32Disclaimer: What you recognise doesn't belong to me. Pasta included.
"What's cooking?" Ben called, as he stepped into the doorway with Alex in front of him. He locked the front door securely and moved to the den. The four men they left behind lay sprawled on the couch and the green carpet, each one holding on to their own share of pizza, their eyes glued to the television screen. There were pillows strewn on the floor, and pizza crumbs between carpet fibres. Three pizza boxes lay stacked on the coffee table, all but one empty. The men merely grunted to acknowledge Ben and Alex's presence, but otherwise kept their eyes on the football game.
Ben eyed Eagle's pizza. It was topped full with pineapples and cheese, exactly how Ben liked it. He reached out to grab hold of a slice, but unfortunately Eagle noticed. Eagle slapped Ben's hand away, and then proceed to stuff his pizza into his mouth and get another one.
Ben scowled and faked a whimper. "Dear me, Alex, it looks like we'll be getting our own dinner ourselves."
Ben expected a reply or an affirmative, but Alex wasn't behind him.
"Alex?" Ben called, walking to the kitchen.
A small "thud" and a short curse came from the kitchen.
Alex was scowling at the countertop, rubbing his head, a knife loose in his right hand. A chopping board was set in front of him, neatly chopped onions and carrots on a plate beside it. The cupboard above his head was opened, and a pot lay innocently at his feet. Ben grinned.
Alex heard a smirk from the doorway. Turning red, he saw Ben leaning on the wall, snickering. Alex turned a brilliant shade of maroon, rubbing a hand through his hair. "Hey Ben."
"Cooking dinner? I can't let you do that!" Ben smiled, walking over to his ward, and swinging an arm over his shoulders.
"Not like you guys can cook huh?" Alex retorted, bending down to pick up the pot.
Ben frowned, acting insulted. "Who's been feeding you these days, you ungrate?"
"You and Snake. But you only know how to make pancakes, and Snake isn't gonna make dinner now, is he?" Alex asked, an eyebrow rose as he resumed chopping up some mushrooms.
"Fine then. Hope it's edible," Ben stated in a posh voice. Alex gave a grunt, giving his knife a little flick, gesturing Ben to leave the kitchen.
15 minutes later…
Eagle gave a sniff. The smell of tomato and meatballs hung in the air. He was feeling full after all that pizza, but no doubt the smell was good.
He scrambled up from his position on the floor and went to the kitchen. Alex was standing at the stove, prodding and stirring the contents in the pot.
"Mm…is that dinner?" Eagle asked eagerly.
"Not for you," Alex said distractingly. He checked the contents one more time, then switched the fire off.
"Aww…don't be so selfish, Cub!" Eagle whined. Alex just gave him a glare, and poured the pasta into two dishes, completed with meatballs. Holding the plates carefully, he set them on the dinner table.
"Ben? It's done!" he called, proceeding to tuck in. Eagle stood at a side, trying to pull off a pity-me-please look. Alex gave a sigh.
"Wipe your drool, Eagle, and quit acting like a little kid. I might just be nice enough to give you a meatball."
As though Alex had given him permission, Eagle scooped a meatball up with a spare spoon and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Mmm…" Eagle murmured, licking the spoon clean and sauntering back to the den as though he took a step to paradise.
Ben staggered over, holding his stomach, groaning.
"It took so long…" he grumbled, weakly holding his spoon and trying the pasta.
"Ooh…tastes…good," Ben exclaimed, his eyes bugging out a little. "I never knew you could cook so well."
"It's my favourite recipe," Alex grinned, finishing the last of his pasta.
"You should cook more often."
"Like hell. No."
"You should cook more often."
"Like hell. No."
The man rubbed his stubble, his lips a maniac grin.
"Very soon, Rider, very soon," He whispered, "You'll suffer days of emotionless pain."
Alex stumbled back to his bedroom, feeling tired after a day's worth of exercise. Groaning, he flopped onto his bed and lifted his torso with his elbows. Staring at his table, he could see the MI6 badge glinting under the light. He dug the dog tag from beneath his shirt. The warm metal sparkled and shone, and he smiled.
I'm part of the team…
He tucked the dog tag back into his shirt.
Changing out of his clothes, he switched off the lights and snuggled into the bed covers.
The tiny silver scorpion scuttled around the house into the den, where hopefully more conversations could be heard and it would be unseen in between the carpet fur.
It never knew a stout, muscular man would end its life with one simple movement.
Wolf eased himself off the couch, feeling tired and grumpy after falling asleep on the sofa. The smell of the leftover pizza on the table was starting to make him nauseated. He swore, and started to clear up the mess.
Wolf walked a few steps and stopped. Something crunched below his right foot.
Bending down, he checked his foot. No cuts, no blood…wait…was that metal?
Wolf kneeled down on the carpet, brushing his hand around the carpet where his foot stood a few seconds ago. He picked up bits and pieces of hard objects and squinted to have a better look. Something red shone then dimmed, and faded to nothing. A cracked lens stared back at him.
Wolf swore.
"Fox!"
Hi again. I'm feeling awesome 'cos I updated again, but it's a really short chapter. It's kinda like a bridge between two chapters. :) so I decided I should do something nice before Alex is tortured (sadly, I know.) But bringing in the bad guys and Wolf finding a camera makes things more complicated. Will Alex get caught? Wolf might order for increase protection if he knew someone was spying on them... Ciao for now. Read the next chapter and you might find out more. :)
Meanwhile, review please? I might update quickly again. :D I promise a longer chapter the next round, but spare me this time, I've updated twice in a week. :)