Author's Note: I DO NOT OWN ALEX RIDER…

Once again this is an improved chapter not a brand new one sorry I am getting there.

Thanks to all my reviewers and those who have put an alert on my story but please please please review; and constructive criticism is welcomed.

Chapter Two: At the airport

It was ten-o clock at night when Ashley landed in England and as she scanned the airport she felt like she didn't belong. As she was flying over, she had entertained herself by reading a folder full of information on who would be collecting her and who she would be staying with. She also read about the character that she had to play and although she managed to get away with keeping her name, this new persona was not her and she wasn't too happy about it. Apparently, the boy who was looking after her was the same age as her and did not know about her being a SWAT member and that was how it had to stay.

She got rudely brought back to reality as a man jolted her and she glared at him, refraining herself from not pulling of any major stunts, which could show who she truly was. She noticed that he was dressed all in black and seemed to have a limp and yet she could not remember him being on the plane. She shrugged off the bad feelings that the man was giving her and started to scan the crowds for the boy that was meant to be meeting her.

"Excuse me are you Ashley Curtis?" a boy tapped her on the shoulder and she spun round to look at him. He had fair hair that was tousled and he had a very athletic build. When she looked him in the eye she saw something, which shocked her and that, was action. This boy had seen things that he shouldn't have seen and Ashley knew this.

"Yes that'd be me," she replied with a forced smile; she looked at the photograph in the boy's hand and noticed that it was a recent SWAT ID picture and she had to hold back a grimace that wanted to be shown.

"I'm Alex and you are going to be staying with me, shall we get going?" he held out a hand and Ashley shook it firmly whilst nodding in response to his question. They turned around and came face to face with the man that had jolted Ashley from her memories; both she and Alex jumped at the sight.

"Excuse me sir," Alex politely asked but the gentleman remained glaring at them as if he knew something that they didn't.

"Oi mate he asked for you to move," Ashley said trying to get into character. It said in her folder that she was an American girl who lived with foster parents who used to beat her up for the fun of it. Ashley presumed from this that she was mostly polite unless aggravated.

"What if I don't want to move Curtis?" he growled at her and she frowned. He had used her surname something that very few did and she felt certain that he had not been near her or Alex during the introductions.

"How do you know my name?" she managed to ask, her face paling slightly and the man chuckled.

"Overheard dear old Rider say it of course," the colour started to return to her face; he hadn't known her and she was safe but it was Alex's turn to pale. Alex had looked at the man's wrist and had noticed that he bore a tattoo of a scorpion.

"So what is it that you want sir?" Alex said when he had found his voice, Ashley did not know that he was a spy and Blunt had put it perfectly clear that it was to stay that way.

"You of course Alex, my superiors are highly interested in you but of course you should be aware of that," the man replied evilly and Ashley looked at Alex who looked back. He mouthed the word run to her and then took off with Ashley following him closely.

Running through a crowded airport is not the easiest of things to do, and it gets even worse with an evil man lumbering after you and Alex and Ashley soon found this out. They wove themselves through the hordes of people and got to the lifts on one side of the airport. Alex immediately pressed the call button several times and Ashley turned to look out to see whether the man was coming; she noticed the crowd separate and then saw the head of the man coming towards them.

"Alex, forget the elevator, take the stairs," she called and held open the door for him. He ran through and they started to ascend to the next floor. They were half way there when they heard the door they had just gone through slam open and they stopped to look down the stair well. They saw him look up and draw a gun; they pushed themselves away and continued to the next floor.

They burst through the next doors and ran over to the other side of the airport to see if they could trick him into thinking that they had gone into a shop. It worked and he put his gun away and went slowly into the gift shops. Alex and Ashley slowly went into the stair well on the other side of the airport and looked through the glass in the window to see when he was coming.

"Got a plan?" Ashley asked breathing deeply and Alex shook his head.

"Nope you?"

"How were we meant to get to your house?"

"We were going to get a cab why?"

"Is the taxi outside?"

"No why," Alex was starting to get agitated as he saw the man coming out of the penultimate shop and enter the last but Ashley smiled.

"I have a plan," she stepped forward and whispered in his ear and he looked back at her in wonder. During their moment of distraction they did not notice that the man was coming towards them and when they did, they off down the stairs with the man literally two feet behind them. Ashley was at the back and could feel the distance between them closing so she did the first thing that came into her head and she twisted her body whilst holding onto the banisters kicking the man in the gut. Then when she landed she took off after Alex, who by now, had reached the door and was pushing it open.

They sprinted across the floor towards the car park doors with the man still after them. Ashley spotted an open topped convertible and pointed to Alex who followed her. Instead of opening the door she swung herself over and into the driver's seat. She pulled out a variety of wires under the steering wheel and hot-wired the car. She heard the car start and tied the wires together. By now Alex had managed to get in the car and so she took off the hand brake and drove the car away. The man had only just got out of the airport and started to shoot at the car. Ashley and Alex ducked until she had turned the corner and it was safe to sit up.

"What way to your house?" Ashley asked looking in the mirrors and Alex proceeded to direct her towards his house in Chelsea.

Being able to relax Alex took a proper look at Ashley; she looked exactly like she had in the photograph except for the fact that she had a large stitched gash across the top of her head.

"Where on earth did you learn to hot-wire a car?" Alex asked in amazement and Ashley recalled the story that was in the folder in her bag.

"Well my foster father used to use me as a human punch bag so whenever he came home drunk I used to make sure I was out and usually I took his car. My friend's brother taught me how to drive when I was twelve when he found out. He said it was the least he could do to protect me so I used to hot-wire my foster father's car and get out before he could hurt me."

It was all a lie and she knew it but she couldn't let Alex know that in truth at the age of twelve her SWAT unit gave her a special license so she could drive herself during missions instead of sacrificing another member of the unit. If he knew that, well she did not want to know the consequences. She looked back at her duffel bag in the back seat and noticed that it had lots of holes in it; she assumed from the gunshots.

"Is that how you got your cut?" Alex ventured to ask and she nodded curtly.

"Yes but I don't want to talk about it, is this one here your house?" she asked as she pulled outside of the house and Alex nodded getting out of the car. Ashley did likewise cutting the wires to stop the car from running. Then she grabbed the bag and followed him into the house it was nearing midnight and she was tired and wanted to sleep.