A.N.: This story is actually a sequel to Seek, and You Will Find, but the story is able to be read as a standalone.


They said he was stable, but they wouldn't let them see him. Bullet wound was a tricky business, they said. They had to watch him, make sure he was really all right. Fox was forced to have to watch Alex through the shaded window with its blinds half-drawn in defense. The doctors were fussing over Alex and ventilator tubes had attached themselves to the figure in the white bed. That meant Alex wasn't breathing on his own, right?

Wolf was still sitting in those hard metal chairs outside, waiting. Watching the clock, tapping his right foot. Snake was somewhere else, getting them something to eat. They have been waiting for news since yesterday early evening, and nobody had moved from their seat until the doctor came out, the bloodied glove tossed in the trashcan behind the door, and told them what the lady must thought was good news.

Critical. But alive.

Eagle wasn't here. He had begrudgingly taken the task of escorting Travis Cole to MI6 headquarters to meet up with his father. There might be tears, but he knew Mrs. Jones with her cold dead heart would shed none. Fox blamed her for Alex's current predicament. It wasn't her fault that Alex was taken, but it was her fault for offering Alex a job.

It was only late last year that Alex had recovered from his ordeal with Sabina's death, the memory loss, Edward, and everything else life had thrown at him. Yet the kid was already on his feet and running like nothing happened because Mrs. Jones had offered him a new mission.

"Coffee," Snake shoved the warm paper cup into Fox's hands and placed a small plastic-wrapped package on top. "Bagel. Eat up, you need it."

The medic did the same for Wolf, refusing to move until the team leader slowly unwrapped the bread and took a bite. Wolf was definitely taking it bad. He was attached to the kid, they all knew. Still, it hurt all of them when Alex got hurt. Fox wished he could send Alex off to some university and tell him to never look back at this life. If only it were that easy.

"It's been hours," Wolf said when Fox sat down next to him, abandoning his position by the window. "Any changes?"

"Bunch of white-coats around him." Fox shook his head. "He's still asleep."

They took a sip almost simultaneously and turned to watch the clock. It ticked with each second, gears turning behind the scene. Fox liked to think that he could actually hear the ticks, but the busy footsteps of the early morning destroyed any possibility of that.

"Wished it hadn't turned out this way," muttered Wolf.

"Me neither."

"Been a few long years."

They settled back against the chair, letting the metal harshly carve out how they should sit, and ate their bagel. It was still early in the morning, and although the nurses were already moving around, it was still relatively quiet in comparison to the streets. Sitting back, Fox strained to hear the monitors beeping in the room behind the walls.

He could hear it when he tried. Until footsteps thundering down the hall, earning a lot of glares from the nurses, interrupted his sense.

"How is he?" Eagle asked, thanking Snake for the bagel and took a large bite out of it. He looked starved. "Stable? Any change? What did I miss?"

"Sit down before you fall over," was Snake's reply. "Cub's fine. They got him stable and patched up, we just have to wait a little longer before we can go in and see him."

Fox and Wolf nodded when Eagle looked at them for confirmation. The sharpshooter visibly relaxed, groaned slightly and continued eating his bagel.

"What 'bout you? How did it go with Jones?"

"Oh, that was a nightmare. The kid's dad was there, and, well, they saw the video."

The video where Alex was asked to shoot the kid, didn't, got shot, and tried to shoot himself to get the kid out alive. Yeah, that video. Good video. Might actually give them all a few long nights of bad dreams.

"The man was absolutely livid that his son was put through that psychological torture," Eagle added. "He sent his most sincere apology to Alex too. Wished him a speedy recovery."

"Yeah, you can tell him that when he wakes up." Fox stood.

"Where are you going?"

"Stretch my leg. Gonna get some fresh air but," he paused. "Lemme know ASAP visitors are allowed?"

"Yeah, sure."

Fox left the corridor, but not the floor. Rounding the corner and ducking into the nearest storage room, he pulled his phone out of the pocket of his jacket. He should call Stacie, let her know that they were okay but he would be staying a little longer. He didn't want to do it in front of the rest of K-Unit, it would serve only to embarrass him when they began another argument. They were bound to have one. Admittedly, he hadn't been entirely truthful to Alex when the spy had asked him what was wrong. With Stacie, everything was turning into an argument lately. This wouldn't be any different.

"Ben?"

"Hey Stace," he tried to be cheerful.

"I…," said Stacie. Then she paused, hesitated before she continued. "Snake gave me a call earlier, told me that you guys were back and you were okay. How's Alex? I heard he got hurt?"

Dammit, Snake. "Yeah, he was…he got hurt. But he's gonna be okay. Listen, I'm gonna stay and wait till he wakes up. I don't want to—"

"Ben, it's alright. I understand. I just want to say that, I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday. I just, I was worried."

"I know. Me too." He pressed his forehead against the cold wall.

They waited in silence for either to speak again. Neither did, for a long while, and it was Stacie who finally decided they should end the call. "Lemme know when you're coming home. I saved some food for you if you—"

Now or never. "Hey, Stace?"

"...Yeah?"

"Can you…drop by?" Fox shut his eyes and waited. Say no. Please say yes.

The horrifying silence stretched for a few long seconds. It could have been minutes until wryly, she replied. "Thought you'd never ask. I'll be there in a few."

"Okay," Fox grinned, breathing out a quiet sigh of relief he didn't realize he was holding in. "Love you."

"Love you too."

Then when the light from his phone faded with the dial tone, the room enveloped him in a darkened warmth. He turned and stood there for a long moment, back pressed against the wall and head leaned back. Maybe it was really gonna be okay.

Then his phone rang again. "Ben?"

"Snake?" Fox's soft eyes sharpened in alarm. "Did something happened to A—"

"He's awake," Fox could hear the grin in the man's voice. "Doctors said we can go in now. We're just waiting for you."

"Okay, give me five. I'm coming." He snapped his phone shut and walked out of the room, keeping his gait as even as possible but the relief betrayed him on his face.

Alex was okay. That was enough to warrant some uncharacteristic smiles on his face. The rest of K-Unit was clustered around the kid when Fox walked in, knocking lightly to not startle anyone. Not that he needed to because Snake saw him even before he entered the door.

"Hey," Fox greeted Alex, who looked almost disgruntled at the degree of embarrassment the attention was causing him. "How you feeling?"

Alex downright glared at him. Right, the ventilator.

"Sorry," he said, completely unapologetic. "I forgot."

The kid rolled his eyes tiredly.

"We were filling him in on the mission," Eagle said with energy from Heaven knew where. "Smithers is an amazing dude, I gotta tell you Cub. He's like, techy and good at everything. Anything online, you name it, and he'll find it."

Fox snorted. "Smithers isn't illegal like that."

The ex-spy and the spy exchanged a glance after the words left his mouth. Yeah, that was a lie. Fox grinned, knowing that Alex would be laughing as well if he could. Alex blinked, turning his head slightly as if searching for somebody. Not finding them, he turned to Fox.

"Cole?" Alex shook his head to Fox's confusion, then gave a quick shrug, and nodded as if saying 'sure'. "Yeah, he's fine. Bit clingy, wanted to see you but his dad whisked him away. Anybody else you were hoping to see?"

"Must be Beck," Snake concluded with a quick grin. Oh right, the girl. "She's settling in nicely. Mrs. Jones assigned her as an assistant to Smithers. He said it would help him to be more creative if he had a kid as an assistant."

Alex looked like he wanted to laugh, then he settled against it when Fox spoke up again. "You should go back to sleep. We'll be here when you wake, and Stace will be here as well."

At this, the kid smiled slightly. Wolf and Fox exchanged a glance. They knew Stacie reminded Alex of Jack Starbright, even though Alex didn't outright admit to that. Stacie sort of made Alex the unofficial kid of the group. The first time she met Alex, she asked if he seriously worked for the government because he looked like he should still be in school. Not far from the truth really, Alex should still be in school. Alex just laughed and told her he was almost twenty.

Three weeks ago, Alex called Stacie 'Jack', much to Fox's fiance's confusion. Alex was pretty light-hearted when he apologized and told Stacie that Jack had been his housekeeper. Alex was over the death now, but Jack wasn't something that could be erased. It would still undoubtedly hurt, just not that much anymore. Heartache, sure, but at the end of the day, Alex was bringing up only the happy memories they had.

Stacie found them waiting in the chairs minutes later, and Fox got up to give her a hug. One that she returned. "I'm sorry."

"Alex's okay," Fox told her. Nothing to be sorry for.

"I'm glad." Stacie peered into the closed door, watching the green mountains and valleys drew themselves over and over again on the black slate. Each high matched with a low and each low matched with a high. "He's asleep."

"Yeah, fell asleep just moments before you got here. But I told him we'd be here when he wakes up."

Stacie nodded and left to say hi to the rest of K-Unit. Taking the chance, Snake walked over to join him. "You called her?"

"Yeah." Fox nodded. "Hey man, I—"

"I called her as soon as we returned," Snake cut him off. "Didn't want her to worry."

"It's okay, I was gonna thank you for doing it."

The medic looked surprised. "You were?"

"I am."

Reaching over, Snake clapped him on the shoulder and gave it a quick warm squeeze. "She loves you, man. I'm glad you two got past it. Would really hate to go to a wedding just to watch the bride and groom squabble at each other."

"Nah, we don't squabble."

"Right."

Snake's love life was in a worse turmoil, they all knew, but Snake being the medic, refused to let anyone be the therapist to him. Something about him wanting to do it his own way. His last girlfriend had left him. It wasn't due to any domestic conflicts, but rather his girlfriend didn't want to lose him. Balancing lost and love was a hard thing, after all. Not everyone could do it.

The five of them stayed in the metal chairs for another half an hour before Stacie suggested that they should all go home, and Fox and she would stay to watch over Alex. They needed the sleep, unlike Stacie who was well-rested and Fox who was too stubborn to leave.

"Call us if there's any trouble," Wolf reminded him when they eventually begrudgingly agreed to go get some rest.

Fox nodded. Even if he didn't, Stacie probably would. She knew how important this was to K-Unit, and she hated hiding things from other people when it was important that they knew. Even if it hurt them, really.

Fox wished he was more like her, a bit more unafraid of everything life was throwing at him. Sure, he was seconded for MI6 right after his first year in K-Unit; sure, he could deal with any evil manic wanting to take over the world—but that didn't mean he was equally dauntless in face of personal issues.

"What's going on in that big head of yours?" Stacie asked, leaning her head on his shoulder, and Fox pulled her in. She smelled like soft shampoo. "Alex's gonna be just fine, you know that."

"I know."

"Then what's going on?"

Fox shook his head. "Just, a lot of things going on at once. Having a hard time dealing with them all at the same time."

"Well, tell me 'bout them," Stacie prompted. "I'll cross off a few for you."

He grinned and kissed the top of her head. God he loved her. He rested his chin on the crown, and she let him. "Well, our wedding for starters."

"Scratched, nothing to worry about. Well, except Andy. Gotta keep the sweets table away from him." They both chuckled. That sounded like Eagle all right. "But Scott will do a fairly good job of that. You just have too look presentable and not mess up the vows. Definitely ask James if you can't do a bow tie. He's great at that."

She'd had it all down in her head. K-Unit plus Alex would all be there. Neither of them wanted it too big anyway, so it would just be them, a few more friends, and then the close immediate family. He wished his father was here to see it. The old man would be overjoyed that his son was finally settling down.

"Why don't you catch some sleep?" she suggested. "I'll wake you in a few hours."

"What 'bout you?"

"I'll watch over Alex."

Eventually, he agreed and closed his eyes before drifting off within minutes into a dreamless sleep.

Fox wasn't sure if it really were as dreamless as he thought it was, but he didn't remember any of it when he woke hours later. His neck was protesting from where he had leaned against Stacie, and with a groan, he struggled upright.

"Oh look who's awake." Was that Eagle?

"Go away." Opening his bleary eyes, Fox located the source of the voice and grunted at the close distance. "How long was I…?"

"About four hours. C'mon, man, get up. Get up get up."

"Wha'—why?"

"I'm relieving your shift. Go home. Stace, take him home. He needs sleep. Don't worry, I'll call you as soon as Alex wakes so you don't break your promise."

Fox wasn't sure how he got there, but the next time he really felt a surface was as he tumbled into his bed. A soft groan escaped him. Yeah, he was tired, all right. Stacie pulled the cover over him, whispered some words, and left. It sounded like 'sweet dreams', but Fox wasn't entirely sure.

He was used to the bed in Alex's house where he had stayed for almost the entirety of the past two years, although the bed beneath him was slowly becoming a part of home. Fox felt useless where he was; he was supposed to be watching over Alex at the hospital. He should've watched over the kid better, should have done a lot more, and shouldn't have done a lot of things as well.

Every day there stood the chance of them dying, and the thought of that was never comforting. People would think that, after half a decade of doing this, Fox would have gotten past it. Nobody ever did. Adrenaline might make them forget for brief moments, but it worked just like drugs. It wore off.

Fox supposed he understood why Alex did what he did. It was brave. And dumb. And stupid. And unnecessarily necessary. But something Alex would do in some sort of twisted utilitarianism ideals. The Cole kid was their objective, they knew that, but that didn't make it easier to accept what Alex did.

What was Alex thinking? If he were to die, the captors could very well go against their flimsy promise, and Alex would've wasted his life on nothing. Nothing at all. That was the last straw needed to chase away the chance of any sleep, leaving him wide awake and his thoughts firing rapidly. Rapidly, but solidly. Like Russian roulette, always rotating and always moving with uncertainties. Clicking. Click. Like clocks too, ticking, the sound of life running out.

Fox tried to shake the image out of his head. The video footage had been grainy, but he didn't need an HD version to see what Alex was thinking, or what he was feeling. Goddammit, he wished he hadn't...He wished he hadn't watched the footage. Might grant him a better peace of mind.

He abandoned sleep altogether and gave Eagle a call. A yawn was the first thing he heard past the ringtone. "Ben?"

"How's Alex? Any change?"

"Nah, still asleep. Something you should be doing as well…Can't sleep?"

"Something like that."

"Don't beat yourself up over crap that ain't your fault, Fox."

"I don't really blame myself for—"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay, well, a little. But I'm just…I just can't get that tape out of my head."

"Yeah, none of us could. But Cub's alright, so everything's gonna be alright. Think 'bout your wedding, man. Stace in a beautiful white dress, you in a handsome suit. Forcing Snake in a suit that's not his uniform."

They both chuckled and fell into silence. The phone wasn't dead, but Fox almost thought it was. Eagle then said quietly. "Wolf isn't doing too well either. I dropped by earlier before I came to the hospital."

"Yeah, Alex and he were close. Especially after the last few months." Fox paused. "Snake's with him?"

"Mhm. None of us should be alone right now."

"Aren't you by yourself?"

"Hey, I've got Cub. And the nurses. Better than you losers." They both laughed. Again. Even though it really wasn't that funny. But then, anything was fair game at this point because God knew they needed something to cut the fear in the air.

Their fear, however, fortunately, was misplaced. They got Alex off the ventilator two weeks later, and the week after that he was being wheeled around the hospital by Eagle. The kid looked happy to be out of the bed and at least doing something. Wolf even brought him a few stack him origami paper to make cranes out of as a wedding present. A thousand cranes, Wolf suggested, and get a wish granted.

"Wish I can be out of this bed and doing something," Alex grumbled as he creased down the folds of the crane. Probably the tenth one he was doing since earlier that afternoon. "Ben, aren't you supposed to be, like, getting ready for a wedding?"

"It's in two days."

"Exactly. It's in two days." Alex chucked his finished crane in Fox's direction, and it landed almost perfectly in his hands. "Go do something productive and stop watching me fold cranes. My fingers are bleeding."

Fox just humphed. Alex was still weak and couldn't really support himself for long. Definitely couldn't walk, for starters, and he grew tired within hours. He still had trouble breathing, which was why the doctor said they strongly, very strongly, advise that Alex should not, they repeat, should not do any sort of even mildly-strenuous activities.

Stacie suggested that they postpone the wedding by a few weeks, but Alex just frowned and told them Eagle could wheel him around. The sharpshooter seemed to be in love with the wheelchair, which was a plus.

Fox glanced at the kid when Alex's fingers paused, and they gingerly set down the crane he had been folding. "You okay?"

Alex nodded and swallowed, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths. "Still getting used to it. But it's better."

"That's good. And how's the leg?"

"Unless I move, I can barely feel it."

Well, Alex was constantly fidgeting, so that was saying something. But then, the kid didn't like being mothered so Fox bit back any words he was going to say. Snake was doing that mother job well enough.

"When's Eagle getting here?"

"Tired of my company already?" Fox joked. "He should be here in a few minutes. You want to get out so badly?"

"Fresh air helps me breathe better."

"So does the mask," suggested Fox wryly.

Alex rolled his eyes. "I hate the mask. It's too confining."

Despite them having made plans, Alex had fallen asleep when Eagle wheeled in the chair half an hour later.


On the day of the wedding, Eagle got him crutches, doctor's orders, and Alex had to crutch his way into Eagle's van that smelled faintly like day-old banana. He pointed it out harshly, unafraid to judge.

"You wanna sit on top of the car?" the man huffed in mock exasperation. "I was hungry, and I got only bananas in the back last time."

"You didn't throw out the peel?"

"The van has its own trashcan, Cub." Eagle gave him a hand with the crutches, guiding him into the shotgun seat. "Yeah, don't tell Fox you're sitting up front. He's gonna kill me."

"Thanks, Eagle."

"No problem, brownie." The sharpshooter set the crutches in the back seat and started the engine when Alex rolled shut the door. "Ready?"

"Ready when you are."

"That's what I like to hear!"

Eagle turned on the classical radio channel with a good-natured grin, and let the music filled the air instead of trying to make conversations. Alex was dismayed that in the small window of time, he was already tired and out of breath. Even shutting the car door took days off of him. The sharpshooter driving gave him a quick glance, one that Alex returned with a nod.

He was tired, but he was all right. It was normal. Would be creepy if he had enhanced healing powers like spider-man. Wished he had, though. Alex shifted in his suit, feeling the lack of a bow tie or a tie around his neck. Snake said a tie would probably suffocate him. Which was mostly true, because when Fox had buttoned up the collar to the top, he was already struggling slightly to breathe.

"Is it too tight?" Eagle asked, noticing his hands at his collar.

"No, it's fine." It was already a button looser than the formality. But Fox didn't really mind, saying that if Alex needed to wear t-shirts and jeans to his wedding, he damn well could. Yeah, Alex didn't want to embarrass himself to that degree.

They left for the wedding two hours prior to starting to make sure everything would start smoothly, and also that Alex could get used to the surrounding. How touching of them. It was a bright day, but the wind was cool and soothing enough that the wedding was taking place outside. On a beach of all places. It would really be a nice change of scenery.

Eagle got him settled down in the wheelchair after Alex stepped out of the car. "You ready?"

"I hope Ben's sisters aren't here yet," muttered Alex darkly. "They're a hassling bunch."

"Well, they're all older than Fox. Loving little kids is what they do."

"Are you calling me a kid?" Alex felt offended. Really offended. What part of him screamed 'little kid'?

"Something like that. Hey look, there's Wolf in his dashing suit. Dashing dashing, dashing through the snow…" Eagle hummed to himself as he wheeled Alex to where the rest of K-Unit and Stacie were. They noticed the pair as soon as they wheeled onto the sand. Eagle had taken off his shoes and was now walking barefoot across the sand, leaving footprints behind track trails.

"Look who I brought you," exclaimed Eagle as he parked Alex next to the main table. "Cub in a chair!"

"Oh for goodness's sake, Eagle," groaned Alex. "Hey Wolf."

"You got here okay?"

"Eagle's van smelled like banana," Alex made a face. "Yeah, I got here okay. Barely survived."

Snake gave him a quick pat on the shoulder and made sure that his collar wasn't restricting his breathing. Satisfied that it wasn't, Snake stepped to the side to let Fox and Stacie pass.

Stacie leaned down to give him a firm, but gentle, hug. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah," Alex smiled then reached down to the box beneath the chair and handed it to her. "Wedding present."

She opened it, pulled out one of the cranes, and set it back in. "Oh, they're beautiful, Alex."

Even though Alex felt as if she had set it out of courtesy, he felt pleased with himself. "There's a thousand of them. I rushed a bit, but I got them done."

"Thank you, Alex." She left to set it on the table among the bigger pile of priced gifts. It wasn't intentional, he knew, but his face felled ever-so-slightly as he silently compared the gifts. Perhaps he should've done more.

"Hey," Fox got his attention, having noticed his look. "It's beautiful. It's worth more than any of those fancy gifts, alright?"

"I wasn't…"

"Uh-huh." That was Eagle. "You know, if somebody knocks that table over, only your gift will survive because all the other are probably made of really fragile glass."

"Thanks," Alex replied dryly.

"No sweat. I'm gonna go see what there's to eat. You okay without my gracious present?"

"Oh just go away already, Eagle."

The sharpshooter clasped him gently on the shoulder and left. Snake, of course he had to, followed with a frown. Better make sure that Eagle didn't eat anything he wasn't supposed to.

Wolf pulled up a chair next to him, looked at him, and asked carefully. "What were you thinking?"

"Thinking? About what?"

"When you pointed a bloody gun at your head. What were you thinking?" Alex noted the anger and frustration in Wolf's tone, but he also noted the lack of emphasis in his question.

It wasn't 'what were you thinking' but rather, 'what were you thinking'. Just a question. What was he thinking about when he aligned the tip of the cold barrel to his skull? Alex swallowed and looked away. "Well, I wasn't thinking about anything in particular."

"You thought that if you…die, the boy will live?"

"Something like that." Would Wolf believe him if he said he knew the first five shots would click empty? Probably not when Alex himself didn't believe in it.

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

C'mon. "There's bound to be something dumber," was Alex's dry remark as he grabbed the wheels of the wheelchair and proceeded to roll himself out from under the tent. He shook his head at Wolf and Fox's offer to help. "I'm gonna grab some air."

"Company?" Fox more or less demanded.

"Since you asked."

Alex wheeled himself across the sand. It was harsh, having to roll every each small dune and sink into each hole, but the closer they got to the water, the easier it became. The sand was packed into the hard floor by the receding waves, and the trail made by the wheels carved like railings around Fox's own footsteps behind.

"You doing okay?" Fox was clearly worried, and it was entirely justified because Alex felt like he had just run a marathon over the short distance he had traveled. That wasn't good, Alex realized.

"Catching my breath," managed Alex.

"Too much?"

Alex made a face. "Too little. I've been stuck in bed for weeks. Now there's finally some excitement."

A snort in disbelief. "You're lucky the doctor even allowed you out of bed."

He was lucky to even be alive. Alex had heard the operations had gone through some hitches along the way. He must have had died a few times, Alex thought morbidly.

"What you were willing to do for that kid was brave but stupid." Ah. Alex obviously hadn't learned his lesson to even think that Fox wouldn't bring up that topic. "Don't do it ever again."

"I promise."

"Good."

Then the conversation receded just as quickly as the wave came. A single seashell washed up to the shore, but it had only moments before the water swallowed it whole again. Alex wished he could at least talk with Travis. He hadn't seen the kid after they were rescued. He received gratitude, yes, but he thought they needed to have a good talk.

Nobody understood what Travis went through more than the person who went through it with him. Warm blankets might smother the fire, but the chance of the fire swallowing the blanket was just as big.

"Did you invite Travis to the wedding?" asked Alex stupidly.

"Travis? The Cole kid? No, why?"

"Just want to talk to him."

"You did receive his letter of gratitude." Fox arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, it's not the same as a conversation."

The ex-spy absently reached over and patted his shoulder. "I'll see what I can do, but after the wedding."

"Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem. Let's go back. A wedding isn't a wedding without the groom."

Alex glanced at the main tent, its beige flaps fluttering in the wind, catching and reflecting the light. People had gathered and were chatting away at their own pace. People he didn't know. Fox's family. Stacie's family. Friends from SAS.

He hesitated. "You go ahead. I'll be right there."

"You sure?"

"Ben," Alex sighed in mock exasperation. "Don't keep the bride waiting."

"Okay okay, come back up soon, okay?"

"Mhm."


Their wedding was an informal one, one without the whole bride showing up late, but rather straightforward with the vow. Simple, exactly what they both wanted.

"I do." Those two words sealed them together for the years to come.

They kissed. Stacie grinned, and they both laughed in relief. The crowd cheered, and as they walked down the makeshift aisle, nearly crashing into each other walking on the uneven sand, people clapped him on the back in congratulation.

Thirty minutes was all it took. Months of preparation offstage but barely an hour onstage, and then it was done. But that was okay. They were doing this for themselves, not for others.

Before they started the dances, Fox looked for Alex in the crowd. Alex said he didn't want to roll his chair all the way up front, so they settled for a reserved seat in the back that still guaranteed a good view. Alex was nowhere to be found. Shrugged, Fox let it slide. The catered food was great, and definitely a welcoming break from hospital food. Alex was probably off somewhere stuffing himself. Fox gave a short laugh under his breath at the imagery.

"What's funny?" asked Stacie with a grin, moving along with the music.

"Mmm, just thinking about the food."

After the first song ended and Stacie went dancing with her father, Fox found Wolf at the catering table. "You saw Alex?"

Wolf bit off the tail of a shrimp. "No. Thought he was with you?"

Fox rolled his eyes. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, you came back from the water without him. Eagle thought you were hiding him for some final surprise. Exploding flowers, he said."

"Yeah, Alex definitely looks like the type who'd agree to something like that. But seriously, you didn't see him?"

"Not since you went for a walk with him." Wolf set down his plate, a frown on his face. "Why? Where is he?"

By now, the nagging voice at the back of his head was slowly making its way to the front. "With Eagle?"

Wolf turned and jerked his head at the sharpshooter and the medic a few tables down helping themselves to the food. "Don't think so. Where did you last see him?"

"Well, I left him by the water because he wanted a few minutes to himself," said Fox slowly. "He didn't come back up?"

Strange. And unpleasantly so.

Putting down everything else, the two exchanged a quick glance and set off in a hurry to the edge of the waves. Alex you better still be sitting in the bloody chair staring morosely at the water or something. The sand hindered their progress, threatening to drag them down with each step they took but the faster they moved, the lesser the obstacle.

What they noticed immediately were two sets of footprints leading to and away from the lone wheelchair the waves were lapping gently at. Now, Alex might be a stubborn kid, but physically he wasn't capable of walking more than a few steps without supports of some kind.

"He's not here."

Yes, thank you for stating the obvious, Wolf. "Maybe he went back." Fox glanced at the track leading away and followed it with his eyes to the parking lot. Were Eagle and Snake here? They might have helped Alex back to the car.

"I'm gonna check out the parking lot," Fox suggested. "Ask Eagle if he saw Alex?"

"Yeah, sure." Wolf nodded and turned to head back.

There was no way that Eagle would've taken Alex back to the car without the wheelchair, Fox thought. But then what else? Where could Alex have gone?

Well, there was always the chance of the kid getting taken. But by whom? Heaven knew how many enemies they have accumulated over the years.

Fox located Eagle's pale beige minivan a few seconds later and peered into the darkened interior. With the sun shining brightly above them, it was really hard to make out any definite shape. However, of all the shapes, Fox was certain that none of them was Alex.

"Hey, you saw a kid here by any chance?" Fox asked as he flagged down the man manning the pay station. "Dirty blond, about my height, probably can't walk on his own?"

The man snuffed out the last of his cigarette and blew out an ashy breath. "A kid?"

"Yes, a kid." Well, Alex was nineteen. He was still a kid. Fox rummaged into his wallet, pulled out the picture Alex had taken with K-Unit just a few months earlier and pointed him out for the ticket seller. "You saw him?"

The man squinted and leaned out of the window to take a better look. "Eh, yeah, think so."

"Where?"

"He was carried into a car and they left about half an hour ago."

"They?" Fox snapped in alarm. "Who took him?"

"Hey, wasn't me. I have no idea. A man and a woman. His parents, maybe? Well, the kid was asleep."

Parents? Unless John and Helen Rider came back to life, no way. Maybe they were a pair of good Samaritans who thought Alex was abandoned at the beach? Haha, funny. "Did you get a look at the plate of the car?"

"No," the man frowned. "Why would I? Is the kid in trouble or something?"

Ignoring the question, Fox demanded. "I need to take a look at your cameras."

"Yeah, it's not operating right now. Some animal gnawed out the lines yesterday, we're still fixing it."

"Great." How utterly convenient.

Footsteps scraped against the sand to get to him. Fox turned to see Snake and the rest of K-Unit. "Ben—"

"Alex got taken," interrupted Fox. "Some couple took him, probably drugged him as well because he was apparently unconscious."

"What? When?"

"Left half an hour ago," grunted Fox as he pulled out his phone. "Where's Stace?"

"Still dancing. Should we tell her?"

Wolf shook his head when Fox hesitated. "No, let's not worry her just yet. We don't know who took Alex, or why. Might be a misunderstanding. Let's find out the who first."

The rest of them nodded in agreement. No use crying over spilled milk when it was still salvageable. Not the best metaphor, but Fox could work with that at the moment.

"Call your tech guy," said Wolf. "He might be able to get the plate number."

Fox nodded. "Snake, can you let Stace know that…?"

"On it."


For a moment, Alex thought he was dreaming. A nice dream enclosed in a nightmare, but still, it was better than seeing it as reality. "Travis?"

"Hey," the kid managed through a split lip. He was sitting against a wall while Alex was on the floor, a position that, thankfully, was better for his leg and breathing.

"You look horrible," Alex said and rolled over. Or tried to, anyway, for his bounded wrists got in the way of making anything more than a forty-five-degree turn. Just great. "Where are we?"

Damp quarter. Barely any light. The smell of nothing good. Didn't take a genius to guess the intention of this place.

"Not sure," admitted Travis. "They drugged me. When I woke up, I was just here. And then they dumped you in."

Alex's eyes flickered to Travis. "Who's 'they'?"

"Some guy and a woman."

"You know them?"

A shake of the head. Yeah, figured. "Do you know what time it was?"

"Last thing I remember was at my noon therapist appointment." The short fleeting grimace didn't go unnoticed. "I think they were waiting for me."

What did they want with both Travis and him? What did the two of them had in common? Nothing, except for their captivity from weeks ago. The possibility of being a big fat coincidence was slim with a chance of none if Alex were asked. The possibility of this being unrelated to their prior was an even bigger and fatter zero.

"You okay though?" Alex said.

A nod from his peripheral vision. Alex wished the kid could use monosyllable instead of nonverbal cues because hearing, at the moment, was easier than seeing. The room was dim sans the single candle. A fire hazard, especially when they seemed to be enclosed by wood.

Alex needed to at first identify just who their captors were before he could make his move. Were they like Jack the crazy psycho with shreds of intelligence, or Horace the brawn with more muscles than brain cells? Unlike their previous little incident, however, Alex didn't have a lot to offer the captors and he had a lot at risk.

He couldn't run too far, got tired quickly, and had the breathing capability of a drowning victim. And Travis, well, he looked like somebody had used his face for a punching bag, and Alex wondered how that happened. There were more than a million ways for any plan of his to go wrong—that was if he could come up with a plan in time.

"I have a plan," whispered Travis suddenly as he shifted in his position against the wall until he was closer to Alex. "They didn't find my pocket knife. It's still in my pocket. I can get it, and cut through the ropes."

A knife. Definitely a good start, but, "Then what?"

"What?"

"We cut the rope, and then what? What if they're right outside?"

"Well…We can stab them."

The kid was funny. "Yeah, good start, we just need to plan out the rest."

At least they got a knife. That was something. While, of course, they wouldn't bring a knife to a gunfight, they wouldn't bring nothing to a gunfight either. Something was better than nothing in most cases.

What would he do if he were alone? Probably cut the rope first because he had a better chance of fighting back. Alex scanned the room quickly, looking for a door. Beside the small candle hanging on the wall of the low ceiling, there was no other light source to identify itself as the crack at the bottom of the door. Or it could be night.

"You know where the door is?" Alex asked.

"Up. It's a trapdoor. I think we're in a basement or something, but I didn't get a good look outside."

Well, that's a change in plan. Basements were big disadvantages in terms of height. Alex blew out a soft sigh and tasted dust at a short inhale. He coughed it out in distaste. The light of the candle flickered once in its cradle. Carefully, Alex watched the fire slowly trying to lick out the tip. There were about 3 inches of it left. Plenty for a romantic night, but definitely not enough to last a sundown.

"Do you think they're coming back?" asked Travis. "It's been a while."

It sure had, Alex grimaced. "I hope so."

They were captured for a reason. Whatever it was, they obviously needed them alive. The next time the captors leave the room, Alex would let Travis cut the rope. Until then, they needed to remain as they were.

"What have you been up to the past few weeks?" asked Alex in hope of a light conversation. "You didn't drop by. I was hoping to talk to you."

"Yeah, dad didn't want me to visit you. He's, well, scared, I think."

Scared? "What for?"

"He," Travis sighed. "He thinks by not talking to you, I can just forget what happened. It really didn't work. He got me appointments with a therapist as well."

"How's that going?"

"She talks about stupid things. It's just not working either."

Alex was suddenly reminded of himself from years ago. Months ago, really. It was never a person to talk to that he needed, but rather the person to talk to. There were words that he had wanted to hear before he felt right again. Maybe that was what Travis needed as well.

"What 'bout nightmares?"

"You sound like my psychiatrist."

Alex snorted but waited. Eventually, Travis answered. "Yeah, I get them. But it's nothing I can't deal with by myself."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Maybe not now. Some other time.

The end of their brief conversation was accompanied suddenly by a loud grumble and a harsh cracking sound as if something was being demolished above them. Travis glanced up sharply, and so did Alex. Dusty debris rained down through cracks in the ceiling. Earthquake, but not an earthquake because they could both hear the sound of a machine being operated. And muffled voices trying to be heard over the noises.

"You said we're in a basement?"

"I think so. Why?"

"What do you think is happening outside?" As if on cue, the beeping sound of a machine backing up came through the thick ceiling despite its best defense. Then the sound of falling crashed through the denser silence like meteorites.

Their eyes met. "Oh."

Sounded like the place they were in was being demolished, with them right beneath like ants. Well. He wished he was still dreaming.


TBC