Lucas stood, one hand holding the threaded needle inches from the bullet wound oozing blood from his side. His eyes were on the threat that stood before him; a gawking Nathan.

Eliminate, the rule of ECHO pounded into his head. Lucas didn't move.

"Whoa...man, is that...?" Nathan lifted a shaking hand to point at the wound. "Dude...I thought we were using paint...did...did you get shot? For real?!"

The words snapped Lucas out of it. He reacted upon instinct. Nathan didn't even know what hit him. Lucas pulled him in, slammed the door, and had him pinned to the wall in seconds, his forearm cutting off Nathan's breath and the needle in his other hand coming right towards Nathan's eye; through which he could deliver the fatal blow.

A centimeter before stabbing him his hand froze, needle poised. Nathan was staring at the needle, eyes wide.

Eliminate! Lucas' mind screamed. Yet he could not...his body would not. He's a friend... the thought drained whatever energy he had left. Lucas' arm dropped and he lowered the needle.

Nathan stayed where he was, frozen. Lucas opened his mouth to say something...yet nothing came out. In the next moment, a wave of dizziness washed over him. He stumbled back, and reaching out to steady himself on the closet thing; the wall. He left behind a bloody handprint.

"Whoa!"

Hands grabbed him, helping him over to the toilet seat where Lucas slumped down. He lifted his eyes in surprise to see that Nathan had helped him. Concern was written all over the boy's face.

"Why?" Lucas murmured, his speech slurred.

"I'm going to get the doctor," Nathan began. He turned to go, yet Lucas' reached out and grabbed his arm, not letting him take a step to the door.

"No...no doctor," Lucas told him. He shook his head, the action making the room spin. "I'll take care of this myself." He felt the pain ebb away even as he said it and his mind became somewhat clearer. Painkillers. He realized they had kicked in.

Nathan turned to stare at him just as Lucas stood again. Ignoring his roommate, Lucas stumbled towards the mirror. He took a deep breath before moving the needle to the wound. He needed to get it stitched up.

He was aware Nathan was watching him, wincing as he realized what he was doing. Lucas was just waiting for the moment he was sure Nathan would rush for the door and raise the alarm. Yet, his roommate surprised him by not making a move.

Lucas was almost done stitching the front wound up when Nathan spoke. "Who are you?"

Lucas' eyes darted to Nathan for only a second before returning to the wound. Done. He reached for the book. Grabbing a pair of scissors, he cut the thread.

"I mean..." he saw Nathan's eyes wander along the scars that covered his body. "You're not just a transfer, are you?"

Why is he so calm? Suspicion coursed through Lucas. Usually, a normal citizen's pulse would elevate in such a situation. Their blood pressure would increase, they would lose the sense to think rationally...he seems surprised...even concerned, but no more. He showed none of these questions on his face as he turned around to stare at the back of the wound. This was going to be more difficult. He couldn't explain how he himself felt so calm at having been discovered either.

"Perhaps..." Nathan began.

Whatever is up...I can turn this around. Lucas made the decision in an instant. I'll tell him the truth...or part of it anyway.

"Are you perhaps..."

"I'm from an agency," Lucas had paused, needle almost at the wound. "I was sent here for reasons I cannot disclose."

Nathan's eyes widened. "Like a secret agent?!"

Lucas nodded.

"Dude! Wait...what? Really?" Nathan shook his head. "No way...there's no..."

Is he taking the bait? Lucas wondered.

"Like..." Nathan looked around before leaning forward. "For the government?"

Bingo. Lucas simply nodded.

"No way..." Nathan leaned back. "No way!" he repeated.

Lucas turned his eyes back to the wound, he pushed the needle through. As long as Nathan believed he was with the government, he would most likely be safe.

Nathan was looking at him as though he were seeing him for the first time.

"I knew there was something different about you!" He looked way too excited in the current situation.

Ignoring him, Lucas continued to stitch up the wound. The back wasn't going to be as clean as the front one.

"Just wait till the others..."

Lucas' head snapped up at that. "No...no one must know!"

"Oh...right." Nodding, Nathan leaned back. There was a moment of silence and Lucas resumed to tending to the wound. "So why..." Nathan leaned forward once more. "Why did they send you here?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you," Lucas replied with the most cliché line he could think of.

Nathan's eyes widened at that. "Cool," he whispered.

Lucas shot him a glance. He couldn't figure the boy's reaction to the situation at all. If Nathan had been terrified, he could have let him off, knowing the boy would say nothing out of fear. If he had tried to run, he would have eliminated him. Yet here he stood, seeming more intrigued and in awe than anything else.

"Then..." Nathan began again, "You got shot trying to do something for the agency?"

Lucas finished up and cut the thread.

"That means..." Nathan continued, "The government is after someone here...so there's bad guys in school?"

Lucas put the scissors back into the book. The needle and left over thread he took over to the toilet. Lifting the lid he threw it in.

"Like...mafia?" Nathan was still at it.

The toilet flushed and Lucas turned around. His eyes darted to the bloody hand stain on the wall. Got to get rid of that. He walked back to the book, pulled out a small bottle of alcohol he usually sued to disinfect.

"Or maybe an international criminal," Nathan continued to try guess.

Lucas grabbed some toilet paper, dumped alcohol on it, and cleaned the blood stain off. He threw the bloodied paper into the toilet and flushed once more.

"A mass murder?" Nathan tried again. The thought made him freeze. He stared at Lucas once more. "You haven't...killed anyone, right?"

Lucas simply raised his eyebrows and then slammed the book shut, making Nathan jump.

"Is the door open?" Lucas asked.

"Huh?"

"The bedroom door?"

"Oh..." Nathan thought for a second. "I don't remember closing it."

Lucas leaned back against the sink. He felt weak. "Get me a shirt."

Nathan hesitated.

"In my closet," Lucas told him.

Nathan nodded before scrambling from the bathroom.

Lucas watched him before tipping his bed back and closing his eyes. Have you lost it? He thought. You're supposed to keep your identity covered at all cost. If he decides to make a run for it...

A shirt hit him. Lucas' eyes flew open to see Nathan had slipped back into the bathroom.

"Thanks," Lucas grunted, not showing his surprise that the boy had come back. He slipped the shirt on.

"You're not going to bandage that?" Nathan asked, nodding to the wound.

Bandages can be felt upon contact...if anyone is looking for an injured person... Lucas didn't bother to explain. He simply shook his head.

There was a moment of awkward silence as the two boys simply stood there.

"So..." Nathan shuffled his feet. "Now that I know...are you going to wipe my memory or something?"

"No use...forceful erasing of memories is risky. The side effects could be countless," Lucas replied automatically.

"Ah..."

"I'm supposed to kill you."

Nathan chuckled at that. Yet, when Lucas didn't, he abruptly stopped. "Wait...seriously?"

Lucas nodded.

Swallowing, Nathan took a step back. "Oh..." The wall stopped his further retreat.

Lucas calmly watched him.

Nathan's face had grown somewhat pale. "That sucks..." he squeaked.

Lucas stood straight and walked towards him.

Nathan squeezed his eyes shut.

Reaching him, Lucas paused. Then, he lifted an arm and playfully punched the other kid on the shoulder. "Just kidding," he said as he did it.

Nathan's eyes flew open. A visible breath of relief escaped from his mouth.

"But now that you know..." Lucas turned away, "there's nothing to it..." he turned back around to face Nathan. "You," he pointed a finger at him, "you'll have to help me." Yup. You've lost it, Lucas thought. This isn't like you at all. The mission...If ECHO finds out about this... he pushed the thoughts away. To his surprise he noticed that excitement had crept into Nathan's eyes.

"Really?" His roommate asked, awe in his voice.

Lucas nodded when a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He fell on a knee. The pain killers may have kicked in, but the blood loss had already been too much.

"Hey," Nathan was by his side in a second. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Lucas replied yet his slurry voice was giving his situation away. He blinked as dark dots danced before his eyes. Not now... he thought. "Nathan...you're first mission..."

"What is it?" Nathan leaned forward, eyes shining at the thought of a mission.

"Help me get to bed," Lucas told him.

"Yes, sir!"

He seems way too excited about this, Lucas thought as the other boy put his arm around him and helped him up.

"Grab the book..." Lucas got out as darkness began to close in. "No evidence..." He was already beginning to lose consciousness and painfully aware that he was at Nathan's mercy. If they boy had been acting along and was just waiting for an opportunity...Lucas was only dimly aware of how they stumbled into the bedroom, and then he succumbed to darkness.

"Lucas...hey...buddy...hello?"

The voice penetrated into the darkness that gripped him. His eyes felt like lead, his mouth was as dry as a desert, and he was sure that the throbbing in his side wasn't from a bruise.

"Um...its class time..." the voice continued to whisper, so close to his ear that it tickled. "I know your situation isn't so good but...don't you think skipping will just make the bad guys suspicious?"

Lucas' eyes flew open. He sat up in bed, his head whacking something hard on the way.

"Owe!" a familiar voice exclaimed at the same time as Lucas thought it.

The pain on his forehead was nothing compared to the one in his side. His eyes focused and he found Nathan standing next to his bed, clutching his forehead. Brian, who stood at the door ready to leave, shot the two a look before, with a shake of his head, leaving the room.

Lucas stared down at his bed. He didn't remember getting into it. He looked up again to see Nathan was still rubbing his forehead.

"Dude, you're skull is like a rock," Nathan muttered.

"Sorry," Lucas replied, trying to ignore his own throbbing head. His eyes turned to his burning side. He lifted his shirt ever so slightly to glance at the wound. The stitches are holding, that's good. He dropped the shirt and looked up to find Nathan staring.

"Are you going to be ok?" Nathan asked.

"I'll live," Lucas replied. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, refusing to show how much each movement hurt. "Where'd you put the book?" he asked.

"Your closet." Nathan pointed a thumb at it.

Lucas stumbled over to it, not quite steady on his feet. His teeth gritted at the effort it took and the pain. He threw the closet open, found the book, and pulled another injection from it. He stabbed it into his arm and emptied the contents. Knowing that relief from the pain would come soon, he turned his attention to putting on his uniform. He was aware of Nathan's eyes on him.

"So...what's next?" Nathan voiced the question he sounded like he had been itching to ask.

Lucas shot him a glance. "What do you mean?" He buttoned up his shirt.

"Do we call in the rest of the gang? Handcuff someone..." his eyes widened in excitement, "do we get to break in somewhere?"

"We?" Lucas grabbed his tie.

"You said I could help you."

Lucas closed the closet door. "We stay low for now." He looped the tie around his neck and began to tie it.

"Oh," Nathan sounded disappointed.

"They'll be on high alert," Lucas continued.

"Who?"

"The bad guys." He didn't offer any more than that. Walking over to the door he grabbed his shoes. The painkillers had kicked in and he felt able to move again.

"Right..." Nathan grabbed his own shoes. "But...do you think that's possible?"

Lucas shot him a look. "Why do you say that?"

"We have our game tomorrow."

Shoot! Lucas had forgotten about that.

"I mean, coach did say that you might want to practice some more...but I also know he wants to see you in a game..."

Lucas' mind was racing.

"I feel like if you went on the field it wouldn't end too well...and sitting out might be suspicious too."

"Then we'll just have to make sure I can't play tomorrow," Lucas came to the decision.

"How?"

Lucas reached for the door.

"Injure me at practice."

"What?!"

Lucas reached out and covered Nathan's mouth, putting a finger to his own lips to caution him to be silent. He removed his hand slowly.

"Coach would kill me!" Nathan hissed.

"It'll be an accident that can happen to anyone...tackle me somehow to make it look real, I'll fake the rest."

"Are you sure?" Nathan shot a skeptical look to Lucas' injured side.

"Better than being put out there to play a full game when I can't even play."

"You what?" Nathan asked in horror.

"What?" Lucas asked sarcastically. "You really think I came here to play football?"

"Ah..." Nathan didn't have anything to say.

Opening the door, Lucas stepped out and Nathan followed.

"So...you really don't know how at all?"

Lucas turned to the other boy. "Rule number one," he told him. "We don't talk about any of this stuff anywhere outside of that room," he told him. He motioned around the area. "Ears and eyes everywhere," he whispered.

Nathan nodded rapidly.

"Good." Lucas turned and continued down the hallway.

"Sup," a boy yelled as he sprinted by.

"Morning!" Nathan hollered after him. He snaked his arm around Lucas' shoulder. "By the way. We won the game last night."

"Good morning, this is your principle," a voice blared over the speakers at that moment. "I have a quick announcement to make."

Lucas looked up. It was unusual for announcements to be made this early.

"We were informed that the last time we did health check-ups something went a bit wrong with the blood samples. We deeply apologize for any inconvenience, but according to the national health law we will have to get a sample from the students once more."

"Again?" Lucas muttered. "I hate needles," he shivered as he said it.

"You will be asked to come class by class throughout the day. This is mandatory. And congratulations to dorm 3 for winning the tournament last night. That's all." There was a short crackle before the system shut off.

Why ask for a sudden blood test? Lucas wondered as he and Nathan reached the exit and began heading to breakfast.

"Anyway," Nathan continued, "Since we won the guys are super excited about sitting with the girls for the game. My sister will be coming. You should meet her..." Lucas no longer heard what he said as realization suddenly hit him.

When he had gotten shot the night before...There was blood left behind. He felt like groaning. Stupid, so stupid! This isn't a health check-up. They're looking to find me... He wanted to kick himself.

Already his mind was racing. Maybe I'm wrong...perhaps it really is a health check-up...Lucas wasn't sure what to think. He no longer heard what Nathan was saying as they entered the classroom building. It seemed like every time he got out of one situation another problem arose. Lucas walked into his classroom and automatically sat at his desk.

He put his head in his hands. What was he going to do about the blood test?

a) It's time to call in his fake uncle Zack and ask him for help.

b) Go for the check-up. Figure things out after.

c) Don't worry about it. It probably really is just a health checkup.