A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. I didn't realize I had the beginning of the chapter because I thought I deleted it and I didn't. So, here it is!
Eliot stared at his hands in shock. He had killed people with those hands. He had taken many lives and destroyed several others with those hands. He had done so many awful things with those hands but he couldn't do one simple… He almost lost his family. They were almost gone for good. Sophie almost died because he wasn't there. Hardison was seriously injured because he wasn't there. Parker was almost taken because he wasn't there. The only good thing was that he had been there to protect Nate but he wasn't there for the others. It was supposed to be a simple con. They were going to trick the guy into screwing himself over like they always did. The mark wasn't supposed to figure out who they were. The hitter stared at his hands in wonder. Those hands had picked up the phone that had almost led to their complete undoing. It was those hands that had allowed the mark to distract them long enough to almost lose everything.
He and Nate had left the hotel room to go to that stupid meeting they had agreed to go to so they could trick the mark into falling into their plan. It was in a warehouse on the opposite side of town. The mark met them there with a huge smile that should have been their second clue. Nate had started in on his evil speech of evil that was beginning to sound like the rest of his evil speech of evils now. They had been working so many jobs that the characters were starting to blend together. It made the hitter realize exactly why their grifter had such a difficult time finding her-self a few years ago when she needed to become a better person. The mastermind's speech was shorter than usual so the mark started in on his counter-speech of evil. It was very boring to say the least. It had something to do with money not being able to grow on trees which was technically false because there were still bills throughout the world that had been made from plants that were still hanging around because people wanted to keep them and third world countries still worked on the barter system so a tree could be part of the barter which would make that statement extremely false. Yeah, that was about the part where the hitter's mind started to wander because every single stupid man they went against always said the same thing after a while so it was really a moot point to continue listening to a speech that was going to be proven wrong in such a short while. So the hitter's mind started to wander to the multiple exit strategies he could come up with while he was standing there. He noted that it would take him about twenty seconds each guard before he had the mastermind completely free of any deadly weapons. He also noticed that there was a distinct lack of ready weapons in the event such a fiery frenzy could take place. Yep, he was definitely going to be bored if they actually had to fight their way out. Nate could fight so that added to the boringness of the current job. So Eliot decided to start working on his menu for the night's feast. He decided he would be using lemon juice because the thief and hacker seemed to be extremely fond of any meal with even the slightest mention of lemon juice in it. He also needed to make vegetable for Mr. Picky eater who also happened to be their team leader so no alcohol would be in their diet that evening. It had to be something that would guarantee no leftovers so Sophie wouldn't offer her help in order to escape the grump before him. Eliot silently giggled at his bad names he continued to use to describe Nate's, or Whiskey man's, behavior towards his cooking. Of course, he also thought about the many reprimands he would be receiving from the grifter shortly afterwards for saying those things too. Then Parker and Hardison would point out that it was Sophie's job to make fun of Nate because Nate would actually listen to her. It was a wonder those two ended up acting so much like their idols, the fact that Nate and Sophie were the best example of a working relationship definitely screwed them up way worse than if they continued to live in their own little bubbles. That was when Eliot decided to zone right back into the conversation because Nate did that weird intake of breath that you could only catch on the comms so it was definitely bad.
"How attached are you to your little blonde thief?" the mark had asked suddenly, "Because I doubt you'll ever see her again."
"What are you talking about?" Eliot had demanded in a very unhappy growl.
"Your hacker won't last long against my best either," the mark had continued with that stupid grin, "I'm sending my best in there to stop him."
"You son of a bitch," Nate gasped out as his face paled into a look that reflected white ash.
"I hope the brunette doesn't fight," the mark continued to babble like an idiot with that stupid smile covering his damn face, "She'd make a nice little pet. Your teammates were always very good at avoiding detection. I had to go to whole other source in order to figure out who they are. Of course, even they can't escape what I have planned for them."
"No!" Nate had screamed, or at least, that's what Eliot thought he heard Nate say. He was a little busy taking out the thirty men that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere during his daydream that wasn't really a daydream. He lied about the count too. It only took him three seconds every two men before he and Nate were completely out of harm's way. He didn't know if he left them alive. He also didn't care. They had been stupid and missed the important part where the mark only goes to the stupid warehouse when he knows he's about to win. Nate kept repeating that to himself as he sped through the town at about Parker speed with Sophie accuracy and Hardison luck so it didn't really matter all that much. It was a bitch when they finally got to the hotel. Eliot had been a coward then. He was a damn coward when he got to that hotel. He didn't want to go in. He took one look at Nate and refused right to the man's face to go into that hotel. Then Nate grabbed him by the collar and threw him into the wall. Yeah, the mastermind, the old guy who used to be the good guy threw him into the damn wall as if he were paper, him, the retrieval specialist who killed most of Damien Moreau's men without a scratch on him! The look in Nate's eyes when he said they were going in that room was what made him agree to it. The look of desperation and dread that was stuck in those blue eyes of the mastermind convinced him that going in just to see the bodies was the only decision they could make. They ran. They ran to that room via stairs they were running so fast. One of them kicked the door down and the hitter still isn't sure which one it was but it was what they saw after that door disappeared that he couldn't stop thinking about. Sophie was just lying there with that cord wrapped around her neck and Nate… It wouldn't have been just Sophie they lost in that moment. Nate was almost gone until she started coughing and breathing and worrying about the others as usual again. God, Hardison was lying there…
"It's not your fault," Parker piped in carefully.
"Dammit Parker!" Eliot shouted at the thief in irritation.
"Why did you jump?" Parker questioned in confusion, "You only jump when you're nervous!"
"Why do you think, Parker?" Eliot sighed at the thief's statement in defeat.
"It's not your fault they got hurt," Parker pointed out innocently.
"I wasn't there, Parker," Eliot grumbled angrily at the fact that he was actually telling her the truth for the moment.
"Neither was Nate and he keeps blaming him-self too," Parker stated simply.
"It's not his fault, Parker," Eliot replied quietly, "It was his plan but it wasn't his fault."
"Is it Nate's fault?" Parker demanded slowly.
"Of course not," Eliot grumbled at the thief's question angrily, "Were you not listening to what I just said?"
"I knew it wasn't his fault," Parker smiled cheerily at the news.
"I should have seen it coming," Eliot huffed dramatically, "I would have been here sooner."
"It's not your fault Hardison and Sophie almost died," Parker explained simply, "It's their fault."
"How is it their fault?" Eliot demanded of the thief in confusion.
"They didn't stop fighting just so they could protect me," Parker stated with embarrassment starting to blossom upon her face, "So maybe it's my fault for letting them."
"They were fighting because they love you, Parker," Eliot sighed at the thief's thoughts, "The guy just wanted to show us who's boss and they decided they weren't going to let him."
"Why didn't they stop fighting when I was gone?" Parker asked softly.
"Because stopping would have meant losing you," Eliot explained in a whisper, "Sophie can read people, Parker. You and I both know that she knew exactly what those men were going to do to you."
"What were they going to do to Hardison?" Parker asked innocently as fear started to etch into her eyes and voice.
"It doesn't matter, Parker," Eliot ordered as he started to get up to leave.
"I want to know," Parker pouted surprisingly, "What were they going to do to Hardison? What did Sophie know that she didn't want to tell us? Don't keep me in the dark, Eliot!"
"Ask Sophie," Eliot grunted in response as he started to walk away.
"Sophie won't tell me," Parker dared angrily, "but you will! I didn't ask you what Moreau asked you to do! What did Sophie read that Hardison and I couldn't?"
"They were going to kill him, Parker!" Eliot shouted angrily, "They were going to torture him by having him watch them hurt you! That's what Sophie read! That's what Hardison figured out! That's why they fought so hard to protect you!"
"Then why weren't they going to do that to Sophie?" Parker cried out angrily, "Why were they only going to do that to me? Why were they going to punish Hardison like that? Why me?"
"Because you're you," Eliot explained hollowly, "Because they knew we would protect you most because you have the most innocence to lose."
"Because it would be the equivalent of Sam," Parker gasped in understanding, "Because I'm the team's Sam!"
"No," Eliot shook his head at the thief's thinking, "because you're our Parker! You're the heart of this team and they figured it out because you and Hardison are the youngest!"
"They're going to pay," Parker nodded in new understanding, "because of the mistake they made in attacking our team."
"They didn't kill any of us," Eliot grinned at the thief's thinking, "They just pissed us off."
"Let's go steal revenge," Parker stated gleefully at the idea she was about to unleash, "Where's Nate?"
"This is going to be fun," Eliot smiled at the news as he followed the crazy thief to the sick room.
