Set in Stormbreaker, immediately after Alex kicked Wolf out of that plane.
The Fifth
It was raining again.
Every step sloshed water up to mid-calf, as sticky slurping Welsh mud sucked at his boots.
Wolf waded over to the rest of his unit as the ground crew behind him salvaged his parachute. It had only begun lightly sprinkling as he'd drifted down.. The closer he'd gotten to the land, however, the heavier the fall had become.
Now even the Drill Sergeant's voice seemed muffled by the roar of vertical wetness.
Moving automatically, the four-man unit fell into formation - hoisted up their obligatory log - and marched back to base.
As they marched, Wolf's thoughts cleared from the 'operation focus' they'd snapped into when faced with a plummet to the ground. The fact that his mind did behave so favorably under stress was a good thing. The true acid test, as it were. He knew now that he would not freeze up again, in any stressful situation.
Of course, that knowledge came hand-in-hand with the fact that he'd found this out after he'd been unceremoniously booted from the plane.
And he meant booted. Cub's kick - for it couldn't have been the pilot - had been heavy and hard.
Probably he thought ruefully a little over-due payback.
He had, however, no doubts as to the intention behind it. Despite everything he'd done to the kid over the past two weeks, the little brat hadn't shown the slightest hint of maliciousness or a desire to 'get even' in the sense of getting Wolf binned.
But not jumping? That would have gotten him binned. And Cub knew that.
And he'd made sure it didn't happen.
Wolf grimaced as he shifted the rough, heavy weight of the log over his shoulder.
Distasteful as it was, he owed the kid a 'thank you'. Maybe he'd even lay off him for a little while. Maybe.
Ah hell, he'd at least stop sabotaging him.
It took them three hours to get back. Fox had muttered something sour about the whole of Wales not being big enough to spend three hours crossing, but Wolf just kept on marching.
He wasn't going to get binned for complaining. Not now.
Not after that.
When they were finally dismissed for the evening meal, Wolf was startled not to see Cub waiting for them, dry and smug and fed.
Instead, their table was empty in the food-hall, the handful of other trainees speaking quietly or not at all at their own tables.
Cub had never missed a meal before. Even when he was so obviously exhausted that he looked like the living dead, the kid still made meal-times with them and made an effort to get some of the revolting slop down - knowing he'd need it later.
To his complete shock, he felt the faintest stir of concern in his gut.
Had something happened to him?
Spotting the drill sergeant passing by, he snapped to attention and requested an update on his missing team-mate's absence.
"Classified. Don't ask again." Was the brusque answer, the sergeant not even glancing at him as he passed.
Wolf blinked, and then turned back to his table. Eagle had nabbed him a tray of slop when getting his own, and he sat down before it with a blank expression.
"Where's he?" Snake mumbled curiously around his mouthful of food.
Wolf glanced up, surprised to see that each of his team-mates had been just as aware of Cub's unusual absence as he had been... They'd not even needed to mention it aloud, knowing Wolf would find out on behalf of them all...
For the first time he believed that they might just have a chance. The four of them apparently clicked psychologically already...
"Dunno. Classified." He answered shortly, shooting Eagle a thankful nod as he dug into his meal. He noted the faint frowns adorning his comrades' faces.
"Don't worry about it." He instructed shortly, after swallowing his mouthful. "Not our business. We'll probably never see him again anyway."
Fox grunted. "Think they shot him?" He asked quietly, head down.
Wolf froze. They wouldn't... would they? He was just a kid. Why would they let him into the program if they were just going to...
"Doubt it." Eagle said easily. The other three men turned their gazes to him, not pausing in shoveling food into their mouths.
"Say what you want about him... but... you gotta admit... the kid kept up, didn't he? He didn't complain about anything. Not the treatment of the camp... or from us..."
Wolf felt a slight curl of guilt to go along with the concern over the kid's fate.
"I reckon that whatever reason he was here for... he achieved its purpose and has moved on. I wouldn't be surprised if we did see him again. Kid's tough." Eagle finished.
There was a general sense of agreement. Then meal-time was over and their grueling training begun again.
Wolf didn't think about Cub again.
Not until he found him unconscious in the Swiss Alps.
After that... he made it his business to keep abreast of the status of their unorthodox 'Fifth member'.
--
END.