I hope this chapter is satisfying! thanks for reading, as always :)
June 13th ; 6:00
They'd been in the covered vehicle for approximately four hours. It felt like twenty.
Their plane had been a small carrier, and they'd been dropped in the woods, a few miles from the car that would take them into the compound. The walk and the flight had been bearable, with Eagle and Wolf trading good-natured quips, Snake intervening when necessary, and Panther laughing at all the right times.
Panther hadn't looked Alex directly in the eye since the confrontation in the cabin. They'd spoken, but it'd been small chat. Ready for the mission, Cub? Nice weather for a mission, eh? I'm sore everywhere- what about you? It was all polite chatter, and Alex supposed he couldn't really blame Panther for trying and failing. The conversations always died off after about two exchanges. That was mostly Alex's fault, though. He used to be at ease with conversing with another human being. It used to be easy. But it'd gotten harder after the majority of his friends had distanced themselves; he barely spoke to anybody these days. He wouldn't count talking to Blunt or Jones as conversing, necessarily. And yeah, he talked to the K-Unit, but they did all the work. Panther never really spoke during their group conversations unless it was significant. The point was that Alex's social skills had somewhat deteriorated.
The drive was five hours in total, so they were on the last stretch- the part that mattered. The part that could get them all killed. Well, Alex thought, the entire mission could get us all killed.
The car passed from dirt onto pavement. Alex didn't dare open a curtain and look out, but he was fairly sure they were in the small mountain town, and would soon be approaching the entrance. As cliché as it sounds, each member of the unit was to shove themselves in their assigned box. They were at the front, near the driver, while the actual supplies (foods, clothes, medical supplies) being transferred were at the back. The boxes were just large enough for them to squeeze into.
The truck moved forward slowly, and crept to a stop after about twenty minutes on the pavement. There were dull voices, and a knock came from the front of the car. The signal.
Alex lifted his box's lid and curled into it. He didn't look at the rest of his unit as he closed the lid- he could only hope they were capable of not making a mistake.
Alex hated these situations. He was blind. The box was dark and his breathing was silent. When he held his breath, he could only slightly hear the breathing of the others, and that was only because he was aware of it.
The tarp over the bed of the truck rustled, and a voice listed something off in french. Alex couldn't catch many of the words. A different voice asked something, and after a response, the tarp rustled again. Silence. Tension.
The car moved forward, and another knock came. Alex slowly lifted the lid of his box, and climbed out silently as possible. The others did the same. The car rolled into motion again; instead of going higher, the truck was angled down at the hood. They were going underground.
They stayed in the car for another half hour. None of them spoke; Alex preferred it that way.
Their instructions were simple, really. The bunker was inside of the alps, wedged into the side of a small valley and hidden inside heavy woods. It was hard to breach quietly- the only way in without being inconspicuous was the single dirt road that led up the mountain and into the valley. The only other way would be from the air- a helicopter was too loud, and a small plane was too noticeable. Parachuting had been out of the question, with the thick woods easily in the way. Though it may have been the most dangerous of all of them, the vehicle route was the only way to go.
If entering the facility was successful, they would end up in the storage area. Only a few guards were expected to be on duty here. It wouldn't be a problem to take them out quickly and quietly. Past the storage room they would have to navigate using a small map of the facility to find their way around. It had been supplied by an informant that had gotten just far enough to obtain the most information and returned it to MI6, only to go missing from his flat three weeks later- but he'd gotten MI6 the information, and that's all that had mattered. Alex's unit was to find the room on the map named Dux Ducis. Supposedly, that's where one Jerome Argent worked from. It made sense, seeing as the room was in the middle of the facility.
It wouldn't be easy. There were many hallways and many more rooms; one mistake could cost them gravely.
The car pulled to a stop. Muffled voices spoke outside of the car, and Wolf held up a hand, his fingers curling in a signal. Get ready.
The tarp was lifted and they wasted no time. There were two men lifting the tarp, and two more waiting behind them. Caught by surprise, the two men in front were easily taken down by Wolf and Snake. Panther and Eagle quickly got to work on the last two. They finished it off easily.
Alex slid out of the truck. He looked around at the storage room, observant. It was large- as large as you'd expect from a warehouse. Boxes were stacked neatly, and other than the four guards, there were no other noticeable threats. Alex glanced up at the ceiling.
There were two security cameras- both facing into the warehouse from the door they'd entered in. The truck served as cover from the camera's sight. Alex lifted one of the men and pushed him into the bed of the truck; Eagle, Snake, and Panther quickly followed suit.
"Two cameras, top corners of the back of the room," Alex breathed to Wolf.
"Snake, take 'em out."
Snake raised his gun and shot the two cameras with impressive accuracy.
They'd have to move quickly- it wouldn't be long before the surveillance room noticed, if they hadn't already.
The plan was as follows: one person would scout ahead, a the rest would follow behind slowly. Alex had been chosen to be the scout (Wolf, Snake, and Eagle had been adamant about it, but Panther, who had originally offered the idea, insisted that Alex was capable enough; thankfully, the conversation ended there) and he was fine with such a job.
He crept back into his comfort level as he jogged to the one doorway, standing beside it and pushing it open quietly. The rest of the unit waited behind a stack of clothing boxes, alert.
The hallway was empty. Alex moved forward. There were four doors (two on either side) in total, and Alex signaled the unit forward.
"The map," Alex whispered, "I need the map."
Panther pulled it out of his pocket and unfolded it quickly, gesturing to where they were. The further one on the left would take them to their destination. Alex took a moment to thoroughly examine the directions, making note of them in his mind. Furthest door on the left, then first on the right, and so on.
Alex pointed it out and started towards it. The door opened with ease.
Alex found himself in another empty hallway. His unit followed suit and Panther grinned.
"Not too tight on their security, eh?"
A heavy feeling sank in Alex's gut. They went through the next door, and realization replaced skepticism.
The room was large and resembled a doctor's office. Glass cabinets lined the walls, holding various medical paraphernalia.
"Trap," Alex managed, a familiar panicked paranoia setting in. "It's a trap- we have to-"
Multiple gunshots rang throughout the room, and Alex watched as each SAS soldier jerked in pain. They'd been shot in the foot, and when they turned to react, they were struck in the head and crumpled to the ground. A group of rugged, menacing men stood at the door, blocking any chance of escape. Before Alex could properly think of a plan, a bullet whisked past his head, skimming his cheek. His ears rang and he stumbled to the side, gasping. He grabbed onto a counter, trying to calm his breathing, trying to assure himself that nothing permanently damaging had just taken place.
"Now, ain't that a familiar mug," A voice murmured. Fingers grabbed his chin and turned his face to the side. A dark skinned, dark haired, dark eyed man stared down at him. His lip curled up into a smile, and his hands fell upon Alex's shoulders. For a moment, they pressed down on him, and in a matter of seconds, the man pulled Alex's chest down to meet his knee. Pain exploded in his chest, and everything was gone.
June 13th ; 13:27
A guttural cough pulled Alex from unconsciousness.
His chest heaved. He rolled onto his side, coughing up thick saliva. He forced his eyes open and realized that the saliva was blood. The room was dark, but the liquid on the ground was darker. He tasted blood in his mouth, and turned to the side to spit it out.
With a bit of difficulty, he pushed himself into a sitting position. He was in a cell, about seven feet wide and ten feet long. The door was the kind you'd see in a typical prison- bars.
Across from him was a cell- he could make out the insides of the two cells across from him. In the one diagonal from him, Eagle leaned his back against the bars. Alex would've thought he'd fallen asleep standing if it hadn't been for his fingers curling and uncurling against the bars.
Directly across from him, Wolf was sitting against the wall, a scowl etched onto his face. He looked downright wrecked- a bruise on his forehead, and a few cuts scattered across his face. He looked fine physically otherwise- no obvious critical injuries. The man's fists curled, and his jaw tightened.
He turned to Alex abruptly, and at the sight of Alex awake and alive, he seemed to deflate. "Cub," he breathed, and his head fell back against the wall. "You brat, you're alive, thank god."
Alex nodded. "You're all alive, too, right?"
Wolf nodded. "Seems so."
"Eh, Cub! You're awake, finally!" Eagle whipped around, grinning. His actions exhaled relief. "Was beginning to think you'd bitten dust."
"Not yet," Alex replied. "You're all uninjured?"
"Relatively," Snake's voice answered from the cell next to his. "Nothing serious." There was a brief pause. "Christ, Cub, I'm so glad you're not dead."
Alex didn't reply, mostly due to grim gratefulness. He could very well be dead right now. He wondered why he wasn't.
"What about Panther?" He asked.
"Here," A quiet voice answered. He sounded exhausted.
"He's heavily concussed," Snake explained, sounding desperate and useless. It mustn't be comfortable, being the medic and having to ensure your unit's safety without actually being able to physically examine them. "We can't let him sleep, but..." The unspoken though hung in the air. We can't stop him if he does.
"I'll be fine," Panther answered, "I'm not stupid. I won't sleep, so quit your worrying, Snake." He didn't say it unkindly.
Snake sighed. "I know you will, mate. I just-" he sighed heavily. "I hate not being able to do anything."
"We're not trained for this." Even Eagle seemed hopeless. "We aren't used to this, or armed for this."
"We'll be fine," Wolf firmly retorted. His voice was sharp. "You're all going to be fine. Letting you die is the last thing I'm gonna let happen."
Nobody replied. Alex couldn't tell if they believed him or not. He couldn't tell if he believed him or not.