"I don't like guns - " he started to say, as Parker responded with, "I prefer tazers now."

They looked over at each other, and then at the woman on the couch. The woman laughed. "Didn't know you ran with Eliot Spenser these days, Parker."

Parker was suddenly beside the woman, her tazer in on hand, the other on the woman's throat. "Didn't realize you were following me these days, Darlene."

Eliot was torn, he didn't think Darlene was there to hurt Parker, but he also thought some violence wasn't entirely undeserved. In the end he separated them because he didn't want to deal with Nate's fury at learning he had let Parker kill Darlene Fields.

"Come on, Parker. Let me handle it," he said, with the tone of a tired schoolteacher, and he pushed the thief away from their surprise guest.

"I don't like being stalked, Eliot," she spat as he pulled her hand off Darlene's throat. She gave up and yanked her arm back with a flourish, then stomped out of the room and into his kitchen.

"Where are you going?" he yelled after her. Darlene laughed and settled further into his couch. She rubbed her neck where Parker had held it, and smiled up at Eliot. "Always was an aggressive one," she joked. Parker stomped back into the living room holding a bowl of cereal. Eliot gaped at her, clearly pissed off.

"If I have to deal with this I'm going to need dinner," she told him. She sat cross-legged on the top of his coffee table and glared at Dar. "What do you want?"

"Or, better yet, how did you get in here?" Eliot asked. Neither one of the woman looked at him, they were having their own little staring contest. Darlene looked like she was about to burst out laughing while Parker looked like she wanted to kill someone.

"I saw you and your boy at the new ICA exhibit," Darlene said. Parker narrowed her eyes and ate a bite of cereal as if she hoped to chew off the spoon. "I didn't recognize him, but he paid too much attention to security. I figured you were runnin' something, followed you back to the bar that day out of curiosity. Didn't want us to overlap turfs, but needed some information before I made myself known. "

"Parker..." Eliot growled. He suspected that Hardison and Parker ran small jobs on the side - their own weird version of foreplay, no doubt. But pulling off a theft, in their own city, without telling the crew and getting seen by an old enemy - that seemed like a bit of an oversight.

"We weren't casing the place, Eliot," Parker said, clearly offended. "I'm not stupid enough to pull off a heist while we're in the city. Hardison was just showing me their new fancy motion sensors. And I think he wanted to see some glass sculpture or something."

"We all know about Japan, Parker."

"Japan? How recently - because I can think of a job or two that might have been yours," Darlene seemed genuinely curious, and it was enough to make Eliot consider his earlier assumption. Maybe Parker wasn't spotted by an old enemy, maybe she was spotted by an old partner.

"Just keep talking, Dar," Parker demanded. Darlene sighed. She reached into Parker's cereal bowl fast enough to snag a few pieces, then popped them in her mouth and continued her story.

"So I see you and mr. talk, dark, hansdom outlaw wander into the bar. And I was about to go when I noticed Eliot here. And then I start to wonder."

"Wonder what?" Eliot snarled.

"What you all are up to. What is the world's best thief doing paired up with one of the world's best hitters?"

"One of?" He took a step closer, seriously considering giving her a scare just out of professional pride. Darlene smirked up at him and winked.

"Couldn't help but nettle you, dear. You pout so pretty." Parker let out a quick, harsh laugh.

"He does make fun faces when he's angry," she told Darlene.

"Don't help, Parker," Eliot said. He crossed his arms and settled continued to glare down at his surprise guest. He wanted nothing more than to sit down with a beer, maybe read or watch the game. But here he was, two crazy women invading his private space, letting them mock him.

"Anyway, dear. I saw you two were all paired up and realized that you might have something bigger in the works. Not your usual smash and grab." Parker nodded and ate more cereal. She was trying to make up her mind about Dar, trying to puzzle out what she wanted.

"You spooked me earlier," Parker said, with the air of someone thinking out loud. Darlene smiled and leaned towards Parker. She snagged a few more pieces of cereal out of the bowl as Parker continued to put everything together. "You've never been able to track me. You must have figured, what? You spook me and Eliot - "

"Eliot would take you to his own little safe house," Darlene finished the thought for her. "That's the thing with hitters, hon. They're terribly predictable at times. All I had to do was track him and wait for the right moment to give you all a little scare."

Eliot sighed pointedly and was ignored.

"So you drew me out. What do you need?"

"Help. From both of you - hell, from anyone of your little band of misfits that is willing to lend a hand."

"Why would you need that much help?" Eliot demanded, pride still stung a bit from the thought that he had become predictable.

Darlene smiled up at him sadly. "You see, there's a bomb. A big one."