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2019-08-19
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2019-10-13
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5/?
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How to Tame a Wolf

Summary:

James SanLuca just wanted to be fit enough to work again, but a quite recouperation period is ruined when Fox turns up on his doorstep with a horribly wounded Cub. Can Wolf protect the unit thats become his family?

Chapter 1: A Bad Start

Chapter Text

James SanLuca was having a terrible morning. His bad mood had actually started a couple of months ago but today had been the worst so far. He was on temporary leave with the rest of his unit and James was just the kind of guy that couldn’t deal with doing nothing, it was showing.
He’d woken up that morning at 5am, as he did every day. It was a habit developed in the Brecon Beacons that he doubted would ever stop. James had crawled out of bed feeling barely human, just because he got up at 5 didn’t mean he functioned immediately. The night before he’d had a nightmare so he still felt exhausted, that may have been part of the reason for forgetting to disable his intruder alarm.
Now, James wouldn’t say he was paranoid, just that the SAS had instilled a sense of caution in him. His unit would disagree. They thought he’d gone slightly crazy, but he didn’t mind, if his habits kept out unwanted guests then they were worth it and sometimes, that meant K-Unit too. The alarm made a huge noise, it drilled into James’ head disorientating him briefly before throwing his senses into overdrive. He practically dived down the remaining stairs grabbing a gun from underneath a chest of draws, he aimed it at the front door. Then his brain caught up and realised there was no threat, he’d just done this too himself. There was a quite sigh and he put the gun back. It was one of a number hidden around his apartment.
The next thought that pinged into his brain was coffee, so he slouched to the kitchen to make a big mug. Outside he heard the screeching of tires and he briefly wondered what idiot was doing donuts in the outskirts of London at 5.30 in the morning. He then went back to staring tiredly at the kettle.
A couple of seconds later the sound of someone running up the stairs just drifted up to him and for the second time that morning he felt his heart quicken as adrenaline began to race through his veins. He stopped stirring his coffee and took a deep breath. It was just too god damn early. He pulled another gun out from behind the microwave and aimed it towards his door, adopting the correct stance for shooting. Arms up, both gripping the gun, deep breaths to steady them, feet slightly apart, shoulders back but relaxed. The steps halted right outside the door, James inched forward gun still raised, a key turned in the lock, his brow creased who on earth had a key to his flat? He gripped the gun tighter and steadied it again, the door flew open and…
“Fox?”
Ben Daniels stood in the doorway eyes wild, flitting side to side looking for all the world like his name sake running from a pack of hounds. He’s wearing what looks like it might once have been part of a suite, the shirt was no longer white but covered in mud and more alarming an enormous amount of blood. There were tears in everything he wore, from his left knee all the way to his thigh there was a rip in his suite trousers, blood was smeared over the area but was mostly dry. His hair was matted and much darker than James was used to seeing it, though he wasn’t sure if that was because it had been died or because it was covered in something else. Ben was also clutching his arm which was hanging limply by his side, blood dripping down his sleeve. All in all, he looked like a feral animal that had just been hit by a truck.
“What the fuck?” James exclaimed after looking Fox up and down.
“Wolf we’ve got no time you have to help me”.
If it had been anyone else James would’ve hesitated, he would’ve stopped to ask questions, but this was Fox, so he followed him straight back out the door. They ran down the stairs and pelted through the front door into the street. It briefly occurred to James that they must look mad and that someone might try to call the police, but the kind of trouble a MI6 agent like Fox might have gotten into wasn’t the kind the police could deal with, he put it out of his mind.
A short way up the road they stopped at a car that James didn’t recognise, it had scratch marks all over the black paint and shattered blackout windows all along one side, some of the marks looked an awful like bullet holes. He swallowed heavily and took a deep breath. Fox had got there just before him and had flung one of the back doors open. James could just make out a figure on the black leather seats, lying sideways across them and not moving, he couldn’t even see if they were breathing.
The two men grabbed the thirds legs and began to pull him out the car.
“Careful Wolf, he’s injured.”, James’ only response was a grunt and he readjusted his grip on the third mans leg.
After a bit of awkward shuffling they maneuvered the man so he was leaning against the car. Noticing Fox still favouring his left arm James hauled the man over his shoulder and began jogging back to his flat, being careful not to jostle the unconscious man too much. Running up the stairs was difficult, but it didn’t matter one of his unit needed his help and he would do it without thinking. Even if said member had deserted them for MI6. He heard the door to the apartment building slam shut behind him and hoped that Fox had also locked it.
He lay the man he was carrying down on his sofa, glad that he’d bought one in black leather, the blood and dirt might wash out, not that he really cared.
James looked at the man on his sofa for the first time. It was hard to make out through the layers of grime, but he had fair blonde hair that lay over his face around the edges, and handsome features, under the ratty cloths looked well-built but athletic. James suspected that if he opened his eyes, they’d be a chocolate brown colour and too serious. He looked just like an older… Cub?
“Fuck, Cub?”, James almost whispered, his voice coming out horse.
He turned around to see Fox once again standing in the door. This time he didn’t have the wild look about him, he just looked wary and tired. Both his hands dropped to his sides and he took a step forward. And then promptly passed out. James rushed towards him and caught Fox just as his head was about to come into contact with the floor. He placed him into the recovery position and stood up.
“Fuck”, James said louder this time, looking rapidly between to two men on his clean carpeted floor, both bleeding and both filthy.
And then he walked swiftly over to his phone and pressed speed dial number 2. It rung twice before a voice on the other end groggily said, “What the hell Wolf it’s not even 6am”.
“Snake we have a problem can you be at my flat in ten? Wait make that 15 pick up Eagle on the way and make sure you bring your med kit. The big one. And be careful, the threat hasn’t been neutralised.”
Snake understood the situation immediately and just like Wolf when Fox turned up didn’t question anything. Which was just as well because James was exhausted and had no idea what was going on or why Fox had turned up with a mere kid in the early hours of the morning both looking like they’d been attacked by some country’s mafia. Which, Wolf contemplated, may well have been a possibility. He walked over to the two men to see what he could to for them before the team medic arrived.

Chapter 2: What A Reunion

Chapter Text

It turned out that James SanLuca could not do much for the men on his sofa, he was trained in first aid but bullet wounds were a job for Snake. He was thinking about Fox and Cub, and what kind of situation the kid could have got himself into. James hadn’t moved Cub much in case he’d do more damage to any unknow and invisible injuries. He had almost called the Sargent, he was one of the very few men in the world he trusted, the others being his unit and… well that was about it. But without knowing what was going on he couldn’t tell the Sargent anything and therefore he couldn’t help. After patching them up so they wouldn’t bleed out before the cavalry arrived, he put the kettle on again, it was going to be a long day, so he was going to get as much caffeine in his system as humanly possible.
James’ slight paranoia, or caution depending on who you ask, meant he had a number of intense security measures in his apartment. Despite their rarely being anybody home. His windows were bullet proof, and in case that wasn’t good enough so were the curtains, which he’d just closed. He’d only been able to get hold of them because Fox had been gifted them from someone named Smithers, but Fox hadn’t liked the colour. The front door had several locks and was made from a solid sheet of steel so it couldn’t be kicked through and had reinforced hinges so it couldn’t be kicked down. He also had a cleaning/arsenal cupboard. The contents of which was currently strewn across his coffee table, right in front of the unconscious men. There were a couple of guns similar to the one he’d picked up when his alarm went off. One ugly looking sub-machine gun that he really shouldn’t have owned, a small pile of grenades ‘liberated’ from previous missions and a rocket launcher. Not even James was sure where that had come from but testing it had been fun.
James took a deep breath and sighed for what felt like the millionth time that morning. He heard a car door slam outside and immediately became alert again squeezing the gun that he’d picked up, and once again aimed towards the door. This time he walked slowly towards it, feet precisely placed like a tightrope walker, he reached for the door and opened it. He stuck his head and the gun around the corner shielding his body. Clambering up the stairs, with a huge bag with a red cross on it strung between them, were Snake and Eagle. James breathed a sigh of relief, seriously he had to stop sighing all the time, and ushered them inside his flat.
Before turning to look at them he relocked his door. Snake was already knelt down besides Fox, peering underneath bandages James had hastily applied. Snake was not a short man but had always looked it compared to the other men in K-Unit. He had sort black hair and looked altogether neat. In his casual clothes he really looked like he could be a particularly buff doctor or a professor, this was only reinforced by the glasses that sat gently on his nose. His rough hands moved gently over Fox’s scalp assessing the damage done to the MI6 agent.
“Wolf what the hell happened?”
The soft voice had startled James out of his slight daze. Mostly because the voice belonged to Eagle, and soft was not usually a word associated with him.
Eagle was more or less the polar opposite of Snake and for that matter, Wolf. He was madly energetic, resembling more of a toddler than a professional soldier. He was also currently the only one with a steady girlfriend. Eagle claimed it was because of his stunning good looks. He was the tallest of them and with it came a slight lankiness, but despite that he was still well built and strong. He had brown hair that looked more chestnut in bright light and a face that was almost always stretched into a bright smile. As he asked Wolf what had happened, he had an unusual expression of deep seriousness.
James thought for a moment about how to reply.
“I don’t really know, Fox turned up at my door looking like that, we dragged Cub up and then he passed out, said someone was still after them.”
Most of what Wolf said was short and sweet, everything he needed to convey in the shortest possible sentence, this was another habit learned in the SAS. It sometimes came across unfriendly, but it was essential in a war zone.
The second the word Cub came out of his mouth the two other conscious men’s heads whipped around to stare at the boy? man? on the sofa, James suddenly realised that he had no idea how old Cub really was, or how old he’d been when he’d joined them for training. Snake suddenly stopped what he was doing to Fox and moved over to look at the boy. James decided it was boy until he knew otherwise. Snakes eyes widened as he scanned Cub.
“Wolf he needs a hospital, I can barely see what’s wrong with him under the blood but there’s defiantly broken bones and cuts all over him.”
“How bad is Fox?” Wolf replied,
“Not nearly as bad, a through and through and a nasty concussion, the bloods looks like it’s mostly the kids.”
James frowned he still felt like he’d failed a member of his team when they were hurt, even when they aren’t technically a team member anymore and he hadn’t been aware of what was happening. In fact he still had no idea what was really going on and he didn’t like not knowing.
“You know why we can’t take either of them, some ones still after them it could be even more dangerous.”
Snake scowled but didn’t say anything and kept tending to Cub, trying to wipe off as much blood and dirt around some of the more sever cuts as he could. From the other sofa there was a low grown followed by Fox’s head lolling to the underside. Eagle, who had been unusually quite throughout the exchange went over to him.
“Fox?”
It came out almost timidly, a bubble of worry formed in Wolfs gut, Eagle was never this quiet and he was almost as white as Cub was under the muck. Fox replied by slowly opening his eyes, it was clearly taking quite some effort as they kept closing again before snapping open. Another groan escaped his partly separated lips and he moved to grab his arm. Eagle intercepted him.
“Don’t touch you’ve been shot.”
“Alex?”
The word was little more than a whisper, but the worry was plain in his voice.
“Whose Alex Foxy?”
Eagle had used silly nicknames with them all since day one but somehow they’d stuck and now seemed normal.
“Alex?”
It was clear fox wasn’t really with it and after hearing the exchange Snake gently nudged Eagle out the way so he could get to Fox. He produced a torch from a pocket and shined it into his eyes.
“His pupils aren’t blown, it’s a nasty concussion but it should pass fine. Has he ever had a girlfriend called Alex?”
“Not that I know of”, James answered, “Wasn’t there that girl? Sam?”
“I knew there was a girl with a boys name, so who’s Alex?”
Eagle responded this time, “Couldn’t that be Cub?”
Wolf and Snake looked at the boy on the sofa, it honestly hadn’t occurred to either of them that he might have another name. James felt the beginnings of a new worry in his gut, of course he was worried about Fox, and despite what others might think he didn’t actually want Cub dead. It was Eagle bothering him now. The man had never had his mouth shut for this long in his life and now he was staring fixatedly at Cub lying deathly still on the sofa. Eagle was exceedingly pale and his jaw looked painfully clenched. This was setting off alarm bells for James but he quickly made the decision to sort the two unconscious men out first and then they could all have a heart to heart. That wasn’t exactly Wolfs strong point so he’d make Fox do it instead, he and Eagle had always gotten on best.
Fox had briefly fallen back to sleep where he was lying but his eyes were more coherent the next time he woke up.
“Alex?”, he asked again.
This time it was Snake who replied,
“He needs a hospital, you got away lucky the bullet went right through ye, I could sew it up here if we have ta but you know I’d rather not”
His accent was thicker when he was concentrating and right now he wasn’t sure if he’d ever concentrated so hard.
“We can’t take him to a hospital it’s too risky. I don’t think they followed us but I can’t be sure.”
“Whose they?” Eagle said at the same time as Wolf asked,
“How serious?” And Snake said,
“No hospital, Fox the lad ‘ll be on his death bed if you’re not careful.”
He answered Snake first despite the mans statement not actually being a question.
“I know Snake, trust me I know but you send him to a hospital right now with no protection then he’s as good as dead anyway, I only just managed to get him out in the first place, I can’t lose him now.”
The statement baffled James slightly, that sounded almost like Fox knew Cub but surly that couldn’t be true the boy was only at camp for a week and surly that nasty incident at point blanc had been a one off. He made a mental note to ask about it later but now just wasn’t the time.
Fox’s face screwed up and it seemed like the pain was beginning to catch up with him. Before he could do anything else Snake had reached into his bag with all the speed and stealth of a ninja and grabbed a tiny syringe full of morphine, stripped the cap off and stabbed Fox with it. Fox gave Snake a glare but then almost immediately relaxed, he gave a deep sigh and began to speak again.
“They’re a group trying to kill Alex” a quiet ‘not for the first time’ was heard under his breath. James stored this little titbit away.
“This is the safest place I could think to bring him, sorry Wolf. Anyway, I was sent on a mission to extract an unknown agent from the base of a know criminal organisation, I got there and I found out it was Alex here.”
He glanced over at Alex and gave a nervous little cough.
“He was already in pretty bad condition when I found him, he’d been tortured. Snake you’re going to have to look at his back, but he won’t want you to see anything. He wouldn’t let me. You’re going to have to look at the rest of him too. I managed to get him out but leaving the complex where he was held is where it went a little wrong and then this happened.”
He pointed to the bullet wound he’d acquired that Snake was currently sewing up. James was surprised Fox was barely reacting but he looked far more concerned for Cub than himself and with morphine racing through his blood maybe he couldn’t feel anything at all. A headache was starting to pull at the corners of James’ mind and wondered if Snake had anymore morphine.
“We were running and they started shooting, they got me in the shoulder and I think they got Alex too, you’ve already sewn that one up right?”
At this every head in the room snapped round to Cub. Snake dropped the needle he was holding and bolted to the boy on the sofa.
“Where did they get him” He snapped out.
“In the back of the thigh, I think.”
Snake rolled him over as gently as possible then reached down to touch the black sofa. Though due to the colour you couldn’t see it, his hand came away covered in blood. Snake stared with almost blank eyes, Eagle paled even further and looked like he might take a swan dive into the floor, Wolf swore loudly while Fox let out a small “Shit”. That was the exact moment Alex Riders chocolate brown eyes shot open and he started screaming.

Chapter 3: Back Up

Chapter Text

It had been a rough night for K-Unit. Snake had worked tirelessly on Cub all night doing the best he could without a hospital or even a qualified assistant. The bullet wound in his thigh had been the trickiest injury to deal with as the bullet was still lodged in there. Eagle and Wolf had to hold Cub down. Snake had given the boy morphine, but he still felt much of the pain, the boy was almost delirious and spent much of the time screaming. Snake got on with what he was doing, but kept repeating ‘sorry’ over and over again under his breath. Wolf just grit his teeth, Eagle looked like he was about to burst into tears the whole time. Fox had passed out again and James was immensely glad as he wasn’t sure the MI6 agent would have taken it well.
After Snake had deemed Cub stable enough to move, they carefully carried him upstairs to a real bed. James had never seen his unit acting so carefully. Fox couldn’t help without ripping his own stitches, but he walked with them, whispering to Alex the whole time. Eventually Cub was tucked into the bed and left to sleep.
It had taken Fox a long time to calm Alex down, not to mention Snake pumping him full of as many painkillers as was safe. He hadn’t been awake as he’d screamed. Screamed in pain, and for two people named Jack and Sabina, and just from pure panic. Eagle had left the room until he was needed to hold Cub down. Most people would have seen it as a weakness, but it had made James more worried about the other man. It was unlike him to walk away from someone he could help and he knew there was a reason behind it. Eventually, in slightly less pain and after Fox mindlessly talking to him, they had managed to get him calm enough for Snake to work. After he had finished, he’d taken Wolf into the kitchen, leaving Eagle to keep an eye on both Cub and Fox.
“Wolf, I still think he needs a hospital, I’ve done the best I can, but your sofa isn’t exactly sterile. God know what the poor kid has been exposed too.”
The Scottish man took a deep breath and then sighed.
“I don’t even have his medical records; he might not even be up to date with his jabs. What are we gonna go if the lad develops tetanus? We don’t know where he was found or anything, it’s not safe.”
“Snake I know but it’s less of a risk than having him kidnapped from his hospital bed. I need to talk to Fox. But he’s injured too, and I don’t know how much he can tell us.”
James ran a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes where it had gotten too long while on leave.
“I don’t like it but how much damage will one night do? Can it wait until morning?”
James was leader of their unit and ultimately called the shots, but he was a fair leader and always took the others opinions into his own, especially in situations where the others had far more expertise.
“Aye, it would be better to leave it anyway, the lads exhausted and too weak to travel. If we can’t get him to a safe hospital tomorrow, then we’ll at least have to send someone to get his records and some antibiotics and then with a bit of luck the boy might be okay.”
After that everyone had tried to get as much sleep as they could. The sofas were still covered in blood, so couldn’t be slept on. James had given up his bed for Cub and Fox had joined him in there just in case he panicked again. Snake had the double bed in the spare room and Eagle was on a cot on the floor. James hadn’t got any sleep at all.
He was sitting on a chair at his kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee that had long gone cold. It was the early hours of the morning and weak light was just breaking through the gap in his curtains. He hadn’t been able to sleep when there was still a threat against his unit. No one had been anywhere near the front door, he was taking this as a good sign, no one knew where they were. But that was hopeful, and James knew that whoever was after Cub may just be waiting and watching. He shuddered at the thought. A few minutes later, Fox had walked into the kitchen looking wide awake despite only getting a few hours’ sleep and being shot the day before. His arm was still in its sling and he put the kettle on one handed. While he was doing that there was silence. James didn’t ask any questions yet and when they had been as close as they had there was no need for good mornings.
“How’s Cub?” This came out in James’ usually morning way, gruff and distinctly wolf like.
“He’s certainly looking a bit better, less pale, but he lost a lot of blood and there was only so much Snakes bag of saline could do without a blood transfusion. He woke up for a moment earlier and recognised me, but he went straight back to sleep, he’s still not great, but it’s so much better than it could be. He needs a doctor Wolf, and physio and antibiotics but I don’t think that’ll happen for a while.”
Fox looked into the cup of tea he was holding. This was a look James wasn’t used to seeing on Fox, it was fiercely protective, and he briefly wondered how the two knew each other, they’d clearly formed some kind of bond. Now wasn’t the time, he had to know the current situation.
“Fox you know we need to know what happened. We need to tell the sergeant.”
“I know.”
Fox was still staring into his mug, he sighed. In the few hours that Cub had been back in his life James had heard and done more sighing than he’d ever done in his life.
“Look Wolf there’s only so much I can tell you, both because it’s technically classified and some of it is Alex’s to tell. He’s been through a lot and I can’t break his trust.”
James frowned; it was no secret he hadn’t liked Cub the first time they had met. He gave the boy his begrudging respect after he pushed him out of that plane and then again after that nasty business with the school. That didn’t mean he liked the kid, he did however like Fox.
“The group after Alex have been after him before.” Fox said quietly.
“They’re a well-known criminal organisation that have been incredibly organised and functional in the past but now, well, there were a series of incidents that lead to many of their founding members being killed. One of the ones left has been acting under the organisations name and has decided to target Alex. A few months ago, they got him, and they kept him at their base. I was sent to pick up Alex when they found out where he was, but I wasn’t told it was him. When I found him, he was in a pretty bad state. We should really try to get a good square meal in him today, god knows it’s been a while. But anyway, most of the damage was done on the way out.”
During the last sentence Fox had got so quiet James had barely been able to hear what he was saying but James understood the implications immediately, before Fox began talking again.
“I messed up Wolfie, and Alex got hurt, that bullet wound in his thigh that nearly killed him? That was my doing. I didn’t pull the trigger but it sure as hell felt like it.”
Only then did James realise the gravity of the situation, Fox was guilty because he thought he’d almost killed Cub, Eagle had reacted unusually to seeing the kid hurt, and god knows what Cubs mental state was like after being nearly killed. Snake and he seemed to be the only ones holding it together. They were in way over their heads and it was James’ responsibility to do something about it.
“We need to call the Sarge, do you think you can tell him enough for him to be able to help us out. He’ll need to know who they are and how they move so he can get us safely to base. There’s a medical facility there were they can help Cub and it’s more or less the safest place in Britain.”
“Wolfie that’s a great idea but there’s one tiny issue.”
At the sound of the plan a spark had ignited in Fox’s eyes. He looked like he was ready for action and James supposed this is what made him a good spy. He could already see how it could come together. James knew there was a lot to do before they got to relative safety.
“What about ‘6? They must give you back up.” Wolf said.
At this fox started rubbing his neck almost nervously, it was a habit James had seen him do numerous times before, the last time was before he’d joined ‘6 and had dropped Snakes birthday cake.
“Not as such, sometimes we get access to an extraction team and in Alex’s case that was me. But the situations we’re in are often too sensitive to send too many people in. We don’t want to draw attention to agents in the field.”
James was staring straight at Fox. He was trying to steady his breathing, but he was finding it difficult. It was just wrong to send agents into the field with little to no back up. He was used to a system that never left a man behind and he was mad at himself for not having Fox’s back despite him going to the dark side. He stood up.
“I’m going to call Sarge.”
With the he left Fox sitting at the table with an empty mug. James’ face was bright red as he left the room, trying to keep his emotions under wraps. Failing that, he punched his hallway wall, swore and then went to make the call.
The Sargent had been as useful as he possibly could but there was a limit to how much he could do in MI6 territory. The SAS and MI6 had always had a rocky relationship and after K-Unit came into contact with Cub at point blanc, Sarge had had an issue with a child being used for intelligence and had let Alan Blunt know about it. Even so, he had talked to them right after Wolf had called. The unit and Alex had been granted permission to go to the Brecon Beacons training camp and MI6 would try and elevate the threat. In return the SAS had to send a team to help with another issue that required a bit of muscle. It wasn’t a trade that the Sargent had been particularly happy with, but he had already overstepped boundaries taking two of their agents off them and he knew how to pick his battles.
James had just gotten off the phone with the Sarge for the second time. He’d got back to him with a plan but before they put it into action he needed to talk to his unit. After calling for them they met in the kitchen.
“The Sargent has presented us with a plan on how to get out of here and get Cub to safety. This plan is dependent on a couple of factors, first Cub needs to be okay to travel in a car. They don’t recon it’s a good idea to transport him in any military vehicle or ambulance, it’s too conspicuous.”
Wolf started talking, he was unit leader and he’d lay out the plan then listen to the other. He first looked to Snake for his opinion.
“He’s stable enough. It’s gonna hurt him though so we’ll have to have Fox next to him, help calm ‘im down. I can give him something beforehand for the pain. But getting him to a proper medical facility far out ways the discomfort.”
At this Fox looked like he was going to say something but then stopped. Wolf continued.
“Good. ‘6 are going to sort the threat, they estimate that this’ll take about a week. In that time, we’re going to be doing some training just to keep up appearances.”
At this there were loud groans from both Eagle and Fox. Fox grumbled.
“There were reasons I left the SAS.”
Wolf glared at him,
“And we know you miss it every day. Anyway, that’s what’s going to happen. I’ve been told our old bunk house is free. Sarge will keep us updated with ‘6. Alex is going to be in the infirmary, no training for him. Fox you’ll get checked out, if they say you can’t train then you can’t train no matter how much you want to. Either way you should get some PT for that arm. Snake I want you to keep a close eye on Cub while we’re there, make sure the doctors are doing what they should be doing. None of us would know what we’re doing. We just keep our heads down and do what we’re told. Especially you Eagle. Fox we’re going to need you to help with the best way to travel covertly it’s not taught at Brecon’s.”
“Shouldn’t be too tricky have we got a car?”
“We have mine, I brought it when Eagle and I came.” Snake said.
“Not good enough let me talk to someone at work, maybe I can get something bullet proof dropped off, it won’t be for a few hours though.”
“Excellent.” James was pleased with how the plan was going. With some luck they wouldn’t even be noticed on the way to Wales.
“I need to go and check on Cub, see if he’s awake, and change some bandages.”
“I’ll come with you, Fox get some more rest, Eagle try and find a route to camp that uses as many small roads as possible, country lanes that sort of thing. We’ll be more exposed, but we’ll be able to see anyone trailing us.”
James was slightly surprised that he had said he’d go and see Cub. He put it down to wanting to know what was going on. They left the kitchen and walked upstairs to the guest room where they had left Alex.
“Wolf I know we have to transport him, but Cub wasn’t in great shape. The journey could do a lot of damage. It’s the best option but we need to be prepared.”
“It’s okay we’ll do everything we can.” James reassured him.
They walked down the hallway at the top of James’ stairs. Straight to the guest room door. Snake paused outside it, looked at Wolf and then pushed the door open. James had expected to see a sick looking kid fast asleep in bed, or awake but lying down sore and not wanting to move. What he had not expected to see was Cub sitting up in bed reading a book that James had left on the nightstand looking for all the world like a teenager that had just woken up. It was clear that Snake was just as surprised as he was.
“What the hell are you doing?” Snake spluttered.
“Uh reading?” Cub looked at Snake with a quizzical look.
“You were shot less than 24 hours; you had a bullet lodged in your thigh and no you’re sitting up in bed like nothing ever happened. Cub you could’ve died, I spent hours sewing you up and…”
Wolf cut him off.
“What I think Snake is trying to say to you is why don’t you look like you’re in more pain considering what you’ve just been through?”
“I have a high pain tolerance. I would’ve met you downstairs, but my thigh is a bit sore still.”
Snake stood in the doorway, his mouth opened and closed like a fish, he stared at the boy for a few seconds and then stormed out of the room leaving Wolf and Cub alone.
“What did I say?”
Cub looked surprised at the man’s actions. James sighed.
“He’s just worried about you. You must be in quite a lot of pain still.
“I’ve had worse.”
This shocked James. Cub must have been in a world of pain, but he wasn’t letting it show. Instead of confronting him, James decided to let the kid play brave for a while longer.
“Good because we’re leaving this afternoon, we have training to do.”
Alex gave James a confused look and in response James broke into a wolfish grin. It might even be fun seeing the Beacon’s again.

Chapter 4: Out With a Bang

Chapter Text

Getting ready to leave with only a few hours’ notice had been easy for the SAS unit and their ex-member. It was something they’d had to do many times before, during training and after. James kept a grab bag under his bed for this exact kind of situation. Though the current situation was out of the bounds of even his wildest imagination, not that that was hard. Alex hadn’t had anything to pack so that hadn’t been an issue either. They’d find something to fit when they got to camp, James knew that would be easier than last time, Cub had grown up. James wondered how old he was now. It had been almost 5 years since he’d seen him and the boy was now starting to look slightly more like a man, there was even some stubble around his sharp jawline. No matter how big a beard he grew though, he’d still always be a cub.
They managed to get Cub down the stairs, but he’d had to lean on both Snake and Eagle. The blonde was coping incredibly well but the short walk had still exhausted him. Maybe he hadn’t reacted to the trauma quite as well as he’d made out. James snuck a look at the teen, his eye lids were drooping and seemed slightly out of his control. He was sitting slightly wonkily in the chair, trying to elevate the pressure on his thigh and had a hand pressed over his ribs.
“Alright everyone, the car should be here in about half an hour. That means a weapons check everyone. Cub, Eagle will check yours just try and get some sleep for the next few minutes. This is going to be unpleasant for you so you need as much strength as possible.”
At this James had expected a protest, instead Cub just nodded at him curtly and closed his eyes. James huffed a sigh of relief, that was easy. Next he turned to Fox.
“Fox you know what you have to do. Try and keep Cub as safe and as calm as possible. Try not to get anymore injured yourself but Cub is our top priority.”
Fox looked up from stripping down his gun and gave Wolf a nod, he had taken his arm out from its sling for the journey for added dexterity just in case something went wrong. Despite this he was stripping his browning far more slowly than usual as his arm was stiff and his muscles weren’t cooperating.
“Eagle you’re our first line of defence, this is a shoot first ask questions later situation but do try not to kill any old ladies.”
At this Eagle gave a slight wince.
“Snake you’re with Eagle unless anyone gets injured, then casualties are your first priority.”
Snake also nodded in confirmation.
“Good any questions anyone?”
“What about Weasel?”
This observation came from Eagle and he was looking quizzically at Wolf. Clearly surprised at himself for speaking.
“What about him?”
“Well he’s technically a member of our unit, shouldn’t he be coming to Beacons with us. I mean if anyone knows where we’re going and realise he isn’t with us, he might be targeted.”
“Fuck, I forgot about him.”
James was ashamed. It was unlike him to forget about a teammate no matter how much he disliked the man and how much he felt like he didn’t belong in K-Unit.
“We’ll pick him up in the way. I’ll call him, if you do it Eagle you’ll just piss him off before we’ve even seen him. He’s gonna make this so much more difficult. Right well, if anyone asks Cub is Fox’s nephew and he’s coming to Beacons to look around. We’ll have to try and hide his injuries.”
A few minutes later, it was time to go. They loaded the car quickly with a precision gained only from practice under stress. Eagle and Snake once again helped Alex into the car making sure he was seated as comfortably as possible. The boy grunted as they set him down but made no other show of obvious pain. James was beginning to suspect that Cub rarely showed any emotion at all, he wondered if he had always been like that.
As soon as they were all in, they were off. The car was a brand new Range Rover. Black, with heavily tinted windows. The seats were made of an expensive leather and were already heated for the unit. It was spacious despite the four SAS men and teenager all in together. James was driving and was glad for the 4 by 4, it was a bitterly cold day, not quite enough for snow but still comforting to have the extra grip on the road to combat any ice from the night before.
Fox had called shot gun and was sitting in the front seat. Far from relaxed he was sitting ram rod straight with one of Wolfs guns held tightly in his uninjured hand. He still didn’t have the sling on, Snake had protested but eventually conceded. Snake was in the back to keep an eye on Alex, as the boy was unlikely to tell him if he was in pain and he needed to stop so Snake had resigned to keeping his leg against the boys to keep an eye on his pulse. Eagle was in the back as he had been permanently banned from the front seat by Wolf after an incident with a hot chocolate and the inside of windscreen.
The journey had started smoothly if somewhat tensely. The SAS men were all on high alert, their eyes sliding constantly from side to side, watching for anything out of the ordinary. Alex on the other hand, was staring straight ahead, eyes fixed on the imaginary horizon. It was freaking James out slightly every time he looked in his rear view mirror. They boy looked like a zombie, he was barely blinking and his forehead looked slightly scrunched. James assumed he must be in pain. He tried to catch Snakes eye in the mirror, to alert them to the boys uncomfortable state without letting him know he was worried. It didn’t work so he coughed loudly and tried again. This time Snake met his eye and seemed to immediately know what was up. Snake turned his attention to Cub, checking him over as discreetly as possible. Despite the intensity of Cubs stare, there was no obvious reason for the pain. Nothing was bleeding, no stiches had been reopened that Snake could see. Even so he decided it was time for a break.
“I need to pee.” Snake stated.
James huffed a laughed into a sigh, it was a good plan to give the kid a stretch and a break from being jostled.
“Fine, but only a short one we need to keep moving.”
His tone was grumpy but he shot Snake a small smile in the mirror to let him know what he really thought.
“I want to get McDonalds.”
This time James’ sigh was real but he was secretly glad. After they had left the house Eagle had perked up a little and he seemed to be slowly reverting to his normal self. That meant that he was also back to his constant quest for junk food and childish fun.
“No, you’ve only just had breakfast and we don’t know who could be following us, we are not wasting time just so you can get a happy meal. It’s not happening Eagle so just shut up.” James’ word was final and Eagle began to sulk. The members of K-Unit all smiled to themselves, despite the horrors of training the Brecon Beacons were safe and they all had fond memories there, except maybe Cub. Being so close had caused all their spirits to rise, they were going home.
James pulled into the services, they had made it much of the way but there was still a chance that there could be trouble even on a relatively quiet section of the M4. They were all alert as they stepped out of the car. Fox rushed around to help Alex out and make sure he didn’t topple over. When he was sure the boy was steady they made their way in. Wolf and Fox’s eyes were constantly darting around checking for danger. Snake was looking Cub up and down searching his injuries from the limp from the bullet in his thigh to the cut just above his temple. Eagle on the other hand, was searching for a Big Mac. He ran ahead before James could stop him and disappeared inside.
“What an idiot.” James whispered under his breath.
He wasn’t really mad, he just hoped that Eagle would scout out the area before Cub entered.
Just then it seemed Wold had got his wish. Eagle came running back out the door he had just gone into.
“Move it!” He shouted to the other customers as he bolted past.
The others turned around and ran too. Cubs limp was slowing him down but not by much and the others kept pace with him so he didn’t get left behind. Eagle quickly caught up with them. He was the fastest in the group after all. They made the dash to the car in good time and threw themselves into it. Wolf had turned the engine on and were half way out before anyone had even had time to put their seatbelts on. The unit plus Cub were all panting and there was a brief pause before Wolf said,
“Who was it?”
“It wasn’t a who it was a what.” Eagle replied.
“Well then what was it?”
“McDonalds was closed.”
For a moment there was stunned silence in the car. James’ faced hardened into a very wolf like snarl. Fox put his arm between Wolf and Eagle to stop Eagle from being murdered. Cub began to laugh. He had barley said a thing since he had shown up on Wolfs door step and now he was doing a full belly laugh in the back of the car. Everyone joined in and then stopped when Cub started wheezing. Snake rubbed his back until he caught his breath.
James was about to start telling Eagle when a car that he had seen earlier had caught his eye. It was black and sleek and it had followed them into the services. They had spent so little time at the services that it seemed almost impossible that the car wasn’t following them. His eyes sharpened.
“Nobody turn around, we’re being followed.”
Everybody in the car tensed, but true to his orders no one turned around.
“We’ll have to lose them, Wolf take the next exit, we should be able to lose them if we go the wrong way on smaller roads for a while. But we should head away from Wales. Even better head to North Wales, doing a complete 180 might alert them.”
Wolf was impressed, he knew that Fox had learned a lot in special services, but not information that useful. He was once again reminded of how much he missed having Fox around.
James stepped on the gas and took off away from the motorway and towards Snowdonia, if they never made it to base then maybe they could have a holiday hiking around Snowdon, they certainly all deserved it. He stopped daydreaming about mountains to focus on the road, the bends were getting tighter as the car delved deeper and deeper into the English country side. Every so often on a bit of straight he caught a glimpse of the dark car behind them. He sped up slightly more, urging himself not to make any mistake, they were driving at insane speeds down single track roads.
James’ entire conscious was narrowed onto the road ahead when Snake let out an exclamation.
“Aw fuck.”
The Scotsman sounded almost sad. James stamped on the break and turned around in his seat. The car following them had crashed into the bank and was currently on fire. Relief washed over them but not they had to get out, whoever had been following them might not be on foot and could be armed. James turned around to start the car again but let out his own exclamation.
“SHIT!”
In his peripheral vision he saw the others turn around as if in slow motion. Their heads turned, their eyes widened, their mouths formed little O shapes. And then, a car, not dissimilar to the one that had just crashed following them, careered into their bonnet, pushing them back into the bank. Then the world went blank for three SAS soldiers, an MI6 agent and a teenage spy.

Chapter 5: So No One Died?

Chapter Text

James woke up slowly. He was lying in a comfortable bed that smelled very clean. His eyes weren’t open but he could feel the mattress beneath him and the slight smell of disinfectant wafted into his nostrils. It was pleasant lying there halfway between sleep and consciousness, unwilling to open his eyes and let the world in, he started sinking back into sleep.
It all came back in a rush just as he was drifting off, the squealing of tires on the road, crashing metal, the shouts of his unit. He bolted up right. His face was contorted in a look of pure panic and his pupils were blown wide. James was breathing wildly trying to stop the images of the car hitting them from screeching around his brain.
“Easy soldier.”
He whipped his head around and sitting next to him was the sergeant. He looked as calm, composed and stern as ever but there was something else. If Wolf didn’t know better he would say the sergeant looked slightly concerned. But he did know better and nothing worried the sergeant, not bombs not terrorists not anything. Yet there was still that look in his eye though, and that scared James.
“We were tracking you, the damn ‘6 car that Fox got had a very accurate GPS tracking system and Fox gave me the details, he told no one else so that if you went off track we could find you and no one else could. Fox was always smart but MI6 has made him sneaky and I don’t like it.”
Despite what he had said James got the sense that Sarge was very glad Fox had learned some new skills, skills that might have just saved all their asses.
“Where’s K-Unit, is anyone injured, are they all right?”
James was speaking frantically the panicked look was back in his eyes, he really did look like a cornered wolf. The sergeant had been pleased when naming James, he’d seen something in him when they’d first met but as the man had grown he’d become more and more like the soldier the sergeant had hoped he’d be. But now he just wanted to soothe the man.
“K-Unit came away mostly unscathed.”
James opened his mouth to ask questions but the sergeant hushed him and continued.
“Eagle and Snake were in the back and came away fine, Eagle didn’t react and has a concussion from hitting the head rest in front of him. Snake sprained his wrist stopping him from doing the same thing. Fox was in the front with you, he has some more severe injuries but not as bad as you, he was lucky his air bag went off as it stopped him from hitting the dash, it did almost suffocate him as he was knocked unconscious but Snake got him out. We assumed the bullet wound he sustained was older and he’s been in surgery for that, but it was quick and he’s recovering. Snake gave me the full report since he’s been the only one able.”
The Sarge rattled off the list concisely and with precision, there was no unnecessary information but nothing was left out. James appreciated it, it was efficient but it reassured him all the same.
“And what about Cub?”
At this the sergeant let out a long suffering sigh. Wolf had got the impression before that he didn’t approve of the government using the minor, and that seeing him injured in the line of duty was probably something that upset him. Not that the Sargent ever got upset.
“He’s still in surgery, there was plenty of damage that needed seeing to before he was in a major car crash but it didn’t help. He re-tore the temporary stitches that Snake put in. That man is getting a commendation, without his quick thinking you’d all be held hostage and Cub and Fox would be dead. Cub should recover was the last thing I heard from the doctor half an hour ago but it’s going to be a long one. That we’ll do our upmost to make sure he gets.”
By the end of this the Sargent was almost snarling and not for the first time Wolf wondered what his name was when he was training in the SAS. Wolf suited the both of them, and it was probably why they got along so well.
James had one more question,
“How did we get out of there, I don’t remember a thing?”
“Well as I said we were tracking you in that car, when you crashed only Snake remained conscious, I don’t usually repeat myself but in this case I will, without that man I wouldn’t be surprised if you were all dead.”
The Sargent was staring straight ahead at Wolf, barely blinking, but he was speaking more softly than Wolf had ever heard him before, almost like he was trying to comfort the man in the hospital bed. But that was impossible, if there was one thing the sergeant never was it was comforting.
“From what he told me, he first saved Fox. Then he managed to take out the only other conscious man. There were two people in the car that crashed into you, one was killed instantly in the collision, the other took out a gun and tried to finish you off. Snake disabled him and from the looks of it, it was a karate kick to the head. He then saw to you and Eagle before checking on the boy. When he realised the extent of the damage to Cub he immediately called for help on the car radio. We were on our way already but he made sure we came prepared. I will reiterate, you all owe that man thanks.”
Once again James nodded. He had always been closest to Snake in the unit, and had always trusted him the most, this wasn’t the first time that he was more than glad that Snake was in his unit and that he’d made the decision to be a medic. Before he talked to Snake though, he wanted to ask another question.
“Sir, what do you know about the boy?”
“Soldier you are fully aware that that question is classified.”
“Yes Sir”, Wolf barked back.
“Well in this rare occasion I will tell you anyway. But I fear you will be disappointed because it isn’t a lot. I’ll skip the physical description, im sure you know what he looks like. The boy is not 19 years old. I am aware that made him 14 when he joined us for training, I didn’t know that at the time or I would have never let it happen. He’s officially done 3 missions for ‘6 but I know Joe Burn, head of the CIA and he’s done one for them and he’s sure there have been more for ‘6 as well that aren’t on record. He also reckons he’s worked for ASIS but I do not know if that is true. Cub has just lost his guardian, we don’t know how it happened but I suspect Fox might. He also has a long medical history that I won’t go through now but Snake has been made aware of what our doctors know. The boy has been through a lot so we must be careful how we tread. There are mentions of torture in his file, we must treat him as much as a soldier as we do a teenage boy.”
James was staring open mouthed at the Sargent. Cub was only 19. Only 19 when he’d trained and been bullied by 4 adult members of the SAS. Only 14 or 15 when he’d descended a mountain in the alps on an ironing board. It made James feel sick and scared. Poor kid was probably all messed up. Well James had already decided that Cub would not be used by MI6 again if he could help it and he would do his best to keep the kid out of harm’s way.
He was about to ask the Sargent about that group that were following them and if they had stopped, but at that moment the door to his infirmary room slowly opened and Snake walked in, he looked exhausted and in need of a long hot shower but otherwise okay. For the first time in days James cracked a small smile. Snake returned it.
“Evening, Sir”, he said to Sarge.
“The boy’s out of surgery, they’re just taking ‘im to recover now.”
The Sargent nodded and stood up.
“Then I’ll leave and let you talk, you’ve managed to conjure me up an ungodly amount of paperwork.”
They saluted the Sargent as he walked out, Snake was standing straight and tall, his shoulders a perfect horizontal line. As soon as the door clicked softly shut he melted. A weariness sunk into him that even James had rarely seen in the other man. His shoulders slumped and a small grimace twisted his usually calm face slightly. It was clear that he hadn’t slept since before Fox had turned up with Cub. But for now they were safe and Snake was using this opportunity to let his guard down slightly. Despite looking completely exhausted Snake gave James another warm smile, this time James sighed,
“Come and sit down Snake you look like shit.”
Snake let out a small huff and walked over to the chair by the infirmary bed, he more or less fell into it and gave a sigh of pleasure, barely loud enough to hear but James caught it instantly.
“It’s been a long couple of days aye?”
James snorted,
“You can say that again, I know I wasn’t that pleased about forced leave but this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I said I wanted to get back to work. Why haven’t you got some rest yet?”
“Just because you had to get concussed to take a break for more than two minutes doesn’t mean you can have a go at me, I just did the rounds. Fox is just waking up from his surgery, he’s worried about the kid but he’ll be fine. Eagle is also fine he’s just getting a last check up and then he’s gonna meet us in here. If you’re lucky you’ll be released to and then we can move back into the barracks, and I can have a really long nap.”
“I need to say thanks Snake, I heard you saved all our necks back there.”
He had started to sounds a little gruff as he always did when talking about such things as emotions or thank yours or apologies, but Snake knew James better than anyone and knew he was sincere.
“It was a close one James, I really thought we were gonna loose the kid. I know we don’t really know him, but I still feel totally responsible for him. I mean if what Fox is saying is true then the kid really doesn’t have anyone left.”
As Snake spoke a frown settled on James face and he shuffled his hands. Snake calling him by his real name, it spoke measures of what the other man had gone through in the past two days, there was no doubt that after this whole mess was over they’d all get thrown back into counselling. At least now they’d made it back to Brecon’s at least they were safe. No terrorist organisation was ballsy enough to storm a base of the most elite soldiers in the world. It would be insanity. They might be able to get to know the kid and see what they can do for him. No doubt the sergeant was currently talking to ‘6 trying to neutralize the threat and do what he could for the boy. But there’s nothing quite like a team of SAS veterans set on trying to keep someone alive. Despite not actually knowing the kid he was part of K-Unit and they wouldn’t let anything happen to one of their own.
At that moment the door swung open again and Eagle walked in. Just like Snake he looked exhausted. There was still something behind his eyes that stirred a deep feeling of worry inside James but this was not the time.
“I’m all clear, Doc just discharged me. Though I’m meant to be doing some R&R, I’m not sure how likely that is, I suppose it depends on what’s happening with the kid.”
“Eagle what on Earth are you talking about?”
James was confused. Why wouldn’t they be able to get rest and recovery here? Surely they wont be training.
A grin spread across Eagles face.
“You guys don’t know yet?”
“Know what?” Both Snake and Wolf said in unison.
“I just bumped into the Serge, he says that ‘6 won’t let the kid stay here. Something about not wanting him under SAS control, but Sarge won’t let him back to ‘6 on his own. So we get to look after him as soon as he’s released. They’re sending us to some kind of safe house in London I think. Serge isn’t happy about it but at least the kid won’t be allowed on any more missions for a while.”
“Or forever.”
Wolf growled under his breath.
“We aren’t exactly equip to look after a sick kid. I’ve seen ‘is chart and he’s gonna need some serious rehab. The kind of stuff that requires a hospital not 4 first aid trained SAS. And some of us…”
He looked pointedly at Eagle.
“… can barely look after ourselves let alone a teenager with actual teenager problems.”
“Hey!”
Eagle cried indignantly .
“I’m actually the only one of us with any child experience, you know I have that nephew.”
“And what’s the wee lads name then?”
“Ahh…”
“Yeah that’s what I thought.”
Snake was grinning. It was nice to see K-Unit relaxing slightly James thought. They were serious when they needed to be, but at the end of the day they were friends and that would always come first. Although, he would never say that out loud of course.
“You’re both forgetting, I’m half Spanish so I have a massive family, there are kids everywhere. I try to avoid them though.”
James hadn’t actually seen much of his family since he had joined the SAS. He emailed his Grandmother but apart from the odd family gathering he had mostly lost contact. He didn’t mind though, there was nothing wrong with his family but K-Unit was closer to him than any one he was blood related to. He was married to his work and he was okay with that.
“Right, if we’re being shipped back to London I want some sleep before we go, and for that I need a proper bed. Or as close as the bunks get so I’m off.”
Snake left with a quick nod at the other two. Eagle turned to Wolf.
“I’m going to have a nap too, need anything before I go?”
James thought about asking the man why he had looked so distraught at the sight of an injured Cub, but he decided against it. For now they all needed some rest if there were going to be taking care of a kid.
“Just send in the doctor if you see him I want to be discharged as soon as possible so I can go and talk to the Sargent about our orders.”
“Okay Wolfie.”
And with that, Eagle was gone to and James was left in silence. He started to fiddle with the stark white hospital sheets again. He was known for not being able to sit still. This wasn’t something that had developed in the army, he had always been like that. He was a doer not a watcher, and from the small amount he had seen of Cub at Mont Blanc he knew he was too. This would make looking after him tricky. Wolf would know he hadn’t exactly been an easy kid himself. Although at 19 Cub was hardly a child any more.
They were in for a rough time of it. James usually lived alone when he was on leave. He lived with K-Unit during time on of course but it was very different being with them in a domestic environment. Though the thought of Eagle in an apron cleaning the house did make him chuckle slightly. Snake should be able to handle him, they lived together but James secretly thought Eagles girlfriend probably had more to do with any good domestic behaviour than Snake did.
Thinking was hurting James’ still sore head and there was nothing to do until he was discharged any way so he closed his eyes and was immediately asleep.