Chapter Three

The Boss and Black Clothed People

Disclaimer: I don't own the Alex Rider series. I'm just borrowing it. Everything is hereby disclaimed.

A bit of swearing at the end of this chapter. Nothing major, this IS rated T. Does anyone think I should down it to K+?

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From the last chapter:

Suddenly, from behind him, Alex heard the doors burst open, and twenty armed men all with the uniforms of the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE) burst into the room. They clearly were professionals, and had the room surrounded before anyone could react.

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0920 March 19th

The people in the cafe were clearly startled, and reacted in different ways. Some just stared, mouths agape, others started screaming. They immediately shut up when a short French man entered the room. He seemed to be in charge and had a glare to rival Wolf's. This man had peppered hair and a stubby chin. He wore a beige suit, and a huge Rolex watch. While everyone was too busy watching the agents, the waiter had disappeared.

Alex took all this information in at one glance. He took the time to swear, once loudly in his head, and then started digesting what this meant. He might be over-reacting, they might not even be here for him, but Blunt had a favourite saying, "Where others see coincidence, I see conspiracy." Alex sat still and tried to behave like a normal teenager. The whole time, he could feel the dead weight of his gun, which he had stolen from an assassin, strapped to his waist, and his senses were screaming at him.

The short French guy proceeded to try and calm everyone down. He spoke in French, and tried to be consoling, but it was hard because his gaze was just as deadly as ever. "I apologise for any discomfort this may cause. I am here representing the D.G.S.E, on a matter of importance. I am here to arrest a fugitive of the law that had escaped from England. I would like everyone to please cooperate and line up against that wall over there."

This speech was met with a shocked silence, and no one moved, too shocked to do anything. The man then gave up on trying to be comforting and just shouted, "EVERYONE GET UP AND LINE UP AGAINST THE WALL! NOW!" He took out his gun, and waved it around to make his point.

Everyone jumped and almost ran over to the wall. Alex slowly fingered his gun, and followed the flow. Unless he was mistaken, this "fugitive from England," was him. He wasn't stupid. This meant MI6 had ratted him out to the D.C.S.E, and if he was not much mistaken, pretty much every Intelligence Agency in the world. This could get tricky.

He tried to hide behind a big French businessman, while he fiddled with a plastic watch which was one of the good bye presents from Smithers.

The short French man promptly took a deep breath, and got a grip on his temper. He didn't seem really angry, just irritated. "I am here for a person named Alex Rider." No one moved. Alex wasn't going to make it too easy for them. He was too busy eyeing the door and calculating projectiles and reflect angles.

The man seemed to lose his temper again. "ALEX RIDER! SHO-" That was as far as he got, because that was when Alex acted. He fired three tranquillisers at the three guards closest to him, and they all went down, somewhat sluggishly, as if the air turned into water. Before the little man could react, Alex dealt him a sharp elbow jab to the side of his head, swift, powerful but not deadly. It was easily delivered, succeeding in knocking the French man out cold. The force of his blow sent the French man tumbling into a guard on the right.

The man, who was in charge of a section of soldiers in the D.G.S.E was quite amazed at the power of this fourteen year old. Just before he passed out, the man remembered when he received his order.

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0700 March 19th

The man, who was called Pierre Bordeaux, had just finished de-briefing one of his recruits. When he got back, he received a note that the Boss required his presence A.S.A.P. Pierre made his way to the boss's office taking a record time of almost half an hour to walk up a flight of stairs, and down the connecting hallway. He took a deep breath outside the mahogany door, and knocked. He was answered with a monotone.

"Come in."

He opened the door and took a rather hesitant step in. As usual, the room's stunning decor shocked him. The Boss's office was a stunning almost fifty feet wide, and the sidewall was taken up by a fifty foot bulletproof window. Parts of the windows had magnifying glasses, and were designed so that each panel of glass could be adjusted to see each part of the city in complete detail. The office was located on the 50th floor and the window was set at a slight angle so that you could see the sprawl of the whole city beneath you. In the middle of the room, there was a large table with leather chairs on both sides. The Boss was sitting in the chair behind the desk, with his fingers steepled.

Pierre perched on the edge of the chair across from the Boss. He rubbed his palms to get the sweat out of them. The Boss gave off a chilling feeling of exactness and cruelty. "Sir. You requested my presence." It was supposed to be a statement, but it came out as a question.

"Yes Pierre. The situation is this: I have just returned from a Red Alert meeting." The Boss paused a moment, to allow the full implications to sink in.

"What was the threat?" Pierre asked, immediately jumping to the heart of the matter. Red Alerts meant internationally dangerous threats.

"This meeting was called by the British, MI6. One of their top agents, who was given level thirteen clearance, has turned against them. This agent knows a lot of information that could do serious harm if in the wrong hands. Blunt, the head of MI6, said that the agent has to be terminated..." The Boss explained, face devoid of emotion, as usual.

"But you don't?" Pierre phrased it as a question, but it wasn't. Not really.

The Boss seemed to pause and think each word thoroughly before he said it. "I think it's a waste of talent. This Agent, Alex Rider, is the most successful agent I've ever seen. He has an astounding 100% success rate for more than 7 missions. One of them was bringing down the terrorist organization named SCORPIA. He has worked for the CIA and the ASIS. I am wondering what he could do for us... if persuaded..."

"You want me to persuade him to work for us?" The boss's way of talking without once actually saying anything was confusing to say the least.

The Boss looked at him, gave him the undivided attention of his cold, blue gaze. "Of course, the DGSE cannot go against the wishes of all the Intelligence societies in the world. At the Red Alert meeting, the MI6 said that the agent should be terminated. The DGSE should of course follow the will of the Red Alert meeting. We agreed to it, and will not go against our word."

"However," The Boss continued, "That does not mean that the agent couldn't do something beneficial for France if the DGSE has no knowledge of this happening."

It took Pierre a few moments to finally get what the Boss was saying. "I understand what needs to be done, sir."

He had to convince Rider to "do something beneficial for France" with "the DGSE having no knowledge of this happening". He had to do it discreetly, maybe even set up a false trail, or to fake the death of Rider so the MI6 don't know. Maybe employ one of the small mercenary/terrorist groups to keep him and use him. Then the agent wouldn't even have to see his face, much less trace this back to the boss.

"Good. Pierre, I am ordering you to hand choose a team of DGSE recruits to attempt to capture the spy. I have recent intelligence on his whereabouts. This is a great chance for our recruits to finally have some real field experience. You will lead them personally."

"Understood, sir."

"Do you? If you are caught doing something against the Intelligence community's wishes, you will be at their mercy. No one- no one can protect you."

Pierre could not suppress a slight shudder at the implications of the words. He did not want to know what happened to the people who crossed the Intelligence Society. They had the law in their hands, and could make anyone's life a living hell if they tried.

Pierre swallowed hard and said, "Crystal clear, sir."

"Don't look so worried Pierre." A sheen of sweat had developed around Pierre's forehead, and he was gripping the luxury armrests very tightly. "I have decided I have taken a liking to you. In fact, just for leading the group of recruits and attempting to capture the agent for the Intelligence Society, a monetary boon of half a million will be no problem."

"Thank you, sir. That is really too much—"

"It is nothing." The Boss said calmly. "If you do this well, you will be paid the same sum every year for various anonymous services that will be for France."

Pierre still gulped. "I will be sure to try my best."

The Boss studied him with his calculating gaze, then nodded. "Here is the agent's file. I am sure someone with your specific skills and contacts will succeed." Though the words were pleasant, his tone and posture were clearly saying "or else".

When Pierre turned around to go, the Boss stopped him. "Oh, and Pierre?"

Pierre turned around reluctantly. He was so close to the door. "Yes, sir?"

"Don't fuck up."

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What do you think of my new version of chapter two? Did the Boss make a formidable enough impression?