Title: Black Ties and White Shirts
Media: Fanfic
Author: longlost10
Rating: PG-13 [warning for violence]
Characters: Kurt and Blaine (Special appearances from Sue and Warblers)
Genre: Action/Adventure
Spoilers: N/A
Word Count: 4,374
Summary: A series of mysterious disappearances around the Ohio region provokes the CIA to send in agents to investigate. Kurt Hummel, a junior agent from when he was younger, is chosen to go on the mission.
Additional Notes: Inspired by two gifs. Unbeta'd

Four and a half hours later, Kurt stepped out of a black SUV that took him from the airport to Lima. He got out and closed the door, adjusting the black tie he now wore. They made him change into the suit on the plane. He wasn't sure why, but it did give him the professional air. Not to mention that the things they geared him up with blended in easier with the suit.

Their 'communications device' ended up just being a watch with a communicator inside it, not too fancy but it fulfilled his childhood dream of what a walkie-talkie watch would be. When he got it he sort of stared at the woman who gave it to him. She shrugged and just told him to put it on and they'd go on with their device tests.

In addition, he got an ear piece for the watch (so what he was supposed to hear wasn't broadcast throughout the nearby area) and a pair of sunglasses which he slipped on now that he was out of the car.

"Really? Just sunglasses?" Kurt asked the woman who handed them to him as he turned them over in his hands.

The woman rolled her eyes and walked back to the desk where her laptop sat. "Put them on and focus on the lenses. Have you never worn DescriptGlass brand before?"

"No. We only trained with basic gear back in Scouts." He told her.

Kurt heard her sigh and saw her look down into her computer, as to look anywhere but at him. "Focus on the glasses and they'll tell you the statistics you need at any given moment. Primarily voice activated. Shows you weather, floor layouts with heat sensors for humans who might be around. You name it, it's in there."

He laughed a little, not really believing it as he slipped them on his face. He pressed them up against his nose and focused on the glasses. Nothing happened. "They're not working." He told her. "Are they broken?"

"Didn't I tell you they were voice activated? State a command. Isn't there a command line prompt in the upper left?"

So there was.

He thought for a moment. He had, what sounded, like a computer at his disposal. What could he ask for? "Show me the weather in Lima, Ohio." He said. He didn't whisper, but didn't expect the CIA to give him something that couldn't be used while he was undercover without looking or sounding like an idiot.

It took a half second, though, after he spoke that a small weather radar appeared in the upper right of the glasses. Right beside it was a 3 day forecast for the area. It seemed like it would be sunny for the next few days. "Weather is accurate within a few hours. Comes right form satellites. Every bit of information to appear on those screens are the most accurate readouts you're going to get anywhere on the planet."

"Do they work as sunglasses?"

"Just say 'clear'. It'll wipe the display but will wait for your command."

A man ran over to him and handed Kurt a duffle bag. It contained some clothes, files and a laptop to use while he was in town. He had a few hours to think and review the case file about the missing boys. If the one thing they had in common was show choir and the first disappearance was in Lima, Ohio, he knew where he was going to go first.

He eyed the little underscore in the upper left corner. How could he resist? As he started walking down the street, he dropped his voice. "Show me Sue Sylvester." There was a half second delay before Coach Sylvester's home address, gym of preference and William McKinley High School's address. A small little arrow blinked beside McKinley's address. "Clear".

Kurt checked his watch. It was nearly two. He had nearly an hour before classes would be done for the day at his alma mater and he would be able to find an opportunity to corner the Cheerio coach and try to have a civilized conversation.

Who knows? Maybe she'd like to talk to Porcelain again?

But what should he do with a full hour of time? He couldn't visit his parents as they were supposed to keep thinking that he was still in New York. The thought that he would mention why he was in Lima at this time was laughable.

He found himself walking to the neighbourhood park and sat on a swing he used to use as a boy when his father took him to the park. He started pumping his legs, getting higher and higher until he was very near horizontal. A thought occurred to him, so he took his hand off of the chain and brought his lips to his wrist. "Kurt Hummel, requesting a wiretap on all phone lines belonging to Sue Sylvester. Text logs should be e-mailed to me."

A voice in his ear told him that a set of agents were on their way, tracking the appropriate lines and installing the software. He let out a small breath he wasn't even aware he was holding. He wasn't sure why this was helpful to him. There were no leads that made him accuse Coach Sylvester except his knowledge of her Glee-hatred from what he remembered of high school show choir.

Suddenly, a thought struck him as he jumped off the swing and started walking to the one place Kurt knew this man would be.

He walked into the music store a few blocks from the park and quickly scanned the area. Sure enough, sitting in front of a piano was Jesse St. James. Kurt didn't want to talk to the man, but if show choir kids were involved, Jesse would know. He took off his sunglasses, put them in his pocket, turned on the recorder on his watch and walked up to the man playing Boston.

"That was the first tune I learned on piano." Kurt said, pulling up a spare chair and sitting on it backwards, leaning on the back and positioning his watch so it could pick up Jesse's voice.

Jesse looked up and after a second gave a smile that could cure cancer. "Kurt Hummel!" He reached forward and grabbed his hand, shaking it. "How have you been? I know heard you've moved to New York? Clearly doing well, just look at your getup."

Kurt forced a small laugh. To be perfectly honest, while the suit was nice and top brand, he wouldn't have picked it out himself. He would have chosen something with a little more flair. But what's regulation's regulation. He was in no position to argue. "Yeah, I suppose." Well, he might as well get this interview started. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

The other man gave a shrug. "Do your worst." He said with that charming laugh of his.

"How are things around here? I haven't been in town since a few weeks after graduation. It's been a while. How's your business? You still coaching glee clubs?" Kurt asked with a small smile. There wasn't much tension between them.

It seemed as if once people left glee club and were out of Jesse's way, they could be on good terms. He tried to keep this good atmosphere around as they talked.

"I've been working a lot with Vocal Adrenalin lately, but from what I hear, New Directions is on their way to the top once more." He said with a small smile. It was smaller than his earlier smile. Was Kurt's old glee club still a sore topic?

There was only one way to know for sure. "So... New Directions still isn't favoured in the community, I take it?"

Jesse gave a small shrug, leaning back a little. "I'm looking at it more and more objectively ever since your class graduated. I guess I had a bit of a bias one way or the other." He admitted. It didn't take a genius to figure out who that bias was- Rachel Berry. "They're still so... good. Even without you guys. Dalton was going to manage it... but with the loss of that Anderson kid... I doubt they have the vocal power."

Kurt furrowed his eyebrows. So another disappearance was from around here. "Do you know what's going on with that? I heard a kid name Polter was taken from around here too."

The other man shook his head. "Not a clue. I wish I knew. They're taking some really talented boys off the street and out of the choir room." He said with a sigh.

"Where was Polter from again?" Kurt asked, his mind blanking from the file he had read earlier.

"Carden. It's well out of the way from Lima."

He let out a sigh and thought about what he had just learned. Jesse thinks New Directions was unbeatable and, apparently, so do a good chunk of the districts surrounding McKinley. Something still made him uneasy. What if this wasn't something regarding show choir? "Has anyone from New Directions been abducted?" He asked.

To Kurt's relief, the other man shook his head. "Nope. Not a damn thing has happened to them." So the bitterness and rivalry still ran deep in Jesse's veins... for whatever reason.

He sensed that he should leave, though, so he stood up and sent a friendly smile towards the man in front of him. "I hope to see you around then." He stuck out a hand and watched hesitance cross Jesse's face before being a gentleman won over and he reached out to shake it.

"You too. Are you going to stay in town long?" He asked, turning back to the piano and running his fingers over the ivory keys.

Kurt shook his head, even though Jesse didn't see him. "Hopefully not. Only in for a quick visit. I needed to meet with someone."

There was an apathetic nod from the man as he spoke. "Sounds fun. Enjoy yourself."

"Thank you." He said. He turned on his heel and walked out of the music shop, checking his watch. It had been about a half hour with about fifteen minutes of walking from the park to the shop. He only had about fifteen minutes before school let out. Without much of a second thought, he started towards the high school.

He wanted nothing else but for Sue to confirm or deny the theory floating in his mind. Maybe just talking to her would do him some good. It seemed like a stupid theory, something so radical that it was just plain ridiculous. But Sue was known for the ridiculous, which he knew kept the flame of an idea smouldering.

After a little bit of walking, he got to McKinley, about a half hour after school had let out. The walk was longer than he expected, but it meant that after school activities were already in full swing. He wouldn't be able to get Sue on her own now... he could check out the choir room, right? It wouldn't hurt...

Not that he'd go barging in though. He knew outside was a courtyard and then another building was across from it. He stared out those windows all the time back when he was in school. Now he would just be getting another perspective.

Kurt walked casually into the empty courtyard. It might be a bit weird, a man in a suit staring into a window... but he was a former student. He carried his high school ID with him still- he'd just show them that. He hopped onto a planter and peered into the windows.

There was Mr. Schuester, talking to the group at large. There were about fourteen kids sitting in chairs. Rory was gone, but Tina, Artie and Brittany were all still there. Brittany looked a little dazed, a little sad maybe, but he attributed the sadness to Santana being gone... the dazed look was a constant for her.

The others he didn't recognize.

Oh well. New blood was always appreciated. Movement out of the corner of his eye made him look towards the band. They were starting to play, which meant only one thing: a song. Who was going to take the lead now that Finn and Rachel had graduated?

He knew the answer before Artie rolled out and turned to the group. The other boy's eyes flickered up to where Kurt was, so he jumped off of the planter and started to walk back to the football field. It hadn't been long, but if Sue saw him, maybe she'd end practice early.

Walking the campus in the suit felt weird. He didn't belong like this, not after spending so much of his time here fighting stereotypes and trying to convince everyone that no matter how you looked, you were beautiful.

Once he got to the football field, he looked over to where the Cheerios were practicing. He always wondered how Brittany and Santana managed to stay on both Glee club and Cheerios if they practiced at the same time. They didn't always, back when he was in school, but he supposed Sue let them off the hook more often than not.

Kurt stopped under a tree, looking past the flipping girls to the bleachers where she stood with a megaphone in her signature red tracksuit.

Sue Sylvester.

Her eyes flickered to his and they met for a moment, but she barely acknowledged him other than a curt nod in his direction. He sighed. No early ending practice for him. He walked over to a bench and sat down, breaking out his cell phone and pulling up a game of Snake.

There was nothing else better to do while he waited. Plus, it made him blend in easier. If only he weren't wearing the damn suit. Dapper or not, it was out of place.

Ten minutes passed... fifteen... twenty... Glee club would be getting out any minute now and if Artie had really seen him, there was a chance the other boy would try to find him. That wasn't exactly what Kurt wanted. He stood up and waited for Sue's eyes to match his again, this time giving her a significant look.

It seemed to do it. Sue blew the whistle, yelled at the Cheerios and watched them walk off.

Kurt walked across the field and approached her, his heart beating madly. He didn't realize it'd be such a confrontation. "Coach." He said, giving her a small grin. Maybe trying to win her into a good mood would help his chances.

"Lady Face... looks like you got out of your skirt." She said; her face expressionless. Well, that plan went out the window.

But that was no reason why he should get defensive. If he remembered his training on accusations, being cynical and argumentative would be the worst thing he could do. "Can we talk?"

Sue started to pack up and did not break her stride as she spoke to him. "We're talking now, aren't we? What's got your bra in a bunch?"

Kurt almost sighed audibly, but caught himself. He had forgotten about her horrible choice in words when addressing him. He had started to live in a gay-friendly place, so to speak and no one used terms or slurs like that. It brought the harsh reality of the world back to him.

"How's school going this term?" He asked casually. It was really an awkward topic to bring up and he didn't give it much thought. He couldn't flat out ask her 'So... have you been kidnapping teenage boys lately?' It probably wouldn't go over well. But he could ask something just as accusatory yet slightly more acceptable. "How's corrupting glee club going?"

She looked at him sceptically as she picked up a bag of pom-poms. Kurt briefly wondered where Becky was. For as long as he could remember, she was essentially Sue's lackey. "As good as any other year. Not like I'd tell you." She said, starting to walk towards the building. Kurt quickly started to follow in her path. "You'd probably go running off to Grease Head in there... so no."

She picked up the pace.

So did Kurt. "I'm not going to tell him. Why would I? I don't care if New Directions wins or loses anymore." He retorted. And to be perfectly honest... this year he really didn't care. Yes, he had great pride in his alma mater, but it wouldn't really affect him whether New Directions won or loss.

There was a sigh from Sue's direction before she spun around to look him dead centre in the eye. "Look, Porcelain, I'm not doing anything to your little 'glee club'." She even used her hands to mock the quotes. He wanted to punch her. "Who knows. Maybe another team will actually beat their sorry asses this year."

And with that, she turned around and marched off, leaving Kurt standing in the end zone staring at where she used to be. As soon as she was gone, he turned around and his wrist went up to his mouth. "I want a tag on Sue Sylvester- full time surveillance."

No, she didn't tell him what she was doing. But it did point him in the direction of the missing boys. Another school was involved. One that was run by Sue Sylvester and probably wasn't even a school.

In just a manner of minutes, this turned into more than a scouting mission to find out what happened to the boys. This had very suddenly become a rescue mission as well, and he only had scraps of vague information to go on. Hopefully the wiretap he had sent on her lines, plus the person he asked to tail her would lead him in some direction.

But for now, he could go and adjust to the time zones, maybe do some homework on the laptop in the duffle bag that was still hanging over his side. He slipped on his sunglasses as he left the school grounds.

It wasn't like he didn't like his school, but he didn't exactly want to return anytime soon. When agents showed up to places, they never brought good news.

In fact, they had the tendency to bring death and mourning, but he was trying to avoid that.

"Hey guys, where am I supposed to spend the night?" He asked, hoping either his glasses or the watch would pick up his voice. He supposed if nothing happened, he would be more direct, but for now he wasn't sure he cared. It was a little past four in the afternoon and he had no leads until the held their end of the bargain and got him what he asked for.

He would have loved to stay with his dad, stepmother and Finn, who was working with his dad, but they weren't supposed to know he was in town. This wasn't a social trip.

On the glasses, an address of a local hotel appeared along with directions based on where his location. "Do I have to pay?" He sighed. The text appeared before the small voice in his ear: No.

As he walked through the town, looking for areas that might be just a little too shady, just a little sketchier than he previously remembered or just didn't fit the surrounding environment. The only thing that jumped out at him were the alleyways... but they were naturally dark, so it was nothing to go on.

When he got to the hotel, he checked in and started towards the room number printed on the envelope that held the key that always reminded him of a credit card. 110.

Apparently everything was paid for, already. Those CIA guys were good. He stuck his sunglasses into his jacket pocket and started walking down the hall.

Thankfully his room was on the first floor, so he didn't have to climb any stairs or worse: wait for people for the elevator or ride with them. It was a small hotel, and he wondered if there was even an elevator, but the point still stood.

When he unlocked the door, he walked into the room, threw the duffle bag on the bed, took off his jacket and undid his tie. Reminiscing briefly of their hotel stay for Nationals of his junior year, Kurt belly-flopped onto the bed and reached over, calling room service.

He ordered a small dinner, a chicken Caesar salad wrap, and after hanging up, lay back on the surprisingly soft comforter, drifting in and out of consciousness until a loud knock at the door told him that his food was here.

With a small groan, he got up, answered the door and started to make himself busy. He set up the laptop on the desk and changed into a pair of shorts and a woman beater to sleep in. He moved around the room rather slowly. It was about five thirty, but in his mind it was six thirty and no one should be working that late.

But for every rule there was an exception. Today, that'd be him.

He took half of the wrap and started munching on it as the log files started to load up. According to what he remembered from back on the plane, he'd be able to review this data on his glasses. It wasn't that he couldn't before, but who'd choose glasses over a real computer?

The log files from Sue's phone calls came up first. He wasn't going to deny that he was surprised that she spoke on the phone, but she had a fair amount of conversations on this. Most of them were even from the area, which was why one with the area code from Kent, Ohio leapt out at him like a jack in the box.

"Why hello... What are you doing here?" He asked the line of text on the screen, setting his dinner down on the desk.

He typed a few more commands pulling up the dialog from the conversation. Kurt read eagerly and his smile slowly faded. "No... that can't be right." He muttered to himself. This had to be someone else's file. It was not something of Sue Sylvester. She wasn't this brilliant on any given day.

But after quadruple checking the sources and getting the same result, he was forced to accept that there was no glitch in the system, no misprint. The words on the screen were telling the truth. And even though there were holes, it didn't take much brainpower to put in believable filler.

Kurt's cell phone sat next to his computer and he knew the Commander's number along with the encryption code to punch in before the number. Not to mention the watch or the glasses. There were loads of ways to contact the office.

After more than a few minutes of silence, staring at the screen, he closed the lid, left the cell phone, watch and glasses on the desk and walked back to his bed. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. Nothing will happen until morning. If there was another disappearance, then that could only benefit him. But for now he could rest up and call the agency in the morning.

A pang of guilt shot through him as he crawled off of his bed and grabbed the glasses. "Call headquarters. Put me through to the Commander." He said, falling once more onto his bed. He waited until the Commander's voice answered before he spoke again. "Sir. I might have some bad news for you."

"Bad news?" The Commander's voice was stern and, if Kurt wasn't mistaken, laced with a hint of worry. "You've only been in town for a few hours."

He gave a tired grin to the ceiling where he was currently staring. "You place me in my hometown and then tell me to investigate something that was my life for three years? Of course I'm going to know where to start and what questions to ask."

Had Kurt been sitting in the office, he imagined that the man would be smirking. Or scowling. While he seemed friendly, albeit intimidating, in their initial meeting, from his training days and the small things he overheard, the Commander was supposed to be a hard ass.

But there was an audible sigh before the man spoke. "Humour me then. What did you find?"

He curled up a little by the pillow onto of the comforter that he realized was just a little bit scratchy for his taste. "It is show choir related, as we had theorized. In past years Sue Sylvester would try to sabotage McKinley's glee club. This year she claims to not be directly affecting them."

"Okay..."

"Thing is, she's doing a roundabout way of inhibiting their performance in Sectionals." Kurt explained, suppressing a yawn. He hoped the Commander didn't hear. "She's gotten tabs on a lot of regional glee club vocal leaders, pinpointed their locations... and took them." He paused for a minute. "In a day or so letters will be sent, written by the boys themselves telling their parents of a new scholarship from a school and that they've transferred. In the mean time she's been training them all together to be the best show choir in the region to defeat New Directions."

There was silence on the other end of the line. "Let me get this straight." He said slowly. "This woman Sue Syliver-"

"Sylvester, sir."

"Sylvester. She's kidnapping boys to defeat a high school show choir?" The Commander was yelling and if Kurt's mental image of the man matched up to his actions, he was probably standing up at his desk.

But he had nothing to say in Sue's defence, it really was as outrageous as the Commander thought it was. "Commander, Sue has been known to do rather outlandish things."

There was an audible sigh coming from the other man and Kurt sat up, playing with the socks he still had on his feet. "Alright. Hummel. Go to the facility. Get the boys back safely, is that understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Have a good night." There was a click and the device went back to just being sunglasses once more.