Chapter 10

"Alec?" She said quietly, her tears stopping. "Alec sent you for me?"

"He wants you safe." Nate explained. "And then all of this happened."

"His idea of safe was to put me in hiding." Bitterness crept into her voice. "I haven't seen him in eighteen years."

"It was to keep you safe" Parker piped up. "He's been looking for you for weeks now."

"So where is he now?" She was still angry, and sad, and a little bit shell-shocked from the events of the past days.

"We kept him at home. If he came, he would have jeopardized the whole thing. We needed to be able to arrest Quiroga and his organization after all of this," Speare said, leading her out of the room.

"Can I see him?"

"We'll drive you there."

"Derek?" The one word was a safety net, a person to blame if the situation all went to hell.

"It's okay, Amy. These guys are safe." They piled into the car, leaving Eliot with the three men, lying bound on the ground.

Derek looked over his shoulder. "We're just leaving them here?"

"Eliot will take care of it. Just trust us." Nate pulled out of the warehouse lot, tires squealing. Parker, who had taken the front seat again, held tight to the door, smiling widely.

"Are we in a hurry, Nate?"

"It's not every day that I get to drive this car…and man, is it fun."

Fifteen minutes later, they parked outside the apartment. The climb up the back staircase seemed even longer than usual as they waited with baited breath to see what would take place. Amy looked even more pale and nervous than before; she couldn't keep still. Parker opened the door silently, smiling as Amy stepped into the room. Hardison scrambled to his feet, and it was obvious looking at the two, that they were siblings. Speare and Nate filed into the room behind her, and Parker closed the door. All eyes in the room were glued to the two Hardisons.

Alec cleared his throat. "Amy…Are you okay?"

"Fine." She replied, appraising him. "And you?" She eyed his bandaged hands.

"Job hazard…They didn't touch you, though, right?"

"No, these guys got there first."

"Yeah, they're great."

Nate walked across the room to the kitchen area. "Well, we'll give you a chance to catch up." He said awkwardly. Sophie, who had been watching from the couch beside Hardison, stood up and joined him at the counter, and Speare and Parker walked over as well, sneaking surreptitious glances over their shoulders. Amy and Alec hugged once, but it was more like casual acquaintances than long lost family. They sat down on the couch, talking quietly.

"What is going through their heads right now?" Sophie asked the group. "It's incredible…eighteen years since they've seen each other."

"I'm just glad everyone's safe." Parker said. She leaned into Nate's ear and whispered, "What are you going to do with Quiroga?"

"I have some ideas…but I need Hardison. Eliot is taking care of elder Quiroga now anyways."

"You sent him alone?" Parker whispered furiously. "After all that's happened?"

"Relax, Parker. He's just telling the wrong things to the right people, and hopefully this will take care of itself."

The next morning, as Eliot was serving up French toast to Speare, Amy, and the team, the news blared in the background. "Guys, settle down, we're up next!" Nate called, turning up the volume even further. The reporter's voice echoed through the silent room.

"Earlier this morning, notorious mob boss Helán Quiroga was found dead in his home after a shootout with a rival gang. His son, Josef Quiroga, is missing and presumed to be working with the other gang. He is wanted for questioning about his father's death. Any leads should be directed to the FBI call center, whose number is at the bottom of the screen right now."

Speare's face was frozen, unwilling to believe what he heard. "Eliot killed him?"

"No. Eliot left cookie crumbs. The rival gang shootout, that's completely true. Josef Quiroga's involvement…not so true, but the evidence will say it is."

"It's a solid case." Eliot said over the sizzling griddle. "Airtight. Like Nate said, Josef Quiroga will be delivered to you by Monday. And make sure to check his pockets. I'm pretty sure he has a list of all of his accomplices as well.

"You took down the Mob," Amy said, awed.

"No." Nate answered. "The mob took down themselves."