If Sebastian Smythe held the crown for being one of the most evil men in the state, his accomplice Hunter Clarington came a very close second. For understandable reasons, neither trusted the other much, despite being in such close collaboration. Hunter's aggression and quick temper had earned him a reputation for being feared, but deep down, Sebastian was the more terrifying of the pair. His way of making people think he was a good man, before kicking them to the kerb had left many wishing they'd never made a deal with such a devil. Any man that could convince the one and only Blaine Anderson that he was harmless deserved that kind of recognition.

You'd have thought he'd have been shoved into jail at some point, but his way with words and his use of others to leave the fingerprints and make the fatal mistakes left him without a word against his name; he was nothing more than the man controlling the operations, at the very centre of the web. His alliance with Hunter was far aside from this, and much stronger than his links with those such as his father and the murdering pair of doctors. Hunter was just as clever as Smythe, maybe even cleverer. He knew how Sebastian could target Blaine, and every so often, he knew he could easily stay one step ahead of the consulting detective. Whilst Sebastian wouldn't trust the man on a personal level, he trusted his judgement highly, and knew that if he'd suggested something, it would most definitely work. Of course, Sebastian himself was responsible for most of the decisions made, but it didn't stop Hunter from being heavily involved too.

In fact, it had been Hunter who had been messing with Sam's mind, although it had been Sebastian's idea to use this to get to Blaine.

"Blaine knows?" Hunter looked up towards Sebastian, his brow furrowed in thought. "He thinks its you."

"Of course he doesn't, you swine," Sebastian barged past him as he paced the floor. "He knows that it's my jacket."

"You're not going to be able to beat him, Seb. He's too clever for you."

"Shut up, or I'll put Splenda in that coffee of yours."

"Wow. I'm shaking in my boots. You aren't being subtle enough about this-"

"We want to lead Blaine towards us, you idiot! It's all about dropping all of these not so subtle hints. It has to be unsubtle, or else the press won't believe what we're going to tell them."

"You've thought this through, haven't you?"

"Of course I have."

"I'm not going to even ask about your plan."

"I didn't say I was going to tell you about my plan, did I?"

...

"Blaine, would you leave your mind palace for a minute just to eat, please!" Kurt begged jokingly.

"What if I've just been in the kitchen of my mind palace and just ate my breakfast?" Blaine grinned, before going to grab his plate from the kitchen. "I'm just kidding with you."

"Wow, what an amazing deduction that was Blaine," he clapped sarcastically in response, going to collect the mail from the front door. "Junk... Junk... This one's mailed to you... and yet more junk.

Blaine's eyes widened at the sight of the handwriting, written in swirly red ink; Sebastian. He knew that a letter wasn't contained inside from the way the envelope sat, so it was no surprise when a white powder trickled out from the side of the paper instead.

"Sugar," he took a taste, shaking his head in disgust at the sweetness. "That's definitely sugar."

"What the hell does sugar mean?"

"There will be more clues soon, I believe. This is just the first."

"Any news on how Sam's doing?"

"Better, now. The guy hasn't shown up in days."

"Any news on who this guy is?"

"Hunter. Hunter Clarington."

"And you know this...how?"

"The internet it a wonderful thing. Don't doubt it's magical powers."

"Who is this Hunter Clarington guy anyway?"

"Sebastian's bitch," Blaine grinned. "Nah, I'm just kidding. He's like... You know how Sebastian hasn't been caught because he tricks people into thinking he's a good guy? The one reason why Hunter's not been convicted of any crimes is because he uses fear to get to them. If Sebastian's a serpent, Hunter's like... a shark?"

"Brilliant analogy there Blaine... So you're saying Hunter's violent?"

"Violent? That's a bit of an understatement there, Kurt."

"How do you know all this stuff anyway?"

"I knew him. He went to Dalton, although he left not too long after I arrived. The guy was absolutely mental. I'm almost positive he killed one of the professors in an angry rage once."