Disclaimer: Me? Own Alex Rider? Oh God, I WISH!
"I don't know if I can... John trusted me with him."
"He's still a baby, he won't realize that you aren't there. It wouldn't hurt to stay for a few more months."
"I don't want to miss his life, I want to be there for him."
"You will, but right now it doesn't matter where you are. Please, we need you, you're one of the best agents we have."
"...I guess you're right, he won't even remember it."
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"Ian-"
"No Tulip, I can't. I stayed the last four years because he wouldn't remember it in the future, but now I need to be there for him. I'm the only family he has left, I have to look after him and I won't be able to do that if I'm killed on a mission."
"That can be worked with, you don't have to leave. We can assign you less missions and you could bring him on the surveillance missions. A family vacation would be a great cover and no one would suspect it since it would be true."
"He would never be safe if he came with me. If anyone found out the truth they would target him."
"So teach him how to protect himself. Being a spy is in his blood Ian, you can't change that."
"I will not force him into this life. When he is of age he may decide to do this, but I will not influence his choice."
"That's your job Ian."
"What is? To influence his choices or to train him to become a spy? I'm sorry, but I need to keep him safe, and I can't do that in this job."
"I'm sorry to hear that Ian. It's really too bad."
"What's too bad?"
"You're one of our best agents, you've stopped so many mad men who were planning on killing innocent children. It's a shame you won't be here to stop the next, but I guess someone else will have to handle them before they can attack anywhere, like Chelsea for example. Not to mention all the enemies you have made over the years."
"I hope that you are not threatening me."
"Of course I'm not, that would be a very foolish thing to do. I'm just stating a few facts. If something were to happen, it would hardly be our fault... In fact some people might say that it was your fault, since if you hadn't stopped working for us, then you would have been there to stop them."
"So that's how it is then? Fine, I'll stay... But if anything happens to Alex, I will hold you and blunt personally responsible."
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"...This is the last one. Alex needs me."
"Really Ian, he's fourteen, he can look after himself. We need you here far more then he needs you."
"NO Tulip. This is it. I should have left as soon as I became his guardian. We barely get to spend time together, he's closer to Jack then he is to me."
"That's not our fault. You could have brought him with you on many of your missions. You two would make a great team."
"I do not want him to live this life."
"Really? Then why have you started training him?"
"I haven't-"
"Really Ian? Alex speaks German, French, and Spanish and also has a limited grasp of Italian. He is a black-belt in karate, an accomplished diver, and has experience in several extreme sports. If you weren't training him then why do you bother teaching him these things?"
"Would you like the truth or would you like the lie that I came up with when I was trying to make myself believe that the government actually followed the law?"
"The truth."
"I taught him all of that so that if he ever needed to, he could escape from you."
"That is rather pointless. We always get what we're want and we want a Rider."
"Well you can't have Alex."
"As long as you are here we don't need him. If you leave though, who knows what could happen to you, and of you were killed, well, I'm sure that Alex would do anything he could to stay with someone he knows."
"So, in other words, either I work for you or you will kill me and force Alex to take my place?"
"We would never do anything like that Ian, we're the good guys after all, but accidents will happen. Do we understand each other?"
"...Yes, I understand."
"Good. Now, your next mission is Herod Sayle. We believe that..."