The Venus Contract
By WarriorLoverInc
Chapter 2: Déjà Vu
Eagle hummed the tune of "You are My Sunshine" quietly as he drove the SAS issued truck to "Brooklands Comprehensive." He had no idea why he was supposed to retrieve an agent from a school, immediately. Maybe the agent was undercover as a teacher? Or maybe their civilian half worked there. Eagle didn't know, or particularly care.
Eagle stopped humming and glanced curiously at the tranquilizer gun in the passenger seat next to him. What he really wanted to know was why he was authorized to use a tranq to bring them in.
As the building came into view, he briefly wondered if maybe the agent was on the lam.
…
Alex sighed heavily as he finished his homework. The teacher was still rambling on about how to do this certain type of maths; Alex already knew how to solve all the problems. He laid his head on his desk and tried with all his being to not think of Jack.
Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned to see Tom gesticulating to the door. He raised his head and blearily stared at the man standing in the doorway examining the students. In fact, all his classmates seemed to be staring back. He was a lanky many with a subtle strength about him. His serious face found Alex in the sea of pupils and his eyes widened with recognition.
Alex abruptly rose from his seat as Eagle kept staring. He had the entire class gawking at him as well. The mysterious Rider seemed to know the unknown man at the door.
Eagle couldn't believe it, the agent was Cub! He stepped forward slightly, reaching a hand out as Cub stood abruptly, eyes wild. It looked like he knew why he was here, and Cub didn't want to go.
"Cub…" he began. Suddenly, the boy made an attempt to escape. Out the window. The class gasped as he slid the glass over and jumped outside. They were on the third floor!
Eagles heart skipped a beat, was the kid mad? Running to the window, he steeled himself for the worst. Peering over the edge, Eagle sighed with relief when he didn't see the kids' bloody remains at the base of the school, he must have climbed down.
Cub was now at the bike rack, fumbling with his bike lock in the haste to flee. Eagle would never be able to catch a kid on a bike escaping through the streets of London. Readying the tranquilizer and taking careful aim, Eagle sent a silent apology to K-Unit's unorthodox fifth teammate, and pulled the trigger. The sleeping dart buried itself in Cubs left calf, but the kid wasn't going down without a fight. Swearing fluently, he yanked out the feathered dart and made a break for the school gates. Halfway across the yard, he slowed considerably, and then collapsed on the ground. Hearing a scream behind him, the SAS man turned to see the entire class plus the teacher staring at him, horrified.
Suddenly, Eagle was nervous. They had just seen a stranger march into their classroom and shoot a student. "This isn't what it looks like…" He trailed off as the teacher came storming over to the window. He searched the grounds and found Alex's prone form lying in the grass. Turning angrily back to the shooter, he was about to launch into a tirade about killing his students when a signed Excuse Slip was handed to him.
Irately, he snatched it out of Eagles hand. "What is this?"
Eagle, thinking the teacher was referring to the slip, answered, "A signed slip to allow Alex Rider out of school early."
A vein pulsed on the teacher's forehead. "I know what this is!" Waving the piece of paper in soldiers face, he continued, "But what are you doing shooting and probably killing my students in the middle of class! If you're going to do that, at least do it during passing time!"
Eagle's mouth hung open. "I didn't kill—"
The teacher sighed heavily, anger draining out of him. "Are you with the government?"
The question caught Eagle so off guard, he didn't know what to say. Caught between replying "yes" and wondering whether or not he was allowed to tell this man anything, he just kept quiet. The teacher took his silence as an affirmation of his fears.
"We all know Alex is in some type of trouble. But next time…" he glanced around at his class who were watching the pair converse with great interest, he lowered his voice, "…next time, please do what you have to after school."
After leaving the tense atmosphere of the classroom to retrieve Alex from the lawn, Eagle allowed his thoughts to wander. He remembered what the teacher had said, "We all know Alex is in some type of trouble…"
What trouble was Cub in? The kids name was Alex? Why had MI6 insisted he retrieve him? Why not somebody else? And why had they authorized the use of a tranq? Did they know Cub was going to try to run? But they called him an agent, if Cub worked for them, why'd he try to escape?
Eagle frowned deeply, Cub was extracting a lot of questions from him, and Eagle wasn't a known thinker. Shrugging his queries off into some unused corner of his mind to be forgotten, Eagle approached Alex's body. He lay prone on the lawn, sleeping. As he hefted the boy up to carry to the truck, he began to hum "You are My Sunshine" again, to distract himself from all the unpleasantness of the situation if nothing else.
Cub had a lot of explaining to do, and Eagle had quite the story to tell the rest of K-Unit.
…
Alex groaned loudly, waking from the sudden sleep he had been subjected to.
What had happened?
Sitting up on the hard cot Alex found himself on, the teen took in his surroundings. Worn walls and floor, rock-hard bunks with a single sheet pulled tightly across the top, mud covered floor, possessions shoved into small shelves, guns hanging on numbered hooks…
Alex's eyes widened at the guns. Guns? Where was he? Wracking his brain for a match, he made a choking noise as he identified his surroundings. He was in Brecon Beacons!
Alex fell dejectedly back onto the cot with another noisy groan. "Welcome back to Hell…" he muttered in a bitingly sarcastic tone to himself. He remembered Eagle had walked into his classroom, Eagle had recognized him, he had run, Eagle had shot him…
Alex checked his watch, it was still Tuesday, at least he wasn't out for too long. Jumping up from the hastily added cot shoved into what would surely be his corner for however long he was to stay, Alex tried to remember which bunk was Eagle's.
Oh, that man was gonna' get it. The rumors at his school must be going wild now.
As if they already weren't, he thought. While searching the hut, he found a horribly scrawled note tacked to the wall by the door.
Cub,
Stay in the cabin 'till we get back.
~ K-Unit
A rowdy voice in the back of his mind reminded him he was no longer Alex, but "Agent" or "Cub," most likely Cub here. Well, at least these men didn't know him for his missions, they were OK compared to some people he had to work with.
Like Blunt.
Alex wondered about Blunt, had he sent him here? Probably. But Blunt was too cold to put him with the same Unit and to have someone familiar "pick him up." In fact…
Alex checked his calf; there was a bandage over the spot where the dart had pierced his skin.
It was most likely Blunt who had given Eagle the tranquilizer. "Damn you, Blunt." Alex didn't care about his language now, he was worse than angry, he was livid. He could almost hear Jack berating him, "Alex! Stop spitting garbage in the air! It stinks!"
Alex smiled slightly, then a full on frown broke out. Jack… had MI6 found her? Was that why he was here? Was she okay? She had disappeared around a month ago and Alex hadn't stopped worrying since. In his "work," Alex had made his fair share of enemies who would jump on the chance of causing him pain. He had promised himself that after this whole kidnapping ordeal was over he would make sure Jack went back to America; it was just too dangerous for her to hang around with him. Jack was like the older sister he never had. A brother never endangers a sister. Not if he could help it.
Alex realized he had been staring at Eagles bunk for a minute now and his eyes lit up. Second to the right, "Just like Peter Pan," he had heard the man say once.
Turing to his bed again, Alex found two duffel bags. One had a few of his possessions he was sure he hadn't packed (nosey MI6) and the other considerably smaller bag contained some general hygiene products like toothpaste and deodorant, some gadgets (thank god for that Smithers!), and most surprisingly, a brief note from Mrs. Jones.
Alex,
This is the least I can do for you. Take care of yourself.
~ Jones
Frowning in consternation, Alex wondered why Mrs. Jones was being so… nice, for lack of a better word. Though she had always seemed a little less heartless than Blunt, he had always assumed he was just another Agent to her. Maybe not. Perhaps she was feeling guilty? For what? Sending his unwilling self on all those life-threatening missions? The security lapse that lost Jack? Or maybe she was trying to butter him up; maybe after another short stay in Hell she'd ship him off on some other mission.
Stuffing the note in some inconspicuous side pocket, Alex rooted through the bag. What should he prank Eagle with? After a minute of searching, he hit the jackpot. A bottle labeled "Zit Crème" surfaced. Grinning deviously, Alex set to work on the bunk.
Poor, unsuspecting Eagle.
. . . .
Authors Note: Hello again! More procrastination! Hope everybody likes! Tell me if you see any typos or facts I got wrong. Sorry about Eagle's description, I couldn't remember what he looked like.
Review please!
