Chapter 2

To say that Kurt was angry would be an understatement of the year. All he wanted was answers and it didn’t matter from whom – his dad or Blaine – they came. But at that moment he couldn’t face any of them. He needed to sort out his emotions because at this point they could only bring out the worst in him.

Kurt looked over his shoulder to see whether his boyfriend was following or not. He was glad to see that the other boy did as he had told him to.

Tina: Be in the conference room IV in 25mins.

It could only mean one thing – some sort of talk with Sarah or… his dad. No, Kurt couldn’t go. He would probably make a fool of himself in front of everyone. People probably laughed at him as he stormed out of the cafeteria; he really didn’t need to add screaming at his dad into the mix.

Trying to calm down, Kurt reached the elevator. He had decided not to go back to the apartment just in case. Blaine could go there and pretend that it was his intention to do that after the breakfast. Though he was most likely to go to that meeting.

“Hey, princess,” he heard someone say once he pressed the button of the elevator.

Kurt froze for a second but didn’t say anything. Nobody had been harassing him for a long time so he assumed that maybe it wasn’t said to him. At least he hoped it wasn’t. Truth to be told, he wasn’t in a mood to deal with bullies.

“I’m talking to you,” the voice sounded louder so Kurt assumed that this person got closer. “How does it feel to be not good enough even for the Yellow Squad? My friend told me that you and your loser friends are so pathetic that–”

Kurt slowly turned around and saw a middle aged man in a purple t-shirt.

Typical, Kurt thought. It must have been one of those wannabes, who hated Blaine for being better than them.

The man was smirking but his smile faded a little when he saw Kurt’s face, which was emotionless. For some reason it was more unnerving than anger.

Kurt started walking slowly towards the man. “You have two options here,” he said silently but everyone in the corridor were watching them curiously so it was dead silent. “First, you can walk away and I will pretend that it didn’t happen. And it would never happen again. Or I could show you what the Black Squad is about. Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

“Oh, I do want,” the man grinned.

The elevator’s door opened and Kurt looked back. “One day I may show you. As for now, I have more important places to be,” he said and slowly walked into the elevator.

Before the doors closed he could see the man struggling as if he was trying to decide whether to get into the elevator or to leave it alone. Kurt didn’t know if he decided to let it go or just wasn’t quick enough to follow him once he made up his mind. The doors closed and he sighed with relief.

<~*~>

“Finn, honey, wait,” Rachel pleaded the boy who was walking so fast with his long legs that the girl had to run next to him. “I understand that you are mad at your step father and Blaine but you need to calm down.”

“Calm down?!” Finn shouted. “Do you have any idea how I feel about all this? They didn’t think I was trustworthy enough! What have I ever done to deserve that? Nothing! I was always a good son and a good friend. But apparently they don’t think so. And they also kept this away from Kurt. My mom must–”

Suddenly Finn stopped and Rachel had to come a few steps back because she was still running.

“I’m going to kill Burt.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” the girl asked.

“He lied to her the whole time,” he said silently to himself. “I can take him lying to me and my brother but nobody lies to my mother. For god’s sake, they are married! You don’t lie to your spouse.”

Rachel shifted on her feet uncomfortably. “What if.. she knows?” she asked eyeing him with concern.

Finn didn’t say anything. It hadn’t occurred to him that maybe his mother lied to them as well.

“No, it doesn’t make sense. She would never do this to me. She is my mom; she is always honest with me. Besides, if we all knew about the C.A.T, then what was the point of lying? No, she doesn’t know. Burt is the only liar in our family.”

“But you know that it’s possible that–”

“It’s not!” Finn shouted and hit the wall.

However, his fist collided with something much softer. Rachel placed her shaking hand over the left side of her face, her eyes wide and teary.

“Oh my god… Rachel…” Finn said, his eyes full of horror. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to. I wanted to hit the wall and… God, I’m so sorry!”

The girl nodded. “Let’s go somewhere private to talk about it,” she whispered and took Finn’s left hand with her right one.

<~*~>

“Why couldn’t you keep your mouth shut?” Mike asked Noah when they exited the cafeteria, looking around to see where Tina went.

Noah rolled his eyes. “I didn’t know she would go all crazy on me. I just voiced my opinion on this new squad. It’s not my fault she took it so personally,” the boy defended himself.

Mike gritted his teeth. “Of course she took it personally, you dumbass! She was sorted into this squad and the first thing you say is that it’s rubbish! I thought you were her friend.”

“I am! But real friends should listen to friends’ opinion without getting upset,” Noah said irritated. “Where did that Asian girl go?” he asked nobody in particular.

A girl in a red t-shirt pointed to their left.

“Thanks,” Mike muttered. “You should know that sometimes it’s better to keep your opinion for yourself. You know how sensitive she has been these past months.”

“Of course I know,” Noah snapped. “I know better than you. This whole time I’ve been there for her–”

“So did I!” Mike said rolling his eyes and quickening the pace. “You just walked into her life like some fucking hero, giving crappy advice how to deal with her situation. What was in it for you, huh? I didn’t say anything before because I thought that you really cared for her. Now after I saw how you treated her today I have to ask you one thing – did I do something to offend you?”

“What?” Noah asked, obviously confused.

“Was it some sort of a revenge? Befriend my girlfriend, take her away from me…”

“No! I really care about her.”

Suddenly Mike threw himself at Noah and pressed him to the wall. “I can’t believe you are doing this. I thought we were sort of friends.”

“What are you talking about?” Noah said, pushing the other boy away.

“You like her. You want to steal her away from me!”

“Dude, I have no idea what you are talking about!”

Mike pushed him once again and stepped back. “Listen to me very carefully – she is mine!”

“I’m not,” they heard and turned to see Tina, looking angrier than earlier. “Nobody owns me so, please, don’t ever say that I’m yours. I belong to myself only.”

“I’m sorry–” Mike started but Tina had more to say.

“I don’t ever want to see my boyfriend and one of my best friends fighting,” she said firmly and Noah looked at her with an expression that could only be described as hopeful. “Yes, Noah, I still consider you my friend. One stupid argument won’t change how I feel about you. But at this moment I’m utterly furious so don’t even try to say anything. Now I want you both to leave me alone. I will see you later.”

Both boys watched her walking away.

“It’s still all your fault,” Mike muttered.

<~*~>

When Blaine and Jeff walked into the conference room, they found Sebastian, Wes, Tina, Mike, Noah, Sugar, and Santana already waiting with Burt and Sarah. Sarah was talking to Sebastian and Wes while the others were sitting around the table, only Santana and Sugar chatting silently.

Burt saw the boys coming in and quickly went to greet them. “Good to see you, guys,” he said approaching them.

“You too, my boy,” Jeff said and shook Burt’s hand.

The man rolled his eyes playfully. “I’ll pretend you didn’t say that. Hi, Blaine.”

“Hi, Burt,” Blaine smiled and went to hug Burt, who had his arms open. “Congratulations on the promotion. I’m sure you will be a great head.”

“Thanks, son,” Burt said and pulled away gently. “Um, have you talked to Kurt? How is he doing?”

Blaine sighed. “I don’t know. He got all angry at me. And at you as well. He said he couldn’t look at me so I think it’s serious.”

“Did you try talking afterwards?” Burt asked.

Blaine shook his head. “It would be like signing the death sentence. You know how your son can be.”

Burt nodded silently. “I think I will give him some time, let him sleep on it. Tomorrow he should have a clear head and then I can talk to him.”

“I think it’s smart,” Blaine said.

“I think I will stay away from him for at least a week,” Jeff uttered thoughtfully. “Just in case.”

“I will take a risk,” Burt smiled sadly. “How about Finn? He is still not here.”

Blaine and Jeff exchanged a worried look. “Unfortunately,” finally Blaine spoke, “neither of your sons took the news well.”

“I didn’t expect it to be the other way anyway.”

“Hey, Burt?” Sarah said to get the man’s attention. “I finished with Wes and Sebastian here. We can proceed with the others.”

“Great,” Burt said as he saw both boys leaving the room. “Blaine, Jeff, sit down. I think Finn and Kurt won’t be joining us given that they are already ten minutes late.”

“I want explanations,” Noah demanded immediately.

Sarah gave him a stern look. “We invited you all here to give you them so, please, be patient. Burt?”

The man crossed the room and stood next to the woman. “As you all already know, my name is Burt. First thing you are all probably thinking about is what the heck this Black Squad is. Well, I could answer this question but Sarah knows much better because she is the one who made the decision, I just approved. So Sarah, go ahead.”

The woman gave Burt a small smile and faced the group of agents.

“You all know pretty well that every year in the end of May all ‘whites’ are sorted into squads without questioning. Usually it’s an easy thing. You look at points that each person has and choose a squad for him or her. This year, however, I found it difficult but not because it’s my first time. Honestly, I may have been biased because of what happened during Christmas but for some reason I couldn’t see you, guys, being separated. I could only picture you working together. I think that in order to see your potential you have to work together. Let’s say, this is an experiment. If it doesn’t work out, the ‘whites’ will be sorted into other squads and the others would go back to where they were.”

Jeff cleared his throat. “So if it doesn’t work out, I won’t be an agent anymore?”

Noah relaxed in his chair. “And I would go back to the Purple Squad? Sweet.”

Burt stepped in. “No, Jeff, you would be sorted as a ‘white’. For others I want to say,” he added watching Noah, “that you should do your best no matter which squad you are in. It’s your opportunity to make this small squad better than any other. It all depends on you and how much effort you put into it.”

“Whatever,” Noah snorted and he would have been dead by then if Jeff had a power of killing someone with his eyes.

“I won’t let you ruin it,” Tina hissed.

Sarah threw a notebook on a table. “I’m beginning to regret my decision. I always saw you as a group of friends, always united, protecting each other. Now what I see is a bunch of people eyeing each other as if you are about to kill one another. And two members of the squad are missing. You need to work this out, guys, and fast because soon you will be sent on your first mission.”

“What mission?” Santana asked warily.

“We will let you know later,” Burt answered. “Sarah is right, guys. You need to work out whatever it is that is causing the disagreements. I will take care of Kurt and Finn because it’s my fault they are the way they are now. As for the others, I can’t do anything. It’s up to you. But I’m going to help you. Today, when you leave this room, go wherever you want but don’t spend time with anyone from your squad. Make a list of things you don’t like about the others. Anything that they have done or said that offended you in any way. Tomorrow in the morning I expect you all to come here and you won’t leave the room until every problem is solved. None of the squads had ever had to do this because there are many people and they mostly have to work with different people. As for you, we plan to send you on all missions together. Well, depending on how many people would be necessary you may all go, or a few of you, or maybe all of you plus some others. The success of the missions will depend on how united you are. In order to achieve that you need to be honest with each other and hold no grudge. That’s why tomorrow you will have an honesty session with me and Sarah. Feel free to add us to your lists if you want.”

Everyone stayed silent, feeling uncomfortable at the thought of talking openly about issues that they had with each other. But they could see how it could help them as a team.

“Now, do you have any questions?” Sarah asked and waited for a few moments to let people think. When nobody spoke she continued. “Okay, if you come up with any question, let us know tomorrow. We will meet you here at ten in the morning. Now you can all go but don’t forget – no spending time with each other. Oh, and let Kurt and Finn know about tomorrow and the assignment Burt gave to you all.”

“I will talk to Finn,” Mike suggested.

“And I will text Kurt,” Tina added looking at Blaine, who nodded at her.

“Have a nice day, guys,” Burt said showing that it was time to leave.

They all left one by one, thinking about what to say tomorrow. It was a serious task and they knew that the next day would be emotional. It would either make them all as one or pull them apart.

Walking out of the room Blaine promised himself to do whatever it takes to keep the new squad working because it was the guaranteed way for him and Kurt to work together as agents.

<~*~>

Blaine didn’t come back to their apartment until late night. He had been working in the library for a long while. And even though he saw Jeff at another table, they didn’t talk. For some reason Blaine wasn’t surprised that Jeff took it so seriously – no matter how childish he was most of the time, he finally got a chance to prove himself and didn’t want to mess it up. Still, from time to time both friends smiled at each other. Once Blaine saw the boy looking at him with guilt on his face and he knew that Jeff was writing something about him. Blaine nodded with an encouraging smile and the other boy looked a bit more relaxed.

As Blaine entered the apartment, he found it dark. He thought that maybe Kurt was gone but once he went into their bedroom, he found his boyfriend already in bed. From his breathing Blaine could tell that he wasn’t asleep.

“Hi, love,” he said softly and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Could we talk?”

Kurt continued pretending to be asleep. With a sad smile Blaine stood up.

"So, I think I will sleep on the couch tonight," he said silently but once again there was no response from the other boy. "Well, goodnight. I love you."

He leaned and kissed the boy’s hair.

<~*~>

While working on their assignment most ‘blacks’ stayed away from the public places thinking of what to talk about the following day. None of them knew what other agents were talking about that day, forming their new reputation without them realising.

…

“You know Blaine’s boyfriend Kurt? I saw him lashing out on one of the ‘purples’. That was some scary shit.”

“What happened?”

“That man said something to Kurt while he was passing by. You should have seen it… He was totally calm but the way he spoke made me shiver. At that moment I thought that the guy was as good as dead.”

…

“Remember that Asian girl who used to not talk? Well, now she talks. And, man, I wish she didn’t.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“I heard from a friend that she was shouting at Mike and Noah. Those guys looked like two misbehaved kids in front of their mom. I think she smacked both of them.”

…

“Think about it, Jeff has been in the C.A.T. for ages. They must have waited to form a squad where he could fit in. I’m positive that Jeff was too good for any other squad.”

“Even the Purple Squad? Oh please…”

“He used to train with them from time to time. I’m sure he could beat any of them.”

“Then why hadn’t they used him before? He could have worked alone or something.”

“A great man needs a great team. Mark my words, this Black Squad will be legendary.”

…

“I wonder what the fuck this new squad is. It can’t be better than the ‘purples’, right? I mean, we are the best of the best.”

“Maybe not anymore…”

“I heard that Noah freaked out being placed into the Black Squad. I’m sure it’s not better than the Purple one.”

“But they also have Blaine, Sugar, Mike, Finn… You can’t deny that they are better than most of us.”

…

“I think they bribed Sarah. They all spent the whole year together. I think they simply didn’t want to get separated. I just want to know how they managed to get her agree.”

“Oh shut up, I heard that Sarah had been with them during the ‘Christmas mission’. They must have showed what they were made of.”

“You think it has something to do with Christmas?”

“Obviously.”

…

“I talked to that guy, Sebastian, today. He said that the other ‘whites’ were somewhere between ‘reds’ and ‘blues’. So maybe the Black Squad is between those two?”

“It makes no sense. It has five former ‘purples’ so it must be better than that.”

…

“During breakfast I heard that Jeff and Blaine were dating. Do you think it’s true? I mean, they have been friends for years.”

“I thought that Blaine was dating Kurt. Just look at them.”

“I know, but what if it’s just a disguise? Jeff mentioned Blaine cheating on him with Kurt.”

“Then Jeff must have been oblivious for a few months now.”

“It’s Jeff we are talking about. What else do you expect?”

“That’s true. I always had a much better opinion on Blaine. But apparently he is just like everyone else – saw a cuter boy and ran after him.”

…

“Do you know Finn and Rachel?”

“That big guy with a tiny girl? Of course.”

“Once Finn got sorted into the Black Squad he punched her in the face. Literally. She has a black eye now.”

“I’m getting worried about this new squad. From what I’ve heard they are very aggressive.”

“I heard that the other ‘white’ girl, not the Asian one, threatened a guy with a knife because he looked at her in a ‘wrong way’. It’s pretty fucked up.”

“You know, I think they formed this new squad to protect the others. They couldn’t just make them leave the C.A.T. and they had to place them somewhere. So in order to protect everyone else, they just gathered all short-tempered people into a new squad.”

“It totally makes sense. I mean, the name speaks for itself – black.”

“Exactly. We should be careful around them from now on.”

“I will go talk to my boyfriend. I don’t want him to have any problems with those.”

…

“Holy shit, you won’t believe what I’ve just found out! Apparently, Blaine and Jeff were dating. Then Kurt came into the picture. Jeff cheated on Blaine with Kurt and to get his revenge Blaine cheated on Jeff with Kurt. I think they broke up now.”

“Um, I thought that Blaine and Kurt were together. I mean, they live together.”

“They do but it appears that it was Blaine and Jeff all the time! I can’t believe we have never noticed…”

“Well, we don’t spend much time in the base.”

…

“Hey, did you know that Sugar and Mike–”

“I know!”

“What do you know?”

“A month ago someone said something hurtful to Sugar and they both kidnapped that person and tortured to death.”

“And I heard that then they cut him into small pieces and buried in forty different places.”

“Really? I didn’t know that…”

…

“And then Noah cut his hand off.”

“Just like that?”

“Yeah, my friend’s friend saw it himself. He said that his eyes were like a crazy person’s.”

“It’s no surprise. I’ve heard that he is always on drugs.”

…

“Before Kurt and Finn became step-brothers they were dating. Like seriously, with sex and all. And when their parents moved in together it was just easier for them. But then Finn came here and they broke up.”

“I’m sure that Rachel is his beard. I’m pretty sure that Finn and Kurt are still together but secretly. God, that’s sick.”

“Poor Rachel.”

…

“Before coming to the C.A.T. Santana was a hitwoman. And not an average one. She was well paid, did her job quickly.”

“That’s why she agreed to become an agent. It was either prison or this.”

“If I ever anger one of them, I would probably kill myself because it would be less painful.”

“Don’t joke like that. But seriously, I’m scared of them.”