“Why is your girlfriend on this shady corporation’s watchlist?”
Eliot’s brow furrows as he glances up from the television. He doesn’t know why Lucy’s come up when Hardison’s supposed to be researching their newest mark, a shady tech corporation that has been abusing their employees.
“What?”
“They’re tracking her movements. They have all kinds of alerts and photographs.” A pause, as Hardison, squints at the laptop screen. “Really … weird photographs.” Another break. “ … I know Lucy is a historian, but does she also happen to be into historical reenactments?”
Eliot straightens already reaching for his phone. “No. Why?”
Hardison pauses, before looking at Eliot solemnly. “I need to ask you something, and I need you to take me seriously.”
“Why do you want to know, Hardison?”
“My question first.”
“I asked you first!”
“I can’t answer your question until you answer mine.”
Eliot grits his teeth. “Then ask the question, Hardison.”
Hardison takes a deep breath, turning to face him and holding up his hands in a placating motion. “Is Lucy a vampire?”
If this were a normal situation, Eliot might have laughed. If he hadn’t known what he’d known about Lucy in the first place, he would have brushed it off as Hardison being ridiculous. Unfortunately, Eliot is all too aware of the things his girlfriend did, and as his face sobers, Hardison’s begins to do the same.
“Damn, is she really a –”
“No.” Eliot shakes his head. “No, she’s not. What did you find, Hardison?”
Hardison reaches over and turns the laptop to face Eliot. Collected in the folder were various pictures of Lucy, from multiple periods in history. It’s almost all background, incidental things, not photos she posed for, but it’s enough to tell that it’s her. “Damnit.”
Eliot’s phone vibrates in a short burst, the kind that tells him he has a text message from Lucy: Pineapple.
Thirty seconds later, his phone rings. Eliot answers. “Yeah.”
“They got Rufus too.” Wyatt sounds frantic. “They almost got me, but I’m a faster shot.”
Great. So that’s another mess to clean up later. “I’m heading to Lucy’s first, but I’m sending Hardison to you. He might know where to start.”
“Sending Hardison to who? Where am I going?”
Eliot holds up a finger as he waits for Wyatt to speak.
“Is he ready for this?”
“Don’t know. But I think we know who might have started this.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure Christopher has his clearance ready for him.”
“Will do. See you soon.”
Eliot hangs up, and he looks over at Hardison again. “I’m going to give you an address. Go there, and give them everything you have on the mark and what they know about Lucy. They’ll explain the rest.”
“Eliot –”
“Hardison. Trust me. Please.”
Hardison eventually concedes and nods, before turning around to gather his laptop. “Alright, alright, okay. But are you going to have to explain all of this to me when you get there.”
Eliot nods, knowing that Wyatt and Agent Christopher will likely beat him to it, but for right now, whatever gets Hardison out the door, he’ll do. Soon, they’re parting ways, trying to cover as much ground as they can in the time they have.
- - - - - -
He arrives at Lucy’s apartment to find a mess. Not that he expected anything less. Eliot does a quick sweep to make sure he’s not missing any clues, and while he sees her phone, there doesn’t seem to be much left behind. He takes her phone and is ready to head over to the bunker to check in with Wyatt and Hardison when Hardison calls him before he can even reach the door.
“We got the demands. They want the plans to the Lifeboat.”
Eliot is honestly surprised that he’s keeping himself together and not already yelling about time travel. But he appreciates his ability to stay on task. “Where?”
“I’ll send you the address. We couldn’t track the mark’s phone, but Jiya and Rufus have a system, so as long as he and Lucy are together, you should be able to find them both.”
“I’m on my way.”
It doesn’t take long to drive over to the location, a small street fair that sold knick-knacks and other odds and ends. The coordinates from Hardison indicate that Rufus is somewhere in these crowds of people, so he starts to make his way through slowly, taking his time, so he’s not caught off guard. Eventually, he begins to pick up familiar voices over the murmur of the crowd.
“You are really going to regret this.”
“Lucy, I know I’ve asked you this before, but please stop antagonizing our captors before Wyatt gets here.”
An unfamiliar voice speaks with a sneer as Eliot gets closer. “You underestimate me, Ms. Preston. I’m ready for a man like Wyatt Logan.”
Lucy turns to look towards the back of the tent where the mark has them seated. Eliot is there, waiting for his moment. There’s enough security around that he knows he needs to play this carefully. Still, Lucy smiles when she sees him before her face sobers, and she turns to face the mark again.
“Wyatt Logan isn’t the guy you should be worried about.”
“Oh? And why is that.”
The sound of fists hitting flesh echoes from somewhere nearby, followed by the sound of a struggle. The mark seems unnerved before one of his men comes flying through the entrance to the tent. Eliot enters not long behind, eyes glancing briefly to Rufus and Lucy to make sure they’re okay, before turning back to the mark.
“Security! Where are you?”
“They’re taking a nap,” Eliot replies casually. “Maybe you should join them.”
The mark scrambles to his feet, running past the mouth of the tent and back into the street market, and Eliot shakes his head before turning to release the hostages.
‘Hi.”
“Hi,” Lucy grins. “You sure it’s okay to let him go?”
“DHS and Wyatt weren’t far behind me. I’m sure they’ll catch him.” He moves behind her to release her hands. “You both alright?”
“Yeah, fine,” Lucy shakes her head. “Just a couple bumps and bruises.”
“Good.” Rufus is released next, and once they’re both free to move, he steps out of the tent to check the area. “Now, all we have to do is head back to the bunker and pick up Hardison.”
Lucy blinks. “Why is Hardison at the bunker?”
“He had relevant information.”
“Uh-huh. So I take it Hardison knows about the –”
The flaps of the tent fly open, and suddenly a breathless Hardison appears, glancing between the three of them. “Oh, good. Y’all are fine.”
“Hi, Hardison,” Lucy nods, before gesturing to the man next to her. “Hardison, Rufus, Rufus, Hardison.”
“Hi,” Rufus waves, confused.
“Hi,” Hardison nods before looking at Eliot again. “So how long, exactly, have you been sitting on freaking time travel!?”
Eliot sighs before he glances to Lucy. “I’m gonna say yeah, he knows.”
Lucy laughs, before stepping forward and taking Hardison’s arm to lead him back out again. “Ride home with us, and I will tell you all about it.”
set 5 | but who we are and who we want to be ~ leverage/timeless ~ 1,199
“Mmm?”
“Why is your girlfriend on this shady corporation’s watchlist?”
Eliot’s brow furrows as he glances up from the television. He doesn’t know why Lucy’s come up when Hardison’s supposed to be researching their newest mark, a shady tech corporation that has been abusing their employees.
“What?”
“They’re tracking her movements. They have all kinds of alerts and photographs.” A pause, as Hardison, squints at the laptop screen. “Really … weird photographs.” Another break. “ … I know Lucy is a historian, but does she also happen to be into historical reenactments?”
Eliot straightens already reaching for his phone. “No. Why?”
Hardison pauses, before looking at Eliot solemnly. “I need to ask you something, and I need you to take me seriously.”
“Why do you want to know, Hardison?”
“My question first.”
“I asked you first!”
“I can’t answer your question until you answer mine.”
Eliot grits his teeth. “Then ask the question, Hardison.”
Hardison takes a deep breath, turning to face him and holding up his hands in a placating motion. “Is Lucy a vampire?”
If this were a normal situation, Eliot might have laughed. If he hadn’t known what he’d known about Lucy in the first place, he would have brushed it off as Hardison being ridiculous. Unfortunately, Eliot is all too aware of the things his girlfriend did, and as his face sobers, Hardison’s begins to do the same.
“Damn, is she really a –”
“No.” Eliot shakes his head. “No, she’s not. What did you find, Hardison?”
Hardison reaches over and turns the laptop to face Eliot. Collected in the folder were various pictures of Lucy, from multiple periods in history. It’s almost all background, incidental things, not photos she posed for, but it’s enough to tell that it’s her. “Damnit.”
Eliot’s phone vibrates in a short burst, the kind that tells him he has a text message from Lucy: Pineapple.
Thirty seconds later, his phone rings. Eliot answers. “Yeah.”
“They got Rufus too.” Wyatt sounds frantic. “They almost got me, but I’m a faster shot.”
Great. So that’s another mess to clean up later. “I’m heading to Lucy’s first, but I’m sending Hardison to you. He might know where to start.”
“Sending Hardison to who? Where am I going?”
Eliot holds up a finger as he waits for Wyatt to speak.
“Is he ready for this?”
“Don’t know. But I think we know who might have started this.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure Christopher has his clearance ready for him.”
“Will do. See you soon.”
Eliot hangs up, and he looks over at Hardison again. “I’m going to give you an address. Go there, and give them everything you have on the mark and what they know about Lucy. They’ll explain the rest.”
“Eliot –”
“Hardison. Trust me. Please.”
Hardison eventually concedes and nods, before turning around to gather his laptop. “Alright, alright, okay. But are you going to have to explain all of this to me when you get there.”
Eliot nods, knowing that Wyatt and Agent Christopher will likely beat him to it, but for right now, whatever gets Hardison out the door, he’ll do. Soon, they’re parting ways, trying to cover as much ground as they can in the time they have.
He arrives at Lucy’s apartment to find a mess. Not that he expected anything less. Eliot does a quick sweep to make sure he’s not missing any clues, and while he sees her phone, there doesn’t seem to be much left behind. He takes her phone and is ready to head over to the bunker to check in with Wyatt and Hardison when Hardison calls him before he can even reach the door.
“We got the demands. They want the plans to the Lifeboat.”
Eliot is honestly surprised that he’s keeping himself together and not already yelling about time travel. But he appreciates his ability to stay on task. “Where?”
“I’ll send you the address. We couldn’t track the mark’s phone, but Jiya and Rufus have a system, so as long as he and Lucy are together, you should be able to find them both.”
“I’m on my way.”
It doesn’t take long to drive over to the location, a small street fair that sold knick-knacks and other odds and ends. The coordinates from Hardison indicate that Rufus is somewhere in these crowds of people, so he starts to make his way through slowly, taking his time, so he’s not caught off guard. Eventually, he begins to pick up familiar voices over the murmur of the crowd.
“You are really going to regret this.”
“Lucy, I know I’ve asked you this before, but please stop antagonizing our captors before Wyatt gets here.”
An unfamiliar voice speaks with a sneer as Eliot gets closer. “You underestimate me, Ms. Preston. I’m ready for a man like Wyatt Logan.”
Lucy turns to look towards the back of the tent where the mark has them seated. Eliot is there, waiting for his moment. There’s enough security around that he knows he needs to play this carefully. Still, Lucy smiles when she sees him before her face sobers, and she turns to face the mark again.
“Wyatt Logan isn’t the guy you should be worried about.”
“Oh? And why is that.”
The sound of fists hitting flesh echoes from somewhere nearby, followed by the sound of a struggle. The mark seems unnerved before one of his men comes flying through the entrance to the tent. Eliot enters not long behind, eyes glancing briefly to Rufus and Lucy to make sure they’re okay, before turning back to the mark.
“Security! Where are you?”
“They’re taking a nap,” Eliot replies casually. “Maybe you should join them.”
The mark scrambles to his feet, running past the mouth of the tent and back into the street market, and Eliot shakes his head before turning to release the hostages.
‘Hi.”
“Hi,” Lucy grins. “You sure it’s okay to let him go?”
“DHS and Wyatt weren’t far behind me. I’m sure they’ll catch him.” He moves behind her to release her hands. “You both alright?”
“Yeah, fine,” Lucy shakes her head. “Just a couple bumps and bruises.”
“Good.” Rufus is released next, and once they’re both free to move, he steps out of the tent to check the area. “Now, all we have to do is head back to the bunker and pick up Hardison.”
Lucy blinks. “Why is Hardison at the bunker?”
“He had relevant information.”
“Uh-huh. So I take it Hardison knows about the –”
The flaps of the tent fly open, and suddenly a breathless Hardison appears, glancing between the three of them. “Oh, good. Y’all are fine.”
“Hi, Hardison,” Lucy nods, before gesturing to the man next to her. “Hardison, Rufus, Rufus, Hardison.”
“Hi,” Rufus waves, confused.
“Hi,” Hardison nods before looking at Eliot again. “So how long, exactly, have you been sitting on freaking time travel!?”
Eliot sighs before he glances to Lucy. “I’m gonna say yeah, he knows.”
Lucy laughs, before stepping forward and taking Hardison’s arm to lead him back out again. “Ride home with us, and I will tell you all about it.”