- When one of Parker's aliases receives jury duty, Nate forces her to go, resulting in a showdown between the team and a corporation tampering with the jury.
- Alice White, a Parker alias, is drawn as jury member in the case of Ernesto Vargas's family suing William Quint's nutritional supplements company. Nate makes the rogue go, hoping she'll finally learn some social skills. The team soon realizes the defense uses means, including top-notch surveillance and bribery, far beyond such a small claim and works out that's th doing of Ms. Tobey Earnshaw, whose conglomerate has big plans with Quint's firm which it can only buy if it avoids a scandal. A duel in JR Ewing style ensues while Hardison fills in for the bought-off plaintiff's attorney.—KGF Vissers
- In one of the many episodes directed by Jonathan Frakes, Alice White, Parker's bookkeeper alias, gets a jury summons in a wrongful death suit and works on her social skills by serving as juror on the trial of Gloria Vargas v. FastLife. An herbal energy supplement sold by William Quint, (Brent Spiner) 30-something Ernesto Vargas took it and had a fatal heart attack. Juror #6 spots familiar comms and camera used by Quint's counsel and convinces the team to investigate. Heiress, Tobey Earnshaw (Lauren Holly) is controlling and financing the trial and plays one hell of a chess game. Hardison learns, first hand, why justice wears a blindfold and should be holding a highball glass.—LA-Lawyer
- In the home of Ernesto and Gloria Vargas, three years ago. She tries to get her husband to stop studying and come to bed. He puts on some tea and collapses, holding onto his arm.
Back at Leverage HQ, they come back from the job, angry at Parker for taking a risk that involves the words elevator and near decapitation. In a huff, Parker checks her mail and finds some addressed to Alice White. Hardison tells Parker that she's Alice White, it's one of her aliases. Alice White has jury duty.
Nate likes the sound of it. It might make her consider other people and be more responsible.
She's on the jury of a case involving Ernesto Vargas versus the energy supplement Fast Life and owner William Quint (nerd alert: Quint is played by Brent Spiner, sans "Data" make-up, in an episode directed by Jonathan "Riker" Frakes. Pause for your trekker head to explode). As his lawyer gives his opening statement, Parker notices he has an earbud in and there are hidden cameras in the court room. Cut to a woman giving him directions about making eye contact with jurors. Back at her HQ they look up Alice White's Facebook page and find a boring, vegetarian book keeper.
Back at Leverage HQ, Hardison raves about his wall o' TVs with DirecTV Sunday Ticket (guess who sponsors Leverage?) Parker comes back from court, reporting on the high-tech equipment and saying she thinks the widow is going to lose and they should help. Nate tells her there isn't an evil conspiracy behind everything and she's just on a boring jury trial. Nate brushes her off to watch six football games simultaneously. Sophie points out Parker has never asked for their help before. Hardison makes a case for helping her. When Eliot returns with beer, Nate sends him out with Parker.
Quint gets a call outside a warehouse. Eliot and Parker watch. It's the trial command center where they have multiple TV screens and dossiers on all the jurors. She's Mrs. Ernshaw, and she's running things. She's trying to buy Live Herbally and doesn't want it to take down her other business. Hardison notices they hacked the courtroom security feed and planted their own cameras.
Nate announces that they have a new client. Turns out there is an evil conspiracy lurking behind everything. Mrs. Vargas is suing William Quint over her husband's wrongful death from using the supplement. Quint is getting help from Ernshaw because she sank $20 million from her family pharmaceutical company into research and development for Fast Life without telling her board. If Fast Life goes under, Ernshaw's business could be on the hook for millions more in lawsuits. So she needs to win to protect her investment and her company.
Nate says the only way to win for Mrs. Vargas is to talk Quint into a settlement, which Ernshaw has already ruled out. Something beeps on Hardison's computer. Somebody just ran a credit check on Alice White. Ernshaw's planning to buy the jury. "Not if we steal it first," Nate says.
Nate draws a chess analogy to Ernshaw's fast, aggressive opening gambit. Nate tells Parker she has to get the jurors to trust her, with lots of compliments. Parker isn't exactly a people person.
Cut to Parker insulting a photo of a woman's grandchild, saying she looks like a dog in a baby suit. To get more info, Eliot and Hardison go through trash. Nate's next move, go after Ernshaw's king.
Cut to Sophie, as a (half) Indian business woman with Mumbai International, appealing to Quint's hippie sentiments. She makes him an offer for his business, tempting him by saying they'd let him stay on running things.
Hardison reports on the jurors. The foreman had an envelope for a passport and two tickets to Fiji and wrappers for cash. They paid off the foreman.
Sophie tries to work on teaching Parker how to get people to do what she wants. Parker isn't inclined to use Sophie's subtleties in her test case of trying to convince Eliot to eat an orange. She tells him the apple he's munching has a razor blade in it.
Instead, the next day, while trying to get the other jurors not to like the foreman, she bumps into them all on the way to her seat. Then over lunch, one woman notices her watch is gone. Another is missing her locket. Parker accidentally squirts mustard on the foreman. When he rises to his feet piles of jewelry and people's stuff comes tumbling from his pockets.
Flash to Parker bumping into people and lifting their stuff. She's elected jury foreman.
Quint calls Ernshaw in a panic over the foreman's departure. She assures him she anticipates every contingency. Cut to her calling Mrs. Vargas' lawyer with an exciting retirement opportunity. He quits and Vargas doesn't have the money to hire someone else.
Nate's ready with his next move.
The judge is about to declare a mistrial when the new attorney strides in. It's Hardison. He tells Mrs. Vargas he's her new court appointed attorney, but she knows there's no such thing in civil suits. He asks her to trust her government.
Observing from the gallery, Sophie as the Indian businesswoman worries about Hardison's legal competency. But Nate says all he has to do is stall long enough for Quint to take her offer.
Hardison makes a few motions, including wanting to call Vargas's high school class as witnesses that he led a full life and introducing photos of opposing counsel water-skiing. It goes on.
In the jury room Parker moans to another juror who responds by opening up to her. Parker is pleased with herself for making a friend.
Ernshaw does research on Hardison the lawyer. Quint wants to talk to Ernshaw about something, but she blows him off. He pesters her, asking what his role will be with the company after she buys it. He'll be irrelevant.
Back at court, Quint talks to Sophie about her offer as Ernshaw spies her on the hidden camera. She demands research on the mystery woman. Sophie makes the final pitch to Quint. He wants to see her office. He can't travel during the trial so she proposes a midnight video conference.
Hardison continues the stalling in court.
Sophie supervises the video conference at Leverage HQ on the wall o' screens. An Indian man stands in front of a phone bank and gives a good pitch. Sophie tells Quint to settle his lawsuit so they can do business together. She sees him out.
Down the hall at HQ, Eliot turns off the camera filming his Indian-looking pal in front of a green screen.
Nate calls the team together to point out the days news. Ernshaw just bought Mumbai International, a company Sophie doesn't even work for.
Nate sums up their next approach: they win the trial.
As Hardison worries about being a lawyer, Parker worries about winning over a roomful of normal strangers. Sophie gives her background on the jurors, who are all hiding some odd secret. They're not so normal.
Ernshaw's guys prepare to follow Quint in a parking lot. Eliot stumbles out and gets hit by their car, then knocks them both out. He reports to Nate that he planted the device in Quint's engine.
Quint pulls over and looks under his hood. Nate the friendly local mechanic checks out the engine, lifting his cell phone as he does so. He flips it to a passing Sophie.
Back in court, Hardison prepares to cross-examine the expert witness, a doctor (played by, wait for it....Armin Shimerman, who was "Quark" on Deep Space Nine). Hardison mentions the fact that the dr. is on a no-fly list. He fondled a flight attendant on one flight and did various other drunken debauched things on 21 other ones. There goes his credibility.
Hardison gives his closing, relating to the jurors about what it's like to be on a jury.
Time to deliberate. Ernshaw watches deliberations, thinking for a moment how odd it is that all her moves (getting the foreman, taking the lawyer) were met with counter moves. But she relaxes when she sees the deliberations and everyone but Parker votes for the defendant.
She's also been tracking Quint using his cell phone's GPS. She doesn't buy Quint's car breakdown story. He was visiting several offices of her top competitors. Quint arrives.
Ernshaw lays out what his company is worth if he wins or loses. He takes the lower guaranteed offer.
The jury returns. Parker reads the verdict: the jury finds in favor of the plaintiff, for $5 million.
Ernshaw and her team are stunned.
Flashback to the feed of the jurors raising their hands as the actual audio plays. Not Parker asking who finds for the defendant, but Parker asking who wants pizza for lunch. Flash to Sophie visiting Ernshaw's competitors with Quint's cell phone.
Back at court, Nate walks up to Ernshaw and hands her a chess piece, a king.
Parker celebrates her win by shedding Alice's vegetarianism and digging into a hamburger.
Nate congratulates Hardison on winning a jury trial with minimal cheating (he hacked a government no-fly list).
Parker hears from someone on the jury. Alice made a friend.
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