Again, a bit jumpy, but otherwise I'd have to rewrite the whole con and that would just be too long. Hope you can all follow okay.

"Do things always go this haywire?" Abby questioned as the alarm rang out. Already, Sophie had been arrested by security, Eliot was AWOL and Parker had lost her exit.

"You'd be surprised," Sophie replied, pointlessly pacing in the small room she'd been locked in.

"Abby are you following Olivia?" Nate questioned.

"As best as I can," the teenager replied, jogging briskly to keep up with the men with legs twice the length of hers.

"Parker?" he then asked, wondering how much the thief had accomplished.

"Nope," was the disappointing reply.

"Okay well, Kazakhstani's coming your way and I can only stall for so long," Nate stated, picking up his jacket, adjusting his collar and making for the exit. "You gotta be moving."

"Nate, what's the priority here?" Sophie enquired.

He didn't even have to think; the contingencies he had already put in place would deal with the Kazakhstani's. "Olivia," he declared as the mark and his body guards appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, right behind him.

"You're going to have to stall Robert then," she reminded him.

Nate agreed and, without any displeasure, through a swift punch to the mark's face. He realised he didn't quite think his actions though when the man's bodyguards raised their guns at him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She followed them as swiftly as she could and was almost shocked to see that Olivia's step-father chose to just lock her in the room.

"Bastard," Abby muttered as she moved to open the door and greet the girl and see if she couldn't do, well, something.

Before she could turn the handle, however, the door opened to reveal Sterling, gently pulling his daughter along behind him.

"Get out of my way," he said, trying to push past him. Abby wouldn't let him and moved to block his path.

"Where's Eliot?" she questioned forcefully.

"I've got no idea what you're talking about," he exclaimed then successfully moved past her and made his way outside.

"Where the hell is Eliot?" she questioned moving alongside them

"Didn't I meet you earlier?" Olivia asked, carefully eyeing of the girl as they paused to cross the drive.

"Yeah," she replied quickly, but didn't pay her much attention. "Where's Eliot?" she asked, this time pushing the man slightly to the side, forcing him to stop and give her the attention she was trying to command.

"Who on earth are you!?" he shouted and Abby opened her mouth to yell but was interrupted by Eliot over coms. Distracted by his address, she looked away.

"Abby, where are you?" he questioned, his voice husky and drowsy as he ran towards where Sophie was being kept.

"Outside with…" she looked back up; Sterling and Olivia were gone, now both entering their car. Nate followed so she turned her attention back to her uncle. "Outside," she stated again. "Nate's gone after Sterling," she relayed as Nate, with a slight smile on his face, sped off in the red Ferrari.

"Gone after Sterling?" the hitter confirmed.

"Yes, going after Sterling," Nate replied. "But otherwise we're done. Hardison meet Eliot on the ground floor, free Sophie; everyone to the extraction point," Nate instructed.

"Abby, go grab the stupid van and meet us out front," Eliot huffed as he punched another terrorist.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Eliot can I ask you something?" Nate asked as he poured himself some whisky from behind the empty bar. Eliot stood on the opposite side of the bench holding a chilled beer in his hand.

The rest of the job had gone, comparatively smoothly; they'd made it out of Duvai without being running into any more trouble, Sterling had been reunited with his daughter and, last they'd heard had relocated to the west coast. Additionally, Nate's secret plan had brought down the terrorists. But there was still something weighing on Nate's mind.

"What?" Eliot said, his voice husky. He coughed, then took a sip of the draught to sooth it.

"You knew that Sterling drugged you," Nate stated; it was not, in any way, a question.

"Yes."

"Why is that?" There was slight disapproval in the man's voice as he twisted his glass between his hands.

"Can I ask you one?" he asked in response, but did not wait for a reply. "You had it planned all along that we were never gonna steal that weight; you always knew you were just going just make it so it blew the whole damn thing up. But cha still didn't tell us.

"Then, you go after Sterling, even though, everyone had got what they needed, Sterling and his daughter included."

"You're telling me you would have let him go?"

"That's not what I'm saying at all, and you know it." Still holding his beer, he pointed his index finger at Nate "You can't expect us to run every decision and all of our actions by you, no matter how big they are, when you're not willin' to do the same."

Nate wasn't completely satisfied, but what the hitter said was true so he nodded in respect. Plus, if Nate expected, or pushed, for an answer from Eliot, he would expect (demand) on in return and that was something that the mastermind wasn't good at. "Fair enough," was Nate's simple reply and he made his way round the bar back to the table.

"Where's Abby?" Eliot asked, following Nate and seeing his niece's empty seat.

"Phone call," Sophie informed him, placing her hand to her ear in description. Eliot nodded.

"And to answer your earlier question Nate, I ain't lettin' him slide," Eliot commented.

"Guys, a father reunited with his daughter. Take the win," Nate stated.

"Win?" Sophie asked in disbelief. "Sterling beat us, again."

"This time," Nate grinned as the bells to the bar door rung.

All head's turned to find Sterling and Olivia.

"Nate," the man greeted. "Eliot," he continued with smugness in his voice.

"What are you doing here?" Nate asked in response, turning back to the others at the table.

"I came to say thankyou," he said, rare sincerity in his voice.

"You?" Nate turned back to face the man and he nodded.

"As… unusual as it may be, yes."

"Thankyou Mister Ford," Olivia added with a smile on her face.

"My pleasure," Nate nodded to Olivia, but ignored Sterling's gesture; more out of habit then rudeness.

"That really was a good game of chess you know? We should…" she was going to suggest they play another game but trailed off as Abby entered from the back room.

"Oh," Abby exclaimed in surprise.

"You?" Olivia asked.

"You!" Sterling yelled simultaneously, any sort of sincerity or glimpse of kindness lost from his tone of voice.

"Sorry," she apologised, turning to Eliot.

Sterling mumbled a few nonsensical syllables for several moments, his eyes looking upwards, his fingers twirling as he calculated.

"Spencer? Has a kid?" he finally asked in disbelief.

"Niece," the Leverage crew corrected simultaneously. Sterling still looked shocked.

"How long has this been… niece, as in niece?" he continued and Eliot stared at him with intense anger.

Abby rolled her eyes and walked up to Olivia.

"Abby," she introduced, holding out her hand in greeting.

"Olivia," she greeted in response.

"Is he going to be blabbering like that for long?"

Olivia looked past Abby's shoulder at her father. "Probably," she declared, looking back.

"Drink?" Abby questioned walking behind the bar and handing the girl a cola. Olivia smiled and sat on the stool on the other side of the bar.

"No!" Parker exclaimed. "No, no, no. They can't be friends. If they're friends...if they're friends that means more Sterling."

"It's cool babygirl, it's cool," Hardison reassured as Eliot stood up and walked towards Sterling.

"You use her to get to me, or hurt her in anyway, I will break, every, bone, in your body," Eliot threatened softly.

"Same goes for you," he hissed. "You don't think they're actually going to be friends do you?" Sterling then asked, turning to face the two girls who were now laughing hysterically.

Apparently yes.

"Oh this isn't good," Sterling muttered.

"Hey Dad!" Olivia said happily, jumping off her seat and running closer to her father. Abby did the same, running around the bar to stand next to Eliot. "Can we go to a movie?"

"Movie?" Sterling asked in disbelief.

"I was meant to go with a friend but they cancelled," Abby stated by way of explanation. "I already bought the tickets."

"Was this Kyle that cancelled?" Eliot queried. Abby said nothing but he knew that was a yes; it was the third time he'd done that in a month.

"Please!" Olivia pleaded, hanging on to her father's crossed arms.

"Fine!" he conceded.

"No!" Parker despaired from the table.

"Parker!" Sophie scalded.

"Come straight back," Eliot instructed.

"Yay!" Abby shouted in joy. "Can I take your car?"

"My car?" he asked in disbelief. "Absolutely not. You can take Hardison's."

"Dammit Eliot!" he swore, pulling the keys out of his pocket. Abby reached over and grabbed them before kissing her uncle on the cheek in thanks.

"Thanks DyaDya," she said then ran enthusiastically out the door with Olivia.

There was a moment of awkward silence and stillness in the room.

"Well, I'm not staying here," Sterling exclaimed. He walked over to Nate and handed him a USB drive. "Does this mean we're even?" he questioned. In response Nate fake stifled a laugh.

Sterling nodded (he was disappointed, but not surprised) and shifted about for a moment before he made his way to the door. "I'll be back."

"This is so not good," Parker pouted.

Good thing or no?

I thought it'd be fun; the main reason I didn't give up on the last two chapters after attempt number 11- I wanted Abby to have a friend in 'their world'

As always, many thanks for your reviews