An Alex Rider Story

Based on the series by Anthony Horowitz

Chapter 1- Night Sabotage

It was a timed operation, timed to perfection, it had been rehearsed before, again and again, nothing could go wrong. But Alex Rider was stll nervous, he knew he shouldn't be, he knew the building as well as he knew the back of his hand, but he remembered what Alan Blunt had told him before, 'One false move Alex and you could die. These men don't like to mess about, they don't care if you're a child or not, they'll kill you if they find you, that's all there is to it. And of course, it would be bad for us if you happened to die, so there can be no mistakes' But they had said to Alex that it would be easy. Just get inside the building, plant the device that Smithers had given him, and then get out again, 'What could be more simple than that?' They had said to him. 'Look if you're still worried then we'll put MI6 operatives on every exit to the place, does that make you feel better?' 'No it doesn't' he had thought, 'it doesn't make me feel better at all, i'm just supposed to waltz in there with a small little black box, plant it, and walk out again? MI6 are getting crazier everyday.'

So there he was, he had just planted the device, on the floor right next to a meeting room when something happened, something that wasn't anticipated, something that wasn't rehearsed, and that something certainly wasn't convinient. He had felt a gun poking at the back of his neck.

'Get up and put your hands behind your head,' A gruff voice told him, 'Do it NOW!' Alex slowly stood up and put his hands behind his head like he was told. He turned around and looked at the man who was pointing a gun at his forehead, he saw that the man was very fit, very muscular, and seemed to be around 30 years old. He obviously went to the gym a lot.

When Alex turned around, the man obviously was shocked, he expected to see a full grown man standing before him, but what he saw was a teenage boy, no older than 14, with fair hair and brown eyes. When he looked closer, he saw that the eyes didn't look as if they belonged to a boy, but they looked older, and held an air of knowing, and experience. Alex took advantage of the mans surprise, and kicked him in the stomach, to no effect. The man simply grabbed Alex's leg, spun him around and let him drop to the floor. He still had the gun pointed at Alex, 'You may be a kid, but that don't matter to me' Alex was feeling scared now, something he hadn't felt in a long time, something, he, in fact only ever felt when MI6 sent him on these stupid missions. Alex looked around to see if there was anything he could use, he was sweating heavily and his vision was blurred. He was desperately trying to think of a way out of his situation when he saw that more guards were coming his way, more armed guards, and every single gun they had was pointing his way. 'How had they known?' Alex wondered. The guard that was holding him captive hadn't radioed anyone, and no alarms had been set off. 'Unless...they knew I was coming! But how? How could they have known?' Suddenly he remembered what MI6's gadget man, Smithers, had said to him.

'Alex, old chap, if you ever get caught, just press this little redbutton located on the side of the device i just gave you. I must admit its risky, it only has a 10 chance of working, but i doubt you'll need to use it anyway. so what the hoo!' Alex decided that he could risk it, and he tried to look around to see where he had put the device, all without making any sudden movements that might encourage his captor to shoot.

'What are you looking for?' The guard asked.

'Nothing,' Alex replied,' just seeing if i can find...' The guard bent down and picked the device Alex was looking for.

'This? By any chance?'

'No...this!' Alex quickly jumped up, and hit the mans hand, hoping it would trigger the button. Nothing happened.

'And what was that for? Punk?' He grabbed Alex by the scruff of his neck and shouted in his face, 'You think you can beat me up by slapping my hand!' The other guards laughed, gradually their laughs came slower, and deeper. The guard holding Alex let go of him, and slumped to the floor, they all did. Alex briefly wondered how Smithers had done that, but you could never know when Smithers is involved. He bent down and picked up the device from the unconscious's guard's hand. He tried to remember the blueprint of the building he was in. He ran towards where he thought the toilets should be, since there was a window he could escape out of, seeing as the front door would probably be too risky. He ran past large rooms with great paintings hanging from every wall. Whoever owned this place obviously was very wealthy. He ran out of the room he was in and into the corridor, he came to a fork, he closed his eyes briefly to invision the blueprint. Left, he decided. He was about to start running that way when he heard a voice come from behind him, the voice sounded feminine, but Alex couldn't really hear properly, he was to distracted by the thought of getting of this huge building.

'Alex Rider. The famous Alex Rider. I've heard so much about you. You have no idea how much it is a pleasure for me to meet you, but, as you've probably gathered by now, I've been expecting you...' The voice was mocking, and so it should be, theoretically, the person whom was speaking should be dead.

End of Chapter.