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Warning: Language

Soldier On

Chapter Six

What is a secret? Is it something you keep to save your own ass? Or maybe to save someone else's? Either way that secret will constantly nag at you and keep you awake at night. Alex knew the feeling well and he just wished that for once it would leave him alone. The lights had long been turned off but he had yet to pass into that blissful state of unconsciousness. It was two in the morning before he eventually gave up and decided that this would be a perfect time to check out the school. He climbed out the window and made his way down the grass slope, passing the sports centre on his way. Alex had tried his best to remember where everything was from the tour but the school was huge and the sudden lack of light was not helping his directional skills. He was making his way to the science block when he suddenly felt something rub up against his leg. The sudden contact made him jump but experience kept him quiet. Alex tried to calm his beating heat when he realized that the blob of white fur was not a threat. The cat seemed intent on following him for the rest of the night, meowing softly trying to get the teen spy's attention.

"Shhhh," he told it but, unfortunately for Alex, it didn't seem to want to listen. Fifteen minutes later he gave up for the second time that night and headed back to his room. He climbed back through the window and was about to close it when the cat jumped onto the ledge and into the room.

"Look, a cat," a remark he knew was distinctly Cal's. (For some reason he had ended up stuck with the hyper teen, Jared had said something about not being a morning person.)

"Yeah, do you want it?" Alex answered. Cal picked up the small animal and placed it on his bed.

"I know; I shall call you Sheep and you shall be my Sheep," he said, stroking the white fur. "So where have you been?"

"I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk, just to see if anything was out of the ordinary," Alex answered truthfully.

"So was anything?"

"Dunno, I got lost."

Cal laughed and Alex gave him an evil glare to match.

Five minutes later the two teens were fast asleep.

The Next Morning

"Practice safe eating guys, always use condiments," Cal said as the five teens walked into breakfast.

Alex wasn't sure how long he was going to be able to keep his sanity. When you're trying to keep an eye on four teenage spies in training, and somehow manage not to get yourself killed, things tend to take a turn for the worse. All Alex wanted to do was escape the sheep crazed teen; and his side-kick (who had been left in the small dorm), and get the hell out of the cramped and noisy room. Matt was still staring, managing to creep the hell out of him, while Danny was simply in awe at where he was. On the other side of the table Jared and Cal were quarrelling over whose inferiority complex was better. The five boys were all sitting at a simple wooden table with the rest of the boarders. Alex looked around at them, some were staring at the small group and the others were more focused on their food, either way they looked, well… normal.

There was one thing that did help the group of spies; the constant chatting. Sure it was a pain in the ass and the accent was really strange but if you actually listened to a conversation you could learn just about anything about the school. So far Alex had come to the conclusion that Saint Kentigerns College was not your typical school. For one being a private but co-ed school was something you didn't see everyday. The second point was that, from what Alex had gathered, the boys hugely out numbered the girls. The third was how amazingly carefree everyone was. And then there was the teachers, you had your typical good, bad and horrendous ones but when you walk past a teacher that suddenly bursts into, 'Seasons of Love' an octave higher than what he should be able to you immediately come to the conclusion that something must be seriously wrong. It just didn't seem to fit. Surely, if you wanted to choose a place to hide something sinister you wouldn't choose a place that stood out, you'd choose something that kept you out of the spotlight.

At 8:40am the bell rang for the start of school, something Alex wasn't really looking forward to. He hated the idea of not knowing where his escape routes were or where the best place to hide would be. He hated that he knew no one and didn't know what they could be hiding. Basically he was just being his plain old moody self and he was scared that the slightest thing would suddenly send him into a fit of laughter and he wouldn't be able to stop. The others seemed to be in a completely different state. Cal was practically asleep on the desk, his seemly endless supply of energy gone while Danny looked around anxiously as if trying to analyze everything. Matt had his arms crossed and his brow was creased, once again lost in his thoughts, so much that Alex wondered if the larger teen would even notice if a pig flew past the window. And then there was Jared, who had his long legs tucked up close to his chest as he chewed on the remains of his nails with a vacant look on his face. Unlike Cal, Jared had always been rather quiet and shy, but he was still never afraid to confront anything. His personality often confused people and as a result most just stayed away.

The week passed slowly for the teens and every bizarre class seemed to drag on and on. They'd each been placed in different classes so that they could have a wider knowledge of what was going on in the school and like most schools there were moments that made you question how people could think of themselves as civilized. Danny got an 'E' in Maths and became hugely confused when people started complaining that they only got an 'A' (1), Matt learnt how to say, 'Help I've been raped, call the police,' in French, Jared watched a whole season of Grey's Anatomy, Cal joined two other blondes and pretended to be a drug addict for a whole drama internal (1), and Alex walked into music to find two teens sitting under the table, a group of four girls practically rolling on the ground laughing and a ken doll trapped in an air vent.

Outside of the classes was even worse. Alex was left to his thoughts, not only thinking about what the hell he'd gotten himself into, but how things had managed to be so strange from the beginning. It made it even worse when he found a scorpion drawn on the side of one of the buildings. Swearing under his breath Alex made his way back to the dorm, unsure of what to do. He used the 'iPod' that MI6 had given him to try and contact them, hoping like hell that it'd be enough to get them out but knowing truthfully that it wouldn't. He didn't know why the scorpion was there anyway; was it to tell others to keep away, to lead the way for those who were involved… or was it there as a warning? He was scared but at least he now had an idea of what was going on.

The next few nights he was joined by Sheep and Danny; who had been nagging at him for ages about what they were doing. Danny saw the more serious and darker Alex return each night as they scanned the campus. For him there had been nothing out of the ordinary, no lights at night, no doors unlocked (though they had to be careful not to start the alarm and Danny had silently thanked Smithers for the helpful gadget.)

Alex wanted to wait for the weekend to come before the others joined in, when he knew more about what was going on and how safe it was. Unfortunately the constant midnight walks had made Cal suspicious.

"I just can't sleep, ok," Alex half lied, "it's nothing."

Cal gave him a strange look. "I'm not as stupid as you think I am, Alex," the teen answered. "I can see how sneaking out is almost second nature to you and when you were around Mr Blunt and Mrs Jones you weren't afraid of them. What kind of person isn't afraid of some of the most powerful people in the world?" Alex wasn't use to seeing Cal like this and now he didn't know what to do.

"I know that you couldn't tell me because you didn't know how to explain it without me throwing it back in your face," Cal continued. "But don't treat me like a kid, I need to be able to handle this and I want to get out of here. I don't want to be stuck in a constant cycle of running and hiding."

Suddenly Alex was angry. "There is no getting out of this, Cal. Once you're in there is no way out. I know this is Scorpia and I know it's a trap. This was a one way ticket. MI6 had no intention of bringing me back, they knew that the only way to save themselves was to let me die," he saw the sudden fear on Cal's face and stopped, taking a deep breath. "But I'm not going to, at least not before I get you guys out of here."

"And how are you going to do that?" Cal asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"I'm going to finish the mission and you guys are going to stay out of it," Alex snapped.

And that was how it ended. Cal learnt nothing about Alex but more than he needed to about the mission. The nights before lights out after the outburst became hugely awkward and even Sheep seemed more quiet and aware.

At about eleven on the Thursday night Alex heard the change in Cal's breathing, telling him that the teen was asleep. Sheep was nestled up by his legs, perfectly mimicking the expression on the blue-eyed boys face. One thing that Alex did like about Sheep was the amazing piercing blue eyes that not only belonged to him but to the teen that he had grown so close to over the last week. It was strange for a cat but Alex wasn't bothered by it. Suddenly he saw a shadow pass the window. Silently Alex got to his feet, knowing that 'lights out' had not been long ago and that a teacher would still likely be up. He kept low and peeked out the window, finding the dark out line of someone moving quietly around the building. Alex could tell who it was by their shape and the way they moved. He climbed out the window and went after the figure.

"Matt!" Alex hissed when he reached a safe distance (close enough to be able to hear the teen whisper but not close enough to startle the larger boy). The shadow quickly turned around to face Alex.

"Who's there?" He asked.

"It's Alex, what the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm trying to find out what's going on here. Nobody else seems to care." All Alex could do was sigh, he wished he'd done things differently now. He wished he taken Mr Blunt's advice and told them his secrets and he wished that he'd done more to stop the mission. The truth was that spying was in his blood and no matter what he did he wouldn't be able to get away from the world that he had entered after the death of his uncle. So really it had been completely and entirely his fault that four innocent teens had been dragged into the mess.

"Matt, I know this is going to sound strange but you have to believe me," Alex said, picking his words carefully. "I work for MI6…and I don't mean just now. I mean this is what I do."

"I know," was the unexpected reply.

"What?"

"I was listening," Matt said.

Alex waited for the larger teen to elaborate but he didn't. "I still have no idea what you're talking about," Alex prompted.

"On the plane, Danny asked if you'd been hurt doing this before and you said you'd been shot." Matt felt eyes that had seen too much burn holes in him. At first he was afraid that Alex would throw a hissy fit or hurt him, but that wasn't the case. It was just like Alex to do what you least expected.

The teen spy sighed. "I'm sorry."

Matt didn't ask why, instead he asked the one thing that had been plaguing his mind since the flight. "Why were you shot?"

"When you double cross a world wide criminal organization they don't tend to say thank you and leave it at that," Alex took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I should have done this myself, I should never have got any of you involved."

Matt said nothing. He'd grown up with parents who couldn't care less, two older brothers who had made the wrong choices and friends who were probably a bad influence but even he wasn't in this much shit. How the hell would you get yourself messed up with a criminal organization anyway?

"I know I have to tell the others but I can't bring myself to do it. I don't know how," Alex continued. He knew he had to talk to Cal and Jared was the only one fully in the dark. Jared would be interesting, he was hard to read and even Alex didn't know how he would react.

The two teens stood in silence for a moment before Alex finally spoke. "A tip for sneaking out; between 3am and 4am is the best time. It's when people are pretty much dead to the world. So I suggest you go back to your room and try not to wake Jared and Danny. We'll have a proper search with everyone tomorrow night, ok?" Matt just nodded.

Both teens went back to their rooms, though neither slept. Matt couldn't care less, he had six periods the next day that would leave him just as rested as a full nights sleep.

Just a day later the five teens were standing in the same spot that Matt and Alex had been the night before. Each of them were dressed in black with their gadgets hidden somewhere on their body. Alex had the gun and even though it was something that was partially new to him it felt like something he'd had all his life.

Alex sat back and listened as the other four teens decided what they were going to do and only added crucial points when he needed to (Cal had been right when he had said that he needed to know how to deal with the situation). Eventually they set off, staying together and moving slowly. Alex pointed out the Scorpia mark but otherwise it seemed as though nothing had changed, until they got to the music centre. The lights were on and so, very cautiously, they moved forward. They kept close to the drama department knowing that if they moved any closer they would be out in the open. Suddenly a voice broke the silence.

"Put your hands in the air."

No one had expected that. The voice was familiar and for Alex so was the sound of the gun.

"Funny, isn't it? This whole time you thought you were in control, the one calling the shots. I know your secrets, Alex Rider, do you wanna know mine?"

Author's Note

Hey, I'm so sorry about the huge delay but I've been smothered by homework, the musical, exams and the joys of writers block. Also I'm sorry that I kind of mucked up how the others found out about Alex and left you with a cliffhanger. Anyways, hope this chapter was alright and if you want me to add anything or have a suggestion just say.

Important! First person (not from NZ) to tell me what JAFA means gets a wish!

(1) This is NCEA and what a joy it is. 'E' is excellence, 'M' is merit, 'A' is achieved and 'NA' is not achieved. Internals are exams during the year and assessed by your teachers while externals are your exams at the end of the year and assessed by people who aren't your teachers. Hope this is helpful.

A huge thanks and sorry for all those who reviewed (and another sorry for those who have no idea what I'm talking about because they can't remember what they wrote and now have to decipher my reply). Revasser, George Bailey (you read my mind, lol),talking-and-walking-thesaurous, Tobi X, fang321, Saynt Jimmy (don't worry about it), Meia-Noite, babu'sbff, Mad Mogg (really? That's cool), snowember (no Cal's just really good at cards, Alex was cheating), Jusmine (eventually), Formerly Melodious(!!), Althia9 (is this too late or am I still going to die? And yes, it's about 4km one way and 40km the other, can you guess way I swam across?), liz22463 (Sorry), Kitty (yeah we call it that too), idreamoffantasy, cricketchick1990 (I only just did my defensive driving course, stupidest thing ever. It's not gonna stop us country folk from speeding around town and stuff, it's their own fault for having crap public transport, lol), rmiller92 (soon, very soon!), BrazilianPrincess, GreenAwesomeness, MissMeliss4251, digiMist, Katie (That's so cool, I don't even think my school does exchanges, you gotta work it out yourself), Gold is power, readinglts, AD (Excellent!), Loz727, incarnationofvictory (I think Ian taught Alex basic shooting, it says that it's one of his hobbies or something in Stormbreaker. Scorpia taught him to use a gun as well but telling them that wouldn't be the best way for Alex to keep his secret.) jesusfreak100percent(thanks for the encouragement!) and Jake Caldefore(I replied to your review but I don't know if you got it.) Also a special thanks to Ichi who got helped me finish the chapter (Some of your ideas were similar to the parts I had already written and just made them that much better while others gave me ideas and helped me get to where I wanted the story to be, thanks again), and dappledsunlight for once again being an awesome beta (no probs about the time I was away anyway and thanks heaps for the tips and grammar help.)

Cya next chapter!

Erin