Disclaimer: I don't own the Alex Rider series.
Okay, had this idea at three in the morning last week and couldn't sleep til I jotted it down. And yes, the first chapter is short. But it's only a set-up chapter anyway.
And before you go on, I warn you that this chapter is all dialogue. Gasp! Shock! Horror!
"He's brave, that's obvious"
"And intelligent"
"He's skilled also"
"I think we have our winner. He's the most promising, easily. You've done yourself a credit Gregorovich"
"The most promising of the four? Surely Rider will do the best"
"Rider does not kill. This one does, as was demonstrated in the tape"
"So we are agreed. Delaroche is mine for sabotage. Coben is Kurst's for corruption. Rider goes to Gregorovich for intelligence. What about assassination? It's Gregorovich for me. All in favour?"
"Yes Levi, we all agree"
"Wonderful. Now, who shall train Gregorovich?"
"Why not his father? He and Rider will be learning nearly identical disciplines, non?"
"They will. I have, however, reason to believe that Rider and Gregorovich would not get on well with each other"
"If that is the case we must push them together. Have them paired off for everything. Leave them to share a room. They will work in harmony"
"What say you Gregorovich? Are you up to both of them?"
"I am quite confident they will work well together"
"And your son, Gregorovich? What are his feelings about Scorpia?"
"He is angered by his captivity. He does not want to be tied to an organisation"
"Well, he will come round with time. He is well trained Gregorovich, he will do very well here"
"We have Coben brought in and Delaroche is being, ah, recruited, as we speak. But Rider will be difficult. MI6 watch him carefully"
"It will not be a problem. Coben seems quite pleased with her placement here. Be careful of her. She is not used to the wealth our other students are accustomed to. Delaroche will be easy to pick up but getting him from Paris will be quite a task. His father is most concerned about him. Gregorovich, your son is a rather spirited boy. He knocked out two of my guards this morning and wasted ammunition and time, holding up the patrol routes and drawing the guards into gun combat. See that it does not happen again"
"Of course. He will be punished for such behaviour"
"He is considerably colder than the others"
"It is the way I taught him to be"
"It is good, he will serve us well"
"I want Rider brought in by Monday. We have waited long enough"
"Of course. It is a matter of timing, that is all. Might we borrow Coben to help in the operation?"
"Most certainly. She is positively irritating with her perpetual motion. I sense she cares for your son Gregorovich. Might he return her affections?"
"He does not feel compassion"
"I should hope not. That girl will need a lot of work if we are to harden her"
"Must we? I do find robotic students most dull"
"Ah, Ms. Gold! I wondered when you might lend your voice to our discussion"
"Yassen, your son, I'm intrigued. Who is the mother?"
"Now, now, Ms. Gold, the boy's mother does not matter"
"I was just expressing my curiosity. No offence intended Gregorovich"
"None taken"
"Good. Now, Rider is not going to want to work for us at all"
"He will have no choice. He will come around to the idea"
"And Delaroche? He does not strike me as the sort of child we are looking for"
"True, he is used to being in the lap of luxury. But he showed considerable pluck in running away from his father. He is a born politician and I'm sure we will find use for him"
"I sill believe we have cause to be greatly worried about Coben. She watches your son Gregorovich"
"As I have already told you, he will not return her affections, not unless he wants something from her"
"You are sure?"
"Absolutely"
"I will have words with Coben about it. She will respond well to me if I tell her honestly"
"That's very noble of you Ms. Gold"
"Why thank you Mr. Mikato. I notice you have been uncharacteristically silent this meeting. Licking wounds, are we? Jealous a certain someone didn't get a student?"
"I assure Ms. Gold, whatever you feel could not be further from my own feelings. Children and I do not agree"
"Enough! It is hard to tell who is more immature"
"Apologies, Zeljan"
"Sorry"
"We are here to discuss the future of our organisation. As I am sure you all know, I am deeply concerned. Each of our students has a noticeable flaw. Rider despises Scorpia, Coben is over enthusiastic, Delaroche is a spoilt whelp and Gregorovich wishes to work alone. We must work to overcome these if we are to gain anything from this operation. We need Gregorovich to be brought under control, we need Coben to stop making puppy eyes at him, we need to toughen Delaroche up and we need Rider to appreciate the chance we're giving him"
"Firstly, I think teaming Gregorovich and Rider would be a stroke of genius. They are both very promising"
"Rider will dislike Gregorovich"
"They do not have to like each other to work together"
"True"
"Ms. Gold, I am trusting you to talk Coben out of her foolish fancy. That must be done quickly"
"Zeljan, I'm not so sure a talk is going to do it fully. Maybe we should just wait til she actually talks to him. She'll quickly work out he's not interested"
"I do not want to take chances"
"Of course. I understand"
"Good. Now with Delaroche we must make sure he understands he is here to work and train, not be supported"
"That should be easy enough to do"
"Gregorovich I will leave to you Yassen. You know how he ticks"
"With respect Mr. Kurst, I do not pretend to understand my son. He is not your average child"
"Neither were you from what I hear. You are his parent, you must make him understand the benefits of Scorpia"
"I will do so"
"Good. Rider will be the most difficult to talk around. We must make a combined effort to do so"
"We will do what we must. Now, everything is agreed, is it not?"
"Yes, I think is time to separate again. I must make enquiries about Delaroche"
"Yassen, just one last thing"
"Yes Ms. Gold, what is it?"
"You son, he's quite an interesting young man. I must pose one question to you before you leave. Did you choose the name Alec after John Rider's son?"
The closing door answered her question.
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