Note: Hi there :D Thank you for clicking on this story! This is one of my first FFs ever and my first Alex Rider one at that. I've been writing a lot lately, partly in practice for a college portfolio, gah! So please, bear with me. I really really appreciate reviews—comments and constructive criticism(: So if you click that review button… I'll love you forever! Really, I'm begging you not to be intimidated. I swear I can entertain you! Cross my heart...

This also takes place when Alex is 18, so for those of you that haven't read all the books, especially Scorpia Rising, read at your own risk!... But I do so hope you enjoy it :)

I own nothing except the products of my imagination.

Chapter One – Fortes Fortuna Iuvat (Fortune Favors the Brave)

The road was silent and empty, barely visible in the darkness of the night. The thick forest rose up on both sides, concealing it in its impenetrable leaves and trunks. The only source of light came from the stars and half-moon in the sky, which blinked against the navy blue backdrop. No one traveled this road, not at this time.

But if someone happened to be on their way to the next state over, they would have seen the line of black SUVs, vans, and police cars parked along the way. They might have counted and found more than a handful of them, most visible particularly by the logos painted on the sides: SWAT, FBI, and CIA. Then further down the road was a gas station. If someone had indeed seen the government vehicles and driven by at the right time…

They would have also seen the gas station explode, the building erupting in flames, smoke, and debris, the orange and yellow sparks soaring up into the night sky.

Seven minutes earlier…

-Addie-

"I hope you know this won't be easy."

I kept my eyes on the road in front of us, the SUV's headlights trailing the tailgate of the SWAT van ahead. "I never said it would." But I knew what my unit leader meant. "I'm just pretending it is so that maybe it will be."

Agent David Reyes glanced over at me, his tan face illuminated red as the line of cars slowed. "Just know that we'll be here to pull you out."

Before opening the door, I shot him a smile and said, "I know." The SWAT team, dressed in heavy dark gear, jumped out of their vans and immediately hustled forward in the direction of the gas station. David and I stayed back with the other CIA agents that were quickly going over the plan.

Julia Stark, a tough, unforgiving woman with a perfect black bob and harsh eyes, turned to me as she checked her automatic pistol. "I hope you know what you're doing, Daniels."

I threw my hands up as David cautioned, "Now, Stark, give her a break. Addie can handle it."

"What is with everyone hoping I know something?" It didn't bother me, really, but I was beginning to doubt my role in this assignment. I hadn't exactly chosen it but I was essentially the only one for the job.

As I carefully concealed my gun inside my jacket, I heard a smooth, low voice say, "We're just making sure you aren't gonna kill yourself." I looked up. Brian James was only a few years older than me and, I had to admit, was quite a handsome guy. He had ice blue eyes that could smolder any unsuspecting woman (young or old) and glossy brown hair stuck up around his head like an Abercrombie model. Yes, I'd received deathly/envious glares whenever Brian and I happened to be together when our badges and guns weren't showing but it was too bad he was a jerk; I probably would have enjoyed the jealousy instead of shaking my head. You wouldn't have any idea that he had a big ego unless you actually talked to him.

"Don't count on it," I replied, reassessing my outfit. I had to look as teenager-ish as possible, so I'd worn my own leather jacket, blouse, skinny jeans, and ankle boots. This seemed to be the only "easy" part of this assignment.

Brian only smirked and looked me up and down, something I learned to be a habit of his. "Just be careful, Daniels." I resisted sticking my tongue out at his retreating bulletproof vest-clad back.

"Ready?" David came up to me, Julia right behind him. We all began moving towards the gas station, whispers disappearing into the trees as everyone fell into mission mode.

I took a deep breath, thinking briefly of all the assignments I'd done in the past two years. Truthfully, sometimes it was kind of easy if you looked at how all of this began in the first place. But trying to reason with myself… well, it was still not much compared to other things I'd been through. There was nothing to worry about.

Tightening my ponytail, I put new confidence in my stride along with a careless teenage girl bounce. "Oh, I was born ready."

David and I had another short run-through before I walked down to the station. I knew the whole plan inside and out and the layout: if the drugs and illegal contraband were there like we were told, grab the crap and run. I had to leave the rest to the other guys who were ready to bring the house down if anything bad happened.

I certainly didn't have to worry about how I, an ordinary teen, had gotten to the store and why. There was an old shack about a mile down the road that plenty of wild kids my age used to have parties. I was just another one of them coming by to grab some snacks and other… party necessities.

"You've got this" was the last thing David said to me before I stepped into the lights surrounding the little mart. I didn't need to worry. I had a strong, large team of agents behind me. I could feel my fingerprint-sensitive gun fitted snugly between my jacket and body, useless to any other who touched it. And I definitely hadn't lost my skills, especially hand-to-hand combat. Who did I think I was up against anyway?

The entire parking lot was empty save the old Cadillac that most likely belonged to whoever was behind the counter. After I opened the door, it happened to be a Mexican man complete with gelled black hair, a gold chain, and a button up shirt. He barely looked up from his newspaper so I continued towards the food, grabbing random bags of candy. I kept a small eye on him. Taking a Sprite bottle, I felt strangely exposed. Only a little bit of a familiar feeling.

He didn't even flinch when I set down the food loudly on the counter. He stood from his chair and I saw that his nametag read: Roberto. Hmm.

I watched him begin scanning silently as I rocked back and forth on my heels. After a moment, I mustered up a bright and cheery voice and asked, "Don't you get bored here all alone?" I already knew the answer—he had friends.

But Roberto stayed silent. And because I didn't want to waste my time trying to get a single word out of the guy, I went straight to the point.

"Your toilet's broken."

He froze, one hand hovering over the packet of Cheetos. His eyes met mine but I couldn't tell if he was surprised. I hadn't gone to the bathroom yet I'd said the magic phrase. Me, the ordinary teen. Normally a person looking to buy had to go to the bathroom, make sure it actually worked, and come back to report a defective toilet. If it actually didn't work, there were other ways to show that you wanted something other than a Payday or Drumstick.

But I didn't do either of those things. I knew what they had and not only was my unit going to take it, but we were going to bust them for it.

Roberto seemed to have recovered, scanning the last purchase as if nothing had happened. "We have nothing today," he said simply, his accent thick.

I stood there, not believing him. It wasn't like they weren't allowed to sell to younger clients. In fact, younger clients were the majority of their source of profit. He couldn't be telling the truth. "Excuse me?"

He didn't look at me and tapped the little screen that displayed my total. "I said nothing. Nothing is here. All gone." His tone was calm with no trace of remorse or even amusement. The man wasn't mocking me but I felt a surge of resentment, not only towards who'd tipped us off because they'd screwed up, but towards myself. I'd been getting ready for the satisfaction of capturing a bunch of notorious drug dealers yet somehow… somehow something went wrong. They were "out of stock." Impossible.

"Addie? Addie, what's going on?" David's voice was loud and clear in my ear. I ignored him.

I thrust my hand into my jacket and whipped out the gun, aiming right at Roberto's head. "¿Dónde están?" I demanded where they were, figuring he knew Spanish much better than English.

Fear overtook his face as he slowly drew his hands up. "¿Quién?" He didn't seem to register that I had switched languages. Who? he was asking.

"You know what I'm talking about, señor. ¡¿ Dónde están los hombres y las drogas?" Where are the men and drugs?

I hadn't been paying attention to anything other than getting information (a bad move, Agent) until David was shouting in my ear. "Daniels! What are you doing? That's not your call!"

I winced. If I ever went against orders, it was never intentional. This was no exception, but the drugs…

Suddenly the wall of alcohol and cigarette packs behind Roberto shattered, causing him to cry out and collapse. Without a moment's hesitation, I ducked and rolled to the side behind the shelves of chips just as another gunshot went through the counter. A rack of sunglasses with a mirror stood on it and in its reflection I saw a tall, muscular man dressed in all black. He was holding a gun.

"Addie! Addie, we're going in—" David yelled frantically.

"It'd be wise to tell your friends to retreat," the man in black sneered as he approached where I was hiding by the counter.

I scooted further behind the shelves and away from the cashier. "And why would I do that?" I wanted to keep him busy while the others knocked the doors down.

He walked with slow, careful steps. I clenched the gun in my hands. "You wouldn't want them risking their lives trying to rescue you when the station blows up, right?"

My heart pounded and I was immediately panicking. Instinctively, I looked towards the glass doors and shouted, "Abort, abort! Fall back! David, fall back!"

In that moment the man ran forward and skidded around the corner of the shelves. I scrambled left, further behind the wall just as he raised his gun. But I randomly pulled the trigger of mine, hitting him in the shoulder. Watching him fall, I wondered how I wasn't reacting well. A wild shot?

I pushed myself off the ground as he charged forward again. I'd taken three steps when a hand took hold of my ankle, making me trip and the gun slide across the floor. My heart raced as I tried to think of what to do. The job didn't seem so easy anymore—I was fighting for my life and I didn't even know how much time I had before we would be blown to bits and pieces.

With my other foot I kicked away, praying it'd make contact. In desperation I reached for an oversize Hershey's bar and threw it at him. Instead he got up on his feet, clearly unfazed, dragging me backwards. But why wasn't he shooting me? His gun was right there; he had a perfect chance.

I saw that his shoulder was bleeding as he leaned over me, his eyes wild and excited. "Not so tough now, are you—?" I took the chance to lash out with my free foot, right into his face. He attempted to find me through his bloody nose as I stood up, but I countered him with a roundhouse kick followed by a classic knee to the groin.

Finally I could escape. I ran past the counter and it happened in a split second: Roberto stood up from behind it though I couldn't react fast enough—pain radiated through my skull as my ponytail was grabbed and my side slammed into the counter. As I cried out and twisted in his hold, the edge dug into my lower back. Struggling to sideline the pain and think, I stopped trying to reach him from behind me and instead leaned back, using my weight to roll backwards and catch him with my feet.

We tumbled to the floor and I barely caught myself as my forehead struck the edge of the counter. Wasting no time, I dizzily found my way to the doors, pushing them open. They felt a lot heavier than they did the first time I'd walked through, completely oblivious to the danger awaiting me.

I didn't see or hear much except dark figures and a ringing noise. I was nearing the last gas pump when I saw David running towards me, calling my name. His frantic eyes were behind me as he raised his gun. I managed to look back to see the man lying halfway out the doors of the station, a black shape in his hand pointed at me.

Snapping into focus, I broke into a run. Never did I hear the actual gunshot but I felt it instantly, shooting throughout my right leg. I buckled and fell hard onto the pavement, throwing my arm out last minute to break the fall. The agony landing on it was nothing compared to the torture in my entire leg. I thrashed about, gritting my teeth though it did nothing to stop the sobs that broke through.

Without warning there was a huge explosion that filled the sky with bright light. I felt the impact, a wave passing over me. I tried to recoil but immediately regretted it—it felt like someone was hammering away at my knee and drilling into it at the same time. In the corner of my eye I saw that the gas station was engulfed in flames, emitting heat more powerful than Texas in June.

Exhaustion hit me. All the fighting, the running, and my broken body… My vision went in and out of focus, things were spinning, and I couldn't formulate any thoughts more than pain, pain, and more pain. I made a measly effort to stay awake; I could vaguely hear David yelling for me.

Through my tear-filled eyes I saw someone lean over me, blocking my view of the blazing building. He was saying something; his brown hair flopped over his familiar green eyes. I took labored breaths through a sharp pain in my chest and tried to speak. But it was no use, I was slipping away. With another agonizing gasp, I realized what he was saying over and over through the chaos:

My name.

Note: And there it is! If you are wondering where Alex is, don't worry! (: He's right around the corner... Well, actually, he's in the next chapter.