A/N: Hey guys. My thanks go out to all who have reviewed, I'm amazed that people have been bothered to put up with me for so long! In this chapter, Yassen will have a flashback! Yey… Flashbacks…
EXCITING NEWS! Scorpia rising is out on 31st March! I pre-ordered it, and I got the Alex Rider mission files (usually £15) for FREE! The actual Scorpia rising book only cost me £3.00, which I thought was super! Looking forward to it! And the Yassen info is tantalizing. But that would spoil things for you so…
Anyway, Here's another chapter, which, as always, I hope you find entertaining. Enjoy!
Note: For anyone that didn't read the A/N: This chapter contains A flashback. Don't worry! It's nothing rude or worthy of a warning, I'm just telling you that there will be a flashback. It's not even an important flashback, I'm just warning you-
London, England.
"Mr Blunt, Our agent is on the line for you." Mrs Jones announced.
Blunt grunted in response and picked up the phone.
"Alan Blunt."
"Hello Mr Blunt." The man on the other side of the line said flatly.
"Ah, Mr Moore. I'm glad to hear from you. I trust everything is going well so far. Tell me what you know." Blunt said, putting down the grey folder he had been studying.
There was pause on the other side, then a cough.
"Gregorovich's organisation is not very secure, hence the fact I am still alive and talking to you. He's employed a child."
Blunt nearly choked on his tea.
"A child? How old?"
"Around… 14...15? I'm not entirely certain, but he looks that age."
"Blonde?" Blunt asked. Mrs Jones looked up, giving Blunt an inquisitive look.
"Yes. Brown eyes. Very skilled."
Blunt bit back a sigh of relief
"Thank you, Mr Moore. Please be more careful than your partner, I can't afford to lose another double agent." Blunt promptly put the phone down and look at Jones.
"We should have guessed." Blunt said, shaking his head. Jones furrowed her brow.
"I think we've found Alex Rider."
…...
Barcelona, Spain.
A red Peugeot pulled into the car park of a private nursing home. Alex, though still reluctant to witness an assassination, climbed out of the car. A butler came to greet them.
"Bienvenido to the Solscope retirement home. If you please, the resident you are looking for is over in the VIP wing. This way." A man with a strong Spanish accent said, gesturing for the two to follow him. Yassen complied and silently followed the tanned man like a shadow.
Alex admired the scenery that they walked past. Palm trees swayed in a light breeze, their hand-shaped leafs of which they got their name from were gently swatting each other. The sandy floor was smothered with golden beams of sun. Small shrubs rustled gently next to each other, while small birds hopped around the floor, searching for food. It was so quiet. So peaceful.
"George?"
Alex heard his false name called and turned to face the source. An unfamiliar face was looking at him. It was Yassen, in a latex mask. Alex stopped staring at bird pecking at his feet and hastily caught up with Yassen and the Spanish Butler.
The butler brought them to a large ground-floor building. He knocked on the wooden door and waited. A muffled voice started yelling excitedly on the other side.
"Jeeves? Is that you? Are my visitors here?"
The Spanish man looked quite irritated for a second.
"Mr Wells. For the ninth time, my name, is Giovanni. Yes, your visitors are here. If you would be so kind as to let them in, I'm sure they would be very grateful."
"Of course Jeeves, of course." The voice on the other side said, fumbling to open the door.
Eventually, the door was opened and a short fat man stepped out, vigorously shaking hands with Yassen and inviting him in. The man, who Alex guessed was Jonathan Wells, turned to 'George'.
"Oh, Mr Wilson! This must be your son! It's good to meet you lad!" Wells exclaimed, slapping Alex on the back with perhaps a little too much force.
"Come in! Come in!" Jonathan ushered and practically dragged them into a sitting room.
The room was stunning. The walls and floor were made of
glossy yellow marble, a great fireplace -god knows what good a
fireplace would do in Spain! It was probably simply for
decoration- was sat in front of them. Some leather chairs were
planned out around an elaborate glass coffee table. An expensive
painting of a white horse being attacked by a lion hung
weightlessly above the fireplace.
Once sat, Yassen handed Wells a bottle of Scottish whiskey and started to converse. Alex realised: There was more to being an assassin than simply killing someone. It was clever. Assassins were artists. They could act and lie; convince someone that they were to be trusted. Assassins never left anything to chance. They always had many escape routes planned, even escape routes from escape routes. They planned how their work would succeed and what they needed to achieve. They were like spiders. They'd spin an elaborate and beautiful web of lies to lure the prey, then, they strike. It was like holding someone's hand, then twisting their wrist. It was wrong. But damn clever.
"This is fine whiskey Harry! My doctor says I am not to have it, but I never listen to him anyway!" The old man chuckled, calling Yassen by his false name. Yassen smiled and nodded.
"So… How have you been my friend?" Yassen asked lightly.
"Oh, I'm having the time of my life! No more Scottish government, no more paper work! Just life in the sun! If only it was infinite…" The old man said dreamily. Alex looked over at Yassen and was surprised to see that the man was caught up in his thoughts.
"Nothing is infinite Yassen, remember that. When the quiet of death claims you, remember, the silence wont last forever."
Alex waved his hand in front of Yassen's face.
"Dad?"
Yassen blinked a few times before focusing on Wells.
"My apologies," Yassen apologised, "It must be the heat getting to my head, you know what it's like in Scotland."
"God, I know! Don't even mention rain to me! I've had enough of the stuff to last a life time!" Yassen and Wells then launched into a long conversation about the weather which Alex soon lost interest in. He took to staring out the window while the adults droned on. Alex almost felt sorry for Yassen.
….
It grew dark in the French alps quickly.
Up high on a ridge, over-looking the training grounds, was Yassen's main base. The lights were off and long shadows were splashed around the floor due to the silvery moonlight streaming through the blinds. Everything was still. Everything was silent. Everything, but one thing. Jackal.
The man stalked quietly around The secretary's desk, glancing briefly at files that may contain something of value.
Pulling on some medical gloves so he didn't leave fingerprints, Jackal took control at the computer. His partner, Henderson, who died a few weeks ago, had been Yassen's previous secretary, and already passed on the password to him, so getting into the files was easy. He pulled a file scanner out of his pocket and plugged it into the USB port. Within seconds, every one of the secretary's files was safely copied onto the scanner. He smirked. If Yassen ever found out about this, another secretary would be on the chopping block.
….
19:33 The Solscope nursing home
After getting acquainted with Wells for a few hours, Giovanni, the butler of whom they'd met at the nursing home gates, had led them to family quarters in a different part of the home. The rooms were pretty much average 4-star hotel quality, however, Alex didn't mind. He didn't have to stay In the same room as the assassin, so he was happy enough.
"Are you going to sleep tonight, or are you going to kill the poor guy in his sleep?" Alex questioned, the 'poor guy' being Jonathan Wells.
" I'm not going to kill him tonight. Tomorrow, we make preparations, then in the evening, we kill him.
Alex nodded, then frowned.
"Wait. We?"
Yassen's mouth twitched in amusement, and he simply turned back to watching the pasta he was cooking in the pot before him.
"We."
A/N: Wow, this is really starting to drag on a bit! Jeez, sorry guys! Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. I apologise for the fact that the update took so long, I kinda managed to find myself in Austria, skiing. Oops… oh well, the chapter is quite long. As always, I ask that you review because reveiws are always useful, and always warmly received. God bless you all. :D
Oh God, and I nearly forgot, THANKYOU SO MUCH TO THOSE WHO REVEIWED! God bless you all too.
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