The One Step Too Far Job Part Two
He’d waited a few days for the bruises on his face to fade to almost nothing, days that were usually spent quietly during that time between jobs that always seemed a bit like limbo. This time around, though, the days had been spent sitting next to Hardison as the hacker had tried to find everything he could about Nelson because, like Eliot, he wanted to be fully prepared the next time they went up against the guy.
There had been no trail online. For a supposedly legit businessman, it seemed that Nelson was secretive to the point of being paranoid. So, when the bruises had almost gone and he could walk without limping, Eliot started things in motion to research into Nelson the old fashioned way.
Eliot had only been on the campus of a college twice before and, both of those times, he’d been running across them rather than stopping to take in the surroundings. Now, though, he had a bit of time to sit on a bench and wait a while for his contact to come out of his lecture. Usually, he’d never hold a meeting here, not with so many kids around, not with security cameras everywhere. But if Nelson was coming after them, they needed to get ahead and that meant there was no time for being cautious.
He took a sip of his coffee - black, scalding hot - and glanced towards the doors again. Five minutes before the class was due out. Across the quad, a group of students were sitting on the grass surrounded by books and he wondered whether they were actually working or whether their study session had descended into catching up on gossip instead.
The doors opened two minutes early and students began to spill out, some chatting to one another, others hurrying towards other destinations. Eliot looked straight ahead as he felt Jerome Swansee sit down next to him.
“Eliot. It’s been a while.”
“Three years.”
“That long? How are you?”
“What do you know about Robert Nelson?”
“No small talk this time, then.”
He took another drink of his coffee. “Not today.”
The lecturer sighed. “Okay. This Nelson’s not a very nice guy, word is he had his own brother killed just for questioning a business decision. The coroner’s report lists suicide as the cause of death but I don’t think anyone ever really believed that.”
“What’s he into?”
“Drugs, guns, money laundering. You name it, he’s in on it. He covers his tracks, though. Other people go down for his crimes and his name’s never even mentioned."
“He got any weakness?”
Jerome gave a half laugh then shook his head. “He’s surrounded by men who are loyal out of fear, he’s wealthy and he doesn’t get close to anyone.”
“But-”
“But, he hates to lose and he likes to play games where he has opponents. Cards, tennis, that sort of thing.”
“That’s it? That’s his weakness?”
“Yes, that’s his weakness.”
“Can you give me a name?” Eliot tossed the paper cup into the bin.
“Paul Williams. He used to work for Nelson, ended up in prison for a while. He works at GGs bar now.”
“Thanks.” Standing up, Eliot walked away, back across the campus without looking back. There was less chance of Jerome getting in trouble that way.
---
GGs bar was the complete opposite of McRorys. The kind of place where the staff changed often and there were no regulars, only nameless faces bringing profits. Dark and busy, people dancing, covered in sweat and spilt beer. There were no free stools at the bar so Eliot pushed his way into a space to stand.
He ordered himself a beer and turned to take in the room from his new vantage point. Most of the customers he could make out through the feeble lighting of the room were younger than he was; he’d probably seen some of them at the college earlier that day. From where he stood, he had a clear view of the two bouncers on the door. Paul Williams wouldn’t be leaving without Eliot knowing about it.
It was a long time since he’d been in a place like this. Usually, he liked quiet, familiar faces, even though he knew that being anonymous would be safer in his line of work. He’d gotten too comfortable at McRory’s, with the people he’d been working with for the last few years. In his head, he knew that. Never let anyone get too close. That had always been his policy. Except now, he wasn’t sure if he could even walk away if he needed to. He’d never risked his life for anyone in the way he risked it for them.
Like now, he should be walking away, getting out of the country and laying low for a while until Nelson forgot about them but, instead, he was walking deeper into the guy’s business. No-one was forcing him to. He wanted to. For them. For Sophie, who always went the extra mile to help. For Hardison, even though his van smelt and his constant geek talk got on his nerves. For Parker, who would reach out to him when he was least expecting it and make him realise why he stuck around. For Nate. Nate, who he’d known for years, who had kissed him once, deep in the south of America, and had walked away, back to his wife and child.
At the door, Williams was turning someone - a kid who was obviously underage despite the ID he was brandishing - away. The bouncer easily deflected the punch that the kid threw and it could have been because the kid was already drunk and it was easier but William’s easy, almost lazy, block told Eliot everything he needed to know about the guy.
Feeling his cell buzz in his pocket, Eliot pulled it out and read the text from Hardison, didn’t bother replying to the question about his whereabouts. If Hardison really wanted to know, he could find out without needing to bother asking.
Someone behind the bar called out last orders and Eliot frowned as a crush of people moved forwards to make sure they got one more drink. Shaking his head, he left his own half-finished beer on the bar and walked out past the bouncers.
He found a spot outside, leaning against the wall, where he could keep an eye on Paul without drawing suspicion to himself. Once all the customers had been herded out, the two bouncers returned to their spot at the door to smoke. It seemed to take them longer than usual to finish their cigarettes but Eliot didn’t mind waiting. The extra couple of minutes would give the streets time to quieten down before he approached Williams.
Williams started to walk away, shouting a goodbye to his colleague and Eliot waited for the other bouncer to disappear before following behind. He left it ten minutes, until they’d reached a quiet part of town and William’s had taken his keys out of his pocket, and then sped up. Williams seemed to sense him approaching and turned round, forcing Eliot to take a more direct approach than he’d intended to.
Grabbing the guy’s shoulder, Eliot brought his knee up to connect with his stomach. He didn’t give Williams time to recover, pushed him up against the wall and held his arm up against the man’s throat. Messy, but effective.
“Hello, Corporal.”
Williams’ eyes widened as he stopped struggling. “Who are you? How do you-”
“You don’t need to know who I am. What you do need to know is that I know everything about you. Everything. You left the army about five years ago, you want to quit smoking but the place you work at makes it hard and you’ve been stealing money from the till to pay for a new car. I know everything.”
“You-”
“Now I can do a lot with that information, but I’d rather not.”
The guy struggled in Eliot’s hold for a moment, then gave up. “What do you want?”
“The name of Robert Nelson’s second in command.”
“What? You’re joking, right? I’d be crazy to tell you that.”
Eliot shook his head. “You’d be crazy not to. Nelson made you take the fall for him, right?”
Williams nodded.
“Okay. I’m going to take him down and I know that you want revenge. You wasted two years of your life for him and got nothing in return. Give me the name and Nelson will pay.”
“I’m not stupid. Plenty people have tried to take Nelson down before. You’re no different.”
“Okay. I’ll rephrase my previous sentence. Give me the name or I’ll report you for theft and set it up so it makes it look like you’re trying to take Nelson down.”
“That’s cold.”
He held eye contact. “Maybe, but it’s what’ll happen.”
Williams held up his hands. “Fine. Fine. Just, don’t get me in trouble with Nelson.”
“I won’t. Not if I get a name that checks out.”
“Jamie Fielding. She can get you to Nelson.”
“She?”
“She.”
“Thank you.” Eliot stepped back, releasing his hold on Williams and watched as the guy jogged away. Nothing could ever be simple.
---
“She?”
Eliot nodded. “She.”
Sophie shook her head. “But that means Parker can’t grift. I mean, the whole plan depends on Parker flirting with the second and getting to Nelson that way.”
“I know. But Williams was sure - he said she was the way to get to him and I believed him.”
“Okay.” Hardison held up the remote and brought an image up on the screen. “Everyone meet Jamie Fielding. She’s one ruthless woman.” He whistled. “She spent ten years going from business to business, taking top of the ladder jobs then leaving when people began to question her methods. Then, she dropped off the grid.”
Eliot sat forwards on the couch. “Which means that’s when she met Nelson.”
“Exactly. Now, she’s a bit like him; it’s hard to trace anything back to her, but she’s easier to get to.”
Sophie smiled. “Because she’s the second. She’s the one who gives the orders, who handles the money for Nelson before it gets cleaned up.”
“But I can’t grift.” Parker looked up from the rig she was working on and shrugged at Sophie’s glare. “I mean, I can - sort of - but I can’t for this con.”
Nate smirked as he walked out of the room. “But I can.”
Hardison placed his smart phone down on the table, shaking his head. “Why does the man always do that?”
“Because he likes to be awkward.” He’d learnt that about Nate a long time ago.
“Eliot, that’s not-” Sophie shrugged, “Okay, yeah, that’s right.”
“How long do you think we should wait for him to come back?” Parker asked.
“Half an hour. If he’s not back by then, we’ll do the briefing tomorrow instead.”
Eliot really hoped Nate would be back. They couldn’t afford to lose any more time when it came to Nelson.
---
The back of Hardison’s van desperately needed sorting out. A pile of magazines in the corner had been getting gradually taller for the last few months, half of the food that the hacker kept there was well past its expiration date, and if Eliot had to listen to Sophie complain about the smell one more time, he was going to explode and force Hardison to clean the stupid thing.
The atmosphere being in the van seemed to create wasn’t helped by the tension that Eliot knew they were all feeling with this job. They had been wrong about Nelson once and they were all worried, despite Nate’s cocky exterior, that something else was going to go badly.
“Are you sure about this?” Eliot turned to look at Nate who was straightening his tie for the third time that journey.
“Yes. I know what I’m doing; I’ve done grifts like this plenty of times before. There’s just…a bit more at stake this time.”
He snorted. “Right. Just.”
Nate picked up the briefcase he would be using and opened it. “What’s your problem now, Eliot?”
“My problem-” he lowered his voice so that Parker and Hardison, sitting in the front of the van, wouldn’t hear, “My problem is that you seem to think Nelson’s just going to let you walk in there without challenging you. My problem is that we don’t even know if he’s expecting you.”
Nate shook his head. “I wasn’t anywhere near him last time.”
“But we were, Sophie was, and it wouldn’t take a lot of research to connect her with you.”
“We’re harder to find that you seem to think, Eliot. Hardison covers our tracks, remember?”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“So that’s why we found bugs in our headquarters.”
“That wasn’t Nelson. Look, this is my call and I say this is how we’re doing it.”
Eliot didn’t bother to voice the fact that the last time had been Nate’s call too; let it hang, unspoken, in the silence that followed instead.
Everything had always been Nate’s call.
Pulling the van to a stop, Hardison turned to look at them from the front seat and nodded. Nate refused to look Eliot in the eye as he checked he had everything he needed and exited the van. He would be the only one getting out for now, hopefully during the whole con unless something went wrong. Eliot moved to sit closer to the door anyway.
“I still think we should have brought Sophie.” Parker said.
“No way, Parker.” Drumming on the wheel, Hardison looked towards Eliot for his agreement. “They know her face - it’s too risky, even if it’s only the second Nate’s meeting this time.”
“It’s too risky anyway.” Eliot muttered, putting his comm in just in time to hear Nate talking to the receptionist at the entrance desk.
“You really think so?” Hardison climbed into the back of the van.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Did you talk to Nate?”
“Talking to Nate don’t do squat unless he listens, especially not when he’s trying to prove something.”
Tying her hair back, Parker frowned. “What’s he trying to prove?”
Eliot shook his head and lied. “Same as always.”
He couldn’t tell them the truth, that Nate was trying to prove he didn’t need anyone but himself. Then, he’d have to tell them other things, too, and he wasn’t ever going to tell them about Moreau or Johannesburg or Mexico or any of the other things that he and Nate never mentioned.
Eliot’s cell phone rang and he pulled his comm out so he could answer without any interference. “Yeah?”
“Eliot, what’s happening?”
He sighed. “Sophie, we’re in the middle of a con.”
“I know, I know. But I hate this, I hate not knowing what’s going on.”
“So put your comm in.” He listened for her answer, put his cell away when she hung up without saying another word. “Thanks, Eliot. Bye, Eliot.”
“Hi, Eliot.”
He jumped as her voice came over the comms and shook his head. “Focus, will you? Nate’s in there.”
“Sorry. Look, what happens if Nate runs into Nelson before he’s meant to?”
“We deal.”
“Yeah, but what do we even know about this man?”
“He hates losing and he hires professionals to do his dirty work for him.”
Hardison shook his head. “That’s all we know?”
Eliot nodded and turned away. Tuning everything else out, he listened to the progress Nate was making inside. He’d got past the receptionist, was being shown up to meet Jamie Fielding now. Then, the difficult part of the con would begin. To get to Nelson, Nate needed Fielding to trust him, to believe that he was a big enough player to be allowed to meet her boss.
“Ms. Fielding.” Nate’s grifting voice coming over the comms made Eliot sit up a little straighter as he listened.
Two minutes of agonising silence. Eliot pictured the scene as the woman sized Nate up, circled around him, stopped in front of him and he could sense what was about to happen when the silence continued for just a little too long.
“Mr. Ford.”
Sophie’s gasp was the first sound that followed the two simple words. Parker dropped the rig she was holding. Hardison whistled. Eliot didn’t hear much else after that, just the sound of his own feet thudding on concrete as he jumped out of the van and headed across the parking lot.
Yanking the comm out of his ear, he threw it to one side as he reached the end of the building. This - retrieving things, people from dangerous situations - was what he knew. He didn’t need any added distractions. If Nelson had permitted Nate to get that far into his building, then it was a trap. Nate wasn’t going to be allowed to leave without an armed escort.
Nate wasn’t going to be allowed to live.
Picking up his pace, Eliot ran straight past the receptionist, pushing through the two security men with ease. They’d probably follow him, call for more back up, but it didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to let this go down easy. He’d known Nate too damn long - there was too much still to happen, to develop - for him to be taken, killed, now.
Shouting. People were yelling at him, but he kept on running, easily making his way through the building. There were no keypads on the doors, none of the usual retina scanners they usually encountered. Nelson’s personal security team was ruthless enough and powerful to protect him from any problems.
Eliot just managed to stop in time as a man ran out in front of him and he smirked, taking in the guy’s suit and cufflinks. Whoever this was, he wasn’t used to fighting and had just decided to be a hero. Feigning a punch, Eliot brought his knee up into the guy’s solar plexus and started up the stairs towards Fielding’s office.
Nate was there. Two minutes away. One minute away. In sight.
Eliot skidded to a stop.
Nelson laughed, digging the barrel of his gun into the side of Nate’s head. “You’re going to take out any weapons that you have on you and kick them over towards me.”
“Okay.” He nodded. “Okay. I’m just carrying one knife. I’ll lose it. Don’t hurt him.”
“Don’t try anything and I won’t hurt him here.”
“Good.” Moving slowly, Eliot reached for his knife and lowered it to the ground. He hesitated a moment before kicking it away, wishing that he’d brought a newer knife because this one had been with him for a long time.
“Eliot.” Nate spoke through clenched teeth.
He kicked the knife away. “Did you have to tell them my name?”
“I wouldn’t worry about that, Spencer.” Nelson loosened his hold on Nate just slightly. “We already know all about you.”
Keeping his face impassive, he shrugged. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
“Check him for guns.”
Eliot’s smirk was mirrored on Nate’s face.
“There won’t be any.” Nate twisted slightly as he tried to look at Nelson. “He isn’t a liar.”
“I think I’ll check, thanks. Hey,” Nelson nodded at Eliot, “Try anything when he’s searching you and I’ll blow his head off.”
“Understood.” Forcing himself to stand still, Eliot allowed himself to be patted down. “What’s your plan of action now? Walk us out of your building into broad daylight with guns at our backs?”
“Oh, please. I’m a little more experienced than that. Put the cuffs on.”
Eliot frowned as the man who had searched him held them out. Rope would have been fine - manageable - but handcuffs were going to prove more of an obstacle. Taking them, he placed them around his wrists, didn’t complain when someone stepped forward to check they were on properly. He wouldn’t trust himself in this situation either.
Nelson lowered his gun an inch. “Okay, time for us to take a walk. You first, Spencer.”
Turning around and walking slowly out of the office, he really hoped that the others had stayed away. That Sophie hadn’t jumped in a car and started to drive over here, that Parker hadn’t followed him into the building, that Hardison hadn’t abandoned his van in favour of trying to help. Getting each other out of trouble wasn’t their job.
“This won’t work.” Nate half-laughed. “I have more people.”
“Yes. You do. But Eliot here is the one who’s the best with situations like this, and if I’ve got him, I doubt Parker and Alec Hardison can do much. Miss Devereux isn’t here, of course, because you knew I knew her face. Yes, I think this is going to work just fine.”
Nelson steered them towards the stairs, Eliot walking a little slower than necessary as he realised where they were heading. If Nelson got them into a car and away from open space, they were screwed.
“The parking lot? That’s pretty amateur.” It was a long shot; Nelson didn’t seem like the type to be easily goaded.
“Stop talking, Spencer. Ford, what’ve you stopped for?”
Eliot heard Nate stumbling as he was pushed towards their destination and purposefully slowed down.
“Keep moving, both of you.”
Reluctantly, he moved closer and closer to the parking lot and to the cars that would increase their chances of not getting out of this by thirty per cent, according to the statistics.
---
“You know, Eliot, I reckon you have about a one in three chance of winning this game with the positions all the pieces are in here.”
“Those statistics are based on the average person, probably the type of person who’d get psyched out by you saying that. Not me.” Popping a chip in his mouth, he glanced at the clock on the wall, surprised to see that they’d been in the room for five hours already.
Nate nodded. “You do seem to know your chess. Full of surprises, aren’t you?”
“I can do more than punch people, if that’s what you mean.”
“I already knew that.”
Nate’s answer was immediate, much quicker than Eliot had expected and that meant that he was telling the truth. His respect for Nate Ford increased a little bit more.
“So what else are you good at?”
Eliot shrugged. “The usual stuff.”
“Don’t want to give too much away? Okay, then. I’ll just guess.”
“Guess?”
“Yes. I’d say you’re good at riding horses. You’re good at grifting as well as being a retrieval specialist - I’ve witnessed that first hand - and you’re a good card player, good at bluffing.”
“If that’s meant to impress me, it didn’t. That stuff’s all kind of obvious.”
Nate moved a knight, then smiled at him. “I’d imagine it take a lot to impress you.”
“It does.”
“Interesting.”
---
“I told you this was going to happen.” It was the first time he had spoken since they’d been shoved into the back of a van; white, clean, inconspicuous. He’d spent the journey with his eyes tight shut and Nate had been wise enough not to bother him.
“You need to be quiet and let me think.”
“Oh right, cause you’re clearly going to be the one to get us out of this.” Eliot started to feel his way around the cell, closed his eyes because he couldn’t see anything anyway. Damp walls, a wire, a microphone and transmitter which he ripped out and let fall to the ground.
“Of course I am. We’ve been in worse situations than this before.”
And they had. But this was still bad and, just because it seemed better, it didn’t guarantee that the outcome would be good.
He snorted. “This is my sort of thing, you need to let me take the lead here.”
“I can do this.”
“But you’re not going to let me because you’re going to keep on being stubborn.” He was muttering to himself now; the idiot in the cell next door could stew on his own for a while. Nate had underestimated Nelson from the get go and Eliot needed time to think anyway.
“Something’s happening.”
“Yeah, right. Trying to distract me from the fact that you’ve let the team down again isn’t going to work.”
“Eliot, listen to me.”
“Why should I listen to you? Listening to you got us into this fucking mess.”
Silence. The sound of someone hitting the ground.
“Nate. Nate, come on, this isn’t - Nate?”
There still wasn’t an answer and Eliot cursed under his breath, forced himself to stay calm and just listen. In the next cell, something was being dragged across the floor. Nate. And the sound was too much like death for Eliot to relax. For twenty excruciating seconds there was no sound apart from his own heavy breathing and then he heard a groan, a familiar voice asking someone to stop something and he relaxed. He wasn’t alone in this place, not yet.
“Nate? Are you okay?”
“He’s fine, Spencer.” Nelson’s voice sounded closer than the next cell and Eliot turned in the direction he thought it was coming from. “I wouldn’t worry - I’m not the type to string things like this out. I’m just waiting for my man to arrive and then he can kill you both and this whole sorry mess will be finished with.”
“That’s good to know. You should know something too, though. I don’t go down without a fight and neither does he.”
The only answer he got from Nelson was the echo of footsteps walking away.
“Nate?”
“Yeah, I’m - I’m here.”
“Okay. Okay, good. Can you see anything?”
A pause and then, “Yeah, there’s some light coming in through the window.”
“You have a window?”
“Yeah.”
“Lucky you. Okay, look around. Are there any bugs?”
“Bugs?”
“There was a transmitter in here with me.”
“No, I - I can’t see one.”
“Okay, give me a sec.”
“What are you going to do? Eliot?”
“I’m going to check for weaknesses in the wall. We’ve got more chance of finding a way out if we’re together.”
“That’s not true.” Nate coughed, loud and hacking. “You’ve got more of a chance by yourself.”
“That’s not an option here.” Feeling along the wall, he felt the change of texture immediately and brushed away a few cobwebs to make sure. His fingers hit cold brass and he grinned. “Nate, there’s a door here.”
“A door? They wouldn’t be that stupid.”
Eliot shook his head, pressing his shoulder against the door. The wood didn’t seem to be rotten but it was definitely old. “No- it’s had its handle taken off but it’s still made of wood.”
“You think you can break it down?”
“I think you can. Hinges are on my side, means it opens in-over into my cell.”
Nate sighed loud enough that he could hear him through the wall. “Okay. Okay, stand back then.”
Taking a few steps away from the door, Eliot listened to the thud of Nate connecting with the door for a few moments before moving forwards again. “Nate? Are you injured?”
“A little bit. I’m fine.”
“Where?”
“My right shoulder.”
“Okay. Let’s try something else. Can you see where the handle would have been?”
“I think so.”
“Okay. Kick just below that point as hard as you can. It’s-” he broke off as the door came off the hinges and light flooded the room. “The
weakest part of a door.”
Nate nodded. “Apparently so.”
Eliot blinked. “How come I get the dark dingy cell and you get this?” Stepping through into Nate’s cell, he looked around, taking in his
surroundings.
“You’re more of a threat to them, I guess. Being a hitter and all. They’re probably scared you’ll kill them or-” Nate trailed off, rubbing his
shoulder.
“I don’t kill people unless I have to, Nate.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t - I didn’t mean to-”
“We need to get out of here. Have you still got your comm?”
Mouth open, Nate studied Eliot for a moment before answering. “Yeah - yes, I do. It’s not working here though. We must be too far below
ground.”
“We need to get out of here, then.”
“No, you need to get up against the wall right now.”
Spinning around, Eliot saw Nelson standing in the gap in the wall, gun in hand. “Damn.”
“Yeah, damn.” Shaking his head, Nelson took another step and gestured with the gun. “Wall. Now.”
Nate tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. “Guess we’re not going anywhere now.”
“Oh, you are, but with me. Not as escapees.”
“Well, that’s going to be so much more interesting.”
---
Eliot leaned against the wall, watching as Nate paced up and down the bare space.
“We need to get out of here.” Nate ran a hand through his hair. “This isn’t good.”
“Oh, really? Now you’re ready to admit that this wasn’t a good idea?”
“Seriously? I told you so? Now isn’t the time.”
“So when is the time?” Eliot shouted. “When are you ever actually going to listen to what I tell you?”
“Don’t-”
“I told you this guy was dangerous. I told you this plan was stupid, and you still went ahead with it. Now look at us - Parker and Sophie are who knows where, Hardison is probably alone in his van with no way of contacting either of us, probably going out of his mind, we’re stuck in a storage unit that could be taken anywhere, and you still won’t admit you’re wrong.”
Nate exhaled shakily. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“But it did.”
“I know.”
“You didn’t trust me enough to take notice of my instincts.”
“I trust you, Eliot. I trust you.”
He snorted.
“I do. I just thought-” Nate sighed.
“What?”
“I thought that if I pushed you away then, if you were right about Nelson, you might not - you might not risk your life for me again the way you did-”
“With Moreau.”
“Yeah.”
Nodding, Eliot slid down the wall to sit on the floor of the unit and stared at the door. “It’s not like I really had a choice.”
“What?”
“Once we were in that warehouse, we were there. And getting you guys out of situations like that - it’s my job.”
“You’re telling me you wouldn’t have found some other way if you hadn’t needed to get us out?”
“I’m telling you that if I had to go up against Moreau for anyone, it’d be you. Or one of the others.”
“I - that’s-” Nate paused as the lock clicked and the bolts on the outside of the door were slid across and then began to speak again, louder. “I don’t think you’re right.”
“No?”
“No. I don’t think Nelson can play chess even for his life.”
“You’d be very much mistaken.” Nelson pulled the door shut behind him and smirked at one of the men he’d brought with him. “Turner can vouch for that, right?”
“Yes, boss.”
Eliot snorted. “You ain’t patient enough, Robert. Haven’t got the brains.”
“So says the hired muscle.”
Nate shook his head, laughing. “You’re all talk, Nelson.”
“You think? How about we put it to the test? We’ll have a nice civilised game of chess before I kill the two of you. Shall we move to
somewhere more comfortable? I’m staying in a lovely log cabin just across the road.”
“Fine.” Nate paused, “But if I win, we go free. Both of us.”
Eliot caught the lie in the man’s eyes as he nodded but that didn’t matter. The stall had played out as planned. Nelson wasn’t as clever as he thought he was.
---
Eyes fixed on the chessboard in front of him, Nate sat back in his chair, his brow furrowed as he tried to work out what his next move was going to be. He couldn’t see an easy way out, and it was a long time since that had happened to him. Sighing, he took a sip of his drink to buy himself some time. Time; that was what he needed, some space to figure out the right move to make. He wasn’t going to let himself panic, was going to think about the game calmly. He had played chess hundreds of times; he knew how to do this. The stakes were just a little bit higher this time.
Across the table from him, Nelson looked smug, cigarette held languidly in his hand as he watched Nate’s progress.
“It’s a tough board.” Eliot sounded thoughtful and it made Nate feel better to know that he wasn’t the only one struggling.
Nelson laughed. “You could surrender.”
The room was more comfortable that the storage unit had been. The room was heated, warm air whirring through the system, which made
it cosier than the container; no more drafts. There were plush furnishings, a well-stocked bar; but Nate was still acutely aware of how much was hanging on this game. Winning wasn’t important; keeping the game going long enough for the others to track them down was. But Eliot was right; there was no way he was going to let Nelson win. It wasn’t in his nature, especially when he knew how many people this guy had hurt, how close he was to hurting them. He held up a hand and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes so that he could think.
“Nate. Remember that game we played in Johannesburg?”
He could remember it well; two months after he had first met Eliot Spencer and they had ended up in a hotel room together, hiding out from a gang that were pursuing the both of them. Hours had been spent over the same game of chess as they had tested each other’s limits, tried to work each other out. He had known then how dangerous Eliot was, had perhaps been more aware of it than he had been more recently.
He opened his eyes, looked at the board and smirked as he reached forwards to move his knight. The game was back in play.
“Now, some would call that cheating.” Nelson looked back and forth between them, looking more amused than anything else and Nate looked at Eliot to respond.
Eliot shrugged. “It is our lives he’s playing for - I deserve some input.”
“Well, I guess you do.”
Nate swallowed back more whiskey, watching as Nelson considered his next move. The man seemed perfectly at ease with the knowledge that he was playing chess for two lives and why shouldn’t he be? Either way, he was planning to kill them, was just toying with them first. As far as Nelson knew, there was no-one else coming for them. The comm in Nate’s ear felt larger, more noticeable, than usual as he watched Nelson move a pawn.
Next to him, Eliot was sitting straight, perfectly still and Nate wished that he could ease some of the tension that the hitter was displaying. Instead, he silently ran through different combinations of chess moves, trying to pick the one that would keep the game going for the longest possible amount of time.
“Unsure, Ford?” Nelson grinned at Eliot. “Guess you shouldn’t have put your faith in him.”
“I’d rather put my faith in a man who takes longer to make his chess moves, who thinks about it, than you Nelson. A guy who rushes his chess moves, rushes his decisions too and that’s how mistakes are made.”
Nate fought back the smile as he made his move.
“Unlucky for you, then.” Nelson stubbed out his cigarette. “I’m not making any mistakes today.”
“We’ll see about that.” He pointed towards the board. “It’s your turn.”
“So it is.”
“Nate.”
He jumped at the sound of Hardison’s voice, forced himself not to look at Eliot in case he gave anything away.
“Nate, we’re on our way with Bonano. I picked up the comm signal and tracked you and well, we know where you are. We’ll be there in
about five minutes.”
Standing up, Nate walked back over to the bar area and smiled when Nelson raised his eyebrows. “You said to help myself.”
“You did.” Eliot nodded. “Can’t argue with that. Think I’ll get myself a drink now.”
Pouring a large measure of whiskey, Nate smiled at Eliot as he crossed over the room. “I’m going to get back to the game - can’t have him
cheating now.”
“I don’t cheat.” Nelson sounded almost sincere.
“Good.” He dropped back down into his seat. “My turn is it?”
“Yes.”
Leaning forward, he studied the board for a few moments before sitting back again. “Ah yes, I see.”
Nelson sat up a little straighter. “You see what?”
“He sees.” Eliot walked back over to stand by the table. “You don’t see?”
Nelson cleared his throat. “I don’t see what?”
Nate placed his glass down onto the table and moved a bishop. “I see checkmate.”
“You bastard.” Nelson stood up in one fluid movement, his chair scraping back against the expensive wooden floor.
“Huh.” Still sitting down, Nate crossed his arms. “Guess you really don’t like losing.”
“Not to you, some drunk of a petty thief.”
“Well, you did lose. So we’re going to go now.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” Pulling out a gun, Nelson aimed it directly at Eliot. “Move and I shoot him.”
“Ah.” Uncrossing his arms, he tried not to look at the gun. “I really wouldn’t say that if I were you. In fact, if I were you, I’d put the gun away.”
“Oh really? And why would that be?”
Pointing at the door, Nate stepped back up against the wall as it burst open and police came swarming through into the room, guns suddenly everywhere. Grinning, Eliot moved to stand next to him and nodded at Bonano.
“That was the scariest game of chess you’ve ever played, right?”
“Oh yeah. Give me Johannesburg any day.” He patted Eliot on the shoulder before speaking into his comm. “Thanks, guys. I’m assuming we’ll see you soon.”
“We’re outside waiting for you.” Sophie’s voice sounded smooth, no hint of the worry that Nate knew was there, and he was grateful for that. He needed someone to be composed right now.
“Everyone okay?”
“Aside from Parker almost crashing the van to get here in time, we’re fine.”
“Good. See you soon.” Slipping the comm out of his ear, he turned to look at Eliot. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good.”
“You’re good?”
“Nate, we just got through a whole day of captivity without arguing with each other. I’m good.”
“Yeah.” He smiled. “Yeah, me too.”
Nate watched, leaning back against the wall, as Eliot went over to shake Bonano’s hand. This was Eliot; a good guy. It didn’t matter that he had once worked for Moreau or that he had been forced to do god knows what in that warehouse. He was a good person, a good judge of character, and pushing him away just wasn’t going to cut it anymore.
The team wouldn’t be able to handle it anymore and neither would he.
---
“You’re letting me go again?”
Nate didn’t answer, just stood at looked at Eliot for a while as he took in the sight of the hitter standing on a red dirt road in the middle of the country. Eliot belonged here; dusty jeans and worn boots, southern drawl and Texan manners.
“Nate?”
“Yes. Yes, Eliot. I’m letting you go for the fifth time in two years.”
Eliot smiled. “You’re going to get yourself in trouble.”
“Well, stop doing things that make me let you go then.”
“Like what things?”
“Like saving my life and being injured and helping me retrieve stolen objects.”
Shaking his head, Eliot scratched the back of his neck. “It’s more interesting this way.”
“Yes, it is. I have a wife. And a son. Sam, he’s one year old next week. I - I don’t know why I just told you that.”
“I already knew. You mentioned them last time you tried to catch me.”
“I don’t know why I brought them up. I just - I felt like you should know.”
“The local cops will be here soon.”
Nate looked around even though he knew they weren’t there yet. “I should go.”
“So should I.”
He held out a hand, intending to shake Eliot’s, and then suddenly, inexplicably, surged forwards. His lips pressed against Eliot’s softly - more softly than the surge should have resulted in - and he counted the seconds. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. He pulled away then, stepped backwards as if that really mattered after what he’d just done. After what Eliot had just done back.
“I have a wife.”
Eliot nodded. “And a son.”
“I should go.”
“Yeah, you should.”
He looked at Eliot for a second longer and then turned, walking away. He forced himself not to look back.
---
Sophie walked towards them both, across the parking lot. “Please never do that again.”
“Okay.” Eliot rested his hands on her hips as she wrapped her arms around him for a brief hug before pulling away to hug Nate. “I can get behind that plan.”
“Were you really playing chess? Hardison said you were playing chess.” Parker reached out a hand and touched his shoulder.
“Technically, Nate was playing chess. It was the best stall we could come up with at the time.”
“She didn’t believe me. Come here, man.”
Eliot went with it as Hardison pulled him in for a hug, smiled at Nate over the hacker’s shoulder. “Thanks for keeping a check on the comm.”
“That’s my job. Speaking of, we’re going to have very serious words later.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. About a certain comm that was carelessly thrown away.”
“I guess that’s fair enough.”
“Damn right it is.”
Extracting himself from Hardison’s arms, he turned to watch as Bonano led Nelson out of the building. “What did you tell him?”
“The truth. And we gave him some stuff to help him justify the raid with his chief.”
“Stuff?”
Hardison laughed. “Let’s just say Nelson wasn’t as careful as he liked to think he was, especially not with his computer security.”
“Yes.” Sophie waved at Nelson as he climbed into the back of a police car. “And not even he can talk himself out of being found pointing a loaded gun at someone.”
“Do you think it’s over now?” Parker asked.
“I’m not sure.” Nate rubbed a hand over his mouth. “What do you think, Eliot?”
The effort to ask his opinion was clumsy but Eliot smiled to show he’d appreciated the thought. “I think it’s probably over now, yeah. But if it isn’t, I guess we’ll deal.”
Parker nodded. “Like we always do.”
Eliot turned away towards the van and the sight of it was weirdly reassuring considering how much he hated it.
Part One
Part Three