Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider.
Alex wandered into the hut a few hours after dinner exhausted and dirty. He'd taken a shower but it didn't do much good. The hike they'd gone on was brutal and his shoulders were killing him from where the backpack had dug into them. He was rather looking forward to sleeping in the cot. The hard and wet Welsh ground had done nothing for his mounting ache and pains.
He was the last one in that night and he immediately collapsed on his cot ignoring the glares going between Jack and the Unit. He could honestly care less about what they were fighting about now.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked voice low. Alex recognized that tone. He usually got grounded when she started to use it. Without rolling off his stomach, Alex moved his head so he could watch the five adults.
"I think it's pretty obvious," Wolf growled leaning against the wall behind his cot, arms crossed.
"No, I don't think it is," she replied.
"What's going on?" Alex asked.
"Oh, just the usual," Jack said flippantly. "Wolf's being an ass." Wolf's glare, if possible, intensified. Eagle looked like he wanted to laugh. Snake and Fox just looked tired.
"Why do you look like you want to hit him?" Alex pressed. Nobody answered him and Alex felt a little uneasy. What the hell was going on? "Jack?"
"Tell him," Wolf commanded. Jack just tilted her chin up in defiance. "Fine." The soldier turned towards Alex. "She almost got you binned."
"What?" Alex asked shocked. How the hell had she managed that?
"It was an accident," Jack said defensively. "It's not my fault he's a pig. And I did not almost get Cubbie binned!" Alex winced at the nickname. God, he hated that name.
"Don't call me that," he whined. Eagle ducked his head to hide his smile. "What did you do?"
"Broke Wasp's nose," Fox said when Jack crossed her arms and kept silent.
"Why?" Alex asked not entirely if the answer was worth knowing.
"Many reasons," Jack replied looking at her nails in an attempt to seem unbothered but Alex saw through it. "He was asking for it."
"Didn't you just say it was an accident?" Eagle asked.
"Yes, I did," Jack replied. "I broke it accidentally but karma broke it on purpose." Alex's eyes narrowed at her response. Jack had never been into the whole karma thing before. Why was she suddenly trying to write things off as the fault of the universe? Alex knew she was up to something, but what?
"What are you playing at?" he said slowly. She turned towards him fully and the two had a brief staring contest.
"Nothing that you need to worry about," she said. She wouldn't give, not in front of the Unit, so Alex decided to let it rest until they could talk alone.
"Oh, okay," Alex replied then put his head on his pillow fully prepared to go to sleep.
"That's all you have to say that?" Eagle asked his voice sounding a little shocked.
"Yes," Alex replied not even bothering to open his eyes. Jack let out a giggle.
"It's not like he's gonna care," she said.
"Why not?" Fox asked. "It's kinda important."
"Not really," Jack told him. "Cub probably expected something like this to happen anyway. The Sergeant did." Alex fell asleep during the silence that followed that statement.
"Did you really expect it?" Eagle asked the next morning at breakfast. Alex looked up at him. Eagle was staring at a soldier on the other end of the cafeteria style table who had a purple and swollen nose. Wasp looked their way feeling Eagle's stare. Alex gave him a rather twisted smile and the soldier narrowed his eyes but turned away.
Well, that settled that. Alex had a theory that Jack had done something else besides break the man's nose. She'd brought the man into the Rider game. He wondered how long it would take for this guy to crack. K-Unit seemed to be doing alright but after the whole poisoning thing Jack had laid off a little bit. Wasp was another story entirely. Not for the first time did Alex wonder just what the guy had gone to piss Jack off so completely.
He'd asked, hell, they'd all asked, but the red head wouldn't say how the nose had been broken or why. He'd figure it out sooner or later.
"Expect what?" Alex asked innocently. Jack wasn't there, being forced to eat with the Sergeant and all, so now was the safest time to talk.
"You know," Eagle said turning and pinning Alex with the glare he was now accustomed to.
"You don't mess with Jack," the boy shrugged.
"So you did expect it?" Eagle pressed. Alex noticed the other three listening intently.
"I did," he finally said giving a little. "Jack knows how to hold her own. She's not gonna just let the people here get away with shit just because you're SAS. In case you haven't noticed, she's not afraid of you."
"How'd she even do it?" Fox asked jumping into the conversation. Alex shrugged again.
"Ask her," he advised. They didn't look they wanted to and Alex had to fight down sudden laughter. Were they scared?
"Stop smiling Cub," Wolf growled. "This isn't funny."
"Lighten up Wolf," Alex threw back. "Jack was right, you do have a stick up your arse." He ignored the shocked looks at the sudden outburst, picked up his tray, emptied it, and left.
Three hours later Alex met up with Jack at the shooting range. The news of Jack's skill had spread like wildfire in the camp, almost as fast as the news of her arrival. That, combined with Wasp's broken nose, seemed to have thrown Jack into a new light. She was no longer the hot tag along in K-Unit. She was the hot chick you did not want to mess with.
Alex thought the sudden turn around was hysterical. He'd known Jack could hold her own in this camp of soldiers but more importantly he knew Jack. Fighting prowess aside, Jack's vindictiveness was normally enough to scare away any potential enemy. The Rider game had honed her skills of manipulation, which had been great before she'd ever even set foot in England. Alex had always thought she's make a good spy.
As he drew level with Jack and the Sergeant at the shooting range's viewing area a sudden thought hit him hard. What was Jack playing at? Suddenly Alex didn't quite believe her reasons for being there entirely. Short term goals for this visit to Brecon Beacons would be screwing with the trainees' heads, getting back at Blunt, and making sure her ward was in one piece. Long term goals were something he had yet to figure out. Alex knew Jack well enough to know that something else was going on. She was planning something. She had an end goal. What was it?
"Jack," he said in greeting.
"Cub," she replied. The two ignored the Sergeant who in turn ignored them. Both K-Unit and B-Unit were on the range. Alex saw Wasp and his sharp eyes caught the stiffness in the man's shoulders. He knew they were watching.
"What are you doing here?" Alex asked suddenly. He didn't care if the Sergeant heard. Knowing Jack, it wouldn't even matter. She'd been here for over a week and if she wanted anything to be set in motion, it probably already was.
"Hiding from your uncle's enemies," she said without skipping a beat.
"Bullshit," he hissed. Neither of them looked away from the range as they watched the soldiers shoot. "You're here for something else."
"What makes you say that?" she asked sounding amused.
"I know you," he said. She gave a small laugh.
"What do you think I'm doing?" she asked him.
"I couldn't possibly guess," he said honestly. His mind was much too tired for the complexities of Jack's endgame.
"I'm sure you could, Cub," she replied. "It's all there for you."
"So, you are up to something," he stated. It was as good as a confession coming from Jack. He doubted he'd get anything straight forward until he confronted her with his solution. Alex gave a brief thought to how he'd lived his life since before he could remember. Everything was a riddle wrapped in a mystery with endgames and wordplays. Even in the most laid back family moments there was always an undercurrent to the motives and words of those around him. Growing up that way, while not making him the predicted paranoid, had made him skillful at recognizing true motives from fake ones. Ian had called it their slight of hand
Alex had always been surrounded by people who would never come right out and admit a motive. Hell, even Tom knew about and played the Rider game. They'd been friends for long enough that he'd picked up on it, thinking it was cool.
"I never said I was," Jack said cutting into his thoughts.
"You never said you weren't," he replied. "The karma thing is new for you. So are the pranks and the crazy attitude. You're putting on a show for the soldiers here. Slight of hand, Jack." Alex glanced sideways and saw the smile spread across her face as he called her out. Instead of replying to him she turned back towards the Sergeant.
"I'll be in your office," she told him. He nodded once and she left. When she was gone the Sergeant turned towards Alex his face a complete mask.
"What are you thinking Cub?" he asked. Alex shrugged.
"A lot, sir," he said. "She's up to something."
"Like what?" he demanded clearly remembering the incident with the spoiled milk.
"I'm not sure sir."
"Find out," the man instructed.
"Yes, sir." With that the Sergeant turned back to finish watching the trainees. When the man left to speak with the fire arms trainer, Alex took the chance to leave.
Alex moved through the woods behind K-Unit's hut with all the stealth of a practiced SAS soldier and then some. It was a common joke of his friend, Tom, to call him a Ninja. According to the other boy, Alex was as quiet as silence. Alex couldn't help but roll his eyes at his friend's poetic license. It needed to be revoked.
Sneaking under an open window (they had to air the place out or it would stink beyond human breaking point) Alex listened hard. Jack was playing at something and he had to know what. It was impossible to tell if the plan had been devised before she came or after, but the woman did have a plan. She'd practically admitted it twice now.
Jack wasn't just pulling pranks anymore, she was playing the real version of the Rider game. The one you played on enemies in life and death situations. The one Ian Rider had warned them to always be careful with. The one he wouldn't have the balls to pull off, not here with these men. He couldn't run the risk of being binned.
"What the hell do you want from me?" Alex heard Wolf almost shout. The boy winced just imagining the glare that was accompanying that shout. Alex refused to show any fear of Wolf on any level to anyone, but he had to admit that the man did make him nervous.
"I think you know," Jack said her voice hard and flat but at a normal level, volume wise. A quick glance through the window showed that the two were alone. Wolf had left dinner early with Alex right behind him. Jack apparently hadn't gone at all.
"No, I don't," the man said his own voice going low and dangerous. Alex tensed and wondered if he'd be taking Jack to the infirmary. The idea was discarded almost instantly. Wolf wouldn't hurt Jack either out of fear of being binned or a moral hang up.
"You're playing at something. I know you are." That shocked Alex. He hadn't expected anyone else to recognize Jack's sneaking around besides him and maybe the Sergeant. Maybe he didn't give the man enough credit.
"I'm not playing at anything," Jack said.
"Yes, you are," Wolf replied. "What is it? Trying to get us binned?"
"This isn't about you!" Jack shouted finally snapping.
"Then what is it about?" Wolf asked.
"Like you would care," Jack stated.
"Is it about Cub?" Alex leaned forward a little at that. Wolf's voice could be described as understanding in tone.
"What do you care if it is?" Jack said. "It's really none of your business."
"It is my business," Wolf said firmly and Alex's eyebrows bunched in complete confusion. How was anything about Alex's life his business? Jack agreed with him in his confusion.
"What the hell do you mean it's your business?" she demanded.
"Because like it or not, he's apart of this Unit," Wolf said. Alex felt a small smirk on his face at that. Was it just him or had Jack's post-poisoning lesson actually worked? Jack just gave a false little laugh.
"He'll never be apart of this Unit," she said almost sadly. "As much as I would love for the four of you to have his back in the field, you'll probably never see us again."
"What are you doing here? Really? I want the truth." There was a small silence after the question.
"I can't tell you," Jack said.
"Why not?" the soldier demanded.
"Some things you just shouldn't ask about," she replied vaguely.
"Cut it out with the riddles," he snapped. "You said yourself that you're running from enemies. What's going on?"
"I'm in hiding!" came a sudden shout. Alex was shocked, he'd never heard her so emotional, so angry. "He just died and now I'm trying to look after some super spy kid. He should be in school!"
"You're trying to get him binned," Wolf said but even he sounded doubtful about that.
"No," Jack said quickly. "Never binned. Not for any of you."
"Then what?" he snapped. Alex could tell that Wolf was fast approaching the end of his patience. Not that he'd ever had much anyway. "What are you trying to do?"
"I'm here to help," she said quietly. Alex had to strain to hear it. Why was she telling all this to Wolf? Did she honestly trust the guy that much? Or was she just desperate to talk? Alex would be the first to admit that the last month hadn't been an easy one but he hadn't really considered Jack.
He felt bad about admitting that but she had been a rock. Never changing and always there. Alex depended on her to be there and then he realized that she had known that. She had been that rock, even if it meant that she was suddenly the one to bury all emotion and turmoil until the breaking point. She and Ian had been close friends, best friends even. She was in just as much pain as Alex was.
"Help with what?" Wolf asked confused. He was completely oblivious to the epiphany Alex had just had.
"I think you know," she said her voice suddenly returning to its normal tone. The tone that made you think that she knew something you didn't. "Think about it Wolf. What have I been doing here?"
"Poisoning people and breaking noses," he replied instantly.
"What else?" she pressed. She was making him think, coming to the conclusion himself. Alex wished the man luck because he wasn't having any. What was this psycho American doing?
"Giving advice?" he asked.
"Is that an answer or a question?" she asked sounding amused.
"Answer," he said.
"Yes," she said. "Now let me give you a little more. Pretty soon, probably in a few days, Cub will leave. You won't know when and you probably won't see it. I'll leave at the same time. You won't see us for awhile, if at all."
"What's your point?" he asked.
"Don't ever forget what you've learned here."
"What are you talking about? You're not supposed to forget training," he said rather dumbly. Alex shook his head; he'd been doing so well.
"I'm not talking about what you learned from them, I'm talking about you learned from us," she told him patiently.
"Take the strange shit life throws at you and move on?" he asked.
"Exactly," Jack said. "You and your Unit now have an advantage others don't. You know what people are capable of when no other choice is there. Cub is here because he's Blunt's last option. I'm here because I'm that boy's last chance at normalcy in a place like this."
"Why make him go through all this?" Wolf asked. "He's just a boy. What could be so important?"
"I wish I knew," she said softly. "But I don't and for now I have to live with that. You follow orders well, but you have to know that not everything can be fixed by the orders of your superiors. As you've seen, there is always someone more powerful, someone with the advantage. So, Wolf, tell me what have I been doing?" There was silence as Wolf thought.
Alex thought with him. What had she been doing? Showing up so suddenly she'd thrown a perfectly structured training regime into even more chaos than his sudden appearance had. The milk prank. Alex hadn't been included in that because Jack had told him not eat the food. She'd given him the advantage over the other men to remain healthy. Wasp. The secrecy over the circumstances of his broken nose meant Wolf didn't, couldn't, and wouldn't know everything. So what had she been doing?
"You've been training us," Wolf said shocked at his own revelation.
"The SAS teaches you to shoot guns, to survive impossible circumstances, to fight, to be a team," she said. "But the problem is that you weren't ready for the strange and weird. You weren't ready for psychotic; for someone who knew what you could do and didn't care. You can't play the games Cub and I can. But now you can recognize it."
"Why do you care that we know how to act like Special Ops?" he asked utterly bewildered. "Why us?"
"Because Wolf, like you said, he's apart of your Unit whether you like it or not," she said. "Whether Blunt likes it or not."
"What?"
"You'll have Cub's back," Jack said. "I know you will. After all, what kind of soldier would you be if left one of your own behind?"
"You taught us these games," Wolf said harshly. "So that Cub would have bodygaurds?"
"Not bodygaurds Wolf. He doesn't need that. What he needs is backup," she said. "Take my advice, don't forget what you've learned."
There was another silence for several more minutes. Alex could hear the rest of the Unit walking beck towards the cabin. He was about to bolt so he wouldn't be caught eavesdropping when he caught Wolf's reply.
"I won't."
Yes, Jack's endgame somewhat revealed. There is one more chapter after this and Jack's little game will be explained more fully. Not very helpy help I know but you have to admit she did help them.
Next Chapter: The Conclusion