A/N: I'll have links to the outfits for Eliot and Zoe in my profile under "Hemorrhage Links" :) Enjoy.
Eliot wasn't sure about his. Taking control of an opponent or a fight was one thing. They were trying to attack him. Controlling another human being who wasn't attacking him was something completely different. He felt it was wrong. She explained the tone of voice he needed to use with her. Forceful but not demeaning. Commanding but not abusive.
They practiced some phrases for him to use as well as the tone. She was quite thankful he seemed to be picking this stuff up quickly! Once she was satisfied he had the voice tones down, she began teaching him how to order her around. He didn't look so confident, and she oddly thought it was cute, but she did her best to help him with that. She had told him what to do and to use the right tone. Which he did, albeit reluctantly, and watched as she did as he told her to.
He watched as she looked up at him from her knees on the floor. There was something in her eyes that he could not define. They went through several more little "exercises" before she went mix herself a cocktail. She brought a beer with her for him as she walked past him and to the couch. He frowned but followed her. This was the hard part. They needed to discuss what they were and were not willing to do and what they would do, or what was going to be allowed, at the club.
He cocked an eyebrow at her as she told him this. She explained about the lifestyle and going out in public. They needed to have their roles down. He still wasn't 100% confident but at least he was less frightened than before. They finally came down to what was allowed while on this con and what wasn't. He didn't want her getting dehydrated so he told her she would be able to drink either tea or water. She nodded at him, happy that he was thinking on his own about these things. She would never speak unless spoken to.
As they headed to bed for the night, Eliot still felt awkward about this con. He felt that it was wrong to do the things she was asking him to do. The irony of that hit him and he had to chuckle to himself. He still didn't like the idea of this but he kept telling himself that it would just be one night. Hardison and Parker would be stealing what they needed while he and Zoe paraded around like some sort of freak show.
A few days later, Eliot was scowling in his bedroom. He still wasn't wanting to do this but Zoe assured him this was the only way to get what they needed for their client. She also kept telling him they were the only two who could reasonably pull this off. Although he didn't want to admit to her, he knew she was right. Hardison would go over the top with it and Parker wouldn't understand why the Hacker was trying to make her behave his commands like a puppy.
He sighed once more as he dressed in what Zoe had left for him. Sophie had her own little costume too for her part in this weird charade. Nate would be in Lucille throughout the entire thing while Hardison and Parker worked together inside to get what they came for. The performance of the night, however, belonged to Eliot and Zoe. The redhead was sitting on her bed staring out the window. As confident as she sounded when talking to the rest of the team about this, she wondered if they could pull it off.
These people would be able to tell if she and Eliot weren't the real deal. More than anything, however, she hoped she would come out of this OK. She hadn't started getting ready yet as she stared out the window. Hell, she barely heard the knock at her door. Sophie, ever the motherly figure, quietly pushed the door open and peeked inside. She found Zoe sitting on her bed blankly staring out the window. The Grifter wondered what was wrong. Was she having second thoughts about this job? Was she worried about Eliot?
Even though Eliot was a hitter, he was a decent enough grifter. Decent enough to pull off the things he was asked to do. Sophie stepped inside the young woman's room and shut the door. There was still no reaction from Zoe. It wasn't until Sophie sat down on the bed next to her did Zoe acknowledge her presence.
"Is everything alright?" Sophie quietly questioned
"Oh. Yeah, just going over things in my head." Zoe replied with a quick, but fake, smile
"Worried about how things are going to go tonight?" Sophie asked
Zoe just shrugged her shoulders. There were things she was worried about alright but it didn't have to do with the team really.
"No need to worry. If things go bag, Nate always comes up with a back-up plan quickly. You should get dressed. You two have to leave soon." Sophie told her with a smile
Zoe nodded with a slight smile. Sophie quickly left to go make sure everyone else was ready. She was madly in love with Nate, despite how hard she tried not to be, but she had to admit their Hitter looked incredible for this con. It was definitely less formal than wearing a tux but still chic enough to not just be a ratty t-shirt and jeans. Eliot's outfit was perfect for him and Sophie wondered just how Zoe knew what to pick for him.
Eliot was talking with Nate, going over the plan one last time before things got going. Comms were going into ears and Parker was looking over the building schematics one last time. Zoe stood at the top of the stairs taking a few breaths. For a few minutes she debated on chickening out and leaving the team behind through her bedroom window. She had gotten used to these people and knew she'd feel bad if she let them down now. No one knew what her costume was going to look like but they weren't prepared for the woman who appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Zoe's outfit made Eliot stop mid-sentence and stare.
Nate looked to where Eliot's eyes were glued and grinned. Her tattoos were mostly air-brushed off but she did look good. With a gruff 'let's go', Eliot tore himself from staring at the newest member of their little group. Hardison made some comment that referenced some geek thing but Eliot didn't hear it. All he could do was will himself to the door of the condo and hope she was following. Parker was shocked to see the way Zoe was dressed and Sophie.
They made it to the club about two hours after it opened. Zoe took the comms out of her ear, motioning for Eliot to do the same. Once he had copied her movement, she reiterated the basics that she had taught him a few days ago. He took a deep breath and put his comms back in. Once she was ready, she slid out of his Dodge Charger, put her comms back in as well, and looked to him for guidance. He nodded for her to follow him. As he walked up to the front door of the building, she fell in right behind him.
The doorman looked between the pair as he took Eliot's money and gave the Hitter a blue wrist band. The bouncer reached out to put a red band on her wrist but before he could get to her, Eliot grabbed his wrist. Zoe watched the interaction, breath caught in her throat.
"I'm just putting a band on her. Not gonna hurt her." The guy cautiously stated
Eliot let him go so he could do his job. One thing was for sure, Eliot Spencer definitely took his job of protection very seriously! Having their bands, Eliot led the way into the building. His eyes darted around assessing the threat level and taking in what was going on. The scene was nothing new to her, but then again the team didn't know that, so she was more at ease in the environment. Eliot slowly and cautiously walked around to find them a table to sit at. He finally found one where he could see just about everything.
The table was just big enough for two people but there was a huge round pillow on the floor next to one of the chairs. He sat down and thought she would sit in the other chair. It took him slightly off guard when she kneeled on the pillow then sat back on her legs.
"What do we do now?" Eliot muttered under his breath to Zoe
"Now we wait for the waitress to come over. Then we wait for the owner. They like to mingle with their guests, especially if they're new faces." Zoe replied, voice barely a whisper to anyone watching
Eliot was still uncomfortable but he wasn't showing it on the outside. Sure enough about 5 minutes later a cute little blonde waitress wandered to where Eliot was sitting and asked him what he wanted to drink. He told her favorite beer and, looking down at the redhead sitting beside him, asked for a cup of Chamomile Peppermint tea with two sugars. The blonde whose name was Tammy nodded and headed to off to get their drinks.
"How's it going, Eliot?" Nate asked over the comms
"Just put in our drink order. Parker?" Eliot replied
"Scaling down the building now. Will be inside in a few minutes." She replied, voice filled with cheer
Tammy returned with his beer and Zoe's tea. She set the tea cup on the table next to his beer. Zoe stared straight ahead awaiting a command from her master. She knew there were eyes upon them. Every Master-Slave relationship was different. What was allowed was between Eliot and Zoe but she knew there would be grief from other Masters in the club. Zoe watched out of the corner of her eye as Eliot gently blew on her steaming tea before lowering the cup for her to take a sip. She was happy he remembered her favorite tea.
She turned to look straight ahead once more. A few minutes later a tall, raven-headed man stopped in front of their table. She could tell there might be trouble and tensed.
"Why do you let her drink in public?" The voice questioned
"Because I don't want her to get dehydrated while we're out. If it were any of your business." Eliot quickly retorted
"It's bad form." The other guy countered
"I think its bad form to let her dehydrate. What I allow her to do is not your concern." Eliot stated, voice slightly gruffer than usual, as he gently ran his fingers through her fiery red hair
The guy just gave Eliot a 'Humph' as he stalked off, clearly not agreeing, making Eliot smirk slightly. No one else bothered them while Eliot sat there nursing his beer. Every few minutes he would lean the tea cup down for her to take a drink. He watched as she always went back to staring straight ahead. Thoughts began circulating in his head about just how she knew so much about this lifestyle. How did she know how to behave in this place?
Half an hour went by. Another beer had been drunk, and her cup of tea had finally been finished. A woman in her mid-forties, blonde hair with streaks of gray around the edges, and a simple suit came strolling through the club from the back. Zoe whispered that she was the owner. They heard Parker telling them that she was in the woman's office. Hardison had begun his hacking thing and the Thief was working on her safe. Eliot and Zoe were the only two in the bar that she didn't recognize. She stopped at their table and just looked at the pair.
"Hello. I don't believe I've seen you in here before." She stated with a warm, friendly smile
"It's because this is our first time." Eliot replied, keeping his voice calm and even
"I'm Amanda. Amanda Gavin. I own this establishment." The woman stated
"Hello, Amanda. I'm Eric Shaw." He replied, sticking his hand out for her to take
They shook hands over the table as Amanda looked between him and Zoe.
"Why is this your first time here?" Amanda asked curiously
"I'm just in town for business." He replied
"Oh. Does she belong to you or is she a pick-up?" Amanda inquired
"She's mine." Eliot stated as he began to run his fingers through Zoe's hair once more, "I take her everywhere with me."
"What business are you in town for?" Amanda questioned
"Real estate. I buy properties, fix them up, and then sell them for a huge profit. Sometimes I keep the properties and turn it into something great." He explained
"Oh interesting." Amanda stated, clearly not really impressed
"Nate, got everything." Parker stated over the comms
"Me too." Hardison added in
"There's a big auction tomorrow about some building downtown that I'm hoping to win." Eliot, as Eric, divulged
Amanda's eyes went wide.
"You're one of them trying to building the Spitzer building?!" Amanda exclaimed
With a dry chuckle Eliot replied, "Yes Ma'am. It's a great location for a new club I'm thinking about building up."
Her body language and eyes told Eliot he had sparked her interest. They talked more about the building, with Hardison recording everything the woman said over the comms, as Amanda gave him a history lesson on it. He knew she wanted to know what he wanted the building for. That soon turned to the topic of conversation. Zoe sat as still as a statue, never flinching, never moving a muscle, never making a sound. Eliot wasn't worried about her as he talked, as he baited, with Amanda.
The half-drunk guy approaching their table had Eliot's attention. His brown eyes were trained on Zoe as she kneeled by her Master's side. She watched the man come to a stop in front of her. Still, she never moved. Eliot was less than a foot from her on her left side. She knew, above all else, Eliot was keeping an eye on him too. She trusted him to not let anyone hurt her. When the unknown, half-drunk guy grabbed the O-ring on her collar and jerked her upwards, Eliot was immediately on his feet.
"Let her go. NOW." Eliot demanded, voice bordering on menacing
"She's a pretty little thing." The guy stated, licking the side of her face, "How much?"
"She's not for sale. I said let her go." Eliot repeated
"Make me…. Boy." The guy taunted
Eliot turned to Amanda and excused himself. She exited her seat and moved towards the bar several feet away. You never touched another's slave or submissive without their consent. She was curious to see what Eric was going to about it. Zoe's feet were barely touching the ground but she dared not fight him. It would blow their aliases.
"Set her down." Eliot stated
The guy, who figured he could take the much smaller man, dropped Zoe to the ground like a hot potato. Amanda watched as the redhead scrambled to get back to the pillow and back into her position. The blonde woman was quite impressed with how well she behaved. The big guy thought he could hit Eliot once or twice and be done. He swung once at the smaller man who not only caught his fist but wound up hitting him with his left hand then his right elbow. The shock and double hit made the taller man stumble backwards. Amanda said something to him before two bouncers arrived to escort him out.
Amanda moved back to where Eliot had sat back down and apologized for the drunken guy. She told Eric that she was interested in the club he was wanting to create should he win the auction of the building. Eric gave her his business card so she could contact him after the auction. Amanda was more than happy to take it in hopes of getting in on a ground-breaking BdSm-Fetish style club. She left Eliot alone to attend to the rest of her club.
Eliot threw down money for his and Zoe's drinks before looking down at her. She was back in the sitting position she'd been in before the little scuffle. He moved to stand in front of her and ordered her to look up at him. She immediately did as he requested. Her bright green eyes meeting his sharp blue ones. There was something in that moment, the moment of utter trust and respect, that made his breath hitch. He told her to stand up and watched as she obeyed. His next command was for her to follow them after Nate told everyone to get out as quickly as possible over the comms.