Nate glared across the van at Sophie, fighting down feelings of betrayal. She was the first to say that he took unnecessary risks with the team's safety, but when it was Faith…

"Unh-uh," Hardison snapped, holding up a finger before Nate could say anything. "Y'all take it outside. I've got work to do in here."

Can you let this go? Nate looked across at Sophie again. Rage battled his common sense, until he felt like the walls of the van were starting to close in on him. Turning, he opened the rear door and went to step out.

"I'm cutting you two off until you can play nice," Hardison called, as Nate stepped clear and waited for Sophie to follow.

"Fine," he said. "This won't take long." He closed the door.

Sophie was glaring right back at him when he finally turned to face her. "You're not going to try and tell me you were thinking clearly," she said. "If anyone else but Faith proposed going in there, you would have been all for it!"

"And if it had been anyone else but my daughter, you would have been on my case for taking reckless chances!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Nate knew he'd tipped his hand.

Predictably, Sophie jumped on it. "Your daughter. My point exactly. Nate, you wouldn't be human if you weren't worried about her safety, but you're so paranoid about losing another child that you're forgetting she can do this!"

Her expression softened. "She's Eliot's best chance. You know this."

"She's not bullet proof, Sophie," he countered, feeling the weight of truth closing in around his heart. "And she's got Parker with her. I was willing to risk it if Eliot could help – he'll make sure Parker gets out in one piece."

He felt like a traitor saying it, but it was the truth. "I can't trust Faith will do the same."

"Wait."

Faith skidded to a stop, holding out an arm to block Parker's advance. "What's up?" she asked, touching her ear reflexively.

"Zombie-boy made a call. Looks like they're moving Eliot to a cell somewhere."

In transit would be an easier grab. Faith exchanged a look with Parker. "Can you see them?"

"I've got the cameras outside Lindsey's office, so I can tell you when they head for the elevators. Oh, and to make this even more fun, I just sent Nate and Sophie into time out."

Faith's eyes widened, and she prayed she'd heard the hacker wrong. "Now? Get them back!" Sending away their master strategist now was nothing short of suicide.

Parker grabbed her arm, shaking her head. "No. It's good." The thief's eyes shifted off Faith. "Hardison, can you get the elevators?"

Faith heard the faint clattering sound of keys. "Got one stopping for you in five."

"He means seconds," Parker told her. "Come on!"

Impressed in spite of herself, Faith followed the slender thief back down the hallway they'd just come through. They rounded the corner just as the center elevator in the bank opened up.

"All right," Hardison said, as they entered the car and the doors slid shut again, "Eliot's on the move. I'm taking you straight up to the executive floor, so you've got about a minute to get into position."

Parker jerked her head at Faith. "Give me a boost." She glanced up at the access hatch in the ceiling.

All right indeed, Faith thought, dropping into a crouch so that Parker could perch on her shoulders. She was still slightly stunned at how smoothly Parker and Hardison had stepped in and taken charge of things, but as long as it worked she was hardly going to question it. The important thing was that they got Eliot out safely. Faith really didn't give a damn about how they pulled it off.

Parker opened the hatch and pulled herself through. She immediately reached back through the opening, extending her arm towards Faith. Faith thought about waving her back – it was an easy jump for her – but decided in the end not to overlook the gesture Parker was making. Reaching up to grab the thief's wrist, she allowed herself to be pulled through the hatch, onto the roof of the moving cab.

"How many guards with him?" she asked, trusting that the coms would pick up her voice over the rush of air that filled the shaft around them.

"Three. They don't have their weapons out, so it'll hopefully be an easy grab. Eliot's stumbling, but he's conscious."

Faith sighed with relief, feeling some of the tension drain out of her. "You stay up here," she said to Parker. "Nate said to keep you out of the line of fire, and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

She was amused to see Parker look outraged. "I might not be a superhero, but I can fight, you know. And Eliot's my teammate, not yours."

"Parker, it's a small enclosed space. I can take three guys without breaking a sweat, but I'm going to need you to pull Eliot up here. He may be walking, but we don't know what kind of shape he's in – not really."

"She's right, Parker."

Faith smiled, hearing Nate's voice over the coms again. "Welcome back, Pops. You and Sophie get things worked out?"

"As much as we ever do," the grifter sighed.

"You're coming up on the executive level," Nate told them. "Faith, you'll go on my mark."

The car shuddered to a stop. Faith swayed slightly, but managed to maintain her balance. Parker – she was amused to note – looked completely unfazed.

It took almost a full minute, then the car started moving again – this time back down the way they came. "Three," Nate said. Faith put her hand on the lever to open the hatch.

"Two." Faith cranked the handle, and felt the hatch start to give way.

"One."

She swung open the small, square door, and dropped through.

"It's like we set loose a pissed off wildcat," Sophie observed. They were watching the hijacked security feed, transfixed as Faith beat the three security guards into submission.

"Or a firecracker," Nate said, smiling slightly. Eliot was on his feet, pressed into a corner of the elevator cab. He looked to Nate as though he wanted to help, but his hands were cuffed behind his back, and he was still very clearly rattled from the taser hit.

Parker leaned down through the access panel. "Come on!" she shouted at Eliot. She started to extend her hand to him, then faltered. There was no way Eliot could reach her.

"Faith!" the hitter yelled, trying to break through the Slayer's battle frenzy. "Find the damn keys!"

Nate put a hand on Hardison's shoulder. "Can you express them to the ground floor?"

The hacker nodded, tapping several keys. Nate straightened up. "Listen up, people – you're going out the front door."

"Nate, are you sure?" Sophie asked. On the monitor, Faith had found the handcuff keys, and was in the process of releasing Eliot.

He nodded at Sophie. "Faith, you clear the path. Eliot, can you back her up?"

Faith relayed the message, and the hitter nodded, obviously realizing his com was off line.

"Good," Nate said. "Hardison's going to set off the fire alarm as soon as you reach the ground floor. Between that and the fact that it should be mostly civilians in the lobby, you should be able to punch your way out."

Parker leaped down into the elevator cab. Eliot grabbed Faith's shoulder, and leaned in to her com-side ear. "As soon as Hardison sets off the alarm, you guys clear out," he said. "We'll get to my car and meet you back at the apartment."

Nate wanted to protest, with every fiber of his being, but he couldn't ignore the logic. "Faith," he said, "tell him that's the plan."

"Fire alarm in three…two…one…" Hardison said.