Author's note: I only just realized this as I started chapter four, but chapter three is shorter than the first two chapters by quite a bit. I don't know. I suppose it just kind of happened like that. Please don't kill me! Eh…Anywho's, so here is chapter three for you all out there reading this. Um, there's some swearing in this chapter, and a little violence. I suppose I should warn you.

Chapter Three

At that I pushed my chair roughly backwards. "You have a way to contact Blunt?" I asked Ben, barely concealing my anger. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. I grabbed it from him, standing and pacing. Searching through the address book was the first thought that I had, and the number for the Royal & General was the only number there. Blunt himself picked up on the other end.

"How are they cooperating, Agent Daniels?" He asked right out.

"You're dead the next time I see you." I growled into the phone, promptly hanging up and tossing the phone back to Fox.

I slipped off my modified heels, and slipped on my sneakers. I was fairly glad they were at the front door. Glancing up at Max, I gave a little shrug to her inquiring look.

"You can get the others now. I'm going for a jog." I muttered, standing and taking a quick stretch.

"Cub," Wolf started. He didn't get very far.

"I'm going for a jog." I insisted.

"Yeah, we know. I just wanted to say be careful." He finished, giving me a look of, 'come back in one piece, or I'll bury you alive'.

"Yup. Gotcha. Careful." I muttered, closing the door behind me with more force than I intended to.

I started out at a jog, and then moved on to a sprint. I didn't feel as though I was moving fast enough, despite the fact that my lungs and throat were burning from breathing so hard, and the remnants of the bullet wound were still very painful. With my heart beating so fast, it felt as though someone was continually slamming a hammer where the bullet had pierced. After about five minutes of hard running, I slowed down to a walk, looking around me.

I obviously didn't recognize where I was, and felt like a complete idiot. I wasn't back home in Chelsea. I knew that. Turning a corner, I could see that some teens were throwing a house party, despite that it was only about supper time. I planned on asking one of them how to get back, before remembering that I didn't even know Valencia's address. Poor planning on my part, and I knew it, too.

I turned around, looking for something familiar. Apparently, that would be harder than I though it would be. I sighed, and started heading in what I though might be a good direction. I was walking for about ten minutes when I heard something whiz by my ear. Given recent circumstances, I whipped around, seeing a dead agent on the ground, with a gun in hand. But, a dead agent couldn't shoot a gun.

Barely having time to process that, Yassen was beside me. I did a double take.

"What the fu-" I started to ask before he covered my mouth and dragged me back to where he'd been hiding, a small alley way between two houses.

"You're a complete idiot, Alex!" He whisper-shouted, while watching the street for more persons-of-suspect. I didn't know if they were spies, or assassins or what. Ah, the reprieve of blessed ignorance. He'd taken his hand off my mouth, and I really felt like biting him for that.

"No shit, Sherlock!" I whispered back. "How long'd it take ya to figure that one out?" I wasn't going to deny it. I had been an idiot to go running off with no directions. I still would've run off with or without an idea of where I was going.

I'd needed to blow off steam, before I seriously punched someone in the face. Probably Eagle or Yassen. Maybe Ben. I technically hadn't calmed down yet, but I was watching the goings on from my hiding spot behind an air conditioner.

A few more people showed up, looking around with deep interest once they spotted their dead comrade. One spoke into a walkie-talkie, and a few minutes later, a van pulled up, removing the body, blood, and the other agents.

We waited a few more minutes before surrendering our hiding spot. I quietly followed Yassen; he seemed to know where he was going. Generally, it was fairly hard to tell what he was feeling or thinking, but this time was a little different. He seemed mad. Like, worse-than-Wolf mad.

The walk back to the house was less than ten minutes, which made me frown. I must have run in circles at points, because I'd run far and hard. Longer and farther away than ten minutes, at least. Yassen held open the door for me, to make me enter first, and I ducked my head to avoid his gaze.

I was unprepared for when Angel tackled me once I'd entered the kitchen. It only lasted a second though, before she was standing beside me, clamped onto my arm. Giving her a little smile, I noticed she was sniffling, and that her eyes were red. That set off alarm bells in my head.

Doing a quick body count, I got confused. Everyone was there. And eating dinner, which were apparently hamburgers. I turned to her opening my mouth to ask, when Max beat me to it.

"She was crying because you weren't here, and she'd heard, in sense of the word, people talking about capturing or killing you. Though it was faint, as though they weren't really nearby, but close enough for her to hear them." Max explained. With that, I took another look around the room. They all looked as though they'd been extremely worried, despite, A) my track record, and B) that I was able to take care of myself. But I still understood that they had been worried, if only about me.

I kneeled down and hugged Angel. "Sorry." I said. I'd meant it for all of them, but especially for Angel, because she had heard what the men had been saying. "And thank you, for picking up on that." I added after a moment's hesitation.

When I stood back up, Angel remained determinedly attached to my right arm, and sat in the chair next to mine when I sat. Yassen sat on my left, closely watching me for something. Shock maybe, but for what. Instead of dwelling on it, I decided to ignore it. Or try to ignore it, at least.

I waited until Wolf had finished making up his hamburger, and then just took his plate. I gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Wolf. I never knew you were so kind as to make my hamburger for me!" I said, nodding my head a little.

At that, Wolf exploded. Not literally, of course, but he started yelling, and his face turned a shade of red that I wouldn't have thought possible.

My distraction seemed to work, as Eagle burst out laughing, Snake tried to hold it in and look professional, and Ben just shook his head, laughing a bit. Angel, Ella, Gazzy, and Nudge were laughing as well, while Max, Iggy, and Fang smiled. Valencia quickly made up another hamburger, and handed it to Wolf, trying, like Snake, not to laugh at the big, macho, SAS man, who was freaking out over a hamburger.

The radio was still on, and I heard, just barely, a Rascal Flatts song. I grinned, and stood to turn it up.

"California to Oregon, Even New York City got one or two hillbillies, Ready to hit the road, It's a brother and a sister kind of thing, Raise up your hands if you all wanna hang, With me and my gang, We live to ride, We ride to live, Me and my gang!"

Eagle looked openly shocked, while Ben just shook his head. I couldn't tell what Yassen was thinking, while Snake and Wolf both looked mildly impressed with a touch of a disapproving look in their eyes. I supposed they thought no 'soldier' should ever be allowed to sing.

I kept grinning. "Yeah, bet you didn't know that about me, eh?" I took a minute and finished my hamburger.

"Hey, Soul Sister, Ain't that Mr. Mister on the Radio, Stereo, The way you move ain't fair, you know?" I sang, still grinning. "Somewhere back home, Jack has videos of me running around the house singing to the radio when I was little. Though, considering recent developments," At this point, I glared at Yassen, "They're probably all burned to the ground thanks to Blunt. I wouldn't be surprised if he did that."

Snake shook his head. "We were forced to help her move out. She packed up anything really memorable, despite orders. There was a box marked Memories of Alex. It's probably all in there."

"Well, it's a good thing I know where she'll be going. Or, well, I know where her parents live, which is a start." I said, nodding supposedly thoughtful. I knew that it would put her in major danger, though, if I were ever to see her.

Angel took my hand, and smiled up at me. I'd been a bit surprised when she did that. I'd been having a bit of a flashback moment. "From what I can tell, she wouldn't care about the danger you would put her in. She would rather know that you're okay."

I nodded to that. "Yeah, that's fairly true. She hates MI6 for what they're doing. She rather be with me, than, you know, having everything like this. I can't imagine it was easy to get her out of the country."

"And yet you know that you won't be allowed to take even a step in her direction." Yassen said, watching me over steepled fingers. "You'll be stopped by whatever force necessary, as per ordered from Blunt."

"Yes, because I always listen to whatever Blunt says. Need I remind you of the whole Damian Cray incident? Blunt didn't believe me when I was telling the truth. That was one mission, of a few in fact, that I mounted on my own." I argued back.

This time though, Wolf replied. "It said in your file that Blunt asked you to accept that mission." He stated, pulling my file over to himself. He started flipping through it.

"Well, then it's a load of bullshit. Blunt will take credit for anything, if only to make himself look better." I rebutted. "He's almost as bad as SCORPIA. They just wanted to use me, too."

"However, if you just accepted that life is unfair, then it probably wouldn't be as hard to live this life." Yassen said, cocking one eyebrow at me.

I almost shrieked at that. "Hypocrite! I remember two years ago, after you shot Herod Sayle right in freakin' front of me you told me to 'get out of this life, don't accept another mission, because 'this world' is no place for a child." I exclaimed. I really wanted to slap him, because he was giving me a half smug look. A look that told me he had wanted to see my reaction. "Man, you piss me off sometimes, you know that?"

He only shrugged in response, with the ghost of a grin on his face. 'See? There you go again, doing that whole annoying thing that you do!" I said, gesturing at him, before plopping back down in my seat. A bit childishly, I stuck out my tongue. "Well, it isn't working." I added, despite that it was obvious it was.

He seemed to ignore this, and leaned towards me. His posture screamed serious. Kind of like when the mob boss in a movie says 'Let's get down to business' to the client. "Do you know the men who attacked you?"

I almost laughed. The key word there is almost. "What gives you the first clue that I would even have a clue. Too many people want me dead in the first place. Though, if I did have a clue, I'd say it'd have to do with what I'm currently…Investigating, for use of the word." I replied, leaning back in my chair, and crossing one leg over the other and twiddling my thumbs.

"Which would be what exactly?" Ben asked, frowning. I could tell he didn't really like what he was hearing.

"Um, not that I know much, but something to do with Mr. Chu, and his corporation, who was found to be dumping toxic reactive waste in the ocean about just over a year ago. He and SCORPIA are working together, or he's now a part of SCORPIA, to help keep their board member numbers from falling off the charts, or something. I know that it does have something to do with the flock." I gestured to them, and shrugged a little. "I just remembered though. That wasn't the first time I was attacked. Yesterday, when we were leaving the clinic, the sniper in the building…" I added, sitting up and turning to Max and Fang.

Fang nodded, and Max looked thoughtful. "If the two are related incidents…" She said quietly.

"Then we've got a huge problem. Even if they aren't related…" I replied, looking at Angel, Gazzy and Nudge.

"Then we aren't safe here." Max finished. I bit my lip, and turned slowly to Yassen.

"Not that I'm asking for help, but if you were in my shoes, and had to help hide a group of bird kids, a full grown woman and her daughter, plus a SAS unit who will definitely not leave your side, and your new guardian who's a major jerk, where would you go?" I asked. I knew he had countless hidden homes throughout the world. I was just asking which one we could use.

"I have a place," he started, and I grinned. "About an hour and a half from here. Hidden in a forest. Small cabin. But big enough for all of us. Fully stocked, but there's a small town near by, just in case."

"So, more good news then, right Valencia?" I said turning to Max's mom. "Everyone would be safe there, and we could plan our next move." I stood up, and took a little stretch. Valencia nodded her agreement, and Yassen stood as well.

"Then we leave at dark, in about an hour or so." He said.

Author's note: Again, shorter than the other chapters. But I still hoped you all enjoyed it! As well, I'm doing my school exams at the moment, hence the lag in updating. Sorry!