Chapter 24

Five days passed and they all had stayed in the building, Eliot making sure that this time he did not go out the apartment and would be ablet to stop Nate should he leave. Nate noticed that the man was sleeping on his sofa and taking time to clean up only when the others arrived each morning but said nothing about it. He knew whey of course and he did not blame him, he was after all prone to disappearing on them. They were at breakfast one morning when Nate's phone started to buzz.

"Ford." Nate said as he answered.

"Mr Ford."

"Eliot Peterson I presume." Nate said softly and he could feel the team's eyes on him.

"You are a very hard man to kill Mr Ford."

"Well I don't much like the prospect of dying."

"Yes." Elton said. "I do believe nor did Bertram."

"Probably not. So what is it you want?"

"Well Bertram, he was the only man who understood me, he loved me Mr Ford and you killed him. I cannot let that pass. I cannot let you go on breathing when he is not. I am not a violent man Mr Ford I really don't like killing…"

"No just watching…" Nate interrupted him.

"Yes Bertram did like an audience and he could put on quite a show, as I am sure you know." Elton said not showing any emotion.

Nate smiled slightly at that, the man was trying to bait him he thought so he remained silent and waited for him to continue.

"Now we can end this in a civilised fashion, one that does not have to involve anybody else, or, well I will come for you and if anybody gets in my way I will have to eliminate them."

"I see."

"Do you Mr Ford? Do you understand what I mean?" He asked.

Nate frowned slightly and then heard glass shatter as a bullet flew into the room breaking the window. Eliot immediately pulled Nate down with Parker pulling Sophie to the ground and out of danger.

"Do you see now?" Elton asked as Nate lay under the table with Eliot's hand on his back keeping him down.

Elton had studied Nate. He had studied the tapes made by Bertram of his torture sessions with the man which he had shared with him after every one of his sessions. He had admired the way Nate had steadfastly refused to give up Eliot to Barrington and he realised that Nate was the kind of man who would do what it took to protect those he cared for. He had decided to use that to his advantage hence the phone call and the sniper on the building opposite Nates. He did not care if the bullet hit anybody, all he wanted was for Nate to understand the danger he was putting the people near and dear to him in.

"I do." Nate hissed back at him.

"Good." Elton said and hung up the phone.

A few minutes of silence passed and then Eliot stood and pulled Nate with him pushing him into the part of the apartment that was not exposed to a window. Parker, Hardison and Sophie followed but here were no more gunshots.

"What the hell was that?" Hardison said as he dusted himself off. "I don't like it when people shoot at me man."

"They weren't shooting at you." Nate said.

"They weren't shooting at anybody Nate this was a warning."

"Yes to me." Nate agreed.

"Yes to you." Eliot agreed. This was a warning to Nate that was for sure and the warning was all of them were going to be in the firing line.

"What did he say Nate?"

"Well Sophie he said that we should end this in a civilised manner and that so that none of you would be in the firing line." Nate said surprising them all, not least Sophie with his honesty.

"And you are going too…"

"Do nothing." Nate said smiling at them all. "Nothing at all."

"Nate…" Sophie said taking a step towards him and locking her eyes with his. "How worried should I be about you?"

"No more than usual Sophie." Nate smiled at her

"Why does that not give me any peace of mind?"

"He wants me he is going to have to come and get me." Nate said as he walked over to the kitchen before Eliot could stop him and then went and stood at the window. "He is going to have to come and get me." He said again this time his voice was low and soft with an iron edge to it.

Eliot watched him and knew he was going to have his work cut out keeping Nate alive. Sophie watched him and cringed as he stood without fear in front of the window that had just been shattered by a sniper's bullet. Parker watched Nate and wondered what plan he would cook up to get them out of this too, she had no doubt he would come up with something and she had no doubt that he would get them all out of it, she had complete faith in him. Hardison stared at the man and just shook his head. He would follow Nate through the gates of hell and back him in anything he did, he just did not have to like it.

"Well to get you he is going to have to go through me." Eliot said walking up to Nate and standing next to him.

"Through us." Parker said joining him on his other side.

"He has no idea who he is taking on." Sophie said as she came to stand behind him her hands resting on his shoulders.

"Yeah man…" Hardison said taking his place beside Sophie.

Nate smiled to himself as he thought about them all standing there in front of a window with a sniper out there somewhere quite capable of putting a bullet through any one of them. They trusted him, trusted his judgement, trusted that he would not be doing this if he did not know that a bullet would not be coming their way.