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Alex was shoved forward and pulled roughly out of the back row of the ford-F150 pickup truck by numbers Two and Four. They were the smallest numbers, as such they were some of the oldest in nightshade at 19 and 18 years old, respectively.
They were strong, built more for strength and show of force then for balance and accuracy. They looked like the stereotypical American high school football jocks. Alex could almost picture them all in their numbered jerseys, what a team!
Looking around he saw that he was taken to the desert, if he had to guess, Death Valley. But it could very well have been anywhere in the California- Nevada area. The Mojave desert was much larger and more expensive, but it was farther from San Francisco.
It was early evening, Alex could feel heat radiate from the desert sand below his feet, and feel the setting sun's rays warm his skin. He licked his dry lips, tasting the salt from his sweat on them. He already felt a bit parched. It was as if the desert pulled all the moisture out of the air, leaving only a dry heat behind.
When he was maneuvered forcefully around to the other side of the vehicle, he noticed there were a handful of people standing on a small hill top the distance and a second identical white Ford-F150 truck parked next to them.
At first, Alex thought they were prospectors digging in the desert with shovels. Assumingly, they were looking for gold, or some other precious metal. Although the gold rush ended decades ago, occasionally prospectors and rock hounds would stumble upon a veins of California gold.
Alex watched them as they shoveled sand, dirt and rock into a large pile. Alex was tempted to call out- they might be able to help him.
But, with a sickening realization, Alex noticed Brother Mike standing next to the parked Ford pick up truck, and Freddy beside him arms clasped behind his back, almost in attention. Both were supervising the digging.
Alex had a sinking feeling in his gut. A cold shiver shook him in the desert heat. Thoughts ran through his head. Where were they? Why were they in the middle of nowhere? Was Freddy still himself or did he regress back into Number Nine? What were they digging for?
Alex did not have long to pounder before Two and Four each took one of his arms and marched him in the direction of Brother Mike.
Alex was able to get a better glance at the hole as they passed it. Or rather two of them, parallel to each other. The first one was already dug, and maybe was four or five feet deep, three feet wide and six feet long. The next was a bit shallower but otherwise the same dimensions. It was still being dug.There were four guards, or primes, if Alex remembered correctly, two in the hole and two on the surface digging. They moved fast, no words were spoken among anyone on the hilltop. Only the sound of shovels scraping through sand, dirt and stone. The four of them moved on a slightly off beat, yet constant rhythm, making the sound airy and hollow.
The mood was somber, quite like a funeral. Alex assumed morbidly that it might be one.
The back of the pickup truck held two pinewood boxes. The boxes and graves suggested that someone was dead. Alex thought briefly back to the two nightshade girls he ran into earlier. For a second his heart dropped. He didn’t mean to hurt them in the explosion, but then he realized that their injuries weren’t that severe. At least, nothing that an A&E and a good doctor could not fix. Nightshade definitely would have a medical team on standby.
As they approached, Freddy made the briefest of eye contact and then glanced downward submissively. He looked a bit surprised at Alex’s appearance, but that soon vanished into a blank, haunted look. The same one that had been trained into all of the Nightshade kids.
Brother Mike's thick hand was around the nape of Freddy’s neck, his thumb slowly tracing the comma like scar behind his ear. The movement could have been a warning, or a gentle calming gesture. But given the way Freddy’s body was uncomfortably rigid and stiff, it was evidently the former.
“Nice of you to join us again, Alex.” Brother Mike smiled a wicked grin as if he was actually happy to see Alex here.
“Well- can’t really say the same back.” Alex said, and he was dragged to stand before Brother Mike, “you're not a very nice person to be around.”
Brother Mikes composition flustered for a second before it turned into a scowl.
“And, no one taught you to respect your elders? your superiors? Your teachers ? And, to think the others seriously considered giving you the honor of being a number.” He shook his head, and smirked again. ”At least, we did learn you can follow some orders. Thanks for returning Number Nine to us.”
“Respect is earned… and I’ll never respect you.” Alex said, “All this talk of respect and you can’t even call Freddy by his name.”
“We should have shot you.” Brother Mike spat, spittile flinging out as he talked and landed disgustingly on Alex’s face.
Alex cringed and wiped his cheek off on his shoulder. It was a bit hard to move with his hands tied, and the two number jocks were holding him so tightly that their fingers pressed into his muscles so tightly he could feel his skin bruise under their grip.
“Probably.” Alex said as he regained composure, shrugged, “it would have saved you a lot of headache. And, money. And, time. And, stress.
“Others have tried, you know, to kill me-“
“Oh yes, we know.” Brother Mike interrupted, “Grief, Sarov, Cray, Scorpia, Triad’s, Kurst, and Julius Grief. We could go on and on.
“But this time, Alex, you will die.”
“What makes you so sure?” Alex responded cockily, looking brother Mike in the eyes, even though he wanted to look at the hole they were digging instead. He now had the sneaking, gut- retching feeling that they were digging it for him.
Brother Mike laughed, his grip on Freddy tightly significantly, and he cried out in surprise.
“There is no escape.”
“So you're going to shoot me and dump my body into the trench?”
“That would certainly make things easier. But, it would be too quick. I /want/ you to suffer. I want you to know that there is no hope left, that no one is coming to save you, that you are at the mercy and judgment of Nightshade. And, maybe you’ll die with her prayer on your lips.”
“I’m not going to play along with whatever sick game you got planned this time.” Alex responded.
“There is no game!” Brother Mike yelled, “Look around you, child! There is nothing but sand and desert for miles. You lost, Alex Rider. Except it. Nightshade has beaten you.”
Alex didn’t respond.
“Where are all the other numbers?” Freddy asked, drawing Brother Mike's attention to him. Freddy looked up, glancing between Numbers Two and Four, speaking to them as much as to Brother Mike and Alex.
Seemingly gaining courage in Alex’s presence, Freddy continued, “They are always present at executions. They aren't here.”
Brother Mike scrowled, and shoved Freddy down, he lost his balance and fell to his knees. Alex could now see that Freddy’s hands were tied behind his back, in a mock prayer, with rope.
Freddy was just as much of a prisoner as Alex was. Two graves. Two prisoners. It made a lot more sense now.
“They doubt you.” Alex realized, speaking out loud, “You're losing control.”
“No!” Brother Mike yelled, waving his arms with vivid animation, “You're wrong. We are in control. This is just a small hiccup.”
“You lost three numbers in London, and now they have seen how Freddy has changed for the better. They saw me when I was pretending to be Julius Greif. They realize now that there is more to the world than the small bubble you forced them into. They are questioning things, and you don’t like the answers.”
“Someone shut him up.” Brother Mike said, absolutely furious.
One of the numbers holding him prisoner, took off their red “cowboy” bandana from around their neck, and shoved the fabric into his mouth, pulling it across his jaw and around his head. It dug painfully into the sides of his lips, and the knot caught and pulled some of his hair.
Alex thrashed around anyway, and mumbled a curse of swears into the cloth. The words half auditable and muffled.
Brother Mike took a moment to step away from the group, to seemingly calm down.
Freddy glanced upwards, towards Alex.
His face was a mixture of emotions, the corner of his eyes sparked with unshed tears. His glasses were crooked, hanging precariously to one side, balancing on the tip of Freddy’s nose.
After a beat, Brother Mike turned around. Sweat was gleaming off his bald head and rolling down the side of his face. He calmly pulled his gun out of his pocket, centering it on Alex.
“No more delay.” He said out loud, his gun moving slightly to empathize his point. His eyes looked between the primes digging the trench, and the two Numbers holding Alex. “Shove him next to Number Nine. Then open the back hatch and move the coffins.”
Alex was manhandled, and then shoved onto the ground next to Freddy.
Brother Mike's gun drifted between Alex and Freddy, back and forth, as if he was making up his mind.
“I wouldn’t try anything if I was you.” He said, “I won’t shoot to kill, instead, I’m thinking someplace painful. We don’t have salt but I think sand shoved in the wound would hurt nicely.”
Freddy moved just an inch closer to Alex seeking comfort.
Alex looked around. there was nothing but dry desert, scrubland as far as the eye could see. They had driven off road to get here, and there was no path in the dirt for Alex to follow. Without knowing where he was, he would have no idea which direction to head to the nearest civilization.
The sun was setting now; the last rays poked over the distant mountains, the clouds colors pink and red, and there was a nighttime chill in the air.
Alex wiggled and tested the zip ties around his wrists. They were secure, but now with his legs free, he could break out of them by snapping them against his knee, like how Ian showed him years ago. He just needed a distraction.
In the meanwhile, He still had the papers and photograph Jones gave him in his pocket; they were folded and secured by a paperclip. If he could reach it he could use it to open the zip ties. Or… Alex could untie Freddy easier and he could get the paper clip. They would need to work together to get out of here.
Other than that- he was in a pair of jeans, a T- shirt, and a set of trainers! He remembered the tracker Crawley placed inside them back in London.
By now Ben should have realized Alex was missing. The tracker would lead right to them. Alex just had to buy time till help could arrive.
Even if Alex got out, they were still outnumbered seven to two. But it was better than being alone.
Freddy leaned over an inch more, his back was almost against Alex’s arm. Alex was wondering if Freddy had a very similar idea to Alex’s.
“I’m sorry.” Freddy whispered, he sounded young and scared and Alex wanted to comfort him.
The words hurt Alex more than they should have. Freddy was the last person who could be blamed for this. It was Brother Mike’s and a bit of Alex’s fault, not Freddy’s. Freddy instead should home with his parents, watching TV or reading. Things normal teens did.
There was a loud crash coming from the truck behind them. One of the numbers must have dropped the coffins. This is the distraction he needed.
Alex moved, firstly pulling the disgusting bandana out of his mouth. Then he moved to start to undo the rope knot around Freddy’s wrists.
“Listen, I have a paperclip in my back pocket. I need you to grab it, then use it to push the tab inside the zip ties. Alright?”
“Yes”
Alex returned his focus to rope. He managed to wiggle the first knot out and loosen the second one before brother Mike returned his attention to the two of them.
“Move further apart.” Brother Mike said, growling nervously. Pointing the gun at Alex’s leg, he wiggled the weapon directing Alex where to move too.
Alex raised his hands, and scooted away from Freddy, following Brother Mike’s orders. Alex leaned his back against the door of the truck. Hopefully, Freddy could wiggle the rest of the knot out. And, if only Alex could get the paperclip from his back pocket. He might not be able to use it to escape but he would feel satisfaction stabbing Brother Mike with it.
Number Two and Four entered Alex's preferable vision, followed by two of the guards. One on each end of the pinewood boxes carrying them towards the holes dug in the ground.
A feeling of fear and nausea crept up on him. Alex could see it now. Brother Mike would make them walk over and get inside the boxes. Then the lid would be secured above him, nails pounding and splitting the wood as they trapped him inside. There would be nothing to see but the darkness, then the last sound he would ever hear would be the dirt that thudded on top of the wood before that too was muffled.
Alex tried to focus on his breathing. If he panicked they would never get out of here.
As if seeing Alex’s growing discomfort Brother Mike spoke, “Oh! I almost forgot to mention…Even if you were to somehow- Houdini your way out of it, we will have two guards watching the hill. I wonder how long it will take before you realize there is no escape.”
”There is no way in hell I’ll climb into that box.” Alex hissed, “You're a sick, downright diabolical, evil human.”
“Thank you for your compliments,” Brother Mike said with a shrug, “but, I’m not a complete monster. Maybe in 72 hours, when you're both dehydrated and delirious, we will come back and dig you out. If you beg, repent and ask forgiveness, then out of the kindness in our hearts, we will shoot you.
“Think of it as something to look forward to. That is… if you don’t die of suffocation or hypothermia before then.”
There was a snap of his fingers, and Alex was once again grabbed and pulled harshly to his feet. Freddy was grabbed seconds later.
“W-wait!” Freddy stuttered, “Teacher, may I please say a prayer?”
Brother Mike paused, and looked unsure of himself as if this was too a trick. But, then he moved his hand in a go on fashion, “just make it quick, Number Nine.”
“Our lives are not our own.” Freddy started, recounting a nightshade hymn, “Her voice guides us, instructs us, for that we are her chosen soldiers destined to bring peace to the world, harmony to the unjust, and death to those who wish us harm.
”What a load of bullcrap!” Freddy snapped, “It was you telling us what to do, playing recordings in our heads, making us follow those commands without a second thought!”
Alex saw a crease appear in Brother Mike’s forehead.
“You wanted us to kill innocents! For profit!” Freddy continued, thrashing now in the guards grip. “ Alex is right! I didn’t see it till he treated me with kindness and respect. Like a human being.
“You stole our emotion, our childhood, our love and empathy. The Numbers will see that one day. They will realize that Nightshade robbed them of their humanity. Of the very essence of being human.” Freddy smiled, “I pray for you when that day comes.”
“You’re praying for me? He-“ Brother Mike laughed again pointing a finger at Alex, “He filled your head with this nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense! It’s the truth!” Freddy turned to Number Two and Four, “Think about it. Really think about it. Everyone has the same scar behind their ear- an implant. That’s what the voice is. We never hear the voice when all the teachers are together. There is a recording studio somewhere on the ranch, if you find it you will know the truth.”
“Such a pity,” Brother Mike said, turning to Freddy, and raising his gun, “You were one of our best. I was really hoping you could be saved, Number Nine.”
“It’s not Number Nine- It’s Freddy.”
“Well- goodbye then Freddy.”
For a second, Alex was afraid that Brother Mike would shoot Freddy, but instead the gun slammed against Freddy’s temple knocking him out instantly. He went slack in the guard's hold.
The guards didn’t seem to care, and instead started dragging him over to one of the graves.
Alex noticed Number Two and Four, standing awkwardly to the side. Number two especially was looking uncomfortable and fiddling with the edge of his shirt.
Brother Mike turned his attention back to Alex, “now it’s just me and you. Any last words?”
“Yeah.” Alex said, “I would tell you to go to hell , except hell would be too kind for you.”
A second later Alex felt something sharp prick his neck, two seconds later his knees felt weak, and three seconds later he was unconscious.
.
.
.
Alex's head hurt and his body felt fuzzy like he was floating in a cloud- or he was drugged.
He blinked his eyes open, and realized it was pitch black in his room. Did the power go out and knock out the street lights again? He raised a hand to bring to his face only for it to hit something solid.
Ohhhhh no. No no no.
Alex’s hand turned into a fist and he pounded against the wood above him. Memories came flooding back. Brother Mike, Ben Daniels, Nightshade,the virtual reality arena, the hilltop, and Freddy.
He couldn’t breathe. He was suddenly very aware of how little air was in the box, of how much dirt and soil was crushly above him.
He couldn’t focus on anything but the need to get out.
He pounded his closed fists against the lid, hoping it would budge or crack, or something!
“Alex?”
A voice yelled. Someone was there! Someone to rescue him.
“Alex!”
Alex stopped pounding, and listened, “Freddy!?”
Maybe his rescue hadn’t come yet….
“Yeah…” Alex responded, feeling defeated. He took a deep breath. He couldn’t let Freddy see him panic.
“Did you just wake up?” Alex asked, faking his calmness. The smart thing would be to keep talking, it would help keep them calm, and awake if someone was coming to rescue them.
“A while ago.” Fredy responded, “Are we going to die?”
“No.” Alex said, with false confidence, “My friends are on their way here.”
“Well tell them to hurry up.”
Alex let out a half-laugh.
Alex thought about a way out of here. He really wished they did not knock him out before locking them in. Alex had no idea what they used to close the coffin, glue? Nails? Screws? it could be anything. All he knew was one of the boxes was buried deeper than the other. And one of them had fallen out of the back of the pick up truck. There could be a weakness from the fall that they could exploit.
Alex could still feel the paperclip still in his back pocket. What good would that do? The other thing he had was the business card. And, that was pointless. He had no hot water, even so that would cause too much CO2. So that was a dead end.
.
.
.
“Do you have your-“ phone. Alex was going to say phone. Freddy never had a phone. Well the moment they get out of here Alex will personally buy him a phone.
“Oh!” Freddy said, after a beat, “I have my glasses!”
“Good?” Alex responded, “but it’s a bit too dark to see with them.”
“No wait- they are a knife. If I just separate the arms of them out.” Freddy said, “ah! There we go.”
Alex felt a heart beat of new hope. “Focus on the gap between the lid and frame. It might take a few tries to get it to wiggle but just keep trying.”
.
.
.
“Any luck?”
“No… still working on it. It’s so frustrating.”
.
.
.
“Thump”
“Thump”
“Thump”
“Alex?”
“I’m trying to kick the lid off. One of us has two feet of loosely packed dirt above them, the other has about three or four.”
“Got you”
“Thump” “thump”
“Thump” “thump”
“Thump” “Thump”
.
.
.
“Maybe this is for the best…” Freddy said out of nowhere. “I don’t fit in anywhere anymore. I’m too broken to be normal and too normal for Nightshade.”
“Oh…. Freddy.” Alex said, “No one… not even the worst criminals deserve this….. this is torture. And murder. You're doing so well. Don’t get into your head. If you give up now you will never get out.
“Let me tell you a secret. I once thought that, too. That I was too damaged to go back to normal.”
“You did?”
Alex nodded in the darkness, “yeah… After my first mission I realized I was different than my peers. I knew how close to death everyone came, and I couldn’t tell anyone. They bullied me for missing class, for being weak, assuming I was on drugs or mentally unstable.
It was really when I joined scorpia that I realized that everyone was manipulating me. I was young to be treated like an adult and too old to be a child again. I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere and cornered with no where to go.
“It gets better. It helped that I had people supporting me through it. You do too. Your parents and your friends. We are here for you.”
“If we live long enough….”
“Yeah…” Alex responded, “We will get out of here… I promise.”
.
.
.
“You still there?”
“Yes.”
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.
.
“What time do you think it is?”
“Hum… maybe midnight?”
“I don’t think we are going to suffocate then.”
“Great! Now we can look forward to starving.”
.
.
.
“I’m sorry… this is all my fault. You should be at home, not here.”
“Nightshade would have come for me eventually.”
“Still… for what it’s worth… I’m sorry for dragging you back into this.”
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.
.
“Alex?“
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.
.
“…”
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.
.
“Do you hear that?”
“Hum?”
“It sounds like a helicopter.”
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.
.
Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, Alex heard it too. It was faint and buzzing. Nightshade had helicopters, but he had no idea why they would be returning so soon. Unless- Brother Mike lied about the snipers and had thought they escaped by now. Or, to finish them off. Or, something.
There was a moment of stillness before the gunshots started to ring out. There was a return of fire. And then silence.
The helicopter thumped down, Alex could feel the vibrations from the blades through the earth. The helicopter landed close by.
“Over here!” Alex heard someone shout.
The footprints moving closer over the sand. There were suddenly a lot of them. They thudded, and crunched against the sand.
“Damn!” A man with a thick deep voice said, “These look like freshly dug graves.”
“Are we too late?” Someone else asked.
“Don’t care-“ a female voice said, “start fucking digging. We aren't leaving Cub.”
The voices were familiar, and suddenly Alex made the connection . It was Wolf, Snake, and Eagle.
“Freddy it’s them” Alex said, a wide grin on his face, “my friends! They are here!”
Alex reached up and pounded on the lid. He heard thumping coming from his right as Freddy joined him.
.
.
.
They pulled Freddy out of the hole first. Alex heard all the commotion from his small prison. But, even then it felt like an eternity. He was feeling calmer, knowing now that rescue was here, but at the same time, his mind kept dissociating, and everything blurred together in a way that was too much and too little.
He felt a shovel hit the top of his box.
“Hey, cub?” Wolf yelled, “it’s been a while since you spoke. Still doing alright? We got your friend out. Eagle is checking him over for injuries. He looks okay though.”
“Yeah…” Alex said, “I’m feeling quite grounded.”
“Was that a pun?” Ben asked, “please tell me that wasn't a pun.”
“It was a pun.” Alex chuckled. “Honestly, I was just waiting for someone to ask me how I was doing so I could quip that one liner.”
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.
.
The lid was pulled off of the box with a crowbar and a concerned Wolf on the other side.
Wolf looked angry, like he wanted to punch someone. Alex probably should point him in the direction of Brother Mike.
Alex sat up, and felt a bit like a nocturnal vampire as he did so. He looked up at the sky. It was strikingly beautiful, the sky was full of a million small stars. Nothing, like he could see in London.
There was a quiet peacefulness that settled in the air. They were okay. It would be alright.
Ben reached down and offered a hand to pull Alex out, at the same time Wolf helped to push him up out of the hole.
“You're braver than me, Cub.” Wolf said, as he pulled himself up, “don’t think I could have handled being down there for so long.” Wolf shivered in the night air, “makes me all squeamish thinking about it.”
“It's not an experience I want to repeat anytime soon.” Alex shrugged, “It helped that Freddy was down there with me too. But, I really started to think… it’s nothing.”
“Alex?” Ben asked, concerned, encouraging him to continue.
“I was worried you weren’t going to come. It scared me.”
“Cub, we won't abandon you.” Wolf said, “we- and I mean all of us- are here for you, for anything. And I mean anything. Except for covering up a murder.”
“I could probably cover up a murder, for Cub.” Ben said
“Well- damn then. Looks like we can even do that for you.”
“Heh-“ Alex responded with a laugh.
“Why don’t you let Eagle take a look at ya? Make sure you're okay.” Wolf suggested, nodding his head towards the helicopter.
Behind them, the helicopter's doors were open and inside where Eagle and Freddy sat. Eagle was cleaning and disinfecting the wounds on Freddy’s hands and wrists.
Snake and a fifth person (Fox’s replacement perhaps) were standing by the helicopter putting away the tools and shovels and storing them away in the helicopter.
“Its everyone! The whole K-unit!” Alex said excitedly, “Freddy, meet my unit! Meet Wolf, Fox, Snake and Eagle!”
“And, Pichugin!” Snake said, thudding the fifth person on the back, “but we can make him an honorary member.”
Alex turned, to get a better look at the fifth person, the helicopter pilot. He was still wearing his aviation helmet which covered the top half of his face.
“No- no need.” The man said, “Conflict of interest, let’s say. Glad to help out though.”
The voice was familiar, and Alex thought it might be…
“Yas-“
The index finger of the helicopter pilot’s left hand moved to his mouth, a secret. He covered the action by pushing away the helmets microphone.
“Yes! I think it’s a great idea!” Alex said, smiling wildly. “Maybe the name… Hunter?“
“He has to be an animal though….” Snake whined.
“Hum….?” Alex thought, shaking his head slightly, “how about Scorpion?”
The man shook his head, as if slightly annoyed but amused at Alex’s antics.
“Can I get a code name?” Freddy asked, as Eagle finished tying off the bandage around Freddy’s injuries.
“Sure, kid.” Eagle said, giving Freddy her best smile, “what do you want?”
“I like Falcons?”
“Then Falcon you shall be!”
After a few minutes of Alex catching up with the rest of the unit, And- his reluctant patching up from Eagle, Ben tapped Alex on the shoulder.
Alex turned and looked at Ben.
Ben nodded his head to the side. He wanted a word in private.
Together they walked away from the group up and over the hill.
“Who did this?” He asked
“Nightshade.” Alex glanced over at Freddy, and let out a shaky breath, “I’m glad we are okay. But, the other kids…”
“Don’t worry, Alex. We will get them out just like Point Blanc.”
“Yeah. Except these kids might not want to be saved.” Alex sighed, “they don’t know anything but following orders. They might actually try to stop you from rescuing them.”
“Alex, Take a moment to breathe - you're alive.” Ben said, “You got nightshade to expose themselves. We know they are around here, and we can close in on them. You did a lot already. You deserve a moment to breath.”
Alex took a deep breath. “Freddy helped. He talked to the kids inside of Nightshade. They are questioning things and no longer trusting the teachers.”
“Let’s worry about getting back to base.” Ben said, “then we can plan the attack in the morning, all of us; Me, You, wolf, snake and Eagle. I want you to know you don’t have to do this alone. In fact I prefer it if you didn’t do it alone.”
“And the pilot?” Alex asked, “what's up with him?”
“Yuri Pichugin.” Ben shrugging, “I don’t know if he is sticking around. When the Americans refused to help, I called Wolf. Turns out Jones had the rest of the team on standby. We had a team,except, no pilot and no aircraft. Then, we bumped into him at the airfield and he said he could fly us. Still needed a helicopter though, and somehow Pichugin knew a guy who knew a guy, and 20 mins later we had a working military helicopter.
“As for Pichugin, good shot and an amazing pilot. Quiet fellow. It wouldn't surprise me if he was KGB.” Ben shrugged, “not going to ask. He probably won’t tell anyway.”
Alex nodded. He glanced over the edge of the hill, down to the helicopter and the group below. His friends. Freddy, Ben, Wolf, Eagle, snake, and Yassen.
He once wondered what it would be like to have parents, to have a family. When Ian died, he felt as if the world was turning against him. He was alone, manipulated, blackmailed and abused. But, looking at the ragtag group before him, he now realized just how wrong he was. They were his family, just as much as Jack, Tom and Ian. Somehow, deep down Alex knew things were going to be okay.