The Spring Fling Job

Chapter 3

Hardison opened his eyes, correction make that his one eye, to the early morning sunlight streaming through the open window, and winced. A pool of warm water from last night's ice pack was a subtle reminder of last night's disaster. He flung the offending thing to the floor in disgust and laughed out loud. How in the hell was he going to live this down?

Eliot was so dead.

Dream on, he thought wryly. Because, realistically Alec knew there was no way he'd ever get the drop on the retrieval specialist. But he could dream. And dreaming right now was better than the real world.

The real world sucked…big time. Nothing but fake promises and lies. But in his world of computers and games Alec was king. Lord of the hackers and he bowed to no one. It was a perfect world of make believe, and it suited him just fine. He fit in like a natural born son and he took it to heart.

Placing his hands behind his head, Alec stared at the ceiling and contemplated his life so far. He was in his early twenties and had all the money he could ever want or need. He was living the American dream…had a nice career, if that's what you called being a hacker these days, and an oddball family. True, they weren't of his flesh and blood, but they were a family nonetheless. And in this day and age, if you had a family you counted yourself one of the fortunate ones.

So, when did he start thinking something was missing in his life? Was it during the times when the crew was running a con and he was stuck in the van monitoring everyone and their mother? He knew he was a vital part of the team but there were times when he felt like he just didn't fit in. Times when he could have stepped in and covered Sophie or Parker's backs so Eliot could take out a bodyguard or two. He was the best at running a game, but he felt like his skills were lacking. In this day and age the ability to multi task was a plus. Simply put, he needed to learn more useful skills.

This left him pondering what to do with his life. His acting abilities were passable, but he needed to work on his thievery skills. And, he had to admit, he didn't care all that much for rappelling off the sides of buildings. He supposed he could get Parker to show him a few of her tricks, but she scared him sometimes with her off the wall enthusiasm when she was on a job.

A loud knock on his door brought Alec out of his musing and he rose quickly to answer it. He sighed out loud at the sight before him. Eliot barged into his room uninvited, with a big grin on his face and a paper bag in his hand.

"Eliot, my man. You're looking very chipper this morning."

Eliot frowned at Hardison's rumpled clothes and shook his head slightly. "You slept all night in those?"

"Well, yeah, I did! Got a problem with that?"

"Not really," Eliot growled.

Eliot placed the bag on the table beside the bed. He grabbed two cups of steaming hot coffee and handed one to Hardison. "Get dressed. I got something to show you."

Hardison sat down on the rumpled bed and took a sip of the hot brew. "Naw, I'm good. Think I'll just hang around here. Play some games or maybe do a little hacking. Basically, just feel sorry for myself."

"This is about last night, isn't it?" Eliot carefully hid his smile and took a sip of his coffee. "Cause if it is, moping around won't change anything."

"Who's moping? You see me moping?"

"Yeah I do, Hardison. And I have to say that it's not like you at all."

Alec shot off the bed in a huff, almost spilling his coffee. "I'll show you who's so not moping!" He grabbed some clothes out of his suitcase and headed for the bathroom.

"And this better be good," he warned. "Because I'm not wasting my time on something stupid."

"Oh, I guarantee you'll like this," said Eliot mysteriously. "Now hurry up and get dressed. I'll be waiting for you in the lobby."

Opening the door Eliot turned and regarded Hardison with a sigh. "How's the eye?"

"I'll live, I suppose."

Eliot grunted in response. "I remember my first black eye," he recalled fondly. "Some kid at school took my sister's bike and I confronted him. I came home with a black eye and a rip in my good jeans. But the other kid…he ended up worse, with two missing front teeth. I couldn't sit down for a week after my dad tanned my hide. But it was worth it just to see the smile on my sister's face when I returned her bike."

"You wore your black eye like a badge of honor," replied Alec stoically. "But I got mine from a purse of all things. Thing felt like it weighed a ton too. Just what in the hell do they put in those purses anyway?"

"Probably a brick," smirked the hitter. "I've been on the receiving end a time or two. Let me tell you, those things should be considered a lethal weapon. The metal parts cut right into you. Got a fat lip once and a scar to show for it."

"Is that what happened to your lip?" Hardison pointed to the small scar on Eliot's face.

"Yeah." Eliot fingered the slight indentation as he recalled the incident. "Man, those were good times."

"You're nuts, you know that? Anyone who enjoys getting the crap beat out of them has gotta be nuts."

"That doesn't happen to me very often, you know that."

"True," agreed Alec. He seemed deep in thought.

"What, Hardison?"

"Do you…do you think you could teach me how to fight, like you do?"

"That's what I've been trying to do all along!" Eliot quietly closed the door and turned to face Hardison. "Trust me; you need to learn some fighting skills. It'll come in handy some day."

"You're right Eliot. It's just that I'm a lover, not a fighter."

"You're neither at the moment. So go get dressed."

Opening the door, Eliot looked back over his shoulder at Hardison and scowled.

"Right, I'm hurrying."

Eliot heard Alec muttering as he closed the door to the bathroom. "The things I do for my family. I'm just saying."

"Me too," whispered Eliot as he headed down to the lobby.