"That was more than one question Owen." I whispered it, but it was really to buy myself some time. Owen gave a brief smile, but didn't respond, so I knew I had to say something.

"I want to fully trust you, all of you. When he was talking though, some of what he said felt true. There is so much that you do that I am not allowed to know about. I understand, to an extent, why that is, but then the things I do know can be seen as something more sinister than what you ask me to believe."

Owen only nodded his head as if it was perfectly fine for me to doubt their intentions. Before he could say anything though North took my hand and said "Baby, we told you where you could find your step-mother. We didn't think it was something you really wanted to know. Why would you believe that we would hide that from you?" He was right, I didn't really want to know where she was, I didn't want to visit her or call in to check on her. But they didn't tell me right away.

"Volto made it seem like you wouldn't tell me because she was not really being taken care of in a real facility. That you had done something to her to keep her away from me, so I would be in your debt."

"Is that what you really think Baby?" North looked hurt.

"I don't know North. It's hard to separate all the questions I have had with what Volto was telling me." I looked over at Kota, pleading for him to understand.

Kota nodded once at me and then slid off the chair to start knee walking over to me. "Sang, I get it. We all do really. This is one of the benefits and the curses of the Academy. Our loyalty, our drive, and determination are the things that prove to the Academy that we are worthy of their help. We have to stop wondering why they chose us from the crowd and be thankful that we have been given this opportunity. Our team and the Academy have helped all of us in ways that we would not have been able to accomplish on our own. That's the benefit. The curse? The curse is that we can't tell the whole truth to others involved that are not in the Academy. My mom and sister know they are safe, but they don't have the whole reason as to why."

Owen had moved out of the way to let Kota kneel in front of me. Kota grabbed my hands in his and held on. "My mom tried asking the same questions you did, that you are still asking. I answered as best I could, but I couldn't tell her everything. Eventually, though, she saw what being with the Academy and this team did for me. I am not the same kid I was back then. I am more confident and more determined to be something, anything, that is not my father. Even if she has her doubts about what exactly happened to him, she trusts in me enough to know that I would never do anything against my morals and ethics. That I am a bigger person than him. She believes in this, more than she believes she wants to know what happened to him. That's what we are asking of you. We cannot ask you to understand why we are doing what we do, or believe and agree that it was the right course of action, not yet. We are asking you to believe in us. Believe and trust that all of us as individuals – me, Luke, North, Silas, Nathan, Victor, Gabe, Dr. Green, and Mr. Blackbourne – that we will do what needs to be done for the good of those that need it. Sometimes it is for someone in our family, which includes you, sometimes it is for another Academy member, but it is always for someone that doesn't deserve to be in the circumstances they are in. Trust in us that we would not be part of an organization that would ask us to go against what we believe is right and good." Kota's eyes had started to water when he was talking about his mom. I realized that she had been in the same position I am in, and I think I know even more than she did about the Academy. Somehow though, she looks past that and maybe it is because of who Kota is as a person. I do trust them, I want to trust them. During my internal battle, Owen had moved back in front of me.

"Miss Sorenson, can you give me an example of something that seems more sinister than we try to have you believe?"

"Um. Well, when I went on the mission with Luke." I looked at Luke, blushing, not sure if we were supposed to talk about past missions. Were there rules when it came to that?

"Ok. That's a good one to start with. Mr. Taylor brought you with him to sneak into house to take a camera from a locked drawer in a desk. Am I right?" I nodded. "Volto told you we were thieves right? That we steal for ourselves, or for the Academy, but from good people who don't deserve it." I nodded. That's not exactly what Volto said, but pretty close. "What I am about to tell you, does not leave this room. Even Mr. Taylor was not aware of the reason as to why he had this mission. That camera was stolen from another Academy team. It had evidence in regards to the same drug operation that we were helping to investigate at Ashley Waters. The person who stole this camera would have shared what he found on it with the main partners of this drug ring. If they knew how much we knew they would have shut everything down and gone into hiding until the storm blew over. Instead, you and Mr. Taylor got in and took the camera back. The information stayed a secret to only those in the Academy that needed it and we were able to put a stop to the drugs coming in to Charleston." He paused. "Do you remember what I told you a few months ago when Mr. Hendrix was asking you about where the Academy was located?"

"That sometimes keeping something a secret makes it seem more important than it really is."

"Correct. In the case of the location of the Academy, we keep it a secret for security reasons, and to give ourselves some leverage when working with people like Mr. Hendrix. They spend most of their time worrying about what is actually going on at the physical Academy building, than what is going on around them. However, I can understand that in the case of our assignments, sometimes keeping it a secret makes it seem like something more sinister, as you put it. When in reality it is kept a secret to keep the other Academy members safe and to keep the information about whatever we are working on a secret until we are able to solve whatever problem or issue we are working on. Does that make sense?"

I felt like all I was doing was nodding, but I wasn't sure what to say. "Did you have trouble believing what the Academy did was all good at first?"

Owen's face briefly crumbled, looking vulnerable, but then just as quickly it was back to his stoic expression. "I can't speak for everyone, but for me it was a little different. I was much younger when I joined the Academy and my need for something different was much more apparent to me than I think it is for you. I knew there was another way to life, to fix what was broken, but I just didn't think I had the ability to make it happen. The Academy showed me who I was and then who I could be and what I could do. I guess I never doubted their intentions when it came to the assignments they took on, however at first I questioned why they wanted me, why they invested time in me. It took the better part of a year of training and counseling for me to see what they saw in me." It was as if for a few minutes it was only Owen and me in the room. Once again, I tried imagining a smaller, younger Owen. I tried, but failed, to imagine a less confident Owen. And I realized then, that was what I was. I was a less confident Sang. Owen said his need for something different was more apparent at the time, maybe my need was finally growing. Owen seemed to have fallen into the same spell as me, because all of a sudden he stood up abruptly and cleared his throat. I looked around and all of the guys were staring at Owen and me. I blushed, although I felt it more for Owen than me. I know he rarely showed that side of himself in front of the guys.

"I apologize for getting carried away Miss Sorenson, but it is nothing the others haven't heard before." He crouched back down in front of me. "I hope that helped you. Do you have any other questions?"

"It did help, thank you. I can't think of anything to ask right now." Owen nodded his head and grabbed my hand.

"I have told you this before, but I will tell you again. Please come to me with any questions or anything else that you need. I understand, now, that I may need to be a bit more upfront with you about some things. I promise I will try to be as honest and forthcoming as you need me to be. Please know there are some things I just really can't share with you, but hopefully what I can share will make up for that."

"Thank you Owen." I blushed. "I mean Mr. Blackbourne." Owen flashed me a millimeter smile before whispering "Quite alright Miss Sorenson." Owen stood up and stepped back so he could see the whole group.

"Alright time for assignments. Mr. Coleman, Mr. Morgan you have your assignment." Pointing to Luke he continued. "Mr. Taylor, Mr. Lee, and Mr. Griffin, you will take the first shift in the evidence room. I need you to look through anything that we worked on in the past. Start at the date Mr. Coleman first saw Volto and work backwards. I want a list of anything that seems out of place. Work as late as you can, but listen to me. I do not want you pulling an all nighter for this. Once your eyes start watering, you need to take a break. You will risk missing something important and waste everyone's time." There were a few 'yessirs' before Owen raised his hand to silence everyone. "Mr. Korba and Mr. Taylor, I suggest you go home and rest as you will be taking over for those three in the morning. We will work in shifts until we figure out everything we need to know. I will send a shift schedule to everyone by the end of the night. Any questions?"

The guys shook their heads and added a few saying 'no Mr. Blackbourne'.

"What about me?" I wanted to help, I was the one that helped pin down the scent for Meanie, and I wanted to do more.

"I appreciate that Miss Sorenson and I promise there will come a time when I will take you up on that offer. However, all we can do right now is wait for something to come up in our search of our past assignments which is something that can only happen at the Academy. It pains me to say it, especially in view of our discussion a few minutes ago, but you do not have access to the Academy, and that is something we do not have much wiggle room on. I was planning on staying here with you until Mr. Griffin returns from his shift, you can help me finish some paperwork on our current status with Volto."

"I understand. I just want to do something." Owen was about to say something but Nathan stood and cleared his throat. "Excuse me Mr. B."

"Yes, Mr. Griffin?"

"Sang and I are supposed to have our date tomorrow morning. I thought…"

Before Nathan could finish his thought North shouted. "O fuck no. Sang's not going skipping around the woods in the middle of nowhere while that bastard is sneaking around."

Nathan stepped towards North. "Are you kidding me North? First off, you know Sang is perfectly safe with me. And second, we aren't going to be skipping." He kind of mumbled the last part.

"Enough both of you." Owen had put his hands up in between Nathan and North.

"I do not see any reason why you cannot still go on your date Mr. Griffin. That goes for any dates that are already planned. I do not think Volto is any more of a threat now than he was yesterday. Mr. Griffin I will ask that you keep your phones on and let us know which trails you plan on hiking. For safety purposes only of course." Owen looked directly at North when he said the last sentence.

"Fine!" North threw his hands up in the air then looked at Nathan. "If anything happens to her on your watch I will shove your head in a fucking toilet."

Luke and Meanie started laughing. "What the fuck North. Seriously? That's your threat?" Meanie had trouble getting all the words out between laughs.

"You have to admit North, it was a pretty weak threat. What happened?" It was the first thing Silas had said. North put his head in his hands and mumbled out "I don't fucking know, I just want to pretend I didn't say it. I choked." Which only made Luke and Meanie laugh harder. Even Owen had a small smile.

"Ok, calm down everyone. We all have our off moments." Kota stood up trying to get everyone's attention away from North. "I think we all have our assignments. I suggest we head out so Nate can be home to get some sleep before he goes hiking in the morning." With that everyone stood up and started getting ready to leave. I got hugs and "see you soons" from everyone as they headed out the door. I turned to see Owen sitting at the kitchen table with an open briefcase. I started to pull out a chair to sit across from him.

"I have some paperwork to complete for past assignments and requests, but I can let you know when I am starting on our current status and you can help me fill in the blanks if you would like Sang."

"Right, of course." I pushed the chair back in and backed up a little from the table. "I'll go hang out in the Living Room until you need my help." I wanted to change into something more comfortable, but I was nervous about not being dressed up enough for Owen. Does he like me in my lounging around clothes? I must have looked lost because Owen spoke up. "Please don't let me stop you from your usual routine Sang. If you want to take a shower or change into pajamas, feel free."

"Okay. I will be back." I almost tripped over myself going down the hall to change. It took me a few minutes to decide what to wear. I still wanted to look presentable for Owen. I decided on black yoga pants with a grey and black light cotton long sleeve shirt. I went into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and Owen looked up. "You look lovely Sang."

"Thank you Owen." I walked into the Living Room and sat on the couch, leaning against the arm rest and bringing my knees in close to my chest. Time to do some research. I brought out my phone and opened google. I thought for a few seconds and then typed in 'next step after kissing'. I waited for the results to load. I went to click on the first link, but then I saw something about 'french kissing', so I clicked on that. It was a wiki page that had a few steps on how to French kiss. It had a cartoon picture of a couple sitting on a couch, the next picture was of them kissing, and the third picture showed what looked like their tongues touching. Was that what I was supposed to do when I kissed the guys? I don't think anyone has tried to use their tongue before. Did they want to? Was that normal? I went back to the main google page and typed in 'french kissing'. I clicked on a youtube video and it showed a girl around my age holding out her phone so you could see her and a guy behind her. "I am going to show you how to French kiss." O my goodness, she practically shouted it. I hurried to turn the volume down, feeling my cheeks start to burn with a blush. I hope Owen couldn't hear that in the kitchen. I looked back at the screen to see the girl now sitting next to the guy, still holding her phone out so you could see both of them. They leaned in and their lips touched. I didn't know if I should be watching this. They actually have stuff like this on the youtube? I just thought it was videos of cats and people jumping off roofs and stuff. Then I could see the guy start to open his mouth, and his tongue shot out and touched the girl's lips. Her lips opened and her tongue came out and touched his. I hit the back button to get off the page and put my phone down. That was more than enough information for now. Google should come with a warning.