A.N. Helloooo! Here is my Week 2 Spyfest entry. I need to stop leaving them so late... story of my life xD Also, I bought Never Say Die yesterday as it's finally out in paperback where I live - I was waiting just so they could fix the Wolf/Fox error. I don't think they realise quite how big K-Unit is in the fandom. So you'll excuse me if I put writing off for a few hours.

By the way,this is sort of set in the same 'verse as One More Step, an entry for last year's Spyfest, but you don't need to have read that as I made sure this would stand alone.

Disclaimer: This took me enough research. The amount Horowitz must do for each book? No thanks!

Self-preservation was supposedly the first law of nature, but it had never been one of Alex's fortes. Even before he was recruited by MI6 for the Stormbreaker mission, he'd fought two much-bigger bullies who'd been picking on Tom and been shot at while skiing because he couldn't help getting involved when he found out a girl was being kidnapped. Ian hadn't even lectured him on the danger - if anything, he had seemed pleased. In fact, the last time Ian had seemed worried about him was when he went missing from a German market for over an hour when he was four. Looking back, Alex thought that might have been what made Ian start training him properly.

What started out as a natural inclination to protect his friends and do what he thought was the right thing, however, had spiralled out of control when he became a spy. The pool of people he needed to help was considerably deeper and the threats increased accordingly. It might have caused someone else to turn the other cheek and run in the opposite direction, but the truth was for Alex, the blackmail was little more than an excuse. He had thought he wanted to get out of that shadow-world. He soon found out he missed it too much.

Maybe being an SAS soldier seemed like the safer option. He could convince himself it wasn't like going back to an organisation he'd sworn to avoid. But the last mission he'd been on had brought back unpleasant memories and the niggling doubt that he should really have just stayed in high school with Sabina.

0500 hours, BST

"Up! Sergeant wants your arses up at the office now!"

R-Unit rolled out of their bunks blearily at the rude awakening. The messenger a few more times on the cabin door for good measure then left. Alex was the first one ready - he was actually quite thankful for being pulled from sleep since it broke him out of a nightmare. They didn't happen every night anymore, but still made a regular appearance and the extra hour of emotional torture would have left him more exhausted than cutting them off short and having something to concentrate on.

Not far behind was Steve Dallas, codenamed Bear. He'd encouraged Alex a couple of times when he was flagging during Selection and sometimes acted protective of him. Alex thought it had something to do with his age - he had said he was twenty, already the youngest of the new recruits, and was only sixteen in reality. He knew he owed his job to Bear and couldn't have hoped for a better unit leader.

The unit was made up entirely of new recruits. Buffalo and Crocodile were both tall and brawny. He didn't get on that well with Buffalo but they all came together well under Bear's leadership.

"Alright, Rogers?" Steve asked as the others were pulling on their boats. John Rogers was the identity he'd assumed when he returned to the UK, and Steve made a point of using real names often even though almost everyone just knew him as Spider.

Alex nodded. "Any idea what the sergeant wants?"

"My guess is that we're getting deployed again. I'm sure we'll find out soon if you two would hurry up!"

As it turned out, Steve's guess was spot-on.

"This mission is a little unusual, but you have shown yourselves to be a promising unit, though I don't know why SO requested we used you specifically," Sergeant Parker told them. "There is a situation in the Negev Desert in Israel. We have to act fast. Here are your briefings - read them on the plane. Remember, you only have until midnight Israel Daylight Time to get the hostages out."

1400 hours, IDT (+2 from BST)

They landed in Ovda airport, in southern Israel near the city of Eilat. This was both a civilian airport and a military base, so they were met by a pilot from Kheil HaAvir, the Israeli Air Force. She led them to a helicopter and they ran through the necessary parachute checks before boarding. They greeted the Paras they were working with and went over the strategy. None of them were happy about working with a unit they didn't know, especially one from another country, but the mission came about because an MI6 agent had uncovered an operation in the desert. Unfortunately, the criminals had uncovered the operative in turn and had captured the children of several politicians so they could be allowed to continue. They would be released the next day if the plan went ahead, but by that point the Israel Museum would be a pile of smouldering rubble.

The Negev Desert was a jagged landscape, broken up by dunes and mountain ridges. They jumped while they were several kilometres away from the base, out of sight behind an outcrop. Hopefully, even if the helicopter was seen, it would be assumed to be there for surveillance and the soldiers parachuting out would go unnoticed.

They set up shelters to avoid the desert heat, waiting for the cool of the evening to begin their trek.

"Nervous?" Steve asked quietly as they chewed on beef jerky while they waited.

Alex shrugged. "Maybe a little. Hostage situations are never pretty."

"True. These are children we're talking about. You ever do anything similar before you came to the SAS?"

"Once," Alex said, thinking of Point Blanc. He didn't elaborate.

2100 hours, IDT

They had spent the last hour trekking to the base and were now at the RV site just outside - stealthy break-in, quick getaway. The route had been carefully mapped to stay out of sight from the patrols. They changed from desert camouflage into darker night gear in silence and checked their guns for the last time. Alex was no stranger to waiting for the right time to move, but he always hated the anxiety that came from doing nothing.

"Time to move out," Steve said. "Buffalo, Croc, you're taking the south side. Spider, you're with me on the west."

"We know, Bear, you've only told us a million times already." Buffalo rolled his eyes.

He was still worried. "Stick to the plan and be careful. We don't know how dangerous they are."

The Israeli soldiers were already in position and various vantage points surrounding the base. They had rifles and were ready to act as snipers or join a fight if one broke out, but hadn't had the same sort of training as the SAS with the Killing House so were leaving the retrieval to them. Alex was glad to have the backup there - he'd experienced too many missions-gone-wrong to underestimate their value.

"Ready," he said. "Let's go."

2200 hours, IDT

The radio crackled.

"Bear to Spider, come in, over."

Alex looked round quickly to check he was alone. They'd had a run-in with some guards and were separated - Bear had the hostages with him and Alex had covered them while they escaped. The guards were now lying dead or unconscious. He'd radioed in to say he was safe, but on his way out an overheard conversation had sent him right back into the lion's den.

"Bear, this is Spider, over."

"What's your situation?"

"Snafu," Alex said briefly. "Something came up. Get the hostages out. I'll take care of this. Over and out."

He turned off the radio. It was a risky move - not just for him, but because something might come up for Bear and he would be unable to help. However, he needed to move in absolute silence now. He also didn't want Bear to know what he was doing.

Gun ready, he went down a corridor which, if his sense of direction had served him well, would take him into the heart of the building. He pressed himself to the wall as a pair of guards jogged past the end of the passage; it seemed the alarm had been raised. He only hoped everyone else had made it out in time.

A flight of stairs took him down to the basement. There was only one door but it had been left slightly ajar.

"...Start the countdown now. They've taken the hostages and the army will shut the operation down as soon as they're safe."

Alex peered in. A bespectacled man entered some commands into a computer and a computerised female voice said "Two minutes remaining."

Both of them had their attention away from the door but there was still a guard in the middle of the room, alert and facing towards him. He leaned back and traded his rifle for a handgun with a silencer. It was a brand he'd practiced with extensively on Malagosto and though he felt a sliver of disgust, he pushed the doubts out of his mind. It was loaded with tranquiliser darts rather than bullets, so he made sure the rifle was easily accessible in case he needed to switch at a moment's notice to something more lethal.

There was no way of taking the guard out without the others noticing. He quickly formulated a plan and crouched down by the door.

He threw the door wide open and it banged against the wall. The guard shot preemptively but the bullets easily passed above him, giving him a chance to get a dart in his jugular, where an artery would quickly carry the sedative through the bloodstream. It still took several seconds to work, and Alex stood up too soon, gaining a painful gash where a bullet grazed his arm. Then he collapsed. The others were staring now. The one Alex identified as the leader came to his senses first.

"Don't," Alex said quietly. The leader stopped, hand halfway to the pistol on the desk. "Move away from the gun."

He was praying that they wouldn't realise that his gun was non-lethal and so far they hadn't picked up on it, not seeing clearly what had happened to the guard.

"You," he said, nodding at Glasses, "Switch the bomb off."

Glasses looked at the leader, who set his jaw stubbornly. "Leave it."

Alex sighed. "Okay. We'll have to do this the hard way…"

2220 hours, IDT

Alex sprinted out of the burning building. The fire had been an accident, but really, how was he to know that exploding the computer would set the carpet alight? (Why did they even have a carpet in the basement anyway?) At least the computer wouldn't be transmitting any signals to Jerusalem.

The unit was waiting at the RV spot and the helicopter was almost there. Steve pulled him into a crushing hug as soon as he reached them.

"Ow, Bear," Alex complained.

"Sorry." Steve loosened his grip so he was at arm's length. "You're injured?"

"Just a scratch. We can bind it on the 'copter." He looked over and saw a teenage girl and a boy of about eight watching. Buffalo and Croc offered him a slap on the back as they packed up, letting him know that they had been worried too.

Once they were in the air, Steve pulled out the first-aid kit and sat him down. Goosebumps rose in the cool air as he removed his shirt.

"That'll add another scar to your extensive collection," Bear observed.

Alex ducked his head self-consciously. He hadn't been able to conceal his scars, but he still tried to avoid showing them whenever possible. He knew his unit had questions, but they respected his privacy.

"Okay, Spider," Steve said as he started cleaning the wound, and the use of a codename showed he was in full Unit Leader mode. "What the hell was all that about?"

"They were setting the bomb off early. I had to stop them."

"And you didn't think to radio for backup? We're a unit, Spider, we don't run off solo! You were practically asking to be killed."

"I didn't have time. And I'm still alive, in case you haven't noticed."

"Less of the lip, Spider," Bear rebuked him. "That still doesn't explain the fire."

Alex grimaced. "Not my fault they had such a flammable carpet."

"What? …Nevermind. We'll deal with this later. Get some rest, John."

He carefully finished bandaging the gash. Alex felt a flash of guilt for lying about who he was to someone who obviously cared about him.

Stupid, he told himself. He'd never be able to tell the truth.

He drifted into an uneasy sleep.

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