Leverage Fic - Along for the Ride
Title: Along for the Ride
Word Count: ~4,800 words
Rating: PG
Pairings: None (Gen)
Summary: Parker's never liked horses. She tried to explain that to the team, but she still got roped into a con requiring her to ride one of the animals. The mission doesn't exactly going according to plan, and Parker realizes that maybe it's time to get over this phobia of hers. But that's not a gauntlet she need face alone, that's what teammates are for. Eliot and Parker friendship, pre-ship if you squint.
Author's Note: This fic was written for the prompt "Eliot/Parker: teaching" at the bringthehappy community. I wanted to get it up for the fest, so this piece is un-betaed. All errors are my own.
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Along for the Ride
The crack of bullets exiting a gun barrel assaulted Parker's ears. She winced at the noise and ducked lower against her mount's neck. She wanted to close her eyes. She really wanted to close her eyes. She didn't like this. It was unnatural to be fleeing on the back of an animal instead of in a car or by foot. But to close her eyes would be stupid. She knew that. Eliot had told her as much as he practically threw her up onto this horse's back, told her to head east, toward the woods and the cover it might provide against their assailants. That had been all the instruction she'd received before Eliot had swatted her horse on the rear and it had taken off so suddenly that she had almost fallen off as it jolted forward.
The horse threw its head and snorted at the noise of the bullets. The ground below passed in a blur of rocks and scraggly grass and hooves hitting the ground. She clutched onto the horn of the saddle with one hand and the reins with the other. Not that she could steer this thing, or slow it down.
This was supposed to be a leisurely trail ride along the mountain ridge to solidify a friendly relationship with the mark of this con. He had two passions in the world, well-bred horses and beautiful women. Eliot was the natural choice because of his background with the beasts. Sophie should've been the other person assigned to this mission considering her feminine charm. Unfortunately, Sophie had turned up her nose at the mention of horses. She'd refused to even step into the vicinity of a barn animal, let alone ride one. Which meant Parker had found herself waiting with Eliot outside the stable as the mark's groom brought along a few of his horses for the ride despite the fact that she strongly disliked horses. She'd argued that long and hard but Nate had been firm in his insistence that she go along with this. It should be a way to combat that phobia, he'd suggested. And that easy day had gone to hell in a hand basket as soon as the mark had made a remark about how easily they'd expected to con him. And then a pair of his men had shown up with guns. Apparently the groom hadn't been informed of this turn of events; he'd just stood there gawking. Eliot had been quicker to action. He'd grabbed the reins from the groom, put Parker on one, himself on another, and they'd been off.
Eliot had told her it was just like driving a car, just with legs instead of wheels. And a pair of reins instead of a steering wheel. Oh, she was going to kill him for this if she survived the ride. This was nothing like a car ride. A car had brakes. A car didn't decide when it was going to start and stop. In a car, she was in control. Here, she was just a passenger along for the unfortunate ride.
Parker scrunched up her nose as tendrils of horse mane rippled in the wind, stinging her cheek as they raced along the open plain. She hoped Eliot was doing ok. She hadn't dared look back when he'd sent her off. He had his own horse, and told her he was going a different route to divide and split their pursuers. He'd meet her in the woods. He'd said as much. She just prayed they both made it that far.
She could see the tree line ahead. It was close enough for them to make it before the henchmen caught them. At least she hoped. She gave a noise akin to a shout figuring it might speed the horse up. The gunfire had frightened it enough to make it increase its pace. But they needed more rapid movement if she was going to avoid getting a bullet in the back.
The horse balked at the sound and its haunches dropped lower toward the ground as it galloped even faster. Parker strengthened her grip on the saddle and sighed ever so slightly. Maybe she would survive this crazy venture yet. And then the horse gave a solid buck. She barely remained seated through the first one. The second one had her flying sideways through nothing. The sound of the bullets faded away for that second that seemed to last far too long. And then there was a jolt that started in the hand she'd put up instinctually as it met the ground. The sensation rippled outward through her torso and limbs, pain radiating with the motion as she rolled like a rag doll chucked by a belligerent child.
Parker swallowed harshly and closed her eyes then. She'd listened to Eliot. Regardless of the fear that had hung over her, she'd kept her eyes open when she was on the horse's back. But now she was on the ground, and about to get shot. She had every right to close her eyes just then.
"Whoa, whoa. Easy boy."
There was the clattering of hooves against rock. Parker curled up into a ball to minimize the target she'd present them. When she didn't hear the cocking of a gun she peeked one eye open. The man had brought the horse to a stop just feet away.
"Parker! Get up, we need to get out of here now," Eliot shouted.
She scuttled to her feet and before she had time to put in a word Eliot pulled her up behind him on the horse, and once again she was clinging on for dear life. The bullet noise had died away, they must have lost their pursuers somewhere along the way. Eliot galloped them to the tree line and then slowed the horse to a walk as they weaved between the evergreens.
"You ok?"
"Sore. My wrist is busted, I think," Parker spoke quietly as she worked to regain her breath.
Eliot shook his head. "We never should've been out here. Never should've let Nate put you on this assignment after you said you'd never ridden before."
Parker's shoulders dropped a bit at that and remained silent. What was there to say? Ask her to steal a car or break into a vault or jump off a building, and she could. Ask her to ride a horse, and all of her extraordinary skills were useless.
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Two Weeks Later
Eliot checked the address Hardison had given him against the map he'd brought along to let him successfully navigate to Parker's place in one of the more run down areas of the city. Trust Parker to find somewhere truly off the map to hole up. He looked at his watch, she was ten minutes late and he was at the right spot.
He flipped open his phone and called Hardison.
It rang twice and then a voice answered. “Eliot, what's up? Find Parker's place ok?“
"Found the place, I think, but I haven't found Parker."
“That's odd. She's not usually late.“
"I know. At this rate we're going to be late to her doctor's appointment."
“This is the last check, right? Her wrist is ok and she can go back to doing the crazy stuff that Parker loves so much? I swear she's been going a bit stir crazy with the walking order to not use that hand much. Yesterday she spent ten minutes trying to convince me how she had worked out a way where she could rappel with a one hand rigging set up.“
Eliot gave a quick laugh. "I hope this is it. If the doc says no and I wouldn't be surprised if she put that plan of hers to work."
“I know, right?“
Eliot parked his car on the street and went to see if Parker was waiting on the other side of the building. "You're sure this is the right place?"
“You doubt my abilities? Trust me to hack a CIA database but all of a sudden my skills are suspect when you ask me to pull an address for you and get directions?“
"Ok, ok. I was just checking," Eliot added, bemused. "Can you track her phone then and find where she's at?"
“Sure, give me a sec.“
Eliot put his hand on a door knob to try the door thinking maybe Parker was inside. The knob jerked to a halt a half turn later, locked then. He backed up and dropped a shoulder to bust the door open and then paused, thinking better of it. Parker liked her privacy and who knows what kind of surprises she had arranged for uninvited guests who started poking their noses around.
“Well, that can't be right. Maybe we should be questioning my abilities.“
Eliot raised an eyebrow, instantly curious about what had their cocky hacker so confused. "What's up?"
“GPS says that Parker is out in the country, about thirty miles outside the city. It's the middle of nowhere, man.“
"What kind of facility?"
“No clue, it's private property. Hang on, I can pull up satellite imagery and see if I can glean anything from that.“
A moment passed and Eliot moved back to his car and hopped inside. Looks like he was going for a drive, although they were definitely missing Parker's appointment. He made a mental note to call her doctor on the way and let them know they weren't going to make it.
“Nope, no help. The satellite images for that region are crap. No surprise, the government doesn't usually send its satellites trawling out in the boonies. It's like this one property and then just forest and fields in every direction for miles. I wonder what Parker's found to keep her attention out that way. Usually museums and banks are more her style when it comes to how she spends her free time.“
"That's ok. Just text me the address, I'll pop it into my GPS and go find out what trouble Parker's getting herself into now."
“Will do. Good luck,“ Hardison responded before breaking the connection.
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Eliot pulled up into the driveway. If it could even be called that. The well-paved highways had given way to cracked roads about twenty minutes ago. And now even those were a fond memory, he thought as he eased his car along the gravel drive, steering around pot holes large enough to swallow a tire whole as he did so.
He pulled off the drive and into the grass and killed the engine as he looked around as his surroundings. Pastures lined the drive on either side, one penning cattle and a few goats while the other kept horses who had paused in their grazing to eye him curiously. He smiled at the sight. They weren't the best stock, one had legs that were a bit too lanky and another was eating too much grain if the potbelly was anything to judge by. But they were well-cared for, with neatly groomed manes and tails neatly and shiny coats.
He crossed the distance to the barn and poked his head into one of the aisles. An older gentleman was unloading a few bales of hay from a wheelbarrow. He was the picture of a country man, with graying hair well past his shoulder, a scraggly hair, and a plaid shirt. He stopped when he realized that Eliot was watching him, grunting as he dropped the bale to the ground and brushed the hay off his jeans. "Can I help you?"
"Uh, maybe. I'm looking for a friend."
"Not sure if I can help you there, it's just me and the animals today, I think," the man added as he brushed the sweat from his brow with the back of one dirt-stained hand.
"You sure? She's petite, long blond hair?"
"Oh, you talking about Alice?"
Eliot nodded, grateful that Parker was here legitimately and not sneaking around anywhere that he had to be worrying about blowing her cover. She was using her main alias, but at least the man knew of her. "Yeah, she around?"
"I didn't think she was coming today, but I swear the girl is half-ghost some days, the way she can sneak around. If she's here, try the third stall from the end. If not there, the paddock out back would be the next best bet."
Eliot tipped his head in appreciation. "Thanks. You need any help with that bale while I'm here?"
The man chuckled. "Oh, humor the retired man. I'm not that much of an invalid yet. The day I can't care for my own animals is a ways off yet."
Eliot shrugged and sauntered down toward the far end of the barn. Most of the stalls were empty; the horses out in pasture on this beautiful of a day.
"Stay! No, not there, two steps to the left," a voice drifted from one of the stalls ahead.
Eliot stopped in front of it, resting a hand on the waist-high stall door as he watched the scene before him. "You need any help there?"
Parker huffed and looked up from where she stood wedged between the wall and a dapple grey horse wearing a saddle. She had a bridle in one hand. A fine layer of grey horse hair coated her shirt and pants thanks to an early spring, the horses would be starting to shed their winter coats about this time of year.
"If you could just tell this horse to stop being stubborn and open its mouth so I can slide the metal bar in, that would be great," Parker said in a frustrated tone.
Eliot smiled and leaned his weight on the stall door as he relaxed. Barns had always seemed like a second home, with good reason, considering the amount of time he'd spent in one as a child. Horses were in his blood. "So what has brought about this miraculous event? You do realize you are voluntarily standing two feet from a horse?"
Parker nodded, "I'm beginning to question that logic. She's so ornery! It took me fifteen minutes just to catch her in the field. She'd run away every time I tried to get that leash attached to her little face harness thing."
"It's called a lead rope, not a leash. And that 'face harness' is a halter," he responded, chuckling. And then more seriously, he added, "You missed your doctor's appointment, you know?"
Parker gave up for putting the bridle on for a moment. "Oh. That was today wasn't it? Whoops. That explain why you're out here?"
Eliot nodded. "Nate asked me to drive, remember? Something about you already missing two appointments with this doc? Although it seems my participation did little to rectify that problem."
Her face turned a bit red at that and he could read the guilt in her face. "Sorry for making you drive all the way out here."
"It's ok. I rescheduled, your appointment is now on Tuesday. And you need to be there. Nate needs you for this next con and he's saying that you can't help with it until you get the all clear from the doctor."
"I know, I know."
"So again, why are we out here?"
She shrugged, "You were right on that last con. I should've known how to ride going into that con. I've let this stupid fear of mine hinder our team enough. So I decided it was time to get over it."
Eliot shook his head. "What happened with that con wasn't your fault. The mark was smarter than we thought and Nate should've just had me go. You voiced your discomfort with your role in that con from the start and Nate pushed anyways. No need to put yourself through this if you don't want."
She looked him straight in the eye and that trademark stubbornness shone in her expression. "No one is making me do this but myself. I do need to get over this."
Eliot held up his hands in defense. "Ok, ok. So why don't you explain to me what we have going on here?"
She nodded in approval. "This is Sooty. She's a good mare, if not very ornery when it suits her. Which is almost all the time," Parker added as an afterthought. "I've been leasing her since I hurt my wrist. I figured having all this free time; it'd be a good way to get something out of it."
Eliot lifted the latch on the door and slid into the stall, reclosing it behind him so the mare didn't get loose. "Here, I'll show you how to do this. Then I'll take it off and you can try," he said. He pulled the bridle gently from Parker's grip, his hand brushing hers for a moment as he did so. He moved up next to the horse's head, throwing Parker a glance to make sure she was watching and that she could see what he was doing from where she was standing. He pressed his finger into the corner of the mare's mouth, back behind where the teeth ended. The mare responded to the pressure by unclamping her jaw and chewing a few times. Before the mare could seal her mouth again, Eliot slid the bit into her mouth and placed the leather bridle over her ears quickly.
Parker shook her head. "She likes you a lot more than she likes me."
Eliot smiled. "It's got nothing to do with how much she likes me. She's not going to be lovable toward anyone who took her away from eating grass out in the pasture. It's just about knowing the proper technique. Have you had anyone teach you this stuff?"
"Nope, Bob's good company but he's already overwhelmed taking care of this place. I just pay him a bit of money to let me come out here and work with Sooty. I've just been figuring everything out along the way."
"What have you done with her so far?"
Parker patted the mare on the shoulder. "Just fed and brushed her mostly. Today's my first time trying to ride."
Eliot checked the saddle. She'd gotten it on in the right position with the horn just over Sooty's withers. He slid a finger between the girth and the mare's stomach. "Good thing I came along. Your girth's too loose. It's a trick some horses do; they bloat their stomachs with air when you go to tighten the girth so it's loose when they let out a breath. The rider'll go to get on and the whole saddle goes sideways. He tightened the girth by a good amount. Sooty flattened her ears in protest and turned around once to bare her teeth and snarl but she didn't go to bite. "There, that's better."
"That's just evil! I would've fallen off going to get on."
Eliot chuckled. "That's the general idea as far as horses are concerned. You want to try bridling her?"
Parker nodded and moved up to stand next to Eliot by Sooty's head. He took the bridle off her, watching the mare flex her jaw a few times at the sudden change, before handing the bridle over to Parker. She took it from him willingly and began copying the steps he'd done when demonstrating for her.
Eliot observed her movements. This Parker was different than the one he was used to. Usually Parker's movements were fluid, confident; there was no sense of hesitation in anything she did. This Parker, was slower and more deliberate in her actions, pausing between each step to check her progress or slide her gaze over toward Eliot in a questioning gaze. He nodded each time. She may be a bit nervous, but she was a fast learner and duplicated his methods flawlessly.
As she buckled the bridle and stepped back to examine her handiwork, Eliot spoke. "That was perfect."
Parker's lips curved upward. "Your way was a lot easier. Is there any way to minimize the slobber?" she asked as she wiped her saliva-coated finger on her jeans.
Eliot smirked. "If they've figured that one out, someone's been keepin' me in the dark too. So you ready?"
Parker responded by looping the reins over the horse's head and directing her toward the stall door. "Yep. I think I'm ok from here. You can go if you want. I know I've already eaten most of your afternoon with the side trip I made you take out this way."
Eliot cocked his head a bit. She really expected him to just leave? "I'll stay. If Bob's too busy to teach you how to ride, then I can do it myself."
She rubbed the mare's forehead. "You sure? I mean, I manage if you have other stuff to do."
He shrugged. "It's good that you're doing this, working to get more comfortable with horses. I'd love to help."
"Ok, then. The paddock's out back. Bob said that's where I should ride."
Eliot opened the stall door and exited, holding it open for her and the horse. "Lead on, then."
Parker led Sooty down toward the back entrance to the barn.
Eliot watched her, but the mare seemed perfectly content to follow. "I'll be right back, I'm just gonna grab something out of my car."
"Ok, paddock's to left out back," she threw back over her shoulder as she disappeared through the entrance and around the corner.
The scents of the barn washed over Eliot as he retraced his steps down the aisle way and back toward his car. The smell of sawdust laid in the stalls, of fresh grain in the horse's buckets. The musty smell that accompanied any barn, regardless of how often it was cleaned: lay something down for thirty seconds and you'd come back to it coated in a fine layer of dust that had been kicked up into the air by booted feet and hooves alike.
As he arrived as his car he pulled something out of his trunk and brushed a few strands of grass off of it before heading out toward the arena to meet Parker. He slipped between two slats in the fence and into the arena. Parker was standing along the fence line with the reins slack in her hand. The mare had taken advantage of that and was nibbling on the sparse grass. He was silent as he approached, Parker was focusing intently on the horse and he didn't want to interrupt her concentration. "You know, you aren't too bad. Besides the smell and some other pesky habits, like stepping on my feet for fun, you're alright. Still big, and clumsy at times, but not as scary as I thought you were."
Eliot shook his head. Parker was so different than the rest of them. For all the times she'd plunge down an elevator shaft or antagonize a man twice her size without quite understanding the danger she was putting herself in. Sometimes Eliot forgot that beneath that exterior, there was a person with fears and doubts just like the rest of them. "You two doin' ok?" he asked.
She looked up, startled. "Oh, I didn't hear you there. Yeah. She's just snacking," Parker said as the mare took a step sideways in search of more grass, pulling Parker with her as she moved.
Eliot leaned down and grabbed the mare's reins right near the bit and pulled upwards with a quick jerk, raising her head up from the ground. "You shouldn't let her eat while you're riding. She's working, just like when we do," he spoke smoothly. "You wouldn't stop in the middle of a con to get subway, would you?"
Parker wriggled her nose at the suggestion. "I wouldn't ever eat their food. It's a public safety hazard."
He bit the inside of his cheeks to keep from letting out a laugh; Parker was funny sometimes even when she wasn't trying. "Ok, ok. You get the point though?"
She nodded. "Got it, no food on the job. What did you need from your car?"
He pulled the item from behind his back and deposited on her head. She raised a hand to feel it before shooting him a questioning gaze. "You needed a hat?"
"It's a cowboy hat. And yes, it's part of riding for any real rider. And if I'm goin' to be teaching you, sure as hell you'll learn to do some real riding, none of that prissy stuff that those English riders like."
"English riders? Are they the ones with the pretty jackets and shiny boots and the weird looking saddles?"
He laughed. "You forgot to mention how they like to braid little ribbons into their horses' manes. But you get the idea. They try to dress up the sport, make it something different than what it is. Riding's just that, riding. There's a horse and a rider and the relationship between them interspersed with some dirt and grime that comes with any outdoor sport."
"Ok. If it's part of the get-up then who am I to argue?" she replied as she ran a hand along the straw hat. "So why exactly was this in your trunk?"
"A real cowboy always has a hat handy. Never know when the need might arise," he responded.
"So if I want to ride I should get one of these?"
He shrugged. "You can keep that one. I got a few more back at my place. Besides, it's already broken in and seems to fit you well enough."
Her face lit up as she understood that she was being given a gift. "Thank you."
"Eh, it's nothing. So, you ready to ride?"
She stepped up next to the mare's side. "I think so."
"You think about how you're going to steer this mare with that bum hand of yours?" he asked, nodding toward her wrist brace.
She flexed her fingers as best she could. The wrist had almost no mobility with the brace. "I thought you could steer with just one hand. I watched a few Western movies on my TV. All the cowboys did it that way."
"Well, movies got to be tellin' the truth now don't they? Nothing shouts legitimate research like a good Western movie. I can teach you to rein a horse like that, I suppose. But for future notice, those guys are actors and most of them don't know the front of a horse from the back end. If you have questions about riding, come ask me before you start referencing cowboy movies," he said as he gave her a leg up onto the horse's back.
She landed in the saddle and scooted around a bit trying to find a comfortable position. "I forgot how high it was up on one of these," she muttered a bit nervously.
He chuckled, "You won't fall, I'm right here." He slid her left foot into the stirrup, Parker repeating the motion on the other side. He showed her how to hold the reins in one hand, leaving just enough slack so that she wasn't pulling on the mare's mouth, but tight enough so that the mare could feel the touch of the rein if Parker went to give her a cue.
"Ok," Eliot said, stepping back a few paces to survey their progress, "Now give her a light tap with your heels. That'll tell her to go forward."
Parker nodded and dug her heels into the mare's side. Sooty's head shot up a bit at that as she was roused from her daze. She snorted once and took off at a trot. Parker bounced in the saddle with the mare's motion.
"I said light tap," Eliot shouted to her as the mare trotted along the fence. He watched to see how Parker was handling it, worrying that she might panic after the disastrous end to the last riding experience she'd had.
Her face was graced with a smile. She was laughing. "You know, it's nothing like a car, you lied about that," she shouted back over her shoulder humorously. "But it's exhilarating in a different way."
Eliot raised a hand to shield against the glaring sun as he watched Parker and the mare bounce along. "Ok, now pull back on the reins. Slow her down to a walk. We need to start with the basics."
The next words died on his lips. He'd been about to say that she was jumping in to this too fast. But then he remembered, this was Parker. The sight of her jumping off a twenty story came to mind. This was Parker, taking a leap of faith was who she was. He shook his head and jogged after her with a breathless grin on his face. With Parker, it was all about keeping up, most of the time he was going along for the ride.
--THE END--
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Word Count: ~4,800 words
Rating: PG
Pairings: None (Gen)
Summary: Parker's never liked horses. She tried to explain that to the team, but she still got roped into a con requiring her to ride one of the animals. The mission doesn't exactly going according to plan, and Parker realizes that maybe it's time to get over this phobia of hers. But that's not a gauntlet she need face alone, that's what teammates are for. Eliot and Parker friendship, pre-ship if you squint.
Author's Note: This fic was written for the prompt "Eliot/Parker: teaching" at the bringthehappy community. I wanted to get it up for the fest, so this piece is un-betaed. All errors are my own.
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Along for the Ride
The crack of bullets exiting a gun barrel assaulted Parker's ears. She winced at the noise and ducked lower against her mount's neck. She wanted to close her eyes. She really wanted to close her eyes. She didn't like this. It was unnatural to be fleeing on the back of an animal instead of in a car or by foot. But to close her eyes would be stupid. She knew that. Eliot had told her as much as he practically threw her up onto this horse's back, told her to head east, toward the woods and the cover it might provide against their assailants. That had been all the instruction she'd received before Eliot had swatted her horse on the rear and it had taken off so suddenly that she had almost fallen off as it jolted forward.
The horse threw its head and snorted at the noise of the bullets. The ground below passed in a blur of rocks and scraggly grass and hooves hitting the ground. She clutched onto the horn of the saddle with one hand and the reins with the other. Not that she could steer this thing, or slow it down.
This was supposed to be a leisurely trail ride along the mountain ridge to solidify a friendly relationship with the mark of this con. He had two passions in the world, well-bred horses and beautiful women. Eliot was the natural choice because of his background with the beasts. Sophie should've been the other person assigned to this mission considering her feminine charm. Unfortunately, Sophie had turned up her nose at the mention of horses. She'd refused to even step into the vicinity of a barn animal, let alone ride one. Which meant Parker had found herself waiting with Eliot outside the stable as the mark's groom brought along a few of his horses for the ride despite the fact that she strongly disliked horses. She'd argued that long and hard but Nate had been firm in his insistence that she go along with this. It should be a way to combat that phobia, he'd suggested. And that easy day had gone to hell in a hand basket as soon as the mark had made a remark about how easily they'd expected to con him. And then a pair of his men had shown up with guns. Apparently the groom hadn't been informed of this turn of events; he'd just stood there gawking. Eliot had been quicker to action. He'd grabbed the reins from the groom, put Parker on one, himself on another, and they'd been off.
Eliot had told her it was just like driving a car, just with legs instead of wheels. And a pair of reins instead of a steering wheel. Oh, she was going to kill him for this if she survived the ride. This was nothing like a car ride. A car had brakes. A car didn't decide when it was going to start and stop. In a car, she was in control. Here, she was just a passenger along for the unfortunate ride.
Parker scrunched up her nose as tendrils of horse mane rippled in the wind, stinging her cheek as they raced along the open plain. She hoped Eliot was doing ok. She hadn't dared look back when he'd sent her off. He had his own horse, and told her he was going a different route to divide and split their pursuers. He'd meet her in the woods. He'd said as much. She just prayed they both made it that far.
She could see the tree line ahead. It was close enough for them to make it before the henchmen caught them. At least she hoped. She gave a noise akin to a shout figuring it might speed the horse up. The gunfire had frightened it enough to make it increase its pace. But they needed more rapid movement if she was going to avoid getting a bullet in the back.
The horse balked at the sound and its haunches dropped lower toward the ground as it galloped even faster. Parker strengthened her grip on the saddle and sighed ever so slightly. Maybe she would survive this crazy venture yet. And then the horse gave a solid buck. She barely remained seated through the first one. The second one had her flying sideways through nothing. The sound of the bullets faded away for that second that seemed to last far too long. And then there was a jolt that started in the hand she'd put up instinctually as it met the ground. The sensation rippled outward through her torso and limbs, pain radiating with the motion as she rolled like a rag doll chucked by a belligerent child.
Parker swallowed harshly and closed her eyes then. She'd listened to Eliot. Regardless of the fear that had hung over her, she'd kept her eyes open when she was on the horse's back. But now she was on the ground, and about to get shot. She had every right to close her eyes just then.
"Whoa, whoa. Easy boy."
There was the clattering of hooves against rock. Parker curled up into a ball to minimize the target she'd present them. When she didn't hear the cocking of a gun she peeked one eye open. The man had brought the horse to a stop just feet away.
"Parker! Get up, we need to get out of here now," Eliot shouted.
She scuttled to her feet and before she had time to put in a word Eliot pulled her up behind him on the horse, and once again she was clinging on for dear life. The bullet noise had died away, they must have lost their pursuers somewhere along the way. Eliot galloped them to the tree line and then slowed the horse to a walk as they weaved between the evergreens.
"You ok?"
"Sore. My wrist is busted, I think," Parker spoke quietly as she worked to regain her breath.
Eliot shook his head. "We never should've been out here. Never should've let Nate put you on this assignment after you said you'd never ridden before."
Parker's shoulders dropped a bit at that and remained silent. What was there to say? Ask her to steal a car or break into a vault or jump off a building, and she could. Ask her to ride a horse, and all of her extraordinary skills were useless.
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Two Weeks Later
Eliot checked the address Hardison had given him against the map he'd brought along to let him successfully navigate to Parker's place in one of the more run down areas of the city. Trust Parker to find somewhere truly off the map to hole up. He looked at his watch, she was ten minutes late and he was at the right spot.
He flipped open his phone and called Hardison.
It rang twice and then a voice answered. “Eliot, what's up? Find Parker's place ok?“
"Found the place, I think, but I haven't found Parker."
“That's odd. She's not usually late.“
"I know. At this rate we're going to be late to her doctor's appointment."
“This is the last check, right? Her wrist is ok and she can go back to doing the crazy stuff that Parker loves so much? I swear she's been going a bit stir crazy with the walking order to not use that hand much. Yesterday she spent ten minutes trying to convince me how she had worked out a way where she could rappel with a one hand rigging set up.“
Eliot gave a quick laugh. "I hope this is it. If the doc says no and I wouldn't be surprised if she put that plan of hers to work."
“I know, right?“
Eliot parked his car on the street and went to see if Parker was waiting on the other side of the building. "You're sure this is the right place?"
“You doubt my abilities? Trust me to hack a CIA database but all of a sudden my skills are suspect when you ask me to pull an address for you and get directions?“
"Ok, ok. I was just checking," Eliot added, bemused. "Can you track her phone then and find where she's at?"
“Sure, give me a sec.“
Eliot put his hand on a door knob to try the door thinking maybe Parker was inside. The knob jerked to a halt a half turn later, locked then. He backed up and dropped a shoulder to bust the door open and then paused, thinking better of it. Parker liked her privacy and who knows what kind of surprises she had arranged for uninvited guests who started poking their noses around.
“Well, that can't be right. Maybe we should be questioning my abilities.“
Eliot raised an eyebrow, instantly curious about what had their cocky hacker so confused. "What's up?"
“GPS says that Parker is out in the country, about thirty miles outside the city. It's the middle of nowhere, man.“
"What kind of facility?"
“No clue, it's private property. Hang on, I can pull up satellite imagery and see if I can glean anything from that.“
A moment passed and Eliot moved back to his car and hopped inside. Looks like he was going for a drive, although they were definitely missing Parker's appointment. He made a mental note to call her doctor on the way and let them know they weren't going to make it.
“Nope, no help. The satellite images for that region are crap. No surprise, the government doesn't usually send its satellites trawling out in the boonies. It's like this one property and then just forest and fields in every direction for miles. I wonder what Parker's found to keep her attention out that way. Usually museums and banks are more her style when it comes to how she spends her free time.“
"That's ok. Just text me the address, I'll pop it into my GPS and go find out what trouble Parker's getting herself into now."
“Will do. Good luck,“ Hardison responded before breaking the connection.
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Eliot pulled up into the driveway. If it could even be called that. The well-paved highways had given way to cracked roads about twenty minutes ago. And now even those were a fond memory, he thought as he eased his car along the gravel drive, steering around pot holes large enough to swallow a tire whole as he did so.
He pulled off the drive and into the grass and killed the engine as he looked around as his surroundings. Pastures lined the drive on either side, one penning cattle and a few goats while the other kept horses who had paused in their grazing to eye him curiously. He smiled at the sight. They weren't the best stock, one had legs that were a bit too lanky and another was eating too much grain if the potbelly was anything to judge by. But they were well-cared for, with neatly groomed manes and tails neatly and shiny coats.
He crossed the distance to the barn and poked his head into one of the aisles. An older gentleman was unloading a few bales of hay from a wheelbarrow. He was the picture of a country man, with graying hair well past his shoulder, a scraggly hair, and a plaid shirt. He stopped when he realized that Eliot was watching him, grunting as he dropped the bale to the ground and brushed the hay off his jeans. "Can I help you?"
"Uh, maybe. I'm looking for a friend."
"Not sure if I can help you there, it's just me and the animals today, I think," the man added as he brushed the sweat from his brow with the back of one dirt-stained hand.
"You sure? She's petite, long blond hair?"
"Oh, you talking about Alice?"
Eliot nodded, grateful that Parker was here legitimately and not sneaking around anywhere that he had to be worrying about blowing her cover. She was using her main alias, but at least the man knew of her. "Yeah, she around?"
"I didn't think she was coming today, but I swear the girl is half-ghost some days, the way she can sneak around. If she's here, try the third stall from the end. If not there, the paddock out back would be the next best bet."
Eliot tipped his head in appreciation. "Thanks. You need any help with that bale while I'm here?"
The man chuckled. "Oh, humor the retired man. I'm not that much of an invalid yet. The day I can't care for my own animals is a ways off yet."
Eliot shrugged and sauntered down toward the far end of the barn. Most of the stalls were empty; the horses out in pasture on this beautiful of a day.
"Stay! No, not there, two steps to the left," a voice drifted from one of the stalls ahead.
Eliot stopped in front of it, resting a hand on the waist-high stall door as he watched the scene before him. "You need any help there?"
Parker huffed and looked up from where she stood wedged between the wall and a dapple grey horse wearing a saddle. She had a bridle in one hand. A fine layer of grey horse hair coated her shirt and pants thanks to an early spring, the horses would be starting to shed their winter coats about this time of year.
"If you could just tell this horse to stop being stubborn and open its mouth so I can slide the metal bar in, that would be great," Parker said in a frustrated tone.
Eliot smiled and leaned his weight on the stall door as he relaxed. Barns had always seemed like a second home, with good reason, considering the amount of time he'd spent in one as a child. Horses were in his blood. "So what has brought about this miraculous event? You do realize you are voluntarily standing two feet from a horse?"
Parker nodded, "I'm beginning to question that logic. She's so ornery! It took me fifteen minutes just to catch her in the field. She'd run away every time I tried to get that leash attached to her little face harness thing."
"It's called a lead rope, not a leash. And that 'face harness' is a halter," he responded, chuckling. And then more seriously, he added, "You missed your doctor's appointment, you know?"
Parker gave up for putting the bridle on for a moment. "Oh. That was today wasn't it? Whoops. That explain why you're out here?"
Eliot nodded. "Nate asked me to drive, remember? Something about you already missing two appointments with this doc? Although it seems my participation did little to rectify that problem."
Her face turned a bit red at that and he could read the guilt in her face. "Sorry for making you drive all the way out here."
"It's ok. I rescheduled, your appointment is now on Tuesday. And you need to be there. Nate needs you for this next con and he's saying that you can't help with it until you get the all clear from the doctor."
"I know, I know."
"So again, why are we out here?"
She shrugged, "You were right on that last con. I should've known how to ride going into that con. I've let this stupid fear of mine hinder our team enough. So I decided it was time to get over it."
Eliot shook his head. "What happened with that con wasn't your fault. The mark was smarter than we thought and Nate should've just had me go. You voiced your discomfort with your role in that con from the start and Nate pushed anyways. No need to put yourself through this if you don't want."
She looked him straight in the eye and that trademark stubbornness shone in her expression. "No one is making me do this but myself. I do need to get over this."
Eliot held up his hands in defense. "Ok, ok. So why don't you explain to me what we have going on here?"
She nodded in approval. "This is Sooty. She's a good mare, if not very ornery when it suits her. Which is almost all the time," Parker added as an afterthought. "I've been leasing her since I hurt my wrist. I figured having all this free time; it'd be a good way to get something out of it."
Eliot lifted the latch on the door and slid into the stall, reclosing it behind him so the mare didn't get loose. "Here, I'll show you how to do this. Then I'll take it off and you can try," he said. He pulled the bridle gently from Parker's grip, his hand brushing hers for a moment as he did so. He moved up next to the horse's head, throwing Parker a glance to make sure she was watching and that she could see what he was doing from where she was standing. He pressed his finger into the corner of the mare's mouth, back behind where the teeth ended. The mare responded to the pressure by unclamping her jaw and chewing a few times. Before the mare could seal her mouth again, Eliot slid the bit into her mouth and placed the leather bridle over her ears quickly.
Parker shook her head. "She likes you a lot more than she likes me."
Eliot smiled. "It's got nothing to do with how much she likes me. She's not going to be lovable toward anyone who took her away from eating grass out in the pasture. It's just about knowing the proper technique. Have you had anyone teach you this stuff?"
"Nope, Bob's good company but he's already overwhelmed taking care of this place. I just pay him a bit of money to let me come out here and work with Sooty. I've just been figuring everything out along the way."
"What have you done with her so far?"
Parker patted the mare on the shoulder. "Just fed and brushed her mostly. Today's my first time trying to ride."
Eliot checked the saddle. She'd gotten it on in the right position with the horn just over Sooty's withers. He slid a finger between the girth and the mare's stomach. "Good thing I came along. Your girth's too loose. It's a trick some horses do; they bloat their stomachs with air when you go to tighten the girth so it's loose when they let out a breath. The rider'll go to get on and the whole saddle goes sideways. He tightened the girth by a good amount. Sooty flattened her ears in protest and turned around once to bare her teeth and snarl but she didn't go to bite. "There, that's better."
"That's just evil! I would've fallen off going to get on."
Eliot chuckled. "That's the general idea as far as horses are concerned. You want to try bridling her?"
Parker nodded and moved up to stand next to Eliot by Sooty's head. He took the bridle off her, watching the mare flex her jaw a few times at the sudden change, before handing the bridle over to Parker. She took it from him willingly and began copying the steps he'd done when demonstrating for her.
Eliot observed her movements. This Parker was different than the one he was used to. Usually Parker's movements were fluid, confident; there was no sense of hesitation in anything she did. This Parker, was slower and more deliberate in her actions, pausing between each step to check her progress or slide her gaze over toward Eliot in a questioning gaze. He nodded each time. She may be a bit nervous, but she was a fast learner and duplicated his methods flawlessly.
As she buckled the bridle and stepped back to examine her handiwork, Eliot spoke. "That was perfect."
Parker's lips curved upward. "Your way was a lot easier. Is there any way to minimize the slobber?" she asked as she wiped her saliva-coated finger on her jeans.
Eliot smirked. "If they've figured that one out, someone's been keepin' me in the dark too. So you ready?"
Parker responded by looping the reins over the horse's head and directing her toward the stall door. "Yep. I think I'm ok from here. You can go if you want. I know I've already eaten most of your afternoon with the side trip I made you take out this way."
Eliot cocked his head a bit. She really expected him to just leave? "I'll stay. If Bob's too busy to teach you how to ride, then I can do it myself."
She rubbed the mare's forehead. "You sure? I mean, I manage if you have other stuff to do."
He shrugged. "It's good that you're doing this, working to get more comfortable with horses. I'd love to help."
"Ok, then. The paddock's out back. Bob said that's where I should ride."
Eliot opened the stall door and exited, holding it open for her and the horse. "Lead on, then."
Parker led Sooty down toward the back entrance to the barn.
Eliot watched her, but the mare seemed perfectly content to follow. "I'll be right back, I'm just gonna grab something out of my car."
"Ok, paddock's to left out back," she threw back over her shoulder as she disappeared through the entrance and around the corner.
The scents of the barn washed over Eliot as he retraced his steps down the aisle way and back toward his car. The smell of sawdust laid in the stalls, of fresh grain in the horse's buckets. The musty smell that accompanied any barn, regardless of how often it was cleaned: lay something down for thirty seconds and you'd come back to it coated in a fine layer of dust that had been kicked up into the air by booted feet and hooves alike.
As he arrived as his car he pulled something out of his trunk and brushed a few strands of grass off of it before heading out toward the arena to meet Parker. He slipped between two slats in the fence and into the arena. Parker was standing along the fence line with the reins slack in her hand. The mare had taken advantage of that and was nibbling on the sparse grass. He was silent as he approached, Parker was focusing intently on the horse and he didn't want to interrupt her concentration. "You know, you aren't too bad. Besides the smell and some other pesky habits, like stepping on my feet for fun, you're alright. Still big, and clumsy at times, but not as scary as I thought you were."
Eliot shook his head. Parker was so different than the rest of them. For all the times she'd plunge down an elevator shaft or antagonize a man twice her size without quite understanding the danger she was putting herself in. Sometimes Eliot forgot that beneath that exterior, there was a person with fears and doubts just like the rest of them. "You two doin' ok?" he asked.
She looked up, startled. "Oh, I didn't hear you there. Yeah. She's just snacking," Parker said as the mare took a step sideways in search of more grass, pulling Parker with her as she moved.
Eliot leaned down and grabbed the mare's reins right near the bit and pulled upwards with a quick jerk, raising her head up from the ground. "You shouldn't let her eat while you're riding. She's working, just like when we do," he spoke smoothly. "You wouldn't stop in the middle of a con to get subway, would you?"
Parker wriggled her nose at the suggestion. "I wouldn't ever eat their food. It's a public safety hazard."
He bit the inside of his cheeks to keep from letting out a laugh; Parker was funny sometimes even when she wasn't trying. "Ok, ok. You get the point though?"
She nodded. "Got it, no food on the job. What did you need from your car?"
He pulled the item from behind his back and deposited on her head. She raised a hand to feel it before shooting him a questioning gaze. "You needed a hat?"
"It's a cowboy hat. And yes, it's part of riding for any real rider. And if I'm goin' to be teaching you, sure as hell you'll learn to do some real riding, none of that prissy stuff that those English riders like."
"English riders? Are they the ones with the pretty jackets and shiny boots and the weird looking saddles?"
He laughed. "You forgot to mention how they like to braid little ribbons into their horses' manes. But you get the idea. They try to dress up the sport, make it something different than what it is. Riding's just that, riding. There's a horse and a rider and the relationship between them interspersed with some dirt and grime that comes with any outdoor sport."
"Ok. If it's part of the get-up then who am I to argue?" she replied as she ran a hand along the straw hat. "So why exactly was this in your trunk?"
"A real cowboy always has a hat handy. Never know when the need might arise," he responded.
"So if I want to ride I should get one of these?"
He shrugged. "You can keep that one. I got a few more back at my place. Besides, it's already broken in and seems to fit you well enough."
Her face lit up as she understood that she was being given a gift. "Thank you."
"Eh, it's nothing. So, you ready to ride?"
She stepped up next to the mare's side. "I think so."
"You think about how you're going to steer this mare with that bum hand of yours?" he asked, nodding toward her wrist brace.
She flexed her fingers as best she could. The wrist had almost no mobility with the brace. "I thought you could steer with just one hand. I watched a few Western movies on my TV. All the cowboys did it that way."
"Well, movies got to be tellin' the truth now don't they? Nothing shouts legitimate research like a good Western movie. I can teach you to rein a horse like that, I suppose. But for future notice, those guys are actors and most of them don't know the front of a horse from the back end. If you have questions about riding, come ask me before you start referencing cowboy movies," he said as he gave her a leg up onto the horse's back.
She landed in the saddle and scooted around a bit trying to find a comfortable position. "I forgot how high it was up on one of these," she muttered a bit nervously.
He chuckled, "You won't fall, I'm right here." He slid her left foot into the stirrup, Parker repeating the motion on the other side. He showed her how to hold the reins in one hand, leaving just enough slack so that she wasn't pulling on the mare's mouth, but tight enough so that the mare could feel the touch of the rein if Parker went to give her a cue.
"Ok," Eliot said, stepping back a few paces to survey their progress, "Now give her a light tap with your heels. That'll tell her to go forward."
Parker nodded and dug her heels into the mare's side. Sooty's head shot up a bit at that as she was roused from her daze. She snorted once and took off at a trot. Parker bounced in the saddle with the mare's motion.
"I said light tap," Eliot shouted to her as the mare trotted along the fence. He watched to see how Parker was handling it, worrying that she might panic after the disastrous end to the last riding experience she'd had.
Her face was graced with a smile. She was laughing. "You know, it's nothing like a car, you lied about that," she shouted back over her shoulder humorously. "But it's exhilarating in a different way."
Eliot raised a hand to shield against the glaring sun as he watched Parker and the mare bounce along. "Ok, now pull back on the reins. Slow her down to a walk. We need to start with the basics."
The next words died on his lips. He'd been about to say that she was jumping in to this too fast. But then he remembered, this was Parker. The sight of her jumping off a twenty story came to mind. This was Parker, taking a leap of faith was who she was. He shook his head and jogged after her with a breathless grin on his face. With Parker, it was all about keeping up, most of the time he was going along for the ride.
--THE END--
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