Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider or The Squad.
CHAPTER ONE: Unexpected Mission Partner
Alex Rider suddenly found himself sitting inside Alan Blunt's office in the Royal & General Bank in Liverpool Street that is actually the head quarters of MI6. He doesn't have a good feeling about this because whenever he was asked to come to the head quarters, he was told of bad news or he was given a mission.
"What do you want?" Alex asked wearily. He was weary for he knew that being called in just as he had returned from a mission one week ago meant that something bad must have happened.
"We have a mission for you and you're the only one who can do this." Mrs. Jones said monotonously. Her ever present peppermint was missing and her face was carefully blank.
"There are a lot of capable agents here in MI6. I know I'm not the only one who can do it." Alex said while narrowing his eyes in trepidation.
"It's not something we would like to burden you with, but you're the right guy for it." Mrs. Jones said with a hint softness.
"This mission is a joint mission with the CIA and they especially requested you to be the partner of their agent." Alan Blunt said with an uncharacteristic thoughtful frown.
"Partner?" Alex repeated.
"Yes, a partner. You're pairing up with their teenage spy." As Mrs. Jones said that, a picture of a very beautiful brunette appeared on the screen. Alex caught his breath. The girl on the screen was the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen. The girl looks like an actress, but more beautiful than any of them.
"I thought you said that they didn't use teenage spies?" Alex asked as he snapped out from his daze.
"We thought so too, but we were wrong. Her cover was very good and the CIA doesn't have a file about her except today. What's more is that she's been trained to be a spy at a very young age just like you." Alan Blunt said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Her name is Toby Klein. She's been working for the CIA for two years and counting." Mrs. Jones informed him.
"Then why wasn't she the one who was asked to go to Skeleton Key?" Alex asked in confusion.
"It was because of the Cheerleading Regional of her school." Mrs. Jones said while holding a white envelope.
"Cheerleading Regional? You mean she's a cheerleader?" Alex asked doubtfully.
"In fact she's the captain of their squad and that's why we said that her cover story's good. Who would suspect a kid of being a spy especially if that kid's a cheerleader." Alan Blunt stated.
"A cheerleader is someone who is unlikely to be suspected as a spy, but in truth cheerleaders are perfect for the job of a spy. They are good at lying, cheating, stealing, manipulating, and controlling the crowd. They are also physically fit." Mrs. Jones added.
"That's why we never suspected the CIA about having a teenage spy because of the perfect cover she was forced into." Alan Blunt said.
As they said that, Alex agreed that cheerleaders were perfect to be spies and sympathized with Toby Klein as Alan Blunt said that she was forced to be a cheerleader like how he was forced to be a spy.
On the upper floor of the CIA, Toby Klein was seen with her mouth agape. She doesn't like what she's hearing and she doesn't want to do what she's being asked of.
"You want me to what?" Toby shouted in shock.
"We want you to go to London tomorrow and head towards MI6." A dark haired man in a grey suit said. His face was handsome, but was marred by a thin scar on his left cheek that was an inch apart from his hazel colored eyes.
"But dad I have three tests tomorrow and I can't miss that." Toby complained, but she wasn't really complaining and her dad knew it too.
"I know honey, but we really need you right now." Mr. Klein said softly. "You can take it when you get back and you can study more while you're away."
"And how long would this mission be?" Toby said in defeat knowing that she can't argue her way out.
"It's about a week or so." Her dad said casually.
"That's long and I'll miss a lot of things in school, so I won't do it." Toby said.
"Think about it, Toby. You'll miss cheerleading practice and you can avoid the teachers you don't like." Mr. Klein said while shrugging. "And temporarily avoid the day when Jack Peyton proposes to you." He added with a wink.
"How did you know about that?" Toby asked nervously thinking about how Lucy told her the news and how she reacted to it.
"Alan told me that Jack's been planning to propose to you ever since you two began dating." Her dad informed her. "Even when he learned you were a spy, he still didn't change his mind and asked his uncle to let him become an agent just like you."
Toby blushed. She didn't know that her dad knew that much and she doesn't want to learn more about what he knows. "I'm in." Toby said changing the subject.
"Excellent." He said with a small smile.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've finally re-written Chapter 1! I hope that this version is better than the previous.
Thanks for all the reviews and follows. :D
