InsaneJournal

Basics:
Name: Eliot Spencer
Age: 35
Fandom: Leverage
Canon Point: Post the Ice-Man Job The San Lorenzo Job
Arrival Date: Oct 20, 2009

Bio:
Despite his calm exterior, Eliot Spencer [note that the aforementioned name is an alias.] has lived a life filled with extreme violence. Raised in the South by an abusive father, Eliot learned to express himself with his fists. He left home at sixteen and enlisted in the army at seventeen. The armed forced taught Eliot to control his rage and utilize it for maximum damage. It was also where he learned the art of boxing, and honed his skills with firearms.

While stationed in the Middle East, Eliot disappeared. It happened in Syria. While taking a walk on his night off, Eliot was attacked by a group of men. He left three unconscious, one in critical condition, and one dead. The dead man was the son of a Syrian public official who was famous for his connections within organized crime. Realizing they wouldn't stop until they found him, Eliot disappeared. It wasn't difficult. He had no friends in the army, and no real family to return home to. Leaving everything behind but the clothes he was wearing, Eliot vanished.

Utilizing his combat skills and fast thinking, Eliot hired himself out as a retrieval specialist in order to make money so he could continue traveling around the Middle East, Europe, and India. He realized quickly, however, that thieving came as naturally to him as breathing. His wealth and reputation began to grow as word of his efficiency got out. Eliot spent the next ten years of his life traveling across the globe, perfecting his old skills and developing new ones.

Despite Eliot's retrieval skills, he also developed a knack for making unpleasant enemies. While in the Ukraine, he stole a very large sum of money from the Butcher of Kiev, a renowned mob boss. He was chased through the war zone in Congo, forced to play Russian roulette at the hands of Vyacheslav Ivankov after beating him in a bar fight, and several others.

In 1998 he emerged from Mali following Tuareg Rebellion under the alias of Eliot Spencer. Hoping to leave behind some of his more unpleasant quarrels, (and shake insurance investigator Nathan Ford off his tail) he arrived back in the United States. It was then that he met Aimee Kensington while helping her father train horses in Kentucky. Eliot fell hard for Aimee who could be just as stubborn and angry as he was. Sometimes moreso. After a year and a half together, Eliot gave her a promise ring. He had every intention of marrying her after taking care of some business that had cropped up in the Czech Republic. His plans went awry when he was captured and left in a Czech prison for eight months. When he finally returned home, it was only to find that Aimee had married someone else in his absence.

Broken-hearted, Eliot closed himself off even more and retreated to Europe. For the next six years he spent the majority of his time pulling cons throughout Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgeria, and Turkey. In 2008 he returned to the United States again upon accepting a job from Victor Debenish, which eventually lead to his teaming up with Nate Ford, Sophie Devereaux, Alec Hardison, and Parker. Initially assembled in Chicago, the team eventually moved their office to Los Angeles, then later to Boston where they were working up until the time Eliot appeared in Las Vegas.