To LiliFarye – sorry for not communicating you lately even if your computer broke on you! But I know you love this fic and you have been supporting me on it!

Warning – unbetaed!

Chapter Six: The Con Part Two

Parker loves chocolate.

She also loves the color green (for the American currency) and any other colors if they are put on special bits of paper that are valued in odd increments. Black is her favorite color for clothing and pink is okay if it's on really cool stuff like the parachute that Hardison gave her to escape from the job in Dubai. She likes it when Eliot beats up the bad guys for her and that sometimes he cooks dinner for them. Sophie is her go to person when it comes to weird feelings – mostly for Hardison and she likes getting chocolate from the older woman. Mike is always fun too whenever she breaks into his home to have a movie night. He always has popcorn and chocolate for her. She also likes Nate because he was funny when drunk and always gets them out of trouble – no matter what.

However her favorite person is Hardison with his funny expressions, his eager-to-please-Parker attitude and recently someone she could trust to have her back. She may even have deep feelings for the man whose code name is pretzels.

Although right now, Parker was really beginning to like Mike as a girl. It was like having a little sister who sort of looks like her. And it would mean that the Thief would get out of the jobs she didn't want – like the grifter jobs that Sophie can't do. If Mike stays a girl, Parker wouldn't have to do as much extra grifter work and she could pair up more with Hardison. Plus, Parker could steal girl Mike's clothes instead of spending her own money buying regular clothes.

"Oh god, someone just shoot me."

"Enough of that, we worked very hard on this, Michael, so don't you dare ruin it."

The Thief looked over to see Mike and Sophie are arguing in front of the mirror in the safe house where everyone else was trying to ignore them. Eliot was currently fixing his suit for dinner – something light gray with a lavender shirt and a violet tie with gray and blue stripes. He wore antique silver cufflinks and still wore his hair up which made Parker want to yank on the tail. As if sensing her thoughts, Eliot gave her a warning glare before fixing the glasses on his nose. Pouting, Parker fiddled with one of her lock picks, eager for the dinner to start so she could break into Harvey Specter's home.

She really wanted to see the glass elevator.

"Besides, Nate worked very hard in finding you the dress." Sophie added with a touch of irritation. The said Mastermind studiously ignored everyone around him as he steadily drank his Irish coffee.

In truth, Nate didn't work too hard to find a dress; the man simply picked one out and gave it to Mike to try on after Sophie made the poor man try out dresses that would look good if Mike were really a girl. They were all lovely, however each of the dresses had at least one problem like hiding the special harness for the fake breasts, were too clingy even for the special underwear to hide Mike's manhood, and some of the designs were too much for the man to move freely in. The Fixer had tripped on at least five of the dresses when Sophie made him walk around.

However the dress that Nate picked was just right – it was even one that the Thief would like to have once Mike gets done with it. The dress was a Chinese style knee length dress that was created with dark olive Thai silk, V-neck front that was closed up to Mike's chin with red cloisonné buttons, a slit on the back which makes it easier to move around in, shoulder caps with red piping, and there were dragonflies all over it. The best part of it was that it covered everything necessary to hide Mike's manly figure. Sophie had even found a matching red thick silk shawl to keep the Fixer warm.

"God, what's this tingling on my lips? Is this an allergic reaction? Seriously Sophie, just what is this stuff?"

"That's just your lips getting plumped. Don't rub at it or you'll get it everywhere. This is color stay and you'll get stains all over you. I was right about the dark red – suits this dress quite well. Now, put on your shoes."

"Thank god they're not heels." Grumbled Mike as he slipped on the satin olive green ballet flats.

"Heels are for power play, but for an evening dinner where everyone is getting to know each other, it's better for your character to fall back on her charming self." Sophie instructed as she fiddled with the wig before she was satisfied. It was a blond thing that had half of the hair up with antique silver and jade pins and the rest of it down.

"Looking good, man." Hardison commented with a tight smile. "There's no way they'll recognize you for sure. So, if that rat bastard tries anything on ya, just give me a sign and all of his finances will become as messy as Watergate."

"And you can stab him with your fork if he gets weird." Parker added which got them all to look at her funny again. "What?"

Hardison gave her arm a loving pat in which she appreciated very much. Nate groaned at her suggestion before getting up to either clean up his coffee mug or get a refill with more whisky than coffee. Mike had a contemplating expression on his face before it turned to guilty as Sophie vigorously told the Fixer that if he gets blood on his dress, that he will be answering to her about it. Eliot only shook his head, but the Thief instantly saw that he was grinning at the idea.

"Okay, since Mike is now ready for dinner, let's go over everything." The Mastermind announced with his full cup of steaming coffee.

The plan was simple enough. Eliot and Mike were to go to dinner at some place called Suits (Mike had complained about people knowing him or something) with the lawyers. Meanwhile, everyone else goes in and breaks into the apartments of Harvey Specter, Louis Litt, and Rachel Zane. Hardison had already checked everything from financials to phone records with the three so it was now time to do things the old fashion way.

Parker loves it when they had to do things the old fashion way.

"Now Parker, Specter recently took out $5,000 in cash from his account after making a phone call to a certain number. I need you to find that money and place this bug in it." Hardison added as he placed the bug in her open palm. "That way we can find out for sure which side the lawyers are playing for."

"Meanwhile, Hardison will be checking out the home of Louis Litt." Nate continued before giving the Hacker a hard look. "And please don't do anything there – we don't need to make the man anymore of an asshole than he is now."

Mike snorted at that while Hardison sulked. Parker rubbed the Hacker's arm and received a small smile. She leaned in and whispered a promise that they could wreck the apartment when the job is done. That got her a full blown grin. Everyone else ignored them.

"And you and Sophie will break into Rachel's place. Great, just don't forget about checking the place and not other things." The Fixer concluded with a smirk but winced as Sophie smacked his ass. "What? Not my fault I walked in on you two flirting!"

"You could have knocked." Nate grumbled but there was a hint of a smile when he saw the Grifter spank the younger man.

"Can we just get this show on the road? I just want to get this dinner over with." Eliot grumbled as he fixed his glasses for the third time. The delicate wire rims were becoming a pain to him. Mike sighed before shuffling over to the Hitter and bumped shoulders.

As they all left the safe house, the Thief wondered briefly if Eliot and Mike would get any chocolate cake for dinner and if both men would be willing to give her a piece each.

Harvey shifted a little as he waited patiently for the last two guests to reach their table.

"Quit that." Donna hissed as she smiled wide at the sight of them.

"What is she doing here?" Louis whispered harshly at the senior partner's side. Harvey rolled his eyes at the little man before answering.

"Because she managed to get a table at New York's hottest restaurant with only one phone call. You want to tell her to leave?"

He was satisfied at the look of fear that flashed across Louis's face before taking the time to concentrate on the two arriving visitors. Hunter looked proper in his suit that fitted him so well that it was obvious everything was tailor made. Texas either had a very good tailor in Dallas or the man found a suit here in New York. It made the man look almost as good as Harvey. Then his gaze went to the side to see the associate.

For a minute, Harvey was surprise that the height difference was much shorter than it was earlier, but a quick glance to the floor made him realize that instead of the heels, the shoes were flats. He almost snorted at the whole outfit but quickly hid that reaction by taking a sip from his water. It was obvious that the associate was trying to dress up in her first night in the Big City. The whole outfit was some sort of Chinese design style dress of olive green with dragonflies all over it with red hemming with matching shoes. The red shawl and the dark red color of her lipstick made a dramatic effect that was not overly done since the rest of her make-up was discreet with neural colors. At least she didn't do anything ridiculous with her hair which was partly up with hairpins.

She was defiantly getting the attention of many men and a few of the women. From the look on Louis's face, the junior partner was definitely interested. Harvey kicked the man's leg and minutely shook his head which got an eye roll from Louis. However the man changed his expression to a blank one.

In a way it was odd at how the associate dressed and how she was currently acting. The outfit screams out attention but the girl was acting as shy as a damn virgin about to be sacrifice. God, he would hate it if that girl was his associate. At least Zane had enough personality to work with him. How Hunter could even work with her was beyond Harvey's mind.

"It's cute."

Harvey blinked as he tilted his head towards Donna's direction. Then he carefully looked at the razor sharp smile on her face that was turning more into a grin with each second.

"What is?" he murmured as they all stood up to greet their guests.

"The associate. She's scared of me. I barely said a single word to her and she's shaking in her little ballet flats. It's cute and empowering."

A few points went up in Harvey's meter as he saw that the redhead was right, Jenkin's looked like she was about to faint and her blue eyes were glued to Donna. Donna's smile grew wider and Harvey swore that he could hear a whimper before the two finally reached the table. Hunter looked like he was amused and annoyed while the associate was trying to look at anywhere that is not Donna.

"Ladies, gents, I didn't think that Miss Donna would be joining us." Hunter greeted as he pulled a chair for Jenkins that was next to Rachel while taking the chair of the opposite side of the associate – next to Donna. That meant Harvey was sitting across of the shy associate, boring but better than looking straight at Louis's face all evening. "Not that I mind, you look absolutely stunning, Miss Donna."

The senior partner rolled his eyes as Hunter kissed Donna's hand before giving a polite nod to Zane who smiled back. However he did admit that Donna did look stunning with the black velvet cocktail dress and string of pale pink pearls. Also those matching heels made her legs look killer.

"I invited myself along for the ride, to even out the numbers." Donna teased with a flirty tone. "Besides, I always wanted to try this place out."

Suits had opened at least two years ago and already the place had been in the New York Times Top Ten Places to Eat this year alone. The atmosphere of the restaurant was light and airy. According the latest interview with the owners, the restaurant was originally a theater before the owners bought it. Cream, ivory, and dark oak were the main colors with a touch of gold. Harvey actually liked the color scheme and the ten foot glass chandelier was quite impressive. It was elegant and not overly done – definitely not like those fancy places that Louis likes to have dinner at.

The food itself was supposed to be something that could compete with the chefs from all around the world. From French to Japanese, the menu changes based on the season, the month, the week, and sometimes even the day. However they still have the basic stables of a good steak and potatoes which is a must with Harvey.

"So what's good here?" Hunter asked with a smirk at them all. Jenkins fidgeted in her seat before Harvey saw that her arms were moving minutely in a timed pattern. It was obvious that the girl was fiddling with the napkin on her lap. "And sweetheart, just water for you."

The glare the girl gave to her boss was strong enough to kill and Harvey was impressed with it. Maybe the associate wasn't as much as a pussy as the senior partner had thought. Everyone at their table heard her graveling mutter but only Hunter understood what she was saying and his smirk grew broader before he causally signaled a waiter. Everyone ordered their drinks with Jenkins grudging ordering water with lemon – no ice and pouted when the drinks arrived.

It wasn't until the waiter came back for their orders that Jenkins actually talked.

"I'll have the steak – rare with the onions, the baby roasted garlic herbed potatoes, and the steamed buttered broccoli."

A rather odd order since it was normal compared to what everyone else had ordered. In fact, Harvey couldn't remember seeing that order on the menu since it was mostly made up of creative dishes that made Zane giddy with choices. He had ended up ordering a Chilean sea bass dish with steamed rice just to bother Louis who had gone with a veal dish and spent at least five minutes telling the waiter about his food restrictions. Hunter shared a glance with him over Louis's bitching before ordering a spicy Indian dish that was a hybrid of a curry and stir fry. However the waiter didn't even seem surprise at the order and simply collected all the menus before assuring them that their orders will be on their way.

"Seriously? First time in New York and you just want a steak?" Harvey asked as he stared straight at the associate. The girl squirmed before shrugging her shoulders. Taking a glance at Hunter, he saw that the man was being distracted with Donna for the moment and he waited for the answer.

"I like steak."

"There's nothing wrong with a little familiarity, Harvey." Louis sneered before turning to the girl with a smile which made Jenkins pale underneath her make-up. "I can sympathize with wanting to stick with the safe choices when traveling into a new city. There was one time – "

Zane gave Harvey a look that told him she was considering in asking for a bonus to put up with Louis yakking at her to have a conversation with the other associate and the senior partner was considering it. Well, he was more on thinking of ordering more of the wine to keep his associate happy. From the way Jenkins was looking over at everyone else's drinks, it was obvious that she wanted something stronger than water to deal with Louis.

They spent the next fifteen minutes chatting and drinking wine when their orders finally came – everyone's but Jenkins.

"Excuse me! But where's her order?" Donna demanded while Jenkins tried to assure Donna in her scratchy voice that it was okay. The waiter gave a polite smile before answering.

"The owner is still working on it. She said that she will personally bring out the order."

Jenkins protested that it wasn't necessary but the waiter only smile and shook his head.

"I'm sorry miss, but she insisted that she provide the service."

The look on Jenkin's face was that of dismay and Harvey watched as Hunter raised an eyebrow before the associate shook her head. There was something really wrong with this whole picture but for the life of him, Harvey was unable to understand why. It would seem impolite to eat when one person still didn't have their order, but Hunter insisted that they eat before it cools down and Jenkins smiled in agreement while taking a roll apart on the serving plate. Zane offered some of her own food but the other associate just smile and shook her head.

Not that Harvey could blame her – the dish was really odd, a mix of Middle Eastern and French styles.

As everyone raved about their food (Harvey not so much despite how much he internally moaned at the tenderness of the fish and the look from Donna told him that she knew) a pretty blonde wearing a black cocktail dress walked up with an order and Harvey nearly choked on his last bite as he barely recognized the woman to be Jenny – Mike's ex-girlfriend.

She had a smile on her face that slightly faltered at the sight of him, Louis, and Zane before her eyes quickly took in on their table. Harvey could see that she looked surprised, then confused, before it turned to uncertainty as she placed the food on the one empty spot.

"Sorry about the delay but usually most people stick with the menu." She commented with a smile. Then after a minute of staring down at the hunch figure of Jenkins, Jenny turned her attention to Zane. "Hey, Rachel."

"Michael, remember, take slow calm breaths."

Right, like that was something he could do right now with Jenny standing next to him and chatting politely with Rachel. Mike wanted bang his head against the table because he was stupid enough to order his favorite because he wanted comfort food in a stressful situation. He should have remembered that Jenny knew that he orders off the menu and that it was always the steak. Why couldn't he order one of those weird dishes on the menu?

"Don't worry brah, it's not like she's seen you as a girl, right?"

"I need a drink."

Mike agreed with Nate on that last point. He needed a drink too and he couldn't because he was a normal drinker but alcohol could make it a bit difficult to keep his voice at an acceptable pitch for a sick female. He stared longingly at Eliot's glass of red wine before taking a large gulp of his lemon water. Stabbing one of the potatoes, Mike munched on it and was happy that it was cooked just the way he liked it. Soon, he found himself hungry after being nervous and skipping lunch because of the emergency shopping trip for a dress and began to cut up the steak that was so tender that it melted on his tongue. Mike had to keep stuffing food into his mouth to prevent himself from moaning like a food slut because he doubt he could pull off moaning like a woman too well. His concentration on the food before him almost prevented him from paying any attention with the outside world when someone said his name and nearly reacted to it – the years of working on cons prevented a near disaster.

"You know, I thought it was Mike who ordered that."

Mike kept on chewing and took his cue from Eliot as he turned to stare at Jenny who looked down at his order with amusement.

"Mike? You mean Mike Ross Mike?" Rachel asked surprised. God it was hard to keep a dumb bimbo face on. Parker was so much better at keeping that sort of face.

"Yeah! I mean the last time he came was like a few months ago and I cooked him a meatloaf with mac 'n cheese, but still he usually orders this." Jenny answered and gave Mike a smile. "Did you found out the external menu on the website? Mike suggested doing that so we can change the menu here which gives the customers more options."

He quickly nodded his head while keeping his mouth full.

"Wow, Mike, you got some really bad luck."

"Parker, please tell me you found something."

"Oh right! This Harvey guy has aaah lot of stuff here. Oh! Chocolate!"

"Girl, what did we tell you about eating on the job?"

"But it has gold flakes!"

Mike closed his eyes so he could roll them. It would be like Harvey to have chocolate with gold flakes. The man probably bought the stuff to impress the one night stands he brings in. Then he briefly wondered if using chocolate with gold flakes would be bad for fondue.

"So how is Mike doing these days?"

This was inquired by Louis who had his fake smile which made Jenny's smile falter for a moment before her smile came back with an uncertain element to it.

"Oh, um, he didn't tell you? I thought with him talking with me and Trevor that he would tell you." She replied while glancing over at Rachel who slowly placed her fork by her plate. Mike felt like his insides twist at the sight of Rachel's muted but hurt face. Yeah, he was a dick.

"Parker will you quit fooling around with the chocolate and just bug the money?"

"Oh, did that already. You know, Mike, your Harvey guy has a nice safe – it took Hardy a twenty seconds to open it."

"Girl, it's called the Parker 2000."

"No, he's mine and he's called Hardy."

Mike barely heard the slight groan from Eliot and nudged his foot against the Hitter's in silent support. Everyone has heard this argument going on for months since Hardison made that safe cracking thing of his. In a way, Mike and Sophie thought it was sort of romantic that Hardison made the thing – sort of like a love child for the Hacker and the Thief.

"Trevor is here?"

The dark and dangerous tone came from Harvey and Mike was slightly surprised that the senior partner would still act like this with his best friend. It wasn't like Mike was his problem anymore. Jenny's smile fell completely from her face as she turned to the man.

"Yes, he's the co-owner of Suits. Mike helped us out with the capital and we've been doing well since. We're getting married next month and – "

"Sweetie."

The cross-dressed Fixer viciously stuffed a large chunk of his steak and chewed. He was pretty sure that he looked like some pissed off chipmunk from the way Donna was looking at him like he was adorable and gross at the same time. However he was more concerned with the fact that Trevor had just walked up to the table to come to Jenny's rescue. His best friend gave a quick kiss on her forehead before whispering something in her ear. Whatever it was, it gave her an excuse to leave because she gave her apologies and quickly left in the direction of the kitchens.

"Okay, it's clear over at Litt's place, there's nothing here other than opera posters and expensive champagne. Think I should take a bottle?"

"What year and region?"

"Sophie, don't encourage him. We'll steal it after the con."

"Oh! Can I steal the chocolate later too?"

"Parker, get out of Specter's place and don't take anything from there. We're almost done with Zane's place as well. So we can official say that they got a mole."

"I'll start checking on employment records as soon as I get to the safe house. But Nate, what about the KGB guy?"

"We'll worry about that later."

Sometimes, Nate's priorities really scare the living crap out of Mike.

"First time here at Suits? I recommend that you order the sample platter for the desserts as well as our coffee sampler." Trevor commented kindly. However it was obvious that his best friend was trying to avoid looking at Harvey.

"Well, Trevor, I'm amazed with what you accomplished these past four years."

Mike rolled his eyes against his lids before taking the time to chew a bit of broccoli. He was starting to wish some sort of disaster would come around – like a robbery. Then Eliot would do his awesome ninja combat skills and they would pay attention to the Hitter and forget about the whole Mike issue.

"I can't take all the credit. My best buddy helped out with the money. Mike practically paid this place." And this was said while Trevor smiled and gave a good look around. The Fixer took a quick look at Harvey and winced at the expression on his face. Donna, however, saw it her chance.

"Really? The boy must be making a fortune to give you the money. What's he doing?"

He watched Trevor hesitate a little before shrugging his shoulders.

"Mike doesn't really talk much about his job. I just know that he's helping people that even lawyers like yourselves can't. Well, I hope you all enjoy your meal and for Mike, I'll have someone send you a complimentary bottle of the house wine for tonight."

There was a release of tension that flowed out of Mike as he discreetly watched Trevor leave their table. It looked like Trevor didn't recognize him underneath the wig and the make-up. That was going to be one blessing Mike was not going to take for granted. It was probably the only blessing he was going to get out of this whole con.

"Well, it looks like your old protégé is doing quite well without you, Harvey." Louis commented with one of his fake smiles.

For a moment, Mike felt his heart stop at the idea of him doing well would affect Harvey. But just as quick, he dismissed the idea and Harvey's smirk and reply. It was comforting that Harvey knew how to put the man down.

"Louis, Mike spent nearly a year working for me and I recall how many times you tried to steal him – he's smart enough to take what he learn and do well. And it looks like he's actually doing better than the two of us combine which is rather sad for you since you're still in the same level – below me."

Mike had to duck his head and press his lips tightly to prevent the wide grin that was threatening to come out. He had to admit – he rather missed seeing Harvey put down Louis. There were plenty of times that the Leverage group has their banters but it was just friendly stuff. What goes on between Harvey and Louis was epic and awesome.

"Not to interrupt, gentlemen," Eliot drawled while giving a wink and Donna who smiled (Mike shivered at the idea of something between the Hitter and the redhead), "but who is this Mike Ross?"

"He's Harvey's old associate. A genius but he quit four years ago. A cute little puppy." Donna answered with a serious face that it was obvious she was having fun mocking the two arguing men. "The boys there fought over the poor thing until he ran away. But enough about lost puppies, tell me, how is it that you got yourself into this case?"

Eliot gave out the cover story that Nate provided for them while Mike finished the rest of his meal quietly. It was the usual friend of the family sort of thing and if they ever decide to look into it, Hardison had all the paperwork online to feed them. There were also some pictures as well – the Hacker was always overachieving when they weren't in a hurry. Like that time in Rio where they were setting up that crooked hedge fund manager (there were a lot of jobs with those guys) where Hardison had the fun time of creating life long histories for each of their covers. Each of them had a file full of information in which Eliot had demanded for the cliff notes version and Sophie had suggested changes for hers.

Parker made Hardison explained hers, and Mike read all the files per Nate's order and ended up mostly as back up for the team. That had been a pretty boring job, but it was pretty awesome in staying at a four star hotel.

Mike was washing done the last of his dinner with his water when someone caught his eye and the involuntary action of gasping caused the water to go down the wrong pipe. He choked furiously to get air into his lungs as he hit his chest (not helping because the fake breasts were in the way.) Luckily, Eliot reacted and pounded on his back hard before the Fixer slapped at the Hitter to stop him.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?" Rachel asked in alarm as she handed him her napkin. Mike accepted the offer and gave a nod to her question. Eliot began to rub his back before leaning into his ear to ask.

"What the hell, Ross." He hissed but Mike shook his head.

"11 o'clock." Mike answered before pressing the napkin to his mouth. When Eliot gave a growl, the younger man knew he caught sight of their ex-KGB agent who came with three other men. It looks like their presence was causing them to speed things up.

"Nate, we got another problem. Our ex-KGB is here with three others." Eliot murmured and continued on looking like he was being concerned with Mike.

"We're all done here, Hardison, did you get check out if there were any bugs?"

"Nah, but it's possible that they didn't know about Litt."

"Then how did they know about the whole dinner thing?"

"Parker, are you out of Specter's place?"

There was a pause before everyone on the com heard a ding of an elevator.

"Parker?"

"Yes, Nate?"

"Are you in the glass elevator?"

"No?"

Then there was a rustle of a wrapper crinkling and someone chewing.

"Parker, please tell me you didn't take the chocolate."

"Nahooh."

No one in the group believed that answer.

"Forget it. Eliot, Mike, get out of there and follow the agent. If they attack, stop them. Everyone else, let's get back to the safe house."

Mike stayed quiet as Eliot made their excuses. He mentioned that the rest should stay for the dessert and that the bill will be picked up by them. The Fixer mentally winced at the speculated look on Louis's face. The man was going to order the most expensive wines again like he did during the Rookie Dinner. He made a mental note to warn Eliot about it before they left.

As Eliot led him away from the table, he took one more look over at the table. Rachel gave him a small smile and a little wave that he returned with a smile of his own. Louis was looked like he was scheme and resisting the urge to reach for the wine menu. Harvey was watching the two of them with a look that Mike remembered to say 'God I'm so glad I'm not him.'

However his heart froze at the look Donna was giving them. It was not the 'Die, you lowly peon' or the 'Bitch, please' looks that Mike observed and received when he worked with Harvey. Because he would really like to receive any of those looks instead of the 'Oh! Secret! Me want to dig and me will find' look that Mike had only seen once when one of the associates was trying to hide the fact that he was sleeping with one of the mail clerks – one of the males ones.

He really, really hope Donna did not figure out he was cross dressing.

Oh god! I am so sorry for the long wait! I was stuck about this whole dinner thing and then realizing that I'm not going along with the story. Also I have the urge to try to do some work with my other fics that they started a war in my brain where I threw myself into reading fanfics of all fandoms!

Anyways, I like to thank everyone who has given me reviews, alerts, and read some of my other fics. Please keep on supporting me and LiliFarye who has written so many awesome fics!