On a scale of 1-to-The-Sergeant, Wolf was fairly high. Which meant he was pretty pissed off.
This was partly because he had been packed off to Brecon Beacons for some 'lighter work' after a minor injury in the field. Personally, Wolf didn't understand what all the fuss was about – it was just a scratch – and so he was not impressed at being stuck in a muddy camp in Wales whilst the rest of his unit were out doing something useful. But the main reason for Wolf's bad temper was the duties that this 'lighter work' entailed.
Babysitting.
Of course, that's not what his superiors called it. They said he was providing the new recruits with a first-hand account of what being in the field was truly like and just what it took to be a part of the SAS.
Wolf still thought it was babysitting.
And one particular brat, er, recruit, was particularly infuriating. Shark back-talked far more than was good for his continued well-being and happened to have a smug little smile that made Wolf want to string him up by his ridiculously fluffy blonde hair. In fact, the cheeky sod reminded Wolf a little of Cub...
And speaking of Cub...
Wolf remembered the incident from a couple of months ago, when Cub's sinister smile had caused a flicker of fear to pass through the eyes of some crazed millionaire who wanted to take over the world. That had been some serious intimidation. And if some bratty school kid managed to make it look scary, then surely a fully trained SAS soldier doing it would strike terror into the hearts of those who saw it, yes? Yes.
It was the perfect plan.
The next time Shark made a snarky comment (and really, did the whelp have a death wish?) Wolf put his plan into action.
He summoned up all of the anger and irritation he felt towards Shark (and added a little of that he felt for Cub too, for good measure), along with the iron will and determination that made him so good at what he did, then stirred in a version of his' I-am-in-the-SAS-and-you-are-going-to-die' look, before adding his 'Shut-the-hell-up-Eagle' glare to finish it off. Wolf then poured this lethal concoction of feelings out of his eyes.
Shark gulped audibly and stumbled backwards, his eyes wide.
Good, thought Wolf. Now let's finish it off with the smile.
Wolf pulled up one corner of his mouth, then the other.
Shark frowned slightly, and stepped cautiously forwards again.
"Um, sir? Are you alright? You look like you're in pain."
Damn it! I should have practised this smiling thing in the mirror...