"Okay Eliot, how are things on your end?"
Nate knew his question wouldn't be answered immediately. Eliot was too busy fighting off whatever goons Moreau had around. They had been at it for hours trying to figure out the best entry way. Finally Charlotte got too fed up with the waiting. She tried to storm out of the van with the mastermind attached to her wrist. She nearly killed him when he handcuffed her to him.
"I can't take the chance of you running off and ruining our plan," he explained.
The grifter slapped him in reply. They had a fight, which was more normal than usual. Then they finally decided to put their differences aside and save the boy. Well, Eliot volunteered to save Sam but Charlotte was adamant that she and Nate had to do it. Nate didn't argue because she was using Sophie's puppy-dog eyes and he knew she could trust him with protecting the boy, her son.
So there the mastermind and grifter were, standing by wall while they waited for a guard to pass them by. Honestly, he was mighty impressed the grifter didn't do anything to try and draw attention to them. Clearly her sense of priority was still working. Anything that belonged to her heart was treasured more than anything else in the world, including the man secretly in love with her.
"Nate?" Eliot called.
"Yeah," the mastermind replied.
"The South exit is free," the hitter huffed.
"Okay," Nate nodded, "Parker, meet Eliot at the East side… Uh, bring water and a couple of those granola bars I gave you."
"Why?" Charlotte demanded softly, her eyes narrowed in confusion.
Nate shrugged in confusion.
"Eliot's taking the long way," he replied, "He's going to need some of his energy restored."
"But what if there aren't any granola bars leftover?" Parker quizzed happily.
"Eliot likes the Oatmeal Raisin one's best," Nate replied.
The thief giggled in reply, which was her version of a sigh in relief. The hitter grumbled a whole bunch of color phrases, but the sound of skin on skin action implied that the curses weren't exactly directed towards him. Well, not all of them anyway.
"Hardison?" The mastermind asked.
"I'm gaining control of the enemy's computers even as we speak," Hardison cheered, "Take that Larry Duberman! Even Chaos couldn't do what I've just done."
"I bet Chaos could at least keep his mouth shut long enough for the people doing the real work to concentrate," Eliot hissed.
Then the hitter made a noise that sounded eerily like he was just hit by a bus. Thankfully he was inside so that meant the guy was big enough to be a football player. Or the guy was a Sumo wrestler the hitter could easily take both down. It didn't matter. The hitter's comment still managed to bring a smile to the mastermind's face because it was something only Eliot would say. Things were starting to turn to the normal side once again.
"No," Nate jibed just for the fun of it, "Chaos complains more than Hardison drinks orange soda."
"Seriously?" Eliot's scandalized voice called over the coms.
"How do you know that, Nate?" Parker asked.
Her voice sounded gleeful. In fact, her voice held that odd hitch to it she got when she was Tasering people.
"Parker!" Eliot growled, "You don't hit people with electrical cables."
"But they're bad guys?" She complained right on cue.
"Not to be the bearer of bad news or anything," Hardison said, "but the big fish is not in sight. I repeat the big fish is not in sight."
"Who's the big fish?" Parker asked.
"Moreau!" Hardison howled, "Damien Moreau is not in sight. I've lost him, Nate. I can't find him anywhere."
"Sam!" Charlotte groaned, "He's gone after Sam!"
"Parker, how close are you to Sam's room?" Nate asked.
He kindly ignored the hateful glare the grifter was aiming his way. The punch she placed into his shoulder was a little harder. That made him groan in pain just when a guard passed by. Said guard did a quick turnabout and came rushing towards them, gun ready for action. Apparently his luck on cons was still the same.
"I'll be there in moments, sir," Parker called.
The mastermind rolled his eyes because Charlotte pulled him out of the way of a bullet. He had it perfectly timed to deliver a punch and naturally she had to ruin it. She planted a kick into the guard's side so he couldn't be too mad at her though. The kick gave him an opportunity to deliver a pretty good blow to the right side of the guard's face. The guy dropped the gun and stumbled back in pain. He howled in agony. He lunged towards them aggressively.
Nate and Charlotte shared a dirty look. They both stood as far apart and the handcuffs allowed them. The guy was too blind with rage to slow down. He was close-lined perfectly and on the floor in seconds. Together they kicked him in the head to knock him out.
"Eliot, we've been compromised," Nate said.
"I can be there in twenty seconds," the hitter replied.
"No," Nate shook his head, "Parker's going to need your help protecting Sam-"
"One problem," Parker called.
Nate closed his eyes in agony. He pinched the bridge of his nose on reflex alone. He internally flinched at the move because he knew what came next. When he opened his eyes, his fears were confirmed. Charlotte was looking at him with horror on her features. Her black eyes turned brown in their fear as she chewed away on her bottom lip.
Thank God some bad habits don't die, Nate thought as he stared at the grifter.
"What's the problem?" He asked staring at the grifter's worried concern.
"He's gone," she said.
Nate blinked.
"What do you mean he's gone?" He asked.
"Gone," Sophie mouthed. Despair started to pour over her features. Tears automatically sprang to her eyes. She had to shake her head to regain the composure. Unfortunately she wasn't able to hide the slight tremble of her lips. He was too well-honed at watching her for that to happen.
"He's gone, sir," Parker explained, "Sam's gone with no signs of packing or anything. He left for a temporary trip."
"Or his father has enough money to worry about clothes when they're half-way to the airport," Eliot replied.
"How do you know that?" Hardison questioned curiously.
His voice held absolutely no softness to it. It was harsh and almost gleeful at the missing child. There was no sympathy or concern. He sounded off.
"Because it's exactly what we did when I picked him as our hitter," Nate explained.
Charlotte's hand whipped to his collar instantly. She was tugging him towards her, probably completely unaware of the fear gripping his heart for her. She just wanted to know what was happening to her son.
"What's happening?" She demanded bitterly.
"Hardison," Nate replied, staring at her sadly as he spoke.
"I can't find him anywhere," Hardison growled, "They might have figured out how to block me."
"Who can do that?" Parker questioned.
"It looks like one of Chaos' designs," Hardison sighed.
Nate bit his bottom lip and wrinkled his nose. It was something he learned from both women on his team. So he blinked and quickly fixed his face to his hitter's scowl. It was easier to fake the anger at the moment.
"You promised," Charlotte cried, "You said you were going to bring him home to me."
"We're going to do that," Nate nodded, "You're not going to lose your child. I won't-"
"How?" Charlotte growled.
"That's my question too," Eliot said, "You've got eighteen trained paratroopers racing your way. I'm doing my best to get rid of them but how are you going to steal that kid away from his father?"
A loud silence enveloped the group as the question penetrated their senses. The mastermind watched as the strong grifter before him seemed to melt under the pressure. True emotions were floating around her features like nothing he had ever seen before. She was losing it, but she felt comfortable enough with him to lose it. Plus, her black eyes were finally brown again. So he did something he would probably regret later.
"Do you still have your hip holster?" Nate asked.
Charlotte's eyes turned black as glee returned to her once again. She knew what he was giving her permission to do. She had herself unlocked in seconds.