"I told you he wasn't going to answer." Hensley muttered, checking her phone for the fifth time that morning. "He couldn't let the agency know he was talking to me, so he obviously bought a little burner to get rid of."

Kaufmann shrugged, releasing the sigh around his third cup of coffee, "Eh. It was worth a shot. Why wouldn't he keep the phone? They can't track it. Or him for that matter. But if he wants to be paranoid that's fine too."

"With Davidson still running around in charge? I'd choose paranoid." She mumbled, finally tossing the phone on the coffee table in front of her.

"Well, now what?" Kaufmann asked. "If we wanna learn anything about who is pullin' the strings, then we gotta find another way to get it. I can call Red but that-"

"You can call Red?" Hensley deadpanned, eyes narrowed at Kaufmann. How convenient of him to leave out that little detail the night before. "What the hell, Kaufmann?"

He rose his hands up in surrender, shrugging as though it wasn't a big deal. "We set up a system before I left. But it only works once, so we gotta use it on something important. I thought if Anderson could help us, we wouldn't have to waste our time with Red. You know his ass is under the microscope with all of us leavin'."

"Which begs the question: why did you go?" Hensley pressed again, a little harder. But Edward's chuckle from the piano told her that Kaufmann's lips were sealed. She sighed, throwing a pillow at her friend. "You suck. Do you really not trust me?"

Kaufmann caught the pillow easily, placing it down beside him. "I told you why I left. Davidson's shit was getting out of hand. I left before I had a chance to die."

"Without Red."

"His contract renewed already. He's in for five years. You can't get outta that shit. Rule is clear: no early release before 6 months."

She wanted to ask why they didn't go to Rooney, but she knew that answer already. Nothing that big and that expensive went on without Rooney's knowledge. It was disappointing knowing that the one person she'd kinda liked at the Agency, outside of the boys, couldn't be trusted. She'd always seen him as reasonable.

Maybe power and money really did get the best of everyone.

"Well, now what?" She asked Kaufmann, leaning against Jasper. He put his arm around her, finally looking up from his book. The house had been quiet, aside from Edward's soft piano playing. Carlisle had told her he'd be in his office if she needed him, but she hadn't known what to ask for. Alice hadn't seen anything; Edward wasn't saying anything (apparently, he was taking Kaufmann's side) or didn't know anything. Everyone was just as lost as she was.

"I asked you first."

She watched Jasper smirk from the corner of her eye, and she nudged him. "Don't encourage him."

"You're just lucky Cooper and Emmett aren't here." He drawled, eyes alight in a way Lexi had decided she didn't see enough. Despite his teasing, he was right. Emmett and Cooper did nothing but meddle.

Kaufmann was no better, making kissy faces and noises from the other couch.

She was surrounded by children.

"Hate to say it," Kaufmann tossed the pillow back at Hensley, somewhat finding his maturity. "But I think we gotta meet Red…do y'all always do that?" His eyes danced between Hensley and Jasper.

She glanced at her mate, smiling as she realized they'd been making the same expression. "Yes. Now, are you insane? You said we get one chance to contact Red and you want to do it when we have zero information?"

"Hear me out. The only pieces of information we have are a couple texts and a phone number. We got no leads, nowhere to start-"

"Alice could watch Anderson's decisions." Jasper offered.

"Okay, fine. Future teller watches him and can tell us that he lives a normal, happy life." Kaufmann rolled his eyes.

"We can see where he is." Hensley corrected.

"Fine, where he's living, fantastic. That don't mean he'll know anything about who text you or what's going on. In fact, he probably doesn't. He's out, remember?" Kaufmann leaned forward, stressing his point. "The only one who can give us any real information on those texts is Red. He can trace the number; he can see whose name it's in."

"And when we need him for something bigger down the road?" Hensley countered solely for the purpose of playing devil's advocate. She didn't want to admit it, but Kaufmann was making a point. Somewhat.

Anderson likely didn't know anything about the texts she'd received. He'd likely be living a happy life on his own or with friends or family. It was almost disappointing that he didn't know anything….

However, she did have a legitimate question. They couldn't play the game stupidly.

"We'll figure out another way to get in touch with him." Kaufmann shrugged, as if it was easy to find and contact someone in the Agency without breaking contract and getting killed. Or a complete memory wipe.

"And if he gets caught? This is dangerous for him too you know. Didn't you just say that he was under the microscope?"

"What other choice do we have?" Kaufmann asked. Another valid question.

Lexi glanced over to Jasper, whose face was set in an unreadable expression. Still, she swore she could hear his thoughts jumping out at her. Another long trip, another goose chase, another risk. Whoever wanted her was likely close to Red as well, given that the person had to be part of the Agency.

"What other choice do we have?" She whispered to him, offering up a small shrug.

Jasper was quick to respond, low and short. "You don't have to go."

"I'm not leaving Kaufmann to go alone." Lexi retorted just as quickly, words blurring to Kaufmann's human ears. "Someone has to keep him out of trouble." She added to try and ease Jasper's resolve. It had no such effect.

"It's dangerous. I'm not letting you go alone."

"We can't all go. The fewer people the better, the easier to escape, and I won't let you get hurt."
"But letting yourself get hurt is perfectly acceptable." Jasper scoffed. He regretted the words immediately, closing his eyes with a sigh as soon as the last syllable left his lips. His cool hand slipped into her warm one, fingers lacing together perfectly.

I just got you back. He thought to her. I can't lose you again.

Of course, that would be his worry. It was her worry as well. She didn't want to leave him anymore than he wanted her to leave. The pain was vivid in her mind; the crushing weight on her chest, her compacted lungs finding it impossible to breathe. The emptiness had almost been the worst. No emotion, no will.

She shuddered at the memory.

Exactly. Jasper's mental voice softened as he too remembered their time apart. The familiar ache slowly creeped into her chest and Jasper quickly rubbed the back of her hand to release it. Stay with me. Kaufmann will be fine on his own. He knows how to contact Red. And you said it yourself, it's easier to escape with less people.

His voice was yearning, tugging on her chest like he was pulling a string. Guilt swallowed the edges of her body, rising up like a light flame.

You know I can't do that. It's me they're after. Not him….

Jasper sighed.

But he stayed put. That was a good sign.

No side trips. There and back. In and out?

She nodded, a small smile falling on her lips as relief washed over her. In and out.

"Is Red still stationed in Georgia?" Hensley asked Kaufmann, turning to her former roommate once more.

Naturally, he was a dick about it. "Finally done with your private conversation? Remembered I was here?"

Hensley threw the pillow back at him. "Don't be an ass. Answer the question."

"S'far as I know. He was there four days ago. Hope they didn't move his ass that quick."

"Guess we'll find out."

~.~

When Hensley found out the actual plan to contact Red, she determined they were absolutely doomed.

"Why on earth are we here? How is this going to help us?" She asked, watching over her shoulder while Kaufmann rigged the device.

"It's the signal."

She took a long, deep breath, rubbing her eyes. It was early, 2:17 AM. Kaufmann was working under a city bench, rigging up some device that was supposed to go off in the city to somehow get Red's attention. She just prayed it was a harmless device and not something he shouldn't have.

Though knowing Kaufmann, that wish was futile.

"Okay, so this goes off…somehow…and then what?"

"Red will see it on watch."

"And if he's not on watch tomorrow?"

Kaufmann slid out from under the chair, a grin on his face, "We're fucked."

Absolutely doomed.

Still, it was the only plan they had that wasn't super illegal, so she figured they might as well start with the harmless stuff first.

They watched from a rooftop a few blocks down, waiting for the temperature to be 'just right' according to Kaufmann. She was glad when the things did go off, moreso because she could then confirm it wasn't overly explosive. Aside from a few jump-scares and bouts of anxiety, the people in the area were unharmed. Hensley knew that part could've gone far worse.

"And now?" She asked as Kaufmann shuffled towards the exit, careful to stay low. Though it didn't matter much on her stronger skin, she saw why Kaufmann had suggested tucking in an undershirt.

"Now we wait."

It was actually quite genius when everything clicked together for her. The city benches were just close enough to the Agency's radars that a sudden explosion, even one that small, would show up. Per code, they had to send a group to go check it out. And to ensure Red knew that it was Kaufmann, and not some silly kids, only a single strand of bright-red confetti streamer was included between all the packages; a semi-normal color, but an unusual amount.

"So not only do we have to hope that Red may have saw it on comms or on watch, but we also have to hope that, if he didn't, he could hear about it or somehow know that someone remembered there was one red streamer?" Okay, maybe it wasn't that genius. But it was pretty good considering Kaufmann came up with it.

"It'll be fine." Kaufmann shrugged.

The first night in the woods, Hensley believed that. Kaufmann had come up with a fairly thought out plan and she could trust him to ensure the rest of it went off without a hitch.

The second night, she was less assured. Kaufmann and Red's plan was that Kaufmann would wait three days after the poppers went off. Then they'd meet in the designated spot, nowhere near where Hensley had been called to meet them. The second night was just another 'they're late' scenario in Hensley's mind. Something had gotten to Red. Davidson saw right through their little plan and killed him.

The third night, Hensley had reached the conclusion that Red wasn't coming and they should quit wasting their time.

"He didn't see it Kaufmann." She sighed, sitting down on the stump nearby. "He's not coming. And I'm not waiting here for days on end for him to maybe show up. It's been a week. I need to go home."

"And see your boyfriend." Kaufmann sang in the most obvious mocking voice Hensley had ever heard. She kicked a rock at him.

"Relax. You're pretty damn impatient for someone who's gonna live forever. Where you got to be? He'll be there when ya get back. Three days or three hundred years from now. Sheesh."

Hensley didn't like that thought. Three hundred years apart from Jasper…her phone buzzed, but she sent him to voicemail. A text would do. She wasn't hurt, just Kaufmann being an idiot.

After clarifying with Kaufmann that it wasn't the number that had text her calling, she went back to observing her surroundings. And waiting.

Was that how her family felt? Like their entire lives were just waiting…for nothing? Surely that couldn't be the case. They had to do something with their time. Something had to make it meaningful. Or maybe someone made it meaningful.

She thought about her father, who took in those who were now their family. Clearly, he had found meaning. Helping others, both human and vampire, where he could. Making her…maybe that was meaningful, though somedays she thought it more of a pain than a highlight. The Agency, with the way they bent the truth or willfully omitted it, or maybe that was just Davidson, didn't make things easy for anyone. Hensley knew her life had been far more difficult due to it.

Though, if she hadn't been in the Agency, then she wouldn't have met Anderson or Kaufmann or Red.

And that would've been a damn tragedy. Kaufmann pushed his thoughts to her.

She shoved him off of the stump, miffed that he interrupted her week and her thinking with stupidity. "Yeah, a real bummer. Who else would drag me to the woods to wait on stupid ideas they had?"

Kaufmann sat back down on the wood, brushing the leaves and dirt off of his pants. "Have faith in him, Hensley."

"I have faith in him. It's you I have no faith in."

"That's a fair point."

Hensley was the first to react. She was the fastest. She jumped up, a gasp leaving her before she could stop it.

"Red!"

Her training long forgotten, she would've spent a week in retraining (after a week in Solitary, of course) for the volume of her voice on any Agency stealth-mission, but she couldn't help it. After thinking he'd been killed, twice, she was excited to see him.

Hensley flew into him, causing to stumble a step backwards, to wrap him in a hug.

Kaufmann was quick to complain, whining about how Red got an excited hug, where all he got was yelled at.

"Did you blow up her house to announce you were there?"

Hensley was impressed at him. Teasing outside of their shared living space was usually on Red's 'no' list, even if they were alone. Maybe being stuck with a few new recruits had him missing them too.

Similar to Kaufmann, Red looked no different than when Hensley had last saw him. Though Hensley wouldn't have been surprised to learn if Red had been troubled by the Agency's newest project. He kept his emotions locked up better than any of them had, showing his true feelings in more subtle ways. Unlike her family, Red would not be so easy to read in a hand of poker.

It was that permanently stoic expression that made Hensley worry about him more than she did Kaufmann. If Kaufmann wasn't doing well, he would tell her. He would ask for help. Red was more of the suffer in silence type, pushing himself far past his breaking point if he knew it meant not letting anyone in.

"Are you okay?" She didn't give Kaufmann a chance to defend himself or complain further. The amount of time she had was not discussed and she wanted to make sure they spent the limited minutes on something useful.

"Fine." Red told her with a short nod. Hensley wasn't offended. It was his typical response. "What's so important that you're calling me already?"

"I missed you." Kaufmann put on his best bashful look, poking Red's hand with his pointer finger. Hensley elbowed the man hard in the ribs.

"Someone contacted me and pretended to be you and Kaufmann." She slipped her phone out of her pocket to show Red the text messages and the letter. "They wanted me to come down to Georgia, said it was urgent. Jasper and I came down and met where they told me to, and no one showed up. We're thinking they were hoping I'd come alone; Jasper scared them off."

Red carefully stared at the phone screen, no hint of a furrowed brow or a frown on his face. "Surprised you went."

"Agency letterhead, so I knew it had to come from inside. I don't worry much about what I'm facing from in there. And Anderson told me what Davidson's been up to." She shrugged, then added upon seeing Red's face, "He got ahold of me after I left. Met me back up in Papa Alpha."

Kaufmann tapped the phone screen, drawing Red's eyes again, "Can ya trace it? See where it goes, who it is?"

"I can. How am I going to tell you?" Red took out a pen and wrote the phone number down. When he was finished, he handed the phone back to Hensley and slipped the paper into his pocket.

Hensley turned to Kaufmann, the brains of the operation. "Yeah, Kaufmann. How is he going to contact us?"

Kaufmann nodded slowly, false bravado strong in his grin. "Don't worry, we got a plan."

"We do?"

Hensley glanced at Red, mentally sighing at his blatant objection to Kaufmann's confidence. Of course, Kaufmann had no plan.

"'Course we do." Kaufmann still tried to save face, as if she hadn't known him at all. As if they hadn't spent the last five years together….

"So, what is it?" Hensley almost laughed at Red. The only thing stopping her was the fact that she didn't know if he was serious in thinking Kaufmann actually had something in mind.

If Red had been genuine, it went out the window when Kaufmann hesitated. He flipped over the envelope that the letter came in, eyes scanning the mailing information. "I'll figure it out."

"What? No." Hensley protested.

She knew how the Agency worked. Red was already under the microscope and him sneaking around to contact her and Kaufmann was a risk she couldn't let him take. There had to be another way to get the information out.

Red was just as stubborn as he was stoic though, completely ignoring Hensley's outburst. "I need to head back, but I'll be in touch in a few days. Likely few days after you get back."

"No. You're not risking yourself for stupid information."

"Nah, take your time." Kaufmann told him, also keen to ignore her. "Ain't a rush, just more of a suspicion. S'not like anything's gonna take her on with all them around."

"Fair enough. Keep yourselves safe."

"Take your own advice." Hensley told Red, staring him down hard until he met her eye. He nodded.

She watched him go, the night swallowing him whole, and with him, any illusion that this would end easily.