A/N May 4, 2019: If you currently are reading this story, note that all chapters have been updated. See author's note for chapter 1.

Chapter 4: Revelations

Darkness. Pain in her arms, bent and held hard behind her back. Pressure over her mouth. Panic.

'"When I let you go, don't scream. Look at me" a voice hised in her ear. "I will just let your eyes get used to the darkness first".

She heard her own heartbeats, fast from fear, while she waited for her vision to adapt to the little light that seeped in through cracks in the window shutters. Who the hell was this? Friend or foe? And what did he want with her? Her guess was that Chowdhrey had spotted her following him, but what did he intend to do with her now?

An eternity passed but then she could see in the faint light. "Okay, I will let you go now. Don't make a sound, just turn around."

He let go, slowly, making sure her legs could carry her after the shock. She turned and gasped in shock when she saw who it was.

"Boss?!"

"In the flesh", he smirked in his characteristic way, removing any doubt she might have had that it really was him.

"How? I don't understand! I saw you blow into pieces! Or not even pieces, there was nothing left…"

In some miraculous way, Bones was standing in front of her. She held on to his arms to convince herself this was not imagination and maybe to steady herself too. After all, it was as close to seeing a ghost as she ever had been.

"You just thought you did" he said dryly, shook her hands off and took a step backwards.

"I will explain, but not here. You put yourself in danger following Inspector Chowdhrey. We need to move."

"Were you following me?"

"No, him - but then I spotted you. And someone else might have too. Please trust me and just come with me. We can't stay here, it's just some random house we crashed."

He had never given her any reason not to trust him. On the contrary, he had saved her life three times, but now she had just discovered this massive deception. That of him being dead. Even if she was glad that he was alive, she was not sure it was the wisest thing to go with him, but if she did not she would not find out what he had to tell. She just could not miss out on that because she had never been more curious. She silently cursed her adventurous side, knowing it usually led her to trouble.

"Okay, I will come with you", she said grudgingly.

"Good choice, Lane. Maybe you have half a brain after all."

Then he opened the door and checked the street. "All clear, let's move."

They moved in quick pace but without running as they did not want to draw unnecessary attention to themselves. Bones was striding on long legs and she was annoyed over how she had to take twice as many steps to keep up with him, feeling like she was a chihuahua following a large greyhound. Out in the daylight she could see that he was not wearing any army uniform but regular clothes, t-shirt and trousers and resembled the mercenary he had pretended to be when she first met him, undercover in Nigeria. It suited him and fleetingly she wondered if this was his own style off-duty or if this was another undercover mission. Seeing since he apparently had faked his own death, the latter seemed more likely.

Suddenly the heavens opened, and a monsoon rain started pouring down. Everyone was running now to find shelter, so they ran too. They ran through winding alleys in a direction of the town where she had never been before, until he stopped outside a small door which he unlocked after glancing around them.

"Welcome to my place" he said, opened and let her through like the gentleman he far from was, followed and closed the door behind them.

"What is this place?"

She looked around curiously.

"One of my local connections set me up here after I had "died". "Bones put his fingers up gesturing quotation marks in the air, as if it was not already apparent that he was very much alive. "His aunt owns the house and I can come and go as I wish in this part of the building, no questions asked. Suits me fine."

The room was a small and sparsely furniture but clean and tidy. No personal belongings of Bones' were to be seen, but that was hardly a surprise under the circumstances. It was not like he had been travelling with any luggage when he abruptly left.

Both were soaking wet from the heavy rain. He shook his head at the sight of their clothes glued to their bodies. Their hairs and faces were dripping, and Georgie had started trembling of cold.

"What with being dead, I don't have that much clothes to offer as a change. Since I am a gentleman, I'm happy to lend you my only other t-shirt but I'm sorry to inform you that then you will have to stand me wearing only underwear" he smirked and did not look apologetic at all.

"I think I can handle that. I'm a big girl and have probably seen worse" she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Just give me the t-shirt. Please."

He threw it to her, still smirking.

"And turn around!"

Surprisingly obedient he turned away and she turned her back to him, hoping he did not sneak peek. She peeled of the dripping clothes and put the t-shirt on, thankful it was some sizes large, so it was long enough to cover her knickers.

Despite that he had told her he would get undressed too, she was startled to find him only in his boxers when she turned. She made a mental whistle because disturbingly enough, he was seriously fit. He had never flaunted his bare upper body around barracks like some of the guys in 2 section proudly liked to do, walking around showing off abs and torsos more than she wished they would. However, judging only by his combat clad form and his obsession with keeping the section in shape, she had of course guessed he would be fit, but not like this. Obviously, he lived by the standards he had set for them when he was their commander; that they should all be "washboard soldiers". His abs were the most washboard-ish ones she ever had seen and with drips of water trailing down the ridges like a skier over moguls, he would have suited in a commercial for a very manly aftershave.

She prayed that she was able to keep a poker face on and did not show any reaction, but the smirk which again appeared on his face indicated he knew exactly what she was thinking. Christ, she did not want to be like a school girl just at the sight of a half-naked man even if he was really, really handsome. Especially not one as annoying as him.

"Ah, my t-shirt looks better on you than on me" was all he said.

Consciously, Georgie pulled the t-shirt down with the vain hope to make it longer, because she felt oddly naked showing her legs in his presence, even if she had more clothes on than she would wear on a public beach on a sunny day.

"Okay, now tell me everything. I'm glad you are alive - but how?! And why did you fake your own death?"

"So, you are glad I'm alive? I thought all of you would be cheering after the way I beasted you", he grinned.

"You agree you have been an asshole?" she said with surprise.

"I wouldn't stretch as far as an asshole, but I know I wasn't nice. It was for a good cause though and I was never here to make friends. Let me start from the beginning. About six months ago, just when we had returned to UK from Belize, I got summoned to a classified meeting."

"Isn't all SF stuff classified?"

"Well, yes, but this was more classified than usual. I was informed about an issue here at the border of Bangladesh. Someone was trading drugs, yabba, to the refugees and making good money from it. There were suspicions that local police were not only seeing through their finger but also were involved in the trade themselves. This would normally not have been our business, but there were indications that one of our own was involved."

"What do you mean? Someone from the British Army?"

"Unfortunately, yes. However, there was no solid evidence and they wanted me to go here and get it. This was of course a sensitive affair, so I was to go here on a covert mission and 2 section were to join and be my cover. Without knowing it might I add. I realised though, that there may come a situation when I would need the help from you lot. Therefore, I have done all I can to get you all in the best possible shape and increase your skills. I know I was not Mr. Niceguy but you would never have improved as you have if I had not been pushing you. Okay, I admit that at first in Belize I may also have taken out my anger on being demoted on you, just a bit, but I swear the rest was because I wanted to spur you to be better"

Georgie listened attentively and tried to grasp all he said, from someone Army being involved in illegal activities here, to Bones part in putting and to it, to his reasons for being the worst commander 2 section had ever encountered. .

"Who? Who of our guys was suspected to be involved in the drug trade?"

"You are a smart girl. Who do you think?"

She went through the options in her mind and if she went by her gut feeling, then it all seemed clear.

"The Brigadier?"

"I knew you were clever. Yes, he is the suspect."

"I thought you said earlier you were surprised I even had half a brain?"

"Maybe you should not believe everything I say seriously." He stared at her challenging.

"This is though, serious, isn't it?"

"Yeah, as serious as it gets."

"But why?! Why would the Brigadier do such a thing? Risk his reputation and career, not to mention the bad it does to the refugees we are here to help. I don't get it."

"What drives most crimes? Greed. Money. It makes people do strange things. Maybe you have noticed that he likes the "finer" things in life? Fine dining, expensive suits, spending time with posh people rather than the squaddies. At home he has a large mansion and a beautiful, high-maintenance wife. Met her once and never want to meet her again. Even if he earns more than the two of us combined, it is far from enough to afford such a lifestyle."

She shook her head in disbelief.

"Please, continue. Tell me more."

"I can only speculate, but when he was deployed here on a previous tour he was probably approached about a "business opportunity", saw a way out of his financial problems and took it. The investigations I have done whilst being here indicate that Inspector Chowdhrey may not be the good guy he is posing as and others in high positions may be involved as well. I have not secured all the needed evidence yet."

"Do you have solid proof now that the Brigadier is involved or only circumstantial evidence?"

"Shortly before the stupid VIP reception to honour the Brigadier, I got some intel from my local connections which indicated we were on the right track. Simultaneously I found out that I had raised suspicion, somehow exposed myself and risked being assassinated before I could complete the mission. Then I decided to fake my own death, go even more under cover, both to avoid getting killed for real and to be able to finalise my investigations and get the needed piece of evidence. I would not want to accuse an Officer of the Her Majesty's Army of being a drug dealer without solid evidence, then it would be my career on the line instead of his."

"But how did you do it? Survive the bomb? I was looking right at you when you stood there holding it. I saw it blow up and then there was literally nothing left."

"Exactly. You never found that a bit odd? If I had had a spare hand or leg to leave there I would have."

"I just thought the blast left nothing there."

"That was what I wanted you to think, so you should not be too hard on yourself for buying it."

"So, what was the trick?"

"The monk who placed the bomb there was one of my local connections disguised as a monk and he also triggered it at the exactly right moment. It was more noise and smoke than actual explosion power and while the smoke was there I just dived in to the bushes and disappeared. It wasn't more complicated than that."

"But your medals covered in blood? I found them"

"Well, I thought should leave something behind to make it more believable, even if I couldn't conjure up spare body parts. I managed to get an identical set of medals and dripped some blood on from a cut in my hand beforehand. Then I just threw that on the lawn before vanishing. I had a bloke waiting for me outside the garden with a motorbike, he drove me here and I have continued my work."

"You make it sound so easy, you really thought of everything... but how about your wife and kids? What a terrible thing to do, to trick them into believing you are dead!"

"My wife? And kids?" He looked utterly surprised, like she had said the last thing he expected. "I don't have a wife, or kids for that matter. Why would you think that?"

"The woman and two boys that came for your coffin? Who were they then?"

He burst into a wide grin again.

"Ah, that was my little sister and her sons. I agree, it was a horrible thing to trick them. I hated it and it was the most difficult part of setting all this up, but their grief needed to be real, so no one would realise... I didn't keep her in the dark for long though, I called her as soon as they got home. She was mad as a hornet first but luckily for me, she was even happier to find out I was alive, although she claimed she will kill me herself next time she sees me."

They both laughed, and Georgie somehow felt relief that he had not been cheating on a wife when he hit on her in Nigeria and later brought another girl with him to his bed instead. He was not a cheating bastard, just a cheeky bastard who liked to enjoy himself when off-duty, much like the rest of 2 section. It seemed like she would need to revise her opinion of him... not an unfaithful scoundrel but a caring brother judging by his tone of voice talking of his sister; not an asshole who thought they all were idiots and pushed them for sadistic pleasure but because he wanted them to be prepared for the real deal. Now, when he did not need to keep up that pretence he was so much more relaxed, friendly and approachable. Who was this man, really?