A man in a black suit was sitting in a small room without windows. His hair was already grey, which was an indication of a lot of stress he had experienced during more than twenty eight years at work. Yes, Tom did not have what one could call an easy, calm life. However, even though the man regretted quite a few things he had done, choosing a profession was not one of them.

From an early age Tom could spot a good opportunity to gain something. Either it was a 30% off coupon or a photo of his neighbour’s mom cheating with the mailman, Tom could make most out of it. Growing up he also learnt what kind of people were useful to make friends with and who was not worth his attention. This is why it wasn’t very difficult for him to choose new people for the C.A.T. Being a new appointed head meant that he needed to surround himself with people who would be on his side. It was easier done with new people rather than experienced agents.

There were ten files on the table in front of him. Sarah was about to come and look through them as well. And even though her opinion wouldn’t change anything, Tom wanted the woman to be on his side – they were companions for years after all. While waiting, the man decided to take the last look at files.

Wes. Ambitious and hard-working. Tom could see him in one of the top squads. Most people wanted to be on top from the very beginning; it was their curse. While this boy was perfectly happy to start from the low point and go up slowly but steadily. It also helped that his father was one of the most successful businessmen in the States.

Santana. Reserved and nonchalant. As far as they knew, this girl made no attempts to make friends. Good agents were not meant to get too close to other agents or people they had to work with. If she stayed away from the other ‘whites’ and worked hard, she could accomplish a lot. Besides, if she had no friends, she would have nobody to advise her and it would be easier to have the girl do everything he wanted.

Megan. Candid and judgemental. She was different from Santana because that girl didn’t want friends. This one couldn’t make any because of her directness. It isn’t a secret that people don’t like it when people tell their honest opinion, which isn’t the pleasant one. The girl was never afraid to voice it; that’s why people didn’t stick around for a long time. But treated well, she would be a perfect puppy.

Anthony. Prudent and observant. Just like him. This boy would know where to put his loyalty. He would know that Tom was the most useful person to make acquaintance with. A few favours and he would be in his pocket.

Tina. Silent and persistent. The less a person talks, the less opportunities he or she has to give secrets away. Not speaking at all is even better. Of course, there are ways of communicating but it takes longer and gives time to think of what is about to be said. This girl hadn’t said a word in more than three years. She was more than capable of keeping secrets. And with her persistence she would probably rather die than betray a person or institution she was loyal to. Tom had to be that person. He thought it would be easily achievable given that people tend to keep aloof from people who are difficult to communicate with.

Sebastian. Sneaky and determined. This would do whatever it takes to reach his goal. He had already proved that even breaking the law wasn’t a problem for him. He needed money – he sold drugs. Tom couldn’t help but wonder what else this guy was capable of. Also, knowing the ways among drug dealers was an advantage as well, because he knew this first hand. Plus, he was a criminal; all they had to do was to give him an opportunity to choose – become an agent or go to prison. Tom was pretty sure he already had this one.

Thomas. Prim and rigid. Tom didn’t like this one too much but he had a feeling that the boy would have a lot of respect towards the authority, which was him. And having his ass kissed was always something he liked.

Emily. Gullible and enthusiastic. She would believe anything he told her. She would do anything he told her to do. And she would be happy to do it. This was easy.

Aiden. Demanding and competitive. Tom was sure he would push himself to the limit because this one was always trying to do more than he was capable of. There was no word ‘can’t’ in his vocabulary. If phrased correctly, he would do whatever Tom wanted.

Kurt. Kurt Hummel. It was different with this one. Tom considered him a trophy that he simply had to get. He would be perfect for the collection. They already had Richard and Abigail Anderson’s son Blaine, Carole Hudson’s son Finn, Mason Zizes’ daughter Lauren, his own son Jeff, Judy Fabray’s daughter Quinn, and a few others who were not really worth much attention. They were legacy and having them meant being in control over their parents, even though most of them were ex-agents. Having Finn was already useful but if he got Kurt, he would have an immeasurable power over Burt Hummel. Which also meant having power over the board. Tom had to have Kurt.

Someone knocked silently and came into the room. Tom did not look at a woman who sat right in front of him, on the other chair. Instead, he continued looking at Kurt’s file, thinking about all those people.

He had a good feeling about all of them. He felt like a general who was forming his own new army. Unfortunately to him, he misjudged the people he had chosen. Having no ability to foresee the future, he couldn’t know that in two weeks one of the new ‘whites’ would say: ‘how about we stick together until we figure everything out?’ and they would become friends.  He didn’t know that he wouldn’t have as much power over them as he wanted.

Tom closed the file but didn’t say anything. “It’s the first of June. I assume you have finally made your decision,” Sarah spoke finally after a long silence. The woman was about to say something else but she saw Tom looking up at her and smiling.

“Yes, I have made my mind. Thousands of people to choose from so it took a while. It’s an interesting bunch of young people,” the man said silently.

“Care to elaborate?” Sarah asked, obviously not impressed.

“They are not who are usually chosen. I’m not Fred, I’m not going to choose robots,” Tom said firmly. He had to convince Sarah that he wanted those young people for the C.A.T., not himself. “When I was appointed I knew this duty would be mine. I wanted to make a wise decision so I kept an eye on each squad and their members. I went through each and everyone’s files. Do you know that all our best members of the Purple Squad weren’t labelled as ‘excellent’ in the beginning? Besides, do you remember when we were new?”

Tom knew it wouldn’t be enough to make Sarah see his ‘point’. In no time she proved he was right.

“So, you decided to take a risk and choose some average kids just to check your guess,” she stated. “Don’t you think it would be better to keep the pattern of choosing new members? Maybe later you could… um… make an exception like Fred did five years ago. You’re new in this position. There are people who want to take your place. You can’t afford a mistake”.

“It’s not a mistake, I know it. Do you trust me?” Tom asked.

“Of course I do.”

I wouldn’t if I were you, Tom thought.

“Then help me,” he said, faking desperation.

 “You know I will always be there for you. No matter what a stupid thing you’re about to do,” she said rolling her eyes.

“Okay, so we have these ten young, talented kids. Look through the files. And then we are going to see them in action”.

Sarah opened the first file while Tom went back to his thoughts, hardly listening to her comments.

<~*~>

“Tuesday, the 14th,” Tom said making the man, he had been talking to, frown. “Is something wrong?”

The man shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I just didn’t expect it to be so soon.”

“The sooner, the better. I don’t want to waste any time,” Tom said sternly and stood up, giving the man a sign to leave. “Let me know everything about the preparation. I want to know all the plans as soon as they are made.”

The man nodded and left without another word. Not long after that Tom left as well. He needed to meet one person who was actually worthy his time. In Tom’s eyes the man, Seth Harris, was a rich criminal who hated the C.A.T. for killing or imprisoning many members of his family. Little he knew, Seth was just a messenger.

Without any disturbances Tom reached the manor and left his car further away as he always did. He walked to the gates and waited for the guards to let him in. Seth was already waiting for him in the hall with a medium size envelope in his hands, his bodyguard with him as always.

“Good evening, Tom,” he greeted the man with a small smile.

“Evening, Mr. Harris,” Tom answered and went to shake his hand.

The man responded with a mild shake and quickly pulled his hand away. “The money is in the envelope. It’s the exact amount, no need to count.”

Tom took the envelope. “I trust you, Sir,” he answered.

“Good. Now you can go, I need to take care of one business. I will contact you shortly.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

<~*~>

 “He woke up,” Jeff said. “Take a look.”

Tom stood up and waited for his son to show the video of Kurt on the big screen in front of him. He took his phone out of the pocket, dialled Sarah’s number, and waiting with the phone pressed to his ear. She answered quickly but said nothing. Meanwhile, Kurt started writing and Jeff zoomed in. Kurt was writing the correct answer.

 “Now,” Tom said and hung up.

He watched Sarah entering the room and listened to their conversation. Kurt Hummel appeared to be more than just the trophy he wanted. If given a good supervisor, he could become an excellent agent. So he made a mental note to check on Blaine and his current mission. Fortunately, according to the recent reports it was going to an end.

<~*~>

Tom was slightly disappointed at first because he expected more people to agree to join. But with time the ‘whites’ proved to be hard-working. Sadly, they spent most of the time together and seemed to be getting closer to each other. Tom wasn’t sure how to keep them apart.

Walking down the corridor Tom dialled Jeff’s number; he wanted to find Blaine who had to be in the base already. Just when the phone rang once he saw Blaine coming towards him.

“Good evening, Blaine,” he greeted the boy.

“Good evening, Tom,” Blaine smiled. “I was just going to your office to see if you were there. Could we talk for a minute?”

Tom nodded. “Sure. What’s the matter?”

“I’ve been wondering if you have decided who are going to supervise this year,” Blaine said putting his hands in the pockets.

“Yes,” Tom answered. And you are one of them, he added to himself but didn’t say it out loud.

“I talked to Mike and Sugar. The three of us want to supervise,” Blaine shrugged as if it was no big deal. Somehow Tom didn’t buy it. “I think we need a break from all the missions. The life has been hectic recently.”

Tom frowned. “I’m sorry but my decision is final. Now I will go to bed; it’s been a tiring day. Good night,” he said and walked past Blaine, sure that the boy would try to argue.

“Wait,” Blaine said and Tom smirked to himself. “We are good agents; we can make those newbies high level agents as well. It’s just one year – we will all benefit from it.”

Tom sighed and looked back to see Blaine. “Fine. But you owe me,” he said and left the boy alone.

<~*~>

The board meetings were always quite boring and a bit stressful. Once a month the head of the C.A.T. had to have a web conference with all seven members of the board. If necessary, there were emergency meetings as well.

Tom always felt like the board blamed every failure on him personally. Of course, he was in charge but he couldn’t control the actions of each individual. Nevertheless, he couldn’t risk his post so he patiently listened to their comments, taking mental notes who to scold later.

“Okay, I will see you all next month if everything is fine,” one of the board members said and logged off.

One by one they all left. In the end it was only Burt. “I wanted to talk to you for a moment,” he said.

“About Kurt?” Tom smiled. Burt kept calling him more often now that his two sons were in the C.A.T.

“Yes. How is he doing?”

“Pretty well. His supervisor is satisfied with his progress. I talked to a few teachers as well; they said Kurt was doing great. He has a fair share of points which allows me to assume that he could end up in the Red Squad or maybe in the Blue Squad if he keeps the same level of effort he puts now.”

Burt nodded thoughtfully. Tom always thought that the other man was too concerned about his sons. They were not kids after all. Besides, Kurt wasn’t even an agent yet.

“You mentioned in the report that Finn got back from his mission. Did he see Kurt?”

Tom laughed. “Yes. They were pretty shocked.”

“No surprise. I wonder how they would react if they found out who I was,” Burt smiled.

“Take a video – I will want to see,” Tom laughed. “Now I need to go. If anything, I will let you know.”

Burt nodded. “Great, let’s keep in touch,” he said and logged off.

Tom left the room; he needed to go get his next payment.

<~*~>

After Dave, who appeared to be a challenge, Seth Harris requested even a better agent. There weren’t many agents like Dave and the only one who was better was Blaine. But the boy was not only the best of the best, he was also a legacy. On the other hand, his both parents were dead so he wasn’t that useful. And with harder training a few ‘purples’ could reach his level after some time. Also, Seth doubled the pay so Tom just couldn’t say ‘no.’

It was Christmas afternoon and Tom was heading to eat lunch when his phone rang. Surprisingly, it was Finn. He answered and listened to what had happened. With each second his face became paler and paler – those idiots let other agents to find out that Blaine had been caught. He quickly came up with a plan to bring Finn and Kurt to the base so he can keep an eye on them, while his mind was racing with thoughts of what to do regarding Blaine.

First of all, he had to call Burt. “Hi, Burt. We have a problem. Finn and Kurt may hear you so pretend you are talking to Kurt’s professor Koester.”

“Yes.”

“Kurt’s supervisor was on a short mission and he got caught. At that time Kurt was talking to him on a phone so now he is freaking out.”

“I understand.”

“I want your boys to come back to the base. I think it would be for the best. It would be difficult for Kurt to pretend everything is fine so it would add some more stress. I think he is better off in England.”

“But it‘s Christmas.”

“I know but imagine yourself in Kurt’s place. After all, his supervisor is also his boyfriend.”

“Sounds important, I know.”

“I assume they are listening?”

“Okay, I will let him know.”

“I take it as a yes. So what’s the final decision?”

“Yes, he will come back as soon as he can.”

“Great. Tell him the university can’t find his project material and he needs to come back.”

With that Tom hung up. He wanted everyone, who was close to Blaine, to be in the base; only that way he could control them. Knowing people, who he was dealing with, he was afraid they might want to go rescue Blaine. In Tom’s mind it wasn’t an option.

Next thing, he had to inform Seth. But he couldn’t call from the base; it was too risky. Besides, now he would have to deal with Blaine’s situation as the head so he had no right to leave. Hopefully, he could do that later in the evening.

Just as expected, he didn’t have the calmest day. People kept bugging him and all he wanted was to take his car and leave. It was annoying to explain again and again that ‘the mission is too important; we need to wait a little longer’ and then meet a confused gaze of a person. Luckily, he had a perfect excuse that he needed to go get in touch with an agent, who was on the mission with Blaine, and could leave anyone without a deeper explanation.

The only problem was Blaine’s friends. Watching them when Kurt and Finn came back, made him want to lock them in cells separately and not let them out until Blaine was taken care of. Instead he could only ask Sarah to keep an eye on them. Tom had a feeling that she didn’t really agree with his decision but he knew that the woman would do as told. It was one of the reasons why he liked having her around.

Once he was sure that the likely rebels were under Sarah’s watch, Tom could finally leave. He was sure that Seth wouldn’t be very happy about the news but it was his men’s fault. So after he was away from the base, driving to an unknown direction, he dialled the man’s number.

“Yes?” Seth answered.

“We have a problem. Your men caught that agent when he was on a phone with another one. Now everyone knows that he got caught.”

“Come here,” the man said and hung up.

Tom sighed and turned around. He didn’t really want to spend the evening with that man.

<~*~>

Seth led the way to the dining room where people were eating dinner. The two men went to sit by the fireplace, further from everyone else. For some reason Seth didn’t go straight to the point. They talked about random stuff, which made Tom feel uncomfortable. To say it was weird was an understatement.

Finally the other man decided to comment on the situation they were in. “I don’t see why you are worried. It’s not the first time when the C.A.T. doesn’t send agents to rescue one of them. I’m sure you came up with an explanation.”

Tom heard someone shouting outside but it was probably his imagination. “I told them I don’t want the progress done on the mission to go wasted and that this guy was capable of saving his own ass especially when a few other agents on this mission could help him. I’m not sure if they bought it. I was actually kind of tempted to call the deal off.”

Seth frowned. “You can’t do that.”

“I’m not going to,” Tom gave him a small smile.

“Great. Now relax. More wine?” the man asked with an equally cold smile. Tom sighed and extended his glass. “We have two things to celebrate. It’s Christmas and one more agent is about to die.” 

“Isn’t it the perfect Christmas gift? The best of the best is dying right now,” Tom said and raised his glass for Seth to clink it.

“And for this one you will be paid more than any other,” the other man said and his phone rang. “Sorry, I have to take this. Yes?.. Intruder?.. More than one?.. Okay, find them but don’t kill anyone.”

Intruders? It can’t be good, Tom thought.

 “You should probably go. Andrei, show him the way out through the kitchen,” Seth instructed after the call ended.

“I will contact you soon,” Tom said shaking Seth’s hand.

“It’s always nice to work with you. Now go. Goodnight, Tom.”

“Goodnight.”

Tom followed Andrei thinking of what he had heard. A few intruders… He had a feeling who it could be. But it wasn’t possible. It must have been someone else. But just in case, he had to go back to the base as soon as possible.

<~*~>

The board wasn’t pleased. If anything they were furious. Especially, Burt, who had always believed that agent’s life was more important than any mission could be. Once again Tom defended his decision with the same arguments. But now he was living with a constant fear. With Seth and everyone, who was in the manor, being sent to a prison, he was afraid that he would be sold out soon. He cleaned his computer from anything suspicious and hoped for the best.

After a few weeks Tom was feeling more and more confident with each day. Nobody had suspected anything and his life went back to normal. One agent came back from his mission and after their meeting Tom decided to go back to his office to go through his report. He didn’t expect to find two agents in there and a laptop turned on, Burt’s face on the screen. The two men blocked the door once Tom got inside.

“Good afternoon, Tom,” Burt greeted him coldly.

“What’s happening?” Tom asked, starting to freak out.

“These gentlemen will accompany you to a prison where you are going to spend the rest of your life.”

Tom looked taken aback. “What are you talking about? Is this some kind of a joke? I haven’t done anything!”

“You know exactly what you have done,” Burt said. It must have taken a lot of strength for him not to start shouting. “And next time, when you want to get rid of secret information, remember that you have a genius for a son who can restore all necessary files.”

“Nonsense! Whatever it is, I was framed! Burt, you can’t believe I would do anything like that,” Tom shook his head.

“Like what, Tom? Please, enlighten me,” Burt grimaced.

“Anything that’s against the law!” Tom shouted. “You have known me for years. Please, believe me – I’m innocent!”

“Gentlemen, please, take him away,” Burt said and the men came closer. “Go peacefully, that would do us all a favour.”

<~*~>

In a prison Tom had a lot of time to think. He mostly thought about three people – Burt, Sarah, and Jeff. He had found out that Burt was the one who ordered to investigate his actions. Sarah was the one who betrayed his trust by going to rescue Blaine. Jeff went all the way to give Burt the evidence. His head was full of possible ways to get revenge. But it was futile given that he would be spending many years in a prison. Well, at least in a better one because in a few days he had to be taken to the States. He knew that the C.A.T. prison there was much nicer than the one in England.

The level of security didn’t surprise him at all. With him and two pilots there were also four agents who had to ensure that the prisoner couldn’t escape. After a few hours Tom fell asleep just to be woken up by someone pressing something to his face. It was a gas mask. Tom looked up to see that the plane was full of some sort of gas. Three agents were unconscious while the fourth one was with a mask himself. Tom quickly put his mask on. Suddenly the plane started to go down. The man put a backpack on and gave the other one to Tom. With a hand sign to follow his lead, the man opened the door and jumped. Only a few seconds after, Tom did the same.