Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider. Or NCIS.

Chapter before last! (: Please review! If you reach 100 today, I will post the last chapter as well.

[Song: 'Road to Nowhere' by 'Talking Heads']

Chapter 17: Drive (~2,140 words)

Gibbs studied the man behind him in the rear view mirror.

The expressive, mischievously sparkling green eyes from three days ago were dulled and serious. His whole expression screamed 'You better not mess with me!' and the impassiveness fed Gibbs' unease.

He didn't like to include attached people in important missions like this. (The NCIS agent had his own personal experience with avenging loved ones.) This time Gibbs really had no other choice.

Ben had assured him that Eagle would come either way, if they liked it or not. Taking him along was easier, safer for all, than him sneaking out, tagging along anyway and risking them all.

Gibbs really hated spies.

The soldier checked his equipment again. His fingers were precise, secure and fast.

It astonished Gibbs that he was faster than anyone else. Maybe the British sniper training was different than what he was used to?

Seeing the mild surprise on his teammate's faces terminated that idea though.

Ziva put a hand on Eagle's arm, stilling him after he had finished his exercise. "Patience. You are a sniper. Not an assassin."

He simply nodded, casting her a quick, concentrated glance.

Silence reigned for a few minutes.

"Thank you," it was almost a whisper.

"You are welcome."

So he still functions somewhat, Gibbs thought.

"You know, you should consider moving in with me. Not in the unit flat, which would be highly awkward, but we could find someplace nice. That way we'd see more of each other in-between training and missions," Chris suggested.

Alex felt herself slip deeper and deeper into the black hole that mercilessly sucked her in.

Some rational part of her brain supplied that she was heading towards delirious.

The pain was slowly overwhelming her senses.

She lost herself again in her memories.

Alex allowed the soldier to put his callous hands around her waist, holding her close but not too close for comfort.

She let her head rest on his chiseled chest, involuntarily breathing in his scent, a mixture of aftershave and... clean.

Ben talked with Mrs. Jones, to inform her of their proceedings.

She was his superior and she had said she wanted to be informed as soon as something new was going on. And then updated every hour.

"... I will talk to Byrne. He might be able to help with the clean-up. I expect things to be messy."

"They always are," Ben muttered grimly, agreeing with her for once.

Mrs. Jones sounded surprisingly concerned for an emotionless shell.

"Call me again when you have intel on Alex's status. I will try and keep her file secured."

"Thanks, Ma'am."

A click, then nothing.

She had ended the call.

"Do you trust me?" she asked urgently.

"What?"

"Do you trust me?" she repeated, more urgently this time.

"Yes."

Wolf surveyed the SWAT team members around him.

They were calm, professional and concentrated on the the task at hand. The various highly-trained men seemed to be studying them as well. Some looked smug and condescending when they met his sharp gray eyes.

As if they thought they hadn't done this before...

As if the SAS men were the inexperienced ones.

Showing the emotions they did, they were green themselves.

Patronizing didn't sit well with K-Unit's leader. He had given Lemming several dressing downs in the past and he was about to do the same to these men.

"We have done this before, you know," Wolf growled at their patronizing stares.

Snake patted his shoulder, holding him back.

Tom grinned, introducing his 'new' friend to everyone.

Secretly he counted the numbers she had been given by boys – and some girls.

128.

Not bad for the first day back in school.

Alex distantly felt that her body was moved again.

She had withdrawn so far in herself that she was hardly able to tell what was real and what was not.

She hadn't screamed once.

However, her blood already pooled on the nondescript tiles.

They were sure by now - she wouldn't talk.

"You are really cute, but you have to let me go.", she whispered against his lips.

Snake resorted to breathing calmly, to get into battle-mode.

His gaze flickered over his youngest team mate. He had adopted a serious look on his face Snake never wanted to see on anyone's features again, ever.

The impassiveness almost rivaled Alex's and Taipan's.

He is worried. And angry.

Snake pitied the men who were trying to stop Eagle.

The cheerful man had vanished somewhere inside the hardened soldier.

Her real first date with Chris.

He wouldn't tell her what they were going to be doing as a way to avenge her making him believe she was dead.

Lemming regretted his past actions with a vengeance.

He had thought he needed to impress the already infamous K-Unit-men.

Instead he dug his own grave, so to speak.

He couldn't believe his stupidity or his condescending behavior towards the highest-ranking spy of MI6 if not the world.

Her file had been horrifying to read.

Her scars were terrifying him.

Lemming knew he would never have survived this much. He knew he would have given up.

A long while back.

Now he would follow the orders he was given obediently. And hope for Eagle's and Alex's sake that she was still as stubborn as ever.

Lou grinned at her. "You know, considering you are a mean mobster's daughter, you're funny. I think we could be friends."

They finally stopped at a farmhouse that could have been directly from one of those old sappy TV shows.

Eagle spotted the cameras in the trees surrounding the house. He wanted to shoot them out, but Abby's voice in his ear stopped him.

"They are already looped, E."

"Thanks, Abby."

"Welcome, Birdman. Now, let's get your Princess out of the dungeon."

Gibbs nodded and separated the men into teams. Wolf led one group, including Ben who would try and give Abby access to their computers.

Snake was with Eagle and five other men who instinctively knew not to question the younger soldier's authority. His hardened face was clearly signaling them...something.

"We will create a diversion to attract their attention and allow you to move in easily," Gibbs had suggested in the briefing. Now he and his own group went their own way.

Ziva was with them. She was probably one of their best shots and invaluable at picking them off.

Eagle motioned his men to follow cautiously. He felt the gadgets, the weapons and the ice. Their objective was to find and free Alex, hopefully alive. (He had forbidden himself to consider any of the other possibilities until he absolutely had to deal with them.)

Eagle knew what to look for inside the building. Hidden corridors were more easily detected when you had used one before.

Dating a spy helped too.

He briefly wondered why their indoor security was relatively lax. Maybe they had not expected an invasion without warning and needed to move easily in the house?

Wolf and his team combed through the upper levels, separating from them on the ground floor.

"I love you too, Dad," she interrupted Ben's rant, smiling.

He stared at her before a happy grin appeared on his face. "I love you, Al. Just be careful, okay? It's been just a week since Germany."

"I always am."

"Eagle, you find something yet?" the leader growled a few minutes later.

"No, Wolf."

Suddenly - as if on cue - a door opened.

A pair of guards, heavily armed, stared at them surprised.

Eagle didn't hesitate. He lunged forward and knocked them out.

"Scratch that. We found the door. Two guards saw us, though."

"You alright?" Ben.

"Yes. You?"

"Nothing up here."

The British soldier stuffed a piece of gum in the lock, effectively destroying it.

Eagle and his men followed the stairs down, weapons drawn and ready.

He found himself standing in a huge maze of what appeared to be empty cells. Cautiously they moved along the walls. Who knew where other trap doors were hidden?

Eagle's patience started to slowly wean off.

All cells were empty. The last one in this row, however, showed them that it belonged to Alex.

He chuckled. "That sounds as if you actually care, Cub."

"Well, birdbrain, then it's probably a good thing that I don't. Go ahead, get yourself killed."

"No, that's your line. I always have to trust you."

His uniform jacket was neatly folded on her cot.

Clotted blood and something else 'adorned' two of the walls. The newest SWAT team member almost puked at the sight, even though he should be desensitized somewhat to seeing gruesome things.

"We found her cell. It's empty," Eagle radioed in.

McGee - sitting in Abby's lab, trying to control the mission from afar - picked up on his message first. "Any indication where she is?"

"Torture," Eagle growled.

His fury had risen exponentially after seeing her cell. The video of her being tortured would probably torment him forever.

"Shit! We don't know how many guards will be there with the main targets. Wait for us," ordered K-Unit's leader, cursing again.

Eagle heard a low thud. Probably a door.

"Wolf. She used my jacket as a pillow in a cell that is splattered with blood and someone's brain parts," he told them, already moving back out.

Gibbs, Tony, some other men and Wolf cursed this time.

Eagle was determined. She was close, she needed help ASAP and was being hurt even more.

"Shit! Shit!" Then Wolf radioed in: "We found the door."

Snake and the men followed their temporary leader wordlessly.

They hoped to restrain him somewhat and keep him from doing something very stupid. All of them also knew that it was useless to argue with the stone-hard man in thr state he was in.

Eagle had the sleeves of the jacket knotted around his waist, not hindering him in the least. It faintly smelled like Alex, calming his fury down to a reasonable level.

The two were sitting on a bench by the Thames, watching people and ships go by. It was very peaceful in a way. The sun had broken through the clouds, warming their faces.

They met Wolf at the stairs.

"Cells are all empty."

Before anyone else could say something, a guard stumbled out of nowhere, puking. Ben - closest to him - knocked him out.

Eagle's face had hardened further. He knew as well as anyone that a puking guard meant torture.

Ben led the way to the door the guard had come out of.

"Whatever you see inside won't be pretty. Concentrate on taking the guards out. Don't kill anyone if unnecessary. We need them for further questioning."

"Walker is mine. And the Russian," his voice alone made some men shiver.

"You need to learn to trust me, bird brain," she whispered hoarsely.

Eagle carefully helped her up.

"You really need to learn to shut up, Princess," he retorted.

Ben opened the door on the count of three.

There were seven guards (eight originally), Walker and the Russian. The latter was busy carving something in a bloody, bruised body on a metallic table that was like one of those in Ducky's morgue.

"We found her," Ben notified the others.

Eagle didn't pay him attention.

He shot the Russian after warning him to back off. Walker aimed at the soldier, shooting at him. Reflexively Eagle killed the assassin.

Meanwhile, the others had subdued the rest.

Ben ordered the helicopter to land right away.

Alex was in the worst condition Eagle had ever seen her in. She was not conscious, still breathing, but shallowly.

Eagle picked her up as cautiously and gently as possible.

Snake and the other men blanched at seeing her motionless body; he didn't care.

Ben controlled himself better. Him and K-Unit's leader were the only ones not shocked out of their senses - besides him.

He didn't want to think about that.

No. It wasn't over yet.

Wolf gave him backup and they retreated as quickly as possible.

Alex's eyes fluttered open oh so slowly, then closed again.

Eagle wasn't sure if she had recognized him or not.

Ignoring everyone else, he carried her to the waiting medical helicopter. The emergency doctor stared at the light bundle in his arms. He shook his head and they took off.

Just when they lifted off the ground, she stopped breathing; a small, genuine smile on her face.