DISCLAIMER: I own nothing to do with the Librarians or Leverage, sadly. If Dean Devlin or anyone who does own them wants anything of this, it's theirs.

"Oh, that's okay. I'm a better thief than he is. I'll help. What are we stealing?" When Jacob calls Eliot for assistance, Parker answers.

#

Jacob Stone loved everything about being a Librarian, from having access to every art portfolio in history to finding out that there really were more things in heaven and earth than had been dreamt of in his philosophy.

Even when those things were dragons.

And even when one of those dragons - Eastern, according to Flynn - was sitting one room away, in the main room at the Annex, threatening to wreak havoc if their stolen treasure weren't returned.

It was, Jacob reflected, all in a day's work. Much more interesting work than the family business or an oil rig.

"All right," Flynn said as he came back into the anteroom where Jacob, Eve Baird, and Cassandra Cillian were waiting. "Ezekiel's the Arbiter, can't do anything about that, but I did manage to get Jenkins appointed as Consigliere."

"That helps how?" Eve asked.

"Jenkins will keep Ezekiel from doing anything too stupid while we go search for the missing treasure."

"He called it a pearl," Cassandra said. "A mystic pearl."

"Mr. Drake represents the Eastern dragons," Flynn said, "so I'm guessing he means the Pearl of Zhou. If the Western dragons stole it, their last known stronghold was in the caverns underneath Rome."

"So we're going to Rome to fight dragons who stole a mystic pearl?" Cassandra asked.

Jacob had to grin. "I love this job."

"Hopefully not fight," Flynn said. "More of an extraction."

"We're talking a heist," Eve said.

"We're taking it back," Jacob confirmed, still grinning at the prospect. "It's a repo job."

"The one time we absolutely need Jones, there's no way to pull him free?" Eve sounded frustrated.

"No," Flynn confirmed. "He's stuck for as long as it takes to review the dragons' grievances."

"How long will that be?" Cassandra asked.

"Well, they've been adding to the list since the last intercession," Flynn said. "That was in 1906, so it could be a while."

Jacob felt his grin fading as the enormity of what they were doing finally surfaced and, with it, a solution to at least part of the problem.

"I'll call Eliot," he said.

"Who's Eliot?" Cassandra and Flynn said, almost in unison.

"No," Eve said.

"He retrieves things," Jacob reminded her. "And you know his other skills. Might be good to have with us if things go sideways."

"Sideways?" Flynn sounded skeptical. "Things never go sideways."

"Things always go sideways." It was Jacob's turn to chorus with Eve.

Then Eve sighed. "I don't like it, but you're right."

Jacob reached for his phone, the fancy new one Eliot had given him, tapped the contacts, and then E for Eliot.

"Who are you and what do you want?" It was a woman's voice, suspicious and even hostile.

Jacob checked the display - no, he'd definitely tapped the E. "It's Jacob - Jake. I want to talk to Eliot."

"Jake?" the woman sounded confused now. Then, "Oh! Happy Eliot!"

The nickname almost made him smile, even as it confirmed he was talking to Parker. "Can I talk to Eliot?"

"No."

Jacob waited, but when she didn't say anything else, he asked, "Why not?"

"Just a sec." Jacob could hear muffled conversation for a few moments before Parker spoke into the phone again. "I think it's because he's getting stitches. Hardison thinks it's because he's sedated."

Jacob blinked at her casual reference to his twin being hurt. Before he could ask for details, she said, "What's up?"

"I was going to ask for his help retrieving something," Jacob said. "But -"

Parker cut him off. "Oh, that's okay. I'm a better thief than he is. I'll help. What are we stealing?"

"A pearl. From a dragon."

"Cool - I've never stolen from a dragon before. I'll get my gear and be there in twenty."

#

"So who is this person we don't know that you've invited to the Library?" Flynn asked as Jacob led them to the Annex's mundane entrance.

"I know her," Jacob said. "Eve knows her."

"I do?" Eve said. Then she frowned. "Wait - the blonde from the bar?"

"Brewpub," Jacob corrected. "And there were two blondes."

"It's not Dr. Collins," Eve said. "Not from the way you talked to her. So it's the other blonde from the bar. Brewpub. Who is she?"

"A friend of Eliot's," Jacob said. "And a pretty good pickpocket, at least. She's willing to help us get the pearl back."

"Maybe she can help," Cassandra said. "I mean, she's obviously not Ezekiel, but having a thief along can only help. Right?"

Flynn muttered something about trust and thieves, and Jacob tuned them out. He'd met Parker a couple of times, and there was no denying the woman was … odd. The only question was, what form would her oddness take today?

He opened the door to late afternoon sun and saw Parker, clad all in black, her long blonde hair tucked up into a black leather cap. She had a backpack slung over one shoulder. If she'd meant to be intimidating, the effort failed when she smiled.

"Let's go steal a pearl," she said. "Where is it?"

"Rome," Jacob answered automatically.

"Oh. I could've met you at the airport."

"No need," Flynn said. He'd either accepted Jacob's judgment in this, or he'd decided to go with events and see what happened. With Flynn, either possibility was equally likely. "We have other ways of travel."

"What other ways?" Parker asked. "Ooh! Magic's real - do you have a flying carpet?"

"Not at the moment," Flynn said. "But they're not good for long distances anyway - too much wind, too cold at altitude."

Parker seemed to accept that, and Jacob led the way through the corridors of the Annex to the Back Door. The route took them straight to the main room, where Jenkins and Ezekiel sat with Drake.

Drake didn't bother to acknowledge them, but Jenkins looked up, blinked when he saw Parker, but otherwise didn't react. Ezekiel, however, never knew when to stay quiet.

"Who's that?" he asked.

"A friend," Jacob said before Parker could answer.

"A consultant for this mission," Flynn added. His tone was harder when he continued, "Since the Arbiter can't leave the Intercession, we were forced to bring in a consultant."

It was obvious Ezekiel wanted to protest, but Jenkins merely said, "Good luck, sir."

"Thank you, Jenkins," Flynn said, then he opened the Back Door, and stepped through into a night.

Baird and Cassandra followed. Parker looked skeptical, and Jacob took a step forward. "C'mon."

Parker looked at him, seemed to take some reassurance from just his presence, and then stepped forward. Jacob stayed beside her as they stepped through the portal.

"We're in Rome," Parker said as the door closed behind them.

"Wow," Cassandra said, staring out over the skyline.

Jacob agreed with the sentiment. "This was on my bucket list."

Flynn brought them back to the present. "The entrance to the dragons' lair is in a little courtyard off the Vatican."

"Where's the Vatican?" Eve asked.

"I don't know," Cassandra said. "You'd think being up this high we could see it."

"You can," Parker said. "Technically."

"Technically?" Eve asked. "What does that mean?"

"It means we're on the Vatican," Parker said. "See up there? That's where I anchored my rig last time I was here."

"You've been here before." Flynn sounded dubious.

"I broke into the archive." By contrast, Parker sounded matter-of-fact, almost nonchalant. "I don't know why anyone would want an old book, but they paid really well. Which courtyard?"

"Western dragons, western courtyard," Flynn said.

"This way." Parker was gone almost before she finished saying the words. From the expressions on his companions' faces, Jacob wasn't the only one who wasn't sure where she'd gone.

Then a man in green robes came from one side. "Scusi. Scusi."

"Thinking we should go," Flynn said.

"Where?" Eve asked.

"Here." Parker's voice came from the shadows, and Jacob realized she'd opened a concealed door. "Come on, he's seen you."

"Was that the Pope?" Cassandra asked, her tone caught somewhere between awed and schoolgirl excited.

"Possibly," Flynn answered. "She's right, let's go."

And then they were in the passage Parker had found, just as alarms started to sound. The door closed behind them, muffling the noise.

"What is this place?" Eve asked.

"A secret passage, of course," Parker answered. "The Vatican's got lots."

"And you know where we're going?" Cassandra asked.

"West," Parker said. "This way."