Due Diligence
By Simply Shelby
Alex Rider had been kidnapped.
Suddenly and without warning.
Disappearing via a well-trained SAS unit.
From right under his nose.
If he were anyone else, he supposed he would be upset.
"We've just had a call from Ankara." Mrs. Jones had informed him brusquely. Her eyes gazed intensely across the surface his desk at his turned chair. "Benson has confirmed that the entire SAS unit seems to have disappeared." He turned his chair and gave her his trademark blank look, not seeing how this concerned him until she said bluntly, "They've taken Alex with them."
Well, that couldn't be good. He steepled his fingers.
"Satellites?" he requested, not missing a beat. He didn't stand to his feet, he didn't pace, didn't move. Nothing surprised him.
She shook her head, primly. "Nothing as of yet, I'm afraid." Pursing her lips, she sucked diligently on her peppermint. "I'm unclear as to their motives, Alan."
This matter was clearly bothering her. He would have frowned at the emotion written across her face, but that would have been completely out of character. And, if he were any other person in the world, he would have snorted sarcastically. However, he was Alan Blunt and kept his face blank and informed her, "Their motives are unimportant at the moment."
She respectfully disagreed. "They are trained to be loyal to their country and are not in the habit of disobeying orders. What possible reason would they have for kidnapping a fifteen-year-old boy?" She didn't mention just what this particular fifteen-year-old boy was. She refrained from mentioning most of the time and he respected that.
He waved away her woman-ish worries. Figuratively speaking, of course. "Any information on the unit?"
She seemed embarassed. "The Major General isn't being very forthcoming, I'm afraid. He demanded justification. I couldn't very well tell him one of his units has kidnapped one of our agents. That would raise some unwanted questions. We're on shaky enough ground as it is."
Blunt was unfazed. He suspected the Major General knew the details anyways. "Dossiers?"
"Missing, apparently." She coughed.
"Stonewalling." He concluded.
"Yes."
It took him but a second before switching tactics. "Eyes on the housekeeper?"
"I'm afraid she's AWOL as well. Our men lost sight of her just after eleven yesterday. By all accounts, she boarded the Tube and another woman disembarked."
One second Jack was standing on the crowded Tube, making her way back to Sloane Square, and the next second there was another her standing in her place.
The switch was swiftly and expertly done. Profesional. She hadn't even realised she'd been moved until she saw there was a woman who looked exactly like her standing where she had just been. Jack was surprised and captivated, and then the man who had shifted her so elegantly was subtly pushing her out of the underground.
It was a nice day, all things considering. She had spent the morning alone in the Chelsea flat, folding Alex's laundry and washing clean dishes over and over. Alex was gone again and she was worrying. She'd tried to get her mind off of things by shopping in London and spending some time sketching random people in Hyde Park. She'd finally resigned herself to the fact that her worry wasn't going to just disappear and had caught the Tube back to Chelsea. Only to be--Jack wasn't sure what to call this.
Silently, she debated on whether or not to kick this freak's ass and quickly vetoed the idea. He was rather large and scary looking and, with her luck, probably had some deadly training. Best not to get herself killed. Besides, he didn't seem like a bad guy. In fact, he seemed to be protecting her. She just hoped her instincts were right.
They travelled down the Strand, getting easily lost in the crowds. She wondered if she should be terrified or thankful. She didn't have to wonder if this had anything to do with Alex. Her mind ran through possibilities before berating herself for expecting the worst. When they'd reached Whitehall, the man turned to her. "If you'll follow me."
Jack shot a meaningful glance down at the firm grip around her arm. As though she had a choice. "Who are you?" she demanded.
"Miss Starbright?" he retorted, his voice hard and the tone demanding.
She was a bit taken aback and actually attempted to take a few steps backwards before realising his hand was attatched to her arm. "Well, yeah... But--"
He inturrupted. "Then it makes no difference who I am." He cut off her protests with a sort of muted exasperation, "But, if you must know, I am the man who will take you to Alex."
One of things Ian had reiterated to Alex growing up was to always be aware of his surroundings. And even if he was half-dead, as was the case at the moment, ingrained habit took over and he knew something was different the moment he regained consciousness. After ascertaining that there was no imminet danger, he blinked his eyes open.
The room he woke to was completely different to the one in Ankara. Completely white walls replaced the horrid wallpaper. The bed was slightly larger and felt more like an actual bed and less like a camp bed. There was no beeping, no machines, no noise. Two familiar men were playing cards over his bed, looking bored. He stared, willing to accept this as a dream, but the overpowering pain in his body reminded him that it was anything but.
"What's going on?" His voice was soft and clear. His throat must be healing.
The man sitting in the chair on his right came to life, smiled blindingly, and seemed to bounce with exuberance. His cards flew in the air and scattered across the bedclothes. "You're awake!" Snake cheered, "Eagle, look, he's awake!"
"So I've gathered," Eagle's dry voice intoned, rolling his eyes. He set his cards deliberately down on the bed. "Cub," he greeted, looking down at the boy on the bed, "How do you feel?"
Alex stared at him, his mouth parting slightly in disbelief. If that wasn't the stupidest question. He shook his head as if to convey his thoughts.
The men seemed to understand. And for some reason, Snake chuckled, "Are you feeling any better?" he corrected his team member who had begun to go through all the basic routine check-ups and Alex let him, trying his damnest not to tense at the clinical touch.
Alex was about to respond when he realised he was being deliberately diverted and his question was being ignored. He kicked himself for not realising it sooner, but chalked it up to feeling, well, feeling like he'd been tortured for days and had spent hours navigating the desert without water. "What's going on?" he requested the knowledge again and was again ignored.
"Do you feel dizzy?"
"Nauseous?"
He didn't want questions! He sat up suddenly, trying to control the situation, the conversation. His hands flew to his temples and he reminded himself to breathe.
"Should you be sitting up so quickly?"
He stopped from shaking his head. Every single muscle in his body screamed in protest at him. His head thrummed with the echoes of men's voices. He refused to panic. Forced himself to breathe slowly and evenly and to calm down.
"Would you like some water?"
Enough questions! Each sound was muffled. The echoes inside his head grew louder. Harsh, broken English. Heavy, foreign accents. "What are you wanting? Who bring you here? Why are you here? Why are you here? Why are you here? Why are you here? Why are you here? Why are you here?"
He felt like he was going to pass out. But he held on tight to reality. "What--what are you doing?" His words felt heavy on his tongue. He was so tired, so thirsty, so lost.
"We've kidnapped you." Wolf's low voice was loud and clear in his ears coming from the direction of the doorway. Alex's head snapped around and the world tilted.
Moments later, he was blinking his eyes open for the second time in under fifteen minutes. Gentle hands settling him back against the pillows that were too soft to be hospital pillows. Gentle hands reassuring him. Gentle hands taking his vitals. Gentle hands. Gentle.
Snake was talking. Again. "...You tell a kid you're kidnapping him and he goes and faints on you."
Alex let the 'fainting' quip slide. "Tell me..." The world threatened to disappear again and he squeezed his eyes shut. "You're not serious."
"Deadly," Eagle's voice confirmed two metres away on his right. "It's for your own good."
"It's not like we get kicks out of kidnapping teenage boys," Snake's voice explained, near the bottom of the bed.
"Especially if they belong to MI6," Wolf's voice was right behind his shoulder and he stopped himself from flinching in fear.
He opened his eyes wide as the meaning of their words settled, using all of his willpower to keep from collapsing into hysterics. "You're mad." He concluded, logically. "All of you."
"Glad to know we have a defense if this all goes to hell." Eagle quickly held up his hands as his unit leader glared at him for even suggesting it. He then caught sight of the time on his wrist before cursing softly and indicating this to Wolf.
Wolf skirted around the bed and made towards the door, but Eagle stopped him with firm hand on his shoulder. Something passed between the men that Alex didn't attempt to understand, didn't want to understand, but Eagle explained aloud.
"You stay with the kid, I'll talk to the woman."
AN: As demanded, I deliver this. I hope you enjoy the upcoming ride. It's definitely going to be interesting. Just have a look at the genre: Adventure/Angst. Is that even possible?
In regards to the title: "Due Diligence" is the effort made by an ordinarily prudent or reasonable party to avoid harm to another party. It involves a general obligation to meet a standard of behavior. Quite often a contract will specify that a party is required to provide due diligence. Failure to make this effort may be considered negligence.