"Okay, did you see that? C'mon man, that ain't right," Hardison complained, glaring at Parker.
"Hardison!" Eliot snapped, passing the salad around. "She's a thief! What the hell do you expect?"
Parker smiled and popped the last remaining bite of Hardison's breadstick into her mouth.
Hardison just shook his head while Sophie chuckled and Nate ducked his head to hide his smile.
"You don't steal a man's breadstick, is all I'm sayin'," Hardison muttered.
"But they're really good," Parker said, her mouth still full.
"Yes, they really are," Sophie said, cutting her lettuce leaves into smaller pieces. "You outdid yourself, this time, Eliot."
Eliot was saved from having to think of a response by his phone going off. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen. He got up immediately, frowning, and walked into Nate's living room as he answered it. The team exchanged glances, all of them returning to their food and trying not to look like they were eavesdropping. They couldn't hear anything specific, but from the tone of his voice they were pretty sure their hitter wasn't getting good news. He returned to the table before long but only to grab his jacket off the back of his chair.
"Eliot?" Nate asked.
He turned to look at them, thin-lipped. "I gotta go to San Antonio for a few days."
"San Antonio? What's in San Antonio?" Nate asked, getting up to follow him as he headed for the door.
Eliot turned to face him, fire in his eyes. "None of your business," he growled.
"Maybe we can help," Sophie chimed in, getting up from the table as well. "If something's wrong you can tell us."
He huffed a sigh, realizing they weren't going to let him just get out of there. "That was my brother. He thinks somebody took my niece and nephew over some corporate legal battle."
They all stared at him for a moment. Then Parker said what they were all thinking. "You have another family? Like, a real one?"
Eliot rolled his eyes, feeling understandably impatient. "Are you coming or not?"
"Always wanted to see San Antonio," Nate announced, grabbing his own jacket.
Hardison whipped out his phone. "I'll have the plane tickets in five."
"It'll be okay, Eliot," Sophie said, giving him an encouraging smile. "If anyone can help your family, it's us."
"How come you never told us about your real family?" Parker asked from the backseat of the rental car as Eliot sped through the city. He was glad it was late; there were few cars on the highways.
"Because I didn't feel like it," Eliot informed her.
He could imagine her confused pout.
"You know, he did tell us he had a nephew," Sophie put in, turning around from the front to look at the three in the back.
"He did?"
"I did?"
"Yes! At the church, remember? You said your nephew would like Bibletopia," she said as if amazed they couldn't recall a passing comment Eliot had made three years ago.
Eliot smiled, thinking of it. His sister-in-law, Dani, had invited him out to San Antonio not long before that job for Cohen's seventh birthday, just before he'd started working with the team. In fact, it was the last time he'd seen his brother's family. He wondered if the kids even remembered him - Alice had only been three. But the thought of anyone messing with them was making him … angry. In a "people are going to get maimed" sort of way.
"So, what happened?" Nate asked. "You told us on the plane that your brother thinks they were kidnapped to force him into making a deal with a rival oil company, but that's not the whole story, is it?"
Eliot shook his head, pushing his anger down so he could stay focused. "My brother Luke basically runs Valero Energy. He said Tesoro's been tryin' to buy them out for months, and then a couple weeks ago they started getting threatening letters. Then, three days ago, the kids didn't come home on the bus and Luke and Dani called the police but there haven't been any demands made."
"They've been missing for three days and he just barely called you?" Sophie gasped.
Eliot's jaw tightened. "We're not close," he said, hoping that would be enough explanation.
They must have heard something in his tone because Sophie changed the subject and Parker didn't ask any more questions.
When they got to the other Spencer's house, Eliot knocked on the door, the rest of the team hanging back in uncertainty. Eliot had remained tight-lipped on the subject of his brother, but they were getting the idea that they weren't on good terms. And anyone who wasn't on good terms with Eliot made them all nervous, and just a bit protective.
A man answered the door and Eliot gave him nothing more than a nod before going in. The resemblance was there, though not obvious. Luke's hair was close-cropped and he was taller, but his eyes were the same crystal blue, and had the same steely look. Nate shook his hand and offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile as they filed past.
Dani, Luke' wife, sat on the couch, but she stood as they came in and gave Eliot a hug after a moment's hesitation, her eyes misty. "Thanks for coming, Eliot," she said into his shoulder. "We don't know what to do."
Eliot patted her shoulder a little awkwardly before she released him. "I'm gonna get them back, Dani," he promised quietly before introducing the rest of the team.
They moved to the kitchen and sat around the table, Luke leaning against the counter, his arms folded across his chest. "Tell us everything you can," Nate said, leaning toward Dani.
She took a deep breath, her hands clasped in front of her. "Our kids, Cohen and Alice, they've been missing for three days now." She took another breath, blinking away tears. "We thought they wanted them to make Luke sell his oil company but … they called and -"
"They want you, Eliot," Luke said, pushing himself off the counter, his eyes dark. Some guy just called me, and told me he'll trade my kids for you. So what I want to know is, what the hell you're into that put my family in danger!"
Dani rubbed at her forehead wearily. "Luke, don't."
Eliot remained unmoving, returning his brother's glare.
"Okay, hold on here," Nate said. "When did the kidnapper call you?"
Luke swallowed hard. "Just before you got here."
"What else did he say when he called?" Nate asked, the tension between the brothers still palpable.
Luke's glare returned. "He said to tell you that Mason Briggs says hello."
Everyone turned to look at Eliot as he stood suddenly from the table, a low growl in his throat, his hands in fists. "You sure?" he asked his brother.
Luke nodded shortly. "You know him?"
"Yeah, I know him," Eliot muttered, his eyes narrowed.
"Who is it?" Nate asked, hoping his friend would calm down enough to explain.
"Haven't seen the bastard in more than ten years," Eliot said, beginning to pace back and forth across the kitchen. "We served together in Kuwait." They all saw something indefinable cross his face.
"What could he want you for?" Sophie asked, her attention bouncing back and forth between Eliot and Luke.
"And why would he take my kids to get it?" Luke said, stepping toward Eliot.
Nate spoke quickly before things got dangerous. "Let's start with this: did he tell you when he wanted to make the exchange?"
Luke dragged himself away from his glaring match with Eliot to look at Nate. "Tomorrow morning, 5 AM. Eliot is supposed to go to the Tesoro building, alone, and someone will drive the kids home."
"I'll go," Eliot said immediately.
"You can't go alone," Sophie said.
"I'll do whatever I have to do!"
"Not without a plan," Parker said, glaring at him.
"That's only six hours from now, Nate," Hardison warned.
Nate held up his hands, hoping to keep everyone calm. "Listen, we're going to get the kids back and we're not going to do it on the terms of this Briggs guy. Parker, Hardison, I need you looking at schematics for the Tesoro building. Eliot, you need to tell us everything you can about Briggs."
Eliot stopped pacing, his lips pressed into a thin line. "Nate, you don't know what you're getting into. I'm gonna walk in there, you're gonna be there to make sure the kids get out, then you're gonna get the hell outta here."
"Eliot -"
"It's not up for discussion, Nate! This is exactly why I didn't want you here. This is my fight, and my fault, so we're gonna do it my way," he said, threatening the team with his eyes.
They were silent for a moment, none of them agreeing, but none of them daring to say anything. Until Parker stood up. "No," she said, poking his chest. "It's not your fault, and you're not going to do it alone, because you have a family. So don't think for one second that we're gonna abandon you to the crazy kidnapper, because we won't."
Eliot's hands twitched like he wanted to strangle her, but she held his gaze until he looked away.
"Parker's right, man," Hardison put in quietly. "We came here to help, so let us."
"Tell us as much as you can, Eliot," Sophie said, offering him a small smile.
Eliot's shoulders slumped in defeat and he pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Fine. But the kids are the top priority, understood?"
The team nodded, remaining silent to give him the time he needed. Nate just hoped Luke would keep his mouth shut.
Eliot looked them each in the eye, letting them know he was being completely honest with them. "We were on the same special forces unit. We hit it off because we were the two youngest in the unit, both of us just shy of twenty-two. One night we were being flown by helicopter into Kuwait for reconnaissance and we were shot down. Briggs and I were the only two survivors and we managed to evade capture even though his right leg had been crushed in the crash."
None of them missed the tightly wound muscles in his jaw and the kitchen stayed absolutely silent.
"We knew there was no one comin' to get us. We had a plan to steal a plane from a nearby base and get out of there, but things went wrong. Briggs got taken, and I got to the plane. I promised him I'd come back for him." With visible effort, Eliot managed to keep his voice steady. "But I didn't. Our commanding officer told me it was too dangerous to go back, and sent me somewhere else, hoping I'd forget about him."
They could all tell he hadn't. Not then, and not now.
"I thought Briggs was dead, but I saw him again in South Africa a year later. I was sent to kill a member of the African embassy who was there to convince the government that Mumbai's genocide was just the first step, but Briggs beat me to it. We saw each other from opposite rooftops, and I could tell he wasn't still working for the army. He'd gone mercenary and he hated me. He pointed his rifle right at me and if I'd moved a little slower I would've gotten more than a scar."
He touched his shoulder, almost absently, his eyes far away.
"He stayed after me for a few years, another person on my growing list of enemies. But after I left the army and went out on my own, after Moreau, he left me alone. I didn't know if he was afraid, or in prison, or dead until today." He put his hands in his pockets, resigned. "I don't know why he wants me now, or how he found you guys," he said, glancing at Luke and Dani.
"I told you to go to school instead of the army, El," Luke said, anger replaced by sadness in his eyes.
"Didn't happen that way, did it?" Eliot said, his mouth twisting into a grimace.
"He's not going to hurt them, is he?" Dani suddenly spoke, her voice trembling.
Eliot squared his jaw. "Not if I can help it."