A/N: I'm not really sure if there's much of an audience for Grace on M:I Tumblr yet but I totally fell in love with her in Dead Reckoning Part One and have really been wanting to write for her so I hope that anyone that reads this will enjoy it!
Grace nearly fell in love with you the second she laid eyes on you. She wasn’t supposed to. She was in a bar for a job, meant to be pick-pocketing something from a mark that she was tailing. But there you were – the unassuming bartender, just doing your job, and Grace couldn’t tear her eyes away from you.
She had things to do and here she was, staring at you like some creep across the bar. Every time you laughed at something one of your coworkers said, every time you smiled at a customer, she fell more and more head over heels for you and she didn’t even know your name. Oh, she was well and truly done for.
It was only when the man she was tailing went up to the bar to order a drink and ended up ordering one from you that she remembered that she was working and had things to be doing. She pushed the hair out of her face and took a sip of her own drink, keeping her eyes focused on the man as he waited for his drink to be ready, his fingers tapping to the beat of the song on the bar.
She watched as he shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled something out, her eyes focusing on it. The USB. That was what she was here for. The man clearly had no idea how expensive what was on it was or he wouldn’t have been flaunting it around the bar.
You returned with his drink, sliding it over to him across the bar and asking him how he was going to pay. He handed over a $10 note. Grace watched in horror as he sat the USB down on the bar to pick up his drink and have a sip of it. Then, he picked it back up and slipped it back inside his pocket.
Grace started to drift closer towards the bar. This would be a good time to swipe it, she decided. She kept an eye on you, too, as you walked back up to him.
“I’m out of change, I’ve just got to get some from out the back,” you said to the man.
Grace expected you to go out the back of the bar, but she watched, confused, as you lifted up part of the bar and came out into the main part of the bar, joining the crowd. She was even more confused as you walked towards her and then, right in front of her, she watched as you carefully swiped the USB out of the mans pocket and then walked right past Grace and through a door not far behind her.
She spun around, watching as the door closed.
You’d just taken the USB. You’d done exactly what Grace was here to do. Maybe you weren’t just a normal bartender after all…
Grace looked between the door and the man and then made her decision, sitting her drink down on the nearest table and heading towards the door. She was surprised the door wasn’t locked as she opened it and stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her.
You looked up at the sight of the door opening, pausing in your motions of putting the USB in your bag. “This is a staff only area.” You said, clearing your throat and standing up straight.
“Then why are you here?” Grace raised her eyebrows. “Besides, you have something of mine. I’m going to need that,” she nodded towards your bag, knowing you’d get the meaning of her words.
You furrowed your eyebrows. “I am staff, so that’s why I’m here. And I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You crossed your arms across your chest. “I’ve never seen you before.”
Grace smiled to herself. Oh, so you were going to play that game. “Who hired you?”
You stared at her for a moment. She’d seen you swipe the USB… and clearly she knew that you’d been hired by someone, which meant she had been too. You’d been told you were the only one who knew about the USB, so how could someone else be here for it?
“Who hired you?” You questioned back.
Grace held her hand out. “Hand it over and I’ll tell you.”
“Not going to happen, I’m afraid.”
“Fine,” Grace shrugged a shoulder. “Then let’s go.”
She took a few steps towards you and took your hand in hers. You looked down at your now entwined hands, confused. Who the hell was this woman?
“Let’s go to wherever the person who hired you is waiting for you to drop off this USB,” Grace explained. “Because I have a feeling you and I might have been sent here by the same person, and I’d quite like the satisfaction of seeing their face when we show up together. You?”
It was impossible for you not to smile at her words. Even you had to admit that this whole situation was a little strange, especially if her hunch was right and you had been hired by the same person. If not, you’d be delivering someone of potential use to the person who’d hired you. It was a win-win in your situation.
“Okay,” you smiled at her. “I’ll lead the way.”