Chapter 10

Parker watched as the van exploded and then moved forward towards rear house where the barn was. Hardison had determined that there were two heat signals in the barn and they were most likely those of Nate and Sophie. Eliot was the distraction and Hardison and herself were to get to the barn. Each of them were coming from opposite directions in order to allow for one of them running into trouble. Hardison too was making his way towards the barn using the chaos caused by the explosion and the gun fire as cover.

She moved slowly towards the barn. Breaking cover she sped up. She heard the shot first then felt the searing pain as the bullet passed through her shoulder throwing her forward and onto the ground. She fell on her stomach and lay still. Moreau's man came out from behind one of the trees and approached the Thief's body. He smiled down at her and moved his foot to turn her over. Just as his foot touched her she grabbed at it and pulled hard, throwing the man off balance causing him to crash to the ground. Instantly Parker was up and grabbed the rifle he was carrying, with all her strength she brought it round and the butt impacted with the man's face rendering him unconscious.

Hardison too moved slowly and carefully towards his destination. Suddenly he was confronted by a rifle wielding man who blocked his path.

"Going somewhere boy...?" The man smirked at him as Hardison came to a stop.

"Nowhere special...and I ain't you boy..." Hardison replied brining his hand around at lightning speed and jamming the tazer Parker had given him into the man's chest. The effect was immediate as the man doubled over in pain and then collapsed to the ground. Hardison looked down at him and then at the tazer. "Now I see why you like them..." He said to an absent Parker and then he continued on his way to the barn.

Eliot dove from the racing van and rolled as he hit the ground. The explosion rocked the building and sent a fire ball and a lot of debris branching out in all directions. Eliot continued rolling feeling the heat of the explosion as the hot air chased his body. His roll was stopped as the landed against the wall of the house and he lay still for a few seconds getting his bearings. There was a lot of noise and shouting but the gun fire had ceased. He heard Moreau's voice and his eyes narrowed with determination. He rose to his feet, careful to keep low and out of the sight of the people outside the building. None of them had yet ventured into the house. Moreau had dispatched two of his men to the barn to make sure that Parker and Hardison did not get there. Eliot did not worry about his two friends having faith in their abilities. His job was to take out the rest of the men and to make sure that Moreau was taken out of the picture forever. He moved out and eased himself into a position to see what was happening outside the semi destroyed house.

Moreau stood with his four remaining men telling them to get inside and find Eliot and kill him. They nodded and began converging on the house. Moreau watched them for a minute and then started moving off towards the barn. Eliot did not like guns, in fact he hated them, but he had used them and he determined that now was the time to use them again. Easing the handgun out of his holster he drew a deep breath and then stood straight up calling out to Moreau as he did. The four men immediately reacted turning to aim their weapons at the Hitter, one of them got off some shots, hitting Eliot in the left shoulder but that did not deter him, he fired four shots rang out and four figures dropped to the ground. Moreau saw what was happening and started to run towards the barn. If he could get to Ford, he would be able to have an edge on Eliot. Eliot moved with lightning speed as he turned toward Moreau. He could not allow the man to get to the barn. Taking aim he pulled the trigger and Moreau fell to the ground unmoving. He move forward to Moreau's body. He could see blood oozing from his head and smiled derisively. Then he unloaded the weapon and let it fall. Glancing around one more time he saw no more threats and quickly he made his way to the barn to join up with Parker and Hardison.

Eliot entered the barn to see his three team mates surrounding a metal table on which Nate's body was laid out. He moved quickly forward taking his place at their side. Nate remained unmoving, his eyes open and staring blankly out into space. For a brief horrifying moment Eliot thought the man was dead. He reached out and placed his hand on Nate's carotid artery to verify that he was not. Nate had a pulse, a weak one but a pulse none the less. The flutter of Nate's heartbeat under Eliot's fingers was however the only sign that he lived. Eliot looked up at Sophie his eyes questioning.

"Moreau...he told him that he had raped me and...and Nate just...he just..."

"He went somewhere in his mind..." Parker finished for her.

None of them asked what had happened outside, none of them cared, their only concern now was the Mastermind. They were so absorbed with Nate that they did not hear or see Moreau enter the building.

"Ah so much concern...it's really touching." Moreau's voice brought all of them around to face him. Moreau stood just inside the door holding his weapon on them he had a deep gash to his head where Eliot's bullet had struck him and he swayed slightly as he stood facing them. They moved forward as one, blocking Moreau's view of Nate, standing as a barrier between Moreau and their Mastermind. "You should really make sure somebody is dead Eliot...very sloppy of you." He continued moving further into the room but making sure that he was still a fair distance from the four, he was very aware of Eliot's capabilities.

Eliot said nothing. He knew Moreau was right, he should have checked that the bastard was dead. His body tensed ready for action as he gauged the distance between himself and Moreau. He would probably not make it to him before Moreau was able to pull the trigger, but he could block the shot and give the others time to get Moreau before he could rectify his aim. Eliot looked at Parker and his eyes told her what he was planning to do. Parker tensed ready for action.

"It's over Moreau...your men are dead and so will you be. You can maybe get one shot off before I get to you but that is all. Why don't you just walk out of here, we won't follow you." Eliot said softly ignoring the surprised gasps coming from the rest of his team. He wanted Moreau away from here, away from them, if that meant letting him go for now then so be it. This was his mess and he would clean it up, but his first priority was them and Nate.

"Oh but Eliot...one shot is all I need." Moreau smiled at him. "Are you ready to let her die...?" He asked gesturing at Sophie. "Do you think Ford would thank you for saving him but sacrificing her...?" Moreau cocked his head slightly to one side and smiled again. "Besides...Ford is no longer with us now is he..." Moreau laughed relishing the look of pure hate that come over Eliot's face. "Such loyalty...you never gave that to me Eliot...why?" Moreau asked his voice conveying genuine interest and even perhaps jealousy.

"Because you are not half the man he is...and you never will be." Eliot replied. "Because he deserves loyalty, and respect, you...well you were just somebody I worked for, and hated myself for doing it." He continued watching carefully as anger rose in Moreau causing his aim to waiver slightly and giving Eliot the gap he needed.

Eliot moved swiftly but not as quickly as another and the sound of the gun firing echoed through the building deafening all of them. Eliot stopped dead in his tracks as a blossom of red bloomed over Moreau's heart. His eyes were wide with surprise but they were not focused on any one of the four people before him, but on the man standing behind them.

Eliot turned to see Nate standing with his arm outstretched, Parker's gun pointed at Moreau. He swung his eyes back to Moreau as the man fell to his knees still keeping his eyes fixed on Nate. Moreau tried to lift his arm, to point his gun at the hated man who had just beaten him again, but he could not and with an agonizing grunt he fell forward hitting the ground with a dull thump, his gun clattering harmlessly out of his grasp. Nate watched as Moreau fell then dropped his arm letting the gun slide out of his hand. His knees buckled and he began to topple to the floor. He felt strong arms wrap around him preventing his body from hitting the concrete and then all went black again.

Thanks for all the reviews. I hope you all enjoyed this action packed chapter. Please keep the reviews coming, they are, as always greatly appreciated.

Sorry a bit of a short chapter and a cliff hanger to boot. Hope you all enjoyed. Thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming.