Becoming Agent Rider

Combat Survival Phase

Grey skies and never-ending rain in the middle of nowhere. He was definitely back in Wales. The vehicle came to a stop and he got out, blinking sleep from his eyes. Trudging through the mud to the administration office, Alex was stopped halfway by the sight of three full units standing at ease in as many rows behind the sergeant, waiting for him. Grimacing inwardly at the thunderous expressions, he squared his shoulders, marched forward, and saluted them. Alex was just glad that he had the presence of mind to change into his fatigues before getting into the car. At least that was one less thing for his training officers to yell at him about.

"At ease," the sergeant said. The man took a deep breath. Then, he roared, "CUB, WHERE THE BLOODY HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?! YOU JUST DISAPPEARED! NO NOTE, NO WORD TO ANYONE! NOTHING! MY MEN LOOKED FOR YOU FOR HALF AN HOUR BEFORE I GOT A CALL - "

Alex kept a carefully blank face and tuned out the rest of the rant, counting how long it took for the sergeant to run out of things to scream at him. Even while pacing, the man still didn't seem to have taken a breath after two minutes. He mentally snorted at the soldiers that flinched every so often. They weren't even the ones being yelled at. Letting his mind wander some more, Alex noted that Treat wasn't around and wondered if he would still be tutored or if the woman just hadn't shown up yet. It took another two minutes before the sergeant showed signs of stopping soon and he decided to tune back in.

" - THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO ARRIVE TOMORROW BUT WE GOT A CALL LAST NIGHT SAYING OUR LEAVE HAS BEEN CUT SHORT AND TO STANDBY AT CAMP TODAY UNTIL YOU CAME! AND WHY THE FUCK DO YOU HAVE A SPLINT ON YOUR ARM?!"

He waited for a few seconds to make sure the sergeant was finished before replying, "Classified, sir. I was on assignment. Mrs. Jones pulled me out of this camp while you were talking to the units. I was not given the chance to inform you."

"ON ASSIGNMENT?! ARE THEY OUT OF THEIR MINDS?! YOU AREN'T EVEN FINISHED TRAINING YET!"

"With all due respect," Alex said dryly, "that was far from my first mission. Wolf and Fox can attest to that."

"Well, they'd better not pull that kind of stunt again," the sergeant snarled. "As it is, Jones expects you to complete the rest of your training while you're practically disabled! It's completely suicidal!" He paused. "Wait, Fox?!"

"I did two missions with him, sir."

The man hissed. "Bloody MI6," he muttered. Raising his voice again, the sergeant bit out with a shake of his head, "Congratulations on passing the jungle phase. You are now in the third and final phase of selection: combat survival. Men, he's all yours."

As the sergeant stalked off, the soldiers relaxed their stances and looked at Alex properly. Actually, Wolf and B-unit glared. As usual. Before his comrades could stop him, Wolf took off on a rant of his own and Alex tuned out once again until a snippet caught his subconscious attention.

" - TIRED OF ALL THIS DAMN SECRECY! THERE'S ENOUGH OF IT AROUND THAT ISRAELI WOMAN WITH THE BURN SCARS DOWN HER LEFT SIDE! I DON'T NEED IT WITHIN MY OWN UNIT AS W - "

"Wait," Alex interrupted as a tendril of worry settled in his stomach. "What Israeli woman?"

"YOU THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW?!" Wolf snarled with slightly pink cheeks as the other soldiers snickered. "DO Y - "

"WOLF!" Alex cut in again, stalking up to his unit leader. "What. Israeli. Woman."

The men blinked at his sudden insistence. Even Wolf paused before reluctantly snapping, "I met her on leave last week. She asked me out on a date. Happy?!"

"Thick, dark hair and eyebrows?" Alex asked tensely and continued rattling out a description. "Mischievous, dark brown, deep set eyes. Wide mouth, especially when she smiles. Light burn scars covering her neck to hip on the left side, easily covered with concealer."