Eh- three weeks? Yeah... all-time low. My bad.

3326freespirit and Justrockzyxxx both guessed correctly (on two different things, but both were right)! And thank you to Ceriarcher and Guest (Chapter 13, Feb 19) for kicking be back into action! Lastly, individual review replies are located on my profile.

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider.

O-o-O-o-O

Eagle wasn't fully comprehending what he was seeing.

The information passed to his brain... but he wasn't processing it.

Fox was calm (as calm as he could be), Snake was worried, and Wolf was definitely still angry.

But Eagle... he was just staring in shock.

Before Mrs. Jones had turned the two-way mirror on, he wasn't sure what he would see.

Cub, hurt- probably- but to what extent? Yes, the MI6 agents- the ones who had escorted Cub- certainly knew interrogation techniques... but they wouldn't use them on Cub- he was just a kid. Interrogations were for extracting information- and they wouldn't have to brutally interrogate him, just to get information.

No, Cub had been forced to act like an adult... but he was still a teenager.

Which was why...

Which was why-

Cub was- how to describe it?

Eagle's mouth tightened.

Cub was chained down- the cuffs were still on him, and the soldier was willing to bet that they hadn't been taken off.

But... it was a locked room.

They weren't necessary. Plus, Cub had clearly been submissive- he didn't need them, in order for the agents to control him.

And-and he was on the floor.

It wasn't that bad- not really, but... it was like the agents were lowering his status- what he deserved to be, how he deserved to be treated.

They must've been attached somehow- but still, it was more of a... leash then anything.

And there were chairs.

The agents had chosen to treat him less than a human being- and had pointedly showed him.

Eagle wondered to what extent the dehumanizing was doing to him- and how long it had been going on.

It couldn't be healthy- hell, it wasn't healthy.

Eagle knew both Snake and Fox had quickly assessed what condition Cub was in- and Cub needed that. He needed people that could stay strong for him, fight for him, protect him.

And he wasn't having trouble seeing what had happened to him.

Cub was curled up on the floor, semiconscious. Breathing looked painful for him- more than likely, he had broken a few ribs. Besides for the fresh cuts and bruises, the gash on his arm had reopened- it was bleeding sluggishly. The boy's normally blond hair was caked with blood, and- judging by the size and shape- it looked like a gun had been cracked over his head.

The horrifying thing was what position he had been during the beating- he had been completely vulnerable and unable to protect himself.

Helpless.

The agents had been excessively brutal- it was punishment, it seemed... issued by Blunt? It made sense... and Eagle knew it had happened before.

There wasn't much relief that he hadn't been tortured- it was still awful the things that they were doing to him.

But then- before K-Unit had even gotten out of the door, to help and protect him- that... pathetic excuse for a man walked in.

Their superior.

Their employer.

Alan Blunt, Head of MI6.

"Ah, Alex. We have much to talk about."

O-o-O-o-O

Alex's eyes snapped onto the man as he entered, wary.

He didn't like him.

He didn't trust him.

Alan Blunt sat down in a chair- one of which he hadn't been allowed in, the spy mused.

He was studying the boy closely, eyes never leaving him.

The teen averted his gaze.

He knew exactly what Blunt was insinuating.

It may have not been much to most people- but the way Blunt sat, legs crossed, the soles of his shoes facing not the floor, but upward, towards him.

In the Middle East, in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, it was an insult- that you were saying that the person was lower than the floor.

To Blunt, he wasn't even human.

He was a tool.

He was a weapon.

He was neither child nor adult.

He was... a dog.

The boy shrunk back.

"I told you that I would mark you as a rogue if you disobeyed me again."

Alex felt a burst of anger. Stubbornly, he lifted his head, challenging the hard grey eyes. "There were already two agents assigned to that mission- and they had everything under control."

"You are mistaken," Alan Blunt corrected sharply, as one would scold a child. "There was no one else assigned. You quit, and because of that, people died- people you could have saved."

The spy froze.

No, don't listen to him.

He was manipulating him- he was.

He was sure of it.

Amusement showed through the grey eyes. "It's not the first time you've killed people- let people die... is it, Alex?"

Jack.

No- hell, no, Jack.

("Why, Alex? Why did you kill me?")

It was his fault.

(The turn of a key, the explosives igniting... a burst of flame.)

He had killed her.

(Screams)

He shouldn't have-

He shouldn't have-

The teen closed his eyes, head lowered- submissive once more.

"Very good," Blunt murmured; he was intentionally quiet, but clearly audible.

The boy didn't say anything.

Blunt had already won.

O-o-O-o-O

Wolf swallowed.

His throat still felt dry.

Frustration, anger.

Frustration- because he couldn't do anything.

He couldn't help Cub.

He couldn't protect him.

Because, at the moment, the best thing for Cub was to sit behind a sheet of glass and do nothing.

Anger, pure rage, because of what the Director of MI6 was doing to him.

First, the coward had hid behind a team of MI6 agents, while they beat him up (a kid. A teenager. A boy).

Next, when Cub was at his weakest, Blunt claimed his... dominance over him. (That was the horrifying thought... that this had had happened to him before. Many times. Two years. Two years.)

He could see why Cub didn't want to fight back- or couldn't bring himself to even try.

He knew what that feeling of power was... and then how weak you felt without it, that power being taken away- and that Blunt had taken away every right Cub should have been given to him as human being, by choosing to ignore the fact that, yes, he was human.

But Cub hadn't fought back.

In fact, the only time Wolf had even sensed that strong person he really was (he was. It was just buried- buried under the many layers of emotional armor he had been forced to put up against the psychological abuse Blunt was putting him through)... was after that burst of anger- but it had been brief.

Too brief.

And he had backed down immediately after (like a dog)... after Blunt had begun those manipulative games again (blaming those deaths on him. No way. There was no way someone could stoop that low).

It was the psychology of it.

With the information from Jones, Cub's first year of being a spy had been only the first step. Blunt hadn't gone full force on him- but he had been setting the stage for later.

After that last mission... and Jack dying, Blunt had pretended. He had pretended Cub was done... before dragging him back in.

Then he had gone all-out, breaking down Cub both physically and mentally, putting any blame of people dying on his young shoulders.

But when had it changed to master and dog? When had Cub begun to accept that as regular behavior?

That was the sick truth behind Blunt's true motives- Cub always being submissive, always being obedient.

We'll bring you back, Cub.

Wolf glanced at the grim expressions of him teammates.

They would get him out of the prison Blunt had forced him in.

They would bring him back to the boy he once was... before Blunt killed him.

They would bring him back- they would.

Could they?

Yes, they could.

Yes, they would.

We'll bring you back.

O-o-O-o-O

Alan Blunt methodically drummed his knuckles on the edge. "K-Unit has become a problem, Alex."

The teenager stiffened.

"And you know that problems need to be fixed," the chilling voice said.

"I'll tell K-Unit to back off," the boy promised. "They'll listen to me."

The lips twitched. "You can't guarantee that, Alex."

The spy involuntarily flinched.

"In fact, I doubt they would even listen to you. After all, you don't deserve to have people even listen to you."

The boy didn't react- only accepted the abuse.

He didn't deserve to be listened to.

No, he didn't.

He wasn't like the other people- the ones that were given attention.

He was different.

He wasn't normal.

He was... lower than them.

No, he definitely didn't deserve it.

Besides, K-Unit probably wouldn't listen to him... would they?

That didn't sound like them..

They cared about him.

They wanted to protect him.

The boy smiled faintly.

He always felt comfort with them.

Even if it was brief... like that morning.

They'd given him food.

They'd let him rest.

And something told him, if those MI6 agents hadn't come, they would've kept on caring for him- they would've kept on protecting him.

But then where were they now?

Where was K-Unit now?

And there was no reason for him to trust them- they had left him. They had left him to get roughed up by those agents.

Alex forced himself to concentrate- Blunt was talking to him again.

"No... they won't listen to you." Eyes intently watched the spy. "But I am their employer... they'll listen to me."

The teen shook his head. "I'll obey, I promise. Just- leave them alone."

"You know I can't do that, Alex," the amused voice continued. "I know what is best for you- and they must be taken care of." His eyes went to the two-way mirror, one that was reflecting his image back at him. "In fact... K-Unit- why don't you join us?"

O-o-O-o-O

To survive, you must accept all forms of pain and abuse- it will make you stronger, but you will bend under another's power; or you may break.

O-o-O-o-O

Please feel free to tell me what you think!