Chapter 5: So It Begins
A/N: Hello Darlings! Happy Fourth of July! It's been a while, and for that I apologise. Did you miss me? lol. I know I said I would update a lot sooner than I am, and I'm sorry for giving out misleading information. I didn't realise that this chapter would take so long to write! Well, I actually wrote a good bit of it, but then realised I was going about the Alex-K-unit relationship wrong, so I had to go back and do massive re-working. But I think in the end, it was the right decision to make, because it was really important to get it right:D And, there were technical issues, the result of juggling several computers in different locations. And a new computer does the happy dance
Thank you to all who reviewed. I think I managed to reply to all the signed ones. Anonymous reviewers, check the end of this here chapter for yours:D
Business from last chapter: 'The Game'. Well, it's real name is Mao, and it's a card game I learned from my friends when I went to A.R.E. Construction Camp. I called it that, cause that's what my friends called it. One of their rules is that you can't say it's name outside of game play. Basically, it's a card game, with rules that vary with who you play with. One of the main things is that new players aren't told the rules, and have to learn from watching/experimenting. Also, there's no unnecessary talking. Wikipedia has a very informative article on it, under Mao (game), if you want to know more. You never know, it may pop up in this story again in greater detail. It would be quite fun to write at least part of a game :D
To all of you who I may have told that the bullet wound expose was going to be in this chapter, I apologise. It isn't. I really was going to, and I actually wrote it all out (2 drafts!), but then I found something I had written a long time ago for that. And you know what? It was better and made a whole lot more conceptual sense, so consider that little scene delayed for a while. It is coming, I promise, in the distant future. And I'll give you a litle tid-bit to tide you over: it involves a power outage. :D Actually, that's just me being sadistic and giving you little hints.
In this chapter, there's some physical stuff and some weapons stuff. I did the best I could, considering that I have basically zero knowledge. Meh, I'm a band geek. And I'm trying to get info from others who might possibly have a clue. And my dad said he might take me to a firing range to learn gun safety and how to shoot this weekend (he's a hunter) so maybe I'll actually know something in the future:D
Also, I want to say that I'm writing K-unit in my own way, so they may be different in some respects. Of course, there's a distinct possibility that they'll end up just like everyone else's coughamitaicough, but you never know. Maybe they will turn out slightly original
Now, I have been a busy person, because I work best when multi-tasking (I can't focus for long), so there's a few things I need to share coughadverstisecough with you:
First, we (being me, Neptunian Diamond, Jedi Knight of Middle Earth, Scorpia710, and now Amitai), have been steadily working to develop an new thing: a rating system for AR fics! Using a brilliant rating system devised by Neptunian Diamond, we are communially rating AR fics, going semi-alphabetically by author. We have a few done so far, so if you're looking for something to read, check out our community The Rated AR Fanfics. For the ratings and more information, or just to see what we're doing, come visit us on the An All New Rating Sytem For Stories message board.
The other thing is that, following an intense forum discussion, me, Mad Mogg, and Jusmine have formed a collective for the writing of AR fics. Our pen name is The Terrifying Fairies, so check us out. We have one ficlet already posted, written by Mad Mogg. I'll be posting a ficlet in the relative future, so keep a weathered eye on the horizon, and look to the East.
Now, the last thing I need to do before I let you read the chapter (for those of you who haven't just skipped over thins extended author's note), is thank people.
SO, thanks goes to J and MM, for keeping me sane...or insane, rather, and for getting me addicted to Simple Plan, who I listened to while writing this chapter (J ).
To sheluby94dreamer, who gave me an idea that has a little expose in this chapter, but will likely manifest into something greater.
As always, to my beta Dream, for being awesome, and giving me ideas, and
editing out my American-ness, and fixing my sentences when they start with
connective words:D The
And finally, to the wonderful Nyxie, or Nyxelestia, who did so much for me Without her, I'm not sure if this chapter would have happened, and it certainly wouldn't have been as good:D I highly suggest that you all go read her fic(s) because Lifeless Eyes is good, and I know for a fact there's a whole lot more awesomeness coming. Trust me, I know. wink
So, without further ado, I present Chapter Five! Onwards good readers!
So It Begins (yes, stolen from LotR:
Snake just rolled his eyes at them, and actually answered Alex’s question.
“We’re waiting for Wolf. He had to report to the Sergeant – no one expected you
to get here this fast.”
Alex nodded and stood there awkwardly.
There was an awkward silence. Alex stared at the floor, unsure of what to do. He felt the other’s eyes on him. He got the sense that the others didn’t really know what to do with him. It was a highly uncomfortable position for him to be in as the silence stretched on and on, and he hoped Wolf would hurry up and get there.
“So,” Fox said finally. “Why don't you sit down?”
“Ok,” Alex said. “Um, where?” he asked not seeing any available seating, save for the men's bunks and he wasn't about to sit on those uninvited.
“Sit here with me,” Fox said, pushing his body upright and moving over so there was space.
Alex moved to sit the edge of Fox’s bunk, a bit stiffly.
Snake picked up the book he had set down when Alex walked in and quickly immersed himself in it, and Eagle became distracted by whatever it was that he was doing on his bunk. Fox just leaned back against the wall, and watched Alex.
“So,” Fox said. “How've you been doing since I saw you last?”
“Uh,” Alex said, swallowing, “Well, I'd say considerably better.” He couldn't help but let an ironic overtone creep into his voice. The last time Fox had seen him, they were on an oil rig getting shot at while Fox was preparing to charge the control room.
Fox, who seemed to realize this, smiled slightly. “Ok, bad question. How about: what have you been up to since then?”
Alex shrugged. “Just... normal life, I guess,” he said. “School, and football, and hanging out with my friends.”
“Right,” Fox said nodding.
This was a supremely awkward conversation. Fox was obviously trying to be friendly, but it was just really weird. The last time they'd met, they'd been on a mission where Fox had been shot for Alex and now they were in a room with two people who Alex didn't really know and was not on the best of terms with. It was hard to hold a conversation while being steadily observed. Alex could feel Eagle's eyes on him. He had a feeling Snake was watching him too, but at least the medic was being more subtle about it.
“So how are you doing?” Alex asked Fox. “After all, you are the one who got shot.”
Fox grinned. “I'm fine. The bullets missed anything vital and it's healing well.”
Alex nodded. “That's good.” He paused awkwardly for a moment, not quite sure how to say this, but feeling obligated to. “Thank you for, you know, that. I'm sorry I didn't come see you when you were in hospital. MI6 was pretty keen to get me back on British soil.”
“S'okay,” Fox said easily. “I was just doing my job. And I'd rather you got to a secure location, instead of hanging around just to visit me. Well, a more secure location, considering who we're dealing with.”
Alex grimly nodded his agreement. Both of them frowned at the mention of Scorpia and Alex's suspicion that Snake was listening in was confirmed as Snake shifted uneasily on his bunk. Alex felt the same. It was an unwelcome reminder that even as they sat in the SAS camp, Scorpia was undoubtedly searching for Alex and his class and preparing another attack. Alex didn't believe MI6 when they said that Scorpia couldn't get to them here.
“So,” Fox said, shaking his head as if to clear it. “I take it you knew I was here? You didn’t look at all surprised to see me - ruined half my fun.” He grinned.
Alex smiled. “I think you had too much fun anyway,” he retorted. “But don’t blame me, blame Smithers.”
Fox’s grin widened. “Smithers told you? I should
have known. Devious fellow, that one.”
“Who's Smithers?” Eagle asked from across the
room where he was lying on his bed fiddling with a pocket knife.
“Gadget guy for MI6,” Fox explained. “He's nowhere near as serious as the other scientists and likes to have the odd joke now and again.” He gave Eagle an appraising look. “You'd get on well with him.”
Eagle raised a brow.
“You'd be perfect for each other - you could go off and talk about technological toys.” Fox clarified.
Eagle grinned. “You'll have to introduce me.”
Fox nodded. “Definitely.” He turned back to Alex. “So Cub, when did you see Smithers anyway?”
“After the attempt on my school, I was taken to the bank. They briefed (i) me on the new developments, and then I had to hang out there while they ‘secured my house’ or whatever. So I went to see Smithers since he is the coolest person in MI6.”
“What about me?” Fox asked affronted, but unable to hide a smile.
Alex just shook his head. “Face it, Fox. Smithers is cooler than you could ever hope to be.”
“That’s the last time I get shot for you!” Fox said laughing.
“I certainly hope so,” Alex said blandly.
Alex caught a flash of orange out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look at Eagle and stared. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Juggling,” Eagle said, as if it explained everything. He was indeed juggling with...
”Are those oranges?”(ii) Alex asked somewhere between amused and disturbed.
“Yep,” Eagle replied cheerfully, concentrating on what he was doing.
“You'd better not have stolen those from the kitchen again,” Snake said warningly, looking over. “I am not doing group punishment duty like last time.”
“I didn’t steal those, I commandeered them!” Eagle said grinning.(iii) “Besides, the kitchen staff are happy to share with the proper incentive.” He continued to juggle.
Alex had settled on amusement. “Why are you juggling oranges?” he asked curiously.
Eagle shrugged, never breaking. “I like oranges,” he said. “And juggling is relaxing.”
“Right,” Alex said.
The door banged open and Wolf stomped in. Alex eyed him warily, suddenly alert.
Wolf stopped short at the sight of Eagle. “What are you-” he began, amending defeatedly, “never mind, I don't want to know.”
Eagle just grinned. “Aww, Wolf, was the Sergeant mean to you?”
Wolf didn't answer, just glared at Eagle. But even Alex could tell that it was half-hearted at best. Wolf looked... well, exhausted really.
The man walked over to Fox's bunk and noticed Alex.
“Cub,” he acknowledged gruffly.
“Wolf,” Alex returned evenly. He observed the man carefully. It seemed that whatever mood he'd been in earlier had passed. Now he just looked tired.
Wolf moved past Alex to hand a stack of folders to Fox. “Files on the brats,” he explained, curt as ever. “The sergeant says not to break them.” There was a hint of a wolfish grin on his face. Fox flipped through them and pulled out a few folders, holding them out to Snake. “Med reps,” he said already scanning the files. Snake put down his book and took the folders and began reading.
Eagle came over to look over Fox's shoulder, sitting next to Alex.
“Right, Cub,” Wolf said brusquely, turning to Alex. “You know we’re going to be training you, separately from the others?” he asked.
Alex nodded.
Wolf looked him over critically. “How fit are you?” he asked.
Alex shrugged. “Fairly?” he ventured, not sure what kind of answer to give. However, seeing Wolf’s unimpressed expression, he quickly added, “I mean, I haven’t been on an assignment or in training for a while, but I’ve been playing football and I keep myself pretty fit.” It had been a habit learned from Ian. His uncle had always stressed the importance of personal health.
“Fine,” Wolf said. “We’ll find out exactly tomorrow.” He turned to Snake. “Snake?” he asked.
Snake set down the folder he was reading and sat up. “I’ve read your medical file, but it’s rather lacking. I know about the appendicitis you had a few months back, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Is there anything else I should know?” he asked Alex.
Alex debated telling them about the bullet wound. It didn’t affect him any more and he really didn’t want to talk about the circumstances of it. “No,” he said after an unnoticeable pause.
Fox looked up sharply at him, frowning. Alex suddenly wondered if Fox knew about that incident. The man did work for MI6 after all. He prayed that he wouldn’t say anything.
Fox, still frowning, slowly went back to reading the file. Alex relaxed, letting out the breath he didn’t realize he had been holding.
“Good,” Snake said, nodding to Wolf.
“Fox?” Wolf asked.
Fox looked back up at Alex. “You’ll use your cover of ‘illness’ as a reason to train separately. We’ll back you up on that,” he told Alex. “We’ll have you work with others from time to time, just to make it less suspicious. You’ll just have to keep your cover then. It’ll probably be mostly with our other group, white. Is there anyone in that that we should be concerned about finding out about you?” he asked. He was still giving Alex a curious look. Damn.
Alex couldn’t help but smile a little at that. “Well, yes and no.”
“Cub,” Wolf growled warningly. “Talk straight. I don’t have the patience for this.”
“Well, ironically your other ‘students’ are my closest friends. So they aren’t going to be trying to find fault with me out of spite, but they’re more likely to call bullshit if they think something's off.”
“So we should be careful around them, but you’re ok for them to work with?” Snake summarized.
“Yeah,” Alex said.
“Fine. We’ll see you in the morning, Cub.” Wolf said. It was a dismissal if Alex had ever heard one.
Alex turned to walk out.
“Night, night,” Eagle called grinning wickedly.
Alex didn’t even dignify that with a response, just kept walking.
“Hey, Cub, wait up! I’ll walk with you. I’ve gotta pick up some stuff,” Fox called, getting up and following Alex out.
“Come on,” he said, setting off with Alex walking beside him.
After they’d gotten a ways away from the hut, Fox reached out and grabbed Alex’s elbow, pulling him to an abrupt stop.
“Why’d you lie and not tell them about your bullet wound?” he demanded abruptly.
Mentally, Alex sighed. He’d been half expecting this.
“How’d you know, if the others don’t?” he asked, playing for time.
Fox rolled his eyes. “Cub, it’s pretty damn hard to hide from MI6 employees when it happened on the doorstep of headquarters. At least four officers directly witnessed it, not to mention security and office personnel. And that place is like a sieve.”
“Oh,” Alex said, considering this. “Why didn’t you tell the others?”
Fox sighed. “I’m not about to out you without at least talking to you first. And stop trying to change the subject.” Busted.
“Look, MI6 didn’t tell them,” Alex said carefully. “And it’s classified, meaning I’m not supposed to talk about it. And it looks like MI6 didn’t actually even tell you.”
“Yes they did,” Fox interrupted, “in
Alex shrugged. “So, they probably figure that you know, so there’s no need to tell the others.”
“Yes there is Cub,” Fox argued. “I’m not a trained medic, Snake is. This is the information he needs to properly supervise you. What if a complication develops or something?”
Alex shrugged. “Then you can tell him then. I’ve been on two assignments since I was shot and I was fine. It’s hardly likely anything new is going to come up now.”
Seeing Fox’s unconvinced look, Alex said, “Look, there’s reasons my past with Scorpia is classified. I can’t just go around telling people. And besides,” his face closed down, “it’s personal.”
Fox studied his face thoughtfully for a long moment. Then, finally, he nodded. “Alright, I won’t tell them. Yet.” He stressed. “I’m not comfortable with lying to them, and I don’t like Snake not knowing. You need to tell him at least.”
“Thanks,” Alex said. “I will, eventually. I just…I can’t talk about it right now.”
Fox nodded. “Fine. Now, let’s go. You need to sleep.”
They walked along in companionable silence for a bit. Then abruptly Alex turned to Fox. “How much do you know?”
Fox frowned. “About what? You? Or this Scorpia thing?”
Alex considered. “Both,” he decided.
“Well,” Fox said. “Not much. You’re really highly classified, you know that?” He thought for a minute. “I know your basic facts – where you live, how old you are, that you have a housekeeper who looks after you. I know you lived with your uncle, who was a spy, and MI6 brought you in after he was killed…by Gregorovich, wasn’t it?” Alex nodded, hiding a grimace. He didn’t like to think about Yassen. It was too confusing.
“I know you’ve been on 7 assignments, vaguely who you investigated each time, and that you were successful. And that’s pretty much it.”
“About Scorpia, I know even less. Most of it is just quietly circulating rumours, really. I heard your dad was an agent, possibly the best we’ve ever had, and that he got inside Scorpia. Getting out was messy and they killed him and your mum. Then you did a mission or something with them, and you beat them. So they retaliated with a sniper, but you managed to survive. And of course, I know about Major Yu and the assignment we last worked together on. And now they want to kill you again.”
Alex nodded. He wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or relieved. In a way he wished Fox had known the full story. At least someone would know, and he’d know that Fox wouldn’t hate him because of it. On the other hand, he was glad because he trusted, and if he was being honest, admired the man. He wanted to keep Fox on his side, and he didn’t think the man would take too kindly to the fact that he’s turned traitor and tried to kill Mrs. Jones.
Before long, they’d arrived near the barracks.
Fox turned to him. “Night, Cub.”
“Night,” Alex replied, turning to walk into the building.
As silently as possible, he opened the door and closed it behind him. He crept the short distance to his bed and stripped off his uniform. He was just slipping into bed when he heard, “Alex? What are you doing?”(iv)
Alex looked over to see Nick in the bunk across from him looking at him blearily confused. Quickly, he thought of an excuse.
“I had to use the loo.” He lied carefully.
“Oh, right,” Nick said yawning. He rolled over and within seconds was back asleep.
Alex nearly sighed in relief. He slipped into bed. Hopefully Nick would have forgotten the whole thing by the morning.
Closing his eyes, Alex let the blackness take him quickly.
The next morning came all too early. Alex was woken up by the sound of the barracks door slamming open. “Rise and shine kiddies! It’s time for fun!” yelled a voice. Alex blearily opened his eyes to an overly enthusiastic Eagle. “Aren’t you just excited to go for a run?” the man asked grinning evilly before he cheerfully and loudly left the building. Alex groaned and rolled out of bed, automatically slipping into his uniform. The other boys around him were doing the same, just more slowly. Some though it seemed had fallen back asleep. Tom was one of them. Alex got up and peered into the top bunk where Tom had fallen back asleep.
“Tom!” Alex whispered. Tom just squeezed the pillow tighter around his head and mumbled incoherently.
“Tom!” Alex tried again, roughly shaking his friend. This time it worked. Tom cracked an eye opened and moaned irritably, “What?”
“Get up!” Alex hissed. “You do not want to be late.”
Tom grumbled, but thankfully complied. Alex went back to his preparations stuffing his feet into his boots and lacing them up. Looking around he realized he was by far the first one ready. Not wanting to be overly conspicuous, he sat back on his bed and pretended to adjust his uniform. Finally after what seemed like an eternity to Alex, the first boys were ready to go. He, however, decided to wait for his friends, seeing as that would be the most inconspicuous choice.
“Let’s go!” he urged impatiently. “C’mon, hurry up!”
Nick looked up blearily from where he was attempting to tie his boots. “Come on, Alex! It’s five f-ing thirty in the morning!” Tom’s intelligible mumble was presumably agreement.
Josh, who had just finished, eyed Alex. “Why are you in such a rush anyway?” he asked quizzically.
Alex raised a brow. “I’d rather not piss off the big, highly trained SAS members who are going to be running our lives… but that’s just me.”
“Point!” Nick conceded, straightening up. “Now, let’s go. I second Alex - no pissing off large, scary men.”
The four trooped outside. It was still dark, the sun not even beginning to rise. The only light came from lanterns set up around the central area towards which the mass of school children were stumbling.
In the shadowy light cast by the lanterns, Alex made out the figures of the sixteen so-called leaders. K-unit stood in the middle, looking as bad-tempered as they had appeared the day before in front of the teens. It seemed to be their default game face. Wolf in particular was looking pissy. Whatever tired sort of complacency had come over him the night before was gone, and he stood there, arms folded, looking as tough as ever.
None of the men spoke, leaving that to the chattering class. They were waiting for the rest of his class to show up, Alex presumed, looking around and noticing not everyone was there yet. He took the time to look over the other men. He hadn't had time to properly do so the day before. He didn't recognize the men standing to the left of K-unit, N-unit he remembered from yesterday, but some of the others looked rather familiar. The well-built man standing at Wolf's shoulder... Tiger, Alex vaguely recalled. He led... D-unit. Then yes, there were the three others: Shark, Cobra, and Lynx. They had been at the camp at the same time as Alex, and had gone on the parachute jump as had the other four men. Alex thought they might be J-unit led by... Cheetah, the thin, wiry man standing near Eagle.
Alex was rather impressed that he had remembered them all. He had very little to do with them before, rarely working with anyone besides K-unit. But, he supposed, he had heard others talking to them in the mess and around camp. Not to mention, he always had a good memory - one of the things that made him a good spy.
The men's frowns were becoming more and more annoyed as the minutes ticked past. Finally, Wolf turned to Eagle and growled something too low for Alex to hear. Eagle nodded then walked off towards the barracks. As he passed, Alex noticed a glint of wicked amusement in the man's eyes. He immediately felt sorry for those stragglers still getting ready.
Minutes later Eagle returned, shepherding the last of Alex's classmates towards the group. They looked frightened as they practically ran towards the others. Alex wondered what Eagle had done – he had a very self-satisfied sort of look.
Alex was spitefully pleased to see that Briggs was one of those late. It was childish he knew, but after yesterday he couldn't help but get a twisted sort of satisfaction at knowing the other boy was getting some of what he deserved.
Eagle returned to stand with the men and Wolf stepped forward. He was clearly in charge among the leaders (command practically exuded from his persona), which Alex wondered at. K-unit had no more seniority than D or J unit and N-unit looked older. Alex realized that he knew very little about the operational side of K-unit.
Wolf waited for the class to quiet down before he began. “That was disgusting!” He yelled, “When you're told to get up, you get your sorry asses out here as fast as humanly possible!” He surveyed the faces in front of him to make sure what he was saying was being properly received. Apparently satisfied by their cowed expressions, he continued on. “Now, you're going to go for a run. Consider it the start of your assessments today. Try you're best – I'm sure that will be pitifully bad enough without you mucking around.” He looked at his watch. “We were going to have you back in time for breakfast, but you can thank your classmates if you're not. Now, move!”
The class slowly took off running, led by Wolf. The other leaders spread out through the group, urging on the class. Only Eagle remained at the site.
Alex wasn't sure what to do and the class began to leave. Just as he was about to ask, Eagle called out to him and so Alex headed over to him. They waited until the rest of the group had left the area.
“You're going to be running a different route with me,” Eagle told Alex, all business. “It's longer and harder, but it shouldn't be a problem for you.”
Alex nodded his understanding, and they took off.
It was a route that Alex remembered from his earlier days. It twisted up through the forest, over hills, and along a ridge. Alex to his pleasure was able to keep up with Eagle, evenly matching his pace. During his previous training, it was something he had never been able to do, due in large part to his relative shortness. Alex had grown over the 10 months since he had last been there. He was still considerably shorter than Eagle, but the extra few inches gave him all he needed. He was fast and agile, something which had always helped him in his assignments. In his business, being able to move quickly and precisely was more valuable than brawn, though both had their uses.
The route was a tiring one, and thirty minutes later, Alex arrived back in camp, sweaty, but pleased.
“Not bad, Cub,” Eagle approved as they both stretched
Alex gave him a small smile. “Thanks,” he acknowledged.
Eagle looked at his watch. “It's only 6:15. The others probably won't be back for a while.”
Alex nodded. He looked to Eagle, who just looked back at him.
After a pause, Eagle sighed. “Well, I have no idea what to do. We did that run pretty fast, so I guess we have some time to kill.”
They stood there for a few more minutes, neither sure what to do.
Finally, Eagle took the initiative. “Fancy breakfast?” he asked Alex. “I doubt the others will be back in time, so we'd better not wait for them.”
“Sure.” Alex replied shrugging.
“Right, um, let's go,” Eagle said awkwardly, and walked off, Alex following.
They got to the mess and got their food. There were a few other men in there eating. Alex sat down at an empty table, fully expecting Eagle to go sit with the others. To his surprise, the man set down his tray across from him.
An uncomfortable silence descended on the table as they began eating. Alex wasn't sure what to say, or even if he should say anything. Being around any of the SAS men was uncomfortable, except for maybe Fox. He just didn't know where he stood with them, and it made him rather... anxious. Snake and Eagle were the worst. Wolf, well, Wolf had never liked him. They'd come to some sort of agreement, a truce of sorts. Alex wasn't expecting much from that direction. But Snake and Eagle... at times they seemed almost friendly and nice. But that was strictly juxtaposed with how they'd treated him at camp: cold, harsh, and hostile. And then there were the times like now, where they'd ignore him completely. Except that Eagle had sat with him, which seemed like a kind thing to do. It was like Alex kept catching glimpses of their off-duty personalities when they were just being normal. It was unbalancing to say the least.
Alex watched Eagle covertly as they ate. Eagle seemed to not care at all for the breakfast and kept making faces at it, which Alex had to hide a smile at.
Alex finished eating and stood, moving to take his dishes to the kitchen staff. Eagle followed. After he'd dropped off his stuff, Alex looked to Eagle.
The man jerked his head in the direction of the door and Alex followed him out.
Eagle looked around and sighed, then leaned back against the building.
“We have to wait for the others,” he told Alex.
Alex nodded. “What are you going to have us do?” He asked after a pause.
Eagle shrugged. “Us instructors are going to be assessing your classmates to see where they stand, ability-wise. You're getting assessed too, but in different things.”
Alex nodded, considering.
Eventually the first members of his class came into view. They looked tired and worn. Tom and Nick were both in the first group, which made sense because they were both in training for football. More of the class appeared, along with the SAS leaders. The students gathered in the clearing in front of where Alex and Eagle were standing. Each group of incoming runners looked more and more tired than the group before. Finally the last few appeared, herded along by Fox. These were the really out of shape kids. They were gasping for air by the time they came to a halt. Alex felt rather bad for them – they were done for and the real fun hadn't even begun.
Alex watched as Wolf ordered them to meet up with their instructors. It looked like the others would be missing breakfast after all.
Alex followed Eagle to the rest of K-unit. Alex gave his friends a half-smile. Tom raised his brows, asking how it went. Alex shrugged, silently indicating it was all right.
“You lot,” Wolf directed gruffly, indicating Alex's friends, “Are going with these men.” He indicated the rest of K-unit. “Rider, you're coming with me.” Inwardly, Alex groaned. Wonderful. More time with Wolf. “First tests are endurance and fitness-based.” He nodded at his team-mates who led the others off.
He then turned to Alex. “Cub,” he said, and turned, motioning Alex to follow.
Wolf brought Alex to a clearing that had ample space, but was screened from view.
“Right,” Wolf said as preliminary. He then ordered Alex to run. He directed Alex through seemingly endless sets of jogging, sprints, push-ups, crunches, and other exercises. Alex was silently thanking his football coach for all the endurance they had done. It had helped him maintain his fitness since his last 'adventure'. Wolf kept him moving, alternating intensities and durations. After nearly an hour and a half of this, Alex started to tire. It just kept going on and on. He winced as Wolf shouted him into another round of push-ups. His chest was beginning to ache from the strain. The bullet wound was twinging painfully, and Alex's arms hurt bad. But he set his face and grimly continued on. He was not going to give in so easily.
Wolf ordered him back to running. Alex's legs were burning and his breath was coming in gasps. But he pushed himself. He was not going to give Wolf the satisfaction of stopping.
Wolf called for him to switch to crunches. He dropped and started. Each one got harder, his abdominals screaming their complaints. He stubbornly kept on, but he was losing ground. Each one was slower than the last and Alex didn't know how long he could keep going. He body was begging him to stop, to end it. Finally he couldn't do it any more. He fell back on the ground hard, gasping. He couldn't sit up. He fully expected Wolf to be on him screaming for him to get up, but to his surprise the man was just standing there watching him with an impassive look on his face, like he'd been expecting this.
Alex suddenly realized that that was probably the whole point to the exercise – to see how long he could go.
Wolf walked to where Alex was lying and offered him a hand.
Alex, surprised, stared at it for a moment before taking it. Wolf hauled him to his feet. “Walk so your muscles don't seize up,” he advised gruffly(v). Alex looked at him, again surprised, and for a brief second their eyes met and locked. Alex read grudging respect and maybe even a little concern. Then Wolf stepped back, and the moment broke. His eyes returned to their default unreadable state, and Alex almost wondered if he had imagined it. Still, he took Wolf's advice, walking around the area. He winced as his muscles complained quite vocally. He was going to be so sore the next morning.
Wolf nodded to Alex. “Come on,” he said, turning and walking off. Alex followed and they wound up at the firing range. Seeing this, Alex began to get a bit nervous. He had a bad feeling about this.
“You were pulled out of weapons training last time,” Wolf said. “Have you had any experience with firearms?”
Alex thought about this. He really didn't feel like sharing that Scorpia had trained him, but if he lied and said no, it would become apparent very quickly when he started shooting.
“Some,” he said cautiously.
Wolf gave him a piercing look. He slowly nodded and said, “Right.” He held out to Alex a handgun. “Strip it down and reassemble it,” he ordered, nodding at the weapon.
Alex knelt on the ground and disassembled the gun. Though he had practice doing it extremely quickly, Alex kept himself to a moderate pace, double checking everything he did. He hadn't done anything of the sort in a while, and now was not the time to make mistakes. He didn't fumble much at all though. It was not something he was likely to ever forget.
Within minutes he had had taken the gun apart and put it back together. He stood and looked at Wolf for further instructions.
Wolf was giving him a piercing look. “Some experience?” he asked wryly.
Alex just shrugged. He wasn't going to make apologies.
“Right,” Wolf said, looking at him thoughtfully. “Here,” He handed Alex a clip of ammunition. “Fire one round at that target,” he instructed, “and the other at that one.” He pointed at a target farther away.
Alex thought briefly about pretending to be a novice at shooting, but decided against it. It was a skill that could save his life one day, and it'd be stupid not to take advantage of the extra training. Besides, he wasn't sure how convincing an act he could pull off being a novice. He had a knack for it, from the beginning anyway. Instead, he just nodded and moved to the starting point.
As he inserted the ammunition into the gun, he heard voices come around the corner. It was Snake and Eagle. Bloody brilliant. More people to watch this. He had a distinctive feeling that after Wolf saw what he could do, all hell would break loose.
“Fox's busy with the others, so we thought we'd come see how Cub's doing with shooting practice,” Eagle said grinning.
Wolf grunted in reply and then nodded. “Go ahead.” He commanded Alex.
Alex sighed. Here we go, he thought. It was eerily similar to his training with Scorpia, having others stand around watching him fire. He felt the unease rise up, but quickly pushed it away. He needed to focus for this to work. He disengaged the safety and took a breath to calm himself. He and the gun were one. Alex raised the gun and without even seeming to aim, emptied the round into the first target. Not even pausing he discarded that clip, reloaded and brought the gun up to fire at the second target.
As he ran out of ammunition, he slowly lowered the gun to his side and turned to face the others.
They were looking at him with a mixture of shock and disbelief.
“Shit,” Eagle said finally. “That was... ” he trailed off into silence.
“Some experience?” Wolf asked Alex, with more than a little sarcasm.
As before, Alex just shrugged.
“Did you see that? He didn't aim at all and he… he didn't even have a laser guide or… or anything. He just... ” It seemed that Eagle was in too much shock to form complete thoughts.
“Where the hell did you learn to shoot like that?” Wolf growled. “It sure as hell wasn't MI6, it said so in your file.”
Alex shrugged for the umpteenth time. Seeing Wolf's face darken at this, he decided he'd better say something. “I was taught by... some people.”
“Who?” Eagle demanded.
Alex shuffled a little. Should he tell them?
“Cub,” Wolf growled dangerously.
“It's classified,” he said, irritated.
“What?” Wolf snapped.
“Who trained me is classified information,” Alex said more clearly.
Seeing Wolf opening his mouth, no doubt to ask more questions, he decided to end it. “Look, I can't talk about it. It's classified.” Seeing Eagle's mutinous glare, he continued, “There are reasons why it's classified.” And even more reasons why I won't tell you, Alex silently added.
Wolf sighed. He glared at Alex in frustration. Then he nodded. “Fine,” Eagle opened his mouth, likely to protest, but Wolf shot him a glare that quickly silenced him.
Alex was a little surprised at how easy Wolf caved. But it really wasn't that outrageous, he supposed. Wolf was a stickler for the rules, and breaking the Official Secrets Act was certainly breaking the rules.
“So,” Alex said.
“Safe to say you can shoot?” Snake asked.
Alex nodded. “I.. they only really taught me instinctive firing. I wasn't there for that long... ”
Wolf nodded. “Right.” His voice was a little strained. “What can you shoot with?”
“Well, hand guns, and sniper rifles. They... I've fired pretty much everything, but I didn't really train on anything else.”
They stared at him.
“What exactly were they training you for?” Eagle asked, brows raised.
Alex just folded his arms and stared back at them stubbornly. He was not going to tell them anything more.
“Is that classified too?” Wolf added, tone slightly sarcastic.
Alex just nodded.
“I think maybe that's enough weapons practice for today,” Snake said.
Wolf nodded. He was still staring at Alex. “Right, well, Cub, you go with Eagle and Snake.” He walked off.
Alex turned to Eagle and Snake. They set off motioning him to follow.
They led him to the assault course, where Fox was sending his friends through.
Alex couldn't help but glare at the glorified obstacle course. It had made his life hell for the weeks he was there before.
Snake turned to Alex. “They should be done soon, then we'll have you go.”
Alex nodded his understanding, and turned to watch his friends.
They weren't doing that poorly, considering. Tom and Nick were both nearly as athletic as Alex had been, pre-MI6. Emma and Josh weren't too bad, but it was definitely hard for them. They were doing pretty well working together, Alex supposed, as they had no training, but that was to be expected – they were close friends after all. They just weren't used to this sort of thing, the extreme physical demands placed on them or the pressure of Fox bullying them through. Alex winced as he watched them struggle to scale a wall, swing down to the ground, and crawl through a series of nets. Finally, they emerged on the other side, covered in mud and weary.
Alex saw Fox talk to them briefly, then send them off at a tired jog towards Alex and the others, following behind.
“Right, you lot are going with these two,” Fox said indicating Snake and Eagle. “Rider, you and I are going to stay and have some fun.”
As Nick moved past him, he made eye contact. “Good luck mate,” he said, clearly sympathetic, although whether it was about Alex being left to Fox, or to the assault course was unclear.
Tom muttered, “I can't believe you do this all the time,” as he passed.
Alex's lips quirked at that, if only he knew...
Fox waited until the others were out of sight before nodding to him.
“What did you do to them?” Alex asked, nodding in the direction his friends had gone.
Fox just grinned. “You ready to reacquaint yourself with our dear old friend?” he asked.
Alex nodded, moving to the start.
“What was your final time, last time you were here?” Fox called.
“17 minutes.” Alex replied.
Fox nodded. “Let's see if all those MI6 assignments paid off,” he said, producing a stop watch.
Alex nodded and prepared himself, waiting for Fox's signal.
“Stand by, stand by, GO!” Fox yelled. (vi)
Alex took off running. He leapt over a series of ropes, then climbed a net. Going as fast as possible, he ducked, shimmied, jumped, climbed, crawled, and ran through the rest of the course. He arrived at the other end where Fox was waiting out of breath.
Alex walked around, cooling down. Quickly his breathing returned to normal and his heart rate slowed.
“
Alex shrugged. “I try,” he retorted.
“Seriously though, that was good, especially since you haven't done it in quite a while. You seemed to have some trouble on that wall,” Fox observed.
Alex made a face. “We never got on,” he muttered.
Fox, catching it, grinned. “Oh don't worry,” he said wickedly. “You'll have plenty more opportunities to get better acquainted with her.”
“Wonderful,” Alex said unenthusiastically.
“Careful now,” Fox teased. “No backtalk or I'll have to put you on KP(vii).”
Alex just looked at him.
Fox laughed and looked at his watch. “It's nearly time for lunch. You might as well head over there now.”
Alex looked at him, brow raised. “Lunch?” he asked. There had been no 'lunch' during his previous sojourn with the SAS: there was breakfast and there was dinner, when they were out on some kind of exercise. If you were lucky there was some mid-day food comprised of rations in the field.
“Yeah,” Fox said. “Apparently since you're kids we have to feed you semi-regularly.”
Alex nodded.
“I trust you know the way?” Fox teased.
Alex just rolled his eyes and set off toward the mess.
i OK folks, here is my number one pet-peeve in spy fics. If you’re going to use debrief, use it correctly. You do not debrief someone before you send them somewhere or when you are giving them information. You brief them. You debrief someone when they come back from a mission, when you are getting information from them. You see? Debrief is the opposite of brief, hence the ‘de’. Alright? Sorry about the rant but it drives me insane!
ii This is for you, Dream
iii Shamelessly stolen from the first Pirates of
the
iv This is for/courtesy of sheluby94dreamer – thanks for making me think of this :D
v I have vague inclinations that this is commandeered coughstolenendcough from Amitai, probably HIOP
vi The SAS actually use this sequence, so I thought it made sense for their training
vii KP: Kitchen Police, an American thing I think, but yeah, basically you help the kitchen staff and do a whole lot of dish washing. I've had experiences of my own, at A.R.E. Construction camp. And let me tell you, silverware is my domain. I am the master of the silverware.
So there it is! I hope it was worth the wait. Review, please :D
Now, I'm going to be honest about updating: the next chapter will be done when it's done. This is summer, which means my parents are going to be wanting me to do a lot of things, and going between houses for weeks at a time can make computer stuff complicated. Plus, I subscribe to the whole quality over speed thing. I take forever to write. I just do (you should see me taking essay tests). I'm going to take the time I need to get things right, cause that's just how I work. I have pretty long chapters, so it's gonna take a while. But I will try to go as fast as I can without sacrificing good-ness. And hopefully the next one won't take as long. I can say, it looks like there's going to be a pretty awesome fight scene in the next chapter though, which may take me awhile to write. But I hope it'll be worth it. XD
Anyways, Anonymous Reviewers:
Hurrybee: Well, my brother told me what to do, so he's really the clever one:D Thanks! I'm sorry I couldn't get this out sooner. Wolfmonstor: Thanks! I'm sorry I couldn't update by when you wanted. I don't really have a 'normal' update schedule, I'm more spontaneous. I'm just difficult like that CrazyCadet: Thanks. Not much Tom in this chapter, but I think there'll be more coming up. Natalie: Thanks! I really do mean to finish this, it just might take awhile, lol. But slowly but surely, this should continue. Ace: More close calls coming up:D mystery gal: Thanks. Reactions coming eventually, lol. Shini: Here's more! Thanks for the review. A.A.: Yep, though you probably already know that. And thank you. Kayli: I don't know if you consider training 'action', but I promise that there's going to be some action-action in this story evetually:) 984: 190 is such a nicer number than 189, don't you think? lol. Thank you so so so so much :D You rock, J!
Thanks, y'all! Til next time,
JK Mafia
