A/N: Here's the new chapter-a little earlier than expected because I have a three day weekend. Hope you enjoy.

I don't own Leverage or any of the characters within, except the original ones. I write for fun and make no profit. I don't write slash.

Thanks to all of you reading, following, favoriting, and especially reviewing this story. Reviews make my day, so please let me know what you think.

Chapter 11

Doc had been so busy trying to escape with Eliot, having to be warmed up herself, and then taking care of Eliot and the rest of his team, that she hadn't really had time over the last few days to properly care for her own needs. It hardly mattered. This was the life she had chosen. But now, the treatment room and makeshift office was spotless, the evening meal was finished, and the rest of Eliot's team had come in to sit with him, so she felt that she could step into the next room for a few minutes to take a shower. As she stepped out, Sophie rose and followed. The grifter caught up with her around the corner, and spoke in a low voice.

"I noticed you only brought a small bag, and most of that seems to be medical supplies. You don't have any luggage, do you?"

Doc smiled, wondering where the other woman was going with this. "You're very observant. I don't travel with luggage. None of us do. In our line of work, we learn quickly to travel light, bringing only what we can carry."

Sophie nodded. Eliot never traveled with luggage either, and when she had seen him with a suitcase or a bag, it was because it was a prop, necessary to sell the con. "I just know when I shower, I love the feeling that comes with clean clothes. You probably don't find it necessary, but I'm happy to lend you something to wear if you'd like. We look to be about the same size."

Doc thought for a moment, imagining the type of sleepwear that Sophie might bring her. "It isn't necessary," she said, and Sophie's face fell. "But that's a very nice offer and I would certainly appreciate it," she added, smiling widely, then continued, "Do you have something that isn't too frilly or revealing? I'll probably be sitting with Eliot most of the night."

Now it was Sophie's turn to smile, as she said, "Oh, I think I can find something. I'll bring it in."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Sophie moved off happily, in search of night wear for Doc. In the end, she brought in a brightly colored pair of sweatpants she used when training with Eliot, and a long sleeved t-shirt. Doc thanked her, then turned the water in the shower as hot as it would go, and went about the process of undressing herself. She checked her own injuries to see how they were healing, starting with her legs and working her way upwards. When she took off both of the shirts she was wearing, she stretched her arms out to look at the frostbite damage on her fingers, and she noticed a black band around the middle of her lower arm. It fit tightly enough not to move around, but not tightly enough that she could feel it. It seemed to be some sort of bracelet, though she couldn't figure out what it was made of, it had no design of any kind, and there was no way to take it off.

Making a mental note to see if she could find out what it was later, she climbed into the shower, and spent the next half hour scrubbing every part of her body clean. She had had no intention of staying in that long, but once she got in there, and felt the hot water beating down, her exhaustion caught up with her, and she just stood, letting the water wash over her. She finally turned off the water, dressed, toweled her shoulder length hair dry, and combed it, leaving it spread about her shoulders so that it would dry properly.

When she walked back in to check on Eliot, the rest of the team was still sitting with him, speaking quietly. She looked at Alec Hardison, busy on his laptop, and an idea occurred to her.

"Mister Hardison," she said quietly, "I need your help with something."

"Sure," the hacker replied, barely looking up from his computer screen.

"I need to know what this is." She pushed her sleeve up to show the black bracelet. Nate looked at it with fascination and nodded to Hardison when he caught the younger man looking to him to approve the request. Hardison began typing furiously.

"Where did you get that?" Nate asked mildly.

"I'm not sure. I would assume it's a gift from the North Koreans, or our Mister Conrad, since that's who brought us both to North Korea. I've never seen anything like it before. I need to know what it is and what it does."

"I found it," Hardison said, voice carefully controlled. He refused to look at her. "I can't tell you what it does, though."

She took in his horrified expression, and there was steel in her voice when she said, "I can take whatever you tell me. Tell me, Mister Hardison."

"No, I can't hack in."

Now it was Nate's turn to look horrified. "What do you mean, you can't hack in?"

"I can't. Every time I write a line of code, it is erased. Gone. And even if I could hack it, I'm not sure we could decode it. This isn't your standard encryption. It isn't even Justice Department standard. It's a step or two above that. I've never seen anything like it. I'm sorry. There's nothing more I can do."

"Keep trying. Doc's right, we need to know what it is."

"If the code is disappearing, it is likely that the program also records the attempts. If I keep trying, they'll be able to triangulate a location for us."

"I see. On to plan B then." He rose and started rummaging in the desk drawer.

"Plan B?" Doc asked.

"If we can't figure out what it does, we can at least dispose of it, so it is no longer a problem." He straightened up and turned around, holding a pair of scissors in his hands.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea to take it off without knowing what it does. But, on the other hand—"

He slid one blade of the scissors under the plastic-like band, and closed the other on top of it. A jolt of electricity shot through the band, the scissors, and both of them, throwing Doc backwards and catching Nate in the closed circuit, until the connection was broken when Doc flew far enough away to break the hold. Doc rose gingerly, and moved over to Nate, who was in the process of sitting up.

"Are you all right, Mr. Ford?"

He nodded. "You were right. It wasn't a good idea to try to remove it."

About that time, they heard a growl from the direction of the cot, "Could you people be a little louder please? It's not like there's an injured person who might wake up over here or anything," he groused.

"Well, welcome back, Senor Cranky-Pants," she said, smiling as she made her way to his side. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." She looked at him sharply, as if to remind him to whom he was speaking. She wouldn't tolerate anything that wasn't the truth. He shrugged, as if to say, Does it matter? Her eyes grew dangerous, as she looked at him even more sharply, and he hastily added, "Close enough, anyway. What are you two doing?" His eyes found the bracelet before she could answer, and his hand shot out and grasped her upper arm, pulling her in closer beside him.

"That looks like a—" he broke off, realizing there were others in the room and what he was about to say was very likely confidential. "Did Vance give you that?" he asked quietly, ironclad control barely masking a fury boiling just below the surface.

"I don't know. Maybe. I assumed it was a gift from Conrad or the North Koreans. It won't come off easily, I know that."

"You tried to take it off? Without knowing what it does?" He looked around him. They needed to talk right now. Speaking to the room at large, he said, "Get out of here, all of you. I need to talk to Doc alone." Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, and no one moved. Putting some iron in his voice, he growled, "Now." They didn't trust the situation, but they trusted Eliot. Grumbling quietly among themselves, they all filed out. Nate was almost at the door when Doc called him back. Eliot glared at her.

"He can't be here for this."

"He was electrocuted in the accident. I need to be sure he's all right."

"Okay, but make it quick. This night just got a whole lot longer."