The Lima Bean, 1327 Bellefontaine Avenue, Lima, OH 9:23:14
Blaine's Wednesday mornings were full of free periods, and since Kurt had the exact same schedule (which Blaine still found a little creepy), Kurt was in the same position. Blaine had woken up at six as usual, and since Kurt was accustomed to the same schedule, he was up at the same time.

Blaine had hesitantly invited Kurt out to coffee with him, and Kurt was surprised that they got on the highway once they pulled out of Westerville. Blaine explained that the best coffee in the state was two hours away, but Kurt had still been shocked when they pulled off the turnpike at the Lima exit. He never could escape the accursed place. Blaine said he loved The Lima Bean, and Kurt couldn't argue that they had outstanding coffee, but unfortunately they also tended to have very unhappy people that he knew. Kurt made a small map of the floor plan of The Lima Bean (as well as he knew it) on his mobile command center just so he knew here the best areas were to sit, and where to avoid. Stay away from the glass front, obviously.

Kurt had been in the passenger seat for the trip, but that didn't mean he wasn't watching carefully. Blaine wasn't the best driver, and Kurt was constantly checking to make sure that he would keep them alive. That fact only made him realize that one car had been three cars away from them for the entire trip. A 2013 Chevy Malibu 2LTZ, in topaz, with nineteen inch wheels. It would have been following perfectly subtly if Kurt hadn't been watching.

When Blaine and Kurt reached The Lima Bean, the Malibu was nowhere in sight, but Kurt knew it would be back, and so he hurried Blaine into the coffee shop. "Grande nonfat mocha and a medium drip for my friend," he said automatically, and then realized his blunder.

"How do you know my coffee order?"

"Lucky guess," Kurt lied as they waited near the pick-up station. Kurt put his back to the wall and took a quick glance over the parking lot. Two spaces from the door, pulled in between two much larger SUVs, Kurt could see a hint of metallic blue. His eyes snapped into the doorway, and he quickly looked down as Dustin Goolsby walked in. Bloody hell. "Hey, Blaine."

"Yeah?" Blaine was reading the coffee menu.

"I have to make a quick phone call." Kurt couldn't see any way around it, but he could certainly make sure that Blaine was out of Dustin's reach. "Call me if our coffees come."

"Okay." Kurt took another quick glance and was relieved that Dustin had taken a seat in the corner of the restaurant cut off by the wall. It was an easily defensible position, which was what he was looking for, but it also meant Blaine was out of his line of view.

Kurt ducked into the hallway, keeping his eye on Blaine and hoping that Dustin thought he had beat them there. "Agent Lopez," he whispered into his earpiece and his cell phone rang.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" were the first words he heard over the line.

"We have a free period, Blaine and I are out for coffee, haven't you been watching us?" Kurt asked, a little annoyed that they hadn't been paying attention.

"Jesus, newbie, are you off-campus? Are you out of your mind? There's a reason Blaine goes to Dalton Academy, and it's not because he can afford it. Listen closely. Get Blaine back to campus as soon as possible, and I won't have to tell the director about your idiocy."

"Dustin Goolsby's here," Kurt said, and he didn't understand a word of the Spanish that came over the phone line. "Agent Lopez, I need help, not a lesson in Spanish cussing."

"How stupid can you possibly be?" Kurt let the senior agent rant at him in Spanglish as a thought occurred to him. He dug into his messenger bag and pulled out the only helpful gadget he had in there. Looking over Goolsby with the X-Ray sunglasses, he noticed one, two, three... okay, he could stop counting now. Goolsby was definitely armed.

"He's armed. Is he here to kill me?" Thankfully, that made Agent Lopez stop ranting.

"Of course not. Just because he will kill children, doesn't mean he wants to, and he definitely can't reveal who he is in front of Blaine. Just, do your best to act normal and get Blaine out of there without revealing too much about yourself he could use to identify you later. I don't suppose you have any form of disguise?"

"No. Plus, Blaine would find it suspicious... and Blaine knows him," Kurt remembered. "What do I do if he tries to introduce us?"

"Improvise. Now, you've left your charge alone for far too long. Go keep an eye on him." Agent Lopez, he had a feeling was about to say something else, but Blaine cut her off.

"Kurt, oh, sorry. Um, the coffee's are here." Thankfully, Blaine decided to duck into the hallway instead of yell and proclaim their presence. Perhaps that wasn't Kurt's best plan.

"Thanks," Kurt said as Blaine handed him the coffee, his mind working quickly. The queue of The Lima Bean ran almost exactly through the middle of the restaurant, and the people were their best protection from Goolsby. Unfortunately, they weren't exactly subtle in their Dalton uniforms, but people provided obstacles in Goolsby's almost omniscient line of sight. On the opposite side of the restaurant there was a coffee station, which Blaine always stopped at, and then... there was always the hallway. The hallway in The Lima Bean led to the store next to it (they had formed some sort of partnership in an attempt to increase business), and it was a closed-in hallway. There were tables inside the 'L' of the hallway, and if they could get into the corner, they would be far enough away from the glass and invisible to Goolsby. Perfect.

"Come on." Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand, ignoring for now exactly what he might think that meant, and headed out of the hallway, sticking close to the wall and practically pulling Blaine through the crowd of people at the front of the line. He felt like he could breathe again when there was a dense line of people between them and the man hunting them.

"In a hurry much?" Blaine laughed as he headed for the coffee station, taking his sweet time.

"I just want to make sure we get a good table," Kurt lied, keeping his back to the coffee station so that Goolsby was in his line of sight but Blaine was in his peripherals.

"Relax, we beat the crowd this morning. Barely, but we did." Blaine seemed perfectly relaxed, but Kurt couldn't help being on edge, tapping his fingers on the counter. At least the crowd had arrived. "It's kind of nice to be out of Dalton, isn't it?"

"Lovely," Kurt said tightly.

"Are you all right?"

"Fine. Are you done?" Kurt answered quickly, and when Blaine nodded, Kurt led the way, keeping as many people between them and Goolsby as possible. Thankfully, the pillars that The Lima Bean used to keep the line contained gave them brief breaks from Goolsby's sight line. They were near the end of the line before Kurt ducked behind the hallway, and suddenly a wall sat between them and Blaine's father's crazy associate.

"Actually, you're right, this is cozy." Blaine said, taking a seat against the back wall. It was farther in the open then Kurt really wanted, but at least it was away from Goolsby.

"Isn't it?" he asked tightly as he texted Agent Lopez under the table.

To: Agent Lopez
'Is there anyway I can have Goolsby's location? If he moves over to this side of the cafe, we're pretty much done for.'

From: Agent Lopez
'Got ya.'

Kurt's high-tech phone started beeping softy, and soon enough, a tag appeared on his GPS module "GOOLSBY."

From: Agent Lopez
'I noticed on your quick X-Ray scan (nice work, by the way) that he has a heat seeker on one of his guns. It makes his shots more dangerous because it essentially gives him night vision for heat, but it's also track-able technology.'

To: Agent Lopez
'Thank you... This *so* isn't Agent Lopez, is it?'

From: Agent Lopez
'It's Puck, Santana gave me her phone when she went into check on you.'

To: Agent Lopez

'When she did WHAT!?'

Kurt turned his head and groaned. Agent Lopez, coffee-less and completely conspicuous, was sitting at one of the tables up against the glass, and when Kurt caught her eye, she winked at him. Kurt groaned. Exactly what he needed. When had they even gotten there?

"You all right?" Blaine asked, and Kurt realized he had been neglecting his charge.

"Family troubles, I'm fine," Kurt excused quickly, and he was certainly getting better at thinking on his feet. Agent Lopez was definitely in Goolsby's line of sight, and that was more worrying than anything. He had at least six guns on his torso. Thankfully, he hadn't moved an inch.

"Anything I can help with?" Blaine asked with a charming smile. Maybe he should stop worrying about Agent Lopez, she was better trained than he was to begin with and she'd had years of field experience. Or so he assumed.

"Not unless you can make my brother less annoying," Kurt replied, making up a story in his head in case Blaine started asking. Finn was being a pain about the fact that he had been sent to Dalton (which was the real part), because he had wanted to go to Dalton for years, and they could never find the money until Kurt was being tormented at school and he had more opportunities for scholarships than Finn did with his lackluster grades. Perfect. His own little liar's palace.

"You know, it's weird, but I could have sworn that I saw one of my father's associates sitting on the opposite side of this place." Uh-oh. "There's no reason he should be in Lima though." Code red. Agent Lopez was staring at them, and she was definitely still tapped into Kurt's microphone.

"Let's not worry about it," Kurt said, and he was so going to get yelled at for this later, but he placed his hand over Blaine's free one on the table and Blaine's eyes widened a little.

"So, I was wondering-"

"Blaine-" Kurt started to cut Blaine off, but Blaine cut him off in return.

"I'm not asking you out," Blaine stopped him, and Kurt really didn't have anything to say to that. "It's kind of clear when someone isn't interested in me-"

"Blaine, it's not that," Kurt objected before he could think about it. "I mean, it's not that you're not... it's just..." What the hell could he say? 'You're extremely hot and I would love to go out with you, or make out with you, but I'm a federal agent in charge of finding out about your father from you and stopping the plans of the company he's working for, so we're really not romantic options for one another?' Yeah, that probably wouldn't go over very well.

"It doesn't matter," Blaine said, withdrawing his hand. "The point is, I'm not asking you out. I was just wondering if you wanted to come to the Anderson Halloween bash? It's a yearly thing my parents throw, though I usually end up hosting it because my mother spends most of her time split between Los Angeles and New York and my father's kind of an introvert. The point is, it's not a date. Most of the Warblers and a good chunk of Dalton in general will be there, along with a bunch of my father's stuffed shirt friends, but I thought it would be a good chance for you to get more associated with people at Dalton. It's kind of short notice, since it's this weekend, but-"

"I'd love to," Kurt said, breaking into Blaine's rant, and when he looked over at Agent Lopez (who had pulled a laptop out of somewhere and seemed, to the casual observer, to be taking advantage of the free wi-fi), she gave him a thumbs up.

"Great." Blaine checked his watch. "We should probably head back to Dalton for lunch, considering we do have classes this afternoon."

Kurt glanced at his GPS, and it showed Goolsby still in the same spot, but when he looked at Agent Lopez, she gave him the go ahead. "Sure," he said hesitantly, and as they stood up, Agent Lopez began putting her things away. Just as they exited their little cove and passed her, she stepped out. For a horrible moment Kurt worried Agent Lopez was going to approach him, but instead she bumped into him with a hurried apology, and as their hands brushed, she passed something over. His earpiece. Great.

"Excuse me," she said absentmindedly, headed for the coffee line, which had thinned out. Kurt took a glance across the cafe, but Goolsby was definitely gone. Time for more quick thinking, because there had to be a reason that Kurt's GPS was convinced he was still there.

"Where did you think you saw your dad's friend?" Kurt said, purposefully acting as though he had forgotten Blaine's description of Goolsby as creepy and unfriendly. He was getting better at this.

"Over there." Blaine just pointed, but Kurt headed that way. Once they reached the approximate location the GPS had placed Goolsby, Kurt looked around quickly. The trash can. Sitting on the top was one of Goolsby's guns, definitely the one with the heat seeker, with a note on top. Kurt was far away, but it clearly read 'Nice try, FBI' in large, conspicuous letters. Thankfully, Blaine hadn't followed him all the way. Great. At least he thought they were the damn FBI.

Girard Building, Dalton Academy, 94 Warbler Lane, Westerville, OH 14:01:16
"Is it just me, or did today take forever?" Blaine complained as they walked out of their last class of the day, which was their Precalculus test. "How do you think you did on that test?"

"We'll have to see," Kurt hedged, because he had absolutely no idea what any of the questions had meant, so it would be interesting to see how the CIA handled it. They certainly wouldn't let him get academically suspended from Dalton, and failing a test would put him on academic detention, which would take time away from Blaine.

"I think I did all right," Blaine continued, oblivious to the fact that Kurt was distracted. He was due to be at headquarters at some point for a progress report and further briefing on exactly how the agency wanted the annual Anderson Halloween Bash to go as far as national security went. "I hate imaginary numbers though. They're not real, so I should be able imagine them as anything I want." Blaine laughed and Kurt joined in automatically. "At least we don't have rehearsal today, right?"

"Kurt, maybe I borrow you?" Wes asked as he passed them in the opposite direction, grabbing his shoulder turning him around and really not giving him all that much of a choice in the matter.

"Later, Kurt," Blaine called out as he continued talking, sounding a little bit nervous. Well, it was clear Wes didn't like him very much.

"I know, in case you were wondering," he said as he led Kurt... somewhere. "I had to say no because, well, that's what was expected of me, but I'm the CIA's connection to the student body here on a regular basis. I'm how they found Blaine, and how they found out he's gay. Wesley Montgomery, Junior Snitch." Kurt had heard of the Snitches. They were the true undercover agents, the ones who gave up their lives entirely to be someone else and be placed in either high-information or high-risk situations. They became entirely new people, remade as thoroughly as people placed in witness protection. How did one become a Junior Snitch? "Agents Lopez, Puckerman, and Evans are waiting for you in the parking lot. Don't be tardy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go take care of that Pre-calc test for you."

Well, that explained why Wes hated him. He was the one in charge of picking up Kurt's Dalton-related messes, but Kurt would get all the glory if this operation went well, and he would still be a Junior Snitch submerged in a high school he probably hated attending. Snitches hated Agents. At least he had David, or did he?

"Wes," he called out, and the Head Warbler paused for a moment, not turning to face Kurt.

"Yes?"

"Are you and David really together?" Wes sighed, turning to face him at that point.

"Yes, and I would appreciate it if you didn't tell the agency. I'm not supposed to become involved romantically, but... I'm in love." It was the first crack Kurt had seen in Wes' armor, and it made what he had to say next all the worse.

"I'm mic'd."

"Of course you are," Wes said with another sigh, turning around anyway and heading into the Precalculus room Kurt had just come from with no further comment.

"Always nice to see your late ass," Agent Lopez said semi-cheerily as Kurt approached the not-at-all subtle surveillance van.

"Lovely to see you too, Agent Lopez."

"At least I'm not taking you to get yelled at this time." Agent Lopez got in the front of the van, but Kurt headed for the back. He didn't particularly feel like dealing with her at the moment. She could be quite... abrasive.

"Hey, guys," Kurt said as he opened the back and hoped in. It was a lot cleaner now than it had been when Kurt had first been introduced to the two agents who were camped out in there. Less fast food containers anyway.

"'Sup little man?" Puck asked, offering Kurt a fist bump, which he accepted.

"Hey, Agent Hummel," Agent Evans said, and Kurt could see Goolsby frozen on the screen.

"Ignore him," Puck said, dismissing his co-worker. "He's just annoyed because he can't figure out how Goolsby knew we were tracking him. We're supposed to be the best, but Goolsby outsmarted us at The Lima Bean, and we could have lost you if he had been on the hunt." Kurt tried not to worry about that too much.

"How did you guys even get there so fast? We were two hours away."

"We're not actually parked on campus all day, we would lose our minds," Puck answered with a laugh as the van began to move, headed for the headquarters in downtown Columbus. "We were parked about twenty minutes north of Dayton when Santana called you, and she made us start driving as soon as her phone registered your coordinates. Plus, we can speed. We're the government." Puck grinned.

"There's no way he could have known," Sam muttered to himself.

"Sam, shut it," Puck said with a roll of his eyes. "So, it seems that you're doing much better without that frickin' earpiece. Suck it, Satan!" he yelled, but Santana probably couldn't hear him in the closed-off front.

"She gave it back to me," Kurt said, turning so that they could see it in his ear. "It's not very subtle," but no one spent a lot of time looking at his ear.

"Of course she did," Puck said, disgusted.

"They really need to re-design that thing," Sam commented.

"Sorry about the run-in with Goolsby, we clearly need to keep a better eye on you, and them. Especially them." Puck slapped one of the monitors playfully, earning himself a disapproving look from Sam.

"If it makes you feel any better, Goolsby thinks we're the FBI." All three agents cracked up laughing.

CIA Headquarters, Downtown Columbus, Columbus, OH 16:28:17
Instead of being ushered to mission control, Kurt was pushed past the circular table (which was being used for something else, judging by the pictures of the President of the French Republic being shown in hologram form), and Agent Lopez led him up a set of stairs on the opposite side of the entrance, into a rather plush and extremely large office, which must have belonged to the director.

"Kurt Hummel, how's my favorite junior agent?" Director Schuester asked pleasantly, and Agent Berry nodded at him in encouragement.

"Fine?" Kurt hedged, wondering why the director was asking him that.

"And I assume you have secured an invitation to the annual Anderson Halloween Bash?" Agent Berry asked as she led Agent Lopez out of the room. Why was she making Agent Lopez leave?

"Earlier today," Kurt confirmed, and the director flashed him a brilliant smile.

"So let's talk about the party." He turned in his desk chair and a screen unfurled from the ceiling, Agent Berry starting the projector in the back of the room with a smile at Kurt. "This is a virtual map of the Anderson family complex. It will be sent in hologram form to your mobile command center." Two rooms deep in the bowls of the house glowed red. "Those are Doctor Anderson's laboratories. Your job during this party is to get into those laboratories and observe everything there is to see. Any conversation you may overhear between the doctor and commissioners would be helpful as well." The beach and the ballroom near the beach glowed. "This is where the party will be held, the area of the complex that the guests are allowed to roam free in. There will be guards, and security cameras, especially around the laboratories. You will pass through the gates to the Anderson Estates as an invited guest, and we hope you will exit them in the same way."

"We have theorized, based on the minimal conversations we have been able to eavesdrop on," it must not be easy to eavesdrop on the communications of a communications and security company, "that Sue Sylvester and Dustin Goolsby will be present at the party, and have planned a metter with Doctor Anderson. Dustin Goolsby may know your face, so you will have to be careful. The two most important instructions we have for you are: don't get caught, and don't make anyone involved in the scheme suspicious, including Blaine."

"Doctor Morrison will give you any gadgets you think you will need," Director Schuester said as Agent Berry turned off the short slide show, and that seemed to be a dismissal.

"Director," Kurt said as Agent Berry took his arm to lead him out, and he ignored her as she tugged him away.

"Yes, Agent Hummel?"

"Will Junior Snitch Wesley Montgomery be punished?"

"I can't think of anything for which to punish him."

"Sir-"

"It's human nature to fall in love, Agent Hummel, if that answers your question." The director didn't seem inclined to say anything else.

"Agent Lopez is being given her instructions by Assistant Director Monteith," Agent Berry explained as she led him out. "Even Agents Puckerman and Evans are being given specific instructions. This is a very important operation, and it makes everyone nervous that we're forced to send someone so green in because of the age of the other constituents." Agent Berry seemed formal, but kind.

"Out of curiosity, what exactly is Agent Puckerman's full name?"

"Agent Noah Puckerman," Agent Berry said a little wistfully, "but he prefers Puck for short. Even Agent Puck. I understand how that could be confusing, considering you haven't had any sort of proper initiation, or even introductions to your team."

"My team?" Kurt repeated.

"Agents Lopez, Puckerman, and Evans," Agent Berry explained. "I don't know what Agent Lopez has told you, but you're technically in charge of the operation." The word 'handler,' something Agent Lopez used to describe herself quite frequently, didn't exactly fit in with that image of their 'team.'

"I didn't know that."

"Which is exactly why you make everyone nervous," Agent Berry said as she led him through winding corridors. Somehow, they ended up going through a side door into what Kurt was mentally referring to as the Gadgets Laboratory, and Kurt really needed to learn his way around the headquarters.

"Back again, I see," said the crazy gadget doctor (Kurt had to guess with was Doctor Morrison, though he more deserved the title Doctor Madman). "Here's what I have for you, our little wet-behind-the-ears priority." Doctor Morrison handed him a silver ball.

"A magic eight ball?"

"No. Not even close," Doctor Morrison said disapprovingly. "This is a smoke detector."

"What Doctor Morrison means by that," Agent Berry added as Kurt stared at the sphere in confusion, trying to associate it with what he expected of a smoke detector, "is the sphere diffuses a smoke into the air that makes lasers, cameras, and motion detectors react. It'll help reveal anything hidden that's trying to find you. The smaller silver balls," Agent Berry shook a bag with several inside them, "are smoke bombs, in case a getaway is necessary." Doctor Morrison looked ridiculously proud of himself, and he handed Kurt a small silver cylinder.

"Silly string?" Kurt guessed.

"Excellent! Silly Ladderz is what we've been calling it," Doctor Morrison admitted, and somehow the 'z' was obvious in his speech, "but essentially. It's a carbon-based compound, like silly string, only super-strong, strong enough to hold an above average human, and it comes out in a sideways grid pattern."

"So, a silly string ladder?"

"Pretty much, but it'll get you anywhere, and it's lightweight. There's enough in that bottle to get you to the top of the Empire State Building without using a single stair." Kurt tucked both things in a backpack Agent Berry produced for him.

"This is a scope cam," Doctor Morrison handed Kurt what looked like a pair of tightly-coiled headphones. "It has an audio component too." He handed Kurt a pair of gloves. "Spidy Gloves. I'm going to assume those are self-explanatory. There are some for the soles of your shoes too." Doctor Morrison handed Kurt a cell phone case. "This is a Bouncer."

"It's for your mobile command center," Agent Berry added helpfully. "It will keep it from being injured by the effect of anything Doctor Anderson may have in his laboratory."

"This is a Water Peeper." Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Doctor Morrison handed him a silver square about the size of his pinky nail.

"If you place this against one of Doctor Anderson's tanks," Agent Berry began to explain," it will drill a hole, place plastic sheeting to prevent water from escaping, and capture anything that isn't a hydrogen or oxygen molecule."

"You want me to catch the antineutrinos?" Kurt asked incredulously.

"If you have time," she answered, ignoring his tone. "It will also seal up the tank as it leaves. All you have to do is give it time to work. It's automatic, and it will store the antineutrinos inside of itself. However, it may not exactly be quiet. The antineutrinos may react negatively when exposed to all of the compounds of the atmosphere, especially in a scientific laboratory. The air in the laboratory will have traces of the chemicals he uses to test the neutrinos, which are intended to cause a reaction. Be careful," Agent Berry warned.

"It uses the same technology as the stairs do," Doctor Morrison added. "This is a laser cutter, pocket size."

"It looks like lipstick."

"That's because we stole it from the Disney TV show Kim Possible," Doctor Morrison said with no shame. "Last, but not least, this is a Disabler. Unfortunately, it has no cool name, but all you need to do is get it attached to a security camera, and it'll knock out any cameras connected through a network without letting the guards know that it's been breached."

"I have one question."

"Of course you do," Doctor Morrison said cheerily.

"Aren't you guys going to arm me?" Agent Berry looked at him in surprise.

"The security guards for the party would find any weapon we gave you immediately... and you're a sixteen-year-old child."

"Everyone I'm fighting has weapons. Dustin Goolsby has six, and that's just on his torso." Agent Berry sighed.

"You'll be wearing a vest under your suit, but that's all the protection we can give you. In any case, a fire fight is the last thing that we want." Agent Berry started to walk towards the exit.

"It's the last thing I want too, but shouldn't I at least be prepared?"

"Come along, Agent Hummel." That was a 'no' then.

A/N: As usual, I have to apologize that this chapter is not only late, but also mostly set up. The cool chapters are the next few :)