Ian Rider knew it was only a matter of time before they came for him. Spies, like assassins, knew there was not much of a chance of dying peacefully. Paranoia became almost second nature for him; he was always looking over his shoulder it seemed. When it came down to it, he was just tired. Tired of the life he led, weary of the things he had seen, and plagued by the things he had done. He was not an old man, but he had done enough terrible things in his life to fill ten men's lives.

The only thing he feared in death was leaving his nephew Alex alone. His parents were dead, and Ian was all the boy had left. Alex was resourceful, strong, and smart; Ian knew the boy could take care of himself better than most people could ever hope to. He had made sure of that. But when the very real threat showed itself- MI6- could the boy save himself then? Alex didn't even know who his uncle truly was.

These were the thoughts running through his head as his car sped down the road, empty desert on either side. Alex. What would happen to Alex? He didn't try to speed up, veer off the road, or even pick up the pistol lying beside him as the helicopter flew up beside the car. He didn't scream or curse as the face of Yassen Gregorovich appeared through the open window, or as he stared down the barrel of a machine gun. He just nodded gravely at the assassin and turned his eyes back onto the road ahead. He allowed himself a weary chuckle and a secret smile. If he was truthful to himself, he was glad he would die by Gregorovich's hand and not some common killer. This was a death as close to honorable as they came.

Even as fate put the two men on opposite sides of the game, they had always housed a mutual respect for each other. John Rider, Alex's father, had saved Yassen from a black widow's venom in the jungle years before. Now Yassen would honor the man's brother in the best way he knew; with a quick death. For the last time in his life Ian Rider heard the familiar sound of gunfire.

((A/N: I've always wondered what Alex's uncle was thinking in the last moments before he died. Was he scared? Did he hate Gregorovich for what he was about to do? But then I thought, no. With the line of work he was in, he couldn't have feared death all that much. If anything he probably welcomed it. Yassen has always been my favorite character, and I kind of wanted to write a little about what I thought Ian must have been thinking before he was killed. Thank you for reading!))