Becoming Agent Rider

Trouble Magnet

"Fox!" Alex exclaimed.

The black-haired man with a slightly boyish face and Liverpudlian accent grinned at him while carrying a duffel bag. "Cub! Heard you're going to Germany for a little vacation."

"Are you the agent Mrs. Jones is sending in with me?" Fox nodded and Alex breathed a sigh of relief. He had been afraid that he would be stuck with someone like John Crawley, the dull head of personnel for MI6 with a face that you forgot even while looking at it. Or worse, some arrogant and condescending agent who had no idea who he was or what he could do. Fox was someone he could work with though. Alex had met the man at Brecon Beacons when he had been assigned to K-unit during his brief stint of training with the SAS. There were four men in the unit and each were given a codename - Wolf, Fox, Eagle, and Snake. He was Cub. While Fox had generally ignored Alex during training, they had worked well together later in northern Australia after Fox had been seconded to MI6. He had even learned that Fox's real name was Ben Daniels. During the mission, Ben had been concerned about his inclusion because of his age and inexperience but had treated him as an equal when it came down to it. "Any idea why we're going to Germany in particular?"

"It's the closest safehouse that we know is in a relatively secure area. The other safehouses we have close to England are in countries with known MI6 agents undercover," Ben explained as they made their way to the elevator. "Anyways, looks like we'll be spending some time together again. Two weeks."

"How's your bullet wound, Ben?" Alex asked. The man had been shot in the stomach when he had insisted on going in alone to clear the room for Alex the last time they had met. "I heard you were in a hospital in Darwin."

"I've healed without any complications but I've still got a scar. This better not end the same way as last time," Ben joked.

"No guarantees," Alex said dryly. "I do have two criminal organizations after me."

"Well, we're going into Germany as two brothers on vacation so that should help our chances. My identity for this will be Luke Parker, an average car salesman. You will be Thomas Parker, a secondary school student and my younger brother." Ben paused. "We leave in an hour so I hope you have most of your stuff with you already. Do you need to pack anything?" Alex shook his head and gestured at the duffel bag he had brought with him when he left the United States. He hadn't had time to unpack anything since he arrived in England and he had already put the stuff Smithers had given him into the duffel bag. "Alright, let's use Smithers' shampoo to dye our hair and then we can head over to Heathrow."

Three hours later, they landed in Schönefeld airport, exchanged their British pound for the euro, and boarded an express train to the Mitte district, Berlin's city centre. When they got off at their stop, there was a cool evening breeze, many buskers performing, and people enjoying their dinner on the outdoor restaurant patios as they made their way to their safehouse - a small flat on one of the backstreets. The flat was as lacking in personality as any intelligence agency's offices. It was all ordinary furniture and gray walls with the occasional abstract painting. After checking for bugs with Smithers' iPhone and searching the flat thoroughly, they found a pantry full of canned food, a freezer of frozen meals, some extra sets of clothes of various sizes, a fully stocked first aid kit, and several hidden weapons. Ben took a Sig Sauer P226 and some extra rounds for it before putting them in his hip holster. Alex tried to take one as well but Ben shook his head and stopped him.