a/n: fanfiction keeps taking out all my italics when I copy/paste here, so this is currently missing all the italics. I will go back in and edit them back in when I have the time!

~cosette141

Sick pleasure sparked in the guard's eyes and his smile widened.

Parker couldn't move.

"Parker! What's wrong?" shouted Eliot through the comms.

"Now," said the man. "Where did you come from, little girl?"

Parker couldn't speak.

Fear bolted her to the floor.

"Parker!"

"Uh oh," she whispered.

Two things then happened at once; the door began to rattle on its hinges as Eliot tried to open it and the guard rushed her.

But she's fast, so much faster than this man. This man had bulk and strength, but that did nothing if he couldn't catch her.

His arms reached out to grab her but she ducked and darted through his legs and was now behind him.

"Parker!" cried Eliot again, and she could hear his voice through the door as well as the comms. "Dammit!"

"Slippery one, are ya?" the guard drawled, and Parker felt ice slide down her spine at the twisted grin on his face. She stumbled back a step, not sure where to run. The last thing she wanted to do was run further away from Eliot, but that door prevented him from helping her. This man could do whatever he wanted to her and Eliot couldn't do a damned thing about it.

And from that raw desperation in his breaths and muttered curses from the comms, Eliot knew that as well.

Without a keycard to get that door open, she was on her—

Parker's eyes lit up.

Keycard.

She eyed the man who was still grinning at her.

He has one.

She stopped walking backward, and froze in place. He cocked his head, taking a few steps toward her. "Give up already, girl? Or you see something you like?"

The obscenity that burst from Eliot's side of the comms was one she's never heard before.

She swallowed hard, letting the man close in on her. As if ready for her to run, he quickly lunged at her and grabbed her around the middle. He was stronger than she expected and it sent her heart into her throat.

This only worked if she could free herself after.

She kicked and punched wildly, a few grunts and sounds escaping her clenched teeth, and Eliot was spouting off curse after curse, each more desperate than the last.

But Parker felt her elbow sink sharply into the man's ribs.

Or… slightly lower than his ribs.

He howled in pain, and dropped her instantly.

She broke free from his loosened grip and ran back to the door, keycard in hand, having swiped it while she fought him.

She jammed the keycard into the lock and it glowed green. "Eliot," she gasped. "Eliot, it's—"

But she was grabbed around the middle again, arms pinned to her sides, lifted off the ground. She kicked and squirmed but he was strong—stronger than her. She felt fear slip down her spine. The man dragged her backward, away from the door.

But the damage was done.

The door exploded inward, and Eliot—raging, furious—charged forward, caught only slightly by surprise as the door gave way under his beating. He jerked his head up and saw Parker in the man's hold.

His eyes, murderous, dangerous eyes, locked onto the man.

The guard only seemed amused. "This pretty little thing yours?"

With a wild growl, Eliot threw himself forward, landing a sharp punch to the man's face. The man hadn't expected it, and clearly hadn't expected the raw power.

He fell backward. Parker fell with him and they both crashed to the floor.

"Parker!"

Parker felt new arms wrap around her and pick her up, pulling her back to her feet, then Eliot pushed her firmly behind his back.

The man started to get up, but Eliot's boot caught him in the jaw. Another kick to his ribs, maybe three or four, and a last punch to his head to knock him completely out. And with the way his head snapped off the cement floor, Parker was certain he wouldn't be walking away from that injury completely intact.

Certain that the man was out, Eliot whirled away from him and found Parker still behind him. "Parker," he whispered, pulling her to him, and holding her close. "Don't do that to me!"

Through their touch, she could feel him shaking. She blinked. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Are you hurt?" asked Eliot, pulling away. He cupped her face, examining the thief. "Did he hurt you?"

Parker shook her head. "No. I'm okay."

Eliot let out a breath. He closed his eyes. Opened them. "No more leaving me. Okay? You are not allowed to leave my side."

Parker felt herself nod stiffly. This Eliot was so different from the one she was used to. He wasn't the hard, unbreakable exterior. The mask he usually wore had shattered and gone long ago and his emotions were clear on his face. Desperate. Panicked. He was falling apart, one seam after another.

Parker suddenly realized that this Eliot was terrified.

"Okay." said Parker quietly. "Promise."

Eliot held her gaze for a moment, his hands still holding her shoulders. He broke the gaze to examine the hallway, then looked to the door. He let out a weary breath. Eliot tore his eyes from the door, almost reluctantly. "All right. If we're doing this, we do it fast. We're still under the radar. We don't have a lot of time before we run into another one of these assholes." Eliot started to turn to the man on the floor when—

"Keys," said Parker suddenly.

"What?"

"The guy," she said, pointing to him. "He has keys. I felt them when I lifted the card."

Eliot, firmly telling her to stay put, walked the few feet to the guard and took the keys from him. He grabbed the man's feet, and dragged him away, into a dark corner of the hallway. At first glance, you could hardly tell someone was there.

It would have to do for now.

"Which way for cells?" asked Eliot as they started down the hallway. He took her arm gently in one hand, keeping her close to his side, but a little behind him. His eyes darted predatorily around them as they walked.

Parker felt a little of the tightness ease from her chest. Eliot's here. You're okay. She tried not to think about the fact that she was still shaking a little bit, too.

"Upstairs," she whispered. "I don't know where the next staircase is. I don't know much about the layout," she admitted. "Too bad we don't have blueprints."

Eliot sighed. "Leave it to Hardison that we'd need him to find him."

They clung to the shadows in the hall. Old lights in the ceiling flickered. Eliot strained his ears for any sound outside of their footsteps—and for some crazy reason, he couldn't hear Parker's footsteps. If he didn't have a grip on her arm he'd have thought she wasn't even there.

The idea of walking further and further into the lion's den sent ice into his blood. He hated this—hated this. Unintentionally he tightened his grip a bit more on her arm.

Three times.

They've caught her three times now.

His chest hurt.

Footsteps suddenly sounded from not far away—boots. Ex-military. Very distinctive. They were headed toward them, a hallway that intersected this one not far ahead. Several sets of footsteps. Walking faster.

At least four men. If not five.

Too many.

That wasn't something he could chance with Parker beside him.

"Eliot," whispered Parker with a trace of fear, and Eliot hardly ever heard fear from her. He tightened his grip on her and pulled her forward quickly. Based on sound alone they had fifteen seconds before they were in plain view.

Eliot's eyes darted for somewhere to hide. He tried a door but the lock rattled. He started to move to the next one when Parker tugged on his grip.

"In here!"

Eliot only had time to see the key in her hand—from the ring they took from the guard—before she yanked him into the room and closed the door silently. It was pitch black. Eliot still had a light grip on Parker's arm. And he would until they were at least a thousand feet from this building.

They both listened as the footsteps pounded away. Eliot breathed out in relief. "We should wait. I can't tell if they're—"

Suddenly, light blared in the room as a switch was flipped. Eliot screwed his eyes shut from the shock of it, then blinked them back open to see Parker grinning at him, her finger on the light switch.

She and Eliot gave the room a look.

It looked like a room worthy of locking. A computer in the corner of the room on a table, several wires that Hardison would know what were for. It looked like an office, almost like a planning room that the leverage team might use.

"Wonder what's in here."

Eliot turned to see—with a terrifying skip in his chest—that Parker had slipped her arm out of his grasp without him even having felt it. He was just trying to fathom that fact when she poked her head out from under the table.

"Parker!" chided Eliot, more out of the pounding in his chest than anything. "What're you—"

She pulled out what looked like a flash drive. "There's a safe under here. This was in it."

"Parker, don't—" Eliot shook his head. "We're not here to make more trouble."

She only shrugged, and went back under the table to return the device.

Eliot returned to the door, listening. He looked back, seeing Parker rustling through some other drawers and cabinets. "I think they're gone, Parker. Let's—"

"Look!"

Parker was in front of him in a flash, nearly making him flinch. How does she move like that ? She was holding a paper to his eyes. He took it.

Blueprints .

Eliot almost smiled. "Schematics of the building?" She grinned and started to unroll it on the table. Eliot crossed the room quickly and stopped beside her, looking at the paper.

It was a large blueprint, and it was a diagram of a hallway. There were about twenty boxes—rooms.

"L3," said Parker, pointing to the L3 on the bottom corner. "Level 3. These are the holding cells on the top floor."

Eliot pointed underneath. "There's a date. I think that's either today or yesterday. This is recent."

Inside each room were a scramble of letters, which Eliot figured were names of several different languages, some completely foreign to him.

"Look," said Eliot. He tapped one of the rooms. PARKER was scribbled in the center, then crossed out haphazardly.

This was an organization of who they had in their holding cells.

"Why is this printed?" asked Parker.

"It's actually smart," said Eliot mindlessly. "These people ain't government. At least, not respected government. This "prison" is illegal. This way they can keep track without leaving a computer footprint, or whatever Hardison calls it. Can't hack paper."

It wasn't until Parker gasped that his eyes shot to her.

"What?" he asked sharply.

She quickly pointed to the room toward the other end of the building. Eliot followed her gesture to see what was written in that room.

HARDISON, A

"Oh, my god," whispered Parker. Her eyes shot to Eliot. "He's here! He's upstairs!" She turned to dart back to the door but Eliot grabbed her arm to stop her.

Hardison. He was here.

Eliot could have collapsed with relief.

But they couldn't relax yet.

"Hold on," said Eliot.

"Hold on for what ?" exclaimed Parker. She tugged on his grip. "Hardison's upstairs !"

"Parker," growled Eliot. "We have to be careful! One wrong move and we won't be able to save him, so hold on a second! We have to think about this!"

He could see in her eyes her panic. He knew she and Hardison just began a weird little sort-of relationship and he was more than happy for them. More than happy to know that Parker was finally opening up to someone like this.

And he knew how much it had to hurt her, to have only just opened her heart and let down her guard even the slightest bit, just for Hardison to be taken from her, perhaps permanently. He could feel her desperation and he understood it immensely.

But they still had to do this smart. Parker was still Parker; she was impulsive. He had to make sure they thought this through.

He had to make sure nothing happened to her.

Because she wasn't the only one who'd finally opened their heart to caring about people again, and he couldn't stand to lose any of them either, least of all Parker.

"We'll find him, Parker, I promise," said Eliot, a little more gently. "Let's think this through."

She held his gaze for a second more, then he felt her relax a bit in his hold. "He's on the other side of the building from where I was held."

Eliot nodded, releasing her wrist. "The further we get into this building the harder it'll be not to be seen. That guard'll be found soon. We have ta be quick." He let out a breath. "What's our options?"

"Vents won't fit you," she repeated, slightly insinuating that they fit her.

Eliot's eyes narrowed. "So no vents. Next."

Parker rolled her eyes irritably. "Fine. Well… Oh!" She looked back at the schematics on the table and pointed to the side. "Stairwell? They have keycard locks, but we have a keycard." She slipped the card from her pocket and held it between two fingers.

"Stairwell it is," said Eliot.

"Time to save Hardison?" asked Parker hopefully.

Eliot grinned. "Damn straight."

They crept back to the door. Eliot reached for her arm again and gently took hold, then turned his head slightly back toward her. "Don't slip my grip again. I need to know where you are at all times. Okay?"

"Okay."

"And if we get separated, even an inch," he said firmly, "stay close . They're gonna find that guard soon and then it'll be hell gettin' outta here. We gotta do this fast. Okay?"

"Okay, Eliot."

He sighed, for the millionth time, hating this stupid job.

"All right."

He pressed his ear to the door and waited. Silence echoed but he was a paranoid man. He waited another half a minute to be sure, then slowly, silently turned the door knob.

Peering out, the hallway was clear. He tugged gently on Parker and they silently left the room and locked the door behind them.

Eliot started down the hallway, holding Parker close to his back.

His hold on Parker only tightened as they crept through, his ears strained for any sound. But so far so good. He didn't know what patrol looked like inside here, but it seemed to be light, at least on this floor. Granted, the door into this place was a good enough obstacle for even himself and Parker.

"Right at the end," said Parker quietly, and he nodded minutely. He slowed to a stop at the end of the hall, where another one intersected. He gave Parker a look that said don't move , and he stepped forward, peering carefully around the corner.

The coast was clear on both sides, and the hallway stretched far and dark both ways. It looked just as ominous as it felt.

He pulled himself back, nodding an affirmative to Parker, who nodded back.

He tugged on his grip, pulling her behind him as they set off down the next hallway.

They walked in silence until Parker tapped his shoulder. He tensed and turned toward her, and she pointed the finger of her free hand toward the door beside them. "Stairs."

With the luxury of having been held in so many different types of dungeons and prisons, Eliot has learned a few things, and one of which was that in many of them, exit doors and doors that led to stairwells usually looked just the same as any other door in the place, and never had signage. It was a practice that helped stunt the process of an escapee looking for a way out. The guards knew where the exits were, but the escapee often had to try every one, wasting precious time. Especially when there were more than a hundred doors per hallway, each with locks that needed picking.

Unfortunately Eliot has plenty of experience with that tactic being frustratingly successful.

Anyone else might question Parker's accuracy with knowing that this door was the stairs—as there were dozens of rooms on that map—but the one day the team conned Widmark's stepfather from the prep school, and Parker drew a perfect sketch of the man she saw for the entirety of two seconds, Eliot realized something that the rest of the team seemed to either not put together or brush off.

Parker had an eidetic memory.

Which added more pieces to the puzzle of the thief behind him, giving him both more answers and more questions to just how intelligent she was.

So, without question, Eliot stopped them and turned as Parker swiped the keycard through the lock.

"Think they have an alert system for this?" asked Parker with a quirked brow.

Eliot pulled the door open. "We'll find out."

Checking that the stairwell was empty first, Eliot pulled Parker in behind him. The door shut almost silently, and they were shrouded in dim lighting, by a flickering naked bulb in the ceiling underneath the next floor's stairs.

They headed up the stairs, keeping their footsteps quiet.

Hardison's cell was located on the third floor.

They silently passed the second floor and made it to the third. Already Eliot knew they were warmer; this door was different than the others. Reinforced steel and an upgraded security measure. Not just the keycard, but another lock.

Not as well versed in locks, Eliot looked to Parker. "Can you open that?"

Parker peered over his shoulder. "That's like asking if you can punch someone." She walked over to it, and reluctantly Eliot let go over her arm so she could use it.

Eliot waited impatiently as Parker went to work on the lock, and kept his eyes and ears strained to hear any kind of noise.

"Got it."

She turned the handle and opened the door, only to squeak, "Uh oh," as she revealed the back of a guard standing in front of it. The guard turned as the door opened, his shock twisting into a sneer.

But before he could make any move, Eliot snatched the front of the man's uniform and yanked him into the stairwell.

Parker shut the door as Eliot threw the man into the cement wall, eliciting a groan from the bigger man. It didn't wound him more than wind him, and he recovered quickly, facing a very focused Eliot.

The guard tried three hits but Eliot blocked each one expertly, throwing in a jab of his own that sent the man backward, falling down the flight of stairs. He hit the bottom and lay still.

"Let's go," huffed Eliot, and Parker opened the door again, peering out.

"Nobody else," whispered Parker.

"Good."

They started heading toward the end of the hallway, walking briskly. Eliot resumed his place in front of Parker, holding her arm tightly and keeping her close to his back. Every hair on the back of his neck stood tall and he couldn't help a bad feeling from running over his skin.

"There," whispered Parker. "Right at the end. That's his room."

Eliot nodded, having remembered that from the map. He quickened his pace, feeling another feeling crawl through him: relief. Not that he'd ever admit it to the hacker, but he'd missed him like hell .

They reached the door, and Eliot looked to Parker. "Lock."

Parker flipped up the keycard. "This should do." She reached the card forward to swipe it through the glowing slider. But before she could get within an inch of it, a loud, screeching alarm suddenly went off.

Eliot and Parker jerked, and Parker looked at Eliot with wide eyes. "What'd we do?!" she whispered.

"I don't know," said Eliot hastily. "Just get the door open, quick!"

Parker jammed the card into the lock and the door glowed green. She turned the handle and opened the door. With a grin, she said, "Hardis—!"

But she stopped. Because instead of their dorky friend, they were faced with an empty cell.

"Where is he?" asked Parker over the sound of the alarm.

Eliot felt his insides tighten with fear. He looked at the room, his fist tightening with emotion. "I don't know," he said hollowly. He flicked his eyes toward the ceiling, listening to the alarm. "Did he…?"

"He escaped?" asked Parker, voicing his thoughts.

"Let's hope so," said Eliot.