I'm back! I'm so sorry for not writing in several years. College has been tough, and all of that includes reading and writing papers about every week. I hope to get back to writing more regularly. My other stories are not abandoned; I will be continuing those next. This little plot bunny just wouldn't let go though. Thank you to everyone that has continued to favorite me and my stories and review those stories. They provided great encouragement to continue and not forget the stories. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: Anything recognizable is not mine. I do not own Leverage or The Librarians. They just give me plot bunnies.
Jake Stone's world had drastically changed twice in his life. The first event being the death of his twin brother while serving overseas in the military. The second event happening just a few short months ago. Jake had almost been assassinated by the Serpent Brotherhood, leading him to becoming a Librarian alongside Ezekiel Jones, Cassandra Cillian, and their Guardian Eve Baird.
They had all settled in at the Portland Annex of the Library, with Jenkins as their cantankerous caretaker/mentor. Flynn Carson, the original Librarian that got the rest of them involved with the Library, popped in and out on occasion. Between missions, Jake could be found studying the architecture and art books found in the vastness of his new home, or he would be in the kitchen, experimenting with new recipes for everyone. Jake had learned to cook from his brother, and cooking for his team was a way to honor Eliot.
Since Jake had developed the same pickiness for only the best ingredients, Jake was the only one who went out to buy the groceries while home from missions. Yet, going after the groceries the past couple of weeks were… odd. People that frequented the same shops that he did had been calling him Spencer. Once they approached him, however, they apologized. They believed him to be someone else that shopped in the area.
Usually Jake would brush away mistakes such as mistaken identity. After dealing with a shape shifting creature that assumed an identity to wreak havoc and cause chaos for fun, he was a little more wary.
Jake was in the kitchen, starting to gather utensils and pots to make dinner when Eve came in and dragged him out into the main room. Eve was not about to allow Jake to cook for everyone after their latest mission caused them to have a run in with Prospero. Jake and Eve were both banged up after that encounter, so Jake had no business cooking that night. "Come on, Stone. We're going out to eat tonight. No discussion."
Jake was about to argue until she gave him her patented "Colonel Baird" glare. "Alright. Fine. It better have some damn good food though. And not any fast food, greasy joints either."
Ezekiel spoke up. "I know of this tiny place, mate. Calls itself The Brewery. They have excellent beer and good food. Good enough to satisfy you at least, Jake."
Cassandra started clapping her hands and jumping up and down. "Let's go. If their food can stand up to Jake's scrutiny, I want to eat it."
Jake sighed, knowing he lost the fight. "If we're going, let's get a move on. I want to eat before my stomach crawls out of me in protest of no food."
They all loaded up in Baird's SUV, not knowing how much their lives were going to change that night.
Eliot watched as Parker hung from the ceiling. Upside down. He was in The Brewery's kitchen, preparing everything for opening that night. After living in Portland for two years, the Leverage Team had settled down in the city. They would all take small cases every now and then, but none of the cases put the team in significant danger.
As Eliot cleaned the pots and pans, memories of years past danced in his mind. He remembers teaching his brother how to cook while they still lived at home. Several dishes on The Brewery's menu were Jake's favorites. The anniversary of Jake's death was fast approaching, and Eliot tried to drown out the memories by working in the kitchen.
As Eliot checked his supplies in the refrigerator, he could not help but think about the oddities happening in the past couple of weeks. People had called out to him while he was grocery shopping. What these people did not know was they were driving a knife into his heart. They were calling him 'Jake.' They soon realized that he was not who they thought he was. When Eliot told the team, Parker poked him in the shoulder. "Are you sure you're real? What if you're a clone? Or a robot!"
"Parker! I'm not a clone or a robot!" Eliot was used to Parker's craziness, but she always thought he had to be a robot.
Hearing Hardison clanging down the stairs brought Eliot out of his reverie. Parker was still hanging from the ceiling, but she was now right side up and eating a box of cereal. Hardison had a two liter bottle of his orange soda in one hand and one of his various tablets in the other, scrolling away with his thumb. "Eliot, man, can I please put this new drink on the menu? People will love it, man!"
Eliot sighed and rolled his eyes. "Hardison, for the last time, you are not going to put your Atomic Orange Twist on the menu! That stuff could peel all the paint from a five time coated barn."
"See if you ever need my help on anything, man," Hardison scoffed. "You don't know genius when you see it."
Parker was giggling as Eliot replied. "Whatever you say, Hardison."
The clock was slowly ticking down to the opening time. Nate sat at the bar, setting all the televisions in the pub to various sporting channels, a glass of whiskey in his hand. Sophie was on a trip to London for a small vacation. Hardison was in charge of whatever music did play in the pub after most of the games were finished late into the night. Parker usually kept Eliot company in the kitchen and provided entertaining commentary on the people who came into the pub.
Little did they know their lives would change greatly that night.
Jake and the gang arrived at The Brewery, and the smells wafting in the air immediately made Jake's stomach growl. Cassandra laughed. "Hungry? I thought we came here to prevent your stomach from crawling out of you?"
"Laugh it up. The smells remind me of home cooked meals from my childhood in Oklahoma. If it tastes as good as it smells, we'll all be miserable." Jake could not help but think about Eliot. Jake missed the home cooked food they would make together after their mama died.
"High praise coming from you, Stone." Ezekiel reached for the door as he was talking, holding it open so Eve and Cassandra could enter first.
"Being a gentleman, Jones," Jake snarked.
"Boys, no fighting tonight." Eve grinned. "You can take your frustrations out on each other when you train next week." Ezekiel groaned in dismay.
Entering The Brewery, their mouths immediately began to water after getting the full impact of the food's scent. "Hi, welcome to The Brewery. My name's Amber, and I'll be… Oh! Mr. Spencer! I thought you were working in the kitchen tonight. Let me get you all seated." Amber led the group to a booth near the back corner of the bar, close to the kitchen, and quickly left after taking their drink orders.
"Mr. Spencer? Have something to tell us, Jake?" Eve was giving him that look that 'you better spill or I'll make you.'
Jake just shrugged his shoulders. "Don't ask me! This has been happening at the markets, too. They kept calling me Spencer and then realized I wasn't who they thought."
Amber came back to their table with the drinks. "Could we get some menus, please? I'm not this Spencer fellow, but I've been getting that a lot lately."
Amber blushed darkly. "I'm so sorry! You just look exactly like my boss to the point it's uncanny. I'll go get some menus."
Ezekiel piped up. "This is starting to freak me out, honestly. People have been calling you Spencer for a while and now it shows up here."
"You think this could be related to The Library," Eve questioned.
Jake sighed. "I honestly have no idea."
Amber came back with their menus, and Jake just starred. The menu had several selections that came from his childhood. He was starting to get a bad vibe, but he did not speak up. The group made their selections, and continued to chat.
Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Amber delivered the order to Eliot. "Hey, Mr. Spencer. Here's another set of orders. By the way," she pauses. "There is this man out there who looks exactly like you."
Eliot stiffened. "Well, they say everyone has a twin somewhere in the world. Guess mine just decided to eat here tonight. No big deal."
Eliot has his other chefs take care of the kitchen for a minute; he stepped out the back door to calm his mind and relax. Amber had not meant to bring up painful memories.
"Hello, Mr. Stone. Miss me?" Lamia, high ranking member of the Serpent Brotherhood, slinked from the shadows.
"Mr. Stone? The names Eliot, ma'am." Eliot was getting frustrated with everyone mistaking him for another guy.
Lamia chuckled darkly. "You can change your name and your group of friends, but you can't change your looks. Join the Serpent Brotherhood or die. This is your final offer."
"Look lady," Eliot snarled. "I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't know what the Serpent Brotherhood is. I also don't take kindly to being threatened."
"Have it your way." Lamia made a signal with her hand, and minions from the Brotherhood attacked. Eliot fought them for a couple of minutes before he was body slammed into the brick wall of his restaurant.
Inside, Jake felt the wall behind him vibrate from Eliot's impact. "Did you feel that?"
Eve nodded. Jake leapt to his feet and ran for the alleyway. He knew something had to have been very big or hit the wall very hard to feel through the brick.
Running through the kitchen and out the door, Jake was confronted with Lamia and the minions attacking a man. "Hey, why don't you pick someone who knows how to fight you idiots!"
Lamia spun around in shock. "How can there be two of you? No matter."
Before Lamia could direct the minions to attack Jake, Eve appeared, gun in hand. Not wanting to draw unwanted attention to themselves, Lamia gave another signal and the Serpent Brotherhood vanished.
Cassandra exited the building and went to help Eliot off the ground. Catching a glimpse of the man's face, she gasped. "Jake! This must be the owner of the bar. He looks exactly like you!"
Jake paid little attention. "Jones, go inside and see if any friends of his are around. Someone will need to take care of him."
Before Ezekiel could go back inside, Hardison, Parker, and Nate entered the front of the alley. "Who are you? What are you doing with Eliot?" Parker looked ready to unleash all her craziness on Jake's team.
Eve did not like their implied questions. "We're trying to help him. We thought something was happening out here so we came to help. They were beating, Eliot was it, and they vanished once we all showed up."
Nate stepped forward, prepared to speak when a single whisper stopped everyone in their tracks. "Eliot?" Jake paled to a sickly gray, swaying on his feet. He was staring at his long thought dead brother.
Hardison and Nate helped get Eliot upstairs; Eve had her arm around Jake's back, with his arm around her neck. She did not want him passing out and falling down the stairs. Nate settled Eliot on the couch after Hardison made it into a sleeping bed. They all sat in chairs and sofas around the room, an awkward silence falling.
Jake could not help but stare at Eliot. He felt in a daze. All these years he thought Eliot was dead, and here he was, being attacked by the Serpent Brotherhood.
Nate spoke up. "How do you know Eliot? Why was he being attacked?"
Eve opened her mouth to deliver a scathing reply, hating how he was talking to her teammates, but Jake spoke first. "Eliot's my twin brother. I thought he was dead. Pops told me that he died while overseas during a tour in the military." Jake scoffed. "Obviously he was lying. I can only wonder why Eliot never contacted me again."
"I thought you were dead, too, Jake," a voice groaned. Every head snapped to Eliot.
"Eliot!" Jake helped him sit up on the bed so he could properly look at everyone. Jake sat on the end of the bed. "Why did you think I was dead?"
Eliot growled. "Dear old Pops told me you died during an oil rigging accident several years ago. I had been in a bad place during that last tour in the service, and some of that darkness lingered when Pops told me about your 'death.' I lost myself for a while until meeting up with this group." Eliot gestured to his team. "The blond is Parker; she's a master thief and twenty pounds of crazy in a five pound sack. The one with the tablet in his hand is Alec Hardison, expert hacker and our technology man. The fearless leader is Nate, ex-insurance fraud investigator. Our other member Sophie is not here at the moment."
Jake just raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you all do?"
Eliot shrugged. "Get justice for those who the system failed against the rich and powerful." Looking at Jake's team, Eliot asked, "Who's your team? And don't tell me you're not a team. I can tell you are."
Jake sighed. "You can't repeat this to anyone. We're Librarians. Colonel Eve Baird," she waved, "is our Guardian. We protect the world by gathering magical artifacts and knowledge, keeping them contained within the Library. The other guy is Ezekiel Jones, who believes himself to be the best thief. The other little lady is Cassandra Cillian, genius."
Jake was expecting them to scoff, but they accepted everything. "After what we've seen, anything is possible. You all are welcome to stay the night and catch up with each other," Nate said.
Eve, Cassandra, and Ezekiel stood and said they would be back in the morning to get Jake. Nate, Hardison, and Parker left to their various rooms to give the twins privacy.
Jake and Eliot talked through the night, catching up on everything they've missed. As two in the morning came, both fell asleep, but not before whispering, "Good night, brother. Love you." Two of the strongest and most macho men held family and friends close and protected them against anything. They no longer had to be a lone rock being battered by the sea.