Chapter 23

"Relax Eliot." Sophie said as the Hitter came awake and sat up in the bed wincing slightly at the pain it caused. "Everything is fine." She said placing her hand on his chest and pushing him back gently.

"Sophie…" Eliot said softly looking at the woman closely. "Nate?"

"Nate is fine, no damage done." Sophie reassured him.

"Anybody else?"

"Parker had a graze, but she is also fine." Sophie told him.

Eliot nodded then closed his eyes taking a deep breath as he went over everything in his mind.

"Sophie this guy is not going to wait much longer." Eliot said his eyes still closed. "He has orders and he will follow them even if it means walking in there and taking Nate out at the cost of his own life."

"Eliot…"

"Sophie I was him."

"Ok…ok so what do we do?"

"I don't know." Eliot said opening his eyes and looking at her. "Moreau only hired people who…who were willing to do what was necessary. People that were not concerned with collateral damage understand."

"I understand and I bet so does Nate." Sophie said knowing what Eliot meant. It would not matter who got in the way, who had to die for him to fulfil the mission of killing Nate.

"Yes." Eliot said softly. That meant Nate would take matters into his own hands and try to protect them, just like he had before. "Where is he now?"

"Sterling is organising an Interpol safehouse. He has called in his team to help." Sophie told him.

"Ok well that is something." Eliot said at least Nate had some protection and not just Sterling alone. This was going to get messy and extremely dangerous for all of them.

"Eliot." Hardison's said as he entered the room and walked up to his bed. "Thank God you are ok."

"How is Parker."

"She is fine." Hardison said.

"Good." Eliot smiled at him.

Sophie's phone rang interrupting them and she picked up immediately.

"James."

"He's gone damn him."

"What…what do you mean gone?"

"I was outside with my men checking on the perimeter he was in the room, when I got back inside he was not there, he's gone Sophie and I don't know where."

"Damn it Sterling." Sophie hissed out. She had left Nate in his charge and he had let him slip away.

"He did not take a car, so he is on foot." Sterling said ignoring her anger. "I have my men looking."

"I am on my way." Sophie said as she ended the call.

"Hold up Sophie I am going with you."

"Eliot…"

"I'm fine." Eliot said as he pulled the IV's out and detached the other monitors indicating to Hardison to switch them off as the alarms blared out. "I need some clothes."

"Here." Parker said as she entered the room dressed and ready to go and holding out a set of scrubs for Eliot to dress in. She had been at the door when Sophie had taken the call and had made the preparations she knew would be needed for Eliot and all of them to leave.

"What is happening here?" A nurse said responding to the alarms that had briefly gone off.

"I am leaving." Eliot informed her as he took the clothes and walked into the bathroom to change.

"I am getting the doctor. Mr Spenser I don't think you should be leaving and you Ms Parker should not be out of bed either." She said recognising the young woman as another one of her patients.

"Sorry." Parker said as Eliot exited the bathroom and then they all walked out the door leaving a perplexed nurse staring after them.

They all four quickly made their way to the exit and then to the van speeding off towards Nate's safehouse.

"Where do you think he went?" Parker asked.

"I don't know Parker." Sophie said trying to stay as calm as possible.

"As far away from us as possible." Eliot said thinking the way Nate would think. He would want to distance himself from them to protect them.

"He will be watching won't he?" Hardison asked the Hitter knowing that the would-be assassin would be watching Nate.

"Yes." Eliot replied. Whoever it was that had been sent after Nate would be watching to see what Nate did next and where he was going to go.

"Damn the man." Sophie said forcefully.

The rest of the drive was spent in silence and Sterling was waiting for them as they arrived.

"I know where he is." Sterling said as they exited the vehicle.

"Where?"

"At the prison. He arrived a few minutes ago."

"Hardison?" Sophie said looking at the Hacker who nodded and then got to work.

"Let's go." She said as they all climbed back into the van including Sterling and set off for the prison.

"Ok I have eyes and ears on the prison. Nate is with the warden." He said as he threw his screen onto the big screen that was installed in the van.

"Mr Ford I am hesitant to allow this, I…are you sure about this?"

"Perfectly." Nate replied. "Mr Moreau is a citizen and as such has rights as much as the government does not want to give him those rights, so the courts have. You will have Mr Moreau ready for release in one hour or I am afraid I will have to take this further." Nate told the man.

"You know what he has done, I mean he is under Interpol jurisdiction."

"No you are mistaken he is under FBI jurisdiction and therefore as I said you will as per that court order have the man released." Nate said. "After all we are all entitled to our day in court aren't we warden?"

"What the hell is he doing?" Hardison asked as he listened to Nate.

"Getting Moreau out." Eliot answered the question. "It's the only way he can get to the man."

"Of course. Ok well I will start the process and he will be released as stipulated." The warden said not liking it one bit, but his hands were tied. He could not believe that any court would have issued the writ, but he could not argue with what he held in his hand, it may be fraudulent but he had to prove that and he did not have the time to do that.

"Thank you." Nate smiled at him.

"Would you like to see your client?"

"No thank you. I have other business, just tell him that I send him my compliments." Nate said softly then stood and shook the wardens' hand before leaving the office and making his way out of the prison facility.

"He's serving notice." Eliot whispered. It was what Moreau had told Sterling to tell Nate, it was a warning. "How long Hardison?"

"Another twenty minutes." Hardison said.

"We need to get there faster." Sophie said as she watched Nate walk out of the prison and out of the picture.

His gait was slow and laboured and she could tell he was struggling. Damn the man, he was hurt and he was weak and he had no right to be doing this, if he had a plan he could have told them, used them, he never learned and his luck was going to run out at some stage.

"There is nothing I can do right now." Sterling said hanging up his phone. "Nate has a release notice and I have somebody working on showing it is bogus, but it is going to take time."

"It won't be in time to stop the release though right?" Sophie asked and Sterling shook his head in response.

"Ok well Nate is gone, but we can hold back and follow Moreau." Eliot said, they did not know where Nate had gone or what he planned but they could follow Moreau when he was released and intervene when Nate made his move.