A/N. Sorry for the long wait y'all. But here it is. Please R&R.


Sophie knew that she shouldn't panic. There was a plan. But there was a growing tension in the house. She knew now that he was going to kill them all. She had been in similar situations before, when there seemed to be no way to grift yourself out. But that was before she was part of a team. Nate didn't seem worried. But then he rarely did.

Nate remembered Fiona Glenanne. He had crossed paths with her a few times. She was a mean gun runner. But a few years ago, she had moved to Miami and dropped or of sight. Mostly. He had been a little surprised to see her come in with the ex-spy.

Something had been nagging at him, like a itch he couldn't scratch. When they had first started Leverage Inc, he had heart vague rumors of a team working out of Miami. A team that consisted of two men and a woman. His eyes widened as the light bulb came on in his mind. They had to be the same ones. The big question was, which side were they on? When they had brought Hardison in, he had seemed more angry than hurt. There was a plan in place. Was it good enough to beat Moreau?

He had to come up with something fast, or they were all dead. The guards were talking amongst themselves. Nate twisted his wrist, working the metal against the tired wood. The dead line for Eliot to deliver the goods was tonight. He didn't want them getting killed. Moreau was too much to take on.

One of the guards caught him trying to break the chair. He stormed across the room to the captives. He swung the butt of the gun across Nate's face. "Enough!"

Nate's head snapped to the side, rocking the chair dangerously. The force had nearly broken his cheek bone. Blood dripped from the cut.

"Leave him alone!" Sophie ordered. Her normally cultured accent sounded harsh with anger and nerves.

The man turned to her, a sleazy smile spreading across his rough features. "Maybe I will." He looked her up and down. "You're lucky that Moreau that he has a hands off order. Otherwise, you wouldn't look so pretty."

Nate's blood boiled at the man's comment. He gave a growl that would have made Eliot proud. "Get away from her."

Hardison kicked out, his long leg catching the man in the shin. He received the same treatment as Nate. He shook his head, seeing stars. He leaned his throbbing head against the pillar he was chained to. He should have stayed in the stupid loft.

He pictured Parker's face as he had stormed out. She looked so upset. Had he really pushed her? He was angry with them both, but mainly at Eliot. Eliot could have anyone he wanted, but he took Parker. He knew how he felt about her.

He shifted, wincing at the stiffness in his back. His arms had long since fallen asleep and, while he wanted badly to move, he wasn't looking forward to the pain that would accompany it. Your foot falling asleep was bad enough, but both of your arms?

"That spy is back." one of the men came into the room to announce. "He's not alone."

Nate and Sophie stared. They were thinking the same thing. How did they capture them? Is Eliot still alive? Hardison mirrored their expression, inside, he was elated that they were here.

Minutes later Michael sauntered in, shoving Eliot ahead of him. His hand gripped the back of the hitter's shirt, bunching the collar around his neck. Eliot's hands were cuffed behind his back, the chain looped through his belt so that he couldn't get them in front of his body. Fiona stood to the left, a large hand gun held to Eliot's head. Eliot looked a bit groggy. Did they drug him?

Sam stood behind and to the right, gripping a similarly restrained Parker. Her wrists had several layers of duct tape on them, keeping her arms snuggly against her sides. She was not making it easy on him. He held a gun on her, more to control Eliot than the thief.

Nate watched Moreau cross the room, a smile of triumph on his face.

"Well done Mr. Weston." Moreau congratulated. "Did you have any trouble?"

Fiona smiled wickedly and banished a hand tazer. "Nothing we couldn't handle."

Eliot growled and jerked against his captors. He locked up in pain a second later as Fiona thrust the sparking tazer against his neck. Michael kicked the back of his leg to force him to his knees. Parker lunged at Michael, only to have Sam roughly yank her back.

"Leave them alone!" Sophie yelled instinctively, pulling against her own restraints.

One of the guards back handed her, causing Nate to cuss at him and received similar treatment. Moreau ignored them both. He circled the captives like a vulture would its prey.

"I'm impressed, Mr. Weston." Moreau said. "You live up to your reputation."

That's when Nate saw Michael smile. A devious smile he had seen before... On Eliot's face.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear." Michael said.

The moment the words were out of his mouth, Eliot exploded from the floor, snapping the false link in the cuffs. His first smashed into Moreau's jaw with a loud crunch.

Chaos erupted. Moreau fell backwards, guards and spies went for guns, Sam cut Parker loose and they went for the hostages.

Eliot lunged for the gun runner, but was grabbed by the guard, Oliver, in a choke hold. A beefy fist smashed into his kidney. He gasped, then twisted, going on the offense. He dropped to his knee, using the man's momentum to through him over his shoulder. The man bounced back to his feet and was on top of the hitter before he could move forward.

Michael and Fiona each shot a guard each shot a guard, then ducked behind a waist high wall as Moreau's men returned fire. They knew from the recon, that Moreau had around twenty five men in the house and on the grounds. They didn't want a blood bath, that would bring too much heat down on them. They just needed to hold them off for Michael's plan to fall into place. Fiona fired a warning shot at a man taking aim at Parker, scaring him back into the hall.

Parker landed in front of Hardison, her thumb grazing over his split lip. He flinched at the contact. She quickly picked the lock on the cuffs, easing his stiff arms back into a normal position. "Are you OK?"

"Parker! Cuffs." Sam shouted, before Hardison could answer her.

She darted across the room and had all four handcuffs unlocked before Sam could blink.

Nate grimaced as Sam helped him stand. Hardison moved to help. Parker helped take Sophie's weight as her legs cramped up from hours of being in the same position. They moved for the front door.

While Eliot was busy with Oliver, Moreau got to his feet and ran for the back door.

"He's getting away!" Parker shouted behind her.

Eliot looked up to see him nearly at the back door. He knocked out the man he was fighting and followed, leaping over a small couch. Fiona fired a warning shot at the door, slowing him down enough for Eliot to land on his back.

Oliver, who had gained his wits back, reached out and snagged Parker's ankle as they ran past, toppling the two women. Michael swung the butt of the gun against his temple, knocking the bald giant out.

Sam and Parker got them to the front door before the men outside started shooting. Sam left the injured man to the hacker and returned fire. The gunman fell and the others scattered, firing another volley at them. He quickly dispatched the other two. He stayed crouched behind the van, waiting for the others. He hollered into the com. "Mikey, time to leave!"

As Nate was scrambling into the van, Parker grabbed his arm.

"Nate, Eliot is going to kill Moreau!" She warned. "You have to stop him he wouldn't listen to me."

Nate took the proffered ear bud, its slight weight feeling strange after all this time. He hushed everyone so he could hear what was happening inside.

Eliot threw Moreau into the wall. His anger burned in him, fueling his strength. He didn't feel the cracked ribs, or the pain from the broken nose that Moreau had just inflicted. He had only one thought, stop the man that was too evil to live. He threw punches like a wild man.

Moreau's hand shot out and grabbed a fist full of Eliot's hair, yanking his head down, bringing his own knee up at the same instant. He grinned at the soft crack and pained grunt as the cracked ribs broke. He slammed Eliot's head into the wall, twice, stunning him.

Eliot's world went out of focus. He felt himself pinned against the wall. He was about to swing his elbow back when he felt a sudden pain in his side, then warm liquid against his skin. He groaned as the knife was wrenched out of his body and shoved in a second time.

Moreau pulled him into a choking head lock, pressing the knife to his neck. ""Get out of my house, Weston!"

Michael kept his gun aimed at him. "Let him go and we will."

Fiona slowly inched to the left, trying for a better shot.

Moreau looked at her sharply. "Stop moving!" he twitched the knife, causing a thin line of blood to appear on the hitter's neck. "Spenser is mine, he will not be leaving here alive. Leave now, or you will share his fate."

Michael hesitated, hearing Sam's voice yelling over the comm. That little piece of technology was down right irritating.

A gunshot sounded, glass shattered, and Moreau shouted. The knife dropped and he followed it to the floor, bleeding from his shoulder. Parker was standing behind him on the other side of the window, holding a gun.

Eliot wordlessly took the gun from her. "Get her outa here."

Fiona hopped through the window and dragged the thief back to the van.

Eliot stood over Moreau, shaking slightly. He aimed the weapon at Moreau's head, releasing the safety. He could hear voices yelling in his ear, trying to talk him down.

Nate's voice hushed the others. "Eliot, you're not that man any more. Don't let him take it that from you."

Eliot stared at Moreau. He could feel his blood soaking down his shirt and jeans. Regret nearly over powered him, overshadowing the pain. He remembered every hit, everything bad he had ever done for him. "You're wrong Nate. There's only one way to atone for what I've done."

"You're going to kill me, Spencer?" Moreau's mocking smile was ghoulish with the blood that dropped from his nose. "You've gone soft."

"Doesn't matter." Eliot said calmly. "You're still gonna die."

There was no regret, the gun never wavered. He pulled the trigger, killing Moreau.

Eliot stared down at the now lifeless body of Damien Moreau, his body shaking as he forced the anger down, locking it away. He would never answer to this man again.

Inside the van, Nate heard the gunfire through the comms as well as the front door. Eliot had done it, and he hated Moreau for it. He watched the hitter exit with the spy and hurry towards them. He noticed that Eliot was limping slightly. As soon as the they jumped in, Sam floored the gas.

Nate settled with his back against the driver's seat, watching his crew. Sophie curled against him hugging him and sobbing softly. Parker was next to her. Hardison sat on the other side, far away from Eliot. Nate frowned when he noticed blood leaking from the hitter's side. "Are you OK?"

Eliot smirked. "I'm supposed to ask you that."

Nate started to say more when the van bounced over a pothole . His leg hit the metal and he groaned.

Fiona was suddenly next to him with a blanket that she had pulled from somewhere. She wrapped it around his leg, using her scarf to keep it in place.

Sam took them to a clinic that owed Michael a favor. The woman there never batted and eye or asked a questing. She gave Nate a shot of Morphine before setting his leg. Eliot allowed her to stitch his side, but refused any other treatment. They were loaded into the van and took them back to the Weston house.


I hope you enjoyed this. There will be one more chapter to wrap everything up.