Thanks to every one who has reviewed the story – Your reviews have really encouraged me to work harder on this story than I originally thought I would. Sorry for taking so long to update – my job has been crazy lately. I'll try to have the next chapter up by the end of this week. Things are about to become very intense for Eliot and the gang. Please review and let me know what you think about where things are going with this story.

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Sophie was terrified. Not by being held captive by a sociopath – after all she knew that the world she immersed herself in was a dangerous one – but by the look of contemplative horror that was now gracing Nate's beautifully troubled features. Nate had looked completely lost in thought since they heard Eliot's harsh statements towards their captor – a man who then immediately began barking orders to other heavily armed men.

In truth, Sophie could understand the nervous energy running throughout their prison because she had heard the same statements by Eliot that her kidnappers had. It didn't take a professional grifter to understand the promises of pain behind Eliot's darkly intense phone call, but then again the mobsters didn't know the retrieval specialist like she did. To them he made a clear threat unless his demands were met, but to her, a woman that had been studying Eliot's actions and statements since the first day she met him, Eliot's phone call sounded like a commandment from Hell. Ever since the first David job, Sophie had felt uneasy around Eliot. Maybe it was because she never apologized to him for what she did, or maybe it was because she knew that he no longer trusted, but if she was being honest with herself then it would be because of how he looked after they rescued Hardison and Parker. Eliot walked towards her with a split lip and a broken rib, but his face portrayed no pain. Instead, all Sophie could see on his battered features was anger ... and more subtly regret and resignation. It was at that point that Sophie understood how deeply she had betrayed the man that originally she had only seen as hired muscle.

That's why he had been last.

Sophie hadn't been able to face the look of anger and hurt that she knew would grace Eliot's normally serene features. She was ashamed of lying to him – a feeling that she wasn't used to associate with lying. Even after Nate had confronted her about lying to him about the con she had still felt as if she had done the right thing. After all, if everything had worked out then she would have not only have acquired the second David, but she would have helped Nate ruin Blackpoole. In her mind the job had simply gone south.

But after seeing a broken and bleeding Eliot glaring at her indignantly, she realized how terribly she had messed everything up. Parker and Hardison were easy to apologize to: Hardison was just happy to have the others with him all together, like one big happy family and Parker ... well Parker had been mollified by the fact that Sophie promised to jump off of another roof with her sometime. But she had known that Eliot wouldn't be so easy to please. And she had been right. But what she hadn't been prepared for was how important the team had become to Eliot. The others all had their relationships tying them to the group, but not Eliot. What he had was something deeper, something more personal that he wasn't prepared to admit to anyone.

This is what Sophie realized as she heard Eliot's cold southern drawl over the speaker-phone. So she was terrified. Terrified by what was about to happen, by what Eliot was about to do.

Suddenly Sophie was pulled out of her revelations by an explosion that rocked the entire building. Bits of plaster and asbestos rained down upon her head from the shock-wave produced by the blast. But before she had time to wonder what had happened she heard gunshots in the distance. These violent sounds soon mingled with the muffled screams of others as, what she could only assume was a full-scale war, was being waged at the other end of the warehouse that they were being held in. She looked towards the rest of the team.

Hardison looked nervous. He was fidgeting as much as the barbed wire would allow and looking in every direction, as if expecting to see bullets begin flying at him from all directions. He was truly out of his element, usually only experiencing such violence while holding a joystick in his hand.

Parker on the other hand was practically bouncing with excitement. No doubt she was waiting for the moment that she would be free from her bound position. Her eyes shown with an excitement that made it easy to see why there were those that thought she was crazy. Parker wasn't meant to be held down.

Then there was Nate. Nate had a look of regretful acceptance on his face. His expression betrayed no fear or uncertainty, only expectancy ... and strangely enough sadness.

Suddenly Sophie understood – Nate knew exactly what was happening. Amid all of the chaos and activity going on in their prison as the Butcher screamed hysterically at his frantically running lackeys Nate sat quietly and patiently waiting for what was to happen next.

He didn't have to wait long.

Suddenly the screams and gunshots from beyond the walls ceased, plunging the room into a tense calm suspended in suspense. Just as the Butcher is reaching for a radio from one of his men to discover just what happened there is a knock upon the metal entrance to their cell. One of the men steps forward with his gun leveled at the door as he calls out to the man on the other side in Russian,

"Кто – там?" The lackey shouted through the door, nervously fingering the trigger of the assault rifle that had previously been slung across his back.

"Откройте дверь, босс в опасности!" The voice shouted back through the door, its sense of urgency conveyed even though the sounds were being muffled by the heavy metal. The man looked nervously at the butcher before moving towards the heavy lock that barricaded the prison from the outside world.

Just as the handle to the door was turned to allow the outside man to enter the heavy metal was slammed forward, knocking the hapless soldier to the floor, his gun flying from his grasp from the force of the blow. The door flew open to reveal a sight that no one was prepared for.

Eliot stood in the doorway, dressed in black and drenched from head-to-toe in blood. In each hand he held a wicked a dagger, both of which were also covered in the dark red liquid – the crimson contrasting starkly with the gleaming silver as it ran along the edge of the blade in thick droplets that would then cascade off of the blade and land on the floor below, staining the already dirty concrete.

The henchman that was still standing shook himself out of his shock from seeing the sight before him and raised his rifle, stepping forward as he did so. Before his finger had even reached the trigger though, Eliot struck. Faster than any of the rest of the team thought was possible, Eliot moved forward, striking a forceful kick to the side of the man's knee. The thug let out a scream of pain as his leg buckled and he fell forward, a scream that was cut off as Eliot quickly lashed out with his knife, smoothly slicing through his jugular. He was dead before he hit the floor.

As the other gunman attempted to rise to his knees and reach for his scattered weapon, Eliot slammed one of his heavy black combat boots down upon the small of his back. As the man hit the concrete hard, Eliot followed through with a vicious kick to the man's temple, knocking him unconscious.

As Eliot turned towards the Butcher, the rest of the team they could only look on in horror at the expression on his face. Their was no anger, pain, or hatred in his countenance. As the butcher raised his cleavers menacingly, Eliot showed no emotion. His face was completely blank and his eyes were hard and cold – dark pits that chilled Sophie to her core. She had never seen this look on Eliot's face before, but she knew exactly what it was.

It was the look of a man that would let nothing stand in the way of his objective.

Nothing.

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Translations (taken from an online English-Russian translator)

Кто – там? - Who's there?

Откройте дверь, босс в опасности! - Open the door, the boss is in danger!