A/N: I just got my GCSE results yesterday so I'm in a very good mood – which will surely be gone by the end of this chapter – I hope you all appreciate my sacrifice!
Wolf forced himself not to growl threats down the end of the phone as he listened to the man instructing him to do something that made his skin crawl.
"Why?" he barked when the man stopped talking.
"Excuse me?" the man covered it well, but Wolf sensed that he was a little stunned at the abrupt demand – clearly, just stating his business in the past had always worked perfectly in terms of cowering people into obedience. Hah. He'd never met Wolf before, obviously.
"Why do we need to go there?"
"Oh, you will not be needed, Mr Stephanidis, we simply require Mr Rider –"
"Who is my responsibility." Wolf interrupted sharply.
"Oh, yes, of course, I am aware of that."
"Then I'm coming to. Now tell me, what's it all about?" The last four words were said in a snarl of anger that would've had the man cowering if he were in the same room. Lucky for him, he was quite a distance away.
"I am very sorry, Mr Stephanidis, but I am not at liberty to divulge that information over the phone; it must be said in person." He wisely hung up here, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Wolf's wrath any longer.
The soldier slammed the phone down onto the kitchen counter, fuming as he stared at the walls. After a few minutes he glanced down at his watch. Seven-thirty-two, it read. Alex would return from his visit to his friend James' house any minute.
Wolf had been very reluctant to let him go, as he was still concerned about the boy's safety given the recent abduction-attempt (it had only been a week since it happened, after all), but had relented when he was assured that Alex was to be accompanied on the way there and given a ride by the boy's mother back to the flat afterwards. Still, he hadn't been able to shake the feeling that as soon as he let the teenager out of his sight, something bad was going to happen. As the call he had just received proved, he was right.
He jumped as the key rattled in the lock. Alex's footsteps ascended the stairs accompanied by muffled thumps. Wolf heard the boy move around for a few moments, presumably putting his schoolbag in his room. Then he heard his voice, "Wolf?"
"In here," he called back. His fingers clenched around the edge of the counter as Alex approached, his whole body tense. How could he possibly tell him?
"Hi Wolf – what's wrong?"
Wolf drew in a deep breath before answering; his back still turned so he didn't have to look at the boy's face when he told him. "A man named Mr Crawley phoned."
Alex didn't reply for several long moments. When he did, his voice was quiet, with just a hint of quiet resignation colouring his tone, "When do they want me to come in?"
"We're going in tomorrow afternoon, right after I pick you up from school."
"Okay."
It wasn't until Alex was lying awake in bed later on, worrying, that he realised Wolf's assertion that he was coming too was a gesture of support and maybe even care. It was a novel feeling.
XXXXX
From the moment Wolf picked him up until the moment they entered the Royal and General Bank, Alex had a very bad feeling in his stomach. He'd managed to ignore it all day and concentrate well on his school work, knowing, if his instincts about this meeting were right, he'd be behind on it again very soon.
Eventually, they found themselves in Blunt's office, facing the grey man with equal feelings of trepidation and resignation, and in Wolf's case, concern.
As was his manner, he ignored them for a little while after they were gestured into their seats by Mrs Jones, who lost her composure briefly upon seeing that Alex was escorted by the soldier. She covered it immaculately a moment later.
Blunt looked up. Unlike his deputy, he showed no emotion at the elder man's presence, instead focusing on the boy. "I trust you're recovering from your injuries, Alex?"
"Which ones? The burns down my back from Kenya or the more recent ones?"
Blunt didn't even twitch at the slight hint of accusation in the teenager's tone. "The recent ones."
Alex shrugged, his manner casual, though his eyes were guarded. "Good as new."
"I'm glad to hear it." Blunt said, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
'I'll bet you are,' Alex thought mutinously.
"Of course, we were most concerned that a kidnapping attempt occurred in the first place," Blunt's eyes hardened slightly as they shifted over to Wolf, including him in the conversation for the first time. "I really expected to be informed by you, Mr Stephanidis, instead of by Agent Daniels."
"With all due respect, sir, my first priority after the incident was to ensure that Alex was not severely injured and to inform my Unit members of it; as you said, our mission is to protect Alex." Wolf's tone was perfectly respectful, as it should be when a soldier addresses someone of higher rank, but Alex could sense a dark anger burning behind his words. Evidently, Blunt could as well, as he chose to let the matter drop.
"Yes. Well, in light of this recent attack, it seems clear to us that the danger is somewhat greater then we perceived. As such, we have decided that it would be in Alex's best interest to leave the county for a short while, so we can investigate the matter further and see if it can be resolved sooner."
"Drop the fake story, Blunt." Alex growled, his temper worn thin by the man's condescending false concern. "What is it you really want me to do?"
The three adults in the room were significantly surprised by the boy's abrupt change in attitude and silence reigned for a short while, Wolf sneaking sideways looks at Alex that the boy was well aware of and the two MI6 operatives staring openly.
"Very well," Blunt finally replied, "Our counterparts in America have requested your services again."
Alex's face stayed blank apart from a very minute furrowing in his brows, "Byrne?"
"Yes, Byrne." Mrs Jones took over. "He was most impressed with your results in Cuba and he feels that you're the best man for this job. You won't be alone, the CIA is loaning a liaison agent to work with you."
"Like Troy and Turner?" Alex asked, raising his right eyebrow in the familiar expression Wolf had grown accustomed too. Seeing it now made him want to laugh, for some bizarre reason.
"Yes, like them."
"Well, let's hope this one has a better success rating," Alex muttered, referring to the American agent's gruesome death in Sarov's underwater lair.
Blunt blinked in response, then ignored the comment completely, "The CIA believes that there is a new drug ring in New York that is using children and teenagers as traffickers. We've singled out several possible traffickers who we'd like you to befriend and convince them to let you join up; once there, we need you to glean as much information as you can on where their central base of operations is, how far their operation reaches and, if possible, their leaders."
"And supposing I say no, to all of this?" Alex demanded, his dark brown eyes as hard as stone.
Blunt projected an aura of complete surprise at the suggestion. "I didn't think you would refuse," he said.
At Alex's look of sceptical disbelief, he continued, "After all, drugs is something that kits home with you, isn't it? That business with Skoda and the crane and whatnot. One of your former friends is a drugs addict, is he not? What was his name – Colin?"
Wolf barely contained his shock at the revelation. Alex had never mentioned anything about that, thought the incident with the crane had been included in his file. Glancing at his ward once again, he could see that the teenager was only just controlling his rage. He looked like he wanted to leap out of his seat and strangle the grey man in front of him who so casually mentioned his former friend's ruined life.
But Blunt wasn't done yet. "And of course, once the mission is complete, we could arrange a visit with Miss Starbright."
Alex's body grew tense. Though he and Wolf had begun a tentative friendship and he enjoyed the man's company, it wasn't the same as it was with Jack, he'd missed her greatly since her departure to the states. A visit sounded like a wonderful idea – but was it worth it? A picture of Colin flashed through his mind abruptly.
'I could stop other people from making the same mistake,' Alex thought.
Sighing, he conceded defeat. "All right, I'll do it."
"Wonderful," Blunt said, a brief smile crossing his face. "You're flight leaves Heathrow airport at ten tomorrow morning for Washington. There you'll meet with Byrne for the finer details and to meet your new partner. Now, if you head downstairs, Smithers is waiting with your gadgets."
XXXXX
It was the morning after an entirely sleepless night and Wolf was driving Alex to the airport, the boy's single suitcase in the back. Neither of them spoke on the journey. Wolf felt absolutely awful. It was his job to look after the boy and here he was, completely helpless to keep him out of a situation that could – and most likely would, given his track record – cause him serious harm. Maybe even kill him. It made the soldier want to slam him head into the steering wheel repeatedly until his woke up from whatever insane dream he was having.
They pulled up at the drop-off lane and Alex took of his seat belt. As he reached for the door handle, Wolf suddenly grabbed his arm. Looking round, the blonde boy raised his eyebrow in question.
Wolf sat still for a moment, biting his lip, uncertain how to explain for he felt. Due to lack of any other options, he settled for what he felt was the highly inadequate, "Look after yourself, kid. Okay?"
Alex's left eyebrow joined the right as he paused, absorbing that comment. "I try to."
"I don't want you to get hurt." Releasing Alex's arm, he hesitantly swiped a few stray strands of fair hair off of the boys face, searching for some kind of advice he could give to help the boy out. "When in doubt, always trust your instincts, all right? They've gotten me through some pretty tough missions; they'll do the same for you."
"Thanks, Wolf." Alex said quietly, his brown eyes locked on the soldier's dark grey ones. This was the first time anyone had tried to give him advice, to help him or to show they cared. He smiled at the man, trying to give reassurance that neither of them believed.
Turning away, he quickly jumped out of the car and moved around to retrieve his bag, marching up towards the entrance. He turned once he reached the doors and, turning, he saw Wolf was still sitting there, watching him leave. He tentatively raised a hand in farewell. Wolf did the same. Alex turned and left.
Sighing, Wolf turned the ignition and pulled away, driving back to his flat, trying to forget the tingling sensation that ran through his fingers as they'd come into contact with the boy's face. He had no idea that, inside the airport, Alex was trying to do exactly the same thing.
A/N: Good? Bad? A little too much at the end? Give me something to work with, people!