Matt swiped another chocolate chip cookie off the baking sheet before Rory could stop him. "These are the best cookies I've ever eaten," he declared. While in isolation at Crimson Inc., the last thing Matt had wanted was food. He couldn't keep anything down. Now, his appetite had come back with a vengeance. It seemed like his body was craving something. He was slowly gaining back all the weight he lost, but another side effect of the T.V was a fast metabolism, so it wasn't easy.

"I'm glad to hear that." Rory laughed. She had spent all afternoon baking two dozen cookies using a recipe Rose gave her, and only a handful remained on the cookie sheet. "They must have been good if you ate nearly the entire batch."

"You can always bake more," Matt insisted. He walked into the living room and flopped onto their brand new couch. He had no idea what happened to their old couch during the move, but this one had built-in recliners. "Hey, Cat's here. She must be bringing Chelsea," he said suddenly, his words followed immediately by a knock at the door.

Rory opened the door to see Cat, Bane, Komazzi, and James standing in the hallway. She looked at Matt and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "How did you know?"

"I heard them coming up the elevator." Matt grinned.

"We can't stay long. Bane and I have our interview at Crimson," Komazzi said and sat on the couch beside Matt. "Damn Paxton has been driving me up a wall. He won't stay at his desk, he refuses to screen my calls, and I tried to take him out on a hunt last night but he was playing fucking Pokémon Go the whole time."

"I saw his mom at Evermart this morning. She's bragging to all her little friends that her perfect son landed his dream job," James said. "Apparently, nobody told her this is temporary. She's going to be so pissed if Paxton fucks this up and ruins the family reputation. He doesn't have any skills...well, maybe as an arsonist. Remember the time he burned down my house?"

"Oh, that's right!" Cat gasped. "Church was at your place that night. Paxton threw a Molotov cocktail through the window because he was angry I had taken an interest in you and not him."

"We had to move in with our grandparents after that." James shuddered at the memory of his house erupting in flames. The staircase had collapsed, and they were lucky to make it out alive. Paxton had been harassing him for months, but at the time James hadn't suspected things would turn violent. Paxton resented him even more when he got the position as Cat's guard. "Paxton can't be trusted. Fortunately, Matt goes back to work on Monday."

"I wanted to talk to you about that," Bane spoke up. "I already discussed this with Komazzi last night. Paxton is going to guard him for a while longer—"

"Why?" Matt interrupted, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I have a job for you and James. That's why I asked him to be here today," Bane explained. "I want to send you into the organization's headquarters to gather intel. We need to know their plans. If we have someone on the inside, we can get files, blueprints, names...anything that might be useful."

James didn't want to argue with Bane because picking a fight with him was a good way to get himself killed or grievously injured. But the truth was, neither James nor Matt had much experience with risky assignments. Out of everyone he knew, D'Arcy Les Valencort and Ben Foster were the most qualified. They were rich, charismatic, and intelligent men who knew how to bend others to their will. D'Arcy had raised Danny after his father's death, and Ben handled all of the legal issues for Crimson Inc.

"Why can't one of the older guys go?" James wondered, praying he wasn't stepping out of line. "What about D'Arcy and Ben?"

"Their loyalty to me makes them targets—the organization would kill them on sight to send a message," Bane said. "You're still young. I doubt they would hurt you, but they might resort to bribery or threats to convince you to join their side."

"We don't know where their base is. How are we supposed to get there?" Matt asked, although he had a sick feeling he knew the answer.

"I have the number of Edwin's contact, and I'll make an anonymous call letting them know where you're going to be," Bane replied. Komazzi hadn't said a word this entire time; his jaw clenched and his eyes shot an icy look in Bane's direction. Bane knew Komazzi was upset, but he had done an exhaustive search and came up with nothing. The only way to get to these people was to give them something that they wanted. "I think that some of their agents are doing business out of the old craft store, but the dirty work is happening at their main facility."

"So we pretend to join them, then steal a bunch of their shit?" James asked. Part of him felt honored that Bane chose him for this mission. In the beginning, Bane wasn't very enthusiastic about letting him into the fold. He thought he was just a dumb kid, but James worked hard to prove himself worthy in Bane's eyes. "That doesn't sound too bad. We can handle it. Right, Matt?"

He glanced at Matt, who sat frozen in silence next to Komazzi, his face a pasty shade of white.

"I guess," Matt croaked. He couldn't bring himself to meet Bane's gaze. He didn't want him to see that he was afraid, so he focused on their puppy instead. Chelsea ran over to her toy box and selected a loud squeaky monkey to chew on. Rory had bought it at the pet store a few weeks ago, and so far, Chelsea hadn't destroyed it. She took off into the bedroom and jumped onto the bed to nap with her toy.

The clatter of pans in the kitchen signaled that Rory had finished washing the dishes. "You two better leave now," Cat insisted, and tapped Komazzi on the shoulder. "James and I are going to Paxton's party. We'll take Matt and Rory with us and you can pick them up later."

"Have fun." Komazzi forced a smile. He was tired of chaos, and if one more thing went wrong, there was going to be hell to pay.

* * *
Kaine ran his fingers through his thick mane of hair, scrutinizing his image using the front-facing camera on his phone. He smoothed the wrinkles out of his dark green shirt and adjusted the collar on his leather jacket. "I hope I didn't get any tree sap on my pants," he muttered.

"Relax dude, you look fine," Cole insisted. He followed the sound of voices and discovered huge lights had been set up, illuminating the meadow. Flames roared in a giant bonfire, and music blasted out of four tall speakers. Paxton had certainly taken advantage of Daddy's money. It looked like nearly everyone between the ages of twenty-one and thirty had come; he and Kaine were the oldest people here. He spotted Rose talking with Cat and shoved his brother playfully. "There's your date."

"Rose." Kaine smiled shyly as he approached the two women. Rose smiled, standing up. For a moment, she took his breath away. She wore a tight red sundress that hugged her in all the right places; Kaine was sure Rose had borrowed from her friend. Her beautiful black locks were curled slightly, pulled half back with a shiny hair clip holding it out of her face. "You look amazing!"

"Keep it in your pants," Cat snarked, holding back a snicker. She leaned over and whispered something to her friend, causing Rose to blush furiously. Cat was in a hot pink bikini top with black booty shorts that left little to the imagination. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a high ponytail.

"I believe your harem is here," Kaine stated, seeing Cat's bodyguards approaching. Legolas had his long golden locks pulled up into a man bun which suited the shirtless board shorts look he had going. James was wearing a tank top with cargo shorts and leather sandals. Parker looked completely out of place with his name-brand suit and sunglasses on...in the dark; he looked more like a secret service agent than a young adult at a party.

The only one missing was Danny. Kaine couldn't help but wonder where he was. Perhaps it was because of the full moon, he thought to himself. Danny always seemed to vanish on those nights.

"Do you want to go get a drink? I hear it's an open bar!" Rose said loudly, trying to prevent Cat from overreacting to her date's comment. "I think I need one."

"Absolutely!" Kaine shouted back. He led Rose through the crowd over to the bar, where a line had formed with people waiting to get drinks. Kaine cut stealthily to the front and grabbed two margaritas.

Rose casually sipped her drink as they walked to the bonfire, while Kaine quickly downed his and slung his arm around Rose's shoulders. The clear night sky was dotted with hundreds of stars, twinkling like jewels in the darkness. Smoke billowed up from the fire and hung above the treetops.

"Rose, you made it!"

Kaine looked straight ahead to see a brunette girl walking toward them. Her curly hair cascaded loosely down her back, and she wore a navy blue dress that flared out just below her knees. He noticed the silver, decorative Med-Alert bracelet on her wrist and immediately recognized her as Matt's girlfriend, Rory. His eyes darted around the bonfire, and he saw Matt wasn't far behind her.

"This week has been nuts, so I decided to treat myself," Rose said, and handed her empty glass to a passing server. She grinned as Cat arrived with her entourage, bringing more drinks. "Kaine and I were just about to sit down for a minute. Do you all want to join us?"

"I wouldn't want to crash your date, especially since it's been a while since you've gotten any." Cat winked at her friend, flashing a wicked smile. Legolas casually wrapped an arm around Cat, but she took an obvious step away toward James. It was common knowledge Cat wasn't a fan of how clingy Legolas could be. Even in high school, she would be hanging off of him one minute before yelling at him that she needed space the next. "Besides, the boys and I were going to go see if we could track down the man of the hour. I haven't seen the hotshot yet."

"I believe he is going to be making his grand entrance soon," Matt said, shuffling his foot on the ground. It really bothered him that Paxton was celebrating him getting attacked and acting like Matt would never recover. He'd already managed to spill his coffee on Komazzi's desk all over some important papers and acted like it wasn't his fault. He almost got the janitor fired. Luckily, Komazzi took the time to hear both sides of the story.

From behind the group there was a loud pop as fireworks flew into the sky, followed by 'High Hopes' by Panic at the Disco playing through the speakers. Flames shot up into the sky as Paxton walked out, high-fiving all the people standing nearby before picking up a microphone. His voice rang out through the sound system.

"Thank you all for being here! I'm just so excited to have the opportunity to prove myself as a personal guard to someone pretty high up in this town. It wouldn't have been possible if it were not for my wonderful mother, who put in a good word for me. And of course, Mattie Boy, to whom I wish a speedy recovery!"

"Holy shit." Pamela gasped from beside Rory, shocked at the words that had come out of her brother's mouth. Paxton had just revealed classified information to every person here.
Nobody in town was supposed to know about Matt being hurt, or his job as Komazzi's bodyguard. Everyone was under the impression that he was Komazzi's personal assistant, and Paxton would be filling that position on a temporary basis. This was a really stupid thing for Paxton to do, considering they had no idea who might be spying on the party.

"That fucking dick," Matt growled, his blue eyes riveted to Paxton as he sauntered through the crowd.

Everyone seemed pretty distracted by the music and bonfire, so Matt took off running after Paxton, the scenery around him nothing but a blur. He couldn't remember the last time he'd ran this fast. It had been a while since he'd used his powers. Matt closed in on the unsuspecting dark-blonde man and tackled him to the ground.

"Oww, get off me!" Paxton screamed as Matt twisted one of his arms behind his back. Matt looked thin, but Paxton felt like a two-hundred-pound linebacker was on top of him. His leg started to cramp up from the weight of Matt's knee pressed into his calf muscle.

"If anything happens to Komazzi, your ass is mine," Matt hissed in his ear. He couldn't prevent the nightmares that disturbed his sleep from becoming reality, but he wasn't going to stand by and let Paxton think he was helpless.

Suddenly, Matt was grabbed by the arm and pulled to his feet. He turned around to see a furious Cat. Her eyes were bright red and dark lines began trailing across her porcelain skin.
"Don't you ever pull a stunt like that in public ever again. Do you even realize the danger you put us in?" Cat demanded, her voice low and gravelly. She shoved Matt, causing him to briefly lose his balance, but somehow he remained upright. Paxton sneered behind him.

"Looks like I'm not the screw up," Paxton gloated. He shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to walk past Cat, who reached an arm out and grabbed his shirt.

"And you, you just exposed a vulnerability to eighty people, you stupid son of a bitch," Cat hissed, shoving him against a tree and punching the tree next to his head. "Do either of you even fucking care how reckless and stupid you were?"

Cat was only met with silence. Matt looked at the ground, kicking the pine needles into a pile. Paxton had lost all color as Cat dropped him back to the ground. She seemed to grow taller as the shadows danced across the trees behind her. She waved her arm, and both men slid across the forest floor. She leered over them and snapped her fingers, causing them both to hover just off the ground. "Answer me, now!"

"What does it matter if they see or hear anything?" Paxton demanded. He had never personally witnessed Cat like this before, and she was terrifying. Suspended in midair, there was no way to escape from her. "The organization is going to find out everything anyway when Bane sends Matt in there. I shouldn't get in trouble for revealing stuff if they're already planning to test him."

"That's true, but they won't know what to do with the information," Cat insisted. "Michael is the one we need to worry about. He has spies here just like the organization, but he's far more dangerous. Bane thinks he's working with them, and he will stop at nothing to get ammunition to use against us. Matt, I don't know what the hell is wrong with you lately. Your mind has been somewhere else ever since you came home."

"I'm sorry," Matt whispered. Komazzi had warned him not to broadcast his powers to anyone. He was only supposed to use them during an emergency. Paxton had gotten under his skin, and he acted without thinking of the consequences. He needed to get his shit together, but the thought of going on his first mission without Komazzi was overwhelming.

"If either of you assholes ever pulls something like this again, I won't hesitate to break your neck!" Cat snapped her fingers, allowing both men to hit the dirt once more.

Paxton tried to move, but his joints seemed to be locked in place. "What did you do to me!"

Matt climbed to his feet and dusted off his clothes, obviously not affected by the weird enchantment. He mentally kicked himself for being so irresponsible. If it weren't for Cat and Bane, he would have died two weeks ago; and Komazzi had sacrificed a lot for him over the years. He owed them all for saving his life, and behaving like a sulky teenager instead of a mature adult didn't exactly show his gratitude.

"Eww, did you just shit yourself?" Cat demanded, wrinkling her nose at Paxton. She snapped her fingers a final time, releasing the stuttering man before giggling as she returned to the party to tell everyone about Paxton's shitty situation.

On her way down the path, Cat spotted Kaine with Rose. They were standing under a tree, secluded from the crowd. She cautiously approached. She had never trusted Kaine, but out of respect for Bo, she'd kept her theories to herself. However, if Kaine laid a single unwanted finger on her friend, she wouldn't flinch at tearing him limb from limb. She hung back and watched them from the shadows.

"I was so happy you said yes to a date." Kaine grinned and slipped an arm around Rose, causing her to tense up.

"I mean...it wasn't really a date. I thought it was just hanging out," Rose said, moving to add a little more distance between them. Kaine leaned in to kiss her, but before he made contact, she punched him square in the face, causing blood to pour from his nose. Cat grinned, realizing that Rose really was capable of taking care of herself.

Rose shoved the screaming man to the ground and stormed back to the party, her face red with a mix of anger and embarrassment. Not really watching where she was going, she walked straight into Komazzi, who appeared to be frantically searching the area. "Sorry..."

"I can't find Matthew anywhere, have you—" Komazzi stopped mid-sentence when he saw her face. "Are you okay?"

Rose hurriedly brushed some loose hair out of her eyes and glanced back toward the forest. She saw nothing but darkness, so Kaine must have left. "The guy I came here with turned out to be a jerk. I think I gave him the wrong idea." She sighed. "He's been pushy all night, and even though I told him this wasn't a date, he still tried to kiss me."

"He sounds like a real scumbag." Komazzi frowned. "Here, I'll walk you back to the party in case he decides to show up again," he offered, gently taking Rose's hand.

"Thank you," Rose whispered. She listened to the chorus of frogs and crickets as they walked, and her eyes drifted upward to meet Komazzi's. Unlike Bane, he always seemed like a genuinely compassionate person. They rarely had the chance to interact with one another; whenever he visited the apartment, it was to discuss business with Cat and Bane. Rose realized she didn't know that much about his personal life. "So, how are things going for you?"

"It's been better. As I'm sure you know, Matt has been spending a lot of time in the hospital." Komazzi sighed, sitting on a fallen tree. He knew Matt was an adult, but he couldn't stand the thought of something bad happening to him.

"I'm sorry, that must be hard." Rose frowned, sitting next to him. She blushed, thinking of yesterday when she'd caught him with her roommate. "I know it's none of my business, but what's going on with you and Cat?"

"Wow, right to the personal questions." Komazzi chuckled, picking at a loose string on his shirt. "Cat and I go way back. Believe it or not, it wasn't entirely what it seemed."

"It may have been a while, but I know what sex is when I see it," Rose insisted, burying her head in her hands.

"That's not what I was talking about." Komazzi sighed. "I don't get out often to meet people, and I have an arrangement with Cat and Bane. It's not as strange as it sounds, but I can understand if you're completely disgusted by it."

"Wait, you're all some kind of swingers?" Rose demanded, starting to wonder if she'd made a mistake bringing any of this up.  The questions kept spilling out like word vomit.

"Not exactly. Truth be told, I kind of hate it. Cat is extremely attractive, don't get me wrong, but it's completely physical. Sometimes I wish I could actually have someone who cared about me," Komazzi said, staring into Rose's eyes. He couldn't help but smile at how the moonlight glittered off of them.

How could he explain to the innocent girl that Cat allowed him to feed off of her to increase his