Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cebu, The Philippines, February 2026

“Guys, I’m in love,” Alex Walker announced, smiling broadly as he entered the police station’s bull pen. “I have found the love of my life.”

Kai Mendoza rolled her eyes. “Good morning to you too,” she muttered. For the past few months Alex had been in love with anything with legs it seemed. “On which god forsaken app did you find this one?”

“None!” he said gleefully. “She’s staying at the resort!”

Sighing, Kai rather wanted to continue to focus on this known hacker that popped up on their radar. Their specific style had been identified on one of the police station’s laptops, which caused them all to go into a lockdown of electronics usage. So without her files accessible, she guessed she could entertain Alex’s new fixation.

“Staying at the resort?” she pondered. “So she has money?”

Ernesto kicked her under her desk and took over the questioning. “That’s great, Alex—what’s her name?”

With a wince, Alex didn’t answer.

“Alex,” Kai said with a warning undertone. “You have spoken to this presumed love of your life, right?” Silence. “Alex.”

“Okay, fine – no, I haven’t.” He gritted his teeth and twiddled his thumbs, before insisting. “But I’ve seen her at the pool and she was reading The Lone Wolf—that book inspired by the August Crowe song about an ex-FBI agent that buys a post office in Indonesia?”

“We still need to have a serious conversation with that author,” Kai said with a sigh. “Ripping off your mediocre life like that.”

“My life is not mediocre,” Alex snapped, “and Milton was a really good listener. I miss his phone calls, they helped me sleep. But that’s besides the point—she was reading it!”

“Just because she’s reading where the main character is a hotter version of you, doesn’t mean she will like actual Alex Walker,” Kai sassed and Alex looked at her annoyed.

“She was taking notes,” he said with a low voice.

“Probably about how much of an ass the main character is,” she said back in an equally low voice.

“Guys, please,” Ernesto said with his own mediating voice. “Kai—we have that meeting with the international agency, Alex—” he turned to him, “—go talk to this woman before you claim to have found the love of your life.”

But his two best friends continued their childish standoff for another minute before Alex vowed he was going to be on a date with this woman later that night and Kai bet he wouldn’t. With an air of defiance, Alex stormed out of the station and Ernesto gave Kai a look.

“What?” she asked.

“Why poke him like that? He’s been really down on his luck with love.”

“That’s exactly why I poke him. So far any woman he’s tried to date turned out to be no good. They’ve been black widows, con women—hey!” She slapped his chest. “Maybe this woman is our hacker!”

“Detective Mendoza?” an agent called. “I have a Petra Capaldi and Mac Smith here to see you?”

“How about we deal with this meeting first?” Ernesto proposed. “Then we can get back to finding the hacker.”

Begrudgingly she agreed.

The resort was bustling with tourists as usual and Alex darted in between them to avoid collision. If only he could time a collision with the blonde goddess, he mused. He imagined her tripping and him heroically catching her. She would offer him a drink as a thank you, which would turn into dinner, which would turn into her showing him her suite—because there was no way in hell he was showing her the back of the gift shop—which would turn into… more.

As he reached the pool, he ran into Rita – who looked at him oddly.

“What?” he asked her. The little girl he had met six odd years ago had grown into a feisty teenager.

“I swear I just saw you,” she said with a frown, looking behind her like he was still there. “But with a pony tail.”

“Do I look like I would wear a pony tail?” he countered and combed self-consciously through his short hair.

“I don’t know,” she said, shrugging. “You’ve done weirder things for certain cases.”

He couldn’t argue with that. Then he had an idea. “Hey – do you know who the blonde woman is who’s always reading by the pool? Arrived like two days ago.”

“Blonde and reading by the pool?” She stared at him incredulously. “You’ve described half of the guests here.”

“She has this…” He struggled finding the words. “This aura.”

The face she was giving him turned judgmental and he waved her off. He would find and woo her himself.

His phone started ringing and Kai’s name flashed on his screen. Purposefully he declined it. “You’re not screwing this up for me, Kai,” he grunted.

He scanned the pool area and like a scene from a movie the people parted like the sea, sending a path across the pool to the blonde goddess, who was sitting at the bar. She was wearing a delicate lace cover up over her swimsuit and a big hat was shielding her from the sun. Her laugh even reached him across the pool as she giggled at the bartender’s joke.

Oh he was so getting her to go on a date with them. He might even get Kai to run into them – or maybe not; he didn’t want to ruin his chances. Just as he finally caught the woman’s eye, a hand grabbed his shoulder and a gun was pressed against his waist.

“It’s been a year and a half, but we’re still dismantling Moreau’s empfinium empire,” the woman introduced as Petra Calpaldi said, eyeing Kai curiously. They were in one of the interrogation rooms with the two agents claiming to be from an international agency. Petra had a British accent and a medium brown bob. Mac Smith was American, their coily hair tight in braids. They were interesting – they had introduced themselves with their pronouns and immediately asked what the WiFi password was.

“Sorry, we’re on lockdown,” Kai had told them, and then suspiciously took them in. There was something familiar about them.

Petra then had talked about the drug known as the purple flower – lilang bulaklak.

“We’ve had a short epidemic here last year,” Ernesto told them. “But the stash dried up pretty quickly after their supply chain was cut short.”

Kai remembered Alex finding a large network in Lapu Lapu City and had unraveled it together with them. It had come from rumors that the largest empfinium baron had been arrested on San Lorenzo. She had learned about the drugs from Alex who had been reading up on it through medical journals.

“Apparently some people experience intense pain instead of tripping. We can’t risk anyone exploiting that,” he had said. So Kai and Ernesto had helped him, stopping people from being able to grow the flowers on Mactan. Now they were learning more about this so called empfinium baron; Damien Moreau.

“He’s finally been officially convicted and won’t be getting out, but the damage has been done,” Petra said.

“Trust us,” Kai said. “We’ve cleared up any remains of empfinium on the island. We have an ex-DEA agent who has taken all the precautions.”

“That’s good to hear,” Mac said. “However we have been hearing whispers on the dark web of an indoor farm growing the irises.”

Squinting, Kai was sure that she knew Mac from somewhere. “Sounds improbable,” she insisted. Alex had cleared it all.

The two exchanged glances and Kai was becoming more and more suspicious that they might not be who they said they were. Mac kept scouring her face looking for… Kai didn’t know what. Something was off here.“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” she asked, steadily.

“What?” Mac deflected, blinking. “That’s just my face—”

“No, no,” Kai insisted. “She’s doing it too.” She nodded at Petra.

A silent exchange occurred between the two. They had definitely been working together for quite some time now. Finally they came to an agreement to come clean.

The person named Mac Smith began, “Kai—”

“Detective Mendoza,” she corrected.

“Detective Mendoza,” Petra said. “My colleague—they—well… your name popped up.”

Squinting, Kai looked at the Moreau file. “I have nothing to do with this.”

“Not the case,” Petra assured. “It was simply our way to connect with you.”

“Why?”

She swallowed. Her eyes were unsure behind her glasses but she finally asked, “Did you do a DNA test? One of those tests to find you ancestry?”

Kai frowned. Had she?

“Your name popped up on our database but we could not find—well—you,” Mac said. “You have no digital presence so we came in person.”

“We have a colleague,” Petra continued. “We believe… he’s your brother.”

The gun pressed deeper into Alex’s side.

“You should come with us,” a man grunted and Alex looked around the busy pool area. Taking this guy out would cause a scene and innocent people could accidentally get hurt because he didn’t know if the guy was alone. He could be bringing Rita, Cory—the blonde goddess—into danger.

“C’mon,” the man said. Alex had no choice but to start walking where he wanted him to go and he locked his eyes one final time on the blonde goddess. If he didn’t know any better she was looking right at him and taking in the situation.

Not that she would be any help.

He needed to find out who he accidentally pissed off this time around.

“You’re not one of the regulars,” he said, taking the moment while waiting for the elevator to look at his adversary. The man wasn’t Filipino, he had a remnants of a purple dust on his shirt and was looking around shiftily. Like he almost couldn’t believe he was escorting Alex. “Look man—”

“Shut up, Spencer,” he said.

“Spencer?” Alex frowned, trying to remember any of his undercover aliases that had the name Spencer. “Who the hell is—”

The elevator doors opened and he was pushed inside. If he didn’t know any better, he could hear someone listen in from the nearby plants. Just in case someone was, he said loudly enough, “Fifth floor huh?”

Kai was looking at the two agents like they were crazy. A brother?

“It’s interesting because our data says you should be fully siblings but, well, he’s not Filipino.” Mac winced. “Eliot is adopted and so when you popped up we thought it would be a start to see if there’s a connection. Not that he needs it because he has us and his adoptive father but—”

“We were curious,” Petra added.

“I—” Kai stammered. “I haven’t done a test—”

Ernesto frowned next to her. “Didn’t you get one of those kits as a gag?”

“What?” And then the penny dropped. “I got it for Alex.”

Both Petra and Mac perked up – Mac getting out their phone.

“So it wasn’t you?” they asked. “Who did the test?”

“N-no,” Kai said. “I wanted to prove to Alex that he didn’t have a drop of Filipino in him.”

“Do you have a picture of him?”

“What’s his full name?”

She was bombarded with questions and suddenly felt extremely protective of Alex, but that didn’t stop Ernesto of flashing his phone with a picture of them three.

Their jaws dropped, and Mac turned round their own phone to show a picture of… Alex. But also not Alex. He had long hair and a serious frown between his brows.

“What in the parent trap—“ Mac said but Petra didn’t waste any time.

“Where is Alex now?”

Alex didn’t like being tied to chairs, but somehow he always found himself in that position every other full moon. The guy remained alone, tapping on his phone and swinging around his gun like he was nervous.

“Can’t believe it,” he muttered. “Catching Eliot Spencer. By myself!”

Again Alex wrecked his brain trying to remember being Eliot Spencer but nothing popped up. “You sure did,” he said instead, slowly wriggling out of the bonds. “May I ask why?”

“Shut up!” the guy snapped. “I am not sure why you gave yourself up like that, but maybe the rumors are false! Maybe Eliot Spencer isn’t as invincible as they claim!”

Damn, this Eliot Spencer alias had some weight to it.

“Oh yeah?” he said. “What else do they claim?”

The man looked at him. “That you don’t feel pain, and that you took down the whole Moreau estate single-handedly two years ago. To save your wife.”

Moreau? He knew that name. Even though he wasn’t in the DEA anymore, any big events regarding illegal drugs still caught his attention. He knew this had been in Europe whilst he had been taking down similar dealings here.

Then he remembered purple dusting on the man’s shirt. Lilang bulaklak.

“Empfinium,” he murmured and the man’s eyes went big.

Suddenly the door opened with a bang and where he had expected Kai and Ernesto to barge in – it was actually the blonde goddess.

“Hey babe!” she said with a hiccup to hide her heavy breathing. “This resort sure knows how to shake a cocktail.”

She had ditched the hat, but was still in her swimsuit and lace cover up. Looking around the room, she took in the scene before locking eyes with Alex. She had a curious look on her face before resuming her tipsy state and gasping at him. “Are you having another scuffle with poker players?! On our honeymoon?!”

“I, uh, I’m sorry? Sweetie?” he said, noting the grimace at sweetie. Then the man pointed his gun at the blonde goddess and she immediately began to tremble and cry.

“Oh babe, what have you done?!” she sobbed, putting up her hands.

“Hold up—” the man said, still pointing his gun. “You’re his wife?” The gun briefly pointed at Alex before returning to her, like she was a larger threat. “Mrs Spencer?” The goddess hiccuped and pouted. “The Damsel?”

At this she dropped her hands in annoyance. “God, being known really isn’t fun,” she said, her voice suddenly normal and not hysterical whatsoever anymore. “How did you know? Is the Macarena still haunting you?”

Alex looked at her like she was insane.

“Mr Moreau had warned us not to trust the woman,” the man said, walking to stand in between Alex and her. “When we fled San Lorenzo.”

“Mr Moreau is in prison,” she told him. “Three guesses who put him in there.”

And Alex jumped up, freed from his bonds, and put his arm around the man’s neck to choke him. To his surprise, the woman then punched the man so hard in the face that Alex actually stumbled backwards as the man crumpled in his arms onto the floor.

He looked from the man to the blonde goddess, whose cheeks were flushed and she had a big grin on her face. Again she looked at him curiously.

“Who are you?” he asked but she ignored his question. Suddenly she was in his space and grasped his jaw, turning him to show her his face from all angles. Friend or foe? Friend or foe? raced through his brain.

“Are you Kai?” she asked and he shook his head perplexed whilst she was still holding his jaw.

“What?” he huffed. “No!”

“Huh,” she said and let go of his jaw. “We should go!” Her voice was cheery and she reached into her swimsuit to take out an earbud.

“Is that—” Alex started but the woman grabbed his wrist and started to guide him out of the room.

“Hello Coney Island!” she said and Alex frowned, realizing she was talking through the comms. “I’m fine, I’ve retrieved the—” She eyed him and he was suddenly struck by her hazel eyes. “I’ve retrieved him. Fifth floor.” Silence as the other party spoke. “Heading to the elevators.”

“Who—” Alex started but she shushed him. They were about to reach a corner when she suddenly pressed him into the wall. “What?” She fully covered his body with hers and she smelled like the pool, sunscreen and something floral.

It took a while before he heard the scuffle of a fight around the corner. He knew he could help, that he could step in but he was too distracted by the woman – was she an agent? Interpol?

The only way to find out was obviously via a romantic candlelit dinner.

“I know this is poor timing,” he whispered and she shushed him again, “but I would love to have dinner later—”

“You’re really chatty,” she murmured. “So different than him.”

The fight died down and she released him. “Different from whom?” he asked before trying again. “Anyway what do you say? You – me – dinner?”

A pitiful look marred her face. “I’d love to but… I’m married—” His heart broke. “—to Eliot Spencer.”

Again that name! Alex let out a frustrated noise. “Who the fuck is Eliot Spencer?”

A man swiftly appeared next to her. His hair was long and he had a trickle of blood running down his cheek. Still it was like Alex was looking into a mirror.

“I’m Eliot Spencer,” his twin grunted. And Alex felt his heart rate rise without even having his tracker on.

Chapter Text

“This is weird,” Kai said, and the blonde woman who had come down with both Alex and his doppelgänger nodded in agreement. They were watching the two men having a silent stand off with each other. After locating Alex at the resort, they had retreated to one of the suites the group had been staying at.

“We could be here all night,” the woman said.

“I’m sorry,” Kai said. “Who are you again?”

“Vera,” she said and they shook hands. “Eliot’s wife.” She nudged her head to the long haired man. Somehow he seemed more intimidating than Alex, even though they looked the same. So Eliot was Alex’s brother—twin even, Kai pondered.

Ernesto had taken the other two agents to where they reckoned the empfinium farm would be. She still wasn’t sure to trust the people, but the day had turned pretty weird once she saw Alex and Eliot side by side.

“Are you an agent too?” Kai asked, forcing small talk whilst the brothers were still squinting at each other.

“Oh no,” Vera said, waving it off. “I’m a mom, and book editor.”

“You have kids?”

“Yeah, two girls – this was supposed to be our honeymoon redo but trouble seems to find us.”

“You hear that, Alex?” Kai called. “You’re an uncle!”

The men remained silent, though Kai could see Alex struggling. Vera seemed to see the same.

“Eliot won’t crack,” she said. “He literally trained with monks at some point, he can go non verbal for days. And I’ve already deduced that Alex is a bit of a yapper.”

“I am not—” Alex snapped, and then groaned.

“I also deduced that he wants woo me, so anything I will say in detriment to his character will cause him to break.”

Kai nodded impressed, looking at Eliot who was smirking and sending his wife a wink.

“Trained with monks?” Alex asked Eliot, scoffing. “Why didn’t you just join them?”

“They were better company for sure,” Eliot grunted.

“And what’s up with the voice?” Alex imitated a growl. “And the hair?”

“You’re the one to talk,” and he felt judged head to toe. “Retiring to Cebu? Did you have a midlife crisis? Couldn’t get yourself a nice motorcycle?”

They squinted at each other and Kai chimed in, “He did actually steal a motorcycle like five years ago when his daughter was in danger.”

At this Vera squealed. “Babe!” she told Eliot. “You’re an uncle too!”

But the two brothers just grunted at each other before separating to go to their respective partners. One through marriage, the other through duty.

“You okay?” Kai asked Alex. “This is a lot—”

“I don’t care,” he insisted. “I care about empfinium.”

“Well that makes two of us,” Eliot said, rubbing Vera’s waist as he snaked his arm around her possessively. Vera, however, knew exactly what he was doing and batted his hand away.

“We came here for our honeymoon and potentially meet your brother, not to uncover another empfinium farm. That’s why Sophie and Bree came along.” They were talking like they had forgotten who they were in the room with, and Kai and Alex let it happen.

Sophie, Bree… Eliot… the names drifted through Alex’s head trying to connect it, but he was missing a link.

“Neither Sophie or Bree could defend themselves, I took out two guys at the elevators,” Eliot said. “Parker and Hardison volunteered to babysit, which they are regretting by the way—”

“Parker?!” Alex suddenly squeaked. “The Parker?” His eyes went from Eliot to Vera and back again before he straightened his back. “I know who these people are—Kai, arrest them.”

“What?” She looked at him like he was crazy.

“Trust me, I’ve heard the stories – the rumors of a team of black knights. Reformed criminals who con companies, people—led by the master thief Parker.” His eyes still shifted between the two. “Spencer,” he finally said, looking at Eliot. “The hitter.”

“Alex, you’re not making sense.”

“They’re criminals, Kai!” he exclaimed and then looked at Vera. “The Macarena.”

Vera raised her eyebrows and Kai huffed. “You’re being crazy.”

“No! No, I’m not!” he seethed. “The group of people are notoriously untouchable even through their files because it plays the Macarena when you try to open them!”

“We should update the song,” Vera told Eliot.

“Not the time, hon.”

“Maybe some country next? Or like a theme song for each of us?”

“Not helping here.”

Vera just shrugged, nonplussed by Alex’s freak out, which spurred Alex on even more.

“Are you their grifter?” he asked her darkly, remembering how easily she had played a character.

“Vera’s not part of this,” Eliot grunted. “She’s just my wife.” But Alex wasn’t convinced.

“He called her the Damsel.”

At this Eliot actually pinched the bridge of his nose and turned to his wife.

“Oh boy, here we go,” Vera sighed.

“I told you to stay by the pool—” Eliot started.

“I literally watched a variant of you wearing converse get snatched.”

“You could have used your comms—”

“I was racing up the stairs in flip flops.”

Kai was watching the tennis match like she was going through an outer body experience. This ‘version’ of Alex was weirdly more like her than actual Alex; the way he was bickering about Vera ignoring orders and forgoing her safety was something she would be doing to Alex.

“I should put you back on a flight home,” Eliot said. “If there are Moreau men here and an empfinium farm then you’re in too much danger.”

“Well I am no longer allergic to empfinium so I am fine being here,” Vera huffed back, but Alex stepped in – literally stepped in front of her and stared.

“You have empfinium resistance?” he asked her. “Like you feel… pain?”

“I did—how do you know about that?” she asked with a frown.

“I’m ex-DEA,” he said. “I like to understand the drugs I’m chasing. I read about the resistance in a medical journal.”

Her eyes significantly widened and there was a sudden twinkle in it. She turned to Eliot. “He’s read my edits!”

“Great, hon—so did Damien Moreau.”

“Wait!” Alex grabbed Vera’s wrist to spin her around and Eliot let out a growl. “You wrote about that?”

“It felt like civic duty after almost being killed by it twice!” she said, way too lighthearted for the seriousness of the topic. “Was it helpful?”

“Hon,” Eliot intercepted. “Not the time.”

“Yeah,” Kai started. “Hate to break this up, but Alex you were snatched and if—” she looked at Eliot, “—your colleagues are right, there might be empfinium on the rise on the island.”

“Nothing we can’t handle,” Alex said, still looking dreamily at Vera. “Just arrest these two and we’ll investigate.”

“Alex—” Kai tried and then her phone rang. Ernesto’s name lit up.

“You’re gonna want to get that,” Eliot said and tapped his ear to let her know that he already knew what Ernesto and his colleagues had found out. “And you’re gonna need us.”

That night Alex had the unfortunate pleasure of sleeping on the couch in Vera and Eliot’s suite. At the location of the supposed empfinium farm, Ernesto had uncovered a bounty on Eliot—and by extension Alex.

“You two are identical, so you’re staying put,” Kai had commanded. “Myself and Ernesto will work out a plan with the other two.” And she had left at that.

The only one that had complained more than Alex was Vera. As the man had recognized Vera as the Damsel, Eliot was all but chaining her to the suite. Alex had to admit she looked her most beautiful when she was angry as she had stormed off to the bedroom to call her daughters. This left Eliot and Alex alone for the first time.

“I don’t know how you managed to pull her,” Alex said. “Way out of your league.”

“It was the hair,” Eliot grunted, shaking his long locks.

Wearily both of them took seats in the living area – Alex on the couch where he was to sleep and Eliot on one of the arm chairs.

“The guy said you single-handedly took down Moreau—”

“I work with a team.”

“—to save her.”

Eliot exhaled loudly through his nose and stared at him intensely. “I don’t owe you our background.”

“Hey, I get it, my daughter – Evelyn – she got taken a few years ago.”

“Which was when you stole the motorbike?”

“I may gone a bit berserk.”

Eliot shrugged nonplussed. “I get it too.”

Alex sensed the awkwardness, so he returned to the topic that they had both agreed on earlier.

“Empfinium,” he said and Eliot’s gaze went became even more intense – if that was possible. “What does it do to her?”

Something twitched in his jaw and Alex was fascinated by the micro expressions on his face—a face identical to his.

“I’ve only witnessed it once,” Eliot said, opening up, “but she had been shot at the same time so it was hard to distinguish.”

Alex blinked. “And she is claiming to be just a mom and book editor?”

“She is a mom and book editor,” Eliot gritted. “She laid her past to rest in a grave. Several times.”

“Sure, total normal behavior then… like when punched the guy so hard he’s probably still out cold.” He rolled his eyes, but Eliot smirked slightly.

Oh, Alex realized—his wife was his weakness.

Predictable.

“What did Moreau do?” he asked.

The smirk vanished so suddenly it was like it had never been there. He had expected Eliot to blow him off again, but instead he said gravelly, “Many things.”

“Well aren’t you an encyclopedia of knowledge,” Alex sassed.

“I am actually,” Eliot grunted. “I am just selective with whom I share.”

The two sparred a bit longer until Vera rejoined them, dropping herself into Eliot’s lap, before curiously looking at Alex. “I wonder who’s older,” she mused.

“I am,” said both Eliot and Alex.

Her giggle was too beautiful to belong to a grumpy brute. With growing jealousy, he watched Eliot rub Vera’s back—his wedding ring catching the light every so often.

The tension that followed was so thick, Alex could have cut it with a knife. Vera sensed it too and tried to get small talk going.

“How long have you been in the Philippines, Alex?”

“A while.”

“Do you like any sports?”

“I do.”

It continued in a similar fashion all the way through the room service they ordered. Alex tried to keep his cool, but when Vera offered for him to order anything he’d like—he slipped in his favorite dishes that he couldn’t afford on a regular day. Vera seemed to covet the information like treasure, trying to get her husband to talk to him about it.

“Eliot’s passionate about food,” she said.

“Hon,” Eliot warned in return.

So Vera steered away from trying to get the brothers to know each other and began talking about the book (the Lone Wolf) she was analyzing to help the author with a sequel.

“I might suggest to Milton that Aaron Crawler has a hidden twin brother…” she mused.

Alex couldn’t resist. “I saved August Crowe a few years ago.”

“Eliot loves singing August Crowe—”

“Hon…”

Finally Vera snapped with a slap on the table, the plates rattling. “Fine—I’m going to explore the many TV channels this resort has to offer, but don’t even think about coming to bed without a single fun fact about Alex!” She pointed at Eliot dangerously, adding quietly, “And if you think I’ll be wearing any of my honeymoon nightwear—you can dream on!”

Eliot swallowed so loudly, Alex could hear it. With a slam, Vera closed the door to the bedroom, leaving Alex and Eliot alone once more.

“Seriously out of your league,” Alex muttered. As Eliot genuinely looked like a kicked puppy, Alex threw him a bone. “I was raised by my con-artist uncle.”

Eliot blinked, and that was as much of an acknowledgment Alex was going to get, he was sure. But to his surprise, Eliot spoke.

“I was raised by the most honest people you’ll ever meet,” he said.

Alex digested that for a second. “Interesting how I became an agent and you became a con-man.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” Eliot said, and suddenly Alex understood.

“And you don’t want me to know anything,” he said softly. Eliot nodded. “Then why come here?”

“Empfinium, to start with,” he said. “Secondly—my family—”

“The criminals?”

“—they always hone on about redemption. When a sibling popped up in Bree’s program, my family—well, they’re insistent. But I don’t need you.” His blue eyes were piercing and Alex chewed his cheek. “I have everyone I need already. I’m indulging them by being here, but to be honest—I’d rather be in bed with my wife over there and find out what fucking lace lingerie she brought with her than try and bond with a brother I have no desire of having in my life.” Eliot got up. “But I thank you for the fun fact.”

And with that he left Alex alone in the living area, disappearing into the room Vera had gone into. As Eliot wasn’t sent straight back, he assumed Vera didn’t tell him off.

After what felt like hours, Alex finally found sleep, but it was fitful.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Alex asked the shadowy form at the door that without a doubt was Vera the next morning.

She looked over her shoulder guiltily. It was slowly dawning outside, a soft pink glow filling the suite, and Vera was dressed in a soft blue summer dress.

“Well?” he insisted.

“I left my book at the pool after I saw you,” she whispered. “I was just quickly going to ask reception to get it back.”

“I don’t have to remind you that we are in lockdown because of the bounty.”

“I’m just going to reception, I look like any normal tourist here.”

“Where’s Eliot?”

“Shower,” she said, her hand still on the doorknob. “I’ll be quick—” She stopped. “Wait, why am I justifying myself to you? Be right back!” And with a twirl of her dress, she vanished into the hallway.

“Fucking hell,” Alex swore, immediately getting up and following her. The suite was on the top floor and he found Vera patiently waiting by the elevators.

“Fun fact about me,” he huffed. “I have a heart condition that worsens with stress.”

Vera looked at him slightly alarmed. “I hope that’s not genetic!”

The elevator doors opened and she almost floated past them. Alex joined begrudgingly.

“I’ll be just fine,” she said. “If anything it’s more dangerous to have your face around.”

“Because it’s your husband’s face.”

“Exactly.”

“Whom you find very attractive.”

“Something about it being the last thing you see before you get shot really does the trick,” she said, smiling. But the smile vanished when Alex brought up what he wanted to know since they had met.

“Was that when you got drugged with empfinium?” He watched her whole demeanor shift. “What does it do to you?”

The elevator rode along and Vera stayed still, breath hitching before quietly saying, “It felt like asking for death to come and take you, but it never arrives. It’s anguish.”

Alex swallowed. “You said it used to? What changed?”

She took a deep breath in. “Moreau,” she said, calmly, before looking at him. “He facilitated a new variant, but I know the tell when I’m in a haze. When it becomes unbearable, I just look for something green.”

Alex frowned and the doors opened to the reception area. It was deserted, alarmingly so, and he grabbed Vera’s wrist to keep her close.

They both looked at the empty front desk.

“Maybe they’re on a break?” Vera asked and Alex shook his head.

“Five star resort with no front staff… I doubt it.”

“Oh!” Vera exclaimed. “My book!” She pointed at a small cupboard with books, and quickly yanked her arm free. Alex ran after her and grabbed her hand as she picked up her book with the other. Vera threatened, “I’ll break your fingers if you don’t—”

He shushed her. “Something’s up.”

Hand in hand, Alex walked them towards the entrance, which was equally deserted.

“We should head back up—” Alex started, but felt something prick his neck.

He had all but seconds before his body collapsed, dragging Vera down with him, and his mind sank into lavender haze.

Chapter Text

Kai ducked underneath the police tape in the resort and joined Ernesto and Sophie. Police were taking statements from the reception staff and she nodded at Ernesto to start talking.

“Staff were told there was an emergency of some sort and to quickly evacuate,” he said. “They raised alarms, but when I got here I found Alex’s doppelgänger searching for his wife.”

Kai looked around. “Where is Eliot?”

“Upstairs,” Sophie said. “Bree is going through security footage and Eliot is confined to the room. Last time Vera disappeared, well…” She cleared her throat. “Let’s hope he stays just as calm.”

“How do we know she’s been taken?” Kai asked and Ernesto held up a book—The Lone Wolf—the one Vera had been reading according to Alex. “This was on the floor.”

“And Alex?”

“He wasn’t in the suite, plus…” Ernesto hummed. “You know how he gets.”

“Sounds like they’re both trouble magnets,” Sophie mused. “Let’s join Bree and Eliot upstairs, and hope neither Vera or Alex have been drugged with empfinium.”

Alex was dreaming.

He found himself on a couch… a familiar couch. It was the couch at his ranch in Texas, and he was staring at the TV where a football game was showing.

“What the—” he muttered and then a bottle of beer appeared in his view, dangling in front of him, and upon looking up he stared into his own face.

“C’mon brother, it’s not going to drink itself,” he said, and Alex recognized the voice as belonging to Eliot. Perplexed, he took the bottle and Eliot vaulted over the back of the couch to join him.

“Let’s go, Cowboys!” he hollered and took a sip of his own bottle.

“The fuck is happening,” Alex breathed, staring at Eliot. He looked slightly different. Though his hair was long, there were a couple of scars missing from his face. “What are you doing here?”

Eliot looked at him incredulously. “Um, I live here?”

“What?” Alex swallowed and looked around, suddenly noticing the picture frames—all filled with photos of them two. They were kids in some of them, showing off fishes they caught. Others showed them as teens in matching green letterman jackets. He jerked his head back to Eliot, who wearily tried to take the beer in Alex’s hand back.

“You okay there?”

“Where’s your ring?” Alex asked, noting its absence.

“Ring?” Eliot frowned.

Alex got up, looking around frantically. “Where’s Vera?”

“Who?”

Was he having a heart attack? “Your wife.”

Eliot huffed incredulously.

“I don’t have a wife.”

In the suite, Kai half expected it to be in ruins—thinking Eliot would have torn the place upside down—but instead she found him calmly looking over Bree’s shoulder.

The laptop’s screen filtered through sped up footage, occasionally going blank, and every time it did, Bree hit rewind.

“It’s milliseconds we’re working with,” they murmured.

Eliot didn’t turn as he told Kai and Sophie, “Elevator footage shows Vera and Alex go downstairs. She didn’t have her comms on her. We’re cross referencing it with the guy who snatched Alex yesterday and see if he’s been in the lobby since.”

“He wouldn’t be, we arrested him,” Kai said. “He’s at the station.”

She was met with three blinking faces, before Sophie broke the silence. “Right, forgot we’re working with competent police. Fine, me and Bree will go back as the international agents and—”

“Bree has been flagged as a person of interest in the hacking,” Ernesto said, joining them after hanging up the phone. The gang of three again blinked.

“How did they—” Bree said, before going quiet. “Shit, I did some dodgy stuff in 2019 in Manila—before I joined Leverage.”

“You did what?” Eliot boomed, his voice like a dad.

Kai’s eyes widened. “That was you?”

“I was young!” Bree defended themselves.

“You went to the Philippines?” Sophie said. “Alone?!”

“I traced you all to Panama, remember? I’m well traveled.”

Eliot pinched the nose of his bridge in the way Kai had been seeing him do a lot. “My wife and br—Alex are still missing, we need information. What’s the plan, Sophie?”

But Sophie was staring at him, and then she turned to Kai. “Where does Alex live?”

“The gift shop,” she said, confused. “Near the beach.”

“Excellent,” Sophie said. “Let’s go steal Alex Walker.” And she walked off.

“What do you mean you don’t have a wife?” Alex snapped. “She’s all you fucking care about.”

Eliot looked at him like he was insane. “Did you already have a drink? Something… strong?”

Alex got up, swaying on his legs and ignoring Eliot. “This is a dream.”

The ranch looked exactly like the last time he had been there, bar from all the pictures of him and Eliot growing up. “This is… this is drugs,” Alex realized. “They drugged me—they drugged—fuck—they may have drugged your wife.”

What if they drugged her with a variant Vera was still allergic to?

“Bro, I don’t have a wife—”

“Shut up!” Alex snapped. It may be the only time he got to tell Eliot to shut up without him killing Alex in return. Not that he had long to live if he managed to get Vera hurt. He imagined her unconscious body, dragged into an unmarked van. They would have taken him too because of the bounty—because the stupid bounty was on his identical twin.

“Vera?” he called.

“Do I need to—” And Alex shushed him again.

“A tell! Vera mentioned there’s a tell when you’re in a haze!” He wrecked his brain, searching for the answer. “Look for something green…” Alex murmured, remembering Vera’s words. Immediately his eyes went to the picture of him and Eliot in the green letterman jackets. But they were no longer green.

They were now purple.

And Alex woke up in a hot room, hands and legs tied, and alone.

“Vera?” he called.

The door opened, but it wasn’t his brother’s wife.

Vera was in a haze.

She knew she was—she was an expert on it. She also knew she should start looking for the tell, to find something green, but she was intrigued.

Somehow she found herself in a bar. An American bar for sure—Oklahoma by the looks of it, as the flag with the olive branch was proudly displayed. It oozed country, quality and care. She only knew one person that matched those three traits, and as she wasn’t wearing her wedding rings, Vera assumed she was in an alternate reality. A smile twitched on her lips, and she wondered… how would she and Eliot meet in this one?

“Good day dream?” a husky voice asked, snapping her out of her ponders. She stared at her husband’s face, who was behind the bar and pouring her a drink. “It’s okay to daydream—I mean… it’s an old boring bar. Who wouldn’t?”

He smirked, sliding her the shot of vodka. Immediately Vera knew this wasn’t her husband—something was off about him, and not just the short hair. Eliot had been nervous to talk to her when they met. But she let the haze engulf her.

“I don’t think it’s a boring bar,” she said, and her voice was so different. Her accent somehow thick—huh… Weird. Like she hadn’t been living in the US for the past decade or so.

Not-her-husband smiled broadly. “Hey, you from Europe? What are you doing in this piece of Oklahoma?”

Vera grinned devilishly. “I’m looking for my husband.”

Right as she said it, a door opened and Eliot—her Eliot—appeared, carrying plates of food. Of course he would be in the kitchen.

Alex, she assumed, followed her gaze and huffed. “Not sure if you noticed but I have the same face as that guy.”

At his words, Eliot looked up at him, and then looked at Vera. His lips noticeably parted, and without even putting down the dishes at the designated table, he walked to the bar. The plates clattered onto the wood and Eliot joined his brother, eyes never leaving Vera.

“This guy giving you trouble, ma’am?” he drawled, slapping Alex on the shoulder. His hair was longer than Alex’s but not by much.

“More like the other way around,” Alex said. “She says she’s here looking for her husband.”

Vera couldn’t stop looking at Eliot. So this is what her head imagined he’d be if he never… well—had needed a reason to redeem himself. He looked… soft. Her heart ached at the thought he never had to armor his in this universe.

“Your husband, huh?” Eliot asked. “I’m not seeing a ring.” He nodded at the hand that was wrapped around the shot glass. “You on the market for one?”

Next to Eliot, Alex huffed once again and moved to take the plates to the table, muttering how he didn’t understand how Eliot was deemed more handsome when they had the same face. If only he knew…

“Yeah,” Vera murmured, leaning forward. “I am.”

Eliot, too, moved closer and rested his arms on the bar. “What are you looking for in a husband?”

“Hmm.” She pursed her lips. “I love a man who can cook.”

Eliot nodded. “Go on.”

“Stunning blue eyes.”

“Noted.”

“Thick brown hair.”

“Specific.”

They had gravitated so closely that it almost felt instinct to kiss him, but Alex blocked them from doing so by loudly putting glasses in the sink. “Pack it up,” he said. “If you don’t resume cooking, I will and we both know that’s not a good idea.”

Eliot bit his lip, winking at Vera, and she giggled like a schoolgirl. So this was what it was like having a normal Lavender Haze? Her smile faltered a little bit, and she reminded herself of how many people abuse the drug for this exact reason. It was a high—a dopamine hit. To be in a dream life.

She needed to wake up, but not before she grabbed Eliot’s wrist.

“Hey,” she said, softly only for him to hear, and he looked at her questioningly. “I just want you to know that in any universe—haze or not—that you’re the love of my life.”

Eliot stared, and Vera realized that he was frozen. The whole haze was frozen, apart from her.

“Time to go,” she said, content, and looked up to the Oklahoma flag, whose green olive branch had already turned purple.

She woke, sitting on a chair, her wrists ziptied together, and she rolled her eyes.

“Amateurs,” she huffed, saying with a vague San Lorenzorean accent, “‘Don’t trust the woman’.” Bracing herself, she snapped the ziptie on her knees. “Don’t trust the woman, but please don’t make it challenging for her—gah!”

Looking around the room, she realized she was in some sort of supply closet. The empfinium was making her sluggish, but the need to find Alex was greater, and she listened to hear if there was anyone on the other end of the door.

Silence.

Twisting the knob, she peered into a hallway, deeming it safe and making her way through it. Just as she approached a corner, she heard someone running towards her and she wanted to turn back around to hide—only to be snatched by the wrist.

Alex twisted her in his arms, pressing her up against the wall. Before she could let the relief wash over her, he grabbed her jaw and brought her face up to his.

And kissed her.

Chapter Text

“How does Alex deal with these shoes?” Eliot grumbled. “They take forever to put on.”

Kai was having another weird out of body experience, driving someone that looked exactly like Alex but wasn’t Alex to the police station.

“When you call him for a job, does he just take fifteen extra minutes?” he continued. “Has he tripped over these laces before?”

Kai sucked in her lips. “Can I ask something?”

Eliot hummed approval. “Sure.” He was still focused on his converse shoes and funky patterned socks.

“Your wife is missing, but you’re worried about Alex’s shoes?”

He hummed again. “You’d rather have me threaten to burn this island to the ground until I have my wife back?”

“I…” she trailed off. “I did some research, last night—about you.”

“Deciding whether to arrest us after all?” he mused. “Is the Macarena haunting your home?”

“No, paper files are quiet,” Kai bit.

“Ah.”

“It’s just… based on your history.” She glanced at Eliot, who was staring at her with such piercing eyes that her throat was suddenly dry. “I would have thought you’d be the ‘burn islands down for her’ type of guy. It seems weird that for all your notoriety, you do not appear one bit angry that your wife has been taken?”

It turned silent for a bit. The car slowing down in traffic, and Kai was suddenly hyper aware that—based on the files she read—she just questioned one of the most dangerous men on the planet. She felt for her gun and she knew Eliot followed her every movement.

Then Eliot broke the silence. “Easy, Mendoza,” he said. “I can take a punch.” Traffic started up again. “When you rack up as much anger as I do, and you take it out without restraint—without thought—you’re being wasteful. Why would I waste anger on my family? On people like you who offered help? On innocent resort workers? Nah. If there’s anything I learned from being that man you read about in some old paper file, it’s that I need to rely on those that help me find the ones that did wrong.” They pulled up at the police station, Kai switching off the engine.

“And what happens when we find them?” she asked. “The ones that did wrong?”

Eliot adjusted his baseball cap, ensuring his gelled hair was neatly tucked underneath, and said, “They get to meet the guy from that old paper file.” He opened the car door. “And they’re not gonna like it.”

Ernesto was circling the location of the farm where he had been yesterday when he heard Eliot say in his ear, “Okay, comms on.”

The farm had been empty yesterday, Moreau’s men either at the resort or the station, but he had a feeling they could have taken Alex and Vera here.

Then he heard Kai speak.

“Alex has his shoulders back, and less frowning—he more, like, raises his eyebrows. Yeah, like that. God that’s creepy.”

In a voice that indeed creepily mimicked Alex, Eliot said, “I’ll have you know I’ve learned grifting from the best.”

“N’aww, thanks,” Sophie cooed. She was in a van with Bree somewhere between the farm and the police station, ready to travel wherever Alex and Vera could be.

“We just need to avoid chie—shit,” Kai said. “Chief Ocampo, hi!”

Ernesto groaned on Kai’s behalf.

“Detective Mendoza… Alex…” Chief Ocampo said. “I wanted to get a status report on the hacking. Our systems are still down and I am in need of access to my emails.”

“We’re on top of it, sir,” Kai said.

It turned quiet for a second, Chief Ocampo breaking it, “You all right there, Alex?”

Eliot said peppily, “Right as rain, sir.”

Ernesto cringed. “Bit too happy, Eliot.” Luckily Kai steered the conversation away from the impostor in the building.

“I would like to speak to the perp that was arrested at the Paradise Resort yesterday?”

“Certainly,” Ocampo said. “The cameras and recording are a separate system, so you can still use the interrogation rooms. Shame I can’t hook up my laptop there!”

Imagining their faces, Ernesto cringed again. Why had they not thought about the cameras? How were they going to convince the perp to tell them where the man in front of him was?

“Not to worry,” Sophie said. “Plan B!” And it sounded like she was starting the car.

“I hope you guys know—”

“—what you’re doing,” Ernesto said, not sounding convinced and Kai shared that feeling. She shouldered the door to the interrogation room open and the man was already sitting there—with a bruise nastily on his cheekbone. Alex had been right about Vera’s right hook.

When he saw Eliot, he visibly paled.

“I am Detective Mendoza, this is our consultant Alex Walker,” Kai said on auto pilot, feeling her palms moisten at the lie. Keep it together, she scolded herself. “We would like to know why you grabbed our dear friend over here.”

She sat down across from him, but Eliot remained standing. He was slightly out of view, not that Kai would have thought the man would be able to see the subtle differences between Eliot and Alex. She guessed Eliot was just being safe.

Or restraining himself.

“I was just following orders!” the man said. “He looked exactly like—”

Eliot coughed, saying, “I do have one of those faces.” His voice was somewhere between Alex and Eliot, but Kai could see the fear in the man’s eyes.

Preying on it, she asked, “Are you growing irises?” He stayed quiet. “Are you distributing empfinium?”

Silence still. Kai didn’t know what to do. As far as the police knew, they were wanting to know why a hoax call was made to the Paradise, not because two people were presumed kidnapped.

They needed a miracle.

“Eliot, you got five minutes,” Bree said out of nowhere and Kai frowned. What did they mean?

Eliot seemed to be in on it, as he immediately walked over and bent low to murmur to man, “You know who I am?”

“I-I thought I did—” the man stuttered. “You seem different from yesterday.”

“Well, you got the right Eliot Spencer today,” Eliot continued in a low, terrifying voice. “And I believe you know about me.”

“Y-yes.”

“Now I’ve got a lot of bounties on my name, some regrettably and some not so regrettably, but why is there one on me now?”

The man swallowed. “I don’t know, I just had orders to find you.”

Kai could sense he was lying, and she watched Eliot grab a hold of the man’s hand.

“Eliot…” she warned, eyes flicking to the cameras.

“Four minutes,” Bree said over comms.

Eliot seemed nonplussed, saying, “If you’re not telling, I’ll move on to a different topic—my wife.” The man paled even more beneath his bruise. “Yeah, you know about her too… she actually taught me this trick.”

Eliot squeezed the fingers of the man, instantly buckling him.

“Aaah! Ow!” the man groaned.

“Were you there in San Lorenzo? In Moreau’s mansion—”

“N-no!”

“—when they tortured her?”

The coldness in Eliot’s voice sent shivers up Kai’s spine. Tortured? These men had… tortured Vera? She suddenly felt no need to interfere—as long as Eliot didn’t kill the guy.

“I swear! I swear I wasn’t! I was stationed on San Lorenzo in the village to find you, but you circumvented the tracking system! Please! I’m just following orders!”

“Then why is there a bounty on me?”

His fingers made a sickening crack.

“Three minutes.”

Kai’s eyes flickered to the cameras, deducing Bree had taken control of them.

“The list!” the man screamed. “The list of buyers! The armies wanting empfinium! You would have it!”

Eliot grunted. “That’s one question answered.” He upped the pressure. “What are your—“

“—locations on Cebu?”

“A farm!” the man squealed, and Ernesto tried not to imagine what Eliot was doing to get this information out of him.

“I’m going in,” Ernesto said, sneaking through the door.

Two men looked up as he walked in, and Ernesto spared no moment to think before knocking them out. The farm looked empty otherwise, but he stayed focused, turning around a corner. He heard muffled sounds and picked up his pace.

“Where else?” Eliot gritted.

“I don’t know! We were just growing the flowers—ah!” the man groaned.

Trying doors on any side, Ernesto followed the noise.

“What was the plan?” Kai suddenly asked. “Once the flowers were grown and you got this list of buyers?”

“We were going to leave the island!”

“Two minutes,” Bree counted down.

Ernesto opened a door and was met with Alex, who was blinking his eyes open and frowning at him. He was tied up on the floor, surrounded by rows of what looked like freshly pruned fields—some purple leafs still scattered around.

Letting out half a sigh of relief, he said, “I got Alex.” He ducked down, helping Alex out of his ties. “They’ve harvested the irises.”

“What’s going on?” Alex drawled sluggishly. “They drugged me—”

Ernesto gestured for him be quiet and pulled out one of the team’s earbuds, putting it in Alex’s ear.

“Any sign of Vera, Ernesto?” Sophie asked.

“I just found CCTV from a location near the farm,” Bree said. “I can only see them take out Alex.” Both Ernesto and Alex winced at a sudden crash in their ears.

“Eliot!” Kai yelled. He must have thrown something, or grabbed the man.

“One minute!” Bree said. “Eliot, reminder you need to restore the room exactly the way I started the loop!”

“Where is my wife?” Eliot sneered. “Where would they have taken her?”

“I don’t know!”

Alex’s blinks became more lucid—he even slapped himself to snap out of whatever haze he had been in. “They might be using her as leverage to get me—I mean Eliot—to give up whatever they’re after.”

“They want some kind of list,” Ernesto filled in. “There were two men here, maybe plan A was to just get it out of you and plan B was to use your wife.”

“My wife,” Eliot snipped, before seeming to ask the man again, “Where is she?”

“What was your exit strategy off the island?” Kai asked more sensibly.

“We have a boat!” the man groaned.

“Thirty seconds!” Bree said. “Eliot, put the man down.”

Alex nudged Ernesto. “We should head to the docks.”

“We’ll meet you there,” said Sophie.

“You okay there?” Ernesto asked as they drove towards the water front. “You look rough.”

“This stuff,” Alex groaned, “it’s no joke.”

“Empfinium?”

“Yeah.”

He swallowed down the dryness in his throat. The haze had seemed so real, he could almost still feel the fabric of the couch. He forced himself to stay in the real world. The lush plants of Cebu thankfully remained green, but he had to remind himself that Vera was very much married to Eliot in the real world.

The vast expanse of the ocean came into view and it looked like they were the first ones at the marina.

“That’s at least fifty boats,” Ernesto said.

“I’m trying to narrow it down,” Bree said, still on their way.

Alex nodded at one walkway. “You start there,” he told Ernesto. “I’ll check the dock master’s manifest.” He pointed at the office. Quickly the two separated, and Alex wondered if Eliot and Kai were close by already.

If Vera was on a boat without the information they were after, what reason would they have to keep her alive?

He burst through the door of the office and the attached supply shop, noting its emptiness. He had no clue what time of the day it was—or even how many days had passed since he had gone down the elevator with Vera. His friends could tell him one hour or five days and he would believe both.

“Do we have any names?” he asked Bree, weirded out by talking to a very notorious hacker and maker.

“Try looking for either Spanish or Italian names,” Bree said.

Alex shook his head, flipping through the clipboard. All names looked either Spanish or Italian to him with his brain full of purple dust. Why had he dreamed he and Eliot had grown up together? He had only really read up about the pain some users experience, but not regarding the hazes everyone else had. As he made a mental note to ask Vera, he remembered that she was actually still missing.

“Ernesto?” he asked. “Anything?”

“No.”

Fuck.

Suddenly he looked up at the sound of a door opening in the back. Maybe the dock master could help him out, and he quickly made his way to what appeared to be a hallway. A door to a supply closet was open, and he noted the zipties discarded on the floor. His heart began beating louder and he walked down the hallway. He spotted a swoosh of a blue skirt that looked like the exact dress Vera had been wearing and he was so relieved, he could honestly kiss the woman.

Then she seemed to move backwards, getting ready to bolt, and Alex reached for her wrist.

Vera sighed into the kiss.

Alex’s arms tightened around her waist, his hands roaming her back, and he opened his mouth slightly. Vera was perplexed, somehow unable to break the spell she was under. Was she still in a haze? Surely not—she broke it with certainty.

But the kiss felt so good, so familiar, it made her head spin. How was this happening to her? Then something about the way he nipped at her lower lip made it click and she pushed him back.

“Eliot?” she asked, and her husband smirked. “What are you wearing?” His hair was tucked under a cap and he was most definitely wearing Alex’s clothes.

“I had to pretend to be the moron at the police station,” he murmured. “Long story.”

“Oh babe,” she sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close to hug him.

“I told you to stay in the suite,” he said, not quite accusingly but she felt scolded nonetheless. He pulled back slightly and gave her another kiss.

A throat cleared nearby, and just like in her haze she heard Alex say, “Okay, pack it up.” They found him looking at them. He nodded at Eliot, gesturing to his clothes. “You have not looked more handsome.”

Eliot reached up, but instead of his cap, he went for the earbud in his ear. “Damn shoes, man. Weird ass socks too,” he said, and pushed the bud into Vera’s ear. “That stays for the remainder we’re here, okay? Need to be able to track your whereabouts.”

Like he was going to let go of her at any point with the way he was clutching her hand now. Vera turned to Alex.

“Did you get drugged?” she asked worryingly and the look he gave her told her enough. “Did you have a haze or—” She knew it was a haze. Had Alex been allergic, he would not be somewhat normal, but she couldn’t help but be scared.

“Had a really fucking weird haze,” Alex said, before softly asking her, “you?”

Eliot’s grip on her hand tightened. “They used empfinium on you?” he growled.

“I was fine,” she tried, but had to yank Eliot back from storming off. “I had a normal haze—”

“It’s not just that,” Eliot gritted. “You forget it’s not the hazes, or even the pain, why this drug is being used.” He pushed her hair out of her face with his free hand. “You were out for hours, hon. Unconscious. Vulnerable.”

She swallowed and stared at the man she loved so dearly. He was so smart, but sometimes so dumb.

“I don’t forget,” she said. “It’s why he tried the first time, remember?” Tugging her hand free, she walked away to find an exit.

“Hon!” Eliot called.

“Who tried what the first time?” Alex asked him and he ignored him, following Vera quickly. Alex kept up. “Hey! Hey! Rita gave me those socks!”

The brothers caught up with Vera on the docks. She was staring at the water with her arms folded. Alex cleared his throat, but Eliot elbowed him in the stomach. Almost like how he would do with Hardison or Harry even.

“Go find Kai and Ernesto,” he told him. “Hon? Let’s go—”

But he didn’t get to finish his sentence as he heard the distinctive sound of guns being cocked.

“Mr Spencer,” a man said with a San Lorenzorean accent. Eliot, Alex and Vera turned around to see a group of five men pointing guns at them. “You have something we want.”

Another man said, “Which of the two is him though?”

Eliot realized that, especially now that he was dressed like Alex, the two of them truly were identical.

The leader shrugged. “Take all three.”

“Like hell you are,” Eliot growled and he shared a glance with Alex, but it was Vera who made the first move.

She ran forward, crying, “P-please—I got what you want!”

“Nice try, Damsel” the leader said, and Eliot realized they weren’t normal guns—they must be the guns shooting empfinium darts. The leader pointed the gun at her, but in the time Vera had distracted him with her cries, both Alex and Eliot took out one of the other men each. Vera ducked from the dart, kicking the leader in the gut.

“We need back up,” Alex said, finger on his comms. Eliot punched another goon and spotted three cars parking up, all being exited by Moreau men.

“No! Stay away!” he yelled, hopefully close enough to Alex or Vera for the team to hear. Vera was still fighting the leader, but the approaching men were also carrying empfinium guns.

She wasn’t safe—he had to make sure she was safe.

Eliot wrapped his arms around Vera’s waist, yanking her away from the leader.

“I’m sorry, hon,” he said.

Vera gave him one warning look, scrambling to avoid what he was about to do. Just as Eliot felt the prick of the empfinium dart in his calf, he threw his wife into the water and succumbed to the haze.

Chapter Text

Eliot was having a fucking nightmare.

His mind was somehow both in the know that what he was experiencing was a haze, but also seemed to believe it was real.

He was in a strange home—a ranch maybe—and was looking at wall pictures of himself and Vera. Except… it wasn’t anything he could remember. There were wedding photos—but not from their HQ wedding, and baby pictures—but neither baby looked like Emma or Alice. There was even a whole family reunion picture at some themepark and he did not recognize one person from it.

And then he was suddenly tackled to the ground by two small boys, screaming at the top of their lungs, “Uncle Eliot!!”

He wrestled the boys almost on auto pilot and noticed they had his brown hair—but Vera’s distinctive hazel eyes. Just as he thought of his wife, her voice scolded, “Boys!”

Looking up at her, he was both elated and disturbed. He was happy she was there, but weirded out with how she was dressed. It wasn’t anything like she would wear nowadays—she looked like a cowgirl, the hat and everything.

“Vera—” he grunted, the boys still on top of him, but she wasn’t listening—snapping at the boys instead with her fingers. What the hell? His wife never treated their daughters like that—or any kids even!

“Leave your uncle alone!” she said, her voice weirdly… Texan? “He only gets two weeks leave, he doesn’t need this.” She helped him up after the boys ran off and dusted his… his army uniform. The realization made his heart beat out of control. “Sorry, sugar,” Vera said. “Walker boys get rowdy. I really wished the twin gene actually had skipped a generation.”

“What are you talking about,” Eliot murmured, staring at her like she was an alien. “Who—”

“Sweetie?” a voice similar to his called out, and Alex appeared with his phone. “Have you seen—” He noticed Eliot. “Brother!”

“Yes,” Vera sighed, “I have seen my brother-in-law. So have our sons.”

Eliot’s heart stopped… It’s just a nightmare, he told himself—it’s fake.

“Sorry, bro—those Walker boys get rowdy, don’t they?” Alex laughed, slapping Eliot’s arm. “They’re just like us when we were their age. Though I can’t imagine them as us now in the future—I mean look at you! A damn Colonel Walker.”

“What?” he breathed. His hand rose up to his chest where medals were proudly pinned. “I…”

“Thank God I joined you to Europe though,” Alex continued unfazed, wrapping his arms around Vera’s waist. “Wouldn’t have found Mrs Gwen Walker otherwise.”

Eliot breathed in deeply through his nose, continuing the mantra that the haze was just torturing him… but when he watched Vera and Alex kiss, he wanted to rip his brother up to pieces.

“Oh hey!” Alex suddenly piped up, ignoring Eliot’s scowl. “Have you seen this?” A phone was pushed into his face and if Eliot hadn’t felt tortured enough, what he read sent him over the edge. It was a news article, with the header in bold letters spelling out: Master thief and hacker dead in ambush.

His head spun and he lost his balance.

“Woah!” Both Vera and Alex reached forward to help him, but he shrugged them off and stormed to the nearest door. “Eliot!”

Ignoring their calls, he looked around the bedroom he walked in. “I need to wake up,” he grunted. He had had hazes before—some fantasy, some reliving actual memories, but they had always seemed harmless. This, he noted, this was what Moreau had in mind with it. It was almost like Red Haze—which he got drugged with a few years back—but this version of empfinium preyed on his deepest, darkest fears… like not being able to protect Parker and Hardison.

In this timeline he might have had a brother, but that wasn’t the life he wanted. He wanted his family—his chosen family—and he wanted his wife, who somehow in this life didn’t get to be her best self.

He needed to wake up—he needed to prevent empfinium being distributed.

“C’mon,” he snarled, slapping himself. He began rummaging through drawers in the search for something green. He had always thought this was a way—with how in his previous hazes anything green turned purple towards the end, but Vera had told him the end could come sooner by forcing it.

Yet somehow Alex owned only blue clothes.

A knock at the door made him look up—he had once seen Vera’s eyes turn partially purple to signify the end of the haze. Quickly he turned around, only to be met with his own reflection in a mirror.

The green army uniform fitted him like a glove, and his hair was neat and short.

He took a deep breath, shocked by what he had become. Who he had become.

Colonel Eliot Walker.

But he wasn’t Eliot Walker.

“I’m Eliot fucking Spencer,” he growled, closing his eyes and upon opening them again—his uniform was purple.

He woke up handcuffed to a pipe inside the hull of a moving boat. Fuck, he thought—he had thrown his wife into the water. He was going to pay for that, if he managed to get them out of this situation.

Then someone said, “Brother, brother hey hey—”

“The fuck you calling me,” Eliot grunted, still burned out from his haze, and Alex seem to try to control his face to not sneer at him. He, too, was handcuffed to a pipe.

“They don’t know who is who yet, better keep it that way,” he snipped. “You okay there?”

“Fucking hate that stuff.” Eliot spat on the floor, like it would remove the drug from his body. Alex hummed in agreement.

“The tell helps,” Alex said softly. “Got out it a lot faster this time.”

Eliot just growled. “We can’t let them abuse it, not in this way…”

“Damn.” Alex looked at him almost concerned. “That bad?”

“Shut up.”

“Mine was weird, like I was back in Spain—”

“Do you ever stop talking?”

“—and I realized it was a haze and just fucking shot Todd in the face—”

“God, give me strength.”

“—but the haze I had earlier was like more of a fantasy haze, is that normal? I wanted to ask Vera—”

“Please don’t say her name.” Eliot reached for his ear almost like a habit, but remembered he had given his earbud to Vera. “We need to get out of here—”

As he said it, the door opened and the leader Vera had fought stepped inside.

“So,” he said, and joked, “will the real Eliot Spencer please stand up?”

Paolo Veleno hadn’t liked Moreau—in fact, he had hated working for him. Moreau had expected to be waited on; to have his every whim catered for. Paolo didn’t like working for a boss who didn’t get his own hands dirty.

And then especially not when it had all gone to shit a year and half ago—when the Damsel had been brought to the villa on San Lorenzo. Paolo had been somewhere in the middle ranks, but had seen the purple flower drug work on her—it had been fascinating, and he had become obsessed.

“Do you know who she’s married to?” one of his colleagues had whispered as they did their patrols. “Eliot Spencer—used to work for the boss, and then like fifteen years ago, he shot his entire army of mercenaries single-handedly.”

Paolo had gawked. “Then why did we kidnap his wife?”

“Revenge, I guess?” his colleague said, shrugging. “Don’t trust the Damsel, though—she’s just as dangerous.”

But he couldn’t let go of the fact that Moreau consciously invited a mass murderer to their island and let Paolo be part of potential collateral damage. That day, he had taken note of Moreau’s plans with the purple flower drug and had smuggled a supply of seeds home with him—with good timing. From what he heard, Spencer’s crew had taken out men bit by bit until there was no one left in the villa.

Forming a crew to leave the island had been easy, but resettling in the months following their escape had proven difficult. However Paolo was patient and, unlike Moreau, got his hands dirty by developing new variants of the flower. The drug was ready, but now he needed buyers.

And he knew one of the men cuffed on his boat had this information.

“So,” he said, eyeing the identical twins, “you two are… brothers?”

Neither spoke.

Rolling his eyes, he took out his gun and rapidly pointed it at one of them. The man didn’t flinch. Then he tried the other—no flinch either.

“Come on,” he said. “Either one of you walks alive off this boat, or neither.”

“I’m in favor of us both walking off,” one said, and Paolo squinted. Dammit. He had hoped the empfinium would have softened them.

“It’s a shame your wife isn’t here,” he said, and both men twitched. Dammit. He pointed the gun at the one he reckoned had thrown her into the safety of the water. “I remember seeing her for the first time in San Lorenzo.” The man didn’t react.

“I remember seeing her for the first time too,” the other said, his voice low and gravelly, and he whipped his gun at him. “Love at first sight.”

“Same here.”

He turned again. Both were doing the same voice.

“I will shoot you both,” Paolo said and the one he was facing let out a huff.

“Then you don’t get what you’re after,” he grunted. “Only one of us knows what you’re talking about as we only knew the other existed two days ago.”

Paolo pointed the gun at the other brother.

“I wouldn’t risk that, man,” he said. “You could be shooting the wrong one!”

“Yeah!” He turned again as the other one spoke. “I mean, I would shoot him, personally—so I can go back to my wife.”

“But maybe he’s bluffing, and I let whatever you’re after just… die.”

Paolo let out a frustrated grunt. “I will shoot both of you and just get the information out of your wife.”

One brother tutted. “Without the leverage of returning her husband and her more handsome brother that she has grown quite attached to?”

“Wow,” the other brother said, his eyebrows raised. “You really want to get us out of here if you admit that Eliot Spencer’s brother is more handsome.”

“Shut up! Both of you!”

A sudden crash from outside made Paolo look behind him to the door. A few of his men called out and he heard what sounded like gun shots.

“Che cazzo?” he shouted. There should be multiple men stationed on deck, but right as he thought it a litter of thuds echoed around the boat. It was followed by a woman yelling, “Where is he?!”

“Who the fuck is that?” Paolo murmured to himself, cocking his gun. Before he could shoot, or even act however, a sudden arm around his neck put him in a chokehold.

One of the Spencers, seemingly freed from his cuffs, put pressure on his throat and growled into his ear, “That would be my wife.”

Chapter Text

The door burst open and Vera appeared, pointing a gun at them. She was dressed in men’s jean shorts and a tank top, with matching converse shoes like Eliot and Alex. Her hair was up in a ponytail.

She was a sight for sore eyes.

“Hey hon,” Eliot said. With his arm around the guy’s throat, he squeezed a bit harder until the man dropped unconscious in a heap onto the floor. Then he told his wife darkly, “You know how I feel about guns.”

Vera did not lower it however, sending him the most beautiful angry glare.

“You threw me in the water!” she sneered.

From behind him, Alex asked Vera, “Are those my clothes?” Then directed to Eliot. “You can pick cuffs?”

“I work with the greatest thief in the world,” Eliot said, like it was obvious. “Of course I can pick cuffs.”

He walked up to Vera, the gun not wavering, until he was so close that the barrel was pressing into his chest. “You’re angry,” he murmured.

“You know damn well I am,” she hissed. Eliot nodded.

“I also know you’d come and find me the fastest because you wanted to tell me off,” he said and she squinted, pressing the gun deeper against his pec—right on his heart.

“I thrive under a deadline,” she said under her breath. “Especially when I’m motivated.”

Eliot bent his head lower, smirking at her. “That’s what I was counting on.”

“This better not be some freaky foreplay,” Alex deadpanned. “Why are you wearing my clothes?”

Vera huffed, remembering trying to get out of the water as quickly as possible after Eliot had thrown her in it unceremoniously. Kai and Ernesto had just ran up from different directions, helping her back onto the dock, but it was too late for Eliot and Alex—the boat with them on it racing away.

“I got Eliot’s earbud,” Vera said, breathing heavily and pushing her wet hair out of her face. “I can’t track him.”

“Alex has his in,” Ernesto said, touching his own ear. “Bree?”

Vera didn’t hear anything and assumed her bud had died. She watched him nod.

“We’re going to meet back at the Paradise, we can regroup in Alex’s gift shop.”

Soaked to the bone, Vera quietly seethed as she followed them to the car and let herself be driven.

“Vera!” Sophie called, running up to her and hugging her. “Thank God you’re okay!”

“I’m fine,” she murmured. “Eliot… he…” Vera cracked her knuckles as she turned her hand into a fist. “I need out of these clothes,” she said softly, passing Sophie into the gift shop.

She disappeared into the back where Kai said Alex lived, being worriedly watched by all four.

“What happened?” Sophie whispered as they gathered around Bree’s laptop.

“Eliot threw her in the water before they got taken.”

Sophie grimaced, turning to Bree. “Anything?”

“I’m tracking Alex’s earbud, they’re on the move, but I intercepted a phone call—they don’t have the empfinium stash yet.”

Muffled from behind the door, Vera said to herself, “I can’t believe he just did that!”

“The stash is at the farm, we need to both stop the group that has Eliot and Alex and avoid the group at the farm being able to get away,” Bree continued.

“So we split up?” Kai said.

“Unbelievable!” Vera yelled, still in the back. There was further rummaging.

“This is a hitter job,” Sophie said. “We need at least two hitters on the boat and one at the farm.”

The door in the back opened and Vera reappeared in shorts and a tank top, angrily tying up her hair and toeing on some of Alex’s converse shoes. “Stupid, stupid man,” she muttered to herself, then told the group, “I’ll be a hitter on the boat.”

“Vera, no!” Sophie admonished, but Vera was unperturbed.

“They know I fight, I can’t damsel—I’ve also not relaxed one second on my honeymoon so this is perfect.” She laced up her shoes. “Plus Eliot—” she growled at his name, “—knows damn well what he did when he left me behind.”

“You’re too emotionally involved,” Sophie tried, but Vera raised her hand.

“We’re working against the clock and I love a deadline, so—” She warmed up her muscles by stretching. “—who is joining me on the boat?”

Sophie was torn, knowing neither she or Bree could join her. “You’re joining me on the farm,” she said, but Vera laughed.

“Soph, I love you,” she said. “But if there’s someone that’s going to tell that wretched man off, it’s me.”

“I’ll join her,” Kai said, wanting Alex safe as soon as possible. “I got a buddy who can get us a boat quickly.”

Vera clapped her hands. “Perfect, let’s go!” And she was the first outside of the gift shop. Right as Kai went to follow her, Sophie stopped her.

“Make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid,” she said. The words echoed in Kai’s head as she joined Vera in her car, and Vera asked if she had confiscated any of the men’s guns.

“Where did you get ammunition?” Eliot asked her, the gun still against his chest.

The corner of Vera’s mouth twitched. “I got trained by the greatest thief in the world.” Whilst she had been fighting the guy that was now unconscious on the floor, she had rolled his empfinium cartridges.

Vera had prepped two guns on their way to the boat, giving one to Kai.

“This will knock them out, I prefer them getting actual punishment. Not death.”

Then from a distance, one by one of the men had been taken out—Kai being a better at long range, before Vera stormed the boat and took out anyone in her path with unbridled rage.

And even now she had found Eliot, she was still fuming. A single tear rolled down Vera’s cheek.

“Give it on me, hon,” he said.

“Wait—” Alex panicked but realized Eliot didn’t give permission to be shot, but to be told off.

“You threw me in the water,” she said again, and Eliot lowered his chin onto his chest. “You don’t get to decide for me! I am not an actual damsel, Eliot Lancelot Spencer!”

“Lancelot?” Alex huffed. “Also—full name, rough man.”

“Dammit, Alex—shut up!” Eliot hissed.

“We agreed,” Vera said, eyes only on Eliot. “You don’t leave me behind. You don’t decide for me. We’re a team.”

“I know,” Eliot said.

“Look at me,” she said and he looked up. “I know I’m not Leverage. I never intended to be, but when we find ourselves in these situations—I’m crew.”

“It’s my job to protect my crew,” Eliot murmured. “It wasn’t safe for you.”

“Which you decided on.” She pressed the gun firmer against his chest. “I don’t care that you knew I would be motivated to come and save you faster, you don’t leave me behind.”

“I know,” he said softly. “I’m sorry, please forgive me.”

Her nose flared slightly, and he spotted he slightest of nods. He knew that was all he was going to get for now and surged forward.

Kissing her, Eliot took the gun from her hands and disassembled it blindly. Their lips never detached as he threw the pieces around the cabin and he pushed her against the door.

“So it was freaky foreplay,” Alex muttered. “Hey! Knock it off!” he added when hands roamed over each other’s bodies. They parted with a smack.

“What can I do to make it up to you?” Eliot asked and Vera bit her lip, staring at him with glassy bedroom eyes.

“Hey!” Alex tried again. “I’m still here—” His words evaporated when she turned to look at him. To his dismay she returned her gaze to Eliot, tapping his chest with her hand.

“I want you to have an actual conversation with your brother.” At Eliot’s growl, she slapped him a bit harder. “No, none of that! I want you talk about what worries you, learn what you need to learn about each other… please?”

Eliot stewed for a second, but then Vera moved closer and whispered in his ear, “And after that find me a private all inclusive resort where I can finally show you all of the lingerie I brought and then… not… wear it…”

“Gonna pretend I didn’t hear that!” Alex hollered, banging his cuffs against the pipes. “Can we leave?”

Vera cupped Eliot’s jaw, thumbing his scruff and finally smiling slightly. “Let’s go.”

Kai let out a sigh in relief when Vera emerged with the two brothers in tow. She had hooked the boats together, tied up any passed out men on the deck, and locked eyes with Alex.

“You okay?”

He waved her off and joined her side. “What’s the status?”

“Farm and empfinium stash all secure and we got some nice cells ready for all of them to wake up in,” she said, smirking. “I’m quite impressed with your brother’s team. It’s like… competence porn.”

Alex scowled, staring at Eliot and Vera not so covertly sneak a pair of the handcuffs into Vera’s pocket. He leaned in close to Kai, “We’re still going to arrest them, though?”

Kai let out a snort. “Alex, no—they saved your life—”

“They brought it into danger in the first place!”

“—and rid this island of a massive drug cartel.”

With another scowl, the group steered the boats back to shore where Chief Ocampo awaited them with an arrest team.

“Well done both,” he said. “A great achievement for the Mactan Police, and solo too!”

“We—” Kai began, turning around to give Eliot and Vera well deserved recognition, but they were nowhere to be seen. Alex didn’t seem surprised.

“They’re criminals, Kai,” he said under his breath. “They’re leaving asap.”

“But…” she said, frowning. “He’s your brother.”

“Yeah, well…”

From the gathering crowd, Ernesto emerged, smiling widely. “Alex!” he said, then eyed him suspiciously. “I think?”

“Shut up.”

“There he is!” He hugged him without asking. “Well done,” he added to Kai. “So well done even, I’m throwing a party!”

Alex’s eyes bulged. “You—”

“A beach party!”

“Ernesto, no—”

“I’ve invited your brother’s family!”

“God dammit!”

Which was how that night, he, Kai and Ernesto, were gathered around a great bonfire and he had to watch his brother and Vera snuggle each other.

As they ate their bellies full, Ernesto hit it off with Bree and Sophie, and Kai ended up getting Vera to join her to show a few historical sights.

This left Alex alone with Eliot, likely by design.

“You gonna fulfill your wife’s request in order to be forgiven?” Alex asked as Eliot moved his beach chair next to his. “I’m happy to lie to her.”

“I don’t recommend lying to her,” Eliot said gruffly and sat down. They both had a beer in hand.

The silence enveloped them for a minute until Eliot cleared his throat.

“Listen, I…” he trailed, swallowing. “In truth, I don’t really care about blood relatives. I’ve always known I’ve been adopted, it was never a big deal—until…” He looked at Bree and Sophie definitely cheating at cards with Ernesto. “When they found out, they got more obsessed with my past than I ever was.”

“By past, you mean…”

Eliot shrugged. “Nah, even before that. I know I’m a bad guy, I am undeserved of the life I now have. I give back as much as I can, but I can’t somehow shake off these people that love me.” He had a small smile. “It’s also why two people, whom I love very much, didn’t join us on this trip.”

“The babysitters?” Alex deduced. “The Parker and… Harrison?”

“Hardison,” Eliot corrected. “Smartest man I know. We… we’re a unit, hell—all of us,” he gestured to the group and even to where Vera and Kai had disappeared to, “are lost children, who found family with each other.”

Alex swallowed, thinking of Ernesto and Kai. “I can relate to that.”

Humming, Eliot continued, “Now imagine the fear in Parker and Hardison’s eyes when Bree revealed they found my brother. A blood relative. The two people who bonded with me, with each other—because we do not have any blood relatives.”

“They feared you might leave them,” Alex filled in softly.

“It’s dumb,” Eliot said. “But I’d be lying if I did not fear it for a second as well. I hid Vera—my wife—from them for years to avoid them worrying I might leave them. So I came here very self preserved.”

Their eyes met, the blue barely visible from the reflection of the bonfire flames.

“I don’t want to learn about where I came from before my mom took me home from the hospital,” Eliot said softly. “I have a mom, a dad—a whole bunch of criminals that imprinted on me, the most beautiful wife and daughters… I am whole.”

Alex blinked and let out a huff. “Fucking hell, do you write these speeches down first?”

“It’s a gift.” Eliot shrugged, taking a sip of his beer. “Anyway, you’re literally halfway across the world. I don’t even think we could have a brotherly bond.”

“Can you put the dramatics away now for a minute?” Alex snipped. “Like who do you think you are with all your assumptions? I have a life too—a past too, but I wouldn’t expect all rainbows and sunshine from suddenly having a brother?”

Eliot’s eyebrows rose up, but he stayed quiet, letting Alex have his say.

“Just because we unarguably share the most handsome face in the world,” he said and Eliot smirked, “doesn’t mean we’re just going to drop everything, man! Listen—I don’t want to know about your past, in fact it’s better if I don’t, but I had a haze where we were just watching some fucking sports, man!”

Eliot blinked. “You did?”

“Yeah! I don’t wanna go through forty fucking years of life, but we can just chat? Show me fucking pictures of your kids, let me show off my daughter who is the peace corps—”

“Indonesia?” Eliot asked.

“She moved to Myanmar.”

He grimaced. “Can’t be seen there, big bounty…”

“I don’t want to know!” Alex smiled, broadly—and they both laughed. “Just live a little, man. Tell me how you actually managed to pull Vera.”

“Bank robbery.”

“Never mind!”

Again they laughed, and before they knew it they were trading off stories, including a heated argument of Cowboys versus Saints.

Vera watched from afar, arms crossed.

“Spencer men are so silly,” she said.

“So are Walkers,” Kai concurred. “If you guys leave tomorrow, I’ll forget anything illegal you guys may have done here.”

Vera smiled. “Thanks, Kai.” Then leaned in close. “If you see a sizeable donation to the local library, don’t overthink it.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“We should rejoin them,” Vera said, hearing threats of arm wrestling being thrown around. “I’ll bet you I can beat Alex.”

“Oh, you’re on!”

Chapter Text

Leverage HQ, New Orleans, October 2031

Alex didn’t know what he was thinking—it had been over five years after all. But there he was, walking down the street Eliot had once told him to stop by should he ever be in Louisiana. He thought it was probably fruitless anyway—surely this place was no longer active—and he kind of hesitantly walked up the great green doors of an old jazz bar.

Gingerly he stood in front of it, his fist raised to knock. There was a hum of music coming through the door, and he remembered that it was Halloween. The whole of New Orleans was dressed up appropriately spooky, and he was just in his usual jeans, floral shirt and converse shoes.

The door opened and he was pulled into a crowd of party goers, some of them patting him on the shoulder in friendly greeting. At least that meant that someone with his face was known here.

He grabbed a random person dressed as a crayfish. “I’m looking for—”

“Eliot!” someone, who had suddenly popped up next to him without a warning, said in his ear, and he turned around to a blonde woman dressed as a dinosaur. She looked at him quizzically. “I thought you were going to dress as a mummy?”

“I’m not—” Alex realized he would look like a crazy person if he claimed to be someone else and he needed someone who would understand who he was. “Where’s Sophie?”

“Wow, did you hit your head?” The woman looked at him like he was crazy anyway. “She’s in London with Astrid, remember?” Fuck.

“Um, Bree?”

Her face turned even more concerned. “They’re in New York, silly!”

“I—” Alex was sweating. “I need to find Ve—my wife!” And he quickly turned away, running into a tall black man dressed as Jeff Goldblum from Jurassic Park.

“Babe! I got the cocktails!” he said to the blonde woman and then lit up at seeing Alex. “Heyyy, I thought you and Vera were enjoying some alone time upstairs? And what are you wearing?”

“He’s not a mummy!” the blonde woman said, accepting a cocktail.

“I’m going back upstairs,” Alex said quickly and scurried away.

“Weird,” Hardison said, taking a sip of his own fruity cocktail.

“Really weird,” Parker agreed. “He didn’t even notice me grabbing his wallet.” She opened it only to find a picture of a Filipino woman. “Huh,” she mused, “must be part of the costume.”

Alex managed to find the stairs going up in a courtyard, and explored a quieter floor without any people in costumes. Maybe he should come back in the morning—everyone would have hangovers, but at least he wasn’t lost.

“Daddy?” a voice then piped up, and when Alex turned his heart pounded. For a second he thought it was Evelyn—the dark of the hallway obscuring part of her face. The little girl must be six at most and looked exactly like his own daughter.

“H-hey—” he breathed, and the little girl tiptoed towards him. She had sleep-muzzled brown hair and was dragging a plushie of an elephant with her.

“Where’s mommy?” she asked.

“I—” Telling her he wasn’t her daddy was on the tip of his tongue, but he somehow couldn’t bring himself to it. “I don’t know, butterfly.”

“Butterfly?” Her face scrunched up adorably and he could see Vera’s subtle features in it. “I’m not a butterfly.”

“I’ll teach you one day to be one.”

“No! I’m a princess!” she then insisted. “Like mommy.”

She held out her arms to be picked up and Alex did so without thought. With scrutiny the princess did a full scan of his face.

“You’re not my daddy.”

Alex blinked. “You’re a smart one, princess,” he said. “I’m actually looking for your daddy and mommy.”

“They’re at the party,” she mumbled. “We went trick or treating, and I had too many sweets. My tummy hurts.”

Alex sure didn’t miss this phase. “Just let me know if you’re gonna be sick,” he said.

“Emma told me not to eat too much, but she was eating just as much! I don’t care that she’s older, or taller, or better at martial arts—”

“Emma is your sister?” Alex asked, turning around a corner.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I’m Alice.”

“That’s a pretty name.”

“If you’re not my daddy, why do you look like him?”

He didn’t miss this phase either; the eternal questions. Because why was the sky blue?

“I’m your uncle,” he said gruffly.

“Uncle Alec and uncle Jake don’t look like daddy.”

“It’s called genetics. You and your sister look alike, right?”

“Not really.” Her face scrunched up again before brightening at a realization. “But I look like daddy! And Emma looks like mommy!”

“Yep,” Alex sighed, really needing an adult to talk to. “Genetics.”

“Interesting.”

They passed a door where some adult-only noises chimed through and Alex shuddered, quickly passing it whilst still carrying his… niece?

“Maybe we should go back to the party,” Alex mumbled, mostly to himself, until he heard the floor creak behind him.

“You’re better off putting my daughter down,” Eliot growled, “or I will break your legs—”

“Daddy!” Alice cried happily.

Rolling his eyes, Alex said, “Still dramatic I see.” And he turned around to find a short-haired Eliot in some kind of rumpled up archaeologist outfit—white shirt and khakis. “Oh… the Mummy!” he exclaimed, connecting the dots that Eliot was dressed as Rick O’Connell. “That makes more sense. Love that film.”

“Alex?” Not Eliot but Vera said, who appeared from the same door he had quickly passed. She was wearing some kind of thirties librarian get-up with a brown wig and smudged lipstick—Evy O’Connell. Of course they would have a couple costume.

“Vera!” Alex said with a smile. “Beautiful as always.” She ran up to him and gave him a hug before taking over her daughter.

“What are you doing here?” she asked happily.

“Rita is doing a PhD at Southern Miss,” he explained. “I helped her get settled the first few weeks and figured it wasn’t too far away from y’all.”

In truth, Rita thought he had left after moving day, but he had been secretly watching her coming and goings until he was satisfied she could handle herself.

“Oh, please let us give her our number,” Vera said. “In case she needs anyone closer than the Philippines.”

“I’m not giving her number to known criminals,” Alex quipped, and Vera winked, shifting Alice’s weight on her hip so one of her hands was free.

“It’s good seeing you, Alex.” She squeezed his shoulder before turning to her daughter. “Say night night, uncle Alex,” she told her and she parroted back.

“Night, night princess butterfly,” he murmured, and watched Vera and Alice disappear, leaving him alone with Eliot on purpose.

For a few seconds they stared at each other, having the usual weird out how much alike they were.

“What’s up with the hair?” Alex asked, gesturing to his eerily similar haircuts. No wonder everyone downstairs thought he had been Eliot. “Decided it does make you look more handsome?”

Eliot’s mouth twitched. “No, it’s… a mourning tradition. My dad passed last month.”

“Oh shit!” Alex winced. “Condolences, man.”

“Thanks,” Eliot said gruffly, raking his hand through his hair.

“Your kid is cute,” Alex said, feeling awkward but Eliot smiled. “She saw straight away I wasn’t you.”

“Yeah, she’s too smart for her own good.”

They hovered through the hallway, eyes ahead, and Alex patted his jeans. “I think I lost my wallet.”

“You lost your wallet in a house filled with reformed criminals?”

“Dammit—is everyone—?”

“Yeah,” Eliot chuckled, “it’s the Annual Leverage International Halloween Bash, man. Hide your valuables. We’re recruiting if you’re interested.”

“No thanks,” Alex grumbled and finally found what he was looking for, pulling out the rumpled envelope. Eliot eyed it.

“Is that the real reason you’re here?”

“That and convincing Vera to run away with me,” Alex said. They stopped walking and both just stared at the envelope. “I know five years ago you said you had no interest in knowing…”

“But?”

“I figured whilst I was in the US, I could pull a couple of strings and get our birth certificate.” Predictably Eliot froze, stoically looking at the innocent looking paper hidden inside. Alex chewed the inside of his cheek. “I haven’t looked, but I thought maybe we can finally know who is the oldest one.” He tried to joke, keep it lighthearted, but Eliot plucked the envelope out of his fingers and put it on a side table.

“I really don’t want to know,” he finally said. “If you want to, be my guest, but if you yap it to me, you’ll lose a piece of you body you’re probably attached to.” Alex winced unintentionally and Eliot smiled broadly. His brother seemed oddly more relaxed versus five years ago. “Anyway,” Eliot continued, “it’s very obvious I am the oldest—”

“No, it’s not!” They resumed walking towards the party.

“You straight up moved to the other side of the world, that’s younger sibling behavior—”

“Not, it’s not!”

“You’re right, it’s more middle child behavior, but I don’t want to go there. Hey have you had any beignets yet?”

“No, I arrived like an hour ago in New Orleans.”

“We’ll go to Cafe du Monde for breakfast,” Eliot said, slapping his shoulder. “You can meet the kids and the rest of the team.”

“Do you think Vera will agree to an arm wrestling rematch?”

“Bro, my nine year old can beat you at arm wrestling.”

Laughing, they both descended down the stairs in search of a beer.

“Vera makes one hot librarian by the way,” Alex said and Eliot flicked him on the head.

“Stop thirsting after my wife.”

Alec Hardison couldn’t hold his liquor. He was the lightest of weights, but would never openly admit this. So when he spotted Eliot in a hallway as the party wound down, he quickly straightened himself—poorly so, but perfectly sober looking in his head.

“Heyyyy man!” he slurred and Eliot looked up at him, folding up an envelope and putting it in his pocket. Alec eyed it. “What’s that?”

“Nothing,” Eliot murmured, looking at him suspiciously. “You okay?”

Alec frowned, that didn’t sound like Eliot who would see through his drunkenness straight away usually. Huffing, he said, “What? No lightweight retort? Are you secretly your twin? I’ve always had my doubts after Cebu, you know—”

Eliot smiled softly. “Nah,” he said. Then Alec looked at him slightly more sober, realizing his hair looked different. It was even shorter than when he cut it a month ago.

“Did you change again? This is like your third costume…” He was in seemingly normal clothes, but had a hatchet attached to his belt.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, patting Alec’s arm. Then he looked behind him where a door… glowed? Alec’s mouth gaped open as Eliot moved towards it. He could see what looked like a… library?

Then Eliot disappeared, and so did the library.

Swallowing, Alec checked his temperature and swayed on his legs. Was he truly losing it?

He heard voices and almost felt faint when two Eliots walked towards him, seemingly bickering with each other. Alec dry heaved.

“I told you not to try the cocktails, dammit Hardison!” Eliot 1 yelled.

“That’s Hardison?” Eliot 2 gasped. “You caused havoc for the DEA like twenty years ago!”

Alec slumped against the wall where the third Eliot had vanished through, clutching his chest and vowing, “I’m never drinking again.”

Walking through the library, Jacob Stone opened the envelope and stared at the proof he was a triplet. His mouth twitched and he grabbed the nearest book from a shelf, tucking the papers safely inside to be forgotten.

His brothers didn’t need to know they were Stones, or that he was a Librarian. He would spare them knowing about the disappointment that was their father.

He had taken a risk popping up at his brother’s workplace, but he had been watching Alex go in circles about giving the information or not. Jacob knew he hadn’t dared to peek himself.

It had been late into the party and as Jacob searched where the envelope could be, he had run into a little girl.

“Are you another uncle?” she had asked, eyeing him curiously. “You’re not daddy, or uncle Alex. But he did teach me about genetics, so are you? Another uncle?”

Blinking at her flurry of questions, Jacob said, “You’re a smart one, aren’t you?”

She grinned, one tooth missing. “That’s what uncle Alex said!”

Conspiratorial, he confided, “I’m the smart one too.”

Her big hazel eyes gleamed.

“I really love books,” she said. “Do you love books?”

This tugged at his heart. “Absolutely,” he said, gently redirecting her towards the room she had appeared from. “I work in a library.”

“That’s so cool!” She stumbled through the gap of the door. “My mommy was a librarian tonight, she told me all about it. She even told me about a magical library! Do you work for the magical library? Will you show me one day?”

Jacob hesitated, for potentially the first time in life dumbfounded at meeting someone smarter than him, but relinquished, “Sure, now go back to sleep.”

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Jake.”

She frowned. “I already have an uncle Jake.”

“Jacob then.”

The gap-toothed grin returned. “Night night, uncle Jacob!”

“Night night, bookworm.”

“No! I’m a princess! Princess butterfly!”

He gestured for her to quieten. “All right, night night princess book-butterfly.”

His niece nodded appreciatively, then disappeared into the room. For years to come, Alice would be told there was no uncle Jacob or magical library, and he had been written off as an imaginary friend.

But Alice was unperturbed, vowing that one day she was going to visit that Library—legally… or not.