A request from ColourPages! I've been contemplating on whether to do one like this, since it seems there's a LOT of these on fanfiction... But here you gooo!
I feel like a lot of these types of fanfiction make Alex's teachers and classmates sound sadistic... And then they make Alex reveal his whole life story to the school. Honestly, I think Alex wouldn't tell a bunch of strangers ALL about his missions, and he would do some sort of ninja move to incapacitate the other ninja dude... BUT OKAY.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Alex Rider...
01
The man was frustrated. Simply frustrated. He sat, his elbows resting on an expensive mahogany desk. His hands gripped the sides of his head, massaging his temples.
The man was rather plain. He had thinning grey hair, a face wrinkled in frustration, and dark, brown eyes.
His name was Perses Argyris, and he was wanted by nearly every country for one thing: Zeta.
Zeta was a terrorist organization that had originated from Greece, where Perses had been born. His father had formed the group and Perses had taken over after his father had been caught.
Zeta had formed to restore the former glory of Greece. By strategically attacking certain corporations and locations, Zeta was slowly building back Greece's economy.
Perses frowned, recalling the last mission. It had been destroyed by a damn MI6 agent - a boy, no less.
He scowled, raising his head. He reached for a file on the corner of his desk, hands shaking angrily. He opened the file, reading with rapt attention. He smirked viciously as he reached the last page.
Perses reached for his cell phone and dialed a long number, shaking in anticipation.
"Mr. Argyris. What a pleasant surprise." The voice that greeted him was sly, an invisible smirk playing in his voice.
"Mr. Wade," Perses began, "I have a preposition that concerns a Mr. Alex Rider."
There was a page on the other end of the line. Perses heard a shuffle of papers before the other man responded, "Proceed."
OPERATION*ZETA
Everyone in Brookland Comprehensive knew Alex Rider's story. In the beginning of Year 9, he had been popular, athletic, and the top of the class. He was everyone's friend and everyone loved him. However, his uncle had died in a car crash – the start of Alex's change.
He missed school for a few weeks. The students and teachers at Brookland were sympathetic and understanding. But then, the teen had returned, claiming he was sick, though he clearly was not. He'd been covered in bruises and had hard steel in his eyes. He'd become withdrawn. All of his friends abandoned him except Tom Harris, another popular boy.
There were a few attempts at friendships, but Alex had suddenly dropped out of school again. Again, he'd come back, claiming he had some sort of illness.
Different rumors circulated the students. Some said that he was on drugs. Others assumed he was in a gang. Still others said that it was both.
This had continued for three years. Mr. Bray sighed. He closed his eyes, raising his fingertips to his temples. This couldn't continue. He had to act.
OPERATION*ZETA
If Alex were four years younger, he would have never imagined being a spy. He wouldn't have imagined that he would be missing weeks of school on end. He certainly would not have imagined how close he would be to being expelled from Brookland Comprehensive.
Yet, there he was, sitting in front of Mr. Bray's oak desk on an uncomfortable wooden chair. The man was staring at Alex, a hint of disappointment clouding his features. His arms were folded in front of him as he leaned back, observing the seventeen-year-old teen in front of him.
Alex stared back, wiping all of his emotions off of his face. He was slightly anxious, but his years as an MI6 agent had taught him to show no fear. If the headmaster wanted a staring contest, Alex would give him one.
Mr. Bray sighed and leaned forward, slipping a paper towards Alex. Alex looked down curiously. He read the first line, automatically memorizing the words until he realized it was a list of dates. He recognized them immediately. His first mission. His second. And third. He'd missed a good amount of school.
"This is a list of all of your absences from your first year here." Mr. Bray gestured towards the packet on the table, "As you may have gathered, this is unacceptable."
Alex listened, stony faced.
Mr. Bray put his elbows on his wooden desk and massaged his temples, trying to chase his headache away, "I've been putting this off for a long time. Alex, I know you are a good student, but this is completely unacceptable."
The boy didn't even look worried.
"I don't think you understand the gravity of this situation!" Mr. Bray was suddenly angry. He kept his voice low, trying to calm himself, "If you are expelled, no other schools will accept you." That was stretching the truth a tiny bit.
A flash of amusement flickered in Alex's brown eyes. If Brookland wouldn't accept him, MI6 would jump at the opportunity to control his education. He'd be learning five new languages and maybe how to build his own gadgets. Smithers had promised to teach him a bit last time Alex had seen him. Maybe he'd be sent back to Brecon Beacons. Just thinking about that place made Alex's head throb painfully.
"In the future, any universities you apply for will turn you down. This, as you can imagine, will result in difficulty finding a job."
Alex was definitely amused now. The corners of his lips twitched a fraction of an inch upwards, but he steeled himself and the emotionless mask fell over his face.
He was grinning inwardly, laughing at the ignorant man. Alex had a job – a proper one. After Jack had… gone… he'd agreed to work for MI6, provided he had the health benefits, training, and the pay. The job paid very well, though he really didn't have anything
"I need you to tell me why you've been gone so much." Mr. Bray leaned back, his speech ending, "If there is not a plausible explanation, I'm afraid I'll have to expel you."
Alex stared at him for a moment, calculating the man with his hard eyes. He nodded to himself, deciding to lie one last time, "I have a very weak immune system, sir. I can't help it. But, if it helps, I have tutors and a job."
Mr. Bray raised his eyebrows slightly, "I think you and I both know you don't have a weak immune system."
The teen sighed and leaned back, thinking. He couldn't drop out of Brookland. He definitely didn't want to take the chance of going back to Brecon Beacons.
"Alright. You want the truth?" Alex whipped out his cell phone, "You'll get the truth."
Mr. Bray frowned, "What are you doing?" He disapproved of cell phones. Especially in his presence. It was plain disrespectful.
Alex held the phone to ear, listening to the soft beeps the phone made. "If you want the truth, I have to get… permission." He was immaturely enjoying the look of confusion on the man's face.
There was a click at the other line and a cool female voice spoke, "Royal and General Bank. How may I help you?"
"This is Alex Rider," he said, "I need to talk with Mrs. Jones."
There was another pause. Another moment passed and Alex's heard Mrs. Jones' commanding voice, "What is it, Alex?"
"Hello to you too," Alex smirked, "My headmaster wants a plausible explanation for my absences or else I'll be expelled."
Another pause. Mrs. Jones sighed, "I'll send Agent Daniels over with the paperwork." There was a click and the line went dead.
"Nice talking to you too.' Alex muttered under his breath. He pocketed his phone and faced a bewildered Mr. Bray, "The paperwork is on its way. I hope you won't mind waiting." He was trying to be polite, but he thought he might have come off as hostile.
"What paperwork? Why do we need paperwork?" Mr. Bray was evidently puzzled. He scowled and crossed his arms, waiting for the answers. Alex didn't even look up at him. Instead, the teenager seemed to be scanning the room.
Five minutes later, Mr. Bray still hadn't gotten any answers. He scowled even deeper and slumped in his chair childishly. Alex gazed at the man, one corner of his mouth lifted into an amused smile.
He glanced out the window, waiting for the familiar company car to pull up in front of the school. When it did, another ten minutes had passed and Mr. Bray was still scowling. Didn't his face hurt?
There was a sharp knock at the door and without waiting for a response, the familiar figure of Ben Daniels burst in. He was smiling broadly, "Alex!"
"Ben." Alex greeted, scanning the spy. He looked like he'd been in a bad fight – bruises on his face and probably on his body too. He had a brace on one ankle and his knuckled were wrapped up, "Where were you this time?"
Ben plopped down on the chair next to Alex's, "Canada. Nice place."
Alex raised his eyebrows and smiled wider at his sarcastic tone, "Sounds nice. Take me with you next time."
The other agent grinned back, "Only if you're okay with being sh – ahh" He suddenly turned and eyed the headmaster. After a pause, Ben turned back, "Only if you're okay with being beaten up by… gangs."
That was the equivalent of being shot at, chased, and tortured. Alex couldn't possibly smile wider, "Story of my life."
Mr. Bray cleared his throat, staring at the two in front of him. They were obviously good friends. He hadn't seen Alex smile so freely since his uncle had died, almost three years ago, "If we could get to the point, gentlemen."
He was apprehensive. The man, Ben, had mentioned gangs. Mr. Bray was well aware of the gossip in Brookland. It was a popular theory that Alex Rider was in a gang. He believed it too.
Both men – Alex was too serious to be considered a boy – looked up, their smiles vanishing. They suddenly seemed very professional.
"I'll look for bugs." Alex stood, pulling out his cell phone again.
Ben leaned forward and slipped a folder towards the headmaster, "This is the Official Secrets Act. By signing this…"
Alex circled the room, holding his phone (courtesy of Smithers) out in front of him. His favorite man-in-a-fat-suit had installed a bug detecting device in the phone. He'd pretty much covered the essential devices in the phone. Smithers had really outdone himself.
When Alex had circled the room at least three times, he plopped back down on the chair rather ungracefully – the only sign that he was actually just a boy.
Ben nodded and gestured for Alex to speak. Leaning forward, Alex frowned slightly, folding his hands neatly in his lap, "Mr. Bray," he paused, unsure how to introduce the idea lightly, "Ben over here works for the government. MI6 to be specific."
Mr. Bray's face turned white, "Are you in some sort of trouble? Trouble with the government? This isn't good. What did you do?"
Ben sent the man a withering look, "Alex hasn't done anything wrong."
Alex waved his friend off, "It's okay. Mr. Bray, he works for the government… like me."
Mr. Bray stared at Alex, his face growing ever paler. Alex looked at him, a little concerned. He'd never seen his headmaster like this before.
With a mischievous smile, Ben interjected, "He's been working for MI6 longer than I have!"
Alex wanted to face-palm, "So my absences were all related to my missions." He hesitated again, but added, "Or if I'm in the hospital."
Ben was back to his professional self, "So are we at an understanding? Because if you aren't…" The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, showing his grim amusement.
Mr. Bray was using his wooden desk as a stress "ball". His nails dug into the wood, leaving little crescent moon indentations. His face was a pasty white and his right eye twitched slightly. When he spoke, he was no longer the demanding headmaster, "…Yes."
"Great! I'll get this to HQ then. See you, Rider." Ben stood, tucking the folder under his arm. He ruffled the blonde's hair and strolled out of the room, heading for the waiting black company car.
Alex stood as well, grabbing his backpack, which was waiting patiently next to his chair, "Sorry for the shock," he said politely, heading for the door, "See you tomorrow."
He allowed himself to grin as he headed to his car.
A/N: So, this was what I was hoping to avoid. I now have three active fanfiction stories and I don't know what I should work on. AHHH! So here's the deal: whichever story seems to be the most liked (which means a writer's fuel: reviews) I'll probably work on first. I'm not trying to make you guys all review or anything, but what's the point of writing more if no one likes it? Lol...
Well, please review if you like this and I'll continue. I'm not sure when I'll post sooooooooooooooooooooo...
Thanks for your support! See ya next chapter :)
-Alice