Fic: Defying Mortality (4/5), Crossover Leverage/A:tS, NC-17

[elebridith]

Title: Defying Mortality

Author: elebridith

Fandom: Leverage/Angel the Series crossover

Pairing: Lindsey/Eliot, mentions of Nate/Sophie and Parker/Hardison

Rating: NC-17

Genre: Slash, crossover

Be aware of: mentions of child abuse and murder (non-descriptive)

Words: About 19800

Disclaimer: Not mine, no one, nothing. Just playing.

A/N: Set in my Face Value!Verse, Eliot and Lindsey live together now for over a year.

Inspired by the X-Men Logan/Remy fic "Aftermath" (here) by the awesome enemyfrigate, who generously allowed me to play with that plot. If you like Logan/Remy, check her stuff out, it's great!

CCAC = http://www.chicagocac.org/

Beta'd by havenward, awesome as ever!. Thanks strangecreature and wendyr for additional help!

Summary: The team escapes death - and it's been too close for their liking. And thinking Eliot is dead for five very long minutes? Lindsey takes that very personal.

Part Three is here.



The door clicked and then Lindsey and Parker were inside Robert Atherton's apartment. He looked around the front hall and whistled softly. Niiiice. Guy's got a lot of money at hand. They exchanged a look and Parker immediately grabbed two chairs. She nodded.

"These will do. Perfect to tie someone up." Lindsey chuckled, but resisted the urge to make a flippant comment to that. They walked over into the living room. Parker arranged the chairs, opened a window and looked outside. A wide grin spread over her face. "Yeah, it'll work fine."

Lindsey grinned. "Didn't expect anything else. Duct tape ready? And remember the suit plan." Parker nodded and Lindsey heard Sophie's voice in his comm.

"He's on the way. You have ten more minutes."

"Thanks Sophie. That's more than enough." Lindsey couldn't hide the satisfied tone in his voice. He made himself familiar with the rooms to verify the blueprints Hardison had pulled up and then set up one chair opposite the living room door, the other one next to it. He took a gun from his pocket, expertly checking it one last time. He looked up again and grinned at the sight of Parker examining some artwork with gleaming eyes. "Impressive collection, ain't it?"

Parker nodded emphatically. "Yeah." She pouted suddenly. "But how can someone so evil have such a good taste in art?"

Lindsey's grin faded. He shook his head. "I have no idea, Parker." His voice was soft and a little resigned. But then another voice in his comm alerted them both.

"Incoming." Eliot's gruff voice made Lindsey smile involuntarily and he saw Parker grin knowingly in response. He smirked at her, but got serious again quickly.

"Got it. We're ready." Lindsey sat down in the chair opposite the door and straightened, Parker placed herself next to the door. They heard the front door falling shut and the clanking of keys dropping on a hard surface. Lindsey held the gun ready, pointing it where he knew Atherton would show himself, and waited. Only a few moments later the living room door opened and the light switched on. Mr. Atherton entered the room and froze. Lindsey looked directly into his shocked face and smiled coldly. "Good evening Mr. Atherton. Happy to see me?"

The man had good reflexes, Lindsey had to give him that. His surprise lasted only a split second longer, then he whirled around and tried to flee. Only to find the door blocked by Parker who beamed at him, bouncing on her feet and playing with a very mean-looking knife. He stopped in his tracks and turned around again, this time apparently noticing the gun pointing at him. The man's face now paled noticeably and he froze again. His lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

Lindsey grinned at him, a very fake expression with far too many teeth showing. "I would advise you not to move. You see, my partner, Eliot Spencer, he doesn't like guns. Me?" He shrugged. "Now, Mr. Atherton, we have two options." Lindsey's voice had dropped temperature by about ten degrees, and his southern drawl was completely gone. He could briefly see Parker's surprise at his change of tone as he glanced over Atherton's shoulder to make sure she was on alert. She nodded at him and he focused completely on the man.

"For now, I want you to listen to what I have to say. We can do this the hard way or the easy way." He tilted his head, face hardening. "The easy way is, you sit down on that chair; she ties you to it, and you don't try anything stupid. I don't have to point the gun all the time; I talk; you listen; everyone's happy." He waited a bit to see some reaction, but the man still didn't answer. Atherton was clearly seething now, his face reddening and fists clenched. Lindsey's lips curled into a hard smile, but his tone of voice was almost casual now. "I can see you don't like that one. As for option two, that would be the hard way. You do decide to try something stupid; I shoot you in the knee, and then we tie you to that chair. And you have to listen anyway." He smiled innocently. "Oh, and we make it look like armed robbery afterwards."

Robert Atherton had regained most of his composure and narrowed his eyes. Before he could say anything, Lindsey dropped the smile and hardened his voice again. "You ask yourself now if I'm serious. Let me tell you, I really would prefer you'd choose option two. Since one p.m. yesterday, I've wanted to see you bleed. You have five seconds to decide." Lindsey stood up and aimed the gun pointedly at Atherton's right knee, but never broke off eye contact.

Atherton huffed, seemingly unimpressed, and squared his shoulders. His voice sounded almost bored, although a small touch of fear lingered. "You wouldn't dare to shoot me. You have no idea who you are talking to. I have friends everywhere. Important friends, in high places, if you know what I mean. Scum like you can't scare me." He gave both of them a scornful look. Parker pouted exaggeratedly, and Lindsey chuckled.

"Friends. Yes, I know all about your friends, Mr. Atherton. And I have to say that I'm not exactly impressed. We know too much about them. There aren't many of them I would be proud to call friends. Then again..." He tilted his head, eyed Atherton up and down and smiled widely. "It's you we are talking about here, so that fits." He paused for a moment to let his words sink in, and was satisfied to see Atherton's haughty expression mixing with confusion. Lindsey motioned with the gun and hardened his face and voice again. "Come on, Mr. Atherton. Four…" He paused dramatically and bared his teeth in a grim smile as he saw a fine sheen of sweat forming on Robert Atherton's forehead. "Three... two..."

"Wait." Atherton's voice sounded clearly almost panicked now, and Lindsey felt a cold satisfaction at that, and a trace of disappointment that he wouldn't get to hurt him. He gave Atherton an expectant look. The man's face had changed from angry to slightly scared. He swallowed and croaked "The... easy way."

"Very well." Lindsey nodded courtly and motioned to a chair with his free hand. "If you'll sit down here." His voice was now calm, as if this was just another conversation. "Parker? Would you, please?"

Parker beamed and did a curtsy. "With pleasure." She grabbed the duct tape she had readied earlier, stepped behind the man on the chair and pulled his arms behind the backrest. She taped his forearms together, careful not to reach skin with the tape. She moved around him and taped his body and legs to the chair, always keeping out of Lindsey's target line. Robert Atherton looked slightly bewildered, eyes fixed on Lindsey. Lindsey could almost see the wheels turning in his head and snorted inwardly. He's trying to find a way out. Yeah, buddy, good luck. Finally Parker stepped back, satisfied with her work. The duct tape only touched the suit, there would be no evidence left on skin later. She nodded at Lindsey. "It's okay."

Lindsey gave her a delighted smile and lowered the gun. "Perfect."

Parker smiled back. "Now you go torture the bad guy." Without waiting for an answer, she went over to the window, opened it and climbed out, closing it again from the outside.

Lindsey saw a flash of fear going over Atherton's face. He seemed to realize more and more that he was in deep trouble. Lindsey barely managed to suppress a smirk. Instead he kept his calm polite facade. "Mr. Atherton, I bet you have some questions now. I'll give you thirty seconds to ask them. Go." Lindsey leaned slightly forward and gave the man an expectant smile.

The man sputtered in confusion at the change of subject, and finally choked out "You... you're dead!" Lindsey stared at him for a moment and then felt laughter rise in his throat. He couldn't help himself. He dropped back in the chair and threw his head back laughing. Oh, you have no idea how right you are on this... Finally he managed to catch his breath again and wiped tears from his eyes. Atherton's face had turned red again with anger and annoyance. He hissed out "What the fuck is so funny?"

Lindsey cheerfully grinned at him. "I am terribly sorry. Inside joke. Maybe I'll tell you one day." He heard a soft chuckle over the comm that he easily recognized as Eliot's, and grinned even wider. He leaned back, relaxing his posture but gun still firm in hand. "No, we're not. There's your answer. Anything else? You've got fifteen seconds left."

Atherton's whole appearance alternated between anger and fear. He managed only fragments of sentences. "You... how.. you can't be... that's impossible!"

Lindsey raised an eyebrow. "How? You're asking how?" His voice was dripping sarcasm now. "You know about us. We have the best thief in the world. And also the best hacker. And you ask 'how'? Please." He stretched in his seat and then leaned forward, propping up his elbows on his knees, lightly pointing the gun in Atherton's direction. "Your time is up, I'm sorry. From now on, I'll do the talking, and you better listen. Understood?"

Robert Atherton tried to find his courage again. He raised his head haughtily, but his voice shook noticeably. "I don't think I'm interested in anything you have to say. You broke into my house. You're thieves, all of you. The police will hear of this."

So now the battle begins. Lindsey slowly set down the gun on the table next to him and could feel himself slipping back into his former lawyer persona. Every trace of softness disappeared from his face and his voice, and as he stood up and fixated the other man sharply, he could see him flinch. Good. He waited a moment and then began to speak.

"The police. Yes, they will hear about a lot of things." He leaned forward, invading Atherton's personal space. "I know what you are thinking right now. The wheels are turning inside your head. You planned to kill us and destroy all the evidence of your crimes in one swift move. And now you see that the first part of the plan failed." Lindsey's face was only inches away from the other man's. His voice dropped to a whisper. "And you wonder - what about the second part? Am I right so far?" He abruptly straightened again. The color draining from Atherton's face told him that he was on the right track. He curled his lips into a snarl. "I did mention that we have the best thief in the world, right? Mr. Atherton, we got everything."

Atherton shook his head frantically. "No. I don't believe you. You're bluffing!"

Lindsey just raised his eyebrows elegantly. "Honestly, I wish I was. But, as it is... let's see. A blond girl with braids and a pink shirt. A red-haired boy with a pirate t-shirt and white sneakers. Another girl, dark hair with red ribbons in it, yellow dress. I could number some of your... toys you used, but I don't want to throw up again. Not that I care about your carpet, but leaving DNA traces would be most inappropriate." He grinned wolfishly and tilted his head. "Do I need to go on?"

He took a step back and watched his opponent going completely pale, the sweat now forming big drops on the man's forehead. Lindsey counted to ten before continuing. He gave his voice a lighter tone, as if explaining something obvious to a small child. "Certainly you understand that we take this whole matter very personally. Trying to murder all of us is something we can't let slide. So we've decided to teach you a lesson."

Atherton tried to gain some ground and huffed in a effort to appear annoyed. The effect was slightly ruined by the fact that he was still pale and his voice was high-pitched. "Oh, come on. Spare me your yapping and shoot me already if that's what you want."

Lindsey feigned shock. "Kill you? Mr. Atherton, I have no intention of killing you." He grinned all of a sudden, shark-like. "I won't have to." Atherton's jaw dropped a little. It seemed to dawn on him that he couldn't talk his way out of this. He closed his mouth again and now looked really helpless. Lindsey reached out and patted his cheek soothingly, then frowned, stared at his hand and wiped it on his shirt. "Now, let me tell you the details. As we speak, my team is spreading the evidence. Those files you tried to destroy are being sent to every police station in the area, plus to stations for the locations we were able to match to the pictures. I'm going to make a wild guess here and say that in about fifteen minutes the phone lines will be smoldering. That alone would be enough to guarantee you a lifetime in jail."

He took a step back and made a pondering face, tipping his index finger on his lips. "Of course I can't leave you here tied up until they actually come to arrest you. That would raise questions, don't you think?" He gave the other man a questioning look, but quickly made a dismissive gesture. "No, don't answer that. Of course it would. The thing is, if I cut you loose now, you could try to run. Try to flee the country. The answer is: No, you can't. At the very moment you walked in through your door, our man emptied all of your bank accounts and maxed out all your credit cards. We're going to put it to good use. All money you have left now is what you have with you. And - " Lindsey smiled smugly. "Your picture and description have been send to all train stations, airports, bus stations, cab offices et cetera, within a radius of a hundred miles around the city. Your passport number also has been flagged as 'known criminal'. So even if you had money..." He shrugged with an exaggerated apologetic look. "And I should probably tell you that your car was stolen a few minutes ago. Too bad. You just can't leave. You'll be arrested even faster if you set one foot outside of this house."

Atherton's face color was now splotched with red on the pale skin. He hissed angrily, like a trapped animal. "You're bluffing. No one can do that this fast." He tried to straighten in his chair, but Parker had taped him very neatly with no room for movement at all. He growled in frustration and raised his chin instead. "You're gonna regret this. Again, I have friends you can't know about. In very high places. They won't be happy!"

Lindsey thought about the names of those friends they had managed to connect to the material he had seen. One of them had been involved with a mark from two years ago, and had been feeding Atherton the information he needed. Lindsey balled his fists and had to turn around and pretend to think the remark over in order not to show his disgust and rage. He stared at the gun on the table. The urge to grab it and just shoot was almost overwhelming. It rose to a new level as heard the other man snicker and say, "You better untie me now. We can make a deal."

Lindsey closed his eyes. God, it would be so easy. Just move over to Plan B - shoot him where it hurts and make it look like robbery. No one would say anything, not even Sophie. But then he remembered a time he'd acted out the rage that had been boiling inside of him. Remember, Lindsey. When Darla slept with Angel. You went after him, tried to kill him, without thinking. And look how that turned out. No. Not this time. He took a few deep breaths, plastered his best fake smile on his face and turned around again. We destroy him, that's enough. He looked into the man's smug face.

"Ah, your friends again. Just so I get it right - who are you talking about exactly?" He made a small amused laugh. "I don't think you still count Mr. Munro as such, so - maybe Clive Mortensen? Windsor Braybon? Ian Halloway?" He felt a rush of satisfaction as the smug grin disappeared and was replaced by a horrified look. He nodded gravely. "Yes, I'm sure they would help you out. Drive you out of town, maybe even out of state." He crossed his arms and let his expression grow cold. "Those who are with you on this, the ones we definitely could link to your little... hobby, those names got mailed to the police too, along with every scrap of evidence we could get. And we informed them about your upcoming, ah, downfall. They'll be too busy trying to get out of the state, hell, out of the country themselves to help you along, all the more because you can't pay them, remember?" He paused a moment and studied Atherton's face. "The other ones, where we can't be sure - those just got informed that you are going to be arrested on the grounds of multiple counts of child abuse, rape and murder. With evidence, of course. Those who truly didn't know won't raise a finger to help you now. And those who did - well, we made sure they won't be able to help you too. You see, we also informed their families. They'll have to answer a lot of questions." Lindsey grinned happily and Mr. Atherton was now white as a ghost and didn't even make an attempt at answering. Lindsey went back to his chair, dropped into it and relaxed his posture.

"Right. Now let me come to the end. Let me tell you what will happen." Lindsey folded his hands in front of his belly and gave his voice a light tone. "You have no other choice but to wait for the police to come and arrest you, which will be this morning at the latest. They'll question you, all the usual procedures, and you're going to court. We will pull every string possible to ensure that. You will be tried for child abuse, rape and murder. And you will be sent to jail. For the rest of your life. End of story." He narrowed his eyes and did a fake double take. "Oh. No, actually I've got one more little story for you." Lindsey's face lit up and he leaned forward, as if he was eager to share it. "Did you know that there's actually a code of honor among prison inmates? It's kind of funny. The hardest criminals, like arsonists, murderers, drug dealers... Do you know what really outrages them?" He threw Atherton an expectant look, but got no answer. "No? I'll tell you." He stood up and walked around the chair until he was standing behind his opponent. He leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Child molesters, Mr. Atherton. And we will make sure that every single inmate knows which crimes you are sentenced for. As soon as the prison doors close behind you, you are on the lowest end of the food chain. With no way of climbing upwards. You will be lucky to survive your first week."

Lindsey straightened again and let his words sink in. He walked back to his chair and savored the ugly sight of the shaking, sweat soaked man who had given up pretending and stared at him with wide eyes, obviously scared shitless. Lindsey just curled his lips into a small satisfied smile and then looked over to the opening window. "Parker!" he greeted the blonde thief who now gracefully slid inside the room. He nodded appreciatively. "Right on time as always. Ready for the clean up?"

Parker took a look at the man taped to the chair, took in his desperate state and crunched her nose. "Yeah. As fast as possible please. He stinks."

Lindsey chuckled and went to the table to pick up his gun again. He pointed it at Mr. Atherton's knee again and gave his voice a business-like tone. "You'll be rid of us in a minute, don't worry. Parker will cut you loose now. Since she's very good with sharp objects, I'll advise you not to move at all. Got it?" Robert Atherton nodded shakily and Parker freed him from the duct tape. She picked off the tape pieces and stuffed them into a bag, then she took out a cloth and quickly wiped everything that might have been touched by them. Finally she nodded and went over to Lindsey. She narrowed her eyes and silently mouthed "Now?" Lindsey nodded barely visible and Parker beamed. She took a step aside so that Atherton could see her face, poked Lindsey's free arm and tilted her head.

"What do we do about the duct tape residue on his suit?" She looked at Atherton who still sat on the chair, reduced to a hunched shaking form. Then she looked back at Lindsey who shrugged nonchalantly.

"We take it with us." He gave Atherton a hard smile. "Take off your suit."

"What??" Atherton sputtered out the word in surprise, gathering his last bit of courage to protest. "You... what? No!"

Lindsey raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Atherton, please." He sounded disappointed. "You've been very cooperative so far. Don't make me shoot you in the last minute of our little meeting."

The man visibly deflated, the sudden flare of anger used up. He wordlessly took off his suit and threw it into Lindsey's direction. Parker caught it and also stuffed it in her bag. Atherton watched her as she went over to the window. Lindsey followed her, walking backwards, gun still trained on the bastard. Atherton looked at him and made a disgusted face. "You really get off on this, don't you?" His voice shook. Lindsey just looked at him until the other man couldn't stand it anymore and looked away. He waited until he felt Parker's hands hooking him to the zip line and waited a few seconds longer to give her time to disappear. Then he put the safety on the gun back on, propped it into his belt and gave his voice a cold tone.

"I don't think I'm interested in... anything you have to offer, Mr. Atherton. Thank you very much and enjoy your last hours as a free man." He climbed on the window sill and jumped off.

The way down from the fourteenth floor was a little intimidating, but Lindsey had trained with Parker too often to be really scared. Nevertheless he was glad to reach the ground safely, where Parker already waited to unhook him. She patted his back. "Not bad, Lindsey, not bad." He grinned at her, relieved and grateful that his work was done. A car stopped next to them and Sophie peeked out, smiling widely.

"You two need a ride?"

Parker laughed, delighted, and Lindsey sighed with relief. Can't wait to be home. Away from here. They hopped in the backseats and Sophie drove on. When they were on the main road again, she looked in the rear mirror to catch Lindsey's eyes. "That was... impressive." She sounded a bit guilty. "I... have to apologize. I wasn't sure you could pull it off like this."

Lindsey shrugged. "Can't blame you. I get underestimated like that very often. That was my biggest advantage, you know?"

Sophie raised an eyebrow. "How so? I think I have an idea, but please elaborate."

Lindsey gratefully recognized the remark for what it was - more an effort to distract him than the actual need to clarify. "Other lawyers. Either from Wolfram and Hart or opponents in court. Their first impression is a not-too-tall pretty face with a hint of southern accent. Easy prey. By the time they found out that the prey was actually a predator... well." He smiled that shark-like smile he'd used on Mr. Atherton before.

Sophie nodded thoughtfully, like he had just verified her own thoughts, but looked impressed nevertheless. Parker started talking to her about how much fun the fourteen floor fall had been, and Lindsey let his head fall back and closed his eyes. The adrenaline started to wear off and he felt drained. And dirty. He hadn't failed to notice that he had given his answers to Sophie in his lawyer voice, and that shook him a bit. He tried to quiet the worrying voices in his mind, but couldn't relax at all.

The car stopped at their headquarters. Parker got out first and quickly strode over to the elevator, carrying the bag with her equipment and the suit. Lindsey got out of the car slowly, now feeling more and more numb. He didn't even notice Sophie stepping up to him until he felt her hand gently on his shoulder. He looked up and could see concern in her eyes. Her voice was soft. "You should go take a shower. That helps best losing the persona you put on."

Lindsey huffed out a laugh, not convinced. "Sophie, that's the problem. It's not a persona. It is me."

Sophie shook her head and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Not anymore, Lindsey. At least not entirely." She gave him a comforting smile. "If it was, Eliot wouldn't be with you. Trust me on this."

Lindsey blinked. "I... guess you're right, yeah." He felt a little of the numbness lift and gave Sophie a genuine smile. "I'd better report in first, but shower is a good idea." Sophie smiled back happily and patted his shoulder again before they followed Parker to the elevator.

In the conference room he was greeted by Hardison, who grinned wide and honest and definitely more cheerful. "Hey man, that was great! That guy almost pissed his pants in the end!"

Lindsey dropped on the chair next to the hacker and nestled the small button camera off his shirt. "Did it work?"

Hardison beamed. "Clear as day. That's a really nice movie we got there!" He took a deep breath and clearly wanted to ramble on, but was interrupted by Nate who entered the room with a pot of fresh coffee. He grinned proudly at Lindsey and nodded approvingly.

"Very well done, Lindsey. You got him by his balls."

Lindsey managed a grateful smile. "Thanks Nate." He desperately wanted to go home and shower, wanted nothing more than to get rid of the imaginary smell of malice, wanted to curl up with Eliot, wanted the day just to be over. Although feeling exhausted after the adrenaline rush, the lawyer part of his brain still ran in overdrive. It re-played again and again parts of the scenery in Atherton's room, analyzing, looking for mistakes. He balled his fists for a moment, digging his nails into his palm. Only a few more minutes. Concentrate, Lindsey. He gave Nate an questioning look. "Did everything work out?"

Nate nodded with a satisfied smile. "Yep. Police investigations are up and running at full speed. The private contacts are all notified, we even caught a few of them forwarding mails to the police. I guess he still has some honest friends. Oops. Had." His expression was very smug and Lindsey knew that Nate was very proud of himself and the whole team now.

Hardison made a whooping noise and both men looked at him, amused. Hardison gave them a wide happy grin. "Police matched some finger prints. They're waiting for some other confirmation, and then they are out to arrest him. They're not even gonna wait until morning. He's got three more hours, tops." He pumped his fist in the air. "We got you, son of a bitch! Don't mess with Team Leverage!"

Nate and Lindsey started to laugh at Hardison's joyful outburst, and Lindsey felt a little better. He looked at Nate. "Am I good to go?"

Nate narrowed his eyes and Lindsey was sure that some of his mental exhaustion had shown in his voice. Nate's face softened. "Yeah. Eliot should be home already. Hardison has the camera feed of the whole building running, so Atherton can't get out without being noticed. We'll meet tomorrow morning."

Part Five is here.