A/N - Apparently this chapter went a bit wonky. I wouldn't know why. Here it is. and I shall double check the rest.

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Chapter 7

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"Their modus operandi is to build a fortune five hundred through the pyramid/ponzi scheme. They get people to pay out, they'll make honest investments and when those are good to sell they'll take the majority as a fee. Once they get enough money, they'll start getting a real building and stuff like that. Now, that's from scratch. When they're making a lot of money and their stalk looks good, they'll sell the business…." Hardison explained.

"And six months to a year later it collapses." Mandy put in. Hardison blinked at her and then nodded his head.

"Our client is one of those owners, she lost everything. She wants these two taken down. That's why I went in and planted my device to get into their system." He finished.

"Can you put up the blue prints?" Archie asked. Hardison did as he was told.

"Hmmmm….they bought the building so everything should be to specs, if we find something weird we can be certain that's the place they're keeping Nathan." He said, his cool British accent helping the whole group relax a bit. It's just another job, and as long as they thought of it that way they could keep from being too emotionally involved. Mistakes happened that way; if there is one thing they can't risk, it's making mistakes.

"So, we have to get in, go floor to floor and find anything out of the normal." Parker said.

"Well, the kidnapper knows your faces so you're out. That's up to myself, Miss Mandy and Quinn." Archie said. He half-hugged parker who frowned; Hardison couldn't help but think that if Nate were with them he'd promise Parker a boon for her troubles. But Archie hugged her closer and she accepted it. Still unhappy at being left out, but willing to obey him.

"How should we get in?" Mandy asked.

"I like the parking garage," Quinn said.

"And I think I could get in through my good looks and charm," Archie teased. Parker snorted laughter and the rest couldn't help but be a little bit amused.

"Okay, best time then would probably be at night." Mandy bit her bottom lip, "we could get in as security."

"Oh yes," Hardison was tapping away, "I'll get some of them a night off for you guys, you can be their substitutes," He pulled up the three most likely candidates.

"They're around our size and build, we can easily get by." Mandy nodded.

"Yeah." Quinn agreed.

"Okay, that's the plan then." Archie nodded. Now all they had to do was go in and do it.

"Is tomorrow night all right then?" Hardison asked.

Archie nodded again. "That should do it."

"All right." Hardison did his thing.

"We should probably check out their mansion some time." Sophie said, "if they aren't keeping Nate at their building he could be at their mansion. Or any other places, but we should look there as well."

Eliot went to say something when his phone went off; he glared down at it before hold up a finger to the group, signaling for quiet. He flipped it open and put it to his ear.

"Yeah?"

"Listen up, I need you at 5th and Wessen tonight and 9. You'll get more instructions then." Then the phone on her end was hung up before he could ask questions.

"What is it?" Sophie asked.

"It's a hit." Eliot growled.

"Where and when?" Quinn asked.

"5th and Wessen at 9, tonight," Eliot muttered.

"Yeah, that sounds like a hit to me, or a drop off." Quinn agreed.

"What are you going to do?" Parker asked.

"Fake it," Eliot replied, "I've done it before with less time."

"When?" Sophie asked. Eliot just shrugged.

"Need help?" Quinn asked.

"If you want to come along that's fine," Eliot nodded.

"I'll stay here," Mandy volunteered.

"Thanks," Eliot nodded at her. She smiled and fixed her hair.

"It's no problem," she waved at them as the two gathered their coats and went to see the territory and try to gather what information they can.

"What are they going to do?" Hardison asked. "They didn't even take ear buds."

"They'll be fine. They know how to do their jobs." Mandy replied.

"Have you worked with them before?" Parker asked.

"Only Quinn, but I have heard of Eliot, I am very happy to work with him," she hopped from the stool and made for the kitchen. "What do you have around here to cook? I'm hungry."

Seconds later she found steaks in the fridge and she got Sophie and Parker interested in helping them while Archie and Hardison compared notes and set the table.

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Nate didn't know how long he'd been asleep. His eyelids are glued shut with sleep and the scratchy, wool blanket is wrapped around him but he feels as if he is freezing. The hum of the laser's tells him that he's alone. He rubs his eyes and sits up. The lights are on a dim setting and the shadows are long and seem to fill the huge room.

The lasers run the gambit along the floor in random patterns. There wouldn't ever be a set pattern or even one that could be predicted. Parker would have to do it on the fly; it's her specialty and Nate knew that she could make it and get him out once she located the lock.

Nate sniffed, his nose is still stuffed up and he hears rattling in his chest. "Great." He muttered to himself; "now I'm developing a cold." He scrubbed at his face and sighed.

Everything ached and nothing looked good; he was either being used as bait so that Rebecca could capture the rest of the team – which he hoped they were too smart to fall for – or she was using him as black mail. Which would be the better option; keeping the rest of the team off balance would make it harder for them to find her, and him. But he didn't doubt that they'd gain their balance soon enough and wreck some havoc. They had a way about them which got them what they wanted no matter what others around them wanted.

Nate couldn't help but think of the two times they pushed him into this thing they had; both times Eliot, Parker, Hardison and Sophie ganged up on him. The first, after they'd scattered, they just showed up seconds later; high off their win and the biggest score anyone had ever gotten (even up to now) and wanted to do it again.

He didn't ask for them to stay together as a team. He really didn't even ask to be the Mastermind in the first place. It just happened and all he had to do was look at Sophie and know they weren't going to let him get away.

They may have "agreed" to his terms, but they pretty much yanked him into their world and they weren't going to let him go any time soon. Even when he reminded them of this, all they did was tease him fondly; Eliot tended to just roll his eyes and walk away but Nate knew that he wouldn't be able to walk away as easily now he could have before they'd become a solid family.

The second time was a bit different but the same. They felt as if they had a claim on him; which, okay, they did but that's not the point. Nope. The point is that all they did was crash at his place, buy the building out from under his nose, and then get him interested in a case and that was it. He mostly did the work for them and for a while he felt rather embarrassed for falling for such obvious manipulation.

He just couldn't help himself; they said the most inane things and someone had to steer them in the right direction. God knows they weren't doing a very good job of it, and when the dust had settled that night – it was very late when he kicked the three out successfully – he realized just how brilliant their con on him had been. All they had to do was annoy/interest him enough in the case that he corrected them on it.

After that he was pretty much quelled back into the business and hadn't thought of leaving it yet. Not even now, when he felt too old and tired. He'd have to retire one day, but today is not the day, no tomorrow and he figures he should be trying to find a way out himself.

He stumbles from the bed over to the sink to wash his face. The water is ice cold and shivers as he slashes a bit about his face. He has to shave, there's at least a three day's growth of beard and Sophie likes him clean shaven. He shakes his head and slinks back to bed. He's so tired. A bit more sleep and then he'll try to plan a way out. But for now, sleep.

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It did not take long for Eliot and Quinn to find the "target". It would either be a drop or an assassination and both were ready for either possibility. Eliot loaded the long rifle with blank shots just for noise pollution; one had red paint in it to make things look real. Quinn would be in a position to help the "Target" escape. They'd figure out later why Benjamin Dancy is a pawn in this game.

Eliot couldn't help but mutter a few curses as he waited for the phone call. It was nearing nine, five minutes. He hunkered down and waited. Their Target is across the street at the café having a late night top off before heading home. He wished there'd been more time to figure this out. All he knew is that Dancy had some blackmail on the McCormick sisters who would be ruined if it got out. Which would give them enough Leverage to possibly get Nate back.

Eliot couldn't help but imagine various ways he could kill the two women; he didn't care about how anti-feminist his thoughts were. They took something he cared deeply for and he isn't about to let them get away with it.

The minutes ticked on as the sky got darker; only minimal stars shown above his head, the lights of the city drowned out the natural and Eliot wished he were camping. The night sky is always brighter in the country side of any country he happened to be in at the moment.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then the phone range. Slowly he pressed the talk button and put it to his ear.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Kill the man in the blue jacket," and then the line went dead.

Thankfully, the man they had pin pointed as their possible "target" is wearing a blue jacket. And he is mostly alone. Eliot shoots to the right, near enough to scare the man out of his chair. His next blank has the paint and he shoots the man in the arm. He actually thinks he's hurt and takes off running.

Eliot dismantles the gun and then takes off across the roof to the fire escape. He throws the bag that has the gun into the garbage once at the bottom. Thankfully he had the presence of mind to wear gloves so as not to give his identity away to the police.

He ran the block and then another and met a dark black van in an alleyway. In the back their target was knocked out and Quinn started the engine as soon as Eliot jumped in.

"Did he give you any trouble?" Eliot asked.

"Nah, you freaked him out pretty good." And then they were off.

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"What do you mean they wanted to kill me?" Benjamin asked, somewhat shakily. He hadn't taken their little faked Assassination very well. He sat in a chair in the McRory's bar and nursed a finger of whiskey.

He had residue of the makeup they'd put on him so that they had "proof" of death. With some coaching from Sophie the man had been able to give them a pretty good dead picture that Eliot send to the number that called him with his orders.

Now officially "dead" – Hardison was working up another identity for the man.

"What do you have on the women?" Sophie asked.

"Er….nothing," the man shrugged. "I worked as an accountant. I did their books last week and found out they were pretty much not paying taxes or their clients. The books they let me look at were on the up and up but when I did the numbers, it didn't match up. I did some digging, and they are keeping a different set of books." He explained.

"I didn't tell them, but I was going to report it to the police tomorrow morning."

"But somehow they found out," Parker muttered. Benjamin finished his drink.

"It has to be the elder sister, she's a bitch with security."

"Rebecca McCormick?" Eliot asks. Shifting a bit on the bar stool.

"Yeah," Benjamin nodded.

"She must have Nate," Parker frowned.

"Why not her sister?" Sophie asked.

"Oh they HATE each other," Benjamin put in, he didn't know who this Nate fellow is that they are talking about but he didn't much care; "Macey bosses Rebecca around like she's her slave or something. It's pretty embarrassing being in a room when Macey is pissed off." He explained.

Sophie hummed, mulling this new information over.

"We could use that," she muttered.

"Okay, it's done," Hardison said as he handed a large folder over to the man. "There's a plain ticket to Aruba in there, you'll do fine."

"Thanks, I guess it's a good thing I don't have a family to worry about anymore," he took the file and tucked it under an arm. He shook their hands and wished them well before leaving for his new life as a coffee farmer in Aruba.

"Wow," Eliot shook his head.

"Well, we saved a life, I guess it could be worse," Sophie sighed.

"Once we get Nate back I am raining digital fire down from the Heavens on their ass's. It's gonna be a re-enactment of Sodom and Gomorra." Hardison promised, he took a bottle of tequila with him as he left the bar.

Sophie and Eliot blinked after him; "did you see that?"

"I didn't know he drank." Eliot shrugged. Then he found a bottle of vodka. They each took a shot. It seemed like a good time as any to drink.

TBC