Wolf stared at the ceiling and tried to ignore the rumbling of his stomach. It had been at least a full day since his captors had allowed him to eat a sandwich that was little more than a slice of cheese and two pieces of bread. Hardly anything substantial. The only plus side to the long stretch of nothing was that he was no longer being tortured and that also meant that Tom was more than likely still okay.
However there was also thoughts about the flash drive rattling around in his head. He had never been able to get the stupid thing open but he had known that it was dangerous the second he'd held it in his hand. The first thing he had done when he stepped off the train in London was slip away and take out a locker at the train station. It had been the perfect hiding place: in a blind spot, not noticed by most people, and easily accessible to everyone on the team.
The last thing he had done was buy a hollowed out rosary (usually used to drugs) and left a message for Alex to find should anything happen to him. In fact, that rosary was the only thing that permanently lived in his emergency bag. He knew that Tom would eventually start shuffling through the stuff he'd put in. And he knew that Alex would probably be the one to find the message he'd left behind. He wondered if that had happened yet.
"Where is it?"
The door to his cell had burst open and he was suddenly face to face with a man he didn't know. He was tall, had dyed black hair, and dull brown eyes. He was wearing a simple suit but the watch on his left wrist spoke of wealth. He looked frazzled and quite frankly, scared. Wolf smirked.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "It wasn't where it was supposed to be?"
"No," the man snapped. "Who else knew about the locker in the train station? Who picked it up?"
"I didn't tell anyone about where it was."
"Liar," he shouted and crossed the floor to stand above Wolf. He raised his fist and brought it down on Wolf's jaw. His head snapped to the side and it felt as if a couple of his teeth had been knocked a loose. "You told someone! Who?"
"I didn't tell anyone," Wolf repeated, feeling his own temper beginning to rise. He pulled slightly at the metal cuffs anchoring him to the chair. "It's not my fault someone figured it out before you could get there."
The man leaned over Wolf, putting his face directly into Wolf's.
"Who would have figured it out?" he asked. "The doctor? Or how about the MI6 reject? It couldn't have been the computer hacker. I hear he's barely even conscious. Or how about the kid? Cub. The pride and joy of MI6 Special Operations and your ward's best friend? Yes, I think I'll start with him."
"Famous last words," Wolf replied but the stranger wasn't listening anymore. He was already out of the room and closing the door behind him. He smiled to himself and moved his fingers carefully to reveal a single paper clip lifted from the man's suit pocket when he had leaned too close.
00000
Alex looked out of the Boeing Chinook helicopter and listened to Fox issue orders through the headphones clasped tightly over his ears. He had already been told to stick with Fox throughout the upcoming raid and the man had even saw fit to hand him a gun, a simple Browning Hi-Power. It wouldn't do much good against a machine gun but Fox hadn't been comfortable handing the famed Cub anything that could be used outside of the realm of self-defense.
It was good enough for Alex though. His mind was blank and he could barely feel worry that Blunt would use this an opportunity to put him back in the field. It was worth it at this point. These people had most likely crippled Eagle. Wolf and Tom had both been betrayed and taken. He had lost too much to let something like Blunt and his tactics stand in Alex's way of getting his friends back.
The slight jarring of the sudden landing brought him back to the present and he shifted slightly so his bulletproof vest would be in a more comfortable position. The doors slid open and the twenty SAS soldiers slid out, moving fluidly across the grass, through a line of trees, and to the back field surrounding an abandoned mill on the outskirts of London. Alex followed Fox faithfully, Snake to his left and a man named Tiger to his right.
They crossed the field on elbows and knees, hidden by the overgrown wild grass and weeds. When they were close enough they paused and a single soldier went the rest of the way alone to wire the locked door with a simple charge that would blow the lock and allow them entrance. Another minute of silence and waiting, Alex heard the charge detonate and the soldiers stood as one. He and Fox were the last ones through and already there was gunfire and shouting.
Alex ducked behind a couple of crates and took stock of what he was seeing. They were in the loading dock of the old mill. An office looked down on where the trucks would have once sat. Several men were barricaded in that office and were shooting down on the SAS soldiers below. Already three of them were down, if not dead. There was no way anyone was going to be able to get up the steps to claim the high ground for themselves.
Knowing this, Alex looked around. At the top of the stairs, immediately below the window the shooters were using was an industrial fire extinguisher. It wasn't perfect, but it might give them enough cover. He took his gun from the holster, took careful aim, and fired.
The extinguisher exploded instantly sending up a plume of chemicals into the air and, more importantly, into the faces of the men shooting through the open windows of the office. Alex heard screaming as the chemical hit their eyes and smiled to himself.
"Nice one, Cub," Fox said as he moved from behind the crates to go deeper into the mill. Several other soldiers were already in the office subduing the gunman who were screaming about being blind.
"Thanks," Alex replied and followed him, Snake, and two others through a different door and deeper into the mill. They were now in the office section and made their way through cubicles that had clearly been occupied recently. Alex could see laptop chargers, old coffee cups, and the remnants of someone's breakfast that was so new it hadn't even attracted the fly buzzing around the room yet. There was also a few cots shoved in the corner for those who didn't have the luxury of leaving.
Fox instructed the two SAS soldiers Alex didn't know to move to the upper floors and try to clear them out with other soldiers making their way from loading dock. He, Snake, and Alex went through a different door that led down towards the storage lockers. Each one had a heavy metal door and cinder block walls. The perfect place to hold a prisoner.
This bottom level was cold and had the distinct smell of mold. The corridor was lit by temporary lighting and the bulbs cast small shadows everywhere that played tricks on the eyes. Snake silently broke away down a branch off the main corridor and Alex and Fox continued to move deeper into the storage area. There were rows and rows of storage lockers but most had their doors removed or were hanging by a single hinge. They kept moving until they finally came to a row and could hear muffled banging.
Giving a silent look of agreement Alex followed Fox down the barely lit corridor. As they neared the door they could see that it was bolted shut by a simple sliding blot. They wouldn't even need a key. Fox grabbed the heavy bolt and slid it back with a loud clang. The muffled banging immediately went silent and Fox carefully pushed the door open. However, he had barely stepped inside when the heavy metal door came flying back to hit him squarely in the face. He yelled and grabbed his now bleeding nose.
"Stop! Stop!" Alex yelled before the door could slam into Fox again.
"Alex?" came a weak voice and Tom stepped out from behind the door looking tired but completely fine.
"Tom!" he shouted not caring how much noise he made. They met each other in a hug that Tom didn't seem to want to let go of.
"I fink you bro'e ma no'," Fox snapped, pinching his nose and trying to stem the bleeding.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Tom said letting go of Alex and looking as if he really did regret his door slamming plan. "I was hoping you were going to be the big, scary guy with the bad sandwiches." Fox glared at him.
"Where's Wolf Tom?" Alex asked.
"I don't know. I never saw him. They set up a camera to broadcast a live feed of me to wherever he was. He may not even be here."
"He should most likely be here," Alex responded. "There's only so many places this guy can hide people everyone's looking for." Tom smiled at the knowledge that he was again the center of his government's attention.
"Well, then let's find this missing Wolf you speak of," he said dramatically fists on his hips and standing in a full superhero pose. Alex lifted an eyebrow.
"You and I are going upstairs," he replied as Fox nodded enthusiastically. "Fox and Snake are going to find Wolf."
"We can do that too," Tom said just as dramatically and still in superhero pose. Fox shook his head, huffed, and took his hand off his still bleeding nose to properly hold his assault rifle. He then left without a word, knowing that Alex could take care of getting Tom back above ground.
"I think he might be mad at you," Alex warned as they began walking towards the main corridor that led to the stairs. Tom shrugged.
"Meh. It was a good plan though wasn't? The whole door to the face thing?"
"Yeah," Alex replied. "Until you whacked Fox in the face."
Tom opened his mouth to reply but was never able to get the words out. They had turned a corner and come face to face with a gun. Alex froze and stiffened, his hand tightening around his own gun but he didn't raise it. Tom squeaked and went wide eyed. The man holding the gun in Alex's face was in a simple suit but had one of the nicest watches Alex had ever seen on his left wrist.
"Agent," he greeted, taking an educated guess as to this was.
"You must be Cub," he responded. "The famous Cub." Thankfully Tom, who had no idea what this man had been up to, kept quiet.
"That's me," he responded slowly wondering how he was going to be able to bring up the gun in time to save himself from a bullet to the face. "I'm just glad I can finally put a face to the name."
"Hmph," the Agent snorted. "Yes, Wolf has been circling for some time now. I knew it was only a matter of time before I had to kill him but I never imagined I'd be able to take Cub with him."
Alex's breath hitched at the Agent's words. If the man was telling the truth then Wolf was most likely already dead. He heard Tom make a small noise somewhere in between a sniffle and a squeak.
"Must be a real treat for you. Meeting real soldiers."
The Agent smirked at the jab but ignored it. Alex eyed him coldly. The man was getting ready to make a move. He needed to stall. Tom's life depended on it.
"What are you doing? Working with someone as psychotic as Skelter?" he asked, trying to make it sound as if he actually cared.
"Have you ever met him?"
"No," Alex replied. "And I don't want to."
"Wise choice, kid," the Agent nodded, looking amused. "Skelter is pure crazy but he has money. Good money."
"So you're just another quack up for sale," Alex snapped. "Original."
"It doesn't have to be original to work," the Agent replied unfazed. "And besides giving Skelter all the guns he needs was great money. If that bastard Wolf hadn't been so determined to find me none of this would have happened."
Alex didn't respond but he did take a small step to his right so that Tom was further away from him. If the Agent was going to shoot, he didn't want the bullet to exit out of him and into Tom.
"He just wouldn't stop. Even after I threatened his friends."
"What?" Tom asked, finally entering the conversation despite himself.
"Oh yes," the Agent responded, nodding. "I left a nice little warning with that girl. Eagle's girl."
"Jack," Alex said forcefully.
"Yes, her. The stupid American didn't even notice when my guys slipped a vial of poison and a note into her purse at the market place. Just kept on shopping."
Tom looked over at Alex, confused, but Alex was too shocked to try and communicate with him. How long had the Agent been circling around them? Why hadn't Jack told him that she had been so clearly threatened? Why hadn't Eagle? The Agent read his expression.
"They didn't tell you," he cooed, overly pleased that he had thrown the very famous Cub through a loop. "Looks like someone doesn't have the respect he thought he did."
Alex didn't respond. He didn't need to. So he just smirked.
"What?" the Agent asked, perturbed that Alex wasn't biting.
"That's really gonna hurt," Tom told him. The Agent cocked his head to the side, a confused expression on his face. But he didn't have long to wait for an explanation as an old piece of pipe came crashing down on his head. He went limp and fell forward. The two boys jumped out of the way of his dead weight and the gun went clattering away. Alex picked it up and handed it to the person with the pipe. The man was bruised, dirty, and ragged looking. His clothing was torn in places and there was dirt on his hands and face as if he'd spent some time on the ground. He looked wild and, more importantly, he looked angry.
"Wolf!" Tom shouted and hugged his guardian quite forcefully. Then he kicked him in the shin.
"Ow, Tom! What the hell?" Wolf replied angrily.
"That's for stuffing me in that stupid closet-hole! It was way too dark in there!"
"You're alive aren't you?"
"Because Alex found me! And I may have accidentally broken Fox's nose by the way."
Wolf just glared at him and then turned on his heel and began to walk towards the stairwell. The two boys looked at each other, shrugged, and followed leaving the unconscious Agent for Fox and Snake to find as they made their way back to the stairs.
00000
"Why didn't you tell me about the threats?" Alex asked calmly. He didn't have the heart to yell at Jack right now. They were sitting in a couple of chairs by Eagle's bed. She had grabbed his hand when he'd brought up the poison vial in her purse and hadn't let go since. They were the only ones in the room, the door closed, and had a snoring Eagle as background noise. Wolf and Tom were both being treated in the room next door. Wolf had originally insisted on separate rooms, citing Tom's complete inability to be quiet. Nobody really cared though. They were stuck together.
"I didn't want to worry you," she said. "At first I thought it was some sort of sick joke. I was getting text messages at night and emails. But there was nothing about you or Andy. They weren't overtly threatening. Just a little weird."
"They were stalking you?" Alex asked, horrified at both the thought and that she hadn't told him.
"In a way," she said. "After I found the vial and the note I gave them Andy. It was filled with a poison that this Skelter person likes to use every now and then. Andy freaked out. He wanted me to tell you immediately but I just couldn't. You were doing so well with school and life in general. You were finally in a good place. I didn't want to ruin it. Especially since Andy said he and the guys could take care of it. I never imagined any of this could happen."
She was crying by then. Silent tears that made Alex's bullet wound hurt a little.
"I understand Jack," he said and meant it. After all, she had tried to protect him in any way she could over the years. And it wasn't as if she had done nothing. She had given it K-Unit to handle. And while Alex would have preferred to be kept in the loop, he understood why they hadn't included him. It was K-Unit's enemy that had caught up with them and it was their job to fix the problem. But they were still his friends and he just wished that he had been able to do something for them. He wished he was capable of protecting them.
"Where am I?"
Both Alex and Jack twisted back around towards the bed where Eagle was squinting at them.
"Andy!" Jack exclaimed and jumped up to hug him. He hugged her back, just with much less force.
"What happened?" he asked.
"You were run over by a car," Alex told him, getting up to stand by the bed. Eagle looked tired but more or less sober. They had finally lowered his pain medication dosage and after a very long sleep he was coming back to his senses.
"In the house?" he asked, confused. Alex smiled. Eagle clearly didn't remember anything and Alex let Jack explain the initial attack. Then Alex went through the entire last few days.
"My God, I slept through all that?"
"You weren't asleep," Alex said. "You were just really high."
"So what happened to the Agent?" Eagle asked.
"The SAS took him," Alex told him, repeating what Fox had told him. "And they found a bunch of stuff in the mill about Skelter. Fox said something about taking him out in his treehouse. I don't know what he meant. Oh, and Wolf is getting a medal."
"For what?" Eagle asked. "Stubbornness? Because he's no detective."
"I know," Alex said, amused. "I'm the one that found the flash drive and found the guy to crack it. Smithers has found tons of stuff. Whoever Wolf's informant was, he was good at what he did."
"What about me?" Eagle asked. "How are my injuries?"
Jack looked at him, quite heartbroken.
"Your leg was badly damaged Andy," she said gently and that was all she would say without the doctor. But Eagle knew.
His SAS career was over.
00000
"Tom," Wolf snapped, flexing his burned fingers. The electrical shocks had caused some damage but the doctor was hopeful. "I'm not watching that."
"But there's nothing else on!" Tom whined without ever taking his eyes off of the trashy reality television show.
"There's plenty of other things on," Wolf argued. "Turn on the news."
"Why? It's always the same stuff. Some politician slept with a prostitute, another one committed fraud, and that celebrity is going to rehab. The world hasn't changed during our time in captivity Wolf."
"You were gone for two days."
"My point exactly," Tom said, smiling to himself for besting Wolf. The soldier rolled his eyes and gave the teen in the next hospital bed a long look. Tom's eyes were ringed with dark circles, there were bruises on his arms where the Agent's men had grabbed him forcefully, and there was a look on his face that Wolf wasn't used to. The boy looked scared and he had every right to look that way but the look worried Wolf nonetheless.
Tom wasn't someone that dealt with emotion very predictably. Wolf wasn't looking forward to the next few weeks of recovery. But Tom was alive, he was alive, Eagle was alive, and Skelter would likely be dead in a few weeks. Not only that, but they had rooted out a traitor in the SAS.
Despite all the terror and maiming and kidnapping everything had worked out in the end.
Although Fox was demanding some sort of recompense for his broken nose.