A/N: The next chapter of Shoot to Heal, as promised don't forget to leave a review! Thanks x

Disclaimer (because I forgot last time): None of the characters are mine, they all belong to AH.

Chapter 1

The Sergeant would never admit it to anyone, but he had been impressed the first time Alex Rider came to Brecon Beacons. Having been told next to nothing about the boy, he assumed, like many of the soldiers, that the kid was the son of some rich man who couldn't be bothered to look after his children himself. However, Rider surpassed all expectations, never complaining even though the training was gruelling and his fellow trainees acted appallingly towards him.

Now he was being told that the same boy was coming back as an instructor, barely a year after he had first attended training here! The Sergeant had been assured multiple times by Mrs Jones herself that the boy was more than capable for the job, but this in itself raised uncomfortable questions. What child was proficient enough with a gun to be able to teach the nation's best soldiers? Especially when the last time the child was here, he hadn't even been allowed to go to the firing range! Despite his misgivings, the Sergeant had had no choice but to accept MI6's decision. After all, Mrs Jones did outrank him, and if there was one thing a soldier respected, it was rank.

He pulled Alex's file towards him and reread the contents for the umpteenth time. The file was noticeably thinner than what he was used to, and even with his high security clearance there were large patches of censoring. The only information of interest that he learnt was that Cub was in fact an MI6 agent and that he had had some other training in a censored location with a censored person or organisation. It was frustrating to say the least.

The Sergeant was pulled out of his thoughts by a knock on the door.

"Enter," he called out in a gruff voice, not looking up from his perusal of the file. He heard someone come in and stand to attention, and then finally lifted his eyes from Cub's photo to see an almost identical face staring at him. What shocked the Sergeant was the difference between this and the photo, which he noted had only been taken the year before. It was not just the blankness of his current expression, but the fact that Cub's eyes were cold and empty. Although he had never seemed childlike, he now looked aged well beyond his years, his eyes belying the experiences he had been through.

Ever the practical man, the Sergeant shook himself out of his musings.

"At ease, soldier," he commanded, and Alex relaxed somewhat, although he still looked tense.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush here. I'm not happy that MI6 has dumped you on me again, even if it's as a favour, you being an instructor and all. Even if I accept the situation, I can give no guarantee that the other soldiers will be so kind—though they'll keep it out of my sight if they know what's good for them," he growled. "You'd better live up to what Jones has said about you; otherwise I'm sending you back to wherever you came from, even if it costs me my job. I can't have some idiot failing to teach my men lifesaving skills, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" came the swift reply, Alex's eyes remaining straight ahead like it had been drilled into him the last time he was here.

"Good," said the Sergeant gruffly. "I've arranged for all the men currently training here to meet at the shooting range in ten minutes. I want you to prove to them—and to me—that you're capable of doing your job. Then, if I approve, you can have the rest of the day off, because it's your first day and that's standard procedure for new instructors. I will expect you to be using the time to familiarise yourself with the paperwork and learning your new timetable."

"I'm sure you'll find no fault with my skills, sir," replied Alex with a small upturning of the lips.

"Well, that remains to be seen. Follow me, Cu- Agent Rider. We're going into the lion's den." With those ominous words, the Sergeant got up from behind his desk and left his cabin, Alex following behind him.

They soon reached the firing range, where there was already a large group of soldiers waiting. The soldiers turned at the sound of approaching footsteps and immediately stood to attention once they had seen the Sergeant, but they were all staring at Alex, wondering what a child was doing in an SAS camp.

The Sergeant cleared his throat. "This is your new instructor, Agent Rider," he said, gesturing towards Alex. Immediately the men started whispering to one another, the confusion on their faces slowly turning into anger.

"Silence!" shouted the Sergeant, and immediately the muttering stopped, although the soldiers still looked mutinous. "I don't care what you may be thinking, the Head of MI6 has assured me that the kid is up to the job and until I see otherwise, he will be given the same respect as any of your other instructors. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" came the chorus of voices.

"Okay, Cub, show me what you've got," muttered the Sergeant out of the corner of his mouth, before turning to address the soldiers again. "Agent Rider will be giving a demonstration of his skills. Pay attention."

Alex moved over to the rows of weapons and chose a gun at random. Holding it in his hands, he moved until he was standing with his back to the targets, facing the SAS men. Their expressions were still not pleased, to say the least, and Alex knew that he had to prove himself otherwise his stay here would be even worse than last time.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, shutting out the stares of everyone around him. He relaxed his shoulders and let his instincts take over, his hands flying over the parts as he dismantled and reassembled the gun like he had been trained to. Once he was finished, he opened his eyes to see the men staring at him, jaws slack. His eyes flickered over to the Sergeant, and Alex was amused to see that he too had an expression of disbelief on his face.

"Hopefully by the time I've finished training you, some of you may be able to equal that time," said Alex evenly. "However, the next skill I'm going to be showing you is not covered by SAS training, and it is unlikely that any of you will learn this."

He quickly glanced over his shoulder to ensure that the coast was clear, before turning round again to face the soldiers. He suddenly pointed the gun behind him and let off three shots in swift succession. When the targets were brought in, the soldiers were amazed to find three perfect bull's-eyes. The mutterings started up again, but this time the men were in awe, marvelling at Alex's skills.

"Where did you learn to shoot like that?" asked one particularly brave soldier at the front.

"Classified," answered Alex shortly, his face blank. "That is the end of the demonstration. Dismissed!"

The soldiers grumbled but left slowly, still talking to each other about the display they'd just witnessed. The Sergeant waited until they had all gone out of earshot before turning to face Alex, who was staring mournfully at the targets.

"Well, I've got to hand it to you, Cub—that was an impressive show. I won't ask how you learnt that, because you're obviously not telling, but I'd like to send some of my men there if that's how they all turn out!"

Alex winced, before replying in a low voice, "I don't think you'd say that if you knew the truth."

The Sergeant was once again shocked by the tone, unused to seeing someone so young sounding so world-weary. Knowing better than to pry, he cleared his throat uneasily and said: "Well, you've earned your day off. You're in cabin 7—you'll find your timetable in there and all the other relevant stuff and I believe that someone came by earlier to drop off your things."

"Thank you, sir," said Alex quietly, still not completely shaken out of his musings, and headed off in the direction of his cabin, leaving the Sergeant behind to stare after him with a small amount of concern, not that he would admit it to anyone else. Because despite his tough exterior, the Sergeant did truly have his soldiers' best intentions at heart, and it worried him to see Alex like this.

A/N: Yeah, you go Alex! Show'em who's boss On a more serious note, next chapter will have lots of angsty Alex…hopefully. Please review!