, Monkey here doesn't exactly have the Family of the Year. Indigo's been trying to get her adopted into her family." He clicked again and all three images appeared side by side. He indicated Ingram's photo. "Ingram, also known as 'Chief', fired Indigo last week for her involvement with Monkey outside of camp. Apparently it's illegal to be personally involved with campers outside camp, and PA's technically count as campers because of their age."

"So what does she want?" Parker asked. "We can't kidnap a kid just because she got fired." Nate shook his head, eyes focused intently on the floor. "No, she's not worried about that. I think she knows that something isn't right here." He paused, and everyone waited with bated breath, but Nate said nothing. "What, man?" Eliot demanded. Nate looked up, somewhat surprised. "Think about it. This Ingram woman, she hired a counselor for her camp, liked her enough to hire her without certification, but had a problem with something like outside involvement? No, it doesn't add up. That's what that girl senses. Something changed. Suddenly her boss cared. Now we just need to know what changed."

Everyone stared around at each other, a little bit blank, but they nodded anyway. "Okay," said Eliot. "So how do we find out, exactly?"

Nate grinned widely, and they all knew exactly what he was going to say.

"Let's go steal a summer camp."

"Well, your resume looks impressive, Miss Burke," said camp director Susan Ingram as she set the manila folder down on the desktop. "What exactly are you looking to do here at Camp Tangle Creek?"

Parker's face spread into an innocent smile. "Well, I heard you were looking for an archery teacher, and I just thought I might be able to help out." She shrugged, listening to Nate on comm in her ear. "Nice work, Parker, keep it up."

"Well, I actually have already found my replacement in that area," Ms. Ingram said, trying to sound as apologetic as possible. Parker froze, not sure at all what to do. This whole con revolved around her being able to go under cover at the camp, what were they going to do now?

Ingram smiled, making Parker a bit nervous. "I am looking for one other spot, though," she said. "Oh?" Parker replied. "Like what?"

"Just go with it, Parker, take whatever you can get!" Nate said on comm. Ingram nodded. "We need another counselor in our horseback riding division. Does that sound appealing?"

Knowing Parker didn't like horses, Sophie had to chime in on comm. "Take it, Parker, you can do it!" she said.

Swallowing her fear, Parker nodded. Stay in character, she reminded herself. "Oh, I love horses!" she said, her enthusiasm maybe just a tad bit too strong. She toned it down a bit. "I mean, yes, that sounds fabulous!" She smiled a cunning smile. "When do I start?"

The old man wheezed and coughed, making Eliot wonder whether or not he was even going to be alive to see this thing through. "My boy Jack was s'posed to come help this summer," Doc said, finishing the sentence with a hacking cough. "Ain't heard from him since he went to Hawaii with that model girl, hmph." He didn't seem too pleased.

The man behind the counter at the bait shop laughed. "Doc, that boy ain't ever comin' home," he said. "Might as well give up now and hire that boy down the road. He's a skinny lil tadpole, but he'll do."

Doc sighed. "Boy's a walkin' disaster," he mumbled to Eliot out of the corner of his mouth. "Can't walk ten feet without breakin' somethin'." Eliot snorted. "What kind of idiot can't work a camp job?" he said with a laugh. "Man, I been doin' it since I was twelve."

Right on cue, both Doc's and the bait shop guy's eyes went wide. Eliot chuckled to himself on the inside. It was just so easy. "Well what're you doin' this summer, then?" Doc asked. His tone said that he couldn't believe his luck. Well he shouldn't believe it, Eliot thought, but since when are these folks ever smart. He raked a hand through his mane-like hair. "Well, shoot, I dunno," he said with a shrug.

Doc's face split into a near-toothless grin. "How'd you like to come on and work as my ranger assistant out at Tangle Creek?"

Eliot smiled. "Sounds like somethin' I could do," he said, nodding. "When do I start?"