Disclaimer: I do not own Leverage or anything associated with it. I am making no profit from this and it is purely for entertainment purposes. The original characters and the plot is mine.

Authoress' Notes: This is my first Leverage story. I am rather in love with the show. I also enjoy complex characters and stories and this show has both. This story is mostly focused on Eliot, but everyone's involved. Added a little of another couple in here too. Thought ya'll might like that. I'm excited about how many hits this story got; even got couple a couple of favs and reviews. I wasn't expecting to get the second part out so fast, but I just couldn't stop writing. Just let me know what you think.


The Eyes Job: Part Two

Hannah Sonida scribbled a few lines on the notebook next to her laptop. She had taken a break from researching Steven Cerspa, her normal obsession, and was looking at parenting websites. She had notebooks full of information about the photography mogul. She was trying to focus on something else, but it wasn't working.

She kept track of every girl that Steven had ever 'helped' by sponsoring. She'd contacted the families and tried talking to the girls, but all of the families were afraid to press charges. All the families had similar stories: the girls were adopted or foster kids and the families too poor to pay for training. Steven would offer to pay for training. He would buy gifts for the whole family and send them on vacations. After the family trusted him, he would take just the girl to special dinners and shopping trips to celebrate a 'success.'

Hannah dug her nails into the coffee-table, its cheap fake wood surface, had dozens of scars from moments like this on. Stupid dolls. Awful dolls. That was his last gift, before…

Hannah had seen a doll in every house that she'd visited. Steven had dolls custom made for the girls, ones that looked just like them. The dolls all had similar features: the hair would be down with a crown of flowers on top, she would be dressed in all white and a tiny locket would be around her neck. The girls would get a matching locket to match their dolls'. About a week after he gave them the dolls it would start.

Hannah knew that from her own experience. But when she spoke with the families they said that their daughters' behavior changed about a week after they received the dolls. They became withdrawn and nearly hyperventilated when asked about their missing locket.

Steven had taken it away. He had taken the locket and every piece of their innocence away. There were cameras all over his 'special' room. He would find a particular moment on his film strips, print it, place the image in the locket and take the locket. They were all hanging somewhere. He had told Hannah that once. Told her that he never forgot any of his special girls or the special way they thanked him for everything that he'd done for them.

There were two families that she knew of, that had started to press charges, both and simply disappeared. Hannah shivered at the thought. She knew Steven well enough to know what he was capable of doing to people that threatened him.

Hannah looked at the clock and pushed the thoughts away. It was 7pm in Chicago, Heather Cerspa, aka her Mikayla, would be on facebook for a monitored chat with her 'pen-pal' Sarah from Boston. Hannah knew it was risky, but she wanted to know about her little girl. The neighbors across the road homeschooled their children and didn't allow them on the internet, which made their ten-year-old the perfect cover. Hannah took pictures all the time and Sarah was always waving from her yard. A few shots of Sarah and a month of watching the Disney channel and Hannah could chat with Mikayla. Hannah logged into the account and frowned in disappointment. There was a note from Mikayla that she wouldn't be on tonight she was going to a play tonight.

Hannah almost closed the browser, when she noticed that there was a status alert update. When she clicked the link to see Mikayla had updated her status and added a new picture. "Look at my new doll! She looks just like me and we have matching lockets. Daddy says I'm very mature for my age, so I get to go to the play tonight too! He says at the end of the week we're gonna go on special trip. So excited!"

Hannah clamped her hand over her mouth to contain her own scream. She felt like the air and been stomped out of her and she had to force herself to calm down and breath. She was in such a panic that she almost didn't hear the multiple slams of a vehicle door closing. She tore herself away from the computer screen and looked out the peep-hole. There were four men dressed in all black walking up the street towards her house.

She knew she should hide first, but she ran back to the computer instead. She typed in a message, pressed send, and closed her laptop. She was scrambling towards the kitchen as her fingers fumbled on the keypad. She prayed that Eliot would pick up and that he was as tough as he seemed.


Eliot turned on the basketball game and took a long drink of his beer. He flipped out his phone and dialed the number written on the faded purple business card.

"This is Charlotte." The velvet voice that answered had the slightest trace of a southern accent. "What can I do for you?"

"Are you watchin' the game, Mandy?"

"Don't call me Mandy, El." She teased. "Of course I am. I'm even wearing my Wildcats t-shirt. I don't usually don't work when UK plays. Speaking of, if these boys don't get a handle on that kid sinking those three pointers, this is gonna be a blow out."

He chuckled. "You mean my blue Wildcats t-shirt? The one you stole from me?"

"I didn't steal it. You left it here."

"You were sleepin' in it. Didn't wanna wake ya." Eliot smiled thinking of her in just that t-shirt. "That was a long time ago. I'm surprised you still have it."

"It's comfortable." She was always a direct woman. "So what can I do for you? You wouldn't call out of the blue for nothing."

"I need a favor. A business related favor."

"Eliot, I told you, all you ever have to do is ask. But my kind of business related? You've never needed any help in that department before."

"Hey." He growled. "Not help like that. I do just fine thank you."

Charlotte laughed. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

"You still do business in Chicago?"

"Some of my best customers and girls are in Chicago. I'm actually in Chicago at the moment. Why the interest?"

Eliot winced at the fourth three-point shot scored against his team in the last three minutes. "Charitable Society Dinner it supports some kind of youth art thing. You know anybody involved in that?"

"Several someones, in fact. I'm invited every year, and I've set up quite a few dates for the event, but I've never personally attended." She sighed. "Seriously Eliot, what's this all about?"

"Steven Cerspa. Do you know him?"

"Shit. He's one of my better clients, and I've never had an issue with him. But if you're calling about him it can't be good."

As Charlotte was finishing her statement, Eliot's phone beeped, warning another call was coming in. He glanced at the screen and frowned at the ID, it was Hannah. "Charlotte, I'll call you back. I've gotta take this other call."

"Ok El, take care of yourself."

" You too." Eliot tapped the button on the phone to switch calls, "Hannah, is everything alright?"

"No." She was whispering. "I think someone's trying to break in my house."

Eliot was already out of his seat, this was why he required the addresses of all their clients now. "Hannah, listen to me very closely. I want you to turn the lights and shower on in your bathroom. After you've done that, I want you hide in your attic crawl space. Stay right there until I get there."

"Okay."

Eliot could hear Hannah moving around, following his orders to the letter. When he heard her panting quietly, he spoke into the phone again. "Hannah."

"Yes." She sounded terrified.

"Hannah, you have to hang-up the phone. They might track it. Hang up and power it off."

"Eliot." Her voice waivered. "Please don't make me hang-up. I'm so scared."

Eliot slammed the door of his truck and fired up the engine. "I know, Hannah, but you gotta trust me. Hang-up and be really quiet. I'll be there soon."

"Okay."

The silence of the phone amplified the pounding in Eliot's ears. He had to hurry. He hoped to god that he'd bought her enough time or that she'd just been imagining things. He also had to call Nate. He hit the speed dial button for Nate and ground his teeth as it rang.

"'Ello?" Sophie's sleepy voice answered.

"Sophie?" Eliot questioned as he turned the corner. "Why do you have Nate's phone?"

"Oh, I must've nabbed his by mistake." She yawned, "Is everything all right?"

"No, it's not. Hannah's got someone breaking into her place. I'm going there to get her. Call Nate and have him get a safe house ready." Eliot hung-up the phone, without waiting for Sophie's response, and accelerated the pick-up.


Sophie looked at the phone in her hand for a moment before placing it on the nightstand. She reached for her robe and wrapped it around herself, as she climbed out of the empty bed. The chill of the night air made her shiver involuntarily. She looked down at the street through the window, confident that Eliot would reach their client in time to save her.

Arms wrapped around Sophie's waist and a male voice whispered in her ear, "Should it concern me that strange men are calling you in the middle of the night?"

Sophie angled her head and gave her lover a tender kiss.

He turned her slowly so she was facing him and removed his hands from her waist. He cradled the back of her head with one hand and started slipping the robe away from her shoulder with the other. He kissed her slowly, relishing her moan as he deepened their kiss. Suddenly she stopped responding and placed her hands on his bare chest. "What?" He questioned, sounding more desperate than he intended.

Sophie gave him a coy smile, "It wasn't my phone that Eliot was calling, Nate."

Please review... it inspires me so. ;-)