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They came for him mid-afternoon. It was February, and the sun had lowered just enough to peek through the curtains, simultaneously illuminating and blinding Alex at his desk. He’d been working on an essay due the next day and hadn’t yet begun to think of dinner when they entered, two men, clothed in olive green with matching balaclavas.
They must have been watching him earlier, because they’d immediately honed in on his location without wasting time to check anywhere else. As he moved to escape, chills ran over him at the thought. They’d come for him specifically. This had been planned.
He had no time to open the heavy window of the study, so instead he crashed through, British accents echoing behind him. It was the second storey, but he’d jumped further distances before. The grass was wet as he rolled to absorb the impact.
A faint part of his mind wondered that there hadn’t been anyone waiting underneath the window.
And then two more men came from the front door. He leapt towards the wall between his place and the next, as they were joined by the original two. That made four altogether, and hopefully no more. His neighbour, in some fit of neighbourly spite, had recently increased the height of the brick wall, and taken the opportunity to install broken glass spikes – to warn off people, or pests, he’d never known – and they cut his hands as he climbed up. The glass shattered under his feet as he ran along the wall, flanked by the men.
Despite carrying guns, no one shot at him.
He reached the end of the wall, and jumped down on the opposite side. There was a park, a wood he could hide in, if only he could get away…
The soldiers were taller than him, and wearing gloves. They scaled the wall, and caught him twenty metres onward. With almost five years since he’d practiced any martial art in a true combat situation, the four quickly overpowered him without needing to use their weapons.
Later, he found himself wondering if anyone had bothered to draw the curtains. It got appallingly
cold at night with them open, and the sight of an unattended residence and empty window was just asking to be broken into. He wouldn’t have minded losing most things – might even have relished the impetus to clear out the house – save for a few books and letters of sentimental value. They would all be requisitioned and destroyed anyway, he supposed.
They’d dragged him, two holding his arms, two his ankles, to an SUV parked at the front of his house. And then, doors closed and locked and tinted windows wound up, they’d removed their balaclavas.
“Geez, Cub. What’d you do to yourself?”
Alex stared at Fox, Snake, Eagle, and Wolf. “What the fuck?”
“Why’d you run over that glass?” Eagle asked.
“I thought you were going to kill me!”
Snake was grim. “We’re sorry about that. Let me take a look.”
As the medic inspected his wounds, he wasn’t sure what stung more – his feet and hands, or the shock.
“We’ll have to go,” Snake said eventually. “We didn’t anticipate needing to bring supplies to treat injuries like this –”
“What were you expecting?” said Alex snidely.
“So we’ll have to get you to the house and one of us can grab what we need after.”
“What, don’t want to be seen as four suspicious men with an injured teen? And what house –”
“Just be quiet for now, and we can talk later,” said Fox.
Alex stared.
The place they took him to was not dissimilar to the place they’d taken him from: a townhouse; two storeys, a few bedrooms, a kitchen, and living room with panelled walls and wainscoting. They set him up on the couch as Snake went to fetch supplies.
Fox and Wolf disappeared, and Eagle stayed to keep watch.
“So what are we doing here?” Alex eventually asked him when it appeared the man was eschewing his usual verbose self in favour of mandatory silence. “And why’d you have to grab me like that? Would it have hurt to say a quick ‘Hey Alex, sorry to bother you in the middle of writing an essay, but we come in peace and please come with us’?”
The soldier pursed his lips. “Sorry about that,” he said eventually.
“Sure,” said Alex. And then, because what else could he do, “All’s forgiven. But what’s this all about?”
Eagle looked away, as if trying to find the solution from Wolf. “I don’t know if I can say.”
“Sure you can,” said Alex. “At least give me a hint or something. Otherwise I might think this is a complete waste of my time and try to escape when you’re all not watching.”
“You can’t! You – you’re injured!”
“So?”
Eagle narrowed his eyes. “You wouldn’t. We’d catch you.”
“Maybe – maybe not. I might not be good at fighting anymore, but sneaking out is entirely different. Less reliant on the numbers. Which, I’d like to mention, were completely unfair earlier.”
“Four-on-one isn’t that bad,” Eagle defended. “I bet you’ve had worse.”
“Yeah, from megalomaniacs.”
“Well, we’re protecting you.”
Great job you’re doing so far. “From what?”
“Whom. I mean –”
Alex couldn’t bring himself to feel anything at getting the soldier to slip. “Okay,” he said, “Who are you protecting me from? And whose orders are you under, anyway?”
“Can’t say.”
“Oh come on!” Suddenly, Alex was tired of acting as if getting kidnapped by four soldiers was normal, and they were just hanging out. It might have been, years ago, if things had gone differently. But it wasn’t now.
Eagle crossed his arms. “I’m sorry,” he said again.
“Yeah.”
Snake caught him later as he was exiting the bathroom. Alex was towelling his hair and about to head to his room – or, at least, the one he’d been given – when he was stopped.
“I – I just want to let you know you can talk to us. If you want.”
Alex raised his eyebrows, wishing he was wearing more than just a thin t-shirt and shorts. He felt his hair still dripping down his back, and the sting in his freshly-bandaged feet. “That’s nice, what’s the occasion?”
“No occasion,” Snake laughed unconvincingly. “Can’t I offer a friendly ear without secondary gain? …But seriously, there’s no need for you to be hiding in this house. You don’t have to stay in your room all the time, coming out only for meals and bathroom breaks. This isn’t an imprisonment – it’s for your own protection.”
“Then surely I’m even safer staying in my room?”
Snake laughed again. “Don’t you trust us to protect you?”
Alex didn’t know what to say.
“Look,” said Snake, clapping an arm to his back and steering him towards the living room. “I know we got off to a rocky start –”
You mean, when you grabbed me, or when MI6 sent me to Brecon Beacons?
“– and Lord knows we didn’t truly get to know each other. But we were busy then – you have no idea how worried we were you’d get us all binned – now, our sole job at the moment is you.”
Great job so far. “And you’re afraid I’ll make this mission difficult for you.”
“That’s not it at all!”
They reached the living room, where Eagle had gotten a jigsaw puzzle out from somewhere and was assembling it at the coffee table with a look of mild concentration. Snake sat across from him and gestured for Alex to also sit.
“I just thought, since you’re going to be waiting a while with us, there was no need for it to be boring and uncomfortable for you.”
“I was doing fine,” Alex said, still standing.
“Snake’s just lonely,” said Eagle. “Likes talking to people but sick of our own company.”
The aforementioned soldier laughed again. “It’s true. I’ve had to bunk with Eagle for so many years I feel like he’s turning into a voice in my head.”
Alex tried to smile, and perched on the only remaining seat – on the couch next to Eagle. “Sure,” he said. “What do you want to talk about?”
It was dark. Alex stared at the ceiling he couldn’t see, and tried to will himself to move despite the stiffness in his joints. He’d fallen asleep on his covers at some time in the afternoon, while he’d been waiting for night to come. It seemed like it had.
He sat up and had to pause for his blood to flow again. The house being brick, it should have stayed at least tolerably warm for a few hours after dusk, but it chilled to the bone now. It must be late. Or someone had left a window open somewhere.
The house was silent as he left the room, his stomach crying out for sustenance. He realised abruptly he hadn’t eaten since this morning. There was a dim light emanating from the kitchen. As he approached, a silhouette at the stove turned, and he recognised the compact shape of Wolf. The soldier nodded at him.
“What time is it?”
“Eleven, I think.”
“What’re you doing?”
The soldier shrugged. “Making dinner. The others have already had theirs.”
Alex gazed at the stove, where it looked like the soldier was making a quesadilla with canned beans, pre- shredded cheese, and tortillas.
“Want one?” said Wolf.
“Sure.”
The man flipped the quesadilla out onto a plate, and placed the pan back onto the flame, putting a new tortilla down. “You can have that one,” he said, gesturing to the one he’d just made.
“No…”
“Have it. It’s best hot and it’ll get too cold by the time I finish making this one.”
“I can –”
“Just eat it. I’m sorry you got hurt. Besides, you’d get blood on the cheese.”
Alex grabbed the plate. “Thanks,” he said.
Wolf shrugged in return and continued to cook his own. When he’d finished, Alex had eaten his, but he stayed for Wolf to join him.
They sat in companionable silence. At one point, Alex opened his mouth to ask again why he’d been grabbed, but he decided against it. A lot had happened today. There was always time to ask tomorrow. And he felt grateful to Wolf, pathetic though it may be, for the food.
Eventually, Wolf stood and grabbed the plates. “You done?” he said, “Want any more?”
Alex shook his head. “No thanks.”
“Sure,” said Wolf. “You should get some sleep. It’s been a long day.”
“What about you?” Alex stood and moved towards the door.
“I’m on night watch,” said Wolf wryly.
“Watching for what?”
Wolf paused and put down the plates in the sink. “There was a tip-off someone was after you. I don’t know anything more than that – who it was, why they want you. MI6 sent Fox to use us for your protection. There wasn’t much time to plan, which is why today was such a clusterfuck.”
Alex had heard Wolf swear many times before. This was the first time he’d heard it in favour of himself.
The soldier shook his head. “Anyway, that’s all done now. And again, I’m sorry, but we’ll just have to see how we go from here. Hopefully it’ll go better.”
“…Thanks.”
Alex went up the stairs once more. He brushed his teeth, then lay back in the darkness, this time under the covers.
He’d closed his eyes for what felt like only a few minutes, when he felt a presence and opened his eyes to a shadow over him.
He yelled and kicked at the figure. “Wolf!”
The figure came towards him as the soldier arrived at the door, closely follow by the other three. He felt a sharp prick in his calf, a familiar voice say “Alex –” and then was no more.
They were in a car. Not the SUV again, but a hatchback.
“Don’t ask where I got it,” said Fox, who was driving.
Alex, who was seated in the backseat – someone had buckled his seatbelt for him – struggled to wake up completely. He recognised the aware-but-out-of-time fug of recovering from a sedative – he’d had enough hospital procedures by now.
“Where are we going?” he said.
“Don’t ask,” Fox repeated.
Eagle was in the front seat. Snake was in the back with Alex. Wolf was absent.
Where’s Wolf? He realised he’d said it in his head only, and decided against seeing if Fox would tell him not to ask again.
“How are your injuries?” Snake asked.
“Fine.”
“How’s your head?” said Eagle.
“Fine.”
Fox laughed. “Now you sound like my nephew: ‘How are you?’ ‘Good.’ ‘How’s school?’ ‘Fine.’”
Snake and Eagle laughed too. Alex struggled not to fall asleep again.
Early morning mist covering the road matched Alex’s head. They were somewhere in the countryside, stone walls and grassy fields with narrow lanes. It could have been anywhere.
“What do you last remember?” Snake asked.
“There was a man… You were at the door.”
“Hmm, not much, then.”
“Who was it?”
This time it was Eagle who told him not to ask. “How about we play a game instead? I spy something beginning with… C.”
They were silent for a while.
“Cloud,” said Fox eventually.
“Nope!”
“Cow?” said Snake.
“Do you see any?”
“Critters?”
Eagle shook his head.
“Coriander?”
“I … don’t think that grows here,” said Eagle.
Fox hummed. “Craziness?”
“Silly, you can’t see that.”
“I beg to differ,” said Alex, not thinking.
“What d’you mean?” said Snake.
Alex could feel the suffocating silence in the car as they waited for him to answer. Did he want to answer? What would he say?
The car drove on. He started. “Car!”
“What?”
“Is the word car?”
This time the car was silent again, but laden with the image of Eagle gaping. “Yeah, but –”
“I spy with my little eye something starting with G.”
“Grass?” said Fox with a level tone.
They turned off at a dirt track, with a gate several metres ahead.
“You stay in the car,” Fox instructed.
They watched as Eagle and Snake opened the gate. Beyond was a small wooded area, in the midst of which the dirt track ceased abruptly. When the two soldiers entered the car again, Fox took them to the end of the track, then drove cross-country for some distance further. Alex wondered if it was some private land owned by MI6. He was reminded uncomfortably of the time he’d gone cross-country in Australia and wandered into a minefield.
When they finally stopped, they stretched their arms and legs, and Snake took another look at Alex’s injuries. He was still barefoot, but Snake lent him his own shoes and went barefoot instead. The tall soldier’s feet were at least two sizes larger than Alex’s, but he was grateful nonetheless.
“It’s fine,” said the Scotsman. “I usually go barefoot when camping, anyway.” In his soldier’s fatigues and carrying his gun, he could almost have played Rambo, but for the missing war paint and headband.
“Our Snake’s a regular Mountain Man,” quipped Eagle. “Don’t ask him what he wears under his kilt!”
Snake rolled his eyes.
Alex found himself grinning for once.
“Alright, enough chatter,” said Fox. “Why don’t you two fetch some wood for a campfire?”
“What about shelter..?”
“We’ll do that later.”
Alex spoke up. “Won’t a fire attract attention?”
Fox looked at him. “Don’t worry, we’re safe here.” The dappled light played over his face.
With that said, Eagle and Snake disappeared into the grey-green to follow his orders. Their soft footsteps faded into the susurrations of the forest.
Fox continued to stand by the car looking off into the distance where they’d gone.
Alex approached him. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
The man was silent for a minute. “You can start clearing an area for the fire,” he said eventually.
Sure.
When he was a kid, Alex had been taken camping by Ian on multiple occasions. The man had always wanted to do everything from scratch: shelter, building fires, gathering food. Now that he thought about it, Alex wondered if he’d enjoyed it at all, or whether it really all had been just training. Surely it would have been tiresome, if so…
He shuffled around in Snake’s too-large shoes, sweeping the debris away. He didn’t want to use his still-injured hands in the dirt –
He turned around too late to stop the gun pointing at him.
“Why..?”
Fox kept his arm steady. “MI6 are worried about you.”
“Worried..? And this is the protection you’re giving me?”
The soldier barked a laugh. “Not worried for you – worried about you,” he repeated.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, come on. You didn’t recognise who broke in last night?”
“I told you, I don’t remember anything except –”
“Except what?”
Except the voice. Which he’d last heard on Air Force One. Yassen.
“Gregorovich,” Fox echoed. “He went mad and escaped from prison –”
“But he’s dead!”
“And MI6 are worried he’s come to get you and together you’ll get revenge on everything they’ve done to you, or something.”
“That’s mad! You’re mad.”
Fox shrugged. “I don’t know if I believe it myself. I’m a soldier. I’m given a gun and I shoot it.”
“Shoot it? They couldn’t wait until I actually teamed up with Yassen?”
“You’re too much of a… risk. Look, Cub, it’s not personal, alright?”
Alex barked a short laugh. “Oh, well thank you.” He paused. “And the others?”
Fox smiled. He didn’t get to answer, for there was shot, and then it was all over.