14. Cub Explains

'Okay so start explaining,' I ordered when Dad didn't look like he was going to explain.

'You know that when I was fourteen your Great Uncle Ian died,' Dad began.

'In a car crash,' I scowled.

'No,' Dad said. 'That's what I was told but it wasn't the truth.'

'Then how did he die?' I asked curious despite myself.

'He was shot,' my Dad said a bit hollowly.

'You said he was a spy right,' I said.

'Precisely,' Dad nodded, 'Anyway I'd been told it was because he wasn't wearing a seat belt,' Dad said.

'And you didn't believe them?' I asked.

Dad shook his head, 'Ian was obsessed with some things like seatbelts. I knew he would never, not wear his seatbelt.'

'What did you do?' I asked. 'Go to the police?'

'It was the Police that were lying to me,' Dad replied.

'So then what?' I asked.

'Well at the time several other odd things happened,' Dad began.

'Like what?' I asked.

'A banker with a gun,' Alex said.

'The bank?' I asked.

'Our cover for MI6,' Dad explained. 'Then all of Ian's work stuff was stolen. I was distracted in school but my teachers gave me leeway because of my uncle's death. I then decided to go and see the car just to prove to myself that I wasn't being lied to. The car was in a breakers yard. I wasn't sure which one until I found one with the same name as the people who stolen Ian's stuff. I then broke into a breakers yard saw bullet holes all over the car and realised that there was some cover up going on. Almost got killed by car crusher too,' Dad added almost as an afterthought.

'You almost got killed by a car crusher,' I said looking faintly ill.

'I know,' Dad said shaking his head.

'How?' I asked.

'I hid in Ian's car well that went a bit wrong,' Dad shook his head.

'A bit?' I asked weakly.

'I've had closer calls,' I said calmly.

I groaned, 'how did you get out?' I asked.

'Quick thinking and a lot of luck,' Dad said, 'as always. Well after that I was terrified. I still had no idea what was going on or why Ian had been killed. I have to say I was in way over my head. I blamed the bankers who carried guns. Now here's another bit as I was escaping the breaker's yard one of the men I'd seen with a gun tried to stop me.'

'He tried to shoot you?' I asked in shock.

Dad shook his head, 'no just stop me but I was scared I had just found out my uncle had been shot and man with a gun came after me and I had almost been killed by a car crusher. I lashed out and knocked him unconscious. This gained me notice by the boss of MI6. I didn't like him,' Dad muttered darkly.

'Wasn't he your boss?' I asked.

'Not by choice,' Dad said in a very dark and dangerous voice. 'Anyway the next day I was asked to come to the bank after school. I was a bit apprehensive but I decided to go. I supposed that I didn't know anything they wouldn't kill me.'

'If they had killed your uncle and you knew there was a cover up wouldn't that give them reason to kill you?' I asked.

'Yes,' Dad agreed. 'But I was a naïve fourteen year old at that point. In a few months I would not be at all. I wanted to go into my uncle's office to find out anything that Ian might have known but they didn't let me in but they did leave me in the office next door. Now I should say that outside each window there was a ledge and connecting the two offices and nice flagpole.'

I groaned, 'I don't like where this is going.'

'I've done far worse in my time, trust me.'

'You must be insane,' I told Dad.

'So Tom and Ben often tell me,' Dad agreed.

'And Aunt Tamara,' I asked.

'Quite as insane as me,' Dad smirked.

'They're spies as well aren't they?' I asked.

'Not Tom but Ben and Tamara yes. We've been on quite a few missions together. Tamara and I even met on a mission. Ben and I met here. We didn't get on much,' Dad admitted.

'Really?' I asked in surprise.

'How would you feel if right now you had some fourteen year old kid trailing after you?' Dad asked.

'Confused,' I said. 'Worried I would be binned for his incompetence.'

'Well that's how they felt,' Dad said. 'We patched our relationship up later though, thankfully. Well after I broke into Ian's office and found files on poison, uranium, and various other things I realised that whatever was going on in that building it was not a bank. As you can guess I had a lot of questions.'

'I would too,' I muttered.

'Yeah well I asked them but unfortunately the guy I asked didn't have the clearance to tell me. That was left to the Head and Deputy Head of MI6,' Dad said. 'I was shot with stun dart. I woke up in another building which I later found was in Wales quite near here actually.'

'And you agreed to work for them,' I said.

Here Dad actually chuckled, 'actually I said they were barmy and I wanted to go home.'

'But?' I asked.

'Here was me an orphan with no family to speak of with the only possible guardian, an American needing a visa,' I said. 'MI6 made it quite clear that they'd destroy my life if I didn't work for them.'

'That's blackmail,' I said.

'Indeed,' Dad agreed.

'Are they still blackmailing you?' I asked.

'Nah,' Dad shook his head. 'They didn't even always have to blackmail me in the first year before I decided to become a full time spy.'

'So what happened?' I asked.

'I trained here only for eleven days mind you but still. Kicked your sergeant out of the plane; that was fun,' Dad laughed.

'You kicked the sergeant out of the plane and you're still alive?' I asked in shock.

'He's nowhere near as scary as he acts,' Dad replied.

'I'll believe that when I see it,' I muttered.

Dad laughed at this, 'that's what I thought until we met when I was fifteen back for some back up training.'

'So what was your mission like?' I asked.

'Well I can't give you any details but it was terrifying, exhilarating, adrenaline pumping all at the same time. I was shot at and killed men. Not with guns but I have been known to be rather creative with killing people,' Dad said.

'And you say that like it's a good thing,' I muttered.

'In my world it is,' Dad said. 'I even met my uncle's killer. He saved my life.'

'Your uncle's killer saved your life?' I asked shocked.

'Yeah he did that a lot,' Dad said. I just gaped. 'Well I saved a lot of lives and then was packed off back to school with barely so much as a thank you. Actually I got told off for accidentally shooting the Prime Minister.'

'You shot the Prime Minister?' I asked shocked.

'Accidentally,' Dad replied. 'I found school dreadfully dull after that.'

'So would I,' I admitted.

'And my friends knew I was lying to them but didn't know what. They tried to get me to tell them the truth and over time we drifted apart,' Dad sighed.

'That must have been hard,' I said (I was Mr Popular in school).

'Very,' Dad agreed. 'I got so bored that one day I got in trouble with the police.'

'What did you do?' I demanded.

'Dropped a boat containing two drug dealers into a police conference,' Dad said straight faced. 'You're not serious?' I asked.

'Deadly,' Dad said.

'You must have some death wish,' I said.

Dad laughed, 'well I am a spy. Well I was sent on another mission. I saved the world and was packed off to school.'

'Did that happen all the time?' I asked.

'Until I quit school yes,' Dad replied. 'In the summer I helped a friend from MI6 uncover the truth about what was going on in Wimbledon completely off the record only I managed to anger some Chinese Triads so I was off on another mission to hide me from them. I have to say that my mission was worse than the Triads.'

'Worse?' I asked. 'How worse?' I asked nervously.

'Much worse,' Dad said grimly, 'a nuke.'

'Oh my,' I said.

'Quite,' Dad agreed. 'The CIA operatives I worked with were killed at this time. Next I was holidaying with a girl called Sabina we fancied each other.'

'Nothing came of it?' I asked.

'She ran away to America when she found out what I was,' Dad said. 'That hurt a lot.'

'She broke your heart,' I said.

'First loves,' Dad shook his head. 'It took your mother a long time to convince me that she wanted to be with me despite all the dangers that I came with. And what I feared happened,' Dad sighed.

'So Sabina?' I asked.

'Her Dad was a journalist,' Dad explained, 'angered the wrong people and got blown up by none other than Ian's killer. I went in search for vengeance for her without MI6's backing.'

'Why?' I asked.

'The person I suspected was behind it all had friends in high places including the Queen, Prime Minister and American President,' Dad explained.

'So you went alone?' I asked.

'With Jack,' Dad agreed. 'We came home with a flash drive when I realised that Sabina had been kidnapped. We'd fallen out.'

'Why?' I asked.

'She didn't believe that I was a spy,' Dad said.

I nodded, 'when she was kidnapped what did you do?'

'Brought the flash drive to the criminal,' Dad explained. 'The assassin told me he'd been trained by my dad as he was dying. I joined a terrorist organisation and trained to be an assassin.'

My eyes went wide, 'is that where you learned instinctive firing?' I asked.

'Yes,' Dad said. 'Well I switched back to MI6 and found that Dad was really an undercover operative for MI6. The terrorist organisation he had infiltrated killed both mum and dad.'

'I'm sorry,' I said.

'Don't it was my turncoat of a godfather who killed them,' Dad said harshly. 'Ben killed him for me well for the mission that we went on together.'

'Is that where you re-met?' I asked.

'I'd met Tamara beforehand as well when I went to outer space,' Dad said calmly.

'You've been to outer space?' I said sure my eyes were all bug eyed.

'Only once,' Dad said. 'Things continued like that until my school was shot at. Jack died soon after and I joined MI6 as soon as the old boss had left. I liked the new boss. And that was that. I met your mother we got married had you guys. She got killed by some terrorists I had pissed off.'

'What really happened to the gunmen?' I asked.

'I killed them,' Dad said in such a casual way it made me shudder.