Here's the next chapter! Get ready for some crazy Nate ;) I don't own leverage

Be Hurt or Be Dead

Part 1:

The three of them stared at each other with shocked faces as their minds registered Nates words. Parker knew that this was coming. Maybe not that particular, um, personality you could say but something crazy at least. Hardison was confused by the masterminds words but there was also an anger boiling within him. Nate wanted to hurt Sophie. He wanted to kill her. But why? Eliot, on the other hand, wanted to get to Sophie as fast as he could

"What's going on?" Eliot asked slowly.

"Sophie and I think we figured out what's going on."

"What?" The two demanded.

"Sophie said that Nate hadn't been acting right like he was off in dreamland. She said he was talking slow and wouldn't look at her. When I was in the foster system I saw people on drugs and they always acted a little off-"

"-you ain't saying what I think you're saying..."

"We think Nate's on drugs."

The two stared at her, blinking a few times. Eliot didn't want to believe it - he couldn't believe it. Yet, it seemed to be a realistic answer. Hardison wanted to completely deny it but he had heard what Nate had said and was forced to believe it. Parker was just praying to God that Nate didn't hurt her.

"We have to find out more!" Eliot suddenly demanded. "Hardison get me everything you can on Nates whereabouts in the past few weeks and anything else that may be useful. Parker you help him while I devise a plan to calm him down and bring him back."

"No Eliot, listen to me," Parker said in a tone she rarely ever used. She only used it when she meant serious business. "He's not injecting anything into himself or smoking anything. This drug we're talking about is a pill. When we first heard from Nate he sounded like he was dying. Sophie said that he has been in so much pain that he had been slamming himself into the wall. Now when I was talking to Sophie she said he was a little off. You know, responding slow and not really focused. Suddenly he turns into this crazy wacko killer who wants to kill Sophie. What I think is going on is that he took one pill that put him through this horrible pain. When it wore off his mind was groggy and slow. Now that he took this other one the effects have kicked in. It just so happens that this effect is homicidal actions."

"That makes...perfect sense, Parker," Eliot said slowly.

"I've got some information guys," Hardison said as he waved them over. Quickly the two of them huddled around him. "Nate went on a trip to New York just 3 days ago. While he was there he went to this apartment building." A picture came up on the screen of the building. "I'm doin' my best but it's gonna to take me a little while to track him through the security footage so I can find the room. Then once I find out who lives there I'll do a background check. That'll be about all I can do though."

"Do your best man. We need everything we can get."

With a nod Hardison went back to working and Eliot and Parker both sat down. She tapped her foot impatiently while Eliot internally tried to calm his mind down. There was so much unknown information and so little known information. Their connection with Nate and Sophie was gone and Sophie was in a lot of danger. To make things worse NATE was the danger! Now they were stuck in a helicopter trying to get there as fast as they could before someone got seriously hurt. Or worse - died.

Part 2:

Nate had finally let go of her throat but that only brought some relief. Next thing she knew he had pinned her arm behind her back and held his knife to her throat.

"You want to talk don't you?" He asked in a voice that sounded possessed by the Devil.

"Mhm."

"Fine, you have 5 minutes," He said before pushing her away.

Sophie gasped for breath, rubbing her shoulder, which throbbed in pain. He respectively put his knife back in his pocket and crossed his arms.

"What's going on?"

"Why do you care?"

"I care because you want to kill me!"

He shrugged in a way that said 'I don't care.'

"Why are you doing drugs?"

She saw his body stiffen and his jaw clench at her words. She didn't back down though. "What are you doing?"

"I'm doing this for you," he spat, taking a long stride towards her.

"For me? What in the world makes you think I'd want you to do drugs?"

"This was to get you back. I'm doing this to get you back."

"So you did this just to get me back? You walk in blind to talking drugs that could ruin you for the rest of your life just to get me back?"

He nodded, his eyes dark blue with an unknown rage.

"Are you crazy?"

"No, I'm determined."

"I don't want you to be taking drugs Nate!" She screamed at him.

Suddenly her back hit the ground as Nate sweeped her leg from underneath her. She coughed and spluttered as the wind was knocked out of her. He leaned down to look at her, his head tilted to the side, and his eyes blank.

"Shut. Up."

"What is your problem?" She coughed out as she went to sit up. Suddenly he grabbed her throat and pushed her back down on the ground.

"Don't you get it yet? Don't you get what I'm doing?"

She dug her nails into his arm causing him to bleed. He didn't do so much as flinch at the pain. Gathering all of the strength that was slowly draining from his body she pushed his hand from her throat. He growled at the lost control but reluctantly yanked his hand back.

"No, I don't get what you're doing!"

"Maybe you should figure it out!" Nate yelled as he yanked her to her feet, holding her a good three inches off the ground.

She whimpered at the fact she didn't have her feet on the ground. Her eyes were wide with fright as she looked into his ruthless eyes - the ones that had been filled with comfort just months earlier. Slowly he lowered her to the ground and took a few steps back. She almost let out a breath of relief when she thought that she had gotten a break from evil Nate. That thought was literally knocked out of her when he threw a hard punch straight at her jaw. The impact caused her to stumble back as blood trickled down her chin from the cut on her lip.

"Everyday I'll take a different drug that will make me act differently. I don't know what they'll do to me but I do know one is the cure." He took a step toward her. "Until then-" another step "-you'll just-" another step "-have to-" another step "-survive."

With his face inches from hers and his eyes full of a fake anger she spun around and ran for her life.

Part 3:

An hour passed in a tense silence. Hardison was deep in his computer as he worked as fast as he could. Parker was still nervous and Eliot was dead silent. She could tell he was deep in thought and deep in planning. It was a face she had often seen on Nate. Suddenly Hardison looked over at them withe wide yes.

"Parker's right."

"I am?"

"He went to go visit a man name Max Jenkins. Max works for a pharmaceutical company and creates drugs. Make what you want of that but it seems really plausible that Parker's right."

Eliot and Parker both nodded slowly as they took in the information. "What do we do when we get there?" Hardison asked firmly.

"We pray to god that Sophie or anyone else hasn't been hurt by Nates actions. Then I'll knock Nate out and sedate him so he won't wake up until we get to the nearest hospital. Once we get there the doctors will take a look at him and do the nessecary procedures to fix him."

"Do you think he'll remember what happened once the doctors fix him?" Hardison asked.

"Maybe. I'm not sure what these drugs are and what the after-affects are."

"Hardison, can you please get me Maxs number?" Parker asked in a smooth voice. She was determined to get to the bottom of what was going on.

Hardison nodded and pulled up the number for her before dialing it on his phone. He handed it to her and she took it with a nod.

"Hello?" Came the mans voice.

"Hello there Max Jenkins. My name is Parker and I am a close friend of Nate Fords. I have a few questions for you."