Cursing his inability to say no he ran, his feet pounding on the stone floor, his breath coming out in sharp pants. His chest began to burn, the bullet wound was long healed but with each breath the ache in the wound was beginning to increase. Each time they asked him to do a 'simple, routine mission' he swore it would be the last time but lo and behold here he still is. Running, getting shot at and doing the dirty work of the British government branch MI6.

A simple surveillance job, That's all it was supposed to be, a simple surveillance job and he would be getting paid as an agent as well as a the wage from this job. Quick easy money.

Thinking about it still made his blood boil, when the manager of the restaurant first rang offering him a job he remembered being surprised not remembering applying. But seeing as he applied to so many jobs in a short amount of time it was easy to forget one, so he just shook it off, smiled brightly ,said his thank you's and did a victory dance. Now Alex is certain that MI6 sent them an application in his name and made sure he was working there and getting his bearings before slithering over to him with a with very small mission proposition. There were no such things as coincidence.

Ale had been 2 weeks into his brand spanking new job when Tulip Jones, the new head of MI6 rang to say they suspected the restaurant and bar to be a front for illegal human trafficking, although knowing dear Tulip he was most likely not given the full story. As tempted as he was to decline, the temptation of double pay was a little too appealing. This way he could earn some money working whilst also having his ear to the ground gathering intel, a win win. Of course he was Alex with the blood of Rider and life really isn't that simple or easy for him. So naturally with a touch of the Rider magic and a few shots of Vodka he would stumble on a not so simple world domination plan and would obviously be left running whilst being hunted by armed gangsters. Naturally. Well world domination and armed gangsters is a slight exaggeration but potato Poh-tah-toe.

The establishment he was sent to wreak havoc upon 3 month ago, was a high end restaurant at ground floor, but a hidden stairs in the back and a side entrance led to a bar that catered to a more elite clientele, a membership needed to even enter . It was home to a large stage complete with plush seating, tables dotted around and a bar. Entertain the patrons they did, male strippers, female strippers, burlesque dancers and many other bands and acts, and tucked away in the corner were small rooms with beds, the only evidence of the fun spilling off the stage and slinking into a different genre of entertainment.

Alex spent most of his days working as a waiter for the restaurant, never to work in the bar downstairs, he was 16 but according to the application MI6 sent on his behalf he was 18, how convenient for them, now underaged Alex would have access to areas that be restricted to over 18's only.….Whoop dee doo.

The age jump wasn't too hard to believe as he did look older, Alex had gone through quite an appearance change, paired with puberty he was far from the boy everyone first met all those years ago, almost unrecognisable, he was so striking he was practically covert. It's always funny how people would focus on a given aspect only to overlook so many more important details.

The bar was kept off limit to all staff working in the restaurant, to the extent that there was a separate body of staff to govern the downstairs bar. The excuse given for this separation was that by treating the upstairs and downstairs as two different establishment was that it would ensure the smooth running of both businesses without any confusion. Although if the intel from MI6 was correct, then it was more likely that the staff downstairs needed to be trusted to keep their mouth shut in regards to keeping the confidentiality of the people coming in and the unsavoury deals that may or may not be taking place. Adding to the mystery was the owner who nobody had ever seen, turns out all of the employees who worked in the restaurant had not met or even knew what the owner looked like. Alex was unsure as to whether this was the case for the staff that worked downstairs. The manager who over saw the running of both the restaurant and bar was nice enough , a ready smile and a friendly demeanour, always having a busy schedule planning rotas and completing paperwork, but there was always more than meets the eyes. There had to be if he was playing the face of the restaurant, no doubt he would be privy to running of the upper and lower level business as well as anything extra taking place off the books. The staff would gossip amongst each other, they would laugh and have wild theories as to why the bar was off limit to them, who the oh so important client were, but most importantly who the owner was. Everything from the boss being a mobster to a underground criminal hideout complete with gigolos. As outgoing outlandish as these theories were, there had to be a morsel of truth in them. Unsurprisingly Alex had found his way into this bar but he hadn't had time or event in the right state to snoop around, he was invited by a patron after a lapse of his judgment and restraint.

He had found himself with a group of young men he met one evening , and as drunken comrades they found themselves stumbling into a night club in town. Like all young people out to have fun there was no limit, a cocktail of drugs were changing hands. Smoked and sniffed with the same breath. Swallowed down with a gulp of burning liquid.

It was so easy to put on a mask upon a mask, pretending to be someone he should've been. Flirting with woman, laughing at jokes keep the banter flowing, playing a part, acting with a goal a purpose.

It was so easy to slip into the darkness and numb the chaos of his mind, one drink was followed by another

Another

anothar

anoth

Nother

Drinkjs anotess,

And he found himself t

U

m

l

b ing

stumbling down and down into numbing peace.

The club was packed to the seams with writhing bodies. The flashing lights were blinding and the tang of stale sweat mixed with the stench of overused deodorant adding to the already unpleasant claustrophobic atmosphere, the thrumming bass made it hard to even think, Alex had long forgotten about his new friends

Faces blurred into each other, dreams collided with reality, the only defining features was the need to fight away the demons clawing at him.

He met a warm body to fumble with in dark alleyways, lips that stole kisses and whispered filth in to his ear, strong arms that held him around the waist and took him to the secluded downstairs bar. He was by no means innocent or a child, he had grown before his time, scared both mind and body. Neither a victim nor the perpetrator

Alex does not remember much of that night nor does he want to, what he does remember is the morning after, waking up in an unfamiliar setting with last night's clothes stewed across the floor, he was sticky, sore and with a woodpecker in his head intent to peck through his skull.

He could hear the shower on so he quickly got dressed wanting to avoid morning awkward interaction. It was best that he left before they got a good look at him. Or maybe it was more that he did not want to see who his bed fellow was. Without wasting any time Alex quickly pulled on his clothes with a hiss taking care to not look at the room, the less he knew the better. Unable to find money in his wallet he grabbed the coin and notes from the wallet strewn on the floor after a slight hesitation and the voice of morals whispering in the back of his mind, before darting out of the front door in search of a taxi.

He knew the routine well by now, Walking away, with his head down, not really taking in the streets of the area, ignorance was bliss. quelling the feeling of nausea and shame, it was reckless to lose control like that especially to the point he had fairly no memory of the night before. Calling out for a taxi, he settled in, giving his address