A/N: This fic is about 90% Eagle Strike parallels and 10% me find new ways to describe fire. Hope you enjoy!

This was originally written for the FebuWhump prompt Inferno, but alas it's the end of April now. Many thanks to Rirren for the excellent beta-reading that allowed me to finish it!

Forged in Fire

It was with a surge of despair that Alex realised he might already be too late. The roar of the fire was getting louder with every second, the heat growing worse. His breaths came short, his lungs already burning. While the stairs he was racing down were still free from the flames, that would change in a matter of minutes.

And there might be no way out. Alex had seen Petrov's men barricading the front door from the window of the second-floor room he'd been tied up in. No doubt the other doors would be locked too, or guarded. He may have managed to escape the ropes, but Petrov planned to see him die a fiery death all the same.

But Alex couldn't give up. There had to be some way out, a ground-floor window they'd overlooked or perhaps a door that was left unlocked. He had to try.

The heat grew more intense the closer he came to the ground floor. They must have set the fire near the entrances. He would have to run through the very worst of the flames if he wanted to make it out.

He jumped the last few steps, already looking around for an exit. The main entrance would definitely be blocked but perhaps a backdoor was left unguarded. The hallway was eerily normal, still untouched by the fire, although Alex could see smoke starting to come in from around the door at the end of the hall.

He paused, sweat on his brow from the heat and the exertion of running down so many flights of stairs. Time was running out, but where to go?

"Alex."

At the soft call, time seemed to slow down. The roar of the fire became quieter, the heat less stifling. For a moment, Alex was fourteen again and back on the plane, exhausted and bruised and turning his head almost against his will, expecting a gun.

But like that day, there was only Yassen, sitting propped up against the wall beside the stairwell. His face was even paler than usual, his eyes an intense shade of blue.

He was injured, as Alex had known he would be, although he hadn't spared Yassen much thought after Petrov had shot him earlier. Everything had happened so fast and he'd been more concerned with trying to escape. Now, Alex could see the mess of blood on Yassen thigh, the length of cloth wrapped tight around it to stop the bleeding already soaked through.

Unconsciously, his legs brought him closer to Yassen. There was a bruise forming on Yassen's left cheekbone. He leant against the wall, exhaustion clear in the slump of his shoulders. But his eyes were alive and looking at Alex with an odd sort of longing that reminded Alex of their final moments together on Air Force One.

"Alex," Yassen said again, softer this time, as Alex drew nearer. "I'm glad you're still alive."

"I might not be for much longer."

"You have to escape." Yassen' voice was eerily calm against the background roar of the fire.

"I'm trying," Alex said with frustration. "But Petrov's barred all the doors. His men are guarding the exits."

"There's a way out through the cellar. A tunnel behind an oak cupboard. It leads all the way to a hidden exit beyond the fence."

A surge of hope ignited in Alex's chest.

A secret tunnel! Could it be true or was it a trap? But Yassen sounded sincere and he had no good reason to want Alex dead. He had been working for Petrov, but Petrov had shot Yassen and left his former right-hand man here to burn, just like Alex.

And Alex could see the trail of blood leading here. Yassen must have been making his way towards these stairs to reach the cellar. The story checked out.

"You should go," Yassen said. "Make your escape."

As if underlining the urgency, there was a sudden flare of heat from the end of the corridor as the door went up in flames, the fire quickly spreading to the ceiling.

Another minute and this place would be consumed with fire.

Alex hesitated. "What about you?"

But looking at Yassen's leg and the way the Russian was leaning against the wall, he already knew the answer.

Yassen smiled faintly. "My legs won't support me. This is the end for me. I'm glad I got to see you one last time, Alex."

Alex's stomach clenched at the words, his emotions a confusing mess.

Yassen was not a good man. He was a killer, the man who had killed Alex's uncle. And just today, he had been the one to capture Alex. If he hadn't refused to kill Alex, he would be standing outside now, still helping Petrov.

Who knew how many people were dead now because of him? Fifty? A hundred? Yassen had been killing people for a very long time, and even his near-death last summer hadn't stopped him from working as an assassin.

In a way, death was what he deserved. The world might be a better place without him. Certainly, it would be for the people he might otherwise be hired to kill.

But Yassen had also taken a bullet for him once. And if he was telling the truth about the tunnel, he may have just saved Alex's life.

The fire was rapidly spreading now, illuminating the side of Yassen's face. It was a terrible fate, to be burnt alive.

Alex held out a hand. "Come with me."

Surprise flashed across Yassen's face. He shook his head. "I'll slow you down. You should go without me."

"I'm not leaving you here," Alex insisted.

Yassen wavered for another moment, emotions warring in his eyes. Then he reached out and clasped his hand around Alex's wrist. Alex pulled him to his feet. The weight on Yassen's injured leg had to hurt, but the only sign Yassen gave was a sharply drawn breath.

They had no time to lose now. Already, smoke was filling the hallway, the heat becoming excruciating.

Alex put Yassen's arm around his shoulder and held on to his waist, pulling him towards the stairs leading down. Yassen helped as best as he could, but with his injured leg unable to support him, it was slower than Alex would have liked.

At least Yassen was not very heavy. He had always been a slim man, but Alex was surprised to find his growth spurt of the last few months had put them on equal height. Most of Yassen consisted of tightly-packed muscle, from what Alex could feel through the man's shirt.

The heat at his back was scorching, the smell of smoke and soot overwhelming. Alex pulled up his shirt with a free hand, covering his mouth and nose, and tried not to breathe too deeply. He couldn't afford to trigger a coughing fit now.

There was a landing halfway the stairs, before it turned to go further down, and as he pulled Yassen to the second flight of stairs, Alex glanced up.

Flames had consumed the hallway where they had stood a minute ago. The intense heat made the skin on his face feel tight. It was a relief when they reached the other stairs, and the wall blocked the view of the raging fire, shielding them from the heat.

Perhaps they would even be safe just staying in the cellar. But as they reached the basement level and opened the door to the corridor, Alex knew it was a lost cause.

The first flames were already licking at the ceiling further down the hallway. In front of their eyes, part of the ceiling collapsed with a loud crash, revealing a blazing inferno of fire above.

Alex cursed. "Where's the tunnel entrance?"

"Left," Yassen said. "There's a hole in the wall behind the cupboard. The tunnel leads all the way under the grounds."

Yassen's voice was still impressively steady despite the pain he must be in, but close as he was, Alex heard the strain in it.

He moved them as fast as he could down a smaller hallway on the left. It was darker here, a good sign as it meant the fire hadn't spread, but it made it harder to see.

Behind them, the raging inferno grew louder, and there was the not-so-distant sound of another part of the building falling down. Alex felt Yassen's tension in the body pressed against his, but neither of them spoke.

At last, the large shape of a cupboard loomed in the dim light of the hallway.

"This one," Yassen confirmed.

The cupboard was antique, about as high as Alex's chest and pressed flush against the wall. Alex couldn't see it clearly, but it appeared to be made of solid wood.

"The entrance is behind this?"

"Yes." Yassen didn't sound any happier about it than Alex was. "You'll have to move it out of the way."

Alex's heart sank. A large oak-wood cupboard like this could easily weigh close to two-hundred kilograms, and that was assuming it was empty. He was strong for his age, but it would be far from easy and they were already short on time. But it was the only way out.

He left Yassen leaning against the wall, then put his back against the side of the cupboard, pushing his feet against the floor with all his strength. Thankfully, the floor was bare stone, the flat surface at least allowing it to slide.

It left him gasping for air at the effort, but centimetre by centimetre, the cupboard was pushed to the side. The progress was painfully slow. With his back against the cupboard, Alex faced the way they had come, and he saw flames had already engulfed the other hallway. He closed his eyes and pushed harder.

A breath of cool air at his side told him his efforts were paying off. He could see the edge of a gap now where the brickwork had been knocked out. There was only darkness behind it, no light coming through.

The sight of exit gave him new strength and with two intense efforts, he was able to create a large enough gap for him and Yassen to slip through sideways.

The flames were drawing nearer now, but Alex knew that if the tunnel led as far as Yassen had said, they would be safe once they were in.

He helped Yassen through the entrance first, then squeezed into the tunnel himself, ducking his head.

It was like stepping into a well of darkness. The tunnel was pitch dark, making it impossible to see where it was going, or if it was leading anywhere.

A hand touched his shoulder, and he twitched, but it was just Yassen. Alex looped the man's arm around his neck again, holding him up. In the sudden coolness of the tunnel, Yassen almost radiated heat.

Alex faced the blackness stretching out before them. "I don't suppose you've got a torch?"

He felt more than saw Yassen shake his head.

"The tunnel runs for about two-hundred fifty metres, before coming up on the other side of the fence. No turns, no side branches."

So they could use the walls to guide them, at least. Alex stretched out his free hand until he felt it brush against rough bricks, some of the dry mortar crumbling under his fingers.

"Okay, let's go."

The tunnel was wide enough to walk side by side, but not much wider than that. Alex kept one hand on the wall as he pulled Yassen along. It was slow-going, and Yassen was increasingly leaning on him to avoid putting weight on his injured leg.

The fire still raged behind them, but the sound became more distant the further they moved. The tunnel itself was utterly silent, except for the shuffled footsteps and the rasping of their breath.

In the pitch-darkness, Alex was more aware than ever of Yassen's presence. He could hear the muffled gasp of pain every time pressure was put on his bad leg, and felt the warm body pressing against him. The smell of smoke was less here, replaced by that of their own sweat.

Neither of them spoke as they moved steadily onward. They had escaped the immediate danger of the fire, but they weren't safe yet. Yassen's body was tense against his, no doubt in part because of his injury, but also neither of them knew what would be waiting for them at the end of the tunnel.

Petrov's men were still outside on the grounds, barricading the doors. Yassen had claimed the tunnel was secret, but Alex wouldn't be happy until they were well clear of the mansion.

At last, they drew closer to the exit. Alex became aware of a change in the darkness surrounding them. Before, the blackness had been absolute, but now there was the slightest hint of light coming from ahead of them.

It turned out to be a metal hatch door, cold to the touch. There was the hint of air coming from a crack along the side where it didn't quite seal tight—this was where the light had come from.

He left Yassen to lean against the wall as he explored the hatch door. Yassen was in a bad way, fine tremors going through him and his breathing more ragged than before. Alex hoped he would still be able to walk after this, because he didn't fancy his chances of escaping with Yassen on his back.

He felt along the cold metal surface for a way to open it. There was a bar blocking the exit, but it was meant to keep people from entering the mansion through the tunnel, not to stop them going out. It was the work of seconds to lift it and find the handle.

Carefully, Alex opened the hatch door, blinking against the sudden brightness. They were alone in an open area, half sheltered from view by a large rock. Ahead of them was the forest that surrounded most of the estate.

He climbed out, then offered his hand to help Yassen up as well.

The mid-afternoon light was blinding in its intensity as they stood at the edge of the forest, peering around them.

Yassen had been right earlier when he'd said the tunnel would lead them outside the grounds. Alex could see the fence some five metres behind them, and beyond that the large country mansion, still going up in flames.

Petrov's men were standing around in groups near the entrances, but they had been forced back by the heat of the fire. They hadn't spotted Alex and Yassen yet.

By unspoken agreement, they set off again, moving into the forest. If they lingered near the fence there was always a risk one of Petrov's men would remember about the secret tunnel or simply decide to look around. The further into the forest they were, the safer they would be.

Long minutes later, Alex stopped. He lowered Yassen to the ground against a large rock, then let himself collapse a few feet away, leaning his head against the trunk of a tree. They had left the fence behind them now, and were out of view of anyone checking the perimeter. They had a moment to catch their breath.

Alex closed his eyes. He was exhausted, his shirt clinging to his back with sweat from both the exertion and the heat of the fire, but he had made it out. Despite all the odds, he was still alive.

"You saved my life."

Alex opened his eyes to find Yassen gazing at him with a look of wonder in his eyes. He shrugged, uncomfortable with the emotion.

"I couldn't just leave you there."

And Yassen had expected him to, that much was clear. Alex could even understand why. In the world Yassen lived in, the world Alex had become familiar with over the past year, compassion and friendship were rare. Yassen himself had shot one of Sayle's men in cold blood when Alex first saw him, and betrayed Sayle without a hint of remorse. Only today Petrov had shot Yassen and no one had lifted a single finger to help him.

But Alex had.

Just as John Rider had once saved Yassen's life in the Amazon jungle, sixteen years ago.

Alex's eyes flicked down to Yassen's neck. He remembered the scar he'd seen there on the plane, the odd straightness of it. His father had given it to Yassen and saved his life, Yassen had told him, although no one had ever explained to Alex how he'd done so.

Had Yassen looked at his dad like this once too?

Yassen's eyes softened. "You truly are a lot like your father."

Exhausted as he was, the words hit Alex harder than he expected, stirring an old yearning. He had no memories of his father, who had died when Alex was only a few months old. All he had were the stories from people whose lives he had touched, sometimes only briefly.

Alex wished he could have known his father the way Yassen had.

John Rider may have been a spy but he had genuinely cared for the young assassin he'd been asked to train. And Yassen had carried the memory of their friendship for all these years, and refused to kill Alex. Once again, Alex marvelled at the threads of fate binding him to Yassen and the father he had never met.

Perhaps that was part of why he had saved Yassen today. Yassen was a killer, working for people who were at best described as immoral, but he was also the closest connection Alex had left to his father, and Alex did not want him to die. Especially so soon after he found out Yassen was still alive. There was too much left unresolved between them.

It would be hard to explain to MI6, but Alex had already decided he'd leave this particular detail out of his report once he'd found the backup team. They must be wondering where he was.

"You should go on," Yassen said, apparently thinking along the same line. "Contact your people."

Alex nodded. He pushed himself off the ground, ignoring the exhaustion weighing him down. Yassen still leant back against the rock, making no attempt to get up. In the light of the clearing, he looked even paler than before.

"Will you be all right?"

"I will." Yassen pulled a mobile phone from his pocket. "I have people I can call. But it would be best if you weren't nearby by the time they arrived."

If they were anything like Yassen's recent colleagues, Alex could see why. He nodded again, and turned to go.

"Alex."

He turned back.

"Thank you."

Alex paused, thrown by the odd sincerity in Yassen's voice, before he gathered himself. "Yeah, well, maybe you could take this near death experience as a sign to change careers."

Yassen half smiled. "I'll consider it."

Alex figured that was probably as good as he was going to get.

Pushing his exhaustion aside, set off into the forest, heading for the beacon point where he knew the backup team was waiting. He wondered if he and Yassen would meet again.

After about fifty metres, he looked over his shoulder. Through the trees, Alex could see Yassen sitting at the foot of the boulder. He was holding the phone up to his ear, but his eyes were trained on Alex, watching his retreat.

When he noticed Alex glancing back, Yassen raised his hand. Something in Alex settled at the gesture. Yassen would be all right.

One day, they'd meet again, and that time, Alex would have questions. But for now, they had their own places to be. With the afternoon sun shining down on him through the trick canopy, Alex made his way deeper into the forest.

A/N: Please let me know if you enjoyed it!