A/n: this is going to be some-what of a parting gift, since I'm going to be starting school as of tomorrow and I won't get much of a chance to write for a LOOOOOONG time. Also, I hope I don't leave you all confused, but if I do, just PM me and I'll try to explain.

Chapter 4

That evening, the three lead male agents loaded the bags with their belongings into the back of the black car they'd been lent for the duration of their mission. They were wearing civilian clothing to blend in. Spin was dressed in a loose, light green t-shirt, a pair of worn, baggy jeans, and sneakers. J was clad in a dark blue button-up shirt, khaki pants, and dress shoes the same color as his pants. Chieftain finished up the group in a rust colored western-print shirt, dark jeans, leather cowboy boots, and a light tan cowboy hat.

The agents who hadn't been assigned to the mission gathered to say goodbye ... and to get a look at J's haircut. It had been decided that his hair was a little over-the-top, and too recognizable, so J had his pompadour hacked off (actually, J had refused to get his hair cut until Chieftain threatened to shave it ALL off, then the trim didn't seem so bad).

"It's so strange ... he looks ... well, normal." Missy observed, tilting her head slightly to one side, trying to get a different perspective of the 'do. "It's almost scary."

"They're all supposed to look 'normal' for now." Starr shook her head. "They're supposed to blend in. C'mon, it's not that hard to understand."

"Well, looks like you two bros are the only ones with odd hairdo's now." Spin laughed as he exchanged high-fives with Morris and Derek.

"An' that's the way it's going to stay." Morris chuckled.

"Anyone comes near me with a pair of clippers and I'll be gone." Derek agreed.

"Spin! Time to go!" J called as he got into the front passenger seat.

"Who's driving?" Spin asked as he heard keys jingle from behind him.

"You're riding in the back, rookie." Chieftain chuckled as he pocketed the car keys. "Seniority rules."

"Say what?! Not even funny, dawg ..." Spin grumbled as he entered the car and was instantly cheered. "Whoa, these seats have pockets?! Score!"

Erica quietly approached Lisa's chair. It was about five now, an hour after Lisa had went out. "Sis, you awake?"

"Do I have to be?" Lisa murmured.

"Yah. Mom called and said she'll be late coming home from the office, again, so we're supposed to get our own supper. D'you want pizza, Chinese, or leftovers?"

"I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat something, Lisa."

"Pheh ... that's what everyone's been telling me lately." Lisa groaned, rubbing her temples. "I'm getting sick of twisting myself into what everyone expects and wants of me. I'm sick of it."

"Soooo ... I'm guessing that this isn't a really good time?" A voice asked from behind her.

Lisa turned to look at the person who wasn't supposed to be there so quickly, she dumped herself on the ground. Grumbling darkly the entire time, she stood up and brushed dirt and grass off of her clothes. "As long as you were gone, you had pick now to show your face again?!" Lisa snapped as she saw her older cousin.

Kieth (J) sighed. He'd left Spin and Chieftain waiting in the car, but now, he wished that he had them near to support him. "Lisa, Erica ... will you two just please listen to what I have to say?" J felt awkward without his pompadour and shades, but for now, he didn't want to deal with his cousins knowing about his current occupation, and both of those comfort items would have given him away immediately.

"Have you talked to your parents?" Lisa snipped.

J flinched. "No. No, I haven't."

Lisa closed the space between her and her cousin quickly and poked him in the forehead. "Go talk to your parents. Only then will I listen to anything you have to say. Got it?" The teen didn't wait for an answer, but went back into her house, slamming the back door behind her.

"Ooooh ... you just got her mad." Erica groaned. "You know I have to stay in that house with her, right?"

J turned to his youngest and apparently more understanding cousin. "Did I miss something while I was gone?"

Erica's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Let's put it this way ... it's like you're watching the season finale of a TV show you used to watch, but missed several seasons of ... your chances of deciphering everything are almost nil."

"Would I, perhaps, be so lucky as to have a kind person fill me in as to what the last few seasons involved?"

Erica thought for a moment and then looked at the house. "I'm on Lisa's side. Go talk to your parents."

"Aww heck no!!!" Spin moaned from the back seat of the car and reached for the radio dial.

Chieftain chuckled in the driver's seat. "My turn to pick the radio station, so hush. It ain't my fault that you stupidly packed your headphones in your bag and then put them in the trunk." The burly cowboy pushed Spin back down into his seat and smiled as the polka continued.

"Well if you'd just let me go out and get them." Spin grumbled. "It's not like I'm askin' you to drive back to HQ or nuthin', just pop the trunk."

"Just let him, Chief." J snapped as he got into the car.

"Whoa ... J-man ... why the 'tude? Things not go well?" Spin asked.

J nodded sharply as he buckled his seatbelt. "We're going to have to make a quick detour. Lisa refuses to talk to me until I go see my parents."

"Well ... why don't you not and say you did?" Spin grinned. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

"One, she'd know. Two, she'd never talk to me again if she found out that I'd tried to pull a fast one." J's anger melted as he shook his head. "I should have known better than to leave the way I did."

"You didn't have much of a choice if I remember correctly." Chieftain said slowly. "In fact, I think this is the first time a recruit has been approached in this way."

J sighed and nodded.

Spin huffed. "What are you dawgs talkin' about?"

J glanced over his shoulder, gave Spin a long look, and then turned to look back at Lisa's house. "Well ... you wouldn't know it, because you were a volunteer recruit ... but the recruiting process is usually much more ... unpleasant."

"The correct way to describe it is that the target is picked, tracked, and brought in, not always willingly." Chieftain mumbled, as if remembering a dark memory. "We're trying to change that, but sometimes the target has such great potential, 'no' can't be taken for an answer."

"So you ... kidnap 'em?!" Spin choked on the words. "Is that what Kahn meant by 'failure isn't an option'?!" The two senior agents nodded slowly. "That's sick! " Chieftain and J remained silent. "Are you even going to try to defend it?!"

"No, because it is wrong. That's why I'm determined to make things right with Lisa and convince her to come by her own choice, not by force." J snapped.

An uncomfortable silence settled in over the car. When the front door to the house opened and Lisa exited, Chieftain broke the silence. "Do you think she knows?"

"I didn't tell her ... but she's probably guessed by now." J stated, noticing the expression on Lisa's face. "I'm gonna go talk to her."

Lisa stood at the window by the front door and watched as Kieth got into the passenger side of his car. She saw a glimpse of the man in the driver's seat and stifled a gasp. He looks just like ... but there's no way ... I mean ... EBA is just a game ... right? Movement in the back seat drew her eyes away from the front. Lisa did gasp when she saw the man in the back seat. She had no doubt ... that was Spin. So if the man driving the car is Chieftain, and Spin is in the back ... could that mean that Kieth is J? Lisa thought back . Now that she thought of it, there were dozens of similarities between the two ... even the ballet.

Lisa felt a small tremor of panic run through her body. If they really are from the EBA, why are they here? No ... it couldn't have anything to do with me ... could it? As if on auto-pilot, Lisa's body steered itself out the front door and part of the way down the sidewalk. She stopped and looked at her hands. They were trembling. The sound of the car door opening and footsteps warned Lisa to compose herself.

"Lisa? What is it?" Keith asked. "Is everything ok?"

"Tell me the truth and nothing else." Lisa stopped. Her voice had been quivering like jell-o. She took a deep breath and met her cousin's eyes. "What are you doing here, J?"

Keith looked away. "When did you figure it out?"

"Answer my question!" Lisa hissed angrily.

"I can't tell you ... not right now." J admitted, still avoiding Lisa's eyes.

"That's not good enough. You've been gone for four years, and all of a sudden ... you just show up. Not only that, you came here. You must have a reason, and judging by the fact that there are two other agents in that car that you came in, it must be pretty darn important." Lisa felt her face turning red from anger.

J made the mistake of meeting Lisa's gaze and he became trapped. He sighed. "Lisa ... I really can't tell you right now. I swear, I would if I could ... but I just can't."

"Yo, don't go so hard on the dawg, girl. He's just tryin' to do right by everybody, an' that ain't none too easy." Spin grinned as he approached. "'Specially when ya gotta tip-toe around a firecracker like you. I'm Spin, by the way." Lisa nodded numbly.

"Rookie, get back in the car." Chieftain growled, but after realizing that the situation had gone beyond gruff orders, he emerged from the vehicle as well, leaving his hat behind. "I'm Agent Chieftain." The jumbo-sized cowboy introduced himself. "We should probably move this inside."

A/n2: So ... there you go! Please R and R.