Random Alpha Force fact 2: Alex's eyes are described as grey up until about the middle of the series and then they are called blue.

Chapter 2: Emails

Hex lounged on his bed, typing furiously at his palmtop. He was hacking into one hell of a secure site.

Weird, he thought. He could have sworn that it wasn't that secure last time he tried. His face furrowed in concentration. One more firewall to get past and he was in.

Suddenly there was a knock on his bedroom door, startling him. "Come in", he called in annoyance. The door creaked open, putting a shaft of light on his palmtop and reflecting it into his eyes.

Grumbling under his breath, Hex sat up. His little brother Ben was standing by the door with his battered old skateboard in one hand and a rucksack full of books in the other.

"I'm going to the library", Ben told his older brother. "Do you want to come?"

Hex shook his head. He had no idea why his brother liked reading so much. Books weren't nearly as interesting as computers.

"Suit yourself" shrugged Ben, closing the door again. "I'm going anyway."

Despite himself, Hex went to the window and pulled the curtain open to watch his brother tick-tacking down the street from their third- floor flat. He loved his brother more than nearly anyone in the world, even though he was careful not to show it. He cared for him all the more after Ben had been on the verge of death.

Ben had severe asthma and had had a partially collapsed lung. When he had contracted pneumonia when he was nine and a bit years old – just six months before Hex had gone on his voyage on the Phoenix, everyone thought he was a goner. But due to a miraculous bit of surgery, Hex's only sibling was still alive.

Now the bookworm could basically be a normal kid again.

Hex was about to continue hacking when the palmtop beeped. He had mail. The hacker wondered who had sent it to him. Maybe it was Krazykid135 or ScaryHarry.

The person it was from was not who he had expected:

From: Alex. H.E. Housing problems

Message:

Hi Hex,

Yesterday I came back from a camping trip and discovered that some idiot had partly burnt down our house. It's not fit to live in anymore. My parents and little sister are staying at my big sisters place but there's no room for me. Also some other idiot blew up our school on teacher only day, and my parents want me to finish school this year. So can I please come and stay with you? My mum told me to say that I can enroll myself at a school and stuff; I just need somewhere to live. When our house is back to normal I can come back up here, but that won't be till the summer holidays. I'm desperate.

Thanks.

Your good friend,

Alex.

p.s. Can you please email me back asap.


Hex wasn't the happiest man in the world about the email – would you like having your school life collide with you're holiday life? But he knew he should help Alex, after all, Alex was one of his best friends. Anyway, at least having Alex over wasn't as bad as having Li or Amber. He liked Amber – well, maybe a bit more than liked her – and Li was also among his best – and only - friends. But everyone would think he had gone soft. Sighing inwardly, he went to find his mother.


From: H.E. Alex. RE: URGENT: Housing problems

Message:

Hi Alex,

Yeah you can come. My mum says you can come down whenever, just tell me first.

Cool.

See ya

Hex

From: Alex. H.E.

Subject: Time

Message:

Hex, is it ok if I come now?

From: H.E. Alex.

Subject: RE: Time

Message:

NOW???????

Yes, of course. I'll forward this to the others.

From: Alex. H.E.

Subject: RE: Time

I'm on my way.

Good thinking.

From: H.E. Alex.

Subject: RE: Time

Message:

Cool

See you at the train station.

Hex quickly typed in his last message and flipped the palmtop closed. It wouldn't actually be that bad to have Alex come to stay.


Alex had only seen Kings-Cross station a few times, and the sight never ceased to amaze him. For that matter, neither did London. It was huge. Born and brought up in a village in Northumbria, Alex was always made slightly claustrophobic by cities. He wondered how Hex, who was claustrophobic, coped.

To find his friend in crowd that big would be no easy matter, mused Alpha Force's survival expert, would be no easy matter. Luckily he was saved the Herculean task by the arrival of Hex. With him was an average sized lady with brown hair and eyes that were almost identical to his friend's eyes. A youth of about thirteen clutching a battered skateboard and a backpack almost splitting open with the weight of the books that it carried completed the party. He was almost a mirror image of Hex if you went back in time until about half a year before Alpha Force had been born. Oh yes, and if you took away the spikes in Hex's hair.

Alex guessed that they must be Hex's mother and brother. He nearly asked where the father was before remembering that his friend's parents had divorced a few years back.

His suspicions were confirmed when Hex said: "Alex, this is my kid brother Ben – short for Benjamin. My parents had a thing about names."

Alex grinned, remembering that Hex's birth name was Melvin.

"They're nowhere near as bad as my mum", he said. "We're all Alex's in my family. My big sister is Alexia, I'm Alexander and my little sister is Alexandra. If I get another sibling, if it's a girl it will be Alexandria and if it's a boy Alexis. Crazy eh?

"And this is my mum", continued Hex, smiling despite himself. "Mum, Ben, this is Alex."

And in that abrupt manner the introductions were over.

"Alex, you'll be sharing with Hex", said Hex's mother when they were in the car, giving her elder son a pointed look.

"Well, it was either that or share with Ben", protested Hex. "And he snores worse than Paulo." Again the two friends shared a smile. Alex could hardly believe that anyone could snore louder than his big Argentinean friend.

The car skidded to a halt outside a block of flats.

"Come on", said Hex. "Let's get you settled in".


Alex had been in London for five days now. He was going to enroll at Hex's school tomorrow.

He was sitting trying to figure out if anti-social behavior ran in families when Hex's palmtop let out a familiar beep.

Hex read the message and frowned. Alex looked at him questioningly. Wordlessly, his friend handed over the palmtop.

From: Paulo. H.E. Alex. My parent's next workplace

Message:

Hi guys

Just wanted to let you know where my parents are working next.

Ironically, their working at some zoo in London so I guess I'll be seeing Alex and Hex at school- I'm going to make sure to enroll in the same one.

Three of us in the same city!

Isn't that a record during the school term?

See you

Li

Did you get my pun? LiPing leaping. Also I made up the last names where I didn't know them. Alex uses his in Black gold. And I called Hex's brother Ben for 3 reasons. 1 it was the first name in my head, 2 I like it and 3 he was called that in spinkle22's fanfic and I didn't want to start having a hundred different names for the same person.