The Rewind Job, Chapter 11
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or the internet.
Recap:
Backing himself into the corner, Eliot pulled his knees up, curling in on himself, his right arm still bracing his injured ribs, left hand grasping his hair. His eyes met Nate's for an instant before he dropped his head onto his knees. "Don't," he managed in a half sob/half plea.
Nate swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, instinctively backing away. He didn't even want to think about what kind of nightmare could put such a devastated look on Eliot Spencer's face.
Chapter 11
Nate drowsed at his table, head resting on his folded arms. After Eliot's outburst, he'd dispersed the others, thinking Eliot would need some privacy if he got himself together enough to exit the bathroom. With Hardison owning the building, the other team members had their respective areas to retreat to when they needed to stay nearby. Alec and Parker had left Nate's apartment, each going their separate ways, while Sophie, wanting to remain close, was resting in Nate's bedroom. Nate jerked awake when the bathroom door opened, but stilled himself quickly, head still resting on his arms, wanting to see what Eliot would do.
The hitter moved slowly toward the center of the apartment, looking around for the others, but spotting only Nate. He starred at the mastermind for several seconds before turning toward the state of the art computer system and sitting in front of the keyboard. Within a couple of minutes he'd managed to get past the initial security codes and onto the internet. Typing in details he knew by heart, he pulled up an article describing the event that had haunted him since that fateful day…that would continue to haunt him until the day he died.
Nate watched as, after several minutes, Eliot shut down the internet connection and stood, heading toward Nate's front door. Not sure of Eliot's mental state, Nate sat up, clearing his throat to get the hitter's attention. Eliot starred for a long moment, before mumbling, "I just need some time ta think."
The mastermind nodded, sensing that Eliot's memory was much clearer and trusting him not to disappear on them. He sat drumming his fingers on his table top after Eliot left. Finally he sighed and moved toward the computer. Sitting down, he quickly opened the link to the internet, realizing that Eliot, despite being able to get past Hardison's initial security codes, had made very little effort to hide his own search. Pulling up the article that the hitter had perused, he read the headline:
Six Year Old Daughter of Russian Shipping Magnate Killed in Apparent Assassination Attempt on Her Father
As Nate read the article, bile rose in his throat and his chest constricted, making it hard to breath. He swallowed convulsively, not realizing he was clinching his fists at his sides. He jumped when Sophie's hand settled on his shoulder.
"Nate, are you ok?" the grifter inquired, concerned by the look on Nate's face.
"What?" Nate ground out, his eyes flicking to Sophie's before being drawn back to the computer screen.
"Oh, my," Sophie whispered, her hand going to her mouth in shock as she too read the screen. "Where's Eliot? Nate?"
Nate shook himself, rubbing trembling hands over his pants legs, before glancing up at Sophie. "He….he needed some time," Nate answered before hastily closing the web browser to get rid of the nightmarish description he had been reading and doing his best to clear any evidence of the search itself to keep the others from reading it.