Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider.

Getting wasted was only one way to deal with your problems.

However, most people's' problems didn't include torturing and breaking a freakin' teenage spy.

Not to mention the betrayal.

Eagle closed his eyes, downing another shot of whiskey.

He knew what it was like to feel betrayed- from his mum abandoning him at age seven and an abusive father, to the 'friends' at school who only wanted to mooch off of him for homework help.

It had changed when he had gotten to secondary school- he'd hit his growth spurt, and was no longer the skinny computer nerd, but the ruggedly handsome jock that everyone got along with. He hid behind the smiles and jokes, being the person to laugh with, not at. It was an easy mode of defense, and, well, old habits die hard as he used it in the Army as well- a way of him relieving stress. No one ever knew about the bruises and scars hidden under his clothes, or his constant worry of his younger sister- who was getting older... and he hated the way his dad looked at her, eyes full of hunger.

Eagle had made sure that he'd taken the brute of the force from his father's heavy hand, and knew that when he left, it would go to his sister.

He didn't want any more of that life for her; not now, not ever.

The day he'd come of age at eighteen had been the day he joined the military- and when he'd reported to the police as an anonymous tip. His aunt lived in France, he knew she would take his sister in.

Loyalty was the utmost importance to him, it burned in the essence of his very core.

The day he'd first realized how truly broken and battered the teen was... he didn't think that he'd ever betray that loyalty- let alone torture him.

It had been so insanely easy for him to form a protective bond over Cub- and yeah, he'd been a jerk when they first met, and a complete faker the second time.

Third time's the charm, and he'd hit the sweet spot on that one.

Yet... it had only taken a few mere months before he had broken it.

Broken that trust.

That bastard had put him in a lose-lose situation, one that disallowed him from doing anything but the ultimate act of betrayal.

And oh god, how he missed his unit.

How he and Snake would have their usual banter, and Fox would sigh, facepalm, muttering to himself why he even bothered to come back for a visit. Then Snake and him would start fighting with Fox, and Wolf would growl for them to shut up- the warning remaining ignored, until the order was emphasized with a fist or a sharp jab in the rips, and they'd all be yelling at eachother in mock anger- never real anger, and Cub would watch, fascinated at the sight before him, and Eagle could always see that yearning to join in, to be part of the family, which was ridiculous, because he already was.

(It had always put him in a melancholy mood when Cub didn't seem to know how to join in, that complete and utter lack of understanding of laughter and jokes and mock battles. Even Snake, a single child, had easily joined in. Cub always seemed to know the right thing to say- or, at the very least, pretend to know the right thing to say- but it had been awkward, when it was obvious he wanted to join in, but couldn't.)

And Cub was part of the unit- part of the family... unfortunately, a dysfunctional family that was currently scattered across the globe, Eagle thought mournfully as another shot disappeared.

But not indefinitely- that much was certain.

O-o-O-o-O

Eagle observed the rows of soldiers (one-hundred twenty-five to be exact) with a careful eye.

Thankfully, they were all soldiers who had graduated from basic training already- that was one relief.

The men in front of him were silent, standing stock-still. They were already tired and weary from the completion of the first phase of Ranger School. Except they weren't done yet- they had eight weeks with him before phase two ended, and phase three began.

Eight weeks, two hours per day. It wasn't ideal, but it would do.

"I am well aware that this is dipping into your rest time- for sleeping, studying, and what little free time you actually have. If what I say applies to you, you must leave. This is not a required class- you are free to go whenever you wish," the soldier informed them. "Dropping out or failing this class will not result inf expulsion from Ranger School. I will say, if you have hopes to be in combat, specifically a sniper or marksman, you must to stay unless otherwise informed.

"Don't be shy- if you don't want to be here, raise your hand." Eagle glared at the soldiers, daring them to disobey.

Eight hands went up.

"You are dismissed." Eagle gestured for them to leave. "One more thing- if you leave, you can't come back."

And then there were one-hundred seventeen.

"If you are absolutely sure that you will not be in combat, leave now. I'm not going to waste my time improving your shooting if you aren't even going to use it in the field," Eagle said coldly. "Save yourself the embarrassment of me personally telling you to leave- I can easily find out from your overseeing officers."

And then there were seventy-eight.

"Leave if you have any moral obligation of shooting someone in cold blood- or from afar, through a scope. Also, if you don't think you could kill a potential innocent."

And then there were seventy-three.

Eagle re-surveyed the remaining soldiers. "Good. Now that that's taken care of, let's get started.

"Raise your hand if you are confident you will be able to pass this class- albeit not easily."

Eagle counted the hands- six.

"Leave." There weren't any complaints- these were trained soldiers. "Overconfidence will kill you," Eagle said quietly, advice he knew the men would need.

And then there were sixty-seven.

The sniper then instructed the soldiers to write their names on a single sheet of paper, hung up at the range on proud display. "If you want to drop out, cross your name out when you decide to do so," Eagle explained. "It doesn't matter when- even in the middle of class, as long as you don't make a scene. Again, the same rule applies- once your name is crossed out, there's no coming back. And please be reminded that you won't be able to learn what I'm about to teach you anywhere else- at least not legally," the soldier admitted. "It's a form of shooting that's saved my life too many times to count. It's called... instinctive shooting."

O-o-O-o-O

Two men quit before the first lesson was even halfway through.

Not because it was particularly hard or difficult, but because-

"This is stupid," one of the soldiers grumbled. "Being able to strip your gun down in less than a minute isn't going to help shooting in any way." He and another soldier- who obviously agreed- left abruptly, crossing their names off as the did.

And then there were sixty-five.

"Before I teach you anything about shooting, you need to know your gun," Eagle provided, as soon as they were gone. "You won't be able to shoot instinctively until you have been familiarized with every square inch of your rifle." There was a pause as the soldiers absorbed this, before the sniper switched back to teaching. "I know during the last hour, your times have improved dramatically- I want you to now try it blindfolded."

He had their attention after his speech- they were now curious about their mysterious shooting instructor.

It wouldn't be long before he had gained their respect.

O-o-O-o-O

For the next week, Eagle only had them stripping their weapons down.

More quit- and more were forced to leave. Eagle picked off anyone who couldn't strip his weapon down in less than one minute, thirty seconds, blindfolded. He didn't want students whose hearts weren't in it, or lacked in the necessary skills.

Eagle raised an eyebrow at the remaining soldiers. "I believe a demonstration is in order, wouldn't you say?"

O-o-O-o-O

The soldiers were positively gaping at him by the time he was done.

Eagle had instructed them to set up six randomized targets at various distances, while he had his back turned.

Once the order was given that they were ready, the sniper had spun around instantly, rifle up.

Six targets.

Six shots.

Then, when the targets had been examined- six bullseyes.

The soldiers had watched in awe as Eagle barely glanced at the targets- seemingly not even aiming- as he fired the shots off in rapid succession.

Eagle's lips twiched, turning toward the soldiers. "Your turn."

O-o-O-o-O

Nine days previously.

Eagle let out a sigh as he entered the empty shooting range- the Army Ranger recruits he would be teaching would be arriving next week, and he needed to refresh himself before he began teaching any classes.

That, and shooting had always taken his mind off of things.

Even at the SAS, during selection, it had been his way of de-stressing- in an almost relaxing way.

Before enlisting, he had never even touched a gun, let alone learn how to shoot one. His shooting instructor at basic had immediately noticed him as a potential sharpshooter- and sniper.

Under his instructor's guidance, Eagle had quickly risen to the top of the class.

At the SAS, he'd quickly learned the art of long-distance and instinctive shooting.

Even the instructors had been shocked at the ease in which he had picked it up, showing such fierce determination that he would get it right, and that he could and would perfect his skillset, so that no one else under his watch would get hurt.

Ha ha. Yeah, right- look at how that had turned out.

("...Eagle?) the pain in his face, the mark of betrayal. ("You- you said you wouldn't.") And those eyes- the ones that had trusted him, the ones that had allowed himself to be comforted, protected, after so many people had failed him in the past... the eyes filled with raw pain and-and ("Ian! Please- don't go! I'll do better next time, please- just-just don't leave me.) and hurt (She's gone, Alex. She died." Because of you. All your fault.) and haunted- afraid of how vulnerable he was in front of a person he trusted, whom he had poured out all his secrets to.

Nimble fingers moved with practised ease, checking and double-checking for damages or repairs that needed to be done, as he dismantled, then cleaned, then reassembled it/before clicking it back together again.

Loading it came next- snapping a magazine in place, re-adjusting the sight.

It was a part of him, that gun, part of his soul, part of his mind, part of his very being.

The targets were prepped- ready when he was.

His eyes shot open, finger moving on the trigger before he was consciously aware of it; each bullet hitting its mark with deadly accuracy.

("I'm not human anymore," Cub said softly.

Eagle frowned, gently pulling the teen closer to him, arm wrapped comfortingly around his slim shoulders- god, he was so small, no wonder everyone underestimated him. "Of course your human," Eagle lightly scolded. "Why would you think otherwise?"

The teen's eyes glossed over- a sign the soldiers had come to recognize as Cub... not being all there, not fully aware of his surroundings. "People treat me like a child... they don't think I can take care of myself," he muttered darkly. "When it's in their best interest, of course. Otherwise they just ship me off on another goddamned mission and-and they..." his voice broke, before he automatically re-composed himself- Eagle didn't like it one bit. "They don't treat me like an adult, either." His voice iced over. "But I've figured it out." Brown eyes hardened. "I'm just a weapon to them." Cub looked down, hugging his knees to his chest [Eagle forgot how young he really was], those world-weary eyes shutting closed. "Why can't they just leave me alone?"

Eagle was suddenly aware of how tired Cub must have been- this process of being built up, only to be broken down once more- he wanted that cycle to end. For Blunt to just... stop.

The teen was in such a fragile state of mind- not sobbing or crying... which almost made it worse.

Eagle hated how helpless he was in this situation- how the pain was breaking Cub down, physically and mentally.

The sniper allowed him draw closer, the teen burying his head in his shoulder, and Cub leaned into the contact, embracing the comfort, the safety.

Eagle looked down, surprised when a [calloused where it should be soft] hand latched itself around his wrist.

It was a subconscious move on Cub's part, but the soldier sobered at the significance of it.

It was a reminder- that so many people had left him, betrayed hi trust... that he and K-Unit were the only ones left who would ever truly care about him,.

All the others were gone.

All the others had left him.)

"I won't leave you, Cub," the sniper whispered. "We'll find you- we promise. And when we don't, there's no damn way we're ever letting go."

O-o-O-o-O

You can bribe politicians, buy-out wars... but you will never be able to pay for the amount of loyalty one soldier has for a brother-in-arms.

Sorry, the title of the chapters may cause some confusion- this story is NOT complete, yet. 'Aftermath' stands for the aftermath of what just happened- the psychological stuff with Cub, the scattering of the K-Unit members, etc.