A/N: Okay, so I fudged some facts for this one. In order to go the direction I wanted to, I changed some things from Snakehead so that Ben and Alex didn't really interact that much. It's been a really long time since I read Snakehead, so I don't remember how much of their relationship is actually canon, but in my story Ben worked with Alex, but was never told any details about Alex, not even his full name.
Anyway, there's a little bit of language in this chapter, nothing much, but consider yourself warned.
To everyone who reviewed: Thank you all so much! You guys are great! I was kind of nervous about posting this, but you guys put that to rest. Thank you!
Wolf pushed the doorbell with his thumb. He (along with the rest of his unit) was extremely curious. Not that he would ever admit it.
All Blunt had told them was that MI6's top agent, a man named Alexander Rider, needed a some extra protection from a threat that had recently arisen and K-unit had been chosen. His unit was there with him, leaning over his shoulders so they could see who answered the door. It seemed they were out of luck. A recorded message started playing.
"This is Alex Rider, if you're hearing this I'm probably out. Leave your name or come back later. If Blunt sent you, I would suggest not leaving your name and not coming back. I can take care of myself. Beep." Wolf hit the doorbell again. Blunt had promised he'd be here.
"This is Alex Rider, if you're hearing this-" Wolf hit the cancel button and looked over his shoulder. His teammates shrugged. Wolf knocked, maybe the doorbell was broken. The unit waited.
Finally, the door moved.
"Seriously, how many times do I have to send the message? I. Can. Take-" The speaker froze as he saw his visitors. K-unit's mouths hung open.
"Cub?" Snake said, disbelief coloring his voice. A second later the door was slammed in their faces. After a pause shouting could be heard on the other side. Wolf only heard bits and pieces, "Blunt" "not a chance" "why on Earth" "if you think" "no way in hell". The shouting stopped suddenly. Wolf only heard one word, but the force it was said with made him take half a step back.
"Bastard." A few seconds later the door opened once again. "Get in." K-unit glanced at each other, and stepped through the open door.
Cub lead them into the living room (tossing a phone none-too-gently onto the counter on the way), where he immediately laid down the law.
"No one goes in the office or my room. No one bothers me when I'm busy. No questions. Don't use all the hot water. If we can get through this without me ever seeing any of your faces, I will consider it a success. Are we clear?" K-unit stared at him, dumbstruck. "That goes for you, too, Daniels. Don't think you're getting any special treatment." Then he promptly disappeared up the stairs. As soon as the shock wore off, K-unit erupted in noise.
"What-"
"How-"
"-A joke?"
"You've got to be kidding-"
"I mean, I knew he was involved a while ago, but-" All heads snapped towards Fox.
"You WHAT?!" Wolf said.
"I went on a mission with him once, I dunno, a few years ago."
"And you didn't tell us?!"
"Well, you didn't tell us about the whole Point Blanc thing!" Fox shot back.
"How did you-?" Wolf sputtered.
"What the heck are you talking about?" Eagle demanded.
"Everyone just SHUT UP!" Snake yelled.
Silence.
Snake never yelled. Ever. They all stared at him. "Fox, could you calmly explain what you're talking about?"
"Uh… yeah. Umm, I sort of met up with Cub on that Australia mission I went on when I was with MI6."
"What? He was living in Australia?" Eagle questioned.
"No, I think he was working with the ASIS."
"WHAT?!" Snake, Eagle and Wolf shouted.
"I don't know, okay? No one told me much, but he was definitely the main agent." Fox said. "He was good, too, better than I ever was."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Snake asked.
"Until this morning, none of you had near enough clearance! Everything about this kid is classified, I didn't even know his last name until today. Wolf met him, too." Everyone turned to Wolf. He sighed.
"It wasn't that long after he was at training. Remember when they split us up after Eagle was injured, and I got shot in France?" They nodded. "He was the agent inside the school. I never thought- I never would've guessed that Blunt would send him on other missions! He was almost killed! Multiple times! He snowboarded down a mountain on an ironing board!"
"He what?" Eagle asked.
"Snowboarded down a mountain on an ironing board!"
"He whitewater kayaked down a river in a pontoon from a sea plane. While dodging bullets."
"He was being shot at in France, too." As the implications of that information sank in, the room fell silent.
"MI6's top agent," Eagle whispered.
"We've all heard of him." Fox said.
"Silent." Snake added.
"Faster than a snake."
"More clever than anyone has the right to be."
"Young. That's what everyone says, no wonder they don't say how young. What is he? Twenty? Not much older." Eagle guessed. Snake and Fox agreed.
"Damaged." Three heads whipped around to look at Wolf. "Don't deny it, that's what they say! Sure, he's quiet and quick and intelligent. But they also say he's dark and deadly. Unstable, unnerving, reckless verging on suicidal, dangerous, radioactive." Wolf finished, keeping his voice quiet. This was going to be harder than they thought.