Thanks for sticking with me, guys- I appreciate it.
Guest- Yeah, me too. The other one is good, too. Semper fidelis, Always faithful.
Guest- I suppose we'll have to find out, no?
MusicalG23- Same, it was a lot of fun writing Eagle in that chapter. Pretty sure my skills in writing detail are sadly lacking, though.
Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider.
O-o-O-o-O
Wolf sighed moodily.
It had been over a year since '6 had split his team up.
A whole freakin' year.
They'd missed his birthday- hell, they didn't even know when his birthday was; but they knew was seventeen, now.
Fox had updated them when he could- consistently reassuring all of the soldiers that yes, Cub was still alive- and still under Blunt's thumb.
Alex's mental state hadn't changed, either, according to Fox.
As for the rest of the unit, they were having a bit more success in connecting to the real world. Fox had moved up the ranks, providing support to a multitude of intelligence agencies worldwide. Snake only had a few short semesters left before he finished his M.S, and would be promoted as a field doctor and sent on a tour to the Middle East- although his superiors were pestering him to move on to get his doctorate.
Eagle and Wolf had been the successful results of Britain's experiment of Britain-U.S. Military Liaisons. They were eagerly snapped up by the military for a variety of different training camps, including the Navy Seals, Army Rangers, Marine Infantry, and even the elite Military Academies as specialized instructors.
As much as they enjoyed teaching, a day never passed without them thinking about why they were there... and not with their team.
O-o-O-o-O
"This is the file containing the details of Rider's next mission," Alan Blunt explained to his deputy.
Mrs. Jones took it wordlessly. After glancing through the first few pages, she looked up sharply. "The Nakket? They're in Turkey?"
"Yes," he answered. "We recently received a tip that they're holed up in the mountains. From what we can tell, their fortress is impenetrable to normal covert ops- even a team of four men would be compromised."
Mrs. Jones tapped the folder. "This isn't a solo op, either- is there a way we could send in a drone? Or even a bomb?"
Blunt shook his head. "Their technology is far too advanced- they can intercept anything we send them, not to mention deter on the Turkish government, or even civilians."
She could imagine the hopeless peace talks of England sending a drone to Turkey- an utter nightmare.
"Rider is a valuable asset to lose," she pointed out. "Every agent we've sent in, to their various bases of operations, has been unsuccessful." Killed.
"He's valuable because he does his job," Blunt countered. With that, he pressed the intercom button built into his desk. "Send Agent Rider in."
O-o-O-o-O
The boy's eyes snapped open from his power nap, to see his temporary handler look at him, concerned. "You sure you're ready, kid?"
Alex eyed him warily. "Of course, sir."
The man pursed his lips, obviously not pleased with his current predicament. "Get your gear together. Another five minutes or so, and you're getting off."
He nodded, quickly slipping on his pack, before he re-adjusted his parachute. It was small and light- enough to get him past the high-tech security that constantly surveyed the night sky, past the mountain of sensors and satellites the Nakket had at their disposal.
Of course, it was a 10K hike up the mountain before he made it to their base- which was an absolute fortress, according to the information he had been provided with. It would take a bit more prep time to scope out the security before he planned his mode of attack.
The assignment wasn't going to be easy- they rarely were- especially with the lack of backup.
Except he was no stranger to solo ops- he worked alone.
Alex didn't like his odds, though. It wasn't just one or two marks to take out.
It was different this time- more difficult than he'd ever done.
("Do you understand your objective?"
The spy's eyes slid up to meet hers. "Of course," he replied smoothly.)
MI6 wanted Nakket to be done and over with- and they moved around so much it was almost impossible to get any information on their location.
But here, and now...
There were an approximate three hundred insurgents at their base.
His objective?
Complete elimination.
O-o-O-o-O
Two days later.
He'd slipped past their preliminary defenses, dropping from a plane, 10K from the base.
He'd been a mere shadow as he made his way to the fortress, securing a vantage point- watching, observing, analyzing.
He'd made calculations, plans- he had everything laid out, and of course, a multitude of backup plans.
Every detail, every flaw, every probability- nothing went past him.
Alex Rider was ready.
O-o-O-o-O
Most people would have waited until the guards were at their most vulnerable to take them out- right before the change in shift, when they would be sleepy and less alert.
Alex couldn't afford it- he would never have enough time to finish everyone off before an alarm went off.
No, he had to do this quietly and efficiently- taking them out as soon as possible, a few hours after their shift had started.
It was a moonless night- he'd intentionally waited; the darkness was one of his more dangerous weapons, and he'd need every advantage he could get.
The spy struck after the night and darkness was at its prime, using one of the devices that MI6 provided him with to temporarily disable the laser grid. His approach would be targeting the weaker side, with the least amount of guards, which was right past the laser grid and wall. He was wary of the infrared cameras- but '6 had also provided him with a combat uniform that provided defense against that problem. It was unusual for them to give him a wide variety of weapons and support, but Alex knew they didn't want him to fail this assignment.
Thankfully, the guards were spread out enough for him to take them out quietly, before any of them knew what was happening although he needed to be fast.
The cameras were connected to the guards' uniforms- they detected movements more than anything. And if the guards were only supposed to stand still, he was in the clear.
His combat knives were his best option, then, as he was able to catch each guard unaware, slitting a throat before carefully placing the body on the ground, and moving on to the next.
Once the area had been cleared, the spy moved on to his next target: the barracks.
There were five of them, holding an estimated total of two hundred men. He knew that there were a good fifty guards scattered throughout the base, currently on patrol- not including the the ones he had just taken out.
Alex started on the nearest barrack; only two of the five building were vacant- the second night shift had already started, the guards from the first night shift would already be asleep. He knew which ones were empty- he knew the barracks he needed to target.
Out of his pack came three small canisters, full of compressed gas- hydrogen sulphide. It worked quickly, killing after only few breaths- plus, it was invisible to the naked eye.
He moved quietly to the fan on the side of the building- the few windows that it had were closed, no gas would leak out. The teen tugged at the side of the small ventilation shaft, pulling off the cover before slipping in the gas canister.
There was a slight hiss as he engaged it, and knew to put the cover back on quickly. He would later have to confirm the kills, but he was on a tight time limit- he needed to move fast.
It didn't take long for him to rig the other two barracks, and soon it was time to infiltrate the main building.
The MI6 techs had never been close enough to hack into them, but with is current range, not to mention he was past their blocking satellites, he managed to hack into their software, long enough to implant a loop in the camera. Security on the outside was extremely heavy, but inside was a completely different story.
The keypad was also hacked using MI6 technology, and the guards were unsuspecting as a shadow closed in on them.
Alex knew that the security would be focused on the outside of the building, rather than the inside.
The assassin went room by room, taking out guards when he came to them, eventually making his way to the control tower.
It was harder than, taking out half a dozen men in the same lit room, without any of them pulling an alarm.
Difficult, but not impossible.
Alex knew that even two of the men would have him subdued quickly and easily- but then again, his main weapons were surprise and stealth.
The teen slashed two throats and threw three knives before the sixth guard noticed.
The last guard didn't raise the alarm, only seeing a teenager, and advanced quickly upon him, drawing a firearm.
Before he could shoot- and raise attention to him- Alex threw his remaining knife.
The man gasped in surprise and pain as a knife protruded from his hand, which had immediately caused the gun to be dropped.
He was wounded, yes- and now angry- but he wasn't going to let a teenager get the best of him.
The man ignored the pain from his right hand, choosing to grab one of the knives from his dead comrades, and backed the teen in a corner- he was apparently unarmed, and wasn't anywhere near one of his knives.
The spy ducked the swipe from the knife, moving smoothly out of the way, and in position to jab at his ribs- cracking or fracturing a couple, but not breaking them.
The man caught the roundhouse kick aimed at his throat, twisting the appendage and pulling the boy off balance.
He threw the teen to the ground, not allowing enough time for him to roll to his feet, as he crushed one foot into his ribcage- getting a very satisfactory cry of pain- before the man disabled his right wrist, shattering the bone with one blow.
The teen's breathing hitched, but the man failed to see the fire in his eyes- as he exposed himself long enough for him to yank the knife out of his hand. The man yelled, moving back from the boy, staring as blood pooled from the wound.
Glaring coldly, the spy threw the knife; it landed in the center of his throat.
Alex rolled to his feet, glancing minutely at his injuries before deciding that no immediate medical attention was needed, before he continued his mission.
The main ventilation shaft was located right next to the control room, and was his main target.
Using his access from the control room, he managed to disable any alarms that would be triggered leading up to it.
Alex entered the storage room cautiously, wary of any stray guards- but the room was empty.
The teen unscrewed the vent cover, eventually able to pry it off. He then slipped the largest gas canister out of his pack, setting it carefully in the shaft; he would engage it once he was out of the building by remote- MI6 hadn't given him a gas mask. He put the cover back on, leaving everything as it was before had invaded.
O-o-O-o-O
The man began his hourly sweep of the base- he was expecting MI6 to make a move any day now, and had strategically placed cameras that were separate from the mainframe, and thus unhackable and undetectable.
Sitting at his desk, he pulled up the monitors, carefully flicking through the camera footage.
There.
A small figure emerged from the surrounding wilderness- he had somehow managed to avoid the laser grid- and quickly took out the nearby guards, before slipping between the barracks.
Intrigued, the man switched to a different camera angle, watching as he hooked up gas canisters to the barracks' ventilation systems. Smart- except he knew what the result would be. He must have scoped it out well, as he knew which barracks were currently occupied.
He pursed his lips, trying to get a better angle- his eyes widened when he saw who it was.
Alex Rider.
Interesting.
So very interesting.
The man continued to watch as he took out any guards that happened to get in his way- he could easily see Alex's target was the control room.
The spy demonstrated an impressive amount of stealth and skills as he massacared the guards in the control tower, before he disabled the alarms for- a... storage room?
It took a moment for him to realize the significance- and he knew he had to intervene before Alex did some real damage.
O-o-O-o-O
As soon as he left the room, the spy was ambushed.
It was only one man, but Alex struggled to keep up his defenses against the sudden flurry of strikes- especially with his current injuries.
He couldn't help but notice the attacks were all to disarm or disable. Not to kill.
They wanted him alive.
That, more than anything, only panicked him more.
He was no unsuspecting guard, he wasn't inexperienced- he was a master of his trade, his skills obviously surpassing Alex's own.
Too soon, he was forced in a submissive hold.
"I've been expecting you, Alex Rider," the spy heard the smooth voice before darkness set in.
O-o-O-o-O
Don't expect things to go your way- ever.