The Mile High Job - Recap

At Leverage HQ, a couple arrive and explain that their daughter Jennifer died with tumrous masses in her chest, but Genogrow Industries denied their fertilizer was responsible and claimed that Jenna had a pre-existing condition. They can't get access to the company's research report because their lawyers keep stalling. Nate figures that means there's a smoking gun, and they're going to find it.

Sophie goes into Genogrow's front desk and starts speaking in French. While she distracts them, Parker breaks in and lets in Nate and Eliot. They head for the 30th floor and their target, Allen Haldeman, but discover that the elevators are locked down. Eliot starts to say they need Hardison, but Nate tells him not to say Hardison's name. Instead he insists that they go up the stairs: all 30 floors. They discover another key card reader there, and Nate vows to kill Hardison. Parker prepares to blow the lock.



At HQ, Hardison is making a microwave burrito. When he drops it, he eats it off the floor.

Parker gets them into Haldeman's office

Hardison waters the plants.

Nate and the others search for a paper trail and Parker boots up the computer. At HQ, Hardison realizes that they're on a job and calls them. He claims his electricity went out. Haldeman arrives and Hardison hacks the security systems, and Nate and the others hide. When Haldeman comes in, he doesn't notice them and tells the person he's calling that the Cayman flight will be leaving in the hour, and he needs the caller to keep an eye on it, or he's going to lose the company. They realize that Haldeman plans to bankrupt the agricultural division. It will wipe out their clients' chances of getting their money back. Eliot warns that it will be cutting it close to get to the airport in time, but Nate vows to get someone on the plane and stop Haldeman. Hardison unlocks the elevator and they go down, and then out past the guards, screaming that someone is chasing them. Nate grabs Sophie and explains as they leave what's going on.

At LAX, Hardison books them two seats in first class. Sophie and Nate go on, posing as a married couple. Eliot has an air marshal badge, and Eliot figures the odds are that there won't be another one on the flight. Hardison then calls a flight attendant and tells her that her cat has been injured. Eliot trips over her bag and Parker steals it and leaves a fake one. Sophie and Nate steal a bag from lost and found, and discover that the couple they took it from are into S&M. Hardison is at Nate's desk, and Nate tells him to go to Genogrow and finish what they started by finding the smoking gun.



The crew goes on board and Parker claims that the person she's replacing was promoted. Meanwhile, Sophie suggests that they go over their own back stories, and Sophie is disappointed to learn that Nate doesn't remember when they met. Parker begins her pre-flight instructions in her own inimitable style. Nate warns the others that they have five and a half hours to find their mystery man and get what he has.

The plane takes off and Nate orders alcohol. Eliot is stuck in coach with a passenger sleeping on his shoulder. Parker refuses to take the order of a passenger, Marissa Devins, and tells her to wait for her drink. Hardison tells Sophie that he's hacked into the airplane's comm system so they can continue using their earbuds. He then goes in to Genogrow posing as a cleaner and takes the elevator. He then changes into a business suit and continues on his way.

Nate and Sophie meet with Parker and figure out who they can rule out as too young or old. Parker suggests that the liquidated funds could be traveler's checks or bearers bonds. They start searching the carryon luggage as best they can, and Marissa tries to get another ginger ale from Parker. Parker refuses to serve her a third one and tries to reassure her by noting all the other ways they can die. Marissa isn't reassured.



Sophie distracts another passenger while Nate searches his briefcase. He notes that her encounter reminded him of Paris, and she points out it was Tuscany, and gets mad again.

Hardison watches Haldeman and makes small talk with Cheryl, until he realizes they're fellow World of Warcraft fans. Nate realizes that Hardison blew them off to play the new expansion, and wants to know if Hardison has got into Haldeman's office. Hardison sets up a fake meeting and gets Haldeman out of his office, He then fakes illness and leaves, and breaks into Haldeman's office to hack the computer.



Between them, the team has found millions of dollars of stolen items, but nothing for Genogrow. Meanwhile, Hardison matches the passenger list to Genogrow and comes up with two matches: Marissa Devins and Dan Erlick. Marissa is an accountant and Dan with security, and they're in different sections. However, their tickets were purchased on the same company credit card at the same time. Hardison sends the photos and Parker realizes that Marissa is her trouble passenger. She goes to watch her while Nate and Sophie check on Erlick.

Marissa is surprised to discover that Parker is suddenly doting on her. Parker asks her why she's going to the Cayman Islands, but Marissa says she is on a company trip and has no idea there's anyone else with Genogrow on board.

Nate and Sophie stage a fight and then Sophie goes over and convinces Erlick to buy her a drink. Hardison checks the files and determines that Erlick met with Haldeman just before he left. However, Hardison confirms that men are going through Marissa's files, and they figure that she knows more than she's supposed to, and she's the asset they're liquidating. Sophie wants to tell Marissa, but Parker warns that the accountant is already paranoid. They figure Marissa has information that can help their clients, and Nate tells Eliot to talk to her while posing as an air marshal.



Eliot gets Marissa alone in first class and she explains she noted some accounting irregularities in the safety studies for the fertilizer. She brought it up with Haldeman, and he sent her to the Cayman Islands to audit the offshore accounts. Eliot explains that the payments were bribes and Haldeman paid off the researchers. Parker gets her a ginger ale and tells her that Haldeman wants to kill her. They figure that Erlick is there to make sure that Marissa gets off the plane, and then kill her.

Hardison mediates between Cheryl and co-worker Steve, who are arguing with each other. Nate calls Hardison and tells him to steal Haldeman's hard drive, and Hardison wonders how he can get Haldeman out of there a second time. He tells Steve and Cheryl that it's his birthday to distract them.

Sophie tries to keep Marissa calm and suggests they go for a walk. Erlick follows them Eliot grabs him and pulls him into the bathroom, and then knocks him out after a vicious fight. He leaves and Parker puts an "out of order" sign on the door. Hardison finds Haldeman's laptop in a secret compartment and tells them that he made a stop-payment on a payment to Erlick. They realize that Erlick is on Haldeman's hit list, and the CEO is eliminating the man in charge of eliminating the evidence. Nate and Eliot figure that Haldeman must intend to bring down the plane. Eliot figures there's a bomb in the cargo hold, in Marissa's or Erlick's luggage.



Eliot and Nate try to wake up Erlick, but realize that Eliot did too good a job. They take his luggage tags and break into the cargo hold, Meanwhile, Sophie convince Marissa to tell them which bag is hers. Both bags are clean, but Hardison has Parker check the electrical systems. He has her connect her phone into the computer system and detects an electrical spike. Parker finds a timer device hooked up to black box, and Hardison realizes they can spoof the systems and bring down the plane.

Eliot bursts into the cockpit and tells the flight crew that Nate's an FAA engineer. The plane starts to go down and Sophie straps herself in. Nate explains that someone has hacked into the navigation system. He contacts Hardison, who warns that he doesn't have enough aeronautical knowledge to do it. Nate insists that he trusts Hardison, and he always comes through in the clutch. Hardison psychs himself up and tells Parker to cut all the wires. He gets a lock on the virus and tells Parker to sever the last wire when the numbers stop counting down. When she does it, Hardison has the pilot reboot the system and they get control just in time. They have no choice but to put down on a runaway: the Florida Keys bridge. Nate sits down and contacts Sophie, and assures her that he'll remember this one.

The plane touches down on the bridge and the flight crew brings it to a halt. The crowd cheers and Hardison applauds himself and then gets out of Genogrow, faking a conversation with Haldeman that he's been fired. He walks out with the hard drive among his "belongings" The crew gets Marissa off the plane, and she warns them that all of the evidence is in her office. Nate assures her that they got it out, and asks her to testify against Genogrow.



Later, the crew watch as Haldeman is arrested. Hardison insists that everything worked out but they're still mad at him. Once the others go, Sophie thanks Nate for getting it right for the first time, and he describes what happened to them 10 years ago when they met for the first time even though she didn't know it, and then 8 years ago when they formally met. She congratulates him on a game well played and leaves.

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