They all hushed as Alex stirred in the back, whimpering in his sleep. They'd hoped the sudden hush would allow him to settle, but it didn't work.
Alex woke up to pain. His entire world was nothing but hot, searing pain. His breath caught in his throat as he gasped, desperately trying to pull air into lungs that suddenly felt like they hadn't had any in ages.
"Shh, Cub. Alex. You need to calm down, and real fast, buddy. I need you to breathe slowly, in and out, in and out. Close your eyes and just focus on your breathing," Snake coaxed gently. Alex did as he was told, and was reassured to find the panicked state he had been in easing off.
"Good. Can you talk, Cub?" Snake asked, knowing his throat had to feel like it was lined with mine sharp diamonds. "Look at me please?"
"Barely," Alex whispered back.
Snake nodded, but was a little less sure about the glazed eyes looking obediently back at him. A quick check told him Cub's fever was getting higher.
"Is he still doped up, Snake?" Wolf asked.
"I think he is. Let's find out. Cub, can you tell me what happened to your chest? The bullet wound?" Snake inquired.
"Nope."
"Because you're not allowed to, or because you don't want to?"
"Both."
Snake chuckled and looked over to his friends. "Yep, he's still doped. Why, did you want to ask him something? He won't answer anything he's been told not to say, obviously."
"Then how come he gave up the password?" Fox wondered.
"I was allowed to say that," Alex answered. "It was basically a self destruct code. It'll destroyed every computer that was linked to the one he entered the password into. That's probably why the alarms didn't go off when we left."
Snake noticed the rapid rise and fall of his patients chest, the tight pain lines on his face. "Okay, how about shorter answers guys?"
"Was it MI6's plan to offer up yourself in our place, or yours?" Wolf questioned, knowing he'd never get a straight answer out of the normally reticent boy when he wasn't drugged.
"Sort of both. MI6 sent me out here. Made all the arrangements for me to get here. But never bothered making any for me to get back. The writing was sort of on the wall," Alex explained drowsily. "But it was okay by me."
"Why?" Snake asked sadly.
"I'm tired. Tired of MI6 using me up, then tossing me out until they need me again. Tired of knowing everyone I talk to or glance at could be someone's next target. I'm just very tired." Alex wheezed, and immediately started coughing.
"Okay," Snake ordered firmly. "That's enough. Get some rest, Cub. We have long way home."
"What do you think he meant?" Fox whispered as Snake's oddly gentle voice coaxed Cub back to sleep.
Eagle shook his head. He had no answers. The softly voiced admission had shocked them all. There had been a vulnerability and a deep pain they would never have associated with the boy they'd known in Training or at Point Blanc.
For all that they had poked fun and made Cub's life miserable at training, none of them had really stopped to wonder why he was there. They were soldiers, and they had been told Cub would be joining the team. Aside from a first smart assed attempt at finding out why, asking questions wasn't their job. Following orders was.
Wolf had taken the answer especially hard, since it added in with his thoughts earlier. He had hoped he'd either been mistaken or misinterpreted what he had seen, but Cub had only confirmed it. His team all looked affected by the answer. He could see them struggling, trying to assume Cub had meant he was tired from his injuries and lack of sleep. But they all knew better. This was a soul deep weariness.
Wolf shook himself out of his melancholy. They had bigger problems at the moment, and it was his job to make sure his team- whole team- got home safely.
"He said MI6 hadn't made any plans for his return, and we think the tracking device was fried when they electrocuted him," Wolf started. "Not to mention, he's not dead."
Snake frowned. "He will be if we try to move him anymore."
Wolf sighed. He was a leader, and that was because he had what it took to make the tough calls. "And if we stay here?"
Snake hesitated, but acknowledged the point. "He won't make it through the night."
"We're not going to leave him here, are we Wolf?" Eagle asked uncertainly. He didn't think Wolf would, but the man was a leader for a reason. Sometimes that meant sacrificing the one for the many. And there was no doubt that having Cub with them would slow them down. It was a job Eagle was generally happy to leave to the other man.
Wolf knew that all three of his team members were watching him carefully, waiting for his answer. He knew what he should say, but he couldn't force the words out, and finally shook his head. "He's been through enough. I'm not leaving him here to die alone. But I'll take him. I need the three of you to make for your gramma's cooking, do you understand?"
Snake looked down at the sleeping boy, and moved to brush his bangs off his forehead. He knew why seeing Cub like this was affecting him, and he'd tried to shove it down as he'd watched the boy being tortured. But it wasn't working. He'd been an orphan too, had been alone in the world, and hated that one would cared whether he lived or died. That was why he had joined the Service. To find the family he'd never had growing up. And he'd been lucky enough to find it in K Unit.
Who did Cub have? MI6 certainly didn't seem to care one way or the other. Thinking back on how utterly lonely and miserable he had felt growing up, even surrounded by mates, Snake wondered how much worse it must have been for Cub.
Moving Cub would be tortuous and fatal. Cub would die, not alone, but definitely in a world of pain. If he stayed here, the infection and internal injuries would kill him eventually anyway. Which would be the kinder death?
"Snake?" Wolf demanded, waiting for his answer. He, the whole team, knew why Snake had latched onto Cub. He had found a like soul in the boy. And Wolf had a sneaking suspicion of what was going through the man's mind. He had to admit, if only to himself, that he had considered much the same things.
Snake took a deep breath, and shook his head. "I'm staying with him. At least until the end."
Neither Fox nor Eagle were shocked to hear the answer. They had, in truth, been expecting it. Just as they knew what Wolf's response would be. He and Snake would argue, but in the end, they would each be given a chance to vote. Wolf rarely made decisions that would threaten the lives of his team without their thoughts.
But Wolf managed, once again, to surprise them. "Fox, Eagle, what do you think?"
"Moving him will be extremely painful, and he'll bring more guards on us then we'll be able to avoid," Fox put out intelligently.
"He survived a bullet to the heart. He's gotta have some damn powerful angels looking after him, and I, for one, am content to stay in a nice warm cave and see how they get him out of this one," Eagle replied with a little grin.
Wolf nodded. There was no need to cast his vote, since they were all obviously in favor of staying. "I want both of you to go down to the lake and find some way to bring up as much water as possible. Then we're going to keep a guard. We'll switch up every two hours."
And that was that.
AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW AR FW
Alex whimpered as he was pulled from the delightful bliss of unconsciousness. Everything hurt. His chest was on fire, and there was a deep settled ache in his lungs. And it was so bloody hot! His eyelids felt like they had lead weights attached to them, while his heart and headache seemed to have developed an orchestra of resounding thuds that rang through with every beat. His back was so far beyond pain that he almost couldn't feel it anymore.
"Cub?" A voice called. He knew that voice. Why couldn't he place it? "Alex?"
Alex struggled to open his eyes, sorry that he did so as soon as the light hit them. They slammed shut again as the orchestra in his brain doubled in volume.
"Open your eyes. I've got them shielded from the light," the voice instructed, and Alex felt the breeze of a hand move over his face. Cautiously, he tried again, blinking away the tears that sprang up. Shit he hurt! Every breath felt like it was dragging a razor up and down his throat.
But at last he could see a face, and place it, vaguely. "Wolf?" Barely any sound came out, sounding more like a raspy whisper.
Wolf nodded. "I know it hurts to talk. But I need to get some water into you."
Alex closed his eyes as he forced his exhausted mind to remember what had happened. Everything was foggy, but the longer he was awake, the more he remembered. Right. He was in a cave with K Unit. SCORPIA probably had guards combing the mountainside for them. Surely Troy must have used the password by now?
He could hear snores that told him the other men were asleep. He didn't blame them. He wished he was too. He felt something touch his lips, rough and fibrous, and immediately jerked away from it. He didn't have the strength to stop the scream that came from him at the sudden movement.
"Easy, Cub. It's just water. You're dehydrated," Wolf explained as he slowly tried again. This time, Alex managed a small sip before breaking out in a coughing fit.
Wolf felt Snake by his side immediately, despite having been given orders to sleep. "You're supposed to be resting," he pointed out.
Snake nodded. "I was. I heard him." He listened for a moment to Cub's cough. "I can also hear pleurisy in his lungs."
They watched, helpless, as the boy concentrated on getting his breathing under control, and his face twisted in pain. Wolf glanced at the makeshift bark cup Eagle had put together. Cub was shaking hard, his muscles too weak to support any movement at all, and overtaxed by the fit. But they needed to get more water in to him.
Thinking fast, he dipped his finger into the water, then lightly wiped it over Cub's chapped lips. Immediately, and without conscious thought, Cub's tongue darted out and took in the droplets.
"Why don't you get some rest," Snake offered. "That's a lengthy process. I'll take over." He knew caring for the injured wasn't Wolf's strong suit, and he didn't have a lot of patience for it. While Snake was impressed on his quick thinking, he knew it would take some time before Cub managed to take in enough water.
Wolf shook his head. "Check his vitals, report, and then go back to sleep. You've got two hours left before dawn and you trade off with me."
Snake nodded, and did as he was ordered. He frowned. "Breathing is shallow and irregular, pulse is weak and fluttering. Fever is higher. Pleurisy. Infection in the burns."
Wolf looked at him, his eyes asking a question he couldn't bring himself to voice.
Snake understood and shook his head. "A few hours, at most. Probably less."
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Fox was taking his turn sitting with Cub while Eagle was on watch. Wolf and Snake were both in a light sleep. He had been on watch an hour ago when he'd heard Snake's assessment. A few hours.
"Now would be a good time for that Guardian Angel of yours to show up," Fox whispered as he carefully spread water on the boys lips. He was disappointed when nothing happened. Cub had stopped responding to this, and anything else, half an hour ago, but he kept trying. It made him feel like he was doing something instead of just sitting there watching the kid die.
Eagle came bursting back into the cave, his face flushed. The two sleeping members of their team were immediately awakened by the noise.
"Someone's coming," Eagle burst out. "I went to take a leak, and saw men in the trees. They're coming straight for us, almost like they know we're here."
Wolf was immediately on his feet. "Snake, stay with Cub. You two with me," he ordered, ducking out.
They cautiously made their way to where Eagle had spotted them. They had no weapons, but were prepared to defend their hideout if necessary.
Six men, all dressed in combat gear, were following one man in a dark gray suit. Gray Suit seemed to have some kind of device in his hand.
"They don't look like SCORPIA guards to me," Fox whispered.
"Who else would be out in the woods looking for us?" Wolf demanded.
Surprisingly, it was Eagle who answered. "It's MI6!"
"How do you figure?" Fox demanded.
"Cub's tracking device must not have been fried! Look, Suit is following a tracking signal of some kind, and they're heading right for us!" Eagle argued.
Wolf thought it through. Eagle was right. The evidence certainly pointed to that theory, and they really didn't look like SCORPIA guards to him either. Well, there was only one way to prove it.
"Go back to the cave, and be prepared to defend it. I'm going to find out what's going on."
Fox shook his head. "If we're wrong- it's too risky."
Wolf growled in irritation. "If we're wrong, and that's SCORPIA, do you really want them to have Cub back?"
Eagle grumbled under his breath, but both his teammates caught his comment. "If we're right, do we really want MI6 to have him back?"
Both men carefully crept back toward the cave. As soon as they were out of sight, Wolf stepped away from his hiding place.
The searching men stopped in surprise at the sudden appearance of a very bedraggled looking man in ragged, bloody, combats in front of them.
"Who are you?" the man asked gruffly.
"Are you Wolf? K Unit?" Suit asked.
Reluctantly, Wolf nodded his agreement.
Suit seemed very pleased, and immediately the tension was gone from the air.
"Agent Browder, MI6. Is the rest of K Unit with you?"
Wolf nodded, relaxing. "We're in a cave not too far from here. Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing here?"
Browder immediately put away his device. "We're tracking one of our operatives. Is Alex Rider with you as well?"
"Yes." He wasn't prepared to offer up a lot of information at this point.
"Is he alive?" Browder persisted.
"He was when I left."
And that told them everything they needed to know. The men immediately sprang into action as Wolf led them to the cave. They were surprised to meet with some resistance when they came to the entrance. Eagle and Fox each had solid looking branches as weapons, and together were completely preventing entry.
"It's MI6, let them in," Wolf called out. The two men immediately backed off.
Fox smirked as Wolf was pulled into a rough debriefing by Browder and someone began radioing their position.
Eagle noticed. "What?"
"I was just telling Cub that his Guardian Angel had better get to work. Apparently, it heard me."