A/N: I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it for you.

I don't own Leverage or any of its characters, and make no money off any of this. I write for fun.

Thanks to all of those who are reading, following, favoriting and reviewing. These reviews totally make my day, so please keep them coming. I could never have imagined when I started writing this that it would get so much attention. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

As we are getting closer to the end, the words are coming faster. Hopefully that will continue. Not much left to tell now. Enjoy.

A/N: This one is a bit shorter than other chapters because the next part of the story will potentially be longer, and I didn't want to make you wait for all of that to be finished before posting.

Chapter 17

Parker was getting bored, sitting alone in the vacant lot across the street from Eliot's farmhouse. She wasn't used to sitting still for this long, but she wouldn't leave. Not when she thought Eliot might need her. Whether it was the team that showed up or Conrad, she had no doubt that Eliot and his friends could handle the situation, but she owed Conrad some payback, and she wanted to be there to see him get what was coming to him. She had a plan for that, too, in case Eliot's plan fell through.

As Parker stood up to stretch, she saw a car pull into Eliot's driveway. Leaning forward for a closer look, she saw three men in the car, and one of them looked like Conrad. She watched, trying to think of a way to stall Conrad.

Conrad and his men quietly surrounded the house, peering in windows, trying to get a read on the occupants. When they determined that the front part of the house was empty, they slipped inside. Parker had just decided how she could draw them away from the house. Now she had to figure out how to get them out of the house, and that was what she was trying to do when a car pulled into a clearing in the vacant lot, a few dozen yards down the way. A young man got out, with a slight build and dark, curly hair. He started toward the house as well, when Parker launched herself off the ground, and hit him like a runaway freight train, right in the chest.

"Oomph," he grunted, as he went down. He rolled out from under her, was immediately on his feet again, and as she came at him a second time, he was ready for her, and he neatly wrapped both arms around her body and pinned them there. Pushing her up against the nearest thing he found, which was the car he came in, he said roughly, "What's your name?"

Parker didn't answer, and the young man holding her simply pushed on the arm he had twisted up behind her back, and she squealed in pain. "I'm only going to ask you one more time. What's your name?"

"Alice. Alice White."

"What's your business here, Alice White?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I'm asking you. Answer me before I make you answer." His voice was dangerous.

Parker was wary. She didn't know if this man was more of Conrad's backup or someone they could trust. She answered carefully. "Watching out for a friend."

"Yeah? Seems we have something in common, then. What would your friend's name be?"

Thinking fast, Parker said, "Abernathy. My friend's name is Dr. Abernathy. Yours?"

"I happen to know that no one by the name of Abernathy lives here. You can tell me the truth or I can detain you until I've secured the place. I happen to be a friend of the owner."

Parker was a pretty good judge of character. A life in and out of the foster care system and time on the streets had taught her those skills quickly. The young man seemed genuine.

"You're a friend of Eliot's?"

The man stopped short at that, and stared at her. Wondering if she had said something wrong, she added, "Because I know the owner, too, and his name is Eliot." Suddenly, he released her and stepped back, ready in case she decided to attack him again.

"Relax. We're on the same side. Eliot had me watching the man who just went into the house. When he left to come here, I followed, knowing Eliot might be in danger."

Oh, sweet mercy. An ally. Maybe.

They settled down to watching the house again, and five minutes later, one of the three men who had gone inside came back out, and it was pretty clear that he was guarding the outside of the house. Parker found herself scoping out places to hide around the house, trying to find a way to sneak up on the guard. When she snapped out of her reverie and looked around again, Eliot's friend was no longer next to her, and a moment later, he was behind the guard, arm around his neck, choking him. The guard slumped to the ground, and using his feet, Eliot's friend hid him behind some bushes.

Without a word, Parker slipped around the side of the house, trying to see where Eliot might be inside, and if he was in danger. In less than a minute, she had made a perimeter sweep of most of the house, and was coming up on the last room in the back of the house, a bedroom or a den by the looks of it. There was one window, on the back wall of the brick house, with wood blinds drawn against the outside. It was the work of a moment to pop the lock and ease the window open by a half inch or so. Moving one slat just slightly, she could see enough to tell that Conrad and his man were tearing the place up, but Eliot was nowhere around. She suddenly had the horrifying thought that Eliot might be lying unconscious somewhere else in the house. That would mean that Conrad had overpowered Doc and Vance as well. Ugh. She really hated that guy. That would also mean that they were in over their heads.

Without allowing herself to think too much about what she was doing, she withdrew her phone from her pocket, turned it on (She had turned it off earlier so it couldn't be used to track them), and dialed a number. It rang twice and a voice answered.

"Parker, where are you?"

"No time, Nate. Listen carefully. Eliot needs help and I have an idea of how to get Conrad." She moved a little away so that her new acquaintance couldn't overhear (she was only willing to trust him to a point because she needed his help to pull off what she had planned) and held a rapid, whispered conversation with her boss. She hung up and turned back around to see Eliot's friend standing and staring as the house exploded into flames. After her panic died down a little, she realized she hadn't seen anyone come out of the house, and apparently the young man with her came to the same conclusion at the same time. A look passed between them, and suddenly they understood each other. She started running toward the house, while he ran around to the back. He saw Conrad and his man disappearing into the woods behind the house, and followed.

Parker climbed in the back window, and darted from room to room in the house, dodging strategically placed explosives and det-cord, and checking for unconscious or incapacitated friends. When she was satisfied it was clear, she breathed a sigh of relief, and as the fire reached the det-cord on the floor of the room she was in, she wrenched open the window and threw herself out into the yard. She landed badly on her knee, but she couldn't afford to stop, and she half-ran, half limped a safe distance away. She knew Eliot's friend had gone into the woods after Conrad and his man, so she followed, to lend what help she could.