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schrijverr · 2 years ago

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Do Your Worst

What if Eliot’s worst in The Carnival Job was a little worse than in the show? What if he killed some of those Russians?

On AO3.

Ships: none

Warnings: descriptions of violence and death (some minor Russians)

~~~~~~~~~~

“Do your worst,” Nate tells him.

Eliot is already shifting gears from babysitting duty to hitter Eliot Spencer. Molly has been a little asshole all day, but he sees how she’s also struggling, how much potential she has. He won’t let her get hurt and he was already planning on getting her back before Nate ordered him to.

However, he is glad he’s going to get the backup and glad Nate gave him permission to do his worst.

Nate doesn’t know what Eliot’s worst is. Probably thinks he does, though. That shootout at the warehouse was pretty close to who Eliot used to be, but efficiently taking out a warehouse full off enemy combatants with a gun is not even close to what Eliot used to do to people who messed with kids.

These Russian mobs were going to wish they had never set foot out of Russia, never came onto the radar of Eliot Spencer. He is going to get Molly back and these guys, might never be able to call home to tell anyone about the beating they’re going to get.

In his ear he can hear Nate talks to Connell and informs him of how badly he fucked up. Eliot can appreciate how he threatens Nate over his daughter, but no one should be stupid enough to make a deal with Russians if you have someone precious to you. Though, he supposes, that might not be common knowledge to everyone.

Around him people are enjoying the carnival and there is nothing to indicate where the Russians took her. For all he knows they’re in a car on their way to a private plane to never set foot on US soil again.

“I’ve got no intel here, guys. Tell me you have something,” he demands. What he does, he might do alone, but information is a tool and the team are there for him to fall back on. A little backup is always a good idea.

Instead of his team, however, Molly responds, softly saying his name. She sounds scared and anger boils his blood, though it is mixed with relief that he thought to give her that earbud earlier. Lucky as it may be, he’s not going to look a gifted horse in the mouth.

“Molly, where are you?” he asks, hoping that she’ll know so he can bust whatever head he needs to to get to her.

She doesn’t know. It’s what he expected, but a man can dream.

She is also scared, very scared. Rightfully so. Still, Eliot promises: “Listen, you’re gonna be fine. This is- This is just a drill, like a fire drill. You have those at your school, right?”

“Promise not to cry. Won’t you just tell me the truth?” Molly replies and he is both impressed at her calmness and cursing, because that can dissipate at any moment.

Still, he can respect it and Eliot knows that if he wants her to do as he says, he’ll need her to trust him. They’ve built a report today, if he does this, she’ll listen. So he tells her the truth.

As he tells the truth, he also makes the promise that he is going to get her out of there. And he will, he will. No matter what, Eliot is going to ensure she’s safe and he doesn’t care what has to happen to make it so. That protective feeling he had in that warehouse flares up again.

Sure, Molly is not the team. He met her today. But he can see how she hurts and knows that she doesn’t deserve this. No child deserves to feel unsafe, to be hurt. Eliot cannot allow that to happen on his watch. He won’t have her blood on his hands. God, not hers.

The Russian mobs are not Moreau’s men, but they’re though, very though. They learn to fight from a young age, most get their more formal training in the prisons. They are strong, skilled and ruthless. He can’t go easy on them.

But in order to go beat them up, he needs to where they are. So he asks Molly to listen closely and use the noises to pinpoint where she is.

“Music,” she tells him. “It’s the sound from the Spider Ride.”

Molly is still at the carnival. The knowledge that she’s still here increases her probability of survival, which is good. Eliot can work with that. He straightens his shoulders and scans the rides again. There is one he needs to locate.

Eliot’s plan is to march up to the Spider Ride and rip apart anyone in his way. However, he manages to calm himself down and realize that is a stupid plan. Eliot doesn’t do stupid plans. He might not be Nate, but he can be strategic and marching up means giving them time to shoot her and flee the scene. No good.

So, he listens to Hardison when Nate orders them to clear out the carnival. Less chances of civilian casualties is good. He can work with that.

He doesn’t appreciate the concoction Hardison directed him to make to blow up like that, but it’s nothing he isn’t used to. The swearing he does is more to keep himself grounded. He can feel the beast he fights to keep inside start to try and get out. He can’t do that.

Well, he can’t do that yet.

Sophie had told him they’re at the northeast corner, so after it has all blown up and people are leaving, he meets up with the team to go the opposite way. They have a hostage to save and Eliot has a few guys to beat up.

A part of him feel savagely justified at what he’s about to do, but he tries to push it down. He knows better than to enjoy the amount of violence he is about to inflict and he also knows he should tone it down if he wants the rest of the team to be able to look him in the eye again.

“I’m coming for you, Molly,” he assures her, before instructing: “Stay small and quiet and if I say run, you run.”

The small “Okay,” he gets back from her soothes his worries that she is hurt and assures him that she’ll indeed listen when the time comes.

They split up and Eliot is now half-able to go ahead with his plan of march up and start punching the mobs. Taking out the guys and thinning their ranks to decrease risk for Nate and increase the chances of him being able to get Molly out.

A guy comes his way and Eliot blocks his punch, twisting his arm until it breaks as the man screams. Then he punches him in the face, which is very polite, because he could have snapped his neck.

Right as he throws the man into one of the stands to lessen the possibility of him getting up again, Hardison warns him he has trouble coming his way, startling when the guy comes flying by the camera as he exclaims: “Oh damn, what the hell was that?”

“A little trouble,” Eliot tells him, repeating over and over to tone it down. A broken arm is pretty little, but it almost went south. He doesn’t need Hardison to watch him kill a man. He doesn’t need any of them to hear of a dead body found at the carnival.

With that in mind, he gets to the Spider Ride and demands: “Where is she?” unafraid to use his old techniques to find out.

The mob in question doesn’t answer and instead starts fighting. Eliot doesn’t mind, his knuckles have been itching since they first heard what had happened here.

He must say that the guy isn’t the worst, but certainly not the best he has ever faced. The Russian standard must have gone down since he last dealt with them, because he is easily pushing this guy around. Though he is someone, who gets back up. If Eliot wasn’t burning with rage, he would have a little respect for it.

However, he is burning with rage and he doesn’t have any respect for the man, just the need to take him down.

For a second, he lets that anger overtake him, lets the beast out. Doesn’t try and control the violence, but lets it flow through him instead. It’s quick and easy. Two jabs to the nose, then take him down as he staggers backwards, before snapping his neck and watching as the guy falls limply to the ground, never to get up again.

It’s a shame the other guy got there just in time to press the button to start the ride, because when Eliot has taken a deep breath and gets up, it hits him in the face and sends him flying.

He doesn’t get a second to regret what he has just done.

Eliot comes to with a pounding headache, less control and rage in his veins.

Hardison is calling his name through the com, asking if he’s at the storage yet and it only makes his headache worse. Then he asks if he has found Molly yet and the reminder makes that any rational thought disappears until all that remains is his training. Old programming still left.

This is not at all diminished when he discovers she has been taken to a different place and the place he is currently at does not have any bones to break.

But he’s Eliot Spencer and he manages to find her, storming the House of Mirrors like a man on a mission. A very pissed off man on a mission.

Nate tells him that they already gave away the chip, so they’ll just have to wait. But Nate also said to do his worst and right now, Eliot is following that order, because Molly is scared and alone and who knows what the Russians will do to her as a witness.

The house of mirrors isn’t a pleasant place to fight. The optical illusion is harder to figure out with his concussed brain and it is clear they stationed the better fighters here.

But better isn’t good enough, not when Eliot isn’t holding back for a change. They get one good hit in, but one hit is all they get. He might go down, but that helps him reach the knife he always keeps in his boot and when he gets up, it’s after a few blows that he manages to stick it right into the man’s neck, blood spraying everywhere.

The second guy is also good, he forces Eliot to drop his knife and makes him confused about where he might be. However, hitting the Russian or hitting the mirror is no different in Eliot’s book, because when it turns out to be the mirror, it shatters into a hundred good weapons.

Blood is streaming between his fingers as he clenches the shard in his hand and when the man attacks again.

He is good and Eliot takes more hits than he doles out at the start. But Eliot always gets back up when he gets kicked down, so while it is a struggle, he manages to force the other into a choke hold and force the piece of mirror down his throat until he gurgles and croaks.

It’s dirty and it leaves him covered in blood, but it’s effective and Eliot doesn’t care too much at this point, just that they’re gone and Molly is safe.

Molly is cowering in the corner of the room and when Eliot catches himself in one of the mirrors, he get why she might be. He looks like a serial killer in a movie. He looks like a monster. He looks like he just killed a few guys. Violently. Which he did.

His own injuries are hidden by the blood of these strangers that covers them and he swallows thickly as he realizes what has just happened. What he has just done. Eliot is good enough at his job to know that these men didn’t have to die. He just did it.

He forces his breathing to slow down. His head is still spinning, but he also know the job’s not over yet, he needs to get Molly back to safety. He can’t panic over this. Not now. So he takes a deep breath and slowly says: “It’s okay to be scared. It’s okay to be scared of me. But lets get you back to your dad, okay. Can you walk?”

“Are- are they…” she doesn’t even dare to finish the sentence.

A lump forms in his throat, but Eliot makes himself speak through it. “Yeah, they are. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“No, no, it’s-” she cuts herself off, then softly admits: “I’m glad they can’t come for me again. Does that make me a bad person?”

“No, Molly, makes you human,” Eliot tells her. In his mind he sees the faces he took out, so he would feel okay sleeping again. Sees Moreau, the one face he wishes joined them, no matter how glad he is that they took him down. It’s not the same as death. He’s always there in the back of Eliot’s mind.

“Thank you,” she says softly, as she uncurls herself. “Thank you for keeping your promise.”

“Of course,” he smiles at her.

She comes closer, reaches out to him and with concern she asks: “Are you hurt?”

It’s enough to make something inside Eliot crack. The thanks was nice, but anyone would feel obliged, maybe even scared not to, but not everyone would show concern. Despite all she has seen, Molly isn’t too scared of him. She still has it in her to be concerned.

“I’m fine,” he smiles at her, trying to push it down. “You did well, Botasky.”

“You weren’t so bad either, Perky,” she grins back.

Eliot must admit he leans on her a little. Getting hit in the head with a carnival ride isn’t the nicest feeling. And if he is honest, leaning on her, hides the fact that the blood isn’t his from the team. He isn’t ready to have that conversation just yet.

He watches the reunion between father and daughter, ignoring those around him. They have a job to finish, he isn’t slowing down until it’s done.

However, that doesn’t stop Parker from hovering around him as the others go get the chip from the car and explain to the screaming Daria how she got played. Eliot hopes the prison they throw her in is terrible and he is both sad and glad she didn’t end up in his way.

When that is all taken care of, they regroup at Lucille. It is at this point that Nate says: “Police should be on their way to pick these people up.” He turns to Eliot and asks: “How badly should we get out of dodge.”

“Badly,” is all Eliot grunts.

“Alright, everyone in the van. We debrief at home,” Nate says.

Eliot is glad that they’re going to be gone from the scene of the crime, but the idea of sharing the ride back with them without being able to run makes him nervous. His nerves aren’t aided by his concussion. He should hire Gail, she’s a nurse, but also involved in the smuggling business, if push comes to shove, she can get him out of the country without it pinging Hardison’s radar.

So, maybe he hangs back a little so that he can pick a spot to sit where he can avoid the others. But he is still injured, so getting in the van proves to be difficult. It pulls on him and he groans when he tries to climb in, having to abort the movement.

It forces Eliot to refind his bearings, breathing deeply and evenly through his nose to combat the pain and get it to manageable enough level, so that he can try again to climb into the van.

Before he has a grip on himself again, however, Hardison and Parker are at his side, steadying him as they help him into the van. It confuses him beyond reason, since no one should want to come near him with the way he looks.

He must make a confused noise too that Hardison misinterprets, because he says: “Don’t worry, man, we have first aid supplies in the back. We’ll patch you up on the way home.”

“Why?” he croaks, because this is gentleness he doesn’t deserve. Maybe they haven’t realized what he did yet? Is that why they’re being nice?

Parker shoots that thought down quickly and leaves his head spinning even more as she explains: “You just kept us safe, now we’re keeping you safe. It’s bad if your hands get infected. They need to be cleaned and stitched up. Try and keep your eyes closed, but stay awake. You look like you have a concussion.”

They’re being very casual about this and Eliot is glad that Parker is patching him up, because that allows him to not have to talk about it. He would say it gives him time to think, but it doesn’t. Not really.

The disinfectant burns and the stitching is always unpleasant, even when you’re used to it. So, he has to focus on gritting his teeth. He doesn’t want to give them cause to think he’s weak. Both because he wants them to feel like they can count on them and to give them the impression he can still fight them off if they try anything in retaliation.

He could never do a thing to them. The thought alone is enough to make him feel nauseous, especially after today reminded him of what he can do. But threatening can still be helpful, even if you could never follow through on the threat.

Still, he doesn’t want it to come to that and the whole thing hinges on them believing his threat to work. Eliot doesn’t want to know if they believe he could hurt them. So, when Parker is done, he’s going to have to talk, but his tongue feels heavy in his mouth and his head pounds so hard that it’s difficult to think of anything to say.

He flinches back at the feeling of a towel on his face until he sees Hardison through blurry eyes and hears him explain that he just wants to clean him up. Eliot shouldn’t allow it, but he craves the gentle contact, wants to revel in it in case this is the last time.

Eliot only realizes his mistake when Hardison is already busy and discovers that the blood he’s cleaning away only has small wounds underneath. Not enough to put the mess on him. In a last ditch effort to misdirect the conversation, he grunts: “Headwounds always bleed a lot.”

Hardison hums in reply, but doesn’t say anything else and Eliot feels his heart constrict as he stays quiet and turns into himself.

Both Hardison and Parker leave him to his own for the last leg of the drive. Parker only pokes him from time to time to make sure he’s still awake and not dying. He appreciates the gesture more than he’ll ever admit. The little morsel of care thrown his way.

By the time they made it to the office, his mind is a little clearer and he feels good enough to face the music.

He trudges up after them and goes to grab an ice pack before sitting down. He could do without, but maybe playing into being injured will grant him a little grace from the others.

Once they’re all seated, Nate starts: “Well, that didn’t go as expected, but we got the chip for our client and we kept the girl safe. I call this a success. But Eliot, you-”

Eliot doesn’t want to hear him say it, so he cuts him on before he can: “I know, Nate. I screwed up and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let it get that far. Hell, if I’d been paying attention, Molly wouldn’t have been napped in the first place.”

Despite just throwing it out there and saying what he did wrong, Eliot doesn’t look any of them in the eye, instead he’s intent to glare a hole into the floor.

Nate asks: “Eliot. What happened out there?”

“You told me to do my worst,” Eliot admits, not trying to accuse, but to explain. “I know you didn’t mean it, but it flipped something in my brain. And they- they had a kid, Nate. I- I can’t be responsible for a kid getting hurt. Not-” not again, he finishes mentally. He swallows and instead says: “Not when I can do something about it.”

“Because I…” Nate replies, sounding surprised as he remember that moment now.

Eliot doesn’t tell him what kind of power Nate holds over him, the other man knows. He knows what Eliot means. Instead he gives him a clear conscious: “You told me to wait, I went ahead. It’s on me. I assessed the risk and made a decision. I shouldn’t have. It’s okay-” he cuts himself short with a sharp inhale, because it isn’t okay. “It’s okay if you want me to go.”

A silence falls over the room.

Fuck, Eliot thinks. He kind of knew this was coming, it’s why he made Nate promise not to say at that warehouse.

Then Parker breaks it. “Don’t be stupid, Eliot. We don’t want you to go. You did your job. You do the things we can’t always do and that makes you you and that’s good.”

“Wha?” he can’t help but say, finally looking at her. She looks fierce and determined to make him understand and he suddenly remembers his own words in that mountain that she’s echoing right back at him. Smart girl.

“None of us deal with the mob and Russians like you have,” she tells him. “We trust you to assess the risk and make a decision about these sort of things. You did. End of story.”

Despite wanting to embrace her words, wrap them around them until he feels less like a monster, he can’t not just yet. Maybe they don’t know yet. Maybe- Maybe it’ll go wrong. So, he stammers: “But I- But I-”

“You killed people,” Sophie finishes for him. “We know.”

He swallows thickly and says: “I- I did. I have- I- I don’t regret killing those Russians. They might- they might have killed Molly and her father. Tie up- Tie up loose ends. I couldn’t risk waiting.”

Nate steps forwards and puts a hand on his shoulder. Without meaning to, he sinks into the contact, the hand feeling like it’ll wash him clean as Nate says: “You made the right call.”

And it shouldn’t be said. Eliot was never absolved from his sins. Killing someone would never feel good – killing these Russians had in the moment, but not a second longer – killing someone should not get recognized as right. Not by someone like Nate.

Yet here he is. Here Eliot is. Here they both are as is the team. And Nate says it was the right call and while Eliot had known that, hearing it from Nate is what makes it land. What makes it real to him.

Relief comes down on him like a hammer and he finally collapses into the couch. If anyone asks, the tears are just because the move upturned a lot of dust, that’s all. Or from the pain, since his ribs ache and he groans when he hits the back of the couch.

“Should we get you to a hospital?” Hardison suddenly asks, sounding panicked. “Are you gonna pass out on us right now?”

“Pass out. Maybe. Hospital. No,” Eliot tells him. “Got hit in the face by a carnival ride, cut me some slack.”

“A carnival ride? Eliot, what the fuck,” Hardison shrieks as Eliot sinks off into oblivion.

Vaguely he remembers himself say that they should wake him up in a little bit and Parker knows first aid now, trust her, before he’s off.

The team does wake him up sporadically to check in on him. It isn’t much, but the fact that they care enough not to let him die in his sleep due to a head injury means a lot more to him than they’ll ever know.

Eliot might have done his worst, but it isn’t bad enough to make his family want to leave. He’s enough of a changed man that his worst isn’t too bad anymore.

A/N:

Idk sometimes it feels like it’s too easy and there should be harder calls. Hearing Nate say ‘Do your worst’ just tickled something in my brain and I had to.

#rr writing #eliot spencer #molly connell #the carnival job #leverage fic #leverage #leverage tv #parker leverage #alec hardison #nate ford #nathan ford #sophie devereaux #tw: violence #tw: minor character death #hurt eliot spencer #leverage 4x6

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