Eliot wasn't sure who to expect on the other end of the line, and put the phone on speaker as he answered. "Talk."
"Eliot, it's me," Nate said, sounding a lot calmer than he was earlier.
The hitter let out the breath he was holding, thankful that at least this part of the situation worked out in their favor. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine, my car's pretty messed up though," the mastermind answered. "I'm gonna need a ride. Is everyone else okay?" Eliot could hear a bit of uncertainty in Nate's voice at the last question.
"They're fine," he assured. "Sophie and Hardison are at the safe house and Parker's standing right next to me."
The blonde shouted at the phone. "Hi Nate! I'm glad you didn't die."
The mastermind smiled, Parker's brutally honest was charming at times. "Yeah, me too."
Eliot didn't like being out in the open with their assailants still at large, and wanted to get everyone back to safety as soon as possible. "Where do we pick you up?"
"The old fairgrounds," Nate answered. "I parked in that barn they used to use for livestock showing."
The hitter was familiar with the area, and knew of a good back road to get there. "We'll be there in fifteen minutes. Just stay low."
"Yeah, I kind of figured that when they started shooting."
.
.
.
Eliot circled a slight distance from the fairgrounds before pulling up to the gate, just to make sure there wasn't anyone unexpectedly lurking around. He got out and swung it open before motioning for Parker to pull the Challenger forward and park alongside a large poll building.
She turned off the vehicle's lights and got out at his signal, joining Eliot next to the building. They approached a small, unassuming door on the side and entered. Inside it was pitch black, and totally silent.
The hitter called out into the darkness. "Nate, we're here."
Seconds later the large fluorescent lights above them flickered to life, vaguely illuminating the large building's interior. Nate's car was parked in the middle, and behind it the mastermind was leaning against the wall next to the light switches. "About time, it's creepy in here."
Parker took in the dusty cobwebs and run-down equipment that was rusting away quietly in the corners of the structure. "I kinda like it, it's got a nice rustic feel to it."
As the dim lights reached their mediocre full intensity, Eliot walked forward and took a good look at Nate's car. Long, jagged scrape marks ran along the side of it, with some areas pushed in from being sideswiped. It was heavily damaged from impacts in the back, and there were at least half a dozen bullet holes in the trunk and quarter panel. Who knows how many went through the rear window, since all that remained of it was hundreds of tiny glass shards littered all over the backseat. It was a miracle neither of them was hit.
The hitter clenched his fists in anger, thinking how every single one of those bullets could've been the one that took a team member from him. Nate saw his expression darken, and gestured to the hitter to remove his com. If remotely possible, the mastermind didn't want to worry the others any more than necessary. Especially Sophie.
Once Eliot pocketed the small device Nate spoke. "What's your take on it?"
The hitter took a breath, calming his rage before starting. "Not professionals, but they meant business. They wouldn't use a caliber this large if they were intending on letting you guys walk away, that's for sure."
Despite their current predicament, Parker wasn't any less cheerful than normal. "You know this isn't too bad, I think this one might even buff out." She pointed to the smallest scratch on the car and started rubbing it. When it didn't improve she walked to the front of the vehicle and pointed at what appeared to be latex paint splattered over the entire hood. "What happened here?"
Nate shook his head. "Don't ask."
.
.
.
The three of them arrived at Eliot's safe house to be met by a concerned Sophie and Hardison. The hitter did a quick sweep of the perimeter before joining the others inside, making sure everything was locked down.
Once he was satisfied that they were secure, he turned to Nate. "We need to know what we're dealing with, so you need to tell me exactly what happened."
Before the mastermind could start Parker butted in, giving them the short and sweet version. "We were going to SenTech to give the flash drive back. Unsteal it, basically."
Sophie looked at her, before moving an accusatory gaze to the mastermind. "In the middle of the night, without telling anyone? Who's bright idea was that?"
Hardison and Eliot joined in to glare at Nate, who's voice was small as he spoke. "We had Caldwell's entry card, so it seemed like a good idea at the time."
The glares didn't lose any intensity, so he continued on with the chain of events. "We were at a red light when they rear-ended us and started shooting. I got a bit of a lead on them, and used that time to drop Parker off at the construction site. I lost them a few miles shy of the fairgrounds, so I parked there until you showed up," he said as he looked at the hitter.
Parker finished the narrative. "And now here we are."
"Well, next time you plan on taking things upon yourself you need to let someone know," Eliot growled, and then pointed at Hardison's laptop. "Did you get anything on the traffic cams?"
"I got a good look at the vehicle," the hacker said as he pulled up the images. "It was a black GMC Denali. They were moving too fast to get a read on the plates and with the tint I couldn't get a look at who was inside, so other than that we got pretty much nothing to go on."
Sophie leaned in to look at one of the frames showing the vehicle. "A black SUV with tinted windows, that's not cliché at all."
Eliot stepped away from the screen and sat down, running his hands through his hair. "Great. Why does it feel like we're back to square one?"
Nate thought about what the hitter had said earlier about the choice of caliber. "We can rule out law enforcement and bounty hunters, that's a start. Most likely scenario is they came after us to get the flash drive."
Parker turned to him, also thinking about Eliot's words. "What if it was a hit?"
The mastermind was proud of her ability to look at things from all angles, but she tended to lean towards less-likely scenarios. "The very same day we stole files from a sleazy CEO who planned on selling them on the black market? That'd be the biggest coincidence of our lives."
Eliot quickly added his angle, backing up Nate. "And any decent professional wouldn't use that many rounds and still miss the target."
Sophie shot an appalled expression to Nate, who then threw the hitter a why-did-you-have-to-say-that look. Parker missed the entire silent exchange and turned towards the hacker. "Okay, but how did whoever-they-are find us? We weren't even in the same car at the fundraiser, and there's no way they actually saw us in the dark."
Hardison knew that part was basically child's play. "My guess is they went in to get the files after Caldwell's arrest, and when they found the servers wiped they checked the security footage. From that they could run facial recognition, then run your names through the DMV database to get the license plate numbers of any vehicles in your name. Last step would be to wait for you to drive by any of the two dozen license plate readers around town and BOOM, target acquired. That's how I'd do it, anyway."
Hardison's tactics were impressive, Nate thought. And a bit worrisome. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."
Parker scrunched her face. "And remind me never to get a car."
Although it was quite the coincidence, Sophie wasn't sure they had the right motive. "But if they wanted the files, wouldn't shooting be too risky? What if they accidentally hit the drive? Then it'd all be for nothing."
Nate had been thinking about that as well. Even though it was unlikely they'd actually hit the drive, shooting seemed like an unreasonable risk considering it was valuable enough to kill for. Unless…
"Unless," the mastermind said, starting to put the pieces together. "Their only concern is that no one gets their hands on it."