Wolf stopped at the edge of the sand dunes and looked back. He couldn't see Yassen anywhere and he sighed.

"Wolf? Are you alright?" Alex asked. He was standing up to his knees in long, swaying grass on the edge of the campsite.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Wolf replied, turning back and walking down to him. "Come on, Jack will want to have you back."

"Yeah, she'll probably kill me for going off with you. Do you think she'd buy it if I said you'd kidnapped me?" They both laughed as they set off towards the caravans.

"No, she probably wouldn't," said Wolf.

"Ah well," said Alex. He started to say something else, but caught himself with a worried glance at Wolf.

"What?"

"I was just wondering… why did you need to kill that man? Surely it's not really the sort of thing MI6 go in for? I thought they were meant to stop assassins." Wolf sighed.

"They do stop assassins. Well, assassins that aren't theirs," he added with a laugh. "But they'd tried everything else with Skinner, and it was easier and cheaper to have him killed." A note of resentment crept into his voice and Alex glanced at him.

"You don't agree." It wasn't a question.

"Not really," Wolf admitted with a shrug. "But in this case I'll make an exception."

"Your arm, did he do that?"

"Yeah," Wolf rubbed his shoulder gently, wincing. It pained him whenever he was reminded of the wound.

"What happened?" Wolf snorted.

"What do you think happened? He shot me and buggered off."

"What about Yassen?" Alex asked cautiously, unable to contain his curiosity.

"He bandaged me up and probably saved my life. He was also after Skinner, so it made sense for us to work together. And here we are. I don't know where he's gone, though," Wolf added, turning and looking back at the now distant dunes. Alex made a non-committal noise in the back of his throat and carried on walking.

They walked in silence to Alex's caravan. Jack was sitting on the sofa, staring out into the darkness. She leapt up and opened the door as she saw them.

"Alex! I was so worried about you," She exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. She ignored Wolf completely.

"I'm fine, Jack," Alex said, grinning. She didn't take his word for it and continued to hole him to her.

"Don't you ever do that again," She scolded eventually, pulling back. Wolf glanced away guiltily. The movement seemed to attract her attention and she looked at him properly for the first time.

"Alex, who's this?" Her tone was suddenly hard and held a warning note. Alex clearly picked up on it, because he moved himself slightly between her and Wolf before answering.

"This is Wolf, he's from the SAS." Jack's face paled, but her eyes remained steady.

"And why is he here?" she asked, still in the same steely tone.

"He…" Alex began, but cut himself short. Jack's eyes narrowed suspiciously as she looked at Wolf. He returned it blandly, a slight smile on his lips.

A sound made him turn and he pulled the gun from his waistband before he'd completed the movement. Jack gasped and Alex shoved in front of her, bringing his hands up and moving into combat stance. A moment later they were as they had been a few seconds earlier; Yassen had walked casually around the corner of the caravan

"Alex, isn't… Isn't that that man…?" Jack said. The confidence had drained from her voice and she sounded as weak as she looked. Yassen stopped a few feet away, his face blank. He appeared to be unaware of the stir he had caused by turning up.

"Jack, he saved me," Alex reminded his guardian. Yassen inclined his head towards her, allowing a small smile to touch his lips. Wolf could see that the Russian was enjoying himself.

"He's a killer… isn't he? That's what you said," She protested weakly, glaring at Yassen.

"Jack, forget it." Alex sighed. "I'll try and explain later."

"You're staying? They're not here to take you away on another mission?"

"Of course not," Wolf cut in, smiling reassuringly. Jack wasn't buying it; her gaze remained stony as she glared at Wolf and Yassen.

"Jack, I've already said, I'm not going to work for MI6 again, no matter what they say." Alex shot Wolf a sharp glance to reinforce his words and the SAS man held up his hands disarmingly, smiling.

Yassen took advantage of the distraction and stepped back, melting into invisibility in the darkness. He stayed within earshot, but felt more comfortable away from the others. He had hoped to speak to Alex alone, but it was plain that Jack wasn't going to let him out of her sight and he didn't fancy telling him what he wanted to say in front of her, and especially not in front of Wolf. He felt vaguely guilty just imagining the expression on his face.

"Yassen," Wolf's voice made him start. "I think it'd be best if we left now; Jack's getting a bit annoyed." Wolf's voice was tinged with amusement and he was grinning. Yassen nodded in agreement and turned to follow Wolf back past the caravan.

Alex was waiting for them, standing a few feet away from Jack with his arms crossed. He nodded once to Wolf before striding purposefully towards Yassen.

"You killed my uncle," He growled. "I haven't forgotten, you're still my enemy." Yassen opened his mouth to bring the boy's cosy little world crashing around his ears, but stopped himself. Alex wouldn't take him seriously, and Wolf would probably shoot him on the spot. In the end he just shrugged.

"I have a lot of enemies," he said quietly. "All of whom are more dangerous than you. Alex, it's not too late, you can still say no, leave this life to the adults. As I said before, killing is for grown-ups, and you're still just a child." The words were spoken so softly that only Alex could hear them. He opened his mouth to make a retort, but Yassen and Wolf had already gone, fading silently into the night.

Alex turned back to Jack and smiled as she folded him into her arms. He had meant what he'd said earlier, there was no way he was going to work for MI6 again, and he tried to convey this to Jack by tightening his hold on her and pressing his face into her shoulder, suddenly feeling very young.

"What did the blonde man say?" she asked tentatively when they broke apart.

"He told me not to go back to MI6, as if I would," Alex added, laughing. Jack smiled too, but it was worried and distant and didn't reach her anxious eyes. Alex didn't notice, he was still clamped in her arms, so tightly that it was hard to breathe; Jack seemed scared that he was going to vanish into thin air.

"Jack, I'm not going anywhere," He said quietly, pulling back. She nodded and released him. They both turned and looked in the direction that Yassen and Wolf had gone, lost in their thoughts.

Jack was wondering if she would be able to talk to Mrs. Jones and convince her not to use Alex again. Alex was half glad, and half annoyed with himself that he had let Wolf leave.