I have written my first ever fight scene and it was, erm, rather unremarkable. If any of you fellow writers out there have any tips or resources to share, I would be ever grateful. Thank you for your continuous support of this story :)
TNT owns all of the characters and their quirks. I only own this storyline.
.
Chapter 4: Old friends
.
"Put down your bags slowly and step outside and nobody gets hurt." The one Parker mentally dubbed Suit 1 said, nudging her with his gun.
"Hey guys, why so serious?" Parker responded lightly, as she slowly crouched down. "I'm just going to be putting this bag down now."
As the three Suits eye her wearily, Parker nimbly swept the heavy bag at their feet, causing two of them to fall backwards in surprise. Suit 3 fired off a shot in Parker's direction and she narrowly avoided it by rolling away. She could hear Hardison's panicked yelp and some muffled complains about giving some advance warning.
Eliot was on Suit 3 before he could fire off a second shot, delivering a swift blow to his torso, causing him to double over. Grabbing his arm, Eliot pivot him to the right, just in time to block a punch from Suit 2.
Parker had sprung up from the ground, dart around Suit 1's shot with cat like agility and tazed him in the neck. She grabbed the gun and turned around in time to see Eliot knocking Suit 2 out with a precise blow to the head and Suit 3 already unconscious on the ground.
Eliot emptied all three guns of their bullets and flung the guns away while Parker went back into the apartment to find Hardison crouching behind the sofa.
"It's over Hardison, come on, get out of there. We have to go." Still shaken but looking more relived, Hardison quickly got up and followed Parker out of the apartment. He picked up the bag Parker had earlier and ran towards Eliot who was already waiting impatiently at the stairwell.
.
They reached Portland International Airport in good time. Hardison had booked them three first class seats under their aliases. Hardison and Parker will play a honeymooning couple while Eliot is a businessman. As a precaution, Hardison had booked tickets under their real names on a flight 30 minutes earlier to Colorado Springs.
By a stroke of luck, Eliot's neighbouring seat was empty, making communication slightly easier. Hardison had piggybacked their coms signal onto the plane's wifi so they could communicate without leaving their seats.
"Try to get some rest guys. It's a 7 hours flight and there's nothing much we can do up here and we gotta hit the ground running once we land in Buffalo." Eliot advised, once the plane had reached cruising altitude. After getting mumbled replies from Parker and Hardison, Eliot leaned back on his seat, closed his eyes and tried to relax.
He was used to doing this; allowing himself some down time to recharge while still being alert enough to react to any situations that may arise. Not this time. Eliot's mind keeps racing back to the phone call with Sophie, the fear in her voice causing his muscles to tense up. The photos in Sterling's file contributing to the frustration he is feeling.
This is no coincidence, he thought grimly. He just hoped they are not too late.
Two rows back, Hardison is busy tapping on his laptop while Parker is curled up next to him, apparently asleep. The blond head popped up suddenly, giving Hardison a fright.
"Damn girl, you gotta stop doing that. I almost spilled orange soda on my keyboard. Again."
"Maybe you need to start getting used to it. You should be sleeping; Eliot says we need to sleep. Why aren't you sleeping?" Parker asked, shooting an accusatory look at Hardison.
"Alright, alright mama, you win. Let me just secure my laptop here and I will join you in lala land." Satisfied with the answer, Parker returned to her curled up position. Hardison packed away his laptop and leaned back. He was just about to fall asleep when he heard Parker whispering.
"Hardison? Is it bad that I'm really happy to be seeing Sophie again?"
"Why would that be bad? We all miss them."
"We'll get Nate back right?"
"Course we will, don't you ever doubt it."
"What if Sophie blames me? What if Nate and Sophie's daughter hate me? What if-"
"Parker!" The low growl in their ears reminded them that they were still on coms. "Listen to me. This. Is. Not. Your. Fault. And you will get along with the kid, don't worry about it. Now go back to sleep."
The plane touched down at the Buffalo Niagara Airport with a relatively well-rested thief and hacker and a grumpy hitter. Hardison and Parker went off to pick up the rental car while Eliot walked out to the pick up point, where they will pick him up.
Nate and Sophie's place is a 20 minutes drive away, which got shortened to 10 minutes thanks to Parker. Eliot yelled at her to slow down as they neared the house, in case they draw unwanted attention.
Pulling up at the house, Parker turned off the engine and turned to the boys. "We're here. Let's go."
She was walking purposefully along a long corridor. She recognizes this place. She was on a ship. The name of which is right at the tip of her tongue. The Mal something or other. She felt her footsteps hasten, and then she was running, down a corridor that doesn't seem to end.
The sound of a gunshot echoed around her just as she saw him fell to the ground. She ran to him and knelt down next to him, staring down at a pair of lifeless blue eyes. She screamed his name but all she heard was the ringing of the gunshot.
Lara jolted awake. She had fallen asleep on the floor next to Maria's bed. She checked on her daughter, relieved that she was still sleeping peacefully. The iPad next to her showed nothing out of the ordinary and the broken pieces of the phone and the crushed SIM card were still in the corner where she left dream had seemd so real.
I got to him in time then, I will get to him in time now. Lara reminded herself, took a few deep breaths and felt slightly calmer. Perspiration had caused her blouse to stick uncomfortably to her back and she mentally chided herself for not grabbing a change of clothes just now.
The clock on the shelf read half past five. It would be morning soon. She stood up and stretched, pacing around the room, while mentally going over the checklist of things to do. She can't risk the neighbours or employees realising that Sam was missing.
Honest citizens call the police during such situations and since they have no contacts in the local police department, explaining their list of enemies to the authorities will prove more than tricky.
.
It was with relief that she greeted the first rays on sun that peeked weakly into the room. A new day has arrived and she could start getting some things done, rather than sitting still and being haunted by nightmares.
Using the faint light, she pulled out an outfit for Maria, before grabbing an old diaper bag from the top of the closet and packing in a few change of clothes and other essentials. She set the bag next to the door, ready to be grabbed at a moment's notice. She managed to locate a plastic bag at the back of the closet, and dumped the pieces of phone into it, placing it next to the diaper bag.
As if on cue, Maria started to stir on her bed, blinking sleepily before turning her attention to her mother.
"Mommy?" She smiled cheerily at her mother, and then frowned slightly. "Where's daddy?"
Mornings were Sam's responsibility. He helped her brush her teeth and then father and daughter would pick the day's outfit together before coming downstairs for breakfast. Lara enjoyed mornings. They were her chance to catch up on her work and have some alone time.
"Maria sweetheart, daddy is busy and has to go to work early so it's you and me today, ok princess?" Maria seemed to consider it for a moment before nodding her head and sending Lara another award winning smile. It appears that Maria is going to be a lot more cooperative today.
One less thing to fret about I guess. Lara checked the iPad one last time before unlocking the door and leading Maria to the bathroom, still holding the iPad in one hand. By the time Maria is happily eating her cereal at the dining table, it's just past 8. Lara sat next to her daughter and started calling the parents of her acting students, to inform them that class has been cancelled for that day.
Poor Sam is still feeling slightly under the weather and it wouldn't do if the children get infected.
Oh no, no doctors for him, you know how stubborn men gets sometimes.
Yes, it's probably the flu bug that is going around and yes of course, it's no problem at all taking care of both the young and the old by herself, thank you so much for the offer.
Maria was done with breakfast by the time Lara finally got off the phone, and proceeded to announce that she would be holding a tea party for the toys. Lara put the dishes into the sinks and followed her daughter up to the playroom.
.
Lara sat in the corner of the room watching her daughter play, oblivious to the storm brewing around her. By her estimates, the team should be arriving soon. She turned her attention back to the iPad. Most of the neighbours have already left for the day, judging by the cars she had observed driving by over the last couple of hours. Hopefully, this meant a smaller chance of anyone observing the arrival of her three guests.
At a quarter to ten, a silver Camry pulled up on the street, in front of her house. Lara felt her body tensed up as she stared intently at the screen, until the car doors opened revealing the three remaining members of her family.
Carried by instinct, Lara ran down the stairs, one hand on the iPad, disabling the alarm on the front door. In a matter of seconds, she was yanking open the door with more than necessary force and coming face to face with a slightly stunned looking blonde thief with a finger on the doorbell.
For three years, they had purposefully cut off all contact with the three people standing outside the door but it did not stop her or him from constantly thinking about them. She had often pictured the scene of their reunion, set in some vague distant future in a variety of settings, in her mind.
None of them however, involved a panicked call in the middle of the night about her missing husband followed by them turning up at her doorstep. The three years that had span since their last farewell stretched between them like an abyss, both sides at a lost for words and appropriate responses.
A blur of movement leapt over the abyss, causing it to melt away just as quickly. Parker had launched herself at Lara, wrapping her body around the older woman like a koala bear. Lara stumbled backwards slightly before regaining her composure and balance and ushered them all into the house. Eliot closed and locked the door behind him while Hardison reached over for the iPad.
"Erm Parker dear, as happy as I am to see you, perhaps you want to let go now so I can take a good look at all of you." Parker reluctantly let go, allowing Lara to give the boys a hug and take a good look at them. Parker was staring at her intensely.
The young thief had barely aged, her skin still soft and free of lines. Her eyes still danced with the same wild sense of adventure but now there was an added layer of focus and darkness. Leading this time has aged her soul if not her body.
Hardison had redirected his attention back to the gadgets, eyes swivelling between the iPad and his tablet. He seemed bulkier than before, his t-shirt hugging his toned muscles.
And Eliot, still as intense as ever, was already moving around, mentally categorizing all the potential exits and risks. The lines on his face have increased and deepened and Lara thought she counted a few new scars on his bare arms. Looking out for the two younger members have taken its toll.
"So, Lara and Sam White… And you two own a pub call The Black King? Well, I must say, for people who are trying to leave their past behind y'all sure have taken a good portion of it with you." Hardison commented.
Parker frowned slightly. "So are you related to Alice White?"
Lara smiled slightly. "Well yes and no. Alice White is not related to our aliases but it was part of the reason we chose that name." She paused. "It felt like a nice way to keep all of you close by."
"Is your daughter named Alice?"
"No sweetie. Her name is Maria. Why don't the three of you come upstairs with me? I want to properly introduce you to my daughter."
.
"Maria darling," Sophie called from just outside the playroom. "Would you come over here for a moment? There are some people here mommy would like you to meet." The girl bounded over and Lara put an arm around her shoulders and announced.
"Guys, I would like you to meet my daughter Maria. Maria, do you know who these people are?" A pair of familiar blue eyes stared up at the three newcomers, studying them for a moment before lighting up with excitement and recognition.
"Yeah yeah! Princess Parker. And Prince Alec. And Sir Eli?" She declared with a flourish that leave no doubt as to the identity of the mother, running back into the room as the three turned to stare at Lara in confusion.
"It's from a storybook. A special one of a kind storybook, which just so happen to be her favourite one as well." Lara replied, a genuine smile spreading across her face. Maria had made a reappearance, this time dragging a thick book behind her, which she proudly presented to Parker. Parker accepted the book and flipped through the pages, Hardison and Eliot flanking her.
It was a beautiful picture book with rich details and vibrant, colourful pictures. It tells the adventures of a resourceful princess and her inventor prince who travel across the realm to defeat the bad guys with the help of a brave knight.
The most unique detail was of course the uncanny resemblance of the three main characters to the current readers of the book.
"Nate and I, we got this for her last Christmas. It was an idea I randomly had one day but Nate…" Her voice caught. "He somehow managed to get it made. It's meant to be a way for her to get to know you." At the mention of the mastermind, the casual atmosphere dissipated, reminding them of the circumstances that had brought them to this moment.
"Princess Parker? Come have tea." A small hand tugged at Parker's pants. Seeing the slightly alarmed look on the thief, Eliot came to her rescue.
"You three stay for tea, I'm going downstairs to make us some real food, and then we can talk over lunch." His eyes met those of the older woman for a moment. "We'll get him back."