[Author's note: This is kind of a long chapter. I'm really hoping it makes as much sense to you guys as it does to me. Thanks so much to frozenangel1988 and my two guest reviewers! I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter. :) ]

Chapter Four

I sighed heavily, leaning my head on the inside of my door. I was off in la-la land when I heard my apartment phone ring. I picked it up, knowing exactly who it would be. "Hello?"

"You have Intel to report?" Asked the man.

I nodded, then realized he couldn't see it. "Yeah."

"Well…?" Asked the man. He was testier then he usually was.

"Layla and Will are Supers. Zach might be a super, I can't quite tell yet. I don't see how Magenta and Ethan are supers." I reported.

"And Peace?"

I swallowed. I didn't want to tell him about Warren. I didn't want to tell him anything involving him. A voice echoed in my ear. "Agent Cross, give me your report." He was getting mad.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "What about Peace?" I could almost feel him glaring at me through the phone. "Give. Me. Your. Report." He said again. I sighed. I couldn't, not give it to him. "Peace is not a super. He shows no signs of any tests that I've given him."

"That is not what I wanted to hear." He said, angrily.

"Well, that's what I got. If you wanted better recon, you should've given me a cell phone before you kicked me out of the van." I said, glaring at the wall, pretending it was his face.

A heavy sigh from the other end. "Fine." He hissed. "You'll get it tomorrow." Then the dial tone.

I slammed the phone down, even though it was useless. I sighed after a moment. It was pointless to argue with the man. He was too damn stubborn to think otherwise. I hated the man, don't get me wrong, but I needed to think of a way to avoid getting him more information about Warren.

I walked to the fridge out of boredom. Nothing in there except honey mustard. I sighed, banging my head on the freezer door. I went back to the phone and hit redial, hoping they hadn't already changed the number. I was in luck, seeing as it took about 15 minutes to change the number.

"What?" Growled the man I had previously been talking to.

"If you want me to stay on this mission, you better send me more money so I don't starve." I then slammed the phone down. This indeed had the effect I wanted. For when I checked my mail the next morning right after breakfast, there were two packages waiting.

I waited until I was back in my apartment to open the packages. The first was a box about six inches long by three inches deep. I opened it to find a slick looking black cellular device. I messed with the device for a moment, to find it slid sideways, revealing a full keyboard. "Nice." I smiled, setting it on the table. They had already activated the phone so I just had to get the number out of the 'My Name Card' thing.

The second package was a larger envelope. When I opened this, I found one thousand dollars inside. "Well, hell. I'm not that starving." I said, looking over the money. I never had that much money at one time. I took out two twenties to put in my wallet.

I folded the bills in half and went to stick it under the false board in my dresser. I assumed that The Agency put it there. I pulled the board up and stared at the black hunk of metal they called a Glock. What caliber was it? I didn't even remember.

Upon giving me this, I refused with all my might that I would not use it. It was, however, forced into my possession and I was told to use it if I needed. I was also given a shotgun that was kept under the false board in my closet. I tried not to think about what would happen if I actually had to use the Glock.

I pushed that thought away and stuck the money next to the butt of the gun. I knew how to shoot it and I was good. However, they had given it to me incase I needed to shoot someone, not something.

I sighed, putting the false board back in place and grabbing my skateboard. I had no doubt they'd send a car if I told them I needed it, but I didn't need it. I got my wallet, filled it with the bills I had left on the table, and put it in the back of my pants. I took the new phone and put it in my pocket in case they tried to call me again.

Grabbing my coat, I slipped it over my shoulders and left the apartment. I raced down the stairs, as I was going to be late. The packages had distracted me. I threw down my board as soon as I hit cement. I kicked off harder then I really needed to and almost lost my balance.

I regained myself and forced on to work. By the time I reached the time clock in the back room, I was two minutes late. Just as I turned around, in came my boss. He glared at me heavily. "What's the excuse this time?"

If you haven't guessed, time management is not my best skill. "I wasn't watching the clock." I told him honestly.

"Uh-huh. That was the story last week." He told me.

I frowned. It was the truth, but I knew I wouldn't get him to realize that. I walked to my locker, putting in my skateboard and my jacket, taking out my sales apron. I then went into the back to grab a box to stock. Peanuts or mayo. I shrugged, grabbing whatever box was closest.

Mayo it is. I hefted the box onto the dolly and rolled it away. I was almost to the correct aisle when there was lots of flying hair and people running at me. When I opened my eyes, I was on the floor with the dolly cutting into my leg. "Oh my god, are you ok?" Layla asked, pulling the dolly off me.

"Uh, yeah." I groaned, standing up. "Where's the fire?"

"SO?!" Layla and Magenta rang out at the same time. "How'd it go?"

"How'd what go? My first set up?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

"Duh, we're not talking about the Super Bowl." Magenta said, even though it was October and the Super Bowl wasn't until February.

I sighed, shaking my head. "It went fine." I said, wanting to be as vague as possible. I headed towards my aisle, hoping to get them to go away.

"What kind of pizza did you get?" Layla asked.

"Did he pay?" Magenta chanted.

"Did he drive you home?" Layla said.

"Was it romantic?" Magenta pushed.

I stopped walking and looked at them. They looked expectantly back at me. But I had to gain their trust. Ok, well, I already had their trust if they were setting up a total stranger with one of their friends. Therefore, I had to keep that trust.

I sighed heavily. "He paid. He drove me home. Yes, it was romantic. He walked me to my door and kissed me on the cheek. Happy?" I asked, not really liking the fact I supplied unneeded information.

Magenta and Layla both squealed like fan girls of sorts. I covered my ears, opening my eyes only when the high-pitched sound had died. "Done?" I asked. I wasn't trying to be irritable. I really wasn't. But this was getting harder then I thought it would. I needed to change the subject.

"Hey, you guys have cell phones?" I asked, ripping open the cardboard to stock the shelf closest to me.

"Yeah." Magenta and Layla said at the same time, holding up different variations of the same device.

I nodded slowly. "Well, I had enough money so I bought one the other day. And I have no idea how to use it. Think you could help me out after work?" I asked, picking up a jar of white fluffy stuff.

"Sure!" Layla exclaimed. "Come by Will's house later and we'll have a movie night."

"Sweet. I don't have to work tomorrow, so that'd be great." I smiled. Alright, so it was a fake smile. But they couldn't tell the difference. Part of me hoped Warren wouldn't come. I didn't want to tell The Agency about him, but I didn't want the consequences if I failed to report to them.

"So, you guys just come by to ask about my set up?" I couldn't bring myself to call it a date. That would mean we were dating, which would mean we were going out with each other, and that would make us a couple. I swallowed hard at this fact. The Agency would nail me to a wall and leave me there if I was going out with the mission.

"…but now we need food for tonight." Layla smiled.

I smiled back, only catching half of what she said. "That's cool. Need any direction?" I asked.

"Chips?" Layla called out from the list now in her hand. "Aisle 8." I told her. "Crackers?" She asked. "Same aisle." I informed her. "Do you still have those cheese balls?" She asked.

"Uh…" I thought for a second. "Yeah. Right next to the block cheese." I told her. "And…" She said, scanning the paper. "French onion dip."

"Aisle 11 with the sour cream."

She smiled. "Thanks, Jade. Well, we're leaving. See ya tonight." She said, giving me a hug then leaving with Magenta.

"Jade." I laughed at the name after they were out of sight, as I continued with my job. How the hell had they come up with that name? I mean, really. I didn't even like the name. But I was told all agents needed 'codenames', so this was mine. "I've never even met anyone named Jade." I said to myself.

But work came and went with only a broken jar of olives to soil my day. My boss went off like fireworks on the 4th of July. Again, Layla didn't tell me what time it was and I didn't know how the hell to use my cell, so I dialed her from my apartment when I got home.

After talking for 15 minutes about….nothing really, I found the time for this shin-dig was 7:30. I had to change my shirt, since when I broke the jar of olives, it poured all over me. So, the shirt I was wearing smelled of vinegar brine.

I changed and just as the clock hit 7:15, there was a knock on my door. I was in the middle of putting on one sock when I abandoned the effort to answer the door. "Warren?" I asked, surprised to see him in front of my door.

He was dressed in the usual worn jeans, red shirt and leather jacket with fingerless gloves. He gave me a nod. "I was told to pick you up."

"Pick me up?" I repeated.

He nodded. "To go to Will's, but if you're in the middle of something, like getting dressed, I can wait."

Why was he looking at my feet? Oh right, I was only wearing one sock. "Ah, well, you wanna come in?" I asked, holding open the door. He nodded, stepping in. I now felt small compared to his 6'3" frame. "I'll be like, two minutes at tops." I told him, going into the bedroom to reclaim my sock. I heard him sit on the couch as I did this.

I quickly tied my shoes and returned to the living room. Ok, I had my wallet in my back pocket and I had my room key. There was something I was forgetting.

"Is that yours?" Warren asked, pointing to my new mobile on the table.

"Ah." I said, remembering I needed to bring it with me. "Yes. I bought it the other day. Cool huh?" I said, holding it out for him.

He opened it with a movement that only showed practice. He looked up at me then back at the phone before handing it back to me. "That's not supposed to be out for another week, isn't it?" He asked.

Great. It was just like the Agency to send me a phone that was so new, no one else had one. "Uh." I said, looking at the device. "I…don't know. My…uncle sent it."

"You said you bought it." He said.

Damn. I did. "Well, yeah." I said, thinking fast. "I mean, I gave him the money to buy it. He sent it over to me. He works at the factory."

"Those are made in China." He informed me.

Damn it. He was determined to catch me in something. "I'm… an eighteenth Chinese." I told him.

He quirked a smile at me. "I'm a fourth Vietnamese and you don't have a drop of Chinese blood in your body."

"Step Uncle. He married into my mom's side." He was bound and determined to catch me up.

"Oh yeah?" He asked, defying me as he stood closer to me.

"Yeah." I said, challenging him. "I can say hello." I smiled at him.

"So can three-fourths of the population." He said, coming closer still.

A lump formed in my throat and I was torn between my head and my heart. "We, uh, we should, um, get going." I said, looking around for my jacket. I pulled away from him, slipping it on and zipping it up.

I went to walk by Warren, but he blocked my way, leaning down until his mouth was near my ear. "What are you afraid of?" My eyelids fell and I lost my breath. It took a moment, but I somehow managed answered him. "Just give me time." I whispered back.

He took this as a satisfactory answer. He nodded, looking me in the eyes the whole time. "Shall we?" He asked. "I suppose we shall." I said, following him out of my apartment.

He then led me down to the garage in the back of the building, which I hadn't even known was there. He tossed me a helmet, which I caught as swiftly as I could. I pulled it on and got behind Warren on the motorcycle. He started it up and we were like a flash of light as he sped away from the building.

With my hands around his waist, I wasn't even processing where we were until the bike stopped. "That was fast." I commented. Warren laughed as he climbed off and took off his helmet. "Babe, that took ten minutes."

"Hmm. I must've zoned." All of my focus went into that sentence. Had he seriously just called me babe? Where did that come from? Just, why?

Grrrr. This boy was NOT helping me not like him. I shook my head, setting my helmet on the seat next to his. I mean, the helmet that he had loaned to me for riding. Yeah, that was it.

He led the way to Will's front door and didn't even knock as he opened it. He kicked his shoes off and I did the same. I awkwardly followed him, feeling out of place. Real houses were rare from where I came from.

I mean, it's not like I'd never seen one before. But I had never seen one this large; or this decorated. You could definitely tell this family wasn't going anywhere soon.

Warren walked through the hall. The living room was on the right, a staircase leading to the upstairs was on the left, and the kitchen was in front of us. Warren led us into the kitchen where he pulled off his coat and threw it over a chair, which he then sat down.

"Warren, hey." Layla said from in front of the stove. She was standing in front of a pan of boiling water. Warren pulled out the chair next to him and looked at me.

I took off my coat and copied his actions. "Hey." Will said, coming into the room. He stood in front of me, holding open his arms. I stood and gave him a hug. Until this point, I had forgotten that he was super strong. "Will." I choked. "Can't breathe."

"Oh, sorry." He said with a smile, setting me back on my feet.

"Thanks." I said, taking a deep breath. Will setting me back down must have been the trigger action, because everyone came over and gave me a hug: Layla, Ethan, and Zach. Magenta wasn't coming tonight for some reason I hadn't caught.

Warren smiled at me and I blushed. "So what's with the water?" I asked Layla.

"Hot chocolate. You want some?" She asked.

"Sure." I smiled.

"So, tonight you can pick from these three." Will said, laying the movies out on the table. "These are all horrors." I commented. "Yeah, War and I are huge horror buffs." Will smiled.

I nodded. My mom had never let me see horror movies. "My Bloody Valentine, Devour, or The Haunting in Connecticut." I said quietly to myself. I read the back cover of each of them and thought. "They all sound horror worthy."

"That's the point." Layla said, coming to sit on Will's lap. She just looked into his eyes intensely for a moment and I had to look away. I wasn't lying when I told them that story about my parents. I have just been emancipated for longer then I said. I've only see real love and care a few times and that time in the kitchen was one of them.

"Here's your hot chocolate, Jade." Zach said from the counter.

I was thankful for the distraction. I'm not good at handling feelings. Like, real, live, passionate feelings and especially if they're mine. I blew on the beverage before taking a sip. Mmm... mint. I returned to my spot next to Warren and looked at him. "You want a drink? It's really good." I said, holding out the cup to him.

He took it, nodding thanks. He took a sip and handed it back to me. It was odd. Around me when we were alone, Warren smiled a lot and laughed, but here around his friends, he was calm and mellow.

Let me repeat myself. Around a complete stranger, he's loud and fun; around the friends he's probably known for years, he's quiet and relaxed looking. Tell me again how that works.

Ethan had a look of disgust on his face when I took my next sip of cocoa. "What?" I asked, wondering about the look. "You just swapped spit." Ethan said, almost cringing. The whole kitchen now looked at Warren and me. "It's just cocoa." I said, as if this was one of those trick questions.

"But you let him drink out of it!" Zach added, showing off the same look as Ethan gave. "Why? Are you sick?" I asked, looking at Warren. "Because, that could get me fired. Tell me now." I was kidding, of course. Sipping from my cocoa wasn't worse then kissing and I'd never caught anything from that.

"Oh, I legally have to tell you that I'm HIV positive." He said with a straight face.

"Damn." I said. "Mine just went away."

Ethan and Zach both shared the same look of horror while Will and Layla laughed. "You guys have a really sick sense of humor." Ethan informed us.

"Thanks. I try." I said, with a bright smile. I stopped smiling when a tall man came into the room with a pretty woman behind him, both wearing glasses. They stopped, seeing me. "Will, is this your new friend?" The woman asked and I presumed it to be his mom and dad.

"Yeah. Mom, Dad, this is Jade. Jade, this is my mom and dad." Will said weakly.

I stood up and held my hand out. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Stronghold."

"Steve." He corrected me. "Nice grip you've got there." He told me and I smiled. I turned to his mom, but she put her hands on her hips. "I'm Josie, and in this house we give hugs." She said, holding out her arms.

It was an unusual feeling, being hugged by a mom. Not my mom, of course. But still. When she released me, I sat down next to Warren and he winked. I assumed this to be the sign that I had won their approval.

[Author's Note: Like I said, long chapter. But hopefully you guys like it. Don't forget; reviews feed the story. Let me know what you think: good, bad, or indifferent.]