A.N.: O.O. hey~~ Yeah, I might have...killed off Ferret and Leopard... Uh...yeah...
Okay, Bear might be a little illogical after they were killed, but if you were in his shoes, you probably will as well. I mean, your best friends (just admit it, they are your best buddies, Bear) were killed in front you and you couldn't save them. Well, Bear is not someone who can shoulder blames easily. There are always these times of illusion and illogical-ness after such events...
Anyways, onwards!
P.S. K-Unit is coming on stage.
Alex woke groggily, not knowing where he was. He felt bandage across his midriff and shoulder. Was he in a hospital? But it didn't smell like antiseptics or any typical smell of the hospital. There was no light either. It was dark and he couldn't see anything except the small dim rays of light being casted from a semi-large opening to his left. He would have opened his eyes and look if only he could move. He felt numb and paralyzed. What happened?
Then it clicked. Ship. Mission. Agent. Pine. Bullets. Bear. Ferret. Leopard. His eyes flew open. Ferret and Leopard. Fuck. He couldn't save them. He could have if he had just shot Pine during the time. But the moment that Ferret's eyes connected with his, he knew that the man wanted him to get Bear out of there. They had died to try to save them.
"Oh, you are awake," A voice spoke up from in front of him.
Alex glanced sharply at the intruder and willed his vision to focus. He relaxed slightly as he recognized him. "Agent Belworth."
Then he froze. Was he the real one? Or was he Pine behind a disguise?
The man, as if sensing his thoughts, smiled slightly, "I'm the real one."
Alex snorted lightly, wincing as his middle protested, "That's what they all say, to be honest."
"Well, I suffered from a nasty knife to the back. I have the scar to prove it to you," The agent shrugged.
"It's fine," Alex shook his head. The man had an aura different from Pine.
"How do you feel?"
"Where's Ferret and Leopard?" Alex demanded. They might still be alive. Maybe he missed something when…When? When did he fall unconscious?
"They're dead," Agent Belworth said softly, his blank expression melting slightly into a softer expression, "So how are you feeling?"
"Numb," Alex replied. He felt numb, both mentally and physically. Ferret and Leopard, dead. He knew that it was the truth, but he couldn't accept it so blatantly. But he couldn't cry either. Tears just wouldn't come. It was as if his body had accepted their death, yet his mind wouldn't.
"They stitched you up," Agent Belworth nodded, diverting his attention away, "You were out for about a day, I would say. I have no way of telling what time it is."
"Where's Bear?" Alex asked, turning his head slightly to scan the room.
Only it wasn't a room. It was a cell. He gulped. There were metal bars barring the door where the dim rays were shining through. He was lying on the cold stone floor, his head pillowed on a thin piece of cloth. There was a bed by the wall next to them. Alex could vaguely make out the shape of a man on it.
"He is over there on the bed," Agent Belworth said, "Resting. He woke up a few hours ago but fell asleep soon after."
There was a moment of silence before the agent continued, sitting down next to him, "Look, your unit leader Bear has not accepted your unit member's death."
Of course he couldn't. His unit members were dying one by one in front of him. Who could live with that on their conscience? He still remembered Jack, Sabina, Yassen and all the others he had met in his life. They had died, one by one, because of him. He wanted to believe that he had gotten used to the pain of being ripped away from them, but he couldn't. He was still human after all. Acceptance…would take a while.
"He believed that it was your fault," Agent Belworth said, glancing at him and scrutinizing him, taking in his every expression.
Alex led his face remained blank, "I see."
"It might take a while for him to accept you," The agent said, "But he will get over it eventually."
"Where are we?" Alex asked, changing the topic.
"A cell," The agent replied dryly, glancing at him, "I don't know where. What do you remember before this?"
"We were falling," Alex recalled slowly, "From the railing. Then he shot me and then I don't remember." He confessed.
"You landed on the boat afterwards," The agent nodded, "but that man caught us. Our boat turned. After that I don't recall because we were flipped into the ocean. I presume that they captured us. That man visited us once and I was the only one awake back then so I guess we are captured."
"Do you have any ways of contacting 6?" Alex asked, wincing as his throat suddenly turned raspy. He swallowed slightly.
The agent shook his head, "No. They took everything I had on me. It is up to us for now. But 6 would have discovered our absence by now and had probably taken action." The man paused then made eye contacts with him. The disk? It was as if he could read what the man meant. Alex nodded slightly. He still had it. He could feel the lump in his pocket. Whether or not the disk survived its time in the water, they would have to see it later.
"Good," The agent nodded then sat back.
"What do we do now?"
"Prepare yourself for intense interrogations," The agent glanced at him, "They knew that the disk I gave them was a fake."
Then his lips quirked up in a small smile, "Your mouth can run a little foul if you can't hold up. Knock yourself unconscious if you want to as well."
"Thanks for the advice," Alex muttered but his eyes flashed in amusement.
He felt something dug into his chest and reached into his pocket. It was the peppermint that Mrs. Jones had given him.
"What's that?" The agent raised an eyebrow.
"Mrs. Jones's peppermint," Alex replied dryly, "Should I eat it?"
"Mrs. Jones gave you a peppermint?" The agent sounded almost horrified then he broke out in a short laughter, "Miracle."
Alex froze. Why would Mrs. Jones give him a peppermint? She wasn't someone who would just so casually insisting on giving out peppermints. Instantly, Alex ripped the wrapper off, his heart pounding. Was it a gadget from Smithers? He felt his hope dashed and broken as a single peppermint fell out. It was just a peppermint. He gave it a lick. And tasted exactly like peppermint as well. He picked up the wrapper. Was there any message on the wrapper? There was nothing on it either. It was just a blank wrapper that still smelled vaguely like mint.
He popped the mint into his mouth and chew on it, disappointed. It tasted just like peppermint. He bit down hard and gave a yelp.
"What is it?" The agent asked, alarmed.
"That mint was hard as a rock," Alex muttered, "I guess Mrs. Jones was not keen on giving away any of her good peppermints after all."
"Hard?" The agent frowned, his mind calculating, then held out his hand, "Spit it out."
"What?"
"Give it to me," The agent said urgently, "I think it's more than a peppermint."
More than a peppermint? He had checked it for gadgets, but there were none. Nonetheless, Alex took the mint out of his mouth and wiped it on his tattered shirt before handing it to the agent. To his surprise, the mint had turned dark. The agent held it up to his eyes and smiled, "I guess you have the aid of Smithers on your side."
"Smithers..?" Alex said, "Oh."
"You know him?" Agent Belworth asked, a little surprised.
"Met him once or twice," Alex shrugged it aside, "So what does it do?"
"Distress signal," Agent Belworth said softly to avoid being caught by any cameras or recordings. Alex watched as the agent pressed on the mint. It sank slightly like a button before bouncing back again and turning white. A small printed black letter was written on it. Sent, it read. Very suspiciously conspicuous.
"Is it working?" Alex asked softly after a moment.
"I do not know," Agent Belworth shook his head as he handed the mint back to Alex, "Keep it safe. Put it in your mouth if you want but don't swallow it or you might die."
Alex grinned as he popped it into his mouth, "Wouldn't think of that in a billion years."
Wolf laid awake on his bunk, an uneasy feeling settling over him but he couldn't put a finger as to what. He hadn't given anything to Eagle to make him hyper, no one had any wound to make Snake go medic-mode. Parrot was still being annoying as usual but he was getting better by the day. Everything was normal, so what was it? The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he grew. J-Unit was scheduled to be back tomorrow. The mission they went on was their ticket out of the training camp. They would be on standby mode starting next week and Wolf couldn't help but feel jealous. But no matter, it wouldn't be long before they were sent out as well. They have a full unit already and being an old experienced unit, the sergeant would be more keened on pushing them out first before the new recruits.
He turned and closed his eyes, willing himself to fall asleep. Before Coyote left on standby mode, Wolf knew that he had to apologize and make up in some way. A simple handshake would probably do the job. The thought revoked a history long ago with Cub. It wasn't until the last day that he finally accepted the boy, shaking hands with him on his last day. Even though Cub was unfit to be a soldier, the boy had guts and the will to do it, and that was what Wolf respected about Cub. Meeting him later in Point Blanc just further strengthened his belief. That kid had the luck of a devil as well as the unbreakable and stubborn will when he put his mind into doing something. Hell, he even took a bullet or two for Cub. He wondered how old Cub was now and what he was doing. There were still a lot of unanswered questions about Cub. Like why was he at Point Blanc? Was his father mad at him and sent him there to train him? Then what was he doing, involving with 6? Maybe Cub was just doing a favor for 6 since he had eleven days of soldier training after all, and 6 seemed to be in need of someone to navigate them in the building.
By and by, he drifted off to sleep, listening to Eagle's absurd snoring, Snake's soft breathing, and Parrot's muttering in his sleep. It was peaceful. But not for long.
Wolf woke and immediately turned toward the knocking on the door. He blundered out of his bed and opened the door. A soldier, Falcon from M-Unit, stood on the door, his hands up ready to knock a third time. The man dropped his hand as Wolf appeared.
"Falcon," Wolf said, "What is it?"
"Assembly," The man replied quickly, "The sergeant want us to gather in the hall for an assembly in five minutes."
"Got it," He nodded and Falcon ran off, presuming back to his unit.
"Who was it?" Snake asked, slowly waking up and climbing out of the bed, grabbing his boots during the process.
"Falcon from M-unit," Wolf replied as he pulled on his clothing and went to wake Eagle and Parrot up, "Assembly in five minutes."
"Right now?" Eagle groaned.
"Get up," Wolf snapped, "I don't want cleaning duty."
Eagle rolled out of bed and pulled on his clothing. A moment later, Parrot followed suit. They headed out the cabin right after and rushed toward the mess hall. Most of the units were already there. Wolf took their seat in the front. The seats were arranged by units, the oldest to the newest. K and J-Unit's seats were in front. Absently, Wolf glanced at the four seats to their left. J-Unit was not here. Probably doing their routine medical check after a mission.
"Soldiers," The sergeant began and the hall instantly quiet, "The next mission is a big one. 6 has asked for us to send in two teams."
There was silence. They were trained well enough to not behave like school kids, breaking out in whispers right after a pause in the announcement. But 2 units? It was usually just one. This one must be really important and big, as the sergeant put it.
"Two of their agents had been captured by Pirmors. You might be unfamiliar with the name, tha-"
"That is why I am here to explain it to you, in detail," There were slight gasps when the deputy of MI6 walked in and took the podium from the sergeant, who looked a little irritated at being interrupted and taken over.
"Pirmors," Mrs. Jones launched straight into the topic without any introduction or transitions, "Is a newly discovered organization. It is with the same function and intention as the former organization Scorpia." She paused as she took a glance around the room, "They are deadly and can be said to be the same as Scorpia. We have been treading carefully around the organization lately after the bombing of the house of a civilian half a year ago. We believe that they have an ulterior motive."
She paused, then once again, dramatically changing the topic, "You might have heard of the name Shay Edmonson, the genius who discovered the cure for the world's deadly disease, cancer. As scientists have studied for years, there had been no cures for cancer developed. Just a year ago, Edmonson published his medication for curing cancer and had tested it on a young man with a special type of cancer. His health gradually got better within the first week, much to the amazement of the public. But exactly one week later, he was killed in a car accident. We have evidence that this might be a planned assassination attempt on eliminating the patient for Edmonson's benefit. The cure might not be real, and a mere temporary solution for cancer that will gradually lose its effect, like many medications that already exist. We sent one of our agents in to investigate and he was captured by the man. The basic information he provided us gave us a link that connects Edmonson with the organization Pirmors. We sent a second group in a week ago and they have sent us the distress signal yesterday."
This was a rescue mission, Wolf realized.
"The organization cannot and must not be underestimated," The sergeant took over, "That is why two teams will be going in this time."
One of the soldiers raised his hand and Mrs. Jones nodded for him to go on, "Who are the two agents?"
"The two teams that are going in will receive the information when they have been chosen to reduce the risk of a security leak," Mrs. Jones stated.
There was silence then Mrs. Jones sighed. Wolf was startled, having never heard the deputy sigh before, "The second team we sent in a week ago was to bail out the first agent who held the information." She paused, "The team was not an agent based team, in fact, it was a unit."
Wolf froze. A unit.
"J-Unit," Mrs. Jones paused, "J-Unit was the team we sent in to retrieve the agent and the information we required. The unit has been…eliminated by the organization."
"Eliminated…?" He heard Eagle whispered softly in shock, "J-Unit?"
Wolf could hear the unspoken words beneath Eagle's words. Coyote? If J-Unit was eliminated, then Coyote would also be…
Mrs. Jones continued, "The two units going in will be chosen and deployed as soon as possible. Questions?"
"J-Unit"? Someone asked, "But…"
"J-Unit was scheduled to arrive back two days ago. When they failed to reply, we sent in an agent to see what happened. Two of their members were KIA," Mrs. Jones seemed reluctant to give out the information, "But two had survived though and, along with the agent, captured. We have just received the distress signal earlier."
Two survived. The simple fact made Wolf's mind's turn. Wolf didn't know if he should be happy, for the slight chance of survival, or feeling apprehensive of the list of the dead . Who survived? Who didn't? Coyote? Did Coyote survive? He couldn't help but felt a stab of pain. What if Coyote didn't? Coyote was still new to the military. Going up against such an organization, he stood little to no chance. Wolf swallowed as he clenched his fist. Dammit.
"Who survived?" Someone asked, voicing his inner question. Wolf was desperate in hearing the answer as well.
"It will only be given to the two teams who will be going in," Mrs. Jones said. Classified, she meant.
"Dismissed," The sergeant said, breaking the silence, "Your schedule will still be the same. The two units will be called when we have decided."
The soldiers shuffled out of the hall. Eagle tapped him on the shoulder, "C'mon, Wolf."
Wolf nodded and stood up as well.
"K-Unit," The sergeant called after them, making him halt in his track. The rest of K-Unit turned as well.
"Sir?" Wolf hesitated.
"You will be going with M-Unit on this mission," The sergeant said, nodding slightly as they walked closer to hear him, "You are the most experience unit we have right now and M-Unit is a unit that can react under different situation with good speed. It is the best pair we can find currently."
"Yes sir."
One of the soldiers ran over when the sergeant called him forward, "Sir?"
"Get M-Unit in my office," The sergeant said.
The soldier nodded and ran off to find M-Unit.
"Come to the office," The sergeant informed them, "We will brief you."
The sergeant and Mrs. Jones turned, heading toward the sergeant's barrack located a little further away. K-Unit exchanged a glance before following the sergeant. Why them? Wolf wanted to ask. Nonetheless, he was thankful for the chance. Coyote was annoying, irritating, stupid and sarcastic beyond his endurance. He could just dig a hole and bury himself somewhere, and Wolf wouldn't give a shit about it. Coyote was no longer his unit-member, therefore he had no relation with him whatsoever since a long time ago. And he had hypnotized or tricked Snake and Eagle, in a way, into believing that he was the good guy. Wolf was glad of the morning silence without Coyote alarm clock and a Coyote-free atmosphere around him during the day. Wolf felt his lips quirked up in a small smile. That man better be thankful for him when he save his life. He couldn't wait to see Coyote's face when he realized that Wolf was the one who saved him.
If he was still alive. The phrase dropped upon him suddenly, nearly making him falter in his steps. Goddammit, Coyote is alive. He told himself, clenching his fist. That son of a bastard better be alive. He was not going to waste his time trying to find a dead man. He could almost imagine Coyote's slight raise of eyebrow at him. Dammit. Dammit.
They arrived at the Sergeant's office and went inside. M-Unit arrived soon afterwards. The eight of them stood before the sergeant in stiff posture before the man nodded for them to relax and they took a seat once offered. There was the faint smell of peppermint as the deputy walked by but Wolf did not comment on it.
"This is not entirely a rescue mission," Mrs. Jones said in a way of introduction, "What is crucial is to get the information that the agent had on his hand. The priority is the information and the agent the second. The agent that holds the information previously is Agent Belworth."
The deputy slipped two pieces of identical paper across the desk and Wolf and Falcon took it, handing it to their unit members once they finished. On the paper, there was a photograph of the agent. He had brown hair and a pair of intelligent blue eyes that seemed to sparkle in amusement even in the still picture. This was Agent Belworth.
"The second agent," Mrs. Jones said, "You might have some trouble locating the second agent, but do not spend time trying to. The agent will follow you once you get all members out."
"May I see a picture, ma'am?"
"We cannot provide you a picture of him," Mrs. Jones stated.
That was unheard of, Wolf narrowed his eyes but wisely remained silent. How the hell were they supposed to locate an agent whom they don't even know their looks?
"We have identified the two dead bodies we found near the ship," Mrs. Jones continued.
"Ship?"
"The mission J-Unit was sent on took place on a ship." Mrs. Jones elaborated, narrowing her eyes delicatedly at the interruption, "It appears that the two were shot in the shoulder and mid-section before being tossed over the ship. We have identified them to be…"
Wolf couldn't help but leaned in in anticipation. The air seemed to still around them as he held his breath, waiting for the sentence to fall.
"…Ferret and Leopard of J-Unit." Mrs. Jones finished, glancing at the sergeant.
"They were good soldiers," The sergeant muttered.
Wolf knew he shouldn't feel relief at the death of two fellow soldiers, but he couldn't help but do so as Coyote was not mentioned. That meant only one thing. Coyote had survived. But Coyote and Bear, the second survivor's condition was still unclear and that was what worried Wolf. Worried? He snorted inwardly. Why was he worried? Maybe it was similar to the feeling of wanting to right what was wrong. He couldn't save Lynx before he died. Perhaps saving Coyote would erase the guilt that had been haunting his conscience ever since Lynx's death.
"The gadget that sent out the distress signal has a tracker on it," Mrs. Jones said after a moment of silence, "We have located their compound. The mission will be risky, but your priority, always, is the information, and not the agent. That claim does not eradicate the fact that the agent is important as well. Retrieve the agent if such scenario is presented before you."
Wolf could almost hear the underlying message. Getting the agent back is about as important as the information but choose wisely. Maybe MI6 weren't such heartless bastard after all. He could consider a career in them if they choose him. He inwardly cringed at the thought. A career in 6? …Maybe not.
"There are guards and heavy fortification around the compound," Mrs. Jones continued, "Therefore you will be arriving on foot to the compound and get through the security. An agent will go along with you to retrieve the information. The agent's and you have the same goal, retrieve the information and get the two agent and the rest of J-Unit out. I want the casualties and fatalities to be minimum for our side." At that, she glanced at them, meeting their eyes one by one until she was satisfied that her message reached them, "The agent going in with you will be Agent Ben Daniels."
Wolf started. Ben? Fox? Beside him, Eagle cracked a small smile but refrained from speaking in the presence of the sergeant and the deputy.
"You might know him," The deputy said, glancing at K-Unit minus Parrot, "And you might not. That does not matter. You will follow his orders at all-time but you may go against his orders when he put the agent's life before the information."
Wolf narrowed his eyes slightly. The deputy caught his gaze, "Soldier, you have a question?"
"No, ma'am," Wolf replied immediately, smoothening out his expressions.
"Good," Mrs. Jones said, "The agent will arrive shortly. You will depart at 1500 hours."
She fell silent after her briefing, waiting for them to voice any questions they might have. There were none, "You are dismissed."
They stood up and saluted to the sergeant and the deputy before exiting the office and left the barrack. M-Unit departed as soon as they went outside, heading toward their cabin.
"Fox is coming back!" Eagle exclaimed excitingly, finally out of the presence of the high-ups.
"Who's Fox?" Parrot asked, confused.
"He is our former fourth member," Snake explained, "He switched to 6 about three years ago."
"I see," Parrot nodded thoughtfully, "You get along well?"
Snake nearly rolled his eyes as Eagle took over, "Extremely!"
Wolf watched them conversed as they made their way to their cabin. Fox was coming, huh... Fox seemed to be really close to Coyote. What would his reaction be at the news of Coyote's capture? This time, Wolf was determined to find out the relationship between Fox and Coyote. There seemed to be something that they were hiding from him, either intentionally or unintentionally, he did not know. But he will find out. Though right now, he should just focus on saving that annoying son of a bastard before anything else.
I am presuming that the peppermint that Mrs. Jones is always chewing on is some sort of those circular kinds of candies instead of the actual peppermint leaves. It wasn't until after I wrote this chapter did I start to question if Mrs. Jones was really eating the leafy peppermint or the candy peppermint. So in this chapter, the peppermint will be one of those circular minty candies. ^ ^ (My apologies if she is actually eating leaves, I just don't find it very...possible XD)
Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! *sniff* I am forever grateful for you guys' supports! It really made me happy. ^ ^
Anyways, today's update seemed to be a little off scheduled. Actually, the last few updates had been pretty off-schedule. I am aiming for a weekly update. Do bomb me if I am too off schedule! (need to get rid of my procrastinations)