A/N Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, my son and I both had a nasty bout of food poisoning. We're both doing better now. Also, good news, I am having the first of my two ankle surgeries this coming Friday, August 26th. I shouldn't have any restriction on writing, but give me at least one day to recover, LOL!
Reviews always Welcome!
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Chapter Five
Charlie was focused on the sample under his microscope when he heard someone knock softly on the lab door.
"Come in," he said, distractedly, not looking up from the sample.
"Hi," Nick said, finally drawing Charlie's attention from what he was doing.
"Nick! Hi!" Charlie was grateful for the protective face mask he was wearing as he fought the urge to blush as he realized how breathy and eager he had sounded. Nick didn't seem to notice, however, simply smiling and holding up a lunch tray.
"You've been working for hours. I thought you might be hungry."
"Oh. Thanks?"
Nick just shrugged and set it on the bench furthest away from where Charlie was working. The younger boy smiled in approval that Nick knew not to bring anything closer to where he was currently working due to the chance of contamination or infection. The ginger haired boy remained by the door, but indicated the microscope with a nod of his head.
"What are you looking at?"
Charlie frowned. "It appears to be an early version of the virus. This sample is dead, but I am trying to figure out exactly what it was meant to do."
Nick nodded, and fiddled with the plate of food on the tray. "Have you learned anything from it? And how do you know it is an earlier version?"
Charlie shrugged, and began carefully removing his protective gear before moving to wash his hands thoroughly. "The vial was labeled 'GV version three, trial two of ten.' That means this was the third attempt at making the virus, and the second testing out of ten samples. As for what it was designed for, I'm still not certain, but I did notice something odd."
"Oh?" Nick said as Charlie sat down at the bench next to the tray, which had half an egg salad sandwich, a small bowl of chicken stew, and a cup of tea with a small dollop of cream, just the way Charlie liked it. How had Nick known all his favorites?
Charlie had to clear his throat before he spoke again. "Many of the cells were in mid mitosis when they died."
Nick looked slightly confused. "Mitosis is the process by which a cell replicates itself, correct?"
Charlie smiled at him. "Yes!"
"So why is that odd?"
Charlie took a tiny bite of the sandwich before he answered. "That isn't in itself odd, but I noticed that as the cells had split, each new cell had mutated slightly, as if the DNA had been rewritten instead of creating an exact duplicate."
"That is weird," Nick said, sitting on a stool on the opposite side of the bench from Charlie. He was silent for a minute, just watching Charlie slowly eat the sandwich, one tiny bite at a time. "So, how did you meet Ben? I mean, I know him because he's in my year, and he hangs around Harry a lot. But how do you know him?"
Charlie felt his stomach drop at the mention of the other boy's name. He set the sandwich down, suddenly no longer hungry. "Oh, well, it's kind of a long story."
Nick studied him for a moment. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. It's just, that was kind of an intense situation the other day, and Ben seemed so angry. I'm just worried about you. And Ugh! I just hate Ben right now for treating you like that!"
Charlie stared at him a moment, wide eyed at the other boy's reaction. Nick took a calming breath and carefully reached out to take Charlie's hand. "I just want you to remember, I'm your friend, Charlie. You can talk to me about anything. Okay?"
All Charlie could do was nod his head, and squeeze Nick's hand back before reluctantly letting go. "Well, it started a couple weeks after I got outed last year." He picked at the few crumbs on the plate, but didn't touch the sandwich. "Ben and I are both in the same Uni-level biochemistry class."
Nick frowned in confusion, but just indicated for Charlie to continue. "Well, we were the last two to finish our work that day, and professor Daniels was distracted by a phone call. I wasn't really paying attention to either of them, but suddenly Ben was standing so close to me, telling me how brave I was for coming out, and complimented me on my paper on the chemical process certain species use to reproduce by cloning themselves. We talked for a while, and he kept touching my hand, or my shoulder, and he was being really nice to me, and so when he asked me to meet up with him the next day in the lab during lunch, I said yes. After a couple days, I was shocked when he asked if he could kiss me.
"Everything seemed great for a while, but Ben wanted me to keep us a secret, which I understood, of course. But after a while things changed. He started making snippy comments about my hair, and my ears, and other things I've always been self conscious about. And then one day I caught him stealing my research on gene therapy. We argued over it. That night he said he was sorry and begged me to forgive him. I ignored him. Then the next day I saw him kissing a girl at the school gate."
"What an arsehole!" Nick exclaimed. "I'll kick his ass if he comes near you again!"
Charlie was shocked by Nick's outburst. "You don't have to do that. Ben has been avoiding me for the last few days. I think he got the message this time."
Nick continued to frown. "I never knew Ben was taking uni-level classes."
Charlie snorted. "That was the other thing he wanted to hide. He knew I got bullied because of my IQ, and didn't want people to treat him the same as me. That and I think he was jealous that I'm smarter than him."
That made Nick laugh. "Okay, enough talking. Finish your lunch."
…
Wille was so confused. He knew he had drunk more than he'd meant to the previous night, but he didn't think he'd been too drunk. He'd pretended to be drunker than he was, because August had kept plying him with drinks, which he kept setting down or spilling out whenever August wasn't looking. He just wanted to get his annoying second cousin off his back.
He finally managed to give the older boy the slip, and guzzled down some water to dilute the alcohol he hadn't been able to avoid drinking. He knew he'd still had a buzz, which is probably what had emboldened him enough to pursue Simon when the other boy had walked away from him.
The fresh air had helped clear his head even more, but he'd still been slurring his words when he'd awkwardly began singing It Takes a Fool, the song Simon had sung the first time Wille had seen him on his first day at Hillerska.
Unfortunately all Wille could remember was the chorus. He still felt a little embarrassed about babbling his reply to Simon's question about if Wille had liked the song when he'd sung it.
And then August. Fucking August. His cousin had come along and ruined everything. And Simon laughed and teased him as he panicked, trying to shush him and remain hidden from the older boys.
And then he had looked at Simon. He looked so…beautiful, like an angel with a neon halo. For a fraction of a second, Wille had been so sure Simon was going to kiss him, and in his buzzed state, Wille wasn't certain if he would have said no.
But Simon hadn't even tried. Instead, he had pulled away after August and the other boy with him, whom he thought was Vincent, had left. Simon had pulled away and stumbled to his feet, running.
And that was the source of Wille's confusion. Well most of it anyway. Part of it. He sighed. He understood why he was freaking out, but why had Simon freaked out? Was he freaking out for the same reason as Wille?
Wille appreciated beautiful things, and people. He'd never questioned that before. He'd never thought he was attracted to males. He had just thought some of them were aesthetically pleasing to look at. He'd never wanted to kiss any of them.
He wanted to kiss Simon.
Before Wille could explore that thought further, August barged into his room. "Wille! What are you still doing lazing about in bed! Rowing practice starts in fifteen minutes! If you want breakfast, you need to stop jerking off and get going!"
Wille groaned. He was not in the mood to face August that morning. "I was not jerking off, you asshole! I'm hung over from all the booze you kept shoving at me! Go away, August!"
The annoying boy just laughed. "Oh, dear little cousin Wille, you are such a grouchy drunk! I must remember that for next time!"
"Second cousin," Wille corrected spitefully. "And I'm not a little kid anymore. Stop treating me like one!"
Something flickered in the older boy's eyes, but Wille didn't notice it as he got comfortable in the bed once more, and then flipped August the one finger salute.
"Fine, Wilhelm," August said, voice growing cold. "But one day, you might wish you had been a little nicer to me."
…
Simon hesitated before entering Forest Ridge House that morning. He knew he couldn't avoid Wille forever. He at least needed to apologize and explain why he had rushed off the other night. With a sigh, he entered the building.
As if fate had decided to push things along, he immediately bumped into the prince. Literally bumped into him. Wille had been looking down at his phone as he rushed towards the dining room.
"Oh! Sorry," Wilhelm said.
"No, no, I'm sorry," Simon replied, leaning down to pick up Wille's phone, which had slipped from his fingers at the impact. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you, about last night."
Wille looked a little uncomfortable, but nodded, and led him into a side room. He closed the door behind them. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable the other night," the taller boy said. "I had too much alcohol and wasn't thinking clearly."
Simon felt a little relief go through him. "I know, and you don't have to apologize. That was kind of why I left when I did. I was hoping we could both just forget it happened."
Wille smiled softly. "I did have too much to drink. Perhaps my memory is a bit fuzzy on the details."
Simon laughed a little. "Well, I was just a bit overwhelmed at being invited to such an exclusive party, my memory of the events are probably a little over exaggerated."
It was Wille's turn to laugh at that. "So, we're good, right?"
"Yeah. We should get to breakfast now. I don't know about you, but I'm starving!"
…
Isaac Henderson was a pro at blending in, not being noticed, and not seeming to notice anything that went on around him. With his head constantly buried in a book, one might be inclined to think that the boy was clueless about what was going on around him. In truth, however, someone could drop a pencil three rows behind him in the library, and Isaac could not only tell you who dropped it, but the type and color of the pencil. No detail ever got past him.
This was what made him the perfect person to keep tabs on Wilhelm when Simon couldn't be there, and to gather information on the rest of the student body. No one ever questioned his presence, not the teachers, the students, or the headmistress. This was invaluable, as having a new student enroll at the school so soon after the prince would have drawn too much notice. Isaac wasn't enrolled there, so no one would question his presence. Of course, if it had become necessary, they could have forged paperwork that would show that he had been there since the beginning of the school year, but this was far less risky.
The added bonus of having Isaac on sight meant that Kurt, Blaine, and Alex had a bit more down time. Kurt had managed somehow to convince Alex to join him and Blaine at a club for karaoke. He had been adamant that he was not going to sing. Two beers later and he had relaxed enough to hum along as Blaine sang Beauty School Drop-out. After two shots of tequila, he was dancing as Kurt sang I Believe in a Thing Called Love. The next thing he knew, the three of them were putting on a performance.
(Kurt)
There's a man who leads a life of danger
To everyone he meets he stays a stranger
With every move he makes
Another chance he takes
As he sang, Kurt made James Bond poses, and pretended to shot Blaine with his fingers
(Blaine)
Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow
(All)
Secret agent man, secret agent man
They've given you a number
And taken away your name
(Alex)
Beware of pretty faces that you find
A pretty face can hide an evil mind
Ah, be careful what you say
Or you'll give yourself away
Alex was a bit more subtle as he played with the audience, not used to this kind of performing. Pretending to be someone to get through a mission was one thing, this was something completely different.
(Kurt)
Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow
(All)
Secret agent man, secret agent man
They've given you a number
And taken away your name
Secret agent man, secret agent man
They've given you a number
And taken away your name
As Blaine swung into the final verse, the ladies in the audience were already swooning over him as he played the playboy.
(Blaine)
Swingin' on the Riviera one day
And then layin' in the Bombay alley next day
Oh no, you let the wrong word slip
While kissing persuasive lips
(Alex)
The odds are he won't live to see tomorrow
(All)
Secret agent man, secret agent man
They've given you a number
And taken away your name
At the end of the song, all three boys were laughing, and Alex looked much lighter and more relaxed than Kurt had seen him in the week since they had met.
After karaoke, they'd gone back to Kurt and Blaine's hotel room, where they got to know each other better.
"So wait," Alex said between bites of scrambled eggs and bacon. "You're dad is not only a US Congressman, he's the Speaker of the House, and the one secretly in charge of your organization? And he's okay with what you do?"
Kurt shrugged. "He wasn't thrilled when he learned about the agency in general, but when he realized that teens were the perfect counter terrorist operatives, due to the fact that, who in their right minds would believe a teenager was a secret agent, he was happy when I was brought in. He said with me here, at least he knows the world is in good hands. And the agency compensates us very well. We have full medical, dental, life insurance, and we get to travel all over the world."
Blaine nodded. "We also have great mental health coverage, and if we decide we've had enough, we can just walk away, whenever we want."
Alex felt they might be a bit delusional if they thought they could ever walk away, but he decided not to mention that. Instead he turned to Blaine.
"What about your parents? Do they know what you are?"
Blaine's nearly always present smile slipped away, and he looked down. "There are a lot of things about me my parents don't approve of. And no, they don't. Right now they think I am spending the two week intercession at Dalton Academy for a Warblers bonding retreat."
Alex frowned. "Warblers?"
Kurt laughed. "The Dalton Academy Warblers are our competitive show choir, part of our cover stories."
"That explains a lot," Alex muttered.
"What about your family?" Kurt asked.
Alex set his fork down on his plate and took a long drink of his tea before he answered. "Not much to tell. My parents were allegedly killed in a plane crash when I was three months old. I was raised by my uncle until I was fourteen, when he was murdered by Yassen Gregorovich, which is how I discovered that he'd been lying to me my entire life, that he didn't really work at a bank, but was an MI6 operative.
"That's when Alan Blunt threatened to have Jack, the only other person in my life who cared about me, deported back to America, and have me placed in the foster system, if I didn't cooperate and do what they wanted. Since then I've learned that apparently my father was Gregorovich's best friend, and that MI6 has been lying to me about my parents death as well." He tipped his head up and looked at them both. "But you both already knew that. I assume you read my MI6 dossier?"
Kurt and Blaine glanced at each other, which was all the answer Alex needed. "Damn it, Kyra!" he muttered to himself.
"Who is Kyra?" Blaine asked.
"A girl I met at Point Blanc. She's a genius with computers. She's saved my life more than once."
Kurt smirked. "You like her."
Alex rolled his eyes. "It's not like that. It's…complicated."
"How so?" Blaine asked.
Alex snorted derisively. "Let's just say the best way to describe my sexuality would be unlucky. Either I hurt everyone I have feelings for, or they get hurt because of me. And Kyra has her own demons to fight." They were all silent for a moment, and then Alex stood up. "Well, this has been a fun night, but it's getting late. I'm gonna head back to my room and get some sleep."
Kurt and Blaine both said goodnight as he left. He made his way to the elevator and ascended the two floors to his room, letting himself in with a sigh.
The scent of chloroform was his only warning before someone grabbed him from behind and held a rag covered with the chemical to his face. He struggled, driving his elbow back into his attacker's abdomen, and was rewarded by a grunt, but whoever they were didn't loosen their grip. He tried to resist the drag of the drug pulling him under, but his struggles eventually became more feeble, and he could feel unconsciousness closing in.
He made one last ditch effort to break free, reaching back over his shoulder to try and scratch at his attacker's eyes. The sensation of ridged scars on the man's face left Alex filled with dread as darkness claimed him.