Prologue
A/N; I never expected to be inspired to do a cross-over fic. But yet, here I am. I began writing this in 2011, then my writing muse ran off. I'm just now finishing it up in the next month or so.
If asked, Parker couldn't really explain what caught her eye about it or why she decided to 'bend' the rules a little bit to take it. But she did. Originally, she thought of giving it to Eliot. He loved weapons and this was truly unique. But she knew she would get a lecture from him about stealing things unless it was for the right reasons. Ha. Like he slept with so many women or picked on Hardison for the right reasons? If Nate found out, his look of disappointment in her followed immediately. Not thathe hadever done anything wrong without the client in mind. Again: ha! She pretended not to notice that the rules never applied to him. Sophie wouldn't be the least bit interested in the short sword because as far as Parker could tell, it had no street value. She couldn't even tell what kind of metal it was.
Perhaps, it was more what she didn't know about it that intrigued her so much. It was an enigma, much like her. While it was shorter than a regular sword, itfeltmore deadly. It spoke to her or sang to her in some way she couldn't explain. Something about it radiated power. Seeing it in the vault of a man who had kidnapped babies to sell on the black market, it was simply too much for Parker to resist. He didn't deserve power, of any kind. And now that he was safely in custody of Detective Captain Bonnano with enough evidence to track down the missing babies and make things right, Parker didn't have to worry about anyone noticing the mystery weapon was missing.
Until then, she'd keep this secret. And maybe, just maybe, she'd ask Hardison for help figuring out what it was. For now, she'd just place it in a safe place.
When she held it, she felt a rush unlike any other. No diamond or paper bill had made her feel this way. Not even gold bars.
It's like it wasmeantfor her.
xOxOx
Eliot sat in the back of the bar nursing his beer, along with his ego. He'd slipped away from the team the second they'd arrived back at McRory's. Before they noticed he was gone, he was probably ordering his first beer. It's not that they didn't pay attention so much as it was that if he didn't want to be seen, he wasn't seen. And right now, he didn't want to be seen.
The bottle was cold enough that he held it to his swelling eye for some relief. His ego wasn't the only thing bruised. But it wasn't the fact that he'd almost lost the fight that bothered him. It was the fact that he saw something that got under his skin and worried him like a splinter.
Black eyes.
He shook his head to shake the vision from his mind, but so far it had been the only thing he could think of since it happened: black eyes, and not in a sultry, dark-eyed, mysterious way. The woman's strength caught him off guard, her viciousness unnerved him, but the flash of black eyes chilled him to the bone. She was gone before the team had gotten back there or he would have had to deal with Hardison ragging on him for almost getting beat by a girl. But it wasn't that. He knew women, the way they smelled, the way they felt, the way they moved, all of them different yet heknewthem. And everything about this 'woman' seemed normal until she went for his throat with a viciousness he'd never encountered with any man. She was probably less than a buck ten but that was nogirl. Something about her was evil and he couldn't shake that feeling.
So much so he didn't notice that he was being watched until he got up and walked from the bar, bumping into a man about his age.
"Whoa, sorry about that," the man muttered as he brushed against him acting drunk and unsteady on his feet, but Eliot felt the man's hand slip into his jacket, reaching for something.
A slight smile crossed his lips before he jerked the man's hand away, spinning him around and slamming him face-first into the wall. Pinning him in place with one hand, Eliot replied, "Not a problem. But if you're going to try and lift my wallet, we're definitely going to have a problem. Especially if you do it that badly."
The man was quite a bit taller than him and solid muscle. Alert now, Eliot tensed, realizing that this was a large man and obviously skilled in some type of combat. No alcohol smell to him either. Grabbing the man by the back of his leather jacket, Eliot pushed him through the side door and into the alley, flinging him to the ground and holding him there with a firm foot to his chest.
"Now, tell me who the hell you are before I lodge my foot in your spine," he growled, seeing the man hold his hands up like he was surrendering, all the while tensing for a strike on Eliot. To remind him who held the upper hand, he shifted his weight a little, pressing down on the other man's ribs just enough to hurt.
He heard the click of a gun being cocked and spun around to disarm the second man.
xOxOx
"Can I buy you a drink?" The woman slid onto the stool beside Nate. She looked young, about Parker's age, with long dark hair and dark eyes. Attractive but something seemed 'off' about her.
Holding up his still full glass, he smiled. "Thank you, but I got that covered."
"Perhaps you can buy me a drink then," she said softly. Her eyes drifted to his lips a few times before returning her gaze to his.
When it came to women, Nate wasn't ignorant. He knew the different between a woman trying to seduce him and a woman trying to seduce something out of him. He saw Sophie and Hardison enter the bar out of the corner of his eye and he was torn. He was rather annoyed with Sophie's comments last week about his recklessness with the team's lives and there had been coldness between them ever since. A part of him wanted to hurt her and when she noticed him at the bar with the attractive younger woman, he saw the spark of jealousy in her eyes before she schooled her features into complete apathy. She followed Hardison to a table behind him while the hacker talked rapidly while waving his hands around in an animated fashion. Most likely he hadn't noticed Nate and, if he had, he wouldn't have picked up on the tension between him and Sophie.
"Or perhaps not." The woman moved to slide off the barstool before he placed his hand on her arm.
"Forgive me. Yes, what's your poison?"
As the bartender brought her a drink, Nate listened to her discussing why she was in town. He barely focused until she excused herself.
"My hotel is nearby, if you'd like to join me for a nightcap," she muttered, her voice dropping to a sultry hum. "It might be more comfortable for both of us."
Nate studied her for a moment before nodding slowly. He had doubts, her seduction was obviously an act, but something drew him to her.
"Forgive me for being so forward. This isn't normal for me," she chuckled quietly and blushed. "I mean, I don't even know your name."
"Nathan Ford, but you can call me Nate."
"Hello Nate. I'm Meg." Despite her apologies for being forward she stood up confidently and waited for him to do the same. They walked out of McRory's and he never looked back to see if Sophie ever noticed.
But her eyes following him as he left were not the only ones he didn't notice.