Okay, here goes the fourth Chapter, and I'm happy to say that Eliot will be in it again :-) I'd like to thank everybody for your kind reviews, it's always great to hear what you think. Well, here it goes. Enjoy :-)

ooo

Sophie could tell by the sound of the approaching footsteps in the corridor that Carpenter had arrived. They were the firm, confident strides of a man with power and he'd most certainly paid a small fortune for his shoes. When it came to footwear, nobody could beat the ears of Sophie Deveraux – she could tell an expensive pair of shoes from cheap ones a mile away. A smile flitted across her face as she finished the coffee with one last sip. Time to find out how this man dealt with an unexpected visitor.

With an elegant movement, she reached for her briefcase and rose from the leather chair to walk over to the man coming down hallway. Behind her, the secretary made a sound of protest and a moment later the hectic blonde squeezed her way past her.

"Mr. Carpenter?" Sophie watched how the small woman almost stumbled over her own feet. "Mr. Carpenter, I am so sorry. I forgot to remind you of your appointment today..."

The secretary stopped in mid-sentence when she noticed that Mr. Carpenter was already talking to the head of security. Smiling apologetically, she made a gesture towards Sophie.

"Mrs. Taylor from IRS."

A pair of piercing blue eyes turned toward them and the blond woman literally shrank under their glare.

"I am having an important conversation here, Miss Landon. I'd appreciate it if you could wait for a moment." Although there was nothing harsh in his voice, the secretary flinched as if she had been hit.

"Mrs. Taylor."

He politely nodded to Sophie, his eyes locking with hers, and for a short, unsettling moment Sophie thought that he knew, that he was seeing through her con with so much as a glance. It was impossible, of course. How could he know? But still, there was something uncanny about the way he looked at her, his face blank and unreadable. Pull yourself together, Sophie. You're being ridiculous here. She managed to acknowledge his greeting with a nod of her own and was almost glad when the secretary pulled her back into the room and closed the glass door behind them.

Disquieted, Sophie watched the two men talking in the corridor. It was a small relief that Carpenter seemed to have the same effect on his head of security, who was squirming uncomfortably in front of the older man. She guessed that Stratton was informing his boss about the current situation, and judging by the way the security man looked, it wasn't good news. Carpenter however didn't show any sign of anger or concern. That man either had an enormous amount of self-control or he didn't have any emotions at all.

Sophie retained her position by the door, keeping an eye on the men and pondered her last observation. The lack of emotion was certainly an explanation for her unease – she couldn't read him, and that was a rare thing to happen to her. It certainly didn't make her job any easier. She was just about to turn away to check on the secretary, when she noticed a small object being exchanged. It was only a quick movement but the short flicker of the reflecting surface was enough to catch her attention. Sophie pursed her lips as Carpenter slipped the CD into the pocket of his jacket. Well, well. Maybe there was a way to fix things after all.

ooo

The little light slowly wandered down the display and Nate exchanged a last glance with the younger man beside him. Things had gone well so far, he just hoped it would stay like this. If they were lucky, the security guards would be scattered across the lower floors chasing Parker. It was quite possible that the thief had even found a way to get rid of them for the moment, but Nate didn't want to count on it. When he had last spoken to her on the phone, she'd had her hands full already. The doors slid open with a hiss and Nate stepped into the brightly lit hallway. Time to roll.

Swinging his backpack over his shoulder, Hardison followed as Nate lead the way. Parker had told them that Eliot was being held in one of the rooms in the corridor close to the elevator, so they shouldn't have any problems finding him. He was worried about the security cameras, though. The things were all over the place and the computer tech hadn't had any time to hack them, which meant that the two of them would be clearly visible for everyone paying enough attention. The white gowns were only good at first glance and probably wouldn't stand close examination.

They had just turned around a corner when they were stopped by a uniformed man.

"Excuse me, Sir." The guard was all politeness. "I need to see your Ids, please."

Nate looked at the man with mild surprise and gestured Hardison to stop. His eyes fell on the second security guard, who was standing in front of a door further down the hallway. Interesting. That was either the room they were looking for or a big coincidence.

"My Id," he repeated calmly. "Of course, just a second."

Nate felt the suspicious glare of the uniformed man on him as he reached into is pocket, pretending to look for an Id that really wasn't there. Another detail they hadn't had the time to think about, and that could quite possibly turn out to be their undoing. If it hadn't been for the second guard down the corridor, Nate would have risked a fight, but as things were, he didn't dare to. No way they could effectively take down both guards as long as the other one was standing so far away.

He had just started searching his other pocket when he felt the barrel of a gun pressing against his side. Nate looked at the weapon first, then met the eyes of the guard.

"Let's stop playing games, shall we."

Nate smiled in defeat and slowly raised his hands, while the guard took a step back, his gun still trained on him.

"I'm afraid I have to ask you to come with me." He gestured Nate and Hardison to walk ahead.

Nate tried to ignore Hardison's accusing glance as he complied. This was an unfortunate turn of events, of course, but it was no reason to panic. Not as long as Parker was somewhere here in the building. He suspected that the thief was somewhere in the air duct above this corridor, watching and waiting for her chance. They just had to buy her some time.

"You've been expecting us?" Nate said casually.

The security guard smirked. "It was obvious that you would try to get your friends out of here. Mr. Carpenter will be very pleased to find that you've decided to pay us a visit."

Hardison had a fairly good idea what Nate was up to and strategically positioned himself beside the older man, joining the conversation.

"You really should think about a better security system though. A child could have cracked the one in the elevator."

"You're talking pretty much for a guy who's got a gun trained on him."

"How come there's just the two of you anyway? Isn't this supposed to be high security or something?" Hardison threw Nate a short glance.

"Yeah," Nate added. "It is kinda strange, isn't it. One would think there should be more guards about the place. I've heard they're even having trouble catching that blond woman."

The expression on the security guard's face confirmed Nate's suspicion. Parker was still somewhere around and she had been giving them a hard time so far. The trace of anger flickering across the other man's face was rather satisfying.

"We'll get her soon enough."

Nate looked at the smoke swirling at the end of the corridor and grinned.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that."

The guards followed his glance and one of them cursed under his breath, momentarily distracted by the unexpected sight. Things went pretty fast then, as Nate took the opportunity to strike, landing a solid blow in the guard's face. He noticed the fire alarm going off at the same time, the smoke in the corridor growing thicker by the the moment, and Hardison beside him kicking into action, too. He heard a grunt of pain close by, a shot echoing through the hallway, and Nate lashed out once more, ducking a flailing hand that missed his jaw by inches.

The sudden clicking of a gun being cocked caused him to freeze at once. It was a long moment, in which Nate stared down the barrel of a gun, watching his entire life pass by, and then watching with disbelief as the man's eyes suddenly rolled up in his head, his body going limb and sliding to the ground, revealing a furious blonde standing behind him. Nate raised his eyebrows.

"About time, Parker."

She gave him a short smile. "I needed a moment to place the smoke bombs."

Hardison looked at her incredulously. "Smoke bombs? Where the hell did you get smoke bombs?"

She shrugged, momentarily bending down to pick up the guard's weapon and releasing the cartridge, mimicking the action she had seen countless times with Eliot before.

"I stumbled into their gun room."

Nate raised an eyebrow, nodding towards the large object she had used to knock out the security man.

"Let me get this straight. You stumbled into their gun room and stole some smoke bombs?"

She nodded.

"But instead of stealing a gun you used a fire extinguisher to take out the guards."

Parker followed his glance and took in the sight of the unconscious form on the floor, apparently pleased with her achievement. She smiled in satisfaction.

"That was poetic justice."

ooo

Eliot was startled awake by the sudden touch of a hand on his shoulder, ready to fight if he had to, and sank back to the ground when he recognized the blurred face above him.

"Parker," he breathed.

"Good, you're awake."

She looked down at him with that scrutinizing stare she sometimes had, and for a moment Eliot wondered if he really looked that bad. Then he felt her hands upon him as she tried to pull him upright. "Come on, we need to go."

Eliot bit back a groan when the movement awakened the sleeping the pain in his head. He struggled to get his feet under him and tried to convince his body cooperate, but didn't have much success. Parker cursed.

"Hardison? I need your help here."

God, that hurt. He just wished she wouldn't talk that loud. There was also this other sound, shrill enough to make his head throb, an alarm of some kind. They hadn't set the building on fire to get him out of here, had they?

"What... oh, crap. You been sick, man?"

Eliot sensed a movement beside him and realized that the computer tech was squatting beside him. Hardison moved to grab his chin, gently turning his head to take a better look at him, eyes narrowing at the sight. "Damn it, Eliot. You look like shit."

Eliot growled, weakly slapping Hardison's hand away. There was no way he'd have people fuzzing over him like that. Not when he was still conscious. Hardison raised his hands in a gesture of apology.

"Alright man. None of my business."

"What's taking you so long?" That was Nate's voice.

"Coming!" Hardison's arm slipped behind his shoulders. "Sorry, man. This is gonna hurt."

Eliot felt himself being pulled into a sitting position and closed his eyes against the sudden onslaught of pain. He just hoped that he wouldn't be sick again.

"Parker, grab his arm."

Together they dragged him to his feet, and Eliot sagged against Hardison as everything around him faded into a hazy gray. Swaying, he tried to regain his balance, thankful for the steadying arm that wrapped around his waist. The alarm sounded far away now and the voices were drowned by the roaring in his ears. He was barely aware of the slender hand that reached for his other arm, pulling him close and preventing him from tumbling over.

"Just don't faint, okay?"

"I don't think he can hear you, Parker."

Was that Hardison speaking again? Eliot wasn't sure. Somehow everything was turning and spinning, the floor beneath his feet a moving surface that threatened to come towards him any moment. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to fight down the dizziness and get his head clear again. There were hands urging him forward, and in his dazed state of mind, Eliot decided to focus on the one thing that was important right now. He walked.

TBC