Alex Rider - You Left Me

23. you're getting old, John. you're slow.

AN: I messed up in the last chapter and made the sergeant call John by John and not Edd... UH OH SO STORY PLAN CHANGED aha for the good I guess

You're getting old, John. You're slow.

John paused, confused as to why he felt like something was wrong. He looked up at the night sky, a habit that he just hadn't gotten rid of yet and replayed the last conversation in his mind.

Head jerked down to look at the sergeant who had a subtle smirk on his lips. "Hello, John." John did not blink nor twitch merely stared. "You're getting old, John. You're slow. Keep up."

Jace made a move to stand but a hand grabbed his wrist and tugged him back down. "How?"

"One does not forget their team, Jaguar." And with that, Jace departed without protest from the ex-spy/soldier.

John sat there for a moment. His old SAS unit was called the Prowl team as they were all named after Big cats. There was him, Jaguar. His brother, Panther. The fellow that died of cancer, Leopard. And finally... argh who was it!! I can't seem to remember. It was just about on the tip of John's tongue. L... Lie... Lion? no. Lynx!! LYNX!!

John jumped up. "LYNX!" he called after Jace. He died, I'm sure of it! In battle, he ran forward to protect a child and a bomb went off. I swear by it! John smacked his head with his hand.

----

He stood before Leopard, lying on his death bed with his hand clasped in his teammate's shaking hand. Panther and Lynx are beside him.

"Promise me!" The three looked at each other "No seriously! Promise me," They looked back at him and nodded. "Promise me, that you'll protect each other forever. No man to be left behind. No man for himself. Ok?"

"Ok." They all said back. "We promise."

"And don't do anything stupid." Leopard smiled at them.

They turned and left, quivering lips and quickly blinking eyes. Shaking back the tears, together they left a man behind. Into war, they head. The mother hen of the group staying behind and fighting an even bigger battle.

"I love you guys." Leopard's voice quaked after them, but they were long gone now.

Leopard was fighting for a while, but now no one was around he decided to fall into peace, the pillow moulded around his head. Warm body slowly turning cold.

----

Jace was still bitter from all the way back then. He had always wondered where his team had disappeared off to after he went to protect the child in war. As when he had looked back to where his teammates were before, they had vanished. Promise broken and trust was destroyed.

He had found his way back to the soldier's camp and searched all over for them. But to no avail, they were not to be found.

Later on, after joining a new SAS unit he had found out the truth. His remaining teammates had been picked up by MI6 and had never looked back at their old job.

Over a decade ago, Jace heard the news that the 'great' Jaguar had died. There was even a memorial held. Jace snorted, normal soldiers don't get memorials. traitors do apparently.

And 13 years or so later, the Rider brothers were together again in the after life...

Jace didn't know there was kid though. At least he didn't know until Alex first arrived at Brecons Beacons. With a facial structure like that and the brownest eyes to ever exist, it was quite obviously John's son.

John's too blind to notice. Too forgetful after all these years. You think he'd notice his own son. I won't tell him of his dumbness. A father is not a truly father unless they are accepted by the child.

"LYNX!!"

Jace spun around, John was silhouetted by the lanterns in the mess hall.

"Jaguar."

"I'm sorry!" the sergeant hummed. John began to break down "I'm sorry! there was a-a bomb! A bomb! And and we were pulled away! I'm sorry! Lynx... I'm sorry."

"Hey hey, I forgive you. I forgave you ages ago." Jace lied but still light-heartedly slapped his old friend on the back. "Wanna meet up tomorrow night and grab a beer?"

John rolled his eyes. "A beer is not a beer without alcohol in it!"

"I have a secret stash that Wole can't get to."

"Alright then."

——- Time skip to the next day at dinner ——-

"EAGLEEE! Come back over here and get this gossip!!" Dog screamed over the loudening voices around them in the mess hall.

Eagle barged his way over, grumbling and disrupting the soldiers around him as he went. "What is it?"

"Look at this letter!" Dog pointed at a mass of heads.

"A letter?"

"Yeah! Lion stole it from an instructor! It's top secret." Snake whipped the paper into Dog's hands who shoved it quickly to Eagle before anyone could snatch it.

Eagle skipped through the rough and quick written letter and missed who it was from (partly because it was torn).

Sergeant
discussion: MI6. Head of operations. urgent.
Alan Blunt = undercover SCORPIA agent. Precautions taken. Anyone employed could be SCORPIA. Stay alert. We request THE agent back ASAP.
You know the precautions. We know what they mean to you, forget it.

"YOU IDIOTS!" Eagle shouted. "THIS NEEDS TO GO TO THE SERGEANT! IMMEDIATELY! Does anyone have any sense of mind!" He ran off towards the sergeant's hut.

"He's right you know. You should have given straight to the sergeant after reading it." A soldier spoke up and others nodded.