A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews, likes, and favorites so far! I know there are so many different ways this can go (and it was so hard to pick just one!), but I hope you all enjoy the one I chose. :)

"Now, I know you have a lot of questions, but we don't have much time," the voice continued. "I'll be happy to chat with you after we get this situation under control."

Nate raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, and what situation might that be?"

"The one currently trying to kill each other outside your van," was the reply.

"How…?" Hardison shot a questioning look at Nate.

When the voice continued, it was even more insistent. "I'm very serious right now, and I'm afraid the outlook for our pugilistic friends is as well. If Mr. Spencer continues fighting… well, I'm sure you would rather keep your friend around for many more years."

"Are you threatening us?" Nate's tone took on a bite as he leaned in towards the computer screen. There was no one to see, but since the voice was coming from the machine, it was all he had to threaten.

There was a small sigh. "Mr. Spencer's opponent is my friend. He's in as much danger as yours. I will call him off, but I need you to help me on your end. It would seem our friends have made a grave miscalculation - one that will cost them their lives if they keep going. Oh, and, by the way, Mr. Hardison, I am quite impressed by your communications system. I haven't yet been able to get into it."

"Ha," Hardison grinned and leaned back in his chair, too flattered to even ask how the man knew his name. "Age of the geek, baby. Age of the geek!"

"Yes, well…" the man stammered for a moment. "Let's just get this taken care of, shall we?"

Although slightly unsure about the entire situation, Nate couldn't shake the feeling that there was more going on than seemed immediately obvious. He finally decided to give into the gut feeling that was telling him to trust this strange voice. "Fine, fine," he finally agreed.

"Thank you, Mr. Ford. We'll meet soon."

With that, the low hum of static coming through Hardison's speakers ceased.

Nate's attention was drawn back to the thuds and grunts coming through his comm, and he gave a small sigh before speaking up. "Eliot, stop."

"Not… now… Nate. A… bit… busy…" the hitter replied.

"No, really." Nate was still wondering at the curiosity of it all as he reiterated his command. "Stop."

Reese had just dodged another series of blows and was coming up with an uppercut when his partner's voice was back in his ear.

"Mr. Reese, I need you to slowly back away from your opponent."

"Finch…" Knowing the other man wouldn't have said such a thing unless it was absolutely necessary, Reese pulled up, but his arm was already in motion and landed an only-slightly-less-forceful punch on his opponent's jaw. "What's this about?" he growled.

"I'll explain everything shortly. Just please back away. Now."

Reese made a face but did as he had been asked. The curious thing was that his opponent was also pulling back. The man's expression matched the one Reese was fairly certain was on his own face. "You wouldn't happen to be listening to a voice in your ear… would you?" he ventured a guess.

The other man just grunted and continued to stare him down.

"I'm afraid there's been a big misunderstanding," Finch continued. "Mr. Reese, there is much more at play here than we initially thought."

"And I'd be very happy to learn about it, Finch," Reese muttered. He wiped a hand under his nose, smudging the trail of blood as he regarded the other man cautiously.

Both fighters were looking each other up and down, keeping a watchful eye for any sign that the fighting wasn't quite over. Neither was planning to make the first move, but they were more than ready to finish anything the other started.

"Well, you'd better learn, Hardison," the other man growled in a low voice.

Reese raised an eyebrow. "Something seems to be going on with our friend as well, Finch."

"Why don't we all get together and catch up?" Finch suggested. "In fact, at this very moment, I believe our friends are deciding to join us."

As if on cue, the other man brought his gaze to bear on Reese. "Fine," he snapped, his voice now raised to a normal volume. "But I ain't turnin' my back on him."

Within an hour, both teams were seated on the back patio of a small Italian restaurant. Several tables had been pulled together to provide enough room, and the seven seats gathered around were all occupied. Finch and Reese were seated beside each other on one side of the tables while the members of the other team were sitting along the other three sides of the makeshift rectangle formed by the tables. The two teams had naturally taken seats together, but Finch had made it a point to sit between Reese and Eliot. Reese appeared outwardly calmer than Eliot, who was sitting with his arms crossed and a dark scowl directed at Reese. Both men sported multiple cuts and bruises, although they had turned down every offer of ice packs and other first aid. In fact, the others had given up on asking after the fifth insistent refusal on both men's parts.

Parker was sitting on the far right side of Sophie, next to where an eighth chair had been moved against the wall so that the canine member of Reese and Finch's team would have room to lie down.

Hardison eyed the dog suspiciously as the waitress disappeared with their drink orders. "Are you sure it's supposed to be here?"

Setting down his menu slowly, Finch nodded."Well, I do happen to… know the manager of this particular establishment, Mr. Hardison, so yes, I would say so."

"Okay, okay." Hardison raised his hands and shot Parker a look. "You can't fault a man for askin'."

"His name is Bear," Parker stated. She caught the look her teammate was giving her and simply raised an eyebrow. "What? You keep calling him an 'it.'" She reached under the table to pat the dog's head, and Bear leaned into her hand with a small noise of satisfaction. "But you're not an 'it,' are you, boy?"

"Yes, well," Nate cleared his throat, "let's get down to business, shall we?"

"Ah yes." Finch folded his hands on the table in front of him and leaned in towards the other team's leader. "It would seem we have much to discuss."

Nate looked to his right, then his left, to take in the expressions of his team. Hardison, Sophie, and Eliot all wore varied looks of distrust as they regarded the other two men. Parker… well, it was always hard to read Parker, even more so when her head was below the table. Soft, cooing sounds could be heard, along with the low jingle of the dog's collar. With a small sigh, Nate turned back to Finch. "On the ride over, you were telling me that we shared a common goal?"

"Yes, that we do," Finch nodded. "You might say we both share a desire to bring evildoers to justice, although our methods often differ."

"You mean like shooting people in the street?" Eliot asked.

Finch cleared his throat. "I most certainly do not appreciate the accusation, Mr. Spencer," he said with a raised eyebrow. "We take great pains to minimize violence in our missions."

"It is a lot cleaner than beating them to a pulp," Reese shrugged.

"As I was saying," Finch blinked, giving Reese a sideways glare, "we never use more violence than is absolutely necessary."

Sophie glanced around the table as she spoke up. "So, you're after Smith as well?"

"Actually, we're… looking into his business partner," Finch supplied with a small nod.

"Is looking all you're doing?" Hardison asked, raising a hand halfway. "Because last I checked, old Muscles over here was about to shoot Kiernan in a dark alleyway."

"Relax," Reese replied. "I wasn't going to shoot him - at least not right then."

Finch sighed. "We were looking into the possibility that Kiernan was planning to take out Smith when we ran into your team, who seem to be after Smith. Care to elaborate?"

The others exchanged looks as the waitress reappeared in the doorway with a tray of drinks. After distributing them, she smiled and pulled out her pad. "Can I take your orders?" she asked, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear.

"Ooh!" Parker reappeared from underneath the table. "I'll take a pizza!" Catching the looks on her teammates' faces, she frowned. "What?" she asked, making a face back at Hardison. "I'm hungry, and I like pizza. Pepperoni," she finished ordering. "Thank you."

"Nothing for me, thanks," Sophie declined, and the others nodded their agreement.

"Okay then," the waitress said slowly, glancing around the table one last time. "I'll get this to the kitchen."

"I took the liberty of doing some quick research on your team," Finch continued once the young woman had left. "As near as I can tell, Mr. Ford, you and your team - Leverage, as you call yourselves - help anyone who might need your help, wherever in the country they might need it. Considering the vast number of outstanding warrants you all seem to have gathered around the world, I can venture a guess as to where your funds are coming from." He smiled and tilted his head in recognition. "I can't say I fault your motivations. The world can be a very bad place. Is that what brought you to New York?"

Nate nodded slowly, trying to determine just how much this man knew. "Okay, sure, we help people who need it when we can. It's our business."

"Taking down corrupt businessmen and evil corporations is certainly a large goal," Finch nodded. "I'm curious. Do you tackle targets as your clients request? Or do you have another way to determine who will be conned next?"

He glanced over at Reese, who was still staring down Eliot. The hitter was returning the look, and Finch hid a smile as he turned away from the silent threats that were flying back and forth between the two men.

"It… varies," Nate replied evasively. He shot Sophie a look, and she raised an eyebrow in response. He was still trying to figure out what angle the others were playing, and he wasn't going to readily give out information on his team until he did. "What about you? I'm going to assume your man here isn't Kiernan's bodyguard?"

Finch shook his head slightly. "No, not quite."

"What I want to know," Hardison interjected, "is how you got into my computer. I had firewalls and all kinds of security features in place, but I didn't even notice you getting in."

Smiling a small, secretive smile, Finch just shrugged one shoulder. "Tricks of the trade, Mr. Hardison. When you've been in computers as long as I have, you pick up certain skills that prove to be… quite useful in situations such as tonight's."

"Speaking of which," Sophie spoke up, "how in the world did you know what was going on - and who Eliot was?"

"That was just a bit more research once I saw what was going on. Didn't take long, really."

She didn't look convinced but let it go for the moment. "So, what are you doing here?" she prompted, bringing the conversation back to Nate's earlier question.

"We're, ah… consultants for the NYPD," Finch supplied after a momentary pause.

"You work for the cops?" Parker asked, raising an eyebrow as she turned to look at Nate. Her teammates all looked uneasy as well, though they hid it with varying degrees of success, from Sophie who looked the least worried to Hardison who looked quite concerned. Eliot's glare simply intensified.

"Consultants," Finch quickly clarified, trying to alleviate the tension that was beginning to build. "We work with them but in a rather… unconventional way."

"Unconventional?" Nate asked slowly. "If I called the NYPD, would they tell me the same thing?"

Finch paused for a moment. "Well, if you were to call Detective Carter, then yes, she would tell you that we help out when there are… special cases that need some outside assistance."

Just then, the waitress returned, steaming tray in hand. She placed a pan of pizza in front of Parker, then looked around the table. "You sure none of you need anything?"

They waved her away, and she nodded. "All right; just let me know if you do." Then she headed back towards the kitchen.

After she had gone, Finch continued, "I know this isn't the most ideal circumstance for either of us, but I'd like to combine forces to complete our objectives."

"You want to work together?" Nate asked. He exchanged another glance with Sophie. "Since you've done your research…"

Finch nodded. "Yes, I understand that your methods are on the unconventional side. But ours are as well, and I can assure you, we won't be a, ah, danger from a legal side."

With a small sigh, Nate glanced around at his teammates, trying to gauge their reactions to the invitation. Sophie seemed to be thinking it over, Eliot still had the same scowl on his face as before, and Parker only seemed interested in the plate in front of her. Curiously, over half of her pizza had already disappeared, but Nate dismissed that minor fact for the moment. Meanwhile, Hardison looked like he had something on his mind.

The hacker pointed at Reese. "When I ran his face earlier, the CIA told me he was killed in action during an operation but then the NYPD said he's a person of interest in several homicides. Wanna explain what that's all about? I mean, I know death reports can be faked, but there's always a story there, so…?" he prompted.

Now it was Reese and Finch's turn to exchange glances before Finch responded, "Like I said, Mr. Hardison, our methods are unconventional."

"Well I like them," Parker said emphatically, suddenly popping back up in her seat. "And we all want the same thing, right?" she asked, looking pointedly between Finch and Nate.

"It would seem so," Finch replied slowly, taking in the small amount of pizza remaining on the table. His eyes drifted towards the underside of the table, and he sighed. "Be careful, Ms. Parker; too much dairy upsets his system."

Parker looked like a small child caught in the cookie jar as she slowly drew her right hand back above the table, a pepperoni dangling from her fingers. A small snuffling woof came from somewhere near her feet as she gave Finch an innocent grin.

"Okay then," Nate finally nodded, turning back to Finch. "Let's talk."

The next morning, several members of both teams were back together, this time in a hotel suite situated at a relatively even distance from both Kiernan and Smith's businesses. Hardison and Finch had already covered the small table and the room desk with computer equipment and were currently hunched over one of the monitors.

Parker had insisted that the room be pet-friendly, and Bear was currently sitting near her feet, looking quite blissful as she stroked his head. "So," she asked as Nate walked out of the back room, "where is everyone? And when do we start taking this guy down?"

"Well, Eliot had to go to another meeting with Smith," Nate explained, taking one of the other two chairs in the sitting area. "We need to keep up that cover so Smith doesn't get suspicious of anything and bring it up with Kiernan. Sophie said she had an errand to run, and, ah, Reese is picking someone up."

"Someone?" Parker looked curiously over at where Finch and Hardison were still working on the computers.

Finch glanced up, distracted for the moment from his task. "Yes, we needed someone else's assistance with part of our task since Mr. Kiernan has already seen several of our faces. As Mr. Ford said, we don't want to get anyone suspicious - at least not yet," he added.

"In the meantime," Hardison jumped in, "I've given everyone earbuds so that we're all on the same frequency for our operation. As long as y'all have these babies in, we'll all be able to talk to each other easy as pie."

Finch's brow creased, but he simply nodded. "Yes, we determined this was the most effective way of keeping our teams in communication."

"I've even got an extra for your friend," Hardison directed the statement at Finch.

"Is this friend the someone Nate was talking about?" Parker wanted to know.

"Come on, Lionel; we don't have all day," Reese sighed. He continued down the sidewalk as he spoke into the phone. "Time's ticking."

"Yeah, yeah. I heard you the first time," the man on the other line shot back. "Some people around here actually have jobs to do, you know. I don't get paid to run around with you nutcases all day; my desk says 'Detective Fusco' for a reason."

Reese cracked a small grin but hid the sound of it from his voice as he shook his head. "See you soon, Lionel." The call ended, he put his phone back in his pocket and headed for a small cafe.

He was just down the block from the police department where Fusco was stationed. The surrounding streets were relatively quiet at this time of the morning. The work crowd were all at their offices and kids were in school, and although the area was still quite busy - it was New York, after all - things were not quite as packed as they sometimes were.

Before he could find a table, a woman walking down the sidewalk caught his attention. She was impeccably dressed in designer heels, a gray dress that brushed just above her knees, and a short black jacket, her dark blonde hair fixed just so. Reese caught her eye, and she shot him a smile, speeding up her pace to join him.

"Hey stranger," she greeted. "It's been a while."

"Zoe," Reese acknowledged. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"What? A girl can't stop just to catch up?" She paused, but when Reese didn't respond, she chuckled. "No, I suppose we're not the catching up type. Should we grab a seat?"

Reese shrugged. "Why not?"

A server in a black shirt and jeans had been clearing a nearby table, but he glanced over. "You folks ready?"

"Just coffee, black," Reese nodded.

Zoe smiled. "I'll have a tea, thanks."

When the man had retreated to place their orders, Zoe looked back across the table. "Have you or your friend have heard anything about a crew that's in town?"

Reese raised an eyebrow. "A crew?"

"Well, you know, with you two being so in tune with the goings-on in the city, I thought you might have some inside information. They're called Leverage… From what I've heard, they're some high-level con artists who take down various targets - almost like a Robin Hood crew."

"Robin Hood?" Reese smiled.

Zoe gave him a look. "You're repeating everything I say. That's never a good sign."

"Why are you interested?" Reese covered quickly.

The server returned just then, carrying a tray of two steaming cups and a small pitcher. "I brought you some cream. Sugar's on the table. Anything else?"

"No, thank you," Zoe smiled.

When Reese nodded his agreement, the server tucked the tray under his arm. "Cool. Enjoy."

Zoe watched as he moved over to check on another table, then she leveled her gaze at Reese. "Let's just say that several of my clients would be willing to… invest a little to learn what this team is doing in town."

Seizing the out offered by the cup of coffee in front of him, Reese took a long sip as he considered her question. Before he could respond, there was a low crackle in his ear.

"John!" a woman's voice cut into his thoughts. "Who's your friend?" Sophie continued, although since Reese could only hear her through his comm, it was simple to assume she was watching from nearby.

He set his cup down. "Isn't investigating con artists a little outside of a fixer's normal activities?"

"Not really," Zoe shrugged. "I do what I need to keep things running smoothly for certain people. This just happens to fall under that description… today." She trailed off as she noticed a look cross Reese's face. "Is something wrong?"

Reese sighed, mentally pushing aside the voice that was still talking in his ear. "Actually, yes, I did know they were here."

"Oh really?" Zoe's eyebrow went up again. "Well, do you happen to know why they're here?"

"They're… working a number with us," Reese explained. "Oh, and one of them wants you to know she's drooling over your shoes," he added drily.

His pointed tone made Zoe frown, then a look of understanding crossed her face and she chuckled lightly. "One of them has good taste then." She took one last drink and stood. "If you happen to get any new information, give me a call. Thanks for the tea," she added, then headed back down the sidewalk.

Reese watched her go as Sophie strolled up to join him.

"Hmm, she seems nice," she commented.

"She is," Reese answered evenly. He glanced at the shopping bags Sophie had in hand as he dug a bill from his wallet and stuck it under his saucer. "Did you get everything you needed?"

"It's a start," Sophie shrugged. "I need to convince Nate to stay longer after this job is over; there are plenty more shops I didn't have time to visit." She handed her load to Reese with a friendly smile. "And I need to catch up with your friend to find out the best shoe stores."

Just then, Reese caught sight of a shorter, heavy-set man in a suit and tie heading across the street towards them. "Come on, Deveraux," he said with a small shake of his head. "Our friend's here."