Chapter 2 - Getting to Know Each Other

It seemed that the brothers didn't really have much trouble getting a place of their own. He supposed that they used some sort of connection to pull this off but he didn't really look that much into it.

He finally figured out how to tell the difference between the two of them. Alfred was the louder one and Matthew was the quieter one. There were a couple of other features that were different but that was the most obvious.

They had been there for more than a week before he decided to pay them a visit. On his way he bought them a simple potted plant, a little house warming gift. It was pretty early in the morning. He left this early because he thought that it would take him longer to find where they lived

They had rented a small house together with practically no yard at all. When he arrived at what he was sure was the right house he knocked. There was no answer and all the lights were off. He supposed that he should just leave, it would be rude to wake them up for no reason. But, just as he was turning to walk away, one of the brothers, Alfred, came running up to him. He was in basketball shorts and covered in sweat. "'Morning" he said, slightly out of breath. "Do you need us for something?" he got straight to the point. It looked like he had been jogging.

Jerry shook his head, "Oh no. I just wanted to give you this little gift." Alfred eyed it, he looked unimpressed. "Thanks man, that's cool of you." He looked over at the door. "Wanna come in for some coffee?" Jerry smiled at him, "That would be nice."

Alfred started rooting around for his keys but he couldn't seem to find them anywhere. While he was looking Matthew came running up next to him, breathing heavier than his brother had been. He pulled the keys out and tossed them to his Alfred. "Thanks bro."

As the three of them walked into the house Jerry handed the plant to Matthew to put it in the windowsill. While he was doing this, Alfred was messing around in the kitchen.

The entire house was much cleaner than he had expected. Aside from a few , boxes, books and video games there were no personality in this place at all. He suspected that it was because they had just moved in and didn't have enough time to personalize this place.

"What do you like in your coffee?" asked Alfred over his shoulder. "Just a little cream." He answered. Moments later Alfred gave him a cup of coffee. They sat across from each other at the kitchen table. Matthew came over with his own coffee just after. "Thank you for the plant. It's really lovely."

Jerry smiled at him and the three of them sat together awkwardly. He was trying to think of something to say with something came to mind, "When are the two of you starting school?" he asked.

Alfred put his hand on his chin, "We're not." Jerry gave him a confused look so Matthew clarified, "We were homeschooled. Actually, we are at college entry level right now." Jerry raised his eyebrow at him. "This makes us available at anytime for any type of job."

"That's very impressive." Jerry commented. "Thank you," said Matthew. Alfred just shrugged his shoulders. It seemed like Alfred didn't want to talk right now. Matthew continued, "We were going to spend the day exploring the area, unless you have something for us to do." Jerry shook his head, "No, no I just wanted to make sure that you settled in."

Matthew smiled sweetly, "Thank you. We are settling in fine."

Jerry excused himself and left them to their own devices. He decided to call Arthur when he got back to the office. He was curious about if these kids were as smart as they claimed.

As he picked up the receiver to make the call he glanced over at the mountain of work he still had to do. In fact, he had put it off to visit the brothers. He knew that he really did need to attend to it but he couldn't pull himself from the question in his mind.

While he did trust both of them, he figured that he was probably going to get a clearer answer out of Arthur.

The phone rang a couple of times and Jerry was starting to think that he wasn't going to answer. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Arthur picked up the phone. "Yeah, hullo?" his voice laced with sleep.

"Ah, good morning. I didn't mean to disturb you. It's Jerry." He greeted him. There was a rustling sound on the other end of the line. It seeded like he had accidentally woken his old friend up. "It's fine Jerry. Did something happen with the boys?"

Jerry shook his head, despite the fact that Arthur couldn't see him, and replied, "No, nothing like that. I was just curious about a few things." They spoke about the boys' education and their history and Arthur confirmed everything.

As he hung up the phone he thought about what he was told. These boys were very impressive. They had more potential that most people their age. It would really be a shame if they wasted their lives not going to college. He wondered why they were waiting. Was it because of their jobs? Or something else? Besides that, he wondered exactly what had happened to put them in such danger. Arthur was a bit vague about that.

With a sigh, he continued on with his paperwork. While doing so, he found an assignment that would be perfect for the boys. It wasn't too difficult, nothing that the girls couldn't take care of, but it was something that he thought might be good for them. Since they were paying for their own apartment, it would be a nice easy job for them. It was just collecting some information from a large corporation suspected of some dark deeds.

When he called them in, the boys landed on their feet. He had to admit that they were more graceful than the girls in that aspect. "I have a job for you." The boys nodded and focused on him. After he explained the basics of the situation they just gave him a blank stare.

"So," Alfred drew out, "this is the only job you have available?" "What he means," Matthew interjected, "this is a really easy job. We were expecting something a little more challenging."

Jerry sat behind his desk with his fingers folded, smiling a them, "I thought a job like this might be a little more relaxing for you." Obviously they were not happy with that answer. "We actually enjoy the challenge." Alfred huffed, walking out the door. Matthew gave him an apologetic smile as he followed him.