Title: Code Blue
Author: Robinyj
Beta: sgs09
Characters/Pairings: Teamfic centered mostly around Eliot
Rating: PG-13, violence and a little swearing
Genre: canon/action/adventure/h/c
Warnings/spoilers: None really. Mild violence.
Summary: Nate felt sick as he was taunted by the man on the other end of the phone, "I will give you the deal of the century Mr. Ford, three thieves in exchange for one. You give me Eliot Spencer and the three I already have are free to go."
Author's Notes: This story would not have been possible without my AMAZING beta, sgs09! Her notes, encouragement, hard work and feedback made this story SO much better than I thought it could be and I am extremely grateful to her for all her awesome help!!!

Prologue

Breathing was getting more difficult as the deep cold started to set in, penetrating down to his core and biting sharply with each subsequent gust of wind that whipped across his chilled skin. Water dripped from his hair, mixing with his blood but Eliot paid it no mind as he staggered down the sidewalk. His vision was hazy, disoriented from the cold and the only thing keeping him moving in the right direction was the ingrained familiarity of the streets.

It was the middle of the day but he ignored the stares he received from drivers and passersby – he couldn't afford any unnecessary attention so he didn't ask for help and no one offered it to him. It felt like forever and no time at all before he spotted the building he was looking for with the familiar sign above the bar on the ground floor. Even his disoriented mind knew that door was too public to use and he'd have to make the long trek around the neighbouring building to use the backdoor that eventually lead to the elevator banks. His body begged him to just go inside to escape the terrible cold that was freezing him to the bone, but his mind shouted that he had to be careful - everything depended on it. With a grunt of determination Eliot pushed off the brick wall he had been leaning against and started the painful walk around the back of the next building.

There was nothing even resembling stealth in his movements as he finally reached the back door of the apartment complex and collapsed against it. It was a metal door that he didn't remember being quite so heavy as he pulled it open with a shuddering, pain-filled grunt. When he was inside he fell against the nearest wall, gasping in the warm air and wrapping his arms around his torso to try to will the heat into his body. Eliot only stayed a moment though, his mind never straying far from its goal. The elevator was open and waiting for him – he staggered inside and pressed 2. When the doors opened on the second floor he almost didn't make it out before they started to shut again. After colliding with his slumped body they opened once more and he made it out into the hallway, so close to his goal that he somehow managed to pick up speed for the final stretch of his journey. It seemed unreal when he finally reached 2A and he almost wasn't sure why he was even there.

He didn't so much knock on the door as collapse on it and when it opened seconds later Eliot found himself falling forward into the apartment. Nate just barely managed to catch him, grunting with surprise and from the effort of holding up the shivering hitter.

"Wha … Eliot?" Nate asked in shock before he could really look the thief over. The first thing he noticed was his left hand getting sticky. "God, you're bleeding. Okay come on. Dammit, you're freezing."

Hefting the hitter up closer Nate peered down the hallway in search of pursuers and closed the door quickly when he saw none.

"Eliot, can you hear me? What happened? How bad is it?" Nate demanded of the semi-conscious man as he helped him stagger towards the couch. He couldn't be sure but he thought the blood was stemming from Eliot's arm, which at least wasn't a vital area.

"Team," Eliot whispered through chattering teeth.

Nate shook his head, not following, "They're not here, but I've got you. I have to know what happened."

"No, call the team," Eliot explained tightly with more clarity in his eyes as Nate dropped him on the couch. "C…code blue."

Nate's eyes widened and his hands stilled on their way towards picking up the nearest blanket.

"Blue? You're sure?" he asked, his own voice suddenly tight with fear.

Eliot's only response was to shoot Nate an angry glare from underneath almost frozen eyelids.

"Yeah, of course you're sure, sorry. Okay, here, take this," Nate finally grabbed the blanket and laid it over the hitter. "Don't move. I'll call them."

Eliot gripped the blanket weakly but nodded in agreement. Nate scrambled to pick up his cell phone off the table and scrolled through the applications until he found the program Hardison had installed that would call each member of the team simultaneously. He hit dial, knowing Eliot's phone wouldn't connect but praying he got a hold of the others. As it rang he pulled open a drawer and grabbed a dish towel.

"Hardison," the hacker answered first.

"Hardison, stay on the line but drop whatever you're doing. I'm conference calling the team," Nate explained as he rushed back into the living room and pulled the blanket away from Eliot's right arm to expose the still bleeding bullet wound underneath.

"We got a new client or something?" Hardison asked, but he could tell it was something bigger than that from the urgency in Nate's voice.

"Not quite," Nate replied, cradling the phone against his shoulder as he tied the towel tightly around the wound to slow the bleeding. Still only half-conscious, Eliot pulled away in pain and Nate cringed in sympathy. "Sorry Eliot."

"What happened? What's going on?" Hardison demanded to know, hearing the grunts of pain in the background. Before Nate could respond to him the other two lines were answered.

"Parker."

"Hello," Sophie answered pleasantly, not using her name.

"Drop what you're doing, all of you. Scatter and get somewhere safe. We've got a Code Blue," Nate warned them, getting straight to the point.

"Oh god. How do you know?" Sophie asked, her voice dropping into a whisper.

Nate looked down at Eliot, who was shaking and barely keeping his eyes open. "Eliot ran into them first."

"Is he okay?" Parker piped in quickly.

"Yeah, I've got him. He'll be fine," Nate told them with more confidence than he felt on the matter. "Just scatter and get yourselves somewhere safe."

Hardison cleared his throat and spoke awkwardly, "Um … I may not exactly remember which code …"

"Bounty-hunters, Hardison," Nate told him firmly. "Code blue is bounty-hunters."

TBC

Dun, dun, dun!!!