A/N: Ok, so this update is dedicated to Empty Thoughts, who is currently being kept awake by Hurricane Sandy. Our thoughts are with you, and everyone else feeling the effects.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing that you recognise.

-o-O-o-

"So let me get this straight," said Jackal. He was sitting at the table in the kitchen area, with Hawk beside him. Opposite them both sat Alex, staring into the rapidly cooling coffee he had been handed earlier to avoid looking at them.

"Last night, you snuck out of your window without letting us know."

Alex nodded.

"And the reason you did this was to assassinate five men."

Alex winced and nodded.

"And you did this on orders from MI6 so that you could get the information you needed to rescue your friends."

Alex nodded.

"And they didn't give you the information."

Briefly, he thought of speaking, of saying the sarcastic comment about MI6 being about as reliable as an inflatable dartboard, but thought better of it.

He nodded.

"I'm going to kill them," snarled Jackal.

Alex looked up in surprise.

"What?" he asked, nonplussed. He'd been expecting disgust at his actions, anger at sneaking out and not telling Jackal about the plan, not… this.

"What you did was hardly squeaky clean," explained Hawk, "But we're all used to serving our country. Occasionally, you need to kill someone. And although we're not used to assassinations, we know we can rely on the people who send us on the missions. We trust them. MI6 however…"

"MI6 screwed you over," said Jackal bluntly. "When you were only trying to start a rescue mission that they should be helping, not hindering."

"The SAS don't exactly have good opinions of assassins, no matter who they work for," said Alex, dryly, draining his coffee.

"You're not an assassin Jag."

"Sure as hell feels like it," muttered Alex, standing to refill his cup.

Hawk and Jackal exchanged a glance, though they remained silent.

Privately, both were wondering how Jaguar felt they could possibly hold it against him when he was already holding it so badly against himself.

-o-O-o-

Alex spent the morning pouring over the information Crawley had so 'kindly' brought over. Absorbing everything he could from the meagre pages.

It was lunchtime when he gave up. He sank his head into his hands and sighed.

"Problems?" came Jackal's voice from the door. Alex mutely nodded, unsurprised by the soldier's presence, having heard him walking up to the door.

"Well, come have some lunch. You never know, the break might just help you."

"What are you, my mother?" muttered Alex, still not turning around.

"No, I wouldn't dream of taking Wolf's place," said Jackal, and Alex could hear the grin in his voice. Alex himself couldn't help but snort at the mental image invoked. "Now come and get something to eat. And… don't tell Wolf I said that."

"Oh, I don't know," said Alex, finally standing up and tidying up the table he had been working on. "What's it worth to you?"

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of trying to bribe you Jag! I know you're far too honourable for that. I guess it just depends on whether you want me to get turned into bolognaise or not."

Alex huffed.

"Spoilsport."

-o-O-o-

Eagle glanced back, for once showing his nerves. Alex knew that his poker-face would slip into place as soon as the door was opened, but in front of his team-mate and Alex, he felt at ease enough to let this trace of feeling show. Wolf, ever emotionally stunted, clapped him on the shoulder encouragingly as Alex shot the apprehensive soldier a reassuring smile.

"No matter what happens, we'll be right beside you," murmured the teen and was gifted with a tight smile in return. It didn't look natural on Eagle's usually-relaxed face, but Alex would take what he could get

Eagle knocked.

The door was pulled quickly open, as if someone had been waiting for the knock.

"Eric!" squealed a woman, launching herself at Eagle.

Eagle caught her and stumbled slightly under her weight. "Hey, Nicky," he muttered, burying his head into her shoulder.

She pulled back and slapped him.

"What was that for?!" exclaimed the soldier.

"Six years, Eric! Six YEARS without so much as a phone call! You bastard!"

"I'm sorry, ok!" exclaimed Eagle, shielding himself from another blow. "I just…"

He trailed off. He didn't really have an excuse after all. He had just needed distance from his parents, distance he would never have been able to get if he had kept in contact with Nicki.

"I'm sorry," he said, in a quiet, sincere voice.

Nicki pulled him into a tight hug. "I missed you."

She pulled back. "Come on in, all of you. Eric, you must introduce us."

"This is James. And Alex, his ward."

"I'm Nicky," said the woman, pressing a kiss to both of their cheeks. "It's a pleasure to meet you. How does Eric know you?"

"We work together," said Wolf, stiffly. He'd never been good with strangers.

"Come in," said Nicki, finally moving out of the doorway and letting them into the hall. "Mum and Dad are in the dining room," she said, lowering her voice. "I'm cooking tonight. I figured you'd want somewhere to escape too if it became too much."

Eagle paled slightly and nodded.

In the dining room, a middle-aged couple were sitting at the table, his hand gently holding hers, which appeared to have a death grip on him in return. They were whispering when they entered, but immediately broke off when the four entered.

"Eric?" said the woman, rising from her chair as if she couldn't quite believe he was there.

For a moment, there was awkward silence as she half-reached out towards her son, and Eagle failed to respond, before Nicky stepped forward.

"Mum, Dad, this is James and Alex."

"I- It's a pleasure to meet you," said Mrs Wakefield, after only a moment's hesitation.

Given that Wolf was glaring at her like she had been responsible for the death of his firstborn, Alex took it upon himself to answer.

"Likewise, Mrs Wakefield," he said, smiling his most charming smile, and thanking any god he could think of for his acting skills.

"So, Eric," said Nicky, "What are you doing at the moment? Still in the army?"

"Army?!" exclaimed Mrs Wakefield. "But isn't that dangerous?"

"No, it's a walk in the park," muttered Alex, sarcastically.

"Yeah, I'm still in the army," replied Eagle, ignoring his mother. "Actually, I'm in the SAS. Passed selection two years ago."

"Congratulations!" said Nikki, ignoring her parents' shocked silence.

"Yes, that's really impressive Eric. Your mother and I are really proud of you," said Mr Wakefield with a slightly strained smile. Eagle had always said that his main reason for originally joining the army had been to drive his parents wild. Apparently, he had guessed right in their reactions.

Alex grinned at the slightly smug expression on Eagle's face, but the grin faltered as his father spoke again.

"I thought they had psychological valuations, to enter the army?"

"They do," growled Wolf, the first words he had spoken of the night. "Eric passed them all first time around."

Mrs Wakefield paled dramatically. "Eric, I'm so sorry. We honestly just wanted what was best for you."

Eagle glared at her. "Bribing doctors to prescribe residential care was 'what was best for me'?"

Alex frowned, as Eagle's skin began to darken. This wasn't right. This wasn't what happened.

He turned to glance at Wolf to see if he had noticed anything, only to be confronted with a severely beaten guardian, bruising mottling his face and his nose broken and bleeding.

Alex screamed and span back to face Eagle, but that sight was even worse. His skin was pale and stiff. The back of his skull was missing and his hair was matted and dyed with blood. Maggots were festering in a wound on his neck.

Alex stumbled back from the table, but everyone ignored him. Couldn't they see it? Why did no-one else seem to realise that Eagle was dead? What-?

Alex awoke with a start to realise he was shaking all over. He didn't need to wonder where he was, or why, everything came crashing down on him immediately on waking. He wished he had had just those few moments of blissful ignorance, when he could freely wonder what had happened. Anything was better than this. Eagle was dead.

"Fuck," muttered Alex, as he tried to calm himself down. His cheeks were wet, he realised with a start. He must have been crying in his sleep. He wondered how Nicky and Ellie had taken the news.

Had they even been told?

He'd have to check. He couldn't let them continue in ignorance. He hoped they had, but Eagle's file might not even have had them registered as next of kin. His relationship with his family had been non-existent for years, after all.

Slowly, he pulled himself up to a sitting position. Hawk, who as the team medic appeared to have taken charge of his health, had forced him to go to bed in the early afternoon to catch up on the night's sleep he had missed. Alex would have told him that sleep would only make it worse, but he hadn't had the heart to let the two know exactly how prone he was to nightmares. As a consequence, it was still light outside and he could see a vaguely-orange glow coming from behind the blind.

Throwing off the covers he stood up and slipped his jeans back on before heading to the main room.

"What time is it?" he asked.

Cougar and Otter were lounging in front of the TV, flicking idly through the day-time programming. It was Cougar who glanced up to answer.

"Just gone half two," he replied. "And Hawk said not to let you get up until at least three, so nice try. Back to bed."

"Not a chance," said Alex, grimly, before walking passed them into the kitchenette and fetching himself a glass of water.

"Look, Jag," said Cougar. "I'm not your guardian, I know, but this is Hawk, and he treats us all the same when he's worried about us. It's worth more than my life to let you disobey his orders."

"Where are they, anyway?" asked Alex, idly, as he took a sip of water.

"Gone to Credenhill," said Cougar. "They're trying to get some information from the higher-ups. And don't change the subject."

"They…" Alex trailed off staring at Cougar.

"They're going to get something," promised Otter. "I know you don't know Jackal all that well, but he's stubborn, tenacious. He will make a pest of himself until they chuck him out, or give him what he wants. And Hawk will back him up on this."

"I…"

"Relax," said Cougar, to the still shocked teenager. "It's taken care of. Go back to bed before Hawk finds out you're up and kills me."

Alex headed back to bed, leaving the two soldiers to watch him leave.

"They better be successful," said Otter quietly. "I don't think that boy is used to being helped much, and I'd hate for them to let him down."

"They won't," said Cougar. "I know they won't."

"I hope you're right."

-o-O-o-

"I didn't expect it to be that easy," muttered Hawk, biting his lip and eyeing the files in this lap in the same way one would a live viper.

"That was easy to you?" asked Jackal incredulously, sparing his companion a quick glance as the car drew to a halt at a red light. "I don't think we use the same definition. We essentially bullied our way through to the General, then used a mix of emotional blackmail and logic so desperate it was barely coherent to get what we want. The only reason you and I haven't been fired already is that they need this solved as badly as us!"

"But we got what we wanted," Hawk pointed out, as the car began to move forward again. "I didn't think we- Jackal! Look out!"

The screech of straining metal filled their ears and glass shards rained down on them. Hawk stayed conscious just long enough to feel the metal spear his shoulder. If he had been able to feel anything apart from the burning pain, it would have been failure, as calm, confident hands took the bloody files from his lap, and blue eyes coolly assessed the damage, before leaving them to their fate.

-o-O-o-

So, review and tell me what you think? Reviews feed the plot bunny!

Now, I need to dash – I'm late for work!