Author's Note: Sorry I forgot to put all the disclaimers in the last post, but no I do not own any of the characters nor am I making any money off of this- it is all for good fun and games. I'm just sharing an idea that was kicking around in my head. Hope you enjoy! OH, and timeline wise for Hi 5-0, sometime in season 2 after Korea but in my story Joe still works with the SEALS, he never retired and all that stuff with Wo Fat hasn't happened yet. Anyway, BACK TO THE STORY:
Looking at the clock on the wall, it was almost three in the morning making it about ten at night in Hawaii; he dialed the number from memory.
"Steve….hello,"
"Eliot?" the voice came from the other end of the line.
"yeah, it's me. You still got a spot open for that job you're puttin' together?"
"For you, sure thing bro. We could really use you. How soon can you be on the island?" Steve McGarrett responded.
"Give me a week. I'll be in touch when I get there." He hung up the phone.
On a little island in the Pacific, in a bar with the game playing loudly across several screens, Danny Williams looked at McGarrett as he ended the call and put his phone away.
"You expecting company?" he asked his partner. "Company you are planning on 'using'? Are you going to go all ninja on us again?"
"Yeah, an old friend will be coming around in about a week. And I'm not a ninja, I'm a SEAL." Steve answered grinning, as he looked up at his people seated around the table. "So, it's your turn to buy this round, right Dano?"
"Hey, I bought last time!" Danny responded irately.
"He's right Danny," Chin interjected with a laughing tone, "you bet him it wouldn't be the butler. Said it was too cliché. And who did we arrest this afternoon? That's right the butler." Kono just smiled, shook her head at them all, and waved for another round as the friendly banter continued.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
As soon as he hung up the phone with Steve, Eliot was already dialing another number. He made two more calls, both to arrange black transportation from Boston to Hawaii. He needed to be completely untraceable, even for Hardison. They were both contacts that he hadn't used in a while, but he was sure they were still good. There were some I.O.U.s that never expired. That settled, he gathered the supplies he deemed necessary and packed them in the storage compartment on his favorite bike. Locking up, he headed out to the rendezvous with his contact.
As the glimmerings of first light touched the city of Boston Eliot was already hours distant. He had pushed his bike into the mostly empty storage car on a train headed to the west coast. Pausing at the door with only a momentary backwards glance, his thoughts rested heavily on what he was leaving behind. He shook himself free of them and settled onto the mattress left for him in a corner of the car. It was going to be a long train ride; he might as well get some sleep. If it would come.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooo
Parker was the first to wake. She could tell it was early morning from the pale light streaming in the windows. She frowned, not recognizing her location, but not too worried on account of the fact that her head was resting on Hardison's chest and his arm was wrapped around her shoulders as he slept on oblivious to the coming day. She quickly remembered the previous night and with it the explanation of her current location. The sweet smile that had graced her face at finding Hardison so close was replaced again with a frown and furrowed brow at the returning of those memories.
It had not been nice. First those bad men had taken the team. And had the nerve to put her in handcuffs. And then stuck around keeping watch so that she couldn't slip out of them. Then Eliot had been scary-grumpy. Not the usual nice-rumbly-grumpy. Just thinking of those men again had Parker's blood boiling and her fingers itching for her trusty tazer. She didn't like it when Eliot got scary-grumpy, although she figured that meant there probably wasn't anyone left for her to taze. And then Sophie had yelled. Parker didn't like yelling either.
She hoped that with everyone rested this morning things would go more smoothly. Everything would be alright. Nate would be feeling better so he could mastermind them a plan taking care of any residues from last night. Eliot would make them breakfast and keep them safe if anyone else decided to come after them. Hardison would clean up any digital footprints and track down any loose ends. Sophie would charm the authorities for information. And hopefully Parker would get to steal something, or maybe jump off a building!
Thinking of Eliot had Parker frowning again. She hoped that scary-grumpy Eliot would be gone this morning. She wanted pancakes. But she was also worried because she had seen the careful way he had carried himself last night. She was sure he was hurt; she just wasn't sure how hurt. To anyone else his movements might have been seen as simply deliberate and controlled. But she knew what his normal movements looked like. And she also knew what it looked like when someone was trying to hide injuries. She was very familiar with that.
She didn't know if the others had noticed. They had all been pretty out of it. And they hadn't seen as much violence as she and Eliot had. They weren't used to it. Nate had probably noticed if he wasn't too out of it with his head. For a group of extremely observant people, they could certain miss what was right in front of them when they got rattled. She had been too concerned with Hardison last night to even poke at Eliot. She had barely even looked at him. At first mostly because he had been covered in icky blood and looked pretty scary. Then Hardison had been freaking out and she had stopped worrying about Eliot as much. He was moving around and not freaking out so she had focused elsewhere. She usually gauged how badly he was hurt by his responses to her persistent jabs. She would have to poke him this morning to make sure he was okay.
Without disturbing Hardison she slipped off the couch and moved with thiefly silence towards the kitchen. Deciding that she wanted pancakes NOW, she moved down the hall with the intention of retrieving her resident pancake maker. Opening the door to the master bedroom she bounced inside. Looking first to the bed and then quickly around the room upon finding it empty, her alarm rose until her gaze rested on the door to the bathroom. Stepping forward she knocked, asking as she did so, "Eliot? Can you make me….." the rest trailed off as the door opened with her knocking to reveal the complete lack of Eliot.
She stepped inside and surveyed the remainders of last night's medical trauma. An open suture kit lay on the counter, scatterings of bandages, gauze, tape, antiseptic, and other first aid items. On the floor by the sink was a small black garbage sack. Worried, but overcome with curiosity, Parker approached and untied the bag to look inside. Eliot's bloody clothes from the day before were inside. Along with numerous blood soaked swabs and the empty saline bag and IV. Picking up the sleeve of his shirt, Parker stuck her finger through the round hole she found there. She quickly dropped it back in the bag and backed away looking at her hands that now had blood on them. She turned and fled from the scene of triage and ran down the hall, bursting into the room that Nate and Sophie now occupied.
"WE HAVE TO FIND ELIOT NOW!" Parker yelled as she entered the room.
Upon her outburst, Nate sat bolt upright in bed, then grabbed his head and moaned.
"Parker? What's going on? What do you mean?" Nate asked her as he held onto his head. Sophie stirred as well, sleepily mumbling her agreement with Nate's string of questions, her head still resting on the pillow.
"EliotisGONE!Andthere'saholeinhisshirtandIthinkhew asSHOTanddidn'ttellusandIdon'tknowwhereheisandwhatif
somethinghappenedandeveryone wassoANGRYlastnightOHWHATARE WEGOINGTODO!" Parker hurriedly exclaimed in an incoherent rush.
"WAIT! What Parker? You need to slow down, take a breath, and PLEASE, not so loudly!" Nate begged. "What do you mean Eliot is gone?"
"I don't know." Parker began morosely. "He is supposed to make pancakes but he wasn't in his room and then I looked in the bathroom and his shirt has a HOLE in it!"
Befuddled, Nate asked, "What does that have to do with pancakes?" but as his mind awoke more fully and registered more of her previous outburst he raised his head and looked at her sharply."You think he was shot?"
At this Sophie sat up as well looking worried as she patted down her sleep mussed hair. "Parker, sweetie, just because he's not in his room doesn't mean he's gone. And I mean, surely he would have told us if he had been seriously injured?"
"This is Eliot we're talking about. Sophie," Nate responded, "go check and make sure the van is here. Parker, show me what you're talking about."
Nate followed Parker out and back into the other room. He shrewdly assessed the information that his brain provided him. Bed slept in, but not contentedly judging from the tangled bedding. He took in the sight of the medical equipment spread on the counter as Parker knelt beside the black bag and again removed Eliot's shirt. It was crusty yet still damp in some places, but Nate was relieved to see the hole Parker showed him was in the sleeve. At least until he noticed the slashes along the side. He wasn't happy with what they suggested, but he didn't point them out to Parker.
Letting the shirt fall once more, Parker again examined her hands. She quickly moved to the sink to clean them.
"It will be fine Parker," Nate tried to reassure her. "I'm sure he just went out to pick up groceries or something. I'll get my phone and give him a call."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooo
As Nate had followed Parker out of the room, Sophie had gathered herself and headed towards the garage. She knew she hadn't been on her best behavior last night. She always lost her cool when something happened to Nate. He had been hurt. They had all just been kidnapped and while she had remained cool and professional throughout the ordeal, once they were clear her overextended emotions had exploded. And they had focused on Eliot, who had seemed the most in charge and knowledgeable about their situation.
If she would admit it to herself, she had wondered last night if he had been hurt. But when he had emerged from his room looking worn out but presentable she had latched onto an outlet for her overwhelmed emotions. Even last night she had known she needed to apologize to him, he HAD just saved them all; but she had assumed she could do it this morning, once she had calmed down. Even given that the man who had taken them seemed to be an old enemy of his didn't warrant her attacking Eliot. They all had enemies, albeit some worse than others. And yes, the violence she had witnessed (both from Eliot and their captors) last night was a far cry from any of her previous experiences, even those as Annie Croix. But it wasn't like Eliot had kidnapped them and all the violence he had done had been to save them. They were a family of thieves; making enemies came with the territory.
Finding the garage empty did nothing to reassure her. She was back in the kitchen area and able to see into the living room in time to catch Nate shaking Hardison awake as he spoke on his cell.
"…..just call me when you get this." He ended the call and spoke to the semi-conscious hacker. "Hardison, I need you to trace his cell. Come on, wake up!"
"I'm awake! I'm awake already! Whatchu doing disturbin' a man's sleep at this time of the mornin'?" he asked as he sat up, rubbed his eyes, and reached for his laptop on the small table near the couch. He had brought it in from the van last night. As he started it up he asked, "Now who you want me to trace?"
"Eliot's cell. I need you to find out where he is for me. Now."
"What man! You know how he is about privacy? Whatchu mean he ain't here?" the hacker asked as he caught up with the situation.
"Now, Hardison."
"I'm doin' it man, I'm doin' it! And don't you worry yourself none mama, I'll find him!" he directed at Parker who was pacing across the room, "Ummmm….. it's off. But it looks like it was on earlier this morning! I can follow it from here to where it apparently pinged off of several towers in the vicinity of the office, then traveled to an unknown location about 20 minutes north west of there. WHERE he made three calls, two to encrypted numbers I can't trace on this computer if at all, and one to our very own Detective Bonnano. At which point the cell was turned off. Give me a sec and I'll see if I can pull up an address…." The hacker continued tapping away at his keyboard. "hmmmm, yeah, his comm's GPS says it's at the office….hmmm, as well as the trackers in his jacket and shoe…."
"Nate," Sophie interrupted, "the van is gone".
"WHAT! Lucille! Where he take my baby to?" Hardison whined as he pulled up the GPS locator for the van. "Yeah, I got it. It's parked outside the bar. Does this mean it's safe to head back to the office?"
"I'm not sure." Nate looked calculating. "Eliot's phone is off so he's not getting my calls. He's probably just taking care of things from last night. Although I wish he would have waited for us….. I'm going to call Bonnano." And with that Nate headed back to his room, his cell to his ear.
Sophie stepped forward and sank into one of the chairs at the table. It didn't escape her attention that this is where she had sat last night as she confronted Eliot. She looked down as she guiltily rubbed her arm.
"Parker, woman! Stop your pacing, I'm trying to work here!" Hardison commented as he kept doing his thing. At that the thief went over to the couch and plopped down forcefully next to him. Her arms crossed, she frowned as she stared off into space.
"I don't understand," she said, "why didn't he wait for us. We're supposed to be a team."
Just then Nate came in, a frown on his face. "Bonnano asked to meet with us at the office. I've called us a cab. He said he 'needed to talk to us'."
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
They met the detective back at the bar. They had taken in the sight of several police cruisers parked out front with some trepidation. They walked into the bar, noting the broken lock, the slight signs of a scuffle, and the missing furniture. Bonnano greeted them all with a nod as he shook Nate's hand.
"Detective."
"Mr. Ford." Bonnano nodded again as he continued, "Well, there was quite the ruckus here last night. Did you know that a crew of heavies decided to break in and clean the place out? Apparently they had quite a taste for Irish whiskey, because they somehow managed to clobber each other and then pass out in their van out front before they could make their getaway." He informed them, his voice heavy with disbelief and skepticism in his own words. "Why don't we continue this conversation upstairs while these officers process the scene?"
"By all means detective." They filed after him up the stairs at the back. The upstairs too bore signs of a struggle although fewer than in the bar. Once they were all in the office, AKA "Nate's apartment", Hardison and Parker both settled onto one of the black couches. The hacker with his laptop out and busy while the thief just curled up next to him with her feet tucked under her. The mastermind gestured the detective forward and then settled into his customary chair at the briefing table. Sophie hesitated then settled besides him. Bonnano gave them all an assessing look before settling onto the far couch with a sigh.
"Do you have any idea what I have been doing since 2:30 this morning?" He asked them.
"Why don't you enlighten us? That was around the time you received a call from Eliot, so I assume it has to do with yesterday's events." Nate surmised.
"Yeah, yeah it does. And let me tell you, when that boy does things, he doesn't go half way. I got eight guys on ice, six of whom are in the hospital under police guard. The remaining two, now that they are conscious, are both refusing to talk and demanding lawyers. Spencer told me someone was targeting him and had tried to kidnap the rest of you? Add to that the burned out remains of a warehouse and the looks on your faces and I would say yeah, that about sums it up. Anything else you want to add?"
"You spoke with Eliot." Nate's tone made it almost a question. "Can you tell us where he is or what he's doing? As for the rest of it, yes, I believe someone from Eliot's past thought it would be a good idea to grab us to use as leverage. Lucky for us, they underestimated him and we were able to get out. Although I believe there may still be a few remaining loose ends. Unless that is what Eliot is taking care of?"
Bonnano looked at them all with something that almost looked like pity. "No, I don't believe that he is taking care of that. He passed the information on to me…."
Parker interrupted him, "If you know where he is you have to tell us! He's hurt and he's OUR Eliot, so you have to tell us!"
Bonnano smiled at her sadly as he stood. "Then maybe you should have told him that. And no, I don't know where he is. But he informed me his replacement should be arriving by tomorrow. And I found this when we swept the building for anymore perps," he said as he pulled a folded piece of paper out of his coat pocket. "I'll keep you apprised of the investigation and the patrol cars will remain out front for the next couple days to make sure everything is okay." He set the paper on the desk in front of Nate and headed for the door ignoring the wave of shock left in his wake.
"Replacement!?" Hardison exploded bewilderedly, "You can't replace Eliot! What's he talking about? Nate? What's that paper?"
With trembling hands, Nate reached forward and quickly read the message scrawled across the paper. Placing it flat on the table in front of him, his hands pressed against it and his head down; he asked "What exactly happened last night after I passed out?"
Hardison squirmed and Sophie looked away. Parker is the one that answered. "Well, Hardison was sick and Sophie yelled and then Eliot got mad and went to bed."
"What happened Sophie?" Nate asked in a tone that left no room for anything but a prompt and truthful answer.
"That's what I asked him Nate!" Sophie tried to explain herself. "You were hurt and we had all just been kidnapped by a monster! And then Eliot had swooped in like a tornado, killing everything in his path, leaving nothing but destruction and devastation in his wake! That man knew him! Was after us because of him!" Then in a smaller voice she continued, "I asked him what he did….."
"He saved our lives Sophie," Nate responded coldly. "He took on an army by himself, again, to get us out of there safely."
"I know!" Sophie rebutted. "Wait! What do you mean 'again'?"
"This isn't the first time he's had to make a hard choice or faced impossible odds trying to keep us all safe." Nate responded uncomfortably cryptic, hoping he wouldn't have to go into details. With that in mind he tried to shift the conversation back to the matter at hand. He gestured to the letter in front of him. "Eliot blames himself. He thinks he's a liability to the team. He thinks that being around us is putting us in danger from his enemies."
"Hate to say it but mans got a point," Hardison added, "I'm just saying! Not that that means it's okay for him to LEAVE! Hell NO! But last night certainly puts it into perspective."
"We all had enemies before we started working together, and we've made quite a few since." Nate said with resignation. "Would you rather face our collective enemies on our own or with Eliot by our side and watching our backs?"
"What did he say Nate?" Sophie asked as she sneaked her hand out and slipped the paper from beneath his hands. Her eyes quickly scanned the page, tearing as they did so. "Oh Eliot! Oh this is all my fault!"
"Sophie," Nate began, his anger replaced with weariness. "No one person holds the blame here. We all share some, including Eliot for reacting like this!"
"And what does he mean 'provided for your protection'" Sophie questioned as she gestured at the letter. "Bonnano said his 'replacement' would be here soon; he can't mean he's bloody replaced himself!"
"I don't want a replacement! I want Eliot." Parker added.
"Me too mama, me too." Hardison spoke up as the rest of the team nodded their agreement. "Speaking of which, I found the address for the last location of his phone before he turned it off. Are we going to check this out and drag his ass back here?"
The rest of the team started to rise and head out to make good on Hardison's plan, with Nate a step behind. Nate had chased Eliot before, during his days with IYS, and he knew that the chances were practically nonexistent that Eliot would still be there when they arrived. He knew how to disappear completely when he wanted to. He knew how to leave no trace and he also knew exactly who would be looking for him and how. He knew the team. And if Nate understood anything from the letter he had left them, he intended to disappear completely this time. However, with that in mind, Nate still couldn't bring it upon himself to dash the hopes of the rest of the team at following this, their only lead on where to find their hitter. For the moment, they had a purpose, a goal. And they were going to keep going till they ran out of pavement.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooo
Piling out of the van and finding the door to Eliot's garage locked and unresponsive to their knocking and demands for entry, Parker quickly remedied the situation. They entered not knowing what to expect. Well, inside was about what you would expect to find in a garage housing a hitter's favorite assortment of vehicles and tools. But what they hoped to find was nowhere in evidence. They all spread out as if to ensure that Eliot wasn't simply hiding in a corner, even though it was clearly evident that he wasn't here.
Parker found his cell on one of the workbenches. On a note pad next to it she read the message aloud, "'New job, don't look for me. It would jeopardize the mission- E.'"
At hearing Parker's voice, the others had stopped what they were doing and looked towards her. They quickly gathered at her side as she read the note.
"I don't know if it is true or not, or if he just knew the one thing to say to make sure we didn't look for him." Nate told the others.
"What? What do you mean not look for him?" Sophie asked.
"If it is true, and our looking for him compromises whatever 'job' he's gotten himself into; it could get him killed." Nate answered her question for them all. "If it's not, he's just damn clever. Which we already know he is. He knows that either way, we wouldn't want to risk his safety by using our usual methods of finding him."
"But we are still going to find him right?" Hardison asked.
"Yes we are. We are just going to have to circumvent the usual approach."
"How do we do that?" Parker wanted to know.
"I have a plan…." Nate said as he truly smiled for the first time this morning. "Let's go steal a…."
"New approach!" Parker interrupted.
"Ooh! Ooh! Let's go steal a hitter!" Sophie guessed.
"OH! Or a chef!" Hardison said, but on seeing their looks added. "What! I'm hungry!"
"I was going to say…" Nate tried again. "Oh well, never mind!" he huffed exasperatedly and headed for the door as Parker and Hardison loudly debated the merits of stealing a chef vs. stealing an entire restaurant.
Nate met Sophie's eyes as they all piled back into the van. A silent conversation followed. Yes, she knew their chances as well as he. But they were not going to give up on this crazy family they had constructed. And in the mean time, they would be strong for the ones that were still here. He pulled a smile back onto his face and started to run through different plans in his mind, blocking out the now hopeful banter that filled the van so he could concentrate.
NOTE: OKAY! Sorry not much Eliot, but don't worry next chapter he gets to Hawaii. ;-)
Hope you enjoy. And thanks for the comments, they convinced me to keep this going!