HEY THERE. Thank you so much for reading all the way till here.
I hope this chapter leaves you in a little more suspense about Sarah's past(: It's not really a ZOMG HOT ALEX chapter. But I've written the next one already and I'm itching to put it up. I have to say. The next chapter is my favourite of the lot so far. Await it(;
Anyway THANK YOU REVIEWERS. You guys sincerely make me smile.ReillyScarecrowRocks and HollyBlue2, thanks for pointing out the mistakes. Thank you Aestiva for the request. And Alex Meikle. You have no idea how much that meant to me. Saying this is "by far one of the best alex rider stories in a while".
I've rambled enough. Now, please, enjoy~
"You have thirteen seconds to assemble your gun, five to aim and shoot your target, another thirteen to dismantle your gun then you start the cycle again. I want a hundred cycles; time is inclusive of the extra seconds you need to get ready your new magazines. Every shot outside the target adds ten seconds to your score. If your gun jams, there will be no extra time given for correction. No questions?" The surprisingly non-buff- lanky instructor for this particular course spoke faster than the impressive rate at which he could aim and fire, leaving no time for any of them to raise any doubts or queries should have had any. "No? Good. Start."
Alex didn't think. He touched the cold, hard metal that somehow whispered of evil and let himself carry out the sequence that had been drilled into him since a little over half an hour ago.
Before the course, he had returned to the group and explained briefly what the plans concerning them were. There had been numerous shouts of joy and several tears and sobs of relief, not all coming from the girls. He'd left Tom's side before he could fully comprehend the news and went over to Sarah.
"We're both staying here."
"I know."
He frowned slightly, looking at her, not understanding. "Are you angry?"
"No, I don't see why I should be."
"They decided for you. At least I made my choice. I said I would stay, I would work for them."
"You said you made your choice, but we both know you felt coerced into it. Truthfully, did you have any other choices?"
No. He almost said it. But then it occurred to him. There was always a choice. He could have been at some horrid boarding school at that moment, worrying about teachers and fitting in with his classmates already at whatever facility Jones was talking about. They wouldn't have been completely safe. But then again, they were going there soon anyway.
She saw him hesitate. "You see, I'm different. I never had a choice."
BANG.
Alex just finished assembling his gun, when the sound of the first shot pierced the air. He didn't need to look over to know who it was.
Despite her obvious lack of physical abilities, Sarah had far exceeded his and the unit they were training with's expectations when it came to her skills with this particular type of ammunition. She correctly identified every make and model of the different guns that the instructor had shown to them and had shown an outstanding aptitude in shooting. When the lesson first began, they were each given a semiautomatic with a full magazine and placed in front of a row of targets, twelve in total.
"You see those targets, gents?" It didn't matter to the instructor that there was a teenage girl in his class. He'd always addressed the men as gents and one girl wouldn't change his habit. "There are twelve shots in your mag. In the fastest time possible, with your most accurate aim, take a shot at each target. Just a little test to see how much each of you suck."
The leader of one unit had stepped up to the challenge. He had a rather boyish face and a mischievous grin, which he flashed before beginning.
"17.7 seconds."
His team mate did marginally better at 17.2, much to his obvious chagrin. However the timings got worse after that, ending off with a secretly mortified Alex who managed it in 18.9. He knew he could have bested them easily had he been allowed just a little warm up time. He'd been one of the better shooters despite his lack of practice and experience during his time at Scorpia. He assured himself that he'd beat every one of their timings by the end of the day, comforting himself slightly when the instructor scoffed and wrote down what he had managed.
"Ok girl. You're up."
The units present snickered, not bothering to hide their amusement.
To Alex's surprise, he caught a knowing glance between the instructor and her, before she, to his bigger surprise, put on a- there was no other word for it- show.
She fired her first shot, direct bull's-eye, and then performed some type of ballet spin, Alex couldn't recall the name, to the side that had her whipping her head around to zoom in and fire her next shot. Another bull's-eye. After another three of her spin and shoot routine, she simply dropped to the ground in a kneel and fired eight successive shots, with no hesitation nor pause in between them.
"10.8 seconds. You're rusty."
"Sorry, been staying off the radar for a while, no practicing and all."
Questions burned on Alex's and the men's tongues. But their pride burned stronger and they swallowed their curiosity to continue with the lesson, which the instructor hadn't waited for their full attention before he'd already begun.
BANG.
Alex fired, his shot was precariously close to the edge of the black circle. He grimaced, but not pausing for a moment and immediately began dismantling the gun. Done, he began assembling it again.
BANG.
Much closer to the middle. He allowed himself a smile. It was coming back to him, the rhythm and pattern of it. He was slightly taken aback that he found he had missed the feel of the gun in his hands. Blowing a strand of hair away from his face, he shot another time. Bull's-eye. Time to see how much Scorpia had taught him.
BANG.
He dismantled the gun for the last time and held up his hands, signifying he'd completed the task.
Adrenaline pumped through his veins and he could almost hear his heart beating at twice its normal rate. He looked around and spotted Sarah, who had moved to a slightly further away and was sparring with an imaginary opponent. She watched her drop on all fours then rolled twice, and pretend to shoot while mid roll each time.
He didn't know whether to be absolutely impressed or clutch his sides laughing. What did she think this was? Some Mission Impossible movie where a theme song would be played to spice up the action?
There was a sudden silence and he realized everyone had completed their hundred shots.
"Alright, gather here gents."
Despite his valiant attempts to sound like a stereotypical uptight, buff, macho instructor, Alex couldn't help but find him rather likeable.
"Anyone want to tell me how Fawn here beat all your asses at 35 minutes on the dot? And the fact that her aim is so bloody good, all I see on the card is a big fat hole through the centre where every single one of her bullets passed through?
"Cub came up third at 41.40, which means that everyone of you from all your damned units who ended up after him is a disgrace to this entire camp. Viper, not bad at 39.58." He acknowledged with a nod. "And you," and gestured with disgust to the man beside Viper. "51.10. Within the limit, but cutting it a hell close don't you think? Thankfully not one of you shot outside your target. Or everyone of you would be signed up for the wonders of kitchen duty tonight."
Alex saw Sarah flinch slightly at the reminder of the day's events.
"Alright, you're all dismissed. Surprisingly, you're on time for dinner. Get going gents."
There was a whoop in response to his second statement and the different units left almost as fast as bullets were being shot just moments ago.
Alex nodded at him, the way he would teachers back home. He saw Sarah do the same, with a small smile. He almost smiled back at her, before he remembered his supposed bad-ass instructor image, and managed to turn his smile into an awkward scowl before he turned away.
Alex couldn't suppress a small chuckle this time. Maybe not all SAS men were assholes.
Someone behind him cleared his or her throat extremely audibly, reminding Alex of his classmates' presences.
"Oh sir, can they go now."
"Sure,sure." He called, already halfway out the shooting area.
Alex rushed forward, helping Tom –who was groaning- up from where he had been sitting for the past 2 hours.
"Dude, you guys seriously sat there not moving at all?"
"Sir said to," his friend replied, wincing, allowing blood to flow through his limbs properly once again. "I still don't know how all of us squeezed into that shittingly small piece of land, but we did it."
"At least you all didn't have to go through that," Alex said, gesturing over his shoulder. He knew everyone was listening to their conversation, but he was beyond caring anymore. He'd squeeze every moment he had with Tom now, along with Jesse and Chris.
"Are you kidding me?" His friend stared. "That was easily one of the coolest thing I've ever seen. It was like FBI, CIA shit right there."
"We're English," but Alex smiled. "Its MI6."
"Urgh. Don't even say that word. How come we don't get to do cool stuff like this? They torture us for a couple hours then send us off to some weird secret location and we don't even get to shoot a gun."
"Yea!"
Everyone looked towards Aaron and he flushed, embarrassed not only at his outcry, but also at the sheer blatancy that he'd been eavesdropping on their conversation.
Jesse walked over and smacked Alex on the head, before forcefully hooking and arm around his shoulder. "Lucky bloody Bond aren't you." But he laughed.
Alex smiled again. He would miss this.
"Excuse me bloody Bond." The whole group of them turned towards Sarah, who was already at the far end of the shooting area. "If you're done catching up," she laughed, "the mess hall is already open and you better make your way there before the other units." Turning, she walked away, presumably towards the mess hall.
"Where the hell did she come from," Chris asked, recalling the show she'd put on for them.
Alex wished he could answer.
Dinner passed in the way time passes when you desperately want to hold on to every second of it. Alex knew that very soon he would have no one to laugh with or talk to without wondering if they have any ulterior motive to use him. In three days, he would have no choice but to let go of the last few people who kept him grounded to the normality of life. It was something he understood and accepted, yet he had that perplexing desire of it to either come immediately or never at all.
"Hello. Earth to Alex."
He was surprised to find his best friend waving a spoon in front of his face. "Sorry, I was out of it for a while."
"Thinking about how you'll miss us eh." Jesse nudged him, chuckling.
"Actually, yes." He said with a shrug, surprising himself with his sudden confession.
Tom patted his shoulder, and in one of his rare, brief moments of wisdom, said softly. "I know we'll probably never see you again, unless you appear on the tele shooting a goon or something. But we got three days, let's not waste time worrying about something that hasn't happened yet."
An awkward silence ensued, the way it always did after Tom said something unusually sensible. Chris broke it with a snicker. "You're still an annoying git though."
Their joy was short lived when the Sergeant appeared ten minutes later telling them they had twenty minutes before they were shut in their bunks and lights out. There was a violent scramble as everyone rushed to clear their trays and grab a much needed shower. His friends had left him their trays to clear, stating that with his previous training, he would probably be able to bathe twice as fast as them, plus no one would fight him for a shower.
Alex was quietly surprised again. Not at his classmates, but at the Sergeant's sudden generosity towards them. He had never been given twenty minutes for anything. Fifteen was already a blessing in the past. He must already be thinking of the day they were deported off. Or perhaps Blunt had said something to him. The memory of his recent conversation with Blunt had him irked again. Which reminded him; he glanced around, where was Sarah? She'd left first but he hadn't spotted her through the whole of dinner.
"Cub."
He turned towards the Sergeant who stood towering above him. He stood up and stepped away from his seat.
"Sir."
"Tomorrow you will begin your day with a 7 kilometer run at 0645 hours. Breakfast ends at 0800. Do the math. Seeing as your dear partner is completely inapt in terms of physical ability, both of you will be doing physical training with me after breakfast. Both of you will probably throw up. Do not do so on me. It will last until 1100 hours. Both of you will then attend a lecture at block C. I don't care what time you end, lunch here ends at 1415 hours. You then have an hour at the shooting area, which you are strongly advised to make use of. At 1530, I will personally drive you through the assault course until I find your timings adequate. Your classmates will follow you wherever you go and they will continue to sit silently in a corner until the three days are up. If I have to waste men babysitting them, let me assure you, you will pay. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir."
"Once the three days are over, you will continue beginning you training at 0645. However after 1700, your… espionage training will begin. Someone else will be IC then."
Alex nodded. It would be worse after they left, he had expected that.
The sergeant seemed to hesitate, unsure of himself, then continued in a much more… human tone. "Both of you need to stick together, even if you don't want to. You've both been through a hell lot. Still, I won't go easy on either of you. Suck it up and survive." He nodded, content that he had said what needed to be said, and walked away, leaving Alex staring after him.
…~~~…~~~…
Sarah hauled the last tray of leftover meatloaf- at least she thought it was meatloaf- through the double doors that joined the mess hall to the kitchen.
"Okay, it's the last one guys."
"You go ahead and up your fill first darling," Joe, the person who ran the kitchens said. "we'll start on the dishes first."
"Kay," she knew it was absolutely ridiculous, but she felt her throat swell with emotion when he called her darling in that comforting, homey voice with that subtle southern twang to it. It had been too long since anyone had shown even an ounce of real affection for her. But she wouldn't cry, not one tear, ever.
Sitting on a grimy looking stool that look like it'd been last washed around the time she was born; she balanced the lukewarm tray of meat loaf on her lap and began digging in with a spoon. She watched the kitchen staff scrub the dishes and trays in a manner that was far from thorough and thought back to the first time she's stepped foot into this kitchen.
-Flashback-
"Well, lookie here. Who the little girl belong to?"
The chaos around the sinks stopped completely as everyone turned to stare at her. At barely 13, she was still closer to the girl she was than the woman she would become.
She stared up at the men that all wore the same uniform that had once been white a long, long time ago.
"It's my first day here," she said in a small voice, unsure of what to make of them. "I fell off the course too many times, so the Sergeant said I had to do kitchen duty today."
"Who you kidding darling? You just a bitty girl there, no way they make you do stuff like that."
"I have to." Was all she said.
"Well now." But he seemed lost for words.
"I'm Fawn, that's my name here."
"Well, well. Darling here got a code name and all. My name's Joe, little lady." He saw her flick her gaze to the leftovers from dinner that night, piled into a heap to be thrown away. "You hungry dear?"
She hesitated. "I didn't want to eat with my unit." She left it at that, not saying that when they weren't treating her like a baby, they were impossibly hostile to her.
Understanding lit his eyes, he wiped his hands on his apron-probably making it dirtier by doing so- and stretched out his hand. "Well then, why don't you come have something to eat."
She studied him for a moment, along with the men standing behind him. They didn't seem to hate her, yet. She reached out and placed her palm in his. "I have to do the dishes though."
"We'll worry about that later then."
-End flashback-
"Done."
Joe turned around, "Oh hell yea you finished everything." He had a hearty laugh that she found particularly endearing. "I knew our cooking was getting better. Right eh guys." This was met by several hoots.
"Thanks for letting me camp here during dinner times Joe. And for acting like a mean ass when other guys come around so they don't know this is my safe place here."
"Excuse me?" One of the men at the sinks yelled, "And what are we if not other guys?"
"Well now," she lathered on the southern brogue, "aren't y'all just lovely ladies there."
"And that's why I let you camp here," Joe replied, when the kitchen erupted in cheers and guffaws. "But jokes aside, that day you came here looking like a lost child with that horribly sad, yet so,so serious look in your eyes, I knew I'd have to look after you somehow eh." He stated somewhat awkwardly, patting her arm. "Anyway, get to the dishes missy, no slacking off in my kitchen."
SO THERE IT IS. YOU. Yes, you who's reading. I would love to hear your opinion on the story. Tell me what you like/dislike please. I'll work on it(:
