The next morning, Ben found himself once again in front of Blunt who looked equally displeased to see him.
"Agent Daniels," he sighed. "What can I do for you now?"
"I want you to tell me all you know about the people who kidnapped Alex. We believe it necessary information to have in order to protect him."
Blunt raised an eyebrow. "I believe I decide what you ought and oughtn't know," he said sharply. "But I concede to the point that perhaps you should be given the general idea. Alex was taken by an organisation called Scorpia. He had a run in with them a few months ago and stopped then from killing schoolchildren in London. They weren't best pleased with him for that and Scorpia aren't known for allowing such an incident to go unpunished. It was fortunate we were able to locate Agent Rider as quickly as we did considering the power they have. It is unsurprising that they are trying to get him back. They want to make him suffer for what he did."
A few months ago. This must have been the mission that got Alex shot. He didn't say this out loud, but filed it away for later use. Instead, he said, "So, you're basically saying they're never going to stop until they get him."
"We are currently attempting to disband them but you have to realise that this is not an easy task. Scorpia are an old organisation that spans all around the world. I have some of my best agents in there but it will not happen overnight," Blunt explained.
"Then when will Alex be safe? If these people are going to be constantly coming after him then he's never going to be able to have a normal life! And it's your fault."
Blunt huffed. "I think you'll find that it's Agent Rider's own fault that is caught up in this business. He sought them out himself. I will admit that we later sent him back in to stop their plan, but he was the one to make contact with them first out of his own choice. Do not talk as if you understand things, Agent Daniels, as you do not. Now, will that be all?"
It was very clear that anything else Ben asked would be dismissed. Blunt was no longer in the mood for talking with him and so he left, feeling like with every question that had been answered, three more had come in their place. Why would Alex seek out such a dangerous criminal organisation? He didn't doubt Alex had his reasons but Ben couldn't think of one for it. He resolved to ask the teen about it when he got home. He knew Alex wouldn't want to answer him as this was obviously the mission that was causing Alex so much pain to talk about. Perhaps opening up about it, however hard it may be to get him to do so, would help in the long run. Both his mental state and how to stop him being taken again.
Idly, he wondered if he and the others were out of their depth. Ben had been confident at the start of this that they'd be able to protect him but so far there had been two kidnap attempts that had only been stopped due to sheer luck. A minor change in events and Alex would be back with them, a captive once more.
But they had promised that they would look after Alex, and they would. They just had to be more careful, so no more impromptu camping trips. Perhaps they could give Alex a tracker so that they could keep an eye on his whereabouts at all times. Alex may not like it, but if it kept him safe then it was worthy investment.
Ben decided he would bring the matter of Scorpia up with Alex when he got home and asked the Wolf and Eagle if he was up yet.
"He hasn't come out of his room," Wolf said as he completed some work on his laptop. "I don't know if he's still asleep or just refuses to talk to us." In the morning, Wolf did feel a slight regret at how he had tried to force Alex to talk to them, and he would apologise when he had the chance, however he still thought that it was information he needed to know.
"What did Blunt have to say?" Eagle asked, turning down the volume on the TV.
"Not much. Apparently the people after Alex are called Scorpia and he dealt with them a few months ago." Snake opened his mouth but Ben carried on. "Yes, I think that's related to his bullet wound. According to Blunt they're serious business and they won't stop going after Alex till they have him. They literally never let go of a grudge."
Wolf sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "How Blunt and his lackeys could get Alex involved in this with good conscious is beyond me."
"Well, according to Blunt, Alex initially sought them out on his own." Ben raised a hand in defence when the other's looked ready to call bullshit. "I don't know how much of that is true and I'm going to wait till I hear Alex's side of the story".
Eagle snorted. "Good luck with that. I think he hates us and I don't really blame him," he said, glancing at Wolf who rolled his eyes then glared back.
Ben shrugged. "I'll give it a go. If I don't come out in twenty minutes, send someone to find my body." He went to Alex's room and knocked on the door. There was no reply and Ben pressed his ear against the door. He could hear quiet moans and Ben summarised that Alex must still be asleep and having a nightmare. Ben gently opened the door and went inside.
Alex was shifting slightly in his bed, hands clenched tightly around the sheets. He was twisted on his side, which made it easy for Ben to softly place a hand on the teens back and rub it up and down. Alex started to soothe almost immediately and Ben smiled. Since Wolf first applying this in the hospital and Snake's failed attempt at waking him, they had taken to soothing Alex in this manner when they found him having a nightmare. Once he was sure the nightmare was over, Ben stood from his kneeled position on the floor and resolved to come back later. At least, he would have if Alex hadn't woken up just as he had his hand on the door.
"Ben?" The teen asked; his voice groggy and his eyes blinking owlishly.
Ben winced. Alex probably wouldn't be pleased if he knew what he was doing. The teen wasn't one to enjoy being exposed as vulnerable and he hated taking help when it was offered.
"Hey Alex, I had come in to see if you were awake as I wanted to talk to you about something. It can wait till you're ready and have eaten though."
Alex sighed resignedly. "Because I wasn't expecting this in the slightest."
"I know you don't want to talk about it, but it really is important." Ben tried to explain. "As I said, it can wait till you're ready."
Ben left Alex to get ready and came in to Snake just hanging up his phone.
"That was the Sergeant," he said, once he had everyone's attention. "He said that our new Unit member was coming to meet us today. He had tried to get the guy to hang back but apparently he was very enthusiastic and said he would be willing to meet us at the flat if we were more comfortable. Of course, he didn't want to explain Cub or our association with MI6 without our permission and so couldn't think of a reasonable excuse to say no. He'll be coming to dinner for around half six."
The rest of the group frowned. "Is there no way we can try to get him to rearrange ourselves?" Eagle asked and Wolf answered.
"We could but the only thing I could think of saying is that one of us was ill and that excuse won't last the whole time Cub is with us. No, we'll just have to meet with him now. It may be good, if he's fine with Cub and everything then that shows he'll be a good fit in the Unit. It's not ideal, but we'll have to make do."
Ben sighed. "Everything seems to be coming all at once."
Snake shrugged in a 'what can you do' way and said "Is Cub up now? I never checked him over last night and I should have."
"He's just getting ready." Ben said and Snake took that as his cue to go and knock on Cub's door.
"What now?!" Was the sullen response and Snake called out it was him.
Alex must have realised what he wanted and grudgingly allowed him to come in. He was running a comb through his hair, but put it down when Snake entered.
"I know you've just got changed but would you mind taking of your shirt so I can change the bandages and make sure that nothing has gone wrong due to last night?" Snake asked and Alex huffed but did as Snake wanted.
Snake examined him closely and whilst it looked like the stitches on his stomach had been stretched a bit, they hadn't come undone. Alex had a few more bruises, one right on the stitch which looked painful, but other than that was no worse off than he had been before. Snake skilfully changed Alex's bandages and allowed him to put his shirt back on.
"You've been taking your medication?" Snake checked and was pleased when Alex confirmed he had been.
"Good. Well, everything looks fine. There's toast in the kitchen if you want and there's also something we need to tell you."
"Yeah I know, Ben already told me", Alex grouched.
"That's not it. I'm afraid there's more. But we'll talk about it soon," Snake said.
Alex huffed at the idea of even more important talks but didn't complain. It wasn't worth it. He made his way into the kitchen and the adults waited until he had finished breakfast before beginning the first of two conversations. They started with the better one.
"The Sergeant called me earlier to say that our new Unit member would be coming to meet us today," Snake started. "He's going to see us here for dinner, around half six. You can either eat with us or have something earlier if you don't want to meet him. We had tried to arrange it so that it wouldn't be so soon but unfortunately the guy was pretty insistent. We also decided we would tell him about you to see if we would really be able to work with him. Is that ok?"
Alex raised a shoulder. "Does it really matter if I'm not? You'll probably tell him anyway."
"You're right," Snake said bluntly and Alex raised an eyebrow at the honesty. "I just thought I'd ask to be polite and show you that you can trust us even if we do some stuff you don't agree with."
Alex looked a bit confused. "I don't think you know the meaning of the word trust."
Snake gave a half smile. "It's a twisted definition, I'll give you that. But anyway, you're an important part of our lives now and our new Unit member will need to know that if we're to get along."
Alex wanted to question the 'important part of our lives' bit, but figured he wanted to have as few 'big' discussions as possible that morning. Best to focus on the one at hand.
"I don't care. I'll meet him." After all, it would be nice to meet a new person who wasn't trying to kill him for once. As long as the guy wasn't a dick it would be fine.
"Ok, that's that sorted. Ben?"
Ben cleared his throat. "I spoke to Bunt today Alex. I asked him about the people who kidnapped you and he gave me some details. He told me about Scorpia."
Ben knew Alex would possibly have a reaction to the name, but he didn't expect the teenager to skid back in his chair and stand.
"How much did he tell you?" He asked, looking ready to run.
"Woah Cub. Sit down will you?" Wolf said but Alex didn't hear him or just plain ignored him. His focus was on Ben.
"Not much," Ben said, raising his hands. "Just that you'd had a run in with them a few months ago after you stopped them killing schoolchildren. Apparently they have a pretty big grudge with you."
Alex seemed a bit calmer when Ben explained, but he didn't sit back down.
"Then what do you want to talk about?" He asked guardedly. Ben had said he wanted to discuss, not just state facts.
"Well, when I asked Blunt how he'd managed to get you involved in this he said that you went looking for them first. I wondered why."
Alex pursed his lips. If he started answering that, one thing would lead to another and eventually everything would be laid bare. Alex considered that thought for a moment. Maybe it would be better once it was all out, they would realise what he'd almost done and decide they didn't want the job anymore, rather than deciding it later.
"Fine. I'll tell you" He ignored their pleased looks and began explaining. He told them that Yassen had been the one to tell him to seek out Scorpia, not allowing anyone to interrupt when it already looked like they wanted to already. He spoke of his family, of his father who had been employed by Scorpia as an assassin. Again, they looked like they were going to interrupt and Alex said if they did it again then he wouldn't tell them anymore. That shut them up.
He carried on, explaining how he'd accepted a job from them and his first task had been to kill Mrs Jones. Ben had looked pained at this, but considering he had seen her alive and well, reassured himself with that thought as Alex continued. That had been the part Alex was dreading, when they realised the lengths he would go to.
They all looked more relieved when Alex said he had re-joined MI6 again as a double agent and that his father had done the same. He ended it off with being shot and the others were silent for a while. Wolf was the first to voice his thoughts.
"Well shit Cub. Looks like you've been through more than I have."
"And that's only one mission," Alex said dryly with a small smirk. He waited for the inevitable to happen.
Ben noticed Alex's stance. His face and voice may suggest he was calm, but his hands were gripping the chair tightly and his smirk was pained. Realisation shot through him. Alex thought they were going to hate him.
"Hey Alex," he said, using the teens real name for once, "I don't know what you're thinking but this doesn't change anything. Well, that's a lie. I think you're damn braver than I initially thought and it looks like you were destined to have trouble follow you. I get that you probably feel bad by almost killing Mrs Jones, but you didn't."
Alex interrupted him. "But I was going to, if it weren't for the trick."
Ben shook his head. "You said it yourself, the angles were all wrong; you wouldn't have got her with the bullet. Sure, you made some bad decisions, but with all the lies you'd been told I'm not surprised."
Alex didn't look convinced, but his grip on the chair had eased and his assurance had spurred the others on to do the same. They each gave their own reassurance that they did not blame Alex for anything, just for the adults who had lied to him. Wolf even called him a badass, which had led to Ben reprimanding him for his language. Wolf had just shrugged.
"He's heard worse."
"Now that that's settled, we need to see about arranging tonight," Snake said and Alex shot him a grateful look for the distraction. As the other's set about discussing what they would do, Alex quietly on the sofa and watched some TV. He may still feel guilt at what he had tried to do to Mrs Jones, but the knowledge that these men didn't blame him, eased it somewhat. Maybe they were ok. Just maybe.