Broken

Chapter 4

Adler had a sharp knife against Eliot's neck, about to end him.

"I guess this is goodbye," he whispered into the man's ear. Eliot closed his eyes, waiting for the worst "It's been such a good ti-"

Eliot felt the tip of the knife cut his neck and then the sound of a gunshot went off, then there was silence. His eyes had still been closed, but when he opened them, he saw Adler lying on the ground, a red stain flowing over his chest.

He turned his head and saw Parker standing at the doorway of the cell, holding a gun in her shaking hands. Her wide eyes caught his and she dropped it, the metallic clang echoing in the room.

"...par...ker?" he gasped, staring at her.

"Eliot," she mumbled, immediately running over to kneel next to him.

She quickly picked the cuffs and grunted as she helped him stand up, scanning him over. Tears began streaming down her face when she saw the hitter's condition. He was staring at her, the sparkle in his eyes now gone and pain replacing it. His stance was forced, but Parker knew that from the weight he was letting her support that he was close to blacking out.

She gently ran her hands over his chest and shoulders, as if not wanting to believe that he was actually there. Suddenly she pulled Eliot to her and smashed her lips against his. Eliot gasped, but returned the kiss.

The moment lasted for a minute before Eliot and Parker pulled away, staring at each other.

"Come on," Parker whispered. "Let's get you home."

"Uh-huh," was his only reply.

Parker slung his arm over her shoulders and helped Eliot walk out of the warehouse. He practically whimpered when walking into the sunlight, raising his hand to block the light from his now-sheltered eyes. Parker guided him to Lucille, ignoring the others' reaching hands, carefully lowering him down onto a pad of blankets.

Eliot felt gentle hands on his body and he tried unsuccessfully to open his eyes.

"Hardison, how far are we from the HQ?" he heard Sophie's voice ask.

"Well, counting the traffic, about three hours." Nate replied for him.

"It's gonna be okay, Sparky," he felt Parker murmur against his temple, her soft breath gently moving his hair. Managing to open his eyes just a little, he saw a blur of gold that blocked his vision and he closed his lids again. His head lolled to the side into Parker's hands, and her fingers lightly caressed the lines on his face.

He slowly reached for her hand, interlocking his fingers with hers.

As darkness began to take over him, he let out a small smile, finally allowing himself to fall into oblivion.

In the meantime, Sophie and Parker began the long process of tending to Eliot's wounds. They had used scissors to cut the remains of his shredded shirt off, gasping at what they saw. Cuts, electrical burns, and bruises in the shape of boots covered his entire chest. The skin on his wrists was shredded and raw, and there was a rope burn around his neck. His skin was warm, too warm, and they worried about a fever as they noticed him wheezing softly with each breath.

Shaking her head, Sophie concentrated on what she could fix, gently spreading ointment into the abrasions on his wrists and wrapping them with soft gauze. She did the same around his neck, her lips compressing into a tight line as she imagined what that particular injury was from. Each time he twitched or sucked in a sharp breath the grifter paused for a moment, her eyes flying to his face, but each time she was met with no response. The hitter was still heavily unconscious.