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The mission was supposed to be a fairly simple one. No one was to be hurt; no one was to ever suspect they were there. Unfortunately Cherub hadn't quite counted on the fact that Alex Rider wasn't much of a civilian. James had read that briefing backwards and forward. There been nothing in it about him being an employee for any government agency and there certainly hadn't been anything about him being really good at what he did.
But that wasn't the beginning of the story.
The beginning was their first day at Brookland.
The November air felt bitter and James shivered even in the warmth of the car and smashed in between Kyle and Kerry. Bruce had managed to nab the front seat, the lucky arse. Ewart was their mission controller this time and he had told them that he thought this mission to be a bit below their pay grade. Half of them were Black shirts after all.
The mission was simple. Find and befriend a boy named Alex Rider. MI5 had received an intelligence report stating that the teen had important information regarding the success of a drug lord in London. Nobody quite understood how he was getting his product into the country without being caught. Scotland Yard needed evidence; MI5 wanted to shut the entire trade down because of where the drug lord's money was flowing to; Cherub had been recruited to find out everything they could.
James had been given lead on this mission. His interests and personality matched up with Rider's more than any of the others. His school schedule was almost identical to Rider's save for the two classes that his friends had with the mark.
"Now, just remember," Ewart said from the driver's seat as he turned right and the school came into view. "Rider may be small time but his boss isn't, so be careful once you guys start to work your way up the ladder."
"You got it Ewart," Bruce said, half sarcastic and half serious. Ewart either didn't notice or didn't care. The car pulled up to the gates and the teens quickly vacated with a round of goodbyes. Finding their way to the main office was easy enough and soon they were making their way through the halls and into the general hustle and bustle.
James found his locker quickly and was pleased to find that Rider was also at his own locker a mere three metal doors down. The other teen was taller than James and his blond hair was styled in a shaggy mop that looked good on him. James could see that he was well muscled even through the blazer of his uniform. When the other teen shed that James could see what he had only seen on the oldest of the Cherub agents. A few scars, muscles hard as rock, and not even a hint that he had ever been a little boy.
The Cherub agent found himself slightly jealous. He'd kill for arms like that. Rider glanced at him when James came up to his locker and read the combination off of a piece of sticky note paper the secretary had given him.
"You new here?"
James turned his head in the direction the question had come from. It was Rider, looking at him curiously, a small but welcoming smile on his face.
"Yeah," James said and then stuck out his hand. "James Coldmere." Rider took the offered hand and shook it firmly.
"Alex Rider," he said. "Where are you from?"
"Cornwall," James told him, pulling from the pre-approved cover story they'd been given. "We only just moved yesterday."
"No time to settle in?" Alex asked, smirking slightly.
"No," James replied, with a roll of his eyes and smile of his own. "Dad didn't want us to lose even more school time."
"Us? You have siblings?"
"Three," James replied. "We're all adopted. They go here too."
"Oh," Alex said clearly not knowing what to say to that without feeling like he was prying. James smiled at him to let him know it was okay. "So, wha-"
"Rider!"
Both boys turned toward the angry shout and James spotted a blond boy running down the halls towards them. He looked angry, even from meters away. Glancing at Alex, James saw that he didn't look happy to see the other boy.
"What is it Ryan?" Alex asked as the other boy pulled up to them. He was a little shorter than Alex and not nearly as muscular. His hair was a bleach blond and he looked like the nasty sort of boy James had always gotten into fights with back when he was civilian. The new boy looked ready to respond when he spotted James standing there rather awkwardly.
"Who is he?" Ryan sneered not even addressing James, who scowled at the snub.
"James Coldmere," Alex told him. "New student from Cornwall. What do you want Ryan?"
"Did you tell Max that he should come to tonight's party?"
"Yeah," Alex replied clearly not understanding what was so wrong. "Why?"
"Why would you invite Max?"
"Because he didn't have any plans," Alex snapped. "Besides, what's wrong with Max being at a party?"
"Don't you remember what happened the last time Max was at a party?" Ryan insisted.
"Yes," Alex said simply then turned and started down the hallway at the exact moment the bell rang. He turned around only once. "Nice meeting you James!" Then he was gone. Ryan turned to look at James. The other boy eyed him up and down in a way that made James distinctly uncomfortable.
"Cornwall, yeah?"
"Yes," James said looking the other boy dead in the eye.
"Do you go to parties?"
"Um, yes."
"Good. You're invited. Give Alex your address the next time you see him. We'll pick you up at eight."
And with that the stranger disappeared, leaving an extremely bewildered Cherub agent standing in the hallway of a school he'd never heard of.
/
James sat next to Alex for most of their classes. The other boy seemed to enjoy the back corner, away from the windows, and ultimately away from the rest of his classmates. It seemed a bit odd to James who had found Alex to be a perfectly agreeable bloke, if a bit uncertain of how to make new friends.
Once Alex had discovered that they shared most of their classes he had appointed himself as James's guide. Not that James was complaining as such an action made his job all the more easier. However, Alex's friendliness wasn't something he had in common with his friends. James discovered quickly enough that his target kept a small, tight circle of friends that seemed almost impenetrable if you weren't expressly invited.
They were popular with nearly every student they passed acknowledging them in some way. James had a feeling that his first day would have been a lot more stressful if Alex hadn't been walking by him down the hallway. It was almost surreal how the students seemed to part to get out of his way. Alex didn't seem to notice and James wasn't sure of how to bring it up. He couldn't seem to push much with Alex as the other boy wasn't interested in talking about anything more complicated or scandalous than football practice. Not that James expected him to, it was only the first day after all.
Despite the fact that Alex clearly belonged to an exclusive group he invited James to eat lunch with them.
"Unless you want to eat with your siblings," Alex said politely as they navigated the halls towards the canteen. "I'd invite all of them but Ryan's head might explode. He's a bit of a private bloke."
'Private' wasn't the word James would have used to describe the boy but he couldn't risk saying anything about him without putting himself on the outs with Alex.
"That's alright," James reassured him. "My siblings will understand. I'll catch them after school."
"Cool. Ryan told me he invited you to the party tonight."
"Yeah, it kind of surprised me." Alex laughed but didn't offer an explanation about Ryan's behavior. James took it as a sign that it wasn't an odd occurrence. Alex quickly programmed James's number into his mobile with the promise to text him later for his address. By this time they had reached the table sitting just off to the side of the room. It was the perfect spot. They could see everyone and everyone could see them. It screamed popular table and James suddenly found himself distinctly uncomfortable.
He'd never really been at the popular table before. None of his past marks were really at the top of the social ladder. Not like Alex seemed to be.
"Hey guys," Alex greeted brightly. "This is James. He's from Cornwall." Why Alex felt the need to add that tidbit of information into every introduction James didn't know. Ryan broke away from his conversation to eye him again before taking a pointed bite of his sandwich. A black haired boy who was incredibly short even sitting down gave him a bit of a more genuine smile. The last boy, a tall and thick brown haired person, didn't even glance up from the blue play script in his hand.
"Ignore him," the black haired boy said as he followed James's eye line. "He won't hear anything anyone says until he memorizes his lines. I'm Tom." The two shook hands and Alex and James finally took their seats. James ended up having to sit directly across from Ryan and was a little disconcerted when the other boy gave him the stink eye, then pulled out his Sidekick and started a serious text conversation.
Whoever it was wasn't at their table as none of the other boys pulled out their mobiles. James could at least be sure that Ryan wasn't sabotaging him. At least, not yet. James had only been there half a day and he was fairly certain he already had Ryan pegged. He was the type of boy who was infinitely insecure, the kind prone to becoming a bully. James disliked him.
"So, James," Tom hedged, unsure of how to continue a conversation with the new kid. Alex's attention was on a pretty blond girl who had stopped by to chat. With the other two boys otherwise preoccupied, Tom was left to try to keep the meal from descending into a state of awkwardness. "Um, why'd your family leave...Cornwall, was it?"
"Oh, my dad got a promotion," James recited trying to make it sound legitimate. He hated this part; the acting. Tom nodded indulgently and then shot a look at Alex clearly sending a mental SOS. It had become awkward.
"That's nice I guess," Tom replied.
"Cindy Rileder said your family moved here because he was fired," Ryan broke in. James was momentarily shocked. He hadn't been at Brookland for more than a few hours and already there were contradicting stories. Did someone get their story wrong? It was a bit of a rookie mistake but it was possible. They had been forced to memorize so many covers it was possible someone had mixed up a fact.
"And then he got a better job at a better company," James lied, coming up with something on the spot and hoping Coswell would swallow it. Alex was glaring at his accuser. Not that James really understood what he was being accused of. Resume fudging? Who didn't make themselves sound better than they really were? Especially when they were trying to impress an entire new school filled with strangers who could make your life miserable until graduation.
"Ryan, did you get that address from Sarah?" Alex asked suddenly. Ryan refused to tear his eyes from James's, even when he answered.
"I'll get it later," he said.
"You should get it now," Tom cut in. It was clear the other boys were trying to get rid of Ryan. The blond boy gave in after only a moment, stood, and left.
"Sorry about him," Tom said to James and the spy could tell that he was at least marginally sincere. This was the type of boy to wear his heart on his sleeve. "He's, um, yeah."
"Yeah," James replied lamely. He looked over his shoulder briefly. "I'm just gonna go eat with my brothers."
"Are you sure?" Alex asked. "Ryan won't come back until the bell rings."
"I'm sure."
With that, he stood and made his escape.
/
"How did it go?" Ewart asked, the second all four of them had bundled themselves into the car and shut the doors.
"Fine," Kendra replied. "That Alex guy is a real friendly person. It shouldn't be too difficult to get close to him."
"Yeah, they even invited James to a party," Bruce chimed in. "Think we can manage to go with you?"
"I don't know," James told them honestly. It had been a strange afternoon. His class after lunch had consisted of Ryan, Tom, and Alex as they engaged in some sort of subtle warfare. Ryan would say something snide that James didn't really understand the meaning of and Tom and Alex would then reply with their own subtle comments. It was almost as if they were carrying on an entire conversation without him understanding a single moment of it. It was disconcerting as he couldn't tell where he stood with them, even Alex.
But it was only the first day. Maybe he'd have better luck at the party.
"Well, call and ask Alex," Kyle insisted.
"Alex didn't invite me, Ryan did."
"The Coswell kid?" Kerry asked, surprised.
"Who's Ryan?" Ewart asked.
"He's this really jerky kid," Bruce explained. "He almost got me put in detention during Chemistry. What's his issue?"
"I don't know," James replied. "I think he's just an arse."
"Well, just try to keep him on your good side," Ewart said. "If he's Rider's close friend we don't want to alienate him completely."
"That's just it," James said remembering all the interactions he'd seen in just that one day. "I don't think they are friends."
"They're frienemies," Kerry piped up.
"They're what?" Bruce asked, confused.
"Frienemies," Kyle repeated. "Friends who act like enemies or rivals. It actually explains a lot based off of what I saw."
"Hmm," Ewart said, clearly thinking of what they were telling him. "Keep digging into that. There might be a reason for them to be acting that way. Find out what it is."
"Yes, sir," they all replied at nearly the same time. Though James just knew that he would be the one to really figure out what was going on between Alex and Ryan. If it had nothing to do with why they were there in the first place, it was likely that they would never know.
/
They picked him up at eight that night, just like Ryan had said they would. The girl who was driving was clearly older but not by much. She was pretty, blond, and James was sure she was already taken. He climbed into the back of the SUV and found himself squeezed in next to Tom. Ryan sat on the other side and James also noticed that the other boy was in the back. He had small torch and was using it continue reading his script. He wondered if he would ever get to hear this kid's voice.
"Hello James," Alex greeted. James looked at him sharply. There was a distinct tone in Alex's greeting that made him very uncomfortable. James glanced across Tom to where Ryan was staring straight ahead, a small smirk on his lips.
"Hi," James replied. He was uncomfortable. He only ever got this feeling when he knew-knew-that a situation was about to go South. But he had only been in that school for a day! There was no way that they could know who he really was and he knew he hadn't been around long enough to start any drama. He was starting to think that these boys were insane. Too late, he realized, he never should gotten into a car with them.
"Kerry, you know where you're going?" Alex asked sweetly. The girl in the driver's seat nodded.
"Yeah," she said. "It's like fifteen minutes from here." Alex nodded and then looked back at James, his eyes were cold. They were too cold for James's liking. Something was going to happen and it was going to happen now. He had a bad feeling that they weren't on their way to any kind of party. Ryan made a point of actually leaning around Tom to smirk at James. James wanted to hit him.
Who did he think he was?
Tom wouldn't look at him. The kid in the backseat probably had no idea what was going on around him.
"So I hear Cornwall is a nice place to live," Alex said conversationally.
"It's alright," James replied noncommittally.
"There's nice little bakery my Uncle and I used to go to," Alex continued. "In the main square. I remember it was quite famous with the locals. The baker always used this special glaze on his pastries. What was that special flavor James? I can't seem to remember right now."
James felt his stomach tighten on him. If he couldn't answer a question any local would know they would know he was lying to them. Although, if Alex's tone was anything to go by, they knew already. This was turning ugly. Too ugly. And it was turning much too quickly. But how could Alex know anything?
"I wasn't in Cornwall long," James said, trying to pull something together quickly. "We move around a lot."
"Of course," Alex said nodding. He still wouldn't turn around and look at James in the back seat. No one would look at him and that was probably the scariest thing at all. He sat in the back, fretting, for the fifteen minute ride to an abandoned dock house on the Thames. He found himself wondering if Alex was about to kill him and dump his body in the water. But that was absurd.
Hazing.
That was the logical explanation that popped into James's head. This was just some sort of hazing. It still didn't sit well in his gut though and James had learned long ago to stick to his gut. The girl in the front shut off the engine and the radio cut out. The vibration of the seats stopped. The entire SUV went silent.
Then Alex got out without a word. He walked a few feet towards the abandoned dock house, stopped, and turned around. HIs hands went into the pockets of his black and blue checkered coat. He simply waited.
"Get out, Coldmere," Tom said quietly. He didn't sound too threatening.
"Yeah, Coldmere, go face the music," Ryan said and this time it sounded much more threatening. James looked at them, steeled himself, and got out of the car. When he got to the other side of the car, Alex silently continued up the small hill, past the dead tree, and into the building. James silently followed him the entire way.
When he finally entered the building he saw something he hadn't expected.
A large, square card table was set up on one side by the slightly open boat entrance. A large, sturdy piece of metal had been fastened down over where the boat would have parked which effectively made one large expanse of floor. In one corner was a generator that had several laptops, lights, a telly, and a miniature refrigerator attached to it. There were two cots lined up along one wall. The card table had several empty fast food packages on it. There was also an unfinished poker game.
James recognized it for it was. Long term surveillance.
Two men were at sitting at the table with their backs turned to the door but both looked over when they heard the boys enter. One had a military grade camera in his hands. The other had night vision binoculars. Another man was reading a magazine-just a tabloid-on one of the cots. A fourth man was by the fridge, fishing something out.
The man at the fridge was the first to speak.
"So it's true," he said. "MI5 is using kids."
"I told you," the man with the binoculars snapped. "My intelligence was solid. I don't know why you doubt me."
"Shut up Eagle," the fridge-man snapped in reply. James was shocked. His cover was blown. But blown by who? That was the ultimate question.
"Who are you?" he asked sending a side glance at Alex. "What's going on?"
"I'm Wolf," the fridge-man replied. "We're SAS. And no need to tell us who you are."
The camera man lifted a file from the card table and began reading.
"James Choke a.k.a James Adams. Born 1991. Orphaned. Recruited by Cherub."
"How did you get my file?" James asked, feeling more than a little pissed. They had no right. "Those records are classified!"
"I have a lot of friends," Wolf told him and the man with the binoculars-Eagle-snorted in amusement.
"You have one friend," he said. "And he told you to stop calling for favors."
"Irrelevant," Wolf snapped.
"Alex?" James asked wanting to hear from the other boy before he heard anymore from bickering SAS soldiers.
"It appears that MI5 has stepped into an SAS operation," Alex replied.
"You're SAS?" James asked incredulously and gave a sarcastic laugh to go along with it. Alex, who looked pretty nonchalant with his hands still stuffed in his pockets, just shrugged.
"Doesn't really matter what I am," he said. "I'm not Cherub and that's all you need to know."
"I thought only Cherub employs underage agents," James said pensively.
"They are," Alex replied. "I'm freelance." James raised his eyebrows at him and gave him a look of disbelief. There was no way that was true. He snorted in derision and looked away.
"What operation is this anyway?" he asked. "What does the SAS care about this guy?"
"That's not really any of your concern," Wolf said regaining the teens' attention.
"This is my mission too," James said trying to sound stern but coming off as stubborn.
"Not anymore," Wolf responded. "This is our op so why don't you just go back to wherever it is came from in the first place? Okay?"
"No!" James exclaimed. "That's not okay. I was sent here to figure out how this Skoda guy is getting his drugs in! I'm not leaving without that information."
"This isn't for you James," Alex cut in clearly trying to keep Wolf from saying something terrible. The man's face was none too kind or patient. "This is my bust, not yours."
"Why?" James asked. "We could easily work together on this. You know that. Or is this some sort of territory thing?"
"Skoda used to deal drugs at Brookland," Alex said and James's temper stopped cold. Oh. "But that was back when he was just some petty handler. It's personal James. This guy got out of jail once already after I put him there. Do you get that?"
James thought he might. He'd never had an enemy hit that close to home with him. He'd dealt with some nasty people sure, but to have an enemy continuously walk away from justice? He wasn't quite sure he knew what that really felt like.
"Not really," James complied. "But I can request a withdrawal from the mission."
"And all of your siblings?" Alex asked.
"They'll leave when I do."
"Good."
"Yes, good," Wolf snapped. "Now leave. We actually have work to do. Cub, come back after your party. I'll want a report." Alex nodded. He then turned and led James back out of the old boat house.
"Wait," James said softly when they were halfway down the hill to the car. Alex stopped and turned to look at him inquisitively. "Do your friends know? About you and your freelancing?"
"Tom knows some of it," Alex replied. "But I keep him pretty far out of the loop. Why?"
"I was just wondering if this was why Ryan keeps trying to freeze me out," James told him and Alex actually gave a hearty laugh at that.
"No," Alex said. "Ryan's really just an arse. Although, I did warn them to watch out for a new kid from Cornwall. I thought you might be more trouble than you were."
"They didn't question how you knew I was coming?"
"No," Alex said, shaking his head. "My friends like me. They aren't going to question me and risk alienating themselves in Brookland."
"So you really do run that place, huh?" James asked, amused. He'd seen some of it today but he hadn't thought Alex had noticed how the students reacted to him.
"I have to," Alex told him. "Before I took over they were tearing me apart. Rumors, lies, the whole nine. It was either live miserably or take over. Ryan used to be the king up there."
That made sense to James. It explained why Ryan seemed to be so bitter. It was because he was bitter about being upstaged by someone he probably used to make fun of on a regular basis.
"Why do you keep him around?" James asked, curious. Alex gave a little half shrug.
"Believe it or not, Ryan and I used to be legitimate friends. Best friends even. I guess it still counts for something."
With that the two of them went back to the car.
The party had been fun. James surreptitiously watched Alex work the room all night. The other boy was good at getting information. Apparently there were several pushers at the party who had some fairly decent tidbits and were itching to brag about how much Skoda trusted them with those tidbits. James didn't pay much attention to it. He was leaving. He knew Cherub wasn't going to step on the toes of SAS and whoever Alex really was. This wasn't his mission anymore.
He resolved to just have a little fun.
By the time they got in the car Ryan and Tom had more or less warmed up to him. Tom was more accepting than the other boy but James was beyond caring about what the arse thought. They were halfway to James's current place of residence when the boy in the very back finally looked up from the script he'd had his nose in all night.
"Who are you?" he asked James during a lull in the conversation.
"Max!" Ryan exclaimed.
"He lives!" Tom joked in a low voice. Everyone laughed and the other boys poked fun at their oblivious friend for the rest of the ride.
The Cherubs left the next morning.
James didn't expect he'd ever see Alex again or Brookland for that matter. And that was just alright with him.