Hi, you and sorry for not updating for ages. I've got no excuse, except for maybe an evil Harry Potter plot bunny, which then turned out to be nothing. Blew.
Thank you all for reviewing/alerting/favouriting. It helps me write both faster (well, partly) and better. As usually, I want to thank those who gave me help to improve my writing even more, that's the best kind of reviews. Once again, I'd like to apologize for all grammar mistakes. If you point them out for me I'll do my best to correct them, but since I've got no beta it might be a few.
Disclaimer: Fanfiction. Right.
Feel free to review.
The morning came early that day, but Alex Rider didn't mind. He had been up for hours and was finally getting home. He smiled as he thought about how he would see Jack again. Maybe Tom could come by later? He would have to call him and ask.
When the cab stopped outside the house in Chelsea Alex first thought was how happy he was to be home at last. Then he saw that no lamps lit, no windows were open despite the warm summer weather and the door seemed to be locked.
"Jack?" he called and opened his bag trying to find the key. "Are you home?"
No answer. Shit. Shit. This wasn't good, not at all. Jack was always up at this time when he was away. When he got into the house one of the many early mornings after his missions he'd always find her on the couch, sleeping or watching TV, waiting for him to get back so that she could stop worry. He always told her she didn't need to, but he liked it, just like he liked the hugs she gave him while whispering about how worried she'd been. It was those simple things that made the house still feel like home, even with Ian gone.
No Jack in the couch. He went upstairs, worryingly biting his nails. No Jack in the bed, either. After searching the whole house without finding her he went for the kitchen and there he found it.
He gasped and ran for the kitchen as fast as he could.
"No!"
-Simple Things-
"Kiddo?" Someone was shrugging him gently. "What's wrong?" Most likely Eagle. "Look, I'm sorry, but I just want to know!" No tact at all? Definitely Eagle.
"Just leave me here until the mission's over; I don't want to talk with you, and I doubt you want to talk with me." Alex shuddered, memories were coming back to him as he spoke.
No one there. Empty. Alone.
"Come on!" begged Eagle. "Please, Cub!"
"Jack?" No answer.
"Are you alright, kiddo?"
Please, be quiet. I can't take it anymore!
No Jack. Alone.
"Alex, what's wrong?" asked Fox. "Look, I'm honestly sorry, but they're my team, I had to tell them."
Cold. Empty. The bed unmade, no food in the kitchen.
"Alex, I'm really, really sorry, but I had to tell someone, don't you get it?"
No laughs anymore. Jack! Please, don't be gone! Tears.
"I even quit MI6 'cause they're such gits!"
Ian gone, too. All alone. Where are they? Wait -
Had Ben quit MI6? Just like that? Alex was so shocked by this that he woke up from his terrible memories. He opened his eyes and looked around. Wolf and Snake were in the background, looking at him with worried looks. Closest to him was Fox and behind him was Eagle.
"I'm fine", Alex mumbled.
"No, you're not", said Fox simply and looked closely at the teenager. "And you have a damn good reason not to be, if Australia was something that happens a lot to you."
Alex closed his eyes again, trying to collect himself, to decide whether or not he should tell them. On one hand, he really wanted to talk about but on the other hand he didn't want their pity. He didn't think he could stand another Jack, someone watching him with worry, seeing only the troubles but not the good things. Because even though he didn't particularly like his job, it was part of who he was, and of him.
"Listen", he began, carefully uttering ever word as if afraid that there would be a misunderstanding, "I know that it seems like shit, and it is too, most of the times, but-"
"But it's what you do", finished Ben, a understanding smile in his face, not pitying, but real and genuine and so, so true.
"Yeah", Alex said weakly and sank back down in the sofa.
Before any of the men reacted, the teenage boy was fully asleep.
-Simple Things-
It was light outside when the four men had finished their conversation and they all sat quiet around the table, thinking about all they'd just heard, or, in Fox's case, gotten reminded of once again. They insanity in letting a boy at the mere age of fourteen be a agent sent out on life threatening mission had begun to disappear, because they all knew that this particular boy could handle it just fine or at least as fine as any adult could. Still, it was a disturbing thought, even more considering how down-right rude they'd been to him a Brecon Beacons.
It wasn't until much much later, when they'd almost fallen asleep in their chairs, that the telephone called. Wolf looked around, bewildered, and then began his search for the phone. He find it, not to surprising, in one of the kitchen cabinets, were, it later turned out, Eagle had hid it in order to be able to blackmail Wolf.
"Hello, this is Sandalio Caito (1) speaking", he answered without checking the caller id, afraid whoever was calling would hang up due to the lack of answering, "I see", he said, while yawning tiredly,
"We will. Bye." And so he hang up and turned to his team members. "It was the government. Seems like our vacation is over."
-Simple Things-
"What do we do?" asked Snake, nodding slightly at the limp form of the sleeping boy. "With him, I mean. I know we all thought he could handle it, but he's having some serious troubles."
"Yeah", agreed Wolf angrily, "Who knows what shit they've been putting him through since you last saw him, Fox. I knew that MI6 was ass holes, but clearly they're worse than we thought."
Fox sat quiet, his eyes following the slow movements Alex body made while breathing. Then, so fast that had it not been for their military training they had not seen it, he rubbed a place only centimeters above his heart, and sighed deeply. "I don't know. I guess we'll just have to, you know, talk to him."
"Well, no shit Sherlock, I meant how do we do it?" sneered Wolf.
"First, we wake him up", said Snake. "Eagle?"
Wolf, watching as said man bent over the teenager, thought that maybe they ought to just let him sleep until he woke up by himself. He almost, almost looked like only fifteen, asleep and his body and face relaxed, but even in sleep the teenage spy had something over him that did not look entirely innocent. Perhaps it was only his imagination, but it looked as if Alex's right hand, the one he wasn't sleeping on, was clenching an oddly familiar form under his shirt.
Since when was Cub allowed to have a gun?
1 - Wolf's real name, Sandalio Caito, means "wolf" and "leader". The former is a Spanish name, the latter an Italian.
In case I don't see ya', good afternoon, good evening and good night!
Bea