A Story Like Many Before

Lily Icerem

Chapter 2: Permission to Prank

(Posted: 02/01/13)(Edited: 26/04/14)

Edit Note: I'm so freaking SORRY for all those mistakes! People kept on bugging me while I was writing it. I had to stop writing all the time and my gramma always goes down the drain when I stop and start again. So VERY sorry! Also, a BIG thanks to me beta, Baylee Shadow, who fixed up the story… hehe.

A/N: Big thanks to everyone who followed and favourited (that's not a word) and an even BIGGER thanks to everyone of was kind enough to take the time to type me a review! Your encouragement is what brought this update up! YAY! It was great to hear all your suggestions and thoughts. Thank you, Yorkie, who was a guest so I couldn't reply and say thanks. I do that to all the reviews I get.

I was to take the last bit of the chapter off, but then I read through it and thought that it wasn't really enough... so yeah, this chapter has been lengthened. Say thank you... nah, just joking... hehe... And this is NOT edited... yeah.

Warnings! There's like TWO words in it... it's not even a curse, it's just a little rude.

Disclaimer: I really wish I didn't have to do these, I think we all know who owns AR and it's not me.

Enjoy!

Ben glanced at the boy beside him. It seemed that the rocking motion of the car had sent the teenaged spy into a slight doze. He knew that it was hard for Alex to trust anyone, but he was glad that the person that the teen happened to trust was him. It was strange that Ben had quickly attached himself to Alex. It wasn't just because they had gone on a couple of missions together, but Ben had taken to the young spy in the incident with Snakehead. Of course they were closer than before and Ben was glad that Alex had become his partner. The older spy had to say that Alex had saved his behind in more than a couple occasions.

He had been very surprised when he found that Alex was his partner. Ben had been sent on a mission alone, but early on is the whole thing, he was sent a message that a senior field agent would be sentas his partner. They didn't say when or where that partner would appear; they just said that they would be sent. 'Typical '6,' Ben had thought at the time. He was put undercover as a CIA double agent, his aim was to go 'rouge' and stop the trade of classified documents for a large sum of money. It was meant to be an easy task, it was an easy task, but then a naval officer had to go and get murdered and things went downhill from there.

He was hunted by people who did not know of the operation and also by those that did know, he just couldn't reveal it at the time. While Ben was being tracked down as a criminal, he reached certain road blocks that he thought would have busted his cover. Miraculously, he escaped each time with the aid of a mysterious ally. He thought that it was his supposed 'partner', but they never revealed themselves.

Ben didn't know that Alex was his partner until he was caught by the authorities after he had been forced to blow his cover because of some very unexpected events. He was thrown into an interrogation room and was, well, interrogated; kinda like a game of one-sided twenty questions. Being the man he was, Ben said nothing, only requesting a simple phone call. The 'bank' told him that his partner was going to come a bail him out, and bail he did. Alex explained Ben's mission and had his pass and papers to prove it. They got the job done and then they went back to England.

He smiled as he remembered the answer he got from Alex when he had asked why Alex hadn't shown himself earlier in the mission. "That's how I roll," was the only thing he got from the kid. Ben hadn't asked that same question since, but laughed as he thought about how weird his partner was.

"What are you laughing at?" yawned Alex, stretching while rubbing his eyes.

'He can be such a kid sometimes,' thought Ben. He chuckled at the glare he got from the boy, "Nothing really, just thinking how strange you are."

"Hey, speak for yourself!"

"I never said it was a bad thing, I just thought that I'd point it out."

"Pointing out the obvious as usual," scoffed Alex. "No, really, what were you laughing about?"

"I was actually telling the truth," said Ben, keeping his eyes on the road. "I was thinking about your response when I asked why you didn't show up at the beginning at that mission."

"I did show up," Alex defended, "You just didn't see me."

"I know, but did you really expect me to catch you out? You are my 'superior' after all."

"Well, I was wondering whether you'd see me or not, there were quite a lot of occasions where you really could have. My plans don't always run smoothly, as you have already experienced," Alex explained. "Mrs Jones only said that I had to help you out, she didn't say how, so I thought I'd just stay out of the way, helping you out when you needed it. Anyway, Peppermint Lady also said that I should have been training you... or rather teaching you stuff, but I don't think I did that..." Alex trailed off thoughtfully.

Ben coughed, "You are supposed to be teaching me stuff?"

"Excuse me, but I have taught you skills haven't I? If I remember correctly, I taught you quite a bit on our last mission."

"That's true," Ben nodded, thinking out loud.

"Pick-pocketing."

"Hot wiring."

"Evasive driving."

"Lock picking."

"I'm still not great at that," admitted Ben.

Alex snorted, "Yeah, I know. You broke Crawley's lock."

"How did you know it was me?"

The teen shrugged, "You didn't get the hang of it on the mission, so when I heard that Crawley's lock had been broken, I just knew that it was you practising. Why did you choose his lock anyway?"

"He was annoying me."

"I'm rubbing off on you."

"I know," Ben said, smiling at the same time Alex did. "When did you learn how to do those things anyway?"

"I knew how to pick pocket when Ian taught me as a kid, he made it into a game, but I don't do it often, only when I'm annoying people or when I really need to."

"Like when you stole those matches?"

"Yeah, like when I stole those matches. Anyway," Alex went on, "Ian used to comment when we were watching movies on how to drive evasively. He used to tell me all these techniques you could use to get away from anyone who was chasing you. So when those people were chasing us, I thought I'd give it a go. I have no idea why I didn't wonder why he knew all those things."

"I guess it's not something that kids usually question, especially when the person is so close to them," he glanced at Alex who hadn't commented back. The teen was looking down at his hands in his lap, wanting to change the mood; Ben changed the subject, "So how did you know how to do the other two?"

Alex looked up, happy that what they were talking about could be forgotten, "Well, I asked for some more training when I told Mrs Jones I wanted to work for '6, so I had these agents or tutors that would teach me things that would be useful to me in the field. That day, I was meant to be taught how to BASE jump properly, but the guy was sick, so I went to go visit Smithers. We both got bored and taught be how to pick locks and hot wire cars."

"How did you do that?" asked Ben. "Did Smithers have a few cars lying around or something?"

"No, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did. There had been a group of people that '6 had been dealing with. The group were going to make a trade, but local authorities had been tripped off. So the day before they're operation, Smithers and I went to move all their cars in their parking lot."

"Why were MI6 dealing with them anyway?"

"I think they pissed off Mrs Jones."

Ben cringed, "How did they do that?"

"I have no idea, but I don't think they knew who they were dealing with at the time, because it's suicide to annoy the Peppermint Lady."

"Except you do it all the time."

Alex shrugged, "She can't really do anything anyway."

"Apart from shipping you off to training camp."

"Do you have to correct me at any chance you get?" asked Alex, glaring at his partner playfully.

"That's another thing you've taught me," Ben laughed as he saw Alex sticking his tongue out at him through his peripheral vision. "It's funny though, I thought she liked you enough for you to convince her to not send us back."

Alex sighed, "So did I, but it didn't work out that way, did it?"

Ben chuckled, remembering the interesting conversation (one-sided shouting match) that had resulted in Alex whining like an obnoxious child. "I remember you started to beg for her to change by the end of that."

The boy huffed in annoyance; he had long dropped the hard, cold act. He found it easier to act somewhat his age and be just as manipulating at the same time. Mrs Jones had a soft spot for Alex and so did most of the other agents in MI6, but it wasn't enough. Alex had annoyed them a little too much and Mrs Jones and Crawley had both been asking Alex to take leave since the boy had gone on twice as many missions as his partner had since they had started working together. Workaholic, that's what Alex had become, and using Ben's injury as an excuse, they finally got rid of their whining employee that complained about not having enough work. He frowned deeply at the thought of having to face those SAS soldiers again. It was not going to be a pleasant experienced for a least one of them.

"Oh, Alex, it can't be that bad," reasoned Ben. "At least you can troll them this time." Alex looked up at him; Ben couldn't believe how young his partner can look sometimes. "You know? Pranking? Driving them insane by not answering anything? Messing with everyone's minds? Please don't tell me you didn't think of that?"

"I did, but I didn't think you would want to join in."

Ben snorted, "Of course I want to join in. I did learn from the best."

"Well they're in a lot of trouble then. It's payback time."

"Sure is."

xxxXxxx

The sergeant had never been a forgiving man, so naturally, he'd never forgiven MI6 for sending a boy to his training camp. Unfortunately, the thing that he had not forgiven was going to happen again, but this time, things were going to be a little different. Cub was MI6's top agent and no longer the annoying kid that he had to put in one of his units. At least he wasn't just a kid anymore. The sergeant wasn't too sure about the annoying bit. Actually, both of them would have probably become more annoying because they had become spies.

That was another thing that annoyed the sergeant about MI6; they had taken one of his soldiers. Fox wasn't his best, but the man had more common sense than the rest of them. He thought outside of the square and didn't get stuck when times called for things outside of the rules. He wondered what the former SAS man was like. Fox had been taken to the 'dark side' as his old unit had put it, the sergeant didn't know what the strangely cheerful man would be like. He could only hope that Fox hadn't changed too much, and would not be like those other calculating bastards that he worked for. He had actually liked the man, and the sergeant didn't like people very often.

Fortunately, from what he had heard from reports, the pair were somewhat pranksters at the workplace. Not many had escaped their tricks, rumour had it that not even the head, herself, had escaped. That meant that they couldn't have turned into emotionless walking statues over their time in MI6. The sergeant thought that he could make use of their pranking ways.

He lost his thoughts as there was a knock at his door, "Come in," he yelled. The spies before him stood at attention, the sergeant inwardly smirked. They must have remembered what he was like from the last time they had been there. "At ease. Fox. Cub." The two nodded at him. "I would say welcome back, but you know how I am. I'm sure you remember the rules here, or do you want me to repeat them?"

Both spies shook their heads, not wanting to hear the sergeant say (shout) the words that they had heard perfectly clearly before. It was probably the result of the high volume in which they were said (yelled).

"Alright, you'll be re-joining K-Unit, the schedule is on the door of your cabin. Fox, you're employers said that you're recuperating, so pace yourself for a while. Both of you are expected to take tests since you're here for retraining. Did your employers happen to say how long you will be staying?"

"No, Sir," answered Fox.

"Typical MI6, do they ever tell anyone anything?" asked the sergeant, slightly annoyed.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we were to stay here for a while, Sir," said Alex.

The sergeant turned to face the younger spy, "And why is that?"

"Sir, let's just say that they might be a little annoyed at me," Alex rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Call it payed leave... or revenge, whatever floats your boat, Sir."

The sergeant was going to ask, but then thought better at asking a spy... anything, really. "Alright, I think you'll find that K-Unit is at the assault course. Go to your cabin and unpack. Dismissed."

The two picked up their bags from the floor and reached for the door.

"Just one more thing before you go," they turned around to look at the sergeant. "Are you planning on any pranks?"

"What?" ask Alex, a little surprised. Ben nudged his arm, "Sir," he added in quickly.

"I asked whether you two are planning to prank anyone?" the sergeant repeated.

Ben and Alex looked at each other disappointedly, if the sergeant knew, then maybe their pranking spree would have had to be cancelled.

"Sir, we-" Ben started.

"I'm saying this now, and don't tell too many people, but I hereby give you permission to prank anyone in any unit. Don't give me that look. This will keep them on their toes and is also a good training tactic. I have a feeling they have been slacking off a bit lately," grunted the sergeant. "But don't tell me that I didn't warn you not to prank the cooks unless you want to find a little souvenir in your food."

"Sir-" Alex tried to ask him how he knew.

"That's it. Go!"

The duo hurried out of the sergeant's office, not wanting to get extra laps in their training or sessions of kitchen duty. Once they got out of the room, they laughed.

Maybe it wasn't going to be as bad as they thought.

xxxXxxx

A/N: And there it is! I hope you liked it! I don't get how people can write so quickly, this took me forEVER to write... or am I just slow? I'm not sure...

Hey, what do you think if I was to write a little prequel for this one? I find the adventure they had there, very amusing! ...well that's what I think anyway... interested?

So here are some questions I would LOVE it you would tell me your answers to:

What do you think K-Unit's reaction will be?

What's the name of their new teammate?

Will there be a new teammate?

What pranks do you want to happen?

Do you want a short-ish prequel?

So thanks for reading, people! Please review at the bottom of the screen in order to receive a new update! ...nah, not really, but it would be great if you sent me a review... they do make me go faster... whatever. Very sorry for any mistakes… you know me… See you all soon!

This is me, being me... sort of.

~Lily Icerem~