Big Bang Fic: The Tangled Web Job, Part 10/10
Title: The Tangled Web Job
Authors: scout_lover and telaryn
Artist: alinaandalion
Disclaimer: Not mine, making no money. I write only from a sad, fannish devotion to the characters created by John Rogers, Chris Downey, Dean Devlin and the amazing writers of Leverage.
Characters/Pairings: Team, Damien Moreau, Director Conrad, Sterling, Nana, all canon pairings
Rating: PG-13 leaning over the fence and shaking hands with R
Genre: Gen, drama, angst, team!fic
Warnings/spoilers: Set after the events of The Last Dam Job, the story is directly drawn from events in The Experimental Job.
Word Count: 50,069
Summary: The threat issued by CIA Director Conrad at the end of The Experimental Job proves to be anything but idle. The team is blackmailed into working for the CIA to help gain control of the major nuclear pipeline into Iran. To accomplish this and keep their loved ones safe, they are forced to work with an old enemy towards a common goal.
What the CIA fails to realize is that catching the Leverage team and holding them are usually two different things.
What Nate fails to realize is that the price for squirming free of the government's grasp is likely to be higher than he expected.
Link to Art Post: Here
CHAPTER TEN
If he hadn’t already owed Sterling more than he would be able to repay in several lifetimes, Nate would have been tempted to punch his old partner right in the face. The order to take Director Conrad into custody hadn’t been given until Damien Moreau was secure, which meant that he and Hardison had been effectively trapped in the control room watching helplessly as everything threatened to spiral out of control.
”I was the one who finally convinced him to leave the gravesite hours after everyone else had gone home. Not Maggie, not his mother … me.” It was the truth, and Nate realized with a guilty start that he’d never given Sterling credit for that moment of strength and caring.
“Losing you will destroy him.”
The worst part was knowing that Sterling’s words were for him as much as for Eliot - warning him off from interfering and demanding Nate’s trust that Sterling would see this through to a successful conclusion. Which he could have happily done except for the fact that he believed Sterling when he threatened to shoot Eliot and, while he suspected Eliot did too, he wasn’t sure Eliot cared.
That had always been the double-edged sword about working with somebody like Jim Sterling. Every emotional connection in his life came second to the rules and laws that gave him his structure.
Damien Moreau was being put in handcuffs on Hardison’s monitor when Interpol agents finally swarmed into the room. “You can’t do this!” Conrad sputtered as one of the black-clad men hauled him to his feet. “You don’t have the authority!”
Nate experienced his first moment of genuine satisfaction in days as the CIA director was spun face first into the wall and handcuffed. “Actually, Director,” he said, “you’re the one without authority here.”
“If you or any of your IMF team are caught or captured,” Hardison crowed, “the Secretary will disavow all knowledge …” It was the obvious joke, but Nate didn’t have the heart to stop him from making it. As far as he was concerned, the hacker was entitled to a lifetime of bad jokes after slipping free of this particular net.
Reality didn’t catch up with them until they’d seen Conrad secured and taken away, and Nate had made a move to leave the control room. “I’m sorry sir,” the agent who stepped smartly into his path said, “but I’ll need to get permission from Agent Sterling for you to leave the room.”
Nate was well into reconsidering every scrap of good will he’d felt for his old friend and partner by the time Sterling answered the attempts to raise him and gave permission for Nate and Hardison to be “escorted” to where an ambulance had arrived to transport Eliot to the hospital.
“Can you say ‘international incident’?” Hardison muttered as they were led downstairs and through the clusters of disheveled and confused diplomats and angry power brokers. Of Dr. Shahriari there was no sign; Nate briefly wondered if the man had been canny enough to make his escape, or if he was being held somewhere for questioning regarding his connection to the Croatian businessman Anton Andric and international arms dealer Damien Moreau.
“Nate!” The agent watching over them flinched as though expecting an attack, but even if Sterling hadn’t been nearby to give his approval, Nate suspected the man would have needed more than his weapons to stop Sophie. He had half a heartbeat to register her approach before she was in his arms.
“He’s all right,” she said breathlessly, and Nate could feel her tears on his skin. “Oh God Nate - he’s lost so much blood, but they’re sure he’s going to be okay.”
Parker was a little ways off, standing near the gurney while medics finished whatever it was they were doing before Eliot would be loaded into the waiting ambulance. Hardison brushed by Nate and Sophie, going to be near the ones that gave him the most strength; the two he called home. Shifting his grip on the woman in his arms, Nate realized she was shaking.
“You were brilliant,” he told her softly, turning his face into her, making this moment theirs. “You saved him - pulled him back.”
“I almost couldn’t.” And with that he heard her break, felt her sobs as if they’d come from his own chest. “Oh Nate …”
Pulling back slightly, he cupped her tear-stained face between his palms and forced her to meet his eyes. “No. No almost. You did it. That’s all that’s ever going to matter.”
*~*~*
Eliot was clearly drugged to the gills, strapped in place, with an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth. It was the kind of opportunity Hardison knew he would never have again, and yet he couldn’t think past the overwhelming relief at seeing his friend alive. “You two,” he began, his vision blurring with tears as he looked up to include Parker in what he was about to say. “You two don’t ever do something like that to me again, okay?”
“We thought it was the only way …” Parker began. Hardison groped for her hand across Eliot’s chest and squeezed it.
“You don’t con your crew,” he said fiercely. “I have died a million times in just the last hour watching this shit unfold and …” His voice broke, and he felt his own tears sliding down his cheeks at last. “ … and I will never be able to repay either of you for what you’ve done.”
Eliot weakly slid his hand over their joined ones. His skin was cold, but his eyes when Hardison looked into them were full of emotion.
“Is Nana going to be okay?” Parker asked. “I know Sterling arrested Conrad like Nate wanted, but does that get her off the hook?”
Hardison nodded. “I’m going to call her when it gets to be a more reasonable time in the States just to make sure, but that was the deal. Sterling gets Moreau, and he uses his contacts to get us and Nana free of the Agency.” There was a tiny part of his brain that choked on the idea of trusting Sterling to hold up his end of any deal, but the hacker refused to let it take hold.
Not tonight, at any rate. Tonight he needed more than anything to be with his family, and to believe in happy endings.
EPILOGUE
The first thing he saw when he finally regained consciousness was Nate in a chair at his bedside, head bowed, pen moving silently across the page as he methodically filled in the squares of a Sudoku puzzle. It was such a surreal image that Eliot wondered for a moment if he’d actually died.
That idea was quickly put to rest as he tried to speak and what he’d intended as a question came out sounding more like the final desperate croaks of a dying bullfrog. Nate reacted to the sound like he’d been shot; setting aside his puzzle and getting to his feet. “Give me a second,” he said, pouring out a cup of water and bending the straw at the right angle.
It had mercifully been ages since the last time Eliot had been subjected to the flat, over-conditioned taste of hospital water, but the liquid was so soothing against his tortured throat he couldn’t find it in his heart to be anything but grateful.
Nate eased the straw away after half a dozen swallows. “Not too much,” he cautioned. “Not at first. We don’t know how your system is going to react.”
He was so earnest Eliot laughed weakly. “It doesn’t bother me. Promise.” After a moment Nate raised the glass in invitation and he nodded.
Once he’d had his fill, Nate set the cup on the bedside table and leaned lightly on the bedrail. “I seem to recall telling you that killing Moreau was off the table.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “Several times.”
“And I told you it wasn’t your call.” Eliot blinked, the reality of the moment finally catching up with him. “What are you doing here, Nate?”
The mastermind grinned slyly, understanding immediately what Eliot wasn’t asking. “Where else would I be under the circumstances?” After a moment in which Eliot only barely resisted rolling his eyes, Nate sobered. “Sterling was right, you know. My own issues aside, I wasn’t going anywhere until I knew you were okay.” He swallowed. “And until we had a chance to talk about everything. Eliot, if I could have seen any other way to do this, I swear …”
Eliot shook his head, reaching out to cover Nate’s hand with his own. “Nate, don’t. We both ended up in a pretty dark place on this one - I’m as much to blame as you are.” He paused. “What happened with Hardison’s Nana and her kids?” Best for all concerned to shift the conversation to a safer topic and fast.
Nate gave him a look that communicated more clearly than words that he knew what Eliot was trying to do. Nevertheless he said, “They’re safe for now. Sterling was as good as his word, and once Interpol got involved Homeland Security decided to step up and do their job. Add in a couple of tips to the Chicago news media, and Mrs. Bushnell’s file has been purged of all charges.” He chuckled softly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she receives an apology or three from some higher ups in the Illinois state government. It’s turning into quite the public relations nightmare. Oh, and I’m pretty sure Hardison is committed to taking Parker to Chicago for Thanksgiving.”
Eliot felt a large part of the tension he’d been carrying ease almost immediately. They’d done it. It hadn’t been neatly or easily done, but they’d gotten the innocents out of the line of fire for now. He could handle however bad the fallout got.
Nate was still obviously struggling with their earlier conversation. “You need to know,” he said finally, “that I value your loyalty more than anything else in my life. I know I don’t act like it, well, hardly ever … but the idea that you see something in me worth following …” He shrugged, and something in Eliot’s chest tightened painfully at the sight of his boss - his friend - at a total loss for words.
“I don’t want you killing for me,” he went on after a long moment, before Eliot could even begin figuring out what he needed to say. “Or any of us. I remember Washington - I don’t want you to ever feel like you have to make that choice again.”
It’s my choice to make, Eliot thought stubbornly. Out loud, though, all he said was, “That’s the difference between you and Moreau, Nate. That’s always going to be the difference.”
Overcome with emotion, Nate gripped Eliot’s hand - meeting his eyes without flinching. “You’ve always been a better man than what Moreau saw in you. I need you to understand that.”
Eliot struggled for a long moment, trying to find the words to tell Nate how he felt, what was in his heart. He loved Nate for what he was saying, but there was still a very large part of him that knew with unshakeable faith that the mastermind … his leader … his friend …
… was wrong.
The End
Authors: scout_lover and telaryn
Artist: alinaandalion
Disclaimer: Not mine, making no money. I write only from a sad, fannish devotion to the characters created by John Rogers, Chris Downey, Dean Devlin and the amazing writers of Leverage.
Characters/Pairings: Team, Damien Moreau, Director Conrad, Sterling, Nana, all canon pairings
Rating: PG-13 leaning over the fence and shaking hands with R
Genre: Gen, drama, angst, team!fic
Warnings/spoilers: Set after the events of The Last Dam Job, the story is directly drawn from events in The Experimental Job.
Word Count: 50,069
Summary: The threat issued by CIA Director Conrad at the end of The Experimental Job proves to be anything but idle. The team is blackmailed into working for the CIA to help gain control of the major nuclear pipeline into Iran. To accomplish this and keep their loved ones safe, they are forced to work with an old enemy towards a common goal.
What the CIA fails to realize is that catching the Leverage team and holding them are usually two different things.
What Nate fails to realize is that the price for squirming free of the government's grasp is likely to be higher than he expected.
Link to Art Post: Here
CHAPTER TEN
If he hadn’t already owed Sterling more than he would be able to repay in several lifetimes, Nate would have been tempted to punch his old partner right in the face. The order to take Director Conrad into custody hadn’t been given until Damien Moreau was secure, which meant that he and Hardison had been effectively trapped in the control room watching helplessly as everything threatened to spiral out of control.
”I was the one who finally convinced him to leave the gravesite hours after everyone else had gone home. Not Maggie, not his mother … me.” It was the truth, and Nate realized with a guilty start that he’d never given Sterling credit for that moment of strength and caring.
“Losing you will destroy him.”
The worst part was knowing that Sterling’s words were for him as much as for Eliot - warning him off from interfering and demanding Nate’s trust that Sterling would see this through to a successful conclusion. Which he could have happily done except for the fact that he believed Sterling when he threatened to shoot Eliot and, while he suspected Eliot did too, he wasn’t sure Eliot cared.
That had always been the double-edged sword about working with somebody like Jim Sterling. Every emotional connection in his life came second to the rules and laws that gave him his structure.
Damien Moreau was being put in handcuffs on Hardison’s monitor when Interpol agents finally swarmed into the room. “You can’t do this!” Conrad sputtered as one of the black-clad men hauled him to his feet. “You don’t have the authority!”
Nate experienced his first moment of genuine satisfaction in days as the CIA director was spun face first into the wall and handcuffed. “Actually, Director,” he said, “you’re the one without authority here.”
“If you or any of your IMF team are caught or captured,” Hardison crowed, “the Secretary will disavow all knowledge …” It was the obvious joke, but Nate didn’t have the heart to stop him from making it. As far as he was concerned, the hacker was entitled to a lifetime of bad jokes after slipping free of this particular net.
Reality didn’t catch up with them until they’d seen Conrad secured and taken away, and Nate had made a move to leave the control room. “I’m sorry sir,” the agent who stepped smartly into his path said, “but I’ll need to get permission from Agent Sterling for you to leave the room.”
Nate was well into reconsidering every scrap of good will he’d felt for his old friend and partner by the time Sterling answered the attempts to raise him and gave permission for Nate and Hardison to be “escorted” to where an ambulance had arrived to transport Eliot to the hospital.
“Can you say ‘international incident’?” Hardison muttered as they were led downstairs and through the clusters of disheveled and confused diplomats and angry power brokers. Of Dr. Shahriari there was no sign; Nate briefly wondered if the man had been canny enough to make his escape, or if he was being held somewhere for questioning regarding his connection to the Croatian businessman Anton Andric and international arms dealer Damien Moreau.
“Nate!” The agent watching over them flinched as though expecting an attack, but even if Sterling hadn’t been nearby to give his approval, Nate suspected the man would have needed more than his weapons to stop Sophie. He had half a heartbeat to register her approach before she was in his arms.
“He’s all right,” she said breathlessly, and Nate could feel her tears on his skin. “Oh God Nate - he’s lost so much blood, but they’re sure he’s going to be okay.”
Parker was a little ways off, standing near the gurney while medics finished whatever it was they were doing before Eliot would be loaded into the waiting ambulance. Hardison brushed by Nate and Sophie, going to be near the ones that gave him the most strength; the two he called home. Shifting his grip on the woman in his arms, Nate realized she was shaking.
“You were brilliant,” he told her softly, turning his face into her, making this moment theirs. “You saved him - pulled him back.”
“I almost couldn’t.” And with that he heard her break, felt her sobs as if they’d come from his own chest. “Oh Nate …”
Pulling back slightly, he cupped her tear-stained face between his palms and forced her to meet his eyes. “No. No almost. You did it. That’s all that’s ever going to matter.”
*~*~*
Eliot was clearly drugged to the gills, strapped in place, with an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth. It was the kind of opportunity Hardison knew he would never have again, and yet he couldn’t think past the overwhelming relief at seeing his friend alive. “You two,” he began, his vision blurring with tears as he looked up to include Parker in what he was about to say. “You two don’t ever do something like that to me again, okay?”
“We thought it was the only way …” Parker began. Hardison groped for her hand across Eliot’s chest and squeezed it.
“You don’t con your crew,” he said fiercely. “I have died a million times in just the last hour watching this shit unfold and …” His voice broke, and he felt his own tears sliding down his cheeks at last. “ … and I will never be able to repay either of you for what you’ve done.”
Eliot weakly slid his hand over their joined ones. His skin was cold, but his eyes when Hardison looked into them were full of emotion.
“Is Nana going to be okay?” Parker asked. “I know Sterling arrested Conrad like Nate wanted, but does that get her off the hook?”
Hardison nodded. “I’m going to call her when it gets to be a more reasonable time in the States just to make sure, but that was the deal. Sterling gets Moreau, and he uses his contacts to get us and Nana free of the Agency.” There was a tiny part of his brain that choked on the idea of trusting Sterling to hold up his end of any deal, but the hacker refused to let it take hold.
Not tonight, at any rate. Tonight he needed more than anything to be with his family, and to believe in happy endings.
EPILOGUE
The first thing he saw when he finally regained consciousness was Nate in a chair at his bedside, head bowed, pen moving silently across the page as he methodically filled in the squares of a Sudoku puzzle. It was such a surreal image that Eliot wondered for a moment if he’d actually died.
That idea was quickly put to rest as he tried to speak and what he’d intended as a question came out sounding more like the final desperate croaks of a dying bullfrog. Nate reacted to the sound like he’d been shot; setting aside his puzzle and getting to his feet. “Give me a second,” he said, pouring out a cup of water and bending the straw at the right angle.
It had mercifully been ages since the last time Eliot had been subjected to the flat, over-conditioned taste of hospital water, but the liquid was so soothing against his tortured throat he couldn’t find it in his heart to be anything but grateful.
Nate eased the straw away after half a dozen swallows. “Not too much,” he cautioned. “Not at first. We don’t know how your system is going to react.”
He was so earnest Eliot laughed weakly. “It doesn’t bother me. Promise.” After a moment Nate raised the glass in invitation and he nodded.
Once he’d had his fill, Nate set the cup on the bedside table and leaned lightly on the bedrail. “I seem to recall telling you that killing Moreau was off the table.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “Several times.”
“And I told you it wasn’t your call.” Eliot blinked, the reality of the moment finally catching up with him. “What are you doing here, Nate?”
The mastermind grinned slyly, understanding immediately what Eliot wasn’t asking. “Where else would I be under the circumstances?” After a moment in which Eliot only barely resisted rolling his eyes, Nate sobered. “Sterling was right, you know. My own issues aside, I wasn’t going anywhere until I knew you were okay.” He swallowed. “And until we had a chance to talk about everything. Eliot, if I could have seen any other way to do this, I swear …”
Eliot shook his head, reaching out to cover Nate’s hand with his own. “Nate, don’t. We both ended up in a pretty dark place on this one - I’m as much to blame as you are.” He paused. “What happened with Hardison’s Nana and her kids?” Best for all concerned to shift the conversation to a safer topic and fast.
Nate gave him a look that communicated more clearly than words that he knew what Eliot was trying to do. Nevertheless he said, “They’re safe for now. Sterling was as good as his word, and once Interpol got involved Homeland Security decided to step up and do their job. Add in a couple of tips to the Chicago news media, and Mrs. Bushnell’s file has been purged of all charges.” He chuckled softly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she receives an apology or three from some higher ups in the Illinois state government. It’s turning into quite the public relations nightmare. Oh, and I’m pretty sure Hardison is committed to taking Parker to Chicago for Thanksgiving.”
Eliot felt a large part of the tension he’d been carrying ease almost immediately. They’d done it. It hadn’t been neatly or easily done, but they’d gotten the innocents out of the line of fire for now. He could handle however bad the fallout got.
Nate was still obviously struggling with their earlier conversation. “You need to know,” he said finally, “that I value your loyalty more than anything else in my life. I know I don’t act like it, well, hardly ever … but the idea that you see something in me worth following …” He shrugged, and something in Eliot’s chest tightened painfully at the sight of his boss - his friend - at a total loss for words.
“I don’t want you killing for me,” he went on after a long moment, before Eliot could even begin figuring out what he needed to say. “Or any of us. I remember Washington - I don’t want you to ever feel like you have to make that choice again.”
It’s my choice to make, Eliot thought stubbornly. Out loud, though, all he said was, “That’s the difference between you and Moreau, Nate. That’s always going to be the difference.”
Overcome with emotion, Nate gripped Eliot’s hand - meeting his eyes without flinching. “You’ve always been a better man than what Moreau saw in you. I need you to understand that.”
Eliot struggled for a long moment, trying to find the words to tell Nate how he felt, what was in his heart. He loved Nate for what he was saying, but there was still a very large part of him that knew with unshakeable faith that the mastermind … his leader … his friend …
… was wrong.
The End