I've got another story for you guys! It's another of my Eliot/Parker with a brother/sister type relationship. It makes it easier for me because I can't write romance to save my life, plus I think they are great as siblings. Enjoy!
I don't own Leverage.
While talking with the General in "The San Lorenzo Job" Eliot remembers a time when they had to leave one of their own behind.
"These people you're with," the General said. "Would you ever leave any of them behind?" Eliot's breath hitched in his chest as he looked at Parker. Never, he thought. Never again.
It had happened once before. Parker was deep undercover at the time and everything seemed to be going okay. Eliot was with Hardison, who was in more danger than anyone else on the rest of the team. He was the only one who could access the needed information on his laptop, but the mark's thugs were after him and Eliot needed to stay close. Hardison and Eliot were hiding out in a warehouse at the outskirts of town while Parker completed the finishing touches where she placed some incriminating documents on the mark's desk. One minute. Sixty seconds. That was all the time it took for everything to go wrong. One of Hardison's security cameras suddenly cut out, leaving them blind to the security guards' actions. In just a few moments, the mark's security descended on Parker. Before either Eliot or Hardison could budge, though, loud banging was heard at the warehouse door.
"Go," Eliot growled at Hardison, who sat frozen in his chair for a split second. "Hardison, go now!" Hardison snatched up his laptop and ran for the back door as Eliot followed closely behind, all the time guarding his back.
"Eliot! Hardison!" Nate yelled into the comm. from his position back at the apartment. "What's happening?" The two made it out to the van and Hardison started driving before Eliot had the chance to respond.
"We're okay, Nate. They found the warehouse, but we got out before they got in," he reported. "What about Parker?"
"She's hidden in the vents," Sophie said. "She should be safe for awhile, but she will need help getting out." Hardison immediately started speeding to the building Parker was in, but Parker started talking.
"Eliot, Hardison is still with you, right?" she coughed. It wasn't uncommon for the air ducts to be pretty dusty, and sometimes Parker's allergies would act up when it was especially bad.
"Yes, why?" He had a sinking feeling. The rest of the team had gone silent too.
"You can't bring him here. If they catch him, the whole con will be ruined and that family won't get their money back." Eliot opened his mouth to protest, but Parker continued. "I'll stay put until you drop Hardison off and come get me. Don't bring him here, Eliot." She coughed softly again.
"She's got a point Eliot," Nate added sadly. "Come back to the apartment with Hardison, and then get Parker." Eliot balled his fists as Hardison slowed to a near stop and pulled a u-turn. It felt so wrong to leave the thief behind! He was the retrieval specialist. Not the thug that leaves his team behind. He felt physically sick as they drove away and he heard Parker cough again.
They drove in silence for the rest of the trip, which lasted about twenty minutes. Eliot kept an eye out for any cars that were following them and wishing the whole time that they could turn around. He recognized intellectually that risking everything for one person was logical, but emotionally it felt so horrible. It was almost like leaving a puppy in the forest to be eaten by the wolves. She would cough occasionally, but otherwise made no sound. They had just walked into Nate's apartment and Hardison started decrypting and downloading the file.
"Parker?" Eliot demanded. "Are you still okay?"
"Yeah," she whispered back before coughing. Her coughs were more violent than they had been earlier. "I'm still in the vents, but I can hear them looking for me. They have guns. Help me, Eliot." Her voice drove daggers into his heart. She sounded like a scared little girl rather than the confident, crazy woman that she was. The time must have taken a toll on her confidence in her own safety.
"Don't worry; I'm coming," he said as he bolted back to the car and started speeding to her location. He wasn't ten minutes out, however, when he heard yelling and a crash over Parker's comm. There was an obvious struggle that overrode Eliot's demands for a report. Parker's screams were muted when the comm. was knocked from her ear. After that, it was only a few moments before all noise ceased. "Hardison, what's happening?" Eliot snapped into his own comm.
"I don't know, man!" Hardison was obviously scrambling to hack into the security cameras. After several tense minutes, Hardison gasped. "They took her. Parker is gone."
Aww, poor girl! I bet Eliot feels terrible. Don't you want to know where she went and what happened to her? Review please!