PARKER DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
a/n Yes, I made up the town. And, yes, I love watching guys get overprotective. *evil grin*
alice in wonderland
Eliot stared down at the text on his phone, willing it to disappear. Or that he would wake up and the whole thing would be some sort of twisted dream.
He closed the phone, then opened it and checked again.
The message was still there.
If it had been any of the others, any of them, Eliot wouldn't be worried. They had the skills to get out of whatever trouble they could get themselves into.
But not Parker.
Parker was not supposed to get caught. Parker was not supposed to end up anywhere she couldn't get herself out. Parker was not even supposed to be seen. But "alice in wonderland" was the code Eliot had assigned her if she ever got in over her head.
Everyone had a code. And they had to get it to Eliot however they could. It didn't matter exactly how, just that Eliot received the code.
With a growl, he glared at his phone and fought the temptation to break it. The idea of Parker in enemy hands, in the control of someone with no compunction, scared the crap out of him. And made him angrier then he had been in years.
He grabbed his favorite sushi knife and called the team's "friendly, neighborhood hacker".
"Hardison, where's Parker?"
"I'm sorry, but what about a hello, huh? Can't I get some common courtesy? Just because I'm-"
"Hardison!" Eliot's voice was steel. "Tell me where Parker is now."
"What's goin' on, Eliot? Why is this so important?"
Eliot growled, "Check the bug you put in her shoes. Then tell me where it says Parker is. I don't have time to explain."
"Okay, okay," Hardison mumbled. "Gimme a second... That's weird."
"What?"
"According to this, she's in New Mexico. What's Parker doing there?"
"Where, Hardison? Exact coordinates."
"Some town called Santa Diablo. There's a highrise on... Westbound and Shine. Third floor, southeast corner. Eliot, what's going on?"
Eliot spoke sharply. "I'll call you when I know. Thanks."
Then he hung up, stabbed his knife in the cutting board, and headed for the airport.
-Two Hours Later-
Eliot strode purposefully through the New Mexico airport. With no baggage to pick up, and another flash of his air marshall badge, he was out the front door in minutes. He rushed to the parking lot and found a likely pickup.
It was the work of seconds to get in the truck and hotwire it. Then he flipped open his phone and called Hardison.
"Listen, my man, can you tell me what's up yet?"
Eliot looked skyward, praying for patience. "Just tell me if Parker's still there."
"Yup. According to the bug in her shoe, she's still in the same place."
"Good."
And Eliot hung up again, without a word of explanation.
It took him fifteen minutes to reach the town, and only three to get into the building and up to the third floor. He took out five men outside with guns, two on each floor, and one in front of the door.
When he broke down the door, he heard a scared mewling, like a hurt animal. It took him another minute to realize that it was Parker, curled up in a ball on the floor, hands and feet shackled together, who was making the sound. She had her eyes squeezed shut and was shaking and crying.
Eliot carefully, slowly drew closer, and crouched down beside her. She flinched away, until he whispered her name, softly and gently. "Parker?"
Parker's childlike eyes shot open and fastened on Eliot like he was the only thing keeping her from screaming. She tried to move closer, but the shackles prevented her. So Eliot scooched over and pulled her onto his lap and into his arms. "Hiya, darlin'."
She let out a broken giggle. "I don't care if you're not real, Eliot. I'm really glad you're here."
"So am I, sweetheart," he responded, dropping a brotherly kiss on the top of her head. "And I'm real. Now, whatya say you and me blow this joint? It's not really our type of party, anyway."
Parker giggled again, this time a little closer to her normal laugh, and nodded. "I'd really, really like that, Eliot."
"Okay, then."
He tried to set her down to reach into his back pocket, but she clung to him like an octopus. Eliot silently sighed, then shuffled around a bit until he pulled out the bolt cutters. With a few quick, powerful snaps, Parker was loose. And already that indomitable shine was returning to her eyes.
She held his hand all the way out of the building, despite him having to take out a few more men on the way. And while they drove to the airport. And on the plane. (He'd pulled a Parker and lifted another woman's i.d. and ticket, and put Parker's picture on it.)
Parker fell asleep on Eliot's shoulder on the flight back to L.A. And he had given the hand still locked in his a little squeeze, then he had said a silent prayer of thanks that he had gotten to her in time and gotten her out.
Last, he started planning the talking to he was going to give her as soon as they were back at the Leverage Headquarters.
In the end, they never did explain to Hardison.
fin