DISCLAIMER: If I owned Alex Rider I would be writing this to publish as a new book...sooo no I don't own him or the elements you recognise.
A/N: Sooo. I have a job now. Yay for my bank account but for updates? They're going to be even slower. But hey, Summer break is in about 2 and a half months.
Standing in the rain was no fun. He and the other 99 hopeful recruits had collectively fucked up. Some bright idiots had set a quarter of the tents on fire. Their punishment was to be decided. Somehow Alex believed that this was part of it, the sergeants could think of punishments off the top of their heads from his experience. Finally the instructors appeared, slowly walking over to the group. The man beside Alex sneezed quietly. Alex recognised him. They had often been put in groups together throughout the three days they had been taking part in grueling exercises. Perhaps the reason why he and the man seemed to have a mutual respect for one another was their quiet natures. While the other men had a rowdy attitude outside of exercises the two would often be preparing for the next day.
The man's name was Jacob Whitely. One of the few times they had spoken they had introduced themselves. They both shared the same attitude towards making friends. That was as far as the two had reached conversation wise. "Alright, you lousy excuse for soldiers. Since a few of you struggle to do simple tasks we're giving you a break from the camp." The Segregant announced. It was reached with a few smiles from the men. Something within Alex told him that they weren't going to have a nice break. Perhaps it was the way the instructors had an evil smile etched on their faces or the few units (that had passed this phase of training before they had arrived) were carrying large packs and setting them down to the side of the instructors that gave it away. "You're going on a hike."
Alex shifted his feet subtly, he was beginning to lose feeling in them. He kept his movements slow and slight as to not give it away to the instructors. "The catch is, you have 12 hours to navigate from here to the checkpoint that is marked on your map. Then you will have another 12 hours to make your way back here. I will sort you into temporary units. The other men you see behind me-" Alex's eyes flickered to the men that had gathered while his attention was drilled onto the Sergeant. He almost groaned. He could recognise a few of the units from Brecon Beacons. That included K Unit. He could only cling onto his appearance changing drastically since he was 14. He had changed a lot since then, at the worst case scenario they would assume he was distantly related to Cub or just someone who looked like an older version of him. "-are veteran units. They were originally just stopping in as a place to stay since they crash landed nearby. After hearing that we were detailing a punishment for you, they agreed to track you down."
It was unfair to the mildly trained men. Against these units with years of experience they may as well have been civilians. "If you are caught you will be taken to a designated location where you will participate in your first RTI session." Alex was not surprised. In SAS they were sadistic assholes. However, he was grateful that this wasn't Scorpia. The organisation would shoot them all dead for the fire.
Alex looked around at his temporary unit as they walked through a forest. Their feet were heavy and it was obvious they were tired. After walking for an hour they had all began to gather blisters and start to feel tired. "Do we have time to sleep for a while?" The blonde, who had grunted out his last name (Smith), asked, his grey eyes casting around at the three men. Smith wasn't the most muscular of the men. Depsite that he had proved there was more to meet the eye after swinging a harsh left hook at the brunette who resembled The Incredible Hulk. The Brunette had asked them all to call him Kevin.
"We might oversleep." The African-American man, who liked to be known as Razor, commented. He had quite a serious outlook at things, in the 18 hours Alex had known the man personally he had learnt that the man was a worrying. He constantly muttered to himself about what could possibly go wrong. It was an act that constantly set Alex on edge. Despite the doubts from the man they had reached the checkpoint an hour early. Alex glanced at the map. They didn't have much further to go to get back to camp.
"Why don't we do a system. Someone stays up, looking for a trace of the Units tracking us and checking the time. The others take a nap for 20 minutes, we move on and repeat every 2 hours." Alex found himself suggesting. They all turned to look at him, the only noise they had heard from him was the reluctant release of his surname. Sometimes they forgot he was there. A snapped twig or sound of a boot connecting with the ground was their only sound that came from the silent man.
"That's a good idea." Kevin said finally. "Who's taking first shift?"
"I will." Alex spoke up, looking around. "There's a spot over there. There's barely any leaves or branches." He pointed to the section and led the way over, settling down with his back against the tree. He knew that his senses were rusty. Being a personal fitness instructor didn't involve much risk, nor dodging any bullets. He no longer had the irrational fear that he was going to be attacked anymore. In many ways he had gratitude for that. However, exactly 10 minutes into his unit's nap he couldn't help but wish he did have that fear. Through the trees 4 SAS men he knew materialised through the edges. Wolf, Fox, Snake and Eagle. It was just his luck that his old unit (who he often referred to as Squad Satan) would find him. Running from them would be hopeless. In comparison to them he was unfit. They were trained to do things such as chase people. Alex may not have had the same skills he had previously (from a lack of use) but he was not stupid.
"GET UP!" Wolf yelled. Startled, the three sleeping men jerked up, wide awake, wearily taking in the 4 SAS soldiers.
"I thought you were look out." Razor said, his voice containing a sleepy tone.
"They're like ninjas." Alex announced. "I'd like to see you do any better."
"Why don't we just run for it?" Smith asked, frowning.
"Because you just said it outloud so they can hear, genius. They're going to be on their guard." Kevin snorted.
"Besides, they're fully trained SAS men. They could catch us before we moved a centimetre."
