Maybe Project 314 was never meant to be human.
That's what the doctors believed, anyway.
But Project 314 had always seemed more than ordinary. Even before her surgery.
Alan Blunt coughed. "Is she awake yet?"
Evan Smith shook his head. "No. We would know about it."
Blunt nodded slowly. "Her progress?" He questioned.
"Remarkable." Evan replied. "Certainly better than we hoped." He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. He'd been incredibly nervous for the past few days.
Alan looked at him. "Is she ready for visitors?"
Evan nodded quickly. "Yes." He opened the door. "Go ahead."
Alan entered the room. "Her eyes are open." He noted.
Evan nodded again. "The… additions… are too delicate to allow them to close. They'll have to remain open for a few days."
Alan considered this. "When will she wake up?"
"No one knows. Could be a week. Could be a year. Could be a few minutes."
Unknown to either of them, Project 314 WAS awake. Her head was throbbing. Her black-as-midnight eyes traveled to the IV, forcing a clear liquid into her hand. The others wouldn't be able to tell what she was doing. Her eyes were solid black; no hint of white anywhere.
She'd always been good at pretending to be asleep. Now it was just easier. Despite the throbbing in her head, she could focus around it. She could think clearly, for the most part.
"She's amazing." Evan breathed. "I've never seen anything like her. All of the things that could have gone wrong…" he whistled. "It's a wonder she's still alive."
Blunt just looked at the girl coldly. "Were there any complications? ANY errors at all?"
Evan sighed. "Not that we can tell. We'll have to wait to run further tests. She needs to be awake before we know everything."
Blunt nodded. "Can we wake her up?"
Evan looked at him, horrified. "Sir, it would be incredibly risky. We don't need to take any more chances than we already have…"
"I'll make that decision."
Project 314 glanced at the two of them, making a note of everything. Alan Blunt looked… grey. There was no other way to describe him. He looked like the kind of person whose life was entirely dedicated to his job. From what she remembered of him, it was.
Evan Smith at least had some personality. She focused on him. His balding light brown hair had been slicked back. He had a pair of glasses on a black cord around his neck. He had pale skin, and a sweaty forehead. He was wringing his hands, and his nails suggested that he often chewed them. His eyes were a dark brown, and were wide and staring. Project 314 figured he was the kind of man who would sit in front of a computer for all hours of the day, gathering data and research. Before her surgery, she'd only met him for a few brief minutes. That had been her impression then, too.
She decided it was time to let them know she was awake. She groaned.
Blunt and Evan's eyes snapped over to her. Evan studied the monitor she was attached to. "She's awake." He breathed, relief filling his words.
Project 314 looked at him. "Wh-What happened?"
She wasn't sure where the stutter came from. It probably had something to do with the fact that she'd just spoken after having surgery and being asleep for goodness knew how long.
"You're safe." Evan assured her. "You've just had surgery."
She knew that. Of course she knew that. But she asked anyway. "Why?" The word felt strange in her mouth, her teeth too sharp. She had to avoid biting her tongue.
Evan smiled. "To help you. To make you a better agent."
Alan Blunt came forward. "Welcome to MI6, Project 314."
Alex Rider sighed. How long had he been in school? Three weeks? TWO weeks? He had no idea. He liked it better that way.
And yet, there it was. The inevitable message.
They called. Want you to meet them at 5 o'clock. Be safe.
Alex smiled at Jack Starbright's wish for him to be safe. It was definitely something she would do.
Then he remembered what the rest of the message said, and his smile disappeared. He had no need to ask who 'they' were. MI6.
He sighed. Couldn't they leave him alone?
He knew the answer. No. No they couldn't.
He crumpled up the note and threw it in the trash. Fine. He would see them. But if they asked him to go on yet another wild, save-the-world mission, he would tell them to forget it.
He sighed and walked out of the house. It shouldn't take him too long to get there…
Soon, Alex found himself sitting in front of Alan Blunt.
"Alex." He greeted him.
Alex just nodded his hello.
Blunt cleared his throat and unnecessarily straightened the already perfect stack of papers. He looked at Alex with cold, calculating eyes. "Alex… we need you to do something for us."
Alex sighed. He'd figured as much. At least he was being straightforward about it. "What is it this time?"
Blunt coughed. "Do you know anything about Project 314?"
He shook his head. "Never heard of it."
Blunt nodded. "Good. The less you know, the better." He sighed. "All you need to know is that it is incredibly dangerous."
Alex nodded as well. What in this world of MI6 wasn't dangerous? Nothing he knew of, that was for sure.
Blunt sighed. "And, two months ago, it was stolen."
The fact that the project was stolen didn't surprise him as much as the time that had passed since then. If it had been stolen two months ago, why was he only hearing about this now?
"It was taken by a group of… assassins…" he sighed.
From the look on Blunt's face, Alex could easily guess who it was. "Scorpia." He breathed.
Blunt nodded. "In a way. They work for Scorpia, but aren't exactly at the heart of the operation."
Alex sighed. "And you want me to get this project back?"
Blunt shook his head. "Not yet." He sighed. "Let me explain. Project 314 is a surveillance tool. It is currently gathering intelligence. And, though we do need to retrieve it eventually, we currently need it exactly where it is."
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"We need you to protect it." He clarified.
Alex shook his head fiercely. "Scorpia will recognize me. I've dealt with them before, after all."
Blunt's eyes remained cold. "Not this area. Like I said, this is only a small part of Scorpia. They only take orders. Like soldiers. Scorpia wouldn't think they needed to know everything."
Alex sighed. "I suppose this is end-of-the-world again."
"With Project 314? No doubt."
He looked at Blunt. "And why should I do this?"
He sighed. "I figured you'd ask that." He handed Alex the small stack of papers.
Alex took it cautiously, and looked at the first page. His breath caught. "What IS this?"
A picture of a young girl stared back at him.
She looked terrified. Her face was blurred, indistinct, but Alex had enough experience with fear to recognize it on her face.
"Project 314 is not our only concern." Blunt said softly. "She was taken by Scorpia, Alex."
Alex swallowed. Who was this girl? Why would Scorpia kidnap her? What did she have to do with anything?
"Her name is Sandra Anderson." Blunt explained. "She found out too much about Scorpia. Naturally, they felt she would have to be dealt with."
Alex felt a knot tie itself in his throat. 'Dealt with' weren't the most assuring words in the world. "What makes you think she's still alive?" The question was hard to ask, but it had to be done.
Blunt sighed. "Because she not only knows about Scorpia, but MI6 as well."
The picture was becoming clear. "They want information."
"And they'll get it." Blunt replied, his voice never changing from its calm state.
Alex sighed. "Look. This is your problem, not mine. You have agents who can do this, surely…"
"Of course. And one of them killed her father."
Alex froze.
Blunt sighed. "Sandra isn't very trusting of the MI6. Her father was killed by one of our agents by simple misunderstanding. False information drove us to the conclusion that her father was a spy. That was when she learned everything she knows about us now."
Alex shivered. He looked back at the pictures.
Like him, this girl had simply been in the wrong place, at the wrong time. She'd stumbled into something bigger than she could comprehend.
"Her mother?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper.
"Dead." Blunt replied. "Car accident. Two years after she was born."
Alex closed his eyes. So, she too had lost her family. They were more alike than he'd realized.
He swallowed. Could he really leave her in the hands of Scorpia?
He sighed. "I'll do it."
Ashlyn Corby was one of Scorpia's most trusted agents.
Or, as close as she could get.
She had only been there for two months. It was hardly possible to get yourself at the heart of an operation in so little time. She was fine with that.
She smiled, her lips curling back of her too-sharp teeth.
Her partner, known only as Lance, shivered. "Those things give me the creeps, you know that?"
Ashlyn grinned, her teeth flashing. "What? You scared?"
Lance bristled. "Right. I'm scared of a little girl with sharp teeth." He rolled his eyes. "But seriously. Why did you have to make them so… well, strange?"
Ashlyn smiled darkly. "It's my nature."
She moved quickly out of the shadows. She'd dyed her normally red hair black to blend in with the darkness. She pulled out her knife. "Let's go." She hissed.
Lance growled, but said nothing, following her. She climbed up to the window.
"Target down." She whispered. The knife landed in the person's back. He fell to the floor.
"Excellent." Lance grinned. He flicked on the lights. "But you're always going for the direct approach." He lifted the cardboard cutout 'target' from the ground. He pulled out her knife. "Can't you try something more… subtle?"
"Hey, what works, works, k? I think I did pretty well."
Lance raised an eyebrow. "You need to take this seriously."
Ashlyn rolled her eyes. "Lance, I've been taking it seriously. I've learned more in the past two months than ANY of your other students. I just need a break, all right?"
Lance looked at Ashlyn for a long time. "I think not."
He stood the cardboard cutout upright. "Shall we do it again?"
"Project 314?"
"I'm r-r-r-r-ready."
Project 314's midnight eyes glowed. Literally, glowed in the darkness. Blue lights signaled to Evan that her software was active.
She bit her lip nervously, wincing as the taste of blood filled her mouth. "As r-r-ready as I'll e-e-ever b-be."
Evan nodded. "Good. Now. Tell me what you see."
"E-e-Everything." She whispered. "You're h-h-holding up cards. One has a th-th-three on it. N-now a two."
Evan smiled. It was pitch-black in the room.
"Very good. Very good. Only a few more left."
"D-d-d-doctor Evans? I-i-is it ok if I j-j-just go to b-b-bed? I-i-it's three in the m-m-morning."
"Are you tired?"
"N-n-not really." She admitted. "I j-j-just d-d-don't like it."
Evan nodded. "You're body's getting used to the adjustments. It could take a while." He flicked on the lights and motioned for one of the nurses to take her to her room.
When she was gone, Alan Blunt stood next to him. "How is she doing?"
"Remarkably well." Evan noted. "Everything seems to be a success."
Blunt raised an eyebrow. "Except for the stutter."
Evan's eyes narrowed. "She's doing the best she can."
"It's not good enough." Blunt replied. "It will make her too noticeable."
"All things considered, we could have done a lot worse." Evan snarled, defending his work. "There were a thousand ways it could have gone wrong. Be thankful it was THIS way, or we wouldn't HAVE a Project 314 anymore."
Blunt regarded him coldly. "Do you she will be able to suppress it?"
Evan nodded. "In time. It's gotten better. Just a week ago, she was barely able to form a sentence. Now, she's talking faster. She may have a harder time when she's upset. Anger, fear, depression, they can all bring it back."
Blunt sighed. "Will she be ANY use as an agent?"
"In time."
"We don't HAVE time."
"She's only a CHILD!"
"So is Alex Rider."
Evan glared at him. "Is THAT what this is about? You want her to be the next Alex Rider?"
"He won't be this young forever."
"But she's just a child! It's a wonder she wasn't killed in surgery, and now you want her out in the field?"
"It was the reason she was created."
"She was not CREATED, she was BORN. She's a living, breathing human being. She's not just a machine! She's more than that!"
"If you are having problems, doctor, I can find someone more capable of achieving the goals I have set."
"You can't blackmail me, Blunt. There isn't a man alive who knows Project 314 like I do. You could never replace me."
Blunt's eyes locked on Evan's. "I want her operational in three weeks. You have until then."
He walked out of the room.
Project 314 listened. They didn't know she could hear. They didn't think the surgery was successful enough for that. But she heard them. Every word.
They were always talking about how risky her surgery had been. They were always saying that they were grateful she hadn't come out worse than she had.
But… even MI6 wouldn't have put her in THAT much danger.
Would they?
And Alan Blunt… he expected so much of her. She was still aching. There was no way she was going to be able to suppress the stutter in three months, let alone three weeks. And he wanted her out in the field?
He couldn't do this to her. She was exhausted. She'd been pushed and pushed to her breaking point.
A small part of her mind thought about Scorpia. They were the reason she had been created. They needed someone who could get inside Scorpia. Someone with the athletic skills to impress them greatly.
Someone they didn't know.
Was THAT why Blunt was pushing her so hard? Because he needed her in Scorpia right away? Was that why he'd been so ready to force her to have the surgery? Even if it meant her life was in danger…?
A single tear fell out of her midnight eyes…
Far away, in a different time, Project 314 gasped, coming out of her nightmares suddenly. Her face was wet. Curiously, she placed her finger to her cheek, and pulled it away.
She'd been crying. She sighed. She hadn't cried in so long…
She looked around. She was alone. No one around. It was one in the morning, but she wasn't tired.
She stood up and walked out the door. She had to think.
Outside, the cold wind swirled around her. She didn't care. She didn't really get cold anymore. Or hot, for that matter.
She went inside to put on a jacket. It seemed the normal thing to do, in case anyone was awake. She went outside again.
Out here, she stopped suppressing the lights in her eyes. They glowed fiercely, then died down, the pressure gone.
She sat down on the sidewalk. Why not? Evan was right. She couldn't handle the field.
But Blunt was right as well. Because here she was. A perfect agent.
She sighed again. Blunt said he was calling for backup. Good. She needed it. Someone to watch her back. Two days ago, she might not have thought that, but now…
Truth be told, she could probably handle it. But she felt so… alone.
A smiled passed over her lips. He'd sent the perfect agent. Someone who understood what she was going through exactly.
Alex Rider.