Here's Chapter 13. I hope you enjoy. Reviews make my day, so please read and review. Thanks to all of you who have been reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing. It means more than you know.

I don't own Leverage or any of the characters in the story, excepting those of my own creation. I write for fun and not for profit. Thank you for reading.

Chapter 13

Riley pressed the button that was installed next to his desk to call someone in from the back. The young man grinned when he saw what Riley was doing.

"There's no one left to help you. Now move." The young man's voice had hardened on this last part, and brooked no disagreement. He cocked the gun, and Riley rose, hands in the air. He moved past the young man with the gun, who followed him out the door, and steered him out to a waiting vehicle. Riley was a bit shocked to see all of his men bound and gagged and neatly laid out across the seats, mostly unconscious.

At that moment, the young man behind him slipped a hood over his head, and the truck started moving.

(0o0)

Eliot had been asleep almost an hour and a half when Vance's SUV pulled into the driveway of his second safe house and came to a stop beside another car. Eliot opened his eyes when the motion of the car stopped. Vance opened the hatch and unfolded himself. He immediately picked Parker up and started for the house with her. Eliot dislodged himself, and stretching mightily, followed them, while Hardison and Sully brought in the supplies they had packed to bring with them, and secured the vehicle. Vance walked Parker straight through the house and laid her out on one of the beds in the back bedroom. Eliot froze just inside the front door, staring at the two people seated on Vance's sofa, waiting for them. A second later, as he felt his leg about to give way underneath him, he shook himself and said,

"What are you two doing here?"

"Vance called me and asked for some help with Riley. So, we picked him up. He's waiting for you with some of Vance's men." Shelley gestured toward the other room, and saw Eliot looking at the woman sitting next to him. He continued. "I was injured slightly on my last mission, and regulations state I have to see a doctor before going back on full duty, so I made an appointment with Sully. I was sitting in his office, waiting for him, when I got the call. As I was leaving, I ran into Doc."

"I thought you were supposed to be in England."

"I was supposed to be flying back for meetings and a medical conference next week, but they were moved up, so I'm here early. Why don't I take a look at Parker while you and Vance talk to Mr. Riley? When you finish, I'd like to talk to the both of you. Come, Mister Shelley. Doctor Sullivan can complete your examination while I take care of Parker."

Shelley rose without a word and followed her into the bedroom in which Vance had just taken Parker. Vance came back out of the bedroom and stepped in front of Eliot, walking toward the spare bedroom where Riley and his henchmen waited.

"Well, Mr. Riley, so glad you could join us."

"It wasn't like I had a choice," he muttered, but not loudly enough for anyone to hear.

"What do you want, Riley?" Eliot asked, stepping around Vance. "Why did you send your thugs to spy on us?"

The man swallowed hard as Eliot got closer. Damn. The fact that Spencer was injured sure didn't make him any less imposing. When Riley didn't answer, Eliot growled a bit and said, "I asked you a question, Riley, and I don't plan to ask again. As you know, there are plenty of other ways I can get the information I need."

Eliot could almost see the wheels turning in the man's mind, as he rapidly explored his options. He certainly couldn't tell Spencer about the client. Not if he wanted to maintain his reputation, and certainly not if he hoped to have any business afterwards.

Before Riley had a chance to answer, there was a knock on the door. Shelley stuck his head in, and said, "Your presence is requested in the other room."

"Shelley, tell Doc we'll be there in a moment, and ask her to prepare for interrogation protocol 3b."

"Should I ask her to prepare to lead the interrogation or do you plan to do it?"

"I'll do it."

"For how many people?"

"Five? Six?"

"Will do."

"Thank you."

He grasped the collar of Riley's shirt and said, "Last chance, Riley. You can talk or we can make you talk."

The little man folded in on himself.

"All right. A client contacted me anonymously, and offered us half a million to scout your position and report back. That's all I know, I swear."

"Not good enough. You seem to forget I know you, Riley. You wouldn't take a job without seeing the client, and the money, face to face. Now spill."

Riley stood frozen, considering his options. Patience running thin, Eliot growled, "Now!"

Riley remained silent, and Eliot tightened his grip on Riley's collar. All he said was, "suit yourself."

With Vance walking slightly behind him for support, Eliot turned and started back toward the door, on his way to the other bedroom, dragging Riley along behind him. Vane stepped around beside him when they reached the door of the other bedroom, and opened it, then moved aside to allow the two other men to pass through first.

Riley's eyes grew wide when Eliot shoved him, none too gently, down onto one of the beds in the second bedroom. He took in the equipment set up and the people ranged there, ready, willing, and able to assist Eliot, and he started to wonder if this job was worth it.

"Vance, please escort Hardison to the kitchen and be sure he eats something." Vance knew the man wasn't going to want to leave, but he also knew that Eliot didn't want him to see what was about to happen. Walking up beside the hacker, and placing a hand on his shoulder, Vance steered him out of the room and toward the kitchen.

Without a word, Eliot moved over toward Doc and brought an IV stand back with him. That was enough for Riley.

"All right." He held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. "I'll tell you what you want to know."

"Start at the beginning. If you leave anything out, I'll know."

"I wasn't lying when I said that the client approached me anonymously. This was on my desk when I arrived at work the day after you came to visit. I never saw the person who left it. I swear." He reached into an inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, folded into quarters, and handed it to Eliot.

Eliot unfolded it and read it silently. "I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't do this without some amount of money coming in to finance it. How'd that go down?"

"It was wired to my account electronically, from an account with a bogus name, which my men were unable to trace."

"We'll see if my friend can trace it. How much?"

"I told you—half a million."

"So, it has to be someone fairly wealthy taking a run at me for some reason. That narrows it down somewhat."

Riley stared at the other man, who didn't seem to really be paying attention to him anymore, but wasn't showing any signs of turning him loose. Instead he seemed to be going over the whole situation in his head, while still holding Riley in an iron grip.

"That's all you know?" Eliot demanded.

"That's all. I swear," Riley said, somewhat desperately.

"How were you supposed to contact him to let him know the job was done?"

"I wasn't. The note said he'd be watching, and he'd know."

"All right. Riley, listen carefully because I'm only going to say this once. When we're done here, my friends will escort you back to town and drop you off somewhere near your office. As far as you are concerned, I'm dead. The truth WILL come out, after we're long gone and when it does, your client will be calling on you, wanting his or her money back and probably wanting to know why you didn't kill me. I suggest you have the money when the client calls. You arrange to meet them face to face and then you call me and let me know who the client is. Got it?"

"What if they find out? If I do that, they might kill me," said Riley, with a distinct whine in his voice.

"If you don't, I'll kill you. Remember Riley, I know where to find you, and I still have a lot of friends in DC. You try to sell me out, I'll know, and I'll teach you exactly why those three foreign presidents choppered out of the city when they learned I was back. I'll let you see firsthand exactly how I earned my reputation. Is that clear?"

Riley swallowed hard, and nodded to let the other man know he understood. Eliot exchanged glances with Shelley, and without a word, Shelley drew his firearm, and came over beside Eliot, taking a firm hold on Riley's collar, and shoving his gun into the man's back. Shelley replaced the blindfold over Riley's eyes, frog marched Riley to the door, and turned him over to Vance's men. At Vance's nod, he left to accompany Vance's men and supervise Riley's return, while Vance nudged Hardison and started back to the room where Eliot waited.