Title: Old Friends, New Enemies 2/?
Rating: PG-13 for violence and swearing
Author's Notes: You are all either going to love me or hate me. I'm eager to see which.
Disclaimer: I do not profit from this fic in any way, unless pure enjoyment is a measurable expense now. I do not own Leverage or the team, though they are nifty!
Spoilers: Not in this chapter and I don't think any later.
Summary: A simple job becomes complicated when an old mark recognizes one of the team at a party and decides to settle an old score.
The next day the team gathered around a layout table in the living room of the spacious cabin they had rented to work out the details of the job.
"All right, these guard rotations are too tight for us to avoid them completely so Eliot you're going to go with Parker up until this point, then station yourself here to keep the zone clear," Nate instructed as he pointed out the locations on the map of Richmond's home that they had laid out.
Eliot nodded in understanding, silently amused how Nate always referred to him bashing heads as "clearing the zone."
"From there Parker should have a pretty clear run of it," Nate concluded.
"I just need to point out again that I cannot turn off these lasers," Hardison reminded them all as he indicated the open area just outside the vault door. "They are on an independent, battery powered system. They're not connected to anything so I can't shut 'em down. So Parker has to sneak through them all cat-like to get in and then sneak back out them again … with the merchandise."
Leaning casually against the table, Parker sighed, "I'm kind of getting insulted that you keep bringing this up like it's a big deal. I told you, it's not a problem. I'm flexible."
"What is a problem for me is that this doesn't hurt Richmond enough," Sophie pointed out, no longer looking at the plans. "He never paid for the Egg so losing it isn't a huge loss for him, it's just a gain for our clients. It's not enough."
"Well, later on we could have Eliot beat him up the same way he did Mr. MacGregor, that should even things out," Hardison suggested, half joking.
"Gladly," Eliot mumbled. "I had a hard enough time restraining myself last night when I saw the guy."
"Maybe something a little less drastic," Nate requested.
"Well, I could try to grab one or two more things while I'm in there, you guys said he has dozens of antiques and stuff, right?" Parker asked, agreeing that this plan didn't cause Richmond enough pain for what their clients had been put through.
"No, I don't like the idea of you carrying more than you have to through the lasers," Nate replied, thinking over their possibilities for a moment.
It was Eliot that came up with a surprising suggestion, "We could blow the rest up."
Parker's eyes lit up.
"Excuse me?" Nate and Sophie both exclaimed with horrified indignation.
"You said there's over fifty-million dollars worth of artwork and stuff in that vault, right? So, we steal back our client's merchandise and blow up the rest. Most of it's gotta be stolen so it won't be insured and he won't be able to replace it," Eliot explained to a still gaping Nate and Sophie.
"Not to play devil's advocate, but if we do blow the rest up it will cover our tracks, Richmond won't know what was stolen specifically so he won't go after the MacGregors again. It'd be a good way to protect the client," Hardison pointed out.
Sitting next to Hardison, Parker could hardly contain her excitement as she listened to the boys argue in defense of the bombing, "Please, please, please, please, please."
"But there's … there are dozens of priceless … he has a Monet, half a dozen other Faberge Eggs, a Renoir for God's sake!" Sophie exclaimed, beyond indignant that they would even consider destroying such irreplaceable artwork. She sent a strong glare in Nate's direction when he didn't speak up right away, "You can't seriously be considering this."
He shrugged slowly, "It would protect the client. It could be a small, well placed bomb."
Sophie felt like she couldn't breathe which Nate picked up on quickly, "Or maybe we could rob the vault twice."
The argument died quickly when Eliot held up a hand to hush everyone and looked towards the front room, listening closely.
"A car just pulled up," he announced as he moved towards the window to peer out through the curtains.
Usually a car pulling up wouldn't be a big deal but northern Nepal was not a bustling metropolis of activity, it was a mountainside exclusively for the wealthy which was why the team had rented the huge cabin instead of staying in a hotel. They should have been the only ones to ever have a reason to drive up this way so the unknown visitor put them on alert.
"Are we expecting anyone?" Hardison asked nervously.
Everyone shook their heads and Eliot announced from the window, "It's a guy in a suit, I don't recognize him. He doesn't look lost."
The man, probably in his early thirties with short brown hair, was casually stepping out of a black Mercedes and striding towards the door.
One guy wasn't too much to worry about just yet so Nate decided to continue with their cover stories for now, "Okay, Sophie, Eliot you're Mr. and Ms. Hail. Parker, Hardison, we are ourselves and have no reason to be here so move it, next room now."
As Nate, Hardison and Parker packed up the computer and blueprints of Richmond's home, Sophie spot-checked her hair and outfit in the mirror and then looked over Eliot in horror. He had not been ready to portray his character and was outfitted in jeans and a black t-shirt. Running to the coat rack she grabbed a suit jacket and handed it to him.
"Here, put this on," she instructed.
Eliot resisted the urge to roll his eyes, not seeing how a blazer would cover up the fact that he was wearing a t-shirt, but he didn't argue with her and finished doing up the buttons just as the doorbell rang. Sophie nodded to him that she was set to play her part and he checked to see that the rest of the team had filed into the backroom and out of sight before he opened the door.
Their visitor stood waiting patiently and smiled easily when Eliot appeared in the doorway.
"Can I help you?" Eliot asked, sizing the man up. He had the same kind of build as Eliot but was two inches taller, his suit was tailored but not too nicely and most importantly to Eliot his hands were resting loosely behind his back, hiding anything he might be holding.
"Yes, I'm looking for Mr. and Ms. Hail, I have a message for them," the man said in an almost too pleasant tone.
Eliot considered lying but if this was something legitimate he didn't want to ruin their cover so answered, "Well, you found them."
The man's grin widened.
"Excellent."
If Eliot hadn't been waiting for it he might not have been able to react in time as the man swiftly pulled a gun out from behind his back.
"Eliot!" Sophie yelled out instinctively upon seeing the weapon as she stepped back.
Her warning was unnecessary as Eliot struck the man's wrist with an open palm, forcing him to drop the gun before it even got to the height of Eliot's chest. When the gun fell Eliot put his foot on it and kicked it behind him at the same time that he blocked a punch from the surprised intruder, who didn't seem to have been expecting resistance. After blocking another punch Eliot twisted his opponent's arm and pulled him forward, then he brought a knee up hard into the man's gut. Not in the mood to draw this out Eliot grabbed the man's head and slammed it into the doorframe, knocking him unconscious.
After watching the man fall to make sure he wasn't faking it, Eliot turned to Sophie, "That was weird."
Sophie nodded in agreement as she picked up the discarded gun and announced, "It's a tranquilizer gun."
Eliot's eyebrows rose. If someone was after them but was using non-lethal force it probably meant cops of some kind which was good in some ways and bad in others. Intending to find out more Eliot knelt down to frisk their unconscious intruder.
Behind him Sophie pushed down on her earpiece in just the right way to turn it on, "You guys might want to come out here, we may have a complication."
"I hate those," she heard Hardison mumble over the comm line.
"Don't we all," she started to say before her attention was drawn to the doorway where two more armed men appeared out of nowhere. "Eliot, behind you!"
The hitter had been sifting through the first intruder's wallet and had sensed the men approaching just as Sophie yelled. Rising quickly he saw that both men were armed with tasers.
Non-lethal force, he noted again even as he started to move. The men were still several feet away and didn't hesitate to fire as the retrieval specialist headed towards them. Eliot was fast and was able to dodge the electric tendrils of the first shot but that moved him directly into the path of the second one. The pointed electrodes struck him in the arm sending a powerful jolt of electricity through his entire body that sent him down to his knees with a yell of pain as his entire body seized up.
"Ah!"
"Eliot!" Sophie yelled again in concern as she watched the hitter collapse.
In the back of the cabin Nate, Hardison and Parker shared a look of shocked concern when they heard Sophie's first yell and immediately started to head towards the front room.
"Sophie, what's …" Nate's question was cut off when the back door was suddenly kicked open just as they passed it, surprising them all and knocking Hardison to the ground as he was hit in the shoulder by the splintered wood. In moments a half dozen men had surged through the door all armed with tasers or guns which were immediately aimed at the three thieves.
"Hands up, on your knees," one of the men ordered, stepping forward to take charge.
Nate looked to either side of him and saw Hardison rolling up to his knees with some aggressive help from one of the intruders while he rubbed his sore shoulder, complaining, "Hey, easy, no need to get rough. You had an angry childhood I can tell."
Parker's eyes however were shifting from side to side and Nate worried that she might be looking for a make-shift weapon and knew he had to stop her before she got herself hurt.
"Do what they say, both of you," he ordered sternly, looking directly at Parker. Something wasn't right about this but these people didn't seem to be here to kill them which meant there might be room for negotiation. He tried to relate all this to Parker as she looked at him with wide disbelieving eyes before eventually deciding to trust him and slowly putting her hands on her head as instructed.
The armed men were efficient and the three quickly had their hands tied behind them with plastic handcuffs. In the front room however they could still hear the sounds of a struggle mixed with Sophie's screams.
"Who are you people? What do you want?" Nate demanded. He received no answer from the silent men as he was ushered into the next room.
When Sophie saw Eliot fall to his knees she rushed forward, not sure if she wanted to protect him or try to pull him to safety as the two men converged on him, but as she got closer a third man appeared and rushed through the doorway towards her. He easily grabbed her wrist when she tried to hit him and then he pinned both her arms to her sides and held her in a tight bear hug, not hurting her but keeping her completely immobilized.
"Let me go," she demanded as she tried to stomp on the man's foot, but then her attention shifted and her eyes widened in horror, "Eliot, no, stop it! Please!"
Eliot had been electrocuted many times before and though he hadn't really built up a resistance to it, his body knew how to handle it. Therefore when his nervous system was surged with enough energy to knock out most men Eliot just fell to his knees, breathing through the pain and disorientation of the shock treatment. He was however extremely grateful that Sophie had made him put on the suit jacket as the extra layer of clothing had kept the electricity from going directly into his system. Pulling the electrodes out of his arm as quickly as possible Eliot looked down to breathe and compose himself but sensed that his two attackers were nearly on him.
Apparently the men thought Eliot was down for the count though as he saw that they had dropped their spent weapons and one of them was brandishing a pair of handcuffs and reaching for Eliot's arm. The hitter waited until the first man grabbed his wrist then he twisted the grip and hauled down on his attacker as he pulled himself up on to his feet. Eliot's body was shaking from the huge electrical shock but pure willpower urged him to throw a punch to one man's face as he took out the other one at the knee with a swift kick.
The first man went down, clutching his knee miserably but the second recovered quickly from Eliot's hit and tried to kick the retrieval specialist in the ribs. Eliot grabbed his foot with a grunt just as it connected and he twisted it at the ankle, spinning his opponent through the air and sending him face first into the floor. Panting hard, Eliot tried to step back and take a moment to breathe and recover before they came at him again but suddenly there were more men surging through the door, overpowering him with sheer numbers. He landed a punch or two at first but nothing debilitating that would save him.
Eliot tried to block the hits but there were too many men now and his body was reacting too slowly. The first blow that connected was to his jaw and he stumbled into a couch. Before he could even push himself to standing there were punches landing on his ribs, stomach and kidneys. He grunted with each hit but refused to go down completely until a foot connected to the back of one of his knees, collapsing him to all fours. The punches turned into kicks from three different men and Eliot could feel ribs breaking and kidneys bruising. He cried out but he couldn't fight back, his body was so spent that he could barely even protect himself. A harsh kick to the side of the head was what finally knocked him down completely, gasping and shuddering as blood dripped into his eyes and mouth.
The men backed off in relief as Eliot finally seemed to be down and laid there, barely moving.
At the back of the room Nate, Hardison and Parker were marched in, hands tied behind their backs, to see Sophie being restrained and Eliot in a bloody mess on the floor. All three of them immediately tried to surge forward to help or protect their teammate but strong grips on their shoulders from the men behind them held them in place and pushed them onto their knees.
"Eliot!" Parker called out, voicing her concern and also trying to get the hitter's attention so they could see if he was badly injured.
For his part Eliot was no longer thinking so much as acting instinctively. When he had gone down he had protected his head and body, but now that he sensed that he had space his first instinct was to get up, to keep moving. After rolling slowly onto his stomach and spitting out blood, he painstakingly tried to push himself up to all fours, hissing as every muscle protested the idea.
The men who had beaten him shared a look of disbelief, unable to fathom anyone being able or wanting to get up after the beating they had just given. But Eliot wasn't most men and when it was clear he was going to try to stand up the man whose ankle he had twisted earlier fumed with anger.
"Hell with this," the man muttered as he limped towards the fireplace and grabbed a metal poker off the wall.
"No, no, no, no, don't!" Hardison yelled in horror when he saw what was about to happen but it was too late. The other attackers stepped back to give the irate man room as he raised the poker above his head and slammed it down hard on Eliot's back sending the hitter back to the floor with a pain-filled grunt.
"Hey! Stop! He's down! Back off!" Nate yelled as he, Hardison and Parker again tried to move towards their friend, only to be stopped.
"Stop it, please!" Sophie cried out as she was restrained from only a few feet away.
Their protests were unnecessary though. All the air was gone from Eliot's lungs as his shoulders and back exploded in pain and he hit the floor hard, face first where he lay unmoving, barely conscious and desperately fighting for air.
Pleased with himself his attacker threw the poker to the side and delivered a final kick to Eliot's ribs as he ordered, "Stay down!"
"He's down!" Nate yelled again, feeling helpless and useless as Eliot continued to be assaulted. "Son of a bitch, just leave him alone."
The man finally seemed to notice the other three captives and Hardison glared as he looked them over, "That make you feel like a big man, hitting someone who's down?"
"You want to be next?" the intruder asked with a dangerous step forward but before anything more could happen a new voice interrupted them all.
"Marcus, could you please just restrain the difficult one and be done with it?"
All eyes turned to the doorway to see another man had arrived, this one wearing an immaculately well-tailored suit, complete with thousand dollars shoes and five thousand dollar watch and a confident presence which clearly put him in charge of the whole operation. His hair was black but peppered with gray indicating he was at least in his fifties, but his barely wrinkled face was tight and calculating as he looked over his catch.
"Yes Mr. Power," Marcus replied obediently, picking up the handcuffs he had dropped and quickly locking Eliot's arms behind his back. The hitter instinctively tugged at the restraints but didn't have enough energy to do anything else as he continued to struggle for breath, his breathing impaired by his position on his stomach.
"What exactly is this about, Mr. Power, is it?" Nate asked angrily from across the room.
Their captor though refused to turn his gaze towards the back of the room as he was currently locking eyes with Sophie, whose mouth was hanging open in horrified recognition. Taking a step closer the man waved his hand towards her. The man restraining Sophie released her and stepped away while Sophie remained glued to her spot, eyes latched on to their uninvited guest.
"Hello Isabella, it's been a long time," the man said quietly but with an intensity that betrayed the emotions Sophie could read in him – there was sadness, the smallest bit of concern, but mostly there was anger and betrayal.
"Timothy," was all she could breathe out, terrified as her past stood directly in front of her. Unfortunately her past was an angry, powerful man which didn't bode well for any of them at all.
TBC
Hehehe, I'm evil.
I am also very very excited. Just in case any of you don't know, John Rogers, one of the writer/producers of Leverage keeps a twitter page. This is what he wrote today:
"Ep 203 starts shooting today with the same writer/director pair as last year's STORK JOB. Fans of shirtless Kane will be pleased."
Christian will be shirtless in season 2!!!! It's going to be fantastic!!! I'm shallow, I don't care! Weeeeeeee!
This chapter had a lot of fight scenes, I hope they were all clear as I struggled with them. Thanks for reading! We'll learn more about "Timothy" next time!