Hey all and welcome back to my AR Fanfic.

I'm going by the assumption here that Alex's birthday is on January the 17th, since I actually have no idea when it is. If you know when his birthday is, don't tell me 'coz I've already planned everything around the 17th…

I'm also going by the assumption that there is no school uniform…I don't care if there is.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Alex Rider series.

Chapter 1

It had been about three weeks since he'd gotten back from Australia. In that time, he celebrated Christmas with Tom and Jack, turned their living room into an explosion of tinsel, decorative wrappings, statues of all sizes and Christmas lights. Tom also came around for the New Year, and the two boys had a competition to see who could keep awake the longest. Tom won by ten minutes, which he celebrated by running outside, gathering up a snowball, and ditching it at Alex's sleeping head. He'd then been chased around the house for the next hour by a very annoyed Alex.

Currently, Alex was fast asleep, oblivious to the world. He lay under two extremely thick doonas to keep out the cold. While in Australia, he didn't so much need a blanket. Weird country it was, having summer during Christmas.

"Alex!"

Startled, Alex sat bolt upright, a hard feat with the heavy doonas pressing down on him. Rubbing his eyes, he glanced at the new clock he'd gotten for Christmas.

"Alex, hurry up!" Jack yelled again.

Alex groaned. "I'm up!"

"Good!"

For a while since he'd come back from training with the AIS, Alex had kept waking up at five thirty-five every morning. Now it seemed that his body was starting to break the habit. Finally.

Stumbling out of bed, he opened his curtains to the familiar sight of the snow-filled backyard. Then he got dressed, glancing at the heavy school bag he'd packed last night.

The spring term had started almost a week ago. Luckily for him, AIS had called during his Christmas holidays, so he hadn't missed any more school. He'd already caught up to his previous standard earlier in the school year. Plus, there was only four days left before his sixteenth birthday! Life was good. Life was great. Life would be brilliant…

If not for the ruthless criminal organization determined to kill him and his friends for revenge. Again.

Alex sighed, opening the door to his room and picking up his school shoes. He started to slip on his shoes while hopping down the stairs, nearly killing himself when he misjudged and slipped. Someone sniggered at the end of the stairs.

"Good going, super spy," a small boy with spiky black hair and sky blue eyes stood waiting for him, his jacket still littered with snow.

"Tom!" Alex exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

Tom put a hand to his heart and pretended to sob in despair. "Fine, I get it. It's over Alex."

"Oh, stop with the dramatics," Alex said, hitting the boy in the arm.

Tom winced. "Seriously, Alex, you've got to stop hitting me! You've gotten stronger, and my arm has enough bruises as it is."

Alex sighed. "Sorry. So, what are you doing here?"

"Ben offered me a lift…how could I refuse?"

"Oh, you are finally up. What good is getting an alarm clock if I still have to wake you up every morning?" Jack bustled in, grabbing Alex by the shoulder and dragging him into the kitchen for breakfast. Tom trailed along after him.

"Um…I'm trying to save on electricity?"

There was already someone in the kitchen. Someone with dark even eyes and short black hair. Agent Ben Daniels.

"Hey Ben," Alex said, dropping into the seat at the table while Jack went to get his breakfast.

"Hey Alex. Tom," Fox said, nodding to both boys.

Ever since they'd arrived back in England, Ben had been living with Alex and Jack under orders from the MI6. It was for their "protection against Scorpia", though Alex was pretty sure that if a Scorpia assassin really wanted him dead, Ben wouldn't be of much help. Still, he did appreciate the gesture.

"Alex, eat quickly or you'll be late," Jack ordered setting the plate of scrambled eggs, her specialty, in front of the boy then turning to make him some hot chocolate.

Seeing Tom eyeing his food, and knowing that his friend had an endless stomach, Alex gestured towards the cutlery and said, "Help yourself."

"Thanks."

The two boys ate in silence. After that, another MI6 agent, Agent Banks, walked through the front doors while Ben escorted Alex and Tom to school. It seemed that MI6 were taking no chances with Alex, Tom or Jack. They'd arranged round the clock guards, as well as assigning agents to their protection. Tom had refused his outright, telling Alex to tell MI6 to stuff it. He had enough troubles at home with his parents, and didn't really want the argument that would no doubt occur if he tried to bring in an MI6 agent into the house. Still, MI6 had rented out the house next door, and had put agents in there for his security.

"So Alex," Tom said as they climbed into Ben's government issued car, "Have you heard from your cousins down south yet?"

In light of their current situation, and given a heads up that Scorpia may try to plant bugs in and around the house, Tom and Alex had reverted speaking in their code full time. It was rather entertaining when they talked and understood each other, while around them highly trained intelligence agents glared at the two, trying to figure out what they were talking about.

"Nope. And I highly doubt they would talk to me after I egged their house."

"Right. Got it."

Ben sighed in frustration. He'd long figured that "cousins down south" were the AIS, but had yet to understand what "egged their house" meant. Unless the two were just fooling around with his mind, making him think that something they said was code when it wasn't. That was the trouble with codes. You had no idea what it really meant.

There was a dramatic change at the school since last term. Now, armed SAS soldiers, including K-unit, as well as several agents from MI6, guarded the school perimeters. Their numbers had recently been doubled since the attempt last week.

Apparently, Scorpia was now aiming for Alex's friends, not that he had many. They'd attempted to either kidnap or kill Tom, and their agents had taken out almost half of the SAS soldiers. Alex had had to step in; up until that point, he was being forcibly restrained by Eagle and Snake. Flanked by both K-unit and M-unit, they managed to subdue-ie kill-the Scorpia agents, leaving a slightly ruffled Tom in the centre.

"So," Tom said as they were dropped off, "How long do you reckon it'll be before the next attempt on my life?"

Alex forced a laugh. To Tom's credit, he'd remained his usual cheery self, his antics not dampened by the attempt. Alex couldn't help but blame himself for it, though Tom had told him over and over that if the teenage spy wanted to assign blame, then assign it to MI6.

The two friends entered the main building. Teenagers walking past smiled in greeting, or waved their hands. Things had changed at Brooklands after Mrs Jones came over to the school to address them in an assembly. She told the school about how Alex had been absent due to the fact that his uncle used to work for MI6 prior to his death, and how some of his uncle's enemies had been after Alex for a while, so he was being constantly pulled out of school to be kept safe.

It was Alex who had come up with the white lie. In Mr Blunt's office, they'd agreed not to tell the school that Alex was a spy, since then they'd have to "make all those kids sign the Confidentiality Agreement Form, which would just be a waste of paper and time, and won't shut them up anyway", according to Mr Blunt. So, they'd decided to put around that Alex's life was in constant danger, which was why he'd been absent so long.

The armed guards patrolling the school was explained through the real threat that those enemies had sent, saying that they would target Alex's friends and classmates. Surprisingly, or at least to Alex, his classmates had taken the news rather well. In fact, many of them seemed downright happy that they were being targeted. When Alex asked Tom for an explanation, the boy had told him that his fellow students watched way too much TV and movies than was healthy. Alex suspected that there was more to it, but his friend wisely told him to drop it.

Ever since the "truth" had been out, Alex found himself at the centre of constant attention. He became the school's resident "James Bond". Boys swaggered up to him, asking him loudly about the missions his uncle had been on, and whether he had ever seen any gadgets. Girls swooned after him, and when Alex sought out Tom for another explanation, he was informed that the danger-type group he was now classified under boosted his eligibility even more, especially since his facial features had enhanced during puberty, and he now was an "extremely handsome boy with looks to rival just about anyone".

Tom also added that the way Alex's hair flopped over his eyes was extremely appealing to girls. When Alex asked how he knew all that stuff, Tom had put a finger over his lips and jerked his head in the direction of a group of girls. Apparently, the boy had been eavesdropping. Alex found that he wasn't surprised at all.

"Hey, Alex!" A girl shrieked, running up to the two boys.

"Hey Cindy," Alex sighed. Cindy Rills was one of his more persistent female followers, along with Amanda Kerr and some girl named Bethany Dylan. Dazzling green eyes, waist length blonde hair, and captain of the cheerleading squad to boot, Cindy was sought after by many of the boys in the school. Unfortunately for her, Alex wanted nothing to do with the girl.

"How're you going?" She had a high voice, cultured so that it was as appealing as she could make it. She'd also managed to perfect the eyelash batting move, which the teenage spy just found plain annoying.

"Fine." Alex threw Tom a look that clearly screamed HELP ME!!!

Tom smirked. "So, Cindy, how's your cheerleading routine? Is it going to be ready by the match?" Tom had retained captaincy of the school's football team. As such, he'd had more practice talking to cheerleaders than Alex ever would.

"Oh, we're going strong!" Cindy's attention on Alex broke. The boy heaved a sigh as she began to rattle on about some flip or other.

"Well, here's my homeroom. See you later, Alex!" Cindy waved and disappeared through the door.

"Why won't she leave me alone?" Alex asked, for the fifty millionth time.

"Because," Tom explained patiently, yet again, "She wants you to like her."

"But why?"

"So you'll boost her status?" Tom guessed.

"Boost her…? Tom, I don't think that girl knows a thing about politics and besides, she's head of the cheerleading squad. How much more of a status does she need?"

Tom's answer was cut off by another girl's screech of "Hey Alex!"

Alex groaned. When was the line-up of girls going to end?

It was with some relief when the siren went to signal the start of lunch. The term was only a week and half old, and already they'd had tests sprung on them. Alex glared at the food set out for Wednesday's lunch and grudgingly accepted it. He'd gotten too used to the food that Anna had served back in Australia. Though it was the same, if not slightly worse, than the fare he'd been given at Breacon Beacons, it had been "made with love". Whatever that ingredient was, it sure made the food a whole lot tastier.

Tom chose to sit at the table closest to the window at the back of the cafeteria. Alex dropped into the seat next to Tom, resting his head in his hands. Why had tests ever been invented? What was the bloody point?

"Well, I think I went quite well in that maths test," Tom said through a mouthful of something that could only vaguely be classified as food.

Alex snorted. "And what's well for you? Above twenty percent?" It was common knowledge that Tom hated school. He didn't see the point of education, after the way it screwed up his parents' marriage.

"No. It's above thirty. God, Alex, get it right."

They lapsed into silence again, though the students around were anything but. There were girls screeching, boys bragging, and extremely rude insults being hurled back and forth across the cafeteria. The teachers had long since given up trying to get order. It had taken the SAS soldiers three days to give up though.

"Hi Alex!"

Alex almost groaned. Sometimes, Cindy's voice came to haunt him in his nightmares.

"Cindy."

The blonde girl slid into the empty space beside Alex and turned to him with a radiant smile.

"How do you reckon you did in that maths test? I found it pretty hard, but then again, you are like a total genius!" The girl ate a mouthful of the food, then pushed the rest of it away from her with a disgusted look on her face.

"Er, thanks." Alex shot Tom a distressed look only to find the boy red in the face from suppressed laughter. Not helping, Tom, Alex thought.

"So…I was wondering if you were doing anything Saturday night?" She asked, sending him another one of her mirror perfected smiles, "My friends and I were going to go catch a movie, and I'd like it if you could come! Of course, you're welcome to bring anyone you like. So what do you say?"

"Erm…"

Shouts outside the cafeteria saved Alex from having to answer. The teenage spy jerked his head up as the student body went eerily silent. The shouts got louder, and they heard several guns go off. Alex's instincts took over.

"EVERYBODY! GET UNDER A TABLE AND STAY DOWN!" He shouted, using a technique Wolf taught him to make his voice travel. There was mass movement as every kid present dove under the nearest table. Alex himself pushed Cindy down; the girl looked like she was frozen on the spot.

The glass doors suddenly shattered and several bullets flew in to embed themselves into the opposite wall.

"Tom, stay down," Alex hissed, then ran towards the commotion.

He got out to see the flourishing fight between the SAS soldiers and several men dressed in black with a small silver crest embedded into each. Alex mentally bet everything he owned that those crests were in the shape of scorpions.

"ALEX! GET BACK INSIDE!" Ben shouted, diving for the boy just as more bullets were fired in their direction. A couple of Scorpia agents broke free, only to be shot down by more SAS soldiers arriving at the fight. "GO!" Ben pushed Alex back.

The boy almost tripped over the glass that now littered the entrance. Screams alerted him instantly, and he snapped around to see another Scorpia agent leaning over to grab Tom. He'd apparently come in through the now shattered window at the back of the cafeteria, while the other agents in the front caused a massive diversion.

Alex dived for the agent, pulling him away from his friend, his momentum carrying them both towards the broken window. They both landed heavily on the glass, and Alex winced as a few shards cut across his cheek. Scrambling to his feet, he found himself face to face with a fully trained Scorpia assassin.

Only weeks ago he had faced another of their assassins, down under in Australia. The man had been a rookie, having been at the bottom of the class while Alex had been on Malagosto. He'd been easy to deal with. Now though, Alex was facing a total stranger, and no doubt one who was extremely competent too. The day just kept getting better and better.

The assassin moved first, with lightning speed. Alex only just managed to deflect the blow that came directly for his face. The assassin swung around again, and Alex ducked, ramming himself up into the man's chest. They sprang apart.

Then Alex darted in again. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Tom drag Cindy out from under the table and under one that was further away from the fight.

The assassin moved with Alex, blocking his punch and grabbing the teenage spy by the collar of his uniform. He swung the boy around and slammed him into the table. The breath was knocked out of him. Dimly he heard someone screaming for help.

The assassin landed a punch on the boy, slamming his head back into the table. Pain flared across the left side of his face; the punch had landed squarely on his jaw. Feebly he tried to block the next punch, but it hit him anyway, and suddenly his cheek felt like it was on fire.

Bringing his legs as far as it could go, Alex kicked out, catching the agent in the stomach and pushing the man away from him. That gave the boy a chance to roll away and regain his footing.

His breathing was rapid and erratic; his pulse was racing way too fast. Adrenaline ran through him, masking most of the pain. Suddenly he felt extremely thankful for the training he had a few weeks ago in Australia; it had gotten him back into proper fighting shape.

Alex darted in towards the agent. He'd learnt a trick or two from the girl he'd met at the AIS; she'd used her speed more than anything when the two sparred, and it had kept her out of his reach. Since his return to England, Alex practiced the drills they'd done to help his speed.

Unfortunately, the Scorpia agent was too fast for the teenage boy. He caught Alex again and threw him with a grunt. Alex felt himself clear the table he'd been pinned to just a moment ago. He hit the wall, directly next to the jagged window frame that had once held glass. Glancing at it, he saw that a piece of the metal frame had come loose with the force of impact when the glass had been broken. Quickly reaching across, he grabbed the piece of metal and pulled it free. It was approximately thirty centimetres long, about the size of a crowbar.

The Scorpia agent had advanced towards Tom again. The boy cowered slightly under the overcrowded table. From his position, he could see Alex creep slowly towards the agent. The man, unfortunately, never saw Alex until it was too late.

Alex raised the crowbar sized metal over his head, and brought it down as hard as he could. The agent collapsed, unconscious.

For a moment, Alex stood still, breathing heavily. Then Ben and a couple of other SAS soldiers burst through what had once been a door. They froze, taking in the unconscious Scorpia agent on the ground, the long metal strip in Alex's hand, and all the students cowering beneath the cafeteria tables.

Alex glanced quizzically at Ben; the MI6 agent signalled that the threat had been nullified.

The teenage spy let out a sigh, and bent down to help his friend out from under the table. All around, students were slowly emerging from beneath the tables. Then Cindy darted out from beneath the table, straightened out her clothes, ran a couple of her fingers through her hair, and turned to Alex with an out-of-place bright smile on her face.

"So Alex, I'll see you at six outside the movies?"

And I'm back!!! Thanks to all my reviewers from "Not for the Faint Hearted", as well as all my loyal readers and fans (if I have any).

Hope this story will live up to my last!

Please review! I started off with a bang for a reason!!!

Love Chariots99