A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews! They inspire me. And thank you for all the favorites and follows as well. I will update soon, I have another chapter almost done, though none of it is typed up yet. Here you go for now, let me know what you think. Also, here's something I forgot last chapter.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Alex Rider, as my name is not Anthony Horowitz.

It wasn't until a few months later that K-unit saw Cub again. Badger had gone to visit some relation of his - a second or third cousin - who was going through a difficult divorce. The rest of the unit planned to pick him up on their way back to base.

The beat up van pulled into the driveway of a small home. It would have looked cozy if it had been well-kept; as it was, with the uncared for lawn and the sky not yet light, casting shadows on the closed curtains, it looked rather unwelcoming. A harried-looking Badger stood in the doorway.

"I can't leave just yet. I've got to wait until Tom leaves for school."

'Tom' turned out to be a teenager, whose parents had left him with Badger for the night as they avoided each other. Tom hadn't said anything about it, but he preferred being left alone to the fighting. He gave an exasperated sigh, accompanied by an eye-roll. While he preferred his parents to be out, the man who'd come over - some relation of his mother's - seemed to think he was a child who needed looking after.

"You can go if you want. I'm just going to go to school, I'll be fine."

He looked up with Badger with puppy eyes. "Or you could call me in sick." he added hopefully, "Or I could 'forget' to go..."

Wolf attempted to hold in his temper, while Eagle let out a poorly concealed snort. The boy looked over at them.

"You guys look like stalkers or something, just sitting out there in the van. If Eric's not gonna leave, you may as well come in."

Wolf grabbed Badger (Eric) 's arm on the way inside. "Why can't we just drop the kid off at his school?"

"He bikes," Badger answered him, "and he needs a way home. And he's waiting for his friend. Alex, I think he said."

Once all five of them were seated awkwardly around the kitchen table, Tom asked (far too casually for a teenager awake early in the morning) "So, what are you stalkers doing here, anyway?"

"We're not stalkers-" Wolf began, narrowing his eyes at the kid, but was cut off by a laugh.

"Oh, I dunno, you certainly looked it that day I was at the bank, Wolf."

The four SAS soldiers jumped and whirled around. A familiar blonde figure was standing in the doorway.

Tom jumped up and grabbed his bag. "Hey, Alex!"

Halfway to the door, he stopped and ran upstairs, dropping his bag. "I forgot my maths!"

Alex rolled his eyes, clearly used to this from his friend. he leaned against the door frame. While Tom ran upstairs, the unit stared at him. Three of them in surprise; the fourth had eyes narrowed into a glare. Wolf stood up and shifted his stance pointedly.

After a minute of being glared at, Cub raised an eyebrow. "Careful, your face might stick like that. Or is it already stuck?"

The rest of the unit struggled to hide their shock and their smirks when Wolf turned to glare at them, hearing a soft snort of laughter from behind him. Then he turned back to face Cub. "What are you doing here?" He snapped at Cub.

Cub answered straight-faced without missing a beat. "Waiting for Tom so we can go to school... I thought you could have figured that one out. Apparently I overestimated your intelligence."

Wolf's expression turned murderous, and Badger decided it would be best to diffuse the situation before the conversation got out of hand; amusing as it would be to see a teen make Wolf lose his cool, he didn't want to have to put up with one of the soldier's moods on the whole trip.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced." he cut in. "I'm Tom's... well, I'm his mother's third cousin, whatever that makes us. Eric, sometimes called Badger." He held out a hand to the teen.

Cub looked at the outstretched hand before straightening up from where he was still leaning on the doorframe and reaching out to take it. "Alex, sometimes known as Cub."

He had a surprisingly strong grip, Badger thought, and then realized after everything he'd heard about this kid he shouldn't be surprised.

Snake knew they should apologize for how they'd treated him at Beacons, but decided to follow Badger's lead for now. "Aaron." he said, nodding to Alex.

Eagle said, "Morgan."

After a moment passed, they all turned to look at Wolf. He looked back at them with a defiant expression that said in no uncertain terms, You have got to be joking. A moment later he relented, snapping out shortly, "Luke."

A slight grin crossed Alex's face. Badger, being the only one who hadn't really seen him before, looked him over. At first glance, standing in sneakers and his school uniform with a bag on his shoulder, he looked no different than any other teen. He was fit, but that could have come from simply being an athlete. But the way he held himself made him wonder what the teen had really been doing at Brecon Beacons. There was a wariness and readiness in his stance that most people would not notice that belied his relaxed position; he had resumed leaning on the doorway while he waited for Tom. There was a haunted look hidden behind a mask of cheerfulness in his eyes. Eyes that Badger now noticed were scanning the room for any threat. And there was a confidence that radiated from him that most teenagers did not have - less arrogance and more self-assurance.

Then Alex looked down at his watch. He swore. "TOM!" he shouted. "We're going to be late!"

The other boy came running down the stairs and grabbed his bag. As the two of them ran out the door, he heard Alex ask, "Where's your maths?"

The last thing K-unit caught as they two teens wheeled their bikes away was "I never did it." Badger held back a laugh. He'd come to like Tom during the few days he was at the brown-haired boy's house.

Snake waited until the boys were out of sight and they were in the van to comment dryly, "Small world."