A.N.: Long time no see. Gonna keep this short since I have nothing more to say...

Disclaimer: No.

There was a long thick silence then Eagle broke it, "Hey Coyote, great abs you have there. What's that scar-looking thing on your chest?"

Alex stared, then looked down. He swore loudly.

"Coyote…" Snake hesitated, "Is that a bullet wound?"

Alex feigned surprise, "Oh, that? I had a biking accident when I was young. Crashed into the fence and one of the metal wires kind of pierced me."

Eagle whistled, "That look nasty."

"Yeah, it was."

Fox threw him a doubtful look though he did not push him. Apparently, MI6 nor the Sergeant had informed K-Unit of his medical information. He sighed. Just great.

"How old were you when you had that accident?" Snake asked, peering closer at the scar.

Alex scooted back, trying to act as casually as possible, "Five? Six?"

"Was the wire something thick and round?" Snake narrowed his eyes.

"Uh, no." Alex said, getting uncomfortable, "It was like this…thin little wire…Yeah."

"Coyote, that look suspiciously like a bullet wound." Snake insisted, his eyes had a dangerous look that said 'don't lie to me'.

"It was a biking accident." Alex sighed, getting extremely uncomfortable.

He would have been glad if Snake was this nice and 'caring' to him three years back when he had first come to Brecon Beacon. A lot of things can change just because of your age and look.

"Coy-" Snake began

Fate must have been on his side for the Sergeant called at that exact moment, "Coyote, come here for a moment, will you?"

"Yes, sir," Alex said, clambering onto his feet and took his coat with him. All too glad to be away from the circle, from the rest of the K-Unit.

"We have the swimming test going on next," The sergeant said as he placed a hand on Alex's shoulder and steered him a little further away, "And I am aware of your…little problem."

Nailed right on the point he did not want to discuss and had just escaped from. Alex winced.

"And it would only attract more attention to you if you act…indifferent from the rest." The Sergeant said, ignoring the warning looks that Alex shot him his way, "So I decided-"

"Oh please do tell," Alex said sarcastically, "I just can't wait to hear it. It must be so fascinating that-"

"Coyote!" The Sergeant shut him up with a commanding tone then he sighed, "You will be down at the shooting range with the rest of the units."

Great. Alex wanted to sigh out loud. Something else he didn't want to do. And the sergeant just happened to nail down both of them. What a wonderful person the sergeant was.

"And you sound like you have an objection." The Sergeant eyed him.

"Of course not, sir." He smiled innocently, "I completely agree with it and I must thank you for your heartwarming protective talk."

"Why don't you run along to your unit and deliver them the news?" The Sergeant sighed then said, turning toward the trail and at the incoming recruits, "I have some…business to attend to."

With that, the Sergeant turned to the incoming recruits and opened his mouth. Alex quickly darted back to K-Unit before the sergeant's shout could rupture his eardrums.

"What did he want with you?" Snake asked, none too pleased with the sudden change of topic.

"Change of schedule," He said grimly, "The units won't be doing the swimming test tomorrow. He said we will be down at the shooting range."

Fox shot him a sympathetic look which none of the rest of K-Unit understood.

"You don't look very happy," Snake observed, "Why?"

Alex stared at Snake for a moment before settling with the answer of, "I don't like guns."

Fox snorted and Alex threw him a none-grateful glare, "I honestly don't like guns, Fox."

"Yeah right." Fox just snorted again, getting up and settling down next to Alex, "What about all the times you were out there?"

"It is a fight for my life, Fox." Alex said exasperatedly, "It is not like I have a choice. Besides, it is the safest with a gun. I don't really feel safe with just a few gadgets on the brink of a suicidal mission."

There was a silence as the rest of K-Unit stared at him. Then Alex spoke, "Did I just said that out loud?"

"Yes, you did." Snake said evenly, "And care to elaborate?"

"No. No. I am afraid not." Alex shook his head good naturally.

Wolf growled, "As your unit leader, I command you to tell me what you meant by that."

"'that'?" Alex feigned innocent, "When someone said 'No, I am afraid not', it usually means that-"

Wolf half-raised out of his seat, "Don't you dare to disobey a command from your unit leader. I can tell the Sergeant about your disobedience and get you binned so fast that you won't even have time to cry for your mommy."

Alex wiped the expression of an innocent boy from his face and stared at Wolf coldly, "And I have to remind you, that I am not officially part of your unit. Therefore, I do not answer to any of your commands if I wish to."

Oh damn. He did not just blurt that out.

"What do you mean by 'you are not officially part of my unit'?" Wolf's tone had a dangerous edge to it, "Explain."

Alex raised an eyebrow, "Oh my, Wolf! I am shocked by how much I matter to you!"

Eagle and Snake howled with laughter, drawing stares from the other units though the gazes were quickly turned away, seeing Wolf's thunderous expressions, "I ask a question and you better answer it."

"I answered." Alex answered truthfully, "It is just that you weren't pleased with it. Not my fault."

"Actually, I am quite curious as well." Snake asked, getting over the laughter, "What do you mean by that?"

Alex groaned, "Not you too."

"Come on, tell us!" Eagle said, "Pu-lease?"

"No." Alex said, cutting Eagle's pleading, "And puppy eyes don't work on me, Eagle."

"Come on, Coyote." Eagle whined, "Tell us."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

Eagle batted his eyelashes, "Pretty please?"

"No." Alex said then turned to Fox, "Why don't you ask him about it?"

"You knew?" Snake asked, turning toward Fox, "What did Coyote mean?"

Fox shot him a glare, "I do not know what he meant."

"Are you sure?" Alex winked, "And about your line of—"

Fox clamped a hand over Alex's mouth to avoid the statements that will probably condemn him to a whole hour of Q&A with the rest of K-Unit. Something he strongly wished to avoid.

"Be quiet, Coyote." Fox glared. Alex just grinned as Fox released his hand.

Wolf was glaring at them when they finally turned their attention to the rest of the unit, "Elaborate."

"What a long word coming from you, Wolf." Alex commented, "Usually it is just 'Shut up', 'Get out', 'I hate you', 'You are a brat'…" Alex listed off the words with his fingers, "Oh, guess what. They are all consist of words that are one syllable long. 'E-lab-o-rate', wow, four syllables. I am shocked."

Eagle burst out laughing once again, "He got you there, Wolfal."

"Wolfal?" Wolf rounded on Eagle, "Say that again and I will bash your head against the tree."

"Calm down, Wolf." Eagle squeezed out between laughter, "And doesn't 'Wolfal' sound like 'Waffle'? Waffles are really good so you should be proud of the nickname."

"Ea—" Wolf growled.

"Gather around, you lazy midgets!" The Sergeant bellowed at that exact moment. Absently, Alex wondered if the Sergeant has magic, to be able to drop in at the exact moment to help out soldiers 'in need'. He smiled inwardly, "We don't have all day!"

Once all the soldiers gathered, the Sergeant announced, "Ten more had dropped out. I am extremely disappointed in this year's standard. You are the remaining twenty and I expect you to do better than that. Though I expect no more than ten to get past this year. But of course, having those units here are making this easier. Therefore, the units will not be joining the rest of your trainings." The Sergeant smiled ever so slyly, "And I will enjoy watching the rest of your Selection Trials."

There were slight mutters, "No talking!"

It ceased almost immediately, "Your next trial is swimming. And I don't care what the weather is like, how cold the water is, or how beautiful you think you look. You will get in there and swim. If you don't, you are out immediately."

"Units, get back down to the shooting range. Recruits, follow me." The Sergeant barked.

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers yelled in unison.

It took them about ten minutes to get down to the range. It wasn't very far but because of Eagle's constant bickering with Wolf and Snake, it slowed them down drastically.

"So, shooting." Fox nudged Alex as they arrived near the shooting range.

"Yes, shooting," Alex replied in monotone but perhaps a little grimly.

"What are you going to do?" Fox asked in a low tone, out of the hearing range of the rest of the unit.

"I am going to aim around the edge of the target." Alex shrugged, "My accuracy is good enough."

"But imagine Coyote," Fox said dramatically, "People 'oohing' at your fascinating skill! It will be so amazing!"

"For you," Alex shot back, "Not me. I don't want any attention, Fox."

Fox grew serious at that, "You are here for protection, right? Then shouldn't you make yourself known so they can protect you better?"

Alex shrugged, "I don't think 6 actually told them of my true purpose here. Or else Wolf would probably have done something and the soldier will be looking at me in awe and kissing my boots."

Fox grinned, "In your dreams, Coyote."

"Anyways, I would rather not make myself known if 6 hadn't announced it. Lie low so I don't get shot is what I prefer."

Fox glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes, "But then they will know your presence and decreasing the chance of you getting forgotten in a raid."

Alex rolled his eyes, "SAS soldiers are too loud. And personally, I would rather not stay in a cell with thirty or so loud and large SAS soldiers when we are captured."

"Oh be optimistic, Coyote." Fox bumped him, "Stop being so depressing all the time."

Alex just sighed.

"Alright, the Sergeant informed me that the whole camp will be doing an accuracy test on guns. It is an assessment so just try your best but don't kill yourself doing it. There are four targets so each unit gets only one. No fighting, this is not a playground!" The instructor yelled as they arrived, "Now get going!"

The units scrambled up and lined up behind the target as the instructor started shouting again, "There are six different type of guns on the table beside you. You will only be assessed with one of them of your choice. They are loaded with real bullets as always so if you shoot yourself, well, say hello to your great grandmother for me. I will be around assessing you. Rotate every ten shots. Get going!"

There were three handguns, one equipped with a silencer and the two other did not, and three long range rifles looking guns, probably for sniping purposes. His chest twigged slightly at that. He did not want to try the rifles ones since he wasn't exactly familiar with all guns, just a few handguns.

Alex picked up one of the handguns and inspected it. He vaguely remembered it as a Browning HP. A very commonly used handgun in SAS. He shrugged slightly. When he was running for his life during a mission, he had never stopped to check what type of gun he was holding. But in Scorpia, he had learned much more than he needed to. And he wanted to forget that part of his life.

"Browning HP, huh." Fox came over, holding the handgun that was equipped with a silencer, "Thought you will go for a sniper rifle."

Alex grimaced at that, "No, I would rather not."

"'I would rather not' is becoming your favorite phrase, Coyote." Fox said as the instructor yelled for them to dissemble the gun and reassemble it, "So, you know how to disassemble and assemble a gun?"

"Yeah," Alex said. Scorpia taught me.

"Race you." Fox challenged.

"I would rather not." Alex said, "No attention, remember?"

Fox rolled his eyes, "Alright, take your sweet time."

And Alex did just that. Taking apart the gun in slow motion and placing them gingerly on the ground as if they could explode anytime. And he was still doing it long after the rest of K-Unit finished.

"Hurry it up, Coyote!" Wolf called out.

"I am!" Alex said, deliberating slowing down the process, "I am trying."

Eagle just laughed and Fox groaned, "Come on, hurry it up, Coyote. You are getting too much attention if you are that slow."

Alex paused, "You are right."

The gun was then assembled back, so much faster than what the rest of the unit had. There was a stunned silence from K-unit, luckily not attracting any other units as Alex finished. Eagle whistled.

"You should-"

"So you can do it fast!" Wolf nearly yelled, "And you were just wasting my fucking time!"

Alex smiled slightly, "Oops, I got caught."

"K-Unit! Girls-meeting time is over! Start shooting!" The instructor yelled as he walked closer, "You! The new one! Yes you, the shortest one!"

Alex frowned at that name, "I am Coyote, sir."

"Whatever your name is," The instructor barked, "You go first!"

Alex sighed, "Yes, sir."

K-unit cleared a path for him. Alex stood in front of the target and raised his gun. Cocking his head to one side, he decided how he should shoot. Maybe a bull's eye to impress them? Maybe not.

"Shoot already!" The instructor shouted.

Alex complied. One shot five centimeters to the left of that shiny red dot. Another one six centimeters to the right. Two on the top and bottom of the target. Five around the edge of the target, and one right next to the bull's eye just for the show.

"…I hope you will strive to improve your shooting." The instructor remarked as the target was wheeled in, "A few of them were close but you will definitely be killed before you manage to hit your target."

"Okay." Alex just smiled, "Yeah. I know. Improvements. Got it."

The instructor walked away, assessing the next person of the unit next to them.

"That was great, Coyote." Fox told him cheerfully, winking slightly, "Great aiming."

"Thanks, Fox." Alex rolled his eyes.

"Coyote…" Eagle butted in, glancing at him.

"What?"

"Are you sure you can't shoot?" Eagle asked.

"Of course I can shoot!" Alex rolled his eyes, "Anyone can shoot a gun. Though accuracy is a problem, though."

"I saw you shifting your gun when you aim between shots. It looked like you are actually aiming for the spot."

Alex shrugged, "I was adjusting my aims."

Eagle pointed toward the shots around the target, "And what are these? They are exactly on the outer rim, no more, no less. So, how did you do it?"

Alex grimaced. Eagle was supposed to be the carefree and joking member, not someone with keen eyes. Well, taken in the fact that he was the sniper of the team, having keen eyes is part of the job.

"Well…" He hesitated.

Fox came to his rescue, "Well, Coyote here said he doesn't want too much attention."

Not much of a rescue. Alex thought, glaring at Fox.

"Attention?" Snake raised an eyebrow, "So you are saying that you can shoot?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Alex said casually, "Probably, or probably not. Who knows?"

Fox sighed slightly as Wolf spoke up, "Answer Snake's-"

"Beeeeeeep." Eagle provided helpfully.

"—question!" Wolf finished.

"No one said I have to answer his question." Alex shrugged, "Besides, what's good knowing how bad I can shoot?"

"How bad." Fox snorted quietly, "Yeah right."

"Oh shut it," Alex rolled his eyes, being the only one to hear clearly as to what Fox had commented.

"How well can you shoot?" Eagle asked.

"I don't think I can ever hit the bull's eye unless it is right next to me." Alex shrugged, "Yeah, that's about it."

"You know, if your accuracy is that low, you shouldn't even manage to hit the target at all. And drawing circles around the target is not proving your innocent in anyways." Snake observed.

Alex just shrugged. If possible, Wolf turned even more furious at that, "What are you hiding, Coyote? You have been nothing but suspicious since coming here!"

"You are just too dumb to recognize me," Alex muttered though none of them caught it.

He couldn't really blame them. After all, it had been three long years since they have last met. He didn't think they will remember him anyways. They will remember the name 'Cub' of course, and maybe a little bit of his old look. He had changed over the past three years. Drastically, he would say. No way could they recognize him without any big ultra-mega hints. Alex smiled slightly at that.

"Next person!" The instructor had finished his round and came back to K-Unit, "Stop cuddling around like you are lovesick and get shooting!"

They immediately jumped apart, much to Alex's amusement. Eagle took his turn next.

thanks for all the follows! ^ ^