Sophie was a duchess, well at least that was her alias. Eliot was masquerading as her body-guard. It was such an easy con, they had laughed about it. They had taken the money from the mark, he didn't even realize it. Nate was upset he couldn't gloat, and was staying at the office listening on comms with a scotch in his hand. They all had appreciated an easy con for once they had planned for everything.
What they didn't expect was a man to recognize Sophie. She had grifted him years ago it had taken her a minute to even place the man a, Mr. Wayne Peirce.
Peirce was livid. "You... you liar you stole a Monet from me!" He stuttered. Eliot stepped in and tried to calm the man down. He had already called over a guard, when the guard came over Peirce took the gun from the guard and pointed at Sophie.
Eliot reacted.
Wayne Peirce didn't expect Eliot to jump in front and try to take the gun from him. In the short fight, if you could even call it that, a gunshot echoed through the marble halls.
The guard drug the man off Eliot and away from Sophie. He was still shouting at her as the guard restrained him.
Sophie dropped down to Eliot he had fallen to the floor. She looked and saw that blood was blossoming red on his shirt. She cringed as he started to cough up blood. She tried to slow the bleeding, by taking off her scarf and pressed it down on the wound in his chest. "You'll be alright. I'm sure you've had worse." She looked up at the people gather around the scene, "Someone call an ambulance! Don't just stare."
Blood bubbled at his mouth as he tried to speak. "It hit… a lung… very… distinct." After a pain filled breath he spoke again it was getting harder to say anything, but he managed to say, "Look... out for... them."
"Don't try to speak. You'll be fine, I know you hate hospitals, but it will just be a little trip." Sophie promised as she tried to keep tears from rolling down her face.
"Promise me." Eliot choked out painfully.
"I promise I'll look out for them. You have to promise you'll be okay." Sophie whispered as she tried to keep pressure on the gunshot wound.
"I don't... make promises... I can't... keep." Eliot said so weakly Sophie had to lean in to hear it.
This had been an easy con. Eliot didn't even have to punch anyone. This wasn't supposed to happen.
When the ambulance did arrive they had to drag her away from Eliot's corpse. They arrived too late. Sophie the best grifter in the world couldn't hide what she was feeling. She was crying as the EMTs removed her from Eliot. She was still holding the scarf soaked with Eliot's blood. The designer dress she was wearing was ruined, it too had been stained with Eliot's blood.
On the comms when Parker heard the gunshot. For some reason she started to remember her brother playing on his bike. It had been perfect day, she had watched him ride his bike feeling so proud he was so small and could ride it so well. Better than the real kids could. She didn't see the car coming until it was already gone. She was the first to see her little brother all broken and bloody. Things had been different after that, she stopped feeling things after that day. Eliot had just taught how to feel again. She rushed out of the air ducts as fast as she could just in time to see Sophie coated in blood and yelling at the EMT's. Her eyes fell on Eliot prone body. The EMTs were pulling a sheet over him.
She realized why Sophie was yelling.
Eliot was dead.
She wanted this to be a bad dream. To wake up and find that Eliot, Sophie, Hardinson, and Nate were all okay.
She just found her family. Eliot was invincible. He wasn't supposed to die. Parker tried to brush away the tears that were spilling down her face.
Hardinson was in Lucille waiting to pick up Sophie and Eliot, he was laughing at the mark. He was stupider than most. He heard the gunshot over the comms and when he pulled up the security footage. Two liters of orange soda was dropped in Lucille.
He put in the call to the hospital. He got good medical insurance for Eliot's alias, Arron Tennet. He was still watching the footage when he saw the EMTs pull Sophie away and put a blanket over Eliot. That wasn't supposed to happen. Eliot never went down. The only fight he ever lost was to a carnival ride. Eliot wasn't supposed to die. Bullets didn't faze him, this is Eliot he could walk it off.
Eliot really was dead no matter how tough or good a fighter, you can't walk off being dead. Hardinson walked inside the building. Parker came and clung to him, he clung right back. The EMTs lifted him into the ambulance and told Sophie which morgue they were taking him to.
All of them hated it. Eliot couldn't be going to the morgue, he never got hurt let alone...die.
Nate was at the office when he heard the gunshot. His first thought was Sophie, until he heard her say, "You'll be alright. I'm sure you've had worse. Someone call an ambulance! Don't just stare."
He heard Eliot's shallow breathing and felt guilty for being worried about Sophie. Eliot would always protect the team. He rushed to the car and started to drive to the corporation's headquarters. He knew Eliot would be fine, even as he heard Eliot choke out a few words. Nate didn't doubt that the EMTs would come in time, until he heard an EMT tell Sophie that he was gone.
It was supposed to be an easy con.
