Okay, so this is chapter 2 and I'm not sure about it. I don't really know where this story is going so if anyone has suggestions, please, please, please, please review and tell me.
Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: This is fanfiction. What does that say?
ARARARARARAR
Silence reined in the cabin as Alex stood shocked and taken aback by the assassin's appearance. Seeing as Yassen was very much alive, Alex refrained from saying the obvious, but instead let his anger well up.
"Are you the leader of this mission?" Glaring at the man made Alex feel somewhat more in control and not as helpless.
"Take these," Yassen said, ignoring the teen's question. He stepped forward to hand the pills over, causing Alex to back away.
"I suggest you sit down. We're about to take-off." His voice was calm and completely void of emotion.
"I am not going anywhere. Let me off now or I will fight my way off." The teen was seething now but showed nothing, two years of thinking Yassen was dead and pushing those feelings away surfacing. Feelings of anger, hate, but more importantly, loss, Yassen the last link to his father and who he really was.
Despite those feelings of longing to speak with the Russian, Alex had to get off of this plane, knowing once they started moving, he would never be free. But Yassen did not give him the chance.
The assassin pulled a gun from his back and pointed it at Alex. "Sit down," was all he said, his voice hard and cold.
"You won't kill me; your men could easily have done that in the woods. Why are you keeping me here, Yassen?"
"You're right, I won't kill you. But I won't be defied." With that, a shot rang out in the cabin and Alex surrendered to the darkness closing in.
ARARARARARARAR
Warmth was all he felt at first. The pain had vanished and instead a light-headed feeling of giddiness encumbered him.
Alex listened intently to the room around him for sounds of breathing or movement but found none. Gingerly opening his eyes, he found himself in a richly furnished and equally secure room. Barred windows lined one wall and had electronic levers for which there was no controller.
The door on the opposite side of the room from the queen sized bed had no handle, most likely remote activated or manual form the other side. Two cameras swiveled at his movements, focusing their depthless eyes on him.
Heaving a sigh, the teen stood up on wobbly legs and made his way to another door with a handle leading to the bathroom.
After splashing his face with cold water, Alex appraised his appearance. His face was varying shades of bruises and his clothes were the same from what he had been wearing, dirt and foliage decorating his attire.
Going back into the main room, Alex peripherally studied the cameras. No cords were visible and they looked to be enforced with a form of metal, making them impossible to disconnect. Choosing to just ignore them, Alex made his way to the bedside table where clean clothes rested, a note laying lightly on top.
Alexi,
Please clean up. I will be up to see you shortly.
The General
A shiver ran down Alex's spine at the signature. Only one man had called him Alexi and he was a general in Russia. The man had tried to blow up half the world with old nuclear waste and had committed suicide in front of Alex. He had seen him die, hadn't he?
It was too much. First Yassen and now Alexi Sarov?
What did they want from him?
ARARARARARAR
He had retired to the library, anticipation growing with each second. Finally, Alex was in Russia, safe and sound. He had waited two years for this day, starting over after his attempted suicide. Murmansk always brought bitter feelings to the surface but Sarov had been given a new chance, a new life.
After the old board of SCORPIA was executed, Sarov took Julia Rothman's place at its head, trying vainly to persuade Yassen to be his second. He of course refused and simply asked to train Alex instead. Much planning had been done, the facility in which Alex had been 'taken' a planned operation to test and observe the teenage spy. They had needed to see if he still had what it took. He did, of course.
It was all too perfect. Gregorovich sat in an adjacent chair, awaiting the moment when they would go to Alex. He was his usual calm, Sarov noted. But he knew how much this meant to him, too. Alex was the last one they needed, the last link in their chain. For the past year they had trained and killed men to be in the organization. They had who they wanted and believed in their skills. But Alex Rider was the ultimate weapon. Or soon would be.
One of Sarov's servants entered the room and whispered in his ear. The General smiled. It was time.
ARARARARAR
Alex had cleaned up as the note had suggested, deciding to observe what he was up against. Running blindly into a situation would just get him into trouble.
Going over to the windows, he stared through the bars at the snow covered mountains, dusk settling over them like a blanket. Winter would be here soon.
Electronic grating announced the opening of the door, three pairs of footsteps following. Alex knew Sarov would come but was anxious about the other two. Bodyguards? Crowd control?
Fighting to keep control of his racing mind, Alex took a moment before facing the General, his face stoic. Sarov was in the front, his medium build and hard countenance tempered by a small grin. A scar above his left eye was the only evidence of that misty day in Murmansk. Alex remembered that experience all too clearly and shivered unintentionally.
"Alexi, how good to see you up. How was the flight?" The congenial tone was patronizing, his mouth smiling while his eyes remained steely.
"My name is Alex. What do you want," Alex asked as he sized up Sarov's entourage. Yassen stood calmly to the right of the General, his face unreadable. The other man wasn't someone he knew, though his bulk and overbearing persona was a powerful image.
The man stepped forward at Sarov's bidding, walking towards Alex with what appeared to be a watch.
"So rude, Alexi. You'll have to learn to play nice if we are to get along."
"If I'm here long enough," said Alex through clenched teeth, anger at being here against his will and being patronized grating on his last nerve.
"Oh, I don't think that will be a problem," Sarov said, smile no longer in place, a determined, hard in its stead. In his hand was a remote control on which he pushed a button.
"Mr. Kruschev is going to place this watch on your hand. It is water proof, tells time, even directions. It must remain on at all times," Sarov practically purred, his tone menacingly sweet.
"Over my dead body."
"That is not an option, I'm afraid."
Kruschev walked closer, Yassen finally moving in behind. One on one, Alex might have had a chance, but as it was, Yassen was soon holding him still, pinned to the ground while Kruschev slipped the watch on his wrist. It promptly shrunk to fit snuggly on his wrist after Sarov touched the controller once again.
Alex was then made to stand and face Sarov once more. His whole body hurt from his past experiences inside the compound where he was held, his match with the ground doing nothing to ease his discomfort. Alex was determined to escape, aiming all his anger at the madman before him. Defiance seeped from every cell in his body as he faced the man squarely.
"That watch, young Alexi, has two drugs implanted inside; one for emergencies and one for punishment. Every recruit has one for the extent of their training and then it is removed. Depending on your behavior and progress, the watch will come off when Mr. Gregorovich and I believe it's time.
"Now, back to the watch. The first is a sort of tranquilizer that will render you unconscious within 20 seconds and immobilized within 10 seconds. This is for your protection, of course, your escape being quite out of the question.
"The second, I'm sure Mr. Gregorovich will make you very familiar with in your training sessions. The drug will make you very sick and continues for as long as the person with the controller sees fit." He paused and looked directly at Alex. "We have worked too hard to get here and will not hesitate to act should you force our hands. Yassen and I each have a controller to your particular watch; don't make us use it needlessly." His voice returned to his upbeat, patronizing tone. "A specialist has been brought for you and will determine when your training starts. Your….injuries will be taken into account, but your studies will begin tomorrow. Have a good night, Alexi."
Kruschev went to open the door, Yassen and Sarov turning to exit. His head reeling, Alex could only stare. Finally gaining his voice, Alex shouted after them, causing them to stop.
"Training? A specialist?! I'm not staying here!"
Sarov just looked at the boy calmly. "Kruschev will be back to escort you to the specialist." With that the doors slid into place behind him, the mechanical gears locking into place. He had taken no chances with Alex Rider.
Anger welled within him, his mind fighting to find an escape, any escape from this madman. Kruschev was solid and would not take any chances with him, either if he was smart. Biding his time would most likely be the best course of action, though the blood lust against the man and his bosses ached to be released. But instead, he watched the moon begin its journey across the sky.
Sometime later, Kruschev came to escort him to the 'specialist,' two heavily armed men behind the pair. For extra security, the man even tied Alex's hands behind him, grasping the excess rope in strong hands. No escape there.
As they made their way down, Alex concentrated on not crying out, his aching cuts and bruises being pulled with his arms behind him. He couldn't wait to know what it felt like to be healthy.
The lab that Alex was brought into was spacious with more technology than Alex knew existed. Computers and monitors beeped in greeting, their alien whirring causing shivers to crawl up his spine.
Kruschev left him, still bound, in a chair, tying the end of the rope to the steel frame.
A young man shuffled distractedly into the room, his footsteps echoing in soft whispers on the tiles. Alex knew he was just acting, his graceful movements belaying his apparent clumsy and unaware gait. Choosing to avoid the man's eyes until he was ready to strike, Alex shifted in the chair, loosening the bonds that held him. It was really an old trick to hold ones hand apart while they are bound, leaving space in between.
Alex studied the tiles, their smooth surfaces mirroring the lights from above, as he worked his hands free.
Coming closer, the man stopped four feet from his prisoner.
A few more steps….
The man came within the teen's range. Before the scientist could react, Alex was up, swinging his right leg around in an arc, his foot connecting painfully with the man's stomach. The wind rushed out of his lungs as Alex tried not to grimace at the pain the move had caused.
The man met Alex's eyes, causing surprise and confusion to cross his face.
The color drained out of Alex as he realized who the 'specialist' happened to be….
Okay, so I know that was really mean, but I had to end it and it seemed like a good place. Not much action in this chapter but Alex's training and unexpected allies are in the next chapters. Any guesses who the 'specialist' is?
Please, please, please, please, please, please review. If I don't receive any, I'll take it as I should stop writing this story….lol. but you never know. If I don't get any reviews I won't know where to go next. Thanks so much to those who reviewed last chapter. It really brightened my day.
Cailiean44