![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
phantismaFandom: Leverage
Title: Close the Door, Pull the Shades - Part Seven (Story Index)
Pairing/Characters: Nate/Eliot, Hardison, Parker, Sophie
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 3402
Summary: Nate is given an offer that Eliot will not let him refuse, no matter what that means for Eliot.
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 25000 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.
Nate stutters to a stop beside Eliot, his eyes narrowing. "I'm sorry, you must have the wrong room. I'm Dr. Larry Dillon."
Her smile fades and her arms uncross. "Do not play with me, Mr. Ford. You won't like the toys I brought."
"Who are you?" Eliot asks, circling the couch.
She doesn't even look at Eliot. "I'm here, Mr. Ford, to speak to you about a business transaction on behalf of a mutual acquaintance."
"Eliot." Nate's voice is filled with warning, his hand up to warn Eliot from getting too close. The woman has no heartbeat and isn't breathing, so clearly another vampire. "I don't do business without knowing who I'm speaking with."
"Who I am is irrelevant. Who I represent is not." Her hand drops to a briefcase on the chair beside her, pulling out a folder. "I believe you last knew him as Andros Marquez."
Nate feels the response in Eliot, instant anger, his fists clenching. Nate circles the couch, putting himself between the woman and Eliot. He can tell she has little use for humans, but would probably kill Eliot if he got too close.
"I have no business with that bastard."
She nods. "He thought you might say that." She holds the folder up, then sets it on the table. "This might change your mind. I'll be in touch in a day or so, when you've had a chance to think this over." She lifts the briefcase. "And if I were you, I'd teach your pet better manners." Her eyes flit disdainfully over Eliot before she's heading for the door.
Eliot beats him to the folder, cursing as he opens it. He drops the folder on the table and leaps the couch, wrenching the door open and running after the woman. Nate's torn for the moment between chasing after him and looking at the folder, but figures she's probably long gone and Eliot's only chasing air, so he reaches for the folder.
Inside it are three pictures. Rage fills him, bringing out fangs and he growls as Eliot slams the door, panting. "The fucker…" Eliot gasps, holding his side. "Couldn't catch her."
"It's okay. I didn't expect you would." Nate's hand closes into a fist, crinkling the folder and its contents. "She said she'd be in touch. I'm sure we haven't heard the last of her."
"He's got Parker and Sophie and Hardison." Eliot's face is hard, angry.
"No, he has pictures of them. We have no proof that he has them, only that he knows where they are." Nate tries to force himself to calm down, to think past the anger that Marquez would target his team and not him. "He wants something, obviously and he's letting me know that he has the means of getting it."
Eliot's phone is out of his pocket, his thumb pressing buttons. Nate stops him, presses the phone down. "What are you doing?"
"We need to warn them."
Nate shakes his head. "No, if we do, Marquez may make his move early. He's probably watching them. We need more information."
"Yet another reason to call Hardison." Eliot insists, pulling his hand away.
"Eliot, we need to distance ourselves from them. If Marquez thinks they're important to us, we put them in danger."
"I think it's pretty clear they're already in danger Nate." Eliot lets him take the phone though, shaking his head as he paces away. "I can't just sit here and wait for Marquez to kill them."
Nate hears something in the words, turns. "You're not blaming yourself for this, are you?"
Eliot doesn't look at him as he crosses his arms, scowling into the floor. "Eliot, don't be an idiot."
"Why stop now?" Eliot asks bitterly before yelling in frustration. "I need a drink."
Nate nods and heads to the wet bar, but Eliot is heading for the door. "Eliot, wait."
"I need a drink, Nate." He says it emphatically, as if making a particular point, then storms out of the suite. Nate lets him go, his hand on the crystal decanter filled with good Irish whiskey. That's a need he understands, though he's thinking maybe this time, he really wants his head clear.
Obviously, he's underestimated Marquez. He can't let that happen again.
Nate's almost ready to go looking for him, when Eliot finally crawls back in somewhere near 1am. He's limping a little and there's a bruise on his face that hadn't been there before, but he seems to be okay, even apologetic as he sheds his clothes and crawls over the bed to where Nate is reading. "You had me worried."
"Just needed to work out some…aggression." Eliot responds, his words slightly slurring.
"What, one bar brawl isn't enough for one night?" Nate brushes a hand over Eliot's cheek, turns his head to examine the bruise. "Did you leave anyone standing?"
He blushes a little, turning to lay on his back on the bed beside Nate. "The bartender. She was pretty and served a mean drink."
There's a flair of jealousy Nate can't control, and he has to remind himself that no matter what his vampire nature demands, Eliot didn't sign up to be his exclusive property. Eliot didn't realize what he was getting into when he set out to seduce Nate, and Nate can't expect him to never look at another human being again.
"God, you're easy to crank." Eliot murmurs with a grin, reaching for him. "Come here."
Nate sets the book aside, letting Eliot pull him closer, straddling over him and pressing him into the mattress. "Told you before, you shouldn't tease a vampire."
"Can't help it." Eliot's eyes are sparkling, his kiss wet and messy. "I love the way you get all possessive and jealous."
"You are a sick man, Eliot Spencer." Nate murmurs into the skin at the base of Eliot's neck. "Something not right in that head of yours."
Eliot groans and arches under him as Nate licks over the pulse point. "That's why you like me." Eliot grunts the words as Nate's hand finds its way into his boxers.
"I like you for lots of reasons." Nate counters, nipping lightly along his jaw, up to his ear. "Like you best when you fall apart for me." He whispers the words into Eliot's ear, stroking his cock.
"Gonna have to work harder than that." Eliot gasps, lifting his ass off the bed and hooking a thumb in the waist of his boxers. Nate helps get them down, tossing them off into some corner of the room.
"You forget, I know your weakness." Nate moves so that their cocks rub together, nothing but the thin layer of cotton of his own underwear between them. "Know how to drive you crazy…know how to make you come…"
"Getting better at holding on to it though." Eliot says it like a challenge. "Gonna make you work…"
"You can try." Nate responds, grinning against the skin of Eliot's stomach. His tongue circles his navel, dipping in a little before moving on, mapping the lines of hard muscle with his lips and tongue and teeth. Eliot's cock jerks in his hand every time he nips and Nate works his way up until he's laving over a nipple, eyes flicking to Eliot's face every few seconds.
The nipple is hard and standing up when Nate puts his teeth to it, making Eliot's next words disappear behind a whimpering squeak. Nate readjusts his grip on Eliot's cock, stroking it hard a few times as he opens his mouth, licking around Eliot's nipple several times before he leans in and bites.
Eliot's scream trails off into a gurgling sort of moan as Nate drinks, strokes, and Eliot's come oozes over his hand. Eliot falls loose and sated to the mattress and Nate lifts his face from his chest, licking the blood from his lips.
Eliot's eyes are heavy and lidded. "You play dirty."
Nate grins a little. "Vampire, remember?"
"Gimme sec?"
Nate lays down beside him, draws him in against him. "Sleep."
"Owe you." Eliot's voice is already deepening, slowing.
"I'll collect in the morning." Nate murmurs, watching Eliot slowly succumb to the pull of sleep. There are still issues to talk about, things that need saying…but for the moment, he's content to watch Eliot sleep, and hope he still has time to save the rest of the team.
The message left for him at the front desk only said "1pm, coffee shop on the corner." Eliot fumes about the expectations of being subject to the woman's whims, and the demand for a daytime meeting until Nate interjects to tell him that the woman was a vampire too, so the only person totally comfortable at the table would be Eliot.
It's a cloudy day, but stray bits of sunshine make the walk uncomfortable, Nate's hands deep in the pockets of his coat, hat pulled low to protect his face.
She's already there when they arrive, another folder on the table beside her foamy looking coffee. "Thank you for being punctual. Please sit down."
"Just tell me what it is he wants."
Her eyebrow lifts, but other than that she doesn't move. "Please sit down, Mr. Ford. We will do business like civilized beings or not at all."
Eliot's hands fist and Nate shakes his head at him, pulling out a chair. Eliot grabs a chair from a nearby table and straddles it. "Fine. I'm sitting. Now, tell me what this is about."
Her smile is not very reassuring. "The man I represent has authorized me to negotiate a suitable transaction with you, Mr. Ford. In recent happenings, you and your…associates have cost Mr. Marquez a sizeable amount of money. In return, he has seized several of your assets. However, he is not pleased with this acquisition and is willing to consider a trade."
Nate has a sinking feeling about this acquisition. "Last I knew, I wasn't missing any assets."
Her fingers tap on the folder. "You should keep a closer eye on them then, Mr. Ford."
She pushes the folder over the table and Nate pulls it in, lifting the cover and wishing instantly he hadn't. He doesn't show Eliot, just closes the cover and levels his eyes on this woman. "So?"
She seems to like his directness. "You acknowledge that those belong to you?"
He nods tightly. "Yes."
"Mr. Marquez is not interested in these properties. He has certain…preferences. Two of these are entirely too…female and the third, while sufficiently male, is…too easily broken. Therefore, he is willing to return them to you in exchange for something more to his liking."
Her eyes dart to Eliot, then back and Nate sits back, shaking his head. "No deal."
"Let me be very clear. Should you refuse this most generous offer, your property will be sold at auction to the highest bidder."
Beside him, Eliot was a hot line of barely contained anger. If Nate said the word, he'd kill the woman seated across from them right there in front of everyone in the shop…and Nate knew he was armed to do just that too.
"I need some time to consider my options."
She nods and stands, dropping money on the table to cover her bill. "You have until 5pm this evening. You'll find an address and instructions in the folder. See that you follow them."
They don't speak as they leave the coffee shop. Nate grips the folder tight and even though Eliot hasn't seen inside of it, he has an idea what's there. He holds out his hand for it, but Nate pulls it away and Eliot has had enough. His hand closes over Nate's wrist, shoving him back into the wall of some building, hard.
"Give me the fucking folder."
"I'm not giving you to him."
"Give me the fucking folder." Eliot snatches it away as soon as Nate lifts it. He's not surprised by the picture inside. Parker, Hardison and Sophie, all gagged and bound with this morning's paper in their laps. "Shit." Behind the picture is a piece of paper with an address and a note.
"Nate."
This time it's Nate that shoves him into the wall, arm over his throat. "No."
Eliot's eyes flick up to the sun that's starting to edge into their shade. "Lets talk about it inside."
Nate steps back, drops his hands. "Nothing to talk about."
"Fine, lets still do it inside." Eliot drags him to the elevator, into the suite. "Nate—" he starts again, only to have Nate kiss him.
"No. I said no. We'll find another way."
"What? In less than four hours? Without Hardison's computer skills? Without Parker's ability to break into anything? There's no time for a con, and the fucker knows our faces."
"Just let me think. I need to think." Nate's phone is in his hand, but he doesn't have anyone to call, because Eliot's right, everyone either of them would call for something like this is already in the hands of the enemy.
Eliot shakes his head and crosses to the wet bar, pours two long drinks of hard alcohol and hands one to Nate. After downing his Eliot draws in a deep breath. "Okay, so here's the plan. You follow behind me and pick the others up after…" Eliot turns away. "That way, you know Marquez kept his end of the deal and you can get them…out of there…"
"Eliot."
He holds up his hand and goes for more whiskey. "No, see…the four of you are better at this kind of thing. I just…butt heads and break bones. You four…you plan, you…you'll find me." He sips at the alcohol and turns to Nate, though his eyes never really make it past his chest. "You'll come for me."
"I won't let you." Nate takes the glass away from him. "I can't let you."
"Me for the three of them Nate…and it's my fault anyway…this whole mess. They'd never be in this if I hadn't pushed you."
Nate closes his eyes and shakes his head. "No…it isn't your fault. I should have known Marquez wasn't going to disappear quietly. Should have protected them—You have no idea what you're walking into…what he'll do to you."
"It doesn't matter. He's got us in this Nate."
"Give me two hours." Nate says, crowding in to Eliot, pushing him up against the bar. "Just…don't do anything stupid, let me call in a few favors."
Eliot closes his eyes and nods, let's Nate believe whatever he needs to believe to get through this. He presses a kiss to Eliot's forehead and darts out of the room, his drink untouched on the table. Eliot knows there's only one way to make this right, and nothing Nate finds in the next two hours is going to change that.
But that leaves Eliot with hours to kill and now willing, horny vampire to kill them with…leaves him with far too much time to think about the way Nate told him that Eliot would have been lucky if Marquez just killed him…and all the terrible things that could mean.
What he really wants is something to take his anger out on, a good fight to wear him out. He stalks around the suite, drinks more of the whiskey, but all it does is burn without helping.
He opens the file again, looking down at the faces of people he didn't know a year ago, people who somehow became friends…people he wouldn't let be sold into the hell he imagined was awaiting them…him.
Nate's two hours are long since up, and it is closing in on four. Eliot paces, his phone in his hand, but he didn't know who to call. He flips the phone open, thumbing through Nate, Sophie, Parker, Hardison, a few contacts that helped him line up jobs, and at the bottom was one more.
He hasn't spoken to her in years, she thinks he's dead and gone. He watched her bury a casket with his name on the grave years before, though she never saw him there. It was safer that way, for her, for him. Still, his thumb hovers over the button, and before he can stop himself he's pressing and the call is connecting. It rings three times before her voice rumbles through the phone, sleep heavy and confused and he realizes it's the middle of the night where she is and he can't talk anyway.
He hangs up, his thumb caressing over the screen. "Just wanted to say goodbye." He sniffles, pulls back the tears and drags in air. He's almost out of time. The door bursts open as he's heading for it, Nate looking wild and afraid until his eyes find Eliot.
"Don't—" Nate steps into the room, grabbing for Eliot and kissing him deeply. "You can't go, I have…things I need to say."
Eliot looks at the clock. He's got about twenty minutes. "Nate…save it."
"No, you need to know how I feel."
"Really? Now?" Eliot pushes the hair out of his face and looks up at Nate with a frown. "Now is when you want to do this?"
"Yes. Now." Nate responds, clearly angry that Eliot is challenging him. "Right the fuck now."
"Now is not the time for this." Eliot counters, pushing Nate away and heading for the door of the suite. Nate's hand grabs his arm, stopping him and yanking him back.
"If you walk out the door we won't get another chance." His voice is a growl of anger and, Eliot is startled to realize, fear.
"Nate, I'm running out of time. You can tell me later." Eliot exhales, tries to calm his racing heart. "We don't have a choice."
Nate softens, pulling Eliot to him. "I can't..."
Eliot presses a soft kiss to his lips. "Come for me, Nate."
He pulls away before he can lose his nerve, before Nate can fight through his indecision and force him to stay. The door closing behind him sounds hollow, and the sinking of the elevator echoes the sinking of his heart.
Nate's following him, there's no way he couldn't. Eliot can feel him, moves a little faster to get to the rendezvous point before Nate can find a way to fuck this up and get someone killed.
The car is there, the woman standing beside it, red hair neatly pulled back, her arms crossed. "Lets do this." Eliot says, trying to hide the fear thrumming through him under bravado.
She doesn't respond, just opens the back door of the limo. Parker emerges first, her hands bound behind her, a dusky bruise darkening her jawline. Sophie is next, missing a shoe and a scrape down one cheek. Hardison maybe looks the worst and he won't lift his eyes to Eliot as he lists slightly to the left and into Sophie. His eyes are hazy and the lump on his forehead looks nasty.
Eliot forces himself to smile at them, like this ain't the end of the world. "Nate's not too far behind. Just, wait out of sight." Eliot says softly as he moves closer "It's okay. Everything is going to be fine." He stops to pull the knife from his boot, uses it to cut Parker free, then hands her the knife with a kiss on her cheek. He kisses Sophie, who's already crying. "Tell Nate…" She nods, but neither of them can say anything and he turns to Hardison, but he still won't look at Eliot. "Make sure he gets that looked at."
They shuffle away from the car, Parker holding the knife like it's a lifeline. "Anymore weapons, Pet?" the woman asks and Eliot shakes his head. "Then get inside." She shoves him, her small hand surprisingly strong and Eliot stumbles into the dark interior of the limo, landing on his knees.
A gloved hand fists in his hair and lifts his head. "Well, well, well…last I saw you, you were half way to dead in the desert…that means you must be terribly strong. I'm going to have fun finding your breaking point."
He's yanked from the floor and teeth sink into his throat, dragging him nearly to the point of unconsciousness so fast he isn't even aware of the come filling his boxers.
Title: Close the Door, Pull the Shades - Part Seven (Story Index)
Pairing/Characters: Nate/Eliot, Hardison, Parker, Sophie
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 3402
Summary: Nate is given an offer that Eliot will not let him refuse, no matter what that means for Eliot.
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 25000 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.Nate stutters to a stop beside Eliot, his eyes narrowing. "I'm sorry, you must have the wrong room. I'm Dr. Larry Dillon."
Her smile fades and her arms uncross. "Do not play with me, Mr. Ford. You won't like the toys I brought."
"Who are you?" Eliot asks, circling the couch.
She doesn't even look at Eliot. "I'm here, Mr. Ford, to speak to you about a business transaction on behalf of a mutual acquaintance."
"Eliot." Nate's voice is filled with warning, his hand up to warn Eliot from getting too close. The woman has no heartbeat and isn't breathing, so clearly another vampire. "I don't do business without knowing who I'm speaking with."
"Who I am is irrelevant. Who I represent is not." Her hand drops to a briefcase on the chair beside her, pulling out a folder. "I believe you last knew him as Andros Marquez."
Nate feels the response in Eliot, instant anger, his fists clenching. Nate circles the couch, putting himself between the woman and Eliot. He can tell she has little use for humans, but would probably kill Eliot if he got too close.
"I have no business with that bastard."
She nods. "He thought you might say that." She holds the folder up, then sets it on the table. "This might change your mind. I'll be in touch in a day or so, when you've had a chance to think this over." She lifts the briefcase. "And if I were you, I'd teach your pet better manners." Her eyes flit disdainfully over Eliot before she's heading for the door.
Eliot beats him to the folder, cursing as he opens it. He drops the folder on the table and leaps the couch, wrenching the door open and running after the woman. Nate's torn for the moment between chasing after him and looking at the folder, but figures she's probably long gone and Eliot's only chasing air, so he reaches for the folder.
Inside it are three pictures. Rage fills him, bringing out fangs and he growls as Eliot slams the door, panting. "The fucker…" Eliot gasps, holding his side. "Couldn't catch her."
"It's okay. I didn't expect you would." Nate's hand closes into a fist, crinkling the folder and its contents. "She said she'd be in touch. I'm sure we haven't heard the last of her."
"He's got Parker and Sophie and Hardison." Eliot's face is hard, angry.
"No, he has pictures of them. We have no proof that he has them, only that he knows where they are." Nate tries to force himself to calm down, to think past the anger that Marquez would target his team and not him. "He wants something, obviously and he's letting me know that he has the means of getting it."
Eliot's phone is out of his pocket, his thumb pressing buttons. Nate stops him, presses the phone down. "What are you doing?"
"We need to warn them."
Nate shakes his head. "No, if we do, Marquez may make his move early. He's probably watching them. We need more information."
"Yet another reason to call Hardison." Eliot insists, pulling his hand away.
"Eliot, we need to distance ourselves from them. If Marquez thinks they're important to us, we put them in danger."
"I think it's pretty clear they're already in danger Nate." Eliot lets him take the phone though, shaking his head as he paces away. "I can't just sit here and wait for Marquez to kill them."
Nate hears something in the words, turns. "You're not blaming yourself for this, are you?"
Eliot doesn't look at him as he crosses his arms, scowling into the floor. "Eliot, don't be an idiot."
"Why stop now?" Eliot asks bitterly before yelling in frustration. "I need a drink."
Nate nods and heads to the wet bar, but Eliot is heading for the door. "Eliot, wait."
"I need a drink, Nate." He says it emphatically, as if making a particular point, then storms out of the suite. Nate lets him go, his hand on the crystal decanter filled with good Irish whiskey. That's a need he understands, though he's thinking maybe this time, he really wants his head clear.
Obviously, he's underestimated Marquez. He can't let that happen again.
Nate's almost ready to go looking for him, when Eliot finally crawls back in somewhere near 1am. He's limping a little and there's a bruise on his face that hadn't been there before, but he seems to be okay, even apologetic as he sheds his clothes and crawls over the bed to where Nate is reading. "You had me worried."
"Just needed to work out some…aggression." Eliot responds, his words slightly slurring.
"What, one bar brawl isn't enough for one night?" Nate brushes a hand over Eliot's cheek, turns his head to examine the bruise. "Did you leave anyone standing?"
He blushes a little, turning to lay on his back on the bed beside Nate. "The bartender. She was pretty and served a mean drink."
There's a flair of jealousy Nate can't control, and he has to remind himself that no matter what his vampire nature demands, Eliot didn't sign up to be his exclusive property. Eliot didn't realize what he was getting into when he set out to seduce Nate, and Nate can't expect him to never look at another human being again.
"God, you're easy to crank." Eliot murmurs with a grin, reaching for him. "Come here."
Nate sets the book aside, letting Eliot pull him closer, straddling over him and pressing him into the mattress. "Told you before, you shouldn't tease a vampire."
"Can't help it." Eliot's eyes are sparkling, his kiss wet and messy. "I love the way you get all possessive and jealous."
"You are a sick man, Eliot Spencer." Nate murmurs into the skin at the base of Eliot's neck. "Something not right in that head of yours."
Eliot groans and arches under him as Nate licks over the pulse point. "That's why you like me." Eliot grunts the words as Nate's hand finds its way into his boxers.
"I like you for lots of reasons." Nate counters, nipping lightly along his jaw, up to his ear. "Like you best when you fall apart for me." He whispers the words into Eliot's ear, stroking his cock.
"Gonna have to work harder than that." Eliot gasps, lifting his ass off the bed and hooking a thumb in the waist of his boxers. Nate helps get them down, tossing them off into some corner of the room.
"You forget, I know your weakness." Nate moves so that their cocks rub together, nothing but the thin layer of cotton of his own underwear between them. "Know how to drive you crazy…know how to make you come…"
"Getting better at holding on to it though." Eliot says it like a challenge. "Gonna make you work…"
"You can try." Nate responds, grinning against the skin of Eliot's stomach. His tongue circles his navel, dipping in a little before moving on, mapping the lines of hard muscle with his lips and tongue and teeth. Eliot's cock jerks in his hand every time he nips and Nate works his way up until he's laving over a nipple, eyes flicking to Eliot's face every few seconds.
The nipple is hard and standing up when Nate puts his teeth to it, making Eliot's next words disappear behind a whimpering squeak. Nate readjusts his grip on Eliot's cock, stroking it hard a few times as he opens his mouth, licking around Eliot's nipple several times before he leans in and bites.
Eliot's scream trails off into a gurgling sort of moan as Nate drinks, strokes, and Eliot's come oozes over his hand. Eliot falls loose and sated to the mattress and Nate lifts his face from his chest, licking the blood from his lips.
Eliot's eyes are heavy and lidded. "You play dirty."
Nate grins a little. "Vampire, remember?"
"Gimme sec?"
Nate lays down beside him, draws him in against him. "Sleep."
"Owe you." Eliot's voice is already deepening, slowing.
"I'll collect in the morning." Nate murmurs, watching Eliot slowly succumb to the pull of sleep. There are still issues to talk about, things that need saying…but for the moment, he's content to watch Eliot sleep, and hope he still has time to save the rest of the team.
The message left for him at the front desk only said "1pm, coffee shop on the corner." Eliot fumes about the expectations of being subject to the woman's whims, and the demand for a daytime meeting until Nate interjects to tell him that the woman was a vampire too, so the only person totally comfortable at the table would be Eliot.
It's a cloudy day, but stray bits of sunshine make the walk uncomfortable, Nate's hands deep in the pockets of his coat, hat pulled low to protect his face.
She's already there when they arrive, another folder on the table beside her foamy looking coffee. "Thank you for being punctual. Please sit down."
"Just tell me what it is he wants."
Her eyebrow lifts, but other than that she doesn't move. "Please sit down, Mr. Ford. We will do business like civilized beings or not at all."
Eliot's hands fist and Nate shakes his head at him, pulling out a chair. Eliot grabs a chair from a nearby table and straddles it. "Fine. I'm sitting. Now, tell me what this is about."
Her smile is not very reassuring. "The man I represent has authorized me to negotiate a suitable transaction with you, Mr. Ford. In recent happenings, you and your…associates have cost Mr. Marquez a sizeable amount of money. In return, he has seized several of your assets. However, he is not pleased with this acquisition and is willing to consider a trade."
Nate has a sinking feeling about this acquisition. "Last I knew, I wasn't missing any assets."
Her fingers tap on the folder. "You should keep a closer eye on them then, Mr. Ford."
She pushes the folder over the table and Nate pulls it in, lifting the cover and wishing instantly he hadn't. He doesn't show Eliot, just closes the cover and levels his eyes on this woman. "So?"
She seems to like his directness. "You acknowledge that those belong to you?"
He nods tightly. "Yes."
"Mr. Marquez is not interested in these properties. He has certain…preferences. Two of these are entirely too…female and the third, while sufficiently male, is…too easily broken. Therefore, he is willing to return them to you in exchange for something more to his liking."
Her eyes dart to Eliot, then back and Nate sits back, shaking his head. "No deal."
"Let me be very clear. Should you refuse this most generous offer, your property will be sold at auction to the highest bidder."
Beside him, Eliot was a hot line of barely contained anger. If Nate said the word, he'd kill the woman seated across from them right there in front of everyone in the shop…and Nate knew he was armed to do just that too.
"I need some time to consider my options."
She nods and stands, dropping money on the table to cover her bill. "You have until 5pm this evening. You'll find an address and instructions in the folder. See that you follow them."
They don't speak as they leave the coffee shop. Nate grips the folder tight and even though Eliot hasn't seen inside of it, he has an idea what's there. He holds out his hand for it, but Nate pulls it away and Eliot has had enough. His hand closes over Nate's wrist, shoving him back into the wall of some building, hard.
"Give me the fucking folder."
"I'm not giving you to him."
"Give me the fucking folder." Eliot snatches it away as soon as Nate lifts it. He's not surprised by the picture inside. Parker, Hardison and Sophie, all gagged and bound with this morning's paper in their laps. "Shit." Behind the picture is a piece of paper with an address and a note.
The pet comes alone, unarmed. Our car will be waiting. I will open the door, the others will exit the car, the pet will get in and the transaction will be finalized.
"Nate."
This time it's Nate that shoves him into the wall, arm over his throat. "No."
Eliot's eyes flick up to the sun that's starting to edge into their shade. "Lets talk about it inside."
Nate steps back, drops his hands. "Nothing to talk about."
"Fine, lets still do it inside." Eliot drags him to the elevator, into the suite. "Nate—" he starts again, only to have Nate kiss him.
"No. I said no. We'll find another way."
"What? In less than four hours? Without Hardison's computer skills? Without Parker's ability to break into anything? There's no time for a con, and the fucker knows our faces."
"Just let me think. I need to think." Nate's phone is in his hand, but he doesn't have anyone to call, because Eliot's right, everyone either of them would call for something like this is already in the hands of the enemy.
Eliot shakes his head and crosses to the wet bar, pours two long drinks of hard alcohol and hands one to Nate. After downing his Eliot draws in a deep breath. "Okay, so here's the plan. You follow behind me and pick the others up after…" Eliot turns away. "That way, you know Marquez kept his end of the deal and you can get them…out of there…"
"Eliot."
He holds up his hand and goes for more whiskey. "No, see…the four of you are better at this kind of thing. I just…butt heads and break bones. You four…you plan, you…you'll find me." He sips at the alcohol and turns to Nate, though his eyes never really make it past his chest. "You'll come for me."
"I won't let you." Nate takes the glass away from him. "I can't let you."
"Me for the three of them Nate…and it's my fault anyway…this whole mess. They'd never be in this if I hadn't pushed you."
Nate closes his eyes and shakes his head. "No…it isn't your fault. I should have known Marquez wasn't going to disappear quietly. Should have protected them—You have no idea what you're walking into…what he'll do to you."
"It doesn't matter. He's got us in this Nate."
"Give me two hours." Nate says, crowding in to Eliot, pushing him up against the bar. "Just…don't do anything stupid, let me call in a few favors."
Eliot closes his eyes and nods, let's Nate believe whatever he needs to believe to get through this. He presses a kiss to Eliot's forehead and darts out of the room, his drink untouched on the table. Eliot knows there's only one way to make this right, and nothing Nate finds in the next two hours is going to change that.
But that leaves Eliot with hours to kill and now willing, horny vampire to kill them with…leaves him with far too much time to think about the way Nate told him that Eliot would have been lucky if Marquez just killed him…and all the terrible things that could mean.
What he really wants is something to take his anger out on, a good fight to wear him out. He stalks around the suite, drinks more of the whiskey, but all it does is burn without helping.
He opens the file again, looking down at the faces of people he didn't know a year ago, people who somehow became friends…people he wouldn't let be sold into the hell he imagined was awaiting them…him.
Nate's two hours are long since up, and it is closing in on four. Eliot paces, his phone in his hand, but he didn't know who to call. He flips the phone open, thumbing through Nate, Sophie, Parker, Hardison, a few contacts that helped him line up jobs, and at the bottom was one more.
He hasn't spoken to her in years, she thinks he's dead and gone. He watched her bury a casket with his name on the grave years before, though she never saw him there. It was safer that way, for her, for him. Still, his thumb hovers over the button, and before he can stop himself he's pressing and the call is connecting. It rings three times before her voice rumbles through the phone, sleep heavy and confused and he realizes it's the middle of the night where she is and he can't talk anyway.
He hangs up, his thumb caressing over the screen. "Just wanted to say goodbye." He sniffles, pulls back the tears and drags in air. He's almost out of time. The door bursts open as he's heading for it, Nate looking wild and afraid until his eyes find Eliot.
"Don't—" Nate steps into the room, grabbing for Eliot and kissing him deeply. "You can't go, I have…things I need to say."
Eliot looks at the clock. He's got about twenty minutes. "Nate…save it."
"No, you need to know how I feel."
"Really? Now?" Eliot pushes the hair out of his face and looks up at Nate with a frown. "Now is when you want to do this?"
"Yes. Now." Nate responds, clearly angry that Eliot is challenging him. "Right the fuck now."
"Now is not the time for this." Eliot counters, pushing Nate away and heading for the door of the suite. Nate's hand grabs his arm, stopping him and yanking him back.
"If you walk out the door we won't get another chance." His voice is a growl of anger and, Eliot is startled to realize, fear.
"Nate, I'm running out of time. You can tell me later." Eliot exhales, tries to calm his racing heart. "We don't have a choice."
Nate softens, pulling Eliot to him. "I can't..."
Eliot presses a soft kiss to his lips. "Come for me, Nate."
He pulls away before he can lose his nerve, before Nate can fight through his indecision and force him to stay. The door closing behind him sounds hollow, and the sinking of the elevator echoes the sinking of his heart.
Nate's following him, there's no way he couldn't. Eliot can feel him, moves a little faster to get to the rendezvous point before Nate can find a way to fuck this up and get someone killed.
The car is there, the woman standing beside it, red hair neatly pulled back, her arms crossed. "Lets do this." Eliot says, trying to hide the fear thrumming through him under bravado.
She doesn't respond, just opens the back door of the limo. Parker emerges first, her hands bound behind her, a dusky bruise darkening her jawline. Sophie is next, missing a shoe and a scrape down one cheek. Hardison maybe looks the worst and he won't lift his eyes to Eliot as he lists slightly to the left and into Sophie. His eyes are hazy and the lump on his forehead looks nasty.
Eliot forces himself to smile at them, like this ain't the end of the world. "Nate's not too far behind. Just, wait out of sight." Eliot says softly as he moves closer "It's okay. Everything is going to be fine." He stops to pull the knife from his boot, uses it to cut Parker free, then hands her the knife with a kiss on her cheek. He kisses Sophie, who's already crying. "Tell Nate…" She nods, but neither of them can say anything and he turns to Hardison, but he still won't look at Eliot. "Make sure he gets that looked at."
They shuffle away from the car, Parker holding the knife like it's a lifeline. "Anymore weapons, Pet?" the woman asks and Eliot shakes his head. "Then get inside." She shoves him, her small hand surprisingly strong and Eliot stumbles into the dark interior of the limo, landing on his knees.
A gloved hand fists in his hair and lifts his head. "Well, well, well…last I saw you, you were half way to dead in the desert…that means you must be terribly strong. I'm going to have fun finding your breaking point."
He's yanked from the floor and teeth sink into his throat, dragging him nearly to the point of unconsciousness so fast he isn't even aware of the come filling his boxers.
