Part 2

When Parker awoke the next morning, she didn't feel the warmth of Hardison next to her. Sitting up, she heard movement in the kitchen and a delicious scent flowing into the room. She stretched out her arms and yawned before getting out of bed and putting her feet on the cold floor. Hearing the pitter patter of her feet, Hardison smiled and cracked another egg. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she took a deep breath, taking in his scent. It made her feel so, safe. Throughout this whole time, not the relationship but the friendship as well, she realized that not once, had she felt threatened in any way. Hardison turned around and bent his head down to kiss her on the lips.

"Morning Beautiful," He said with a smile, "Have a good sleep?"

"I'm not sure how much sleeping I did but," Parker said with a laugh, "I did have a good night."

He chuckled a low chuckle that sent shivers down her spine.

"I aim to please." He said, looking into her eyes.

"Well now I'm going to start thinking highly of you, which is never a good thing."

They both smiled and just stood there for a moment, enjoying the company of one another. Breaking away sooner than both of them wanted, Hardison stepped back to finish making breakfast. While they made breakfast, they kept sneaking looks at one another, and whenever they got caught they'd just smile and look away. Before long they had finished making and eating breakfast and were on their way to HQ. They walked hand in hand down the sidewalk, just a couple doors away from Nate's house, when Parker stopped. Turning around, Hardison gave her a questioning look.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Parker said looking at her shoes.

"Well it must be something or else we wouldn't have stopped."

"I just don't want to go through with this heist. I think we should back away."

"Parker," Hardison said with a sigh, "Nothing is going to happen, Sophie and I have Mr. Henderson in our grasps, and the only things that will happen are what we want to happen ok?"

He tilted her head up so she would look her in the eyes. "Ok?"

Nodding slightly, he took her hand and led her to the house. When they got there they were the last to arrive, so Nate was a little annoyed.

"Is making your presence such a hassle for you that you can't get here on time?" He gave them an annoyed look before carrying on with what he was saying before they arrived. After the briefing, which they had already heard the previous night, everyone headed to the spots they needed to be at. Hardison looked at Parker and smiled, she smiled back, but he could see that it didn't reach her eyes. That morning everything was going perfectly, Parker and Elliot had made the deal with Mr. Henderson and the transfer was almost complete.

"Ms. Florentent, can I please see you in my office for a moment?" Mr. Henderson said before they started the transfer. "Your partner can stay outside."

"Um sure, is everything ok?"

"Let's just talk in here please."

Sophie followed him into his office, and looked back at Hardison and gave a look he knew meant stay put. And he did so. He stood right next to the wall and waited for the conversation to be over.

"I wonder what they're talking about. Could they have found out about the scam? Oh my god did they do something to Parker and Elliot? I swear to god if they did anything to them there will be a blood bath."

While these thoughts were racing through his brain he didn't notice the 3 guards quickly approaching. When he did notice them he couldn't say a word before something hard made contact to his head and he was engulfed in darkness.

When Hardison awoke he slowly opened his eyes. Tired from the hit, it was only seconds before he blacked out again. Slowly though, his periods of awareness become longer and he could take in his surroundings. He took note of how small the room was, and how it was made out of only cement and then a wooden door. The thing he didn't take note of was the hand with 3 huge rings coming at a fast pace towards his face. Pain spread all over his face. Suddenly there was another, and another, and about 5 more minutes of continuous punching. Hardison thought he was all alone through this, until he heard chaos coming from somewhere. They hadn't taken out his earpiece. Listening closely to anything he could pick up on, he tried to figure out what had happened.

"Where's Hardison?"

"What happened in there Sophie?"

"I don't know one minute I'm in Mr. Henderson's office the next I look in the hall to see Hardison nowhere!"

"We have to find him!"

"Doesn't he have trackers on all the earpieces?"

"Dammit Hardison!"

"Nate we have to find him!"

"Parker calm down I know that! Ok someone needs to go to his computer and find out where he his."

"How do we know they didn't find the earpiece?"

"Hardison? Hardison? If you can hear me I need you to say something, it doesn't even have to be a word."

"Hardison are you there?"

"Hardison I'm so sorry!"

"Everyone shut up in case he can't speak loudly."

There was silence as everyone was wishing, praying, that Hardison would say something to let them know he was alive. Tears were streaming down his face as he heard this all. He knew he couldn't talk for he was afraid they would find the earpiece. So he timed a moan with a punch. He grunted and moaned as loud as he could and then waited for any sign that they heard him.

"Oh my god! Hardison are you ok?"

"Sophie if he couldn't say a word in the first place it probably means he can't say one now."

"Hardison!"

"Dammit Hardison what did you do this time?"

He felt relieved that they knew he was alive and that he wasn't completely alone. Suddenly he gets picked up and thrown against the room to a wall. A man picks him up and starts beating the shit out of him. He tries not to scream, for the teams' sake. But that doesn't stop a few moans from slipping out.

"Hardison please stay with us ok? I don't know what they're doing but Nate and I are trying to find you as we speak, but you have a really good security system."

He smiled at this, only Parker would say something like that at a time like this. He looked at the men to see them furious.

"So you think this is funny? Huh? Well, maybe we should do something hilarious then."

Sick of all this big talk, Hardison spits in his face. The bulky man explodes and sits him in a chair and straps him down.

"Ready to have a good time buddy?"

Before he has any time to respond a sharp intense pain shoots up from his right hand. A blood curling scream leaves his mouth and he looks down to see a finger bent way out of shape. Next he take hold of Hardisons ring finger, and looks Hardison right in the eye before saying, "If you tell us who's working with you we will spare the rest of you." Looking up from his hand, Hardison stares daggers into 'Blacky's' eyes and doesn't say a word.

"Your funeral."

Pain explodes through Hardisons body, as Blacky breaks all 8 fingers and 2 thumbs. Throughout this Hardison screams silently and tears are threatening to flow down his face. The men back up and huddle together to talk about what to do next. Once Hardison has gotten some of his breath back he tries to focus on the voices coming into his ear.

"Hardison what's going on?"

"Is he ok?"

"Nate have you found him yet?

"Parker this is going to take some time. Elliot and I just got through his system and are about to search him up on the map. Hardison if you can hear me I need you to quietly tell me our passcode or else this could take more time then we have."

Hardison closes his eyes and whispers as quietly as possible, "3,9,14,68,42,5."

"Ok good Hardison."

There's silence for what seems like hours in Hardisons mind before Elliot yells, "We got his signal! Don't worry buddy we're coming for you."

Before he can respond we feels two fingers come up to his ear and take away his earpiece. Terrified he looks up to see Blacky drop the earpiece on the floor and stomp on it.

"So trying to talk to your friends are we? That's a very bad choice."

Hardison looks down at the now smashed earpiece, and realizes that now he won't have any comfort from anyone. He is now really and truly alone.

Blacky puts one hand on either side of Hardisons arm, and gives him one last chance to tell him who his team members are. Hardison knows this will be his last chance at living, but stays quite. His team is his life, and if he gave up his team that would include Parker, and he would die before letting her get killed by these men. So, for the first time since he got in that hell hole, he speaks a two letter word. "No."

Blacky smiles and says, wrong answer. Hardison screams as pressure comes on both sides of his arm and his elbow gets lifted upward. Finally, there's a snap and he lets out a horrifying scream that lasts at least 2 minutes. Tears stream freely down his face and his neck. He tastes the blood and the salty tears and knows it's the end. Taking the other arm, Blacky does the same process, and Hardison is swallowed by darkness. When he awakes there's a gun pointed at his head, and he hears the sound of it being loaded.

"It's been a blast." Blacky starts, "But I have other things to get done today."

Hardison closes his eyes again and says a quick prayer to god and a goodbye to Nana and Parker and the rest of the team. After he finishes he notices that the gun hasn't gone off yet, slowly looking up because his head is pounding, he sees Elliot kicking the crap out of Blacky and the two other men and Nate bending down in front of him. He barely makes out what Nate says before he is yet again, Swalled up by the darkness.