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I'm glad you liked the previous chapter, I hope you enjoy this one, too.
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Kurt sighed in frustration as Finn carried him into the apartment, smiling when he saw how humiliated his stepbrother felt. It wasn't like Kurt hadn't told him about a dozen times that he didn't need help and he was more than capable to move on his own, Finn didn't listen to him and carried him all the way up to door and then inside, placing Kurt onto the couch in the living room.
"Hey, don't look so pissed. I'm just helping you" Finn said.
"I don't need your help" Kurt said.
"You do" Finn replied. "You have to take it easy, remember? You can't stand on your foot for a while but don't worry, I will help you with everything."
Kurt glared at him in response.
"Why do I have this feeling that you enjoy the situation?" Kurt asked.
"Because I do" Finn smirked. "Do you need anything?"
"No" Kurt said and grabbed the crutches with one hand while pushed himself up with the other, standing on his uninjured foot unsteadily.
"Where are you going?" Finn asked.
"I have to use the bathroom" Kurt answered and with some trouble, he made the first two steps towards the bathroom's door.
"I can help you" Finn said.
"No freaking way" Kurt groaned and ignoring his stepbrother, he slowly went to the bathroom, sighing in relief when he pushed the door open without falling.
He walked inside and shut the door behind him, leaning against the wall. He so hated feeling so helpless. He needed Finn's help for everything, he could barely move and he couldn't go to work. He was literally locked up in his home and he couldn't wait for the moment his leg healed and he could be back to his normal self.
Minutes later, he left the bathroom and went back to the couch, his usual place. It was still early in the morning and he had to plan what to do with his time. Watching TV, probably. Maybe reading a book. Waiting for the time to pass over his head and trying not to go crazy.
"Do you need anything?" Finn asked from the kitchen.
"No" Kurt answered.
"Are you sure? I could make you breakfast..."
"Finn, just leave me alone" Kurt sighed. "Don't you need to work?"
"We have this day off" Finn said happily. "Do you know what it means?"
"That you will stay home and go on my nerves?" Kurt asked.
"Hey, I thought you liked spending time with your stepbrother" Finn said.
"That was before said stepbrother kept things from me" Kurt replied. "If you want to talk, you could tell me what's going on. I'm listening."
"I... I have to get us something for lunch" Finn said and walked to the door, grabbing his coat.
"Don't you dare leave like this! We have to..."
But before Kurt could finish his sentence, Finn was already gone. Kurt groaned and grabbed the book from the table, hurling it across the room. It hit the door with a soft thud and fell to the ground.
"I hate you!" Kurt shouted. He knew he was childish but Finn's behaviour wasn't better either. They had to talk, Finn couldn't ignore him forever. He just had to make him stay once, even if it was hard in his current state.
Minutes later, somebody knocked on the door. Kurt rolled his eyes as he pushed himself up from the couch, believing that it was his stepbrother. Finn must have left his keys home in his haste to get away from him. He blinked in surprise when he opened the door and instead of Finn, he found Blaine standing in front of him.
"Hey" Blaine greeted him quietly. "May I come in?"
"Of course" Kurt smiled and got out of the way as fast as he could. Unfortunately, it meant that he lost his balance and almost fell but Blaine jumped into action immediately, grabbing Kurt by his waist.
"Are you alright?" Blaine asked in concern.
"Of course" Kurt answered, blushing. "Thank you."
"Should I carry you to..."
"No. No more carrying" Kurt said immediately. "I can walk on my own, thanks."
Kurt turned around to go back to the couch and Blaine followed him right after closing the door. Kurt sat down, pulling his legs up to rest on the couch but leaving Blaine enough space on his other side.
"Don't you want to join me?" Kurt asked.
Blaine blinked in confusion but when he realised that Kurt was only talking about sitting beside him, he turned scarlet. His damn thoughts about the two of them... he had to keep them under control, even if it was so hard, especially after giving Kurt comfort back in the hospital.
"So how are you doing?" Blaine asked.
"I will be fine once I can go back to work" Kurt said.
"How long do you have to wear that?" Blaine asked, pointing at Kurt's cast.
"Maybe a month" Kurt shrugged. "Maybe more. The doctor is not sure."
"That sucks" Blaine sighed.
"Tell me about it" Kurt smiled.
"At least you have a few wonderful weeks off" Blaine said.
"Oh, no" Kurt groaned. "I won't stay at home."
"Uhm... Kurt, it's not like you can work while..."
"I will work" Kurt said determinedly. "I can't stay home alone. I just... I can't."
"Do you still have nightmares?" Blaine asked knowingly. They had talked a lot in the hospital and after that and Kurt had told him about the nightmares, that he was afraid of falling asleep because he didn't want to deal with them.
Kurt sighed and looked down, ashamed. Blaine reached for his hand immediately and squeezed it.
"Hey, you don't have to be ashamed. It's completely normal" Blaine said gently.
It wasn't. Because Kurt wasn't scared of Robert Wilson anymore but his past. Sure, it had started like expected, having nightmares of that day and what he had gone through but soon his nightmares changed, his attacker changed. It wasn't Wilson who held him in his disgusting arms anymore but a young, bulky boy whose touch Kurt wouldn't be able to forget until the last day of his life.
"What's wrong?" Blaine asked in concern.
"What Wilson did to me... It brought back some memories" Kurt said quietly.
"Like?" Blaine asked carefully.
"When I was in high school... There was a guy who made my life hell. Every single day" Kurt said.
"What happened?" Blaine asked, knowing that there was more coming.
"My father said that I couldn't let people push me around... So one day when he pushed me to the locker, I had enough. I ran after him. I found him in the locker room and started shouting. Asking him why he treated me like that" Kurt said.
"Did he beat you up?" Blaine asked, knowing how situations like that ended.
Kurt smiled sadly and shook his head.
"Not at all" he answered. "I thought he would punch me but then something horrible happened."
Blaine took a deep breath, knowing that whatever Kurt was going to say, it wouldn't be pretty.
"He-he grabbed, pulled me close and kissed me... I tried to push him away but he was just too strong" Kurt said quietly.
"Oh, Kurt" Blaine sighed, pulling Kurt into his arms.
"He stole my first kiss. And the second one, too" Kurt said. "I still don't know how I was able to fight him off... I was desperate to get away and when I was finally free, I ran."
"I hope he was kicked out of school" Blaine growled in anger. He wanted to go after that asshole so badly. Teach him a lesson...
"No" Kurt laughed humorlessly. "He was a football player, the star of the school. And I was nobody. Nobody would have believed me..."
"You didn't tell anyone?" Blaine gasped. "Kurt, that guy was dangeorus! He needed to be... arrested or something."
"My father had a heart attack a few weeks before that" Kurt said. "I couldn't do that to him, Blaine. He was still healing and knowing that there was someone out there who could hurt his son... It would have killed him. I couldn't let it happen."
"Kurt..."
"I survived. I graduated and never looked back" Kurt said with a forced smile. Even Blaine could tell how fake it was.
"You're still suffering because of him" Blaine said.
"I will be fine" Kurt reassured him. "Don't worry about me."
It was easier said than done. Now that Blaine knew about the guy who had tortured Kurt in high school, he was more worried than ever. He knew how those experiences could affect one's life. Kurt would never forget what had happened to him in that locker room.
He opened his mouth to say something reassuring but suddenly, the door opened and Blaine jumped up, standing protectively in front of Kurt. Finn raised an eyebrow as he walked inside, taking in the sight.
"Hey, Blaine" he said. "It's good to see you here."
"Thanks. I just came over to see if Kurt was alright" Blaine said awkwardly. Now that he knew there wasn't any serial killer threatening Kurt, he sat back down and acted like he wasn't an idiot.
"Don't sit down. We have to go" Finn said.
"What? Why?" Kurt asked.
"We have a new case" Finn sighed. "There were two shootings in Indiana and it looks like the same person did it."
"You say that like we know who the unsub is" Blaine frowned.
"Because we know" Finn said. "He didn't even touch the cameras, so we have a few great pictures of him. Mercedes is already working on it."
"Okay, let's go" Kurt said and slowly got up from the couch, only to be pushed back by the other two agents.
"No" Blaine said.
"Absolutely not" Finn said at the same time.
"Oh, come on, it's just a broken leg" Kurt rolled his eyes.
"Kurt, we have to be fast to stop this guy before anyone else gets hurt. You can't really help us like this" Finn tried to reason.
"I will stay in the car" Kurt said.
"Maybe next time" Finn said and without giving Kurt a chance to reply, he grabbed Blaine and dragged him through the door.
"I so hate you right now" Kurt said and took a deep breath, leaning his head back onto the pillow. He was alone, again. He had to find something to keep himself busy before having a panic attack because he was perfectly sure that his most horrible memories would attack him in the silence. Again.
~ o ~
There was no moment of peace on their way to Indiana. Finn told them the details they knew so far and while they were waiting for Mercedes to find out more about the mysterious man who had killed five people at a gas station and in a small shop, they watched the recordings of the cameras a few times, trying to find out more about the guy. One thing was sure, he was absolutely crazy and didn't care if he got caught. That was the most dangeorus type. He probably planned to commit suicide but before that happened, he would kill more people. Innocents who needed them to save them in time.
Blaine gulped nervously as he watched the recording. The guy didn't try to hide his face with a mask or a baseball cap, he walked inside as if everything was fine and when the shop owner turned away, he grabbed the gun and shot him right in his head. As if it wasn't enough, Blaine had to watch as the man walked to the dead shop owner and shot him two more times before smiling down at him and kicking his side. Blaine was sure he would be sick if he had to watch this again.
"You won't throw up, right?" Santana asked.
"Of course not" Blaine answered.
"Just so you know, if you puke on my favourite shirt, I will kill you" Santana said.
Blaine sighed in frustration and turned back to the screen.
"I won't puke on your favourite shirt. Now would you let me work? We have to catch this guy" Blaine said.
There was a beeping sound and a second later, Mercedes' concerned face appeared on the screen. It couldn't mean anything good...
"There was another one" she said. "About 20 miles away from the second crime scene, another gas station."
"How many people did he kill this time?" Finn sighed heavily.
"Three" Mercedes said. "But I have some good news, too. There's a survivor. She was in the back of the shop when the guy started shooting and managed to hide from his sight."
"We have to talk to her" Finn nodded.
"That's all I have for now" Mercedes said. "I'm trying to find you this man but it's harder than I thought."
"Search for gas station robberies" Blaine said. "It's the second time he chose one. It must be important."
"Good idea" Mercedes smiled. "I will call you if I find something."
With that, she disappeared from their sight and Blaine was greeted by the recording of the second crime scene again. He sighed and leaned closer to the screen. Something was very wrong with this man and it wasn't only the fact that he had killed 8 people within the last 24 hours. There was something in his eyes that scared Blaine. He had a bad feeling that this case could only end badly.
~ o ~
Finn sighed heavily as he looked around, taking in the dark patches of blood all over the gas station. He could never get used to this. He would never understand how people could kill without regret, without feeling bad for taking another person's life.
"He shot the guy standing there first" Puck said as he took careful steps forward, pointing at a pool of blood on the gound. "Then the woman there and in the end, the owner."
"Three shots, again" Finn nodded. "The shop owners are important."
"Revenge?" Puck asked.
"They must symbolise something. Or someone" Finn said.
"So there's more coming" Puck nodded.
"I'm afraid yes" Finn said.
"Did Mercedes call you?" Puck asked.
"Not yet but hopefully she will be able to identify the man soon" Finn said. "We have to find out who he's looking for. He won't stop until he kills that person."
"He's heading north. Maybe that's where he comes from" Puck shrugged.
"You're right but it's still too much. We have to know the exact place. He clearly enjoys this, so there will be more shootings if we don't stop him" Finn said.
Puck nodded silently. He knew very well how cases like this ended. The murderer lost control at some point and after a horrible blood bath, they killed themselves. It would happen again if they couldn't stop this guy in time. It was just the matter of time that he turned against his real target and he would kill everyone who got in the way, just like the person who made him start this amok run.
He turned away from the scene and looked at his friend instead, desperate for a change of subject.
"How is Kurt doing?" he asked.
"Seriously?" Finn asked, smiling.
"He's giving you a headache, I guess" Puck smirked.
"Well, he's not really the type who can sit on his butt" Finn shrugged.
"You should give him something to work on, especially if you don't want him to find out more about this" Puck said, pulling out a card from his pocket.
Finn glanced down at the familiar picture of a black cat. As if they had nothing else to worry about...
"He's getting closer to the truth" he said. "He keeps asking me about the case. I think he knows something."
"Then tell him" Puck said.
Finn shook his head.
"No" he said. "With his leg broken, he can't defend himself. It would be too risky."
"We will keep him safe" Puck said.
"I said no" Finn said seriously. "Let's go back to this case. We can worry about our cat later."
Puck sighed and slowly shook his head. _Finn could be so stubborn sometimes.
~ o ~
"Be gentle with her" Blaine said as he and Santana walked down the hospital's corridor, heading towards the room of the survivor of the last shooting. "She must be in shock, she doesn't need anyone to..."
"Don't you think I know what I have to do?" Santana asked indignantly. "Believe me, I have more experience with survivors than you do."
"I just don't want you to be... yourself" Blaine said.
"Why not? I can be so charming" Santana winked and after knocking on the door, she stepped inside.
Blaine's heart broke when he saw the small figure of the young woman, curled up in a ball in the middle of the bed. Poor thing must be so scared... And it was all because of that lunatic.
"Hey" Blaine said gently as they stepped closer. "My name's Blaine and this is Santana. We are from FBI."
The woman looked up at them with huge, scared eyes.
"I'm Jenny" she said quietly.
"Hey, Jenny" Santana said, her voice surprisingly gentle. She took a seat beside the woman and smiled at her. "We will stop the man who shot the others in the shop but to find him, we need your help."
"It was horrible" Jenny cried and buried her face into her hands. "I thought I was going to die. He walked in and started killing those people. Everyone else."
"Hey, it's okay..." Blaine said and put a hand on Jenny's shoulder.
It was a mistake, he knew the second he touched Jenny. She flinched and looked at him in fear. Blaine hastily pulled back his hand and took a step back, avoiding Santana's eyes. She seemed way too amused for the situation.
"You don't have to be afraid of us" Santana said and took Jenny's hand. "We won't hurt you. We only want to stop the man who killed those people. Can you help us?"
Blaine almost gasped when he realised what was going on. He should have noticed it before. The way Jenny looked at Santana, Santana's weirdly gentle voice... And not to mention how easily Jenny accepted Santana's touch and leaned into it.
"I-I think so" Jenny said.
"Okay" Santana smiled as Jenny leaned her head onto her shoulder. "Close your eyes and tell us what happened."
Jenny took a deep breath and closed her eyes. For a minute, nothing happened and Blaine almost opened his mouth to ask her again but then Jenny opened her eyes again and started talking.
"I went to the back of the shop to find some chocolate" Jenny said. "It was a hard day for me. My girlfriend broke up with me and I spent the day driving around in the town. I had to clear my head. But then I stopped at the gas station..."
Santana put her arms around her and rubbed her back as they waited for Jenny to continue.
"Tell me what happened when that man arrived" Santana said.
"He seemed normal" Jenny said. "He didn't yell or anything. He just... he pulled out a gun and shot that man."
"Was there anything strange in his behaviour?" Blaine asked.
"You mean apart from the fact that he killed everyone else?" Jenny asked shakily.
"We watched the recordings. He walked to the show owner after killing him and said something. Do you remember what it was?" Santana asked.
"Yes" Jenny nodded. "It-it didn't make any sense. It seemed like he was talking to himself."
"What did he say?" Santana asked.
"He said 'Good job, Mike, I'm proud of you. Now you are ready to face him'" Jenny said.
Santana and Blaine looked at each other. Unfortunately, they knew very well what it meant. They were running out of time.
~ o ~
Kurt didn't mean to fall asleep on the couch but he couldn't find anything interesting in the TV, so he started reading. Unfortunately, his book was just as boring and at some point, he closed his eyes and found himself in a very unpleasant dream. It was too late to go back.
It started like every other dream since getting hurt in that cave. Robert Wilson had him again, he was touching him, whispering disgusting things into his ears... But then Wilson disappeared and somebody else took his place.
"Hello, Kurt. I missed you."
Kurt tried to get away. He tried to free himself but those arms were so strong and he couldn't move... There were those lips on his, silencing his cries. He was trapped and nobody knew where he was. Nobody could save him...
Kurt gasped as he opened his eyes, sitting up on the couch. He needed a whole minute to realise he was awake, he was back in his apartment and he only had a nightmare. He was safe. Nobody could hurt him.
He closed his eyes for a second but opened them again, desperately trying to get rid of those horrible memories but it was so hard. He knew he shouldn't have let the others leave him behind. He needed something to distract him because he would go crazy of he had to stay here alone any longer.
A sudden idea rushed through his mind and he smiled. There was a way to help the others, even if Finn wouldn't be too happy. Not that Kurt cared. Finn couldn't tell him what to do, he was an adult man, an agent, and his team needed him. If Finn would yell at him for ignoring his orders later, than be it. Kurt was done sitting on his butt, waiting for his leg to heal.
About an hour later, he finally walked through the door of Mercedes' room, sighing in relief when he reached the closest empty chair and flopped down. Maybe Finn was right about staying at home a little longer. It was hard like hell to climb up those stairs when he was only able to use one of his legs and his injured leg hurt like hell. Now Kurt understood why the doctor had told him to rest as much as he could.
"What are you doing here?" Mercedes asked in surprise as she walked inside with a mug in her hands.
"Hey" Kurt smiled. "I was bored and thought I could help you."
"Does Finn know about this?" Mercedes asked carefully.
"Not really..." Kurt said.
"Kurt."
"I couldn't stay home any longer, okay?" Kurt said in frustration. "Now tell me what to do."
Mercedes sighed and shook her head.
"Fine but don't touch my computers" she said in the end.
"Okay" Kurt nodded.
"We're trying to find out who the guy can be. We think that he's searching for one person and he will attack them soon" Mercedes said.
"Show me the recordings" Kurt said.
Mercedes nodded and played down the recordings of the three attacks. Kurt leaned closer to the screen as he watched it, furrowing his brows.
"What is it?" Mercedes asked.
"There's so much anger in him" Kurt sighed.
"Yeah, that's clear. He must hate a shop owner, that's why he killed these men so cruelly. We just don't know what the connection could be. Maybe an old friend?" Mercedes asked.
"Or family member" Kurt said. "Look at him. The way he looks at the bodies... They must symbolise someone important. I would say his father."
"I think I can use that" Mercedes smiled.
"Search for child abuse in the last fifteen years" Kurt said.
"Working on it... We know that his name is Mike, now if I add child abuse to the search..." Mercedes muttered. "You're a genius! Look at this!"
Kurt only needed a glance at the screen to know they found the guy. Even if the picture was taken over ten years earlier, it was still the guy who had killed those people.
"I'm calling the others" Mercedes said excitedly. "God, I'm so glad you're here."
"Me too" Kurt smiled. And it was true.
~ o ~
"Did you really have to do that?" Blaine asked as he and Santana walked into the meeting room where the others were waiting for them.
"Do what exactly?" Santana asked, grinning in amusement.
"You know exactly what I mean" Blaine said.
"Oh, come on, you're not the only one who can have some fun" Santana winked.
"I have no idea what you're talking about" Blaine muttered.
"Seriously? You know, when I visited Kurt in the hospital..."
"There's nothing between me and Kurt" Blaine interrupted her.
"Guys, sit down" Finn said as he joined the team. "Mercedes finally found the unsub."
"With the help of my genius colleague" Mercedes said through the screen.
Blaine looked at the screen and a bright smile appeared on his face when he saw Kurt sitting beside Mercedes.
"Hey" he said gently. He so missed seeing Kurt...
"There's nothing between you and Kurt, right?" Santana whispered into his ear and laughed when Blaine turned to her, giving her his best annoyed glare.
"What do you know about him?" Finn asked, ignoring Santana and Blaine to focus on the screen. He also had to talk t his stepbrother but the time wasn't right. They had to stop that lunatic first.
"Practically everything" Mercedes said. "His name is Mike Benson, 27. His mother died when he was 5 and his father raised him. An abusive asshole if you ask me. Mike spent more time in the hospital than at home."
"He spent the past five years in jail for robbery. He also hit his girlfriend but the girl denied it" Kurt said. "Oh, and his dad owns a little shop at the gas station."
"He's heading there" Finn nodded.
"You have to catch him before he gets to his father" Kurt said seriously. "He will kill him for sure and others are in danger as well."
"That's exactly what we are going to do" Finn nodded. "Let's go!"
"Guys" Kurt called after them. "Be very careful. He has nothing to lose, he won't hesitate to shoot you."
"We will be fine" Blaine reassured him. "Don't worry, we will be careful."
"So we will use Anderson as a bait and attack from behind?" Puck joked as they stood up to follow Finn who was already at the door.
"Very funny, Puckerman" Blaine rolled his eyes.
"Just be careful" Kurt whispered as the others walked out of his sight, hoping that nothing would happen to his team.
~ o ~
Jack Benson opened his shop exactly at 6 in the morning like every other day. Knowing that he didn't have expect anyone in the next hour or so, he made himself a coffee and sat down to read. He was so lost in his book that he didn't even realise that almost two hours passed without anyone visiting his shop. It wasn't a huge surprise, it was just a usual Wednesday but still... he expected at least his regular clients. When Jack realised how late it was, he frowned and stood up. Something must have happened if noone stepped through the door of his shop and it was almost 8. He walked to the door and his eyes widened in surprise when he realised that the door was locked. He knew he had left the door open when he had walked inside. How the hell was it possible that...
"Hello, dad."
Jack turned around slowly, knowing who to expect standing behind him. He knew this voice very well. And he knew how dangerous that man could be.
"It's good to see you again" Mike smiled. "Sit down. We have so much to discuss."
~ o ~
It didn't take them more than a second to realise that they were late. As they stopped in front of the gas station and left the car, looking through the glass wall of the shop, they could all see the two men inside. One of them was certainly Mike Benson. And the other one must have been his dad.
"Shit" Blaine muttered as he took a few careful steps forward.
"Blaine, stop" Finn said and grabbed his arm. "We have to stay back."
"He will kill his father" Blaine reasoned.
"We will stop him" Finn reassured him. "But first we need a plan. We can't exactly just walk inside."
Well, that was exactly what Blaine had in his mind. He had done it before and it worked just fine. At least most of the time.
"Okay, so what should we do?" Blaine asked.
Finn turned away from him to talk to the sheriff's men.
"Is there a back door?" Finn asked from one of them.
"Yes" the man nodded. "Should we attack from there?"
"No" Finn said. "You stay here and get ready in case he tries to run. We take care of the rest."
He took a deep breath and turned around to face his team.
"Santana, Puck, you come with me through the back door. We have to get the older Benson out of there and disarm his son" Finn said.
"And what do I do?" Blaine asked.
"We need a distraction" Finn said. "You will call Mike and talk to him."
"You can't be serious!" Blaine gasped. "I have no experience with..."
"Blaine, we have no time left" Finn said. "You can do this. I trust you."
~ o ~
Kurt was drumming on Mercedes' desk, waiting for news about the others. It was like pure torture. He knew nothing, he was worried like hell and he wanted to be there with them so badly...
"Now you finally understand what I go through when I can't get in touch with you" Mercedes said.
"We should call them" Kurt said. "What if something happened? What if they need help?"
"They certainly won't get anywhere with our help" Mercedes smirked.
Kurt groaned and leaned back on his chair. He hated waiting.
Suddenly, his phone beeped and he picked it up without checking the caller ID.
"Yes?" he almost shouted. He was definitely too worried about his team.
"Kurt, I need your help" It was Blaine. Blaine who seemed way too desperate. Damn, something was wrong...
"What happened?" Kurt asked, preparing himself for the worst.
"Mike is in the shop with his father" Blaine explained. "The others will try to get inside from behind but... Finn wants me to distract Mike until they get there."
"Then talk to him" Kurt said easily, as if it was the most natural thing to do.
"I don't know how" Blaine said, his voice desperate again.
"Okay, take a deep breath" Kurt said. "You can do this. I know you can."
"That's what Finn told me, too, but it's not helping" Blaine said.
"It's risky but you should talk about his childhood" Kurt said. "Tell him that you understand him. That what he's planning to do won't help him, it won't change anything but cause him more trouble. Tell him... Tell him about your experiences. It will make it."
"Are you sure?" Blaine asked uncertainly.
"You have to earn his trust and the best way is to show him that he isn't alone" Kurt said.
"God, what would I do without you?" Blaine sighed.
Kurt laughed, shaking his head.
"You will be great, Blaine. I know" he said.
"I wish you could be here with me" Blaine said.
Mercedes raised an eyebrow as she looked at Kurt but the man didn't pay attention at all.
"I'm with you, Blaine, even if I can't be there physically. Now go, save the day" Kurt said.
"Thank you" Blaine said.
"Anytime" Kurt said and disconnected the call, sighing heavily. He trusted Blaine. He knew he could do it, even if it was the hardest thing he had ever done. Blaine was a perfect agent and if someone could save that man, it was him.
"You're totally into him" Mercedes smiled.
"What?" Kurt asked as he turned to her.
"Don't try to deny it. You like Blaine" Mercedes said.
Kurt simply turned away from her. She was completely right, he liked Blaine. More and more with every passed day. But it didn't mean his team had to know about it.
~ o ~
Once finishing his call with Kurt, Blaine took a deep breath and tightened his grip on his phone. The others were ready to attack and he had no more time left. He had to do this. He walked back to the others who were already wearing their bulletproof vests, ready for the attack.
"As I told you" Finn said and pushed the phone into Blaine's hand. "Be calm. Don't make him angry."
Blaine nodded else could he do? He waited until the others silently made their way to the back of the building, careful to not show themselves. Mike occasionally peeked outside, he couldn't find out what was going on too early. It would be too risky.
Blaine dialed the number of the shop and waited for an answer. He could see Mike's face over the cash desk before he reached for the phone and answered the call.
"What do you want?" he asked angrily.
So much for keeping him calm.
"Hey, Mike" Blaine said, trying to be as nice as possible. "I'm Blaine Anderson from FBI."
"Go away" Mike said.
"Sadly, I can't do that" Blaine said. "I don't want you to do something stupid."
"Like killing him?"
Blaine heard a whimper, probably Mike's father.
"I know that you're angry" he said, trying to remember what Kurt had told him. "You probably hate him so much."
"You have no idea" Mike said. "He ruined my life. He ruined everything!"
"And he will pay for that" Blaine said quickly. "We will make him pay for everything he did to you but you have to let us help you. Killing him wouldn't solve anything."
"You don't understand anything!" Mike shouted.
Blaine took a deep breath. The others were probably inside but if he was right, they couldn't do anything. He had to get Mike's father out of the way if he couldn't stop his son, even if it was what he wanted to do the most. Mike's father was partly responsible for this. He had hurt his son, he had treated him like shit, so it was his fault that his son had turned into a serial killer as well. And Blaine felt bad for the criminal. He didn't want him to die.
"Actually, I do" he said in the end. "You know, my uncle was a serial killer. He kidnapped, tortured and killed young boys, dozens of them before he was caught. It happened right before he tried to kill me, too."
Mike was silent. Blaine saw his face appear over the cash desk again and he stepped closer, so Mike could see his face.
"It's true" Blaine continued. "He caught me one night when we were in our holiday house. He tied me up, dragged me into the basement and he was... Well, he tried to kill me."
"What happened then?" Mike asked.
"The FBI came and saved me" Blaine smiled at the memory. "He was arrested and sent to jail for the rest of his life. He can't hurt children anymore."
"This is still different" Mike said.
"It's not" Blaine argued. "He ruined my childhood, too. My family was angry with me because they couldn't handle the shame. Everyone knew what my uncle did and my parents blamed me for everything."
"They are crazy" Mike said.
"They are" Blaine nodded. "That's why I barely talk to them, but killing them? I would never do that. Do you know why?"
Mike stood up and Blaine took a few more steps forward. He did it. He distracted Mike and seemingly earned some of his trust, too.
"Because it wouldn't change anything" Blaine said. "Killing someone is the easy way to handle pain. You probably think that if you shoot your old man, it will make everything better. But it won't. You will probably get yourself killed before you could realise that killing him doesn't solve your problem."
"He hurt me" Mike cried.
Blaine dropped the phone and slowly walked to the door of the shop. He could do this. He knew what he had to do to save both men and he would do that. He waited for Mike to nod and then opened the door and walked inside, raising his hands.
"I don't have a gun" he said. "I only want to talk, okay?"
Mike nodded again and Blaine smiled at him.
"What do you think I should do?" Mike asked.
"First of all, you should give me that gun" Blaine said. "And then we can walk out of here together."
Mike turned back to glance down at his father, sitting beside the wall, wathcing him in fear.
"What about him?" he asked.
"I will make sure he gets what he deserves" Blaine said.
Mike looked at his father and then back at Blaine. Blaine saw from the corner of his eyes that Finn and the others managed to get inside from behind and now they were ready to shoot. Blaine slowly shook his head when it was safe. He wanted to save this guy.
"Please, Mike. You deserve better" Blaine said. "You can't let him take your life away from you."
He almost cried out in relief when Mike dropped the gun and walked closer to him, raising his hands. Blaine smiled as he stepped forward, ready to handcuff the man.
"Thank you" Jack said as he got up to his feet, relieved to see the other agents in the room. "He's crazy. He walked in here and tried to kill me..."
"Shut up" Blaine said. "Don't act like you are better the slightest. Your type is disgusting."
Finn looked at Blaine questioningly and the other agent shook his head. Finn didn't understand. He would never understand it the way Blaine did.
"You're such an idiot, Anderson" Santana said when Mike and his father were led out of the shop. "He could have killed you, you know?"
"I had to try" Blaine said. "His father hurt him badly. He doesn't deserve to die for hating him."
"You're still an idiot" Puck said.
Blaine didn't care what they thought. Because he knew that there was one person sitting in Quantico who was proud of him for saving another life.
~ o ~
Kurt sighed happily as he put down his phone. Blaine had just called him to let him know what had happened and Kurt was so happy Blaine could do it. He knew that if someone could save both men it was Blaine. And he was right. Blaine had saved two lives that day and Kurt was so proud of him.
"I so need a coffee" Mercedes said as she stood up from her computer. "Do you want one, too?"
"Yes" Kurt answered. "I want to stay here until they get back."
"Blaine certainly deserves a hug after this" Mercedes winked.
Kurt sighed, shaking his head.
"Just go, okay?" he asked.
Mercedes laughed as she left the room, shutting the door behind her. Kurt turned back to the computer, hesitating. There were all the pictures about the crime scenes and honestly, he didn't really like to see dead people if he could help it. He decided to quickly close the windows before Mercedes came back, knowing that she wouldn't really be angry with him for touching her precious computer. Kurt clicked onto the second picture when he heard a beep from his left side and turned to look at the screen. Without touching anything, a new window opened in front of him and he gasped when he realised what it was about. There was a picture attached to the file, a card with a single black cat... He had seen this before.
Knowing that he didn't have much time, he quickly sent himself a copy of all the files he found in the folder, trying to not think about what it could mean. He had to go through this files before coming to any conclusion. He barely leaned back on his chair when the door opened again and Mercedes stepped inside.
"Here you are" Mercedes said as she handed Kurt to paper cup. "Not as good as the one lover boy gets but it will make it."
"Thanks but I have to go" Kurt said and with some difficulty, he pushed himself up from the chair.
"But you said..."
"I think I forgot to lock the front door" Kurt lied. "I don't want to get mugged."
"That would be horrible" Mercedes nodded. "Should I give you a ride?"
"No, thanks" Kurt said. "I'm fine on my own. Go home, it was a long day."
"Are you sure you will be fine?" Mercedes asked in concern.
"Hey, I came here alone. I will be able to go home, too" Kurt smiled.
He quickly emptied his paper cup and grabbed his crutches. He had to get home as soon as he could, he had to read those files.
"Get some rest" Mercedes said before Kurt could leave.
"I will" Kurt said and stepped outside, carefully shutting the door behind him. "Once I find out what you're hiding from me."