"Keep your distance until we're a bit farther from town," Drake instructed from the backseat as he leaned forward to get a glimpse of Nate's Prius. "Then we'll end this."
The driver turned to him. "What if he doesn't have the drive on him?"
Drake laughed. "Come on, it's not rocket science. Then we do whatever it takes to make him tell us where it is. After that, kill him and let's get the hell out of Dodge."
The men followed Nate's car until traffic thinned and the lights of the city faded behind them. After a few more miles, they were the only two vehicles on the road. Drake smiled, now was the perfect time to make their move. "Get on with it," he said to the driver. "I'd like to be back at the hotel by eight."
The driver nodded and picked up speed, closing the gap between them while the passenger opened the glove box and retrieved a large handgun. He rolled down the window and was about to take aim at the Prius's tire when a red Tesla Roadster suddenly pulled into view right next to him, flanking the Denali tauntingly.
Drake didn't know if Ford decided to bring a friend or if some unfortunate bystander just happened to go for a late night cruise, but either way he didn't want a witness complicating things. "We don't need a tail on our ass," he said. "Just shoot him and then we'll take care of Ford."
"Will do, boss." The passenger took aim at the small sports car, smiling at what an easy shot it was going to be. The Tesla was only a few feet from his side and the EV's driver was holding steady, practically begging for it. He pointed his gun square at the tinted driver's window and pulled the trigger.
Click. "What the hell?" he exclaimed. "Gun's empty!"
*Flashback*
Sophie held the phone the hacker had given her up to Drake's vehicle, while Hardison hit a few keys to unlock it. Once she heard the click of success she quickly opened the door and retrieved the gun from the glove box, emptying out the bullets before placing it back exactly where she'd found it. She took the handful of bullets and threw them into a nearby trashcan.
*End flashback*
"Then run him off the road," Drake hissed, getting angry with all the setbacks. His driver veered right to sideswipe the Roadster, but it easily out-maneuvered them and evaded the hit. He tried twice more to slam into the smaller vehicle, but each time it darted just out of reach before the Denali made contact.
In the backseat Drake was getting even more furious. "Come on Trent, how hard can it be to hit that guy? Our truck's over twice the size!"
"If we would've killed him the first time we wouldn't be having this problem, now would we?" The driver retorted, also angered by the Tesla driver's infuriating antics.
He floored the Denali and steered hard to the right when the Tesla suddenly slammed on the brakes, moving behind the SUV and swinging over to their left side.
From the passenger seat Eliot rolled down the window of the Roadster and aimed a small handgun at the Denali's rear tire. He fired a single round, immediately blowing it out and sending the SUV into a tailspin. Payback's a bitch, the hitter thought to himself.
Nate turned to him from the driver's seat. "Nice shot, Eliot."
"That's what makes me the professional," the hitter answered. He hated guns, but trying to get the Denali off of the road any other way was going to be pretty difficult considering the diminutive size of the Roadster. Hardison had offered to hack the engine controller on Drake's vehicle, but Nate had insisted they go with something a bit more theatrical.
Unable to regain control after the blowout, the large vehicle ran off the road and into the ditch flanking the highway. Shortly behind Nate pulled over on the shoulder, the hum of the electric motor fading as the vehicle came to a stop. He and Eliot exited the car just as the other men were getting out of their wrecked SUV.
Nate called down from the top of the embankment. "Mr. Drake, I hear you're looking for me."
.
.
.
The mastermind looked at the three burly men that were soon to be Eliot's adversaries. One was grabbing a tire iron from the backseat, the second seemed to have a switchblade in his hand, and the third looked ready to pulverize literally anything with his fists. Drake was hanging back, clearly happy to let the others do all the dirty work for him. Nate spoke quietly to the hitter as the other men finished readying for the fray. "You want any help?"
Eliot cracked his knuckles and smiled. "Nah, I've been looking forward to this all day."
Three against one, Nate thought. How unfair for the three of them.
The hitter went down the embankment, squaring up into a fighting stance when he reached the bottom."Let's dance, boys."
The man with the tire iron decided to go first, swinging the cold metal bar straight at Eliot's face. The hitter abruptly ducked and then turned to roundhouse kick him in the back, sending him reeling off to the side.
While Eliot was occupied with goon #1, goon #2 decided to give it a whirl and came at his back with the knife. The hitter dove down right before the other man jumped him, using his adversary's momentum to send him crashing into goon #1 just as he swung the tire iron a second time. The two men landed in an unconscious heap behind Eliot as he turned to deal with the third man.
Goon #3 was a bit more cautious, deciding it was probably best not to underestimate the smaller man. Eliot saw his hesitation and squared up again, taunting him. "What's the matter, Hoss? Don't you wanna have some fun?"
With that the burly attacker charged him, each man blocking the punches of the other as both struggled to hold their own. During the fight Nate kept an eye on Drake, in case he decided to cut his losses and make a run for it. Instead the mark merely kept his gaze fixed on the struggle in front of him, staying safely on the far end of his vehicle.
Goon #3 was unable to get the upper hand, and after Eliot threw him off a third time he decided the fight was a lost cause. He turned and bolted for the Denali as Eliot grabbed the gun from his waistband, expertly throwing the empty weapon and hitting him square in the back of the head. The now-unconscious goon landed at Drake's feet, while the hitter and mastermind causally approached the last man standing.
Eliot was about to go for Drake when Nate stepped between them and held up his hand, meeting the hitter's gaze. He could see the anger on Eliot's face at the silent instruction, but after a few seconds the younger man relented and stepped back. He kept his eyes on the mark as Nate approached him.
"You son-of-a-bitch..." Drake started. He was irate, rambling on about all the different ways he was going to bring down a world of hurt on the mastermind. Nate just stood there quietly with his hands in his pockets and listened to the tirade, and old adage coming to mind. A barking dog never bites.
Seeing that his threats weren't making even the slightest impression on the mastermind, Drake decided to change his tactics. "Or, maybe I'll find that pretty little blonde of yours –"
Before he could add another word to that sentence Nate grabbed him and threw him hard up against the Denali, Parker's near-miss still fresh on his mind. Drake hit his head on the windshield in the process, but being pinned against the vehicle by the throat was far more concerning to him at the moment.
Nate leaned in and glared at the other man, his eyes ice cold and his tone deadly. He spoke slowly, making sure his intention was crystal clear. "If you ever lay a finger on her, or so much as have one single rogue thought about her or any member of my team, you won't have to worry about going to prison."
Drake squirmed but was unable to free himself from Nate's grip, so the mastermind continued. "I have no qualms working outside the law, so don't expect that to protect you. I will find you." He pulled Drake back and threw him against the open door of the SUV, slamming it shut in the process. Nate watched him fall to the ground before finishing. "And I'm pretty sure I don't have to tell you what'll happen when I do."
Back at the top of the embankment a black Prius pulled over in front of Nate's Roadster, the driver's window rolling down as the vehicle came to a stop. Hardison stuck his head out obtrusively, calling down to Eliot. "Yo, time to go man."
*Flashback*
"You're not actually thinking of going out there, are you? I mean, if you drive any of the vehicles registered in your name they're gonna come after you," the hacker reminded him. Nate had given Eliot's plates to Sophie before she left, and he hadn't taken any other ones to use for himself.
The mastermind smiled, toying with the fob in his hand. "I'm counting on it."
He then tossed the keys to Hardison, who almost fumbled them at the last second. The hacker turned over the fob in his hand and saw a small chrome Toyota logo smiling back at him. "Oh hell no!"
*End flashback*
Approaching police sirens wailed in the background, almost certainly heading towards their location. Eliot looked to Nate, who nodded for him to go.
"You sure he'll play his part?" the hitter asked him, a hint of disapproval in his voice.
"He will, since he's got something to gain from it," Nate answered, keeping the explanation brief. He could tell by the expression on Eliot's face that the hitter didn't particularly like this part of the plan, but it was the best they could come up with on short notice.
"For his sake he better," Eliot growled. "And be sure to tell him my fists send their regards." With that he gave one last glare to Drake before turning to climb the embankment, getting in on the passenger side of the hybrid once he reached the top. Hardison gave a quick wave to the mastermind before rolling up the window as they drove out of sight.
A/N: You know those people that are really, really good at writing fight scenes? Yeah, that's not me XD