Disclaimer - I do not own Leverage, any of its characters or plot line. I only own my original characters and anything that isn't familiar with the show's storyline.
I started writing this after watching the series. I absolutely adore Christian Kane and truly believe that Eliot deserves to find love just as his teammates have.
The title is based on Daughtry's "I'll Fight" which I consider Eliot Spencer's theme song.
Reviews and comments are appreciated.
So without further adieu, here we go. Enjoy!
Two hours later night had fallen and Eliot was parking their rental beside a black F-350 diesel truck. As they got out of the car they saw a young lady with blonde hair come running out of the ranch's house. "Eliot!" She launched herself into the hitter's arms, Eliot wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight.
"It's okay, Katie. Shh. It's okay. I'm here." Eliot's southern accent soothed the girl as he rubbed her back.
It was clear to the others that this wasn't the girl he had been speaking of saving; his body language and the way he spoke to her gave off more of a big brother vibe.
Eliot gently stepped back from the girl, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. "We're gonna get her back okay." The girl nodded lightly before Eliot wrapped his arm around her shoulders and introduced her to his friends. "This is my team. Nate Ford, Sophie Devereux, Parker and Alec Hardison. Guys this is Katie Talon."
After the introductions had been made Katie welcomed them into the house where they gathered in the living room. Katie sat on the couch in between Nate and Sophie, smiling gratefully as Eliot returned from the kitchen and handed her a glass of water. Despite the grave situation Katie's dread had lessened now that Eliot was standing in front of her.
"Tell me what happened." Eliot said softly.
Katie took a deep breath before she started speaking. "Lexi found the herd that Kohana was taken from."
Eliot was taken aback but only slightly, he should have known his best friend would look into the Mustang's past. "I should've known she would."
"I'm sorry, who's Kohana?" Sophie asks.
"Lexi's Mustang. He's her pride and joy." She looked up at Eliot with a sweet smile. "Eliot got him for her."
The group turned amused looks towards Eliot, who cleared his throat uncomfortably. "You bought her a horse? Whatever happened to jewelry?" Parker questioned with a grin.
"Rescued." Eliot stated. "I came across him on one of our jobs two years ago. He was weak and malnourished. They were gonna put him down. I couldn't let that happen. And Lex was never a flashy jewelry type of girl." He added looking pointedly at Parker who just smiled.
"Lexi's always wanted a Mustang, since we were kids." Katie said taking the attention off of Eliot, she could see that he was uncomfortable. "She fell in love the moment she saw him. I've never seen her happier." She glanced up sharing a grateful smile with Eliot. "Anyways, the herd is on a piece of land just outside of White Eagle. We put a deposit on them a few months ago, and the organization gave us two months to come up with the rest."
"Why a deposit? You're rescuing them right?" Nate asked.
"Yes. Normally people only adopt two or three at a time, but Lexi wanted the whole herd; she didn't want to take the chance that they wouldn't find homes and have to be destroyed. So in order to assure that they weren't separated and to make sure we had the income to provide for the horses, they required a deposit to hold them. Our deadline is up next Monday, and after the National rodeo on Saturday we'd have the money."
"What does the rodeo have to do with it?" Eliot questioned.
Katie turned her attention back to him, "The purse for the barrel racing competition is ten grand. It's more than we need to buy the herd and provide for them for the next year."
"So why would they take Kohana?"
"Because he's a shoe-in to win." Katie explained. "Eliot, that Mustang is faster than any other horse in the country. Look." She got up and walked into the kitchen bringing back the stopwatch and timesheet. "This was his time during practice today, and these are the times from the last four rodeos he's entered. He's nearly three seconds faster than any other horse."
"14.35." Eliot said with an impressed look. "I never would've guessed that scrawny guy would turn a time like that."
"He's not so scrawny anymore." Katie said with a smile as she turned on the TV and plugged her phone into the output. "This is a video I took at the last regional."
Eliot smiled in pride as he watched Alexa and Kohana come into the arena, cutting the barrels tight; there was a fluidity to both the horse and rider's movements. Alexa, unlike the other competitors never used long reins, which they used to whip the horses hind quarters to make them run faster on the last leg. Alexa and Kohana shared a deep bond, so she never needed more than a squeeze of her legs or a word to convey what she wanted him to do.
"That is a massive horse." Sophie said shocked.
"He looks better than I ever imagined he would." Eliot said.
"16 hands, pushing 920 pounds." Katie said proudly. "He's the largest horse in the competition. He's also the only Mustang and the only stallion to compete."
"So who do you think took Alexa?" Nate asked as Katie shut off the video.
The young girl scoffed as she crossed her arms. "I don't have to think, I know who it was. Jacob Gavin."
"Who's he?" Eliot growled, ready to go rip this guy apart.
"He's a rich guy, owns a slaughterhouse the next town over."
"And what does he have to do with all of this?" Nate questioned.
"Truthfully, I don't know. What I do know is he wants the herd for himself. If we don't have the money by Monday the deposit runs out and he can buy the herd. He even offered Lexi fifty grand for the rights to them."
"That's a lot of money for a herd of horses."
"Yeah. But Lexi wouldn't take it, it was never about money. She poured a glass of wine over his suit, before cold-cocking his bodyguard in the face."
Eliot smiled proudly, "That's my girl."
"Okay. So why not just take Alexa?" Sophie asked confused. "Why take the horse too?"
"Because even with Lexi gone, I could still ride Kohana in the competition." Katie stated. "If they have him…"
Eliot realized what Katie was trying to say and he frowned. "….Lex'll do whatever she has to, to protect him."
"Alright." Nate said turning his attention to the hitter. "Eliot, you're in charge. What do you want to do?"
Eliot thought for a moment before answering. "Hardison, get me everything you can on Jacob Gavin. See if you can find out why he wants this herd so bad."
"You got it." The hacker said as he picked up his computer bag.
"You can use Lexi's office. It's just back here." Katie offered showing the young man down the hallway to the last room.
"Parker, you and Nate come with me. We're gonna go check out the slaughterhouse."
"What can I do?" Sophie asked.
"I need you to keep an eye on Katie for me. Be a—surrogate big sister. She seems fine, but I know she's not. Lex is all the family she has left in this world."
Sophie gave him an assuring smile, "You got it."
Eliot thanked her before he, Nate and Parker headed out to their rental. As Eliot drove them to the next town, both Nate and Parker were curious about this mysterious Alexa.
"So, you all grew up together?" Nate asked cautiously trying to not be obvious that he was prying.
"Yeah. Lex has been my best friend all my life, we did everything together. I spent more time at her house than I did my own. Sweet, funny, caring. You never doubled crossed or bullied anyone in our town, and everyone knew it; she was the brains, I was the muscle. She's all of us rolled into one. She's a hacker, a thief, she's one hell of a grifter, and she can hold her own in a fight. I used to refer to her as my wildcard."
"Sounds like she means a lot to you." Parker added softly from the backseat.
"She does." Eliot admitted. "She was my childhood sweetheart. My first love."
Nate and Parker were both caught off guard, they'd never heard Eliot talk about another woman besides Aimee. "I thought that girl Aimee was the one you were in love with?" Parker asked desperate to know even a splinter more than she did about her friend.
"I did love her at one point. I dated a lot a girls growing up. But none of 'em ever held a candle to Lex."
The conversation died down after that omission and forty minutes later they pulled up outside of the slaughterhouse; Eliot parking just down the street to avoid being seen by the night guard. Eight foot high fences topped with coiled barbwire surrounded the large factory, and a twenty-four hour guard was posted in the shack by the front gate.
"Lot of security for a slaughterhouse." Eliot noticed.
"Yeah. I get the feeling they're protecting something more than just livestock." Nate stated.
"Uh-huh. But what?" Parker questioned.
"Well, why don't I go distract that guard while you two go find out?" Nate said before getting out of the car and walking drunkenly up the road to the front gate.
While Nate kept the guard's attention on him and off of his security cameras; Eliot and Parker tossed the thick floor mats from the car over the barbwire and climbed into the compound. Silently to avoid the one roving patrol guard, they made their way towards the building. Parker picked the lock on one of the side doors that wasn't alarmed and the two quickly moved inside.
"Oh. Gross." Parker grimaced as the smell of dead flesh assaulted her nose.
"Kinda makes you wanna be a vegetarian don't it?" Eliot teased knowing Parker's love for hamburgers.
"It's disgusting, but nothing's making me give up my burgers." Parker stated.
Eliot smirked as he led the way across the slaughterhouse floor towards the back area. He was half hoping to find Lex and Kohana somewhere inside, but his gut told him this rescue mission wasn't gonna be that easy. Through the back doors Eliot and Parker split up to check out the side rooms. Eliot was just passing the large walk-in freezer when he heard Parker call his name.
"What'd you find?" He asked as he came inside and stepped up beside her. On a long metal slab was a roughly 200 pound cow carcass, still with its head and hide attached. Parker pointed to the animal's stomach where she had found something interesting.
"Why would you need to staple a cow's stomach closed before slaughtering it?" She asked.
Eliot frowned, looking around he found a pair of pliers on a nearby table. "Let's find out." He pulled out three of the large metal staples in the center of the cow's abdomen. Pulling on a rubber glove from a box beside him he reached into the carcass, feeling around his fingertips contacted with something smooth. Grasping the object he pulled it free from the stomach lining, holding it up for both of them to see.
"Well that is not normal." He said eyeing the brick shaped plastic package in his hand. Taking the pocket knife from his jeans, Eliot gently cut the plastic and drew out a small amount of a white substance from the inside. Dipping his pinkie into the powder he touched a miniscule amount to his tongue, before spitting it onto the floor.
"Heroin."
"Why the hell is he putting heroin into a cow carcass? And what does this have to do with horses?" Parker questioned.
"I don't know. Maybe Hardison's found something out. Let's get outta here." Eliot put the bag back into the cow and resealed the stomach shut. Pulling off the glove he tossed it into the trash, turning he found Parker eyeing some vials on a table by the door.
"Eliot, what are these?" She asked showing him the small vials of clear liquid in her hands. "Dia-ze-pam and Ke-ta-mine?"
Eliot sighs as he takes the vials from Parker, puzzle pieces are starting to fall into place in his mind and the picture they create is a horrific scene. "Ketamine is a horse tranquilizer, it puts the animal in an almost paralytic state, minus the spasms and fits that can happen. Diazepam is a sedative, they give it to horses during surgery to counteract the effects of the Ketamine."
"Is this stuff dangerous?" Parker asks even though she had a feeling she already knew the answer.
"Yeah. 15mL can knock a half ton horse out for a solid twenty minutes. And it only takes about 3 seconds for it to take effect."
Parker had one more question, but she was terrified to ask. "What happens if you give a horse too much?" She asked softly.
Eliot pocketed the two vials before he answered gruffly. "Their respiratory system shuts down and they die."
The two regrouped with Nate and headed back to the house to tell the others what they'd found out, and see what Hardison came up with on his search.
"I still don't understand what the herd has to do with Gavin smuggling Heroin." Katie said after Eliot explained what they had found at the slaughterhouse.
"Neither do I. Hardison, tell me you got something man." Eliot hollered down the hallway towards the office.
Moments later the hacker came walking out to the living room carrying his laptop. "It took me awhile but yeah, I think I found something." He set the laptop on the dining table and sat down in a chair in front of it. "Now, I found two transactions that Gavin sent in the last year, both for a cool million. Now the recipient was a shell company that Gavin set up in Mexico. After a little digging I found the man in charge of the fake company. Say hello to Hector Martinez, the largest Heroin dealer in the country."
Eliot stood quietly leaning against the kitchen counter, his mind trying to piece together the final puzzle in his head. He heard Sophie mention "wild Mustang's" and suddenly everything fell into place at once. "Drug mules." He stated garnering everyone's attention. "He's using the Mustang's as drug mules."
"I don't understand." Sophie said shaking her head.
"Okay, so he ships the herd down to Mexico. Martinez' people kill one horse, cut it open taking out all of the organs and stuff the empty body full of their Heroin. They put it on a livestock truck back to the states where it comes right back to Gavin's slaughterhouse."
"Wait." Katie says trying to understand. "Wouldn't the border guards know something was wrong if they saw the horse down in the trailer?"
"Yes." Eliot said pointing to her. "That's where the drugs that Parker and I found come in. You see Mustang's are known for being wild, they don't like to be caged. So that horse now becomes an insurance policy to successfully cross the border. If a border patrol agent happens to inspect the trailer and sees the animal down, the driver can just tell him that the animal was sedated for transport so as not to injure itself or the other livestock. All the driver has to do is show them a paper signed by a vet."
"You think they got a vet in town helping them out?" Hardison asks.
"If Gavin's been doing this as long as I think he has, I'm gonna bet that he's got a vet on his payroll."
"So you think he's done this before to other herds?" Katie asks feeling her stomach churn at the thought.
"Yeah, unfortunately I do." Eliot replied sadly. He knew how much Katie loved horses and it hurt him to have to tell her these horrible things. "Hardison, see if you can find any other herds that Gavin has bought; and see if you can find me the name of the vet in Mexico. I want as much information as you can get me."
"You got it."
"What are you thinking, Eliot?" Nate questions.
"I'm thinking we're gonna save Lex and Kohana, and then we're gonna put this sonofabitch behind bars where he belongs."
The whole team nodded in agreement, men like Gavin were exactly the kinda people they loved to put out of business. All this information was overwhelming Katie, she stood up and motioned to the backdoor. "I need some air, I'm gonna go feed the horses."
Parker watched the young girl go outside, feeling bad for her she got up and followed her out to the barn. Even though the thief now knew that horses weren't murderous killers, she was still apprehensive as she stepped through the open barn doors. She saw Katie breaking apart a bale of hay and tossing each portion over the half stall doors.
"You okay?"
Katie looked back at the woman with a sigh, running a hand through her long blonde hair. "Yeah. It's just hard thinking about someone killing a defenseless animal all for drugs and money."
"Yeah, people suck." Parker stated flatly.
Katie laughed and nodded her head, "Ya they do."
Parker startled as a large black nose leaned out of a nearby stall and snorted into her hair. Katie giggled as she watched the woman jump a good foot into the air and back up rapidly. "Sorry bout that. He loves people." Katie said as she walked over and scratched the horse's cheek. "His name's Tornado, he's a black Andalusian."
The thief cautiously stepped back over towards the massive horse, holding out her hand the horse sniffed it before nudging it with his nose.
"He likes you." Katie told her.
Parker smiled as she stroked the horse's nose, he seemed just as large as Kohana, but he had a solid black coat, mane and tail. With black being her favorite color, Parker felt a kinship with the stallion.
"Come on, I'll introduce you to the rest."
So Parker followed Katie to the other 6 stalls which held a white Arabian mare named Ghost, a black Friesian mare named Shadow, a brown Thoroughbred mare named Star, a golden bay Quarter horse stallion named Apollo, a Paint mare named Windchaser, and a Clydesdale stallion named Chance.
"I love their names." Parker admitted afterwards. "They really suit each horse."
"Yeah, Lexi named all of them. She's always believed that if you give an animal a chance, they'll pick their own names; whether it be from their personality or a trait they have."
"So, did she pick the Mustang's name, Kohana?"
"No, Eliot named him." Katie said with a fond smile. "He's got Native American in his heritage, and Kohana means "swift" in their language."
"So you've known Eliot a long time huh."
Katie nodded, "Since I was a kid. He and Lexi are 7 years older than me, but I never felt left out. He's always been like a big brother to me."
"He really cares about Alexa doesn't he?" Parker questioned coyly, she was dying to learn more about Eliot's relationship with the woman.
"Yeah, he does. It killed him when he realized that he had to leave her behind. He's always thought that he's a bad guy, that she was too good for him. He thought that we'd all be safer without him around to bring trouble." She chuckled at the irony of her words in their current situation. "He never could see himself like Lexi saw him."
"How did she see him?"
"Like he put the stars in the sky. She never thought she was good enough for him. She'd tell me, she could live a thousand lifetimes and never come close to deserving him. To this day she says he's her soulmate, and that she'll die alone like a crazy horse lady because she'll never find anyone as good as him."
Despite not being very good with "feelings", Katie words about Eliot made Parker feel warm inside; she actually wondered if she'd start to feel like that about Alec. Smiling she headed back towards the house noticing Eliot leaning on the porch railing looking lost in thought; she gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before going into the house.
Katie finished feeding the horses and locked up the barn, walking towards the house she too saw Eliot lost in thought; but the worn photo in his hands told her where his mind was. She approached him and softly said, "She still has it y'know? Even after all these years. Some things are worth holding onto, Eliot. No matter what the cost."
Eliot sighed deeply, Katie's words hitting him right in the heart. He looked down at the picture, at Lex's smiling face. "I'm coming for you Lex. Just hang on."