Disclaimer: They're not mine. Please don't sue. I've just invited them to my house to play.
Eliot crouched - waiting for Nate's signal - behind a grove of lilac trees, their sweet smell making him not a little nauseated. The French doors just a few feet from him were all that stood be him and the object of this mission. He felt a few stray hairs brush his cheek and moving as little as he could, he tucked them behind his ear. He wanted to move because he had been there for over an hour and his legs were starting to burn, but he knew any movement now would set off the motion detectors. A slight breeze brushed his neck and his back tensed. He looked left then right, shifting his eyes back to the doors.
"What's taking so long?". Eliot growled.
"Just waiting for him to leave," Parker replied from her perch in a large oak over looking the second floor of the Tudor style mansion.
"Something isn't sittin' right here." Eliot shifted slightly. The breeze made the scent of lilac stronger and he became more aware of the feeling of his ponytail against his skin. He pressed his hand to the dirt and slowly shifted his position.
"Kay people. Look alive. I got activity in the garage." Hardison popped in on the coms.
"Okay, Parker, as soon as he clears the main road, open her up." Nate said.
Eliot heard the garage door open. He crouched even lower and averted his gaze to the ground to avoid the being caught in the car's head lights. Dressed head to toe in black, he was nothing more than a shadow.
"I'm in." Parker's voice echoed in his head.
Eliot left his hiding place and made his way to the French doors. Parker was waiting for him and opened the door just wide enough for him to slip through. He stood for a moment, still and taut, letting his eyes adjust to the blackness of the room.
"Let's get what we came for and get out of here." Eliot motioned to the wall on the opposite side of the room.
"Okay, according to Sophie the door release is the pillar candle on the left side of the mantle." Hardison instructed.
The fireplace was nearly as tall as Eliot, as wide as a truck and framed by an elaborate carved mantle. Parker reached up and ran her hand along it's surface until her hand made contact with it's mark. She pulled up on the candlestick and she and Eliot felt the vibration of a large stone door opening to their left.
"Come on," she whispered, motioning to Eliot to follow her.
Eliot reached into his thigh pocket, fished out a small penlight and flipped it on. It's beam was just barely bright enough to light their way. He shined light on the wall next to him, up to the ceiling and as far down the tunnel as it would go.
"No cobwebs," he said.
"What?" Parker replied.
"No cobwebs. Somebody comes down here to clean. This isn't just a bunker. Somebody is in here often enough to discourage spiders." Eliot pointed the beam to the floor. "You could eat off these floors."
"Why would want to eat off the floor?"
Eliot sighed in frustration. "Let's get what we came for. Go." He motioned into the darkness. A hint of breeze rustled his hair and he stopped.
"What?"
"Lilac," Eliot whispered. "Hardison, are there any other exterior doors open."
"Not that I can see on the monitor. Security system is locked down."
"Come on," Parker whispered. "You said it. Let's get what we came for." She turned on her head lamp and continued down the tunnel, Eliot reluctantly following behind her.
"Wait." Eliot grabbed her by the arm. "Let me go ahead."
Parker took off her head lamp and handed it to him. They both felt the vibrations again, this time of the door closing with a grating thud behind them. The hairs on Eliot's arm stood on end and he aimed his light back toward the door. He tried to steady his breath as his anger built inside him.
"Nate, Hardison? Are you still with us?"
"What's going on in there?" Nate replied.
"Did Sophie say anything about how to get out of here?"
"What?"
"The door just closed behind us," said Eliot through a clenched jaw.
"Hardison, can we get them an exit strategy?"
"I'm workin' on it."
"Eliot, you and Parker keep moving forward. We'll get you out."
Eliot kept walking, counting his steps as he went, sweeping the light from side to side, making mental notes of the narrowing corridor. His light fell upon a door and he stopped to take a closer look. He reached down and wrapped his hands around the padlock. It was cold and smooth and the shackle showed no signs of rust or wear.
"Brand new lock."
"Do you think the staff was moved?" Parker knelt down to take a look. She pulled a pin from her pocket and, in a few seconds, had the lock open.
Eliot stepped in front of her as he grabbed the handle. "Get ready to run." Quietly he turned the handle and pressed the door open a crack. The breath he was holding in escaped and he pushed the door open a little further. The headlamp illuminated a corner of the room. It looked empty. Eliot pushed the door open the rest of the way.
"Oh Jesus," he said under his breath.
"Eliot, what do you see?" Nate asked.
"She can't be any more than sixteen."
"Eliot...Eliot!" Nate screamed. "Talk to me. What's going on in there?"
"The job just got more complicated." Eliot knelt down next to a girl who was chained by the neck to the floor. He reached out to touch her and she shrank back as far she could into the corner. "It's okay. I'm here to help."
"Eliot, I found a light switch." Parker said. "Let me know when you're ready."
"Go ahead."
Parker flipped the switch and a low watt bulb cast little light around the room. It was nothing more than a concrete storage room. Every few feet a bolt hook from which a chain dangled was screwed into the wall. The only airflow came from two small vents in the door; otherwise there were no windows nor heat or air-conditioning vents to speak of.
Elliot still knelt on the floor looking over the half-naked girl. Even in the dim light he could see that she had bruises along the left side of her body and the places where the collar rubbed against her neck were raw and bloody. Eliot reached out, grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. She struggled against him, trying to push him away with pale bony arms, but was too weak and she collapsed face down on his chest. Her back was bloodied with recent whip marks over still healing old welts, but what was most unusual, he thought, was the many pairs of puncture wounds that dotted her body. They were in various stages of healing. Eliot cradled her head and shoulders in one the crook of one arm and examined the collar with the other.
"Parker, take a look at this."
Parker took Eliot's lamp and aimed it at the small silver lock. "Get out of the way."
Eliot laid the girl gently one the floor, stood and took off his jacket and a moment later, he heard the shackle give. He knelt back down and wrapped the girl in his jacket. He felt her sigh and begin to shiver. She looked up into his eyes.
"You won't get out of here. Nobody gets out of here alive." she whispered. She closed her eyes and let Elliot hold her.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter." she mumbled into his shoulder.
Nate's voice pulled him back. "Elliot!"
"Nate, how far are we from the main chamber?"
"Hardison, you wanna answer that?"
"If the fix on your location is correct, you should be only 15 or 20 feet away."
"I can't leave here without her. Parker, you grab the staff, I'll take her."
"You gonna carry her all the way?" asked Nate.
"She can't weigh more than a hundred pounds. She's practically a skeleton. I can make it." Elliot picked her up. The girl reached up as best she could and put her arms around his neck.
"Let's go," said Elliot. He stepped out into the tunnel and let Parker pass.
She led the way through the narrowing tunnel to the end and another door, this time made of steel. She was working her magic on the lock when Hardison interrupted her train of thought.
"He's back!"
"What do you mean he's back?" screamed Elliot. "Parker, work faster."
"How many times do I have to tell you, I can't do this with you being Mr. Impatient in my ear. Back off!"
The girl shifted and clung tighter to Elliot. "No one gets out alive," she said quietly.
He felt her breath on his neck as she spoke the words but he barely heard her.
"I'm in," Parker said as she opened the door. "Come on."
As soon they entered the room, the lights came on and they had some trouble adjusting the brightness. Eliot squinted his eyes. "Motion detectors. Hardison, I thought you had this taken care of!"
"Oh, he did." A figure emerged out of the blinding light. "I'll give your eyes some time to adjust. I do believe in fighting fair."
"Waterston?" Elliot asked.
"Ah, you know me. But I don't think I've had the pleasure." He sounded civilized, urbane.
"No you haven't," Elliot growled under his breath.