Chapter 4

The bed was very comfortable. The sheets of high thread count smelled like lavender. It was warm and cosy. Kurt smiled still not fully awake and inhaled deeply. He wanted to stay like this forever. In this nice smell, under this soft bed sheet…

Something was wrong. Kurt had neither nice bedding nor fabric softener. His bed was far from comfortable and his whole apartment was smelly. It was never silent due to a bad piping and people fucking in other apartments. It was never this peaceful.

Kurt shot his eyes open and sat down quickly. His head started spinning and he had to close his eyes again. The boy felt hangover. A headache started to kick in and he opened his yes again.

He looked around to what could have been called a ward; the bed was the only thing that told him he was wrong; it wasn’t like one of those hospital beds. Besides, he couldn’t have been in a normal or a mental hospital.

Kurt stood up and looked down at himself. He was wearing black sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt. He saw a pair of black slippers and put them on. If the situation had been different he would have frowned at a thought of wearing such gaudy clothes.

However, it was not a right time or place to think about it. Especially when Kurt noticed a pen and a piece of paper on the metal table. Before going to check what it was he raised his left hand just to see he had no watch on his wrist. There was no window so he had no idea what time it was.

Rubbing his aching head with a hand Kurt went to a table and sat down on a chair. He looked at the paper. ‘Please, write anything here’ was written in a blue ink.

Kurt sighed. He knew this stupid game. Someone must be playing some practical joke on me, he thought ignoring the memory of chloroform, which could have only meant kidnapping, took a pen in his right hand, and wrote ‘Anything’ in a given space. At that moment the door opened and Kurt jumped.

<~*~>

What Kurt didn’t know, he wasn’t the only confused person in the building where most rooms had no windows. A bit earlier nine people went through the same as well. Panic, disbelief, anger, excitement… Different people reacted in different ways of course.

Out of nine two didn’t pass a small quiz given to them. Other three said a strict no. Four seemed to be taken aback but they were willing to try and turn their lives upside down. Surprisingly, they didn’t need that much of persuasion. Apparently, they were that unhappy with their lives.

Tom couldn’t wait to see the tenth person, Kurt, wake up. Would they have four or five new people?

The man was sitting in a huge room full of screens that showed all places in the building. A very few people knew everyone had been watched and recorded all the time. It was for the better.

It was a very long day for Tom so he placed a hand on his head and didn’t even feel how sleep took over. After less than twenty minutes he felt a hand on his shoulder shaking him a bit.

“He woke up,” a boy who had woken Tom up said. “Take a look.”

Tom stood up but didn’t go any closer. The boy pressed a few buttons on one of the many computers in the room and the room Kurt was in showed up on the big screen in front of the man.

Tom dialled a number, and placed his phone to the left ear. Someone picked up but said nothing. Tom waited until Kurt sat down. He started writing, and the boy zoomed in. A… n… y… t… h… i… n… g.

“Now.”

<~*~>

“Good afternoon, Mr. Kurt Hummel,” a woman spoke and closed the doors. She had what seemed to be a warm smile on her face.

Would someone her age participate in a prank? Kurt thought confused and stood up.

“Who are you? Where am I? What do you want? Is James behind this?” he asked knowing it wasn’t very polite to ask so many questions but he had to let everything out.

The woman giggled and it scared Kurt for some reason though he didn’t show it. He didn’t find this funny at all but if it was just a stupid joke he had no intentions of letting those people win.

“My name is Sarah. And if you calm down I will tell you everything. Just give me a chance to explain,” the woman, Sarah, said and Kurt nodded. He felt stupid and frustrated. “Please, sit down.”

Kurt did that and she went to sit on the bed.

“Would you like me to just tell you what I have prepared to or would you like to ask questions?” she started.

Kurt thought for a moment. If he allowed her to tell what she wanted he may not hear what he wanted to. Besides, if he asked questions, it would be easier to catch her lying.

“I prefer questions-answers if you don’t mind,” he said and somehow calmed a bit; it was just a stupid joke, why would he be scared at all?

“Perfect,” she said smiling; nobody had chosen that option. “Ask anything you want.”

“At what age did you lose you virginity?” he asked mischievously. He wasn’t going to let them have fun.

Sarah looked at him in shock for a second and started laughing hard. Kurt smirked at her. “So?”

“Seventeen,” she said still laughing. She already liked the kid.

“So are we playing this game where we ask each other questions or am I the only one who asks?” he eyed her.

“I don’t have questions for you at this moment, I know quite a lot anyways,” the woman said trying to calm down; it had been a while since she laughed so hard.

“Fine. Where did you buy this skirt? It’s fabulous,” Kurt smiled at her.

Sarah shook her head in disbelief.

“In Italy,” she answered. “I think this question thing isn’t working…”

“It is, I’m sure it is,” Kurt laughed feeling much better. The woman seemed kind of nice. “Let’s try again. Did James plan this?”

“No, your friend – ex-boyfriend – friend has nothing to do with this.”

“So who is behind all this? Finn?” he questioned suspiciously.

“It’s not your step-brother either.”

“He is my brother, not a step-brother,” the boy frowned. “So who is it when?”

Only James and Finn would play a nice prank. If it’s not them, this can’t be good…

“C.A.T.”

“A cat?” Kurt rolled his eyes in disbelief. “I’m pretty sure it’s plotting all this with a dog.”

“C. A. T. – Central Alliance of Truce. It was established years ago and its purpose was a bit different than it is now but the name hasn’t been changed since then.”

Do you really think I’m going to believe this bullshit? Kurt thought.

“So what does this Cat do? Try to catch a mouse?”

“Metaphorically, yes,” Sarah nodded. “To keep it simple, we try to catch bad guys.”

“I have never heard of it. Are you like C.I.A. or F.B.I.?”

The woman snorted. “We are nothing like those. They get our leftovers. They take people who are not good enough for us. They take cases that are too easy or too boring for us. And we are way more secretive”

“Then, you must be the best of the best,” Kurt laughed. He had never heard anything that ridiculous.

“We are,” she said simply.

She is a really good actress, the boy thought.

“And where exactly is Cat’s sleeping basket?” he smirked.

“Well, we are in it, so let’s pretend we are both cats,” Sarah smiled and then laughed at Kurt who licked his hand and moved it through his hair. “Maybe not literally though.”

They both laughed.

“Okay, this is the base of C.A.T. It’s where the board is. It’s where agents stay and train when they are not on missions.”

“The missions must be very interesting. Like, stealing a bone from a dog or bringing as many mice as possible for a feast.”

“Something like that,” Sarah smirked. “Any more questions?”

“Why exactly am I here? Am I a prey of one of the cats?” he asked trying to sound uninterested.

“You can say you’re a prey of The Cat,” she laughed; so far it seemed that Tom didn’t make a mistake choosing Kurt.

“Am I about to be eaten then?”

“No. You are about to stay and become a little adorable kitten or you are about to leave just like five others,” she said anticipating the answer even though she knew Kurt was far from convinced.

So there are others? Well, nicely played; she must think I will believe if I think some other people like me are involved.

“Leave? Would I leave in a bag?” he smirked having decided to ignore the mention of others. “I mean, I already know too much about your little secret agent thingy.”

He is tough, Sarah thought. “No, not a bag. But with a threat to not tell anyone. But let’s keep it real, who would believe?”

“For example, I wouldn’t. And to be honest, you can already cut the act. It’s getting boring.”

“Strong minded… One of the reasons you are here,” the woman smiled at a boy who rolled his eyes.

“Do you really think I’m going to believe that some secret agency wants me? Oh please…”

“You have a personality we want. And we can offer a training to make you one of those agents you see in some cheap Hollywood movies.”

“If I say ‘yes’, will you laugh at me and my stupidity and let me go home? I don’t have time; I need to go to look for a new job so the sooner everyone gets to laugh at one stupid naïve Kurt Hummel, the sooner I can do what I need to,” Kurt said and stood up.

“Firstly, yes. If you agree to join and train here, you can leave this room now. Secondly, there are no last names here. So you’re just Kurt.”

The boy rolled his eyes. Why can’t she just stop?

“Fine, I will join your stupid agency. Now, can I go home?”

Sarah smiled widely.

“Let’s just go.”

She stood up and went to the doors. The boy followed her.

Little he knew a man and a boy were watching him on a screen with triumphant smiles. He didn’t know he was no longer in his home continent either.