Author's Note: Thank you all for your reviews, I really appreciate it that you're taking the time to tell me what you think. You make my day. :)

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Will had been poring over the guest list of the opening party, looking for potential threats, when a barely concealed yawn drew his focus away from all the exotic names. He looked up from his place on the couch and watched his team mates for a moment. Jane was curled up in an armchair across from him, memorizing the escape routes she and Benji had picked out. The technician sat at the table, checking the programs he would need tomorrow night for any possible sources of glitches. And Ethan – the team leader had received a call an hour ago from an informant and had left to meet with the man. They hadn't heard anything from him ever since. But, as Jane had told him ten minutes ago, there was no need to worry. Ethan could take care of himself.

Will refocused on Benji and watched him work for a few minutes. The technician had waved aside every attempt at apologizing the analyst had made that morning. After the fifth try, Benji had even threatened him with breaking up if he didn't stop. He had assured him that everything was okay and that he understood; that there was no need to dwell in the past and that he was supposed to 'shut up and kiss me right now'.

The analyst smiled at the memory and checked his watch for the umpteenth time since Ethan had left the house and only received a pointed stare from Jane in return. "What? I thought about dinner. Honest!"

Jane shook her head and smiled. "Yeah, right. But I could really warm up to something to eat."

Benji yawned again and stretched his stiff hands. "I think dinner sounds awesome!"

"How about I order some pizza then?" He received two identical nods, so he went to retrieve his phone from their room. He had just ended the call when the front door slammed shut with such force that the whole house seemed to shudder. So Ethan was back – and he didn't carry good news, it seemed. That can't be good. Will sighed and went back to the living room.

Five seconds later, their team leader appeared in the doorway – anger, stress and concentration fused together into an expression of determination. Will opened his mouth to ask what had happened, but he didn't get to pose that question.

"The hostage is going to be moved earlier than we thought!" Ethan took a deep breath. "There's only one way we can succeed: We have to do it tonight."

Will stared at him with a deep frown and wild eyes. "Are you mad? We aren't ready yet!" He held up a hand when his team leader tried to protest. "And! And we can't get in without the party!"

Jane stood. "I'll go get ready."

Will couldn't believe it. "You, too?"

Her grim features softened until the eyes meeting his held only gentle resolve. "If we have to do it tonight, we do it tonight. It's not the first time we have to complete a mission earlier than planned."

"The information we already have is enough to successfully perform the extraction." Will could tell that Ethan was already slipping into order mode. And that meant that he couldn't win this fight. "As to our way in, we'll figure that out when we get there."

"Get where?" Benji entered the room, oblivious to the sudden change of pace. "What's going on here?"

Will motioned for the technician to follow him. "I'll explain while we change, okay?"

"Change?" Despite his confusion, Benji followed him down the hall. "Into what?"

"Mission gear. We'll lose the hostage if we don't go in tonight." He didn't turn to look at Benji as he rummaged through his closet, for he didn't need to see his face to imagine the distress the technician would feel at this news.

"What? Tonight? Like, right now?"

The panic in his voice made Will pause and turn around to look at him. "If you think, for whatever reason, that we can't do it tonight, please tell me now, okay?"

Benji seemed torn between actually saying what ran through his mind and getting ready without any protest. In the end, he went for a combination of the two. "No, we can do it tonight. I don't like it, though."

Will sighed and went back to changing. Through the rustling of clothes, he nearly missed Benji's muttered afterthought. "I didn't eat anything since lunch!" The distress was audible even in the near-whisper.

The analyst laughed. "Come on now, you can go without for another two hours, can't you?" He shook his head. Typical Benji.

The technician grumbled something in return that Will wasn't able to catch, but went to pack his equipment anyway. Can't be that bad. Still, the analyst made a mental note to order a new pizza for his boyfriend once they got home. Right now, there was just no time to waste.

— † —

"Ethan, do you think we could-? That small diner? No?"

It was already the third time in ten minutes that Benji had asked Ethan to pull the van over to the curb so he could get something to eat. And Will could see it in his face that it was getting on their team leader's nerves. Therefore, when Benji opened his mouth to ask for a fourth time, the analyst decided to intervene before a thunderstorm could erupt within the car.

"Benji." He reached out and lay a hand on the technician's shoulder. "Please stop it. We're going to get home as soon as possible and then we're gonna get you something to eat, okay?"

Will frowned when he caught the glare Benji levelled him with in return. He couldn't decipher all the emotions than ran riot in those vivid eyes, but he understood enough to know that he had somehow hurt his lover. What did I do? He didn't know whether he should roll his eyes at Benji's childish behaviour or apologize – although he didn't know for what exactly. Maybe he's just nervous because of the mission.

"We're almost there." Ethan's voice sounded strained, which was never a good sign. Will almost felt bad for snapping at his team leader because of the change of plans. He wasn't at fault there, after all.

The analyst opened his mouth to say so, but whatever words he had been about to choose where forgotten as soon as Ethan turned the next corner onto the street that lead to the company buildings they were about to infiltrate. Their team leader immediately pulled over and stopped the car, so they could watch the spectacle from a safe distance. Blue and orange lights flickered over the scene of utter chaos that reigned in the street while the sky exploded in a black and red inferno. The main building lay in a heap of flames and ashes while the fire hadn't spread onto the other buildings just yet.

"What the-?" With those two words, Benji expressed what all of them were thinking. Well, all except one.

Ethan turned around in the driver's seat and Will felt slightly irritated by the grin their team leader wore on his face. "That's perfect! Lady Luck is generous tonight, it seems." He gestured towards the several dozens of fire fighters running to and fro between the main gate and their fire trucks. "Jane and I will lure two of them away. Benji and Will, you'll get in wearing their uniforms and once the server room is secured, you will lead us in through one of the back gates."

"Are you serious?" Will mentally thanked Benji for saying out loud what ran through his own mind.

Ethan shot them both a 'Don't you dare argue!' look. "No one will pay heed to you in the middle of this mayhem. Besides, it's the only way."

Benji and Will shared a defeated glance before simultaneously shrugging out of their jackets. Why do I have a feeling that it won't be that easy?

— † —

Will couldn't believe it. It had been ridiculously easy to move undetected past the guards who were trying desperately to gain control over the disaster their brand-new work-place had been plunged into. It had been even easier to disappear amidst the chaos that raged around the main building. Protected by the thick smoke that hang in the air like a blanket of darkness, the agents were able to reach the server building without being seen.

Benji rummaged around in his bag. "So, Mr. Blue." He pulled out an expensive looking device and connected it to the door lock. "I'm going to override the security code."

Will regarded the area around them with anxiousness pooling in his stomach. While the smoke prevented them from being seen by the surveillance cameras that sat at every edge of the roof above them, he wouldn't be able to react in time if any of the guards planned on using the door they were currently trying to open without permission.

"Got it."

Benji pushed the door open and motioned for Will to follow him into the hallway that was dimly lit by emergency lights. They had just removed their helmets and taken a deep breath of fresh air when a door to their right suddenly burst open, only to reveal a slightly panic-stricken guard.

"Is the fire spreading?" While the man regarded them with wide eyes, the agents shared a surprised look before Will decided to grasp at the opportunity to take over the building without bloodshed that the entirely-too-young-for-this-kind-of-job guard offered them unknowingly.

"Yes, sir." Will moved forward and raised a hand in greeting. "We're here to make sure that this building is not affected yet. Did you see or hear anything unusual?"

While distracted by trying to think of any abnormal incidents, the guard never saw the fist swinging his way before his whole world tilted into darkness. Will allowed himself a relieved sigh while shaking out his hand. That went well. He turned to tell Benji to help him drag the unconscious man back into the server room he had been guarding, but paused when he caught sight of his team mate. The technician was leaning against the wall, pale as a ghost and breathing heavily.

"Hey, are you all right?" Benji's looked up and Will could see how hard it was for him to focus his eyes on him.

"Yeah, sorry. Must be the smoke." The technician smiled weakly and rubbed his hands together. "Let's take over the reins now, shall we?"

When Benji moved forward and went to pick up the guard, Will instinctively bent down to help him carry the man into the server room. Still, the well-known concern reared its head and he couldn't help but frown – both at Benji's nonchalant change of mood and at himself for instantly switching to worry mode. Stop it! The analyst couldn't help but wince when the guard's head hit the floor hard as they dropped him onto the cold ground. He wondered if the young man even knew what exactly he had been guarding.

"Right. I got this." Benji's voice tore him out of his thoughts. "You go and intercept anyone who approaches the building while I guide Mr. Orange and Mrs. Pink."

"Understood." Will hovered by the door, wondering if he should ask once more about Benji's state of health, but their time was running out and he knew it. He couldn't waste precious minutes with a pointless argument. So he spent two more seconds watching the technician set to work before taking off down the hall without looking back.

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