He hadn't meant to be so callous toward Parker when she asked if she looked the part of their con; but his struggle the last few days had him on edge. Part of him wanted to keep her at arm's length, the other...well he wasn't exactly sure what the other part of him wanted. Still, here he sat in a children's home foyer with his arm around Parker's shoulders, waiting for their interview with the director.

"Mr. and Mrs. Calloway, the director will see you now," a young woman said curtly, barely even sparing them a glance as she turned on her heel to lead them back to the office.

"Do we know who this guy is?" Parker whispered to him. Nate had skimmed over the part in telling them just exactly who they were conning. Eliot could see the nervousness in her face in not knowing. He couldn't blame her. If he'd been raised in the system as she had then he probably wouldn't feel much different.

Still, all he could do was shrug. He had no idea who they were running the con on. No idea if it was some big shot, or some wanna-be that thought himself a god just because he ran a home for children. Not that it mattered. At the end of the day, the scum had used children for his own personal gain, and abused them in unspeakable ways. For that, Eliot thoroughly believed he deserved to be shot and nothing less.

They were sitting in the director's office for a few minutes before the director himself came. Eliot noticed Parker's breath catching at the sight of the director, and the man in question tilted his head at Parker. "Well well, I never thought I would see you here again, Emily," he started with a chuckled.

Emily?

Eliot kept his eyes focused on Parker. She was trying to keep from shifting uncomfortably in her seat, but he could see she was visibly struggling. Without thinking much of it, he reached out and grabbed her hand tightly in his and squeezed. Whatever was going on, he could tell it was taking a negative toll on her.

Parker shifted and sat up straight and forced a tight smile. "Well, you know it's a small world, Mas- Mr. Kazinski. This is my husband," she put her hand on Eliot's shoulder, hoping he wouldn't notice her near slip, "Adam Calloway. Honey, this is Daniel Kazinski. He's been running this place since before I was even placed in the system."

Eliot's eyes darted to her instantly. Yes, he was aware that their mission was now in jeopardy due to Parker knowing the mark, but he was more concerned for her. It was clear her history with this man hadn't been a good one. No one ever made Parker uneasy. She was the most whimsical person he knew. She didn't become uneasy. So if Kazinski had that effect on her it couldn't be anything good. He quietly swore to himself that if the man had done anything in the past to hurt Parker, he would not hesitate to decapitate him.

Kazinski reached out and Eliot gripped his hand firmly, if a bit dangerously. God, he wanted to rip this man's head off.

"Indeed, this world is small, Emily," he sounded almost maniacal as he spoke, and for once Eliot felt a shiver run down his spine. That rarely ever happened, and he had to wonder if it was because of how this man treated children like livestock, or because this man had obviously hurt Parker. He wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that he didn't like this man one bit.

"So, what can I do you for?" Daniel asked, sitting back in his chair comfortably.

Eliot took notice of the fact that Parker was looking anywhere to avoid Daniel Kazinski's eyes. He took the lead with no hesitation, "Well, a few months ago, Par- Emily had to have a hysterectomy due to health issues. Before we scheduled her surgery, we decided to have some of her eggs frozen so that we could go through a surrogate. I went ahead and went under medical examination and found out that a vasectomy I'd had ten years ago was botched. So there was no chance of us being able to go through a surrogate and have a child biologically related to both of us. So...well, we decided to adopt," he tried to fake a smile as best as he could, but it was hard to do when he was sitting across from a man who had abused Parker. He still didn't understand the growing feelings he was having for the blonde thief, but was accepting that there was something there at least.

All he could think while in the room with Daniel Kazinski, was how much he wanted to beat his head in. To avenge all Parker had likely suffered through at the hands of this man. No, he didn't know exactly what had happened to her, but considering nothing made her scared and she now sat next to him with the eyes of a frightened doe, he knew it had to have been bad.

Daniel smiled and glanced between the two of them. "Well, you've come to the right place. We are one of the cheapest agencies in Boston. Makes us one of the most desirable to go through. Of course, you always have the odd one out like Emily here," he said as he gestured to Emily, an almost evil smile on his face, "but you know, sometimes you just can't help them all."

Eliot felt Parker grab his hand in a vice like grip. It made him want to tear out Daniel's heart all the more. But, he had to keep a clear head if they were to make it through this con. He knew it would be tougher now since Parker had a very distinctive past with the mark.

"So, what age range are you looking for? We have children ranging from the ages of a newborn, to fourteen years." Daniel informed them as he sat up more straight and put his hands up to his keyboard.

They already had their cover story worked out, so Eliot didn't hesitate with his answer. "Well, we'd really like to be there through everything, so we were thinking a newborn, and gender is of no matter to us," he said easily, squeezing Parker's hand to assure her he was there.

Daniel began typing away and it was only a moment before he turned back to them once more, "You're in luck, a mother just dropped a newborn off at a safe haven last week. They sent the girl to us. No one has applied to adopt her yet, so if you'd like to meet her I can have one of my staff take you back."

Eliot looked over at Parker. While outsiders might be fooled by her ability to fake a smile, he could see her true disgust for the man before them plastered all over her face. Deep down, she looked as though she wanted to hurl. "That would be great. Thank you, Mr. Kazinski," his eyes never left Parker as he thanked the director.

The secretary from before was the one to lead them to the back, where the children were. Eliot observed their faces as they walked by. Each one had the same eyes. Eyes that were empty. Filled with sorrow. He couldn't help but realize they were the same eyes Parker had. In all his years, he never thought anything could affect him after all the things he'd seen and done. He had never physically hurt a child, though. The very idea of anyone hurting a child made him see red.

"Here she is," the secretary approached them with a bundle of blankets that was squirming slightly. Parker stepped forward and gingerly took the baby in her arms. She looked frightened to be holding something so small and fragile that wasn't a museum display. "We figured, since she's a baby, someone would likely apply for adoption relatively quickly, so we haven't given her a name yet. If you were to adopt her, you would need to apply for a Birth Certificate and a Social Security," she informed them, a light smile on her face as she watched Parker hold the baby with such care.

Eliot himself wasn't able to withhold the small smile that he felt upon his lips.

As soon as they were out, Parker's breathing became labored. Eliot moved behind her to rub her back. "Hey, hey, you're okay, Parker. Everything is okay," he tried his best to assure her, but she whimpered in pain. He didn't know if it was due to what had just transpired, or the fact that her panic attack was making it difficult for her to breathe.

She shook her head, tears rolling down from her eyes. "I promised myself, Eliot! I promised myself that if I ever saw him again I would cut off his legs, his arms and his dick!" Leaning against the brick wall behind her, she slammed her fist to the stone, barely noticing the pain.

Eliot flinched and instantly grabbed for her hand to make sure she was okay. "Parker...who is that man? What did he do to you?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he needed to. Their cover had almost been blown, and he had never seen her in such a state. It was his job as the hitter to ensure the safety of the team. But even more he promised that had anything been done to Parker at the hands of that man, he would not hesitate to end him once they brought down the agency.

She said nothing for a moment, and for the first time Eliot just waited patiently until she was ready to talk. "Eliot...that man...he has done things to children that most adults wouldn't be able to comprehend. He's done things...to me," she couldn't look at him. No matter how hard he tried to meet her eyes, she turned away. "I was first placed with him after my dad killed my mom and then himself. The torture started almost immediately.

"He had this room, it's downstairs. We just called it the chamber when I was a kid. If one of us was bad, which he always found an excuse as to why one or more of us had been bad, he took us down there. There were switches, belts, jumper cables for electrocution. If we had been really bad, he'd lock us up in this stockade-like contraption and leave us overnight. I don't think I need to mention that there was plenty of sexual abuse as well. He would tell us if we wanted a warm place to sleep and food in our bellies, then we needed to work for it. And we worked for it by doing...little favors, as he called it. There was hardly a night where he wasn't in my room," she violently rubbed her eyes to wipe her tears away, the painful memories all coming back up at once. "And, you know I was in and out of the system my whole life. Every time a foster parent decided they didn't want me, I was sent right back to him."

Eliot was never one to be super emotional. He preferred to turn that part of himself off. It had always been easier that way. Everything was less painful when you made fewer connections for yourself, that was his logic. But this little blonde thief was suddenly, and quickly, turning him around. He brought his finger up and felt a small tear on his cheek. He growled, not in anger though. How he wanted to turn around and go right back up to Daniel Kazinski's office and bludgeon him. How he would love to see the life drain from his eyes while crushing his skull.

Wordless, not knowing what to say, Eliot simply pulled her into his arms. "He can't get to you anymore. And we're going to make sure he never lays his hands on another child. I promise, sweetheart," his heart fluttered when she wrapped her own arms around his waist and buried her face against his chest. He just held her tighter.