The next day, Morgen woke up on the couch again. Eliot had stayed at her side all day, and he slept on the floor. She smiled.

Eliot is quite proud of his ninety minutes of sleep. She set her feet on the ground quietly. He didn't stir.

He's out cold. He won't wake up for at least another hour. Enough time to slip out without anyone noticing.

She stood and walked silently to her bedroom, stepping carefully over the sleeping Parker and Hardison in the hallway. The door was shut. Morgen peeked in and smirked at the two forms in her bed.

Sophie might be okay with me, but she won't be if she finds out I'm in here.

Morgen crept in on the balls of her feet and grabbed the duffel bag in her closet. It was small, but she had managed several months ago to stuff in several changes of clothes, an extra cell phone, and most of her favorite gadgets. She slung it over her shoulder and retraced her steps out of the room and down the hallway. Eliot was still asleep in the living room. She leaned down and kissed his cheek gently.

"Goodbye, Eliot," she whispered. "Don't worry about your little sister anymore."

Morgen stopped in the kitchen and shoved food into her bag. It was still dark outside, and the light of the refrigerator was blinding.

"Leaving so soon?"

She whirled around. Nate stood in the entryway, still in his t-shirt and shorts. Morgen shut the door.

"I don't do those weepy goodbyes very well."

She waited for him to shout for Eliot or Sophie, but he walked closer to her.

"I figured you didn't. Don't you think Eliot will want to see you off, though?"

He's not going to wake everyone up. He's still whispering.

"I said my goodbye to him yesterday. He'll understand."

Nate nodded. "Where are you going? What are you going to do?"

Morgen started to give him the answer she had made up, then stopped. No sense in lying to a con man. He'll figure it out anyway.

"I'm going back in time. Taking care of some unfinished business with old enemies."

"Are you coming back?"

She shrugged. "Maybe. If I live long enough. Not really sure, though."

"You could always join the team. You get along with everyone pretty well, and we could use your talents and gadgets."

Morgen shook her head. "I don't think so, Nate. I'm not a very good team player, even if one of the team is Eliot. And besides," she grinned, "I don't think your girlfriend would be too happy if I stayed."

"Well, think about it then. You might change your mind after a while."

No I won't.

Morgen merely shrugged, then pushed past him to the back door. She opened it. The cool early morning air swept into the kitchen, and she breathed it in.

"I don't know when I'll be back, Nate," she said, still looking outside. "I'm too much of a wanderer to stay in one place for long. But I did promise you that I would give you a name before I left."

"You don't have to do that."

"Yes I do. Eliot at least should know, and I'm sure you all wouldn't mind finding out either. Reuben can answer your questions. Eliot will want to meet him anyway. You could have Hardison hack into the files of the Russian mafia, but even he won't be able to keep them from finding his software."

She handed a piece of paper to Nate. "Please give this to Reuben. I told him I'd find him once this whole Moreau thing was over, but… uh…"

"You don't want to get him involved." Nate took the paper and put it into a pocket. "You know he'll want to go after you."

Morgen flushed, and she was thankful that the room was still dark. "You're pretty good at reading people, Nate."

"I know it's none of my business, Morgen, but I think you should take him with you. He seems strongly attached to you."

The longing she had felt for Reuben in Moreau's warehouse came rushing back. "I would ask him to go with me, but I don't want him to get caught in the crossfire."

"He may put himself there anyway."

Morgen smiled. "He probably will."

She stepped outside and walked over to the sleek motorcycle leaning against the wall.

"Reuben won't tell you what you want to know unless you know the name," she called out to Nate. She swung her leg over the seat and turned on the engine. "It's Nadya Marya McLennan." Her eyes began to glow.

"Goodbye, Morgen," Nate yelled.

Morgen revved the engine, a wild grin spreading over her face. "I'll send you a postcard!"

She lifted the kickstand, revved the engine again, and took off down the street, her duffle bag secured in the seat. Nate watched her go until she was out of sight.

"She's gone, isn't she?"

Nate didn't turn to look at Eliot. "Yep."

"I knew she wasn't going to stay long. She would've left yesterday if she could stand." Eliot came and stood by Nate. "She was never one to stay in one place."

"She gave me a name to look into. Nadya Marya McLennan. Sound familiar?"

"Never heard it before."

"I guess we should visit her friend, Reuben, then. She said he'll be able to give us the information.

X

Nate woke up the team and explained where they were going. Everyone agreed to visit Reuben, so Nate drove them back to the alley where he and Morgen had been two days ago. The gangs were no longer hanging around. Nate had no trouble finding the apartment Reuben lived in.

Eliot knocked. When there was no answer, he pounded with his fist.

"Who's there?"

"Reuben, this is Nate Ford. We met once a few days ago when Nadya needed information."

Eliot frowned, but Nate waved the question away.

The door opened. Reuben glared suspiciously at the Leverage team.

"Why are you here? Has something happened to Nadya?"

"She said you would be able to tell us about her. And she wanted me to give something to you."

Reuben hesitated, then took a step back and opened his door. "Come in, please."

Reuben led them through his apartment and was introduced to everyone in turn. He smiled politely when Eliot told him Morgen was his sister.

"She speaks very highly of you, Eliot," he said. Eliot smiled thinly.

The Leverage crew sat in Reuben's living room, sipping their hot tea. Nate handed the paper Morgen gave him to Reuben. He opened it up and read it quickly.

"Well, she says that she wants me to tell you everything, so I guess I'll start at the beginning." He sat himself in an old chair. "Morgen Spencer, as I'm sure you've guessed, is not her real name. She was born Nadya Marya McLennan, and her life has not been a happy one.

"Nadya's father was the only son of Jack McLennan, who ran one of the Irish mobs, and her mother the daughter of a Russian mafia leader. Her mother's name was Vera, but she never told me her father's name, and she never told me how they met. But they did, and they fell in love. They married in secret and ran away to Switzerland, where Nadya was born. They lived there for three years until Vera's father found them and brought them back to Russia. Vera and her husband were executed in front of Nadya, and her grandfather took her in to raise her. He did not love her like a grandfather should. He saw her as a potential member of his mafia when she was of age, so he trained her in the art of stealing and killing.

"That's where we met. I was the son of one of the members of the mafia, and since we were around the same age her grandfather let us train together. I think I'm the only friend she had in Russia. She hated her grandfather. I remember her telling me how she was going to kill him when she had the chance to do it and run away." He shook his head sadly. "We were children, and she was plotting murder. I wanted to help her escape, but I saw no opportunity.

"About the time she was eight, her grandfather wanted to go to the States for business. He decided to take her with him so she could gain experience." He shook his head again. "Nadya was thrilled. She told me she would write to me when she had gotten away from her grandfather and would try to get me out of the mafia.

"They left. I waited for a letter. I never got it. I found my way to the States and out of the mafia, then I went to find her. I knew her grandfather had taken her to Texas, so that's where I started. I eventually found her. It was three years after she had left Russia, but she was different. She was happy to see me, I think, but she was worried her grandfather's men would follow me. She explained that once they had made it to Texas, she had killed her grandfather and run away. Nadya didn't say how she killed him, and I didn't ask. She told me she was living with a family who had adopted her and told me to go make a new life for myself, that she was okay now. I didn't want to leave her, but I did. I left for the cities. She wrote to me a couple of times, telling me she was okay. Then the letters stopped, and it was a long time before I found her again. She was working for Moreau then, and she wanted to leave. She was beginning to hate him as much as she hated her grandfather. And you know the rest of the story."

The room was silent. Sophie sniffed and wiped her eyes. Eliot had sat through the entirety of the story with his elbows on his knees. Now, he placed his head in his hands and cleared his throat.

"Before she left," Nate said somberly, "Nadya mentioned that she was going back in time to take care of unfinished business with old enemies. Do you know what she means?"

Reuben raised his eyebrows. "She's probably going back to Russia to have her revenge on the person who killed her parents. Her grandfather's dead, so she'll go after her cousin. He's the one who pulled the trigger. That's exactly what she said?"

Nate nodded. "She said she had to go alone. She didn't want to endanger anyone. She wanted you to go with her, but she won't ever ask you. She can't think about you getting hurt because of her."

Reuben said nothing. Eliot looked up, his eyes still glassy, and walked over to Reuben, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You gotta go after her, man."

Reuben stared at Eliot, surprised. "But she is your sister! Don't you want to go find her?"

"More than you can imagine. That doesn't matter, though. You've known her longer than I have, and she'll want to see you. Go find her and keep her safe."

Reuben nodded. "I will. Thank you, Eliot."

Nate and the Leverage team left Reuben preparing to catch the first plane to Russia. The car trip back to McRory's was quiet.

"That poor girl," Sophie said. "I do hope Reuben finds her. She deserves a little happiness after what she's been through."

"He'll find her. He's determined." Nate kept his gaze on the road.

"What's Morgen going to do?" Parker asked. "Is she going to kill somebody?"

"She'll want to, Parker," Eliot answered. "She'll want to."

Nate turned into McRory's. They all climbed out and walked into the bar. Inside, a young man sat at the counter. When he saw Nate, he stood and started to come forward.

"She'll let us know when she can what's happened," Nate said. "Until then, we have other things to worry about."

The door to the bar closed, and the Leverage team listened to the young man who needed their help, each hoping Reuben would reach Morgen in time.