A/N—Reminder that I don't own these characters and that all credit goes to the creators of "Big Time Rush."

So this is weird for me. I never post a new story until the one I'm currently posting is finished. I'm feeling the need to get some feedback about this one, though, because I'm about halfway through the writing of it now and 200 pages in, it's not what I thought it was going to be. It went in a different direction. Though I still am planning the original ending I came up with the day I first started it, so much between the first chapter and where I'm at now has changed that I'm not sure how I feel about it. So I need to know how YOU feel about it. I know that doesn't make much sense, but please give me your reactions and thoughts so I know how this is coming across.

I really debated whether or not to post this because I don't plan to post the next chapter until "A New Path" is completed on this site, and that will be another few weeks to a month. Just bear with me because this entire style of story is so foreign to me and it's taking me out of my comfort zone but I need to know if I'm on the right track, and if so, if I should stay on it.

And I'm rambling again. Is that any surprise? If you've read my stories, you know I ramble a lot. Here's what I have to say about this one. I know almost nothing about the FBI outside of what I've seen in movies/shows and read in books of fiction. Therefore, this story probably won't be accurate to what it's really like. Please don't come at me with "that would never happen" because I'm aware of that. I'm a firm believer in the "suspension of disbelief" theory when reading books or watching movies. Enjoy it without thinking too hard haha. I know the FBI probably doesn't work this way. But it works for the story, so that's what I'm going with.

One other thing: this has not been run by my beta. All future chapters will be before I post, but I needed to get this out now so I went for it and will probably regret that. Any mistakes are 100% mine.

Other than that...here we go. I'm nervous about this one. Let me know what you think! And even if you don't, thanks for giving it a chance.

Kendall Knight reached into his mailbox, unable to keep from glancing to his right at the pale yellow two-story home that felt too far away, yet too close with only one other house between them. He forced himself to keep the stare brief, not wanting to raise any suspicions about his interest in the dwelling, and then sorted through the items he'd pulled out. Junk mail, mostly. One magazine devoted to crocheting, of all things, that was addressed to the former resident.

Hyper aware of any activity along the street, he noted a beige sedan turning into a driveway on the left corner. To his right was a woman walking her dog. Behind him, a man was mowing his lawn. All normal, everyday activities in a typical suburban neighborhood and none of the residents had any idea they shared it with one of the world's most successful dealers in the drug trade.

Kendall spared the yellow house one more quick look, seeing that the curtains in every window were still closed, but that was no surprise; they had been since he moved in two days ago. The woman walking her dog raised a hand in his direction and he smiled back, careful to behave like any new neighbor would. The black Labrador strained against its leash, excited and wanting to make a new friend, and Kendall made a snap decision to go along with it; the action would give him an excuse to walk in front of the yellow house.

"Is it okay to approach?" he called out, to which the woman nodded and explained that Rocket loved meeting new people. It worked out perfectly, the two meeting halfway directly where Kendall wanted to be, and he waited for the dog to sit before offering his hand for the sniff test. "He's gorgeous," Kendall grinned.

"Thanks. You're okay to pet him now. I'm Teresa, by the way. Welcome to the neighborhood."

Before burying his fingers in soft, glossy fur, Kendall reached out to shake Teresa's hand. "Thanks. Stephen. Nice to meet you. And you too, Rocket," he laughed, as the dog was offended at being ignored.

"Do you have any dogs? Rocket loves to play."

"I don't, actually. Just me in that big house."

"Really?"

Her sudden peaked interest surprised Kendall, as he'd been given enough information on his neighbors to know she was married and raising three children. Before he could answer, he was distracted by what looked like a finger moving a curtain aside to peek out of the front window of the house they stood in front of. He continued to pet Rocket while surreptitiously watching for more activity, but there was nothing and he wondered if he'd imagined it.

"Yeah, just needed a new start and less distractions," he stated for Teresa's benefit. He transferred the magazine and junk mail to his right hand. "Which reminds me, I've got a lasagna in the oven. It was wonderful to meet you both, but I should get back before I burn the place to the ground."

"Oh, you cook as well? I love to cook, we should trade recipes sometime!"

"No, it's a frozen one from the supermarket," Kendall blushed. "I'm the stereotypical bachelor. But again, it was nice meeting you." He bent down to one knee and gave Rocket a few extra scratches. "See you around, buddy."

"Enjoy your dinner, then. Come on, Rocket!"

Kendall waited until they'd turned away from him to study the curtain again. Had it moved? This was impossible, he needed to act. He'd never been one to wait patiently and this case was proving more difficult as time went on. Stone had said the man would be turning onto the street soon, and Kendall could only stand outside for so long without attracting attention. Where was he?

Frustrated, he headed back toward his own house, body tingling when the sound of another car approaching reached him. He looked back over his shoulder and yes. This was who he was waiting for. Why couldn't the man have arrived when Kendall had an excuse to be near his driveway?

He slowed his pace and strolled along the sidewalk in front of his own lawn, turning into the walk just as the man's car door opened and he stepped out. Finally, Kendall got his first look at the man in person rather than just pictures and video.

His target was short, though Kendall had known that from his briefing. He had black hair and eyes that were almost as dark from this distance. The haircut was neat and tidy, clothing relaxed as Kendall's eyes took in faded blue jeans and what was commonly known as a baseball tee. Kendall was amused that the color of the sleeves matched the house's exterior paint. His shoes looked just as comfortable as the jeans did, though the neon green color clashed with everything else.

So he's got a fun side. Good to know.

Sensing eyes on him, the man glanced to his left after shutting the car door. Kendall allowed himself to be caught staring, acting embarrassed and feeling his cheeks flush when their gazes met. "Hey," he managed, raising his voice a tad to reach two houses away.

The man nodded once in acknowledgement but then proceeded to ignore Kendall, who watched him move to the car's trunk to open it.

I should go. I need to walk away now, because I'm supposed to blend and staring at him is the wrong way to avoid suspicion from someone who is probably paranoid, but dammit I'm sick of waiting, I have to make something happen. Maybe if I—

"You just moved in, right?"

The words shocked Kendall, coming from a face that wasn't even looking at him but instead focused on shouldering a gym bag before slamming the trunk closed.

"Y-yeah. Hi. I'm Steve. Sorry if I was staring, I just...well, the truth is I love your shoes."

The man laughed so that his face changed completely, a boyish charm taking it over as he turned to face Kendall. "Thanks. I like a little flash, you know?"

"I see that. Wicked ride, too."

He patted the electric blue sportscar a few times, pure joy suffusing his features. "She's my baby. Dreamed of owning this car all my life. I guess sometimes dreams do come true, eh?"

"Sometimes," Kendall smiled.

"Well, I gotta get inside. Nice meeting you."

Just like that, Kendall was dismissed as the man turned away.

Shit shit say something say something say something.

What came out was, "I didn't catch your name."

Just before turning a corner that would've hidden him from view, the man stopped and looked over with a grin. "Carlos."

"Carlos," Kendall repeated. "See you around, Carlos."

"If you're lucky."

With that parting shot, Carlos disappeared. Kendall waited all of two seconds before rushing toward his own front door, and once it was closed and locked he dropped the mail to the floor and ran down a hall to skid into a room on the left, which was filled with a large desk boasting no less than four computer monitors and a wall of equipment he didn't understand half of.

"He's home."

"I'm on it," the man behind the desk assured him, moving his focus from the monitor trained on exterior locations to one showing the inside of Carlos' house. "You finally talked to him. Nice work."

"It wasn't easy, the guy is never outside for more than thirty seconds. He gave me his real name, though, which was a surprise."

"Really? That is surprising. Maybe he's less careful than we—oh, shh, he's about to talk to Hot Guy. Sit!"

Kendall sank into a chair next to his partner and focused on the video Logan enlarged to fit the entire screen. An annoyed voice came through the high-tech speakers.

"What part of 'Don't talk to anyone' is so hard for you to understand, Carlos?"

That was the bodyguard, who Kendall had known was in the house. He and Carlos were currently standing in the kitchen, where the other man had been cooking something on the stove but was now leaning against a counter to lecture Carlos.

"Relax, James, he's nobody. Just a new neighbor."

"James!" Logan hissed. "His name is James! Write that down!"

"James," Kendall echoed. "We finally have a name for that son of a bitch."

"Just a new neighbor?" James continued. "How many times do I have to tell you that no one is nobody? Everyone's a threat, even some random dude that moves in two houses down!"

"Stop it, he's not a threat. He's actually kind of cute, in a shy way."

Kendall blinked at hearing Carlos call him "cute" while Logan smirked over at him. "He already thinks you're cute. Very nice work."

"Carlos." James let out a long sigh and pressed a hand to his forehead. "We talked about this. I know you get lonely, but you can't risk getting to know someone no matter how cute he is. If you need a fix, let me call a fucking hooker for you. I know plenty of them that are trustworthy."

"You know that's not my style. What are you making for dinner?"

"Nothing if you don't listen to me. Are you listening to me, Carlos?"

This time it was Carlos who sighed, then turned to face James while leaning against the opposite counter with arms crossed over his chest. "So it's dangerous that a dude liked my shoes and my car and was just being friendly? Come on, man, he's new in the neighborhood! He doesn't know anybody, cut him some slack!"

"He does. I saw him talking to the chick who lives on the corner, right in front of our house. I don't trust him."

"What were they talking about?"

"I don't fucking know, he was petting her damn dog."

"Wow, sounds pretty dangerous," Carlos nodded. "You're right, this guy's a menace."

"Carlos!" James yelled, at his limit. "We moved here for privacy, to try to blend in! You can't afford to call attention to yourself!"

"All I did was say hi to a new neighbor! You can't get much more normal than that, James! Look, I know you're here to watch over me, and I get it. I get that it's your job to worry. But...I have to blend in, right? Wouldn't it attract more suspicion if I was a dick to my neighbors? Think about it!"

James obviously didn't want to think about it. He shook his head in frustration and returned his attention to the pan on the stove, using a spatula to move the contents around and lowering the flame. "Just think before you talk to people, okay? Anyone could be an undercover agent. Anyone could be the enemy. Anyone."

"I know. I'm not stupid. Trust me, this guy is harmless. And I won't talk to him again, okay? I'm not outside long enough to build a friendship anyway."

"I think it's time I start going everywhere with you. It's what your uncle intended, anyway. I can't protect you when you're gone."

"You also can't protect the product when you're not here. That's more important, isn't it?"

James frowned at Carlos. "Your uncle does care about you, you know."

"Not as much as his money." When James remained silent, Carlos added, "You know I'm right."

"You're not. He loves you more than you realize."

"Whatever. I'm gonna go take a shower, I'm gross."

"Tacos will be ready in about twenty minutes. Don't take forever."

Carlos was already out of the kitchen, though, leaving James alone to finish preparing dinner.

Two houses away, Logan turned to Kendall. "Well, Hot Guy is already suspicious. That's just great."

"We know his name now, you don't have to call him that anymore."

Logan shrugged. "Not sure I can call him anything else. I mean, have you seen him?"

"Only on video, like you. Though I know now he was watching me from inside the house. I felt it at the time."

"Yeah, he was peeking through the living room curtains. He's not as dumb as he looks. Definitely more than a hot jock."

"You seem fixated on him being hot," Kendall mused.

"Duh, I've only been saying that for two days. Watching him shower is not a hardship." When Kendall snickered, Logan asked, "Are you telling me I'm wrong? Or are you actually into girls and the whole gay thing is just for the mission?"

"I don't have time to date," Kendall deflected.

"That's not what I asked. Are you gay?"

"I've only dated girls in the past."

"Still not what I asked."

Cornered, Kendall shrugged. "Honestly? I don't really give it much thought but I can definitely admit it when a guy is hot."

"Like Hot Guy is."

Kendall turned his focus to the monitor, where James was chopping lettuce. He hadn't really thought of the man as more than a target; he knew James' statistics—he was a little over six feet, with brown hair that he wore a tad long, hazel eyes, and a muscular frame. Was James hot, though? Kendall supposed he was. "Okay, yeah. He's hot. But I don't really let myself think of our targets like that. It's just a job. And this is the most important one I've ever had, so I'm not gonna let anything fuck it up."

"Carlos said you were shy. I can't imagine you shy."

"I played that up. Wanted to be non-threatening."

"You succeeded. Can we get tacos for dinner?"

"There's a lasagna in the freezer. I was gonna heat that up."

"But now tacos sound good. And look good, too. This guy's not bad behind a stove."

"Fine, we can order tacos."

"No, I want the place on the corner and they don't deliver."

"Logan, I told Teresa I was eating in tonight. It's gonna look weird if I come back with tacos."

"She's not even gonna notice! Her kids will be home any second and she won't have time to pay attention to what her neighbors are eating for dinner."

"I don't want to miss anything here, though. What if they give up information while they're eating?"

"I've got it handled. Come on, Kendall, please? I'm stuck in this house 24/7 and can't even go out in the sun. Don't I deserve good tacos once in awhile?"

Logan's whining did its job so that Kendall felt guilty enough to rise from the chair. "Fine. But you'd better not miss anything good while I'm gone. No bathroom breaks."

"I have the wireless that goes with me when I leave the room. I can hear everything no matter where I am in this house. Relax. Two beef and one chicken!" he called out as Kendall escaped into the hallway. "And a side of chips and salsa!"

"Yes, master!" Kendall called back. He grabbed his car keys off the rack with an ever-suffering sigh. It was a damn good thing Logan was so good at his job.

Kendall glanced at the yellow house briefly in passing, but he knew he wouldn't see anything; James hadn't left the house once in the time they'd been watching it, and Carlos had gone only to the gym, a grocery store, and a drugstore. Oh, and the midnight run for snacks at the local convenience store. They'd learned quickly that Carlos had a weakness for cheese puffs.

Not much else was known about him outside of the information given to Kendall at the time of the original briefing. Kendall remembered being nervous as he walked into his director's office, having been told only that he was being assigned to a case of high importance. He knew that meant this would be the time to really prove himself, to show he was capable of more than gathering information from witnesses and following up on leads for other agents. He'd been told that he was chosen for this one partly because he had "a way with people" and "easily gained trust." His looks had only helped, as their target was not only partial to men, but tall blond men. At about six feet, Kendall fulfilled that trait.

"Your ultimate mission is to find out the location of the manufacturing facility," his director had informed him. "You'll do this by gaining his trust enough that he lets his guard down around you and allows information to slip out. You're to take this as far as necessary, which means you might have to engage in sexual relations with the man. Is this something you can do, or do we need to find another agent?"

"Uh..." Kendall had to admit it was daunting, but he was eager to prove himself and though he'd never actually slept with a man before, the idea didn't disgust him. "I can do it if I need to. What do we know about this man? Carlos, you said?"

"Garcia," his director nodded. "Carlos Garcia is the nephew of Luis Garcia, who as you know is our most sought-after narcotics distributor. Numerous attempts at taking him down have failed, so we're trying to a new approach. Luis is too smart and too heavily guarded, but he does have one weakness. His nephew."

"Why not just kidnap the nephew and use him as leverage to make Luis turn himself in?" Kendall wondered.

"Because we're the FBI and we don't kidnap."

Kendall wasn't sure that was the whole truth, but he nodded anyway. "Haven't we captured some of his team members in the past, though? I could swear that last month I heard we were finally about to get to him."

"You did. Last month, and probably the month before that, and even two months prior to that. The problem is that every time we make an arrest, that person suddenly finds himself dead. While in custody."

"Which means Garcia has people working on the inside."

"Exactly, but so do we. So that's what we're gonna do. We've already infiltrated his organization here and there, but we're no closer to getting what we need because they've all been warned not to speak about certain things except with Luis himself. The ones we did get...well, they're dead now."

Kendall blew out a breath. "How am I supposed to get close to his nephew? Surely he's not stupid enough to spill his secrets either."

"No, but if we go after him and successfully get him, we're 90% sure Garcia won't have him killed. He's got the protection of family loyalty, and none of the others ever had that."

"Only 90%?" Kendall echoed.

"That's the percentage given to me by the profilers who have studied the case. Garcia loves his nephew like a son, though. He's grooming Carlos to take over the operation one day. He's raised Carlos and his younger sister from the time Carlos was five, when their parents were murdered in vengeance by an opposing cartel. The sister was killed over a year ago. If anyone knows all there is to know about the organization, it's the nephew."

"How old is he now?"

"A year younger than you. We're counting on you to win him over, Knight. Just turn on that charm you use to get people to talk. Use whatever means you have to in order to gain his trust."

"Okay, but...is there a plan for this? How am I supposed to make contact?"

"We've set all that up. Garcia recently rented a home through one of his underlings. We assumed it was to manufacture the product, but instead he moved his nephew into it, along with a bodyguard. We think the man's become paranoid since we've managed to arrest so many of his inside people over the past few months, and he's hiding his nephew away to keep him safe. Probably also to keep him from talking to the wrong people, which is exactly what we want him to do with you. It's a quiet neighborhood. They've been there about three weeks and haven't raised any red flags. We're moving you into a house two doors down from them. You'll have Agent Mitchell living in the house with you, but his presence won't be known to anyone outside the house. Have you worked with Mitchell in the past?"

"Uh...I don't think so? I might've seen him a few times in passing."

"He's a tech specialist. The best we've got. He'll be your eyes and ears, using remote equipment to monitor not only Garcia's home, but the entire street."

"How do we get him inside the house without being seen?"

"He's already there. We're sending in a moving truck to make it look like you hired professionals."

"When does this happen?"

"Tomorrow. We're installing all of the equipment today; it wasn't easy, but we arranged for the entire street to be evacuated long enough to get everything set up. There will be cameras in every room of Garcia's house. We already found some product in the basement."

"We can't just raid the place based on that alone?"

"We can, but it's not going to get us anywhere."

"But if Garcia won't have his nephew killed—"

"There's still no guarantee the nephew will talk. We need you to do that, because the old approach isn't working."

Kendall took all of that in and nodded. "What do we know about the bodyguard?"

"Nothing. The man's a mystery. Even our guys on the inside haven't been able to learn anything about him, because none of Garcia's men seem to know who he is. All that's known is that he's in place to keep Carlos safe."

"Does he have a name?"

"I'm sure he does. We're counting on you to find that for us."

"Wow. So obscure the FBI can't even identify him? I'm kind of impressed."

"Use your skills, Knight. This assignment is one of our top priorities, we've lost too many men over this asshole. We don't want to lose anymore." The director let that digest before he stated, "The folder in front of you contains all the intel we have on Carlos, and what little we've managed to gain on the bodyguard. Study it all tonight and go in tomorrow knowing your targets better than you know your own mother. We can't afford any screw ups on this one. Memorize all of the information about yourself, too."

Kendall nodded slowly. "What's my cover?"

"Your name is Stephen Adams. You're a writer who moved there to work on a book, needed to get away from all the distractions of a big city. You're also gay. No family or friends nearby. You prefer solitude, unless of course Carlos wants to get to know you. Which we're counting on."

"Is there a particular way you want me to approach him?"

"We're leaving that up to you and trusting your instincts on this. You know people. While this assignment is of the highest importance and we want it resolved as soon as possible, we want you to do it right. Don't rush it. We'd rather have success after a longer wait than failure because we were impatient and screwed it up. Understood?"

"Yes. Can you give me an estimate, though? Are we talking a few weeks? A month?"

"As long as it takes. You'll know when the time is right to make your move, and how quickly to progress once you do. The bodyguard might stand in your way."

"Well. I'll just have to win him over too, I guess."

The director seemed pleased with that answer. "I have another meeting. If you have any questions, you know how to get in touch. Be here at 0400 hours and we'll fly you out to the location. There'll be a car for you at the airport, registered to Stephen Adams. Stone's already in the area handling vehicular surveillance. Nothing unusual so far."

"Stone? Agent Stone's on this, too?"

"Have you worked with her?"

"No, but...isn't she a bit of a loose cannon, sir?"

"She can be, but she's damn good at what she does. She can handle any motor vehicle and is our best at tailing targets. She'll be staying at a motel about a mile down the road. You and Mitchell will be in communication with her and can give her a heads up when Garcia's getting ready to leave the house."

"Right." Kendall had met Lucy once in passing; he'd found her to be rude and obnoxious, but stories of her motorcycle stunts were legendary. She'd never let a suspect escape.

Kendall stood up and gathered the folder in his arms.

"Above all, be careful, Knight. Carlos may be young, but he was raised by one of the most dangerous men in the world. And don't underestimate the bodyguard; we don't know anything about him or where he came from, so assume he's capable of anything."

"Understood. I won't let you down, sir."

"I'm counting on it."