The Rewind Job, Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Leverage, any of the characters, or an SUV.

Recap:

Nate glanced at the black SUV that was screeching into the parking lot, then turned toward his hitter wondering if he could wrestle the man into Lucille. He was more than relieved when Parker simply grabbed Eliot by the wrist pulling him into the van with an "Ok…time to go now."

Nate jumped in behind them, slamming the doors. "Step on it, Hardison."

"Gladly," the hacker replied, nearly throwing Nate into the floor when he gunned the engine.

Chapter 4:

Squealing out of the parking lot, Hardison weaved in and out of traffic, unable to lose the SUV behind him until he sped up the first interstate on-ramp that he came to, interjecting the van into the middle of a funeral procession. A horn blared behind him briefly before the car's driver remembered that this was supposed to be a solemn occasion. Fortunately for the team, the vehicles behind the van were bunched together closely and unforgiving after Alec's stunt, refusing to let the SUV enter the highway. By the time their pursuers could follow, the leverage team was out of sight.

As Hardison practiced his escape and evade skills, Eliot sat on the floor of the van, bracing himself with his hands on the floor to either side of him, eye closed, his previously pale face turning an ominous shade of green.

Sophie's "he doesn't look too great, Nate," followed by Eliot's muttered, "m'gone be sick," spurred Parker into action. The thief scanned the van frantically unable to find Alec's van litter bag, finally reaching out to grab Nate's hat, deftly flipping it over, and shoving Eliot's face into it just as he began to retch.

"Oh..oh…that's just…. wrong, Mama. Wrong..," Hardison protested, seeing what was happening in the rearview mirror, unable to suppress his on gag reflex. Sophie looked on in horror, while Nate's face showed pure astonishment as his mouth opened then closed.

"What? You said you didn't like this hat anyway." Parker replied to Ford's unspoken question.

"He what?" Sophie huffed, glaring at Nate. "I bought that hat for you and paid a pretty penny for it."

"I never said…I didn't...I…" Nate stuttered, before Eliot's muffled "Le…me up" captured all their attention.

Parker released the hitter, patting his knee as he leaned his head back against the van wall. "All better now, Sparky?" she questioned. Eliot scowled at the blonde mumbling something about aliens trying to claw their way out of his skull, before closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths to try to calm his rolling stomach.

Seeing the pained look on Eliot's face, Sophie decided to drop the issue of Nathan's hat, for the moment anyway. They could discuss that later in private. Pulling out the team's first aid kit, she opened several four by four gauze pads and pressed them to the cut in the hitter's hairline before Nate could move to stop her. The reaction from the team's retrieval specialist was instantaneous as he grabbed the grifter's arm in a bruising grip, pushing her away from him as his eyes snapped open.

"Don't," Eliot growled, pushing Sophie further away from him, causing her to topple backwards onto her butt.

"Eliot." Sophie rubbed her wrist, aghast at the wild and angry look in her friend's eyes.

"Spencer," Nate warned, pulling Sophie toward him and further from Eliot.

Parker shifted a little, unsure how to react to the situation.

A heavy silence descended, only to be broken by Alec addressing the team's mastermind, "Ah…Nate…there's a hospital sign up ahead, you think we should stop?"

Nate didn't have time to respond before Eliot went into a tirade. "NO! No hospitals! Just stop the van and let me out. I can take care of myself. Stop the van! Hey, man, you hearing me?" Eliot shouted at Hardison, banging on the van wall for good measure and wincing as the sound reverberated through his concussed brain.

Nate shook his head at Hardison's reflection in the rearview mirror, trying to tell him not to stop and definitely not to mention hospitals again. He moved onto his knees, hands out toward Eliot as the hitter tried unsuccessfully to gain his feet in the still moving van. "Spencer, just calm down, ok. We won't.."

"Shut it, Ford!" the hitter snapped. "We're done…..just let me out of here….I'll…I'll be fine…I've had worse than this. " Eliot suddenly went silent as his hands searched the waistband of his jeans, then around his ankles, before he turned back to Nate and hissed, "Where's my piece, Ford?"

"What?" Nate now genuinely looked confused.

"My Sig, man." The hitter checked his waistband again. "I was carrying it….that's a $1200 gun man. What'd you do with it?"

"Whoa…whoa…" Nate tried to placate the hitter, knowing this could go from bad to terrible any minute. The other three team members stared on in shock. "I don't have it, ok. You think I'd be crazy enough to try to take a gun off you. Those guys…the guys that did this to you must have taken it," Nate improvised.

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Disclaimer # 2: I do not own a Sig Sauer weapon or any Sig Sauer merchandise or company stock.