K-Unit had seen it all. Latched onto the top of one of the cell walls was a small television screen, too high to reach but close enough to see clearly. It had been turned off when they woke up but they knew it had to be there for a reason because other than the TV, the cell was bare. They all recognised the feeling of being drugged but they attempted to shake of the sluggishness when they realised Alex wasn't there with them. Ben had been the first to get up and inspect the door only to conclude there was no way they could escape other than the door being opened from the outside first. There wasn't even a window to inform them how much time had passed.

They were quietly conversing about possible escape plans when the TV suddenly switched on. The picture was clear and K-Unit watched as Alex lay bound on a metal table and a small man entered. The audio echoed the small cell and they observed with growing horror as Alex was subjected to the doctor's sick torture implement. Though they wanted to look away they couldn't. They had to know what Alex was going through so they could help him when, or if, they saw him.

Eventually the torture came to an end and much as Alex sagged in relief, so did K-Unit and Ben. The TV then switched off and they all looked at each other, their eyes betraying their concern for Alex. Ten minutes later they heard the sound of the door opening and Alex was thrown inside. The plan of attempting to escape when the door opened was forgotten as they knew Alex was in no fit state to move or be moved and required medical attention. The door slammed shut the moment Alex landed and Ben hurriedly moved forward.

"Alex!" Ben called worriedly but it was no use. Alex was unconscious.

Snake then moved closer to Alex, knowing he would be the best person to provide medical help. He assessed Alex quickly with a critical eye. The electric shocks were the least concerning as they hadn't left any damage that needed bandaging. There could possibly be nerve damage but Snake wouldn't be able to tell until Alex woke. The next concerning were the burns which didn't bleed but Snake wished they had at least been provided with water so that he could cool them. What worried Snake the most were the pricks the doctor had said cut the tissue under the skin. Again, it wasn't something he could properly tell the extent of the damage of as it was under the skin but it was the one that was unsurprisingly bleeding the most. He could really do with bandages to wrap them with and Snake voiced this request to his friends.

"Well, we still have our shirts, we could make bandages out of them," Eagle offered and Snake said it would work for now. Each of the men ripped the bottoms of their shirts until Snake had a variety of strips of cloth to tie around the worst of Alex's cuts. In total there were eight that needed the attention and once he was done Wolf asked Snake whether Alex would be fit to move around.

"We'll have to wait till he wakes up," Snake said. "I can't tell how much damage has been done internally, in that respect it's quite clever," he grudgingly praised.

"Do you think you'd be able to carry him out of here if need be?"

"I should be able to," Snake affirmed. Before Wolf could say any more a groan was heard and their attention turned towards Alex who was beginning to wake.

"Hey Alex, how're you doing?" Ben asked softly, coming into Alex's line of vision.

"Stings."

Alex suddenly seemed to realise where he was, or at least who he was with, as he quickly sat up, hissing at how the movement stretched his injuries.

"Easy Alex," Ben cautioned, helping Alex lean against the wall.

"Are you guys ok?" Alex asked once he was settled.

"We're fine," Wolf said. "The real question is how bad are you? We saw everything." He inclined his head towards the TV in the room and Alex frowned.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," he said, causing the others to look at him incredulously.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Ben said and the other men nodded their assent.

"Well, it's still my fault you're here," Alex reasoned. His voice was matter-of-fact but the guilt was plain on his face, at least to people who had lived with him in the past month.

"You weren't the one to put us here," Eagle argued. "If it's anyone's fault it's SCORPIA's and that's it."

"But it's me SCORPIA is after. If you hadn't been looking after me you wouldn't be in this cell," Alex argued back. Wolf could see that Alex's view wasn't going to change any time soon unless he did something.

"Hey Cub, did I ever tell you the reason we were sent on leave?"

Alex's interest was piqued. For some reason the explanation of how K-Unit got sent on leave was one that had always seemed taboo.

"No, you haven't."

"Well, it was a couple of months ago now. We were planning to invade an enemy base. It had been all planned out but it seems we had a spy in our ranks. I checked around but couldn't see anyone so I ordered us to move in. The moment we stepped into enemy territory they were on us. A lot of good men died and it was my fault. I should have checked more carefully. I was the leader and I let them down."

Snake sighed. "What Wolf is neglecting to mention is that none of us saw anything. It wouldn't have mattered who was team leader. The person to blame is the spy."

Alex frowned. "I don't see how you're to blame. Anyone can remain hidden if they're determined enough."

"That's what we've been telling Wolf," Eagle said. "But much like you right now, he won't believe us when we say it's not our fault. Wolf didn't force us in there, we knew the risks, it's just a part of the job."

"That's why I wanted to come to an agreement," Wolf said. "If you can say that Afghanistan wasn't my fault then I can say that you aren't to blame for this. We chose to look after you and we knew what we were getting into. Even if I knew this would happen I would still say yes. So, do we have a deal?" He held out a hand towards Alex.

Alex looked at the hand with hesitation before giving a dejected sigh. "Fine, deal." He took the hand and he and Wolf shook on it, though Wolf made sure to be gentle so not to aggravate the wounds.

"So, have you come up with any escape plans?" Alex asked.

Ben grimaced. "Not much other than wait till they open the door, knock out the people there and run. Somehow I doubt that idea will work until we get a better idea of the place we're in."

"The place is big," Alex said, remembering the numerous hallways they'd gone through to get to the cell. "And everything looks pretty much the same. Looks like it's an attempt to confuse people."

"Fucking great," Wolf huffed. "Also they'll be more careful since last time. We can't rely on rescue though Blunt should hopefully get his arse out of his head long enough to send people after us."

"Yeah, can't risk losing his secret weapon," Alex said with a self-deprecating smile.

"You never really did say how you got involved with all this," Eagle said after a few seconds when an awkward silence had descended. "I mean, I know you said it was because of your Uncle but you never said how you actually met Blunt and went on your first mission."

Figuring that there was little point of secrecy now, for who knew if they were going to get out alive, Alex decided to tell them. He told them of Ian's death and his funeral – where he first met Alan Blunt. He told them about his discovery that his uncle's car had had bullet holes in it and going to the Royal and General bank to find out what happened to him. He continued on about how Blunt had practically guilt tripped him into agreeing to continue the mission his uncle died for and that that was how he joined the SAS. All the men looked varying degrees of guilty at this and so Alex skipped to actually going on the mission. Alex had never really considered himself a story-teller but the ranging emotions his story caused made him think he could one day make a future of it. Alex ended the story speaking of his conversation with Yassen and he took in the stunned silence.

"And that was your first mission?" Eagle said unnecessarily. Alex nodded and the man gave a low whistle.

"Holy shit."

"How the hell does Blunt get away with this!" Wolf cried angrily. He couldn't believe the man was allowed to be the head of MI6.

"Would you believe there is a 14 year old spy in MI6?" Alex asked despondently and though Wolf had to concede it would take a lot of proof to make the public believe, he was no less angry. A yawn from Alex distracted him.

"You should get some sleep," Wolf told Alex who shook his head.

"What if they come back?" He protested.

"All the more reason to sleep while you can," Ben reasoned. "You're body has been put through a lot and you need to rest it. Keep your energy so we can escape. Anyway, one of us will wake you if something happens."

Alex wanted to protest more but his body was truly wearing him down. "You promise you'll wake me," Alex insisted and Ben nodded.

"We will."

Unable to ignore his bodies wishes any longer Alex shut his eyes and let himself fall into oblivion, except it wasn't oblivion for long as soon his body started thrashing and incoherent mumblings passed his lips.

Wolf watched with a frown. "The nightmares must be coming back, not surprising really."

"I'll calm him," Ben said shifting over to Alex so he could press his hand to Alex's back and rub it gently. Alex soon twisted so he was leaning on Ben's shoulder and Ben suppressed a smile at the trust Alex was displaying towards him, even if unconscious. He carried on his ministrations until Alex soothed and relaxed. He looked so much younger when asleep and the sight of the injuries on his body made Ben want to scream with rage and kill the man who did this to the teen.

"We have got to get him out of here alive," Ben said determinedly and the others nodded.

"We're also going to make sure Blunt doesn't get a hold of him," Wolf added.

A thought struck Ben. "Actually, I might have just got an idea about that."

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