AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait! You guys were all really understanding and I appreciate it. Updates will hopefully be faster, I'm tentatively hoping for a new chapter for at least one of my WIPs per month. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks to everyone who's reviewed! And thanks to my beta, Crowlows19!
Disclaimer : The series isn't mine. However, I'd love to buy Alex...
Training Sergeant Johnson was not happy. It was not his fault that the brat – Cub – had gotten himself on a hit list. It was also not his fault that the little shit's enemies had decided to attack both him and his classmates. But still, he was the one who'd have to deal with 30 plus spoiled, angsty teenagers on his base camp for however long it took Special Operations to deal with the threat.
And wasn't that just like a teenager? Completely disregard the rules, make a huge mess, and then expect the grown ups to do clean up. Typical. Well, Cub wouldn't be getting away with it scot-free if he had anything to say about it. Special Operations may have seen fit to ignore the kid's mistakes and just tidy up for him but he certainly wouldn't!
He'd been lenient last time, thinking that the kid was just some random rich guy's son, sent as a punishment so that he could learn to appreciate what he had or something like that. But, as he now knew, the boy was an agent. He'd willingly decided to be responsible for the fate of other people, which made Johnson think that he didn't know what he was getting himself into.
And he'd been proven right. The little idiot had pissed off some very dangerous people and put a target, not only on himself, but on all the people he associated with, simply because they knew him.
Well, he had time. And he would make sure that Cub learned the error of his ways. The kid had willingly decided to give up his claim to innocence and being a child, therefore he, Johnson, would treat him just like any other agent. Which meant being a lot harder on the kid than he had been the first time around. It didn't pay to be soft. In fact, as he'd recently witnessed, going easy was one of the worst things a trainer could do. It harmed the trainee because they weren't being properly prepared and it harmed the bystanders because they depended on the trainee to protect them.
And he'd be damned if he allowed that to happen. He would not have the blood of these kids on his hands and if he had to sacrifice Cub's comfort to ensure that all those teens came out of their current situation alive, he'd do it. After all, it was Cub's fault that they needed protection in the first place.
Reluctant, Highly Dangerous Babysitters
"Alex!" Jack Starbright's voice echoed through the Rider home. "Alex, get up! You're gonna be late for school!"
Jack, a woman in her late twenties, had known Alex from the age of seven. She'd rented a room in the Rider home in exchange for taking care of the housekeeping and keeping an eye on Alex while studying for her degree. She'd stayed on after completing said degree and was now one of Alex's most trusted friends.
"I'm up! I'll be down in ten minutes!" The answer floated down the stairs. This was Alex Rider. The son of Helen and John Rider and nephew to Ian Rider, some would say Alex was born to serve his country. Both his father and uncle had been spies for the government and though his mother, Helen, had been a nurse, the men from her family had also traditionally held government jobs for years. Alex had reluctantly followed family tradition – although a lot earlier than anyone could have expected.
Ten minutes later, the fair-haired teenage boy was joining his guardian at the breakfast table. Jack proceeded to give Alex a once-over.
"Are you sure you want to go back to school today?" she asked worriedly. "You still look a little ill."
Alex looked up and smiled. "Jack, I'm fine! The burns are healing well and I've got a note for P.E. Besides, if I have to sit around doing nothing all day much longer I'm liable to go crazy and stab someone. And since you're the only other person in the house…"
"Okay, Alex. You win, you can go back today. But… if anything's wrong, promise you'll phone me so that I can come pick you up."
"I promise, Jack. I'll phone you at the first sign of trouble. But with a little luck today will be a completely normal day full of badly dressed teachers, boring lessons and trivial teenage gossip." With that, both teenager and guardian devoted their attention to their breakfast.
Sadly, Alex's wish of a 'normal' day wouldn't be granted. Today, a government operative would be attending a special assembly at Brookland School to explain about the attack that had occurred and tell Alex's class what the procedure to keep them safe would be. And, since not one of Alex's schoolmates had bothered to visit him, he would be completely unprepared for encountering them at his school.
AN: Well, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I'm halfway through the next chapter of The Life of Tom Harris and, if anyone reads Thunderbirds fics, I'm busy with the next chapter of Understanding too. Hope everyone has a great day/night!