SUPERNOVA
BY SIENNA RHIANNON CHASE
SUMMARY: Alex's new assignment will catapult him across the world with one goal: to stop the hell that's coming. There's no going back once you learn about Operation Supernova. It's either save the world...or die with it. AxS, AxOC, WxJ
CHAPTER ONE
BIRTHDAY PRESENT
"Alex! Wake up!" yelled a familiar voice into his ear.
Alex Rider opened his eyes and groaned. It was a Saturday, and one of the few days in a year that he wasn't a subject of a criminal organization's assassination attempts. He wasn't about to miss a few extra hours of sleep, especially when he couldn't count on the fact he would even be in England the following night.
"Alex!" shouted Jack Starbright, his guardian and closest friend, again, this time nearly deafening him. "ALEX!"
"I'm trying to sleep, Jack," he mumbled, burying his face in the pillow.
"It's your birthday. You can't wake up late on your birthday, you goose!"
Alex moaned again. "Jack…just a few more minutes…"
"Fine." The American housekeeper stalked out of the room, her soft slippers scuffing the floor. Alex closed his eyes, rejoicing that he would get fifteen more minutes of sleep before his friend's voice brought him out of his dreams.
Suddenly, a great fountain of ice-cold water cascaded onto his bed, soaking both him and his blankets. He started up, rubbing his eyes miserably, to see Jack standing by his bed with a bucket in her hands.
"Jack, that was low," he remarked blearily, heading to his closet to grab his clothes.
"I know," replied the young woman proudly, a grin on her face.
"Okay. Now get out," he said, gently pushing Jack out of the room. "I have to change."
"If you mean change your clothes, yes, you do," babbled the American, eyeing his old pajamas. "If you mean change your ways, well, you could always try counseling—or joining a gang—" Jack was still talking when he shut the door.
Ten minutes later, Alex was dressed and downstairs for breakfast. Jack had made her trademark scrambled eggs, and he'd gobbled them up like he was a starving animal. The living room downstairs was decorated with a butcher-paper birthday banner that Jack had made herself, her messy scrawl spelling out a celebratory message.
"So," said Jack, when Alex had eaten his last bite. "I was thinking of going out somewhere."
"If by 'somewhere' you mean a clothing store that only women shop at, I'll think I'll pass," grinned Alex. "Now, if by 'somewhere' you mean Nike, count me in."
"Alex, you moron." Jack slapped Alex on the head with a spatula, causing him to choke on the Coke he was drinking. "I'm not going to drag you to Macy's or DKNY on your birthday."
"Oh, good. You had me a little scared there."
Jack rolled her eyes. "Instead, I'm going to take you to Bath and Body Works."
"JACK!" exclaimed Alex in real horror. "I'd rather die than go there." He stopped, remembering the countless times he had actually come close to dying. "Okay, I'd rather take Scorpia on single-handedly than spend my birthday at a—at a bloody spa store."
"Ooh. Harsh."
"They are," said Alex with complete seriousness. Just a few months ago, he'd survived several attempts on his life by the ruthless gang. He'd nearly died at the hands of Scorpia—and his parents had been killed by them when he was just a baby. He'd got a score to settle with them, but facing them alone was complete madness.
"Come on, Alex. Can't we spend one day without stupid MI6 or the CIA or ASIS or whoever getting in the way of having fun?" begged Jack, giving the boy a quick hug. She hated the fact that the secret services of the world regularly employed her charge for spy work. She constantly worried that he'd be injured or worse by organizations like Scorpia.
"I wish I could forget about them, Jack, but they don't really give me a choice." MI6 had even threatened to deport Jack, whose visa had expired, if Alex didn't cooperate with them.
Jack hugged Alex again. "It'll be okay, Alex. They'll stop pestering you and let you live a normal life and marry Sabina and make babies—"
Alex knew Jack was trying to distract him, but he was still incredibly embarrassed. "JACK!"
The American smiled crookedly. "I know. I'm psychic."
It was Jack's turn to be assaulted by a spatula.
"Hey! Hey!" she yelled, dodging the blows. She threw her hands up. "Tell you what, we'll go to Nike and then to a nice restaurant for lunch, and you'll forget I ever said that. Deal?"
"Deal," grunted Alex, running upstairs to grab his wallet.
Unbeknownst to the two friends, a man clad all in black was clinging to the tree by Alex's window, one hand clutching the limb of the giant oak and the other holding an AK-47. A message, somewhat garbled, came in through his ear radio.
"Don't yeh worry, boss." The man had a thick Cockney accent, twisting his reply. "Oi'll 'ave 'im taken care o' by the evenin'. An', o' course, the matter of my pay—" The "boss" interrupted. "O' course, o' course. Af'r the job.." Smiling grimly, the man leaned in towards the window as Alex came into the room. "'Ere's yehr birthday present, Alex Roider." He brought up his gun and fired.
A/N: Suspenseful huh huh? Yes, I know it's short. I also know that I haven't got a very good written Cockney accent…I was working off Hagrid from HP. The next chapter is already written, I just need to do some editing, so that should be up soon. Don't worry, the chapters will start getting longer. In chapter two, Alex…well…rants. It's kind of a filler, but not quite. The action picks up in chapters three and four though!
Sienna
