Alex wanted to be anywhere but here, even though he was the one who had suggested this Q & A session. He mentally sighed. This wasn't going to be comfortable at all. Well, better get it over with. "Yes, sir," he answered the sergeant. "Who wants to go first?"
"How about you answer Wolf's question first?" Sanders prompted. "Who shot you in the heart and when did it happen?"
"I wasn't shot in the heart," Alex said expressionlessly. "It was half a centimeter above my heart."
"Oh, like that makes it so much better!" Wolf snarled.
"It made all the difference to my survival," Alex retorted. His unit leader fell silent at that, which gave him time to think. This was definitely something he didn't want to talk about at all. But they had already seen all of his scars and wounds so he couldn't avoid it anymore. Tiredly, Alex answered, "About a year ago. Assassin waiting for me on the rooftop across the street as I walked out of the Bank. They failed to kill me so I suspect that they died shortly afterwards. By the way, thanks for the get-well card, Wolf."
The men had stopped breathing at the word "assassin". Brains still stuttering to process the very idea, they stared at the teen. Then, all at once, they were cursing.
"THAT WAS WHAT YOU WERE IN THE HOSPITAL FOR?!" Wolf roared. "THOSE LYING BASTARDS FUCKING TOLD ME YOU HAD APPENDICITIS!"
Alex shrugged. "That's the excuse my school was fed too."
"The Bank?" Fox hissed. "You were assassinated - sniped down - on the front steps of Special Operations headquarters?!"
"No, you idiot!" Eagle exclaimed. "A bank is somewhere you put your money into! Even I know that!"
Smirking, Alex stayed silent. The soldiers noticed this and wondered what they were missing. However, Fox was insistent, ignoring Eagle. "Well?" Ben demanded impatiently. "Were you?"
Finally giving in, Alex grimaced and nodded. "Sniped down, yes. Assassinated... I'm still alive, Fox."
"Oh, fucking bloody hell!" Ben snarled as Wolf stalked out and punched something to let off some steam before coming back in. "How did they even keep that quiet?! That's an extremely serious breach of security! And they're in charge of foreign intelligence?!"
Coughing lightly, Alex corrected, "We're".
"What?"
"We're in charge of foreign intelligence," Alex elaborated. "The two of us are counted in with MI6, after all."
Ben groaned. "I'd rather not be reminded right now, thanks."
"Wait, how does "the bank" mean MI6?" Bat asked confusedly.
Fox hesitated before answering, "One of the banks in London is a cover for the Special Operations division of MI6."
The units stared at them. "I am never going to look at banks the same way again," Otter said with wide eyes.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you, Cub?" Badger suddenly accused, the rest of the soldiers widening their eyes as they realized that was what they were missing. "You specifically said "the Bank" because the double meaning would only be caught by those in the know." Alex shrugged and stared back blankly, making Badger sigh. "Bloody spies. If it weren't for my cousin, we really were never going to figure out that you meant MI6, were we?"
"That was the goal," Alex replied. Pausing, he asked, "Wait, you two are cousins?"
"Yeah, my cousin on my mother's side," Fox answered easily.
"I can't believe I didn't see it before," Alex muttered.
"Well, we don't really look alike," Badger said.
The sergeant cleared his throat, interrupting them. "We're getting off topic. So, someone tried to assassinate you, Cub. You still haven't exactly answered who."
"No clue," Alex shrugged nonchalantly. "Never met them."
Technically, that was true. The specific person sent to kill him wasn't someone he knew. He noted that Ben was giving him a look that clearly meant they were talking about that later though. Right. Ben knew SCORPIA had been involved in his life at some point outside of the Australia mission but not when or how. The man was only keeping quiet about it in front of the others because he knows how classified the organization is and had more tact than that. Unlike a certain unit leader.
"Was it SCORPIA? Is that how you know about them?" Wolf bluntly asked.
"That's not how I know about them," Alex answered vaguely, deflecting the question which made Ben narrow his eyes. "And I'll try to get in touch once I know more about why Amanda is targeting you."
"Someone from SCORPIA is targeting Wolf?!" Fox exclaimed worriedly as the sergeant icily said the same thing.
"Yes," Alex said simply.
"Why?!"
"That's what I'm going to find out," he answered darkly.
"How?" Ben asked. "That first mission I had with you was dangerous enough and we weren't even directly dealing with SCORPIA! You don't even have the means to dig into this on your own. You're going to die trying to find answers."
"Occupational hazard, I guess," Alex said impassively. He cut off their angry protests with a stern look. "It's necessary. I promise you that I have a better chance of finding out than any of you do. It'll help Wolf which means it's well worth it, even if I get another assassination attempt. He's one of your own. Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same if you could. And Fox, what do you mean we weren't directly dealing with SCORPIA? The one who shot you was a SCORPIA board member."
"You look way too calm for someone talking about an order for their own death," Horse declared, eyes narrowed at the teen while Ben tried to wrap his head around the new information by mouthing the teen's last sentence. "How many times have you been nearly assassinated?"
Alex shifted uncomfortably. How to answer this one. Letting them know would only serve to enrage them. They could end up doing something stupid, with or without thinking things through. However, choosing not to answer would be very telling too. But... maybe if he played it right, it could help temper some of their other questions that he was anticipating and, hopefully, be enough to quell their more impulsive urges. The decision only took him a few seconds to make.
"Er... I'm not sure. I didn't exactly count. At least three times maybe?" That was true enough. He shrugged helplessly at their stony expressions. "Look, it's complicated. Some of them, I'm not even sure could be defined as assassination attempts."
"Oh yeah, cause it's so hard to tell when someone is gunning specifically for you," Zebra said sarcastically.
"Someone coming after me doesn't always mean assassination," Alex replied blandly, thinking about Feng's ploy for information on MI6 and Klaus acting against orders in a bid for promotion. "Neither does it mean that someone ordered my death. I've made a lot of enemies on my assignments. They don't always want my death. There are times when they want information or creative revenge. Or using me as a political move."
The men were speechless for a moment. "What the hell, Cub?" Tiger exclaimed when he had recovered from the shock. "I'm pretty sure that is not normal, even for spies. Who the fuck even thinks like that?! And I thought you said most of the people you went up against are dead?"
"They are. But I've gone up against a few organizations too. And those are harder to eliminate completely."
"You're in deep, aren't you?" Ben asked quietly. "Deeper than I've ever been. Deeper than I'll ever get."
"You sure about that, Fox?" Alex responded with raised eyebrows.
Ben gave him a bewildered look. "What do you mean? Compared to the two missions I did with you, my other ones have been fairly straightforward and easy."
"I have a feeling that might change if any of you stick around me long enough. Trouble magnet, remember?" Alex said dryly, referring to Ben's nickname for him in Germany.
"That you are," Ben laughed, ruffling the teen's hair fondly. "I think I'll still stick around though, if you don't mind."
Alex stared at him. "Why?"
"Cub, look at me." Ben didn't continue until Alex met his eyes instead of staring through the man. "You're worth it. Alright?"
"You're not getting rid of us that easily either," Wolf growled with the rest of the soldiers nodding along. "You're one of us too, now that you've passed selection. Have always been a part of K-unit even if we didn't act like it the first time. And unit means family. We take care of our own. No matter how much trouble it is."
Alex nodded even though he didn't agree. These were good men. He really didn't want them to end up dead because of him. Not like Jack.
"Good," Ben nodded approvingly. "Now, I have a question for you. How much of the trouble finds you and how much of it do you seek out?"
"I don't seek it out on purpose!" Alex grumbled, looking every bit of the teenager that he was for once. "I just notice things and it escalates. Mostly, trouble finds me."
"But you sometimes act independently instead of contacting MI6 to deal with it?"
"There isn't always time to contact anyone," Alex irritatedly replied. "Besides, the one time I tried to get Blunt to deal with something, he didn't believe me and told me to let it go because the person I was looking into had too much international influence."
"And what did you do?" Ben asked warily.
"I proved that I was right and any objection to the guy's guilt became mincemeat."
Wolf and Fox stared at him for a moment. "Why do I have a feeling that was a reference to however the guy died?" Wolf said exasperatedly.
Fox glanced at his former unit leader while everyone else looked back and forth between them with raised eyebrows. "You too? Thank God, I thought it was just me!"
Wolf grimaced but otherwise ignored Fox, expectantly focusing on Alex, who just stared back blankly before shrugging. The engine had inhaled Cray, cutting him up into pieces. Actually, Alex wasn't sure if there was enough left of Cray to identify anything beyond DNA from blood samples.
Fox sighed. "Who was it?"
"Classified."
"Oh, come on, you tease," Badger complained. "You can't just tell us something like that and not say who it was!"
The sergeant beat him in defending his decision which Alex was grateful for. "Drop it, soldier. Didn't you hear Cub? The highest-ranking people were too afraid to look into this guy because of how powerful he is. I'll bet the guy was politically influential too. Trust me, that's not information you want to know if you don't have to. It's dangerous and gets messy."
"Yes, sir," Badger said, looking chastened.
"Although, I'd like to know how someone so young gets sent on such high-level missions," the sergeant addressed Alex again, narrowing his eyes. "For that matter, how is it that you have such high clearance but no apparent rank?"
Honestly, Alex didn't know. But he had a feeling that it had more to do with his unofficial status than anything else. He wondered what his rank would be when he officially joined MI6 and how that would work with his status in the SAS now that he had passed selection. None of this would be good for the soldiers to know though so he only answered with one word. "Classified."
The sergeant's lips thinned in displeasure, muttering, "In my experience, that only means you've got a shady situation with MI6 and what they're doing with you isn't legal."
A beat of silence followed as Alex refused to react in any way. Then, Lion asked, "How old are you?"
"Pass," Alex replied without missing a beat. He knew this was what Jones was warning him about. Not to give out any information that would result in plenty of people opposing his employment, undoing their work over Christmas. The soldiers opened their mouths to protest but Alex cut them off. "At this point, why does it matter to you?"
They shut their mouths and scowled. However, some of them weren't so easily deterred.
"You're such a bloody girl," Hawk rolled his eyes. "It's just your age."
"Why does it matter to you if we know your age?" Fox pressed.
Alex fixed them with an annoyed stare. "How many people in this line of work do you know that are as young as I am?"
"... Not many?... No one," they answered.
"Exactly," Alex said flatly. "It's not because I'm being a girl or embarrassed or whatever you think. It's because my age is a security issue. There are few enough agents this young." He hoped there weren't any others. Another thing to check. "That makes us memorable. Giving you my name or age or year of school I'm in just makes it easier for everyone, including my enemies, to identify me. I don't particularly fancy another assassination attempt, thanks. Especially if it's not serving the purpose of protecting others."
The men grimaced in shame. "Sorry, Cub," Eagle apologized sheepishly. "We didn't think about the consequences."
"It's fine. Just don't press me on it," Alex sighed. "Next question?"
"How did you get involved?" Tiger asked. "Your parents?"
Ben winced at that last part which told Alex that he had figured out enough. He raised an eyebrow at the older spy and asked dryly, "Are all soldiers this thick?"
The insulted soldiers instantly protested. When they had settled down again, Ben smirked and said, "Unfortunately, I think it's just this lot."
"Great. At least they're not still going on about how I must be a rich, snotty brat," Alex muttered, rolling his eyes. Abruptly answering the question without giving away the actual details, as well as some other anticipated ones that would naturally follow, he said shortly, "Parents died in a plane crash when I was three months old. An uncle raised me until he died in a car crash almost two years ago. I caught Blunt's attention when I investigated my uncle's death."
"Tactless bastards," Badger snapped as he kicked Tiger and Wolf's shins. Presumably, Tiger for the question and Wolf for past behaviour.
"Damn, Cub," Zebra whistled. "You've got a shit past. What is it with your guardians and crashes?"
"That's because he's not telling the full truth," Fox said with narrowed eyes. "Sounds more like they were the official cover stories MI6 would have given."
Alex kept his face blank, to the men's frustration. The truth would be too dangerous for the soldiers to know. He was pretty sure that his father's deep cover work wasn't cleared to be released as common knowledge, even among spies and elite soldiers. He had read somewhere in the news, or his textbooks, that the number of years required for declassifying state secrets was thirty. His father's assignment hadn't passed that mark yet. And even if it had, Alex had a feeling that it still wouldn't be released because of his own involvement renewing the dangerous nature of the information. There was every chance that releasing it would cause much greater casualties. Civilian, his own, or otherwise.
"Cub," Wolf growled forcefully when the silence became too much. "What's the real story."
"Everything I told you is true, except the nature of the deaths," Alex said evenly.
"You're missing details though," Ben stated.
"That's classified. Again, I can't give you any more details without breaking the OSA and putting all of us in danger." Alex paused, a thought coming to him. He weighed the consequences of revealing a little more against his own feelings on the matter. Decided that the risks of not telling were greater and that Ben deserved to know. "Fox, I'm not sure if this breaks the OSA but there's something you need to know. I don't want to leave an opening for anyone to manipulate you if I don't tell you now."
"Okay...," Ben said cautiously. "What is it?"
"Remember the man you shot on Dragon Nine?"
Ben blinked. "Not what I was expecting. But yes, I remember. Later, the team we were with told me that he died and you said he was no one."
"I lied," Alex admitted quietly. "He wasn't no one. He was my godfather."
Ben instantly paled to a chalky white, struggling to breathe, while the rest of the men glared at him in accusation. "Oh God," he breathed. "I think I'm going to be sick. Cub, I didn't know. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be," Alex replied in a hard voice. "He was the one responsible for my parents' deaths and the one who betrayed me on that mission. You did me a favour."
If possible, Ben seemed to have paled even further, the other men following suit. "Fuck, your life is messed up," Squirrel commented.
Alex shrugged. He didn't need anyone to tell him that. Ben was in danger of suffocating at the moment though. "Breathe, Fox. I told you so that you couldn't be manipulated. Not for you to commit suicide by asphyxiation."
That startled the man into choking out a laugh which almost immediately sobered. "Cub, I'm sorry. Even though he betrayed you, he was still your godfather. His death had to have hurt."
"It didn't," Alex replied harshly. "His betrayals hurt. Not his death. So stop feeling guilty about it, Fox. I might have killed him myself if you hadn't beaten me to it. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Okay?"
Ben nodded slowly. "Okay."
"Good. Next question."
There was a stunned silence as the men tried to process the shocking revelations and how the teen could seem so unaffected. The sergeant was the first to pull himself together. "So, your parents and uncle died. Who is your current guardian then?"
"No one," Alex answered blankly, a shadow fleetingly passing over his face. "I was legally emancipated, about two months ago, just before I started SAS training."
"Who was your guardian in between your uncle's death and your legal emancipation then?" Snake asked.
"I don't want to talk about it." Alex's face closed off which made the men all the more curious. Fox, guessing it was something tragic with the boy's housekeeper, stopped them from pressing for answers with a frantic shake of his head. Thankfully, the men backed off. They silently agreed to check in on the teen once in awhile in the future, especially around holidays. No one should have to spend holidays alone.
"If you don't have an adult figure in your life," Eagle began mischievously, "then have you had the Talk? You know, about sex?"
This was not happening. Of course, Eagle would be the one to bring that up. "There is no way that I am talking to any of you about that," Alex said as Wolf and the sergeant cuffed Eagle on the back of the head at the same time. The others were either staring at Eagle or suppressing snickers. If Eagle's goal was to lift their moods, the man had succeeded. He only wished it hadn't been at his expense.
"It's a good question for your own wellbeing," Eagle whined. "You know, for safe practices and all that."
"Somehow, I doubt that was what you had in mind when you asked the question," the sergeant replied dryly. "Continue with that line of thought and you'll be on latrine duty for the next three months."
Eagle pouted but wisely kept his mouth shut, to everyone's amusement. That was what Dr. Flint walked into as he came in to check on his patient. The doctor took one look at Eagle's expression and scolded, "You better not be trying any of your pranks in here or I'll have you cleaning this place until you drop from exhaustion. Same goes for you, Bat."
"It was one time!" Eagle exclaimed as the rest of the soldiers laughed. "We didn't mean for the glitter to explode everywhere."
"And what exactly did the two of you expect would happen when you made a glitter bomb?" Dr. Flint questioned, exasperated.
Eagle and Bat mumbled something unintelligible, making the doctor harrumph before ignoring the sharpshooters entirely. Turning towards Alex, the doctor checked over his vitals and asked some more checkup questions before getting to the most important reason he was here. "Cub, you said you'd answer my question. What triggered you into passing out during RTI?"
The soldiers leaned forward in interest but Alex stayed quiet for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Taking a deep breath, he said quietly, "You know that I've been captured before. There are a lot of times when I end up in a situation that restricts my breathing. Most of it has to do with water but... there are a couple that are more psychological. When the Green Jackets forced my head underwater, I couldn't stop the memories from coming. One of those memories was particularly painful. I passed out the first time when it was actually happening too. Reliving it wasn't any better."
"Can you tell me what happened in that memory?" Dr. Flint carefully asked.
Alex shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it. A part of it is classified too."
"Alright," the doctor said quietly. "I will be making a recommendation for you to see a psychologist. Snake, as your unit medic, will be notified of any care that needs to be provided."
"SAS or MI6? Only, Mrs. Jones has already implied that I'm expected to attend therapy sessions with the MI6 psychologists."
Dr. Flint pursed his lips in thought. "Hmm... I suppose we'll have to see what the expectations regarding you are then. I don't think anyone has ever belonged to both organizations at the same time before."
"I'll speak to command about this," the sergeant cut in. "Should be able to get an answer within a week."
"Good," Dr. Flint nodded. "Make sure you get some rest, Cub. I want you to leave camp refreshed, not half dead from sleep deprivation." The doctor glared at the other soldiers in a silent warning to let Alex rest.
"Yes, sir," Alex replied.
Nodding sharply, the doctor briskly left the room. After a quiet moment, the sergeant said, "This should be interesting. Normally, a recruit would be on probation and going through employment training after passing selection. Next would be serving an initial three year tour. However, I've received word that you will be splitting employment training between MI6 and the SAS. MI6 is getting you first for that. But this split means that you will be serving both organizations. Your medical care falls under both organizations too. Exactly how it's going to be split remains to be seen. I suspect there's going to be a lot of arguments between MI6 and the SAS."
Alex nodded thoughtfully. It was good to know and what the sergeant said about arguments between the organizations made sense. He wondered what employment training and service under two organizations would be like. "Like you said, I don't have an assigned rank with MI6 yet. Will I have one with the SAS?"
"Your rank is Trooper, as of now," Sanders answered.
"Since my clearance is higher, what happens if MI6 assigns me a rank that's the equivalent of being higher than Trooper?" He figured there was a good chance of that happening once he officially became an agent.
The sergeant snarled in frustration. He sighed, "I don't know. Stop asking questions, Cub. Your status is giving me a headache and a half because it's a logistical nightmare."
"Yes, sir." He'd ask Mrs. Jones about it.
"So... torture," Zebra said evenly after a long silence. The medic had been thinking about it a lot and the conversation on Cub's future hadn't distracted him from the boy's answers to the doctor's questions. "Mind sharing one of your experiences?"
Alex shifted uncomfortably. He really didn't want to. But Zebra had shared his experience so it would only be fair to do the same. Which one should he tell though? Razim was definitely out of the question. CIA waterboarding him? No. Too controversial. That would drive animosity between the organizations, and countries, when they are supposed to be allies. Sayle's man o'war? Maybe. That was safe enough. But it wasn't quite bad enough to make them take him seriously. Conrad and the crusher? Possibly. That was more the type of thing the soldiers would understand in the field. In the end, he decided on the crocodiles first, since Eagle already knew about that. If it didn't satisfy them, he'd talk about the crusher.
"Eagle already knows one," Alex stated, meeting the sharpshooter's eyes. The man nodded in understanding. "And I know Wolf has been nagging at him to tell."
"I do not nag!" Wolf exclaimed indignantly, to which everyone grinned.
"So, Eagle can tell you this one," Alex continued as though his unit leader hadn't spoken.
"You sure, Cub?"
"Yes."
Eagle shot him a reassuring look, awed by the amount of trust the teen was putting in him with this gesture. Then, he explained, "From what Cub has told me, this was after a mission. The people he was investigating caught him on his way to school and kidnapped him. Cub didn't specify but I'm pretty sure it was a choice between immediate death and willingly hanging off a cliff over a crocodile infested river for interrogation. He chose the cliff."
"Making you choose and actively participate in your own torture... that's a seriously twisted method," Snake commented quietly. Alex mentally snorted at that. It was far from the most twisted act he'd ever encountered.
"What happened then?" Lion asked in a tight voice.
"They left him hanging there after they were done interrogating him," Eagle replied grimly as Alex continued expressionlessly staring straight ahead.
"They left you to be ripped to pieces by the crocodiles when your grip failed," Tiger filled in flatly.
Alex nodded. Predictably, the men cursed. "How did you get out of that alive then?" Wolf growled.
"Someone from another intelligence agency happened to be around," Alex answered vaguely. It was more than that. The Indian RAW agent had been tasked with assassinating McCain. "He helped me escape back to his camp."
The men breathed a sigh of relief, glad that someone had been looking out for the boy. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that we'd like to thank him for that in person someday," Badger said, the rest nodding along.
"You won't be able to." The teen's expression had closed off again.
"And why is that?" Sanders questioned cautiously.
Alex sighed. Something in him had broken. The longer he talked about his missions, the more difficult it was to stop. It was one thing to talk to Jack or Tom or Sabina about them. Or to recount events in a debrief. It was quite another to exchange stories with people who cared and understood this life. He supposed giving a little more information on this couldn't hurt. "After I completed my mission objective, the agent was going to leave me in a safe place for a retrieval team to come get me. But before he could leave, our target killed him."
"You watched him die?" Squirrel asked, dismayed.
"It did happen less than five feet in front of me," Alex said dryly. He paused, just now realizing something. "I ended up finishing his mission afterwards," he continued in wonder. And getting consumed by fire in the process, leaving the severe burn scars all across his shoulders and back. "He saved me three times from this target. He didn't have to. He went out of his way to do it each time. Once, right before I even received the mission. Once, from the crocodiles even though he was injured. And the last time, I separated from him to complete my mission objective while he recovered, which destroyed the chances of completing his. He still came after me and that's why he died. He wouldn't have been killed if he wasn't distracted with ensuring my survival. Just before he was shot, he told me he should've left me to the crocodiles."
Sometime during his speech, Alex had lost control over his emotions and was breathing heavily by the end, gasping for breath with his face buried in his hands. The men stood frozen, stricken by what they had just heard. Ben was the first to recover and grabbed Alex gently by the shoulders to avoid the boy's wounds.
"Cub, look at me," Ben said forcefully. Something had snapped inside of him, seeing the teen like this, and he could no longer hold back the reassurances that he'd longed to give Alex since the first distress signal. "His death is in no way your fault. I guarantee you that he was fully trained and made a fully informed decision in helping you. He might have told you that he should have left you to the crocodiles but I know that he didn't mean it. You know how I know? Because he still came back for you. He made his own choices and I'm glad that it was to save you. The assignments I've seen you get; they are suicide missions even for fully trained adults. You were far from fully trained and you are a kid. And you survived. Some of that might be luck but I know that a lot of it is skill too. Even though the agent's involvement is luck, the fact that the rival agent chose to help you is an indication that he was a good man. And still human, despite being in this line of work. Don't insult his memory by feeling guilty for his death."
"Fox is right," the sergeant agreed. "But I understand this is the kind of thing that messes us up too, no matter what logic says. If you let the guilt take over though, eventually, you won't be able to function in the job anymore. Try doing something to honor the agent's memory instead. It will help."
Alex listened to the advice and reassurances as he calmed himself with the combat breathing exercises. The sergeant's idea of honoring Rahim's memory gave him something else, other than the man's death, to focus on as well. Taking a last deep breath, Alex looked up with ice cold clarity and nodded. "Thank you. I know what to do. Now, I believe your allowed questions are almost up. Who's next?"
Taken aback by the quick recovery of the iron control that had slammed back into place, the soldiers exchanged worried glances. While the control was intimidatingly impressive, it was also unsettling because of how unusual it was. Especially for a teenager, it just looked wrong. The medics silently agreed to keep a close eye on the teen's mental state.
"Umm... why the sudden personality changes in RTI and why did you choose those personalities?" Hawk asked tentatively.
Alex smirked. "I was bored."
"Bored?!" they exclaimed in disbelief.
"Bullshit!" Lion accused. "How the bloody fuck could you be bored when you're being tortured?!"
"You have ethics to follow," Alex shrugged as if that explained everything. "Until the Green Jackets tried to drown me, the methods used were mostly just annoyances. So I made it more interesting to test my acting skills and how far the torture would go."
"Unbelievable," Badger shook his head as his cousin stared at the teen in awe. "You managed to play the Green Jackets instead. All while you were supposed to be at a disadvantage."
"What about the second part of the question? Why you chose those personalities?" Horse asked curiously.
"Which ones did you distinguish?"
"Uh... your own," Eagle said.
"Eerily calm, cold psychotic," Squirrel added.
"And crazy, maniacal psychotic," Zebra finished off the list. Fox shot Alex a slightly terrified look upon hearing the last two. Right. Ben hadn't seen his RTI footage yet.
"My own should be obvious," Alex answered, to which the men nodded in acknowledgement. "The other two were because they would scare the Green Jackets off and I'd get some time alone." He smirked. "And it was fun to unsettle them."
"Why not use the crazy psychotic personality more often then?" Bat asked.
Alex raised an eyebrow at J-unit's sharpshooter. "So I could get committed to an asylum? No, thanks."
"He's got a point there," Otter snickered.
"But wouldn't the calm psychotic get you committed too?" Eagle asked confusedly.
"Not really," Wolf grunted. "While the calm psychotic is still definitely not Cub, it's still closer to his real personality than the crazy psychotic. Less difference makes it more plausible to believe that Cub could actually have that personality as a part of him."
Alex nodded in agreement and grinned. "Besides, the personalities were based off of real people. It was more comfortable to imitate the cold psychotic."
"Only you, Cub," Ben shook his head at him fondly, even though he was slightly freaked out at the teen's acting skills. "You actually enjoyed some of RTI, didn't you?"
"Only when it wasn't painful or threatening my survival," Alex said dryly.
"You are one weird kid," Tiger remarked.
"Keeps things interesting," Alex replied with a smirk.
"That's one way of putting it," Hawk muttered.
"Speaking of RTI," the sergeant interjected, "how did you evade our capture for so long?"
"Now that would be telling," Alex grinned. He didn't want to give anyone leverage. Who knows if he'll have to hide from the SAS in the future.
"Cub," Lion sighed. "Answer the question."
Alex shook his head, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "A spy can't go giving away all his secrets."
The men rolled their eyes but relaxed a bit and didn't press it. It was rare to get a normal, teenage response from the boy. They sat in companionable silence to enjoy the normalcy while it lasted. Of course, that wasn't very long. It shattered with the next question.
"Cub, what did you have to do with that drug dealer?" Wolf asked evenly. He was making an effort to not jump to conclusions and yell at the boy. It had been on his mind since the body had first been found.
Fox leaned forward in interest as Alex groaned, "You're still on about that?"
"Yes, I'm still on about that!" Wolf snapped. "A man turns up dead in the middle of camp and you just happened to know he was a drug dealer! Don't even get me started on what that woman said about the message being targeted at you!"
Alex sighed. "He was dealing at my school. I didn't like it. So I followed him all the way to his drug lab one day." He paused. "I kind of, accidentally, dropped his drug lab on top of a police conference instead of on the police station's doorstep like I intended. He never forgave me for the disfigurement and getting him arrested so he escaped from prison just to get revenge."
They stared at him in shock.
"That is so awesome!" Eagle and Bat exclaimed at the same time, grinning. Their unit leaders slapped them upside the head.
"That was you?!" Snake shouted in despair, realizing that this is what he was going to have to deal with as unit medic. "Damn it, Cub! I was on my way to the grocery store that day and got pulled into treating injuries when I passed by! It was a miracle no one was killed by that barge!"
"I didn't mean for it to be dropped there," Alex repeated.
"How the hell did you even get the barge out of the water?!" Tiger yelled.
"A crane in a nearby construction site."
"Wha - Do you even know how to operate a crane?!" Lion asked in disbelief.
"I wasn't trained for it, if that's what you mean. But it wasn't hard to figure out."
"Considering you sent the Green Jackets off a cliff the first time you were here, I'm not sure why we're surprised about this," the sergeant muttered to himself.
"Bloody hell, Cub! You couldn't have just called the police and left an anonymous tip or something?" Fox groaned, running a hand over his face.
"It never occurred to me," Alex replied. Seeing the expressions on their faces, he added in his defense, "That's not how I was trained. I don't think it's in me to just leave a bully or criminal for others to deal with. MI6 uses me specifically because I deal with problems like that by myself. They don't exactly give me backup most of the time."
"What do you mean they don't give you backup?" Zebra questioned sharply.
Alex shook his head, smirking. "Your ten questions are up."
The men groaned at that. Wolf ran a hand through his hair, still torn between strangling the teen for the recklessness and sagging in relief that the boy wouldn't touch drugs. Fighting to keep control of his emotions, he settled for saying gruffly, "Fine. No more questions. But if I ever find out you've been doing drugs, I'm forcing you to detox. And then, I'll give you punishment duty until you're thirty. Got it?"
"Yes, mother," Alex said in a deadpan voice. Snake just managed to stop Wolf from lunging at him.
Roaring with laughter, the men were loud enough to draw the doctor's attention. They were quickly ushered out with an angry scolding to let Alex rest. As a nurse came in to fuss over him, the sergeant hastily let him know that his official uniform with the beige beret bearing the winged dagger insignia along with the SAS motto of "Who Dares Wins" would be delivered to him shortly and the men outside had eventually calmed down enough to discuss the teen. They were grateful for answers but the answers had raised even more questions.
Meanwhile, nearly two hundred miles away, six people sat in a bland office on the sixteenth floor of a certain bank. They had been listening in on a teenager's conversation with the SAS, courtesy of a bug planted on the agent they had sent in. Of course, their agent was not aware of this.
With the conversation over, the six people leaned back into their seats and contemplated what they had just heard. Their purpose today was to analyze a potential agent's suitability for being made official. To what end, only Mrs. Jones knew. After a few minutes, their boss quietly asked them, "What do you think?"
"Impressive," Morris, her deputy head, murmured. "Reading his file is one thing. But actually seeing, and hearing, him in action..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "I still don't like it but I can respect his skill. I can see why Blunt kept coming back to Alex."
"Yes," Crawley agreed. "Alex has been an asset from the very beginning. He has an unparalleled mix of determination, morals, creative problem solving, and ruthlessness."
Morris nodded slowly. "Very similar to his father."
"And his uncle," Crawley added. "These qualities, as well as his age, are why I also requested his help at Wimbledon."
"At the same time, he is very different from his father and uncle," Mrs. Jones countered, playing devil's advocate. "Alex is not a patriot. He will help whoever he thinks is in the right, regardless of permission or national loyalties. He does not care for political games either. ASIS may have poached him for that one mission but he still agreed without either of them asking us for permission first. That is hardly a trait an intelligence agency wants in their employees."
"I thought you wanted to employ him," Morris frowned.
"I do," Mrs. Jones answered. "He hasn't failed a mission yet. Anyone with Alex on their side is better off. However, there are still downsides and we would be foolish to ignore them without taking any precautions." She looked over to address the psychiatrist, Dr. Rosemary Flint. Not to be confused with her brother, who they had just heard scolding the soldiers. "Doctor, what is your assessment on Alex's mental state?"
"He is... not entirely fit for duty," Dr. Flint carefully answered. She was still shaken up by how physically similar the boy was to Julius, especially when she saw the use of the clone's personality in the RTI footage. That personality had always freaked her out. Thankfully, Alex's real personality and mental state was much less insane. Otherwise, she wasn't sure if she could handle this meeting. "The experiences he's had in the field so far should have seen him in a psychologist's office a long time ago. Especially because, at such a young age when his brain is at crucial development stages, these experiences affect him more than they would for an adult. We can see from his self-induced coma and guilt over the foreign agent's death that he needs therapy sessions. Without them, his mental state will continue to worsen and put him in danger if you send him out into the field again. Continuing to send him into the field without psychiatric support could eventually result in Alex not being able to function at all, even in his day to day life."
Mrs. Jones nodded thoughtfully. "What about his personality? Does it fit well with a long-term career in intelligence?"
Flint hesitated. She didn't like the fact that they were using a child for such a dangerous job. But at the same time, she really couldn't deny the innate skills that the boy possessed for this career. Besides, it wasn't within her power to refuse answering truthfully. Her best bet was to give her honest, professional opinion and hope whatever happened next was for the best. Reluctantly, hoping that she wasn't putting the final nail in the boy's metaphorical coffin, she replied, "Yes, I think so. He has the resilience, determination, and strength for it. His creativity will keep helping him to survive in this career." She paused in her assessment, thinking about how to explain the next part. "The strong morals and utter ruthlessness is interesting. Normally, one would work to counterbalance the other to some extent. It seems that, in Alex's case, they are both at the same strength. I believe this is largely what is responsible for the... more creative deaths he has caused on his missions. The more he perceives something as being wrong, the more ruthless he gets when he goes to stop the event from occurring. In some ways, he is a bit of a homicidal sociopath which was fueled by the field experience."
"John could have been described that way," Morris muttered in exasperated fondness.
"Ian too," Crawley added.
Morris barked out a laugh. "The morals and ruthlessness must be genetic. God help whoever gets in a Rider's way."
"Yes, especially since those qualities may be even more potent in Alex, considering his track record which surpasses John's and Ian's combined," Mrs. Jones agreed dryly. "Can the results be tempered by relationships?"
"You mean the relationships he has with Agent Daniels and the soldiers?" Dr. Flint asked shrewdly.
"Amongst others," Mrs. Jones said. "But yes, primarily those ones."
"It's possible," Dr. Flint replied with a nod of her head. "Agent Daniels and the SAS are certainly protective of him, in a no-nonsense kind of way. And the military does tend to treat each other like family. Alex seems to reciprocate. That connection alone could be enough to reign Alex in if he gets too ruthless. Also, considering that Alex currently has no family left, these relationships could be crucial to his emotional intelligence development. However, it is a double-edged sword."
"How so?" Morris asked.
"Losing any more family will be detrimental to his psyche. While there is a reduced chance of these men being killed by his enemies because they are trained to deal with terrorists, there is also a greater chance of the men being killed because of the nature of their jobs."
"Will his civilian friends, that are currently in the know, help counter that?" Mrs. Jones questioned.
"Maybe. But there are only two of them so it still might not be enough. And what happens if these civilian friends do not have the capacity to take the stress of all the dangers that come with being associated with a spy?"
"Then we'll be back to solely relying on those in similar professions for normalizing his social and emotional growth, as well as checking his more dangerous tendencies," Mrs. Jones murmured. She unwrapped a peppermint. "Can his ruthless side be moulded into something more useful to us without risking Alex becoming a traitor?"
"You mean guiding his mental state during therapy sessions to make him into a potential black ops agent? I suppose it's possible but I would advise against it. He is very much loyal to our cause right now and will continue to be in the future. Remaking him into something that dark could destroy any conscience that he has, along with everything that makes him Alex. In turn, that increases the chances that he decides to turn on us," Dr. Flint answered carefully, trying to be honest while protecting the boy from something so horrifying.
A beat of silent consideration. Then, "What would your final recommendation be on social relationships?"
"Continue letting him form relationships with Agent Daniels, the SAS, and whoever else he chooses. Without manipulation or blackmail of any kind attached," Dr. Flint immediately answered without any hint of hesitation.
Mrs. Jones studied the doctor for a moment. She nodded once. It was good to have some of her thoughts confirmed. "Smithers, see to it that Alex's file lists him as a permanent member of K-unit."
"No need, Mrs. Jones," Smithers said cheerfully. "I've had him listed as such since he was first assigned to K-unit for that eleven day crash course."
Jones looked at the gadget master sharply. "Those were not your instructions."
"I figured he needed it," Smithers replied coolly. "How do you think Wolf was included in the list of notifications for Alex's hospital stay after being shot?"
The head of Special Operations pressed her lips into a thin line. Going against orders should be punished. And yet... "It was a good call," she finally said. "But that does not mean you can disobey orders whenever you want."
"Of course not," Smithers agreed.
"See to it that Agent Daniels is also permanently listed as a part of K-unit," Mrs. Jones added, almost as an afterthought.
"Will do," Smithers said easily. His mind was whirring with the possibilities of just what Mrs. Jones was planning for the boy. He hoped the woman had Alex's best interests at heart. She had a bit of a soft spot for the boy. It still might not be enough to keep Alex safe though. There would have to be fail-safe measures put into place. He would need to get started on that as soon as this meeting was over.
Satisfied, she turned towards her chief science officer, Samantha Redwing. With a photographic memory and extraordinary analytical skills, it was no wonder that she was counted among the brightest minds in the country. Jones had often found herself relying on the woman ever since she had taken over Blunt's role as head of Special Operations. "What do you think about his judgment and decision-making skills?"
"Given that he has never been told what information should remain classified, I'd say his judgment is quite good," Samantha Redwing answered matter-of-factly. "Don't get me wrong. His age still shows in some of the decisions he's made, as we can see from his attempt at apprehending that drug dealer. However, the questions he answered didn't reveal anything too important. It was just enough to satisfy the soldiers' curiosity. Most interestingly, Alex was able to think ahead of the consequences and make a conscious decision on whether or not to take a risk and how to approach it. His godfather's death at the hands of Agent Daniels, for example. He's calculated the risk of revealing classified information against the risk of Agent Daniels being manipulated in the future."
"He couldn't have known the full extent of the consequences of revealing information about his godfather though," Morris pointed out.
"No," Samantha Redwing conceded. "But he is not stupid. Quite a few people are aware of Ash's death, even if they weren't aware of his identity. All it would take is for one of those soldiers on that operation to accidentally let a seemingly insignificant detail slip and people will start to make the connections. So, telling the truth doesn't really have an impact. Conversely, he has crossed paths with Daniels a few times now. As it stands at the moment, it seems impossible that they wouldn't continue to cross paths. By telling Daniels the truth, he has effectively neutralized a potential threat to Daniels and himself. Any misunderstandings between them could result in a failed mission and their deaths but he has taken care of that now."
"Interesting analysis of the risks," Morris said quietly. "But after hearing it, I have to agree. Extraordinary, if this was indeed his thought process."
"There's more," the chief science officer continued. "I'm sure we all noticed his uncomfortable silence when he was asked how many times he's had assassination attempts. My theory is that he knew it wouldn't end well, no matter what response he gave. Instead of avoiding the question, he used their emotions against them and manipulated them so that even future questions had a reason for things being classified. A reason that would make the soldiers feel guilty if the pushed it. Why else would he tell them about other possible reasons that enemies would want him for? If anything, he should have been reluctant to talk about it."
"And the excuse about his age being a security issue that makes it easier for enemies to identify him, and other agents his age, if the SAS knew," Smithers interjected thoughtfully. "That was complete nonsense and he knows it. Anyone who is remotely paying attention to unusual intelligence gossip knows it. But telling the soldiers this was genius! Not only do the soldiers have Alex to worry about if they know his age. But they will also have other potential underage agents to worry about as well. Pure emotional blackmail without the soldiers detecting it!"
Mrs. Jones nodded, unwrapping another peppermint as she addressed the chief science officer again. "What role do you think Alex has the potential for within MI6?"
Samantha Redwing considered the question for a moment. "There are a lot of options. At the moment, he has the greatest impact as a senior agent working alone. We could try giving him a partner once in a while to see how it works out. But I think we'd find that the problem would be with the other agents, rather than Alex. The others wouldn't take him seriously so if we do give him a partner, Agent Daniels would be the best bet. In the future, considering his current performance, it's safe to say he has potential for a leadership position. Whether he wants a role though, we'll have to see."
"Is there potential for a career in desk work that he'd be interested in?"
Redwing paused. "I'm not sure he would appreciate that. He's too restless. However, he has a bright mind and his creativity could be beneficial to the research and development departments. Particularly development."
"And with the current politics? Where would you place him to maximize effectiveness?"
"Alex has the prime minister on his side but that will not be enough. We will need to work on the foreign secretary and defense minister next if we're to avoid opposition. As we discussed before, the leader of the Democratic Unionists Party will need to either be fed a cover story for Alex's involvement over Christmas or be told the truth since she was suspicious enough to snoop into Alex's room the night of the kidnapping. For now, a cover story should do as she doesn't really have anything to do with defense or intelligence. It would also be a good idea to get C onside so no one within the agency can oppose Alex's employment. Until we've secured these people and Alex turns sixteen, it would be best if he wasn't placed anywhere just yet so he is seen interacting with us as little as possible. After, we should still be discreet about his involvement but we can place him among our elite, like I mentioned, as a senior agent. It's where he belongs anyway. Will you be having him swear the oath of allegiance on his becoming official?"
"No, I don't think I will," Mrs. Jones replied thoughtfully. "Smithers, you know Alex the best, in a casual sense. Do you think the oath of allegiance would be beneficial?"
"Not at all, Mrs. Jones! It wouldn't do any good if something we do were to go against his nature!" Smithers replied carelessly. "Best if we don't make him feel trapped by that. I'm not sure we'd like the consequences."
"And what do you think of Alex joining us?" Mrs. Jones asked.
"I think he should have been given a chance at being normal until he turned eighteen at least," Smithers replied quietly. "But I suppose there's no helping it now."
"No, I suppose not," Mrs. Jones agreed with a tinge of regret. "He did too well in his RTI assessment. Dr. Flint's report on that indicates it's too late for him to go back to being normal. I suspect his mental state has been permanently changed from his experiences. He would never be truly happy with a normal life now. Something would always be missing."
"Yes," Dr. Flint agreed with a shudder. "The switches in personality are particularly concerning for leading a normal life. I know where the inspiration for one of them came from. But I don't know about the other."
The spies looked at each other before saying at the same time, "Yassen Gregorovich."
"It wouldn't make sense for it to be anyone else," Crawley thought out loud. "Gregorovich is the only one Alex has ever come across with that personality."
"Which raises the question of why Alex chose him at all," Morris said.
"It could just be for the fact that the personality is unsettling to most people," Redwing gave her input now that she had caught on to the spies' train of thought. "That was his goal after all. But there is also a chance that Alex thought of him in such circumstances because of their history."
Dr. Flint frowned. "The fact that he chose a contract killer for the other personality and found it comfortable to maintain is as promising as it is concerning. There would have to be a careful balancing act to make sure he doesn't tip too far into that persona. In any case, pretending to be either of those personalities for any length of time is damaging to one's psyche."
"Can the damage be reversed?" Mrs. Jones asked.
"It's difficult, but possible," the doctor answered hesitantly. "It would be best if he didn't come into contact with anything or anyone that could be associated with the people whose personalities he was imitating while the treatments are ongoing."
"We don't plan for him to meet Gregorovich anytime soon," Mrs. Jones said dryly.
"Have you told Alex about Gregorovich's survival yet?" Smithers asked.
"No," Mrs. Jones sighed. "I know I should. But..." She fell silent. "I just don't know how to tell him. We never did find out what happened between them on Air Force One. There's no way of knowing if Gregorovich is a threat to Alex or not. I'm not sure how he'd react to the news."
"Is there any chance that Alex has already crossed paths with Gregorovich since the assassin's escape from our custody?" Morris questioned.
Mrs. Jones was quiet, thinking about the possibilities. Eventually, she said, "It's not likely since we've made sure he's been nowhere near SCORPIA business once he left the States. But I suppose it could still be possible. There's no telling if it happened. I've never been able to get a read on Alex when it comes to Gregorovich and, more recently, there are times when I can't get a read on Alex at all."
"Then we will have to tread carefully and see if Gregorovich is one of Alex's weakness or even if the assassin holds any sway over Alex," Morris concluded.
"What about the reverse?" Crawley asked.
"That could also be possible," Mrs. Jones said. "John made quite an impression. Gregorovich very well may have transferred the life debt owed to Alex, since it is no longer possible to pay the debt to John." She paused. "Are there any other thoughts on Alex that any of you want to share?"
They shook their heads. "Not at the moment anyways," Morris replied.
Jones briskly nodded once. "Then, based on our analysis today, there are a few things I want to happen. Dr. Flint, I want you to be Alex's psychiatrist."
"Are you sure? I don't know if I can handle being in the same room as him," the doctor expressed. "Not after Julius. They look too similar."
"It is because Julius was your patient that I want you to take on Alex's therapy sessions. You understand what Julius was like. Alex will need that to sort out his own mind on anything related to Julius."
Dr. Flint took a deep breath and nodded bravely. "Okay, I'll do it."
"Good. See if you can mould his mental state into something more suited to sustaining high level missions in the long term. Your involvement with Alex goes no further than the people in this room. Not even your brother is to know. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am." She really did not like her instructions on moulding the teen's mind.
"Have a proposed therapy schedule on my desk by tomorrow. I will be arranging some other things for Alex as well." The doctor had scarcely nodded before Jones had already moved on. "Samantha and Smithers, I want the two of you to be Alex's tutors in the maths, sciences, and computers. Integrate his studies with your projects if deadlines don't allow for dedicating time to solely focusing on him."
"That would be the opposite of limiting his interactions with us until he turns sixteen," Redwing said slowly.
"Yes, I know," Mrs. Jones replied blandly. "His missions have interfered with his schooling. It is only fair for us to correct it. However, you have a point so do be discreet."
Smithers and Redwing nodded their assent warily, not liking the direction this was taking for the teen. At least, they could provide some support for Alex and try to deflect the worst of any unfavorable intentions.
"Crawley, I need you to be Alex's primary handler. Smithers, back up handler. Morris and I will give him the missions and handle debriefings but logistics and communications are your responsibility. Start training him in how to write mission reports as well. And I need the two of you to find out if anything is going on between Alex and Gregorovich, as well as what Alex is planning to do in honour of the RAW agent's memory."
"Why the two of us?" Crawley asked.
"You have high enough clearance and are already familiar with Alex on a professional level. Smithers is more familiar on a casual level and Cairo worked out well enough. The two of you will provide a nice balance for Alex to work with."
Resignedly, the two of them agreed and they were all dismissed. Each of them went their separate ways, lost in thought.
Crawley could already feel his hair going grey from the stress dealing with Alex would bring. As if Ian's antics weren't bad enough. The paperwork for the Riders tended to be sky high. He'd once caught a glimpse of Alex's report on Grief's death being caused by a snowmobile crashing into an airborne helicopter. Honestly, did the boy realize how implausible that sounded? He might have to resort to making up circumstances for deaths so internal affairs wouldn't come sniffing. Just like he'd done for Ian. Of course, Ian had often pushed his paperwork onto him. Crawley only hoped that Alex was better with paperwork.
Smithers was already planning subtle lessons for Alex so the teen could defend himself or disappear altogether if he wished. There was only so much he could do to protect the teen. But if teaching him hacking and erasing digital fingerprints so the teen had the means to become a ghost could be disguised as computer tutoring sessions, he'd take it. Some lessons on making gadgets would be good too. Under the guise of chemistry and physics tutoring, of course.
Redwing was planning forensics and statistics lessons for Alex. A life spent analyzing samples in a laboratory and developing technology was infinitely safer than a very short life spent in the field that Jones seemed to have in mind. Forensics could be useful in preventing capture or someone identifying him from evidence left behind in the field. Besides, even if the teen preferred the field and survived everything, there would come a time when Alex was no longer fit for missions. An incapacitating injury, perhaps. Or, more preferably, old age. When that time came, it would be best to have other options for employment.
Dr. Flint was turning over the problem in her head. Does she go against orders and protect the boy or do what Jones wants and mould him into a weapon? Her conscience says the former. Her self-preservation says the latter. There was no winning. She was back to square one and arguing the same points with herself over and over again.
Morris closed the door to his office and stared out the window. None of that meeting made sense. What would be the purpose of getting their opinions on the boy? Jones didn't even take Redwing's advice on distancing until Alex turned sixteen. He couldn't even tell if she had taken Flint's advice on letting the boy develop healthy social relationships without strings attached. And listing Alex and Daniels as permanent members of the SAS when they were both MI6. That had certainly never been done before. He wondered what Jones was planning with that. Things were going to get very complicated. A definite headache was starting to form and he hadn't even gotten to teasing out the motives for not having Alex swear the oath of allegiance. Morris pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his temples.
Mrs. Jones sat still in her office after everyone left. As much as she didn't want to subject him to any more horrors of the world, she had a job to do. Her little test for Alex in giving him permission to reveal what he wanted had certainly proved to be informative. His bonds with Daniels and the SAS, growing stronger by the day, could become very useful as well. She had just set the main stage for the future. It was up to Alex now. His abilities, his choices. Hoping she was making the right decisions, she wondered if Blunt had felt this way when he had first decided to recruit Alex. Unwrapping another peppermint, she picked up the phone to arrange the rest of the stage.