CHAPTER 7
Can You Feel Me?
(Parking garage across from building complex)
Cabe heard the slam of car doors and checked his watch. "You guys made good time."
"We would have been here faster, but it took a minute to shake the cops that last time." Parker complained. She looked over and saw Quinn motion for the keys and she tossed them to him.
"You guys go on. I'll change the plates and be right with you." Quinn popped the trunk as everyone else started to head for the exit from the parking garage. He wanted to go with Parker, but he knew someone needed to take care of the details like swapping the license plates for ones that no one was looking for.
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(Building complex basement)
They could all hear the clatter of Hardison typing for a moment. "Alright got it. Happy give me thirty seconds and then turn the generator off." Hardison instructed as his fingers continued to fly over the keys. At the end he snapped his laptop closed and slid it into his bag three seconds before the power went out again.
"Alright let's get Happy and Eliot." Hardison moved to the door.
"Hold on. We haven't got even the emergency lights. How do you plan on finding them in the dark?" Cabe was fiddling with his phone trying to find the flashlight setting. Finally, he found it and he tapped the slider on and smiled as the light blinked on.
Hardison held a hand up to avoid being blinded by the sudden bright light, but he wasn't fast enough to stop Cabe from seeing the sheen of his eyes. He could tell by the look on Cabe's face that he'd noticed but Hardison decided to just act as though there was nothing unusual as he turned for the door.
Hardison took the lead even though he didn't turn on his flashlight. It didn't take them long to make it to the generator room and Hardison went straight to Eliot. He could feel it through the bonds and surprisingly he could see it on Eliot's face, he was still in a lot of pain.
Cabe pulled Happy into a quick hug before she could protest, and he turned to Eliot. "Why don't you sit down and try to take it easy. I'll have an ambulance here in no time."
"No." Eliot looked queasy. "I don't do hospitals." He wasn't sure he could handle the poking and prodding of an EMS team right now let alone the pushiness and chaos of an emergency room. His wolf was still on edge. Although the feel of Hardison's hand on his neck and the awareness of Parker and Quinn drawing closer helped.
Hardison wrapped an arm around Eliot's waist and Eliot draped his arm over Hardison's shoulders. "Let's get out of here." They started slowly toward the closest stairwell.
Cabe shown his light over Happy just to be sure she was okay. "You look alright."
"Thanks to Eliot." Happy gave a quick half smile.
As Cabe turned, his flashlight beam passed over the direct wiring job that Happy and Eliot had created to get the power back up. "OSHA would have your ass for that kid." He smiled and gave Happy's shoulder a squeeze. "Good job."
They hadn't made it to the stairs before the rest of Scorpion and Leverage joined them in the basement.
Quinn and Parker both looked over Eliot and he batted their hands away with a little growl. "Told you. 'm fine." His gruff tone reassured them all but Eliot still wanted to get away from the humans and curl up.
There was a little more whispered discussion and Quinn switched places with Hardison. Eliot and Quinn slipped quietly into the stairwell and switched off their earbuds.
Parker and Hardison pulled Cabe to the side and started talking to him before he could notice that Eliot and Quinn were missing. They didn't want any interference even if well meant.
"Before Hardison shut everything down, he back traced the fax and, well, some other things." Parker waived her hand to dismiss the trivialities. "Anyway, we need you to arrest John Caldwell."
"Okay. What proof do you have? I can't arrest him just on your say so."
"We're pretty sure he's the hacker. I need to search his office to really prove it though. The rest of the proof is on my laptop. Can't you just hold him or something?" Hardison had to focus to keep from glancing at the stairwell that Eliot had taken. Even though he'd been talking to Cabe the whole time his wolf's focus was entirely on his Alpha.
"Alright. But if you're wrong about this guy it's going to cause a whole heap of trouble." Cabe looked back and forth between Parker and Hardison.
"We're not wrong." Parker glanced over her shoulder at the stairwell. "Let's get this done as quick as we can."
Cabe pulled out his phone and started making calls that would move this whole thing from the shadowy world of fake ids and good intentions to the bright lights of the law and the requirements of proof and probable cause.
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(Rented van)
Quinn kept an arm around Eliot as they went to the van. The others were dealing with local police, EMS, and a whole host of others that all showed up with lights, sirens, and badges.
Eliot trusted his pack to keep them all out of cuffs, so he didn't protest when it was suggested he sit this one out. He was feeling solid enough that he didn't need Quinn for the physical support to get back to the van, but his wolf was grateful to have at least a part of his pack close while he continued to heal, and he couldn't bring himself to let go of Quinn just yet.
Toby had been right about the damage that wrench had caused. Eliot could swear he'd felt something burst and something more solid crack just before the blinding pain erased everything else in the world. If he hadn't been a wolf that would have been a life-threatening injury at best. The wolf had saved his life, but he'd had to draw hard on his pack in order not to bleed to death right there in the basement and that had felt like a near thing for a moment. He still hurt and felt sick in waves.
Quinn slid the side door of the van open and waited while Eliot climbed in. Once Eliot got himself situated on the floor Quinn hopped in and started rummaging through the bags that Hardison had stacked to one side.
He pulled out the container of protein bars and two bottles of water and set them to the side. He followed his nose to a bag that held one-size-fits-all sweats. He drug the bag over to Eliot. He handed Eliot the container of protein bars and one of the bottles of water. He arranged the sweats to provide a little cushioning for Eliot and draped a shirt that smelled of both Hardison and Parker on his shoulder before he sat next to Eliot.
He draped an arm over his Alpha's shoulders and tilted his head back, eyes closed. He'd done what he could to provide comfort and make it clear that he wasn't a threat with his neck exposed and his eyes closed, now it was up to Eliot to decide if he'd accept it.
Eliot appreciated all the ways that Quinn was taking care of him. Normally he'd have snarled and fussed about not needing to be babied and that it was his job to care for his pack not the other way around. But just now his wolf was still feeling shaky, and even though he knew he'd healed enough that he wasn't in danger, he still hurt. He rested his head on Quinn's shoulder and inhaled the scent of pack. He pulled his knees up and curled a little into Quinn's side while the pain in his belly continued to pulse and squirm.
After a few minutes of silence Quinn cracked an eye open and could see that Eliot was still awake. "Maybe you should give Gemma a call."
"And scare her with a bunch of stuff that she can't do anything about? No." Eliot sighed and continued to lean a little sleepily into Quinn's side.
"I know she's not your mate, at least not yet, but she has an effect on you and your wolf. Couldn't hurt to call her and ask how her day is going could it?"
"hmph." Eliot grunted and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He cracked one yellow eye open enough to place the call and balanced the phone on his knee. Two rings and she picked up.
"Eliot?!"
He smiled a little in reaction to her happy tone. "Hey darlin'."
"Hi Gemma, this is Quinn. Just wanted to let you know I was here. Don't say anything to make me blush okay." He saw the look on Eliot's face and shrugged the shoulder Eliot wasn't leaning against.
"What's going on?"
"I just wanted to hear your voice and Quinn is close by. I think he just didn't want you to be surprised later since he can't help hearing my phone." He couldn't help it as he smiled again. "How was your day?"
"Oh uhm, you know. Same as always. Got up, went to work, dealt with customers, came home. Pretty boring really." She paused for a moment but no one else said anything. Something about this call felt off but she wasn't sure what was going on. So she filled the silence.
"Ms. Teo showed me how to make the salve for silver burns today. I think she was missing you guys. And Tyrel brought Ms. Teo to the restaurant today. They both agreed that Sam's gumbo isn't as good as yours…. Uhm what else… Oh yah! I meant to ask you. I still have that box of dog cookies. What do you want me to do with it?"
Quinn had noticed the odd vibration coming from Eliot as Gemma talked. He didn't think that Eliot was even aware that he was doing it. After a moment when Eliot hadn't answered Gemma, Quinn gave him a little nudge. "Hey she asked you a question. What do you want her to do with the box of cookies you forgot?" He whispered.
Gemma heard Quinn's whisper and it scared her that Eliot was out of it enough that Quinn had to prompt him.
"Oh, right. If Ms. Teo has space could you put them in the freezer?" Eliot moved to sit up just a little more. He put a hand over the phone and groaned as that movement seemed to aggravate things.
"Eliot?"
"Yah?"
She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but it was obvious that he hadn't wanted her to know so she decided to play along and pretend that nothing was wrong. "Uhm, I was wondering…" She tried to quickly think of something that they could talk about.
"What?"
Quinn noticed the odd vibration again but didn't say anything about it. He'd heard that some Alphas could do something like purring to sooth or comfort a pack member or mate, but he'd never known an Alpha well enough to see it before. It was certainly nothing that Will would have done with Quinn's old pack. Something about it seemed oddly vulnerable.
"I was wondering why all the wolves in your pack are different colors." Gemma didn't really care, but it was the first thing to pop to mind.
"Really?" Eliot snorted.
"Yes, really."
"For the same reason that people are different colors I guess."
"But your eyes and Hardison's eyes are the same color when you're both wolves. But Quinn… You're eyes are blue when you're a wolf right?"
It was obvious that the last part was directed at Quinn, and he leaned a little toward Eliot's phone. "Yep my eyes are blue and my fur is white. Much classier than these other vagabonds." He smiled.
"Well, I don't know about that." She laughed. "I've got a thing for a werewolf with yellow eyes and fur that's all the shades from cream to beige to umber."
"Watch it or I might just get jealous." Eliot teased.
"Oh, did I not mention that the werewolf I've got a thing for has thick brown hair and cool blue eyes in his man shape?"
Eliot could picture the rosy tint of Gemma's cheeks. "Not half as pretty as your wavy brown hair and your pretty green eyes." He was glad that he'd called. Talking with Gemma was helping him feel better.
"My eyes aren't a pretty green." Gemma huffed. "They're muddy colored. Not enough gold in them to be hazel and too much tan in them to be green. Muddy. That's what color my eyes are."
"Not true." Eliot sighed. "Pretty green, like light off the water from the creek in my hometown."
The silenced stretched for a moment and Quinn realized that Eliot had fallen asleep. "Uhm, Gemma? I think he might have to call you back."
"Is he really okay?" Gemma's voice sounded small.
"He really will be. I think you helped more than you know." Quinn slid Eliot's phone off of his knee.
"Will you ask him to call me later?"
"I won't need to ask, but sure."
"Stay safe Quinn. Thanks for taking care of him."
"Always." He hung up and let himself drift to sleep as well.
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(Building complex)
"Sly, I synced my computer to your network at the garage. Can you go through the stuff I got after I hooked up to the server? You'll see the proof that Caldwell is the hacker. Can you get that information to Cabe and whoever else needs it at homeland? We need a warrant and the law office here is giving Cabe a hard time." Hardison held his phone up to disguise the use of the earbuds.
"Already on it." Sly was moving through screens already.
It took another twenty minutes before Cabe had the warrant that he needed to force the law office to comply. Walter, Hardison, and Cabe were admitted into Caldwell's office. Parker, Paige, Happy, and Toby waited together in an out of the way corner of the main lobby.
"You really need to talk your friend into going to the hospital." Toby wrapped an arm around Happy's waist while he talked to Parker. "It's almost a guarantee that he has internal bleeding. And that's not the kind of thing that gets better on its own."
"Don't worry, Quinn is taking good care of Eliot." Parker wanted to be with Eliot or Hardison but her job as mastermind dictated that she stay there, until the job was done.
"I know we all sound a little bossy but it's really because we care." Paige tried to soften Toby's words.
"Toby's argument was very logical." Parker shrugged. She liked when people were logical and straightforward.
"I could drive him to the hospital myself if he doesn't want to ride in the ambulance." Happy offered. Now that the adrenaline of the situation was starting to wear off, she was really starting to process what could have happened to her if Eliot hadn't stepped between her and the wrench wielding maniac.
"We don't do hospitals." Parker's response was a little flippant, but all this talk was distracting her from her pack bonds.
After a couple of minutes of silence that Paige found to be completely uncomfortable, she caught Parker's attention. "If Cabe and Walter find what they're looking for in Caldwell's office does that mean that all of this is over?"
"Mostly." Parker shrugged. "There's another person involved but Hardison doesn't think the other guy has the ability to be a part of the hack. But this other guy recognized us and used an old wanted poster to target Eliot. That poster was bogus the first time it came out but that gives us a good idea of who's behind it."
"Are we safe or is this mystery guy going to come after us next?" Paige hugged her own arms at the thought of some mystery man stalking the people she loved.
"Right. I think I've had enough of this." Happy frowned. Their jobs were often dangerous but not often was the threat a human one.
"Don't worry. Eliot won't let anything happen to any of you. Especially your baby." Parker looked at Happy.
"What?!" Happy took a step away from Toby and glared at Parker.
"That's not funny. I don't know what makes you think that it's okay to say things like that." Toby reached for Happy's hand while he glared at Parker.
Parker looked confused and glanced at Paige like she expected there to be a translation.
"Happy and Toby have been dealing with some things that make this a very sensitive subject. We'd appreciate it if you didn't joke about it." Paige tried to sound kind but even she wanted to give Parker a shake.
"I wasn't joking." Parker frowned. "Eliot knew Happy was pregnant that's why he didn't want her to carry heavy things and I'm sure that's part of the reason he jumped in front of the guy with a wrench." Parker looked face to face, and they all were still looking a little angry. "I'm sure he still would have gotten in the way of the wrench guy if it had been someone else. That's his job."
Happy looked like she might cry or might hit someone as she stomped away from them.
"We'll meet you back at the garage later." Toby threw one last disgusted look at Parker before he went after Happy.
"What?" Parker looked at Paige.
Paige rubbed at her temples. "I guess it's good to know that it's not just the super geniuses that have zero EQ points." She looked up relieved to see Cabe coming toward them with a look of triumph on his face.
"We got him!" Cabe slapped the paperwork he was carrying against his hand. "Practically caught red handed. The attorneys for the FDIC and the district attorney are fighting over who gets to nail Caldwell's hide to the wall." Cabe finally noticed the looks on Parker and Paige's faces.
"What's going on babe?" Hardison went to Parker and pulled her into his side.
"Was the baby supposed to be a secret? Eliot didn't say it was a secret." She looked up at him.
Hardison looked at Paige's angry face and Walter and Cabe's confused faces, along with the fact that Happy and Toby were missing, and he could guess what had happened. "I'm not sure it was a secret so much as no one knew about it yet."
"What baby?" Walter and Cabe asked as one.
"She's insisting that Happy is pregnant." Paige frowned.
"Well if it's true than this is good news." Cabe smiled.
"And if it's not?" Paige quirked one eyebrow at Cabe.
"Then we've been down that road before." Cabe gave Paige's shoulder a squeeze.
Hardison held a hand out to Cabe. "We need to take care of Eliot. We'll be in touch."
"The car keys are in your left pocket." Parker told Cabe as she walked away with Hardison.
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(Biltmore hotel)
By the time that the pack made it back to the hotel Eliot was closer to his surly self and refused to be helped out of the van or into the hotel.
Parker paid off the same person she had the night before and ordered another plate of raw meat to be delivered to the room.
Eliot grabbed sweats out of his go bag and headed for the shower. He needed a little time alone to feel like himself again. His pack could handle themselves for a few minutes. He really had appreciated the way Quinn had taken care of him, but it wasn't like him to be vulnerable like that. He knew he wouldn't have survived without his pack today but something about that need, that weakness, left him feeling smothered.
He let the hot water pour over him and he realized that Parker had cut him off from the pack again. She wasn't good at expressing or interpreting emotions most of the time, but she had a talent for understanding her pack through the bonds that amazed him. He could hear the murmur of conversation and Hardison's carefree laugh, but he was just as alone as if he were human. He felt his wolf stir. Okay not quite as alone as if he were human but at least for a little bit he could be Eliot/Sparky, and not Alpha, or protector, or hitter, or even friend. He stayed under the water until the sounds of his family was a bigger draw than his solitude.
Feeling much more like himself Eliot toweled off, pulled his sweats on and went to join his pack. The rush of emotion and presence hit him just before he opened the door as Parker let the pack back into his bonds.
He stepped into the room and smiled when he saw that they'd pushed the beds together and were all sitting around laughing, and talking, and eating together. He leaned in and kissed the top of Parker's head and gave Hardison's back a pat. He went to his bag and grabbed out a hair tie before climbing on the bed between Hardison and Quinn.
He gave the back of Quinn's neck a squeeze. "Thanks for earlier. It made a huge difference."
Quinn shrugged. "Pack is family. Right?"
"Speaking of family…" Hardison spoke up. "When are you going to tell Paige that yall are related?"
Quinn shook his head. "I'm not. She's happy here with the way things are. No reason to complicate things."
"Brothers are important." Parker reached out and set her hand on Quinn's knee.
Quinn smiled and patted her hand. "If I need brothers or a sister, I've got you guys."
"We'll back you up on whatever you choose." Eliot assured.
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(Fertility clinic)
Toby felt the blood drain to his toes and looked into Happy's blank face trying to determine what she was feeling. "Happy?"
They were sitting side by side, so she didn't have to do anything special to reach into his pocket and press the button on the keychain she'd made for him. They both heard the recording of her voice. 'Atta boy!'
She smiled and Toby pulled her into a fierce embrace. "Oh Happy!"
"Take me home." She smiled but it was a little wobbly. "I just want it to be the two of us tonight."
"I think you mean three of us?" Toby smiled and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"The three of us!" She pulled Toby into a hug and then kissed him.
The nurse for the fertility clinic smiled as she broke in on their moment. "We'll want to schedule you for an ultrasound in two weeks."
"Absolutely!" Toby smiled hugely. "Can you thank the doctor for working us in at the last minute like this."
"We're all so happy for you both!" The nurse patted Happy's shoulder on her way out the door.
