A/N: Love the reviews! I know me apologizing over and over sounds like a mantra, but I am really sincere. Time got away from me. Between job hunting, easter, mothers day, graduations, family drama, out of town conventions, and now fathers day is coming up...These days are going by so fast, it's unreal. Anyway back to business! Enjoy...^_^
It was still about two hours before sunrise and Parker sat out in the alley behind the warehouse. The location wasn't that hard to find, if you knew the back roads of the city the way she did. If she remembered correctly, Vladimir never did any high stakes moves when he was this close to a deal, meaning he was laying low and most likely surrounded by his guards.
The warehouse itself look like it should have been condemned; just the way he liked it. Not many exits and no cameras. He had six outside guards on standby but she made it pass them with ease. The warehouse was dark for the most part but there was a small lit room in the back corner. Her heart felt as if it would pound itself right out of her chest. This was it, and there is no turning back. Before she had a chance to investigate further, she felt something hit the back of her head and everything went black.
Eliot had been on edge since Parker left. Soon as he got dressed, he made his way to Parker's room and sat there watching Lizzie sleep. Normally he wasn't one to just sit around and wait for something to happen. It took every ounce of his will power to stick to the plan and not go after her.
He knew the exact moment when Nate came in and stood in the doorway before he even said anything. You know, personal awareness and all.
"This plan better work Nate."
"It will. You and I both know that Parker is extremely resourceful; she will be fine." He didn't know whether he was trying to convince himself or the hitter.
'She better be.' Eliot thought to himself. Both men sat in silence for a moment before Eliot spoke up again "It would be best if Sophie and Lizzie got out of the house after you and Hardison leave. I don't want to chance the odds that Quinn might have been followed." Nate nodded his head in affirmative.
Both men looked up when a light suddenly flashed through the window brightening the room, signaling that Quinn had just pulled up. Eliot, not wanting to waste anymore time, gave the sleeping child a soft kiss on her temple before following Nate out of the room.
Shrugging on his jacket and grabbing his keys, he was halfway out the door when Nate grabbed his attention. He growled impatiently and turned to face him only to find that he was holding out two ear buds. 'oh right.'
"We won't be far behind you. Parker has her ear bud, but Hardison says there is a slight interference so you won't really be able to hear anything, but it can still be used to pinpoint her exact location in the warehouse. He will send that to you as well as the getaway route." Nate informed him while giving him a look that he understood all too well. 'Whatever it takes...'. Not needing anymore incentive, Eliot nodded his head in understanding and continued on to his truck.
Barely giving Quinn enough time to get in, he roared the engine to life and sped off.
As Parker slowly regained consciousness, her vision was slightly blurred and her head was throbbing. She blinked her eyes a few times to get them to focus. She found that she was in a dimly lit room. She was sitting upright and her shoulders felt like they were going to be pulled right from the sockets. When she tried to readjust, she quickly discovered that her hands were bound behind the back of a chair. She wasn't too worried about this. With a few trick maneuvers from her hands and wrists, she would be free in no time.
While she was busy mentally planning her escape, she heard someone chuckle behind her. Using a trick she learned from Eliot, she evened out her breathing, closed her eyes, and focused her other senses. From what she could tell, there were three other people in the room with her. One of which she was certain was Vladimir.
"It's rude to keep your guests waiting..." She stated sarcastically.
"It is you who have kept me waiting." Vladimir scoffed. "I knew killing that old fool would draw you out." She felt a sharp pang of guilt about Archie. Taking a deep breath, she set her jaw and mentally shook it off. She had to keep it together.
With her eyes still closed, she listened as he walked a complete circle around the chair. She could smell him. He smelled of cigars, alcohol, metal and old sweat. When she heard the footsteps cease, she opened her eyes to find him standing right in front of her. He stared at her as if he was contemplating something before he roughly grabbed her chin between his callous thumb and index fingers. She glared at him as he studied her features. "Hm...You looked better with the brown hair and the green eyes." He stated releasing her.
She watched as he picked up a black bag off of the floor and began to empty its contents. He pulled out what looked like a machete and set it on the table.
'Seriously? A torture bag? What year is this?' Parker thought to herself. Vladimir on the other hand, mistook the expression on her face for fear, and sneered.
"I have a long day planned for us...you should be afraid." At this, Parker scoffed.
"Lets make one thing clear Vladimir, I was never afraid of you. You're too much of a coward to do you own dirty work. You had to have your security to knock me out, tie me up and stand guard in order for you to face me. If anybody is afraid of anybody Vladimir, its you of me."
Vladimir chuckled. "Do you think that this is some kind of game? I won't be as lenient with you as I was with your mentor; I will be tending to you myself."
"Well I guess there is a first time for everything." She snorted.
Seething in anger, he back hands her with enough force to knock the chair over. Gritting her teeth in pain, she continued to secretly work on getting her arms free. He then grabs a fist full of her hair, using enough force to pull her and the chair back into an upright position.
He tightened his grip on her hair and smirked when she yelped in pain. Forcing her to look at him he sneered, "I have dreamed of all the things that I am going to do to you. And I promise, death would be a gift."
With her lip bleeding from his previous assault, she spat blood in his face. "Go to hell!"
Releasing her hair, he wiped his face, and slapped her again. She was pretty sure she has a concussion. With her head throbbing, it was really hard for her to concentrate on freeing herself. Normally she would have been loose by now.
She saw him pull her gun out of his pocket and he waved it in her face before aiming it at her legs. "Now then. Shall we start with the left or the right?"
Eliot had to be going 180 mph. They would be at the location in less than three minutes. He knew from experience that a lot can happen in three minutes. Gripping the steering wheel tighter, he pressed down further on the gas. Too bad he wasn't in his Challenger, then he could cut those three minutes down to sixty seconds, but even that was still too much time.
He glanced out the corner of his eye at his rival and watched as Quinn pull out a bag full of guns and began to load them. He took a deep breath. He knew this was coming, and somewhat mentally prepared himself for it. He would do anything to keep Parker, Lizzie, and the rest of the team safe; even if it meant him reopening that door and becoming the man he used to be.
Quinn felt eyes on him and glanced at the other hitter, where he saw his grim expression.
"I'm flattered you're checking me out." He stated, immediatly bringing Eliot out of his musings.
"Odd choice of dying words Quinn."
"By the way, I want this to go on record that I have been against this plan from the very beginning. It was a bad idea to let her go alone." Quinn said while still working on his task.
"You made your opinion very clear when you gave her a gun." Eliot snapped.
"Yes Spencer, I gave her a gun. She needed some form of protection."
"That's my job..." Eliot growled.
"Eliot, your job is null and void if you are full of bullets!" Quinn stated calling him by his first name letting his rival know that he was serious. "As much as I hate this plan, she had a point about Vladimir. He thinks he is stronger than she is. So he is not going to let the guards lay a hand on her." He looked on as the warehouse came into view. Loading the last gun, he continued.
"As for the guards...I know you dislike guns. But you and I both know that this isn't one of those situations where you can beat your way out. We are going to be surrounded by Russian assassins and it is just the two of us...imagine going up against thirty of you."
At this Eliot scoffed "As if they have an ounce of the skills and training that I have. Sounds to me like these bastards are just trigger happy."
"True. But my point is, injure and disarm. I'm not saying that you have to go on a full rampage and disembowel them." Quinn smirked before adding "We wouldn't want you to relapse."
"I haven't ripped out your vocal chords yet Quinn, so I'm pretty sure I am good in the controlled department." Eliot growled, as he parked and shut off the engine.
"One more thing Spencer...I may be watching your back, but there is no way in hell I'm taking a bullet for you." Quinn stated, while cocking his gun.
"And I could careless if you make it out of there alive...now give me the damn guns." Eliot smirked.
Her head felt as if it was going to explode. She was almost free of her restraints. She watched as he continued to taunt her with the gun.
"Normally, I am not a man of such generosity, but I am giving you the opportunity to choose a starting point girl."
"Oh really? You shouldn't have." She replied sarcastically. Her breath hitched when she felt him place the barrel of the gun on her right knee and slowly drag it up her thigh, to her stomach, breasts, neck, and finally her face.
"If you'd prefer, there are other...pin points" He used the barrel to trace her lips, and she hissed. "It is a shame. You were...quite the little asset." He leered.
"Yea? Well you were a liability. No wonder I really didn't have to do much for Russia to turn their backs you. You were an embarrassment!" She chuckled.
She saw him cock the gun and aim it at her forehead. Before he could pull the trigger, multiple gunshots and screaming could be heard in the distance. 'Eliot'. She smiled in relief.
Vladimir yelled an order to his guards in Russian and they immediately left the room leaving the two alone.
Using his distraction to her advantage, she kicked him twice...hard. Once in the stomach, and the other in the face. He fell back nursing his now broken nose and she finally got free.
She goes in for another strike but he blocks her and counters it, knocking her off her feet. He immediately goes for the gun and she is able get it out of his reach. More gunshots and shouts in Russian were heard and she found herself worrying about her family, but she couldn't get distracted. Everything on her hurt, but she had to keep going.
Unfortunately, he was able to get a hold of a nearby stick, and knock her to the floor.
He straddled and began to strangle her. She could feel the rest of her strength leaving her as she struggled underneath him. Survival instincts kicking in, she takes her fingers and jams them into his eyes forcing him to release her. She placed one hand on her now sore throat trying her damnest to catch her breath. Before she could make another move, she heard a gun click.
A/N: oh so evil of me I know. I will not leave you guys hanging for long. The next chapter just needs to be rewritten. I am out of town right now and the only reason I was able to post this is because an all day meeting was rescheduled. Well anyway, I hope I haven't lost anyone and for those of you who are still with me...please review and thank you so much!