Secret Agent Man

A month after Alex had returned from the Amazon the doctors had given him the all clear in health. Alex knew this meant he would be sent on a mission soon. Indeed Alex would be sent on mission whilst babysitting The Daniels children; twelve year old Charlie, ten year old Henry, and eight year old Lizzie. Ben had called him to watch the three children when he was at the shops and Mrs. Helen Daniels was at work where she was Head Vet. Lizzie was just showing him a bad picture of himself which Alex was promising to hang up on his fridge knowing he would never do this. Henry was kicking the ball around the garden and Charlie's bright red hair, he'd been the only one to inherit of his mother, was just visible to Alex whilst heading up to his room. Alex knew he was getting something he wanted to show Alex. Then the text came saying two words:

Come In

Alex could have groaned. Of all the times he could have got a work call it would be when he was babysitting! Going through the people he knew that were in town he knew all of K-Unit were out on a mission. So hoping that Tom wasn't busy he phoned the teacher was not busy so was more than happy to baby sit the three children until Ben got home. Meeting Tom in the doorway as he left for MI6 headquarters he had a brief word with his classmate.

'Thanks Tom,' said Alex with a smile, 'I owe you one.'

Tom shook his head at Alex, 'What are friends for,' said Tom grinning, 'where are the little monsters?' chuckled the Chemistry teacher.

'We're not monsters,' said Henry appearing at the doorway glaring at Tom football in his arm.

'Course your not,' laughed Tom and the dark haired boy pouted and his siblings hearing the sounds at the doorway laughed at their brother.

'Be good,' said Alex giving Ben and Helen's children a very stern look.

'We will be,' said Charlie bobbing his red head, Henry coated in mud, and Lizzie paint all over her. Alex had no idea how she had managed to get a splodge of red paint on her eyebrow.

'And Charlie look after Henry and Lizzie,' said Alex looking at the red haired boy who was grinning proudly at his newfound authority.

'Yes Uncle Alex,' said Charlie dutifully.

As Tom pouted at his best friend looking more like a child than Ben's children even eight year old Lizzie, 'what about me?' he sulked sounding about three.

'Exactly why I'm leaving Charlie in charge,' Alex winked at Charlie who grinned as Henry and Lizzie laughed at their new babysitter.

Ben's children laughed some more and Tom continued to pout. Alex left the London townhouse a smirk on his face, Tom saw this and glared at Alex. But Lizzie asked him to stay still while she painted him. Getting in the black, bulletproof jaguar that he had arrived at the Daniels' home in. Driving to Liverpool Street where he parked the jag under the underground parking lot amongst the armoured jeeps, sleek sports cars, and black army trucks. He walked into the foyer and over to one of the receptionists.

'Hello Rebecca,' he spoke to the new girl with dark hair and smoke grey eyes. Alex knew the girl had turned twenty two last month and was recruited last week. He had even managed to spot the girl on her first day.

Alex watched as the young woman started when the spy she'd never met addressed her by her name as if he'd known her all her life. This was only her first day but all the spies who had walked into the foyer had known her name. Some called her Rebecca and others called her Miss Livingston. Only the lower down MI6 employees, such as herself and her new friend Ryan Finnigan who was nothing more than a glorified taxi driver here which the smart ex police man found a huge step down. Rebecca felt quite sorry for the sandy haired man. But at least he didn't seem to know everything about her. Having her files read through by people she didn't know unnerved her; not that she had anything to hide. She wouldn't have been given a job in MI6 if she had! But Rebecca was a private person so having her privacy invaded seriously unnerved her. However, she was beginning to realise this was how things were done at MI6. Realising she was staring t the incredibly, handsome, serious eyed blonde standing before her she got on with her secretarial duties.

'Business,' she asked.

'Alex Rider,' the man replied showing her his Identity Card. Rebecca noticed how his eyes flickered around as he revealed his name. This by now didn't surprise her – all the high profiled spies seemed to do the same. What did surprise her was how the foyer went silent at the spy's name; there was awe and fear tangible in the air. Alex Rider looked pleasantly amused at this. He lowered his voice so the observers wouldn't hear him, 'here to see Mrs Jones.' Rebecca completely confused let him up to the higher levels.

Alex Rider chapped on Mrs. Jones' office door. Hearing the sound of the woman's 'come in, Alex,' Alex walked through the door. Alex was unsurprised to see John Crawley sitting beside the Head of MI6, as he often did when spies were sent on missions. He was in his usual Marks & Spencer's polyester tie (today it was blood red giving Alex a nasty feeling), white shirt and boring, grey suit. Both were looking rather worried; which for spies was a rarity and sign that terror was about to grip the country.

'What's wrong?' Alex asked sharply not giving either of the spy master a chance to open their mouths.

'Our systems are being hacked,' said Crawley grimly.

Alex paled at this, 'how?' knowing that MI6's anti-hacking software was the best in the world.

'We don't know,' said Mrs. Jones sounding retched. Alex didn't blame her for being stressed about the massive security break. But then why had they called Alex in to tell him about it if they didn't have some idea about what was going on.

'Then why have you called me in?' Alex asked calmly saying what he was thinking.

'A strange coincidence has come up-'began Mrs. Jones.

'I don't believe in coincidence,' Alex interrupted reminding himself irreversibly of Alan Blunt.

'No spy does,' said Mrs. Jones grimly accidentally comforting the young man she thought of as he grown up son, 'but whenever there is a security breach one of the artist's an art dealer, Peter Jarvis, has recruited are always within ten miles of MI6. When we looked into his workings we found out that in his art exhibition in Rose Palace Gallery all of his artists have a connection with MI6. For example, there was Augustus Stone – a guard in Sayle Enterprises.'

'That doesn't sound like much of a coincidence,' said Alex quietly, 'more like design of Jarvis,' ignoring the mention of Julia's son.

'Exactly,' said Mrs. Jones, 'now we ask you to go in as Matt Rider,' Alex frowned guessing that "Matt" would be some relation to himself. And sure enough, 'his connection to MI6 is obvious he's the twin brother of our top agent.'

'But I have no family!' said Ale trying not to show his upset at this fact.

'We know,' said Crawley.

'But we've given you deep cover so that you have a whole recorded life. We've even gone as far to pay people to say they know you like some of your old teachers, school friends, other people and people that will say they are Matt's lifelong friends which will be provided for in the files,' said Mrs. Jones handing Alex a large pile of green folders which had MATTHEW IAN RIDER printed on them. 'You will stay in your own home but you will pretend that you are Matt –'

'But what about me?' asked Alex.

'You're on a mission,' said Crawley looking annoyed at Alex's constant interruptions.

Alex nodded looking amused at Crawley's annoyed look but Mrs. Jones took over from the two men, 'at the present you are painting from your room hoping for your career in art to take off.'

'And failing,' added Crawley.

'Not because you can't,' said Mrs. Jones, 'but because you haven't managed to break into the industry!' 'I just want you to find out if there is any connection between our security breach or if it's just a coincidence,' Alex snorted. 'Of course Smithers will supply you with gadgets,' she smiled knowing how Alex loved getting new gadget which he never gave back.

Alex nodded, 'but there's one problem.'

'What?' said Crawley exasperatedly.

'I'm awful at art!' he shrugged.

'We'll supply you with some art Chloe Webber has kindly done for you,' said Mrs. Jones.

'Cloudy?' asked Alex not knowing that Cloudy could draw.

'They'll be there when you return home,' said Alex.

'Thanks,' smiled Alex.

Not asking about Cloudy's art knowing Mrs. Jones well enough that if you asked once and she didn't say she wouldn't tell at all! Alex left Mrs. Jones and John Crawley in Mrs. Jones' office. He then turned up in Smithers' office planning to ask the gadget master about his wife of seven years this August. Smithers was sitting behind his desk in a large jade green suit and white shirt finishing with a green tie. Alex had noticed a marked improvement in Smithers dress sense since he'd married Cloudy, who Alex knew was expecting a baby next month. At Alex's arrival the large man grinned at the young blonde.

'Alex my boy,' smiled Smithers, 'Cloudy sends her love.'

'How is she?' asked Alex who was also smiling at the man with an infectious smile.

'Huge,' beamed Smithers. When Alex raised an eyebrow Smithers let out a booming laugh.

'By the way when was Cloudy an artist?' asked Alex.

'That's how she was recruited,' explained Smithers, 'she could change people so thoroughly with a paint brush that the ASIS thought she'd be a brilliant make up artist and she loved the challenge of it,' explained Smithers.

'I know the feeling,' smiled Alex thinking of their job as spies.

'I know,' chuckled Smithers.

'Anyway have anything for me?' asked Alex interrupting Smithers musings which could go on for hours. Once at a party in the White House Alex had watched as Smithers mused on who knows what for six hours. How any sane person could stare into space for that long Alex didn't know. But Alex had long since come to the conclusion that Smithers wasn't completely sane.

'Ah yes,' smiled Smithers, 'now you are a painter I believe so I've got tools for your trade: a six paint brushes with varying degrees of drugs and poison depending on the size. The largest one is lethal, the second largest one knocks a man out for twenty-four hours, the third largest one is filled with a drug which will make the one injected with it think they are an animal. The only thing is I haven't had time to test it out so I'm not sure what animal they'll think they are!' Alex laughed at the idea of an assassin snorting like a pig. 'The third smallest one is laughing gas, the second smallest sends a person into a stupor, and the smallest blinds a person with the best eyesight!' Smithers handed Alex the packet of paintbrushes smiling then took out a box of paints; red, yellow, green, blue, orange, purple, brown, black, white, gold, silver and pink. Smithers picked up the red tenderly, 'this will restock the largest paint brush so don't get any on your skin.' He then moved onto the yellow, 'this will refill the second largest paintbrush,' he said picking up the brown paint tube, 'this will restock the third largest.' Then picking up the orange on he smiled at Alex, 'this will restock the laughing gas.' Then the man picked up the bright blue tube of paint, 'this will restock the second smallest paint bush,' then he pulled out the green tube, 'this will restock the smallest brush.' Then Smithers pulled out the white one, 'this is acid.' Then handing Alex the purple paint tube, 'when this is mixed with water it will create an explosion with enough force to blow everything in ten metres!' Finally Alex pulled out the black tube, 'good for night camouflage – it is actually army camouflage cream.' The gold one was then removed from the box, 'this is full of bullets.' Alex frowned if he had bullets that would be mean he had a gun. And sure enough, taking out the silver one which Alex noticed was much larger than the others. Pulling off the lid Smithers revealed a small gun. He moved onto the last one – the pink one, 'this is antidote to most poisons.' Then he fished out a paint pallet which Smithers presented Alex with, 'this is a camera – just press the centre of it and it will flash blue when you are near a camera, yellow when your near a listening device and green when your near both.'

Alex gave the man a nod before he left MI6. He took the tube for the first time since he'd turned fifteen as Matt Rider. Arriving home he found the spare bedroom full of Cloudy's pictures. Alex couldn't help but admire them. Art was the one subject he could never do. He supposed it was lucky that in his line of work he didn't need to know how to draw. Now he just needed to wait for Jarvis to recruit him.