Glee 1. The Transfer

**Okay, wow. Secret Service! Dalton, who would have thought? This is from someone posting the idea on Tumblr. It popped up somewhere on Mama CP's blog.**

**This was actually really difficult to write. My extent on things secret service only goes as far as **_**24**_**, and it's been years since I watched that. So, like seemingly everything I've written, ignore my lack of knowledge and just pretend everything works, okay? A few things had to be twisted a little, for the sake of the story. Just…go with it.**

**Glee and Dalton belong to their respective owners, RIB and the lovely CP Coulter. I hope I did the characters justice (I kind of doubt it, but whatever).**

Artie wheel himself briskly into the nearly empty coffee shop, looking for his contact; someone not much older than his 17, and who would be holding a gold pocket watch. His eyes nearly passed right over him, had not the midmorning sun glinted off the glass face of the watch. He pushed himself over, only uttering the following.

"What's your coffee order?"

The teen glanced at him before answering. "Medium drip." he said smoothly.

Artie nodded rolling himself closer while the teen pulled out a small laptop. "I'm Blaine. Blaine Anderson," he said, waiting for the laptop to boot up. He offered his hand out.

Artie gave it a shake. "Artie Abram," he answered. No more words were said as he fished through the side pocket of his expensive black blazer to fish out a USB port. He waited patiently as Blaine scanned the files that popped up on the screen.

Blaine tapped his Bluetooth device, connecting to Han on the other end.

"You getting this, Caterpillar?"

"You bet," Han's voice came clearly over the device. "Everything seems to be in order. McKinley is fully willing to cooperate, exchange and all. Just work that out now with the contact, and we'll be set."

Blaine nodded, disconnecting the line. He powered off the computer, closing it and meeting his companion's eyes.

"I'm not going to lie. When they said I was meeting an agent from the McKinley department, I expected someone with," he let his voice trail off slightly, gesturing to Artie's prone state in the wheelchair.

"With working legs?" Artie finished for him dryly. Blaine nodded a little, slightly embarrassed. "It's cool bro'," Artie reassured him. "I get that a lot. I don't do any fieldwork of course; I'm in charge of the technology at McKinley. They usually send me because I don't look like an agent."

Blaine nodded. "Well, everything's set. Just the matter of the exchange now," he said, back to business.

Artie nodded. "McKinley gets access to your technology and funds, we send over one of our own for your severely lacking Communication department. We'll join forces eventually to bring down the Carmel agency," he murmured. Carmel was an agency that had recently gone rogue and started producing dangerous robotic experiments.

"Right," Blaine said, talking in the same hushed tone. "When can we pick them up?"

Artie smirked a little. "That won't be necessary. If my calculations are correct, he's already here." He gestured towards the entrance to the shop, where a tall teen with perfectly coiffed coffee-colored hair entered and walked over.

"Wheels," he said in greeting to the wheel- chaired teen.

"Hello Kurt. You got all your paperwork in order?" Artie asked, earning a nod from Kurt as he sat down opposite Blaine.

"Kurt, this is Blaine Anderson, from the Dalton agency," Artie said, introducing them. Blaine extended his hand to Kurt, who gave it a firm shake. "He'll go over everything with you now. Good luck, Kurt. I'd better go; I told your brother I'd go over the new information we'd be getting from Dalton. He's waiting for me outside right?" Kurt nodded, and Artie inclined his head towards Blaine before wheeling himself away.

"You?" Blaine asked, once Artie had left. "Why you?"

Kurt smirked. "I'm fluent in over ten languages. Our department head is a language expert as well, so they can afford to send me over." He left out that he had become a target of a rogue agent and that it was no longer safe for him at McKinley. "Your technology head should find my files in the documents we sent over."

"Well if that's all," Blaine said. "We should head over to headquarters then." They both stood, making their way towards the exit.

They drove to Dalton's headquarters together in a comfortable silence. While Blaine flashed his ID for the scanner and talked to the guard, Kurt analyzed the buildings in his division, knowing he'd be spending most, if not all, of his time there from now on. There was an old-world type of beauty to them, one not commonly found within most agency headquarters. Kurt knew that despite its appearance, Dalton was anything but old- fashioned, the manor-like walls concealing some of the best technology to date. Blaine exited his car, waving Kurt over to follow him as he entered the doors to one of the buildings.

"You'll be staying here, I presume?" Blaine asked while they walked, his tone adopting a slightly more casual tone and losing the sharp business edge.

"Affirmative," Kurt said, unable to loose the stiffness in his own voice, especially now that he was in a foreign environment. Blaine noticed his discomfort and stopped walking.

"Hey," he said, placing a hand on Kurt's shoulder. He almost looked like a normal teenager. "I know we're a high-classed agency, but you can relax a little, okay? We're probably a little more formal here than you're used to, but we're not that different." He smiled charmingly, and Kurt loosened the tenseness in his shoulders. They continued walking.

"You'll be staying in the Windsor team. A majority of the people you'll work with are there too. We're in charge of most of the missions and fieldwork. The Stuart division covers most of the research development, and the Hanover division are in charge of negotiations." Blaine paused a little. "Well," he amended," you being in Communications will probably have you working the other divisions a fair bit, but you'll be with us mostly." He whispered to Kurt, "Between you and me, Windsor is the best by far. The Stuarts are too uptight, and the Hanovers are too secretive."

They reached a second set of doors. Blaine walked up to the scanners, running the print and audio test. The doors opened, and they walked in. The room was several stories high, full of monitors and chrome. There was a whirling sound from all of the computers and the low drone of voices could be heard.

"Most of the workers here right now are day workers. Those of us who live here tend to take the night shift. C'mon," Blaine said, gesturing to the people at the computer and ascending one of the staircases. "I'll introduce you to the rest of my team. We all live here."

They walked up to one of the many rooms where more voices and laughter could be heard from within. Kurt tensed again, nervous about working with a new team that he knew nothing about. His McKinley team had been fast- paced and dramatic, but they had all gotten along for the most part. He felt a bit like he was a new kid in school again.

Blaine was suddenly very close to him, murmuring in his ear. "Relax. You'll be fine." With that he opened the door.

The conference room was sleek, as to be expected, but smaller than usual with a standard long wooden table with only about ten black chairs around it. One end of the room held a large flat screen TV, currently turned off. Every chair was filled except for the three at the end, the one at the head having a small speaker in front of it.

The individual at the end of the table glanced up. "Anderson," he said, sounding a little surprised. "Didn't think you'd be able to join us today. I thought you had to pick up the recruit?" He had brown hair and appeared to be a little older than the rest of the people at the table. The rest of the table uttered their respective hellos, the two blond ones muttering an odd, "Hello, Rabbit."

No one else found this statement odd, and Blaine turned towards the one who had initially spoken. "Hello Charlie," he said. "I didn't think so either, but McKinley dropped off their agent already." He gestured towards Kurt, who stepped forward, extending his hand towards Charlie.

"Kurt Hummel."

Charlie rose to shake his hand. "Charlie Amos." He waved his hand to the rest of the table once he sat back down. Blaine and Kurt made their way towards the empty seats, Kurt sitting next to a pair of blond twins and Blaine sitting next to a dark –haired teen across from him. "This is the rest of the team, Hummel." He gestured to the members of the team as he introduced them.

He started with the two chairs closest to him. "These two here are David Sullivan and Wes Hughes, our head strategists," he gestured to the dark-skinned teen and the Asian teen respectively. Each gave a small wave in Kurt's direction.

"Next to David are the Brightman twins, Evan and Ethan. They're in charge of all of our artillery and main supplies." Charlie said, waving a hand in their direction. The pair of blond boys next to David appraised Kurt, their eyes widening slightly. "Hello, Alice!" they chorused.

Kurt quirked an eyebrow in response, sending a questioning look in the boys' direction. The petite strawberry-blond next to Wes noticed his confusion and was quick to remedy it.

"It's a sort of code, you see. All of the conspirators-that's us, by the way- and a few others have a nickname, usually given by the twins. It's always an Alice in Wonderland reference, but no one really knows why," he explained. "It's what we use when we're out in the field," he finished, shrugging.

Charlie nodded, "Thank you, Van Kamp. I forgot about that." He looked at Kurt, "You'll get used to everything here. It takes a certain brand of crazy to tolerate everything, but it's manageable eventually." Kurt's eyebrows rose at the mention of "crazy" but he said nothing, allowing Charlie to continue with the introductions.

"Reed's the head of the medical department," he stated. "He's sustained enough injuries just by being around here to figure out how to treat them. No offense." Reed waved it off with a shrug.

"And next to Reed we have Dwight Houston," Charlie inclined his head to the nervous-looking pale, dark-haired youth. He seemed to be clutching at something around his neck. "He's in charge of security around here. His methods are a bit…" he paused, searching for the right word, "unorthodox, I suppose, but effective enough. We haven't had a breach since he's been around."

"Ahem," a voice came from the speaker at the end opposite Charlie, "Are you forgetting someone?"

Charlie just grinned. "Never, Caterpillar. Kurt, the voice at the end belongs to Han Westwood. He's in charge of all our technology; cameras, computers, anything. He works a lot with Dwight." (*)

"Pleasure," Han drawled from the speaker.

"Why isn't he here?" Kurt inquired, looking at Charlie.

"You could ask me yourself, you know," came Han's voice. Kurt muttered a quick apology. "I have to make sure everything's running and working. I don't have time to leave this room. If something crashes, I have to be here," he finished curtly.

Charlie looked a bit apologetic. "You'll have to excuse Han. Hardly leaving his room gives him poor social skills," he said, ignoring the indignant "hey!" from the speaker. "And you know Blaine, of course," he waved a hand to teen sitting across from Kurt. "Part of our human resources department. He handles the recruits and training more than management, but he's good at helping me keep the others in line."

Charlie leaned back in his chair a little, looking at Kurt, "Now, before I continue," he was interrupted by a large bang that shook the building, sounding like it came from a couple doors down. No one looked surprised or said anything, only remaining silent until the door flew open and another teen stuck his head in. Wes rolled his chair over to the fire extinguisher nearby, lazily tossing it to the newcomer, who caught it and nodded in thanks before rushing away.

"Is that… normal?" Kurt asked questioningly, motioning his hand towards the door. The others chuckled, some of the shrugging. "It's not uncommon," David remarked. "That's Drew. He and his partner Saturo are our bomb experts. They tend to experiment a lot."

Kurt nodded, uttering an "Ah," in observation. He turned his eyes away from the door to glance at Charlie, "You were saying?"

"Hm? Oh, as I was saying, before I continue, why don't you tell us yourself, Kurt? Any special skills we should know of?" Charlie asked. The others looked at him curiously.

Kurt leaned back, crossing his legs casually. "Well, I'm fluent in over ten languages, including French, German, Irish, Russian, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, and Korean. My family had to travel a lot when I was younger; my mother used to be a covert agent."

"'Use to be'?" Charlie asked. "Did she retire, or is she out of commission?"

Kurt grimaced at the memory. "She died. Mission gone wrong."

The teens in the room winced, muttering apologies.

Kurt waved his hand dismissively, "I'm over it. Anyways, my dad tried to keep us out of the business, but the woman he remarried is affiliated with this business too. My step-brother and I both entered officially a few years ago; he helps lead the McKinley team."

"How are you in the field then?" Charlie asked, trying to change the subject.

Kurt shrugged, grateful for the new topic, although this one did not bring much happier memories. "I've had my fair share in handlings," he mentioned. _If you call being targeted by a rogue, homophobic agent and being forced to fight fair_, he thought before continuing, "I can handle myself well enough with a gun," he shrugged again.

"Anything else we should know?" Reed asked.

Kurt shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah. I'm gay," he cringed, waiting.

The boys in the room didn't bat an eye. "That's fine," David said. Wes nodded, commenting, "Yeah, we don't really care. Blaine's gay as well; Reed's not sure."

Kurt raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Really?" he asked, glancing at the two mentioned. Blaine smiled understandingly from across the table, and Reed gave him a small grin.

"You sound surprised," Han drawled from the speaker. "Why?"

"Han, I don't really think-" Blaine started hurriedly. He knew the possibilities of Kurt's circumstances. Kurt waved it off, still looking a little uncomfortable.

"It's fine. It's just… why I was chosen to leave," he said, unsure of how to phrase it.

The boys' reaction was violent, especially for someone they had only just met. They all leaned forward angrily. An angry muttering could be heard from Han's speaker and the Brightmans both produced shotguns from nowhere.

"They made you leave because you're gay?" Dwight asked incredulously, voice raising a few pitches. David and Wes were both trying to calm the infuriated set of twins who were currently cocking their guns, but both looked equally incensed as well.

"I thought you said that your step- brother helped lead your team!" Blaine exclaimed. _Why would anyone want to hurt someone like Kurt? He's beautiful and delicate and.. woah_, he leaned back suddenly, trying to find out where that thought came from. He knew Kurt wasn't as delicate as he might appear, so how had he come to that conclusion. The others in the room paid him no mind, still irate.

Kurt was equally surprised and touched by their reactions. He hurried to calm their nerves, "No, no, no, no," he said, shaking his head, "It's nothing like that. My old team is fine; they were never an issue."

"Then why…" said Evan, or was it Ethan? They both looked only partially placated.

"… did they choose you to leave?" finished his twin.

Kurt held up a finger, "Number one: I was serious about being fluent in all those languages. What happened to you old communication's head anyways?"

"The Gryphon…"

"…was needed by the Knave's team," explained the twins.

Kurt shot them a look, shaking his head and ignoring the statement. "Number two," he said, adding another finger and leaning back a little, "It's nothing, really. We were having an issue with a rogue agent. It wasn't safe enough at McKinley. So my department's head decided I should be sent here instead."

"This rogue agent happen to be named Karofsky?" asked Han. "He pops up multiple times on your file."

Kurt looked down, inwardly shuddering at the memory, "Yeah."

"What have you got on him, Han?" questioned Charlie.

There was the faint sound of rapid clicking from the speaker. "Unfortunately, not much. I'll have to run a deeper search later, but all that's known about him is he used to be a typical field officer at McKinley. He's reportedly been working with the Carmel agents, though, and left McKinley suddenly. (**) Oh!" there was more clicking, "We have a photo."

"Send it over to Dwight's office, as well as anything else you feel is necessary," ordered Charlie. He turned to Dwight. "Do what you need to do; just make sure this guy stays far away, okay?" Dwight nodded, looking like he was already forming a plan in his mind.

Kurt was shocked at the direction of action this had taken. "Look, that really isn't necessary. It's been months since Karofsky was last spotted. I don't think that this is really an issue anymore-" he was cut off by Wes.

"It's not just your safety we're worried about though. You heard Han though! He could have been with Carmel during all of this. We don't know what they could've been planning."

Kurt acquiesced, knowing they were right. Karofsky being off the radar for a while was both good and bad. Good for Kurt's personal safety, but for both agencies on the whole, it was just unsettling.

Charlie checked his watch, suppressing a yawn when he saw that they were just coming up on 11 AM. "Han, run a few more scans before you turn in," he directed, nodding at the speaker. "The rest of you, I suggest you try and sleep before we take the night shifts." The others nodded standing up and packing their stuff. "5:30, Kurt. It might take some getting used to, but you'll be fine. Blaine will show you to your room. Feel free to familiarize yourself with the rest of the agency." Kurt nodded, rising as well and making his way for the door, waiting for Blaine.

As the rest of the conspirators, as Reed called them, walked out the door, they each offered a warm handshake and a smile, saying that it was nice meeting him and how glad they were to have him on the team. The twins had turned to each other after they talked to him, asking if that meant they had finally collected all of the characters. Kurt shook his head at their antics, laughing a little.

Blaine walked out ahead of him, glancing over his shoulder and waiting for him. Charlie was the last to leave, shaking Kurt's hand as he declared, "Welcome to the Dalton Agency."

**(*) I know that in canon Han likes for him and his computers to stay far away from Dwight. However, for this, a few liberties had to be taken, for the sake of actually making sense. Sorry.**

**(**) For the sake of any plot this story might have. I probably won't continue it, but on the off chance that I **_**do**_**….**


	2. The Conspirators

**Thank you so much for your kind reviews. I got really excited about the response. So we have another chapter of Secret Service! Dalton.**

**Leave me any suggestions for what you want to see. I have plans for Agent Hummel, if there's anything in particular, let me know.**

**By the way, I have no idea how the agency really works, architecture- wise. I kinda imagine what CTU used to look like from **_**24**_**, but I don't know how that really worked, room- wise. I'll try and describe it… but you might need your imaginations to help out.**

**I don't own Glee or Dalton. Everything belongs to their respective owners.**

**Without further ado…**

Kurt followed Blaine as they walked up the two flights of stairs to the rooms. Dalton Agencies may have had a different energy than McKinley, but the agents, the conspirators at least, were warm enough. Kurt's earlier qualms about working well with the team were calmed upon meeting the more-than-eccentric team. Blaine walked down one of the hallways, and turned to Kurt, stopping at one of the doors.

"You have your keycard?" he asked.

Kurt nodded, reaching into the manila envelope Charlie had given him just before leaving the conference room, pulling out the plastic card. He stepped around Blaine and scanned it, watching as the light on the door switched to green and opening the door. He looked around the insides of the room curiously.

The room was tastefully decorated in a minimalist way. The walls were made out of the same glass-like material as the rest of the rooms and there was a black matching set of a dresser, bed, and desk arranged around the room. A sleek silver laptop rested on the desk, along with a standard silver desk lamp, currently off. Light came through from the cloudy glass material as well as the silver lamp in one corner of the room. A door, presumably to the bathroom, was stationed at one wall.

"This is your room," Kurt jumped at the proximity of Blaine's voice. Blaine continued on, "All of the team's are down this hallway. There are some clothes in the dresser; I assume you didn't have much time to pack with such a quick transfer." Kurt nodded, confirming the assumption. Blaine smiled as he continued, "Feel free to settle in a little. You can familiarize yourself with the team, if you want. Dwight and Reed are in their offices, and the twins would be in the artillery room. Wes and David are probably talking with Charlie; I wouldn't bother them. You won't find Han," he smirked a little, "Not that you'd want to, I imagine. He can be temperamental at this hour."

Kurt nodded. "What about you?" he asked.

"I have to go talk to some of the Hanovers about our alliance with McKinley," Blaine's smirk grew. "I have to see if there's anything else we're entailed to besides your transfer. I would suggest just staying in the Windsor wing for tonight, Kurt. Dalton headquarters are big; I wouldn't want you getting lost. I can introduce Hanover and Stuart tomorrow."

Kurt nodded easily; he hadn't planned on exploring much today. "Try and get some sleep later, okay?" Blaine asked "It's been a long day."

"Only if you do too," he replied.

Blaine only smiled charmingly. "I hope you like it here, Kurt. It's nice having you on the team." With that he turned away and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Kurt turned and sat down at the desk, opening the folder and laying the contents on the desk. He opened the laptop, powering it on, and pulled a USB port from his blazer, transferring its contents while staring at the Dalton keycard that had been given. It had all his standard information as well as a picture, with a small blue shield with a diagonal yellow stripe on it in the corner. He sighed and pulled out his badge, sliding the McKinley card out. He leaned back in his chair and stared at it, simply reminiscing before tossing it on the table and sliding the new card in. He opened a few drawers, searching for a pair of scissors. When he found them he simply twirled them around his finger, hesitating. He shook his head. _Security precaution, Kurt_, he thought, forcing himself to start cutting the small plastic card. He threw the fragments into the trash bin, standing up and striding over to the door, deciding he'd might as well attempt to familiarize himself with the agency is the amount of time he had.

He stepped out into the hallway and looked out over the headquarters. The entire building was octagonal, with four main entrances on the bottom floor, one in each direction. There was a large screen with two smaller screens flanking it on the wall that held no upper floors. Stations full of various amounts of computers and monitors were stationed around the main floor. The four upper floors were accessed by the silver metal staircases at each entrance. From what Kurt could tell, the second floor held all the conference rooms and labs, the third contained any private offices, and the fourth and fifth floors were reserved for rooms and training. He turned and walked to the staircase, walking down to the third floor.

He walked down the corridor, reading the nameplates next to the rooms. Most the rooms on this side of the floor appeared to belong mainly to the conspirators.

_David Sullivan; Strategy _

_Wesley Hughes; Strategy_

_Ethan Brightman, Evan Brightman; Artillery_

Kurt paused for a while, staring at their door in confusion. _They share an office? _He shrugged and continued walking. He was lucky he had stopped; had he not he would've collided with the redheaded figure tripping out of the next door. Reed.

His hand flew out on instinct, attempting to clutch the teen's blazer as he fell, but he was too far away, and Reed ended up sprawled on the floor. Kurt walked quickly to the fallen teen, who was currently clutching the handrail and pulling himself up.

"Reed, are you okay?"

The boy smiled in return. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine," he said, a little breathlessly from fall.

Kurt raised an eyebrow, looking closer at Reed's face. The area around his right eye seemed to be swelling a little. "Are you sure? You look like you punched yourself in the face," he said.

Reed felt the area, wincing a little. "Damn it. I better go ice it or something," he made for the door, careful to step around the door frame. He paused before entering, turning back to Kurt. "Would you like to come in for a while? I imagine you must have a couple questions about the agency. I know that the Hat- I mean David," he quickly amended, "Wes, and Charlie are all meeting right now, and Dwight and the twins probably won't answer any questions. And if they do, well," Reed smiled, "it'll just confuse you."

Kurt nodded, following Reed into his room, careful to keep the boy within arm's distance should he decide to reenact his earlier performance. He flicked on the light, illuminating the room.

Reed's office, like practically all of headquarters, was simply decorated in a standard blue, silver, black color scheme. A silver desk dominated the room, two grey chairs arranged in front of it. A black bookcase was placed behind the desk, with fat textbook- like books lined in it, as well as a several medical kits. As Kurt glanced around the room, he noticed that the walls didn't appear to be made out of the same thick, opaque glass-like material as the rest of the agency. From the outside it looked the same, but Reed's walls were all white inside, and when Kurt felt them he was surprised to find that they gave way softly, absorbing the touch.

"Is your room… padded?"

Reed glanced back sheepishly. "You saw what happened out there," he shrugged. "The agency it was worth taking the precaution." He sat down at his desk, gesturing for Kurt to sit across from him. He reached down and opened a drawer, pulling out an ice pack.

"You have an ice chest in your desk?" Kurt asked incredulously. _What kind of agency is this?_

Reed smiled mischievously from under the ice, "You'll be surprised by some of the more… well, unusual equipment and devices here."

Kurt simply shook his head, murmuring a low, "I'm sure I will be." He tilted his head, "Yeah, what kind of agency are you?" he asked, raising his voice. The questions came faster, Kurt's tone rising in pitch as the speed increased. "And come to think of it, where did the Brightmans get those guns earlier? And what did Charlie mean about Dwight's 'unorthodox' methods? And what _is with_ all of the Alice in Wonderland references? And-"

"Whoa," Reed interjected, moving his hand in a gesture to stop Kurt. "One at a time. I'll start with the easiest question: the Alice in Wonderland references." He tilted his head, thinking for a while.

"Well, no one's really sure where the twins started using them," he began. "We suspect it has something to do with their childhood or their sister, or maybe both, but we can't be sure. Anyhow, they've taken to 'naming' certain agents, collecting the different characters."

"So…" Kurt mused. "Are they Tweedledee and Tweedledum?"

Reed nodded, "Bingo. We usually just refer to them as the 'Tweedles'."

"What about the others?"

Reed tilted his head, thinking for a moment. "Charlie's the Red Queen, David's the Mad Hatter, Wes is the March Hare, Dwight is the White Knight, I think?" He nodded. "Han's the Caterpillar; I'm sure you can see why, Blaine's the White Rabbit, and I'm the Dormouse. There are a few others as well, but you haven't met them yet."

"And I'm… Alice?" Kurt asked.

Reed nodded. "I can't tell you exactly why though. You'll have to ask the Tweedles for that explanation, but I can't guarantee that it will make any sense," he said with a sly smile.

Kurt rubbed a hand down his face, feeling a bit tired. "What about my other questions?"

"The others aren't so easy to answer," Reed warned. "It might be better to see them. All I can tell you is that the twins _always_ have some form of a weapon on them, and that Dwight's security techniques take root in form of superstition or something." He shrugged. "It's difficult to explain."

Kurt nodded, standing up. "Well, thank you, Reed. Do you know where I might find Dwight or the Tweedles?" He found that the Brightmans so closely resembled the fictional characters that it was easy to refer to them as such.

"Dwight will probably be in his office, and the Tweedles were at the practice range last I checked," Reed answered.

"And where is-"

"Fifth floor. I know," Reed said when Kurt looked concerned, "firing ranges are usually on ground floor, but Dalton's architecture is structured well enough that we could accommodate a range on the top floor." He shrugged. "I'm not quite sure how it works, but it does."

Kurt nodded, starting to understand that it was better to just accept that Dalton was eccentric and odd, and to not ask questions. He turned to leave, when Reed's voice stopped him, sounding nervous and unsure.

"Hey, Kurt? Can- can I ask you something?"

Kurt walked back, sitting back down. "Is something wrong?"

Reed stared down as his hands, appearing out of place in the professional blazer and looking like a normal teenager for once.

"How," he paused, taking a deep breath, "how did you know that- that you were gay?" He glanced at Kurt for a moment, and then quickly looked back down. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Kurt sighed, "I don't know what to tell you, Reed. It's not like there's some… guidebook, or anything out there. It's different for everyone." He took a quick look at the struggling teen. "Look, my father told me he knew since I was little. I assume you've asked Blaine about his experience?" A side part of his mind marveled at the fact that the dark- haired agent was also gay.

Reed nodded. "He doesn't like talking about it much, though. He's told me a little, but I think he had some issues back home or something." Kurt raised an eyebrow in surprise, but said nothing, not wanting to pry into Blaine's private life.

"Well tell me a little about it, if you want it to," he said.

Reed shifted in his seat, looking up at Kurt. "It's not that complicated, really. It's just that, well, I've never really liked a girl before, but I've always chalked that up to the fact that maybe I just haven't met the right one? And I've only liked one guy-"

"Who?" Kurt asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

Reed smiled a little, blushing. "Shane Anderson, Blaine's brother."

"Blaine has a brother?" Kurt asked. "Does he work here at Dalton?"

"No, he works at the Walcott Agency in Colorado. But Blaine says that there's talk about him possibly transferring. He's helped us out a lot in the past whenever he visits," Reed answered, trying to hide how excited this made him.

Kurt smiled, seeing how happy it made the smaller boy to talk about his crush. "You'll tell me all about him one day, okay?"

Reed smiled in return, nodding. "You should get going," he said suddenly. "Especially if you want to catch Dwight or the Tweedles before they turn in."

Kurt bobbed his head in agreement, standing up and heading for the door. "Good luck, Reed," he said over his shoulder.

"Thanks Kurt. You too," Reed answered before Kurt opened the door and left.

He walked to the next door, which was labeled _T. Dwight Houston, Security_. He knocked softly, wrinkling his nose as a strange stench seemed to come from inside. Dwight sighed from inside, "If you must come in, the door's open." Kurt opened the door, peering into the room.

Dwight's office was completely dark inside, save for the lone light coming from his desk. Dwight was hunched over the desk, prodding at a pile of white with a metal rod. Kurt walked in a sat down, staring curiously at a second pile of the seeming same white material that was stationed a little ways to the left of Dwight. He touched it experimentally, feeling the rough textured grains beneath his fingers.

"Is this… rock salt?" Kurt asked amazedly.

Dwight glanced up, swatting Kurt's hand, "Don't touch that. To answer your question, it's not."

"Then what is it?"

Dwight sighed, finishing the pile in front of him and pushing it to join the second pile. "It's a special type of security technology, for tracking. Each grain can act as a camera, picking up audio and whatever visuals it can. It works well because it's light, and it blends in easily."

Kurt picked up a single grain, examining it. "Each one?" he asked disbelievingly.

Dwight smiled a little, proud. "Each one."

"How? Where did you even get the plans for this kind of thing?"

Dwight leaned back in his chair. "Han found it, hacking a few scientific websites. We sent over a squad, and they agreed to let us use the plans. They hadn't been completed yet, so we had Bailey- he was the Communications head before you- take them over to the Stuarts, who finished them for us."

Kurt raised an eyebrow in suspicion, "Hacking? Isn't that illegal?"

Dwight shrugged, smirking. "It worked out for us, in the end."

Kurt looked around the room, taking in some of the odd items in the low light. There were more vials of the salt- like grain lining the wall in different colors, presumably for different environments. Different types of cameras and weaponry were also found, and Kurt thought even he spied a crossbow and some arrows among the arrangements. _Clearly_, he thought_, this is what Charlie meant by "unorthodox_." His eyes came to rest on an array of medallions and badges near them. "What are those for?" he asked, waving a hand towards them.

Dwight gazed at where Kurt had gestured, "More cameras and recorders, mainly. Those are more for just keeping records than for spying though; when we meet with other agencies, for example. Some have a mild acid in them, for self- defense. Nothing major, but enough to knock someone out."

Kurt shook his head, "Amazing," he said. He pointed into the darkness, "And was that a quiver of arrows I saw in the corner?"

Dwight shrugged, "Maybe," he said mysteriously. "I dabbled in some of the occult stuff when I was younger," he explained, "A lot of it carried over when I started here."

Kurt let out a breathless chuckle. "You're crazy, you know that, right?"

Dwight smiled that same secretive smile. "We all are around here." He turned serious. "Was there something you needed?"

Kurt shook his head. "Not really. Blaine said it would be a good idea to familiarize myself with the team, and Reed said you'd be in your office."

"You talked to Reed already?"

Kurt nodded, "He tripped and hit himself in the face as I was walking down the hall."

Dwight laughed. "Of course he did." His expression turned sober. "Listen," he said, leaning forward, "look out for him, okay? Not just physically, but emotionally, alright? I'm sure you've heard about he's struggling a little, right?"

Kurt nodded. Dwight exhaled tiredly, "I try and help him, but I'm not best suited for… well, his situation. Blaine wants to help, but he's got some issues of his own." Kurt's eyebrows rose and the mention of Blaine having problems again but, like earlier, he said nothing. Dwight stared at a place above Kurt's head, eyes glazed. "He's older than me, but still feels like a little brother, you know?"

"Don't worry, Dwight," he said, standing up. He could sense that the pale boy need time to think. "I'll try and help out." He walked over to the door, closing it gently behind him. Before the door closed completely he heard Dwight murmur softly, "Thank you, Kurt."

Kurt climbed the staircase, walking down the hallway and entering the door labeled _Firing Range_. He put on the customary protective hearing muffs and goggles, opening the second door to the range.

Upon walking in, he saw the two identical teenagers firing pistols at the target in time with each other, hitting the target with unbelievable accuracy. Kurt stood behind them, watching stunned as the hole in the center of each target grew bigger and bigger. _Even Puckerman didn't have this kind of shot_, he thought. The Tweedles finished their rounds, pulling off the ear muffs at the same time. Kurt applauded a little, amazed.

The twins whirled around toward the noise, breaking into grins when they saw Kurt. "Alice!" they chorused, dragging the boy towards them as he took off his ear muffs.

Kurt laughed a little, "Hello Ethan, Evan. What are you two doing?"

The twins turned back to their stations, shrugging and pressing the button to reel in the targets.

"Just practicing. Why?" said one, probably Evan.

The one who was probably Ethan asked, "Is there something you need?"

"Is it a type of fire arm? We can get those for you!"

"What kind? Shotgun, pistol, sniper rifle, assault rifle…"

"… a machine gun? We can access a Gatling, submachine, anything really."

"What about-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Kurt interjected hastily. The twins stopped to look him, blue eyes sparkling impishly. "Nothing of that sort, nothing at all. Thank you, though."

"Then what do you need, Alice?"

Kurt paused, thinking. "Why do you call me Alice?"

The twins' smiles grew, still as mischievous as before, but with a touch of kindness added in. "You took the White Rabbit's advice," said one.

Kurt stared confusedly at them. "You decided to explore Wonderland," the other explained.

"But you named me at the meeting," Kurt said, still baffled.

"We had a hunch," the twins said vaguely. "You have an Alice- like quality to you."

Kurt shook his head, smiling a little and choosing not to decipher the Tweedles' strange logic. "You're all crazy, you know?"

"We know," they chorused.

"Would you like to join us, Alice?" one of the twins asked. The other pulled another pistol out, gesturing to the stall next to him.

Kurt grinned, taking the gun. The twins grinned a long with him, placing their protective headgear back on their heads and placing new rounds in their guns. All three took their stances and began firing at the targets.

A few rounds later, Kurt and the Tweedles pulled off all of their protective gear, deeming that they've spent long enough in the firing range. They wound in their targets, leaning over to compare.

"You're not a bad shot, Kurt!" Ethan laughed.

"Thanks. Still, how did two almost manage to match all of your shots?" Kurt said, laughing as well and taking Evan's target and laying it on top of Ethan's. He suppressed a yawn, much to the twins' amusement.

"You should get some sleep, Alice," said Evan, clapping Kurt on the back.

"Yeah, you have a long day in Wonderland tomorrow," chimed in Ethan.

Kurt nodded, making for the door. "Hey," he said, turning back to stare at the blue- eyed twins, "Thanks."

The two grinned identical smirks, eyes shining. "No problem, Kurt," said Evan.

"See you tomorrow, Agent Alice."

**I kind of rushed to get this out; there were **_**so**_** many of you who responded. I was amazed. You should've seen my reaction. **

**I've mentioned this on some of my other stories, but I start school soon (tomorrow to be exact) so updates might not be so frequent, at least for the first couple weeks. I'll try and write whenever I can, but it might be a little rough. Everything I've written so far was just meant to be a one- shot, but because of you incredible people, I'm in the middle of three stories. I'm not complaining or anything (I love writing these things) but it'll be a bit tough. **

**The March Hare, Mad Hatter, and the Red Queen next chapter, probably? Also, if any of you have **_**any**_** tips on secret service and agent work, message me, please? My extent of knowledge goes only as far as **_**24**_** a couple years ago, so I'm not great at this kind of thing.**

**Thank you all so much. I hope you understand if I'm missing for a bit. Review please?**


	3. The Royal Tea Party

**Oh god, late update. Eternal sorrys. (Don't hurt me)**

**Again, I'm sending out a plea for any help. Because I don't have time to watch **_**CSI **_**or old **_**24**_** reruns (I'm trying to though). So if you have any knowledge on secret service stuff or agents or anything, send me a message!**

**Thank you all for being so wonderful and patient and reading this. **

**In case you're wondering, A Walk in Central Park **_**will**_** be updated. I've just hit a bit of a block in it, so you might get Kurt and Blaine's first coffee date instead of a continuation of the current conversation. I just need to think.**

**Glee and Dalton belong to their respective owners, of course.**

Kurt had been appreciating a less common bout of silence when the Tweedles burst into his room, pulled him up from his desk, and began carting him off towards the conference rooms.

He had been at the new headquarters for a little over a week, and this had already occurred over a dozen times. This fact did not stop the loud, embarrassing squeak that emitted from his mouth when his mind caught up to his body.

"And where do you think you're taking me?" he sputtered as the Twins dragged him along.

"You've been invited to a tea party, Alice!" exclaimed the twin on his left.

"And a royal tea party at that. You best not be late," added the other, wearing a grin identical to his brother's.

Kurt sighed, resigning himself to being pulled along. "Has it ever occurred to you two to just knock on my door and let me know, instead of carrying me to all of my meetings?" he asked as he concentrated on not tripping as they entered a staircase.

"It has…" said the one that Kurt had designated as Ethan.

"…we just ignore it, mainly," finished Evan.

Kurt rolled his eyes affectionately, shaking his head at the two. "So what do David and Wes want to talk to me about?"

"And the Red Queen. We told you it was a royal party," Ethan pointed out.

Evan nodded in agreement, "Yeah; you can't forget him."

Kurt rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time. "Fine, and Charlie too. And Reed will be joining us I suppose?"

"Ah," Evan said, thinking for a moment. "I don't think the Dormouse is joining you. He's caught up in some update with the Bat from Walcott."

"They'll probably spend half of the conversation being awkward and dodging feelings though," Ethan added.

This received a raised eyebrow from Kurt. "You mean Shane? Blaine's younger brother," he clarified. The Twins nodded in confirmation.

"Anyways," said Ethan.

"We think that the Red Queen and others just want an update on your current projects," explained his brother.

"And to see how you're settling in."

They arrived finally arrived at the conference room, where the Twins unceremoniously dumped Kurt and burst into the room, quickly chorusing, "We brought Alice!" before leaving to wrack more havoc god- knows- where in the agency.

Kurt attempted to smooth out his blazer and adjust his hair with as much dignity as he could muster, entering the room once he deemed himself presentable. It was the same room where he had met the team on his first day, with only the top three seats filled. Charlie, Wes, and David all shot him a quick grin as he walked his way around the table to his regular seat.

"The Tweedles said you wanted to see me?"

Charlie nodded, shuffling some of the paper in front of him before leaning back in his seat. "Well, first off, how are you, settling in- wise?"

"Yeah, how is everyone, the rest of the Conspirators especially, treating you?" David chipped in.

Kurt mused for a moment, crossing his legs. "I'm actually all right. Dwight acts a little strangely all the time, and I rarely see Han-"

"No one really does," interrupted Wes.

"No one?" Kurt questioned.

Wes cocked his head, thinking. "The Twins once in a while, but he usually keeps to himself. Dwight and he usually communicate via Bluetooth or computer."

"Anyways," Charlie gestured with his hand for him to continue his explanation.

"The Twins are," Kurt paused, trying to choose the right word, "enthusiastic as ever, I suppose?" Over the course of the past few weeks Kurt had found himself participating, willingly or not, in a random series of field exercises orchestrated by the Twins, usually accompanied by whoever was caught in their way as they tore through the Windsor wings. "Reed is especially nice. I never see him during the Twins' exercises, but we talk a lot."

"About what, if you don't mind telling us?" Charlie inquired.

Kurt shrugged, not sure how much the strawberry- blond would have wanted him to disclose about their chats about Shane. "A lot of stuff; he's one of the few people that gives me a straight answer to any of my questions. Well, besides you three," he quickly tacked on. The three smiled in thanks. "Anyways, anything else you wanted to talk to me about, business- wise?"

"What about Blaine?" David asked.

"Don't think we didn't notice how you skipped him," teased Wes. Charlie merely smiled in a mixture of knowingly and teasingly.

Kurt lightly blushed as he struggled to maintain a straight face. In all honesty, he wasn't sure what to think about the dark haired agent. He had an old- fashioned charm to him, and had been nothing but gentlemanly towards Kurt. They seemed to had flirted a bit in passing, and Kurt figured that if they were normal teens, he could say he had a bit of a crush on Blaine. They hadn't known each other long, but the conversations they had had proved that they had a lot in common, and Kurt almost felt closer to him than most people. The main difficulty was the business they both were in, where it was more than a bit difficult to have a relationship, and kept them extremely busy anyways.

"What about Blaine?" he tried to ask nonchalantly, his mind drifting to all of the conversations the two had been having during his time at Dalton. They had all been brief and business- like, but there was always an undercurrent of flirting lacing every word.

"Well how have you two been getting along?" David asked in a sing- song voice.

Kurt sighed, half enjoying the air of normalcy not commonly found in an agency, and half reluctant to continue with the current topic.

"We've been getting along fine, for your information," Kurt answered in a somewhat clipped tone. The light blush continued to tinge his cheeks, and the other three smiled knowingly.

"Anyways, Hummel," Charlie changed the topic, sensing the agent's reluctance to continue talking about Blaine. He shuffled the papers in front of him. "We've really only called you to talk about how you're doing and some projects you need to finish soon."

Kurt nodded. "So where do you need me?"

Wes answered him, leaning forward slightly on his folded hands. "Some of the Stuarts are having a conference with two different agencies tomorrow, one from Russia and one from Japan. They need translators, since most of them are only fluent in French or Korean. You know Russian?"

"Of course I do," Kurt replied smirking. "Who's the other translator?"

"Baily Tipton, or the Gryphon, as the Tweedles call him. He used to work in Windsor, but he transferred when the head of the Stuarts requested him," said David.

"So is that all?" Kurt asked.

"Just about," Charlie said. "We just want to give you some info on the Stuarts, and how they- ah- work."

Kurt raised an eyebrow in apprehension. "What do you mean?"

The other three agents all shifted in their seats, looking discomforted by the topic. There was a pause before David replied, choosing his words carefully. "Just… tread softly, okay? The Windsors and the Stuarts usually don't get along, with the exception of a few, like Tipton. They're a bit… intense, you could say. There's bad blood running between us."

Kurt tilted his head in confusion, but nodded anyways. He'd ask someone, like Reed or Blaine, about it later. There certainly sounded like there was a bit more than just "bad blood" running between the two groups.

"Also, Hummel," Charlie interjected before he left, "the Hanovers have requested that you come and familiarize yourself with their part of the agencies, just for future reference. As they work with negotiations, it could entail foreign relations."

"Anything I should know about them?"

Wes chewed on his lip a little before answering. "I use to work with them before transferring to Windsor. They act a bit like the peacemakers between the Stuarts and the Windsors, but they're also very… secretive. There's almost no one in Hanover that doesn't have something they're hiding. But they're relatively normal, which is more than you could say for the rest of us."

"How serious are we talking about these secrets?" Kurt blushed at his forwardness, ducking his head. "I just mean… sorry. You don't have to answer that."

Wes shook his head, smiling good naturedly. "It's fine, it's fine. Your curiosity is expected; Dalton's not the most normal agency, despite appearances. I'm not going to say anything specific, but Hanover's its own brand of crazy. There's a lot to do with gangs and things like that, though," he finished, making it clear that he wouldn't say more on the topic.

Kurt made to leave, thanking the three agents, when there was a knock on the door and a certain dark- haired agent poked his head in.

"Hey Kurt," said Blaine, smiling charmingly. "I was wondering if you wanted to join me in the firing range? I- I mean," he stuttered, blushing. The three seated agents smiled at Kurt, unbeknownst to Blaine. "If you would like to join the Tweedles, Reed, and I at the firing range," he clarified.

Kurt's responding smile was probably too bright and his reply of, "Sure!" was probably too enthusiastic, given the widening grins on the three agents seated at the table.

"Just remember, Kurt: visit Stuart tomorrow, and Hanover at some time in the next week, okay?" Charlie said before he left. Blaine stiffened minutely at the mention of Stuart, but it was so quick that Kurt thought he was seeing things. He nodded, businesslike, following Blaine out of the conference room.

Well, he might have looked back once and stuck his tongue out childishly at the three smirking faces staring back at him.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked Blaine once they were climbing the stairs to the firing range.

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be? I'm with you obviously," Blaine answered, bumping shoulders with Kurt and winking at him.

Kurt tried to hide his smile, a blush climbing to his face. He focused though, determined to at least get _some_ of this story out of someone. "No, I just mean, well, you reacted kind of oddly when Charlie mentioned the Stuarts."

The smile left Blaine's face and his eyes turned cold. "Oh, it's nothing," he said nonchalantly. "Just bad blood, you know?"

"You sure?"

"Mmhm."

Kurt sensed he wasn't going to get much more out of the dark- haired agent, but his reaction was enough to confirm his suspicions that there was much more to this story that he knew.

"So anyways, how has your day been?" he asked, changing the subject. Blaine's face turned warm again as he answered.

"Well, you see…"

Several rounds and a scary instance where the kickback nearly sent Reed flying back against the wall later, the five boys were removing their protective headgear, ready to call it a day. Blaine and the Twins were comparing target sheets, Evan and Ethan nearly matching each other shot for shot again. Reed and Kurt stood off to the side, chatting and waiting for the others.

"Hey Reed?"

"Yeah?"

There was really no better way to approach the way than being forward, Kurt reasoned in his mind. "What's the story between the Windsors and Stuarts?"

Reed suddenly looked very nervous. "What do you mean?" he asked, trying to grin. "Just… bad blood, you know? Nothing more than that."

Kurt gave him his best "bitch- please" look. "Bullshit. You Windsors may be perfect liars, but you're horrible actors."

Reed sighed, running a hand through his strawberry- blond locks and shaking his head. "Really, Kurt, it's nothing. It's- it's just some stuff from last year. Ancient history."

Kurt rose an eyebrow. "Obviously not," he said, "if it still affects all of you like this."

He shifted his eyes to look at Blaine, catching Evan and Ethan as they shared a look of concern as they no doubt heard the conversation. Three pair of eyes glanced at Blaine, who hadn't heard.

Reed let out a breath, staring Kurt straight in the eye. "Leave it, Kurt," he said, more forcefully than he had ever sounded before. Kurt opened his mouth to ask another question, closing it when the Twins bounded over to them. Reed's face relaxed when Ethan threw an arm around his shoulders, Evan doing the same to Kurt. Blaine stood by the exit, staring amusedly as the four made their way out the door.

Kurt smiled, allowing himself to be caught up in the whirlwind that was Evan and Ethan, but the same thought pestered at the back of his mind.

_In what situation_, he wondered,_ is it worth opening a can of worms?_

He stared at Reed, who still had a look of nervousness in his eyes despite his smile. He saw the look in the Twins' eyes as they overheard their conversation. He recalled the dark look that had passed over Blaine's face at the mention of the Stuarts. The way even Charlie, Wes, and David had appeared to be uncomfortable bringing up the apparently uptight research department.

_Well I reckon it'd be one to happen at an agency like this._

**Reviews are like nonfat mochas and chocolate chip cookies. You should give some to me. Please?**


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Glee, Friendship, Romance