Alex woke to the sound of Ben's voice softly calling his name. His immediate thought was that he was in danger and his body tensed in accordance but Ben quickly reassured him that he was safe. His body relaxed nearly instantly and he gradually opened his eyes.
"What is it?"
"Food, you should eat something."
Ben pointed towards a metal plate in the middle of the room. Five apples sat upon it, none of them looking their ripest, and so did slices of some very questionable looking meat. There was also a pitcher full of water that Alex couldn't keep his eyes off. His throat was parched – he had no idea how long it had been since he had a drink.
Against his wishes Alex was basically shoved the best of the food and given a bit more water than everyone else. He felt like he was being mollycoddled, and he said this, but the others argued that he was injured and needed it. After eating it was then pretty much a waiting-game. No one knew what would happen next. Having had time to process everything, Alex remembered what Dr Keeler had said about Scorpia being generous. What did that mean? Were they not going to kill him? Or were they just going to make his death a bit less painless than they first imagined. Alex had no idea what generous meant to Dr Keeler and it worried him, more than he would like to admit.
The door opening made them startle. There were four men outside and two stalked in. K-Unit and Ben instinctively huddled around Alex.
"You're not taking him," Wolf stated but it only caused of the men to snort. Quicker than a flash he pulled out a taser and pressed it against Wolf, shocking him. The same happened to Ben and Snake who were still guarding Alex. Hands grabbed at Alex's arm, pulling him upright and he was panicked to see the same happen to Eagle.
"Leave him alone," Alex demanded, shaking in his captors grasp.
"Alex, it's fine. Don't worry about me," Eagle said, his eyes on the taser that was prepared to strike Alex if need be. Alex also saw this and ceased struggling. He and Eagle were led out of the cell but were taken in opposite directions. Eagle called out a final, "don't worry!" which did nothing to get rid of the sickness in Alex's stomach. He desperately hoped that Eagle wouldn't be subjected to the same torture he had been exposed to but he couldn't think of any other reason for him being taken.
The room Alex was taken to resembled an office, similar to one that could be found in a head-teacher's office but larger. There were still no window's which led Alex to believe that they must be underground. A large oak desk was placed near the back of the room, stacked with papers that looked more like props than anything with any importance. There was an uncomfortable looking chair in front of the desk and next to the desk there was an old TV that reminded Alex of the one's they used in primary school. It was surprising, considering how bare the room was, that Alex nearly missed the figure standing at the side near the corner.
"Kirill," Alex said, slightly startled to see him again.
Kirill didn't acknowledge him other than a glance in his direction. He kept his hands clasped in front of him and didn't react as Alex was pushed down into the chair in front of the desk and handcuffed to it. Once he was securely detained the two men left leaving only Alex and Kirill in the room.
"What's going on?" Alex inquired but it was no use. Kirill refused to respond to him and before he could ask again the door behind opened.
"Ah Alex, how lovely to see you." Heels clicked across the wooden floor and Alex craned his head around to see the woman who entered. It was someone Alex had never seen before, not even in his last captivity but Alex automatically knew she was the new head of Scorpia. It was obvious in the confident, powerful way she held herself. In reality she was a fairly small, lithe woman and Alex was fairly certain she had Asian heritage. Her black hair was tied in a neat, tight bun and her smile was predatory as she circled him once before sitting in the desk chair.
"The doctor did say you were a quiet one," the woman commented. "Now, we haven't actually met Alex. My name is Kameko Mori. I am the new head of Scorpia after the late Julia Rothman. You've caused Scorpia quite the trouble, haven't you?"
Alex didn't answer her and she sighed. "Alex, Alex," she reprimanded, shaking her head. "You really do enjoy making things harder than they need to be." She opened a draw and took out a remote. Aiming it towards the television, she pressed the on button.
The TV image was fuzzy for a second before it focused and Alex could clearly see what was depicted, and he was glad he hadn't had much food otherwise he probably would have thrown it up. Shackled by his wrists hung from the ceiling, Eagle stood on his tiptoes in the room Alex had first woken in. His shirt was removed like Alex's had been and he was regarding the corpses with disgust. Other than that he merely looked bored and that would have comforted Alex if he hadn't known that he was being shown this for a reason.
"Carrige brought in a few of your friends, I see," Kameko said. Alex assumed Carrige was Puma's last name. "They weren't included in my orders but I have to admit that he may have actually used his initiative well for once. So Alex, we can have a nice conversation now and if you don't…"
Eagle cried out in pain, making Alex jump. It was then he realised that the camera was not showing the whole room and there was someone else in there and they were holding a whip. Eagle glared at the person behind him but he seemed to realise what he was being used for as he said, "Whatever they're saying to you Alex, don't listen to them! I'll be fine!"
Eagle was struck again but this time he was prepared so barely made a sound.
"So, Alex. Feel like talking now?"
Alex glanced towards Eagle. The man stared grimly at the wall in front of him and it was such a contrast to the jovial man Alex had known before that it made him ache. Talking wouldn't hurt. He just had to be careful with what he answered.
"…Yes."
Kameko smiled. "Good. Now, I heard Dr Keeler already mentioned this but we are giving you a very generous offer Alex. Personally I wasn't too sure but Gregorovitch made a very convincing argument. You have shown great resistance these past few months Alex. My initial plan was to make you suffer for your betrayal, you made a great number of people extremely angry, and then to sell you to the highest bidder. However during your freedom Gregorovitch managed to convince me to change my idea. Scorpia is changing under my guidance Alex and we could do with someone like you. How would you like to re-join Scorpia?"
Alex looked to Kirill when his name was mentioned except unlike last time, the man was staring back. It was an intense stare and Alex got the feeling he was trying to convey something with his gaze. However with the stress of Eagle and his immense surprise at the offer he couldn't tell what it was.
"You shot me," Alex said bluntly. "You have tried to kill me. Why would I join you?"
Alex wouldn't go through it again. He could not re-join Scorpia. He'd rather die than help them again.
"Because it really does look like your best offer Alex. We were slacking before. Escape will not happen this time. And also, there's more at stake isn't there?" She turned her head towards the TV where the whip struck Eagle's back twice more. Alex heard a grunt of pain and he tried to block it out. He remembered Eagle's words. Don't listen to them.
"Perhaps if I may interrupt?" Kirill spoke.
Kameko regarded him with interest. "Go ahead."
"Scorpia has changed under the new leadership Alex," he said. "If you re-join Scorpia you will be able to make a great difference in the world. You would be a great asset. Save yourself the pain and say yes." Again there was the intense look but Alex really didn't know what Kirill wanted. Did he think it would make him say yes? There was no way Alex would do it.
"No." Kirill appeared disappointed and almost sad.
"I don't think you quite realise the offer for what it is Alex," Kameko said. "If you say yes not only will you be free to live but we would also be generous and let your friends go. You don't want to be the cause of their death do you?"
No, he didn't need the extra guilt but then there was no guarantee she was telling the truth. "How do I know you won't kill them anyway?"
"You don't," Kameko conceded. "But is it worth the risk? By saying yes at least there is a chance. By saying no you have damned all of you."
"Maybe the boy needs more time to think upon it, time to see the consequences of his actions," Kirill interjected.
"Maybe," Kameko agreed. Turning her attention back to Alex she said, "Think on our offer some more Alex. I admit that you must not have been expecting it and it is quite a big decision, even if I believe the correct response is obvious. Hopefully you will see sense."
"Think on the offer Alex, truly think about it," Kirill said. "You will not regret saying yes."
Kameko stood. "I think that's enough for now. We'll talk later. Kirill?"
Abandoning his statuesque stance Kirill walked to the door to open it for Kameko. He followed after her leaving Alex alone. The TV was still switched on and Alex's eyes were glued to it. He could see blood drip down Eagle's back but the man himself looked fairly calm. Alex heard the creak of the door opening once more and the two men who had brought him there unshackled him, their grasps on his biceps tight as they led him away. He hoped the same was being happened to Eagle except just as they left the room Alex heard a final crack of the whip and Eagle's grunt of pain. Unable to restrain himself, Alex struggled in his captors grasps in the attempts of escaping to find Eagle. In his weakened state however, he was fighting a losing battle and electricity flowed through him making him jerk and hiss. His nerves were set alight and he was still twitching slightly when he was thrown back into the cell, the others crowding around him nervously.
"Alex, what happened?" Ben asked; concern plain on his face.
Alex groaned as he shifted so he was sitting upright. Snake helped him whilst simultaneously checking him over.
"Taser?" Snake asked grimly and Alex nodded.
"Goddamn tasers," Wolf complained. "Where's Eagle?"
"I don't know," Alex said honestly. Alex had hoped Eagle would return at the same time as him but that obviously wasn't the case and he wasn't sure what this meant. Was Eagle still getting hurt because of him? Seeing that the others were brimming with curiosity about what had happened, Alex began to tell them, leaving nothing out. It was hard telling them about Eagle, but the others assured him he, as well as them, were trained to withstand torture. Near the end of the story Eagle was finally brought in and Alex stayed back while the others helped him. Even if the others had said Eagle wouldn't blame him, Alex blamed himself.
"These need stitching," Snake said grimly as he gently dabbed at Eagle's back with one of the spare t-shirt strips. Eagle had four more lashes on his back that Alex hadn't seen showing that the torture had continued after he'd left.
"Yeah I kind of guessed that," Eagle commented, twitching when Snake touched a particularly sore part. "Hey Alex, what happened to you?"
Alex retold the story and Eagle listened with a solemn expression. When Alex had finished he said, "You made the right decision Alex. You should know that I do not blame you for this at all."
Alex bit back the retort that it was because of Alex that it had happened to Eagle as he remembered his and Wolf's agreement.
"They're going to keep doing this," Alex said bleakly. "Until I say yes or you guys die."
"Then I guess our plans of escape will just have to be sped up," Ben said calmly.
"How though? I can't walk very fast and Eagle's injured too," Alex argued.
"We'll think of something," Ben said sternly. "We have to do something, even if we don't get out we may manage to alert MI6 to our location. Now come on, let's plan."
Getting close to the end now, my aim is to try and finish this before I go on holiday in just under two weeks. Thank you for your reviews, new favourites and follows. I'm so glad to see you're still enjoying this.