Chapter 6: Undercover

Participating in a GCD patrol was both disconcerting and mind-numbing. The squad was assigned an area to patrol—about ten city blocks on a side—and told to walk it for twelve hours straight, keeping an eye out for any mutant or rebellious activity. They had full jurisdiction to frisk people on the street, and were never allowed to tread the same path twice in one day. Kurt couldn't even guess where the actual police were, because he never saw as much as a parking ticket while walking the streets.

It was no wonder the units took to accosting every teenager who stuck out their tongue at them or old lady who looked at them sideways; they were bored. And apparently, bored bigots did nasty things.

Kurt cursed SHIELD every night for making him do this. He had to do what they did… he was grabbing helpless ladies and brow-beating innocent citizens, because not to do so would arouse suspicion. He was laughing with everyone else when some punk kid fought back, and got a rifle butt to the nose for it. He hurt people every day, all in the name of infiltration. He'd never known being a secret agent was so damned heart-wrenching.

James Bond could keep his mystery and mystique. Kurt just wanted to go home… but he hadn't had a home in a long time.

It took time to build up a proper record in the GCD. If he wanted to catch the attention of the higher-ups, he had to see that several arrests were attached to his name. The average grunts were never sent out after dangerous rogues—that was a job for the Sentinels—but anyone else dodging registration was open season for the soldiers. Kurt hated it, but he dragged in a good half dozen newly-powered teenagers, as well as a handful of non-powered protesters who kept stirring up trouble at the capitol building and mayor's mansion. All in the name of getting in these bastards' good graces.

So many times, Kurt considered running. Just… leaving SHIELD and disappearing off the grid somewhere. Maybe he could find one of his old friends and hide out. But he was too deep into it for them to let him go easily. They had spent too many resources on him to just let him duck out without a fight… and Kurt had heard enough stories to know what SHIELD did to defected agents. Logan had always been the single exception to the rule; Kurt wasn't arrogant enough to think he was so special.

Then, about a month in, Kurt's unit was called in as backup to help with a protest. The GCD units were armed with gas grenades and riot shields and shoved into an armored van. They jostled and bumped their way down main street, and poured out into a mob right in front of the GCD station.

It wasn't a protest so much as a riot. It may have started as just another peaceful picketing, judging by the signs that some of those involved were now using as weapons, but the mob's frenzy had escalated to window-smashing, car-tipping fury. And all that fury was aimed at the station and GCD units near it.

Kurt was unleashed into that chaos and almost immediately suffocated in a press of angry civilians wielding whatever implements they could find on the street… and his SHIELD combat training kicked in hard.

He smashed his riot shield into the throng in front of him, pulled out the baton at his hip, and batted away the multitude of protesters who thought tire irons and picket signs could stand up against body armor. The rest of his unit was forming a line to push back the crowd, and Kurt joined in with little fuss… though he winced behind his riot helmet's visor every time he heard a cry of pain from the civilians. He was supposed to be on their side.

He was almost relieved when the squad captain gave the order to unleash the tear gas. Kurt threw one of his gas grenades into the crowd, sighing in relief as most of them dispersed or fell to the ground. The gas certainly stung them, but they'd get out of this situation with no lasting injury.

Then, Jake cursed from somewhere to Kurt's left. He tapped Kurt's shoulder to get his attention and pointed to the GCD station's busted windows. "Dammit, they got inside!"

Hard-bitten Jake didn't even wait for orders before he was off running toward the station, and Kurt stayed close at his heels, ready to unleash another gas grenade if need be.

Jake leapt through the nearest broken window, screaming for everyone inside to freeze. Kurt, however, stopped just before entering the station himself. Inside, instead of a riot, the situation looked like a roughly executed heist.

Among the various civilians hunkered in the corners, there were eight men and women lined up around the front counter. They were all wearing cloth masks like Dread Pirate Roberts knockoffs… only instead of swords, these guys were toting various kinds of guns. They faced the entrance bravely, defending a similarly masked man (though the glasses over the mask ruined the coolness effect) who was tapping away at one of the station's computers.

The rest of the GCD unit poured into the station from behind Kurt. The german heard the squad captain curse under his breath before the man raised his voice. "Hands up, mutie-lovers, or we're opening fire!"

One young woman in the defensive line stepped forward. She threw her long dark hair over her shoulder and raised an MMG in the leader's direction. "Just try it, and we'll see what intolerant scumbags look like with holes in them!"

Kurt audibly gasped at the familiar voice coming from the poised young woman in the mask. Amanda?

"Suit yourselves," the GCD captain said, just as Kurt heard a quiet exclamation of victory from the man at the computer. "Open fire, boys!"

The rest of the GCD officers pulled out their riot guns and started painting the opposite wall with bullets. The rebels returned in kind, finding cover and holding their ground, despite the fact that they were outnumbered two-to-one.

Kurt held back, staying just outside the station's broken window under pretense of guarding the exits. Yeah, like he was going to shoot at his ex-girlfriend.

A couple civilians accidently caught in the shoot-out fled out of the station, clutching purses and picket signs alike as they fled the suddenly-very-dangerous scene. He didn't blame them—they'd likely started just hoping for a peaceful protest. As far as Kurt was concerned, he hoped they all lived to protest another day.

Then Kurt caught sight of one civilian in particular as he was climbing out of the broken windows. It was a teenager who had a baseball cap tugged low over his eyes, and he stepped out of the station with the air of one not escaping danger, but of one trying to escape notice. Kurt's sharp eyes detected a mostly-hidden computer disc cradled in one of the boy's hands.

The teenager looked up as he stepped onto the trash-strewn sidewalk, and Kurt momentarily locked gazes with a familiar face. Jamie Madrox's eyes immediately widened, then he tugged his baseball cap low and bolted in the opposite direction.

Kurt didn't even think before tearing off after his old teammate, hoping the rest of the GCD units were too distracted with the gun-fight to notice the unarmed teenager fleeing the scene. Kurt belatedly thought that maybe he should just let Jamie go, but the shock at seeing his old teammate already had him chasing the boy halfway down the block. Something in him keened for some contact with someone familiar. Someone who could tell him about how everyone else was.

And whether they could forgive him for leaving.

Jamie sped down the sidewalk at a sprint, clutching his prize. Kurt kept at his heels, but couldn't make much ground. By God, when had Jamie gotten so fast? Kurt blamed his heavy riot gear for bogging him down.

…his riot gear!

He unclipped a gas grenade and tossed it into the path of the fleeing mutant, hoping it would slow him down. Instead, Jamie veered into an alley before hitting the grenade, and Kurt was left to chase after Jamie through a growing cloud of gas.

He turned into the alley, and was immediately confronted with the barrel of a pistol Jamie was aiming at his head. Apparently, the boy wasn't unarmed after all.

Jamie had grown up. Well, not physically so much—he was probably only somewhere around sixteen years old now—but the way he held himself was far from the awkward, bumbling little kid Kurt had once known. This Jamie had a stubborn set to his jaw and a hard look in his eyes.

Not that Kurt blamed him, looking into the eyes of an apparent oppressor as the teen was.

"Wait, Jamie! Don't shoot!" Kurt said, not letting his accent slip out of the practiced southern drawl, just in case any of his teammates had followed behind him.

Jamie's eyes widened, but he held the gun steady. "Why shouldn't I?"

"I'm a friend," Kurt said, lowering his voice. He held up his hands in a posture of unthreatening submission.

"Bullcrap!" But he still hadn't pulled the trigger, and there was confusion in his eyes.

Kurt used the uncertain pause to glance behind him, checking to see whether they'd been followed, only to find that the entrance of the alley was obscured by smoke. That… was actually pretty convenient.

Slowly, Kurt removed his riot helmet, giving Jamie an unobstructed shot at his head. He had half a mind to turn off his image inducer, but knew he'd never hear the end of it from Sgt Bianchi if he revealed himself without knowing more about the current situation. Even to an old friend.

Jamie was getting more confused. He backed up a step and lowered the gun. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Like I said, I'm a friend. And I want to help. Those people back there, and you… y'all are part of Bayville Underground, aren't you?"

"You've got that right," Jamie said defiantly. "Got a problem with that?"

Kurt couldn't help himself: he grinned. "No no. Not at all. In fact, it's perfect. See, I'm infiltrating the GCD."

Jamie raised his eyebrows. "Like a double agent?"

"Exactly. And let me tell you, it's not as cool as spy movies make it look."

"It's not as easy, either," Jamie said, slipping his gun inside his shirt. "We've tried."

Kurt furrowed his brow. "You haven't gotten anything from them?"

"Nothing but some general data from hacking and break-ins." He held up his disc. "We'd kill for an inside man."

Kurt thought about it, an idea forming in his head. "Want to be that inside man?"

Jamie's eyes widened even more. "What? There's no way… my face is plastered all over the city!"

"Exactly." Kurt grinned, pacing as he ran through his idea in his head. "Look, I'm not getting much useful information right now, because I'm just a grunt. But if I capture an ex-X-man, they'll give me a raise, and you-"

"Oh, hell no." Jamie made to run, but Kurt pounced forward and got hold of the back of the boy's shirt. Then, Kurt pounded Jamie heartily on the back, causing a copy to split off from Jamie and go tumbling to the ground. Kurt let go of the original and hauled the copy to his feet.

"Hear me out," he pleaded. "When your copies disappear, you remember everything they did, right?"

The original Jamie backed away, wide-eyed. "How do you-"

"So I arrest one of your copies." Kurt turned to Jamie #2 and said, "At any time, you can dissipate. You can do that at will by now, right?" Jamie #2 nodded, also looking shocked. "And so I'm promoted and you're incarcerated. I feed you any information I can get my hands on, so that when you poof away, you," Kurt pointed to Jamie #1, "will know everything you," pointing at Jamie #2, "learned."

Jamie #1 scratched his head. "That… actually might work. But only once."

Jamie #2 nodded. "Yeah, once I'm out, there'd be no way to get one of us back in."

Kurt thought that over. To #2, he wondered, "You can't just copy yourself and poof out?"

Both Jamies shook their head. "If I copy myself," #2 said, "all my copies have to disappear before I do, or else they just disappear along with me."

Dang.

Jamie #1 was grinning at his copy. "Still, it's a lot closer than we've gotten so far."

The copy wrinkled his nose at the original. "You're just saying that because you don't have to go to prison."

"That's my favorite part," Jamie #1 grinned, and #2 groaned.

Even so, #2 turned to Kurt and said, "All right. We're in."

Kurt let out a quiet whoop of victory and put a hand on #2's shoulder. "Awesome." He #1, he asked, "You have what you came for?"

To his surprise, both Jamies held up a disc. They smirked at his astonished expression.

"Sure beats burning it," Jamie #2 laughed.

Jamie #1 started off, but then paused. "Wait, one more thing… I gotta know your name, man. For when I explain this to everyone else."

For a long moment, Kurt considered telling him. It would put any of their doubts at ease to know the truth, and it would certainly be a relief for someone outside SHIELD to know he was alive.

But then he wondered if it really would be for the better. What if Jamie, knowing his identity, let something slip while in captivity? Or what if some GCD psychic read it off his mind?

Or what if he and everyone else hated Kurt for abandoning the team so long ago? For fleeing when he should have been fighting, like Jamie so obviously had been doing?

"Mike," Kurt finally answered. "Mike Smith."

Jamie looked at him for a second, apparently noticing the long pause before Kurt's response. Damn, when had little James Madrox gotten observant? Probably while doing all the growing up Kurt had missed.

"Okay. I'll see you later, then… Mike." With that, Jamie #1 jetted down the opposite end of the ally, climbing a chain fence and disappearing around a corner.

The Jamie copy squirmed uncomfortably under Kurt's hand. "So how do we do this?"

"I march you back to the others…. I'm going to have to tie you up. Sorry." Kurt pulled a set of zip-ties from his pouch. He'd used them to tie up young mutants before, but never someone he actually knew.

Jamie #2 shrugged. "It's kind of cool, actually. I'm going to spy on the GCD from the inside."

Kurt tied up the Jamie and started marching him back out of the alley. The smoke bomb was clearing, giving the pair a clear view of the street. "Try to look subdued."

Jamie paused in his walk. "Maybe you should hit me a couple times, to make it look real."

"No."

"No, seriously. I used to be an X-man… those goons will never believe I didn't put up a fight. You gotta hit me a couple times."

Kurt could see the logic in it. Heck, he'd seen enough movies like this to know that Jamie was right… still, he couldn't hit the kid. Jamie had been like a little brother to him.

Jamie tugged out of Kurt's grip and stared at him. "C'mon. Do it. If you're not chicken."

Kurt sighed and hesitantly pulled out his baton. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, then closed his eyes and swung.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Kurt had been right… bagging a former X-man was like a free ticket to the front of the line. When he dragged Jamie's limping, bruised form back to the GCD station, the demands to know where he'd been swiftly changed into awed questions and then cheers.

They hustled Jamie into the van with a gaggle of captured rioters and headed back to the base. Once there, Jamie was frog-marched to the mutant holding cells and Kurt was rushed through a gambit of officers and officials who demanded to know every detail of the capture.

By the time they brought him to Edward Kelly, he had his story down pat.

"…and then I stomped on the last copy, and it poofed out, leaving me with just Multiple. He was a little demon, I tell ya, but a baton to the head fixed him right up. I figured I shouldn't let him clap his hands again, so I got a hold of his wrists and tied 'em togther. Wasn't too hard to beat the mutie down after that." God, how he hated saying that word. "The freak just needed to know who was boss."

Mayor Kelly leaned back in his desk, looking pleased. "You've done humanity proud, Mr. Smith." Kelly's eyes drove into Kurt, and he was thankful that he wasn't even tempted to shift under such scrutiny. This was what he'd been trained for all those months. "Where were you transferred from… Marines, was it?"

"Yes, sir."

"It seems to me that someone of your character and experience is wasted in a general patrol position…" Kelly's gaze shifted sideways, to Lt Matthews. Duncan was beaming, apparently so very proud that one of his recruits had caught a 'rogue mutant'. "Do tell me this man has been awarded a rank."

Duncan nodded curtly with a grin. "The paperwork is being processed to make him a sergeant, sir."

"Good, good… Sgt Smith, I've got an offer for you, and I ask that you take some time to consider it."

Kurt's stomach was tying itself in knots. This was it.

"Recently, the rebels in this town have gotten… out of hand. I fear for my personal safety against these terrorists, and I know that you, at least, would be an excellent addition to my personal security personnel."

"Sir!" Duncan protested, but was silenced with a look from the mayor.

"What do you say, Sergeant? If you wish, you may take a couple days to consider it."

Kurt was torn. His mission was to infiltrate the GCD. He was on the cusp of working his way up the ranks… a sergeant wasn't much to sneeze at as far as access to sensitive information went, but it was a step in the right direction.

But how long would it take to get full access? A month? A year? He didn't think he could do this for a year and keep both his sanity and his soul.

Instead, here was Kelly, offering him a position that required a lot of trust. It would pull him out of the GCD—at least for a little while—but it would offer him access to all of Mayor Kelly's schemes. Somehow, Kurt knew that Kelly wasn't just going to stop at wiping out the Morlocks. God, Evan.

Kurt needed to nip this guy in the bud, even if that required him to put his climb up the GCD ladder on hold.

"There's nothing to consider, sir. I'd be honored to protect you from the mutant menace."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

And so it went that Kurt joined Mayor Kelly's security force. He switched out the GCD uniform for a suit and tie to match the rest of the mayor's security, but he still bore the weight of a bullet-proof vest and concealed weaponry underneath. Most of the rest of the force were private hires—retired police officers and the like—but a handful also came from GCD stock. Kurt retained his gruff, unsociable facade in front of them, and they all gave him space.

Things fell into a schedule for the next couple weeks. Every couple days, he'd wander into the GCD holding cells (trying his best not to react to the sight of so many dead-eyed mutants in their dirty, force-fielded chambers) and head for one of the cells downstairs, near the back. There, he'd 'gloat' to a tied up Jamie Madrox about everything he'd accomplished since their last meeting, including letting slip certain details about anything he'd learned about the GCD's long-term plans or Kelly's latest movements.

And Kelly certainly did move a lot. Kurt followed him as the mayor had clandestine meetings with scientists, with salesmen… even with several people Kurt never got to see or hear, because Kelly made his security team wait outside during such meetings. All the while, Kelly spoke to his supporters and friends about finding a 'cure' for the mutant menace. After the twentieth time that particular word was used in a cryptic manner, Kurt wondered whether Kelly's 'cure' was literal.

All the while, he reported to Sgt Bianchi once a week. They always spoke in code, of course, but that didn't stop Kurt from teasing his superior officer about the fact that they now technically held the same rank.

"Yes, yes, Cheshire Cat. In the same way a five-year-old playing 'spaceman' is the same as a real astronaut."

He would take any banter he could get, because his worries kept stacking up on one another. Every time he checked in on Jamie, the young mutant seemed a bit more worn-out, and every once in a while a bruise would pop up on the boy's face for no reason. Kurt wished dearly that he could prevent the guards from hurting the teenager, but there wasn't anything he could do that wouldn't arouse suspicion.

They kept Jamie tied up in a straitjacket, to keep him from hitting anything and multiplying—apparently, Jamie had 'attempted to escape' during the first couple days by multiplying and trying to overpower the guards. Kurt was glad the other mutant was so conscious of the show they had to put on, but it still made Kurt worry. Jamie was still just a kid.

Maybe it was all the movies they'd watched together back at the institute, but Jamie played his part perfectly. He seemed to know that there was a security camera inside his cell (Kurt, of course, detected it immediately, up in a shadowed corner of the ceiling), so never let any of his relief at seeing 'Mike' show on his face. And whenever a prison guard wandered by, he'd yell and snark at 'Mike', acting ever defiant to Kurt's taunts.

Kurt knew that Jamie could poof out at any time… but that didn't mean the older mutant was at ease about this whole situation.

And that was on top of his continuing worry about his other friends. He still didn't have access to any high profile reports, so couldn't guess whether his friends were currently together, separate, in the States, or what. And Mayor Kelly, though he did seem interested in the whereabouts of 'dangerous mutants' wasn't taking steps to track them personally beyond latching himself onto the Bayville GCD.

Instead, Kelly was buried in his other projects, and that was what worried Kurt most.

Kurt knew that he finally had to act when someone actually brought something in. At the time, Kurt was stationed at the security center of the mayor's mansion, which meant that he was tasked with monitoring the structure's dozen security cameras via a classic wall of video feed screens. Most of the security staff found this part of the job boring, and often smuggled in handheld video games or Sudoku booklets. Not so much for Kurt, who found this time perfect for observing the mayor without fear of being watched himself.

Granted, hours upon end of watching Kelly do paperwork was rarely interesting, but it paid off to pay attention for those brief moments when Kelly input the combination into his office safe (11-02-04… the day he'd been elected into office, the ego-maniac) and when Kelly met with people who he wasn't officially affiliated with, like a particularly tall, lanky, sinister-looking man dressed in a GCD uniform.

The only drawback to camera duty was that there was no sound system wired in… so Kurt never knew what was being said.

This was one of those times Kurt wished he could be a fly on the wall with a sense of hearing. It was late in the evening, past the point when the mayor usually stayed in his office, but Kelly had stayed late, keeping himself occupied with busywork. This wasn't unusual… it usually indicated he was anticipating one of his clandestine meetings.

This time was a bit different, though. At about five minutes to eight, a pair of men in white labcoats slid into the office. One carried what appeared to be a small cooler, while the other had a thin briefcase. Kurt watched as Kelly stood up to greet his guests, then indicated for the men to put their burdens on his desk.

The briefcase was opened first, revealing a thick stack of paperwork. The men in white coats were talking excitedly, but Kelly didn't seem to be paying much attention to them. The mayor was too busy flipping through the packet, his speed increasing as his apparent excitement grew. Then, he gestured to the cooler and asked something, and the unnamed men nodded. Kelly pressed a button on top of the cooler, and the sides folded away.

Inside was a single tube of liquid. Kurt couldn't tell what it was from the grainy video feed, but it appeared to be of a light color, and somewhat translucent. Whatever it was, Kelly looked enraptured by it. There was a quick burst of conversation between him and the mysterious scientists.

Grinning, Kelly closed both the cooler and the briefcase and made a dismissive gesture. They scampered off, looking relieved, and Kelly turned to deposit both the cooler and the briefcase into the mini safe behind his desk.

Kurt's breath was shallow as he watched Kelly straighten up the rest of his paperwork. Kurt needed to know what that tube was, especially if it made Herr Kelly so happy. His tail came unlooped from under his clothes and started twitching behind him as he waited impatiently for Kelly to leave his office.

Finally, after another ten minutes of puttering around, Kelly shut off the light and left. From the camera posted in the hall outside the office, Kurt watched Kelly lock the door and motion for the guards posted outside to follow him to the residential part of the mansion.

Kurt waited another ten minutes, just to be sure Kelly didn't come back to retrieve something. Then, Kurt paused the office's video feed and set up a loop that would keep the office apparently empty for the next hour or so… even though it wouldn't be.

Then, Kurt checked to make sure the security center door was shut, pulled a pen that doubled as a flashlight out of his breast pocket, and disappeared in a puff of sulfurous smoke.

He reappeared a moment later in the empty office. His vision unhindered in the darkness, he made a line straight for the safe and hastily put in the combination. It opened without any fuss, and Kurt pulled out both items that had just been dropped off, though he was sorely tempted to dig through the rest of the folders and trinkets in the safe.

The briefcase popped open easily enough, and Kurt pulled out the same papers he'd seen Kelly look through not half an hour earlier. This was the part where he flicked on his pen-light, since not even he could read the tiny font in the darkness.

The first thing he noticed was the logo in the upper left hand corner of the front page. It was either an S or a lightning built, though perhaps a mix of both. His brow furrowed… it looked familiar, but he couldn't place from where.

Making a mental note to check that out, he started reading.

"Mr. E. K.:

We are certain you will be pleased with our latest product, thus we deem it in our best interest to provide you with this free sample. Despite certain setbacks, it should fit the specifications of your recent order.

Feel free to look over the attached data reports. Note the dosage recommendations; there is indeed a thin line, as we've found, between an effective dose and a lethal one. If you wish to keep any subjects in good health for long enough to study them properly, measuring their power levels on an accurate, universal scale is recommended prior to administration. Your friends at the GCD, I'm certain, will be able to aid you in that endeavor.

Their most notable recent acquisition, I'm certain, will be of even more help, if you wish to test out our product before committing to the purchase. We've provided an estimated dosage, based on his known age and ability, but feel free to let your friends in the GCD use their own discretion.

Thank you for your continued patronage, and, as always, have a healthy, disturbance free day.

Sincerely, G. S."

Kurt flipped through the packet with shaking hands. So this was a substance that was lethal in large quantities…. But the question was, what did it do when it didn't kill the victim? Kurt flipped through the packet, noting snippets along the lines of 'subject complained of severe headaches after increased dosage' and 'exponential effect when frequency of administration is increased—not recommended as a viable method for keeping subjects alive for an extended period of time.'

Then, his eyes landed on a page near the end with a chart across the top. The chart was a line graph: one that started high on the left and slowly curved down, then went down more quickly, before hitting the x-axis at the other side of the chart. The x-axis seemed to be time increments up to three months, while the y-axis had a series of numbers with a unit of measure Kurt had never encountered before.

Thankfully, below the chart was an explanation:

"Subject 32 showed marked decrease in strength of mutant abilities over time of administration. A steady, uninterrupted dose yielded excellent results, although the amount did have to be increased by .02 per serving as subject built up a resistance. Subject showed no sign of resurgence up until the point of succumbing, pointing to the possibility that, once the lethality issue is resolved, power loss will be permanent. Will continue to pursue with other subjects."

Power loss? Lethality issue?

All of Kurt's fears about Kelly fronting a 'mutant cure' were confirmed. He flipped through the rest of the papers, finding that the last dozen pages were reports that confirmed what poor subject 32 had shown… whatever was in that cooler was something that destroyed a mutant's powers… and it was always, eventually, fatal.

Kurt replaced the papers back in the briefcase and slammed it shut. Warily, he peeked into the cooler, and shuddered at the harmless-looking tube of liquid inside it. It was a deep orange-gold color… looking, if anything, like a tube of harmless apple juice.

Wait… juice. Poison.

Pow-R 8.

G. S… Guy Spears… of Spear Sports Industries.

Oh God, Kurt knew now how Kelly had wiped out the Morlocks. And now Kelly's going to use this stuff on the rest of us.

Kurt shut the cooler and took great pains to replace everything as he'd found it, finally spinning the dial shut. He wanted to just teleport the entire safe out of the office, but if he so much as took a single sheet of paper, Kelly would no doubt notice, and he didn't have the time or equipment to properly tamper with the stuff… that sort of thing took a lot more planning, and possibly a visit to the Helicarrier for supplies. If Kelly detected any tampering without a break-in by Bayville Underground, he might begin to suspect that his own staff was in on it, and then Kurt's cover was blown.

No, this was the sort of thing that Bayville Underground would have to do. They'd purportedly broken into the mansion before… but he needed a way to tell them about it now, before they could use this stuff on Jamie.

Wait… Jamie!