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 the characters, and make no money off of any of this. I don't write slash. Enjoy.
For those who don't want it to end, don't worry, there are still some loose ends to tie up.
Thank you so much for all of the reviews.
Chapter 18
Nate hung up the phone and looked at Sophie and Hardison, who were both looking back at him expectantly.
"Hardison, I think if you try, you'll be able to track Parker's phone now. Everyone meet me at the van. We leave in three minutes.
"Nate-?"
"We'll talk about it on the way. Parker sounded like there was no time to lose."
They all piled into the van, and Hardison started driving, while Nate navigated with the GPS on Hardison's phone.
"According to this, we should be there in about fifteen minutes. Let's try to make it seven."
Hardison didn't respond, but he did press down on the gas pedal harder, and they braced themselves as the van sped up.
(0o0)
Conrad and his man jogged down the path that led through the woods, straight on past the waterfall, and after running for what seemed an eternity, they came out in an open field on the other side. There were green fields as far as the eye could see, and a few lone trees stood out in stark relief. There was no sign of another structure or dwelling, and Conrad stopped, momentarily confused.
When Eliot's friend and Parker reached the clearing with the waterfall, he signaled Parker to check out the waterfall, while he continued following Conrad. He had been watching her, and she moved more quietly through the woods than anyone he had ever seen, and most of the people he knew were trained in stealth, but she was a civilian, and he had a better chance of defending himself against the danger Conrad represented. She watched him disappear down the trail, and then she ran quickly toward the waterfall. She limped-ran up the trail that went over the falls and stopped for a moment, looking around her and deciding where to go next. After a moment, she slipped down the trail and behind the falls. She stopped at the end of the entrance, out of sight of anyone who might be inside and hidden from those on the outside by water. She peered around the stone wall, into the entrance of the cave, careful to be as quiet as possible. Doc, Vance and Eliot were sitting on the stone floor, talking quietly.
Even though she only looked in for a moment, Eliot felt eyes on him, watching him. The vibe he got was that it was someone who wasn't dangerous, but perhaps because of what he had just been through, or maybe because it was just a matter of his personality and training, he was still hyper-aware of her presence.
"Parker! Get in here!"
The little blonde thief slipped just inside and froze, like she wasn't sure exactly what she should do next. Intense blue eyes speared hers, and he said, "Why are you here, Parker?"
"I wanted to check on you, be sure you were okay. But I didn't want to interrupt, and I knew you probably wouldn't want anyone to know what was going on, so I hid in the vacant lot across the street, and I decided to wait for you to come out of the house. Then Conrad showed up, with two men, and a few minutes later, the man you had sitting on him."
Eliot looked confused, and Vance said, "Shelley."
Eliot's eyes and voice were dangerous. "Dammit Vance. I told you I didn't want anyone else involved in this. I had a plan. We'll discuss this later." He looked at Parker. "Where is Shelley?"
"He is following Conrad. They ran out of the house right before it blew up and came out here. He followed them, while I climbed in the bedroom window to look for you. We both thought you were working in there, and that they had overpowered all three of you and were trying to destroy the evidence."
"They'd find that hard to do," Doc said quietly, at the same time that the rest of Parker's statement sunk in to Eliot's brain. "They blew up the house," he said slowly, his voice containing a barely controlled fury, and a hint of disbelief.
Parker nodded, looking sad. "I'm sorry we couldn't stop it."
"This is not your fault, Parker." He rose and moved around behind the great stone seat, where he reached down and picked up a long, leather bag with handles. Speaking to no one in particular, he said, "Shelley will lead them back toward the house. Vance and I will cut them off from behind, and then meet back here. Doc, if you want to help, why don't you set up a field med tent, and be ready to treat any injuries we might encounter. You can start by looking at Parker's knee. She was limping when she walked in here." He gave Parker a stern look. "Cooperate with her, Parker."
"I want to help," Parker started, but Eliot cut her off, leveling his gaze on her, "If this gets messy, I don't want you caught in the crossfire. Stay here with Doc, and let her tend your knee. We'll be back soon."
Without another word, Eliot and Vance walked to the edge of the cave and stood looking out through the streaming water, listening hard at something Parker couldn't hear. A moment later, Shelley ran by, luring Conrad back toward the house, and they ran out together, on either side of the water, and set off behind Conrad and his man.
Doc looked at Parker. "So what do we do now? Eliot wants me to look at your knee."
"It's fine. Eliot can look at it later, if it still hurts. The team will be here any minute, and I need to head them off before they run in to a pissed off Eliot in assassin mode. That won't help his disposition any, and it is more people who could potentially be caught in the crossfire."
"Go. Bring them back here. I'll set up a triage area in case anyone is injured."
With a wicked little grin, Parker darted out of the cave and disappeared. When she was sure she was alone, Doc took out her untraceable cell phone and dialed a number. There was a pause, and then a voice on the other end answered, and she said, "Jack Mitchell please," in a tone that brooked no argument. After another long pause, she spoke again.
"Jack? Kitty Carrington here. That favor I spoke to you about—I need to call it in. How soon? All right. Be careful and take care of yourself. And Jack—thanks."
(0o0)
Parker came out of the woods just about the time the team pulled on to Eliot's street. She tried to intercept them, and lead them back to the cave in the woods, but Nate put a hand on her shoulder.
"Wait," he whispered, staring straight ahead at something behind her.
She turned to see that Shelley had led Conrad to the front yard, and had his service revolver trained on the older man. Conrad turned to run back the other way, only to find himself standing face to face with Eliot's sniper rifle wielded by its deadly owner, and Vance. Eliot caught sight of the team out of his peripheral vision, but he neither acknowledged their presence nor lowered the rifle.
Conrad spoke first. "What do you want?"
"I want you to resign from the CIA and answer for what you have done. I want you to turn yourself in."
"Oh, is that all?" he sneered.
"No," Eliot snapped. "It isn't. I also want you to leave my team alone. Forget you've ever heard of Nate Ford, or any of the rest of the team. I want to be very clear—if you come after me or any member of my team ever again, I will hunt you down and I won't stop until you're dead and everyone associated with you is dead—your family, your men, everyone."
"Well, if it isn't the big, bad Eliot Spencer," Conrad said the words like they were distasteful to him. "Your file makes you seem a lot tougher than you are. I think this team of yours has made you soft. The Eliot Spencer in that file would have shot me immediately and from a distance. Instead, you are ruining your friends' careers by making the back you up."
Eliot cocked the rifle, and drew a bead on his target's forehead. From this distance, the shot would blow Conrad's head clean off. Cleanup would be a bitch in more ways than one, and he hated that Vance would have some cleanup of his own, but then, the man had insisted on being involved.