A/N: Chapter 10 will be the last chapter of this part of the story. But don't worry, I'm already writing a sequel. Enjoy these last two chapters!

Alex was very much unaware of how close his back-up actually was. Jones had made sure he would have the best back-up available. Several SAS soldiers and an MI6 agent were scouting the location they were sure held Alex.

"Wolf, I'm telling you, we have to wait for more back-up. We have no idea what's in there. It's a risk to go in without that intel," Snake said.

"I didn't ask for your permission. From what we managed to catch from those guards, the prisoner is running out of time. We don't have certain confirmation, but we're quite sure that the prisoner is Cub." Wolf sighed.

He looked at Snake, and then at the other soldiers standing close by. As captain of the troop, he was responsible for these 15 men. The unitleaders reported to him. If any of the soldiers died here today, Wolf would take full responsibility for that. But he couldn't lose Alex.

"If we wait, and he's dead, then that's on us," he whispered. "And I can't go home to London with the news that he's dead. She will never forgive me," he added.

He wasn't talking about Jones. Jones could go 'fuck herself', in Wolf's own words. No, he was talking about the woman that he'd begun to love. He'd only been with her for a couple of months, but it felt like a lifetime. And he cared a lot about Alex. He couldn't lose him. He'd never forgive himself.

Snake looked conflicted, but then nodded.

"Fine, we go in," he said.

Wolf nodded in return.

"We'll wait until agent Daniels is back. Then we move in. All units move to position. Report when in position, then maintain radio silence until I give the order," Wolf commanded.

Three units of soldiers moved in position. K-unit stayed where they were. Under Wolf's command, they would enter first. The other units would hit the compound from other angles. Wolf wasn't surprised that the compound was barely protected. There was nothing important in there, and the men who took Alex thought they'd shaken them off.

They had been close to getting Alex before, but the cartel had moved him before the local police had gotten the warrant to search the place. Wolf had been pissed, and worried, especially after they'd encountered blood at the scene. From that moment on, Wolf had asked special permission to treat this as a covert mission on enemy territory. This meant that they wouldn't inform local authorities of what they were up to. They would skirt around local laws and do illegal searches. It might've brought some problems between the British and Mexican governments, but Jones didn't care anymore. She wanted Alex to be able to go home as well.

Daniels was back. He dropped in next to Wolf, who did his best not to look surprised at the sudden appearance of the spy. It was disconcerting, yet he'd gotten used to Alex doing it to him all the time.

"Alright, there's still several guards posted. The suits we saw earlier just got on a helicopter and flew off. We have to move in as quickly as possible," Daniels warned.

Wolf hadn't followed his train of thought.

"I want to move in as well, but… maybe we should wait for more back-up," Wolf said. He'd started doubting himself, questioning whether he was in the right frame of mind to make the right decision. He didn't want to just make the best decision for Alex, but for his troop as well.

But Daniels shook his head.

"The suits left. I don't think they're planning on coming back. There's another helicopter being loaded up with everything else as we speak. I believe El Carcinero is still in there, but if he's going to be on that helicopter, it means that Alex is close to dying. They're going to kill him, Wolf. We need to move in, now," Ben argued.

Wolf simply nodded and gave the command through his radio.

"ALL UNITS, MOVE IN!" he shouted.

K-Unit lead the move. They already heard gunshots on the other sound of the compound. Ben stayed behind. This was a SAS mission right now.

K-Unit moved swiftly, securing all hostile targets quickly and without casualties. They wanted to capture as many hostiles as possible. They needed to interrogate them all.

The unit kept complete silence as they swept the building. They cleared the first floor, before moving towards the basement. Another unit would clear the rest of the building.

They were faced with another guard who looked ready to shoot. Eagle took him down before he had the chance. The guard had been standing in front of a steel door. It was locked from the inside.

"El Carcinero has to be in there, with Alex," Wolf whispered. "Eagle?"

Eagle nodded and moved to the door. He felt around the door for a second, before taking out charges to blow open the door. He put the charges on and the unit moved back around a corner.

The door blew of its hinges. Sand flew up all around them. They heard two gunshots.

"Move, move, move," Wolf urged. He led the way through the smoke. He first encountered a body on the floor.

El Carcinero.

He'd shot himself in the head, probably realizing that he'd otherwise be tortured for information. Wolf looked around for Alex, but the smoke blurred his vision and made it hard to see. Then he noticed the chain on the ceiling. A body was hanging from it.

"Alex!" he yelled out. There was no response.

"Alex?" he asked cautiously. He hesitated. He wasn't sure if he wanted to encounter the teen's dead body. A groan quickly made him surge forward.

"Alex, can you hear me?"

He finally got a good view of the teenager as the smoke cleared and the dust started to settle. Alex's body was bruised, bloodied and broken. Snake pushed past Wolf, quickly radioing for a medical evacuation. They'd had one standing by nearby. It would fly Alex to a hospital in Mexico City, where he could receive primary care. Once he was stable enough to fly, a medical emergency army plane would fly him to the US, Texas. He would be brought to a hospital in San Antonio, which was ready to receive the teen. With the cartel's dominant presence in Mexico City, it was unsafe for Alex to stay there.

Alex was wheezing, having trouble breathing. El Carcinero had just shot him, blood pouring from the wound in his shoulder. Eagle and Bear quickly worked together to get Alex off those chains and on the ground. Wolf could barely stand to look at him. Snake started working on the wounds.

"Wolf! I need help!" he yelled. Wolf kneeled down opposite Snake, on the other side of Alex' head. Snake pushed bandages in his hands, and Wolf helped to cover up the wounds in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

They both looked up at the sound of the helicopter.

Daniels ran into the room, followed by two paramedics carrying a stretcher. The soldiers helped put Alex on the stretcher. They rolled Alex to the helicopter. As they came outside, Wolf could see the other units guarding the prisoners. They were waiting for the backup. More soldiers were on their way, as well as their commander. He could see the soldiers' eyes tracking the stretcher. The bloodied body, the youthful but scarred face. Wolf refused to leave Alex's side. He looked at Snake, who was also reluctant to let the young one go.

"Snake," Wolf's voice broke. Snake looked at him.

Wolf was still captain, he needed to stay and fulfil his duty.

"I have him, Wolf. I won't let him out of my sight, I promise," Snake said. Wolf nodded, before letting the paramedics load Alex in the helicopter. He would find Alex as soon as possible.

Snake climbed on board the helicopter with the paramedics, accompanied by Ben. Ben would act as Alex' official handler, giving both Snake and himself full clearance to any medical decisions the hospital might make.

The chopper took off. Wolf kept staring at it until it was completely out of sight. That's when he turned back to the prisoners they had. His men had secured them and, aside from the butcher, there were no casualties. Wolf wished the butcher has still been alive, so he could've killed him himself. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. It took their backup another hour to reach them. Wolf was able to hand command over to his commander.

"Wolf, take the rest of your unit. You're off-duty now. Go see the kid," the commander told him.

Wolf didn't need any more prompting. He saluted his commander, and together with Eagle and Bear, commandeered a jeep to drive to the hospital where Alex was. On the way there, they got a call from Snake.

"Come straight to the army base, we're moving Cub. The cartel got wind of what's happened, and they've put a bounty on his head. He's not safe here," Snake concluded.

"Is it safe to move him, though?" Wolf asked. Eagle was driving the jeep. He'd taken one look at Wolf's shaking hands and had taken control. Bear sat in the back, giving Eagle instructions. Wolf was too preoccupied.

"Not really, he's still very much in danger. But if he stays, there's a big chance they'll get to him. So we're moving him."

Wolf nodded and told Eagle to floor it. They needed to be on that plane. They made it right on time. Eagle quickly parked the car, tossing the keys to one of the soldiers that had been waiting to escort them to the plane.

"The plane is ready for take-off. Everything you brought with you is already aboard. Emergency visas will be issued to all of you upon arrival at the base in Texas. Good luck, soldiers," the man saluted. The unit saluted back before running to the plane. They greeted the crew on board and strapped in. Alex was lying in a bed at the back, strapped in for the flight. It was risky to have him fly, but they had no other options.

The flight went okay, up until the point where they started to land. The difference in pressure sparked something in Alex, and the kid woke up. And then he died.

He gasped for breath before passing out, and the heart monitor let out a monotonous beep.

"Shit!" Snake cursed. He'd just strapped himself in. He quickly unbuckled himself and jumped on the bed. A nurse and doctor who were flying with them moved as well. Snake started performing CPR while the nurse prepped a defibrillator.

Wolf held on tight as he saw Snake pushing down on Alex' chest.

"Snake, clear!" the doctor said. Snake jumped off the bed and raised his arms. The doctor applied the defibrillator to Alex. His chest rose up.

The plane was still on its way down. The crew was unbuckled as well, but they urged everyone besides the medical team to stay seated.

"Again!" the doctor told the nurse. She charged the defibrillator again as Snake continued CPR. "Clear!" the doctor yelled. Wolf held his breath as Alex's body surged up, guided by the electricity that was shooting through him.

"Please let him live," Wolf prayed. "That's all I need. Just let him come back to us."

He watched the heart monitor, waiting for it to spike.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

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