Savior Spy
By: Aubrie1234
Arthur glanced over to his phone, startled at the sudden ringing. He had been trying to get some work done when it had begun to ring. Briefly hoping it wasn't the frog, he answered.
"Arthur Kirkland speaking." he answered, "Who is this?"
"Tulip Jones, head of MI6." Arthur knew the agency well, having done some spy business with them. They also knew of his Nation status.
"Mrs. Jones, glad to see you're adjusting to your new position well. Why are you calling on me?"
"I have a favor to ask." Well now, this was a surprise.
"What sort of favor?"
"I need you to look after a boy who is in our care. His name is Alex Rider." This surprised Arthur even more.
"Why is he in your care?"
"His father and uncle were spies, but they, along with his mother and housekeeper, have been killed over the past 14 years. He was planning to have his friend's parents adopt him, but we are afraid that certain people may want to get revenge on him." The poor lad...
"I'll take care of him." Arthur nodded to himself, "I could probably get some of the other Nations to help me. However, just what does Alex look like and how old is he?"
"He turned 15 three months ago, shortly before his housekeeper was killed. His hair is similar to yours in color and messiness," Arthur snorted, a little indignant on that, "and he has brown eyes. However, do not try to see him without clothes on unless he permits it."
"Why?" Arthur was a little confused.
"Let's just say that he has a few secrets of his own." Arthur frowned. If she was implying what he thought...
"He's been under the care of one of the SAS units since his housekeeper died, so they will bring him. Alex should be there by this afternoon, at 4."
"I have one more question." Arthur paused, "Is this something I want to pry into?"
"...Only if you find it necessary, though I don't recommend it."
"Alright." Arthur nodded, "I'll be expecting him."
"Make him feel welcome and at home, Arthur." Mrs. Jones warned, "You don't want another repeat of losing a colony, and I don't want him getting depressed. Neither does the unit caring for him." Arthur winced. Besides knowing his Nation status, they also knew of the treatment of his colonies.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Jones." Arthur assured, "I will make sure he is in the best care."
"And Arthur, be careful of what you say or do around him. Certain things bring up certain memories. I would suggesting keeping Gupta, Faraja, Yao, Jett, Francis, and Ivan away from him."
"Ivan and Francis are givens, but why Gupta, Yao, Jett, and Faraja?"
"Cairo is where his housekeeper was killed, he's had some bad experiences in Kenya and Australia, and there's a certain group from China who have a grudge against him. And don't mention the French Alps or Point Blanc." Arthur nodded, writing everything down on a blank sheet, surprised at why Alex had to stay away from Yao, "Also, it would be a good idea to not let him hear or see crocodiles. Also applies with snakes, especially snake heads, and scorpions. Scorpions are the worst to mention around him or let him see. Eagles are also not a good idea, but not as bad as the others."
"Anything else?" There was quite a bit of stuff to have Alex avoid.
"Space hotels," Arthur's eyebrows shot up at that, "nuclear weapons, specifically rockets and submarines, sharks, cloning, the cold, scuba diving, Air Force One, and spying. I believe that's everything."
"Why must he avoid all of this?" Mrs. Jones sighed on the other side of the line.
"As I have said, these bring up bad memories for Alex, so avoid them if you can. Goodbye, Arthur."
"Goodbye, Tulip." Arthur placed the phone down and looked down the list.
List of things Alex should not hear/see:
Cairo (Gupta)
Kenya (Faraja)
Australia (Jett)
? (group from China with grudge on him. Must ask Yao for more details)
French Alps/Point Blanc (probably why Jones asked Alex not see Francis)
Crocodiles
Snakes (especially snake heads)
Scorpions
Eagles (must keep Alfred from mentioning them around Alex)
Space hotels (maybe the Ark Angel project is what she meant? I wonder why)
Nuclear weapons (rockets and submarines)
Sharks (not really all that surprising, but still a bit strange)
Cloning (I wonder why Alex doesn't like this)
Cold (probably why Jones asked Alex not see Ivan)
Scuba diving
Air Force One (must keep Alfred from mentioning it if he's around Alex, again)
Spying (coming from MI6, I'm not surprised Alex doesn't like it)
Arthur sat back to look at his handiwork. Alex seemed like he would be quite the handful, but Arthur didn't want to call on anyone yet until he got used to Alex. He doubted if Alex even knew about him or the other Nations. However, with everything Mrs. Jones said, Arthur had the suspicion that Alex hadn't just been in MI6's care; they had used him for something, probably spying, and with the list, more than once (either that or he had gone on a strange mission).
He glanced to the side, spotting a picture frame at the edge of the desk. It was a small, old painting of when Arthur had gotten all of the colonies together once. It was the only picture to have Alfred, Jett, Leon, Matthew, and Advik all together. It reminded him of what he was being asked to do.
I will not break my promise this time. I am going to take care of Alex and keep him safe. Maybe I can even help him with his past. Arthur thought. He checked his little book that had his schedule, and it showed the rest of the week was free, unless Alfred and Francis decided to come over suddenly. Calling them and telling them to stay away may or may not increase the chance of them coming over, depending on if they took his warning seriously. Next week, though, had a World Meeting scheduled for Monday. Maybe he could ask one of his brothers to fill in for him, though he doubted they would agree. Turning back to his phone, he began dialing.
As soon as his cell phone began to ring, Alfred snatched it up and answered it.
"The hero is here!"
"Alfred, you git!" Alfred was surprised at Arthur calling him, "Are you planning to come over to my place any time from now until Monday?"
"Well, I was thinking of visiting you tomorrow-"
"DON'T." Arthur snapped, "A special friend of mine is coming over and he doesn't know about the Nations. I don't want you or Francis coming over and spooking him, understand?" Alfred frowned.
"Why not? We wouldn't mention the Nation thing anyway."
"Alfred." Arthur was seething now, he could tell, "The next time you come over here while my friend is over, I won't hesitate to kick you out of one of the second story windows." It was bad enough Arthur would kick him right out the door, but from one of the upstairs windows? He was serious about this, wasn't he?
"I'll tell Francis. We won't bother you. Where is your friend going to be for the meeting next week?"
"I suppose he's staying here, at my house. He doesn't really have another place to go."
"What about your cook-?"
"He'll be fine!" Alfred wasn't so sure, "He won't die from my cooking!"
"He isn't a Nation, so how could he survive?"
"MY COOKING ISN'T THAT BAD!" Alfred had to hold the phone away from his ear until Arthur calmed, "And if he doesn't like it, we can go out to eat."
"Is he one of your citizens?"
"Yes."
"Then he might just survive."
"WHY YOU-!" Alfred quickly ended the call before calling Francis.
"Nǐ hǎo, aru?"
"It's Arthur, Yao. I wanted to ask you something."
"Go right ahead."
"A friend of mine is coming over and there are certain things I can't mention to him. One is a certain Chinese group that has a grudge against him, but I can't remember the name. Do you know?"
"Well, there are many in China, but if I had to guess right off the bat, I would say the Big Circle."
"Ah. Thank you, Yao."
"Wait, aru!" Yao paused, "If your friend is on their bad side, then they won't stop until he is killed. Be careful, Arthur."
"...Thank you again, Yao. Goodbye."
"Zàijiàn, Arthur."
Arthur tapped his fingers on the desk, contemplating what Yao had said. Alex had made a dangerous enemy, that was for sure. And something about the snake heads was nagging at him. He remembered it was connected with something from Australia, so he called Jett next.
"'Ello?"
"Jett, it's Arthur."
"What do you want?"
"A friend of mine is coming over, and he doesn't like snake heads for some reason, and that made me think of something I heard about your place." There was a bit of silence on the other side of the line.
"...Bloody h**l, mate, if you're telling me what I think you're telling me, then your friend is in really deep trouble."
"What kind of trouble?"
"Major world-wide trouble." Arthur paled, "Snakehead is the name of a gang that deals in world-wide illegal smuggling, from things as harmless as DVDs and CDs to human organs and slaves. They will take those organs from people, whether the person is alive or dead, willing or unwilling to donate. They're like an international supermarket for everything bad. If your friend is involved with them somehow, then that's not good."
"W-what do you mean?" Arthur swallow thickly.
"Either your bloke used to work for them and ran away, or he was one of their 'donors'. Either way, Snakehead is going to come after him to either get him back or kill him. If they get that bloke, he stands a Buckley's chance. Keep your eye on him, Arthur."
"Thanks for your help, Jett."
"Best of luck to you and your friend, mate." The call then ended and Arthur shakily set down the phone. Alex was some sort of trouble magnet, he could tell already, but for the worst trouble. First the Big Circle, and now Snakehead. Maybe he shouldn't have accepted the offer so quickly...
Another story of mine! Faraja is Kenya, Advik is India, and Gupta is Egypt; Buckley's chance is Aussie slang for no chance. What do you think is going to happen once Alex arrives? Also, the 2P!s are going to appear later on, along with a few of Alex's enemies. I hope you like the story! READ & REVIEW!
