"Jesus fucking Christ..."
"Ashby?"
James Ashby didn't have to twist his head over to know the voice belonged to his long-time friend, Lieutenant Mills. He grunted in acknowledgement.
Wondering what was so damn fascinating, Mills followed his line of sight.
Even though he did have to admit that what the soldier was doing was pretty impressive, it was definitely not something to cuss over. "What's so great about that guy, Ashby?"
James didn't answer, only stood there with his legs braced and arms crossed; observing the lithe form flying through the obstacle course with the ease of someone who had done it before.
Sighing at the typical behaviour, Mills settled down on his heels to watch and wait.
Over the years, Alex had gotten stronger, faster – better. And even though he was still pretty rusty, he had little to no problem in overcoming and completing the course. In fact, if anyone had asked, he'd have said it was quite a bit easier than what he had expected.
Barely out of breath and – no matter how much he had tried to avoid it – covered in mud splatters, he lightly jogged his way back to the drill sergeant. As the refreshing air bit into his face, Alex couldn't help but inhale deeply. His body had slowly cooled down by the time he reached them. A stockily built, middle-aged man was wearily standing beside the sergeant. A slight hint of curiosity lit his eyes.
Alex raised an eyebrow, the drill sergeant looked positively disconcerted. He seemed to snap out of it quickly enough though.
"Your time is thirteen minutes and nine seconds. This is Lieutenant Mills." he frowned and went quiet after that.
Inclining his head, Alex said a simple, respective; "Sir."
"Soldier," he replied.
"Call me Cub."
"Cub?"
"That is my name, sir."
He nodded thoughtfully. "So, how long have you been with the SAS, Cub?"
No noticeable shield came up, but the Alex stared hard at him for a moment. "... For quite a while now." he answered slowly.
The interest flared in Lieutenant Mills' blue eyes. "Oh, really? Well, taking in the fact that I've been overseeing the new recruits for a year or two now, I don't believe I've had the pleasure of seeing you around here." Mills studied him. "How old did you say you were?"
"I didn't," Alex responded coolly. "But if you wanted to know, all you had to do was ask."
His smile smug, Mills shot out the question as soon as Alex had offered. "How old are you, Cub?"
He shrugged. "Is age just a number?"
"What?"
"I could be an old war-veteran in terms of experience, but in reality, be only nineteen."
"Stop stalling, Cub, how old are you?"
"I believe I just told you, sir."
Mills almost gaped. "Nineteen?"
"Unless there's something wrong with your hearing, yes."
"Don't fuck with me, soldier." he growled. "It's not possible to get into the SAS at that age."
Alex blinked. "You'd think nineteen year old's wouldn't be allowed to be assassins-in-training at that age either, but look at Yassen Gregorovich."
It took a moment for the name to click, and then – "What?" from both of the older men.
"You really should get your ears checked at the infirmary, you know."
His patience ran thin, and Mills had his glare turned on – the kind that scared recruits shitless. Not that it had any sort of effect on Cub. "Don't be a smart Alec, boy. Now tell us your real age, and how the fuck you know of Gregorovich. Now. Did you know of this, Ashby?" he demanded.
"Had absolutely no clue. Tell us, Cub."
"... Who hasn't heard of Gregorovich? The man was once one of the world's greatest assassins. He worked with a huge terrorist organisation. He died some years ago, though..." he trailed off.
"I'm going to ask one last time, and you better answer me truthfully, or so God help us, I'll have you binned. How. Old. Are. You?"
Alex stood a little taller. "There are three things you should know about me, sir." he said icily. "One; that I rarely lie if I can avoid it, two; that I am here at Brecon Beacons at the request of many people, including your commanding officers, Lieutenant Mills. The SAS and I both have our reasons for me staying here, and I can assure you, no matter what you report or how many strings you pull – you cannot bin me. And... three – I don't take to threats very well."
Mills looked momentarily thrown by his tone of voice, but Ashby recovered enough to state, "I need confirmation. Mills, Cub, come with me."
"I have classes to attend, sir."
"And they can fucking wait, Cub. Let's go."
"Enter!"
Alex walked in first, looking and feeling as indifferent as ever.
He placed his pen down on his desk. "Cub? Jones doesn't want –"
A frowning Ashby and gravely confused but stubborn Mills came stomping in and Sergeant Sanders leaned back in understanding. "Ah... I see." he nodded to Alex. "What'd you tell them?"
"They flipped out over the fact that I said Yassen Gregorovich's name."
Sanders frowned in disapproval at the two men. "Don't tell me you two got worried because Cub here knows Gregorovich... He's been dead for the past five years now, so I see no point in –"
"With all due respect, sir," Ashby cut in. "But you just said, that Cub here, knows Gregorovich? We were only assuming that Cub knew of him."
"How in the holy hell does a guy like you know him?" Mills had taken a guarded stance. "And he's been telling us that he's nineteen, which can't be true, because –"
"With all due respect, men, the both of you don't know Cub. So why don't we let him explain first, yes?" he nodded to Alex again.
"I ran into Yassen from time to time – before he died – that's enough to claim that I know him, I'll assume? And I really am nineteen; my friends know it, Sanders knows it, and, more importantly, I know it."
"But the youngest you can be to get into the SAS is –"
"I'm well aware of the rules and regulations, Lieutenant Mills." Sanders said with a pointed stare. Mills suddenly looked uncomfortable, and Alex was reminded of how young these two men still were. Had to be around their early-thirties at the oldest. "But let Cub talk."
"I'm going to go out on a limb here, but you must be thinking I'm still lying about my age. Yes, I know I would've only been around fourteen when Yassen and I bumped heads. And yes, I know that the minimum age to get into the SAS is around twenty-two, but see... I'm kinda the exception to every rule there is." he sheepishly smiled and ducked his head.
"The exception to every rule?" Mills turned incredulous eyes to Sanders. "Can you believe what this kids saying about himself? Talk about arrogant." he scoffed.
"Sir, all I came to do was confirm that Cub was saying the truth. I can't, in good conscience, ignore something like this. Especially with his age..." Ashby hedged in. "So if you wouldn't mind, do you have any kind of papers or files to certify him?"
Sanders cleared his throat, and pulled out a very interesting looking manila folder from below his desk. "Gentlemen," he began as he opened the file. "You have to understand something... The SAS actually volunteered to take him in." As he flipped through the papers and pulled out the one he was looking for, Ashby and Mills both looked like the fire they had walked into the room with, had been most definitely doused. "So, here." The paper was pushed forward for them to see.
Alex took a kind of tired pleasure seeing them frown as they read the information. Of course, being the one agent who was able to manage and alter his file was a perk in situations like these.
"Ashby. Mills," Sanders retrieved the paper from the discombobulated men and sighed. "Cub is a very... highly classified person; someone who, in normal circumstances, you would never get the honour of meeting. And when I say honour, I mean honour." He smiled something menacing. "I trust you both understand that Cub isn't someone you should question, so, no more questions, eh? Dismissed."
As soon as they got out the door, Sergeant Sanders sighed again and almost – almost – slumped down in his chair. "Cub," he almost bemoaned. "If this is what happens before you even start your second lesson of the day, why don't you just kill us all now?"
Sanders was really the only person in the entire camp who knew his name, and, like Mrs Jones, he was the one of the only people Alex could just say whatever to. "And save you the misery? I don't think so, sir."
"I'm only forty-six, but I swear, I can feel you making my hair go grey faster than it already is." he waved a hand to the door. "Now scat, kid, I've got paperwork to do. Damn academies want their kids to go on an extended excursion here for a 'different experience'." he snorted. "'Different experience' my arse; those prissy, dickless boys have overblown egotistical problems and the military schools are itching to get them off their hands and shown a lesson. And so they thought, 'who better than the SAS'? We have got a reputation for being intolerable, you know, but no way are we taking them in." Sanders eyes pinned Alex. "One teenager was enough, we don't need fifty more in a camp full of men who are working their legs off to become proper soldiers. Not if I can help it."
"So... are you trying to talk yourself into it, or just reinforcing your arguments to do it?" Brown eyes gleamed maliciously as an idea lit inside his head. "Let me help you make a decision, Sanders... Don't you reckon bullying these little nobodies will be fun? You can shove some steel down their throats, maybe give them a broken bone or two along the way. Work them over until they know the true pain a soldier experiences just through training; and teach them some respect, instead of having them all high and mighty."
"What are you getting at, Cub?" he asked warily.
"You didn't get to this position in the SAS by being stupid, so I know you know what I mean."
Sanders shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Do I?"
"I don't know about you or the rest of the SAS – well, actually, I do, and I know none of you would like it, but... don't you think it'd liven up Beacons a bit more? Particularly if you warn the men beforehand; let them prepare themselves and have a little fun with the boys."
"You forget that you'd be classified as a 'boy', too, seeing as how you're not much older than them – if not the same age."
Alex sent a wry smile his way. "The soldiers won't bother me."
"How do you know that they won't?"
"I'll make sure of it."
The Sergeant shook his head in skepticism. "This is a bad idea anyway. The men have enough pressure to perform as it is, we don't need all the distraction."
"Fine." Alex conceded defeat and sighed. "But I still think it'd be funny to mess with their heads. 'Their' being the academy boys."
"Get back to your classes, Cub. If the instructor wants to know where you've been, tell him it was me who kept him waiting. I am not in the mood right now, so tell him to not bother me unless he wants to be shot on sight."
Alex left the room considerably more amused than when he had entered it.
To go in and risk the unnecessary wrath of the instructor, or to stay outside and wait until the next class...
It was a no-brainer, but Alex somehow found himself inside the doorway, in clear sight of everyone as heads swiveled and the obvious lecturer glared. "I'm in the middle of a lesson – you are?" he asked curtly.
"Cub, sir. Sorry for being la –"
"No excuses! You've practically missed the whole lesson. Go find a seat, and stay behind when the lesson is over. Soldiers who are late won't make it in the real world. Timing is everything."
Not unreasonable comments, Alex decided as he strode to the only empty seat at the front of the room.
"Okay, can anyone remember what this..."
The ten minutes flew by easily, and before he even knew it, the men were filing out of the door and off to their next classes.
"Cub, is it?"
If Alex had had ears, they would have perked right on up at the sound of his name. "Yes, sir."
"Come here."
He approached the man. "If you wanted to know why I was late, it was because of –"
"We don't tolerate lateness among the newer recruits – so by the time they're older, being on time, or even earlier, is ingrained into their habits. I know SAS is still new to you, but that doesn't mean you get to have liberties that the other soldiers don't."
"But sir, I'm –"
"No excuses, Cub," he reprimanded. "I'll let you off this time, but make sure it doesn't happen again, especially being as late as you were today. Now go, before you're late again."
Without another word, Alex stormed out of there; but then he stopped a couple paces away from the door. Hands on his hips and feeling his eye twitch almost manically, he just had to say it; "Goddamn it, I'm not new!"
...
"...Cub?"
Alex sniffed delicately, taking in the fact that solider's who had been walking by were now giving him a wide berth and eyeballing him. "What do you want, Cheetah?"
Said man was staring at him with a strange expression on his face. "What do you mean, 'what do you want'? What the hell was that?"
"What was what?"
"You were just standing there, and then, out of nowhere, you yelled, 'Goddamn it, I'm not new!'"
"No, I didn't."
Cheetah frowned in confusion and just stared at Alex for a prolonged second or two. "...Yes, you did!" he finally spluttered out.
"I'm starting to think you guys aren't taking my advice seriously enough. Maybe you should skip the next few classes and go to the infirmary to check on your ears, yeah?"
"I heard you, the soldiers around here heard you – bloody all of Wales heard you!"
"I'm just worried about you, s'all. Anyway, I'm heading off now; don't want to be late for my class again. See you later!" Alex said quite cheerily. Just as he was about to go, he paused and bit his lip in hesitation.
"What is it now?" Cheetah growled out.
"Do I need to inform Sergeant Sanders of your hearing problems...? Or are you going to –" Laughing as he dodged the lunge the soldier made at him, Alex decided not to further aggravate the poor man; so he ran.
A roar came from behind him. "I DON'T NEED TO GO TO THE INFIRMARY, BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ANY FUCKING HEARING PROBLEMS!"
"At least I heard you loud and clear!" Alex shouted over his shoulder.
"CUB!"
Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update. School's started again, and I'm drowning in homework and procrastination.
What do you guys want more of? Or what would you like to be included? And, kinda more important to me, what do you guys think of this one?
P.S. Thanks for all the follows, favourites and reviews. Much appreciated.
P.P.S. But I still don't know about this chapter. I'm cringing in anticipation of your reviews. |:
