Jerry couldn't remember ever being this nervous in his life. He'd packed for missions before, stressed himself over forgetting things, over being late, which was a definite possibility since none of his brothers had come home yet. But this was different. Maybe it was because Tina sat next to him on the couch, wearing light blue jeans and an oversized pullover, her hair tied in a ponytail. And at that moment, as he watched her in the corner of his eye, he was a bit unnerved.

Tina didn't usually wear jeans, or boots, or pullovers. She wore slacks and shirts and kitten heels. She wore her hair in a bun or a chignon. This Tina looked so much younger, so much more vulnerable. And it amplified his nerves about her coming with them a thousand times over. Why did the agency have to drag her into this? Why did she accept to join it in the first place? And why did he have the impression that he was supposed to say something to comfort or encourage her?

There was nothing to say. Without Sam, he was scared out of his mind, too. As much as he tried to convince himself that they'd see each other long before they'd come anywhere near the jewel, Kyle's leadership made him itchy. And not because his older brother wasn't good at it, but because he was a hothead, to put it mildly.

Tina took in a sharp breath.

"Are you alright?" he asked, unexpectedly grateful for the distraction.

She just nodded, and it didn't convince him in the least. Fortunately, the sound of a roaring engine announced that at least one of his brothers was home. He stood just as the door opened and Kyle and Kay walked in.

"You guys ready?" he asked, eying the rucksacks already placed by the door.

"Naturally. Jimmy, Jessie and Billy?"

"They're on their way," Kay answered.

"Good."

Awkward silence filled the room. Kyle leaned over to Kay to whisper something and she giggled. Jerry shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Tina said nothing, continuing to stare into the carpet and bounce her knees.

Kay whispered something back to Kyle and he spun to hide her from sight. Jerry tensed and looked away, hoping they weren't actually kissing as if no one was there. But Kay laughed again, so he guessed her mouth was free.

"You two are being rude," he pointed out.

"Why?" Kyle asked over his shoulder. "You'd rather we laughed at you to your face?"

Jerry swelled with indignation, but it only had Kyle and Kay in stitches. "That's not nice."

"He's just kidding, Jerry," Kay assured him. "We were just finishing a conversation we had in the car and... well, it's better that you don't know."

"Can we just leave?" he asked, trying not to sound huffy.

Kyle wasn't fooled and smirked at him, but fortunately took his leader role seriously and didn't start mocking him. "We can take the luggage out if you'd like. Jimmy and Jessie should be in any second now."

"Yes, let's do that. I hate wasting time." Jerry turned to Tina. "Are you ready?"

She shook her head, but stood. The way her knees trembled couldn't be good.

"It's going to be okay, Tina, don't be nervous," Kyle said. "You'll see it's mostly searching for stuff rather than chasing and shooting."

Jerry cringed, expecting Kyle to continue with his usual 'that only happens in the last part of the mission' or something similarly amusing to him. Surprisingly, he didn't, just continued smiling pleasantly, though Jerry could see he was faking it.

"He's right, Tina," Kay added. "Missions are a lot more boring than they sound. Plus we'll be traveling to France and get to see Paris. Maybe we'll even have time for some sight seeing."

Kay's show of friendship finally drew a smile to Tina's face, and she nodded in agreement. So when Kay reached out her hand and led her out of the house, she followed.

Jerry breathed in relief, grabbing Tina's rucksack as well as his own. "Thanks."

"No sweat. She needed it," Kyle said grabbing the other two rucksacks and following the girls outside. The moment he reached the threshold, he stopped, and Jerry almost bumped into his back. He sidestepped to avoid the collision, and once he raised his eyes, his breath caught in his throat.

Tina was on the ground, half-hidden in the snow, while three burly men had pulled Kay towards the street and stopped in front of a black van. A sudden chill seemed to bounce off Kyle's body and Jerry took a step back.

"Where do you brats think you're going?" the man behind Kay asked. "Trying to break the rules?" He stepped away with a yelp once Kay swung her head back and hit him in the nose.

The goon holding her left arm took out a pistol and pointed it at her head, effectively stilling her struggles.

"Feisty, aren't you?" he asked.

Kyle's hand inched back, his movements so slow, it was almost unnoticeable.

"Just look at his face!" One of the goons sniggered. "He wishes he could hurt us, but we have his little lady friend."

Jerry dropped his rucksack and sunk his hand under Kyle's jacked, at the back of his belt, where he was sure his brother held his holster. Even if his hand shook, he pulled it out and passed it to Kyle. His brother's fingers tightened around the handle, his index on the trigger.

Please shoot them in the leg, please shoot them in the leg. But with the chill and the stillness in the air around him, Jerry wasn't so sure.

"Now how about you all get in this here van?" The guy threatening Kay with the gun gestured with it towards the vehicle.

Kay immediately seized the opportunity and threw herself to the ground. The man still holding her, yanked her before she hit the ground, but she'd left the goon with the gun wide open.

In the blink of an eye, Kyle drew his gun and shot the guy in the head. Bile rose to Jerry's mouth and he grabbed the jamb for support. With a grunt that didn't even begin to reflect the horror of the situation, the man fell over in the snow. The next two shots had Jerry's knuckles whiten against the jamb and his knees buckling.

Before he could pull himself together, Kyle charged forward. Kay also rolled into a crouch, her eyes zeroing in on the fallen men who were groaning in the snow. Kyle threw a pair of handcuffs to Kay who secured two of the men together. Kyle grabbed the remaining one and rammed him against the side of the van.

"What rules are we braking?"

Jerry opened his mouth to tell Kyle to lay off because he'd already shot the guy in the head, but noticed there wasn't any blood. Anywhere. Except for a lump in the middle of his forehead, the man seemed perfectly fine.

"How did you...?"

"Rubber bullets," Kyle mumbled. "But don't worry. I have a gun filled with real ones, too. So you'd better start talking."

The man stayed silent. Kyle pulled him back and rammed him against the car again with enough force to get it rocking. The other two men started crawling further away from him, but thankfully stayed down. Jerry really didn't want to have to tackle anyone. Kay took out her gun and pointed it at them, making sure they wouldn't get any crazy ideas.

"The boss told your brat brother to come alone," the man yelped out. "And you're going to help him."

"No, we're not," Jerry said, outraged. "We have other business to take care of." Even if he already knew this information from Tom's note, the use of singular was slightly problematic.

"How long have you been watching the house?" Kyle asked between his teeth.

The man was silent again until Kyle squeezed his shoulder. "We just got here like fifteen minutes ago."

"Why?" Kyle insisted and just squeezed him again.

"Because we knew you were leaving." The man groaned. "Jesus, man, you're gonna break a bone."

"How did you know we were leaving?"

Kyle's question was once again greeted with silence. Jerry winced, wishing the guy would stop hurting himself. Fortunately, it only took Kyle leaning towards him to loosen the man's tongue.

"Our source told us," he cried. "And before you get all violent again, we don't know who he is."

"Who gave you the order to come here?" Jerry asked. "Snitch Gravel or Von Crooken?"

Everyone froze and turned to him. He bit on the inside of his cheeks, trying not to feel self-conscious.

"Eye Patch sent us this time." The man winced as if expecting another rubber bullet to the head.

"Anyone have anything else to add?" Kyle asked.

Since his question was greeted by silence, he pulled back the gun and knocked the men out. Kay proceeded to do the same to the other two and they were left with three unconscious bodies on their front lawn. Thank God the van blocked most of the damage from the view of curious neighbors.

His legs still a little shaky, Jerry walked over to Tina and helped her up from the snow. She trembled like a leaf, so he hugged her, trying to bring some warmth back into her world.

"We should load the garbage in the van and get it out of here," Kay said quietly.

"Yeah." Kyle finally sunk the pistol back in its holder. "This is slightly problematic. Someone is obviously watching the house or there's a snitch in the Agency." He huffed at the pun, but sobered immediately. "Anyway, let's get out of here." He pulled out his phone as he slid the door of the van open.

"Who are you calling?" Jerry asked, hurrying to help Kay put the first goon inside.

"Herrison. I want him to make sure our parents are okay while we're gone," Kyle mumbled.

Jerry nodded and tugged harder at the body. He wanted to get out of there already. The strange limbo was more uncomfortable than abandoning their parents once again.

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Surprise update because 1k reads! It's short but this chapter will have another short part. So yay! I want to thank everyone who's supported me so far.

What do you think? Who is giving the orders? Is there a snitch in the agency or is Snitch (he he) that well informed on his own?

Also poor Jerry almost getting a heart attack from Kyle shooting people in the head.

Vote and comment for support!

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Jessie sat down on the high stool, clenching her bottle of water with trembling hands. Their plane would leave soon, but the news of the attack on the Grant house had her feeling like there was no such thing as too soon.

"How? How does he always know everything?" she said to he water bottle.

"He has someone spying, obviously," Kay answered, sitting across from her. "Shouldn't really surprise us at this point."

"I just don't see why he'd waste so many resources on this stupid revenge mission. I'm just..." Jessie looked away, out the window at the stationed planes. She really couldn't understand. Her empathy only went so far.

"It's his life, Jessie. He has nothing else."

Kay's tone had Jessie turning to her. "You feel sorry for him?"

She just shrugged. "Someone has to."

No, they don't. But maybe Kay was just a much better person than her. Or maybe she wasn't okay. "Are you alright?"

Kay flinched. "What do you mean?"

"You were just threatened with a gun."

Kay shrugged again. "I'm starting to get used to it. I can't say I felt in any real danger. And I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It proves how... not normal we are."

"Normal is boring," Jessie said. The answer came like a reflex and it was true for her. She wouldn't give this life for her old one.

Kay smirked, but she still seemed a bit off. "I hope the boys won't be getting overprotective now."

Jessie didn't really think Jimmy could be more overprotective than he already was. "That makes two of us. Though I do hope we get no more surprise missions."

"Oh, but where's the fun in that?"

Jessie and Kay both jumped to their feet and turned to the man that had stopped next to their table. He was tall and broad, with greying hair and moustache. A scar ran down the length of his cheek, stopping right at the corner of his monocle. The guy actually had a monocle.

Kay's posture relaxed a little and Jessie tried to follow her lead, but the impulse to hit and run was stronger.

"Excuse me?" Kay asked, her tone filled with polite curiosity.

The man smiled and raised his hands as if to show he was unarmed. It only made Jessie warier of him.

"Didn't mean to butt into your conversation, but you two don't seem like the type to be bothered by some interesting extra work."

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you mean," Kay continued, expertly feigning ignorance.

"Finding research papers is interesting enough, but what if someone could make sure you wouldn't have to?"

If they weren't inside a crowded airport cafe, Jessie would've whipped her gun out and pointed it at the guy. He knew who they were. He definitely knew about the Agency and their side mission and it made her skin crawl.

Kay tensed too, the polite smile still on her face. "Talk," she said, her expression never wavering.

He nodded towards the chairs. "Can we sit down?"

"No," Kay said.

The man sighed. "Good point. Not like we have much time. I'm here to offer you a different job which is, so to speak, related to the one you have except without all the lies, the secrets and keeping you in the dark."

"Who are you?" Jessie asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Her first thought had been Agency, but now she was almost sure it wasn't. Unfortunately, her next guess was Snitch Gravel leading them into a trap.

"My name is Philip McLane, and I specialize in counter intelligence. Obviously since I found you and know what you've been up to."

"Obviously," Kay said, her tone flat. "Do you work for him?"

Philip didn't falter and it sent a creeping feeling through Jessie. "I used to. And I've learned a lot for him. About running an undercover operation and about what your Agency is capable of."

Jessie tensed even more. She was usually loyal, but the Agency had done nothing to gain her trust, to make her stand up for them. The thought of betrayal still had her insides squirming.

"You're asking us to betray the agency?" she asked.

"No. I will not require you to give me information regarding what they're up to or to boycott your missions. You would continue to work for them as usual is you so choose. I'm just offering side missions and the possibility to filter anything that might be coming from them and is hidden from the rest of the group."

That sounded like heaven.

"In return, I ask only of your full discretion."

That did not. "You mean you want us to lie to the others about meeting you," Jessie said.

Kay turned to her, one eyebrow quirked, while Philip worried on his lower lip, obviously aware that he'd touched a sensitive area. But Jessie really didn't want this anymore. She was fed up with hiding and lying and doing the same thing she was doing for the Agency but for someone else didn't feel like an improvement to her.

With a deep sigh, Phillip took a seat at their table. "Unfortunately, yes. And I'm going to tell you exactly why."

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I didn't want to make the update with such a short scene, so I'm putting it here, but still updating. Yay!

Don't worry, next part will be longer and filled with excitement since we're going back to Sam and Tom. Still hoped you enjoyed. Did anyone actually still remember this guy? If not... good.

Since you can't vote twice, do give me a comment.