A/N: I'm sorry this is late. My grandfather went into hospital on Monday afternoon and they didn't know what was wrong with him until yesterday so I'm sure you'll forgive the fact that I wasn't really in the mood to update. Well, it's pneumonia but he seems to be getting better, or he did when I went to see him yesterday.
Sorry, you probably really don't care. On to the story.
WARNINGS: Minor violence, some semi-sexual scenes, language.
DISCLAIMER: If I was Anthony Horowitz, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction, would I?
***
Ben struggled to balance the two boxes he was holding while trying to open the door. It wasn't easy. In the end he set them down on the floor before trying again.
He opened it and picked up the boxes before backing through the doorway. What he saw when he turned around made him stop dead.
Wolf was unconscious in a heap on the floor and Alex was nowhere to be seen.
"Shit," he swore, dropping the boxes and hastening to Wolf's side. A couple of sharp slaps to either cheek brought him around.
"Alex," gasped Wolf, jerking upright. "Where is he?"
"Gone," said Ben succinctly before demanding, "What happened?"
"Yassen Gregorovich," said Wolf closing his eyes in despair. "He came and took him. At first Alex seemed confused, but I think he had another flashback... he was terrified."
Snake and Bear came in behind him, each putting their boxes on the ground and walking over to Wolf, who was just standing up.
"Gregorovich is dead," said Ben, flatly.
"That's what Alex thought, until he remembered whatever it was that made him freeze up."
"So how do we get him back?" asked Snake.
"I don't know," said Ben, quietly. "I just don't know."
***
Alex couldn't stop tears of humiliation from trickling down his face as Yassen efficiently stripped him, cutting his t-shirt off to avoid the necessity of releasing the teen's wrists from their wire bindings. He tried to draw up his knees to cover himself, but Yassen shoved them back down roughly and delivered a brutal slap of retribution to Alex's already bruised face.
"Why now? How did you find me?" he asked, as Yassen stepped away from him.
"I had people watching the Royal and General. I knew you would return there sooner or later."
"What do you want with me?" he asked, hating his voice for shaking.
Yassen laughed. "Not information, if that is what you're thinking. I gave up on that a long time ago."
"Then why?"
"No one escapes from me," said Yassen, calmly. "You belong to me and only me and you are not allowed to escape."
Alex shivered. He knew that Yassen had worked for several psychopaths but he had never considered the possibility that Yassen himself was mentally unstable until now. Even... even last time he had been captive, Yassen had seemed in control and rational. Perhaps losing Alex – finally failing at something – had pushed him over the edge.
Or perhaps Alex had been too unstable to notice the insanity in others.
***
"We should go talk to MI6," said Ben, looking around at his former team mates. They weren't in a good way. Wolf, especially, was on the edge of despair and he wished there was some way he could snap the man out of it. Having a soldier in such a black mood on a mission was dangerous for everyone involved.
"You really think they would help?" asked Eagle, disgustedly. "They didn't exactly seem bothered that he had been beaten up."
"Getting beaten up is one thing," disagreed Bear, "getting captured by an international assassin is another."
"They aren't going to risk losing their best agent so soon after they find him again," said Ben. "And whether we like it or not, they're our only hope of finding Alex."
***
There's only so long you can lie completely naked in front of a stranger before you get over your feelings of shame and vulnerability. Alex had got over his quite quickly, having far more pressing concerns to focus on, such as escaping.
He had shifted up the bed to give his arms as much slack as he dared, the movement severely hampered by his fear of attracting the attention of the man working on the far side of the room. For someone whose job was basically firing a gun, Yassen seemed to have an awful lot of paperwork, but Alex wasn't complaining. Every second Yassen spent focussing on that meant one second less that he could spend focussing on Alex.
So far, all his twisting and squirming had managed to achieve was to make his wrists slick with blood from where the wire had embedded itself in his flesh. Still, he didn't give up, fearing that once he did he would slip all too easily back into the habit of obeying Yassen without question.
That scared him more than anything.
***
Ben stood in front of Mrs Jones for the second time in a matter of hours. This time she looked rather more concerned.
"I know why you are here, Agent Daniels," she said. "We have a man in the cells below who has been watching our head quarters for four and a half months, according to the information he has given. He claims to have been instructed to watch for a blond haired, brown eyed teenager entering or leaving the building. He has asked for protection now that his task is done, but has refused to give us the name of his employer."
"Yassen Gregorovich," he said quietly, pushing down the wave of despair that threatened to overwhelm him as he realised just how hopeless this mission was.
Mrs Jones paled slightly. "I see," she said. "Are you completely sure?"
Ben nodded.
"The man might have an address," he suggested.
"He is refusing to talk," said Mrs Jones quietly.
"Then make him," said Ben, his voice hard with anger.
She only hesitated for a moment.
"We will."
***
Daniel Feldt was scared. For four, nearly five, months he and his brother, Jack, had been watching this building, looking out for a teenager. They had never thought he would come, but the money was good and the work was easy. They had never thought much about why the teen was wanted until they had seen him and even then they had only hesitated for a second before Jack went to the address they had been given.
It was when he didn't come back that Dan panicked.
He had known instinctively that he was dead, that their employer had killed him, probably in an attempt at tying up loose ends.
Which would mean that someone was coming for him, too.
It had been hope that had made him walk into the Royal and General, and even now, sitting in a cell below what had turned out to be MI6, all he could feel was relief.
The door opened and a man walked in.
"Mr Feldt," said the man. He had the kind of face you forgot even while you were looking at it. "My name is John Crawley. I understand you are being less than cooperative."
Dan winced slightly. The problem was that he was fairly sure that if he talked, his former employer would find out and try even harder to kill him.
"Perhaps I should make your situation clear," said Crawley. "You have been working for a highly dangerous assassin who is wanted in almost every country in the world. Simply by association, you could be investigated and arrested. You could also be arrested for aiding and abetting the kidnapping, abuse and possibly even murder of a sixteen year old."
Dan paled, thinking back to the serious eyed teenager who he had spotted slipping out of the building. He may not be honest, but he kept it as a matter of pride that he had never hurt someone simply for the sake of causing pain. The thought of someone doing that to a child...
"And yet this isn't your biggest problem. The main problem you face is the man who hired you. There is no doubt he is trying to kill you – more so for coming to us. We will be forced to keep you in protective custody until he is caught or dead. We have no leads and too many other obligations to spend time searching for him. You will, unfortunately be detained here for the foreseeable future."
Crawley stopped, letting the true meaning of his words to sink in. However he portrayed it, it was basically a future in prison. Feldt was just a petty criminal; if tried by a court of law he would receive two, three years at most.
"If..." began Feldt, "If I helped you... would you be able to arrest him sooner?"
"Can you help us?" said Crawley.
"I-" he paused. "No," he said, finally.
"My mistake," said Crawley, standing up. "I hope you are comfortable here. You won't be leaving for a long time."
"Wait!" cried Feldt.
"Yes, Mr Feldt?"
"I don't know who he was, I swear," said Feldt, "But we were given an address. If I tell you, will you let me out of here?"
"We will have no need to keep you in protective custody if he is in gaol," said Crawley.
Feldt sighed in relief and rattled of the address.
Crawley pulled a radio from his belt. "Did you get that, Daniels?"
"Yes. We're leaving now."
Feldt thought back to the teenager and was surprised to find he actually felt bad about it. He sighed and looked up at Crawley.
"Good luck," he said.
***
A/N: So what did you think? The chapter might have been a little light on Alex/Yassen, I guess, but I needed to explain some stuff. Hope you enjoyed it anyway, and please review and tell me your opinion on the chapter.