AN: Hey guys, here's another chapter I wrote when I should've been working on homework...
Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are the best! More please!
Disclaimer: Anthony Horowitz owns Alex Rider. My first name is not Anthony. My last name is not Horowitz. Therefore by the Transitive Property of Equality, I do not own Alex Rider. Yeah, math sucks.
Previously:
"When did you last hear from him?" Alex asked, remembering the fateful day before his Scorpia mission when Yassen was shot.
"When did I last hear from him?" Mikhail asked with a chuckle. "I think you should be asking yourself that question. Dimitri and I just talked to him this morning before we got on the plane from Russia."
Alex stared at Mikhail in shock. He opened and closed his mouth several times without creating coherent words. K-unit looked between the teens in confusion before Wolf spoke.
"When you two say 'Yassen,' you don't mean Gregorovitch, do you?" Wolf asked hesitantly.
"We are going to be late for our next class," Dimitri murmured. Mikhail glanced at him.
"Look, we don't want to make a bad first impression," Mikhail said cooly.
"I want some answers, dammit!" Alex snapped. With a sigh Mikhail turned to Dimitri with a raised eyebrow.
"You will get some after our next lesson," Dimitri said quietly. Alex scowled.
"That's not good enough," said Alex. Mikhail laughed.
"That's the best offer you're gonna get, spy boy," he replied before following Dimitri in the direction of the shooting range. Alex let out an irritable huff before following the Russians and a very confused K-unit.
"Hang on," Fox said once the unit had caught up to the Russians. "How did you two know we had shooting next? And for that matter, how do you know where the shooting range is?"
Mikhail smiled. "That's for us to know, and you to not find out," he said with a dark look. Fox and Wolf frowned in confusion but Eagle burst out laughing. Mikhail chuckled and led the way to the range. Once there K-unit was greeted by a grim looking Sergeant and an amused Q-unit.
"Unfortunately, MI6 wants everyone to do weapons training, including the kiddies," the Sergeant explained. "Tell me, have any of you three ever fired a gun?" He asked the teens. Alex shifted uncomfortably and looked to see Dimitri and Mikhail's reaction. Mikhail had glanced questioningly at Dimitri. Alex frowned at this action. Mikhail was the older, certainly more talkative, of the two. Yet, he was looking to his younger brother for answers? Or rather, how to answer. There must be something more to this Russian boy than I'm seeing, Alex decided.
Dimitri muttered something to Mikhail in Russian and Mikhail nodded.
"We have shot before," he told the Sergeant. The Sergeant raised an eyebrow.
"And you had to check with your brother before knowing that, did you?" He asked. Mikhail shrugged and looked away.
"And you, Cub?"
Alex sighed. He could lie, of course, and fake being a poor shot to avoid questions about his Scorpia days, but he wanted to get better, and if Yassen was alive then he knew he'd need all the practice he could get.
"I'm know how to shoot," Alex replied. The Sergeant looked at the boys skeptically, but pulled out three Desert Eagle pistols and handed one to each.
"Disassemble, clean and fix errors, then re assemble in the quickest time you can," the Sergeant said. K and Q unit were looking on curiously as all three boys reached confidently for the guns.
Alex quickly took apart the gun, examining each part as he removed it and remembering his lessons from Scorpia. Before he had even finished disassembling the weapon he heard a gasp from the Sergeant and looked to his left where Dimitri had a completed weapon.
"Show off," Mikhail muttered with a twitch of his lips.
"Keep working you two," the Sergeant barked. Alex sighed and kept going until he finished.
"Nice time, Cub," the Sergeant said and just seconds later Mikhail finished his. The onlooking men, all eager to see how fair a shot the boys were, stared in shock.
"You three can obviously handle the mechanics of the guns, but what really matters is if you can shoot it," the Sergeant said. He handed the boys and the two units 10 rounds of ammunition each. "Go to one of the shooting areas and shoot until you're out of ammo."
Alex reluctantly loaded his gun and stepped up to the fifth course, with Dimitri and Mikhail on either side of him.
Alex closed his eyes and reverted to his Scorpia training. Imagining the gun as an extension of himself. Shooting on instinct and shooting to kill. Alex sighed and opened his eyes as the first target came up. He breathed in relief when he realized that the target was of a bullseye, not a human cut-out.
Alex quickly emptied his first round, all bullets in the innermost 2 circles on target. He reloaded the gun and finished all his rounds.
When he was done he went to wait for the scores where the Sergeant was. The Russians were already there and the units followed shortly after.
"Okay, maggots, I've got all your scores here. Remember, whichever unit has the lowest average score gets to run the obstacle course five times," the Sergeant said. Q-unit grinned confidently and the Sergeant started reading the scores. He read the regular unit members' first, where K-unit, thanks to Snake's poor shooting, was far behind.
"Now for the kiddies," the Sergeant said. "Mikhail, average 8.6 accuracy." The men stared in surprise. Mikhail's score matched the top shooters. "Alex Rider, average 9.1 accuracy." The men could only gasp and Alex turned away awkwardly. "Dimitri," the Sergeant paused, "10.0 accuracy."
At this the men gave outraged cries. One member of Q-unit even accused the boys of cheating. Sergeant barked a none-to-polite reply and dismissed both units.
K-unit walked to the cabin in silence with inauspicious glances at the Russians. As soon as they entered the cabin Wolf slammed the door shut and turned to the kids.
"Explain," he told the boys.
"Explain what?" Mikhail asked with a smile.
"Who you are," Fox said.
"How you knew our schedule," Snake said.
"How you can shoot so well," Eagle said.
"Why three bloody kids are here," Wolf swore.
"How you know Yassen," Alex said.
All of K-unit burst into questions at once leaving an amused Mikhail. Eventually Wolf called for silence and the unit started the questions.
"Where were you two born?"
"Russia, the city is none of your concern," Mikhail said.
"Those your real names?" Wolf asked sullenly. Mikhail met his eyes with a smile.
"Perhaps."
"How'd you know our schedule?"
"Dimitri hacked the system," Mikhail answered and received a glare from Dimitri. "Guess he made it so MI6 hasn't found out yet," Mikhail added.
"Why are you here?"
"We've made some very powerful enemies in Russia," Mikhail said.
"SAS though?"
"Well, it wasn't our original plan, but MI6 has a way with words, if you know what I mean," Mikhail said, exchanging a glance with Dimitri.
"What about your parents?" Fox asked. Mikhail sighed.
"Our mother is dead and we have no father," he said.
"Where did you learn to shoot?"
"Russia."
"How, from who?"
"Classified."
"I'm the medic," Snake said. "Any injuries?"
Mikhail hesitated and glanced at Dimitri. They exchanged words in Russian before Mikhail answered.
"No injuries that you need to be concerned with. "
Wolf and Snake scowled at the boys and Wolf opened his mouth but Alex interrupted him.
"How do two spies like you know Yassen so well?" Alex asked.
"Spy?" Mikhail laughed. "What makes you think we're spies? We're nothing of the sort."
AN: Sorry it's so short, but I've got a busy week and this might be all I can get until Sunday night. Can you guess what Mikhail and Dimitri really do as their "job"? Still looking for your favorite Russian names to use in upcoming chapters. Like or dislike, let me know. I promise Yassen is on his way. Reviews please!