After a week of anticipation, December 7th was finally here. Darien woke up about midday and got into the shower. The whole time, thoughts bounced around his head. Why was the Agency invited to a party? They had all talked to the Official about it, and even *he* had gotten a letter. Was this all some sort of trap? If so, who was this Dark Ravenette?

He stepped out of his shower just as someone knocked on his door. Wrapping his towel around his waist, Darien walked to the door to open it. Seeing no one through the peep hole, he slowly opened the door--

--to find a young woman standing just below the level of the peephole. Dressed in black leather pants and a red tank top, the girl appeared to be near her twenties. Her short curly and wild hair appeared to be multiple colors, ranging from bluish black to nearly blonde.

A slight smile appeared on her face as she stared at the half naked man before her. "Mr. Darien Fawkes," she started. "I am Dark Ravenette. I believe that you received a letter from me. I'm here to pick you up for the party."

"Oh," Darien stammered. "Well, I'm not quite ready, as you can see."

Dark Ravenette started to giggle. "Yes, I can see that. Um, do you need...help?" She was about to break into hysterical laughter.

"That's ok, I think I can dress myself. If you'll just wait out here for a little bit, I'll be out in a moment."

She composed herself and nodded. "Please hurry, the other guests are in the car, waiting."

Darien slowly closed the door on the peculiar little girl. As he walked away, he could have sworn he heard her say aloud, "VVSB, eat your heart out."

*************

Twenty minutes later, Darien finally walked out of his door to find Dark Ravenette still standing there.

"Is everything ok?" She asked.

"Yeah, just needed to fix my hair."

This comment was followed by some more giggling from his tiny host. "I'm sorry. Please, let's join the others."

They both walked down to the street level, when Darien was surprised to find a black stretch limo waiting by his door. The blacked out windows all had a red tint to them, adding to the color coded theme of his host. The chauffeur stood at the back door, and he opened it as Darien and Dark Ravenette got close. Inside, Fawkes saw all of his coworkers sitting impatiently.

"Nice of you to join us Fawkes," Hobbes said from his seat next to Claire. "What did you do? Head out and get your hair professionally done?"

"Very funny, Hobbes," Darien replied as he took the seat next to Eberts. He noticed that the driver shut the door as soon as he entered the back, and then opened the front passenger door for their host. The pane of glass separated the two sections.

"Nice car for a casual dress party," Alex remarked as she looked around. The others took her lead and examined their vehicle. The plush red seats accented the black walls, and Darien instantly found the mini bar in the back. He opened it and found cold Coronas. Grabbing a couple, he tossed one to Hobbes and then offered one to everyone else. No other takers. Then, Darien proceeded to observe his friends.

It was weird seeing The Official in something other than his usual suit, but here he was, in a sweater and black slacks. Eberts practically mirrored his boss, except that while The Official's sweater was dark beige, his was blue. Alex looked pretty in a pair of dark denim jeans and a purple pullover blouse. Even Hobbes looked comfortable in his khaki pants and red V-neck shirt. Then, Darien looked at Claire, and saw something that he never thought he would see in his life. Underneath the long black knitted jacket that went to her ankles, Darien noticed something that apparently she was attempting to hide.

"Fishnet tights, Keep?"

Claire whipped her head around sharply to look at Darien, but she had already been caught. Everyone else looked at her legs to confirm the fact that she was wearing black mesh tights. She sighed and shifted her coat back so that they could see the rest of her outfit. She had a short black mini skirt and a form fitting charcoal top, complete with ankle high boots.

"It's not like I get to wear it to work," she stated, slightly smiling. "I figured, I had it, so I might as well get some use out of it." Then, she noticed that Darien's jacket pocket was shaking. "Um, Darien, why is your pocket moving?"

He opened the button and Darien the Rat popped his head out. "I decided that he deserved a day out like the rest of us."

"You brought your rat?" Alex questioned.

"So where are we going exactly?" Hobbes changed the subject.

"Let me ask." Darien knocked on the glass divider, grabbing the attention of his host. She instantly motioned to the phone set in the wall of the limo.

She picked up one phone on her side as Darien picked up his. "Yes, Mr. Fawkes?"

"Um, where exactly are we going?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that." As those words escaped her lips, a colorless smoke began to fill the back compartment. "You'll just have to find out when you wake up."

Darien started coughing with the rest of the group as the smoke continued to fill their lungs. Then, one by one, they all began to fall unconscious. The phone fell from Darien's hands as he blacked out. The last thing he remembered was hearing his partner mumble, "There's the PS"