Prologue

Burt was a clever man. He knew that once his secret was out, he wouldn’t be able to take it back. He was dreading the moment he would have to face Kurt and Finn but if anything, it was for the best. What had happened to Blaine during the Christmas time was an indication that his sons were not as safe as he had thought. That’s why, if he wanted him and Carole to sleep peacefully at night, he had to take control into his own hands.

The decision wasn’t difficult to make. During the anonymous voting, which took place among the board members, he got the majority votes. They had given him a few days to think about it but Burt didn’t need time – he had talked to Carole beforehand just in case. The woman didn’t really want her husband to get even more involved with the C.A.T. but she was worried about her kids as well.

That’s how Burt found himself standing by the entrance to the cafeteria in the base with Sarah by his side. He had decided to keep her as his right hand woman; she had proved to have morals and beliefs similar to his.

“It’s time,” Sarah said once Burt sent a text and pocketed his phone.

She opened the doors and they walked in. People in the cafeteria were silent, watching him walking towards the platform, with Sarah in front of him. Burt deliberately tried not to look for his sons in the crowd.

“Good morning,” he started loudly once he was facing everyone.

<~*~>

Carole was a caring woman. But she never cared too much about herself – it was always about someone else, either it was her parents, or patients, or family. It made the decision very easy – Burt had to accept the offered post to ensure the safety of their kids. She knew that it would change their whole life with all her men being in England but they were strong and could work it out. She knew that in the end she would probably end up there as well so with a little bit of patience they could do it. As long as her family was safe, she could survive the loneliness.

Her eyes never leaving the computer screen, she raised the mug and took a sip of green tea, trying to keep the sleep away. It was very late in Ohio but she had to see what was happening. She saw the doors being opened and watched Burt’s way to the platform.

“Good morning.”

<~*~>

Sarah was a smart woman. She knew that Burt could have gotten rid of her after the fiasco with Tom. She was always close to the man and people whispered behind her back that she either knew something and covered for him, or was totally clueless and inadequate for her job. She had a feeling that her days in the agency were numbered so she was honestly surprised when she found out that the board wanted her to stay as a temporary head. Even more she was shocked when Burt asked her to be his right hand person. Needless to say, she accepted the offer and swore to herself to be loyal to the man.

She knew that she would need to gain Burt’s trust but she was already in his good books after helping Kurt, Finn, and the others on their rescuing mission. Besides, she would be able to help him to cope with the new position and responsibilities having seen how everything worked for Tom.

“It’s time,” the woman said when the announcement was showed on the screen and opened the doors.

She knew where the ‘whites’ and their friends used to sit all the time and glanced at them. The main emotions were shock and confusion still visible after the first announcement just as she expected. When Burt asked her about her weird decision to form a new squad, she could hardly find words to explain why she did that. The man didn’t look displeased so she tried her best to explain how she couldn’t imagine them being separated and working with other people; there was a strong bond among those young people that she had no heart to break. She knew that together they were the strongest they would ever be.

Standing there, next to Burt, and watching them staring at the two of them, she knew she had made a right decision.

“Good morning.”

<~*~>

Rachel was an emotional girl. She always felt more than she let people see. It was one of those situations when she had to hide her emotions under a mask. In this case, a mask of surprise. She was surprised but also a little bit sad. The news that a few of her close friends and her boyfriend were in some kind of a new squad and she wasn’t included, hurt a bit. And it didn’t make sense at all.

Nevertheless, being in different squads never stopped them from being friends. She only hoped that Finn could still be her partner on most of the missions as it used to be. But what if the Black Squad wouldn’t be mixed with people from other squads? The girl didn’t want to think of it so she focused on the man who came in with Sarah.

“Good morning.”

<~*~>

Wes was a hard-working guy. He always did his best even though sometimes it wasn’t enough, just like this time. Sure, the Blue Squad was not bad but he secretly hoped for a higher one even though deep inside he knew he wasn’t good enough even at his best.

For a while Wes hadn’t felt included. The members of his squad and a few others that used to spend time with them had all those inside jokes that made him feel unwelcome. He tried to think of the time that it all began but couldn’t think of it. He was always nice, friendly, helped every time someone asked for it.

He was okay with the Blue Squad but once he noticed the Black Squad that he had no knowledge about, and saw who were in it, he felt emptiness inside. He was sure that Santana wasn’t better than he was and Tina was more or less at his level. The boy couldn’t think of a reason why they were in that squad and he wasn’t. On the bright side, it made the decision even easier to make – he was going to leave the C.A.T.

He shut down all the noises, looking at the platform where Sarah was standing with some man now, pretending to be interested.

“Good morning.”

<~*~>

Noah was an aspirant guy. He always wanted to be better than anyone, stronger, faster, smarter. As long as he exceeded someone’s abilities, he felt good about himself. Being in the Purple Squad was something he was proud of. He knew that there was a possibility to get into a lower squad with time so he did his best to stay in a good shape.

After the first announcement Noah was taken aback. The Black Squad couldn’t have been better than the Purple Squad. Neither Kurt, nor Tina, nor Jeff, nor Santana were good enough to be ‘purples’. Sugar, Mike, Finn, Blaine, and he were already in the Purple Squad and their level was much higher than the other ‘blacks’. It was a strange squad and Noah needed explanations. He hoped that the new head, who was ready to give some sort of a speech, would give him answers.

“Good morning.”

<~*~>

Sam was a selfish guy. He did things only if it was either ordered, or it was useful for him. He supervised Santana because he was appointed to be a supervisor. But he chose to help Sebastian for two reasons – to have something interesting and challenging to do, and for a possibility to get into a higher level squad. The Purple, to be precise. He was too disappointed about seeing that his name wasn’t on the screen to actually care about the new squad or that Sebastian made it into the Purple Squad, or that there was a new head. The boy really wanted to punch someone.

“Good morning.”

<~*~>

Tina was an observant girl. She spent previous years locked in her head, having a lot of time to think and discuss things with herself. With time she formed an ability to see through details. The body language was easier for her to understand than normal communication, she could always spot if something had been moved from the original place, even by a millimetre. Sometimes she didn’t succeed. For example, she considered the mission JANER her biggest failure because she didn’t notice that Kurt and Blaine had something going on between them. However, this time she could immediately see what was going on.

Everyone from the manor, except Lauren, Tina thought putting two and two together. It might have not been the case but she couldn’t find any other link among all of them. True, they spent most of the time together but so did Rachel, Nick, and Wes. The only thing the nine of them had in common was the Christmas mission; eight of them being on the rescuing party while Blaine was the one who needed their help.

Confusion on other people’s faces told her that they had hard time figuring it out. Only Blaine’s raised eyebrow indicated that maybe the boy was thinking the exact same thing.

She didn’t really pay any attention at the new head of the C.A.T. It was more entertaining to watch the faces of the others once the second announcement was on. For some reason Kurt, Blaine, Jeff, and Finn looked even more interested, if such word could be used to describe their reactions, in the man than the fact that a new squad had been formed and they were a part of it.

“Good morning.”

<~*~>

Santana was a reserved girl. She preferred keeping her thoughts for herself. At least with most people. The year changed her – she made a few really good friends and could tell her everything without being judged. Even though she was as she used to be with most people around her, she could be herself with the ‘whites’ and a few others. That’s why she didn’t feel the need to cover her emotions. She shared a confused look with Sugar. At least she wasn’t the only one who had no idea what was going on. In fact, when she looked at her other friends, she noticed that quite a few of them were experiencing the same emotions.

Mike tried to say something but was cut off by the second announcement. Kurt yelped silently and Santana looked at him – there was pure shock in his face. Finn’s face looked equally pale.

“Good morning.”

<~*~>

Mike was a contemplative guy. He always wanted to have as much knowledge about something as possible, before jumping to conclusions. The boy found it useless to over think things before knowing all the available information. It was always better to simply wait for a bit rather than stress out without a reason. So when he saw his name on the screen, he only wanted to know what it meant, without making empty guesses.

“What? Black–” he started, thinking that maybe one of them could answer his question but couldn’t finish.

The next announcement came very quickly. For Mike it wasn’t as interesting as the first one. Of course, it was the man who had a lot of power over his future but maybe just like Tom he wouldn’t be staying for a long time. However, the boy wanted to know what kind of a person he was so he shut up and watched the man walk into the cafeteria. Everyone was silent, anticipating to hear what the man had to say.

“Good morning.”

<~*~>

Sebastian was a determined guy. If he wanted something, he did anything he could to get it. Once again he got what he desired the most – he became a ‘purple’. From that day forward he would be among the elite, where he belonged. He knew he deserved it and a smirk crossed his face. A few ‘purples’ were out of the picture now and he had a plan to become the best agent in his squad. He doubted it would be too difficult now that he could train with equally great agents instead of the losers he had been stuck with for a year. He only wished Sam could be with him. However, Sebastian was sure that in his squad he would make better, stronger friends. He gave the boy a sympathetic smile thinking of the best, painless way to become distant.

He heard Kurt’s yelp and looked at the boy. He was still watching the screen and Sebastian looked up to see a photo of a man he had never seen in his life. He wondered why Kurt reacted the way he did.

Sebastian watched the man and got ready to listen to his speech.

“Good morning,” a familiar voice said and Sebastian gaped at Kurt, his mouth slightly open once he realised that it was Kurt’s father.

<~*~>

Nick was an easygoing guy. He knew that there was something going on between Sebastian and Sam but he didn’t really care. If Sebastian liked the other ‘green’ more, he was fine with that. If Sam helped Sebastian train, he was even better-off given that the blonde made his job easier. If he didn’t ‘level up’ he was okay with it.

After he looked at the first announcement he simply continued eating his toast. The second announcement appeared and he looked at it. The man came in and he seemed like an okay guy so Nick went back to his food glad that an episode of his favourite TV series was on that evening.

“Good morning.”

<~*~>

Sugar was an organized girl. The clothes in her closet were arranged by colour, the books – by the last name of an author, the names in her phone were in the order of importance not the alphabet. It all made her feel more confident. Now she found herself totally lost. She had already decided in which squads each ‘white’ should be, the Black Squad, obviously, not being an option. Santana’s confused look gave her away and Sugar shrugged as to say that she was as lost as the other girl. Mike tried to say something – also obvious that he was bewildered. The others didn’t look too happy either. Except Sebastian maybe, who had an annoying smirk on his face.

Once the photo appeared on the screen, Sugar eyed it curiously. The man was better looking than Tom at least. His baldness may have been a bit funny but it suited him. Once he came into the cafeteria, she thought that he looked cuter in real life than in the photo. Unfortunately, he was too old for her.

“Good morning.”

<~*~>

Finn was a protective guy. He always said that it was his mother’s fault that he felt the need to protect people who were close to him. He did what he could to keep his mother safe. That’s why he did a background check on Burt when they started dating. He tried his best to protect Rachel from all the dangers they got into. Even though he didn’t always succeed he had to be there for her at all costs. However, it was a different level of protectiveness with Kurt.

Finn had always wanted to have a brother. Probably it was one of the reasons why he and Kurt became brothers instead of step-brothers so quickly. When they skyped for the first time, Finn found out he liked the guy. When they met for the first time, Kurt appeared to be a guy he could easily call his brother and be proud of it. When their parents got married, Finn couldn’t wait to start introducing the boy as his younger brother. When they met in the base, Finn had an urge to send his brother far away from the madness that the C.A.T. was.

It could be explained very easily – when Kurt came into Finn’s life, the boy was hurting a lot. He had no friends and seemed kind of fragile. He was bullied at school and he had nobody to talk to. When he found out about that from Kurt himself, Finn promised himself to be the best brother in the world and protect the other boy no matter what.

That’s why he suddenly felt defensive when he saw the sorting results. It was something unfamiliar, something unknown. It was unnerving but at the same time he knew that Sarah must have had a good reason to form a new squad. Besides, he was in it with Kurt so his brother wasn’t alone in the situation.

Finn gave his brother a reassuring smile even though he knew his face didn’t scream self-confidence. From the corner of his eye the boy could see the change in the screen and looked at it. What he saw, left him without any coherent thought – it was Burt. His step-father was the head of the C.A.T., which could mean only one thing – he was or had been an agent himself.

There must be some mistake, he thought even though he had no idea how such mistake could have been made. And in a matter of seconds it was proved that there was no mistake, as Burt came into the cafeteria and onto the platform. Finn couldn’t take his eyes off the man.

“Good morning.”

<~*~>

Jeff was a talented guy. He was great with computers because he was passionate about them and focused more than on anything else. Truth to be told, he could have been a professional in any area if he had wanted. Instead he chose computers but still took classes with other agents to gain more skills. Secretly he hoped that maybe one day someone would notice and appreciate his abilities. Every June he kept his fingers crossed (metaphorically speaking) hoping that he would be asked to join the White Squad. Unfortunately, it never happened. And the reality was far from what he could ever dream of.

The Black Squad, whatever it was, was the best squad in the base. Only the best of the best could join. And even if the head decided that someone should become a ‘black’, that person would become a member only if everyone voted for the candidate. The Black Squad went on the most dangerous missions and never failed, not even once.

Jeff smirked at the screen. Soon everyone will know how awesome his squad was. They would be the most respected agents. Because now Jeff was an agent so he was going to make sure that they had a cool reputation.

The other announcement wasn’t unexpected. He had heard the news from Sarah the other day. He always liked Burt so he nodded approvingly at the man who was walking towards the platform. He pretended to be interested in the speech while various ways of making his squad look badass played in his head.

“Good morning.”

<~*~>

Blaine was a stubborn guy. In his life he had proved many times that if he didn’t want to talk, nobody could make him. He found it very useful now when he knew so much about his past that included Kurt and his family. There were moments when Blaine wanted to share it with Kurt – the love of his parents, the fact that they loved him no matter what (it meant that they wouldn’t have minded if he was gay), the photo of the two of them as kids – but he knew better than that. He couldn’t tell anything about that and it drove Blaine crazy. The only comfort was the fact that now he had someone to talk to about his parents.

Blaine and Burt formed a habit of texting a few times a week. Sometimes it was an exchange of a few texts regarding everyone’s wellbeing. But other times they texted for a few hours, simply chatting about sports or talking about the past. Finally he had some sort of a father figure in his life and was really happy about that. However, Kurt noticed that Blaine suddenly started texting a lot. He pretended it was Jeff and asked his best friend to cover for him having explained the situation, but from then on he decided not to be too obvious.

A few days ago Burt hinted that he should be ready to be surprised during the sorting. To say that Blaine was curious would be an understatement. He tried to get some information from the man but it was impossible. So Blaine couldn’t wait for sorting. And once he saw the announcement, he was truly surprised just like Burt expected. He quickly read the names and it clicked – people from the ‘Christmas mission’ as some people called it. He didn’t understand why Sarah decided to separate them from the other squads. Besides, Blaine wasn’t exactly on the mission – he was the mission himself. He was about to say something when his phone beeped. He grabbed it quickly and opened the new message.

Burt: Surprise!

Blaine smiled and put the phone back on the table. But then the announcement changed and he understood that Burt wasn’t talking about the Black Squad. At least not only about it. On the outside Blaine looked taken aback. Inside he was feeling proud of the man. Burt truly deserved the position. He would be much better than any previous head he had to work with; Blaine was sure of it. Next to him Kurt grabbed his hand and Blaine looked at the boy he loved for the first time after the announcements started. He was white as a sheet, his eyes fixed on the man who had just come in, he didn’t even blink. Blaine gave Kurt’s hand a light squeeze and heard Burt starting his speech.

“Good morning.”

<~*~>

Kurt was an ambitious person. That’s why he hated when someone tried to come between him and his dreams. He loathed his professors in the university for not acknowledging him. However, he couldn’t hate Blaine even though he stopped Kurt from pursuing his dream of becoming a ‘purple’. Kurt could understand his boyfriend’s concerns but it was unfair. And even though he had to admit that he wouldn’t have made it into the Purple Squad anyway, at least he could try to become good enough to be a ‘green’. Instead, he was sitting in the cafeteria, dreading for the results, with Blaine’s words in his head: I have a good feeling about the ‘blues’ for you.

Trying not to think too much about it Kurt started chatting with Jeff. At least it kept his mind busy with other stuff. Such as, who the hell was that guy with pink t-shirt that Blaine used to have a crush on? But very soon he couldn’t help but go back to his original thoughts because the sorting results were announced.

Kurt saw the first letters ‘Bl’ next to his name and immediately thought that Blaine was right as always. It took a few seconds for him to realise that it wasn’t blue but black. First he was confused by that Pink Squad and now he found out another one he didn’t know about. And he was a part of it. He also noticed that most of his friends were in it as well. Kurt saw Finn smiling at him and attempted a smile as well but failed.

“What? Black–” he heard Mike saying but he was interrupted.

Nothing in the world could have prepared Kurt for what he saw once he looked at the screen. Right there, where his name was seconds ago, was a photo of his dad and a caption next to it stating that the man he knew for his whole life was in fact the new head of the C.A.T. Kurt’s head was spinning. He would have thought that he was hallucinating but Finn looked equally shocked.

The doors opened and Sarah came in. Right behind her was the proof that the man he loved most had been lying to him for his whole life. Kurt grabbed Blaine’s hand, feeling the need to have something that could help him feel that he wasn’t dreaming. He felt a light squeeze before Burt started talking.

“Good morning.”