"You all ready?" Eliot asks Avery after she sets her carry on bag on the the floor next to her suitcase.
"Yeah," Avery replies with a nod and glancing over to meet her dad's gaze.
They had moved to Portland for her Senior year, much to Avery's annoyance. There was nothing worse than trying to make friends your last year of high school. She never complained though; they had to for everyone in the team's safety.
Now, Avery is preparing to go on her Senior class trip. She wasn't going to go but Sophie insisted, saying she'll regret it if she didn't. Avery can tell her dad is worried; he didn't have to say it. It is in the way his shoulders tense and his jaw clenched. The way he keeps running his hand through his hair and glancing at the luggage bags. After everything with Gleeson last year, Avery's dad had become more careful with her than usual. It's not as if she blames him though.
"Wait! I have something for you," Sophie calls out before sifting through her giant purse. She pulls out an envelope and hands it to Avery and fixes her with a firm look. "Don't open it till after you leave."
Avery raises an eyebrow at her but slips the envelope into her carry on bag. Suddenly, Avery is crashed into by something that forces the air out of her lungs. Arms are wrapped tightly around her before Avery realizes what is happening. Avery returns the hug with a smirk.
"I'm only going to England Parker," Avery assures with a snort and a shake of her head. Avery's class was lucky, they had wanted to go to England and worked hard at raising the money to do so.
"But that's all the way across the world," Parker whines in Avery's ear as she squeezes Avery tighter. Sophie and Hardison smile while Nate shakes his head and Eliot rolls his eyes. Avery gently pushes Parker away and Parker reluctantly allows her to.
"I'll be fine Parker. I'll talk to you guys every day," Avery assures the thief and gives her a reassuring smile. Actually, her dad had made her promise to contact them every day so he knew she was fine and alive.
"You better," Parker says with a stern look that causes Avery to smile wider.
"Alright, come on Ave," Eliot says as he picks up Avery's suitcase. Avery says bye to the rest of the team and gives them each a hug. She grabs her carry on bag and her and Eliot exit the house with Eliot shouting at the team to lock up when they leave his home.
LEVERAGE
"Do me a favor and stay out of trouble okay?" Eliot says as he looks over at Avery with a firm look after they finish checking her bags.
"I always stay out of trouble," Avery replies with a smirk and a roll of her eyes which causes Eliot to scowl.
"Call if anything happens," Eliot orders as he fixes Avery with another firm look.
"Dad, relax. Nothing's going to happen," Avery says as she grins and shakes her head. She moves in and gives her dad a hug which Eliot happily returns.
"Stop being so paranoid," Avery says into her dad's chest and wraps her arms around her dad slightly tighter.
"I think I have a right to be," Eliot replies before he pulls away and fixes Avery with a look. Avery sighs but knows her dad is right.
"I'll call you when we land," Avery assures before giving her dad another hug and walking over to meet her class.
LEVERAGE
Avery sits in her seat on the plane and pulls out the envelope Sophie had given her. After opening it up, Avery pulls out a letter and a card. Avery unfolds the letter and begins to read it.
Avery,
Not that I expect it to happen, but in case you get into trouble and the law enforcement is involved, I have enclosed a little something for you. It is a card with a number of one of my contacts on it. Just give it to the police and you'll be fine. Good luck and have fun!
Sophie
Avery folds the letter back up and looks at the card. There is a long number on it and by the looks of it, it's a British number. Avery smirks and puts the card and the letter is back in the envelope and the envelope into her bag. That was the team, always looking out for her. No doubt Nate had Hardison put a tracker in her sneaker or something and Hardison sent the link to everyone on the team. Avery snorts and shakes her head; so much for being free from everyone.
LEVERAGE
Avery follows her group down the streets of London. Feeling someone watching her, Avery stifles the urge to shudder. She had this feeling yesterday and has continued to have this feeling since then. She has only been in England for three days so she can't understand why someone would be watching her so intently. Avery looks around her, expecting to find nothing as it always seemed to be the case. Instead, she notices two men across the street looking directly at her. Upon noticing her gaze on them, the two men quickly look away. Avery narrows her eyes at them and studies their appearance. Every little detail she can pick up and store away in her brain will be helpful.
One seemed to be late thirties with short, brown hair. He has large muscles as if he's on a strict weight lifting regiment. He seems to be aware of his surroundings and continues to keep an eye on them. The other guy looks to be mid-twenties with long, dark brown hair, almost black, that's pulled back into a pony-tail. He has muscles but they are only really visible if the man flexes in some way.
"Avery," a young girl with sandy-blond hair says as she approaches. Avery looks away from the men and over at her classmate.
"Hey Gianna," Avery says with a smile.
"You coming?" Gianna says with a nod towards the group further ahead of them. Avery looks ahead and sees she has fallen far behind.
"Yeah," Avery says with a nod and she quickly follows Gianna to the rest of the group.
LEVERAGE
Avery sits on the grass eating her lunch with Gianna sitting next to her. She glances around her at the park around them before taking another bite. She had seen the two men two more times today and she is thoroughly on edge.
"What's going on with you? You've been on edge all morning," Gianna says as she watches Avery with a furrow of her brow.
"I don't know. It's just a feeling," Avery replies with a shake of her head and a look in Gianna's direction. "I keep seeing these two guys."
Gianna looks around them for any two guys together. With a sigh, Avery does the same. It was hard for Avery switching schools her Senior year but she and Gianna had hit it off almost instantly. Gianna's dad was in the Marines and had retired five years ago. The two girls were able to bond over this and Avery was glad to know someone else was taught what she was and still is.
"What do they look like?" Gianna asks as she continues to casually look around at the crowd. Avery describes the two men but neither of the girls can find them anywhere. Avery assumes this is a good thing but wishes she could at least get a picture of them. A gut feeling has her believing the two men meant trouble. As much as she hates it, she knows she needs to send word to her dad. No sense in taking risks; if it turn out to be nothing then so be it, but if it is something then at least her dad knows about it and the team can help.
LEVERAGE
Lance and Tony watch as Avery throws her lunch out and rejoins the group. They are hiding behind a large tree, knowing they have already been spotted twice. They had seen Avery yesterday at one of the tourist attractions and had instantly recognized her from pictures shown to them back when they had worked for Gleeson. They had almost got caught by the cops but had managed to escape just in time. It was all Spencer and his team's fault. They were Hitters themselves and knew Spencer and his work and there was definitely raw feelings between the three of them even before the whole Gleeson job. Now, they want revenge; And what better revenge than to go after Spencer's kid.
LEVERAGE
Avery sighs as she walks into the hotel with her group. She hadn't felt she was being watched after lunch and neither her or Gianna had seen the two guys the rest of the day. Gianna walks over to her and the two of them walk up to their room.
"Maybe it was just coincidence…" Gianna tries as they walk down the hall and she glances over at Avery.
"I doubt it. Not with what my father does," Avery says quietly with a shake of her head and a purse of her lips. She had told Gianna the basics of what the Leverage team does and Gianna had been impressed at the whole operation.
The two girls turn the corner and walk over to their room. Avery reaches the door first and stops abruptly. The door is partly ajar and she and Gianna instantly share a look. Avery slowly pushes the door open and the girls walk inside. The room is empty but there are clothes and items strewn throughout the floor.
"We should tell Mrs. Graham," Gianna says with wide eyes roaming the room. Avery nods her head in agreement and the two of them swiftly move out of the room.
"You go ahead. I'm going to grab something real fast," Avery suddenly announces as they exit the room.
"Okay," Gianna says slowly as she gives Avery a curious look. Avery disappears back into the room while Gianna goes to find their teacher. This morning, Avery had forgotten to take card Sophie had given her back out of the envelope and she was kicking herself for it. She unzips her carry on bag and takes the envelope out of a secret pocket. Avery takes the card out and puts it in her back pocket before placing the envelope back in the secret pocket before walking back out of the room. She shuts the door behind her and turns to head in the direction she had seen Gianna go.
Avery freezes when she notices the two men she had seen numerous times that day standing halfway down the hall. They meet each other's gaze for a moment before they scowl and charge towards her. Avery's eyes widen before she turns and runs down the hall in the other direction. She turns the corner and rushes to the door at the end of the hall and crashes through it, her hands smashing the push bar in.
Avery is in the stairwell and she runs over to the stairs going down. She jumps onto the railing and slides down it on her butt to the next landing. She runs to the next set of stairs and does the same thing as well as every one after. She can hear the two guys running down the stairs but is able to gain distance between them every time she slides down another railing.
Once Avery reaches the first floor, she rushes through the door. She runs down the hallway and out the back door of the building. Running down the street, she makes a few turns in the hope of loosing the two men. Avery runs down the street she's on and glances behind her. She doesn't see them but when she looks back ahead of her, she runs into someone. Avery falls to the ground and the man grumbles. Quickly mumbling a 'sorry' and looking behind her, she sees the two men round the corner and stop as they search for her. Immediately, Avery crawls between two cars just as a cab stops in front of her and a couple climbs out of it. A woman moves towards the cab but Avery swiftly crawls inside it and shuts the door.
"Just drive," Avery says breathlessly to the driver as she glances down the street where the two men are still searching for her. The driver nods his head and pulls into traffic as Avery crouches low so as not to be seen. She pulls out her phone and quickly dials her father's number.