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phantismaFandom: Leverage
Title: Close the Door, Pull the Shades - Part Four (follows on Part One and Part Two and Part Three)
Pairing/Characters: Nate/Eliot, Hardison, Parker, Sophie
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 3373
Summary: Nate seeks out vengeance on the men who hurt Eliot, but will it drive Eliot away or draw them closer, and what will the team think when their leader sets out on an obvious suicide mission...and there's still that mark to worry about.
A/Ns & Warnings: This is, as is becoming usual,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
havenward's fault. Although it started with merry_gentry's first vampire!Nate prompt on ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
comment_fic. thus, this is a vampire!Nate fic. As such, this will include biting and some blood play. It will be a rather dom!Nate in places, but certainly not a sub!Eliot in the traditional sense. Apparently this fic has taken over my brain. I've written close to 15000 words since I started on this. That number includes tidbits that were posted to comment_fic but have not yet made it into the bigger story.
It's mid-afternoon before Nate feels him stir again. His eyes open and dart around the room before landing on Nate in the chair by the bed.
He frowns a little, looking up at the IV dripping into his arm before squinting at Nate. "What happened?"
"From what I've been able to gather, you got jumped."
Eliot makes a face and shakes his head. "No, I remember that. I feel...strange."
"You would. You got cut up pretty good. And they've got you on some pretty heavy drugs."
Eliot looks away. "About what I said-"
"No, you were right. I should have explained it better before we went in." Nate stands and moves to the bed, letting one hand slide down Eliot's arm.
"I'm not like that." Eliot says after a while. "I'm not...something you can put in a cage and expect me to be okay with it."
Nate lifts Eliot's hand and presses a kiss into his palm. "I'd never want that."
"Sometimes it feels like you do."
Nate isn't really sure what to say to that. "I like who you are, Eliot…everything about you…especially that you aren't some soft, submissive blood slut. I like that you don't go down easily."
A sly grin comes over Eliot's face and Nate chuckles low in his chest. "But I do go down." Eliot says before Nate can alter what he'd said.
"And I like that too." Nate responds, resting his hand on Eliot's stomach.
"Seriously though, if I'm so bad off, why don't I feel it?" Eliot's eyes narrow, focus on Nate's face. His hand slides over the bandages on his chest. "I should hurt a lot more than I do."
"Good drugs." Nate looks up at the IV, down at his hands, anywhere but at Eliot.
"Nate, did you do something?" His hands slides up to Nate's mark on his neck, the mark that's almost gone. "What did you do?"
"Calm down." Nate stands, walks to the window, but it's daylight and he can't open the curtains so he turns back at Eliot who is pushing up to sitting now. "I just…you were bleeding out…" Nate sighs and crosses back to the bed. "I cut my wrist open and bled into your leg. Not a lot. But it helped stop the bleeding…enough that it's helped you heal faster."
Eliot blinks at him, like he didn't really expect that answer. "You…what?"
"Don't be angry. It shouldn't have any long term affects, and the short term ones are…interesting."
"Define interesting."
Eliot doesn't seem angry. "Well, you'll be back on your feet faster, more stamina, strength…and well, sexual appetite gets…bigger."
Eliot raises an eyebrow. "That is interesting."
"Nate?" Sophie's at the door when he turns, smiling at Eliot. "Hardison needs you." She steps into the room, smiling at Eliot. "How are you feeling?"
"Better."
"I'll be back."
Eliot waits for the door to close before he looks at Sophie. "What's that about?"
"Business. Nothing you need to worry about."
"Sophie."
"Nate made me promise not to say anything."
Eliot glares at her until she caves. "Okay, he's had Alec looking for the men who did this to you."
"I thought we were working a job." Eliot frowns and shakes his head. "He should keep his head in the game."
"Are you sure it wasn't because of the game?" Sophie asks, sitting in the chair Nate had been in when he woke up.
"I walked up on a gang thing…that's all."
Sophie nods, absorbing the information, but she doesn't take it any further. "So, this thing between you and Nate?"
"What?"
She smiles as she sits back. "Did you think we didn't notice?"
"Notice what?" Eliot fidgets because he doesn't really want to be having this conversation without Nate to back him up.
"That he's drinking less, that he watches you, that you watch him…there's something going on."
Okay, so at least it's just that part. Eliot can handle that part. "Not really…I just occupy some of his time. Give him something to do that isn't drinking."
Her eyebrow goes up at that. "Oh really? Like what?"
Eliot shrugs. "We talk, play cards…you know guy stuff."
"Right, because both of you are such big talkers."
He's saved from having to answer by the door opening and Nate's return. "We're all set. Have Parker here by sunset."
She's gone before Eliot can think of anything more to say, so he turns to Nate instead. "Keep your head in the game."
"It is in the game. We're meeting the mark tomorrow night right after sunset. I'll take Sophie."
Eliot shakes his head. "No. I'm going. I'll be on my feet by then."
"Absolutely not." Nate crosses his arms.
"I wasn't asking permission." Eliot huffs at him. "Besides that isn't what I meant."
"Leave it to me."
"No." Eliot pulls the blankets back and stands. "You haven't fed well in days, you're not at your best and you're worried about me. That's no condition to be running around a city you don't know chasing goddamn gangbangers." His knees wobble and his thigh throbs, but Eliot takes two steps toward Nate.
"You need to stay in bed. You lost a lot of blood." Nate grabs his shoulder and guides him back. "I'll have them bring you more drugs if I have to."
"Nate."
"It's not open for discussion Eliot." Nate pulls away and Eliot can see he's shaking as he pushes his hands through his hair. "I said I would handle it."
"Nate."
Eliot holds out his hand, trying to entice Nate back, but Nate shakes his head. "You'll be fine. Parker's here. I'll be back before you know it."
But Eliot knows why Nate is leaving, knows where he's going. And Eliot doesn't like it. In fact, it's only the drugs running through his body that is keeping him in the bed. They've spent the last two hours not talking about it.
"Nate, please. Don't leave now."
Nate turns back at the door. "Not this time, Eliot. They hurt you."
"You don't want to do this." Eliot is pleading with him, but Nate pulls the door open.
"Funny, it's all I've wanted to do since I found you."
He leaves before Eliot can say anything more, because part of him knows Eliot is right, that he will come to regret what he's about to do, but that won't keep him from doing it. "Do not let him out of that bed." Nate says to Parker as he slips his earpiece in. "Hardison?"
"First address, 1515 Morningside, apt 15."
"Name?"
"Pedro Costas, current leader of the Banditos."
"And we're sure that's who hit Eliot?"
"Only gang working that territory. Bad mother fuckers too. Watch your back."
"I'll worry about my back, you keep the cops out of the neighborhood."
Nate turns the earpiece off, because Hardison doesn't need to hear what is going to happen. He navigates the streets, keeping to the shadows as the sun sets in the distance and he gets to the address just as three guys leave the building wearing gang colors.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for Pedro Costas?"
"Yeah? Who are you, crusty old white man, to come up in our hood?"
Nate takes a few steps closer. "I'm a friend of the man you boys roughed up last night, the one you left bleeding and dying on the street."
"Don't know what you're talking about." The middle guy pushes the others away, probably sending them for help. That's okay, by the time that helps arrived Nate will be feeling a whole lot stronger than he is right now.
"Maybe I can remind you." Nate grabs him, yanks him into the shadows between buildings and shoves him against the wall. "He has a mark on his neck…right about here." Nate bites deep and the guy starts to scream, but one solid suck of blood and he stills, the arousal overwhelming his fear. "He belongs to me. No one touches him unless I say they can. People who try end up dead."
Nate drinks him fast, so fast he can't even come first and drops him to the dirty alley pavement. He turns on his earpiece. "One down. Who's next?"
"Wait? Down? What does that mean?"
"Hardison." Nate growls at him, the blood pumping through him fueling his anger…now that he's tasted revenge, he wants more. "Give me the name."
"Okay, right. Yeah. Second in command is Michael Gabriel. 2615 D street, two blocks from where you are."
Nate is on the fourth name, not quite to him when his earpiece crackles. "Hardison, I told you—"
"Not Hardison." Eliot's voice filters through the fury and blood lust.
"Come home, Nate. Just let it go."
"No—"
"Nate, I'm not asking. Stop now and come get me or I'm out of here."
His voice is soft with no hint of anger, only hurt affection.
"They hurt you."
"And you saved me. I think that makes us even." There's silence between them for a long moment. "I'll be here until midnight. If you don't come for me, I'll be gone by morning."
The door opens slowly and Eliot turns from where he's standing by the bed. Parker had brought him a change of clothes and he was just finishing buttoning down the shirt. "I almost didn't think you were coming."
"I almost didn't come." Nate says.
"I know what you did." Eliot let's his eyes sweep over Nate, over the flushed skin that was nearly pink, bloodshot eyes and clothes that looked like he'd been wearing them for days. "Are you okay?"
Nate nods distractedly. Eliot echoes the motion. "We have a job to finish. What's say we go get some sleep?"
He isn't angry exactly, in fact he's sort of touched, in an odd way. Nate's skin is warm when Eliot brushes against him, warmer than it's ever been. It had taken threatening Parker to get her to leave the room, but she is waiting with the car when they come down.
Nate is strangely pliant as they drive to the hotel, following Eliot upstairs to their suite. Hardison and Sophie look up as they entered, but no one says anything, at least not to them as Eliot leads Nate into the bedroom they're sharing.
"Nate." His hands shake as Eliot gets closer, rising up to cup Eliot's face. "I'm okay."
"Almost lost you." Nate grinds the words out of clenched teeth and Eliot can smell the blood on his breath.
"I'm right here. You saved me."
"They hurt you."
Eliot lets out a breath and pulls Nate to him, kissing him fervently. "You can't run off an kill everyone that ever hurts me, okay? For one thing, you wouldn't have time to do anything else. I get hurt a lot. It's part of my job."
Nate's starting to come back to himself, Eliot can see it in his eyes. "They tried to kill you."
"But I’m not dead." Eliot lets go of him and goes to pour him a drink. "And now you're going to drink this, take a shower and get some sleep. Sophie's got us all lined up for tomorrow. You and me are taking Marquez out for a drive, show him your plans for the operation while Parker and Hardison spring the slaves he's got hidden."
"Just like that?"
Eliot nods. "Just like that."
To his surprise, Nate doesn't argue, just downs the whiskey and heads to the bathroom. Eliot sighs and lets himself back out into the main room.
"This is the part where you explain what's going on, right?" Hardison asks as Eliot lowers himself into a chair.
"Nate needs some rest." Eliot responds. "And we need a better plan. This guy is going to come back at us with a vengeance if we just walk in and steal his merchandise."
"You make it sound like we're lifting a painting or something." Sophie says.
Hardison sits forward, setting aside his laptop and making a "T" with his hands. "Hold up. Are we just going to pretend tonight didn't happen?"
Eliot looks at Hardison, who seems more than a little freaked out. "What did happen, Hardison? Did you hear anything?"
Hardison's eyes are wide as he shakes his head. "No. But Nate went into gang territory and he came out alive. He went in alone. He said things like one down. Down? Are you telling me that don't mean what I think it means?"
"I'm telling you to let it go." Eliot says softly. "If you know what's good for you."
"Why? Is he going to come out here and kill us too?" Sophie asks, standing up to pace around the room. "I mean, that's what he did out there, isn't it?"
"And what about you?" Hardison pokes at his arm. "Just twenty four hours ago you were dying in the streets and now you're up walking around?"
"I heal fast."
"Don't give me that—"
Parker stands abruptly, clearly frustrated. "You people can be so dense."
She charges for the door to the other bedroom, but Sophie cuts her off. "What do you mean?"
Hardison joins them, turning Parker to face him. "Spill."
Parker looks to Eliot for support but Eliot honestly doesn't know what's going on in the girl's head so she huffs. "Fine. Nate is a vampire, obviously. He has a thing for Eliot and that's why he went all rampagy killing those men."
The room is silent for a long time, then Sophie starts to laugh. Hardison is still looking at Parker like she's insane.
"A vampire. Nate is a vampire." Sophie repeats it a couple of times before sitting on the couch. "With a thing for Eliot."
"I think I need to have my hearing checked." Hardison says, shaking his head. "Girl, there's something not right with you."
Parker rolls her eyes. "You act like you didn't notice how he drinks more when he has to be outside during the day, how he covers as much skin as possible, wears a hat and shades, like you don't see the difference in his behavior since he hooked up with Eliot." She mouths the word "sorry" at him and Eliot just sits back because he had no idea the thief was this observant.
"And how long has it been since this hooking up?" Eliot asks, genuinely curious to see if she knows.
"Just over a month. Since Nate blew a gasket and beat the crap out of our mark…I figure he got all blood-lusty and you two sorta…you know…" She shrugs again and the room is quiet. "I mean…once a vamp's got a taste of you, it only goes one of two ways…either they kill you or you become their personal buffet, right?"
Eliot doesn't know what to say, or if he should say anything, but discovers he doesn't have to. "Parker is right." Nate's voice sounds into the room.
All eyes turn to him. Eliot scrambles to his feet, but Nate holds up a hand. He's still wet from the shower, wrapped in a hotel robe.
"What do you mean Parker is right?" Sophie asks, looking from Nate to Parker to Eliot. "I mean, you can't mean that she's right about you being a vampire."
"There's no such thing as vampires." Hardison says, pulling his laptop back into his lap as if it could protect him.
Nate takes a step into the room. "I am a vampire. Have been for a number of years, actually. And yes, I killed three men tonight. I'm not proud of it. But I'd do it again."
"There's no such thing as vampires." Hardison repeats. Parker pats his shoulder in as comforting a gesture as she can manage.
"It's kind of a shock the first time. I know."
Nate kind of smiles at Parker. "How long have you known?"
"I know Genevieve."
Eliot doesn't know what that means, but obviously Nate does because he nods. "Now, I realize that for some of you this is…odd, and you need time to adjust. You have until the morning. If you can't handle it, the door is over there. No harm, no foul. Eliot, let's call it a night."
He half expects them to be gone in the morning, or more like afternoon, when he emerges from the room. Hardison looks like he never went to bed, eyes bleary as they lift from the computer screen. "I got us the hook up. Decked out semi with a killer sound system and the trailer all set up for transporting livestock, if you know what I mean."
Eliot frowns at him. "Coffee?"
Hardison rolls his eyes and points to the room service tray. Eliot stumbles toward it and pours himself a cup before he comes back to Hardison and his computer. "Okay, now talk."
"Sophie's idea. You offer transportation to and from a remote air strip, where you fly the merchandise out of the country. The rig is designed to hide things behind false panels. You could fit ten to fifteen people in it and still pack a load of cargo."
Eliot nods, sipping at the coffee. "And the prisoners?"
Hardison shrugs. "That's mostly on Parker. She's out picking up a few things she says she'll need."
"And how is it we keep this fucker from coming back after us, or just starting over?"
Hardison punched a few buttons on his computer. "Well, it seems that Mr. Marquez is having some liquidity issues. His stock portfolio just took a dive. Seems someone gave him very bad advice to invest in a company that doesn't exist." He punched a few more. "Oh, and those mortgage payments seem to have gone astray…poor man looks to be loosing some real estate."
"Nice." Eliot drains his coffee and turns to find Sophie coming out of the bedroom. She's dressed for business, hair pulled up, glasses, a briefcase. She smiles at him. "And what are you up to?"
She holds out her hand and Hardison fills it with a stack of papers. "I'll be liquidating his personal accounts."
"How exactly?"
"One of Sophie's favorite cons." Nate says as he joins them. "She'll be posing as his wife."
"He has a wife?"
"Had." Nate corrects. "She's dead, but no one ever found the body and he told people she ran off. Now, she's back."
"Fortunately for us, he never bothered to remove her name from any of the accounts, because he knew she'd never come around to clean them out." Sophie drops the papers into her briefcase. "I should be arriving at the bank around 4pm."
Nate nods. "We'll be meeting him at about the same time, get him out of the way."
"So all we have to do is keep him out of the way for a few hours?" Eliot asks.
"Yep, and drop him off home once everyone is done."
It sounds awfully simple, and that makes Eliot nervous.
"So, we're good?" Nate asks as Sophie fills a plate from the room service tray.
She looks him over. "Let's finish the job. We can talk about it after."
Nate looks at Hardison who holds up both hands. "I'm cool…as long as you know…you don't try to eat me or anything."
Eliot slaps him upside the head.
"Ow, why you gotta go and do that for?"
"Where's this truck?"
"Truck stop outside of town. Driver's waiting for you."
Eliot knows the minute they're blown. He hears Hardison mumbling in his ear about losing the lock down on Marquez's cell phones, sees his bodyguard looking at the screen on his phone and leaning in to whisper in his boss' ear.
He tugs at Nate's arm, pulling them around the side of the trailer seconds before the gunshots start firing. "Fuck."
"I take it that means we're blown?" Nate asks blithely.
"Hardison, get everyone out."
"Can't reach Parker. Sophie's on her way. I've got cops heading your way."
"Not going to get here in time." Nate says, pulling a gun from his waistband. "We have to find shelter."
"What you need to do, is give my friend your gun, Mr. Antony." Marguez says smoothly from beside Eliot, the muzzle of his gun shoved into Eliot's face. "Or I'll be redecorating your truck with your companion's brain matter."
Title: Close the Door, Pull the Shades - Part Four (follows on Part One and Part Two and Part Three)
Pairing/Characters: Nate/Eliot, Hardison, Parker, Sophie
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 3373
Summary: Nate seeks out vengeance on the men who hurt Eliot, but will it drive Eliot away or draw them closer, and what will the team think when their leader sets out on an obvious suicide mission...and there's still that mark to worry about.
A/Ns & Warnings: This is, as is becoming usual,
havenward's fault. Although it started with merry_gentry's first vampire!Nate prompt on comment_fic. thus, this is a vampire!Nate fic. As such, this will include biting and some blood play. It will be a rather dom!Nate in places, but certainly not a sub!Eliot in the traditional sense. Apparently this fic has taken over my brain. I've written close to 15000 words since I started on this. That number includes tidbits that were posted to comment_fic but have not yet made it into the bigger story.It's mid-afternoon before Nate feels him stir again. His eyes open and dart around the room before landing on Nate in the chair by the bed.
He frowns a little, looking up at the IV dripping into his arm before squinting at Nate. "What happened?"
"From what I've been able to gather, you got jumped."
Eliot makes a face and shakes his head. "No, I remember that. I feel...strange."
"You would. You got cut up pretty good. And they've got you on some pretty heavy drugs."
Eliot looks away. "About what I said-"
"No, you were right. I should have explained it better before we went in." Nate stands and moves to the bed, letting one hand slide down Eliot's arm.
"I'm not like that." Eliot says after a while. "I'm not...something you can put in a cage and expect me to be okay with it."
Nate lifts Eliot's hand and presses a kiss into his palm. "I'd never want that."
"Sometimes it feels like you do."
Nate isn't really sure what to say to that. "I like who you are, Eliot…everything about you…especially that you aren't some soft, submissive blood slut. I like that you don't go down easily."
A sly grin comes over Eliot's face and Nate chuckles low in his chest. "But I do go down." Eliot says before Nate can alter what he'd said.
"And I like that too." Nate responds, resting his hand on Eliot's stomach.
"Seriously though, if I'm so bad off, why don't I feel it?" Eliot's eyes narrow, focus on Nate's face. His hand slides over the bandages on his chest. "I should hurt a lot more than I do."
"Good drugs." Nate looks up at the IV, down at his hands, anywhere but at Eliot.
"Nate, did you do something?" His hands slides up to Nate's mark on his neck, the mark that's almost gone. "What did you do?"
"Calm down." Nate stands, walks to the window, but it's daylight and he can't open the curtains so he turns back at Eliot who is pushing up to sitting now. "I just…you were bleeding out…" Nate sighs and crosses back to the bed. "I cut my wrist open and bled into your leg. Not a lot. But it helped stop the bleeding…enough that it's helped you heal faster."
Eliot blinks at him, like he didn't really expect that answer. "You…what?"
"Don't be angry. It shouldn't have any long term affects, and the short term ones are…interesting."
"Define interesting."
Eliot doesn't seem angry. "Well, you'll be back on your feet faster, more stamina, strength…and well, sexual appetite gets…bigger."
Eliot raises an eyebrow. "That is interesting."
"Nate?" Sophie's at the door when he turns, smiling at Eliot. "Hardison needs you." She steps into the room, smiling at Eliot. "How are you feeling?"
"Better."
"I'll be back."
Eliot waits for the door to close before he looks at Sophie. "What's that about?"
"Business. Nothing you need to worry about."
"Sophie."
"Nate made me promise not to say anything."
Eliot glares at her until she caves. "Okay, he's had Alec looking for the men who did this to you."
"I thought we were working a job." Eliot frowns and shakes his head. "He should keep his head in the game."
"Are you sure it wasn't because of the game?" Sophie asks, sitting in the chair Nate had been in when he woke up.
"I walked up on a gang thing…that's all."
Sophie nods, absorbing the information, but she doesn't take it any further. "So, this thing between you and Nate?"
"What?"
She smiles as she sits back. "Did you think we didn't notice?"
"Notice what?" Eliot fidgets because he doesn't really want to be having this conversation without Nate to back him up.
"That he's drinking less, that he watches you, that you watch him…there's something going on."
Okay, so at least it's just that part. Eliot can handle that part. "Not really…I just occupy some of his time. Give him something to do that isn't drinking."
Her eyebrow goes up at that. "Oh really? Like what?"
Eliot shrugs. "We talk, play cards…you know guy stuff."
"Right, because both of you are such big talkers."
He's saved from having to answer by the door opening and Nate's return. "We're all set. Have Parker here by sunset."
She's gone before Eliot can think of anything more to say, so he turns to Nate instead. "Keep your head in the game."
"It is in the game. We're meeting the mark tomorrow night right after sunset. I'll take Sophie."
Eliot shakes his head. "No. I'm going. I'll be on my feet by then."
"Absolutely not." Nate crosses his arms.
"I wasn't asking permission." Eliot huffs at him. "Besides that isn't what I meant."
"Leave it to me."
"No." Eliot pulls the blankets back and stands. "You haven't fed well in days, you're not at your best and you're worried about me. That's no condition to be running around a city you don't know chasing goddamn gangbangers." His knees wobble and his thigh throbs, but Eliot takes two steps toward Nate.
"You need to stay in bed. You lost a lot of blood." Nate grabs his shoulder and guides him back. "I'll have them bring you more drugs if I have to."
"Nate."
"It's not open for discussion Eliot." Nate pulls away and Eliot can see he's shaking as he pushes his hands through his hair. "I said I would handle it."
"Nate."
Eliot holds out his hand, trying to entice Nate back, but Nate shakes his head. "You'll be fine. Parker's here. I'll be back before you know it."
But Eliot knows why Nate is leaving, knows where he's going. And Eliot doesn't like it. In fact, it's only the drugs running through his body that is keeping him in the bed. They've spent the last two hours not talking about it.
"Nate, please. Don't leave now."
Nate turns back at the door. "Not this time, Eliot. They hurt you."
"You don't want to do this." Eliot is pleading with him, but Nate pulls the door open.
"Funny, it's all I've wanted to do since I found you."
He leaves before Eliot can say anything more, because part of him knows Eliot is right, that he will come to regret what he's about to do, but that won't keep him from doing it. "Do not let him out of that bed." Nate says to Parker as he slips his earpiece in. "Hardison?"
"First address, 1515 Morningside, apt 15."
"Name?"
"Pedro Costas, current leader of the Banditos."
"And we're sure that's who hit Eliot?"
"Only gang working that territory. Bad mother fuckers too. Watch your back."
"I'll worry about my back, you keep the cops out of the neighborhood."
Nate turns the earpiece off, because Hardison doesn't need to hear what is going to happen. He navigates the streets, keeping to the shadows as the sun sets in the distance and he gets to the address just as three guys leave the building wearing gang colors.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for Pedro Costas?"
"Yeah? Who are you, crusty old white man, to come up in our hood?"
Nate takes a few steps closer. "I'm a friend of the man you boys roughed up last night, the one you left bleeding and dying on the street."
"Don't know what you're talking about." The middle guy pushes the others away, probably sending them for help. That's okay, by the time that helps arrived Nate will be feeling a whole lot stronger than he is right now.
"Maybe I can remind you." Nate grabs him, yanks him into the shadows between buildings and shoves him against the wall. "He has a mark on his neck…right about here." Nate bites deep and the guy starts to scream, but one solid suck of blood and he stills, the arousal overwhelming his fear. "He belongs to me. No one touches him unless I say they can. People who try end up dead."
Nate drinks him fast, so fast he can't even come first and drops him to the dirty alley pavement. He turns on his earpiece. "One down. Who's next?"
"Wait? Down? What does that mean?"
"Hardison." Nate growls at him, the blood pumping through him fueling his anger…now that he's tasted revenge, he wants more. "Give me the name."
"Okay, right. Yeah. Second in command is Michael Gabriel. 2615 D street, two blocks from where you are."
Nate is on the fourth name, not quite to him when his earpiece crackles. "Hardison, I told you—"
"Not Hardison." Eliot's voice filters through the fury and blood lust.
"Come home, Nate. Just let it go."
"No—"
"Nate, I'm not asking. Stop now and come get me or I'm out of here."
His voice is soft with no hint of anger, only hurt affection.
"They hurt you."
"And you saved me. I think that makes us even." There's silence between them for a long moment. "I'll be here until midnight. If you don't come for me, I'll be gone by morning."
The door opens slowly and Eliot turns from where he's standing by the bed. Parker had brought him a change of clothes and he was just finishing buttoning down the shirt. "I almost didn't think you were coming."
"I almost didn't come." Nate says.
"I know what you did." Eliot let's his eyes sweep over Nate, over the flushed skin that was nearly pink, bloodshot eyes and clothes that looked like he'd been wearing them for days. "Are you okay?"
Nate nods distractedly. Eliot echoes the motion. "We have a job to finish. What's say we go get some sleep?"
He isn't angry exactly, in fact he's sort of touched, in an odd way. Nate's skin is warm when Eliot brushes against him, warmer than it's ever been. It had taken threatening Parker to get her to leave the room, but she is waiting with the car when they come down.
Nate is strangely pliant as they drive to the hotel, following Eliot upstairs to their suite. Hardison and Sophie look up as they entered, but no one says anything, at least not to them as Eliot leads Nate into the bedroom they're sharing.
"Nate." His hands shake as Eliot gets closer, rising up to cup Eliot's face. "I'm okay."
"Almost lost you." Nate grinds the words out of clenched teeth and Eliot can smell the blood on his breath.
"I'm right here. You saved me."
"They hurt you."
Eliot lets out a breath and pulls Nate to him, kissing him fervently. "You can't run off an kill everyone that ever hurts me, okay? For one thing, you wouldn't have time to do anything else. I get hurt a lot. It's part of my job."
Nate's starting to come back to himself, Eliot can see it in his eyes. "They tried to kill you."
"But I’m not dead." Eliot lets go of him and goes to pour him a drink. "And now you're going to drink this, take a shower and get some sleep. Sophie's got us all lined up for tomorrow. You and me are taking Marquez out for a drive, show him your plans for the operation while Parker and Hardison spring the slaves he's got hidden."
"Just like that?"
Eliot nods. "Just like that."
To his surprise, Nate doesn't argue, just downs the whiskey and heads to the bathroom. Eliot sighs and lets himself back out into the main room.
"This is the part where you explain what's going on, right?" Hardison asks as Eliot lowers himself into a chair.
"Nate needs some rest." Eliot responds. "And we need a better plan. This guy is going to come back at us with a vengeance if we just walk in and steal his merchandise."
"You make it sound like we're lifting a painting or something." Sophie says.
Hardison sits forward, setting aside his laptop and making a "T" with his hands. "Hold up. Are we just going to pretend tonight didn't happen?"
Eliot looks at Hardison, who seems more than a little freaked out. "What did happen, Hardison? Did you hear anything?"
Hardison's eyes are wide as he shakes his head. "No. But Nate went into gang territory and he came out alive. He went in alone. He said things like one down. Down? Are you telling me that don't mean what I think it means?"
"I'm telling you to let it go." Eliot says softly. "If you know what's good for you."
"Why? Is he going to come out here and kill us too?" Sophie asks, standing up to pace around the room. "I mean, that's what he did out there, isn't it?"
"And what about you?" Hardison pokes at his arm. "Just twenty four hours ago you were dying in the streets and now you're up walking around?"
"I heal fast."
"Don't give me that—"
Parker stands abruptly, clearly frustrated. "You people can be so dense."
She charges for the door to the other bedroom, but Sophie cuts her off. "What do you mean?"
Hardison joins them, turning Parker to face him. "Spill."
Parker looks to Eliot for support but Eliot honestly doesn't know what's going on in the girl's head so she huffs. "Fine. Nate is a vampire, obviously. He has a thing for Eliot and that's why he went all rampagy killing those men."
The room is silent for a long time, then Sophie starts to laugh. Hardison is still looking at Parker like she's insane.
"A vampire. Nate is a vampire." Sophie repeats it a couple of times before sitting on the couch. "With a thing for Eliot."
"I think I need to have my hearing checked." Hardison says, shaking his head. "Girl, there's something not right with you."
Parker rolls her eyes. "You act like you didn't notice how he drinks more when he has to be outside during the day, how he covers as much skin as possible, wears a hat and shades, like you don't see the difference in his behavior since he hooked up with Eliot." She mouths the word "sorry" at him and Eliot just sits back because he had no idea the thief was this observant.
"And how long has it been since this hooking up?" Eliot asks, genuinely curious to see if she knows.
"Just over a month. Since Nate blew a gasket and beat the crap out of our mark…I figure he got all blood-lusty and you two sorta…you know…" She shrugs again and the room is quiet. "I mean…once a vamp's got a taste of you, it only goes one of two ways…either they kill you or you become their personal buffet, right?"
Eliot doesn't know what to say, or if he should say anything, but discovers he doesn't have to. "Parker is right." Nate's voice sounds into the room.
All eyes turn to him. Eliot scrambles to his feet, but Nate holds up a hand. He's still wet from the shower, wrapped in a hotel robe.
"What do you mean Parker is right?" Sophie asks, looking from Nate to Parker to Eliot. "I mean, you can't mean that she's right about you being a vampire."
"There's no such thing as vampires." Hardison says, pulling his laptop back into his lap as if it could protect him.
Nate takes a step into the room. "I am a vampire. Have been for a number of years, actually. And yes, I killed three men tonight. I'm not proud of it. But I'd do it again."
"There's no such thing as vampires." Hardison repeats. Parker pats his shoulder in as comforting a gesture as she can manage.
"It's kind of a shock the first time. I know."
Nate kind of smiles at Parker. "How long have you known?"
"I know Genevieve."
Eliot doesn't know what that means, but obviously Nate does because he nods. "Now, I realize that for some of you this is…odd, and you need time to adjust. You have until the morning. If you can't handle it, the door is over there. No harm, no foul. Eliot, let's call it a night."
He half expects them to be gone in the morning, or more like afternoon, when he emerges from the room. Hardison looks like he never went to bed, eyes bleary as they lift from the computer screen. "I got us the hook up. Decked out semi with a killer sound system and the trailer all set up for transporting livestock, if you know what I mean."
Eliot frowns at him. "Coffee?"
Hardison rolls his eyes and points to the room service tray. Eliot stumbles toward it and pours himself a cup before he comes back to Hardison and his computer. "Okay, now talk."
"Sophie's idea. You offer transportation to and from a remote air strip, where you fly the merchandise out of the country. The rig is designed to hide things behind false panels. You could fit ten to fifteen people in it and still pack a load of cargo."
Eliot nods, sipping at the coffee. "And the prisoners?"
Hardison shrugs. "That's mostly on Parker. She's out picking up a few things she says she'll need."
"And how is it we keep this fucker from coming back after us, or just starting over?"
Hardison punched a few buttons on his computer. "Well, it seems that Mr. Marquez is having some liquidity issues. His stock portfolio just took a dive. Seems someone gave him very bad advice to invest in a company that doesn't exist." He punched a few more. "Oh, and those mortgage payments seem to have gone astray…poor man looks to be loosing some real estate."
"Nice." Eliot drains his coffee and turns to find Sophie coming out of the bedroom. She's dressed for business, hair pulled up, glasses, a briefcase. She smiles at him. "And what are you up to?"
She holds out her hand and Hardison fills it with a stack of papers. "I'll be liquidating his personal accounts."
"How exactly?"
"One of Sophie's favorite cons." Nate says as he joins them. "She'll be posing as his wife."
"He has a wife?"
"Had." Nate corrects. "She's dead, but no one ever found the body and he told people she ran off. Now, she's back."
"Fortunately for us, he never bothered to remove her name from any of the accounts, because he knew she'd never come around to clean them out." Sophie drops the papers into her briefcase. "I should be arriving at the bank around 4pm."
Nate nods. "We'll be meeting him at about the same time, get him out of the way."
"So all we have to do is keep him out of the way for a few hours?" Eliot asks.
"Yep, and drop him off home once everyone is done."
It sounds awfully simple, and that makes Eliot nervous.
"So, we're good?" Nate asks as Sophie fills a plate from the room service tray.
She looks him over. "Let's finish the job. We can talk about it after."
Nate looks at Hardison who holds up both hands. "I'm cool…as long as you know…you don't try to eat me or anything."
Eliot slaps him upside the head.
"Ow, why you gotta go and do that for?"
"Where's this truck?"
"Truck stop outside of town. Driver's waiting for you."
Eliot knows the minute they're blown. He hears Hardison mumbling in his ear about losing the lock down on Marquez's cell phones, sees his bodyguard looking at the screen on his phone and leaning in to whisper in his boss' ear.
He tugs at Nate's arm, pulling them around the side of the trailer seconds before the gunshots start firing. "Fuck."
"I take it that means we're blown?" Nate asks blithely.
"Hardison, get everyone out."
"Can't reach Parker. Sophie's on her way. I've got cops heading your way."
"Not going to get here in time." Nate says, pulling a gun from his waistband. "We have to find shelter."
"What you need to do, is give my friend your gun, Mr. Antony." Marguez says smoothly from beside Eliot, the muzzle of his gun shoved into Eliot's face. "Or I'll be redecorating your truck with your companion's brain matter."
