DISCLAIMER: No, I do not own one single character from NCIS/LEVERAGE. It's sad but it's true.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hi there! I want to take just a moment to thank those who were kind enough to read and leave a review. It means a lot to me. It helps one grow as a writer. I ask only that if you leave a review that you be respectful and if you see room for improvement in the writing or ideas for the story... be respectful and constructive. I try to make sure to keep one's feelings in mind when I leave reviews. It's hard to put your work out there for others to read. It's a peace of yourself. I was unfortunate as to "meet" with a not so nice review... it really wasn't a review so much as a bullying... enough said. It really isn't worth anymore energy being spent on it. However, that said, thank you to all those who have taken the time to be supportive. I appreciate the ideas you share and encourage you to continue. Enough of this soap box. Moving on...

It has come to my attention that some of you have never met up with the "Leverage" team. If you haven't seen this series and you get Netflix and maybe Hulu... look it up. You will like it. 5 seasons worth. I have made it a point to fit in a brief synopsis of each character from Callen's view point in this chapter. I hope it reads smoothly for you. Let me know what you think. Okay, carry on.

"Ghost, Eliot? I didn't know you believe in ghosts." Parker stated, "and I don't think they use bathrooms… or drink beer… or beat up Eliots." Parker was brilliant when it came to planning and executing a theft. However, she was the gentle spirit of the group. Growing up in foster care, she was socially awkward, to say the least. She appeared innocent in so many ways that the team frequently went out of their way to protect her.

"Parker!" Eliot raised his voice, "Are you serious?" Frustrated, he turned back to the others. If you research a man called Ghost, throughout Europe and the US especially, in the government databases, you still won't find anything personal but what you will get is a feel for what he does."

Already the fingers were tap dancing across the keys, "No way, dude! He works for Blackguard? They're like the mother of all black-ops agencies. According to this, the guy's a legend in the business, not to mention his reputation as "the Ghost" in the criminal world. He's in and out before anyone sees him. It's been debated as to whether or not he really exists.

"Oh, he's real alright. He's definitely made a name for himself but it goes no further than this table, you hear me Hardison?" Eliot growled.

"Okay, okay… but Eliot, the guys like an assassin or something." He all but whispered.

"Yeah?" Eliot replied as if it were the most normal thing in the world…. But then his team knew nothing of his own past and he did say he worked with this guy before. Eliot was a United States Black Ops soldier, a retrieval expert, and now protector of the Leverage Team. He liked to keep his personal life private and was even more intent on keeping his past work experience to himself. He wasn't proud of all the things he had done over the years. It's one of the things that he and Callen had in common. Neither relished the dirty side of the business but they would do the job that needed done. Both were well skilled in hand to hand combat and were good marksmen. Eliot, however, preferred not to use guns whenever possible… though he still went on the occasional missions, by the point he met up with his team members, he was ready for a change.

"Eliot! Did you… Are you…."

"Spit it out, Hardison!" Eliot snapped.

"He wants to know if you killed people for a living…" Parker asked excitedly.

He was saved from answering with the return of their visitor.

"It's like Eliot and Eliot 2.0," Parker spouted with a big goofy grin.

Hardison nudged her arm, "Look at the guy. He's got just as many muscles as Eliot and he knows how to use them too," she whispered loudly.

"Hardison!" Nate warned. Hardison and Parker were close and it was frequently left up to Hardison to keep Parker under control. He found the task daunting at times. Parker was inquisitive and excitable.

"What? You KNOW how she gets around new people." He offered.

Callen watched the exchange with fascination. It was like Deeks and Abby rolled into one person. He just shook his head with a grin.

Eliot caught the reaction, "Never mind her."

"So, you know Eliot. You mentioned he was a member of your team?" Nate asked, "What team would that be, exactly?"

Callen's eyes narrowed as he sized the man up. Nathan Ford, a one time Insurance investigator… well known in the criminal world for his ability to find and retrieve stolen items. Until the death of his son. After that, all bets were off. Living his life in a bottle with nothing left to lose he found himself the mastermind of what was now called the Leverage Group… helping those who were wronged by giving them "leverage". Callen could respect him for that but that's as far as his trust went, "What, you haven't already done your research? I was gone nearly 8 minutes. Disappointing. I know a couple tech wizards who would have known all there was to know by now." Callen stated taking another swig of his beer.

Hardison huffed, showing his annoyance at the suggestion there was a hacker out there who was better than him, "If there was something to find, I would have found it."

"I didn't say he'd find a lot just that he'd find what was available." Callen smirked. He knew Alec Hardison was at the top of the list when it came to hackers and could probably give Eric Beale a run for his money... but at the end of the day, Eric was better and he'd stake his life on it.

"Ch…", the hacker rolled his eyes.

"Hardison gets upset when anyone dares question his ability…" Eliot grumbled.

"Hm… apologies. So, when's the last time you shut down the internet?" Callen asked sincerely.

"Shut down the… There's only one person I know of who… NO! You KNOW the guy?" Hardison asked in awe. Any chance you could introduce me? The guy's a legend.

Callen's brow raised as he chuckled, "No."

Never redirecting his gaze, he surprised everyone by grabbing the hand which had just reached for his back-pocket's contents. Startled, Parker attempted to pull her hand back but Callen refused to let go, "What, exactly, do you think you are doing?" he asked pointedly.

"Eliot said you were a ghost… I was just checking…"

Callen's blue eyes stared at her thoughtfully before looking over at Eliot, "Is she serious, Spencer?"

"Yeah, actually, she is." Eliot replied with a sigh, "Seriously Parker, what is the matter with you?"

Callen released her arm with a smile that lit up his face. She looked so incredibly innocent. "It's fine, Rook" he said, using his code name.

"So what kind of ghost are you? A good ghost or a bad ghost?" Parker asked as she perched herself on the bar.

"I guess that would depend on who you ask." Callen answered honestly.

"How come he calls you Rook?" Hardison asked curiously.

"Classified" Callen replied.

"Eliot called you Callen. Is that right?" Sofie asked smoothly.

Sofie Devereaux was a grifter. A talented one at that. Callen respected her ability to become whoever she needed to be in order to do a job. In that, they were very similar. He also knew she was the heart of the team. The mother figure, if you will and second in command to Nate. Callen gave a smile that could melt most but it wasn't sincere. "Yes, Mam," Callen answered as he glanced at Eliot who was becoming more irritated by the second, "I thought the OSP team was bad."

"You don't have a clue what I deal with," Eliot growled.

"Oh, but I do," Callen smirked, "I do my homework."

"You may know all there is to know on them but you are clueless to their personalities, trust me."

Callen continued to smile as he debated whether to list each person's findings, "Let's just say I've kept my eyes on things before I called."

"Not surprised," Eliot chuckled.

Things fell silent.

"So you kill people for a living." Parker stated in a matter of fact tone.

Eliot gave a heavy sigh of frustration as Sofie nudged Hardison who just shook his head. The whole time Callen's gaze was locked with Nates unreadable one.

Finishing his beer, he threw his money on the bar, "Time to go. It was good seeing you, Spencer," offering him his hand.

"Glad you survived, Callen."

"Yeah, guess they said it was a close call…" Callen's voice trailed off.

Eliot could see there was more to it than that, "Hey, you in a hurry to get somewhere?"

"Not these days, why?" Callen asked.

"Why don't you kick around here for a bit? You can stay at my place."

"I don't know, Spencer." Callen stated, casting a glance over his shoulder as Parker moved closer.

"Come on…" Spencer encouraged, also catching Parker's movement, "You'll get used to her."

"I doubt that." Callen mumbled for Eliot's ears only as he tossed Parker the watch he had lifted from the girl's wrist when she had tried to snatch his wallet earlier. He was rewarded with a look of shock from Parker and a chuckle from Eliot, "I should probably just keep moving…" he added after the fact. Eliot had built a life here with these people. The way they all eyed him warily proved the point that they had his back and they didn't care for Callen and the trouble that no doubt trailed behind. He liked Eliot and knew he deserved a little peace in his life. Eliot was a lot like himself, he thought. Loyalty was a tough find… when you lucked into finding it, you didn't take it lightly.

"Tonight. You stay tonight then." Eliot stated, leaving no room to argue.

"Fine, one night."

"Stay out of trouble, I'll be by tomorrow," Eliot informed the others before following Callen out the door.