Chapter Eight
All Rose could think about was how alone she was. None of the soldiers wanted her around and Alex seemed to hate her.

Well that was alright. She hated him too, even if he had the looks of Adonis himself.

She'd heard voices in the kitchen and longed to know what they were talking about, but she didn't want to let anybody think that she was trying to escape. Rose heard the back door open and close and silently made her way to the window to see who was leaving at this time in the morning.

It was Alex. In pyjamas by the looks of things. She frowned, obviously he had a lot on his mind.

He'd almost made his way to the street before he realised he was only half dressed in bed-clothes. Frowning he reversed his steps and shimmed up the drain pipe to her left and in through an open window there.

Rose crept over to the man who was supposed to be watching her and, with quiet and practised skill, took the keys to the door off of him, before slipping out of the room and into the one Alex had just entered.

"Hi." She said as he watched her enter, a tee-shirt in hand. Rose tried not to stare at the expanse of finely-toned chest bare in front of her, swallowed and looked away.

He continued to look at her, she was wearing a pair of boxers and a tank-top, but they did nothing to hide her shapely figure or her toned legs.

Legs covered in thin silver scars, Alex noticed.

Still, standing there, looking her over, was turning him on. He was only human and male at that and she was scantily dressed. Scowling he turned away, pulled his shirt on and got his button up shirt from earlier and threw it towards the beautiful girl standing in front of his closed bedroom door.

"Where's Ben?" He asked, although not worried. If she was attempting to escape she wouldn't have come in here and spoken to him.

She held up the keys she'd stolen off Ben. "Guilty." She said. "I couldn't sleep, so I stole the keys and crept out. He's still fast asleep, I have light fingers." She shrugged and his shirt slipped off her shoulder for a second before she tugged it back up again.

Angry with himself for noticing such a small movement, he snapped at her; "and what gave you the impression that I would receive your company with pleasure?"

On the inside Rose was daunted, but she hid it well. She'd grown up in a verbally volatile atmosphere and could defend herself easily. "Maybe I just wanted to know why someone would leave at three in the morning... in bed-clothes?"

Alex scowled. "Why does that concern you?"

"Your my jailers, why wouldn't it?"

"Then you should know that none of us want you here."

She flinched and Alex felt sorry for her. She looked so pathetically small, standing there in his oversized shirt. But he reassessed his opinion as her head went back and her eyes sparkled in defiance. She shrugged as she started to speak.

"I already knew that. What I don't understand is why you won't accept my help to get at those who were in any way responsible for Jack's death. But then again, you already know who killed her."

And with that parting quip she left Alex stunned, and whirled away to fling open the door, catching K-Unit and Ben eavesdropping. Hurling the keys at Ben she marched back into her room and slammed the door.

Ben whistled low. "Wow, we have a wild one on our hands." He looked at Alex who looked ready to murder someone. "Care to explain why she was wearing one of your shirts?"

"Or how come you're back so quickly and we never heard the door go?" Eagle slipped in.

Alex glared at the men in the doorframe and turned to look for his iPod. Then remembered that it was in his shirt pocket. In the shirt he'd given to Rose.

He groaned but shoved his way past the SAS men and Ben to knock at the door Rose has just disappeared through.

"What?" She said as she opened the door. His shirt draped over her body, iPod sticking out of his top pocket. Alex gestured towards it. She raised her eyebrows and stripped the shirt off of herself, shoved it in Alex's direction and closed the door in his face.

"What did she mean you know who killed Jack? I thought you said it was Scorpia?"

He breathed out heavily. "I don't want to talk about it Ben. And the only way she knows is if she was there."

Cheetah, or Will, looked intently at the tired, insecure, emotionally damaged boy in front of him. Because that's what he was, Will saw, a boy. One who was tired and wanted to relax but was unable to. You didn't ask questions of a psychologically damaged soldier in the way that James, Kyle, Drew and Ben were asking of Alex. A person like Alex had to trust you first.

But Will hardly knew the boy and the only things he knew were that he had a passing resemblance to Cub (an unorthodox member of K-Unit, was how Will thought of him) and that he was one of the best Agents MI6 had ever employed. Only beneath James Bond.

"Come on, guys," he said, "give the guy a break. Plus considering the dinner he put on the table, I can't wait for breakfast and if you're not careful he'll refuse." And with that he turned Kyle around and headed back to his room to catch up with that lovely dream that the noise had woken him from.

Alex hid a smile as Cheetah stood up for his privacy and told the others off for their interference. Ben gave him a worried glance, but with a nod from Alex, he headed back to the room he was sharing with the assassin.

Cheetah crept back into the room; "she's one hot babe, kid." He grinned and winked at Alex before sliding back to his room.

Alex almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. But underneath he was still shocked that Rose knew.