The metal bat smashed at his shoulder again, pounding the small broken pieces of bone further into oblivion as he screamed a scream that wasn't quite there. Three was furious, evident from the relentless pace he had set, despite his already amassed injuries.
He hadn't been allowed to pass out; he had spent every minute, every second, in a turmoil of pain as the man pounded into him, not drawing any blood, but causing plenty of pain.
In his mind, Alex new that the likelyhood of a full recovery was shrinking as the injuries amassed, making him unsure at the amount of hospital time he would have. If he ever got out, that was.
Three stood back, panting as he wiped the sweat from his brow, cheeks tinged pink. Grinning, he threw the bat into the corner, turning and dusting his hands off before wiping them down his white lab coat.
"Take him away. Make sure you do it properly this time." He murmured, walking straight out, past the five men waiting. None of them spoke as they moved, dropping Alex to the floor before pulling at him. The journey to the Doctors was a long one, none of the men bothering to prevent him any pain.
Grimacing, he opened his eyes slowly as he was dumped onto a medical bed, a leather restraint being fastened around his wrists and ankles before the door slammed shut behind him. After a minute of struggling, pushing past the pain on his wrists, he collapsed with a gasp, incredibly short of breath.
There was a loud chuckle, to the left of his head, and he twisted, ignoring the sharp pain he felt through his body. In the corner of the room, a tall, pale man stood, hair darker than chocolate as it spooled across his forehead, a light stubble creating a shadow across his chin. He was handsome, Alex had to admit, as he leant against the doorframe, watching the boy lying across the table.
The man smiled at him, walking over slowly. "So you're the famous Alex Rider. You're... younger, than I expected."
He stared at him, unable to speak as his throat was hoarse, his reply likely to be unrecognisable as a sentence. The mans smile grew.
"Well, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Michael Davids, and I, I believe, will be your medical consultant. Not that we'll be doing a lot of consulting. After all, your opinion doesn't really matter at this point."
Alex sighed mentally, too tired to care. At this point, there wasn't much point in crying for freedom of speech, considering he didn't have much freedom at all.
The man stopped above him, leaving him tilting his head back at an awkward angle. He chuckled and put his hands on his neck softly.
"Have you ever had problems with your neck before? It doesn't feel like it, but you never know. I'm sure at this point in time, you haven't had many problems with your body. Besides the obvious of course. But that isn't exactly your problem."
Alex shifted, moving from under his hands with a glare. Michael just laughed.
"Don't worry, little one, I'm sure by the end of this, you won't be able to avoid me by any stretch of the imagination. After all, as long as it causes you pain, Three couldn't care less what happens to you."
The man pushed his hands onto Alex again, holding him down by his neck as he leant over him. Alex coughed, his voice grated as he spoke.
"Shouldn't you be focusing more on fixing me? Three won't be happy if I die on him before he's got his fun. He isn't one to share."
Michael smiled, his face only a hairs breath away. "You sure sound as if you know him well. How long have you been with him?"
Alex didn't reply, which was met with a shrug.
"Unfortunately you have a point." He sighed. "Of course, what Three wants, Three gets. There will be time in the coming days, for us to get... acquainted."
Without another word, he turned, striding back out the way he came, leaving Alex strapped to the bed.
After a minute, he twisted himself round till he was lying flat. Noiselessly, he let out the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. The silence in the room was reassuring, leaving him feeling calmer than he had done for a while. The situation at the minute was there, lingering in the back of his mind, but far enough away from his panicking half that there was no connection between them. He knew he'd been close to being-
Turning his mind away from that line of thought, he pulled again at the restraints, ignoring the fresh blood dripping down his arms. He didn't know if MI6 would come, or how long it would take, but he knew there was a better chance of freedom if he wasn't being held down.
Panting as he collapsed once more, incredibly short of breath, he took a minute to glance around the room. It was white, almost like a hospital room but without the atmosphere. There was a desk, on one side of the room, with papers and pens piled neatly at the edges.
Alex coughed, loudly, missing Michael's re-entry. His cold hand on his upper arm startled him, causing him to jerk away in surprise. The man laughed again, and in his head, Alex cursed the mans joviality. Damn man laughed too much.
"Did I surprise you? I didn't know the famous Alex Rider was so on edge? You aren't like this all the time are you? I'm sure we could fix that."
Alex swallowed as he bent over him again, the stubble on his chin brushing against his cheek. The man had him pinned, his weight pushing him further into the table as he moved across him, hands roving freely.
And there was nothing Alex could do to stop him.
Fox slid the clip into the gun with a snip, not looking up at the SAS units that were loaded with him. On his left, Lemur slipped into the bullet proof vest, moving his arms to allow his team mates to check him over.
They had been waiting a while for this moment, and they knew there was likely to be only one chance to get the boy back.
Eagle tapped his foot against the metal of the floor absently as they travelled over the bumpy road towards their destination. The signal had come as a surprise, least of all to K-Unit.
They had been expecting something bigger than a phone call.
Wolf cracked his knuckles loudly, ignoring Snake's disapproving glare. "We move in as a unit. Do not get separated. Eagle, you and Snake will be the eyes. Anyone who sneaks up on us, I want a bullet in them."
Snake shook his head. "We aren't supposed to be leaving a trail of bodies behind us. I think the word Jones used was 'covert'."
The man shrugged. "If it gets us in, and all of us including Alex out safe, I couldn't give a damn."
Fox nodded. "Sorry Snake, but I agree."
He frowned before replying. "Was just saying. Anyway, it may not be the best thing to do."
Wolf hummed. "That's fair enough. We'll just see what happens."
Fox let out a sigh, grinning. "Hate to say it, but this may end up as a case of Murphy's law."
Eagle laughed, drawing the attention of the other units. "Yeah, well we are rescuing the kid."
"Fair point." They were quiet for a second, before Eagle broke the silence.
"Do you think he'll be okay?"
Fox grinned. "Course he will be. Who do you think we're rescuing?"
Eagle let out a small snile in response. "I suppose there's that."
There was a screech of brakes as they pulled to a stop, the engine ticking over. They sat in silence, before Wolf rose to his feet decisively, jumping over the barricade at the end of the army vehicle the Seals had leant them.
He gazed back into the darkened lorry with raised eyebrows. "Well. Are you coming or not?"
There was a sudden increase in movement, as the four units climbed out, following Wolf to the font of the car where he stared, gazing at the road before them. K-Unit walked to the front, staring ahead as they pulled round the heavier weapons they'd be granted permission to use.
Fox looked to his left, and then to his right, before letting his face settle into a grimace.
"God knows what we're going to see in there."
Wolf nodded.
Fox carried on. "We're probably going to need intensive physcological help, no matter how this ends."
Wolf nodded again.
Fox spoke again. "And God know's Alex is going to need more than that."
He repeated the guesture.
They were quiet for a minute, no body speaking, before Fox coughed and walked forward, turning backwards but still moving.
"So what are we waiting for?"
There was a murmer as asent, and each of the units fanned out, disappearing into the trees that lined the road to their destination.
Eagle stepped a little closer to the unit as they walked, sticking to the left hand side of the road, close to the woods.
"Well," he murmured, "shall we make a promise then?"
Each of them nodded, turning to glance at each other as they moved, the darkened building slowly looming bigger.
"Leave no one behind."
(A/N) After telling myself I didn't like the olympics, I couldn't help being distracted by the opening ceremony! Well done GB- what a way to tell your history in half an hour :D Ha ha :D R&R :D
