A/N: I'm doing so much better with the updates! I mean, seriously, less than 3 months between them. I would have written more this weekend, but I took my new horse (his name is Yogi. How cute is that?) to a big horseshow in VT. We placed eighth out of ninety horses. Now I'm riding every day, but I do it in the morning when it's not too hot. Now I just have to get my dad to buy him for me. I'm going to have to do some major sucking up! Anyway, I love all of you wonderful readers. How about you read the story now, instead of listening to my rambling. Here it is, CHAPTER 8!!

Alex got up with the sun, as usual. He still had a good few minutes before he had to get up. As he lay in bed, he thought about Ember. He wanted her to be his girlfriend, but it could just put her in even more danger. The last he wanted was for her to end up like Sabina.

He heard some of the other men in his bunkhouse stirring. It was time to get up. Today, they would see off the teens that were not selected for the mission. They would take a plane back to London. They would continue to go to school and such. Alex wished he could go with them.

He stood up and went over to his small metal chest of drawers and pulled out his uniform, a black t-shirt and camouflage combat pants. He tucked them into his heavy boots. Last he put on a camouflage jacket with a little embroidered tag that read:

SERGEANT CUB

He walked out of the bunkhouse to the mess hall for a quick breakfast before the children arrived for their breakfast.

Once he arrived at the mess hall, he grabbed a bagel and a tub of cream cheese, then sat down to spread it.

While he was wolfing down his bagel, the first couple of students wandered in. They got their breakfast and sat down, only to be joined moments later by their friends. Soon the mess hall was loud with chatter.

Towards the end of breakfast, two people Alex never enjoyed seeing appeared at the door. Alan Blunt in his dull grey suit and Tulip Jones in a navy blue pinstriped skirt suit with a pink blouse looked out of place in the camouflage sea.

Blunt caught Alex's eye and gestured for him to come over.

"Hello Alex" he said. Alex did not reply, nor was he expected to.

"Lovely to see you again, Alex dear" said Mrs. Jones warmly. Alex nodded briefly. "We've been monitoring your progress, and we think you have done considerably well. Thank for helping with the training" she smiled at him. He muttered something under his breath about not having a choice.

The sergeants stood and called out,

"Everyone except Harris, Greene, Warton, Fentsworth, Gordon, Darcey, Modley, Sherry, Hudson, Freeman, and Miller gather your bags and line up at the door." Chairs screeched as almost everyone stood. There was much bumping and shoving as the students made their way to the door. Once everyone was lined up, they were all led outside.

The silence in the mess hall was slightly awkward. The few students remaining had shifted tables so that they sat together. Blunt, Jones, and Alex made their way over to the table. Alex sat, while Blunt stood at the head of the table with Mrs. Jones.

"Hello all of you. As I hope you will remember, I am Alan Blunt, Head of MI6. This is my deputy, Mrs. Jones. We are here to brief you on your mission.

"You will be attending an American School in Munich, Germany. You will need to keep your eyes open for any strange behavior. If the school is attacked again, you must fight back. Do not kill all of your attackers before we can find who sent them and why. We have an agent in Munich now, who will meet you and guide you. His name is Joseph York."

Mrs. Jones opened her briefcase and pulled out a bunch of folders.

"These contain a copy of the mission brief and a fake identity that you will use. We have decided to keep your first names the same, but change your last. Read them and learn them. A slip in conversation could get you killed. Good luck." she said, handing each of them a folder.

"You leave for Germany in four days. Until then, we have arranged for you to stay in one of our flats in London. You will be taken there later today. Go and pack." said Blunt. The students dispersed, and Blunt and Jones got into their black SUV and were driven away.

(Later that day)

The teens were assembled on a decrepit wooden bench by the road, waiting to be driven to the airstrip (it wasn't actually big enough to be an airport, just a runway and a hangar). Ember had taken the seat next to Alex and was leaning against him. They hadn't had a chance to talk privately since the previous night, and Alex wasn't sure when they would get one.

The group sat in silence. It wasn't awkward, but everyone was immersed in his or her own thoughts. Especially Alex. On the top of his mind was Ember. Is she like, my girlfriend or something now? I mean, the leaning clearly means she thinks we have something. But is it safe? For her, I mean. SCORPIA could be involved. What if they found out and tried to-

The thinking session was interrupted by the arrival of a small van. Everyone piled in. Finally they were forced to make some conversation as seating was arranged. Alex took the corner seat in the far back, hoping to be forgotten. No such luck.

"Hey, Rider!" called James. "Tell us about some of the stuff you've done."

"Yes! Please will you?" the girl called Lizzie asked brightly. Alex shook his head.

"Classified" was his terse reply. A couple people groaned.

"That's all you ever say." complained Ben.

"Lay off guys, give the man a break!" Tom defended him. The van went back into awkward silence. Ember and Drew, sitting in front of Alex, began to whisper, glance his way, then giggle in that girlish way that always got on his nerves.

"All right, everyone out!" called the driver. They unloaded and found themselves standing before the very same jet that had brought them here. This time, however, there was no Mrs. Jones to monitor them. Somehow, Alex knew he was in for an interesting flight.