AN: Sorry it took so long to get this out. I started a new job and it's begun to suck up my time. I also am trying to work on my other stories. I want to finish them so badly. And I've started reading Glee fics pretty religiously, so now I have an idea for one that won't leave my head.
Everything with Malfoy, Sterling, and their connections/friendship/owing favors will be explained in the next chapter, and we will get some of Teddy and Jasmine's perspective on all of this.
Explanations to the Team
Elliot was panicking a week later when the team was meeting at Nate's apartment. They had all just agreed to go after Moreau, but they still had no idea that Elliot's girl and her son may be in danger. He paced like crazy in front of the wall of TV screens trying to think of a good way to explain what was going on to the team while, at the same time, formulate a plan that would keep Jazz and Teddy alive.
"We have a major problem," Elliot said as he finally stopped pacing, "It's bigger than any of you know."
"What did you do Elliot?" Nate asked, and Elliot is ready to scream because, really, none of this would have happened if they had taken his advice and left Moreau alone.
"What did I do? Nothing! Except try to save your sorry asses, and, in turn, risked the most important thing in my life. If you had listened Nate and not gone behind our backs in this whole deal then no one would be in danger."
Only Parker caught the meaning behind his words, which seriously worried Elliot, "Elliot we're always in danger, who does Moreau have over you?"
Elliot was saved from answering by his phone ringing, "Hello?"
"Spencer, just the man I wanted to talk to," Moreau responded, "I have someone for you to talk to."
"Elliot?" Teddy's voice was laced with fear and Elliot gestured frantically for Hardison to start tracing the call.
"I'm here buddy. Are you okay?"
"Y-yes, but Mummy's hurt and they won't let me see her. I want my mummy Elliot," Teddy was in tears at the end.
"I know buddy. Just do what they tell you and I'm going to come get you alright," Elliot tried to put as much reassurance as possible into his voice.
"Please d-daddy, I'm scared," Elliot nearly cried when Teddy called him daddy. He had only called Elliot daddy once before, when he broke his arm 6 months ago.
Before Eliot could respond to his son Moreau came back on the line, "Isn't that sweet? The poor boy wants his daddy. What are you going to do now Spencer?"
"What do you want Moreau?" Eliot ground out.
"Call Ford and his team off of me. Fix the mess you have caused and you can have them back, relatively unharmed." The phone clicked off and it was all Eliot could do to not throw it across the room in frustration and anger.
The team blinked at him, having heard most of the conversation through Hardison's tracking program. Parker raised her hand and Eliot nodded at her, "When did you get married?"
"While I don't see how that question matters, I'm not married and, in case you're going to ask, Teddy's not mine either."
Nate buries his head in his hands, "Do you realize how complicated this has just gotten?"
Eliot scoffed, "Please, this was complicated from the very beginning. Damien Moreau is not a man we should have dealt with in the first place. He is more dangerous than anyone we have ever come across. If he knew more about any of you then your family would be in danger. Think about it, Maggie, Archie, Nana, all of them would be in danger.
"I took the biggest risk. You didn't listen when I warned you all away from this con. I kept my promise, I kept this team safe, but you never listen Nate, you think you know best. And now a woman who I love, who has tried to live a good life, a better life than us, and her 7 year old son are in danger." And then, Eliot broke. He collapsed and began sobbing.
Sophie blinked at him, cautiously approaching the broken man, Nate looked slightly ashamed and unable to face his devastated hitter, and Hardison was actually doing his job, trying to track Moreau's location.
"We'll find them Eliot and I'll steal them back, I'm a thief its what I do," Parker was, surprisingly, the one to offer actual comfort.
"Thanks Parker," Eliot's voice was gruffer than usual, he had finished crying and now looked ready to kill someone.
"So what are we going to do?" Eliot turned to Nate, "You're the man with plan, so figure something out."
Instead of answering Eliot, Nate to out his phone and began to speak rapidly in Italian to person on the other end. Then he had Hardison pull up all the political opponents to Ribera and the team quickly began scouting each one out. Slowly they narrowed down their options and called up Eliot's contact, General Flores on the phone. The conversation they had with him was enlightening, but Eliot couldn't help feel bad that it landed up with Flores getting arrested. He only thanked whatever higher power was around that Moreau did not realize whom Flores was talking to.
The final trick that they had to perform was to get into the country without Moreau realizing, at least until they could hack into the security cameras and find Jasmine and Teddy. To do that Sophie made a call to Tara, seeing if she was free to come in and act as part of the team, since Moreau knew what Nate looked like. Eliot, with great trepidation, also called up Sterling who owed Jasmine a favor.
"Sterling? It's Spencer, I need your help."
"Why should I help you?" Sterling's tone made Eliot wish that he could reach through the phone and punch him.
"It's for Jasmine."
That caused the tone to change slightly, "What did you do?"
"Nate went after Moreau and he took her and Teddy in order to assure that we would back off. You know Moreau, better than anyone who hasn't worked for him. You realize what would happen once we back off completely and he feels safe."
"They're dead," the Englishman answered quietly.
"Exactly. You owe her, and you owe her big Sterling. Not to mention the sway that Malfoy has fingers in every pie in England, including Interpol."
Sterling sighed, "I know my debts Spencer, and I will repay them. What do you need me to do?"
"Get the coverage on the election in San Lorenzo watched as closely as possible for anything. Try and get as many U.N. inspectors assigned there as possible, drop interagency hints if you have to. I'll call Malfoy and get his assistance."
"Good luck with Malfoy. You'll be lucky if he doesn't kill you after all this is over, or before and just threatens Moreau to give her back.
Eliot let out a gruff laugh, "Thanks for the warning and the help Sterling."
He hung up the phone slowly, ignoring the weird looks he got from the team and went to dial Draco Malfoy."