Chapter 2

Day 1

A red mist stalked across the empty remnants of what used to be a small town but is now a battlefield. He stood alone in the centre of the aftermath; his hands held tight around his rifle. Moving deeper into the fog, a feeling of dread started to wash over the soldier so bad that his whole body began to shiver. Taking a deep breath, he sank down wafting his hands to clear the view.

Eliot landed with a thud, face down on a wood panel floor. His cheek could feel the chill wafting through the cracks, and his knee was pulsing with pain. Slightly dazed and confused at where he was, he gave himself a few seconds to get his bearings before sitting back up. Now that he was calmer he could tell that he was in his room, and from the looks of it, he had been asleep for less than an hour.

'Why is this still happening, I thought it would be over by now.'

He sat up, resting his head in his palms, Eliot started to contemplate his options.

'I can't have another day like yesterday.' Sweat trickled down his face collecting in his hands, his eyes felt like sandpaper. 'But talking about it isn't an option, Blanche understood because he'd been there, but the others they would... I'm not sure what they would do but it wouldn't be good.' He sighed, bringing his head back up and taking a few deep breaths.

He had been so lost in his thoughts; he didn't notice the approaching footsteps until they were moments from his door. A soft knock alerted him to their identity.

"Come in Sophie" he croaked out (God his voice sounded horse) as he climbed back onto the camp bed, lifting his blanket up to keep some kind of modesty.

"I will never get used to you doing that" she chuckled as she slid through the door, all elegance and grace. "Are you alright? I heard a crash from downstairs."

"Yeah," he shook the cobwebs from his head. "Must have rolled outa bed."

Her eyes scanned the modest set-up, "don't see why you refuse to get a proper bed."

"It suits me fine." She shook her head at that, everything was just fine with that man, but why settle with fine.

"You sure you're ok?" She softened her voice when she saw him struggling to keep his head up.

"Yeah Soph, go off to bed."

"Ok, night Eliot"

"Night Darlin"

He listened to her shuffle down the hallway, smiling at the thought of her fluffy pink slippers. Lying back, he went back to his previous line of thought.

'That settles it, I couldn't bear to see that woman hurting. It may take a few tries, but I'll eventually get enough sleep'

With that realisation, he slipped back into sleep.

Five, to be exact, it took five attempts at sleep, each time lasting around 30 minutes. Not surprisingly, it was like watching a rerun of the same episode over and over again. As soon as it got to the worst part, he woke up.

The watch on the nightstand read 6:49, normally the retrieval specialist would have been awake and working almost three hours ago.

'Almost seven. Oh God. Best hurry and get a shower before the others wake up, they'll be expecting breakfast soon'

He dragged his feet across the landing, rubbing his eyes and arching his back. He tried stretching out his leg but his knee protested, 'Must have launched myself pretty hard to hurt this bad.' He soon found his way to the bathroom, making sure not to wake his teammates as he went.

Stepping out from the shower, the hitter found himself in front of a large mirror. His face looked worn, curtained by strands of dark brown hair. Water dripping down onto his bare chest, he was still bruised from the fight that wasn't meant to be real. There was a large patch of purple down his right side, and a shallow gash below his left collar bone.

'You're a mess Eliot Spencer'

He stared a little longer, looking a little deeper. It was subtle but there were changes, his skin was paler and his eyes were a different shade of blue, not that anyone would notice.

'Gonna have to pull out the big guns to convince them nothing's wrong. All you can eat breakfast with extra helpings of Southern charm, that will do it.'

Having found a shirt, he made his way downstairs.

Soon enough, everyone had joined him in the kitchen. At first, they seemed wary of him, unsure which Eliot they would see today.

"Morning" he chirped; they weren't expecting that.

"Morning. You feeling better today?"

"Perfectly fine Harry. Would you like some eggs with that?" He had mastered that warm Southern smile.

Briana leaned over to the blonde next to her, whispering in her ear, "who gave Eliot the happy pills?"

"What was that, Bri?" She jumped as the long-haired Texan called over to her.

"Hitter Hearing, it's like a superpower," informed Parker.

Eliot smirked. 'Maybe I'm laying it on a little thick. I think I'm starting to scare the young hacker'.

"You seem to be better rested." The grifter smiled as she took the plate offered to her.

"Yeah, sorry about yesterday"

'I don't need to tell them the whole truth, but they deserve some kind of explanation'

"I guess that last job took its toll." He pulled his hand through his hair, smiling at the group of friends standing around him.

"That's understandable." She stepped closer placing a hand on his arm, "next time just let us know how you're feeling."

"Will do Darlin."

'With that out of the way things could maybe go back to normal, for them at least.'

After breakfast was finished the team separated to work on different side projects. Harry retreated to his room with a collection of law books. Briana was in the attic; she had decided that they needed a new (or should I say old) communications system for emergencies. Sophie had decided that the team (mainly Eliot and Briana) needed new wardrobes for cons. Nobody knew where parker had gone or what she was doing (probably involves either heights or vents or both). And Eliot, he was working in the garage fixing up his Harley (a 2012 Road King). There was something about working in the garage that he found relaxing.

By the time evening rolled around and dinner was served, the hitter thought that maybe he could cope. Nobody had asked him if he was ok and Sophie had brought her coddling down to a manageable level. It wasn't the best situation, but if he could keep it from the others that would be enough.

Day 2

The soldier's hand wafted the fog away trying to clear the vision in front of him. He wished he hadn't. As the red mist retreated it revealed a scene of complete carnage. Bodies lying on the ground, some of them missing pieces, and people, innocent people running for their lives. He was now crouched behind a broken wall, feeling the vibrations of bullets hitting brick. He could see the other soldiers around him shouting, but for some reason, everything was mute all he could hear was his heartbeat and...

The Hitter was sat upright, red-faced and slightly out of breath. He concentrated on his breathing, trying to get it to a normal rhythm. 'Come on spencer count it out, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, there you go, and again.' It took a few minutes but once he was calmed, he reached for the water on his nightstand.

'God my throat is sore,' he took another large gulp of water. 'You know what that means Spencer. Great I've been screaming in my sleep. I know they can't hear me from their rooms, but what if they get up in the middle of the night?'

He took out a notepad and pen from a nearby draw. Leaning his back against the wall he grabbed the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb.

'Ok, what do we need? Definitely need some soundproofing. And I don't like them, but... restraints will prevent a re-enactment of the other night.' He had only done himself some damage so far, but he knew from previous experience that he could lash out when things got intense (the hole in the wardrobe at his LA flat was a testament to that). 'Need to pick up some more energy drinks too, stash is running low.'

After breakfast, Eliot jumped into his truck without a word to the others.

"Where's he off to?"

"No idea Parker" Harry seemed uninterested in the hitter's activities.

"He's probably checking one of his food trucks, he said they'd been booked for a few events over the holidays" Sophie answered.

The thief looked out into the distance, puppy dog eyes in full force. 'Why didn't he ask me to come with him? I love checking on the meat wagons.'

A couple of hours later, Eliot returned with four large reusable bags, bypassing the main living area to go straight to his room. Parker called out to him, but in his haste, he failed to notice her. Offended by this, the thief got up to give chase, but she was held back by the grifter.

"Leave him be"

"But he's being all mysterious"

"He's Eliot, he's always mysterious"

"Fine." She sank back down into her seat with a sour look on her face.

'Four soundproofed walls, check. Two restraints to stop nighttime adventures, check. One satisfied retrieval specialist, check check check.' He fell back onto the camp bed. 'You did good here Spencer.' He grinned a wide-eyed grin as he admired his handy work. He hid the restraints under his blanket, soundproofing he could explain, they weren't the quietest bunch and he's a light sleeper, but the cuffs would raise questions. Once satisfied he headed downstairs to prepare lunch.

Day 3

He could see the other soldiers around him shouting, but for some reason, everything was mute all he could hear was his heartbeat and his own voice calling out orders. He took the rifle that was now lying next to him and rested it on the wall. As he peered through the sight he took three shots, each taking out a new target (he had perfect aim). He swayed the barrel of his gun to the left, that's when he saw it, one of the enemies was holding his gun to the head of a civilian. Before he could take his shot, the civilian was dead. In a moment of uncontrolled rage, he emptied five perfect kill shots into the gunman, screaming as he did it.

Today was not going to be a good day. To start with he woke up coughing, his throat felt like he had swallowed razor blades. He tried to speak, see what the damage was, but nothing came out other than some low gravely sounds. Slipping off the cuffs (one round his right wrist, the other around his left ankle, in case you were wondering) Eliot reached over to the bottle of water next to him, downing it in almost five seconds.

How was he going to hide this, he could just pretend its a throat infection. No that wouldn't work, they would be watching him even closer, then they would definitely notice. Just avoid speaking, he's a quiet guy, nothing too strange about that. But Parker has been loaded with chocolate, if he didn't get annoyed and snap at her at least three times today they would worry. Isolation, that's the only way. Pretend to be in a bad mood and they would leave him be.

Today was really not going to be a good day.

"You not hungry Sparky?" He simply shook his head, trying to avoid having to explain why he had no voice.

"You're not coming down with something are you?" Sophie leaned over ready to place her hand on his forehead. But he was too fast and dodged it, growling at her afterwards (big mistake, now his eyes were watering from trying to hold in a cough).

"You should really have some this pie is great." He looked at the lawyer who now talking with a mouth full of sweet dessert.

Trying to change the subject, Briana started talking about a piece of tech she ordered and how it was going to help improve recon.

'Thanks Bri, I owe you a large slice of that chocolate cake you like'

Later that day Briana found Eliot sitting outside reading a spy novel. He had been alone all day, isolating himself from the group. He hated doing that, it's been years since he shed the lone wolf persona. She carried over a large cup of piping hot herbal tea.

"So, you've lost your voice then." He didn't respond, just looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Thought so. I won't bother asking why, not that you could tell me anyway. Here," she handed him the drink. "My Nana swore by the stuff." She dug into her bag and pulled out a large box of the same tea. Eliot simply smiled his thanks, and with that, she left him to his reading. The first sip was like heaven, it was like smooth honey running down his throat.

(Damn it, she can have the whole cake)

Day 4

He looked at the dead man in front of him, chest heaving as he just glared. He wasn't sure exactly when he started to hear again.

"...cer...Spencer...Spencer, can you hear me" A hand grabbed him by the shoulder. As he turned, the owner of the hand looked shocked. "We need to get under cover Sir."

It was becoming harder to get to sleep, the fear of those images meant he could hardly close his eyes.

'PTSD in a bottle, who thinks up this crap'

He knew that he needed a new tactic, but what?

'Ok, so falling asleep naturally isn't an option, and getting the kind of sleeping pills that could work on me requires a doctor, so that's out. The only other way is through pure exhaustion, that's knocked me out in the past. However, I don't fancy being tortured right now, but exercise might work.'

He started with an early morning run before breakfast, five kilometres should do it.

"You been out for a run?" Harry had wandered into the conference room still in his pyjamas.

"Yeah." The tea Briana had given him worked, and although it still hurt, it wasn't noticeable to the team.

"It's half seven" He gave his teammate a look that said, "you are insane."

"I'm an early bird," he grinned that cheeky side smile as he took an energy drink from the fridge (he needed to make sure when he crashed it was at the right time).

"Why are you up so early? And why are you covered in sweat?" They heard the British voice floating above them.

"Been for a run. I'll have breakfast ready in half an hour, tell the others." He jogged over to the kitchen, almost tripping over himself on the way.

"Is that normal, running this early in the morning?" Harry asked Sophie who was now standing next to him.

"For other people no, for him... yes"

After Breakfast, there were three hours on the punch bag followed by two hours of training with Briana.

"I can't feel my arms," she whined as her whole body lay flopped on the bar.

"You okay Bri?" Harry looked very sympathetic.

"First, he doubled our training time without warning me. Then he proceeded to work me into the ground." Her voice was slightly distorted as she couldn't even list her head to speak.

"Think somebody needs to take those energy drinks away from him."

"What's up Bri?" Parker lowered herself down from the ceiling.

"Uuhh," was all she got as a reply.

"Eliot went a bit overboard on the training, now she's too tired to move"

"Oh well. Come on you've got grappling practice with me now," she slapped the young hacker on her back and ran up the stairs.

"Great." Harry couldn't hold in the small laugh.

He realised that he had missed lunch so decided to take a jog to a local coffee shop. He made his way to the counter, ordering a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich and a triple shot espresso. As he went to sit down, he was confronted by Sophie coming through the door.

She had heard his order being called as she walked through the door. She hadn't thought anything of it until the customer turned round. It was Eliot's face, Eliot's hair, Eliot's wardrobe, but not Eliot's order, not ever.

She looked him up and down. "What's with the caffeine?"

"Nothing just finished some extra training. You know how lax we can get around Christmas. Wanted to get back on the wagon." He could tell she was not convinced, but she decided to let it go for now.

"Can I get a lift back, I got a cab here"

"Sorry, my trucks back home. Wanted the fresh air."

"Oh, that's ok we can share a ride back."

"Actually fancied running back, I'll see you at home"

And with that, he was gone.

Hopped up on caffeine now, Eliot moved onto his stack of weights. Having finished with the very tired Briana, Parker came over to watch her friend.

"Thought you were working with Bri." He continued with his workout as he spoke.

"I was but she was too tired"

"Sorry 'bout that"

"Don't your arms hurt?"

"I lift weights all the time parker"

"Yeah, I know that, but you already did a load with Bri"

"I'm Fine." He smiled sweetly in an attempt to reassure her.

She didn't take the bate and continued to stare for another hour until she got bored.

He gave himself a rest before dinner to make sure his arms would work (hard to chop vegetables with two limp noodles for arms). It also gave him time to have a shower. The hot water did wonders for his worn-out muscles. He stood in front of the mirror, wearing just a pair of black boxers. He was shaking but he wasn't cold, it was the caffeine, this was why he normally avoided the stuff. He took his palm and dug it into his shoulder as he rotated his arm. 'Note to self, use smaller weights. God my arms burn.'

"Hey El, Parkers picked a movie for us to watch, come join."

"Actually, I was gonna go for a jog. I'll see you in a couple of hours Soph." He was literally shaking with nervous energy as he bolted out of the room.

"He went for a run this morning." Harry looked bewildered.

"When was that?" Parker asked

"Before Breakfast, why?"

"Has he stopped at all today?"

"What do you mean?" Sophie chimed in.

"Well, he went running before breakfast, and I know he did two hours with Bri."

"He had been working out before I got there, it looked like he'd been there for a while," Briana added (when she walked in, Eliot was punching the bag with all his strength making it swing violently. He was drenched in sweat, and as he turned you could see droplets fly off of him).

"And after lunch, he was lifting weights"

"And now this" Harry looked concerned.

"I'll talk to him when he gets back." Sophie looked at her friends' faces and knew something needed to be done.

Later that night, Eliot snook past the team of thieves and climbed up to bed. He knew by the way he was swaying from side to side, that he was about to crash. As he made his way into his bedroom, he lost his footing and crashed into the door frame. 'That is gonna bruise in the morning'. With his last bit of energy, he secured his restraints and was then plunged into unconsciousness.

Day 5

"We need to get under cover Sir."

He looked the soldier in the eye and realised what was being said. The two of them ran into a nearby building, bullets flying past them. One bullet managed to graze his right thigh, but he continued onwards making sure to move in random directions. Once in the building, he changed his mag and set himself up by a glassless window.

It worked; he had been asleep for almost four hours. He didn't feel like it though.

'I guess asleep where you're moving all the time doesn't get the full benefits'

He went to remove the cuff around his wrist. "Ow." There was a deep purple bruise on his right wrist, and he suspected that there was one round his ankle as well. 'Wow, I must have been pulling hard. No short sleeve tops for a while, and should avoid going barefoot as well.'

Like the previous day, Eliot got dressed and went for an early morning run. However, after breakfast, he switched to an ab workout (it was the one workout he could think of that didn't evolve putting pressure on his ankle or wrist).

About two hours into his programme, Sophie came and sat on the sofa next to him.

"Didn't hear you come in last night"

"Didn't... Want to... Disturb you." He spoke between sit-ups.

"I wanted to talk to you"

"About what?"

"This. You barely stopped yesterday and now your back at it"

"I told you... trying to... get back... on track."

"WILL YOU STOP FOR FIVE MINUTES?" He obliged. "There is clearly something wrong, but you would rather work yourself into the ground than admit it."

"There's nothing wrong." He rolled onto his front and began some one arm press-ups, resting his injured wrist on his back, holding the sleeve in his palm.

"Then why are you working out in a long sleeve top?" The look she gave him was a mix of anger and disappointment. "You only work out in long sleeves when you're trying to hide an injury."

"Will You just drop it?" He snapped; it was the thing he had been trying to avoid, but she was pushing him too far. He got up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"For a run"

"You've already went for a run."

"Well, I'm going for another."

It was another four hours until his return, he had been running all that time. He would have gone longer, but his vision was getting fuzzy and didn't want to get lost in some unknown part of town. When he returned, he found one of his cookbooks on the counter.

"What's this doing here?"

"You said you were gonna try that new recipe tonight." The blonde thief looked up at him confusion painted all over.

He looked at the book, words dancing around the page. "Oh yeah, I forgot, I'll do it some other night."

"Oh, ok. What you making tonight then?"

"Thought we could order in."

"Sure. Oh, there's that new place around the corner I wanted to try, I have a menu for it." She skipped to the sofa where the others were sitting. Sophie still looked mad as hell.

Each of them took a turn at looking at the menu reading off what they wanted. Eliot was last up. Parker handed him the menu which he pretended to read.

"I'll have the same as harry." He wasn't even sure what Harry had ordered. The others looked at him with concerned eyes.

After the world's most tense dinner, Eliot excused himself in the hopes that he could retreat to his room.

"I'm gonna head up now, night guys." He started to walk away.

"What's wrong with your leg?" The grifter had stood up and grabbed his shirt.

"What?" He knew exactly what, but needed to buy some time.

"You're limping on your left leg."

"Oh, pulled a muscle while running. No biggie." There was the reassuring smile again.

'Please just let it go Soph, the rooms starting to spin and I really don't know if I can stay upright much longer'

"Fine."

'Thank god.'

"Harry, can you make sure he gets upstairs all right?"

"No problem boss"

Normally he would complain, but he doesn't have the time or the energy. He makes it to his room without incident.

"Night Harry"

"Night"

Day 6

Once in the building, he changed his mag and set himself up by a glassless window. They began taking shots as civilians were being dragged from their homes and used as shields. One guy grabbed a small child and lifted them over his face. Eliot shot him in his leg making him drop the child and then finished him with a headshot. He was so focused that he hadn't noticed the absence of gunfire next to him. When he turned to give the soldier a command, all he found was a dead body with a hole between its eyes.

Eliot had just stepped out of the kitchen when he heard his phone ring.

"Hey, Hardison. What's up?"

"Nothing just missed you bro, thought we could talk"

"Hmmm. Who called"

"It was kind of a group thing"

"Oh goody"

"They're worried about you El"

"They shouldn't be. I told them I'm fine"

"Really? Because what I've heard is that there have been mood swings, tiredness, times when you've lost balance, your hiding injuries, and oh yeah, last night you couldn't read a menu"

"There over-exaggerating, I've just been a bit tired"

"Do you need me to come over?"

"No stay there, you have work to do"

"Ok, stay safe bro"

"You to brother"

Day 7

When he turned to give the soldier a command, all he found was a dead body with a hole between its eyes. His heart began to race, everything was red, as though it was soaked in blood. And maybe it was. Everywhere he looked there was bodies, soldiers, civilians, even children. He wasn't sure what happened next, all he knew was that he was found on the outskirts of the city, covered in blood, and the only survivor.

Whilst Eliot was in the shower, Sophie took the chance to look around his room. She hated the way he kept it. Very few personal items, a small cot in the corner, plain walls it was like a military base. Once this was over, she was going to stage an intervention, a few actually. Number one, his living arrangements, number two, his lack of personal life, and number three, his commitment issues regarding women. It was almost as if he didn't see himself as a person, just a machine for other people to use.

She opened the door to his room, something was different from the last time she was here. It was the walls, they had foam pieces attached to them, like a music studio. She ventured further in. She searched everywhere for answers, in his wardrobe, through his draws, on top of his shelves. It wasn't until she checked under his bed that she started getting a clearer picture.

'Why does he have cases of energy drinks under his bed, he hates this sort of crap. And what are these? Energy supplements, is he sleeping so little that he's resorted to pills to get through the day?'

She laid a hand on his bed to push herself up, that's when she found them.

'Restraints, why the bloody hell are there restraints on his bed? Please don't say he actually wears these while he sleeps'

Anger bubbling over, Sophie stormed out of his room and over to the bathroom. She was like a bull, all subtlety and elegance gone and replaced by a burning pit of rage. She banged heavily on the door.

"ELIOT SPENCER YOU GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW AND EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" There was no reply. "DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME! ELIOT! ELIOT!" She bent down and started picking the lock. Within 30 seconds the door was swung open, revealing the hitter faced down unconscious on the floor...

TBC