Title: Decisions that I Make

Rating: T

Summary: Eliot is the silent enigma, always suspicious and secretive. But when he is injured by a mysterious attacker the group of thieves learns more about the enigmatic man.

Author Note: I have to apologize for the delay in this chapter being posted. I did something incredibly stupid while at a farm function and ended up with a concussion that I was trying to home treat to avoid going to the hospital which included lots of darkness and sitting very, very still. (Note to self: Do not continue to walk up a huge hill after falling on ice and cracking your head. Then, after climbing said hill do not sled down it in a muck bucket. You tend to flip over numerous times.) Yes, so due to my idiocy this chapter is very late.

Bad news abound: I start back to classes on Tuesday the 20th, I am taking 4 courses this semester (my last hopefully) and will be busy but I will continue to write and update this fic on a regular basis. I know I have a sculpture class and a design class, so projects aplenty for me.

Kylie: if you want the link you either have to do a signed review or IM me via the screen name listed on my profile. Or, you can just go to my youtube page via the link, it's saved in my favorites. Have at it it's good stuff.

Sadly, due to me being medicated I misses last Tuesday's episode, but then bought it from Itunes because I couldn't wait for it to come out On Demand. So, it's kinda funny how Eliot managed to take out a guy with stuffed mushrooms. Kinda random too. Anyway hopefully next weeks episode will be just as good.

Alright, enough of this, Onto the fic!

Chapter seven: My reasons

(Nate)

From my office I can hear Eliot's cursing as Parker sews him up and resist the urge to lean around the corner, wanting to see the man who has caused such problems wince in pain. Luckily just as I'm about to give into the temptation Hardison calls from his office, turning I raise the brandy sniffer and take a gulp before heading towards the hacker's office.

"What did you find?" I ask, coming to stand behind the rapidly typing man. Hardison shoots me a look before pointing at a chair. I sit and then roll closer so I can view the screen easily.

"Alright, well all the records of 'Eliot Spencer' date back to 1991, a few small thefts that landed him at the Christian County court house for sentencing after being caught inside a wealthy man's home. There is no record of how that went and if he went to jail or not, there are no records of Eliot Spencer until after 1995. I was talking with Eliot one night during the whole mob boss fiasco and he mentioned something about 'liberating Croatia' which, after doing some research that would have put Eliot at about twenty one years old, old enough to fight in a war. I'm thinking he was sent to the military and ended up in special forces, just by the way he moves and some of the shit he knows." Hardison explains as he pulls up multiple pictures to show me.

"I think this guy, right here" Hardison's dark finger shoots out to point at a young, thin man with hair tied back under a bandana holding a massive bowie knife " is our resident retrieval specialist." He leans back in the chair, a smug look on his face. I nod, taking in the stern expression of the squarely set jaw, lacking its usual stubble. I can see today's Eliot in those eyes, the hyper-alertness and calculating look he sometimes gets.

"Anything else?" I ask, nodding as Hardison pulls up some more information.

"Yeah, sometime around 1997 the name 'Spencer' resurfaced linked to some jewel thefts in Arabia, Russia, South America, all across Europe. Many items having been 'mysteriously' gone at functions in which a guest named Eliot Spencer was on the list." I nod, having caught wind of the man later that same year, this time he managed to 'retrieve' a heavily insured Cameo Broach that belonged to Al Capone's mother and make a getaway with it. Of course I chased him but by the time I managed to track the elusive specialist the broach was long gone and he was tight lipped as always.

"Yeah so basically we know that 'Spencer' is an alias he adopted while he was in trouble as a kid and has long since built a reputation upon it. Good, anything further on back?" I hint and Hardison's eyes light up

"Yeah, that number you gave me belongs to a woman named Samantha Thomas, a house wife who lives in Washington County of Kentucky. I looked her up, the woman has a super clean record, right down to her driving record. I mean nothing comes up linking her to Eliot, except the number in his phone." I nod, staring at the screen at the smiling woman. I can see the resemblance although faint, the stubborn hint behind her blue eyes and lighter brown hair.

"Alright, good job." I thank and clap the hacker on the shoulder before heading out of the office. In the kitchen I can hear Sophie's heels tapping on the tiled floor, pacing. She's worried, she's come to like Eliot and seems to worry over him more than she should. I smile slightly and greet her.

"Your worrying again." Stating the obvious grabs her attention and the dark haired woman's face shoots up, eyes wide. She stare at me for a moment before nodding and placing her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, I guess I am." She agrees as I lean against the counter, drumming my fingers on the counter behind me. Looking down at the floor I ask simply

"Why?" Sophie's sharp intake of breath draws my attention upward and I gaze at the Grifter, finding her face a flurry of emotions.

"Well, he's a part of this team Nate, it's obvious he's into something drastic…" she trails off, blushing slightly

"He can take care of himself you know, never met a person who can take on a whole bar of armed men and come out perfectly fine, sipping his tea like nothing happened." I joke, watching the pacing with a studying eye.

"Well yeah Nate, but that's the problem! For someone who can wipe the floor with just about anyone and stay perfectly sane, this stresses him out. Being attacked and injured drives me nearly to kill some thug in a park? Come on Nate, there's obviously something much bigger than what Eliot can handle going on here!" she states and I nod. I'm about to say something when Parker comes stalking in, the used suture kit in hand and face stoic.

"Did he behave?" I ask the thief and the petite blond gives me a shaky smirk

"Good thing he's handcuffed, he's mad as hell." She dumps the used kit into the trash and heads for her office

"Have fun!" her mocking tone making me cringe. Silence hangs over the office, Hardison's rapid typing. Suddenly the unmistakable gruff shout makes me grin

"Hardison!" the typing from the computer hacker's office pauses but starts right back up, the sound almost deafening as the fingers slam home on the keys. I pause then the name of the only person in the office who will help him

"Sophie!" the Grifter gives a small gasp and is about to head right for the office but I grab her quickly, holding her back.

"This is cruel Nate, he's as much a member of this team as you are." She says anger making her accent thicker.

"He has to get it into his head that we're in control here." I state, trying to convince myself as much as the woman. I know that a man like Eliot can not be controlled; he's obviously always been a loner and lives by his own rules.

"In order for him to trust us and confide in us, he has to know we're not afraid to do something like this. He needs to know that if handcuffing him to a couch for a few hours is what needs to be done than so be it. He wouldn't respect us if we didn't." Sadness creeps into the dark eyes and I release the woman,

"Come on, you'll need to be there as much as I do." With a silent nod and a lick of her lips Sophie heads for the office and I trail behind her, unsure of what to expect.

(Sophie)

I stand by the doorway to Nate's office and watch as the ex-insurance agent uncuffs the long haired specialist, the man's face slight red from exertion but eyes clear and focused as Nate removes the cuffs. Both eyes are open and I hold back a wince as I get a good look at the blue orb behind the swollen lid. Red and watering Eliot quickly places a hand over the injured side of his face, sealing the vicious bruises and injured optic from view. I smile at the action, knowing its Eliot's polite upbringing that makes him such a charmer to be around. It's in his mannerisms around woman, he was raised to respect them and tries hard not to swear or do anything else when around them. Unless you're a mob bosses' bitchy wife, then he wants to kill you, but other than that I've always been treated to Eliot's more gentle side and as far as I know Parker hasn't heard a hard word or action from the man.

"Ahhh…" he breathes as Nate helps him sit up and winces as his back protests. With a withering look shot at Nate the long haired man stands, my concern launching up a notch at the wobble in his stride.

"Where are you going?" I ask suddenly and Eliot stops in front of me and smiles slightly

"Bathroom…" he lets the rest trail and heads out. I turn to look at Nate who only shrugs.

"Let the games begin." He says and I nod.

(Eliot)

The whole gang is here, seated at the conference room table with bowls of popcorn and several sodas set up at the various chairs, much like it would be if this was a briefing for a job. But it's not, this is the telling of my acts in Vietnam and how the grudge of Victor Fayande has trailed after me since the incident on the Chinese border. I drum my fingers on the lighted top and find four sets of eyes on me, the nervous prickling at the back of my neck makes me shiver.

"Are you alright Eliot?" Sophie's concerned question makes me jump slightly as I fight down the natural motions of grabbing my boot knife and taking out the threat that's causing that feeling. With a thick swallow I force the feeling down and nod my head.

"Uhhh yeah." I breath and look at Nate, wanting to plead with the man but his calculating look is telling me to get on with it.

Like a band-aid, rip it off the pain only lasts for a minute.

Who the fuck rips off a band aid anyway?

"Okay, well…. Uhh…" I try to start but stop, finding myself unsure of how to start this tale. Nate must have noticed because he suddenly speaks up

"Who was it? The man who messed you up?" I look at Nate, thanking him silently for the question to start this.

"A man named Victor Fayande, he's a… black market dealer. Deals in high end things everything from illegal firearms to human trafficking." I lick my lips and scan the table seeing the looks of curiosity on those of my fellow thieves.

"Why does he keep coming after you? Bad deal? Stole his woman?" Nate prompts and again I shoot him a look.

"Not too long after the military discharged me I started gaining a name for myself as a retrieval specialist, pulling jobs for all sorts of people, not really caring what they wanted the merchandise for as long as they paid me. I was contacted by Fayande and asked to do a job concerning moving items from Vietnam into Cambodia, under the eye of the governments. Pay was huge, so I took it. I arrived in this small town outside of the border figuring on the stuff being relics or jewels, something simple." I stop, reflecting back on that day as I entered the walled town, under armed guard to find my merchandise to be living, breathing people. I shudder at the memory and close my eyes, remembering the desperation in the woman's eyes and the starved bodies of the children. I jump, a warm hand coming into contact with my chilled forearm. Sophie's hand, soft and warm gives me the silent go ahead to continue.

"The merchandise was live humans. A whole town of people that Fayande wanted moved from their village in Vietnam to several of his clients holding areas in Cambodia and then to be sold to anyone on the Black Market. Among them were pregnant women, elderly, wounded men, people who wouldn't survive the trip."

"You were actually considering it!" Parker suddenly shouts and I turn my attention on the seething woman, the outrage in her eyes making me sick to my stomach. Hardison grabs the volatile woman's arm and forces her to sit down, speaking softly. I glance over at Nate and Sophie, finding disgust and blank interest in their eyes. Without a word I clasp my hands in front of me and set my jaw, I am not going to allow these people to make a decision about me before they know the true story.

"Yeah Parker and I did it. I smuggled them across the border into China instead and I hid them among the people, found them jobs and places to live. I didn't deliver them to Fayande's far as I know, their still living happily in a small city in China." I conclude and look down, not wanting to see their faces or their final decisions about me.

"So, what did you do with his money?" Nate asks and I look up, staring the man right in the eye.

"I arrived on time at his home in the wine lands of Italy and told him to stuff his money. Raised a bit of hell, uhh.. burnt his villa to the ground and then exposed his involvement in the Black Market, with the help of some friends of course." Silence again, drawing in a breath I glance at the others, finding Parker's smooth face breaking into a sad grin

"You're too honorable. You didn't even take the money!" she says and throws some popcorn at me. I give a soft chuckle, feeling relived that she didn't turn on me.

"It was dirty money, made off the sale of people." I declare and look down at my battle scarred hands.

"Ever since then Fayande has been spending insane amounts of money to track me, he hired this guy named Kim from Canada to beat me down whenever he manages to find me." I clarify, the tightness in my stomach finally loosening.

"How many times has he caught up to you?" Nate asks and I have to think about it, there have been times where Kim's passed by as close as Death's cold hand but never touched me, then there are times where the man nearly placed me in the icy embrace.

"He's actually caught me six times, he's been near me almost over a dozen. Most of the time I can skip out of town before Kim can find me, he's not the brightest of people and goes off of tips than high tech tracking." I clarify and lean back, wincing as my ribs protest and place my hand against the injured area.

"So, the 'lesbian bar' thing, Kim got a hold of you?" Nate asks and I nod,

"Yeah, that was only a 'peek-a-bo I found you'. Next time he catches me, it'll be a lot worse." I clarify and fall silent and closing my eyes. I know the others are exchanging looks with each other and I let them, not wanting any part in their decision.

I already made it myself.

I have to leave in order to protect the others.

"Fayande will not stop till I am brought before him, dead or alive. He doesn't care who he has to hurt to get to me. If Kim figures out about you guys you will be next." I explain and stand, pushing back the chair.

"Eliot, by working together we can beat this guy." Nate tries to argue and Hardison and Parker both launch into ideas, Hardison's fingers flying across the keys. I look at Nate

"Why do you think that when Sam calls I hang up?" With that I spin on my heel and head for my office, my decision made already.

Author Note: I don't like how this part came out, I really don't. (makes a face) but it was necessary to explain what the issue is. I tried to find something that Eliot would have a major problem with and used whatever information I could get out of the show's dialog. Anyway, please review and I will try to update when I can. Thanks again!