Chapter 2:

Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider.

A/N: Okay so, this is something I came up with after I looked at both the finished Alex/ Max stories.

"What?" asked Alex, startled.

"Max is alive, she's not really dead," answered Smithers.

"But I saw them put her remains in the ground."

"Well, unless she was actually a he, then those remains are not hers."

"How did you find this out?"

"I thought something smelt fishy about the way she died so I looked at the autopsy report. They had a partial skull, teeth included. Although they took no DNA samples, they x-rayed the jaw. I looked at Max's recent dental reports and found some anomalies. So I asked a friend, who happens to be a forensic dentist and orthodontist, to check the two x-rays. He affirmed my suspicions. The jaw bone in the coffin was not Max's."

"Okay, so what can I do about it? Everyone thinks she's dead, no one will know where she is, if she really is alive," argued Alex, his heart aching at the words.

He had thought she died once; he didn't want to get his hopes up and find out that she really was dead.

"The question is; why in the world would she want to think she was dead?"

The two thought about it for a moment. Then Alex thought about Max's behavior the night before.

"She said that someone was looking for her," he divulged to Smithers.

Silence filled the room. Suddenly, Smithers got to his feet and went to a bunch of filing cabinets on the other side of the room. He rifled through the papers and files that filled the metal containers. He made a small sound of triumph when he found what he was looking for. Going back to Alex he gave the teen the file. Opening it, Alex saw a mug shot of Alan. He looked at Smithers.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" he asked shrugging his shoulders.

"The man that you knew as Alan is not who we all thought he was at first. He was actually not a terrorist that had a bomb threat waiting for the world, he was actually an assassin," explained Smithers.

"I know," answered Alex, "Max told me the night before she...well you know."

"We found out that the man who hired him is pretty high up on the business ladder. The man wanted Max dead for some reason. Maybe if we figure that reason out, we might find Max."

Alex looked at Smithers, something faint flickered in his eyes, it was hope, hope that Max was still alive. Alex sighed, he was going on another mission, and this one was off the records.

"All right, I'll bite. What do you got for me?" Alex sighed.

Smithers' face lit up with delight. He went and opened a large drawer on his desk and took out a silver box. Alex went over to the desk. Smithers opened the box and laid a few things on the table. A few items he remembered from past missions. Like the zit cream that actually could melt metal on contact, the exploding keys that he first used when he first met Max; but there were also something items he didn't recognize, there was a large watch, an i-pod, and a PEZ dispenser. Alex gave Smithers one of his, what-in-the-world-is-all-this looks. Smithers chuckled.

"I know you're familiar with the keys and the cream, now the watch is army grade it not only tells time but has a small compass in it, it's completely water proof and shock proof, it can also tell depth in water pretty well. Press the face six times in quick succession to send out a panic signal. The i-pod in not only for listing to music, but it is also a small transmitter for the next thing I'm going to show you. It also can download floor plans and other things from a computer. Now the PEZ candies are not for you to eat. They are small listening devices. The i-pod can record the conversations to play back later. Just dispense, lick the back, and stick where you need it. Got all that?"

Alex nodded, then hesitated for a second. Smithers registered the hesitation.

"What?" he asked.

"Where do I start looking?" asked Alex.

Smithers smirked at him.

"Why don't you try her old base? Here, take this MI6 badge and ID. You can tell them the truth that your looking for Max, but don't tell them everything," suggested Smithers.

Alex looked to the tech man and smiled, he could always count of Smithers to pull through for him, even when he didn't know he needed a little push in the right direction.

"I'll keep in contact," Alex said as he stuffed his new gadgets into a backpack that Smithers always had in case Alex needed it right away, "Tell Jack the truth, or as much of it as you can I'll leave right away."

"Good, because I have your ticket all ready."

Alex smiled at the obese genius.

"Thanks."

Smithers nodded as Alex went for the elevator.

As Smithers sat back in his chair he put his head in his hands, he had a major headache.

"Sorry, Max," he mumbled, "I haven't heard from you on any communication plane, this was my only choice. I pray that Alex finds you soon."

The aging man looked at the security TV that he had installed into his lab, he saw Alex hailing a cab to Heathrow. He didn't see the shape in the background move closer to the taxis and climb into one directly behind Alex's.

The airport was crowed as usual and it took Alex a good hour to get through the security checkpoint. Smithers, being bloody brilliant, had put a wad of cash into the backpack, so Alex wouldn't have to worry about money if he spent it correctly. As he waited at the crowded gate he people watched from the airport chair. Most people looked like business men and women going for conference trips and the like, there were some families with small children, and Alex swore he saw a band of politicians sneak by unnoticed by the public. Sooner than he thought Alex was boarding the plane, it was going to be a long flight.

Alex landed in Florida tired and ready for a comfortable bed to sleep in. But he threw the feelings off, he needed to get to Max's old base. He vaguely recalled how to get there from two years ago. Cursing he headed for baggage claim, there he could get a ride to a hotel. The airport was crowded and Alex had a difficult time navigating. Luckily though he was able to get out to the street where he was able to hail a cab. He watched the scenery go by out the window as he mulled over what had happened to him in the last couple of days. Was Max really alive? What was she doing all these months? Where could she by now? And why was it so important for people to believe her dead?

Smithers was in his lab working on a few more gadgets for Max when his computer screen suddenly changed. He slid over to it and saw that it was a video message from a strange phone number. He sighed, wondering if it was a wrong number. He was about ready to delete it when he got a feeling in the pit of his stomach. He opened the message. The screen went black for a moment before it came on. Most of the screen was dark but he could clearly see the sender of the message. Max's face, bloody and dirty stared into the phone at him, he could barely hear through the speaker, sounds of shuffling or running. And Max looked from the phone up and behind her. Smithers realized she was being chased.

"Smithers!" she almost yelled into the phone, "You gotta help me. I think I bit off a little more than I could choose. Please, oh god, please, send someone or send a message to the CIA, just do something. I'm in a real bad situation right now. I need you to help me. Please! I got too the…"

Before she could finish there was a gun shot close by, Max ducked. The video ended there.