Stunned silence was all that followed the sincere, resigned statement.
Alex was well aware of the effect his words had had. He'd once again managed to completely throw Troy Dellaware, and, it seemed, K Unit.
Troy recovered first, regaining his cool composure and lifting an eyebrow. "I see."
Alex smirked to himself. Really, was that the best the SCORPIA assignment leader could do?
"I've been sent with information. Obviously, you've killed Dr. Kiln, the MI6 mole that sold you the information? Sadly, however, you killed him before you were able to get a password from him in order to get into the Project Files security."
Troy shifted, very unhappy with the turn of events. The kid was right, of course. Troy had killed him rather than pay him, and it had ended up costing him. His position was tenuous enough without another failure. And he didn't like the feeling that this brat had somehow gained the upper hand.
Alex took his silence as confirmation. "Here is the deal I've been authorized to make. Release K Unit, and I will give you the password."
Now Troy laughed. "Nice try, Alex. I'll admit, you almost had me. MI6 would not give up that password for a SAS unit."
"Not especially, no. However, they are giving it up to avoid diplomatic issues with Canada. Moreover, I also come with the deal," Alex announced.
THAT got Troy's interest. If he could finally kill Alex Rider, and open the file, he would be able to regain his status in SCORPIA. "You will try to escape."
Alex shook his head. "You release K Unit, burn all other information the Mole sold you from MI6, with the exception of course, of the Project, which is what they know you really wanted and wouldn't trade for anything. I stay, give you the password. Once you've confirmed it works, you can dispose of me however you like."
"You're lying," one of the guards growled. The backhand had enough force behind it to split Alex's lip and send him to his knees. He made no move to retaliate.
Alex spit out blood. It took everything he had to simply stand up again and not fight back. "I'm not. That's the deal being offered. I do have one personal addition to that deal, however. When I'm dead, I want the revenge oath against me removed. No one in that file you've got there ever hears from you, or about me again."
"Cub! What the hell are you doing?" Snake shouted furiously. He'd wanted to believe that Cub had been trying to fake out Dellaware, but he could see now that the boy had been completely serious. He could read it in the youths body language.
Alex ignored them. Troy seemed to be seriously thinking over his offer. It was a gamble, and a risky one. He had no idea how Troy would react to it.
Unfortunately, he'd made a miscalculation. While most everyone he had previously met from SCORPIA had been adamant professionals, calm, cool, and over rational, Troy Dellaware seemed to possess none of these traits. There was a gleam in his eyes that said he was trying to sort through how to get it all. There was nothing rational about this man. He was just like every other insane moron Alex had met trying to gain power. He vaguely wondered how the man had managed to stay alive inside SCORPIA. Men like this weren't usually their style.
Alex could see as his carefully laid plans fell apart. Troy Dellaware wanted it all. He wanted the MI6 Project File, wanted Alex Rider dead, and wanted K Unit dead. Alex wasn't overly concerned, however.
Sadly, people who tried to hold everything in their hands usually ended up losing almost all of it. He had been mentally preparing for this eventuality too, though he'd hoped it wouldn't come to that.
Troy grinned and spread his hands wide. "What a generous offer you have made, Alex Rider, and I must say, an extremely tempting one. But I think you'll find that we have more persuasive, and certainly more entertaining ways, to get that password."
Alex frowned, and made one last attempt. He'd really hoped to have K Unit out of there. "I'm sure you do. Allow me to assure you that you'll get much better results if you take the deal."
"I'm sure I would. Take him downstairs and hook him up," Troy ordered the guards. His smug look turned ugly when he took in Alex's lack of reaction.
Alex merely shrugged. "Suit yourself, but don't say I didn't warn you."
AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW
K Unit was quiet as they were returned to their cell. Obviously, MI6's plan had completely backfired. But it was Cub that disturbed them the most. They had all seen, perfectly clearly, that the boy had been ready to die where he stood.
Equally appalling had been the obvious knowledge that the plan would burn, and was ready and willing to accept the consequences. They knew he wasn't stupid, so Cub had to have known Troy was referring to torture when he implied his more creative ways.
Their silence lasted until they were back in their cell and the guards had left.
"What the fuck is going on over there?" Fox demanded angrily.
At the same time, Snake uncharacteristically snapped out, "What the hell was MI6 thinking?"
Eagle had turned somber, while, for the first time in days, Wolf sat quietly on the cot.
"And why did they send Cub? Why not a more experienced agent? They had to know how this was going to go down!" Fox took up again.
"I don't think they did," Wolf offered quietly. There had been something bugging him about the whole thing. The kid had seemed off from the start. Having worked for SAS for some time, and occasionally with MI6, he knew how they operated. He also knew that offering up Cub as an official sacrificial lamb was a bit beyond even them.
"What?"
"I think Cub dreamed that little scene up himself. I think he got told to come here, and somehow destroy the data, and no, don't kid yourselves, MI6 didn't send him specifically to rescue us, and hopefully get us out in the bargain," Wolf answered.
"Wolf, there's no way Cub would have- " Eagle started, but Wolf cut him off.
"Wouldn't he? Did you see the look in his eyes? Cub- Alex, was perfectly prepared to stand there and die. I don't know what happened, or what's really going on, but I'd bet dollars to donuts that was Cub's show. And that he's not finished yet."
They were quiet after that. It was a chilling concept.
AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW
Alex once again carefully watched, counted and measured the hallways and turns as he was taken 'downstairs'. The heavy cast iron manacles were rubbing his wrists raw and bloody, and the weight of it pulled heavily on his chest, but apparently Troy Dellaware was done taking chances. Nor had the guards been particularly gentle in putting them on. Every step reminded him of the mild beating he had received.
As far as he was concerned, his mission was to get K Unit out. One attempt had failed, so now he had to move onto the next. He had been supplied with a password, but not to open any file. It would destroy every single shred of data from every computer linked to the one he entered it into. But now he had to buy time. He had to leave it to the right moment, or else they would merely be caught out when the system crashed.
He owed it to K Unit to get them out of here.
He wasn't surprised when he was led to where K Unit were being held. He was, however, somewhat surprised he was stopped outside their cell, and his arms were raised above his head. He cursed a thousand times in his head as his chest flared painfully.
The chain between his manacles were being sawed in half, then each loose chain was looped onto a dangling hook. He hissed again as the guards yanked his arms high and about an arms length apart. He felt the welding iron as the hooks were welded together to form a single link around his chains.
He wasn't going anywhere, but he was at least thankful that his heels could touch the ground.
During all this, K Unit had watched in horror from their own locked cell. There was nothing they could do to help, and for the first time in a long time for them, all four men felt utterly helpless.
The guards left, after giving each of Alex's arms a solid tug to see if their welding would hold. It did, though Alex himself had nearly passed out.
Alex kept his eyes closed for a few minutes, mentally preparing himself to deal with K Unit. Somehow, locked up in a cage, they didn't look quite so intimidating any more.
"Hey guys." Alex greeted.
"How's it hanging there Cub?" Eagle couldn't resist. He was cuffed for his lack of restraint, but noticed that Snake's lips twitched.
"Um, pretty loose, actually," Alex replied with a grin. "How's the zoo?"
Eagle and Fox both snickered, pleased that Cub seemed to be feeling okay enough to participate in their banter.
Wolf, however, was not so pleased. "Do you want to tell me what's going on?" he demanded harshly.
Alex sighed. "Well, it's really quite simple. I'm here to rescue you!"
"Yeah, way to go on that, by the way," Fox pointed out.
"We're not dead yet, so there's still hope. How do you know I don't have an absolutely brilliant plan B?" Alex asked innocently.
"Do you?" Snake queried, only semi seriously. He had to admit, the kid could take the pressure. It took a certain type be able to have a sense of humor in a time like this. And Cub seemed to fit right into the team's natural flow of humor. It was hard to remember that Cub had been forced on them as a member.
"Of course!"
"Is that before or after they torture you? Or one of us?" Wolf sneered. He could see his other teammates quickly warming up to Cub, but wasn't prepared to do so himself.
"Depends. Who goes first?" Alex deadpanned.
That was it. Eagle, Fox and Snake almost hit the floor laughing. Outside of the situation they were currently in, it really wouldn't have been that funny. But, despite their rather bleak circumstances, Cub had managed to get one over on Wolf, while hanging from chains and hooks on the ceiling.
Wolf spared a moment to throw a disgusted glare at his chuckling teammates. "Traitors."
They settled immediately when they heard the door open. Troy stalked in, looking rather pleased with himself, followed by a guard who seemed to be practically dancing with anticipation.
"Alex, I have some exciting news for you. I've just checked with my informant in MI6, and he informs me that there was indeed a password created. Unfortunately, there seems to be only two people that have it. You, and Mr. Blunt. The other bit of bad news is that he doesn't seem to know what it does."
Alex quirked an eyebrow. "It's a password, what does he think it's supposed to do?"
Wolf hissed in irritation. Now was not the time to be baiting the bad guy. Didn't this kid know anything?
Troy stopped smiling. "I can see this is going to be difficult. How about a warm up session, Ben?"
The guard, Ben, nodded enthusiastically as he withdraw and unravelled the whip from his belt.
Troy positioned himself in front of Alex so he could see his face. "Ben likes to use the cat-o-nine-tails for his warm ups. Hurts bad, bruises deep, but doesn't actually slice the flesh like his bull does."
Alex sneered. "If you're going to torture me, please use the whip, and not your mouth."
Wolf saw it coming the moment the words left Cubs mouth. The backhand across his cheek landed at exactly the same time as the knotted leather hit his back. Both would leave spectacular bruises. And Ben didn't seem to lack either force in his arm, or practice with the whip.
K Unit winced together as Cub jerked forward, managing more to rattle his chains than actually move. It was an entirely fruitless move, but a totally instinctual one.
The 'warm up' continued for twenty lashes. Still, Cub had managed to keep eye contact with Troy almost the entire time, and hadn't made a sound beyond a gasp. Wolf had to give him grudging credit for that.
Troy, however, was not as impressed with Alex's display of defiance. "I'm going to ask again, Alex, what does the password do?"
"It opens stuff," Alex replied, wheezing a little. If he had to be totally honest with himself, if asked, he couldn't say which hurt more. His back, or his chest. The bullet wound throbbed painfully in time with his heart, while his back seemed to surge on the offbeat.
He knew it would get worse. It had to. While his T-shirt hadn't protected him very much, he knew it had absorbed some of the knots. Alex figured the problem with the Cat was that you couldn't brace any part of your back. Once it was in the air, the tails spread unevenly and unpredictably. It was impossible to anticipate the impact.
"That's not very helpful, and I'm afraid I am under a bit of a deadline."
"That's not really my problem, is it?" Alex replied sarcastically. He could see K Unit shaking their heads at him, but he was confident he knew what he was doing. The timing had to be perfect.
"I have a business call to make," Troy answered icily. "Ben, I want the answer in two hours. And get rid of his shirt. We wouldn't want to get blood on it."