A/N: Hey guys, welcome to the (rewrite of) my first Alex Rider fanfic! Now, if you're one of my long-time fans and readers, you already know that I'm rewriting this story on account of inconsistent plot and little description. That's fine, just read each newly written chapter as I post it. If you're one of the AR fans who just said "Oh, this looks interesting" and have absolutely no idea what the heck I'm talking about, that's alright. I'm rewriting this story from my previous edition (which should be down by the time I publish this, so don't even think about reading ahead!). No matter who you are, I hope that you like Never Say Die: Second Edition, and feel free to tell me if you want anything added or removed! ~RP164
Never Say Die
Prologue
Brussels was dark. A deadly silence hung over the city like a dark rain cloud, holding the residents below hostage in a pit of pure stillness. It was the middle of the night, and not a single soul was left wandering the streets. Everyone was asleep, resting contentedly in their beds without any knowledge of anything outside of their own minds. That's why this exact time and place was chosen for this exact meeting.
A single man appeared almost out of nowhere and rested against the heavy metal back door of a run-down hotel just past the city limits. He was in his thirties, with dirty fair hair and beady blue eyes, both hidden under a black cap pulled low over his forehead. He kept his gaze on the road stretching out past him. He was expecting someone...two someones, to be precise, and they should be arriving any minute now. And after this meeting, they'll have the perfect plan. A plan that not even the greatest intelligence organization – or spy – could possibly figure out.
He heard footsteps, two pairs, coming from opposite directions. They paused after a moment.
"Wonderful weather we're having, isn't it?"
It was a man's voice, one that the man had rarely ever heard. It had sounded much different over the phone, but still managed to hold on to its choppy English accent. "I suppose so," the man in the black cap answered. "But the sun's too hot for my liking."
He looked up at the people accompanying him. One, the man that spoke, had gray hair glowing silver in the faint moonlight. The other was a woman with dark hair, mostly hidden under a similar cap. She responded first.
"Good." She looked straight at the man with the black cap. Her stormy gray eyes seemed to see into his soul. "The meeting will proceed as planned?"
"Yes." The man in the black cap turned to the door beside him and produced a key from his pocket, unlocking it and leading the way.
"We won't be overheard?" The second man was the last to enter, and glanced back though the door almost nervously. He ran a hand through his hair.
"No, Matthews." The man in the black cap locked the door behind them and twirled the key on his index finger for a moment. "I've checked this room just an hour ago. Bug-free. And besides, no one's been around ever since then. They're all asleep."
"Good," the woman echoed herself, inviting herself to take a seat in one of the three cheap folding chairs in the center of the room. The men quickly followed suit. "Honestly, Gregorovich, I didn't expect you to pull it off. You have been known to make mistakes in your career..."
"Shut up!" Gregorovich hissed, composing himself within a moment. "Ms. Anniston, this meeting is not about comparing me to him. It's about Blackgate."
"Ah, yes," Matthews murmured. "Operation Blackgate. Gregorovich, you're sure that your target will be there in due time? The trap is set?"
Gregorovich nodded once in agreement. "Yes, yes. I've been planning this for quite some time. I already have a sleeper in place. It's only a matter of time –"
"How do you know that this will work?" Anniston interrupted, not caring at all about the potential consequences. "For all you know, this whole plan of yours will backfire before it even begins!"
Matthews gave Anniston a silent death glare. "Let the man speak. He is, after all, our Scorpia man. If anyone can plot the downfall of anything or anyone, it's him."
"Thank you, Matthews," Gregorovich said with a smirk at Anniston. I told you so. "Scorpia has been monitoring this target for quite a while before now. They have held a large roll in Scorpia's work, having something to do with both of our past failures.
"Ha!" Anniston laughed heartily to herself. "Not a chance!"
Gregorovich took his turn giving her a death glare. "It's true. I'd show you the target's file, but sadly, it recently exploded." No one bothered to comment on this. "But yes, that is one of the reasons I want them dead."
Anniston smirked humorlessly. "All of this for revenge, eh? And with the Olympics so soon? That's very risky. Sounds like fun."
Something glinted in Gregorovich's eyes. Anger? Fury? Revenge? It all looked the same. "That's the cover, yes – and it'll set up the perfect trap for them. But there's another reason I want them dead...
"...They killed my brother."
A/N: Gasp! Who is this guy's brother? Would he happen to be THE Yassen Gregorovich? Who is this mysterious target that they speak of? How does the Olympics have anything to do with their "Operation Blackgate?" What does any of this have to do with Alex's new life? And why am I asking you so many questions? I guess you'll just have to find out in the next update! Thank you all for reading! I'll have the next update up in December. (See the bulletin on my profile page.) Ciao! ~RP164