The First David Job - Recap

A drunken Nate gets out of a taxi and staggers up to a museum dedicating a wing to Ian Blackpoole, CEO of IYS Insurance. Nate shoves a guard down, grabs his gun, and aims it at Blackpoole as he comes out. When Nate says he isn't there to kill him, Blackpoole invites him inside. As Nate takes a drink, he tells Blackpoole that he's there to sell him something and whispers in his ear. Blackpoole accuses him of lying but Nate says it wouldn't be worth his time. The millionaire than calls over: Sophie, undercover.

Two weeks earlier

A drunken Nate comes into the briefing room and finds the team waiting for him. They tell him about Blackpoole, the man who refused treatment for Nate's son. Nate snaps at them and reminds them that he's a functioning alcoholic. The team tells him that he doesn't need rehab, he needs revenge.

Now

Blackpoole explains that Sophie is there to negotiate a loan for some of his collection. Eliot is posing as a art professor, Sophie's art specialist, but Blackpoole says to wait. He wants to show her the Second David in his restoration vault.

Two weeks earlier

Sophie shows the team a photo of the statue of David, and explains that Michelangelo made smaller scale models, maquettes. Michelangelo made two maquettes of David, and the Second David was stolen from the Vatican and is missing. Blackpoole has the First David.

Now

Blackpoole takes Sophie and Nate into his vault, unlocking it with a thumbprint scanner. There's a randomized laser grid inside that he shuts down, and explains that there is 4" steel, infrared detection, and motion sensors. As she shows them the First David, Nate takes a picture on his cell phone and sends it to Parker and Hardison in the car.

Two weeks earlier

The team plans to sell Blackpoole a fake Second David. When he insures it, they'll reveal it as a fake and he'll be busted for insurance fraud, and IYS will be ruined. Nate warns that Blackpoole won't buy a fake, but Sophie has that covered.

Now

Nate offers to sell Blackpoole the Second David for $8 million, and Sophie verifies the photo as accurate. Blackpoole agrees to buy it and then donate it to the Vatican upon his death. Sophie and Nate agree, and Nate goes outside to call Eliot over. Blackpoole asks Nate why he came to him, and Nate admits that he hates him, but he needs the money. Eliot comes over with the woman he's hitting on, and Nate realizes that it's his ex-wife, Maggie Collins.

Sophie gets Eliot and Blackpoole away, leaving Nate to talk to Maggie. She explains that she's under contract to the museum, and she's there to oversee the opening. Maggie worries about him based on hearing Nate say he needs money. Nate struggles to stay in character with her. Meanwhile, Blackpoole explains that Maggie works for him checking art for insurance purposes. Eliot examines the photos of Nate's Second David and says he'll have to see the original. Maggie comes over and offers to verify the Second David, and Blackpoole agrees over Sophie's objections. If they don't let Maggie examine the sculpture, he walks. Nate immediately agrees and goes off with Sophie, and they figure they have to steal the First David and pass it off as the Second David to Maggie. Nate tells Parker to come in as a caterer and set up the break-in.

Parker comes in and gets ice and a roll of aluminum foil. Hardison poses as a waiter and gets some shrimp, and Parker borrows some dark eye shadow from Sophie. They get to the door and Parker pretends to make out with Hardison. When the guards come over, they point out that she bumped the door. Once they leave, Parker goes in and uses the eye shadow to get Blackpoole's fingerprint off of the scanner and onto a cloth. Hardison would rather talk about the kiss.

Inside the vault, Parker puts ice in a cone of aluminum foil and Hardison put it next to the heat sensors. Parker flips through the first part of the laser grid and uses the aluminum foil to create a corridor to get past the second half and grab the First David.

Outside, Maggie tries to talk to Nate about his issues and insists that she never stopped caring about him. Sophie, hearing the conversation over the earbud, is less than thrilled. Meanwhile, Parker puts their fake Second David in the vault and takes the First David, and Hardison sets off the car alarms in the parking lot by remote. When the motion sensors in the vault go off, the guards figure it was a tremor, the same one that set off the car alarms.

Maggie offers Nate a place to stay, but he walks away with Eliot... but not before Maggie insists on giving Eliot her number. Nate is less than thrilled.

Back at headquarters, Nate reminds Parker that they're going to give the First David back. Sophie suggests that they set it up so it looks like both Davids are fakes. Blackpoole's own board of directors would sue him and audit all of his sales of the last ten years. Nate gets up and walks into the next room, and asks to talk to Sophie in private. He warns her not to con her own team, and Sophie figures that Nate is worried because of Maggie's involvement. Nate finally admits that Maggie doesn't know that IYS and Blackpoole denied Sam's treatment, because he never told her. Sophie insists that he's an honest man, and asks if he wants to walk away. Nate refuses, insisting that Blackpoole denied treatment to plenty of other children. Sophie walks away, warning him that he thinks too much.

The next day, Hardison goes to the airport and claims to be an FAA inspector, and "borrows" a private jet. He has the pilot taxi the plane around the hangar. Meanwhile, Nate and Eliot are in the airport lounge nearby. Maggie and Blackpoole meet, and Parker is there as a receptionist. She tells them that the flight from Dubai containing Nate's seller have arrived. They all go into the hangar and Hardison emerges, now wearing Arabic clothing. He turns over the statue with the First David for Maggie to inspect, thinking it's the Second David. She confirms that it's real.

They go back inside and Maggie notices that Parker is gone. She admits to Nate that she enjoyed working with him again, and that it felt familiar. Maggie asks Nate to call her. Nate mutters "no" under his breath after she's gone. Outside, Maggie and Blackpoole find Sophie waiting for them with an armored car and the $8 million loan. Nate then comes out... and punches Blackpoole in the face. The CEO takes it in stride and leaves, chuckling. Nate explains to Sophie that Blackpoole wouldn't have believed him otherwise. As Nate and Sophie check with Hardison, who is driving home with the money, they're unaware that someone is secretly taking photos of them together.

Eliot spots the photographer and a fight breaks out. As they fight, Eliot warns Nate that they're blown. The photographer, Mr. Quinn, breaks one of Eliot's ribs and notices that "he" said that Eliot would be tougher.

As Hardison goes into headquarters, several men in suits follow him, lead by Mr. Geary.

Parker drops onto the armored car and breaks into the back. She gets inside and finds someone waiting for her: Jim Sterling.

The men in suits break into Leverage headquarters and take Hardison captive.

Eliot refuses to go down despite a vicious beating. He finally lures Quinn in, drops him, and uses the earbud to warn Nate. They're interrupted by Sterling, who is using Parker's earbud. He informs Nate that they have Hardison, Parker, and the $8 million. He tells Nate to meet him at the place where they used to drink together after work.

Nate and Sophie meet Sterling atop the IYS building. He wants the Second David, but Nate insists he doesn’t have it. When Sterling points out who came up with the plan to get the First David, Nate realizes that Sophie had the Second David all along. Sophie admits she stole the Second David ten years ago and still has it. Sterling tells her to turn it over by the end of the day, and sends Nate to go to his office with Geary and the others, while Sophie brings Sterling the Second David. Sterling walks away, leaving Nate his drink. Nate takes a sip and then glares at Sophie, who walks away.

Later, Sophie takes Nate to the storage facility where she hid the Second David. She explains that she was an honest citizen when Nate found her, but she had a very good retirement plan. She takes out the maquette from among the other treasures she's stolen. When Nate challenges her, Sophie points out that he sets their offices up in the same city as Blackpoole, and that he always planned to go after the CEO. She explains that she couldn't resist having both Davids, and stealing the first one helped Nate. When Nate points out that they are both addicts, Sophie says that everyone is addicted to the past, and he wanted to feel the way with Maggie that he used to be. She warns him that he'll always think he's better than his criminal teammates, and wonders where they go from here. Nate figures that since Sterling knows how they think they have to think like somebody else.

Sophie meets Sterling and his men atop the IYS building. She has the Second David on the edge of the building. She prepares to make the switch, and Sterling agrees once Nate arrives at headquarters and Geary puts him together with Hardison. Sterling secretly tells Geary to keep Nate and Hardison \, and then has Sophie get Parker while his men get the maquette. Parker warns Sophie that Sterling has men at the bottom of the stairs down.

Eliot arrives at the office only to find Geary is waiting with five men.

Sophie admits to Parker that she didn't know how she would get off the roof, but then she thought of what Parker would do.

At the office, Nate notes that Eliot is in no condition to fight, but he thought, "What would Hardison do?"

Sophie reveals she's wearing a jump harness.

Eliot takes out a remote and triggers a high-pitched frequency over his opponent's earbuds.

Parker runs to Sophie and they leap off the roof together... and fall down the line that Sophie has rigged.

Sterling calls Geary, and Nate tells him that his plan is blown. As Nate leaves with Eliot and Hardison, Hardison tells Eliot come back and bring the painting that he made. Later, Sterling arrives and finds Geary and the others tied up. He figures that the Leverage team left a paper trail, and starts to order a search. Hardison appears on the big screens, tells them to get out, and sets off a 30-second counter. Sterling and his men make a hasty exit. They get to the street just as the entire top floor blows up. Sterling goes to give Blackpoole the David and collects his fee and his promotion. When Geary wonders about Nate, Sterling assures that he's sent photos of the team to all of the law enforcement agencies. He's taken the team's money and base. Sterling figures that as professionals, they'll have no choice but to scatter.

Somewhere in the streets of Los Angeles, the team scatters.

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