Archive of Our Own ^beta

Bryce sighed as she got off the telephone with a man named Mr. Chronis. He apparently was the head of a movie studio company known as TV30, and according to him, one of his newest talents had just been kidnapped by a mercenary hired by the owners of his rival movie studio, Ball+. Now, unlike with Mr. Chronis, Bryce was very familiar with the Balls and the lengths they'd go to get what they wanted. So if she wanted to ensure the safe retrieval and return of Ms. Summers, she'd need to get her best team of agents for the job. 

Bryce dialed a number on her personal phone and waited for the person on the other end to answer.

"Hello? Ma?” Bryce couldn't help but smile at hearing her son's voice.

It had been a month since the gang's latest big mission, and Bryce still felt terrible for what had happened with Elmer. Another bad decision on her part, and it cost her another life. She can't risk losing more people, especially those who depended on her the most.

"Hello, sweetheart. I've got a job for you and your friends.”

“Of course, ma, what is it?”

Luxy would never turn his mother down, especially because she made him into the spy he is today. On top of all his lessons with his grandmother Tammy, his mother had also trained and taught him everything he knew. 

"It's a rescue mission, dear. I'll discuss more of the details when you get to headquarters. See you then."

"Sure, ma. See you." 

Once the call ended, Luxy turned to his awaiting teammates, who were all staring at him expectantly.

"What'd your mom say?" Flint asked.

Luxy smiled and cracked his knuckles. "Looks like we've got a new mission on our hands, gang.”

“I hate not knowing what it is,” Cathy said, squished in between her girlfriend and Alex in the van on the way to their headquarters.

“Oh, you’re just impatient, dear,” Karen said, making the other blush.

“Gross. Save it for after the mission, please!“ Helen commented.

Flint was driving the van, with Luxy sitting next to him in shotgun.

"Might I remind you: I’M the leader here, Leroy," Flint said, his eyes still fixed on the road. 

The other man just shot him a cheeky smile. "And I'M the son of the head and director of 3DHQ."

Flint rolled his eyes. "Still, you have to inform me about the job we're being tasked to do."

Luxy simply patted Flint on the shoulder.

"My mother will fill us all in once we get to HQ.”

Flint rolled his eyes. Even after a year of working together as an official team, he and Luxy still often butt heads trying to play the leader. There were many times the others had to tell them to calm down because of it. Deep down, each of them loved watching the other get riled up in anger over the other’s success in leadership. Alex in particular found it very... intriguing to watch the two men go at it to the point where their faces would be mere inches apart. Not that he's been looking! Or secretly staring at them hoping that their angry yelling would escalate to something more... passionate. But that wasn't important right now! Right now, they have a new job to do. And he was excited to get back out on the field and feel the rush of adrenaline that always came with the thrill of going undercover.

"You excited, Carol?" Alex asked his sister who sat across from him. 

Carol shrugged plainly. "Hopefully it won't be as bad as our last mission."

“Yeah, I'd rather not have a repeat of that,” Luxy spoke quietly. Elmer's death had affected him pretty badly. It was the first death he'd witnessed in person where he couldn't have done anything to prevent it, and it was painful to remember every time. 

"You scared the shit out of us when you ran back towards the bunker,” Cathy mumbled as she crossed her arms. She'd never admit it out loud, but she deeply cared for her best friend of many years. Watching him deliberately put his life at risk to save someone was both admirable and terrifying. She would've never been able to recover if he hadn't gotten out in time.

Luxy pouted. "I know… I'm sorry.”

"Please refrain from doing anymore reckless acts of heroism in the future, okay?” Flint told him.

Luxy turned his head to look at Flint and he suddenly smiled teasingly at him. "You looked so badass when you caught me, though. My hero~"

"Bitch, he had me manning the fucking jet to save your ass!" Karen piped in, "It's a good thing Carol stepped in to fly the damn thing before I crashed us all into the forest!”

Helen smiled, subtly touching the tip of her shoe with Carol's. The latter smiled at her partner, and shushed her softly, their hands almost overlapping each other. Nobody knew that they were already dating. The two women chose to keep their relationship a secret because Cathy and Karen never heard the end of it with the teasing for falling in love with their teammate.

“You looked so hot flying it though,” Cathy said, causing all of the others to groan and fake gag at their love.

“You’re all being too harsh on them,” said Alex. Out of everyone else in the group, he was probably the only one who understood why they fell in love, and maybe sometimes he secretly wished that he could be like them—in the arms of someone on his team.

It wasn't long before the gang finally arrived at 3DHQ. Being one of the best teams in the agency meant that they had a special parking space reserved specially for them. As they exited the van, they were immediately greeted by Madame Tankthrust's trusty robotic right hand man, Donovan. 

"Welcome back, little boss and crew." 

Luxy flushed red in embarrassment, which made everyone else laugh. "Donovan, seriously, you don't have to keep calling me that."

Donovan was an AI, yes, but he was more than familiar with human emotions thanks to his maker, Gloria, and his experience helping raise Luxy since he was a child while his mother ran the agency. 

"Very well... little boss," Donovan smirked, and Luxy knew he was messing with him. Cheeky robot.

The gang followed Donovan into the agency, all mimicking and mocking the ‘little boss’ comment in a playful way just to push Luxy’s buttons, especially Flint.

Luxy glared at his teammates and huffed. "Oh, grow up."

Flint playfully poked Luxy's side, making the latter squeak in surprise. "You first, little boss~"

Donovan cleared his throat, which instantly got everyone's attention as they arrived at the agency's conference room. Donovan opened the door for them. 

"Right this way."

Flint nodded and thanked the robotic assistant, allowing his team to go in first before entering the room himself. As they got settled into their seats, Luxy's mother finally appeared from another door. 

"Ah, welcome back to headquarters, agents."

The group greeted Bryce back. Luxy smiled at his mother and got up to peck her on the cheek. 

"Hi, mama."

"So good to see you again, sweetheart," Bryce smiled back.

Luxy returned her smile before stepping back into place with the others.

“So, what's the mission, ma’am?” Flint asked excitedly, making Bryce eye him. The others all looked interested as well, eager and confident about what could be coming.

"You're going on a rescue mission," Bryce told them and snapped her fingers, signaling Donovan to hand the group folders containing information about their mission, "I'm sure you're familiar with the Balls, Victor and Lilian?”

Everyone's gazes turned to Alex. The former actor felt his heartbeat quicken at the mention of their names. Carol reached for his hand under the table and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Flint cleared his throat to bring everyone's attention back to Bryce. "Yes, ma'am. We know of them."

"Good, because those money hungry assholes are the reason why an innocent woman's life has now been put in danger," Bryce continued to fill them in on the details of the mission, and by the time she finished, she stared at the group and asked if they had any questions.

Cathy raised her hand.

"Yes, Ms. Hernandez?"

"Who's the mercenary?"

Bryce frowned a little. "We don't know yet. But I'm sure the seven of you can handle one measly mercenary.”

All of them read over the files in the folder, looking at each other and nodding.

“Seems… easy enough,” Flint said, looking over to Alex. He couldn’t quite read the expression on the former actor's face. He knew this was going to be hard for him.

“You okay?” Carol whispered to Alex.

Alex turned to his sister and shook his head. "I always knew the Balls were horrible people. I just never thought they'd stoop this low..."

Carol frowned, remembering the things her brother had to go through when he was under contract for the Balls. She witnessed firsthand how they were able to drain all the life and passion out of her brother as they forced him to do things for the sake of money.

"You're free from them now, Alex," she reminded.

"I know," Alex nodded and sighed, "enough about me, though. We have an innocent life to save.”

Carol squeezed his hand again, and as they went into the weapons and equipment room to prepare and grab what they needed, Flint patted Alex on the back, shooting him a soft smile. Luxy and Cathy rushed to the firearms and blades respectively, grinning like excited children as they got their hands on new weapons.

"Helen seems to be enjoying all the new gadgets your aunt Gloria has made," Cathy commented as she expertly twirled two daggers in her hands. 

Luxy chuckled and nodded in agreement, glancing over to the excited redhead across from them before selecting a new pistol from the wide range of choices on the display case and putting it in his belt holster. 

"Wait until she finds the tech glasses—”

"HOLY SHIT, I CAN SEE THROUGH WALLS WITH THIS THING?!!"

Cathy snorted. "Looks like she found them.”

Carol giggled as she watched Helen mess around with the high-tech spectacles. 

“Careful,“ she said, taking the glasses off of her girlfriend to study them herself, taking note of each button and mode it had.

“Try them on, dove,” Helen said softly, to which Carol shook her head. Helen kept on persisting anyway, so Carol eventually gave in to appease her. She pulled off her own specs first before putting on the tech glasses, humming in interest as she studied the world through this new technological device.

In another corner of the room, Alex and Karen were shoving various clothes, wigs, and accessories into a bag in case they needed to go undercover for the mission. 

"Don't forget the sunglasses."

"Ooh! Yes!"

Flint stared at his team fondly and waited for them to finish gathering everything they needed. Once everyone was settled, he pulled out a little remote from his pocket and pressed the button in the middle. Everyone stepped aside as the HQ's garage doors opened to reveal their ride.

Flint smiled. "Hello again, old girl."

Cathy snorted. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were in love with that flying piece of titanium."

Flint made an offended noise.

"Don't you dare say that about Naome!"

"Bitch, did you just name the damn thing?"

Flint pointed at the jet's rear, where it had N2-0M3 printed in a fairly small font. "That's her name!"

Luxy facepalmed. "Let's just go already.”

Flint helped the ladies climb on, and even held his hand out to help Alex up. Luxy rolled his eyes and went to hop in without his help, but he miscalculated his step and almost fell. Luckily, Flint caught his arm, and the two locked eyes for a second. Luxy felt a slight blush creep onto his cheeks as Flint pulled him in with ease. Thankfully, he didn't say anything else. Once everyone was onboard, Flint made his way to the cockpit and started the jet. He then switched on the little microphone on the console to announce that they were about to take off.

"Fasten your seatbelts, gang! We're headed to Palm Springs!”

Helen and Carol were sitting next to each other, as they usually would be. Alex had always been suspicious of them, especially more so lately. The two were always good friends, and of course close because of being spies together, but lately… something seemed different about them. 

He was then interrupted out of his thoughts by Luxy complaining.

“How much longer, Flint—“

“Leroy, for fuck's sake, we got in the air ten minutes ago!”

Alex snickered and waved Luxy over to sit next to him. The latter sighed but plopped down beside Alex anyway. 

"How are you always this impatient?" Alex poked him teasingly. 

Luxy reclined back into his seat and kicked up his feet to rest on the seat in front of him, which was where Cathy was seated.

"Leroy!"

"Ugh... Fine! You guys are no fun!" 

Luxy finally turned to Alex as he put his feet back on the floor. "The best part about these missions is getting in on all the action! I wanna feel the rush of adrenaline and the blood pumping in my veins!"

Alex hummed, his eyes subtly glancing down to Luxy's lips as he spoke.

"Uh huh, yeah.”

Luxy went on and on, and yet Alex heard none of it. He did nod his head though and acted like he was paying attention.

“--and when you get to use the knives and throw them and get the target right! I just love it.”

“I can agree on that,” Cathy piped in, peering over at them.

Alex rested his chin on his palm as he listened to Luxy's yapping, occasionally nodding or humming in response with a dopey smile on his face the whole time. Cathy noticed this and smirked slyly, turning back in her seat and leaning over to Karen to whisper in her ear. 

Helen and Carol believed they were being subtle as their knees were casually touching while they ran over the mission's details again with each other.

“We’re landing, guys!” Flint chimed in over the speaker, and Luxy pumped his fists into the air. Alex never took his eyes off Luxy though. Luxy noticed and tilted his head with genuine concern on his face. Since Luxy knew this mission was going to be hard for Alex, he thought maybe the other spy was just lost in his head about it. Little did he know what Alex was truly lost in his head about.

“Alex? You okay?”

Alex snapped out of his thoughts when Luxy put a hand on his shoulder. He tried to cover up his red cheeks by clearing his throat and ducking his head.

"Uh, yeah! Just a little nervous, s'all!"

Luxy shot him an assuring smile and squeezed his shoulder. "We're in this together, Lex. You don't have to worry about those rich assholes getting to you ever again."

Alex swore his heart fucking swooned at that. 

With practiced ease, Flint smoothly landed the jet several meters away from the victim's home before joining his team to begin instructing them on what to do.

"Helen, Carol, you two are in charge of investigating the house to see if there are any clues that could lead us to the whereabouts of Ms. Summers. Luxy and Cathy, you'll be going with them just for precaution. Karen, Alex, and I will be surveying the surrounding area to find any potential tracks left behind. Understood?"

Everyone made a sound of agreement. 

"Alright, let's go.”

The first four mentioned all hopped out of the jet, but not before Karen kissed Cathy's cheek for good luck. They all headed towards the mansion, and when they arrived, Luxy kicked the door in, and they all entered the place quietly. It seemed… empty. Like no one had been there at all.

“Look around, but quietly,” Luxy eyed Helen specifically, who was anything but quiet. Helen rolled her eyes at him but nodded, her hand almost coming to reach for Carol's, but she caught herself just in time. 

"Right, where do you think the mercenary entered from?"

The four of them took careful steps as they surveyed the inside of the mansion, and as they got to the center of the room, they noticed glass shards and small bits of debris laying haphazardly on the ground. They all simultaneously glanced above, and as they suspected, there was an obvious gaping hole left in the ceiling.

"So much for subtlety," Carol muttered.

“Yeah, whoever they hired must be a rookie,” Luxy commented as he flicked his walkie-talkie on, telling Flint exactly what they saw. As he talked, the floorboards in another room creaked, and Carol seemed to be the only one who heard it. She turned her head and began walking towards the direction of the noise. However, when she carefully opened the door to the room, there was nobody there. Carol huffed and turned back around, only to jump and accidentally drop her walkie-talkie at the sight of Helen being right behind her. Helen chuckled when her partner let out a little yelp that sounded like a mouse squeaking.

“What was that for?” Carol shot the other woman a half-hearted glare.

“Wanted to sneak off and… look for more clues or whatever,” she replied casually, interlocking her fingers with Carol's and leaning in to kiss her girlfriend on the lips.

Outside, Flint squatted down and squinted his eyes to look at something on the road. They appeared to be tire marks from a small vehicle. Probably a motorcycle. 

"I wonder if Helen's tech glasses can trace these tire marks and lead us to where the mercenary took our victim."

Alex peaked over a bush and tilted his head curiously as he spotted something on the ground.

"What the hell is that?"

Karen came over to him and snorted.

"You never smoked a blunt before?”

“Do I look like someone who has?” Alex stared at her with a deadpan expression before picking up the blunt with a glove and then placing it into a zip lock bag.

“Eh, fair.” 

Helen groaned and pulled away from Carol when she heard Flint's voice speaking through the walkie-talkie. She really didn't want to step away from Carol just yet.

“Helen, we have to focus!” Carol reminded her, but she was also blushing and giggling.

Helen grunted reluctantly and spoke back into the walkie-talkie. "Hold on, let me do a quick sweep of the victim's room first," she said and captured Carol's lips once more in a kiss before walking out the room with a satisfied smirk. When Helen happened to pass by Cathy in the hallway, who narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Helen's slightly smeared lipstick, the tech expert just ignored her and followed Luxy into Ms. Summers' room. 

"Our victim certainly didn't go without a fight,” Luxy noted as he stared at the messy room with several items strewn around as if they'd been pelted at something or someone. 

Helen whistled. "Wherever they are now, she definitely isn't making it easy for her captor.”

—

“Let me go, you fucking asshole!” Paisley, aka Ms. Summers spat at the man who had poorly abducted her from her mansion. The guy really had the audacity to break into her home through the fucking roof of all places—of fucking course she'd heard him come in! His dumbass literally fell through it thinking he could pull off some cool stunt as he attempted to descend down using a grappling hook. She was in the middle of doing her night time skin care routine, too when he rudely interrupted her with his presence.

The hired mercenary was honestly debating whether he should tie something around her mouth or to simply just ignore her whiny complaints. She literally hasn't shut up since he'd captured her and she was beginning to get on his nerves. 

“But I, like, can’t do that dawg,” he said as he pulled up a chair to sit across from her. He'd taken her to an old abandoned movie studio, at the request of the people who hired him.

Paisley struggled in her restraints, huffing when her captor just laughed at her.

"You ain't getting outa those anytime soon, pretty baby."

Paisley made a disgusted face.

"Ugh, don't call me that. But seriously though, why the hell did you take me here?!"

The mercenary casually leaned forward and pulled out a blunt and a lighter from his pocket.

"I'm just doing my job," he answered her as he lit up his blunt. “Believe me, I'd rather be anywhere else than in this shit hole with your whiny little ass."

"Hey!" 

Her captor shrugged. "It's true, dawg.”

She watched as he took a hit from his blunt, and after some thought, she suddenly asked, “can I have some?”

The mercenary laughed, thinking she wasn’t serious. But she apparently was with the way she was eyeing him.

“You’re gonna try pulling some shit on me…” he said, staring at her skeptically.

“I literally can’t fucking move, god forbid a girl wants a hit off a blunt in a time like this, I guess,” she scoffed, but to her surprise, the mercenary got up from his chair and walked towards her, standing over her with a fairly intimidating stance. He then put his blunt between her lips and held it there as she inhaled. He would never say it out loud, but he found her incredibly attractive.

—

Back in Palm Springs, the gang has regrouped back inside the jet to evaluate what they've uncovered so far and discuss their next course of action. 

"Carol, what do you think?" Flint turned to their analyst.

Carol adjusted her glasses as she looked over their evidence. "The mercenary may have arrived here on a motorcycle, but they definitely didn't leave on one because how would he have carried our victim? Especially if they had to knock her out? They must've high-jacked a four-wheeled vehicle."

Everyone nodded as they listened to Carol.

"We can assume that the mercenary took our victim via car, then came back here to retrieve and deposit his motorcycle elsewhere to keep us off of their tracks."

Flint cussed under his breath. "So following the tire marks would be useless."

Carol nodded. "I'm afraid so. However, the blunt Alex found by the porch seems to be familiar to Luxy."

Luxy grinned. "Yup! I used to buy them all the time! And they're only sold at one specific shop an hour away!”

“See, Karen. I was helpful!” Alex boasted proudly. Karen rolled her eyes.

“Good job, Lex!” Flint praised, making Alex blush slightly. Karen noticed, though, and she smirked to herself.

“Hold on, it could still leads us nowhere. Hundreds of people could've bought these exact blunts!” Cathy pointed out.

"Ah, give me a sec," Helen said as she opened up her laptop and began typing. "Leroy, what's the shop's name?"

"The Cornhole Corner."

Helen looked up to stare at him for a second, and when she realized Luxy wasn't joking, she sighed and just went back to what she was doing. 

"Our mercenary may have disabled all the security cameras in this area, but not the one from this shop,” she smirked as she turned the laptop to face the others, showing everyone security footage from The Cornhole Corner from outside the shop and in the parking lot. 

"Holy shit, Helen I could kiss you right now if I wasn't gay,” Flint blurted out. Carol faked a cough, which made Helen chuckle and slightly nudge her with her shoulder.

Alex smiled. "So all we have to do is identify the model of the motorcycle that made those tire marks and see which customer arrived and bought the blunts from the shop!"

Carol hummed, shooting her brother a smile. "Precisely.”

“Alright. Let's not waste time here, people!” Flint declared. Carol began to analyze the tire mark photos they took back in Palm Springs, typing away at the laptop she took from Helen.

“Thank god I'm mainly good at fighting ‘cause there is no way in hell I'd be smart enough for all this,” Cathy gestured to all the work Carol was doing on Helen's laptop.

“Oof, you and I both, kittycat,” Karen nodded in agreement, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend's shoulders.

It didn't take long for Carol to identify the brand of the motorcycle, and she soon handed back the laptop to Helen, who then placed the motorcycle picture and the security camera footage side-by-side so she could better compare them as she sped through the footage.

Carol leaned her head closer, her chin almost resting on Helen's shoulder. "Alright, let's assume the mercenary purchased his blunts around the time he took Ms. Summers, which was around 11:00 o'clock in the evening according to the information file we got from Madame Tankthrust. Helen, skip to around half-past 9 in the footage."

"You got it, dov– uh, yeah, will do," Helen almost slipped up and called Carol by the petname she secretly calls her when they're alone. Carol tapped her foot against Helen's and she took the note. Returning back to business, Helen skipped through the footage as instructed, keeping a very close eye on all the vehicles that drove by until a certain motorcycle finally came into view.

“We got him!” Helen proclaimed, and the gang cheered.

“What’s he look like?” Karen asked curiously.

“Tall, wearing a brown hoodie and baseball cap… possibly Latino,” Carol said aloud and took note of all the guy's features, meanwhile Helen got to work enhancing the footage to get a clearer view of his face.

Cathy peaked at the laptop and snorted. "He strangely looks like a younger version of my dad."

"Huh, you sure you're not the double agent here, babe?" Karen teased, which got her a smack on the arm from her partner. 

"You know I can't act for shit, Karebear."

"Yeah, I know... That's why I love you."

"Awww, I love you, too~"

Luxy rolled his eyes at the two women. "You're sickening."

Cathy and Karen stuck their tongues out at Luxy and cackled.

"Okay, I've managed to gain access to more security cameras and tracked down this guy's whereabouts up until the ones in Palm Springs got disabled. He arrived at Ms. Summers' mansion at 11:05pm and then returned two hours later to most likely deposit his motorcycle," Helen spoke as she worked on her laptop. "Judging by the security footage I got two blocks away from the mansion, only one car drove by around the time Ms. Summers was taken. And if I just zoom in a little bit more..."

Carol grinned as she recognized the hoodie and cap of the driver.

“Perfect,” Helen whispered to herself as Flint started to land the jet at their destination. Before they all exited the aircraft, they gathered around in a circle as Flint instructed them on what to do.

“Karen and Alex, go get into some disguises and try to get any information out of the person who works at that shop. The rest of us will search around the area to see if there's anything else out there that can help us track down our guy. I'll keep a lookout.”

Karen and Alex looked at each other excitedly.

"Dibs on the dress!" Karen exclaimed and raced for their disguises bag.

"Aw, no fair!" Alex pouted but followed her anyway.

They both went into separate bathrooms and returned looking like a dad named John and an astrological lesbian.

"Are you guys supposed to be a couple?" Cathy asked, trying not to laugh.

Alex and Karen glanced at each other then back to Cathy.

"No.”

“Okay whatever, just go and hound as much information out of the person as you can!” Flint told them, and the two disguise masters rushed out.

“Alright, I'll distract the worker while you go to retrieve the security footage from inside the shop,” Karen said to Alex as they approached The Cornhole Corner.

“Aw, come on! You always get to distract them while I do all the dirty work.”

“We’re spies, Alex. This is all dirty work.”

Alex rolled his eyes. "Fine, but I want to be the distraction next time."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Karen plastered on a fake smile and adjusted her prop glasses as she entered the shop with Alex and made her way towards the person behind the cashier.

"Hello, young man! Do you perhaps have anything in here that could help me and my wifey sync our periods together?"

When the worker turned around, Karen actually did a double-take because the person manning the cashier had a strange resemblance to their last case. It couldn't be him, though. Elmer was dead. Plus, this person looked several years younger. Still, it was creepy seeing a real-life doppelganger, especially when the look-alike resembled someone who was recently deceased.

"Ma'am, this is a shop that sells joints,” the worker deadpanned.

"Your point?”

While Karen got to distracting, Alex pretended to be a casual shopper looking around the shop. When he was sure the worker’s attention was solely focused on his partner in crime, Alex slipped through the shop's back door and instantly found the room where all the security footage would be. While he retrieved the footage from inside the shop, he could hear Karen going on and on outside, talking the worker's ear off. To be honest, Alex felt bad for the guy. Once he got everything he needed transferred to a flash drive, Alex quietly slipped past the door and went back to fake browsing the shelves lined with various vapes with different flavors.

Back outside, the rest of the team surveyed the surrounding areas of the shop. Flint accompanied Luxy to check the back while the girls searched for anything at the front. A smile all of a sudden appeared on Luxy's face when he spotted a dumpster. Flint noticed and immediately knew what the other was planning.

"Leroy, you are NOT dumpster diving for vape sticks in there."

"Aww, come on! You're no fun, Dicker!"

"Luxy, we're on the job!”

“Yeah, but like, maybe there's uh, evidence in here…” he said, and without hesitation climbed into the dumpster. Flint sighed, lifting up a hand to massage his temple.

Meanwhile, over at the front, Cathy was casually watching Helen and Carol study the tire tracks they noticed on the ground, trying to see if they possibly matched the ones they found in Palm Springs.

“So, are you two, like, a thing?” Cathy abruptly asked them.

Carol choked on air as she turned around to face Cathy. Helen stayed crouched down, trying to act as if she didn't hear anything.

"Sorry?"

Cathy jutted out a hip as she smirked at Carol. "Oh, you heard me, dove~" 

Helen whipped her head around so fast that she almost gave herself whiplash. "HERNANDEZ, WHAT THE FUCK!”

“Oh my god, you guys aren't subtle at all! The glances, the pet names, the foot and knee touches… Come on, you guys aren't even trying!” Cathy cackled at them both. “But don't worry, I won’t tell the others.”

Carol crossed her arms, eyeing Cathy skeptically. "Are you sure?"

"I mean, it's not like everyone hasn't already clocked you both anyway," Cathy shrugged nonchalantly.

Carol groaned, going over to Helen and dropping her head on her partner's shoulder. "Are we really that obvious?”

“Yeah, duh,” Cathy said as a matter of fact.

The glasses-wearing duo sighed. Helen just shook her head and went back to studying the tire prints. “Okay, so anyways…” 

Cathy laughed as Helen just tried to ignore it. She didn't press the matter any further, though, which relieved the newly found out couple.

“The tire prints definitely match the ones we found in Palm Springs,” Helen noted, “hopefully, Alex or Karen managed to get footage that shows his face more clearly.”

As if on cue, Alex strutted out the shop whilst whistling a casual tune, holding up the flash drive that contained exactly what they needed. Through her peripheral vision, Karen saw Alex exit the shop and decided it was probably time to stop tormenting the poor store clerk with her yapping.

"Actually, you know what? Maybe I'm at the wrong shop."

The store clerk blinked at her with a bored expression. "I believe you have been for the last 20 minutes, ma'am."

Karen reached over and pinched the clerk's cheeks playfully. 

"Such a smart young man! Alright, ta-ta now!" Karen flashed him a sweet smile before turning around and walking out of the shop with a disgusted look on her face. "Eugh, I should've chosen a less weird character to play.”

“That was fucking hilarious though,” Alex snickered as he and Karen rejoined the others, handing over the flash drive to Helen and his sister. “Here you go! Do your magic tech work, ladies!”

Karen took off her prop glasses and raised a brow. "Hold up, where's Dicker and Leroy?"

The two men in question appeared a second later, with Flint looking evidently done™ as he dragged Luxy along by the wrist, the latter giggling to himself proudly.

"Guys! Guess what I found!"

The rest of the group sighed and shook their heads.

Luxy had the biggest smile on his face as he held up three completely full vapes in his left hand. Everyone just turned around and began walking back to the jet. None of them bothered to humor Luxy, as the man happily skipped with his vapes in his hand.

“Bitch, are you seriously going to put your mouth on those?” Karen scrunched her face up in disgust.

“Uh, not yet!“ and all he did was take each vape and wipe them on his shirt. “Okay, now I can!”

“You’re fucking disgusting.”

Once everyone was onboard, Flint started the jet as Carol and Helen got to work. Using the security footage Alex acquired from the shop, they were able to get a clear image of the mercenary and identify who he was. Helen clicked on a particular link which, funnily enough, led to the guy's own profile.

"Sebastian ‘Blame’ Hernandez, 22 years old, young hot Latino, freelance mercenary… is this motherfucker for real??" Helen turned to Carol, who looked just as confused at the information being on full display right there on the fucking web.

"Oh wow, did the Balls seriously decide to hire some amateur mercenary to do their dirty work for them?" Cathy said humorously, looking over Carol and Helen's shoulders to get a peak at the laptop screen. "For a couple of rich assholes, they sure do like spending their money on cheap shit."

"Hey, who knows? Maybe the reason they want TV30 gone is because they're not making enough money of their own!" Luxy piped in after exhaling some fruity ass smoke.

“Well, he should at least be easy to take out,” Cathy shrugged. 

“Any clues as to where we can find him?” Flint asked as he glanced over his shoulder to look at Helen and Carol.

“Even better, this dumbass just posted his fucking location on Facebook.” 

Frankly, Helen didn't know whether to feel relieved or utterly flabbergasted by this mercenary’s stupidity. It was fucking ridiculous.

“How convenient. Where to, then?”

“It's in—” Carol went to read the address out loud but quickly stopped herself when she recognized where it actually was. 

“Carol? What's wrong?” Alex curiously asked her, which only made the analyst's heart ache even more for him knowing full-well how much trauma her brother was about to relive because of this.

“They’re at Ball Studios…”

The whole jet fell silent, but the internal cry of Alex's heart was deafening.

—

Back with Blame and Paisley, the two were still sitting and waiting in the old studio together. After posting a quick selfie on Facebook (and failing to realize that he accidentally added the location), Blame sighed and slumped in his chair.

“Man, this shit is boring, dawg!”

Paisley rolled her eyes at him. “Oh yeah? Well, I'm having a real blast!” she said sarcastically.

Blame crossed his arms and let out a frustrated huff. "Really thought this mercenary job would be more exciting. Instead, I'm here babysitting a stuck-up influencer." 

Paisley glared at him. "Hey! My 30 million followers on TikTok love me!"

"Uh huh."

This guy was seriously starting to get on Paisley's nerves.

"Well, if you really don't like me that much, why don't you just kill me?!"

Blame furrowed his brows as he lifted his head up to look at Paisley. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, can you like, chill? Ain't nobody said anything about killing anyone!”

“Why not?” she egged him on. 

“‘Cause that’s like… intense and shit,” he looked genuinely concerned, which amused Paisley as she smirked at him.

“Or, you know, maybe you're just growing attached to me~”

Blame spluttered, a bewildered look on his face as he stared back at the influencer. "Me? Attached to you?? Pshhh, nawh dawg!" he denied, shaking his head defensively. 

Paisley giggled. Even with the dim lighting in the room, she could still see the faint blush on the silly mercenary's cheeks. "D'aww, you don't have to deny it, sweetie! I know I'm irresistible~”

“Shut up!” Blame gripped the edge of his seat, refusing to lose to this stupid argument. It didn't help that her cleavage was showing through her cute top while her smooth legs were on full display thanks to her shorty-shorts. And fuck, how the hell did her hair still frame her face so perfectly despite its disheveled state? Not to mention her voice… It was so intoxicating even when she was whining and complaining.

But goddamn it, Blame couldn’t fuck this job up! Because what would the Balls think of him and his services? He couldn't allow himself to get a bad rating and review from his very first clients! It'd be so over for his mercenary career! He just had to wait like he was instructed to do. He just didn't know for how long. All they really told him was to ‘entertain her until it's time.’

And huh, wouldn't you know it? It seems like the time was now! Because not a second later, Blame's phone began to ring in his pocket and he quickly pulled it out to answer the call.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Change of plans, kid," Mr. Ball's voice spoke from his phone's speaker. "We need you to kill the girl. NOW."

Blame's breath suddenly hitched in his throat. 

"Wait, what?"

"That motherfucker Chronis just hired a bunch of agents to track her down. He refused to give in to our demands! But if you kill her, at least neither of us will be able to get what we want.”

“W-wait, hold on a sec, dawg! I didn’t sign up to do this!“ Blame panicked. This wasn't part of their deal! He was told there would be no killing involved!

“You’re a fucking mercenary, kid. Do your goddamn job,” Mr. Ball sneered before he hung up the phone, leaving both the mercenary and influencer speechless. Paisley had heard what Mr. Ball said over the phone, and her stomach dropped as she realized her fate was now in the hands of her captor.

Blame felt his hands shake as he pocketed his phone and reached for the gun strapped to his belt. He knew what needed to be done.

"Don't... Please..." Paisley quietly pleaded.

The mercenary couldn't even bring himself to look at her as he screwed his eyes shut and aimed the gun in her direction. 

"M'sorry, dawg."

And the gun went off. 

Paisley screamed, but instead of feeling the piercing pain of a bullet, she felt strong arms begin to untie her from her restraints. She looked up at her captor in wonder. 

"Do you trust me?” Blame shot her a smile as he held out his hand to her.

Paisley felt her heartbeat quicken as she looked at his hand. She grabbed it and nodded her head. “I trust you.”

It was also at that exact moment they heard the studio doors burst open, and in came seven armed people all pointing their weapons at Blame.

"Stay where you are and put your hands up!" The guy with glasses shouted at him.

"Shit, aight! Just chill, dawg!" Blame immediately did as he was told. He still stood protectively in front of Paisley, though.

The group of agents were instantly confused by his immediate compliance. Most mercenaries would've definitely put up a fight! But this one… he didn't even seem like he knew what his job was. 

Flint put his gun down, but kept it grasped in his hand just in case. “What’s going on?”

 Blame held up his hands in surrender. “Dawg, I didn’t sign up for this shit! They actually wanted me to kill her!”

"Because that's what you were hired to do. That's the job you signed up for," Carol interjected, eyeing Blame carefully. 

The mercenary shook his head. "Well, I don't wanna do it anymore! I quit!" He then turned to Paisley and shot her a weak smile. "Besides, I'm more of a lover than a fighter."

Luxy put his gun down and let out a tired sigh. "So much for an action-packed mission…”

Luxy spoke too soon, because just as the words left his mouth, Mr. Ball burst into the room with his wife, both armed and already pointing their guns at them. 

Alex froze, his eyes widening at the sight of the man who had completely ruined his life and crushed his dreams several years ago. As if revisiting the place where he'd procured so much trauma wasn't enough, he now had to come face-to-face with the man who had easily started and ended his career with a simple snap of his fingers; Victor Ball, his former manager.

Alex wasn't even sure if he should be relieved or upset by the fact that Mr. Ball didn't even recognize him when they accidentally made eye contact! 

"Now hold on just a minute. I'm not letting any of you leave this studio until I get what I want." 

Flint huffed, glaring at Mr. Ball before stealing a quick glance towards his team to make sure they were all at the ready. He frowned when he spotted poor Alex still frozen in fear, leaving himself unguarded and completely vulnerable. Flint needed to protect him.

"Listen, alright? Nobody needs to get hurt," Flint spoke carefully, turning back to the Balls. 

Mr. Ball’s gaze fell onto Blame and he chuckled bitterly at seeing him wrap an arm around the famous influencer they hired him to kidnap and kill. 

“I knew I shouldn't have hired you. Useless mercenary who's more worried about getting his dick wet than doing his goddamn job.”

Blame childishly stuck his tongue out at him. "At least I got your money AND the girl, dawg!"

Paisley couldn't help but giggle.

Lilian Ball rolled her eyes then looked at each of the agents carefully. Her eyes suddenly zeroed in on the one with a familiar looking bowl cut, and she let out an amused chuckle when she finally remembered who he was.

"Darling, isn't that the Rimmer kid you hired several years ago?”

“Lilian, you know I don't give a single shit about the cheap acts who work for me.”

Alex felt his eyes involuntarily sting with tears. He hated himself for taking so long to realize that Mr. Ball had never actually cared about his love for acting. In fact, he made it very clear from day one that all he really wanted was to profit off of a young naive actor who was willing to do anything to make his own dreams come true, and he did. Alex was forced to neglect his own health and well-being in favor of pumping out as many movies and TV shows as he could just to please Mr. Ball. For 2 whole years of his life, he did project after project, being told to strictly prioritize quantity over quality. Sure, it earned him some awards, but what was even the point anymore? His passion for acting was gone. His dream had turned into a complete nightmare. And the worst part of it all? He had no one else to blame but himself. 

Luxy and Flint noticed and immediately stood in front of him, almost mimicking what Blame was doing to Paisley.

“Oi! Cut the shit!” Luxy glared at the couple, stepping in front of Alex protectively the same time Flint did, too. “You’re both clearly outnumbered and are best off walking out of here accepting your defeat.”

Victor and Lilian shared a look with each other and shrugged.

"We'd rather you die."

"Yes, what my wife said."

Then they started shooting. 

Flint shouted for everyone to take cover as the Balls fired their guns at them and cackled maniacally while doing so. He pulled both Luxy and Alex behind a pillar before firing his own gun at the couple. 

Karen swiftly rolled out of the way as she dodged several bullets that came in her direction. Cathy then stepped in front of her and threw two small knives at the Balls, making them hiss in pain as they both got grazed in the shoulders.

"Purrfect aim as always, kitty," Karen praised. Cathy proudly smiled at her and helped her off the ground so they could hide behind a large box of old props.

Blame and Paisley were tucked behind a couple of boxes as well, the ex-mercenary keeping a protective hand over his former-captive to keep her safe. He pulled out his own gun and began shooting at the Balls. Paisley looked up at him with awe in her eyes—her once-captor, now her savior. 

From the corner of the room, Luxy could be seen crawling his way towards the Balls. Alex looked over from his hiding spot and mouthed at Luxy not to do it, but the other agent simply blew him a kiss and winked at him before jumping out and disarming Mr. Ball with a swift move of his hand, proceeding to kick the gun away when it hit the floor and watching it slide across the room.

Seeing her husband get disarmed momentarily distracted Lilian from her attacks, and this opened up the perfect opportunity for Helen to come up behind her and throw her off her feet with one sharp kick. 

"AGH! Victor!"

"Not now, Lilian!"

Carol yanked the gun out of Mrs. Ball's hand and used its handle to hit her in the head with a good amount of force that instantly knocked her unconscious. Luxy was about to knock Mr. Ball out, too but Alex came to stop him before he could. The former actor huffed and glared at Mr. Ball with angry tears threatening to fall from his eyes. Luxy was gracious enough to keep the wretched man pinned to the ground while Alex mustered up the courage to finally confront him.

“You… you ruined my life!” Alex cried out, standing over Mr. Ball, “You lead me on to believe I was going to be some huge fucking star for your shitty production company, and you used me for every dirty job you could think of!” his voice shook as he spoke, causing the entire room to stay quiet.

“I don't even know who you are, kid,” Mr. Ball said faintly, which simply prompted Alex to punch him so hard it completely knocked him out cold. Luxy whistled, thoroughly impressed and low-key turned on as he got off of the now unconscious man. Alex stepped away, panting heavily. Flint rushed to his side, as did Carol, the two coming up to help him calm down.

“You were so brave, Alex. I'm so proud of you,” Carol softly said to him as she wrapped her brother up in a tight hug, allowing the other to break down in her arms. Flint briefly met her gaze, and he immediately understood the look she was giving him.

"Alright, let's get out of here."

"Oi, you two!" Helen called out to the ex-mercenary and influencer. "You're coming with us.”

Blame and Paisley poked their heads up from behind their hiding spot. They looked at each other and got up when they realized everything was okay now.

“Shit, dawg… I did not expect things to turn out this way!” Blame laughed, “At least I got their money!” 

Paisley hummed as she grabbed his hand. 

“And something even more important~” 

The agents ushered them out of the room with them. 

“Uh, won’t they wake up?” Paisley asked, looking back at the unconscious Balls.

“Yup, and hopefully never fuck with us again,” Helen replied.

"We don't kill unless it's absolutely necessary," Luxy piped in, casually patting Blame on the back as he walked past him. "So unless those Balls got the balls to fuck with us again, we don't have to worry about them for the time being."

Carol kept a hand on the small of Alex's back as she led him back to the jet. Cathy and Karen snatched up both the Balls' guns before they left the studio. Flint helped everyone back into the jet, and with the addition of two new people, there wasn’t enough room for them to both sit, so Paisley had to sit on Blame's lap, which she didn’t mind and he most certainly didn’t, either. As they took off back to Palm Springs, Paisley smiled at Blame.

“Thank you for protecting me,” she whispered to him, to which he smiled back and clicked his tongue.

“Guess you were right, I did get attached to you,” he said, and she leaned in and pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss. 

The agents weren't surprised, and they genuinely looked happy for them.

“At least something good came out of this job,” Alex spoke softly.

Luxy turned to Alex in his seat and placed his hand on the other agent's arm. "Lex, you just stood up to the man who ruined your life and managed to knock him out with a single swing. You're incredible!"

Alex felt heat rushing to his cheeks again as his eyes met Luxy's. "You were pretty incredible, too."

Without warning, Luxy bravely surged forward and pressed his lips to Alex's. It completely caught the latter off-guard, and yet… Alex melted into the kiss almost instantly. Everyone else on the jet cheered for the two, especially Carol, who was so happy to see her brother finally get with the guy he'd been pining after for so long.

The only person who wasn't thrilled about this sudden development was their pilot and leader, who could do nothing but watch as the two people he secretly had his eyes on kissed and wrapped themselves in each other's arms. He wasn't even jealous or upset, just… sad that he couldn't be in either of their places.

Seeing as everyone else has confessed their liking for one another, Carol and Helen shared a look and decided now was as good a time to announce their relationship to the others. Helen motioned for Carol to do the honors. 

“HELEN AND I HAVE BEEN DATING FOR THE LAST TWO MONTHS!”

All eyes turned to Carol and Helen.

“AHA! I KNEW IT!” Luxy exclaimed. 

Cathy smiled at them proudly, meanwhile Karen snorted and said "only two months?? I thought you two have been scissoring since our team formed!"

The two glasses-wearing women couldn't even hide their embarrassed blushes. 

“Shut up, Karen!” Helen said, flipping her off.

“What? I'm just telling the truth!” Karen held up her hands in defense whilst stifling her own laughter.

“Aww, Carol! I'm so happy for you!” Alex interrupted, going over to his sister and hugging her. 

Carol smiled at him. “I'm happy for you, too Lex.”

It wasn't long before the group finally arrived back at headquarters. Flint was oddly quiet as they all exited the jet and made their way towards Bryce's office. 

“You okay, Flint?” Cathy asked him as she slowed down her pace so she could walk right beside him.

"Just been a long day, Catherine," Flint responded with a weak smile. 

Cathy could clearly tell there was something else he wasn't telling her, but decided not to push him for now. 

Blame and Paisley couldn't stop gawking as they looked around the huge agency, completely in awe. And when they arrived at the Director's office, Bryce was already there waiting for them. She smiled and applauded her agents for another job well done, then eyed the influencer and her supposed captor. She hummed and walked over to Blame, looking him up and down.

"You know, for a mercenary, you're not very good at your job," she said to him.

Blame shrugged as he reached for Paisley's hand. "Guess I'm just not cut out for mercenarying, dawg." 

Bryce was very much amused by this young thuggish-looking fella.

“You know what? I could use you,” she stared at Blame thoughtfully. 

“Eh, sure, dawg. I don't got anything else going on for me, anyway,” he agreed with a casual shrug. 

Bryce knew he could be a valuable asset to the agency with the right amount of training, although with Paisley around, that would be rather difficult.

“Thank you for saving me, ma’am!” Paisley smiled at the older woman, who nodded her head once.

“Of course, although I was merely the one to gather the team to do the job.”

Bryce went over to her desk and dialed up a number on the telephone. It rang three times before the person on the other end finally picked up. 

"Hello again, Mr. Chronis," she greeted, using her professional voice, "you'll be happy to know that Ms. Summers has successfully been retrieved,” Bryce looked over to Paisley and offered her the phone. The influencer happily accepted it and pressed the phone to her ear.

"Hi, Mr. Chronis!! You won't believe what just happened to me!"

Blame stared at Paisley fondly as she talked. When she handed back the phone to Bryce, she turned back to him and smiled.

"I'll have my agents personally escort Ms. Summers back to her mansion in Palm Springs," Bryce assured, humming as she listened to whatever Mr. Chronis was saying on the other line. "The Balls shouldn't be bothering you anymore if they know what's good for them."

Just as Bryce was about to end the call, she suddenly heard the fire of a gunshot on the other end. 

"Hello? Mr. Chronis?”

—

A woman with short dark hair watched as Mr. Chronis’ body crumpled to the floor, blood gushing out of the back of his head. She lowered her gun and hummed. 

“Good hit,” her brother complimented as he entered the room after her. He could hear the faint sound of Bryce's voice on the phone, so he picked it up and handed it over to his sister.

“This isn't over yet, Bryce,” the woman smirked before hanging up the phone.

—

Bryce huffed, slamming the phone down before looking over to her group of agents. “Change of plans. It seems the Balls have already hired others to finish Blame's job.”

“Wait, that fast?” Luxy stared at his mother in confusion. “We literally knocked them out like, two hours ago!”

“I know, the timing is quite suspicious,” Bryce furrowed her brows and placed her hands flat on her desk. “Unless they readily had these people on standby in the case that Blame failed, then there's definitely something more going on here.”

Paisley gulped. She had heard the faint sound of a gunshot going off from the phone before the line cut off. “Mr. Chronis… is he…?”

Bryce sighed sadly. “My sincerest condolences, my dear. Though your manager may no longer be with us, rest assured that you shall remain under the protection of Double Defense Divisions until all threats have been terminated. You are safe with us, Ms. Summers. That, I can guarantee.”

Blame took hold of Paisley's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I won't let anything happen to you, either. I promise."

"Alright, new plan, gang,” Flint stepped forward as he instinctively went into leader-mode. “We need to bring Ms. Summers somewhere safe. Any suggestions?"

"You can use one of the agency's safehouses. It's an hour and a half away from here if you take the jet. I'll have Donovan send you the location," Bryce informed Flint, who nodded and thanked her gratefully.

“Let's get a move on, then. We've got no time to waste.” 

Once everyone was back on-board the aircraft, Flint checked the coordinates sent to him by Donovan and began flying the jet towards the direction of the safehouse.

“So, what do you think is happening?” Cathy asked him as she sat in the co-pilot seat next to Flint.

“We’ve either got some mercenaries or assassins on our hands. Either way, it's nothing we haven't already dealt with before,” he assured her, and Cathy sighed.

“These Balls are bigger than I expected.”  

Flint couldn't help but snort at what sounded like a crude comment. Cathy playfully rolled her eyes and nudged him on the shoulder, laughing slightly. She then stole a quick glance towards the others in the back and managed to catch a glimpse of Luxy kissing Alex's knuckles to probably help him calm his nerves.

"You know, I had my bet on you and Leroy getting together first," she said so casually that it caught Flint off-guard. 

"Excuse me??" he briefly turned his head to look at her with such bewilderment in his eyes, it made Cathy laugh again.

"Come on, Dicker. We all know you have a thing for Mr. Daredevil over there… and maybe even a little crush on Alex,” she poked his arm teasingly.

“Yeah, well… it doesn’t matter now anymore, does it?” he peered back and watched the two suited agents giggling together. Cathy saw the light in his eyes drain, and she genuinely felt bad for him. Deep down, she knew he was hurting. In fact, he was only putting on this stoic tough guy exterior so as to keep everyone else from panicking. Flint knew he had a job to do. He needed to be the leader they all expected him to be, even if it meant setting aside his own feelings for the sake of keeping order and focus among his teammates. The last thing they needed was to see their leader in a state of heartbreak.

"You really don't have to do that, you know?" Cathy said to him softly.

Flint focused his attention on flying the jet. He still responded to Cathy, though.

"Do what, Catherine?"

"Uh, exactly what you're doing right now!" Cathy stressed and placed a hand on Flint's arm, staring at him carefully. "We voted you as our leader because you get along with most of the group and know how to keep us all in-check. Not just that, but you're strong, intelligent, and incredibly selfless. We all know we can rely on you, Flint. But you're still human. You feel things. You can get hurt. And we want you to know that we're here for you, too when you need it, okay?"

Flint's grip on the control wheel tightened for a second, and he stole a glance towards Cathy to offer her a weak smile. "Thanks for caring, Cathy. But I promise I'm okay. You guys don't have to worry about me."

Cathy stared at him for a moment and sighed. He was doing it again. "I honestly find that hard to believe, Dicker.”

Flint sighed. “Look, I'm just focused on the mission, alright? You heard that gunshot over the phone and saw the look in Bryce's eyes. It’s not going to be pretty.” He made sure to speak softly so that the others wouldn't hear and begin to stress.

“Hey, we got this. We always do,” Cathy reassured him while pulling out some of her throwing knives from her pocket to check if they needed any sharpening. “Do you really think it’s bad?”

"For one, we don't know who we're dealing with this time,” Flint answered seriously. "These people could be actual threats, unlike our 'freelance mercenary' over there," he gestured to Blame. 

Cathy nodded slowly, understanding Flint's concern and the weight of the situation they were now in. "There's seven of us, though. Eight if you count the thug."

"Yeah, but what good would numbers do if they catch us off-guard? We need to be on high alert at all times,” he said to her, then noticed they were nearing the safehouse and readied himself to land the jet. "No one's lives will be put at risk on this mission. Not if I can help it.”

Cathy nodded and held on as Flint landed the jet at the safehouse. It was a fair distance away from the city on some island Bryce apparently owned, completely solitary with nothing else around but the vast sea.

“Alright, let's get you in and locked away safely,” Flint said to Paisley.

“Aaand that goes for you, too kid,” Luxy came up behind Blame and patted him on the shoulder. 

"Wait, what?" Blame turned to Luxy in shock. "I ain't in any danger, dawg!"

Karen snorted. "Uh, yeah, you kinda are. You seriously think they'll let you off the hook for failing to do your job? You're as much of a target as blondie over there."

Blame pouted, which made Paisley giggle from how cute he looked at being denied to get involved in all the action.

"Cheer up, pal!" Alex said as he appeared next to Blame with a cheeky smile. "This just gives you and Paisley the chance to, you know, get to know each other better." 

The two young adults blushed.

Flint couldn't help but chuckle and shook his head. "Alright, enough talking. Get in there, you two.”

“Fine, fine!” Blame began walking towards the house, grabbing Paisley’s hand as he did. “Looks like we'll have to make use of our time here,” he winked at the influencer, making her blush. 

Flint then tossed a pair of keys to Blame. “Those unlock the doors to the armory in the basement,” he told him. Blame looked confused.

Flint rephrased. “It’s the room where the guns are.”

Blame popped his tongue. “Aight, gotcha, dawg.”

Once the team had secured both young adults inside the safehouse, they returned to their jet, just as Flint received new coordinates from Donovan with a little message from Bryce at the bottom.

‘The new threats want to meet you at this exact location. They expect you to have Ms. Summers and that thug with you, but by now I assume you've already secured them in the safehouse. Be careful when you get there. 

P.S. Please look after my son, Flint.’

Flint read the whole message out loud—all except for the last part, which he kept to himself. Everyone stared back at him expectantly, awaiting his next command. Flint's eyes not-so-subtly lingered a few seconds longer on Luxy before he snapped back into leader-mode with a newfound determination. 

"Let's go finish this mission, gang.”

As he started the jet, Cathy jumped back into the co-pilot seat with him.

“Not now, Catherine,” he sighed softly.

“I just want to help you!”

Flint pulled a hand away from the control wheel to place it firmly on Cathy's shoulder. "You can help by not pestering me right now, alright?" he said in the nicest way possible despite the clear annoyance in his tone. "Go discuss a strategy with the others or something. Just... anything to make sure we all get out of this alive. I know we don't often get sappy and sentimental with each other, but you guys really mean a lot to me," he said sincerely.

Despite her insistence to help him, Cathy reluctantly listened to his order and decided to plop herself into the seat next to Luxy and Alex.

“So… you both a thing now?”

"Um..." Alex turned to Luxy shyly, unsure of how to answer. Luxy flashed him a smile and lifted up one of his hands to press a kiss to his knuckles.

"What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't take him out to dinner first?"

Alex flushed red at the gesture.

Cathy snickered. "I'm guessing that's a no?"

"Correction: it's a NOT YET," Luxy winked.

“Good for you both,” Cathy hummed, then leaned closer to Alex to whisper in his ear. “I thought you liked Flint, though?”

Alex's cheeks went red as he looked around to make sure no one else heard her. "Keep it down!" he quietly hissed at her while Luxy is distracted by something out the window. 

"Hah! There's dicks in the sky!" he exclaimed, pointing at several clouds that vaguely make out the shape of penises. 

Karen rolled her eyes. "Of course you'd notice."

"Well sorry there aren't any pussy clouds right now!" Luxy countered back.

Cathy flapped her hand at Alex. “Oh, c'mon. You look at him with hearts in your eyes,” she said as though it was common knowledge. Alex didn’t realize he was being so obvious about that. He glanced over at Flint piloting the jet, and then back at Luxy who was once again taking a hit from his dumpster vape.

“If I could have them both, I would,” he said quietly.

Cathy opened her mouth to say something but is cut off by Flint's voice through the intercom. 

"We're landing in fifteen minutes, gang. Ready your weapons and put on those new protective vests Gloria made for us." 

Cathy sighed and decided to drop the topic with Alex for now. Flint was right. They needed to be prepared. She grabbed her vest and put it on, strapping herself in. Karen came up behind her and helped tighten her straps, making sure they were secured tightly around her torso.

“You okay, kitty?” Karen suddenly asked, placing a hand on her partner's forearm after noticing how deep in thought she was. Cathy instantly snapped back and nodded her head.

“I'll tell you later, for now…“ she turned Karen around to tighten her partner's straps for her, “we just gotta prepare for this.”

When Cathy pulled at her partner's straps, Karen simultaneously leaned forward to press her lips to Cathy's. 

"I love you,” Karen whispered once they pulled away.

Cathy smiled and whispered back "I love you, too."

Helen and Carol helped each other into their vests, as did Luxy and Alex. By the time Flint landed the jet, they were all ready to go. 

"Oh good, let me just put mine on," Flint said as he exited the cockpit. 

"Let me help you, Flint." / "Get over here, Dicker." Alex and Luxy spoke at the same time. 

The ladies all snickered as the three men looked at one another awkwardly. Flint cleared his throat and chose to accept Alex's assistance. Luxy looked slightly disappointed that he wasn’t picked.

“Just… make sure it’s on properly,” Flint muttered as he put on the vest. Alex grabbed the strap on his shoulder and pulled it, Flint's muscles peered through as the strap gripped around him. Alex felt his heart race as a bead of sweat dripped from his forehead at the fact that he was so close to Flint. He could smell his cologne, which was musky and woody. Flint's back and arms were so toned, it took everything in Alex not to touch him. 

“Okay everyone, let's have a group huddle before we go out there,” Flint spoke up again, which snapped Alex out of his thirsty thoughts.

The seven agents huddled together in a circle.

"We stick together like we always do, alright?" Flint began, eyeing each one of his teammates. "We scatter only when necessary, because if one of us is down, there needs to be someone there to cover for you." 

Everyone else nodded in understanding.

"We started this mission together, and we will finish it together. Am I clear?"

"Yes, captain.”

“Yes, sir,” Luxy muttered, going against what everyone else said. Flint turned his head to look at him. Luxy shot him a cheeky wink before heading out the jet with the others.

“Got your weapons, Cath?” Alex asked. The combat specialist smirked and proudly flashed him her fancy throwing knives. Luxy already looked ready to fight as he cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck. The others had their guns on hand, and Helen had even taken the tech glasses with her. Now it was just a matter of getting to their destination. 

As they walked, Alex seemed to have a strange remembrance of the area. “I think I know where we're headed…” 

And he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it.

The seven agents entered through the back of the building, and the second Alex stepped foot inside, he was hit with an overwhelming feeling of panic and fear as past memories rapidly flashed in his mind. 

This is where it had all started.

This is where his gullible younger self foolishly believed all his dreams would finally be coming true thanks to someone he'd thought was a good man. 

"Fuck. Why here? Why here of all places!” Alex cried in frustration. Carol rushed to her brother's side and put a hand on his shoulder.

“The Balls must've told them. How else could they have known about this place?” Carol said softly as she felt Alex tremble under her touch. The former actor gripped his gun and held it close to his chest. They were still on a mission. He couldn't let his trauma distract him from doing his job, no matter how much it pained him to even be inside the building where it had all started.

All of them cautiously turned a corner, and they found themselves entering the side of what looked to be a theater. Helen took note of the dust and cobwebs covering the red seats, indicating that this place hasn't been used in a while. 

When Flint squinted his eyes up to survey the ceiling of the stage, he saw a shadow pass by and quickly pointed his gun in its direction.

"Whoever you are, show yourselves!"

"Oh, our pleasure~" a voice spoke through the theater's speakers, making everyone jump because they didn't think those things would still be working. Their attention is then brought to the stage as a single spotlight turned on, and two figures emerge from behind the curtains. The agents quickly pointed their weapons at them, all except for Alex, who looked like he'd just seen a ghost. The two people on the stage noticed him and smirked.

"What's wrong, Alex? Feeling a bit of stage fright?" The woman with short dark hair taunted.

Everyone kept their eyes on the pair, but Luxy couldn't help but glance over at Alex. The other agent's eyes were wide and panicked, and he was once again frozen in fear like he'd previously been with the Balls.

“Do you know them?” Luxy asked. 

The dark haired woman smirked as she held a microphone in her hand, twirling the cord around her pointer finger as she moved across the stage.

“Yeah, Alex. Wanna tell them how you know us?” the other figure spoke up. He also had short dark hair, but he had curls.

Alex looked between the two people he hadn't seen in almost a decade, his heart racing in his chest. He gulped as he felt his teammates' gazes momentarily fall on him. They knew about the things he'd gone through, but not how it all started. Only his sister knew. Because she had been in the audience that day. 

"I don't understand. Why are you two doing this?" Alex said as he stepped closer towards the stage. Flint and Carol tried pulling him back, but the curly haired one tutted and pointed his gun at them.

“It should have been us that got that deal!” the woman shouted, pointing her gun at Alex. “You had it all the second they laid eyes on you, with your funny skits and silly jokes… we didn’t even get to have our moment before THEY PICKED YOU!”

Alex was visibly shaking, but he still put on a brave face and took another step forward, swallowing hard as he went to defend himself.

"I worked hard to get that deal, Ramona. I spent 18 years of my goddamn life perfecting my craft and chasing my dreams, only for it to be completely ruined because I was foolish enough to believe an asshole like Mr. Ball would ever care about what I could do beyond making him filthy stinkin' rich!"

The woman, Ramona, rolled her eyes. "Did it ever cross your mind that maybe you were never meant for the spotlight? Clearly, my brother and I would've made much better stars than you."

A hurt look crossed Alex's face. "You don't understand. He forced me to do things I didn't want to do. I was working more hours than my own body could handle!"

"It just sounds like you were too weak to handle it," Ramona's brother said plainly.

Carol felt rage bubble up inside her as she watched the two taunt her brother. Luxy had had enough, as did Flint.

“Both of you are just sucking the Balls’ dicks to get fame. I can't think of anything more pathetic than that,” Flint spat back.

Ramona scoffed and carelessly dropped the microphone she was holding. 

"Let's just get this over with. We'll find that influencer and that failure of a mercenary once we're done with all of you," she said and fired the first shot, which Alex thankfully managed to dodge as he stumbled back into the others who were all quick to cover him as Ramona and her brother began firing at them.

Cathy pushed Karen back against the red seats before skillfully throwing her knives at the new enemies. She managed to hit Ramona's shoulder, causing her to drop her gun onto the ground. Luxy darted down the aisles of seats so he could snatch the gun away, but before he could, Ramona's brother pivoted and managed to shoot Luxy right in the arm. The agent screamed out in pain, and fell to his knees. Alex and Flint cried out for him at the same time. 

Luxy's ears were ringing, and everything around him was beginning to blur from the pain coursing through his arm. He hurriedly pressed his other hand against the wound and tried his best to stop the bleeding, but the sight of his own blood pooling onto the floor was already making him sick and lightheaded.

Flint ran over to Luxy as he's reminded of Bryce's message. Alex trailed right behind him. They both kneeled on either side of Luxy and tried to help him stop the bleeding.

"Agh, fuck, fuck, fuck, it hurts!" Luxy hissed, screwing his eyes shut from the pain, a few tears trickling down his cheeks.

Helen huffed and tapped on the tech glasses she decided to put on before leaving the jet. She switched on a particular setting and smiled when her glasses began to detect one of the enemies that had cleverly hidden themselves. Skillfully, she aimed for the direction her glasses were pointing at and fired her gun. 

Ramona heard her brother scream and she turned her attention to Helen.

"How dare you!" She aimed her gun at Helen, but yelped when a knife swiftly cut her on the arm, making her drop her gun again, however this time Karen was there to snatch it out of her reach.

Carol then dragged Ramona’s wounded brother over to her—he wasn't seriously injured, though. Helen had merely grazed his ear with her bullet. Ramona cursed under her breath as she gripped her bleeding arm. The agents had them surrounded. She knew they weren't getting out of this now.

“Mr. B won't be pleased with this,” her brother muttered to her.

Ramona huffed, but her lips upturned into a satisfied smirk when she saw the pure distress on Alex's face as he held Luxy in his arms. “Even if Mr. B doesn't bail us out this time around, I already got what I wanted.”

Cathy narrowed her eyes on them. “Both of you should’ve just stuck to auditioning instead of stooping this low for some stupid ass roles in shitty movies.”

Carol stepped forward and pointed her gun at the two. “And how dare you insult my brother!” she snapped at them, keeping a firm grip on her gun as she pointed it right at Ramona and her brother. 

Ramona rolled her eyes. "What are you fucking waiting for then? Go ahead! Kill us!" 

Once Flint had secured a piece of cloth around Luxy's wound to help stop the bleeding, he stood up from his crouched position beside Alex and walked over to Ramona and her brother, his eyes icy cold. 

"The only thing stopping me from putting a bullet through your heads right now is the fact I'm contractually not allowed to," he said to them in a scarily calm voice, "but rest assured, you will suffer the consequences of hurting my boys." Flint then walked away and pulled out his phone to contact the agency.

Alex felt his heart flutter from the fact Flint said “my boys”. 

While the rest of the group handcuffed Ramona and her brother and handed them over to the police officers who'd just arrived, Alex kept a firm hold around his not-yet-boyfriend.

“We have to get help,“ Alex said tearfully.

As if on cue, an ambulance siren sounded from outside the building.

Karen blinked. "Well, that was quick."

"Bryce apparently had them on standby even before we arrived," Flint informed the group as he got off the phone and quickly ran back to Luxy still in Alex's arms. The wounded agent seemed to be coming in and out of consciousness.

"Hey, you still with me, Leroy?" he said softly. 

Luxy groaned, his answer coming out a bit slurred. "Since when did we start dating??"

Flint rolled his eyes fondly. "Not what I meant, dumbass."

The girls all stepped back as the paramedics came rushing in. Alex allowed them to take Luxy out of his arms so they could treat his wound. Flint placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as they both watched the paramedics whisk Luxy away on a stretcher. 

"He'll be okay, Lex. He's strangely very lucky." 

Outside, just as Luxy was being loaded into the ambulance, Ramona called out for him even when she was being ushered into a police car by an officer.

“He’s not dead, Luxy!” She shouted at him.

Luxy could barely process what she was saying from all the blood loss. “Wha?? Who the fuck are you talking about?”

A sinister smirk appeared on Ramona's lips as she revealed something that completely shattered Luxy's whole world.

“Your father. He's still alive.”

Several paramedics had to hold Luxy down to stop him from trying to run after Ramona. He kicked and screamed and brokedown in tears. It wasn't long before the pain and exhaustion finally got to him, and he soon passed out on the stretcher.

When Luxy came to a few hours later, his gunshot wound had already been patched up. He groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the bright white walls of the hospital room he was in.

"Hey there, sunshine,” he heard Flint's voice say. Luxy turned his head to the side and saw Flint sitting on a chair by his bed with a book in hand.

"The fuck are you doing here?" Luxy's voice cracked when he spoke. Flint rolled his eyes as he placed the book down to reach for the glass of water on the table. He then offered it out to Luxy. 

"If you're disappointed that I'm not your boyfriend, I assure you, I'm only here to look after you on his behalf while he went to have a therapy session on the second floor."

Luxy's bed was already propped up, so he didn't need to adjust himself. But when he reached out for the glass of water from Flint, his hand was visibly shaking. 

"Okay, you know what, let me just..."

Luxy watched as Flint stood up from his chair to help him take a sip of water. After taking a few refreshing gulps, Luxy thanked Flint as he put the cup of water back down.

“What about the others, are they okay?” Luxy then asked, as he was unsure what had really happened after he was shot.

"Our sapphic couples are fine. Helen volunteered to fly the jet to retrieve Blame and Paisley from the safehouse. Cathy and Karen went along with her. Carol chose to stay back so she could accompany Alex in therapy," Flint filled him in as he sat back in his chair. "Actually, they should be done by no–"

On cue, the door to Luxy's room opened as Alex and Carol walked in. When Alex's eyes met Luxy's, the former was quick to run up to the latter's bed and carefully wrap his arms around him, being mindful of his bandaged arm. 

"You're okay!"

Luxy chuckled and kissed the top of Alex's head. "It's going to take more than a measly bullet to take me down, darlin'."

Flint smiled at the two, although there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. Carol came up behind him and placed her hands on either side of his shoulders.

The smile on Luxy's face suddenly fell when his mind recalled what one of their enemies had said to him as she was being pushed into the police car. He jolted forward a bit, making Alex step back.

“Luxy? What's wrong?”

Luxy gulped. "The woman we fought with... What's her name?"

Alex tilted his head in concern. "You mean Ramona?"

Luxy nodded, his eyes downcast. "She said something to me before I passed out in the ambulance."

"What?" Flint straightened up in his seat as he, Carol, and Alex stared at Luxy curiously. "What did she say, Lux?"

"She–..." Luxy shakily breathed out as he met Flint's worried eyes. "She said he isn't dead. That my father… he's still alive," he emphasized the last word, because frankly? It was a tough pill to swallow. Luxy had already made peace with the fact that he would never see his father again. And now all of a sudden he was faced with the reality that his dad might be alive after all?

Flint furrowed his eyebrows together, sharing a confused look with the other two. Carol had her hand over her mouth in shock, and Alex grabbed Luxy’s hand.

“Lux… she could be messing with you,” Flint began, but Luxy cut him off.

“But how could she have known?” He asked, as tears welled up in the corner of his eyes. The others stayed silent. Alex carefully pulled Luxy in for a hug as he allowed the latter to cry into his shoulder.

Flint didn't want Luxy to get his hopes up. For all they knew, Ramona could've just been trying to get a rise out of Luxy after they failed to do their job. But then again, out of all the things she could've brought up, why his father? Luxy had a point. How could she have known when the disappearance of his father was information strictly kept among the agency's members? Ramona and her brother must know something. 

"We can look into it further once you're fully healed, alright?" Flint said as he rested a hand on Luxy's forearm. "Just rest for now, Lux.”

Flint had a plan, though.

When Luxy fell asleep that evening, Alex and Carol agreed to stay behind while Flint went out and drove to the prison Ramona and her brother were locked up in. He wanted to get to the bottom of this. As he patiently waited for the guards to bring her out, he kept getting a weird feeling in his stomach—a feeling that maybe this was something much deeper than he'd initially thought.

“Come to see me already, Dicker?” Ramona's voice rang out from over the glass between them.

How did she know his last name?

"Tell me what you know. NOW," Flint immediately demanded, getting straight to business as he stared at Ramona through the glass with a stern glare. 

Ramona's eyes widened in interest, and she smirked as she leaned forward to taunt him.

"Know what, Dicker? You might need to be a little more specific~"

Flint huffed and slammed his fist on the table. He didn't have time for this bullshit.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. How do you know Luxy's father? Why the fuck would you bring him up?"

"Ah, you're talking about the professor's son!" She said, faking her enthusiasm. Flint blinked in confusion. 

Professor??

Ramona twirled the telephone wire around her finger as she smirked at Flint. "Seems like you don't know the whole story of your agency's past, huh?"

Flint stared at her for a moment before huffing and getting up from his chair. 

"This isn't over yet," He told her.

"I really hope not!" Ramona called out with a fake sweetness in her tone and an evil smile on her face.

The car ride back was silent. 

Why was Ramona calling Luxy’s father the professor? 

What did she mean about the agency's past?

Flint returned to the hospital and went over everything with Carol and Alex. The siblings looked just as confused as him.

“The professor?” Carol asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Flint nodded while Alex frowned.

“Do you think she’s messing with us?”

Carol looked at her brother and sighed. "If you ask me, the only way we can know for sure is to ask Madame Tankthrust herself."

The analyst was right. If they wanted to figure out what was really going on, they needed to speak with the only person they knew for sure could enlighten them on the situation. 

"We'll do it as a team," Flint said, glancing over to Luxy's room where the latter was fast asleep. "This is a family matter, after all.”

---

Luxy was released from the hospital a few days later, and with the crew now complete, the agents all piled back into the jet and returned to headquarters. Flint withheld the information about his visit with Ramona from Luxy. He did, however, tell Cathy, Karen, and Helen to keep them up to speed.

The second Luxy saw his mother, he knew he needed to tell her what he'd heard.

"There's my brave boy," Bryce greeted with a warm smile as she immediately walked over to her son.

"Mama?" Luxy softly said as he got enveloped in his mother's arms.

"Yes, dear?" Bryce answered back, pulling away from their hug to look at her son. 

The rest of the group stayed back as they allowed Luxy to reveal what he'd learned to his mother.

"I… I think he's still alive, ma."

Bryce frowned in confusion, looking into her son's eyes carefully.

"Who are you talking about, sweetheart?"

It took everything in Luxy not to break down again right then and there as he blurted out the word he hadn't used in so long. 

"Dad.”