A/N - I just realized as I was writing this chapter, that I haven't said exactly when this story is taking place, so let's clear that up. It's the early middle of season 2. Root is posing as Miss May inside the Office of Special Council, and Shaw is still working for the government. Neither of them are going to appear in this story.

I'd like to publicly thank Crisdin and that guest reviewer from France for taking the time to share their thoughts. If you're a "Leverage" fan, you should check out Crisdin's story 'The Fanfic Job'.

Now, back to the story.

Two men in masks jumped out of the van. They moved quickly and professionally, one getting behind Temperance while the other came at her from the front. She showed good instincts, biting the hand that tried to clamp over her mouth and kicking out wildly, but the men knew how to coordinate their attack. They circled so she could never see both of them.

And then Reese joined the party. He used no particular strategy or style, just hit every part of them in reach. He didn't give them a chance to think because then they would realize they had him outnumbered, and one could get away with the real target while the other stayed behind to fend off the unexpected complication. Fortunately, Temperance took the opportunity to run which made Reese's job much simpler. He got in a couple more hits to slow the men down and took off after her.

She yelled and twisted away when he grabbed her arm, but he held on. With that tracker still in her pocket, she had no chance of escaping on her own. "It's all right," he said as calmingly as he could while running. "I'm not going to hurt you. I can get you to safety if you'll trust me."

She faltered, then glanced back and saw the two masked men catching up fast. "Okay," she said. "Where do we go?"

"This way." He guided her around the corner, and there, by a miracle of good timing, was a bus pulling up to its stop. They dived through the doors as soon as they opened, and Reese immediately headed toward the emergency exit at the back. "Check your left coat pocket," he said.

She obeyed and pulled out a small piece of black plastic. "What is that?" she asked, sounding more curious than alarmed.

"A GPS tracker." He took it from her, tossed it under a seat, and pulled open the rear door. They jumped out and closed the door just as the bus started to move. Reese tugged Temperance down behind a parked car seconds before the kidnappers came into sight again. One of the men checked something on a cell phone and pointed after the disappearing bus again. "Good," Reese said. "That ought to keep them guessing for a while, but we shouldn't linger. Come on."

"Mr. Reese," said Finch's worried voice as they started walking again, "if you're no longer in immediate danger, I would appreciate an update on the situation."

"It was a kidnapping, Finch. Professional. Three men – two to grab her and one to drive the car, all wearing masks. I got the tracker off her and sent them on a wild goose chase, but they'll probably have someone watching the hotel just in case. I'm taking her to the safe house until we sort this out."

"I'll meet you there," Finch said. "Keep this line open."

"Who are you talking to?" Temperance asked. She was still following him, but she looked wary, tensed to run again.

"My boss," Reese said. "Look, I know you're scared and confused, but I'm not going to hurt you."

"How did you know that tracker was in my pocket?"

"I saw someone put it there. At the restaurant." He decided to leave Laura Carson out of it for now.

"So you were watching me? For how long?"

"Since this morning."

"Why? Did you know this was going to happen?" When he hesitated to answer, she stopped walking and folded her arms. "I'm not going anywhere with you until you tell me who you are and why you've been following me all day."

He stopped too. She had a steely glint in her eye that reminded him of Zoe. She really wasn't going to budge until she got what she wanted.

"Mr. Reese," Finch said warningly. "Be careful what you say."

"I know, I know," he muttered. "This isn't my first rodeo."

Temperance raised an eyebrow, waiting.

"I have this friend," he began. "Well, more a friend of a friend really. She" – he settled for Root's preferred pronoun to simplify things – "hears things, about people who are about to get hurt, or who are planning to hurt others. She doesn't like to see people hurt, so she warns us, and we try to help. Today she told us to keep an eye on you."

Temperance's eyes narrowed as she processed this. "Why doesn't she help these people herself if she cares so much?"

"She can't. She's sort of…housebound."

Finch chuckled. "That's actually quite an accurate description."

"Well, can I meet her, thank her for saving my life?"

"No. She doesn't meet people, and gratitude doesn't mean anything to her anyway."

"Does she expect payment?"

"No, she's got no use for money."

"So she does this out of kindness?"

"I seriously doubt she knows the meaning of that either. Look, I've said as much as I can. Can we please go now?"

Temperance hesitated a moment more, but then she nodded, and they started to walk again. "Do you have a name?" she asked.

"John."

She accepted that without comment.

He smiled. "Usually people say 'of course' or 'yeah, right'."

She shrugged. "It's a common name, which is why so many people use it as a fake name, but it's just as likely that it's really your name. At least it's better than 'mysterious man in a suit'."

He looked at her quickly, but if she knew about New York's latest urban legend, she didn't seem the type to believe it. "I agree," he said, "and my name really is John."

"I'm Dr. Temperance Brennen."

"I know."

"Your friend told you?"

"Actually, she prefers to let us work that part out for ourselves. She's a big believer in self-sufficiency."

"Is that as annoying as it sounds?"

"You have no idea."