CIA Headquarters, Downtown Columbus, Columbus, OH 14:35:40
Being marched down the stairs, still-sore arms held by two other agents and followed by a dejected team of Agents Lopez, Puckerman, and Evans, was kind of like being lead to the noose. Kurt knew what was about to happen, but the reality of it would still be brutal when he arrived at his unchosen destination.

The director was standing at the table where Kurt had received his very first, and probably last, assignment, his hands wrung together and his face looking rather unimpressed. "Agents Hummel, Lopez, Puckerman, and Evans, what do you have to say for yourselves?"

"Sir, it was our fault," Sam said almost immediately, and if Santana hadn't been throwing him the death glare to kill all death glares, Kurt would have corrected him. "We should have re-strategized immediately when we realized that Agent Hummel was out of range in the house. He was our charge, and we placed too much responsibility on the shoulders of a green agent."

"That is correct," the director said coldly. "However, we have spent millions of government dollars to train children like Agent Hummel, and he made a mistake an idiot off the street would have made."

"Director Schuester, the kid was doing fine," Puck objected. "If we had given him a Super Space Bag or some other way to dispose of his tuxedo, Goolsby never would have found it and Kurt would have gotten easily in and out of the mission."

"Regardless of the small errors made by other members of the team, the real error here was made by the agency: placing a green agent on Operation Atlas Shrugged, international security at stake. Do you understand what you have done here, Agent Hummel? With that technology, Sylvester can fire nuclear missiles at will, turning entire countries and continents against each other before lunch. World War III will begin, and any part of the world she holds a grudge against will be flattened. I'm positive that includes this great nation."

"Sir," Agent Lopez said hesitantly, "the tapes Agent Hummel recovered are untampered with, and they clearly showed that this technology is not in usable shape, and will not be any time soon. Yes, Agent Hummel's cover is blown and Stheno knows we're still keeping an eye on them, but they think we're the FBI, and we still have time to reset the trap with a more experienced agent."

"Except the opportunity for our trap became deeply entrenched in this issue, and is now aware that the Central Intelligence Agency is trying to use him to get to his father. He was told the whole situation, a mistake that rests entirely on Agent Hummel's shoulders."

"I gave him permission, sir," Agent Lopez corrected him, and Director Schuester sighed.

"Sir, with all due respect, now that Blaine knows the trouble his father is in, maybe he would be more willing to cooperate with the-"

"We never," Director Schuester interrupted Kurt quickly, "involve civilians in matters of international security. That is the second rule, the first being not to blow your cover."

"Sir-" Kurt tried to object, but Director Schuester interrupted him again.

"The third is not to get too close to an assignment. Agents Lopez, Evans, and Puckerman, I would like to speak to Agent Hummel alone." Puck clapped him on the shoulder as he walked by, out of the room through one of the slightly elevated exits on the wall opposite the stairs. Sam patted his back, and Agent Lopez didn't acknowledge his existence.

"Sir-"

"Not a word," Director Schuester cut him off, and Kurt fell silent. The director was obviously not in the mood to be argued with. Director Schuester waited in icy silence until all three of his fellow agents had cleared out of the room before beginning to chew him out. "Not only did you disobey a direct order regarding Doctor Anderson's son, but you did so under surveillance and fully aware of how it jeopardized the mission. Junior Snitch Montgomery's behavior I can overlook, partially because you and I are the only people aware of it, but also partially because having a relationship in a Snitch role doesn't jeopardize international security. Junior Snitch will probably be Wes Montgomery for the rest of his life, and if his partner takes an oath after marriage, he may tell his partner of his real identity and any other classified details that are unimportant to active missions. But your transgression... I cannot overlook. I know you're a teenager and this may be unfair, but you're off the mission."

"Sir, the Anderson's are still-"

"The Anderson's are none of your concern," Director Schuester said sharply. "Including Blaine. Your mobile command center was confiscated when you arrived, and you may have it back in place of a cell phone, with the case you installed and everything, but all memory of Blaine has been stripped from it. You no longer have his contact information, or any of the notes we gave you about him. Try to forget, it makes this easier." What case did he install?

"I can't just-"

"You will do as I say, because you don't truly have a choice. You can no longer operate in this case because your cover is blown, and you're far too close to your target." Kurt wanted to object that Blaine wasn't his target, but it was no use. "You will be returned to McKinley with a sanctioned excuse, you will never contact Blaine again, and you will live a normal life until you are once again called on in the name of protecting your country." Director Schuester turned around to leave, but Kurt was in shock.

"What was that last one?"

"I'm not kicking you out of the agency, Agent Hummel," the director said without turning back to look at him. "It is true you made a rookie mistake, but you were also misguided by your team and placed over your head. Operation Atlas Shrugged is no longer yours to control, but you will be called on again in time." With that, the director walked up the stairs.

"Whew! Dodged a bullet!" Puck announced as he turned the corner.

"How long have you been hiding there?" Kurt asked in surprise.

"Long enough to know we'll probably be seeing your butt again," Sam said, popping out from his hiding space.

"I suppose Agent Lopez is hiding around here somewhere too?" Kurt asked, scanning the room.

"Nah, she's still pretty peeved at you for ruining her shot at getting back in the action, but she'll be all right. She said she'll call you later."

"That has to be the scariest thing I've heard all day," Kurt muttered, making the other two agents laugh.

"Yeah, she's in a mood, but don't worry about it too much," Sam said.

"She's not as scary as she thinks she is," Puck added.

"What's going to happen to you guys?" Kurt asked. He wasn't entirely sure he was still supposed to be in the headquarters as an inactive agent, but neither of the guys who had walked him in were attempting to walk him out, so he figured it was fine.

"I'm still on Atlas Shrugged," Sam answered. "Since you're still part of the agency, I can tell you that they have no idea what to do and are pretty much waiting to see what happens."

"But what will happen to Blaine and his brother and father?" Kurt asked.

"His brother just got a security upgrade," Puck replied. "That's where they're putting me. I'm being shipped out to Los Angeles to watch over Cooper Anderson. According to the agents already there, that's a pretty terrible punishment assignment, since the kid's got such a big head they're surprised it hasn't burst yet."

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologize," Sam cut him off. "If Puck's on security detail, that means he's back on the field, instead of being in a van. In a weird way, the punishment is an upgrade for him. Feel bad for Santana, she's being shipped off to a baby assignment."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there are several sections of the federal sector of law enforcement. Since the CIA is so annoyed with her, she's being shipped off to the Attorney General Investigative Team for a few months. It's just a little bit more glamorous than being a police officer in D.C."

"She's losing her job?" Kurt asked, but they both shrugged.

"Kind of," Puck said.

"She'll be back on the CIA once Director Schuester has calmed down, or she'll be reassigned to a new branch. She doesn't have any family in Ohio anyway, maybe she'll be shipped off to a more glamorous branch. In a way, this is her upgrade too."

"Okay," Kurt said, realizing that his friends, even though he had messed up their lives and careers, would be okay. "I should go home. I guess I have school in the morning." Back at McKinley. Awesome. How was he going to explain that to his parents? Would the agency tell them that he had gotten kicked out of Dalton, or something else entirely?

"Good luck, dude," Sam said, giving Kurt a hug.

"I would rather be under the thumb of the Attorney General forever than be in high school," Puck said as he offered Kurt a fist bump, obviously not the hugging type.

"Hey, Sam?" Kurt asked as the two agents were leaving. Puck continued leaving, obviously thinking about something else, but Sam stopped. "Will you look after Blaine for me?"

"Sure thing, dude," Sam said with a little smile that definitely had some meaning to it, but Kurt didn't know what he was thinking.

Hudson-Hummel Residence, 415 Whitman Avenue, Lima, OH 22:29:36
Kurt drove himself home in his Navigator, which they had left all tricked out with gadgets. Apparently, Director Schuester was very serious about calling on him for another operation, because he still had CIA reports on his dashboard, and a few of them were titled Operation Atlas Shrugged, but he didn't dare look at them. He trusted Sam to make sure that Blaine was okay.

He was absolutely dreading walking into the house for a number of reasons: his dad had actually seemed pretty excited about getting him out of McKinley once he had warmed up to the idea of Dalton thanks to Agent Lopez, plus, inside that house, he had to deal with Finn, and Finn, for all he loved his step-brother, could be a complete and total ass. He kind of wished the director had told him what lie they were telling his parents so that he could prepare for what was to come, but since he wasn't exactly on the CIA's list of favorites at the moment, he would take what he could get, which, at this point, was just still being employed.

"Oh, honey," Carole said as soon as he walked in the door, enveloping him in a hug. "We are so sorry." Kurt wanted to ask 'for what,' but he knew there was no subtle way to not be upset about whatever Carole was upset about on his behalf.

"I'm fine," Kurt replied, tall enough that his voice wasn't muffled by her shoulder any more. That was his personality, after all, as much as he would deny it when he was in a bad place.

"I'm so sorry you had to deal with that."

"We're all sorry," Finn said loudly from the couch. "She's been talking about it for days."

"Apparently you haven't been giving her enough to talk about," Kurt said, hoping to avoid the topic entirely because Finn was being a jackass. In his own, unintentional way, Finn was actually helping. He would probably keep it up as long as Kurt didn't tell him that.

"Well, we all know you're the one who needs the support system." Considering how many rough patches Finn had been through in the last few years Kurt had known him, that statement was entirely invalid, but KUrt didn't really care. What he did care about was that Finn was no longer helping him.

"Carole, I'm fine," he said a little more sincerely, and his good acting was rewarded by Carole finally releasing him. "I'm just going to go up to my room." He heaved a hefty, very fake sigh. "I can't believe I have to go back to McKinley tomorrow."

"Sweetie, if you want to take a couple of days off..." Carole's concerned voice followed him up the stairs.

"That would be appreciated," he called back down before collapsing on his bed. The agency was steamed at him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't get another project soon. Besides the little tuxedo incident, he had been doing well on the case, right?

He couldn't get Blaine out of his head, and it was killing him. The look on Blaine's face as his assignment... but he couldn't call Blaien that anymore, not even in his head. He didn't have anything to call Blaine in his head, because he was nothing to Blaine. That's what the look in the tenor's eyes had really meant. Kurt was dead to him. Blaine thought everything was fake, even though it very much wasn't. At least, it had been real for him, and that kiss Blaine gave him made it seem like things were very real for Blaine too. Blaine had liked him, the first boy who had ever showed actual interest, and he had killed that.

Just his luck.

Before Kurt could get too deep in his hole of self-pity, his phone started buzzing. The name flashing across the screen was Agent Lopez, and even the formal agent headshot of her that had been placed on his phone because it was his mobile command center looked angry.

Even though he knew it would probably make Agent Lopez more likely to kill him, Kurt didn't answer at first. Looking at his phone had made him think of the director's weird comment about a new case, and his phone felt... different. There was a different texture to the screen, and when Kurt scratched at it, he couldn't find an edge at all. It was like someone had plastic-wrapped his phone. But why?

Kurt was one hundred percent certain that if he waited another second, the call would go to voicemail and Agent Lopez really would come to his house and kill him, so he picked up the phone. "Hello."

"So, you win the fuck-up award of the agency. You're worse than me, and I fucked a member of the agency on a case."

"You're always so soothing and comforting, you know that?"

"I miss the days when you were afraid of me."

"You can thank Evans and Puckerman for that. The only thing I'm afraid of now are those claws you call fingernails, and they're out of reach."

"And how would you know that? I could be aiming a sniper through your window right now."

"That would still be out of reach of your fingernails."

"Point taken. How angry are you at yourself?"

"How angry are you at me?"

"So angry I want to shred your testicles and feed them to my cat while they're attached to you."

"Your poor cat."

"She likes raw meat... just like me."

"Before this conversation gets extremely disturbing, did you have something you wanted to say to me."

"You didn't do anything wrong, you know. Any agent would have done what you did without another option. It was just crappy luck that you got caught, and even worse that Blaine found you before we could get agents in there to get you out."

"You were sending agents in after me even though I was compromised."

"Kurt, did you ever consider the fact that while in the window of the house earlier, you were loosing signal, yet deep in the house when you were tired up you were within signal. That's because I was in the damn window. You were part of my team."

"Aw, you actually have a soft side," Kurt crooned, and then corrected himself before he could get bitched out. "I mean, your gooey center is probably caramel mixed with arsenic, but at least you have one."

"And don't you worry too much about any of us-"

"Sam and Puck explained your punishments." Agent Lopez, oddly, started laughing.

"They explained their punishments as they know them. I'm not headed off to D.C. and the Attorney General Investigative Team, that's just what they've been told. I'm going undercover, big."

"You're not..."

"God, no. Being a teenager was horrible enough the first time, there's no way I'm taking your place. Besides, I couldn't pull it off if I wanted to."

"Just wear the same thing you wore when you picked me up from McKinley. THe only guy in that school that's going to be making eye contact is Blaine."

"Yeah, but now he's suspicious. They're keeping a security detail on him, but no one's going back in. They're hoping that since they have a model of the house and enough information about it to get people in there, they don't really need to do the whole undercover thing. It's much safer for everyone that way. Plus, we're collaborating with the FBI so that we can keep the whole 'Stheno thinks we're the FBI' thing going. We're going to let them be the decoys for the company, the ones doing the obvious tactical maneuvers to get into the company headquarters themselves, while we're still going to focus on the good doctor. We talked to Blaine-"

"I thought Director Schuester said-"

"Never interrupt me," Agent Lopez threatened. "Director Schuester only said we don't want to get him involved, and we're not. We just asked him to stay at Dalton for a while so he's out of the line of fire."

"Oh... good."

"I knew you were worried about him, Hummel, since he's probably your first little gaymance. Too bad if you even tried to go after him, the agency would fire you."

"I'm aware."

"Just making sure. Anyway, you did fine, and they'll probably..." Santana's voice was getting farther and farther away, and Kurt looked down to make sure they were still connected when her voice faded out and a light buzz replaced his conversation, with some strange sci-fi movie interference in the background.

"Santana? Are you still there?" He still had five bars, and they were still connected. "What the what?"

"Hello, tiny FBI nimrod." Kurt's blood froze in his veins at the voice. Sue Sylvester. "I'm guessing you know who I am, and if you don't, my face will soon be on every newscast in the world. I'm sure you've realized by now why I had Goolsby shrink-wrap your phone so thoroughly it's practically... I would go so far to say airtight. Since you were the little ferret-faced spy that Goolsby knocked out, you surely know what that means for you." Had Sylvester been spying on his confidential conversation with Santana? But she had still called him FBI, so she obviously hadn't heard enough of the strategy. The bug took long enough to set up that she had probably cancelled out of the conversation too early. Thank anything above. "So, here's how this will go. You will leave me alone, I've already claimed my tools, and then I'll claim my prize... the world."

Kurt realized his hands were practically shaking with rage as he hung up, even though he knew he was also hanging up on Santana, who probably couldn't hear the interruption and was wondering where Kurt had went. He checked his phone, but it just showed a short conversation with Santana, even with the CIA breakdown, which included the GPS of the phone it's connected to and all project nearby. Santana was in D.C., so Kurt would have to take her word for it that she wasn't part of the Attorney General's Investigative Team... but there was no sign of the signal changing or the GPS moving. Not that he had expected one.

He stood up, glancing down at his clothes in disgust. They were the same ones he had worn earlier in the day of the operation, and they weren't exactly the most fragrant of things. He hadn't worried about it until now, but he had things to do. Mostly figure out what the hell Sylvester meant by 'claiming her tools,' but also informing the agency that Sylvester had found an easy way to make the antineutrinos work. Shrink-wrap. It was so simple, it never would have occurred to Kurt.

Kurt quickly donned the closest thing he had to a secret agent outfit on hand: black skinnies, a white t-shirt, and the leather jacket Mercedes had bought him as a joke. Admittedly, he looked a little more like a bad biker, but there was no way he was going to try secret-agenting in a suit or tuxedo again. It was not practical.

He stuck a camera and flashlight into the utility belt he still had from the time he had helped his father rebuild an old muscle car in the garage. It was a little grimy, but it was black, and it complimented the outfit well. If only he'd had a black trench coat, but he didn't have time for a shopping trip. He also donned gloves (from one of the Lady GaGa outfits he had created for GaGa week before he decided on the Alexander McQueen inspired one).

Kurt finally switched out the white t-shirt and leather jacket for a black t-shirt, feeling like a complete idiot mixing a leather jacket with a utility belt. The downstairs was quiet, and it was only then that Kurt realized how late it was, and how long it had taken him to get everything sorted out at the agency. He'd had to return all of his gadgets and do paperwork and everyone kept looking at him with such pity he felt more like the agents out of "Get Smart," but now wasn't the moment for self-pity. All he had to do was get downstairs.

"What are you doing?" Finn asked, coming out of his room at possibly the worst moment of all time. "Why the hell are you dressed like that? It's after eleven and Burt and Mom are asleep, there's no way they're going to let you go out now, especially after what happened at Dalton." What the hell did Director Schuester tell them?

"Finn-"

"You're sneaking out," Finn said slowly, it just clicking why someone would walk out of the house in the dead of night, dressed in all black. Thankfully, he didn't ask about the tool belt. "Why?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." It wasn't a personal attack, most people wouldn't believe that their younger step-brother was a junior agent for the Central Intelligence Agency, but judging by Finn's glare, he seemed to take it as one.

"Try me."

"I'm a Junior Agent for the Central Intelligence Agency, which is why I was at Dalton, but I got thrown off the case, which is why they told you whatever they told you, and I still don't know what that is, but I've now just discovered that the bad guys on the case I got thrown off of because I blew my cover know a lot more and are capable of a lot more than we knew they were, and thus I have to go to headquarters and try to convince Director Schuester to take immediate action for the sake of international security," Kurt spit out quickly, scanning the hallway as he talked to determine if he could get out of the house before Finn had a chance to alert their parents. He was out of luck on that.

"Okay," Finn said slowly. "Maybe you got hit in the head harder than we all thought." Kurt probably had a black eye. That would explain why Carole was treating him like he was glass.

"That's from a goon. I don't have time for this, Finn."

KUrt wasn't sure what it was. Maybe Finn was just tired. Maybe he didn't feel like fighting anymore, and this was his olive branch. Or maybe the desperation in Kurt's voice actually made Finn believe him, but either way he didn't call out to their parents. "Can I do anything to help?"

"Cover for me?" Kurt asked. "I don't know how long I'll be gone. It could be days. Just... keep them out of my room, and if I'm not home for a while... just, cover for me, okay."

"You might die, right?" Oh no. Now was not the time for Finn to decide that he should be Kurt's brotherly protector.

"I might, but I also might get hit by a bus at McKinley, or someone could cut my brakes because I'm gay. I have to do this, FInn, this is way bigger than me."

"There's a boy, isn't there?" Finn asked, but he stepped aside.

"Not the point," Kurt insisted as he walked past Finn and crept down the stairs, glad he had Converse and the CIA had trained him in stealth.

Corner of Richie Avenue and Woodward Avenue, Lima, OH, 23:14:42
Kurt couldn't take the Navigator, as tricked out as it was, because the moment the engine started, Burt would be out of bed with a shotgun, and he was too young to rent a car, so he would have to risk getting a taxi close to the CIA Headquarters and getting out of a taxi with valuables in Columbus in the early hours of the morning. Great. Plus, he would have to fork over quite a bit of cash for a ride to Columbus, and the cabbie would probably want some for having to drive back, though not quite the usual fare.

Even though it was almost midnight, it was easy to pick up a taxi in his suburban, safe neighborhood, and when he called the taxi service, there was one in front of him within five minutes. It probably would have taken longer if he had needed an ambulance. "Stockbridge Park, Columbus." That would be close enough.

"Are you kidding me, kid? It's midnight, I'm not driving to fucking Columbus. I won't be home till four AM."

"Even for two thousand dollars?" Kurt asked, waving the money high enough that the cabbie could see it in the rearview mirror. The cab peeled off the curb and drove faster than was even close to legal eastward and out of Lima.

Kurt considered grabbing a nap for the ride, but he didn't trust the cabbie to wake him up at the stop, instead running the meter until Kurt woke up, and he also didn't trust the driver with his money, as paranoid as that sounded. About half an hour out in Wayneshead, Kurt was extremely glad he was conscious.

His phone started ringing. It was an unknown number, but the digits tickled the back of his brain. A number he had once known by heart, one that he had looked at for a long time. The moment after it hit Kurt, he hit Accept. "Blaine," he breathed.

"Don't think I'm not mad at you, but I don't know what's going on, and I'm worried and scared and I could really use your slash the CIA's help at the moment," Blaine was whispering, but he sounded scared out of his mind.

"Blaine, what's going on?" he asked immediately, ignoring the irate look from the taxi driver who had probably hoped he was dozing off... which he had been.

"I... I was supposed to return to Dalton today, escorted by a lovely team of your colleagues, but I always go downstairs to say goodbye to Dad, so I did. The lab was empty, water tanks were smashed, the floor was soaking wet, and I looked all over, but Dad wasn't there." Blaine was breathing so heavily Kurt was afraid he was going to pass out, and he was talking a mile a minute. "The only life forms in there were a couple of very dead and half-eaten rats... and two agents, bound and gagged like you were. I didn't have the time to save them, but I sent an SOS to the lady that called me, Agent Perez," Kurt didn't bother to correct him, "so hopefully they're okay. The guys that were outside, who clearly weren't CIA, took me into a limo, and I'm at Dalton now, but they're watching me, so I don't have much time. I need help, Kurt, please."

"Blaine, I'll be there as soon as I can. Just stay calm and try to act like everything's normal. You can do this." Kurt hung up before answered and whacked the back of the cabbie's seat. "Dalton Academy, please, and step on it. The price just went up." And so did the stakes.

A/N: Whoo. It's been a while, but I finally got back into the swing of writing this, and I've already written the next chapter, so I'll post it next... it's 11:49 on Friday, so I'm going to call it Saturday. Hope you guys are liking, because the action just heated up.