“Ten strangers, working together to reach a prize total of one million dollars,” Will Schuester, host of The Mole said into the camera. It was the first episode of a new season. “But among them is a saboteur, a traitor, a double agent working for us to try and hinder the other players from banking the money. That person is the mole. Their task is simple. To win the money, they must answer one question, who is the mole?

“Is it Santana Lopez, a twenty-four year old professional cheerleader from Louisville, Kentucky?

“Finn Hudson, a twenty-four year old mechanic from Columbus, Ohio?

“Quinn Fabray, a twenty-four year old stage actor from New Haven, Connecticut?

“Kurt Hummel, a twenty-four year old fashion designer from Chicago, Illinois?

“Mercedes Jones, a twenty-four year old back-up singer from Hollywood, California?

“Noah Puckerman, a twenty-four year old professional football player from Los Angeles, California?

“Brittany Pierce, an unemployed twenty-four year old from Lima, Ohio?

“Sam Evans, a twenty-three year old stripper from Frankfort, Kentucky?

“Rachel Berry, a twenty-four year old Broadway star from New York City, New York?

“Or Blaine Anderson, a twenty-three year old musician from San Francisco, California?”

As he introduced each player, a picture of them flashed across the screen. The show’s theme music played in the background.

“Nine of these ten people are genuine players, playing for a prize of up to one million dollars and one of them, is the mole. Can you figure it out? Who is the mole?”

The scene cut away to Will standing atop a mountain range.

“Good evening and welcome to a brand new season of The Mole. I’m your host, Will Schuester. Let’s go meet our players, shall we?”

Just outside of Las Vegas a bus pulled up to a sign that said “The Mole”, letting off a Latina girl; Santana is first to arrive. Next to arrive is a taxi cab and a really tall man stepped out.

“Hi!” he said to the Latina and held out his hand. “I’m Finn,” he added as she took his hand.

“Santana. You’re not the mole are you man boobs?” Finn was taken aback by the abrupt insult but he shook it off.

“Even if I was the mole, I wouldn’t tell you know would I?” he replied with a wink.

“Fair enough. I wouldn’t tell you either. Here comes someone else.”

A motorcycle pulled up, letting off a blonde girl and Santana’s flick of the eyes failed to go unnoticed by Finn.

“I’m Quinn Fabray,” the blonde girl said in greeting as she shook their hands.

“Finn.”

“Santana. Who’s the lady boy? Looks like he could use some sun.” Quinn and Finn turned to see a tall slender pale man with perfectly coifed brunette hair and impeccably dressed. Quinn gasped.

“It can’t be!”

“What?” Finn asked.

“Hello,” the pale man said as he reached them. “I’m Kurt Hummel.”

“Kurt Hummel?” Santana suddenly said. “The fashion designer?”

A sly smile crossed Kurt’s face. “That would be me.”

“I thought I heard something about a few famous people being involved this season.” Santana’s eyes widened just a bit.

“Doesn’t that include you?” Kurt asked. Santana looked at him, dumbfounded for a moment. “Well, you’re Santana Lopez aren’t you? The professional cheerleader?”

“That’s why I recognized you!” Quinn cried.

Santana was completely surprised that Kurt had known who she was.

“Hey there!” said a voice and they all turned to see a dark skinned woman had approached them. “I’m Mercedes!” She stuck out a hand. Kurt took it first.

“I’m Kurt.”

“Finn.”

“Santana.”

“Quinn.”

“Pleasure to meet you all,” Mercedes said. “So, any idea what we’re doing here exactly?” The other four shook their heads.

“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Santana Lopez. Fancy meeting you here.” The new voice turned out to belong to a big guy with a mohawk.

Santana scowled.

“Oh my God!” Finn cried. “You’re Noah Puckerman!”

“The one and only. And I prefer Puck if you don’t mind. So which one of you guys is the mole?”

“It could be one of us,” Santana snarled.

“Or they may not have even arrived yet,” Kurt added in a calm but slightly irritated tone.

“Hey, aren’t you the dolphin designer?” That caught everyone off-guard and they turned to see a blonde girl standing there, looking at Kurt with wide eyes.

“Excuse me?” Kurt asked.

“You know, a dolphin. You like other dolphins and unicorns. I watched you kiss that boy when people were walking down that long low table in the moving picture box that sits in my front room. Lord Tubbington says you’re a boy who likes other boys and that makes you a dolphin.” For a moment, they all just stared at her. “Hi. I’m Brittany.”

The rest of them were silent, still trying to process what the girl had just said.

“Pleasure to meet you Brittany, I’m Sam.” None of them had noticed the new guy arrive. He was another blonde and Kurt had to admit, he was very good looking but he wasn’t his type and likely straight. “Hi guys,” Sam said to everyone and they nodded. Once more introductions were exchanged.

An air of frustration left Kurt’s mouth. “Oh God, please no.”

“What’s wrong white boy?” Mercedes asked.

“Rachel Berry,” was the reply.

“Rachel Berry?” Quinn questioned. “The Broadway star?” Kurt nodded. They turned to look and saw a petite brunette walking toward them, a wide grin on her face.

“Let’s get one thing straight,” she said when she reached them. “Or a few things. Just because I’m not the mole, doesn’t mean I’m not the star. I am going to win this thing.”

And somewhere, the mole, who knew everything was thinking, She has to be the first to go.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t there supposed to be ten of us?” Puck asked.

“Right you are Noah!” a voice said and the nine of them turned to see Will walking toward them. “Welcome players! I am Will Schuester and this is The Mole.” They looked between each other and cheered and clapped. “Now, as Noah has pointed out, you may notice that there are only nine of you. This is your first test.” They looked at each other again. “Behind me, you will note some rides and theme park like attractions marking the entrance to Las Vegas, Nevada. Somewhere just within the gates you will find your tenth player. You will find that they are bound and blindfolded. Your test is to find the last member of the group. If you can find them and successfully bring them back here to the entrance within an hour, you will receive twenty thousand dollars to your group pot. However, if you fail to find them within the time limit, you will win nothing and said player will earn an exemption from the first quiz tomorrow night. Your time starts now, good luck!”

They glanced at each other and took off, splitting up into groups of three just within the gates. Having no knowledge of whether this person was male or female or even what they looked like, they couldn’t afford to try and search as a group.

Puck, Finn, and Santana ran off in the direction of a few carnival games, wondering if maybe their missing member was chained inside a booth.

Quinn, Brittany, and Sam hurried into a nearby casino, knowing with all the people inside, it would be easy to hide a hostage in the open.

And Kurt, Rachel, and Mercedes set off for the roller coaster, Kurt keeping his distance from Rachel by constantly making sure that Mercedes was between them.

“How much time do we have left?” Rachel spat as they huffed while pushing themselves through the line, aggravating a few people. Kurt just rolled his eyes. They had barely started and already she was being a pain in his ass.

“Plenty,” he spat shortly, pushing passed a large woman.

---

Meanwhile, Quinn, Brittany, and Sam pushed their way to the front of the chip cash in line. Quinn took the lead. “Excuse me, you aren’t holding a hostage here are you?”

The lady looked at her like she was nuts. “A hostage? Young lady, this is a casino, not a cover for hiding illegal immigrants. Now either hand over your chips or stop wasting my time.” Quinn stared at her for several more moments in disbelief before turning back to her companions.

“Come on, they could still be here,” she said, pushing away from the window and heading out into the casino. Brittany and Sam followed her, Brittany staring wide-eyed at the lady, wondering how she could be so rude.

---

Puck was currently in an argument with a man who was running a carnival booth. “I’m looking for a hostage so just stay out of my way!” Apparently, he had just jumped the counter and pushed into the back of the booth, looking around for any signs of a hostage.

“Come on Mohawk boy, hostage isn’t here!” Santana spat. Puck glared daggers at the man and jumped back over.

“I’ll be back!” he spat before he, Santana, and Finn hurried along to the next booth.

---

Kurt heard a ringing and pulled a phone he hadn’t noticed before out of his pocket. “Hello?” he answered and he and Mercedes came to a stop, with Rachel still examining the loading dock of the ride.

“Congratulations Kurt,” said Will. “You, Rachel, and Mercedes have located the general location at which your missing teammate is being held hostage. Fifteen minutes has already dispensed. You have forty-five minutes to find the hostage and rescue them. I will warn you, it will not be easy.” Will hung up.

“Will said the hostage is here. We’re down fifteen minutes and it won’t be easy to rescue them. We have to find exactly where they are first.”

Rachel ran back to them. “It’s hopeless, no sign of a hostage on the train at all. We should move on,” she said. Kurt rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe I had to design for you,” he said. She glared at him.

Suddenly, several people screamed. “What the?” Mercedes asked.

“Oh my God!” a woman shouted. Kurt noticed her head was tilted back like she was looking upward, hands covering her mouth. He followed her gaze and his mouth dropped open. There, high above them, handcuffed around a post at the summit of the first hill on the rollercoaster, stood a man who was blindfolded.

“I found our hostage…” he whispered, trailing off.

---

“How do you think the others are doing?” Sam asked as he and Quinn checked under yet another blackjack table. The three of them had pretty much scoured the entire casino from head to toe and found no sign of a hostage. They were starting to think that maybe the person wasn’t there.

Suddenly, the ringing of a phone hit the air and Quinn found the thing in her sweater pocket. “Um, hello?” she questioned.

“Quinn, Kurt, Rachel, and Mercedes have located the hostage. They’ll need your guys’ help to get him down though. Meet them at the rollercoaster. Quick! You only have thirty-five minutes left.” The call was cut and Quinn grabbed Sam and Brittany by the hands.

“That was Will. The hostage is at the rollercoaster and Kurt, Rachel, and Mercedes need our help to get him down.” The three of them took off running.

---

“Man!” Puck cried, kicking over a garbage can, only to have the sound coincide with the ringing of a phone. “What the?”

“Dude!” Finn cried. “Check your pocket!” Puck did as he suggested and phone the ringing coming from a phone that had suddenly appeared in his pocket.

“Yeah?” he asked carefully.

“Puck, the hostage has been found at the rollercoaster. They need your help to bring to safety. Get over there now.” The call was cut.

“Well?” Santana stated, hands on her hips.

“Hostage at the rollercoaster. We need to help get him to safety or something.”

Finn glanced at his watch. “We only have half an hour left.”

“Let’s go!” Santana shouted and the three of them ran off.

---

Kurt was pacing, trying to figure out how to get him down.

“You’re a guy, why don’t you just climb up there?” Rachel stated. Kurt shot her the evil eye.

“Oh sure. Like it’s really that easy Rachel Berry!” She frowned and opened her mouth to say something when Quinn, Brittany, and Sam came running onto the scene and Kurt looked grateful for the idea of more heads.

“Where is he?” Sam asked. Kurt, Mercedes, and Rachel pointed up. The three newcomers raised their eyes to the sky and their mouths dropped open in shock. Sam recovered first. “Kurt, you and Quinn board the coaster in the front car. Mercedes, you and Rachel board in the second car. Brittany, you stay with me.”

“You have a plan trouty mouth?” came Santana’s voice and the six of them turned to see Puck, Finn, and Santana standing there. Sam decided to ignore the comment and nodded his head.

“I do. Santana, why don’t you take Brittany and board in the third car, look like passengers. Finn, you, Puck, and I will need to get control of the controls. We need to stop the train when it reaches the summit.”

For a moment there was silence. “You know for a blonde, you’re pretty damn smart,” Puck said. And that was all the words they needed as Kurt shouted there was only twenty minutes left to both rescue the hostage and get back to Will at the entrance. They flew into action.

Kurt and Quinn boarded the first car. Rachel and Mercedes slid into the seat behind them. And Santana and Brittany got on behind them, allowing regular tourists to board the rest of the train. Sam tried to negotiate with the man behind the controls but was getting nowhere so Puck just shoved the guy out of the way and took control, ordering Finn and Sam to keep him from getting back to the controls.

“Enjoy your ride!” Puck said with a laugh.

The train left the dock and twisted down into its long climb up the hill. Kurt kept his eyes on the hostage as they climbed even higher. The closer they got to him, the more attractive Kurt could see that he was. It was obvious that his hair was gelled down to his head and he was rather on the short side. He had darker skin and Kurt found himself wishing that he could see the guy’s eyes. Keep it together Kurt, he said to himself. He drew a deep breath.

“Hi!” Kurt called brightly as they reached the top and the train came to a halt. The tourists behind Santana and Brittany’s car all started to panic. Kurt looked at Quinn. “Try to keep them calm. I’ll work on rescuing the hostage.” Just then, the little phone rang again and Kurt answered it.

“Well done Kurt. Under the front of your car, you will find a key. This is key will unlock the handcuffs holding your teammate to the post. You cannot break ride rules though so you are going to need to find a way to get him safely on the train without having more than two people per car. You have fifteen minutes left and while the train is stopped, people can get out on the side steps. Good luck.”

Kurt nodded as he pocketed the phone. He turned to Quinn. “Find an empty spot on the train and fill it in until you guys can all move a seat. We can only have two people per car and I want him in this one.” Quinn nodded and stepped out of the car, being joined by Mercedes and the two of them went to work changing up everyone’s positions in the train.

The pale man felt around under the top of the car and found the key. He pulled it off and stepped out of the car. “You’re okay. We’re here to rescue you.”

“Where exactly am I?” the man asked and Kurt could feel his heart leap at the sound of the guy’s voice.

“At the top of the rollercoaster,” he replied in a whisper. Shaking his head, he went to work with the key in the lock. “Hang on!” he said, unlocking the cuffs. “Yes!” Next he went for the blindfold and when he’d pulled it off, Kurt found himself staring into the most beautiful hazel eyes he had ever seen. “Hi…”

“Hi…” the guy replied, seemingly just as mesmerized by Kurt as Kurt was by him.

“I’m Kurt,” Kurt said.

“I’m Blaine.” The small smile on Kurt’s face grew even more. Blaine. What a perfect name for such a perfect guy.

“Kurt!” Quinn shouted, snapping both of them out of it. They turned to look at her and she was tapping the watch on her wrist. She was now in the second car with Mercedes. “We’ve got eight minutes left and this coaster is going to take at least two of them!”

Kurt’s eyes went wide and he hustled Blaine into the train car, leaning over the side. “Guys, we got him! Go!” He was grateful when they seemed to have heard him as the coaster went on its way.

Will stood at the entrance glancing at his watch. Six minutes left to go. He tapped his foot. Two more minutes passed by before he saw the first of the ten players running for the entrance. It was Kurt and he had Blaine by the hand. Everyone else was running behind them. They all skidded to a stop in front of Will.

“Well done. You found the hostage, rescued him, and brought him back here,” he said, pausing as the ten of them tried to catch their breaths, while staring at him expectantly. “All with three minutes to spare,” he finished, grinning as the players burst into cheers. “Congratulations, that’s twenty thousand dollars added to the group pot. Now let’s get going. We have a lot more game to play and you have a long way to go.

Not a bad start. We’ll let them feel like things are going well for a bit, thought the mole as the ten of them and Will piled into a van and headed away from the Las Vegas border.