Chapter One

Ryan Sharma climbed slowly out of CHERUB's main swimming pool. His olive skin glistened in the new bright lighting recently fitted to the complex. He always enjoyed going for a swim before a mission briefing, as it helped him to relax and consider the consequences.

Ryan was now fifteen years old, and had quite a thick, black beard which has therefore earned him the nickname, Blackbeard.

People also thought of him as a fitness freak, probably due to his bodybuilder-like torso, although he found it came in handy when trying to get girls.

As Ryan paced his way towards the CHERUB's banana shaped Mission Briefing room, he realised the actual beauty of the surroundings. He never was the outdoors kind of kid, but during this sunny morning he gazed around, and took it all in. The green. It was beautiful.

"Aren't you meant to be going somewhere, Sharma?" asked Sgt. Kazakov, one of CHERUB's most feared training instructors, often known as an adequate replacement for his predecessor, Mr Large.

"Yes sir, sorry sir" Ryan said quickly.

For once, the building's retina recognition system was working. Unfortunately for Ryan, today it decided to be extra annoying.

It took three attempts until it finally recognized Ryan, and he sighed with relief.

He knocked on the door of one of the most liked mission controllers, John Jones, a former MI5 agent.

"Come on in, Ryan" John shouted.

As Ryan entered the large, well-furnished room, he noticed a boy, slightly younger than him maybe, but still well built, with blonde hair that drooped over his eyes.

Unfortunately, the boy noticed Ryan staring.

"Is there a problem?" the boy asked in a London-like accent

"No, sorry" Ryan answered apologetically.

John spoke. "Ryan, this is Alex Rider, Alex, this is Ryan Sharma".

The two boys nodded at each other.

"Alex works for MI6 Special Operations, but unlike CHERUB he is the only minor aged agent they have" John said.

"Oh, ok" Ryan replied.

"He's well experienced, so don't worry your head about him" John chuckled to himself.

"So I guess you want to hear about your mission?" John continued.

The boys nodded in unison.

Thanks for reading! A classic Rider/Cherub mix I know, but let's see how it goes. Please review!