- Sophie must keep her feelings in check when she discovers that someone has written a memoir of the team, casting himself as Nate – which leads an exiled criminal to kidnap Harry and “Fake Nate”, forcing the Leverage team to pull a heist.
- Someone claiming to be Nate prepares to sell a book about the crew's exploit, endangering them and all of their past client. They set out to find who the author is, how he knows so much about them, and discover that someone plants to use the "Mastermind"'s vaunted expertise to pull off a heist to his benefit.—Gislef
- Sophie runs up to Eliot and Parker, and says that her cover is blown as alarms go off. Fake Nate walks up and tells them that they should keep their heads, and he knows they can because he's the Mastermind.
King Navid looks at a manuscript of 'The Mastermind' and figures that's exactly what he needs, and chuckles in triumph.
At the bar, Sophie prepares to go out for the anniversary of Nate's death, and Parker tries to stop her. Eliot brings Sophie some of her favorite vegan dishes that he made for her, and Sophie tells them to stop cosset her, and insists that she's fine. Harry comes in with Sophie's favorite British drama for movie night, and Sophie says that she's going to go buy clothes to cope. Breana arrives and shows them the manuscript, and the team read the copies. They wonder how someone has all the intel on them, and Eliot complains that he's portrayed as a brute who flips his hair a lot. The manuscript kept popping up the Internet, and Hardison's algorithm kept finding it popping up. The book hasn't been published yet, and Eliot warns that there's enough right to be dangerous.
Sophie is clearly upset about reading the manuscript, and Harry joins her with a drink. She tells him that it's the anniversary of the day she and Nate met, and she talks about how it feels like Nate is back when she reads the manuscript. Sophie points out that she isn't in the book, and apparently she isn't important to the story. Harry figures that Nate didn't feel that way, and Breana tries to track down the author but finds nothing. The publishing company put out a website on the author, but there is booking info about media appearances, and the publishing contract has a kill clause so the author can stop it at any time. Sophie figures that the author isn't Nate, and he's going to pay for that.
The author is preparing to do an appearance at a TV studio, and Eliot and Harry come in as exterminators and claim there's an outbreak of rare dangerous insects. Once everyone leaves, Fake Nate pulls up and Breana is outside to greet him. She brings him in, pretending to be a PA, and Navid comes up and says that he was hoping to have a word with Fake Nate. Breana blows Navid off and goes inside, and manages to get hold of Fake Nate's phone. She clones it and sends him to the studio, and figures Fake Nate is a schmo.
Fake Nate comes in where Eliot and Parker are waiting, and Breana comes in and calls in Sophie, posing as the host Fake Nate sits down with her and recites Nate's words about what the team does. Sophie points out that everyone stole from knows who he is, and Fake Nate says he didn't think of that. Suddenly nervous, Fake Nate says that he knows how to counteract any measures taken against him, and Sophie sarcastically says that he's a mastermind and can handle any situation. Fake Nate vaguely agrees, and the show ends and Breana escorts Fake Nate out. He discovers that he's been hacked out of his own phone, and someone is demanding a million dollars or they'll release all of Fake Nate's emails.
Parker approaches Fake Nate and tells him she's a Russian agent. She says that they need to contact one of his marks, an oligarch, and want Fake Nate to reach out to him while wearing a wire. Fake Nate excuses himself to use the restroom. He runs for the exit, and Eliot grabs him and pretends to be a former mark looking for revenge, but is going to let Fake Nate run for the rest of his life.
Fake Nate runs out, and Harry approaches him and claims he's the publisher's lawyer and it's the publisher's responsibility to protect Fake Nate. Harry suggests that Fake Nate cancel the book's publication, and Fake Nate hugs him in relief. Breana and Sophie are inside watching via a hidden camera, and something scrambles the signal. Navid and his thugs dart Fake Nate and Harry, then load them in a van and drive off. The others come out, and Breana confirms that someone used a high-grade military signal jammer to block the cameras. Breana brings up image of Navid from earlier, and Eliot identifies him as from a Middle Eastern nation, Zafir. They go to the airfield Navid and his mercenaries were heading.
When Fake Nate wakes up, he's in Navid's limo. Navid tells Fake Nate that he's about to steal something for him. They pull up to a private museum in south of France, and Navid explains that he wants Fake Nate to steal Zafir's most treasured artifact: the Zafir Scarab. He admits that the Scarab doesn't belong to him, but his ex-wife Liliana. Navid escorts Fake Nate inside before Liliana can see them, Inside, Navid explains that he and Liliana got divorced, and she got the Scarab in the settlement. He wants it back, and he can't afford the international fallout of having his men shoot the place up. Navid needs a mastermind, and there'll be a party where Fake Nate can blend in. If Fake Nate doesn't get the Scarab by the end of the day Navid will kill Harry and Fake Nate. Fake Nate says that he doesn't know Harry, but Navid figures that Fake Nate is putting on an act.
As Navid walks off, Sophie comes up to Fake Nate and tells him that he's in a fix. Eliot is there as well, and drags Fake Nate out to a food truck. Breana is there, and Fake Nate realizes who they are. Fake Nate admits that he's an accountant for IYS, Nate's insurance company, and was Nate's forensic accountant. The accountants did the behind-the-scenes research, and Nate was the only one who paid them any attention, praising them. Fake Nate admits that he's boring and knows it, but Nate said everyone has a superpower and one day they'd find Fake Nate's. Then Nate left the company, so Fake Nate "borrowed" Nate's life and was fascinating. Parker is in a warehouse vent, and Sophie gives Fake Nate a comm. Breana explains that they tracked Fake Nate's phone to a warehouse, and Parker went there to rescue Harry.
Fake Nate explains that he eventually caught up to Nate after Nate left IYS, and told him all about the crew. Fake Nate got laid off and needed the money, so he published the pieces of the stories he had. He explains that now they have to steal the Scarab, and Sophie tells him that they're getting Harry back and going home.
Parker sneaks into the warehouse and frees Harry. Breana checks and confirms that Navid was overthrown by democratic rebels. The only asset that wasn't seized was the Scarab, because it wasn't his. If Navid sells the Scarab, he can afford mercenary teams to take Zafir back. If they don't steal the Scarab, Navid will take it and reclaim his throne, and Sophie tells Parker to leave Harry where he is. Breana warns that the security around the Scarab is impenetrable, while Parker leaves her taser with Harry and leaves. Fake Nate wonders how they steal the Scarab, and everyone looks to him as "the Mastermind".
The party begins, and Sophie and Fake Nate watch from a distance and Sophie tells Fake Nate that they need him seen taking part in the con. Eliot goes in and Breana locates a room in the basement that is probably the security control room. She spots a hidden door going to it, and Sophie will go down and distract the guards, Eliot will watch the perimeter, and Parker will penetrate the pressurized case and steal the Scarab. Fake Nate remembers that IYS insures the Scarab, boring Breana to sleep. Sophie tells him that it's best that he stick as close as possible to his true self, and he figures that Sophie new to the crew. She says that she was Nate's wife, and it never came up in Fake Nate's conversations with Nate. Sophie approaches Liliana and claims she's a duchess, and introduces Fake Nate as her insurance agent, there to inspect the security.
In the warehouse, Harry drops the taser, warning his guard, Drago. Harry covers it, claiming he was trying to get some circulation in his limbs, and points out Navid has no money to pay his mercenaries.
Parker goes in posing as the decorator and takes some helium-filled balloons decorating the party into the room with the case. She tell Eliot that they need to clear out the room, and Eliot asks Liliana to speak to her in private. Intrigued, Liliana follows him into the nearby greenhouse, and he says that he's agent assigned to keep track of Navid. Eliot seduces Liliana, saying he was told to let Navid kill her but he's disobeying orders. He knocks out one of her bodyguards as the man approaches them, claims the man was one of Navid's killers, and tells Liliana that she should get the guests in one concentrated area so no one will try to kill her. Eliot tells Liliana that he'll be there if she needs him and walks away, and she does as Eliot said.
The guests gather in one spot outside, and Fake Nate tells Sophie that he doesn't know why Nate never mentioned her. Sophie tells him to stop, and she doesn't need him to feel sorry for her. She needs him to realize how much pain he's caused, and how little he really knew Nate, and then she needs him to stand watch, cancel his books so no one else gets hurts, and then disappear. Eliot arrives, and then Liliana arrives and pulls Sophie and Eliot over to the others.
Harry continues undermining Drago's confidence in Navid's ability to pay, and Drago says that they did a background check and confirmed Navid has $10 million. Harry offers to set Drago up with an IRA account.
Sophie tells Fake Nate over the coms that he'll have to distract the guards. He admits that he has no ability and bores people to sleep, and then he enters the security room, claims that he's with IYS, talks about the security specs, and bores the techs to sleep, while Breana helps by raising the room's temperature. Parker climbs across the sprinkler pipes which don't have security, overloads the sensor with helium from the balloon she's holding, and removes the Scarab.
Parker drops the balloon and sets off the alarm, waking up the techs in the security room. They spot Parker on the monitors and head to the room, and Sophie tells Fake Nate to leave. Eliot assures Liliana that the police are on the way, and walks off even though Liliana wants to kiss him. Parker joins up with Sophie and Eliot and shows them the Scarab, while Fake Nate gets out only to find Navid and his men waiting for him. They drive him away, and the team hears it all over the comms.
The team drives after Navid's limo, and Sophie has Fake Nate tell Navid that the Scarab will "meet them" at the warehouse, and they'll trade the Scarab for Harry. Sophie figures that they'll do what Nate would have done: walk directly into the fire
Navid and his men bring Fake Nate into the warehouse, and Drago brings Harry along. Sophie comes in and says that she's with Fake Nate, and Fake Nate says that Sophie is his co-mastermind and that's why she's not in the book. He figures that's why Nate never told her secrets and tells Navid as much. Sophie says that she has the Scarab and Navid takes it and tells Drago to kill them. Harry tells Drago that they have a bond, and Sophie tells Navid that it's the wrong form. Fake Nate takes the hint from their earlier conversation and starts talking about how Liliana used the wrong form because the Scarab is a fake. He breaks it on the floor, and Sophie adds that Liliana probably sold off the original years ago to fund her lifestyle.
Navid says that he's paid off the local authorities, and Sophie points out that some of Liliana's guests were with Interpol, which will be there in no time. Drago demands his money before killing anyone, and Navid discovers that there's no money in his Swiss bank account because Harry got the account number from Drago earlier, which Breana intercepted and drained the money. Sophie leaves with Harry and Fake Nate, while the mercenaries express their displeasure to Navid.
Back at the bar, the team confirms that Navid chose to be arrested rather than be killed by his own mercenaries. Some of the other crews want to use Fake Nate's "superpower". Sophie asks Fake Nate to sign her copy of the manuscript, and Fake Nate admits that he didn't know the book would hurt so many people, including Sophie. Sophie says that taking down Navid made up for anything Fake Nate did. and he signs it with his real name: Milton Friedlander. Sophie says that thanks to Milton, she got to pull one last job with Nate.
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