Alex swung his left arm out further, straining against gravity and the tension in his shoulder to reach for the next handhold on the rock face. Below him, the small lake glistened in the murky light that filtered through thick clouds; meaning to say it sat, and looked foreboding.

With little more than a few feet to go, he leapt up, arms outstretched to grab the edge of the cliff and pull himself over, running to the finish line where the rest of K Unit waited with Johnson, a gruff, older looking man who had been at the camp the last time he had been there.

"Not bad, could be better." He muttered, pen scratching the paper harshly.

Fox offered him a bottle of water with a small smile. "Bet you've never done that before."

"Are you fishing?"

"What if I am?"

Alex shook his head and moved away, standing by Snake as they waited for the second trainer to come up from the bottom. "Its guard duty next right? Any idea who we're with?"

Snake shrugged, arms crossed against the cool wind at the top of the rock face. "Suppose we'll find out when we get there. Any problems with your shoulder climbing-"

"It's fine. Plus, by the lack of questions from our dearly beloved sergeant, they don't know."

"That can be easily changed." Snake murmured, before sighing. "Not that it bothers you."

Grinning, he shrugged. "I can talk my way of out a lot of things, Snakey."

Eagle bounced over, followed by a miffed looking Wolf. "Did I just hear a pet name being used?"

"No."

Alex shrugged, ignoring Snakes glare. "Are we going to get moving? I'm starting to get curious after all the things we've been told about our mysterious captives."

"Why are you so excited?" Wolf grumbled. From the top of the hill, the other man emerged, driving one of the jeeps up. He pulled up beside Fox and spoke to him, allowing the other instructor time to get in, before turning and heading back the way he came.

"What is there not to be excited about?"

"It's obvious you've never done guard duty before."

Fox grinned, over hearing "On the other side of it however..."

Shrugging again, he followed the group as they moved towards the path and back towards camp.

"You mean you've been caught?!" Eagle gasped, hand over his heart.

Four blank faces stared at him, before turning away and ignoring him.

"Any way, we've been here for three days, and I'm intrigued."


Outside the cold, concrete building, K Unit met up with one of the units that were due to come off. The four were stretching slowly, and chatting idly, as they waited.

Wolf walked forward to greet Merlin, an older, gangly looking man. The man smiled, tiredly at the group behind him.

"Long time no see, eh Wolf? How've ya been?"

The two moved away slightly, leaving the others. Snake smiled warmly at the group they had originally trained with over a year and a half ago.

"Any thing interesting happen today?"

The man at the front shrugged, eyes weary. "Same as always."

"What are they like?" Fox asked, genuinely curious. Moose was known to be more honest then a lot of the other members of the SAS that ran around the grounds of Brecon Beacons.

"Silent. They're... creepy. For lack of a better word." He shrugged, glancing at his team mates who started to head off. "They just seem to sit there, staring at nothing. But if you turn your back, instantly, it feels like you're being watched. Turn back again, and not a single head is turned in your direction."

Alex spoke sup suddenly, face blank. "Do they ever move when you're not looking?"

Fox stared at him, speaking slowly as though talking to an idiot. "He's not looking, so how would he know."

"They'd be sitting differently when you turn back round." He rolled his eyes, before glancing at the thinking man. "You never hear them, but suddenly, their hands are in a different place, or they've crossed their legs, or they've moved entirely."

Moose nodded hesitantly. "Sometimes."

"Hm."

The man glanced at him for a minute, before shrugging and passing them to catch up to the rest of his unit.

"What are you thinking?" Snake muttered, glancing at the boy.

"Intense, complicated thoughts that you could never hope to comprehend." He replied, absently, though his heart wasn't really in it. Fox and Snake shared a look about his head, but didn't mention it.

The group moved through the doorway, Wolf leading them. Inside, the group they were supposed to swap with were waiting. After exchanging pleasantries, they left, and the group split. Eagle stayed in the entrance with their team leader, whilst the remaining three slipped through the second doorway. Snake lead the way into the dark room, the swinging light bulbs barely making a dent in the darkness that the windowless room created.

Fox watched as their youngest member practically fade into the shadows, remaining silent as he watched. After his eyes became adjusted to the black, he began to pick out members of the other unit that were already sitting in one corner of the room.

Their leader, nodded to them, before turning back to the silent game of cards they'd started. Snake rolled his eyes at the four, moving to lean against the wall and observe the men they were guarding, Fox doing the same not far from him.

There was no movement beyond the bars. From what he could see, the fifteen men were spread across the confined space, some leaning against the walls, some just sitting in the middle, none making any movement besides the rise and fall of their chests.

The two members of K Unit glanced at each other, frowning slightly, before settling themselves in for a long and boring couple of hours.


Snake followed half of S Unit out the corridor and into the light. Blinking a couple of times, he allowed his eyes to readjust, closing the door silently as he moved to his team leader.

"Merlin was right, they are creepy."

Wolf stretched cracking his back as they stood, ready to slip into the room. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged, speaking quietly before opening the door again. "You'll see."

The three moved inside, Eagle immediately sliding over to the two members of the other unit who were still playing cards. Wolf just sighed silently, standing in front of the door with his arms crossed; Fox was in the corner of the room, sitting almost as still as the men locked up, eyes searching for something whilst Snake moved back to where he had been before he left.

Quiet settled over the group, and after a minute, Wolf looked round slowly, trying to find Alex. After a few minutes, he glanced at Snake, who shrugged at the inquisitive look, similarly looking round. The two turned simultaneously to Fox, who barely glanced in their direction, smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Suddenly, Eagle made a strangled sound, and the three snapped their heads round towards him. Then, following the line of his gaze, the three started, Snake twitching in surprise.

Every man in the cell had stood, eyes open and staring at them. None of them moved, just stood, and stared. Fox similarly rose to his feet, moving to stand beside the rest of his unit, as the two that had stayed slid to the door, to let others know what was going on.

The room was silent, even after the door had closed, dust floating through the air visible under the lights.

A space of time later, the four still standing and staring at the men, the group were joined by the sergeant. The man said nothing, but stood with them for a while, as they seemingly waited for something to change.

Nothing did, and soon, the next unit appeared in the doorway, similarly getting a shock when they saw the state of the men in the cell. None of them had moved to glance at the new arrivals, and it was only later that Wolf realized, it wasn't even the four men standing that they had been looking at.


"What changed? Did you speak, did you move suddenly, did you- what did you do?" The sergeant barked once they were all in his office. The four looked between each other.

"We were looking for Cub." Wolf decided finally, staring the man in the eye.

There was a pause. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Eagle grinned and began to wave his arms wildly. "Well you know, SO agents have special powers, and they just... vanish!"

"Cub! What do you..." The mans face darkened further, before he turned his eyes heavenward. "Dear God help me."

Fox glanced round, before settling on the man in front of them. "Ah. Perhaps he's still in there?"

"He better had be." He ground out, before slamming a fist onto the wood of his desk. "I knew he was hiding something! Fox, go get him, drag him here if you have to, but get him the hell out of that building!"

Nodding, the ex-MI6 man walked out, striding hurriedly across the field till he reached the barracks that had been converted to hold the prisoners. Practically throwing open the outer door, he stepped inside to see the boy he was looking for, leaning against the wall thinking, ignoring the gazes of the two men stationed in the room.

"I hate to ask Cub, but what they hell are you still doing here?"

Alex glanced up, biting the inside of his cheek before stepping past him, leading the way to the office. "Doesn't matter."

"Course it matters. You've worked something out, haven't you."

The boy didn't reply, instead leading the way inside. Before the sergeant could speak, Alex interrupted, passing on the message that he predicted. "They've sat back down."

"What-"

There was knock on the door, and with a grumble , he opened the door himself. "What!"

"The men, sir, they've sat back down."

Everyone turned to the boy, who shrugged. "Told you, didn't I?"


(A/N) I know, I know! I'm awful :P Thank you to those people who reviewed to remind me that yes, I haven't quite finished these yet, so I can't just leave them as they are :D Merry Christmas you guys, here's your present from me. With love :P