Oh man. Twenty-one chapters... has it really been that many? And 157 reviews?! Yikes.
Wow, I had a bunch of responses of how to describe Blunt. Anyways- thank you once again to Guest (Chap 20, Apr. 23), FeigningMischief, ink2parchment, Theflyinghamster, Justrockzyxxx, Ceriarcher, BooksLover2000, Musical G23, Guest (Chap 20, Apr. 26). And, again, thanks to all of the encouraging reviews- including Torchwood Cardiff and Armand, who clear up anything that seems confusing or illogical. Thanks to all of you guys!
Review Replies:
Guest/NonPM- Profile
Signed- PM Box
Almost everything in bold were the descriptive-suggestions from the reviewers mentioned above. Actually, the entire first section (in italics) was written by Justrockzyxxx, which I think was done very well.
Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider.
O-o-O-o-O
The man sat motionless behind his desk; his posture impeccable and features emotionless as he regarded Alex.
He was wearing his usual grey suit- no creases or specks of lint. And again, grey eyes behind the grey glasses were also devoid of emotion, making it impossible for Alex to work out what he was thinking- it could be anything from a cunning plot, to something selfish- or perhaps about the weather. All in all, it was impossible to tell.
Alex might as well be nonexistent to Mr. Alan Blunt, Director of MI6. He moved slightly to beckon Alex to the chair.
"Alex. How good it is to see you again."
O-o-O-o-O
Things had turned slightly chaotic when K-Unit found the empty bedroom the next morning.
They were all soldiers.
They didn't panic under the same amount of stress 'normal, functioning people' would.
No, the reaction of shock lasted only a moment before being replaced by a forced calm, intent on fixing the problem by the most effective and efficient means.
"Fox, can you track him?" Wolf asked in a clipped tone.
The spy shook his head. "Already tried. The kid's good- it only goes to the sidewalk before disappearing completely."
"Or a car just picked him up," Eagle muttered.
"Cub wouldn't leave willingly," Wolf snapped, eyes angry- he was already on edge.
Eagle raised an eyebrow mockingly. "Oh, yeah? No signs of a struggle or a fight. He doesn't have a cellphone, and none of us heard anything. It's just like last time- he upped and left." Loyalty was important to him- especially if someone broke it. He couldn't help that he was uber-paranoid about things like that.
Wolf's mouth opened to retort, but Snake interjected quickly. "Stop fighting. You both know it's not going to help us find Cub."
After a moment, Wolf sighed, wearily rubbing his face.
It was unusual for them to be fighting like this. Ever since basic, they were decently close- normally, at least. Cub was an added factor- one that caused them to become extremely protective over him, all for different reasons. He was an unknown.
"MI6 are still able to track him," Fox pointed out. Then, with a meaningful glance at all of them, "And we all know it wouldn't be unlike Blunt to take him back early like this.
"What if he found someone to take the chip out?" Eagle wondered aloud.
"Unlikely," Snake said briefly, before moving to elaborate. "On the slight chance that he found someone, he probably would have taken it out already."
"Unless he was waiting for the opportune moment," Eagle pointed out.
A moment of silent contemplation
"So we have to choose," Wolf began. "One, we call MI6 and risk Cub being caught if he really is trying to run away. Or two, we wait to call them- or don't call them at all- and try to find him on our own."
Fox hummed thoughtfully. "We won't be able to find him without MI6's help- but then that means he's under their power/control again."
"I say we wait two days- until the week finishes," Wolf proposed.
"Two days?" Eagle asked scornfully, with a hint of bitterness. "Remember what MI6 did to him in an hour?"
"I don't think Blunt will set agents on him again- at least not this time," Snake spoke up. "Blunt uses him for missions; it's going to take at least another week or two before he sends him back to the field."
"And we all know what Blunt's 'tender loving care' looks like," Eagle went on sarcastically, ignoring the warning glare Wolf was sending him. "Anyway, Blunt's also a sadistic, power-hungry bastard who's only pleasure in life is to abuse Cub."
"Elaborate, much?" Fox piqued; yet the humor was nonexistent- they all knew that every word Eagle said was true.
"So we wait," Snake stated, gazing at the others for mutual confirmation and agreement; there were nods all around- no one spoke. The life of a boy- and a spy- was in their hands.
And they had just given him to the devil.
O-o-O-o-O
Two days.
Two days of patient waiting.
Two days of looking up at every door that opened.
Two days of jumping at every phone call- none of which turned out to be MI6 or Alex.
Two days of anticipation for something, anything... which only led to disappointment (or relief).
Two days-
And suddenly it was over.
The fighting hadn't gotten too bad- most of them were only going through the motions.
Two days hadn't seemed like much at first- but they were agonizingly slow.
It was the morning of the eighth day- the day that they should have taken Alex back to MI6... back to Blunt.
10:00AM.
Fox had very visibly grabbed the car keys; they all wordlessly filed out of the house.
He had already explained to them why he didn't have much power in MI6, in the same way the other soldiers were expected to obey their commanding officers.
"I'm a spy," he had said calmly. "Spies are used; they're taken advantage of. They chose me first, but I was the one that chose this specific job. I knew what I was getting into- the Heads have all the power, all the control... I can't do anything for Cub. If anything, being directly under Blunt prohibits me from helping him."
There hadn't been any more discussions after that.
It was s tense ride to the Bank, but K-Unit was both dreading and relieved when they finally pulled up to the familiar building; and, as Fox had put it, one of the worst kept covers in the British Intelligence Community- everyone knew it wasn't a bank.
Which was why it was surprising with what happened next.
"What do you mean this is a bank?!" Wolf growled out. "It's the worst kept 'secret' in Special Operations. We're here to see Blunt, dammit!"
The receptionist looked politely put out (what that even a thing?). "I'm sorry, sir. If you do not want to open an account, I'm afraid I will have to call security- you are making a scene in front of the other customers."
Before Wolf could 'kindly' explain to her that they were fake customers, hired to be there, Fox had pulled him back and slipped in front of him. "I apologize for my friend's rude behavior," he said smoothly. "These men were recently hired for a separate security contract. I do actually work here, as an overseas bank manager."
The woman raised an eyebrow. "And your name is...?"
"Benjamin Daniels." Fox smiled. "But you can just call me Ben."
She completely ignored the flirtation. "I'm going to look for you in the directory of employees." After a brief typing on her computer, she looked back up. "I'm sorry, sir, but your name has not been listed. If you have no more business here, I'm afraid you will have to leave," the woman apologized, genuinely sounding sincere- but he knew it was fake.
Fox bit his lip. It would not be wise to go against the security of MI6- for them, or Cub. If Blunt had him... and it certainly seemed to be pointing in that direction at the moment, there was no guarantee Blunt wouldn't dole out some sick punishment for their actions.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," Fox began, albeit it came out forced. "I must be at the wrong bank. Thank you for your time."
Without waiting for an answer, the spy turned around sharply, leading the others along with him.
Refusing them access had been an intentional act of Blunt- as if he needed to show how much power he had.
"Now what?" Eagle asked as they went back to the car.
Fox grit his teeth. "We wait."
"For what?"
"Blunt's next move."
O-o-O-o-O
The phone call came exactly three hours after they had gotten back tot he Chelsea 'safehouse.'
"Yes?" Fox answered tersely- his cellphone, not one of the other's.
"Your's and K-Unit's stunt at the Bank did not amuse me," the voice said coldly.
The wording... Fox's mind raced, pulling the sentence apart. Blunt had specifically separated K-Unit and himself- reminding him that he still worked for him (still under his power).
"We need to see Alex," Ben pressed. "We still have two days left."
A dry chuckle. "Lost him, have you?"
"If you don't have him," Ben chose his wording carefully, "than please let us have the access to track him."
"I will deploy my men within the hour; I'm sure we will find him within a fortnight."
Unbelievable.
Blunt had the audacity to sound sincere, dammit!
"We know you put a microchip in him," Ben continued with forced calmness. "Just let us- " He was abruptly cut off.
"I have confidence we will be able to find him, but enough with this 'microchip' nonsense."
"You could have his location in less than five minutes," Fox angrily bit out, abandoning his previous composure.
The man went on breezily, ignoring the spy completely. "I expect you and K-Unit at the Bank in two weeks' time; I'm sure we'll have found him by then."
Blunt hung up.
He hung up.
Ben stared at the cellphone in shock. Of all the ridiculous-
-denying putting in the microchip-
-letting them see Alex in two weeks-
Pretending-
Manipulating-
Fox looked at the rest of K-Unit, who had heard the entire conversation via speakerphone.
They gaped back at him.
Finally, Snake sighed. "That went better than I expected."
O-o-O-o-O
"I don't get it..." Snake murmured, twirling/spinning a pencil lightly between his fingertips. "Why? I know what he's doing. I know how, but why? What does he have to gain from all of this?"
Motive.
One of the many questions that needed answering.
Eagle snorted. "Well, I thought it was obvious."
"Do tell," Fox said dryly, when he made no move to explain.
The soldier clenched his jaw. "That's just it. There is no logical reason. He's mental, insane. I mean, don't you get it? Blunt think's he's 'so smart,' but he's just a vicious manipulator- a vindictive, abusive tyrant. An unforgiving, ruthless apathetic," Eagle ranted. "A soul-sucking son of a bitch. An evil, arrogant, self-centered, harsh, crazy, bastardy sadistic arsehole.
"I mean, if you think about it, we might not even be real," he continued, completely oblivious (or perhaps not) to the confused- and worried- raised eyebrow Snake was giving to the other members. "Seriously. What if we're just part of this teen book series about 'Alex, the Teenager Spy,' or we're only, like, in a couple chapters in the first book! Yeah! That's it- we're part of a fanfiction. And like, the plot twist could be that Blunt's daughter was killed by Scorpia because she knew Alex and they thought she was his girlfriend! So Blunt's going all revenge-psycho on Alex, and-"
Wolf nudged him, effectively shutting him up. "Occam's Razor, yeah?"
The soldier frowned, before his expression smoothed over, and he sighed. "Right."
They knew it was merely part of his personality- his way of relieving all the stress, thinking up the most obscure situations.
"Well, back to the original question," Fox directed the conversation to its -original- topic. "Cub is useful to Blunt. Especially when he first started out- his age gave him an advantage. Now, when the main criminal organizations have heard of him, Cub is useful because he's vulnerable," he explained. "He's not like the normal agents- and Blunt saw that. He knew he could take advantage of Cub's vulnerability- somehow getting Ian to sign over guardianship rights over to him... in all essences, he knew he could convince Cub that he owned him- which makes Cub a living weapon, one that he solely controls." Fox looked up, seeing the understanding in the rest of his unit. "It's been crucial to Blunt to make sure Cub follows orders- and once that happens, well, it wouldn't matter anymore- he could order to him to do anything."
And that was the crux of it.
Cub could become anything Blunt wanted him to be- he wasn't subjected to merely a 'spy.'
A terrorist.
A rogue agent.
An assassin.
Blunt had foreign connections- he could, and would lend him to other World Intelligence Agencies- selling him off to the highest bidder, mission by mission.
His entire life, controlled by strings- no freedom to be who he wanted.
"Cub would never surrender to something like that," Eagle breathed out.
Would he?
Was there any incentive to why he wouldn't have? They had seen him around Blunt, especially recently- Cub, obeying his every word, submitting.
Would he surrender?
"Not willingly," Snake whispered.
Wolf closed his eyes.
No.
Breaking.
Cub was breaking.
No- Blunt was breaking him.
That was why-
Fox bit his lip. Having already thought through those scenarios, there was always a possibility-
"Cub is a dangerous weapon," the spy said quietly, before glancing up at them in horror. "And it wouldn't matter who controls him- or who pulls the trigger."
O-o-O-o-O
In your field of work, power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.
O-o-O-o-O
Okay, I have another question for you guys (since you answered my other one with awesomeness)- can you give me a few characteristics you want/like of K-Unit? Not necessarily one that is seen commonly in other fanfics, and it can definitely be a new one that hasn't been heard of before. Specifically Wolf and Eagle, actually. I think out of K-Unit, those two are the least-developed. BUT, I can't give any guarantees of using all of them- I wouldn't want them to contradict or anything. So thanks in advance!