The five-some retreated to their proverbial bat cave. The job had gone well. It would be wrapped up the following day both with the Mark and their client. Nate was looking at the video feed Hardison had brought up. Just like the last job, their new friend stayed out of views of the cameras and stayed in the shadows.

"Nate?" Sophie questioned

"What do we know about this person?" He asked his team

"He is a hacker. May not be as good as me but he is a hacker." Hardison stated

"Wasn't there 6 bundles of money in that safe?" Parker questioned suspiciously as she looked at photos Hardison had brought up

"Yes. They were put in the safe that morning. No one had access to it but him and he didn't get into after putting it in." Sophie told her

"There were only 5 bundles there when I got into it." Parker told them

"So he's a thief too." Hardison stated

"Not really." Parker stated making everyone look at her funny, "If he was a thief, wouldn't he have taken ALL the money?"

"Hacker, hitter thief. He's nearly a one-man Leverage team!" Hardison laughed making Eliot glare at him

Nate grunted making Sophie smile at him.

"Well Hardison does make a point, Nate. He didn't steal from that last job so what changed?" Sophie questioned

"There wasn't any money to steal that last job." Parker pouted

"True but I don't think that's what's behind this guy." Nate replied

"He's one step ahead of us. Just barely too. I don't get it." Eliot stated, crossing his arms across his muscular chest

The group fell into silence as they tried to figure this new supporter out. Who was this guy? What did he want? Eliot was afraid it was trap to draw them out, so to speak. They had taken down so pretty high profile people. It wasn't a secret that they had gained a few pissed off and highly motivated enemies. He wanted everyone to be on high alert until they figured this out. Parker was just confused about who would take one bundle of money and not all of it. Didn't everyone want all the money they could get?!

Hardison was just frustrated that he couldn't find this person. He was a hacker. One of the best. He could find anyone if he wanted. Except this guy. This guy knew better than to get in view of any cameras and stayed in the shadows to stay hidden. He was smart enough to draw the guards into the shadows with him. This guy didn't seem to leave a trace to be found. Grunting and slamming his fists down made everyone look at him.

"Let's get some rest guys. I don't think he's a danger to us. We'll find him." Nate told everyone

Eliot growled slightly not liking this whole thing one bit. Sophie was trying to explain to Parker why someone would not take all the money. The young blond was just not understanding one bit and was getting a bit frustrated by it. Hardison's shoulders slumped forward feeling defeated. Nate again told everyone to go home and get some rest. Once everyone had left, Sophie led Nate to their shared bedroom.

They hadn't heard anything about their new little "friend". Hardison didn't have any more information than he had before and it was really starting to get under his skin. Eliot was even more paranoid than usual. Parker was still trying to comprehend why he hadn't taken all the money. Sophie wasn't worried. More concerned for whoever they were dealing with. It wasn't until their next job did things take an interesting turn.

This job was a bit trickier than their previous few jobs. They all needed to be focused since time was limited. Parker was rappelling down the stairwell to get to a specified floor faster and without being seen. Hardison and Nate were in Lucille watching the security cameras. Hardison was paying extra special attention to see if he could catch their friend in action. Eliot was making his sweeps. Everything seemed to be fine, nothing out of the ordinary. The Hitter made his way to the floor Parker was about to be on when something stopped him.

A burly man in his late 40's came flying around the corner. He was unconscious when he hit the floor. Instantly Eliot was on guard. Cautiously making his way around the corner, he whispered 'Security guys are being taken care of as we speak. I think our friend is here'. He found a young man, early to mid 20's and fairly fit, grappling with someone he hadn't expected. A very beautiful redhead. She was short, perhaps 5'0 or 5'1, curvy in all the right places, gorgeous red hair that came to her shoulders, and stunning green eyes.

He watched as the pair fought. The girl had great technique. The spinning back-kick landed square in the guy's chest knocking the wind out of him. Less than a minute later he, too, was unconscious on the ground. Her eyes darted to his quickly. She thought this new guy, even without being in the security uniform, was a part of the security detail. Instantly she was on guard. Eliot could sense her apprehension so he switched to more defensive stance.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Who are you?" Eliot questioned softly

He watched as her eyes darted around wildly looking for anyone else who might be on in this ambush. She moved into an offensive stance ready to strike at the first sign of trouble. He held his hands up to show he wasn't being hostile. Eliot didn't want to hurt her, he didn't want to spook her either. Unfortunately for him, that's exactly what he did. Before he knew it, her balled fist made contact with his jaw. Much harder than he could have anticipated just by looking at her. He blocked her attacks not wanting to hurt such a petite woman.

"Eliot? Eliot, what's happening?" Nate questioned, hearing that his Hitter was in a fight

"Just business." Eliot retorted, confusing the young woman

Instinctively, he wound up fighting the girl. She held her own better than he would have guessed. She was small and agile, much like their Thief, and he underestimated how quickly she could move. She wrapped her arms and legs around him in such a way that it was damned near impossible for him to remove her. In a matter of minutes she had him in a choke hold and they were going down. She gently laid him down on the ground. Not knowing he had an ear bud in, she whispered a quick "I'm sorry" to the now unconscious man.

Instantly she took off the way she had come leaving a very confused team behind. Parker found him and relayed that he was on the ground unconscious. Nate sat for a moment to devise a plan to get their hitter out of the building without causing suspicion. Parker got Hardison inside while Sophie did her thing with guards at the front desk. By the time they were on their way home, Eliot had started coming around. He was a bit groggy but unwilling to talk about what had happened at the building.

Nate needed to know everything that happened. Eliot settled one the couch and leaned back into it as he closed his eyes. He couldn't get her face out of his mind. If he wasn't trying to keep her from freaking out, he would have stood and appreciated her body a bit more. What got to him the most, however, were her eyes. He knew what lay behind them. She was a mystery but there was something so familiar about her and her behavior.

"What the hell happened?" Nate inquired

"Our new…..friend….. is not a he. It's a she. She took down three very big guards by herself." Eliot stated

"Wait, let me get this straight. The great Eliot Spencer got bested by a girl?" Hardison laughed