"I really hate you sometimes," Matt told the humid night air. It was a sticky kind of hot that made his goggles fog up, so by necessity he had shoved them up out of his face, to tangle with his hair.

Everything had gone perfectly according to plan, which meant that his Jeep, complete with the multitude of discreet tracking devices that he'd spent most of the day planting, had been stolen. Whether it had been stolen by the right group was a complete mystery, but he'd leave that kind of work to Beyond.

Matt hadn't really planned what to do if the Jeep had gotten stolen. Planning was usually Beyond's thing, sort of. Matt proofread the plans as best as he could, but sometimes he slipped up and let Tetris or Pikachu or Mario or Beyond's smug and entirely arch sarcasm distract him from his job. And it was times like that, that he ended up stranded too far from home with his cell phone beeping on low battery and no ride home.

Matt turned back to The Neo-Catholic Church of the Reformation reluctantly, pulling up the hood on his jacket to block the chill night wind. Not that he didn't still think Hot Priest Mihael was the hottest thing ever to wear a cassock, but the church meeting had been boring. Hot Priest Mihael had barely been there, and when he was there, he mostly left the talking to Halle, an impassioned blonde chick that he couldn't help but picture with a gun in her hand as she shot down the men in blurry security footage. When it wasn't Halle talking, it was Matsuda, a Japanese man with bright eyes and a thick, clumsy accent. While he supposed both of them were bright in their own right, Halle moreso than Matsuda, neither of them could compare to the depth and intelligence that rang from Mihael every time he spoke. Plus, The Neo-Catholic Church of the Reformation had brown carpeted floors that smelled like musty linens that hadn't been aired out in too long, or the insides of library book left too long on the shelf. It made Matt sneeze.

Inside the church, everything was silent, the people attending the church meeting having already left the same time Matt had, a good twenty minutes earlier.

"Hello?" Matt called out.

There was a soft stirring noise, but Matt couldn't quite place where it was coming from.

"Hello?" Matt repeated, putting a little more force in his voice.

There was a soft clicking noise that came from right behind Matt. Matt knew better than to turn around, though, especially when he felt the pressure of the barrel of a gun press neatly against the very top of his neck, probably square on with his brain stem. Matt put his hands in the air instantly, fingers spread to show that he wasn't carrying anything.

"I'm sorry," Matt said quickly. "I was at the church meeting, but my car got jacked. I didn't know where else to go."

Deft hands yanked down the hood that Matt had forgotten he'd even pulled up. Suddenly the pressure on his neck softened. "Matt?" a familiar voice asked incredulously.

Matt turned, and fought the urge to respond with "Hot Priest Mihael!" -- at least for now. He'd save that one for when he wasn't about to ask for a ride home and when Hot Priest Mihael didn't have an impressive looking little gun held up to his head.

"What are you doing here?" Mihael asked, flipping the safety back on and slipping the handgun into his front pocket. "I thought you left with everyone else."

"Like I said," Matt said with a rueful grin. "My car was stolen. Brand new car, too." If Mihael was going to pretend that the past thirty seconds, the thirty seconds where Mihael was a trigger pull away from blowing off Matt's head, never happened, then Matt was going to do the same.

"I don't believe in unfortunate circumstances," Mihael said, with a pleasant smile. It was the type of pleasant smile that made Matt's eyes wander to the rest of what he could only assume to be Mihael's off-duty gear: a pair of fitted jeans, a loose black sweater and a large gold rosary. And, of course, the gun tucked, still very visible, in the front pocket of his jeans. Mihael's smile just pulled the look all together. "Every unfortunate circumstance is just an opportunity, waiting to be taken."

"I had Chinese tonight too. My fortune cookie was way lamer than yours though," Matt said glibly.

Mihael's smile faltered briefly. "...Right. What I meant to say was that you're welcome to spend the night here if you'd like."

Matt was pretty sure, once again, that Mihael didn't mean that as a come on. Probably. But really, could one hot priest say so many suggestive things and not actually mean them?

"Uh, yeah. I'd like that," Matt said, meeting Mihael's eyes. "I'd like that a lot."

"Great. I'm sure there's a spare room open in one of the dormitories," Mihael said briskly moving past Matt towards a hallway off to the left.

Damn. Apparently one hot priest could say so many suggestive things and not actually mean them.

"Well," Matt hesitated. "I'd have to let my --" Did he and Beyond ever work out their cover story? "--brother know where I am. He's a bit overprotective and he'll freak out if I don't come home."

"We don't keep any phones in the facility," Mihael said, and Matt was almost positive that was a lie, but he'd let it pass. "Don't you have a cell phone, though?"

Matt pulled out his phone. The low battery light was still flashing, which meant that he might be able to jam one quick phone call in. "Maybe," he said. He flipped it open and pushed the speed dial for home.

Beyond answered on the first ring. Before he could quite get out his hello, Matt interrupted. "Jeep stolen, staying at church, see you tomorrow."

"That's fine," Beyond replied mildly. "I expected about as much."

"Great," Matt said. "Have you --" But then his phone made the peculiar little sing song beeping noise that it always made upon dying. He clicked it closed.

"He shouldn't worry now," Mihael said. "I guess you're all ours for the night. Is there anything you need? I can bring down some pajamas for you, but I don't think we have any spare toothbrushes around."

"Don't trouble yourself," Matt said dismissively. "I always sleep naked anyways."

Mihael's cheeks slowly turned a bright, sharp color at those words. "Oh. O-of course. That's fine then. Is there anything you do need, then?"

Aside from the blush and Mihael's brief stutter, there was nothing to give away Mihael's emotions. That was enough for Matt, though. Mihael dealt with people on the street every day, not to mention whatever shady criminals he apparently liked to associate with. A stammer and a blush was a definite accomplishment.

"No, I think I'll be fine," Matt said, stretching out on the low-lying bed. "But thanks for letting me stay here tonight. I owe you one."

Matt knew as soon as the words left his mouth that he'd just said exactly the right or exactly the wrong thing. Mihael was good at playing people, but not even he could conceal the spark of satisfaction in his eyes or the twitch of a smirk that crossed his smile.

"I might just take you up on that," Mihael said. "Some other time."

"Right," Matt said, trying to prop himself up and make himself comfortable at the same time. It was no easy task. The little bed with it's crisp white sheets was probably the itchiest, lumpiest thing he'd ever had the displeasure of sitting on. He wondered if it would be horribly rude if he slept on the floor, as it was probably more comfortable than this thing.

"Goodnight, then. The bathroom is at the end of the hall and clearly labeled. Deacon Matsuda will be by in the morning to wake you up and drive you home." Mihael smiled. "Sweet dreams, now."

Mihael moved to close the door, but Matt interrupted him. "What, you're not going to tuck me in?"

"You haven't said your prayers yet," Mihael said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Besides, according to what you told me not five minutes ago, you're still wearing far too many clothes to be ready to be tucked in. And," he added, before Matt could get a word in edgewise. "I, unfortunately have duties to attend to elsewhere."

This time, Mihael really did close the door as he exited, leaving Matt lying flat on his back, arms behind his head and a smile on his face.

* * *

Mihael walked down the hall, pace substantially quicker now, mind racing. That was interesting. He wasn't quite sure what to think about that kid, Matt Birthday. He was attractive and flirtatious, but neither of those really mattered to Mihael beyond a passing interest. More importantly, there was someone highly intelligent lurking somewhere just past the smart alec quips and the lazy attitude. Mihael prided himself on being extremely good at reading people, and Matt was proving to be quite the challenge. It was nothing he hadn't faced before, though, and he had always come out number one.

He took a sharp right and went through a wood door substantially nicer than those used on the dormitory rooms, leading him into a conference room. Instantly, the two occupants rose to their feet.

"Mihael!" Matsuda exclaimed, always happy to see him.

"Mihael," Halle said, equally warmly. "So glad you could join us." Unlike in Matsuda's voice, her voice held an unspoken question in her voice about where he'd been and why he was so late.

Mihael hated keeping Halle in suspense. He leaned on the table. "Matt Birthday attended the advanced trainee meeting this evening," he said. "What can you two tell me about him?"

"Violently red hair, godawful sense of fashion," Halle said. "Kept to himself quite a bit, but was definitely listening very attentively. I marked him on the list as being a definite candidate for full church membership."

Mihael nodded, mostly to himself. "Do we have any records on him outside of the church meeting?"

Halle frowned. "Matt Birthday? I don't think he's been on any of the lists that we've been following..."

"I've heard the name before," Matsuda said, with a slight frown. "I can't quite place it, though."

"It's a unique name," Mihael said encouragingly. "I'm sure it will come to you. Now on to--"

"No, no," Matsuda insisted. "It's on the tip of my tongue now."

"Don't interrupt Mihael," Halle snapped. "What were you saying, Mihael?"

"Just wanted to make sure everything was on schedule for shipping the firearms," Mihael said. "If that doesn't go through, we're going to need some kind of back-up plan in order to get money to pay for next Thursday's diamond shipment. Those diamonds are going to be absolutely key to funding the new wave of inductees."

"Have you decided when you want the next wave of new inductees to begin initiation? I think we have several extremely promising candidates who are beginning to show interest," Halle said. She pulled up a stack of manilla folders from the binder at her feet. "Look at this man. His name is Anthony Carter, a captain in the military. He--"

"We should wait," Mihael said. "At least a few more weeks."

"Is this because of your Matt Birthday?" Halle asked, eyes narrowed.

"Don't be ridiculous," Mihael lied, glancing down at the chart of goods that they were transporting this week. "Why would I halt the salvation of dozens, just for one boy?"

"Why, exactly," Halle agreed with pursed lips.

"I would need a reason for that," Mihael said. "And I don't have a reason. Yet." His eyes went skyward. "If I need a reason, He will provide. If He does not provide, I don't need one."

"I think I got it!" Matsuda shouted.

Halle and Mihael both turned their eyes to Matsuda who had grabbed a stack of papers and was busily shifting through them. "Well, hold on," Matsuda said.

"Anyways," Mihael said. "If we wait just a few more weeks, it will give us time to add any stragglers -- such as Matt Birthday -- to the induction. In addition, however, it will give us time to make the drop offs for the diamonds and get paid for that. We'll have the finances to spend all the time we need to with the new inductees. Furthermore, if we --"

"Matt Birthday!" Matsuda exclaimed.

"Matsuda," Halle said sternly, as if scolding a misbehaving puppy.

"No, look here," Matsuda said, shoving a stapled set of papers towards them.

Mihael pulled them to himself first. "Beyond Birthday, freelance detective..." He read further. Beyond Birthday, who may or may not be the brother Matt had mentioned was apparently a very prolific detective in the area. "I need something a little more solid, Matsuda," he said.

"Here," Matsuda said, pointing to a paragraph on the third page of the report.

Mihael read. When he was done, he pushed the paper towards Halle, a very smug look on his face. "Didn't I tell you He would provide?"