Chapter 2

K-unit started the trek back to their cabin in silence. Wolf was studying the stranger, trying to assess his capabilities. Snake had a puzzled expression on his face, as if the agent was a particularly hard puzzle he was trying to solve. Eagle just stared, rather blatant, making absolutely no attempt to disguise his curiosity. The agent just followed them nonchalantly, appearing as if he no concerns in the world.

As usual, it was Eagle who broke the silence. "So, Mr. Agent, what should we call you? We all have code names, but the Sargent didn't give you one."

Mr. Agent gave a thoughtful hum as he continued walking. "Would Panther work?"

Eagle turned to look at Wolf, who graced Eagle with a grunt. Choosing to interpret the grunt as approval, Eagle turned back, "Nice to meet you Panther! I'm Eagle, the unit sharpshooter, over there's Snake, the unit medic, the grumpy caveman is Wolf, our unit leader, and next to him is Leopard, our unit baby."

Leopard spun around. "I'm the demolitions expert. Eagle likes to refer to me as the unit baby because I joined their unit after one of their members quit."

Wolf cleared his throat gruffly, drawing the attention back to him, "This is our cabin. There an empty bunk bed, you can choose top or bottom. Unpack, and meet us at the mess hall." He turned away sharply, before marching off. The rest of the unit gave their newest addition a small smile, before following Wolf. Eagle gave him an enthusiastic wave before sprinting to catch up.

Alex strolled into the cabin, and allowed himself a small smirk. They didn't recognize me! I guess Cub didn't leave an impression at all. He walked over to the empty bunk bed, climbing into the top bunk, saving the bottom for his partner for whenever he finally decides to show up. He quickly swept the cabin for any listening or recording devices before walking out.

-At the Mess Hall-

"Hey Wolf, did you ever tell Panther where the mess is?" Snake asked between bites of the mystery mush.

Wolf shook his head. "Forgot to. He should be fine." He shrugged casually.

Snake sighed. "Really? Are you really upset by this?"

"You know I don't like MI6. Just a bunch of sneaky bastards."

"You do remember that Fox joined MI6 right? You two got along pretty well."

Wolf growled. "He abandoned us."

"Don't tell me you're still sore about that. You seemed to have gotten over it last time we had drinks together."

Wolf shrugged again, grunting noncommittally before digging into his own grey mush.

"Is Eagle alright?"

Wolf jerked his head up in surprise. It was Panther, standing right behind Snake, holding his tray of food. He turned towards Eagle. Eagle was poking his mush with his fork, mumbling what sounded like a demonic chant under his breath.

Leopard smiled at Panther. "Don't worry about it, that's normal. Come sit down and join us!"

Panther sat, and dug into his mush with no hesitation at all. The unit stared at him in surprise. Panther looked up, head cocked to the side.

"How can you stand this food?" Eagle cried out. "It took us months to get used to it!"

Panther smiled enigmatically. "A spy never reveals his secrets!" Finishing his plate quickly, he stood to return the tray. "See you guys at the cabin later," he tossed over his shoulder before disappearing from sight.

As soon as he walked away, the friendly smile slid off his face. Alex walked into the shadows, carefully allowing the rhythm of his movements to match those of his surroundings. He made his way over to the perimeter, and began his sweep. The last time he was here, he had been too overwhelmed to pay attention to the complete layout of the camp, and he needed that information. Flitting his way from building to building, he began to map out the possible routes in and out of camp, and which ones were most likely to be used. Glancing at his watch, he quickly sprinted back to the cabin, climbing into his bunk and pulling out a carving knife and a small block of wood. A few minutes later, the unit trooped in, their loud footsteps and Eagle's excitable chatter giving Panther plenty of advance warning.

"Hey Panther!" Eagle beamed, his smile so cheerful it Panther could almost see the light beams being emitted. "What are you working on?"

"Dunno. I'll show you it in a few days." Panther stretched, curving his spine like a feline before putting the wood away. He jumped down, landing in front of Eagle with a soft thump.

The unit stared, but Snake cut in, "Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself, Panther?" He sat down on his bunk, the rest of the unit followed suit, choosing a bottom bunk to sit in.

"There's not much to tell."

"I bet you've done all sorts of fun secret spy stuff!" Eagle butted in excitedly, bouncing on the bed.

"That doesn't mean that I have to tell you anything."

"Come on! You're part of our unit now, which means you have to share! Right Wolfy?"

Instead of smirking, Alex just smiled outright, all sharp teeth and no warmth. "Classified."

Wolf grunted. "This is why I hate MI6. Bunch of sneaky bastards who lie to everyone else and to each other."

Snake smiled apologetically, "You'll have to forgive him. His experiences with MI6 have left a rather bad impression on him, you see. It certainly doesn't help that Fox transferred to MI6."

"Fox?" Panther asked.

It was Leopard who answered this time, " I was his replacement after he transferred. Apparently, he was skilled enough for MI6 to snap him up after a few missions with the SAS. I met him last year. Pretty decent guy."

Panther nodded carefully, appearing satisfied.

"Lights out in 5. Be up at 0600 tomorrow. Our regular schedule has been paused so that we can test Panther." Wolf promptly climbed up to his bunk, turned around, and proceeded to ignore everyone. Snake and Eagle followed suit, while Leopard took a moment to shut the lights off.

Panther allowed himself another smirk. Tomorrow is going to be fun. Actually, this entire trip will be very amusing. Show off the skills of MI6's top agent to the bonehead grunts who so kindly named him "double-o nothing," finally get away from Ian's empty house, and get some time off with Ben before another long mission. This was going to be the best vacation he's had in years.