Chapter 25

Three more days passed and there was no correspondence from Elton that the team knew of anyway, and there were no more attacks on the house. Nate had spent most of his time in his study and the team were wondering what he was thinking and what he was planning. He was saying nothing except to ask Hardison for all the video they had retrieved from the Barrington residence and then also to hack some files from Scotland Yard.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Hardison said late one afternoon as he watched the camera's that covered the bar area below.

"Good." Nate said looking at the screen then turning to his Hacker. "I invited him."

"You what?" Sophie blurted out.

"Are you out of your mind?" Hardison said looking from the man who walked in the door to the pub with three men to Nate.

Nate did not reply he simply smiled at Hardison, downed his whiskey and then stood up and headed toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Eliot growled at him.

"To meet with him." Nate said not bothering to turn around.

"No way Nate." Eliot said moving like lightning to stand in front of the man blocking the door.

"Eliot move out of my way please." Nate said his voice holding no anger or irritation.

"Nate…"

"Sophie I am going downstairs, now Eliot move out of my way."

"What the hell is going on?" Hardison asked as he came to stay behind Sophie and Parker who stood behind Nate watching the scene between Hitter and Mastermind.

"Not till you tell me what the hell you are thinking? That man down there wants you dead, hell he has tried to kill you twice already." Eliot said his eyes narrowing as he watched the Mastermind.

"I am going down to the bar to meet with Elton now move out of my way." Nate said calmly.

"Well let's go." Parker asked moving forward to be caught by Nate.

"Parker and he is here to see me."

"Nate the man wants you dead and you just want us to let you waltz down to the bar and meet with him."

"Yes Sophie that is exactly what I want you to do." Nate said not turning to look at her as he held his Hitters eye challenging him.

"So when exactly when were you going to tell us you spoke to him and arranged a meeting?" Hardison asked, he really hated it when Nate did this type of thing and he did it all the time.

"Well I am telling you now."

"We will be coming with you." Eliot said and his voice told Nate he would brook no argument.

"Fine." Nate said and Eliot stared at him stunned by the way he simply gave in. "Now move out of my way please." He said smiling at the man then pushing past him and walking down the stairs to the back room with all of them in tow.

"Nate just what is going on?" Sophie asked as she looked through the door to see that the bar was empty except for one man who sat with a glass of whiskey in front of him and another one on the opposite side of the table. Behind the man stood three others and Eliot noticed the bulge under all their jackets.

"I am going to meet with him. You all are going to stay here. Now I said you could come down with me, but this is between him and me."

"Nate those guys are not there for show." Eliot said looking at the three men with Elton.

"Yes well he did agree to come here."

"Wait what…?" Sophie said stunned by Nate's words as she realised what he was saying.

"Stay here." He ordered then walked forward and into the bar before any of them could say anything leaving Sophie to shake her head as she watched him. Eliot tensed up as the three men with Elton also tensed as Nate walked towards the table.

"Mr Ford."

"Mr Peterson." Nate said as he took a seat opposite the man.

The two men sat in silence for a short while and then Nate looked up at the three men standing behind Elton.

"My people are not here."

"They are." Peterson said looking behind Nate and nodding.

"True, but not standing behind me with guns." Nate said smiling at him.

Elton stared at him and then nodded turning and indicating to his men that they should step away and move to the other side of the bar leaving the two men alone at the table.

"So Mr Ford why am I here?"

"To negotiate."

"There is nothing to negotiate, you killed Bertram and I am going to kill you."

"Yes well that does not work for me." Nate said sitting back and taking a sip of his whiskey.

"I thought it may not." Elton said. "But that does not change the fact."

"Now I understand that you and Bertram were…well together right?"

"Mr Ford I do not see how this is changing anything."

"Right, yes right, so you were together." Nate continued ignoring the interruption. "He shared things with you, things he maybe should not have."

"Mr Ford."

"So anyway I have a young man who can dig out anything, anything he even amazes me sometimes." Nate said. "So he has some video that is well, quite explicit."

"I don't care."

"No I am sure you don't and…well I don't mean that kind of explicit." Nate said taking a sip of his whiskey.

"So, I never participating in Bertram's crimes."

"You did."

"What does that matter?"

"Mr Peterson, you come from a good family, you have inherited a lot of money not only from the death of your father but also from Bertram as I understand."

Elton said nothing waiting for Nate to continue. Nate smiled at him the rose and walked to the bar grabbing a bottle of whiskey before returning to the table.

"Now Scotland Yard has been investigating the death of your father as you know, and well Bertram did you a real favour there." Nate said, he was not quite sure he was right but then the look of fear that crossed Peterson's face told him he was. "So I have absolute proof that Bertram did it and that you were involved."

"So what?"

"So you may not go to jail Elton…may I call you Elton?" Nate asked as he poured himself a glass of whiskey and topped up Petersons. "Now I know you will not fare well in jail, you might if you had money for bribes and…and things but, well if you are convicted on the murder of your father you will loose that money and influence and… everything."

"This is ridiculous." Peterson said but Nate could see he was scared.

"Elton there has been enough death over something that did not concern you, or me for that matter. Now Barrington is gone, all the Barrington's and Bertram left you his entire inheritance, that is a lot of money, more than you will ever need. If you want to continue with this we can and both of us will suffer for something that happened fifteen years ago and concerned neither of us. Or…"

"Or…"

"Or you can take your men, take your…whatever it was you felt for Bertram and go back home to England and we can both get on with our lives."

Again silence reigned at the table as Peterson watched Nate and Nate watched him. Elton was a planner, a thinking, a Mastermind as it were, and he recognised one when he saw one. He did not know who Nate was when this started, but he had studied him and he knew if he pursued his route of vengeance against the man sitting in front of him he would ruin him, and he might even die at the hands of Eliot Spenser. He had loved Bertram and he felt a great anger when thinking of the way he died at the hands of the man before him, but he loved something more than that, he loved his life. He loved to spend his money and indulge his passions. He was not a hundred percent sure that Nate could do what he said, implicate him in the death of his father but he was not willing to take that chance.

"I loved Bertram."

"I'm sure."

"He loved me he would have done anything for me."

"I'm sure."

"He would want me to…move on though." Elton said locking eyes with Nate as he spoke.

"I'm sure he would."

"Then we understand each other."

"We do."

"Goodbye Mr Ford." Elton said as he rose from the table his men stepping forward and Eliot and Parker tensing up as he did.

Nate did not say anything he merely watched as the man turned and walked out the bar with his men and then he poured himself another whiskey. Sophie shook her head as Elton left the bar wondering what Nate had done and how he had got the man to leave peacefully, then the four of them moved to join Nate at the table.

"So…?"

"It's over." Nate said quietly.

"How…why…how…." Eliot asked not quite understanding how they had gone from being shot at by a sniper to it's over in three days, especially when Nate had not really done anything, well not that he knew of anyway.

"It doesn't matter." Nate said looking at Eliot. "It is over."

"Thank God." Sophie whispered as she took the seat Elton had vacated.

"So now we can get back to doing what we do." Parker smiled happily. It was over, Nate was safe, Eliot was safe, and they could get back to being who they were helping people.

Nate just shook his head and smiled at the young woman, she saw things in black and white, the danger was over they were all safe and so life could go on.

"Well let's start with dinner, a nice happy family dinner…I'll cook." Eliot said looking at Nate and smiling. He knew this was not over for him, the memory of what had happened would stay with him and he would have to deal with that, but they would get him through it, he was sure.

"That sounds wonderful Eliot." Sophie said.

"Yeah…I could eat." Hardison said, he liked it when Eliot cooked for them, it gave him a sense of family and that is what they were and that is what they were going to stay.

Eliot caught Sophie's eye and understood she wanted to be left alone with Nate. He told the others they had to go shopping for the ingredients and they both also understood that Sophie wanted some time so they all three left. Silence filled the bar as Nate sat and drank his whiskey and Sophie sat and watched him.

"It's not over for you is it Nate?" She said softly.

"It is over Sophie…it's just, well I…what I did…"

"What you had to do Nate." Sophie said reaching out and putting her hand on the one of his that lay on the table. "And I know it, it is going to weigh on you but if you talk about it you will get through it and I am here Nate, I will always be here for you."

"I know that Sophie it's not that…it's…well…what I said earlier…what I meant was…well I do love you, you know I really do..."

"I know." She said squeezing his hand gently.

"But…"

"But you don't want a relationship I know."

"No...no Sophie no it's not that it's just…well I can't, I…" Nate said not quite knowing how to get the words he wanted to say out.

"Nate I understand I do." She said and she did. "You don't want to get hurt again, you don't want to lose somebody again and you…you haven't let go of your past yet."

Nate stared at her, this woman knew him so well, knew how he thought, knew how he felt, well at least when it came to her.

"So we can carry on as we are, I love you Nate. I have loved you for a long time, so I am willing to wait, but Nate…."

"Sophie."

"Promise me you will never, never do what you did over the last few weeks again. We are a team Nate, more than that we are a family, and you are a particularly important part of that family. They care for you, more than you realise and they rely on you…"

"Sophie…"

"No Nate it's true they need you and you need them. So in future you will not go off on your own trying to get yourself killed ok. Promise me at least that Nate."

"I promise." He said softly as she stood and moved to his side then leaned in and gave him a long kiss.

"Good. Now I am going to go home and get cleaned up ready for dinner and I'll see you in a short while." She said smiling down at him.

"Thank you Sophie."

"Anytime Nate." She said then turned and walked out leaving Nate alone in the bar. She knew he needed to be alone right then, she did not want to leave him alone and she had enough clothes at his place to not have to go home, but she knew he wanted it so she left.

Nate sat and looked around him then sat back and poured himself another glass of whiskey. She was right he needed them. He had grown to care for them all deeply, and he loved Sophie. These people were his family, and he knew they felt the same way about him. He was still struggling with the fact that he had been responsible for the deaths of two young boys, but they would have killed him, and he could not have avoided it in any way. He sighed as he thought about the last month. He was still haunted by what had happened. He knew he was going to have to deal with the lingering mental effects of that for a long time, and perhaps he would never really forgive himself for what he had been forced to do. But he would do it again he thought, to save them, to save her, he would do a lot worse he knew.

He was not sure how long he had been sitting in the bar when he felt Eliot's presence behind him.

"Got everything you need?" Nate asked as he poured another glass of whiskey and slid it over to the other side of the table as Eliot took a seat.

"Nate. I am sorry." Eliot said after a short silence.

"Nothing to be sorry about Eliot."

"I am not sure you understand what…what being in this…this family…"

"I do understand Eliot. It is the same for all of us. We all have pasts and sometimes those pasts are going to creep into our present, but that does not change who we are, what we are. Now what happened. I don't hold you responsible and nor do they. We are a family and family take care of each other and that is what I did and what you and they did for me. So we leave it at that."

Eliot said nothing he simply stared at the man in front of him. This man had brought four loners together four people who did not trust a soul and would not do anything that did not benefit themselves. He had brought them together and held them together and now they were so much more than they had ever imagined they would be.

"Ok."

"Good." Nate said quietly. "Now I believe you have a meal to prepare for your family and I have to go and get cleaned up."

"Thank you."

Nate smiled and nodded then walked into the back rooms and up the back stairs to his apartment where he found Parker and Hardison sitting on the sofa with the TV on again. He smiled at them then headed upstairs to have a shower and change before joining his family for a good home cooked meal under his roof, just the way he liked it.

Well I hope you all enjoyed the story, thanks for reading.