Note: Ren O'neil and Sagebrush helped me a good amount with describing both Wolf and Eagle.
Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider
It hadn't taken long before Wolf had gained the recruits' respect- already, after two weeks, he was being dubbed as a man harder than the two-star General who was actually running the Marine Base.
Instructor, teacher, mentor, friend, comrade, brother-in-arms, and above all, soldier.
He had received compliments and good reports from his peers and commanding officers; not something he wasn't already used to, of course, he had gotten plenty of it back in the SAS.
Not like he didn't have humility or anything- he had learned plenty from when he had been a green recruit in the Royal Army, before being selected as a recruit for the SAS.
However, one of his fine 'lessons in humility' had been from a punk who had kicked him out of a plane.
Wolf's thoughts darkened at the teenage boy- and MI6. He wondered what war-torn country in the Middle East Cub was risking his neck out for completing his easy 'surveillance' missions.
Forcing his mind on other things- like how much he had matured since that parachuting training exercise. War had easily beaten the fear of heights out of him, reminding him that there were worse things out there.
One of the things that particularly irked him was how green the recruits were- kids from ages seventeen to twenty three, who had never seen or experienced even a hint of war or death.
And, he couldn't say that he didn't enjoy beating the shit out of them, only to turn around and teach them how to do it themselves.
Some of the kids reminded Wolf of himself- oh, say, a decade ago.
Wolf sobered. Not all of them would see war- at least, not how he had. This was Marine basic training- the kids' first transition from civilian to soldier. Only some of them would be selected for combat, and would be deployed overseas to fight.
And Wolf was damn near determined to prepare them.
O-o-O-o-O
'Impressed' wasn't a word General Oldan described himself very often. However, the word impressed fit perfectly with his current state of mind- at least for the soldier SOD had sent him- one from the Special Air Service, or SAS. Damon Rovero, or Wolf, the codename he preferred, had quickly gained the respect of his peers, along with the recruits he had been in charge of training.
It was for a trial-testing for the specialized class, one that was proving invaluable.
At first, Oldan had been doubtful- what could a lone SAS soldier offer that his own men, or government, couldn't provide?
A lot, it turned out.
It was odd- he was teaching the recruits small snippets that entire classes were used for; yet the experience, technique, and his own mixture of training the general had yet to see, was remarkable.
He had given Wolf three two-hour slots for classes per day, along with an hour that had all the recruits together. And, of course, switching it up to have classes Monday-Wednesday-Friday, and Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday.
Even he had been surprised at the results- superb ones, ones that he wouldn't have believed unless he had seen it with his own eyes.
It hadn't been until he had sat in on a few classes, that he had finally realized he was impressed with the shorter-than-average Hispanic soldier.
O-o-O-o-O
The only thing missing was that his unit was absent, Wolf thought glumly as he began prepping for his classes- that he was teaching (ha!).
He was treated with the respect of an officer- a nice gig compared to the recruits who weren't technically even in the military, yet.
His classes were all in the afternoon, not including the hour after dinner, which he was planning on using as a wrap-up session at end of the day.
That meant he had the entire morning free- besides for the meeting with the DIs and other officers before the recruits were even awake. The meeting ended by 0530, which was the wake-up call for the recruits, and Wolf used up a good chunk of his 'free time' by doing intense PT- hell, he had an entire Marine Corps base at his fingertips, of course he was going to make good use of it.
Mainly, though, he used the workouts as a distraction- from (dare he say it) missing his unit, and the remorse of the last time he had been with Cub... before that had happened.
Hell, he'd been beating up a teenager. It was nothing like the times, back at Brecon Beacons, when Cub had been fourteen, during unarmed combat classes- sure, they'd sparred, he'd won, but... not like this. Not having a defenseless teenager, chained to the floor, and him going all-out on an interrogation on him; Blunt knew he had been trained for knowing- and using- the more pain-oriented places that Cub had experienced during the beating.
He closed his eyes. There was no way he would ever forgive himself on what had happened that day.
Forcing his thoughts elsewhere, he focused on the task at hand- preparing his classes.
O-o-O-o-O
Wolf eyed the recruits critically.
None of them looked happy to be there- good. Upon meeting them for his first class, he'd had them all doing an intensive PT- he could easily pick out the ones who were working harder, contrary to the ones who was merely going through the motions of obeying orders- not wanting to push themselves to their full potential (breaking point) and surpassing it.
He knew which exercises to use, he'd made sure to use ones they'd never even heard of before- that hesitation, insecurity, the self-built doubt of not knowing would easily break them down.
He knew how long to keep them at it- sometimes changing it up on a select few recruits.
It was his way of psyching them out- them never knowing when, or what, or how long.
He knew what it was like on a personal level- it had been done to him before, in his own training.
Plus, it had given the recruits a perfect first impression- relentless, harsh, fighter, the ideal soldier.
They didn't like him one bit- which was good. It meant that they had common enemy, one they both feared, and would learn to respect. Having a common enemy also brought them closer as a platoon, as a team- another class tactic that was regularly seen at military training camps.
One thing they hadn't expected, was for Wolf to do the majority of the exercises with them. Of course, he would still need to regulate their speed and consistency, along with making sure they all had proper form. But by half-allowing himself to be brought down to their level was effective in its own way- the respect factor would be helpful later.
He put grim smile on. "I want a straight line. Now."
The recruits practically scrambled to obey, and the line was formed quickly and efficiently.
"Today we're doing unarmed hand-to-hand combat," Wolf began when the recruits silenced; it was obvious they weren't impressed- after all, unarmed hand-to-hand was a class they did daily. Well, he'd just have to make sure his was 'unique' and 'special.'
He didn't immediately pair them off. Instead, he made sure they were all in the view, and called a volunteer up- who just so happened to be one of the more arrogant recruits. Wolf knew- he'd been observing them all during training, specifically hand-to-hand.
It was harder to teach huge masses of people at once- everyone needed some amount of one-on-one time, especially for this particular class.
Even he enjoyed watching the recruits' awe as he taught them moves they wouldn't have learned in five years. He'd been immensely grateful for his training, when it had been finally put to good use; it had saved his life too many time to count, not to mention fellow soldiers.
When he finally did pair them off, he made sure they all, for the most part, had a good grasp on the five new attacking methods, he made sure to pair them off randomly, but to assign their new partners as the ones who would match him or herself speed for speed, strength for strength, same skill level- he had taken everything into consideration
Wolf certainly wasn't dumb, and out of any of his skills, he knew how to fight.
O-o-O-o-O
"Yeah, sure- we're teaching you how to fight. But it's not just learning the rules of fighting- it's also learning how to break them. The real world doesn't fight fairly- they won't wait for you to catch your breath, or avoid hitting your weaknesses- they'll hit you with everything they got, and it's our job to teach you how to fight back- but it's your job to absorb the information we're giving you, to learn. Learn how to play by the rules, but you also need to know how to break them."
O-o-O-o-O
"Everyone has those weak points. Those chinks in their armour they don't want anyone to see. You have them. I have them. Did you know I used to be afraid of heights? Yeah, hard to believe- a tough guy like me. That was until I had been kicked out a plane by un mocoso estúpido. And, of course, the other dozen times I've been parachuting, rappelling- hell, even rock climbing without a safety harness. Everyone has fears; it's just learning how to deal with them- that's the hard part. Learning to accept reality and dive headfirst into the danger, with or without fear. Bravery is being afraid but going through with it anyway. Remember that."
O-o-O-o-O
It had been two weeks since emailing Fox and there was still no answer.
Wolf was getting- not that he would admit it- worried. He hated being separated from his unit, form his team. Absolutely despised it when his teammates were hurting and he just had to stand by and watch- he felt so goddamned weak.
Among other things, his classes were getting results- thankfully, good ones, he'd heard.
He'd been surprised and startled when General Oldan had approached him the other day.
"Wolf," the general greeted.
The soldier immediately stood to attention, hand raised in a solute. "Sir."
"At ease."
Wolf shifted to a slightly more relaxed position.
The general nodded to the recruits who were leaving the building. "I've heard some good reports from your overseeing officers. You're doing very well."
"Thank you, sir," Wolf shrugged off the praise. ""They're all good men, for the most part- all the potential is there, at the very least. It's just a matter of them learning how to tap into it."
General Oldan raised an eyebrow. "Your pep talks have also definitely helped- especially during basic training, encouragement is vital, but can't be given by the DIs."
Wolf snorted. That was certainly true. "The stuff I've been giving them is crap that can be found just about anywhere."
The general chuckled. "Yes, of course, just know that I have been pleased with the results from your expert teaching."
Wolf watched as the general left, saluting automatically.
He was too distracted to think deeper in the conversation- if only Fox would pick up his goddamned phone already!
O-o-O-o-O
The next morning, he had a new email in his inbox.
From Fox- it was about time, he grumbled to himself, secretly relieved.
Alex just got back from a mission in Syria. His assignment was the assassination three government higher-ups. The third one was tipped off; Alex was compromised and held for three days before he broke out and completed the assassination. MI6 picked him up shortly after. I don't know how bad his condition is or how long he'll be allowed to recover before he's assigned another mission.
Wolf sighed, wearily rubbing his face. Three days being tortured- he wasn't sure how Cub's current mindset had taken it, or how damaged he was- it could have been a lot worse than three days, but three days was certainly enough- enough time to be broken.
O-o-O-o-O
"Ductus exemplo." Lead by example.
-Marine Corps, OCS, motto