Chapter 12

"He made an appearance yet?" Eliot asked as he stepped into the house and saw the three sitting around the living room each pretending to be doing something while watching the study door which remained closed as it had been when Eliot had left to go and do shopping for them all.

"No." Sophie said.

"He's thinking." Parker said, Nate thought best alone and with his bottle, and he would figure this out, she knew he would.

"Yeah well he needs to rest too, and he needs to eat." Eliot said as he walked into the kitchen and put down the bags of groceries he had carried in.

"Tell that to him." Sophie sighed rolling her eyes as she looked towards the closed door again.

Just as Eliot was about to go talk to him the man himself he opened the door and stepped out of the office.

"Sophie, guys…" He said as he made his way to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Figure anything out?" Sophie asked keeping her eyes on him.

"No." Nate replied as he turned and smiled at her before taking at seat at the dining table.

"The FBI have a presence outside." Eliot said matter-of-factly as he started to unpack the groceries.

"Yes well…" Nate said as he sipped his coffee.

"Know anything about that?" Eliot asked still not turning to look at Nate directly as he continued to unpack. There was not just one FBI agent watching the house, they were all around and Eliot wanted to know why and if Nate had anything to do with it considering that Nate had not discounted him working with them.

"No…no not at all." Nate said and his tone brought Sophie to attention as well as the others with Eliot turning to face him.

"Oh Naaate…what have you done?" Sophie asked, she knew that voice, she knew him too damn well, he was up to something and it involved the FBI outside.

"Nothing." Nate said smiling at her. "Hey, look I have no control over what the FBI do or don't do you know."

"Nathan Ford you will tell me what the hell is going on right now." Sophie said as she moved to the table and sat down beside him with the other three taking their seats as well.

"I told you Sophie, I have nothing to do with the FBI." He said meeting her eyes and holding her gaze. "They must simply think I am their link to this guy, and they need to keep an eye on me."

"Are you planning to take them up on their offer?" Parker asked not believing a word the man was saying and getting straight to the question they all wanted to ask.

"I don't know how to make this more clear." Nate said standing up from the table. "I know nothing about the FBI out there, now if you don't believe me go and ask them yourselves." He said and then without a further word he moved forward, gave Sophie a quick kiss on the cheek and then entered his study again closing the door behind him.

"Ok he has a plan." Parker said with a slight pout as she stared at the closed door. She could read Nate and he was more relaxed, more at ease and the only reason for that could be that he had a plan.

"So why is he not telling us?"

"Don't be an idiot Hardison…" Parker said looking at him.

"What?"

"We aren't going to like his plan." Parker said her face displaying her displeasure at that thought because there were several plans she would not like at all, all of them leading to Nate dying one way or another.

"You think he made a deal with the FBI?" Eliot asked looking at Sophie.

She shook her head, she had no idea what Nate was thinking, or what he was doing, and it scared her, but she had tried to speak to him earlier, but he had shut her down, smiling at her and telling her he was working on it which is what he usually said when he had a partial plan in his head but had not figured it all out yet.

"I'm scared Eliot." She said softly.

"Yeah." Eliot said holding her gaze. "He knows we won't allow it Sophie."

"Does he? Look what he did before, look at what happened on the Falcon, Eliot he will do what he thinks he needs to, and I love the way you and I and them think we can stop him."

Eliot was silent at that. He knew she was right, no matter what they threatened him with, no matter how he knew they felt about it, he would do what he felt he needed to, and they would not be able to stop him.

An uncomfortable silence filled the house as Sophie sat quietly reading her book, Hardison worked on his computer and Parker sat on the counter watching Eliot start to prep the food but keeping an eye on the door. Suddenly she bounced of the counter and quickly moved to the study door pausing briefly before opening it and entering then closing it again.

"Parker, what can I do for you?" Nate said as she entered not even looking up from the papers he was busy with.

"Nate two years ago you said you trusted me, trusted me to lead this team and trusted my ability to see a problem, solve a problem. Now I don't think like you so maybe I will see something you have not, let me help you figure this out Nate." She said as she moved forward, and he looked up at her. "You are not alone Nate you don't have to do this alone."

"Parker…"

"I know you have a plan, or at least part of one, I know you Nate we all do, so let me help, or don't you trust me?" She asked and she saw a small smile cross his face at her words.

"Manipulation…really Parker…did you really think that would work common." Nate said. "Where did you learn that anyway?"

"From you." Parker said. "I have learnt everything from you, from them."

"Parker…"

"Are you going to let me help?" She interrupted again.

"Ok well I don't have a plan Parker, or even a part of a plan." He said sighing slightly. "What I do have is the fact that a man is going to try to kill me, so I can either sit here and let events unfold, let him come at me, or…"

"Or?"

"Or I take the fight to him." Nate said softly.

"Do what the FBI wants you to do, that's what you are thinking?"

"I can't stay here and hide forever Parker and besides that would put Sophie in danger, no I have to take the fight out there, I have to let him take his shot."

"Ok." Parker said making Nate knot his eyebrows slightly at the unexpected response. "So let's say you do that. What is the plan?"

"You know Parker you can plan, but sometimes when the other person is holding all the cards and you are not aware of who or what he is and what he will do, well then even I can't plan against that. The only thing I do know is he will come for me he has to even if he does not want to."

"Ok so we use that. We set you up…"

"Parker."

"What?" She said smiling at him. "That's what you want to do right?"

Nate shook his head slightly and then smiled at her. Yes it was what he wanted to do it was what he had to do, he just had not expected Parker to go along with it, and he was sure the others wouldn't, especially Sophie.

"Ok so we do that." Parker continued. "How do we do it?"

"I don't know."

"Well he doesn't want to get caught either right? He's a bad guy and we take down bad guy's that's what we do right?"

"He is not like the people we usually deal with Parker."

"I know that, they know that, but we have taken on worse than him."

"Really?"

"Yes." Parker said emphatically. "You forget Nate we have taken on the mob, the triads, people who all want something either money or power or both and they were willing to kill for it, some willing to kill a lot of people like the CEO of Verdagra, like Moreau, like that guy who was willing to bring down an aeroplane to get what he wanted. This guy is no different, he want's something too, he want's you, so how do we make him make a mistake when he tries to get you, and then take him down."

Silence then settled over them both as Parker waited for Nate to say something. He looked at her and shook his head slightly. She was not the young woman who had worked with him on that first job, she had grown and matured, and he knew he had made the right decision two years ago to let her take his legacy and build on it. She was right, this guy was no different form the sycophants they had dealt with before, although different in his needs and desires, what he was driven by. Parker watched him and then smiled and reached out putting her hand on his.

"We are waiting Nate and when you are ready Hardison will run it, we will follow your plan and then we will go steal back our lives from this maniac, just know we are all with you and we will always be with you no matter what you do, you should know that by now. No matter what Nate just remember that." She said then turned and left closing the door behind her again.

The others watched her walk out the room and close the door then make her way back to the counter she had been sitting on before and took her seat without saying anything. All of them wanted to ask her what had happened between herself and Nate but none of them did sensing that it was between her and Nate, if she wanted them to know she would tell them.

"That smells great Eliot, man am I starving." Hardison said as he made his way to the kitchen table and took a seat.

"It really does." Sophie said as she smiled and rose making her way to the kitchen table as well joining them all. She had not eaten much that day too worried about her husband and his state of mind and was looking forward to one of Eliot's meals, he was one of the best cooks she had ever known.

"So Sophie when do we find out if it is a boy or a girl?" Parker suddenly asked. "I mean we can find out right?"

"Yes Parker we can if we want to."

"Do you want to?" Hardison asked.

"I don't know, it would make life easier." She smiled at her.

"How's that?"

"Well Hardison Sophie could go shopping for clothes and other things knowing what colours and themes she wanted, Eliot could help build and decorate the nursery in the manner necessary and you and Parker would know exactly what millions of toys you would buy for a girl or a boy right?" Nate's voice intervened as he approached the kitchen and poured himself a whiskey before taking a seat beside Sophie. "And Eliot that really does smell great."

"Do you want to know?" Sophie asked putting her hand on his and squeezing it gently.

"I don't really mind Sophie, I will love this child boy or girl, all I want is a heathy happy son or daughter and a happy and healthy wife. Whether we find out now or later makes no difference to me." He smiled at her.

"Well I go for my next sonar in two weeks and we can find out then." Sophie said, she wanted to know so that she could plan, she never liked surprises, and this was no exception.

They continued to talk about the baby and the plans for the future of their family, for Leverage Inc, all of them avoiding talk of the situation they found themselves in and what Nate was planning to do, just enjoying each other's company for the first time in a long time. Nate watched and listened to them, he cared for them all and this may be the last time he could spend this kind of time with them, if so he was going to make the most of it, enjoy it for tonight, tomorrow he would tell them what his plan was, they were not going to like it, but they would, like Parker had said go along with it because it was the only way so he was going to enjoy a family dinner and remind himself why he had to beat this man, why he had to keep them safe no matter what the cost.

It was late by the time they all retired to bed and within an hour the house was silent. Nate lay with his eyes closed Sophie snuggled up beside him. He could not sleep his mind was racing as he thought about everything that had happened and what was still to come. Slowly he eased his arm out from under his sleeping wife and sat up swinging his legs over the edge and pushing himself up as quietly as possible. Grabbing his gown he threw it over him and then made his way out of the room stopping briefly in the kitchen to get himself a glass and a bottle and then disappeared into the study.

As he sat in his study thinking about earlier in the evening, Nate remembered another time when he had watched a family and thought that life could not get better. That was a long time ago in another lifetime. Then he had failed. He had lost his family because of greedy men who had taken away his chance of saving his family, his son. Now look at him, a man with a family, albeit not a normal one, a man with a wife, and about to be a father again. This man who was after him, what had he lost to become what he was now he wondered. There had to be something, something that was driving him to do what he was doing. The police seemed to think he had means and money, so was it power he sought, power over life and death, over the very existence of others, that was the norm for serial killers wasn't it. But this felt different to him, the more he thought about it the more he was convinced this mission had a purpose, not one he could see right now though. He sat staring at the board, at the information that Hardison had on the murders his mind working through everything then suddenly he sat up. He grabbed two of the files on the victim and quickly paged through them, then took the next two and did the same. There was a pattern, there was a pattern he told himself as he read through the material, there was a link.