AN
I just love updates, don't you? This chapter was difficult to write, I honestly can't wait to get the information chapters out of the way and get into the action. Once again thank you for all your reviews, you are all amazing. -Diana
-Sigh- I hate disclaimers but it must be done, Alex Rider belongs to Horowitz, so please don't sue.

Chapter Three
Puzzle Pieces

Alex didn't want to believe what he was seeing, but right across the field stood Yassen, who didn't even look close to being dead. The assassin's eyes regarding him, and then flicking over Alex's friends like they were something of an annoyance.
Maybe to him they were.
If Yassen was here to harm him, he wouldn't care who saw as long as he got away quick enough. So the fact that he hadn't done anything hopefully meant that he wasn't here to hurt him. Yassen was waiting, he wanted to talk to Alex alone, but that meant that there was a higher chance of someone else seeing him. Who wouldn't notice Alex being pulled aside by a stranger, after the assembly this morning everyone would be watching.
What was so important that he would risk getting seen by the Feds that were hanging around the school?

"Alex are you sure you're all right?"
Alex looked over at his friends, the four of them all with the same concerned look on their faces. Despite the years he had known them, he never told them about his past, even to his friends he had always been a mystery and they knew not to ask. However, Alex didn't think that they had seen him act like this before.
Alex ran his fingers through his hair and looked back at Yassen.

"I don't know"
Ellie followed Alex's line of sight then looked back at Alex.

"Who's that, do you know him?"
The five minute bell rang in the distance. Alex sighed.

"Yeah I do, he's a family friend ... I guess" He looked at his friends. "Go to class without me, I'll be in soon and one more thing, don't tell Sabina"
Nathan raised an eyebrow.

"I thought he was a family friend"
"Not that family, my biological one"
Nathan seemed to mouth the word 'oh' and nodded sideways.
He stood up and the others followed suit.

"Well then, you go play catch up, but if you're not in class in ten minutes, I'm getting one of the Feds" Nathan grinned "but he's a family friend, it's not like he is gonna kill ya"
Alex forced a smile, if only they knew.

"We'll see"
Nathan's smile faulted, the others looked at him weirdly, then Nathan's smile returned, he must of decided that Alex was joking.

"Yeah whatever Alex"
Alex waited till they were out of sight before he turned to make his way over to Yassen, only to find the said man already standing next to him.
Alex jumped and cursed under his breath, Yassen's mouth twitched.

"Language little Alex"
Alex glared at him, but he doubted it had any effect on the assassin.

"What are you doing here Yassen? How are you even alive?"
Yassen's eyes regarded him again, the blue eyes showed no emotion.

"Not everyone dies from a bullet in the chest Alex, you of all people should know that"
Alex started.

"How do you know about that?"

Yassen raised an eyebrow and turned his head, Alex followed where he was looking to see a student eyeing them both.

"Come" Yassen began to walk away. "We've have a lot that we need to talk about, out of sight of prying eyes".
...Line Break...

Yassen cut across the field, keeping in the shadows, the boy behind him struggling to keep up with his quick pace. Alex was doing a half walk, half jog in order to stay close.

"Where exactly are we going?"

Yassen turned to face him, causing Alex to suddenly halt to avoid crashing into him.

"Just keep up and keep close, you'll understand in a minute"

Yassen started again, entering a car park, he could almost feel Alex roll his eyes in frustration. Weaving through the many cars, Yassen cursed in Russian.

Where had he parked again?

Alex snorted behind him.

"Language Yassen"

Yassen turned his gaze onto him; Alex raised his hands in surrender.

"Smartass, getting a little cocky in your old age, aren't you"

Alex seemed shocked by the response but didn't say anything. It was the truth though, Yassen couldn't help but to think on how much Alex had matured. The last time he had seen him, Alex had only been about 5ft, 4 and looked as if he had been pushed past his breaking point, physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. His baby features showing stress and emotions well beyond his years.

Of course Yassen's last bombshell about the boy's father hadn't helped. The more Yassen thought about, the more of an idiot he felt, he should have known the truth about John. Hindsight was a marvellous thing and knowing that he had basically sent Alex to his death made him feel worse. He wondered how Alex would take the next bombshell. Looking at the boy now, he could see a new confidence, like he had gone through the worst that life could bring and survived, Yassen knew Alex was uncertain about where he stood with him, despite this Alex's face gave away nothing, standing tall and head high. His baby features gone, a few more months and Alex might even grow taller than Yassen himself, John was taller than he was and Alex had become his mirror image. Even Alex's previous comment reminded Yassen of John, it was probably the only reason why he had responded, for a second it felt like he was bantering with an old friend.

Yassen felt pride rise in his chest, Alex had overcome great odds and despite knowing that the knowledge of his parents still being alive would be a great blow to the boy, Yassen knew Alex could overcome that too. These thoughts had passed through Yassen's mind in a matter of seconds. None of these thoughts showed on his face, leaving Alex completely unaware.

"So... what exactly are you looking for?"

Yassen ignored the boy, frustrated; he reached into his pockets and pulled out his car keys.

Yassen pressed the central locking button on the keychain.

There was a distant whoop whoop to the left of them. Yassen could see the brake lights of his Lexus flashing, he moved towards the car. Alex was laughing behind him.

"Seriously ... The great assassin Gregorovich lost his car...wait why do we need to go to your car? I can't exactly miss class".

Yassen leaned against the bonnet of his Lexus and rubbed the bridge of nose with his thumb and forefinger, showing stress for the first time.

Alex sat on the trunk of the car behind him and tried to look Yassen in the face.

"Hey... are you alright?"

Yassen sighed. He looked the boy in front of him. Strange, Alex almost looked worried about him. Yassen stood up properly and brushed the dust off his pants.

"Your parents aren't dead Alex"

It was like he just punched Alex in the face. Alex jumped off the trunk of the neighbouring car like it had just electrocuted him, shock and something akin to horror written across his face.

"What! How can they not be! That's not..."
"Possible?" Yassen interrupted. "Alex do you realise that the plane your parents boarded, was a private plane, only meant to carry them?"

Alex nodded, seemingly numb.

"John decided there should be two planes. He arranged the second plane, MI6 never knew about it. The decoy, which was heading to France, is the one that Ash bombed. The other contained your parents, took off an hour later, heading for New York. No-one knew about the second plane, not even your uncle. The only one who died that day was the pilot"

"But if..." Alex stumbled on his words, his voice hollow but his face not giving any emotion away. He took a deep breath, exhaling coming out as a sigh.

"But if nobody knew about this, then how did you find out?"
Yassen nodded, he had expected the question.

"I had some business in New York about four months ago".

Yassen felt himself frown a little.

"I was driving past Central Park, when I was certain that I saw your father's face. He was standing outside one of the entrances talking to someone. By the time I managed to pull over he had all ready gone. I wasn't even sure if it was real or not."

Yassen paused and examined Alex's face. His eyes were closed; he was taking deep, steady and controlled breaths. Alex looked up, feeling Yassen's eyes on him; a small smile graced his features and gave a tiny nod.

Yassen nodded back and continued.
"About four days later, your father's face was in the New York Times. A Detective named Chase Evans had just solved one of New York's most notorious cold cases. After this I decided to do some investigating of my own".

Yassen took a few steps and opened his back car door; he reached inside to grab the objects on the seat. Alex had also moved, leaning against the open door peering over curiously. Yassen backed up, holding a thick folder and a heavy wooden box; he reached out and shut the door causing Alex to stumble. Yassen raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"It turns out; the man I saw four days earlier was, in fact, your father. He had been talking to one of his informants. About a week ago he was called up for a difficult case here in San Francisco. Yesterday I saw him moving in to a house just a couple of blocks from where we are now".

Alex crossed his arms, head down and eyebrows furrowed.

"Wait you said his name is now Chase Evans. Correct?"

Yassen nodded, he could see the thoughts running across the boy's face. Alex suddenly looked up.

"Hang on, that Detective Cahil Faust guy; he said that he was co-leading the investigation with a Detective Evans. John is going to be investigating my school isn't he?"

It was more of a statement than a question.

Yassen chuckled quietly.
"Yes Alex, I believe so"

Alex tilted his head back and groaned.

"Crap! That just makes things complicated doesn't it? Why does this shit always happen to me? What do I do now?"

Yassen handed Alex the folder. Alex frowned and flicked through the pages.

"What is this?"

"It's your father's file; or rather, Chase Evans's file. I couldn't get passed MI6's security, but I did add a few things in there that might be useful. Everything is connected Alex; Phoenix, your school, your father. Everything. Someone is setting this up. Think back to Cairo, MI6 was a puppet on Scorpia's string. Something similar is happening here. Another thing, I never killed your uncle".

Alex made a choking noise.
"Are you - serious! Does nobody stay dead anymore? What has Thanatos just decided to take a holiday? If Ian is alive, where is he now?"

Yassen shot a dangerous look at Alex's direction and he quickly silenced.

"Although I was paid to dispose" Alex flinched at Yassen's choice of words. "Of your uncle, another organisation paid me three fold the amount Sayle was prepared to pay me, just to hand him over to them. I'm an assassin Alex, I have no loyalties, I only assist those with the highest bid".

Alex's eyes were burning through him.

"If you have no loyalties then why are you helping me?"

Yassen tried to ignore the question, but he felt himself soften a little.

Damn this kid.

Yassen let out an inaudible sigh.

"The people who took your uncle also have a connection to Phoenix. He is being held captive somewhere. I don't understand, but somehow he fits into this also".

Yassen handed Alex the wooden box, who took it gingerly, cautiously watching his gaze.

"Open it, Alex".

The boy fumbled with the lid; once opened, Alex's eyes widen considerably, shock clearly playing in them. Yassen could understand why, inside the box were two guns, both fully loaded; also inside the box was extra ammo. The first gun was a Kahr 90, double-action semi-automatic handgun. Unbeknownst to Yassen it was the same make Scorpia had given to Alex when he was ordered to kill Mrs Jones. It was also one of the lightest guns in the world. The second gun, Yassen knew, Alex would recognise. It was a Grach MP-443, almost identical to Yassen's own gun, which Alex had commandeered for a short amount of time on the Fer de Lance; the boy had even gone as far as holding it against his head. Yassen almost smiled at the memory. The only difference if anyone looked close enough on Yassen's gun they would see Y.G engraved on one side of the handle and on the other was engraved Cossack.

The gun Yassen had just given Alex had J.R and Hunter engraved on the handle. Alex frowned slightly.

"This was John's" Alex sighed. "Why are you giving these to me Yassen?"

Yassen moved forward and open the driver's side door, getting ready to part ways.

"Because Alex, it's time for you to do some investigating of your own".

Yassen sat down in the seat and went to shut the door when Alex grabbed it at the top of the frame and pulled it open.

"Wait so you want me involved with this shit?" Alex's tone was sharp.

Yassen stood, half in and half out of the car, one arm resting on the roof.

"No Alex, I'm giving you the option but you need to understand this; you are in danger, whether you're involved or not, you and your family. John was a father figure to me Alex, and I loved him like one but I can't protect the both of you".

Alex snorted.

"So much for having no loyalties, I guess that makes us brothers then".

Yassen felt himself smile; he sat back down in his seat.

"I guess it does, and Alex, don't be afraid to use some of your old contacts. You can find allies in the least likely of places."

Alex blinked like he just had a déjà vu.

"Umm, okay"

Yassen shut the car door and started the car. He then opened the window.

"You should probably be heading to class now, I'll see you later Младший брат*".

...Line Break...

Alex watched Yassen drive off, his mind buzzing.

What exactly just happened?

Alex shoved the file and the wooden box in his bag, hiding them inside the pocket created by the torn fabric lining.

He made his way back to the school, running across the field. It didn't occur to him that he should be worried about being gone for fifteen minutes. Alex realised something, Yassen had given him the puzzle pieces but it was his job to put them together.

God! He hated puzzles.

AN.

* Almost 99.90% certain that this means little brother in Russian.

Wow, and the plot thickens.

Longest chapter yet, sorry about that, can't even write a 300 word essay, what's wrong with that picture. Four days of being on the computer for twelve hours to get this done, Yassen is really hard to write.

HOPEFULLY! This makes up for taking forever.

So pretty please review because all your reviews are awesome to read and PM us if you want they're cool too.

Thanks a million.

-Jean & Diana.