Aww, last chappie! This story was a lot of fun to write and thanks to everyone who followed it. Hope you all enjoyed this. At the moment there will be no sequel, mostly because I'm not of ideas. So yeah, I'm finally on summer vacation so expect updates on my other stories. Hopefully, I'll have the third chapter of Parental Unit up soon. That story has been giving me trouble, for some reason. Probably with trying to make it was original as possible. It's such a used story line. Ugh, anyways, enjoy and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider

Cub was a brat. He the brat Wolf was determined to kick the shit out of as soon as see saw him. Promises be damned, the kid needed a slap upside the head, real, real bad. A slap upside the head or a kick to the arse to send him tumbling out of a plane.

Sure, he'd hesitated. He doesn't like heights all that much and needed an extra moment to gather his wits before jumping for the first time. But that didn't excuse the boy from kicking him out of a plane, thousands of feet in the air.

He'd probably deserved it for all the shit he'd put the boy through in the past eleven days but being kicked out of a plane was hardly necessary. He'd already been poisoned, manipulated, and humiliated, wasn't that enough? But come to think of it, all of that had been Jack and her perpetually annoying game of cat and mouse. This was Cub's revenge.

Wolf gritted his teeth as the thoughts whirled in his head during the hike back to camp. He had an hour long internal debate about Cub and how he should react to this. Too soft and the boy would think he'd gotten away with it but too harsh and not only was there the potential of being binned, but then there was Jack. Wolf had no intention of being on her bad side again. Not after everything he'd seen her do not only to him, but to others. They still didn't know why Wasp's nose was broken.

Wolf ignored Eagle's strange look as he slammed his meal tray down on the table. Cub wasn't there and Wolf couldn't even fathom a guess as to why.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yes," he growled, temper threatening to override his resolve not to hit the next thing that moved. He couldn't say why he was so mad. Maybe it was because a mere two days ago he'd promised to have the boy's back and now he was being kicked out planes. But maybe Cub didn't even know about the promise. That made him angry all over again. Was Jack really going to let the boy think he was alone? That sounded like something MI6 would do, not this overly manipulative, yet protective guardian of the only boy to ever have the balls and backbone to stick it out in this hell hole. That any had ever tried before, but still, it was quite the accomplishment.

He felt a sudden surge of respect under his anger. Those two really were something.

"Where's your spare?" asked a very pissed off person. Wolf brought his head up to see Wasp standing at Eagle's shoulder, eyes narrowed.

"Don't know," he responded quickly, hoping to head off whatever trouble this man was trying to start.

"Why do you care?" Fox asked. Wolf suppressed a groan. Why couldn't they have left it at that?

"I need to speak with him," Wasp replied.

"About what?" Wolf asked unable to stop himself. This didn't sit right. Wasp had shown nothing but hostility towards Jack and Cub. He guessed the same could be said about him, but he had, at the very least, gained Jack's trust.

"My nose," the soldier replied pointing at the black and purple spot on his face.

"What about it?" Snake asked, his medical training preventing him from not asking about the injury in question.

"I want to know why she did it," he said.

"You don't know?" Eagle asked eyebrows almost flying off his face. "You were there!"

"I know," Wasp humored, his eyes never leaving Wolf's face. "She came out of nowhere with a piece of plywood."

"Why would she just randomly attack?" Fox asked eyebrows creased as he tried to decipher the crazy American's reasoning. Wasp just shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "I was hoping Cub would know."

"We don't know where he is," Eagle replied. "He didn't do the jump with us."

"Why not just ask Jack?" Wolf asked. "She's the one that broke it." Wasp hesitated in his answer and Wolf had a feeling he didn't ever want to see the woman again.

"I did," he said finally.

"And?" Wolf pressed.

"She told me to figure it out myself." With that Wasp left to return to his Unit on the far side of the mess hall. Once he left Eagle immediately turned back to the others in a way that reminded Wolf of a teenaged gossip with something juicy to share. He winced as his over tired mind conjured an image of Eagle in a dress. He really needed some sleep; he was starting to lose it.

"Jack told us it was an accident," he said.

"Who do you think is lying?" Fox asked.

"Jack," Wolf growled instantly. The others looked at him with identical you-had-better-explain-that expressions on their faces. "Jack has never done anything without a reason. She broke his nose on purpose then spread it around that was an accident for a reason."

"What reason?" Snake asked. "Do you think he tried something?"

"And risk being binned?" Eagle asked. "I doubt it."

"No, she was trying to prove a point," Wolf said. "That's all she's ever trying to do."

"What point?" Snake asked. "Mess with me and I'll break your face?" Wolf shrugged. He wasn't entirely sure what Jack's point was in all this.

His Unit still thought her to be a loose cannon, running amok in the training camp. Wolf was probably the only one to see that her actions were timed and methodical. The milk thing was designed to look like a prank, payback for being pricks to Cub, but her subsequent lecture hinted at another motive. The insane act would have been more believable if Cub hadn't reacted to it. It was like he'd never seen her act that way.

Then the boy had started taking her words and actions in stride, like he had figured out what she was doing. He'd reacted to Wasp's nose being broken then, seemingly blindly accepted the vague excuse she gave to them. He'd even fallen asleep during the conversation which admittedly, had ended up being quite loud.

Wolf knew the two of them were doing some sort of dance. Jack would do something and Cub would pretend to understand the reason. But Wolf had seen the two of them talking that day at the shooting range. They gave no clear visual sign that the conversation was bothering them, other than the lack of eye contact. He'd had a bad feeling when Jack had walked away with a smirk. He'd watched the Sergeant and Cub talk and then Cub walked away. The boy had made brief eye contact with Wolf and, despite the fact that the man barely knew him, Wolf saw a spark of anger in his eye. Whatever he and his guardian had talked about, it had bore no fruit.

Yes, there was something going on between the two of them. Something he couldn't begin to comprehend. So, he'd confronted Jack and discovered something he hadn't thought of. Training from a crazed civilian was something he hadn't thought he'd ever deal with, but he had to admit, between Jack's little 'lessons' and trying to figure out what the hell was going on, he had learned something. There was a lot more to this job than pointing and shooting. More than just following orders and Wolf did feel ready to face the crazies and worst the world had. He was also ready to back this kid up in whatever he got messed up in.

You didn't send a child unless the situation was completely hopeless. Wolf knew that and he now understood why Jack had chosen to come here. To get help for whatever was coming.

He looked up to see his Unit staring expectantly at him. They wanted an answer he didn't have. "Figure it out," he said.

The rest of the meal passed in a tired and companionable silence. When they were done Wolf led the way back to the hut. He needed to talk to Jack about Wasp. He knew she wouldn't give him a straight answer but with enough hints he might be able to figure it out. He had after all figured her out to an extent. Something no one else had managed to do, expect, maybe, Cub.

"The hell," Eagle said quietly when they got back to the hut. Wolf couldn't help but agree as he froze in surprise. Both Cub and Jack had arrived for training late so their cots had been squeezed in later. Those cots were gone, leaving the four original ones in the small hut. It looked bigger without the two beds and Jack's incredible mess, which, thankfully, hadn't been held against them during barrack checks.

"Where are they?" Fox asked looking over his shoulder as if the two would suddenly appear.

"Gone," Wolf said. The others turned back towards him but he just stared at the spot where Cub's cot had been. "Back to wherever they came from."

That flight had a double purpose; practicing parachuting and getting Cub to wherever he needed to be. Jack had probably left the same way she'd come. They both had left as quickly as they'd come and without fuss or show. One second they were there causing chaos and the next they were gone as if they'd never been. It was almost surreal to think that almost all evidence of them was gone from the camp, even the cots they'd used were gone as if to prove that only four of them had ever been there to begin with.

The Unit didn't talk much that night, each wrapped up in their own thoughts.

The next morning it spread that K-Unit was now bereft of the oddities that were Jack and Cub. Wolf couldn't bring himself to feel relieved about it though. Jack had gone to so much trouble to make sure the kid had at least one ally he could depend on in the field. Wolf wondered how and when he would be making good on his promise to her.

He found that he had rather mixed feelings. On the one hand, he didn't want Cub to be in a situation that would require the SAS (he was a teenager for the love of god!), but he also wanted to get back at the boy for the plane thing. It wouldn't do for Cub to think he'd gotten away with it after all.

Jack had started packing the moment the Unit left for the plane. She'd handed a nameless trainer Alex's duffel which would somehow make it back to the boy by the time he reached his destination.

She knew he'd listened to the entire conversation between her and Wolf. She'd set it up that way skipping dinner waiting for a confused and fed up Wolf to confront her. She knew Alex would listen in; he wanted to know what she doing as much as Wolf had. He'd heard the man promise to watch his back when it was necessary.

They hadn't said good bye. She'd barely had time to say a word to him that morning as he darted off to training with the rest of the men. She hoped he'd be okay.

She'd been going around the camp tying up loose ends before her own departure. She'd been caught by Wasp and with his inquiry as to why she'd broken his nose, she'd given the same response she'd given to Alex two days earlier: "Figure it out. All the clues are there for you."

She'd also felt the need to say the good bye to the Sergeant.

"Just wanted to say thanks," she said. He was leaning in his chair across the desk from her.

"For what?" he asked.

"Putting up with me," she replied with a sheepish smile. "I know I'm not easiest person to put up with."

"It would have been better if you hadn't caused so much trouble," he said. She gave him a genuine smile of amusement.

"It was all for the best," she said and watched as his eyes narrowed.

"Tell me Jack," he started and she knew the conversation would be turning serious. "Why does Cub think you're here for reasons other than what you said?"

"I guess he knows me too well," she said.

"How so?"

"Well, for starters, the house wasn't ever burned down," she said.

"Why lie?" he growled, annoyed she'd tricked him.

"Needed you to believe the situation was critical," she replied. "I was receiving threats and I did exchange secret files for a ride out here, but I couldn't tell you everything and I needed for you to kick up as little fuss as possible."

"Why?" He stared at her with that blank stare she'd come so used to in the past seven years.

"I had a job to do," she said then held up a hand to keep him from saying what she knew he was going to say. "Not for MI6 or any other government agency," she said.

"Then what kind of job are you here to do?" he asked confused.

"The job Cub's uncle asked me to do," she said. "Cub is hardly the typical teenager and that requires me to be a different kind of guardian and do things the title of guardian doesn't normally entail. But the result is the same; I do my best to keep him happy and healthy."

He didn't give an answer to that beyond one word, "Wolf." She nodded her approval to his conclusion.

"Wolf," she confirmed out loud. "He can do what I cannot. He's already promised to have his back in the field."

"You know," the Sergeant leaning towards her, elbows on his desk. "MI6 instructed me to work overtime with whatever Unit Cub was paired with. Wanted them to be a team."

"Blunt wants the perfect weapon," Jack said. "But he also needs a human. Robots don't think for themselves and if Cub knows in his heart that someone is coming, he's more likely to push forward and do what needs to be done. MI6 chose K-Unit but I chose Wolf."

"Why?"

"He reminds me of my oldest brother," she said a soft smile on her lips. "I knew he could do the job and with his leadership the rest of the Unit will step up too." He nodded satisfied with the answer just as a black SUV pulled up outside the man's hut and the driver honked once.

Jack stood, slung the duffel over her shoulder, and moved to leave. She was outside and half way to the car when the Sergeant called out from the doorway.

"Jack!" She turned to see him just outside the door. "Why break Wasp's nose? He couldn't tell me." She gave a coy smile, trying to force down a laugh.

"That's another game for another day, sir," she said then turned and got into the waiting SUV with the waiting MI6 driver.

She saw him watching the car drive out when she turned to look through the back window. Saw him turn and go back into the hut. She hoped that Alex was going to be okay. She hoped she'd done the job that needed to be done.

She hadn't been lying when she'd said that guardianship of Alex meant very different responsibilities than with some other kid. If Alex survived the coming weeks and was successful Blunt wouldn't hesitate to use him again. After all, who would suspect that a fourteen year old school boy was MI6's greatest weapon?