It was getting harder for Alessandra to anger the guards. She was still angry with them, but taunting them and getting angry at them took too much energy that she didn't have. She was starting to feel the full extent of her pain. As much as she wanted to fight the guards tooth and nail, she just couldn't any more.

Logically, her body could stand up to weeks of torture—she knew that. Her Papa wouldn't want her to do that, though, and neither would her Mama. They went through years of torture and all it ever got them was dead.

"You losing your fight? We finally breaking you in?" the guard she had learned to hate the night they were left alone together said.

"You wish," Ale snarled, bracing herself for the blow that was sure to follow.

"We have been very nice to you," the man snarled back, slapping Ale's face. "All we want to know is what you know. And then you are free," he smiled.

"I won't be free. I will be dead. I will rot in the ground. Because of you people, I am already dead. If you kill me, it will be no different. The only way I will be free is if you let me go, and we both know that is not going to happen," Alessandra said, the man laughing. He pulled a knife out of his ankle strap, slashing her arm. He made another cut to match on the other arm and two on each thigh. Ale spat in the man's face, only instigating him to kicking her ribs.

"I will break you," he snarled, his angry eyes being the last thing she saw before she blacked out.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Eliot asked Cecillio as they pulled out of Buchamp Pharmaceuticals to follow the guards. Lio nodded meekly, still watching the monitor. It was Lio's, Eliot's, Parker and Hardison's job to go in and get Alessandra while Nate and Sophie waited to drive away with Lucille.

"I just want my sister back," he sighed.

"You do understand that she won't look like herself. She might not even act like herself. What she has gone through…it's going to change her forever," Eliot explained, Lio nodding.

"Now, when we get in there, Parker stays behind me. She needs to be there to get any doors open. Lio, you use your boxing skills but leave any hard hitting to me. Hardison, use whatever information you can to hack into the systems in the building to force as many guards out as possible. The less people we have to encounter, the less we have to get through to find Alessandra. We need to stay as a group. If Alessandra sees anyone but Lio she might panic. Most importantly, if you feel bad at all about what we might have to do to the people inside that building, just remember why we are doing it. The good outweighs the bad," Eliot explained, Nate and Sophie listening from the front of the van.

"I won't feel bad about it," Hardison shrugged, surprised at the amount of anger he felt. He had never been one to like fighting or hurting people. He much preferred his computer world and getting even with people while ruining their lives from behind the computer screen. After he saw the guards beat Alessandra over and over again, and after he heard the scream Alessandra let out the night the guard raped her, however, he wanted nothing more than to kill them. He was the one who had to watch the monitors day after day, watching for any signs or clues as to where the girl was being held captive. He was grateful when Eliot found a way to find Alessandra so that he didn't have to listen and watch anymore.

Parker was also excited to find the girl. She didn't think it was fair that she was being hurt because she wanted to help people, and she also didn't want Cecillio to lose his sister. Losing a sibling was hard, whether you were twenty two or eight years old. Parker also had a small hope that, once she was better, she would be friends with Parker and they could steal things together. The girl could help her put the things back, too, which Parker was never good at.

They finally reached the destination, Eliot and the rest of the team waiting until the first team of guards left for the night. Once they felt it was clear, the three members and Cecillio all headed into the building, guards immediately greeting them at the entrance.

Nate had told Eliot to take point on this one, and that is exactly what he did.

"You have a brother. Cecillio," the guard said, looking at Alessandra for any indication that her brother was her weak spot.

"What's your point?" Alessandra said, her voice barely audible. It hurt to breathe, let alone speak.

"We can find him, just like we found you. Unless you talk, we will kill him," the guard explained, as if the threat was the push Ale needed to spill her secrets.

"Your threats are useless," Ale shrugged, pulling her knees to her chest. "I'm not going to tell you what I know. In fact, I don't even know what you think I know about. It seems to me like you are the one with secrets. Have anything you would like to share?" Alessandra asked, the guard overcome with rage. He was about to strike Ale when he put his hand to his ear, his brows furrowing.

"Damnit," he growled, giving Ale a kick in the back before he stormed out of the room.

It was only then that Ale allowed the fear to overtake her. She couldn't let her brother die because of her…if her Papa knew that either one of them died in his name, he would turn over ten times in his grave, let alone if both of them died. She had done her best to hide her true identity from the guards and Buchamp and anyone she encountered. She was good at forging personal information online and was hoping that her covers would have been good enough to keep her brother off of the radar.

Her wishes had been in vain.

'Maybe it is time to just give in' Ale thought to herself. After all, they were going to get Lio if she didn't talk, but she also couldn't betray her father by revealing the information she had worked so hard to get. For the first time since the men had taken her from her home, Ale was second guessing her actions.

She should have just left well enough alone, or waited for Nathan Ford a little longer. Instead, she let her emotions get the better of her and she went to the police. Mama had always warned her that her heart would get her in trouble. She felt too deeply, according to her Papa. Alessandra couldn't help it…she was addicted to helping make the world better, no matter how small or large a task it was.

Just as Alessandra allowed tears to fall down her face the door to the room whipped open, four new faces standing in the dimly lit doorway. Alessandra took in the faces of the four strangers, realizing quickly that one of them wasn't so strange.

"Cecillio Lorenzeo Moertti, I told you not to get involved with this," Ale scolded, her eyes showing nothing but relief.

"And I told you not to get yourself dead," Lio scolded back, immediately rushing over to Alessandra. A blonde haired girl slipped in behind him, kneeling next to Ale.

"I'm going to get these off of you. I'm sorry if it hurts," she said softly. Ale looked at her brother, knowing that he had found these people to help him find her.

"You found them for me?" Ale asked, watching the blonde girl as she carefully got the shackles off her wrists.

"That Nathan Ford you told me about had them. It wasn't that much work," he shrugged. Ale laughed, immediately wincing.

"I'm so tired, Lio," Ale sighed, her eyes starting to close. Lio looked worriedly at the man in the doorway who walked over to Lio and Ale, whispering something in Lio's ear.

"It's okay, Ale. Just rest now. It is your turn to be free," Lio said, lifting Ale into his arms as the blonde girl got the last restraint off of Ale.

Alessandra would have to remember to thank her later.

"Nate, they have her," Hardison whispered, looking at Lio, Eliot, and Parker as they huddled around Ale, Parker freeing her, Lio comforting her, and Eliot giving Lio the strength he needed to stay strong for her.

Once Ale was freed from her chains, Lio carried her into the hallway, Hardison using the cameras of the building he had hacked into upon arrival to check any hallways they had to go through for remaining guards.

"Yo, theres one left, and he's in the hallway behind us," Hardison warned, looking back at the group.

"Hardison, go with Lio and Parker and get Alessandra to the van. I can handle one guard," Eliot said, Hardison starting to rush towards the exit.

"Who is it?" Lio asked, looking at Hardison.

"The guard from the other night," Hardison explained, Lio nodding.

"I'm not letting him die at your hands. He will feel the pain of what he did to my sister from me," Lio said, handing Ale off to Hardison. "Take her and Parker to the van. If Eliot can handle one guard then we can both do it with no problem."

Eliot could see that there was no way Lio was going to go without killing the man who killed a bit of his sister.

"Go," Eliot nodded, looking at Hardison and Parker, as well as the beaten girl in Hardison's arms. The two members of the team listened, rushing to the exit.

Eliot and Lio headed down the hallway they had just come from, the guard literally running straight into their path. Eliot watched as Lio fought with the man, definitely holding his own. When the guard was on the ground, close to unconsciousness, Lio stared into his eyes.

"That is for my sister. You did not break her. She is too strong to be ruined by an animal like you," Lio seethed. As the two walked away Eliot ducked at the sound of a gunshot, immediately looking for the source. The guard on the ground had fired a shot just before he fully succumbed to darkness. Eliot looked at Lio, a red flower immediately blooming from his side.

"Get me that gun," Lio grunted, Eliot slinging an arm around him. Eliot led Lio over to the man and handed him the gun, watching as Lio easily pulled the trigger, creating eternal darkness for the man who brought darkness for his sister. Eliot then helped Lio to the van, Hardison and Parker looking at him with widened eyes.

"What happened?" Hardison asked.

"I forgot to check for a weapon," Eliot grunted, disappointed in himself. He had been so worried about getting back to Alessandra to check her injuries that he had let Lio take point on the guard. He knew Lio needed to take the guy out…it was just something he had to do as Ale's brother.

"Lio?" Ale's voice called, it being barely audible.

"Tis but a scratch," Lio answered, his eyes starting to close. Eliot took off his jacket, pressing it onto Lio's wound as Nate drove away, Sophie listened from the seat, and Hardison and Parker watched. Ale was laying on the bench across the back of the van, curled in a ball. Before Hardison or Parker could stop her she was on the ground, pulling Lio's head into her lap.

"You should be resting," Lio sputtered, Ale wincing as Nate drove over a bump.

"And you shouldn't have gotten shot," she said, tears falling down her face. Eliot watched as Ale fought to stay sitting up and stay conscious, the pain written all over her face. Parker reached for Hardison's hand, the sight of the two siblings in front of her frightening her.

"I'm sorry, Ale. For what those men did to you and for getting shot. I don't want to leave you alone here," he struggled, wincing. Ale grabbed for his hand looking around the van at the people who had helped rescue her.

"Cecillio, it's okay. You can go. I'll be okay. They need you up there," Ale whispered.

"I can't," Lio cried, struggling to breathe.

"Let go Lio. We will see each other soon," Ale smiled, her eyes showing nothing but strength and sincerity. Sophie knew Ale was only trying to help her brother die in peace, but she could only imagine how scared she was for her brother to go and to be left alone in the world. It was at that moment that Sophie decided she wouldn't let Ale ever be alone again.

"Sing. Please," Lio choked out, a bit of blood spurting from his lips.

Alessandra immediately started singing what sounded like a lullaby in Italian, singing until she was sure her brother was gone. Once his chest stopped rising and falling she seemed to succumb to the pain that was plaguing her body, Parker being the one to catch her before she fell backwards into the side of the van. Parker laid her down softly, Eliot staying in his spot by her brother's side. It was his fault that Alessandra was alone in the world, and he, much like Sophie, wanted to ensure she would never have to be alone again.

A/N: It was a very hard decision to kill of Cecillio. I wasn't sure I wanted Alessandra to have to deal with losing her brother. I did, however, want to give her a reason to stay with the Leverage crew and with Eliot, at least for a little while.

Also, Alessandra's nickname, Ale is pronounced Allie—it is just spelled differently to match her given name.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing. It means a lot to me, as this is my first fan fiction and my first writing anywhere for others to see.

There will be more chapters up as soon as possible, and thank you, again, for reading.