A/N: Hey, this story has been getting a lot off positive reviews! Crazy, guys, but thanks for the support. Anyways, just letting you guys know that the next few weeks will be quite for Alex, and than some...ah, action will start up. Remember to review and follow! I'd really appreciate the support.

He woke up with his head feeling like it had been run through a meat pounder.

What a nice way to wake up, Alex thought, unusually grouchy. Made him feel bloody optimistic off the prospect off life and what it had to offer next.

Bright lights, and he lifted himself up on his elbow. Or tried to. Something tugged at his arm, and a sharp sting like something dangerously close to tearing away from his skin. Aah. Alex's throat tightened. A needle. He wished he hadn't seen that.

He lay back down again, turning his head away from the needle in his arm. He wished that his head would stop hurting, and taking those annoying bright lights away wouldn't kill anyone either. And the smell off the hospital...he wrinkled his nose, cranky and angry at everything wrong in the world. Why couldn't they make the hospital smell like living people actually lived there, and not robots? The smell off alcohol made him want to bury his pounding head into his pillow, but off course he couldn't do that. No. That would take those damn needles out.

The AC was too high, and Alex shivered. His head was hot and angry, but the rest off his body was cold. The thing blankets from the hospital weren't doing much to protect him against the cold air, and the only thing in Alex's mind was not being in pain. He rubbed at his pounding head, closing his eyes to try to relieve the heaviness behind his eyelids, but that didn't do much. It barely helped, and Alex ended up snapping his eyes open again to view the world and sulk in peace.

The door opened, and the sounds off high heels on the floor reached Alex's ears. He found it unnerving how the nurses knew exactly when he was awake, and seemed to know exactly when to come. Something went off in his head, a warning bell that shouted at him to listen to his instincts, but he ignored it. It wasn't too suspicious that they should know when he woke up; they were, after all, monitoring him. The nurses were probably instructed to check on him at regular intervals.

Even so, he twisted to watch the nurse come and check his pulse. She was very odd looking. Her eyes had crinkles around them, as if she smiled a lot, and her face was unnaturally pale, as if she had gone a little bit overboard with the powder. As he watched her write down notes on the clipboard all the nurses at had, he noted the clunky gold ring on her finger. Large, but not large enough for her already large hands and fingers. They weren't fat...just muscly and big in general. And sunburned. He found that odd, a woman with a pale face who worked in a hospital with sunburned hands. Again, he felt a prickle off danger, but brushed it of for some reason.

Perhaps it was because he was in a hospital with MI6 survelliance. Perhaps it was because he had just gotten back from a mission, and people weren't supposed to be after him and kill him yet. No, that was supposed to happen in a few weeks, after things died down a bit. Or maybe it was because he didn't really expect anyone to kill him. Alex wasn't that annoying, was he? Sometimes he wondered about that, considering how many people tried to kill him on a daily basis. He worried that his naturally annoying personality was going to get him killed one day, but...well, screw that.

" How are you feeling?"

"Okay…" Alex jerked his eyes away from the nurse.

" Do you need pain medication?"

" No, I'm good thanks."

" I think I'll give it you anyway."

Alex did not like the idea off more drugs being pumped into his system.

" I said, no thank you."

The nurse didn't say anything. Just handed him a small, plastic cup filled with liquid. He sighed, but took the cup in his fingers and tilted the contents back into his head. It tasted horribly bitter, and he tried to recall if pain medication tasted this bitter. No. They were sickly sweet.

There was a terrible feeling in his stomach. He wanted to puke. Groaning, he half turned away. The nurse wasn't doing anything. The world was tilting, and his stomach was contracting painfully.

The nurse. Why wasn't she doing anything? He opened his mouth, to say something, anything, but suddenly, a sense off relaxation washed over him. He calmed down. His stomach muscles relaxed, and the world became hazy and unfocused. Alex had no desire to move anymore. His mind was lazy, sluggish, and he lost all sense off time. He didn't know when, but soon, his eyelids became heavier and heavier, and finally, Alex Rider fell asleep.

A/N: Ooh. Cliffhanger. I'm sorry for the major change, guys, but I decided to revise the plot line a little bit. The next chapters will be combined, two chapters in one so expect longer chapters but less off them.