Apprehension
Alex slipped out of bed at 4.59. He never had needed much sleep, even as a child (Ian had made sure of that), and the most he required then was seven. Most children had at least ten. Four years as a spy had taught him not to surrender to unconsciousness for any more than five hours; on missions considerably less. He would never fall asleep were expected after the events of Point Blanc where he was drugged and every part of him photographed. Alex grimaced at the memory.
Usually he would stay up learning ne languages or homework, he was already fluent in French, Italian, Spanish as Ian had taught him as a young child. As well as being fluent in German, Chinese, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Polish and Greek. He was also learning several dialects of Arabic and Romanian. Last night he had practiced an Iraqi dialect of Arabic. Sometimes he would work on skills such as lock picking which had got him out of many fixes, safe cracking which had helped him two years ago, ninja, antidotes which he had picked up the initial skills with Scorpia or open university courses which he had acquired over the years. As in data, computing and information which he ha completed after turning sixteen and helped him with hacking, discovering psychology, which was completed a few months ago in the previous December, elements of forensic science was done when sixteen which allowed him to kill without leaving any evidence. Though he rarely used this preferring to capture rather than kill but sometime in his line of work it was inevitable that people died but it was only where it was kill or be killed not because he wanted them out of his way. Alex was no assassin.
In the morning, like this morning, Alex would makae himself a breakfast of fibrous cereals (today it was Bran Flakes) then go for a half an hour jog around the neighbourhood (with his weapons as always) until six. Where he would return home to do a work out of five hundred press ups and sit ups, a round on his bright red bunch bag. Practicing his judo which he'd started at fifteen and was now at a high skill level, boxing which he'd continued after his experience with the Snakehead and Ash he landed a particularly vicious punch on the bag at the memory of his turncoat godfather who had murdered his mother and father. He wondered what he would be doing if his parents had survived – not being a spy. He wondered what that would be like MI6 had been him since the age of fourteen he just couldn't live without it. He needed the adrenaline and the knowledge that he was saving other lives. Thinking of his classmates and knowing all those children would be dead if it wasn't for him filled him with accomplishment. With Blunt gone he even like his co-workers, especially Mrs Jones who was like a mother to him, Ben Daniels his partner and brother in all but blood. Tamara Knight from the CIA was a sister to him annoying at times but protective and always there for advice on anything from guns to girls. He didn't know what to think of Crawley he was nice but could never be counted as family or even as a friend but Alex had nothing against him. Alex chuckled at the prank he and Tamara had played on him involving drugging him, dressing him in a pink dress, Dorothy shoes and blonde wig complete with pink Alice band and over done make up. Then broadcasting it live to the rest of MI6, Mr Crawley's expression of fury was hilarious. Unfortunately for John Crawley there was no evidence of who had done it. But everyone knew. Mr Crawley raged at Joe Bryne whose smart idea it had been to put Alex, MI6's best operative, and Tamara, the CIA's best operative, together. Nobody had expected their friendship to take off like this alive with their pranks on both friends and foe alike showing their dangerous side which frightened all their bosses. Finally Alex would round off his physical training session with the karate he had been doing since he was five when Ian thought it was a good idea to start this aspect of his training that had been going on since before he could walk, and fighting techniques which he had used to get out of many tight spots.
Before pulling on his bullet proof school clothes which were regulation made by Smithers and leather belt which included two small guns which he never left the house without, a small knife which he'd never used, and a pair of numb chucks enough to knock a grown man out for eight hours, strapping on twin knives which were his favourite to use if necessary (one to his calf and one to his left arm for easy accessibility). Strolling out the door to his bullet proof, armoured, back jeep and arriving at school as the bell rang not giving any assassins to kill him before school began. Wow he was paranoid but then again what spy wasn't? The dead ones.
On this particular day his first lesson was Physics where he sat beside Tom who shared all his lessons bar Biology. Tom did chemistry, English and Physics hoping to be a chemistry teacher. Alex thought he would be good at this as Tom was a real people person and always helped Alex after returning to school after a particularly long mission. Whereas, Alex did Biology, chemistry and physics hoping to get into Cambridge medical school next year or at the very least oxford and with his connections he knew he could, no effort required. But Alex liked doing things on his own merit he just hoped he'd be able to pass with his extracurricular activities (MI6).
While everyone else avoided Alex because of the ever constant rumours about his involvement in drugs and gangs. If only they knew? Alex thought often. After all he'd saved their lives more times than he could count and they thought he was a bad boy. But many of the girls in Brookland thought that this was attractive but he didn't want them in danger by association and he wanted a girl who liked him for himself not the rumours. Like Sabina Alex found himself thinking. Sabina and he started going out after she returned to England to do Journalism in Cambridge last year. Maybe that was why Alex so desperately wanted to go to Cambridge. Tom would always jump to defend Alex though, whether he was around or not. Alex was pleased with this living life with one friend at school was bearable and the rest of Tom's group accepted most didn't believe the rumours but could tell they didn't trust him. For the second time that day he thought of Ash's words about how friendships didn't work when you had to lie all the time. What was wrong with him why did Ash suddenly keep popping into his head? Alex was very grateful of Tom's loyalty he didn't know what he would do without one friend.
Miss Miller the Physics teacher was giving the announcements as the teachers did first thing when she reminded the class of the donation from Crane's Corporation. Alex felt a little guilty knowing that he had exploded the science wing after fighting with his renegade clone – well Grief's surgically altered clone to look identical to him.
Alex' alarm bells started to ring. Which was never a good sign and Alex was too practiced in mortal danger not to work out that this wasn't something stupid it was danger. Coincidence or him? Him – Alex hadn't believed in coincidence as a child. One of Ian Rider's many lessons as a child when other children were being taught road safety Alex was being taught not to believe in coincidence. All he knew was that something felt off, very, very wrong he just couldn't work out what.
Alex went onto red alert trying to sense what was wrong. Only someone who really knew Alex, and there weren't many who did (here only Tom Harris), would be able to tell the difference; his muscles were tense as though readying for a fight which he probably was, he could pick out the minute details in his environment, hear the most irrelevant of sounds, his hairs stood on end. But to the casual observer there would be no change in the spy's physique. So no one in the class did anything. Tom, however, was no casual observer he'd been vest friends since they were three and wondered over to each other in nursery to play in the sand pit and this was the one friendship which continued when Alex entered into the world of espionage. Tom could feel Alex' tensions practically rolling off him and this worried him. If Tom had learned one thing about Alex it was that Alex being tense was a sure sign that something huge and dangerous was going on.
'Mate what's wrong?' murmured Tom worried about Alex and not really understanding what was going on with his best mate.
'The ceremony something's wrong I rely on my instincts too much in my line of work,' both boys knew this meant spying but anyone else thought it was Alex being a drug dealer. As much as this annoyed Alex it was better than them knowing the truth and placing them in the mortal peril Alex was in constantly it was worrying enough having Sabina and Tom knowing. Sabina had been kidnapped and Tom he'd told as a almost naïve fourteen year old, 'to ignore them,' Tom nodded even more worried than before at Alex' muttered words making sure they were quite enough not for the rest of the class to hear.
People avoided Alex more than normal for the rest of that day. Although they didn't know Alex like Tom knew the birthday boy they could all fee the fact that he was projecting a dangerous atmosphere far above the average Alex Rider teenage bad boy that he walked with his confidence. Even the teachers skirted away from him and his fan club walked the other way rather than trying to flirt with the bad boy.
At lunch he ate his usual protein meal, rice and chicken curry he'd made with army rations to chock it full of energy which he'd be glad of later, his eyes swivelled around the room warily looking for the danger. Everybody was chattering louder than normal; excited about missing the last two periods, in Alex' case double Biology, which he could do with and in Tom's English which he enjoyed heartily. This made Alex really annoyed that everyone else in the school was excited about an event which Alex knew without a shadow of the doubt would go wrong, very wrong.
Feeling someone's eyes upon the back of his neck as he had learned to feel this way after being under surveillance all the times he had been because of his job as a spy. Turning around to see Henry Brey the Headmaster of Brookand's eyes boring into him. That man was way too interested in Alex. Alex knew he was just concerned but he hated people being interested in his activities – they almost always wanted him dead and came bloody close to killing him. Ah well what was life without a little risk – a lot of risk. That was one of the perks of being a spy and he loved it, well the adrenaline rush, at least, the fear of death and torture not so much. But being a spy was so him he knew he'd never stop.
Their eyes met for a second and Mr Brey looked quickly away as though frightened which Alex thought he probably was.
Mr Brey knew there was more to Alex than met the eye he just didn't know what. Alex thought recalling the time when he was poisoned in the headmaster's office. Looking at Mr Brey he thought they were thinking of the same thing.
Mr Brey had called Alex to discuss his grades at the end of Year Ten, he'd been absent for most of the year due to MI6 strange to think only just over a year ago he wouldn't have even known that his Uncle was a spy. A lot can change in a year mused Alex who now wanted nothing more than to become a fully qualified MI6 agent unlike a few months ago. Jack's murder had changed that. Alex was sitting on the soft, green chair opposite the usually laughing, jokey headmaster who was looking uncharacteristically serious. A bad sign. Alex had only seen him like this once before; just before he suspended Alex for a day.
'Alex I don't know what's been happening in your life, I understand your uncle's death hit you hard, but skipping of school… I'm afraid I'll have to make you repeat the year, with grades like this. I can't expel you being under sixteen.'
'I understand your position, sir,' said Alex quietly, 'but I have a proposition for you. I stay in the year until the mocks next Christmas if I pass reasonably well then you'll let me stay.'
He gave the headmaster a cold; hard look that no fifteen year old should be able to pull of it was a sign of the loss of his innocence. The headmaster shuddered then nodded not wanting to disagree with the terrifying young man, 'that's fine.'
Alex would pass his mocks and GCSEs with nothing but A*s much to the thanks of his Japanese tutor, Sensei Fusao Sato, that MI6 had provided.
'No why don't you have a drink of orange juice then you can go back to class,' reflecting back Alex should have realised something was wrong – Mr Brey never offered drinks to his children.
Alex frowned, shooting Mr Brey a sharp look; he never usually gave his students juice after a meeting. But deciding that Mr Brey had gone through background checks he accepted.
What Alex did not realise until later that before had a meeting with another headmaster who said he always gave his pupils a drink after a talking to in order to give them encouragements to do better. The real headmaster had been killed and replaced by a SCORPIA assassin hired to kill Alex. The assassin then gave Mr Brey a bottle of orange juice lased with arsenic.
Alex took a small drink which had a strange sickly taste to it. Alex frowned where he had heard about this before.
Alex quickly placed the drink down but it was too late he had already taken a mouthful of very concentrated arsenic.
Mr Brey was watching Alex in faint concern, 'are you alright, Alex?'
In response Alex threw up all over Mr Brey's desk. Feeling slightly faint and his stomach clenching he realized that he'd been poisoned.
Alex just managed to click his emergency telecom system in his ear piercing and choked out one word – 'poison …'
Idly noticing that Mr Brey had gone an awful grey colour, like lumpy porridge. Before fainting, while writhing on the floor.
Unknown to Alex five minutes later Snake ran into the room pushed aside the panicked teacher who had been trying to resuscitate the blonde boy. Pulling up his jumper so Mr Brey could see scars on his toned belly Snake injected the synthesised chemicals into Alex' bloodstream.
Mr Brey accompanied Alex and Snake to St. Dominic's, refusing to leave the boy alone, where Alex woke up a couple of hours of later much to the relief of the Headmaster, Alex' guardian (Ben) and his friends (K-Unit).
Alex later asked Mr Brey not to mention the incident. He never did. Alex had the distinct impression he wanted to forget it had ever happened. Personally Alex didn't blame him this was a world away from his normally safe world.
Alex learned all about antidotes and poisons that year at SAS training and Smithers supplied him with a medical kit with antidotes which he kept on person at all times. At the present it was in his bag under his biology books, ironically.
As Alex continued to stare at Mr Brey he hastily turned away resuming his conversation with Miss Miller which Alex caught was about Miss Collum (soon to be Mrs Wright's) marriage.
Alex returned to scanning the room trying to figure out what the hell had him so on edge, he was never like this for no reason. But what the hell was the reason?