So, I really have no idea where this came from, but I really liked the idea, so I had to share it with you guys!
Sorry it's so short, I was planning to make it longer but then I got to the current ending and was like "This would be a great ending!" lol so yeah, here it is.
Disclaimer: Well, let's see. Did Hardison and Parker finally confess their love for each other in the third season? Did we learn Sophie's real name? Did we learning anything about Eliot or Sophie's past? If the answer to these is "no", then I do not own Leverage.
Chapter One
Threats
Eliot flexed his muscles and stretched, extending his long arms out behind him and cracking his neck one on each side. This was what he always did at the end of a long work-out session in the gym, it helped quiet the slow aches that seemed to always return to his arms afterwards, a faint reminder of his past.
He stood up, the machine that he had been sitting on creaking slightly as pressure was lifted off of it. Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror as he reached down for a drink, he noted that several locks of his hair had escaped from his ponytail sometime during his workout, and he reached up to tie them back again, then gave up and just let his hair fall down, slightly brushing his shoulders.
There was only one other person in the gym, and he was still busy lifting 100-pound weights. He took no notice as Eliot made his way to the front of the gym, nodded at the clerk behind the high-rise desk, and left, the revolving door spinning after him.
Eliot was met by cool evening air. Goosebumps rose on his bare arms, and he wished he had thought to bring a jacket. Scanning the streets to the sides and in front of him, his eyes lingered for a moment on a couple on the opposite side of the street, the only other human beings out this late. He watched as they stopped in front of a store and tilted their heads toward each other, and decided they were not a threat.
His feet made nearly no noise on the smooth concrete as he jogged down the sidewalk, his pace even. He lived just two blocks away, and jogged to the gym every day; even though most people could argue that he could never exercise again and still stay fit. Maybe, but it was a risk, and Eliot didn't leave anything to chance.
Which was why he thought it was strange when his footsteps suddenly became louder, echoing through the street. He glanced subtly behind him, but his gaze was met with an empty sidewalk. Even the couple had disappeared, no doubt to someplace more secluded. Brow furrowed, he turned and started jogging again, his arms swaying slightly with rhythmic motion. Several beats of silence were broken by the sudden footsteps again, in time with his but much louder. Eliot stopped again, suddenly. A single footstep followed and was silenced. Eliot whirled around, fists up, only to be met, once again, with an empty street.
His mind still processing the information, he barely heard the click. He spun on the balls of his feet, his hair flying out to the sides as he turned back to the front – and was met by the barrel of a gun.
His first instinct was to panic, but years of experience allowed him to quell that feeling immediately. His hand shot up at lightning speed, preparing to grab the gun, when he heard another, very familiar voice.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Eliot swore softly and turned around slowly, carefully placing his feet in the best position to flee. Another gun was aimed at him from behind, and he stared at the barrel, quickly calculating possible scenarios in his mind.
A mocking laugh forced him to glance upwards, into none-to-friendly and way-too-familiar shining obsidian eyes.
"Hello, Eliot. Been a while," the voice that spoke was gruff and gravelly from years of smoking. It carried a bass undertone that sounded somewhat forced, as though the man was trying to conceal the sound of his real voice.
How'd he find out my new alias? Eliot wondered in shock as he studied the man's face. It was a box shape, with grizzled cheeks and black sideburns. The remainders of a beard recently shaved still clung to his face, sharp and uneven. There was a single silver ring in his left ear, although it was so grimy by now that the color could hardly be distinguished. The last time Eliot had seen it, it had been brand new and flashing, the skin around it still a bright red.
Eliot grimaced, letting out a low chuckle as he stared at his old boss. "Yeah, well it hasn't been nearly long enough."
His boss chuckled. "Well, I know you've never been one for idle chit-chat, so I'll get straight to the point. My friends Frankie behind you? He'll put a bullet through your back if you try to run," the hard tip of a gun was shoved into Eliot's back, as if he hadn't needed further proof.
"Are you enjoying this, Torak?" Eliot growled, gritting his teeth frustratedly. He could get rid of one gunman, but two at the same time? In such close vicinity? Out of the question. Especially when one of them was his old boss.
Torak ignored him. "You're probably wondering why, after all these years, I've decided to come after you. You see, a long-time client of mine recently came to me. He runs an appliance store." Torak paused to watch Eliot's reaction; a slight widening of the eyelids. "He was very upset when he showed up at my doorstep. Yes, he was in quite a state. Kept yammering about the two million dollars that he had been scammed out of, and that the police were right on his tail. So I provided him with an alias, the way I normally do for our higher-up customers-"
"Your customers. I don't work for you anymore," Eliot spat, using anger to hide his deeper emotions.
"Anywho," Torak brushed aside his comment. "I also promised to get his money back for him, if he shared the profits, of course." Eliot saw where this was going, and began to shake his head. "But, oh no, that wasn't good enough for him. He wanted revenge,"Torak's eyes were glittering as he leaned closer to Eliot, gun still planted firmly in his abdomen. "Revenge on Nathan Ford."
Eliot swallowed a string of cusses as he stared what he hoped was placidly back at Torak. "And where do I fit into all of this?"
"Don't pretend like you don't know. I know you work for Ford, Eliot. I know you have access to his apartment, his life, his mind. And, you also happen to still be the best retrieval specialist in the business," he let his sentence hang, letting Eliot guess what he had in mind.
"No," Eliot stated. "I won't. I don't work for you anymore."
Eliot waited for the guttural noise that always accompanied his angry moods, but was surprised to hear laughter. "Oh, no. You'll do it. And you want to know why you'll do it? Because I can always find someone else for the job," he moved his gun hand up so that it was resting against Eliot's throat. "You will agree to this job, or I will put a bullet in you, right here, right now."
Heyyy, guess whaa-aat?
That little button right down there, yeah, that one, is lonely. It needs friends to make it happy, and all you have to do to become its friend is submit a review. Whoever reviews first gets the next chapter dedicated to them, even if you only said "asdasfsaofhihih".