AN: Please enjoy.

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The next day, nothing had been achieved, and even Satellite Intelligence had been unable to locate a plausible building. Wolf was irritated. It was his job to find and save civilian hostages, and he couldn't locate one kid! He needed to think, so he went out for some air.

Outside, the sun was rising. Wolf clambered onto his motorcycle and began to drive around.

As he drove by a nearly empty parking lot, he spotted a moving van. It caught his attention because the back door was closed during the day-light hours- shouldn't a normal moving company be working right now? Wolf wondered if it was something to worry about, especially since it was parked in a suspicious place- who would rest in a parking lot during the day?

The back door of the van opened, allowing him to watch a man exit. His yawn told Wolf the man had been sleeping. As he half-fell out of the van, much to the complaints of another man in the vehicle, the door opened enough for the sunlight to enter. The wallpaper inside was clearly from the video.

As he cursed to himself and pulled out a radio to call for backup, a second man- clearly the mastermind- leaned out, noticed him, and shouted an expletive from the back and for the klutzy man to go. The van took off a moment later, and Wolf followed.

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By running a few red lights, the rest of the squad started to join in. At least 3 cars and 2 motorbikes were chasing the moving van within the next 10 minutes.

The two cars pulled up alongside the vehicle, while traffic was skillfully maneuvered out of the vicinity by the local police. The SAS had these local roads to themselves, shared only by the fugitive vehicle.

A megaphone was held out near the getaway car's driver's seat. "Stop the vehicle, now!" the man behind it called.

"Sorry, no can do, I'm just the driver!" shouted the henchman. To himself, he added, "Even if I did torture the kid." He frowned; it was amoral for him, but he didn't want his partner in crime to sell him out to the police like he threatened to.

The chase continued, and a blockade was starting to be arranged ahead. The driver, despite his previous blunders, chose to head to a main road, forcing the SAS to retreat to behind the vehicle due to unavoidable traffic. None of the SAS were able to get in front.

The man in back opened the door. Alex was still unconscious, not only from exhaustion from staying up but from a lack of blood. The blood loss wasn't serious yet, just tiring, and luckily some of the cuts had congealed already. The man had Alex in his arms against the rolling chair, one of which held a knife to Alex's neck. The threat was clear. Back off or the kid would die or be hurt. Even better for the bad man, Alex practically acted as a shield from darts due to his position.

Wolf noticed who the kid was. "Cub!" he called out. One of the other motorbike riders cocked an eyebrow. The knife made a tiny cut into Alex's neck, allowing a trickle to flow down his neck. He awoke.

From Alex's perspective, once he got his bearings, his life was in danger. The SAS could not back off or risk losing the vehicle. Satellite Intelligence could track, but now the kidnappers knew that authorities had located them. The kidnappers may pull something again if the SAS left Alex with them. Alex knew this. He also knew that if the SAS didn't back off, the man holding him hostage might hurt him.

He looked out the windows and saw the chase was taking place on a few familiar streets that would lead into an intersection with a main street that could not be bypassed safely, assuming red lights meant 'go'. Not only would that endanger the moving van, if the SAS wasn't careful, there could be some collateral damage.

Apparently, the kidnapper with Alex knew this, for he called to the driver, "Take a left, next street!" Alex decided to take matters into his own hands, forming a quick escape route using his knowledge of the streets and the material around him.

Even though he had awoken and opened his eyes, the kidnappers hadn't noticed. Taking advantage of this, Alex pushed the chair into the man, startling him. He bit down on the man's hand, and the man dropped the knife. Alex's plan failed; when he tried to stand, he found his duct taped hands restrained him to a sitting position better than he thought they would have. Had his plan worked, he would have subdued the man, and the SAS would have been able to pass the car as it turned, stopping it without having to worry about Alex's safety. There wasn't time to rip the tape; Alex just wanted to stand up and kick the man.

The man had retrieved the knife and spun Alex in the chair to face him. "You dirty brat!" he shouted, raising the knife as if to kill Alex. Alex responded without thinking. He kicked the man's stomach from the seated position, hoping it might be somewhat effective. The rolling chair had greased wheels, and it slipped backwards out of the van. At the same time, the van turned left as instructed. It satisfyingly slammed the kidnapper into the wall, but more importantly, Alex was now headed straight for the busy intersection.

Time for plan B, thought Alex. He had just thought of it. The road was smooth, so he wouldn't be thrown off the chair and balance should be easily kept on the way there, but it was slanted down a bit, so Alex was accelerating. Alex remembered a bump near the bottom, one that was almost like a ski jump but smaller. Alex was also on the wrong side of the road (AN below). The traffic lights loomed ahead, and the cars were going side-to-side in Alex's view. The buildings prevented oncoming cars from seeing him; if he continued with his current path, he would most certainly be the cause of a major car accident.

(AN: I don't remember which it is in Britain- please tell me so I can clarify. Do you drive on the left or the right? Alex is riding on the one you aren't supposed to, by the way.)

Wolf frowned. He and one SAS automobile had followed Alex, but things looked like they were stacked against him. He didn't think he could approach Alex on his motorbike in time; Wolf had braked when the car turned, unsure of which way to go. The SAS car was ahead of him, but it lacked the means to pull Alex on board in time.

Alex ripped the tape after a few attempts. Carefully, he put his feet on the chair's legs and used the lever to raise the chair to its maximum height. Alex proceeded to crouch on the chair when he got closer to the bump.

The chair bounced up when it hit the bump. As it hit the ground on the way down, Alex tensed. The gas in the chair compressed, making it more like a trampoline. Alex leapt.

The chair and Alex with his arms up put together had been about 2 meters. The jump added another half-meter. The makeshift spring from the chair added the last distance to allow Alex to grab the traffic light's horizontal bar with both hands.

Alex winced as he watched the rolling chair move into the sideways traffic. It hit at least 3 cars before it was ejected out the other side. Fortunately, no real harm was done besides a few dents on the cars.

Wolf pulled up his motorbike almost underneath Alex. Would he need help, especially with the blood loss? Wolf watched as Alex pulled himself up onto the pole, using the traffic lights to stabilize his balance.

Alex carefully made his way to the sidewalk 3 meters or so from the ground. Wolf had pulled off to the side, thankfully, so traffic wasn't badly impeded. Using the walking traffic light and the street sign, Alex lowered himself to the ground.

Snake, of all people, was one of the people in the SAS car. Another man stepped out with him onto the curb where the car was parked. They ran over to Alex with a first aid kit.

Alex's adrenaline rush wore off, and blood-loss symptoms were showing. Furthermore, a few of the cuts on his chest had reopened. He was leaning heavily on the traffic light post with lidded eyes. Wolf looked like he wasn't sure what to do.

"Get him on the ground, and lay him face-up," called Snake as he and his assistant rummaged through the first-aid kit. Wolf obliged, and Alex really couldn't stand on his own. Snake parted his already-cut shirt far enough to reveal his scar.

Snake blinked. Wolf widened his eyes. The assistant coughed them to attention, holding antiseptic and bandages. He hadn't looked at Alex yet. Shaking their heads, Snake and Wolf jumped into action.

Alex gradually passed out during the first aid and was taken to the hospital shortly after.

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"When do you think he'll wake up?" said one voice.

"I'd guess he was up most of the night, and combine that with blood loss. I don't know," said another.

Alex blearily opened his eyes. He was in the hospital. "Oh, he's awake!" Wolf exclaimed. "How do you feel?"

"Not too bad, thanks," replied Alex. After analyzing the 2 SAS men's expressions, he tentatively asked, "Is there something wrong?"

Snake spoke first. "Cub, what was that scar? Right above your heart, if not on it."

"…"

"Cub," said Wolf, "you can tell us; we're not going to tell, and we've signed the Official Secrets Act for what we've seen already. A bit more won't kill us."

Alex sighed. "I got involved in a criminal organization and, out of revenge for betrayal, they tried to kill me." His succinct answer basically said 'don't ask'. Alex was also unsure of whether they had the clearance required.

Wolf sighed, and Snake massaged his temples. They were mulling over what to say, but both gave up prying after a few thoughts.

Wolf spoke after a minute. "Your injuries weren't serious, so you'll be discharged almost immediately. Your housekeeper has been informed that you are alright, and I've okayed this with her if you want, so..." Wolf paused. "I felt I didn't do much this time or as much as I should have, and I'm on leave, so..."

"You did leave me hanging," Alex said, thoughtfully.

"Gosh, Wolf, just ask him!" Snake cried, exasperated. Seeing Wolf's sheepish look, Snake rolled his eyes and spoke for him. "Okay, Cub, Wolf wants to know if you want to go the new Science Museum opening in town today with us. What do you say?"

Alex thought it over quickly. Who knows, it might help his school studies. "Sure, why not?"

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AN: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it.