Disclaimer: Don't own Alex Rider.
A/N: Techie came back her holiday! So here is the next chapter, credit to all the people who reviewed (BTW you anon people - thanks for reviewing even though I couldn't reply - see Corrine, it wasn't that hard was it? Lol.)
Alex was motionless, staring silently at his father. John gazed at the floor bitterly, then sighed and resumed his optimist's expression. It seemed so entirely superficial that Alex raised his mental guard again. It had been slipping. But now he watched his father grimly, denouncing any hint of pain in his own face, void of expression. He could probably trust John. But with this new revelation bearing down hard upon him, he decided not to make any judgements till he had the whole story.
"How?" He asked bluntly.
"I don't know" John confessed, leaning closer to Alex again, as if he sensed Alex's withdrawal. He smiled bravely, but his eyes were raw. "I have no idea how she did it, Alex, she's certainly not going to advertise her methods so somebody can usurp her. One thing's for sure. She's been aiming for this for years. And I've been blind to it. That's one of the many great inconveniencies of being a double agent. You don't get to spend much time with your wife. And while I thought she was home and safe and innocent...well, she had her own agenda. I'm sorry, son."
Alex didn't know how he felt. Well, that wasn't strictly true. He could feel thousands of conflicting emotions in his veins. But he didn't know which one was overriding. Was he horrified to learn that his mother was the leader of Scorpia? Or relieved that he probably wasn't being hunted to be tortured and killed? On the other hand, his mother was a stranger to him. As was his father before him. His father who had just busted an infamous assassin out of prison, and who seemed intent on Alex single-handedly taking down Scorpia, and by extension his own mother. Did he trust him? Was he going to run? If so, who to? Not MI6. Not after they'd hidden this from him. But there weren't many choices. He couldn't walk away and go home with Jack and go back to school and resume with Sabina. Because they would find him.
"I didn't want to have to tell you" John rubbed his forehead worriedly. "But we couldn't afford you going back to Scorpia and then discovering the truth. It might have turned your head. She wants you by her side. She's going to do whatever it takes to convince you that she's in the right. You have to pretend to be under her spell, and at the same time uncover her plot. It'll be difficult. Can you do it?"
Could he? Yes. Of course he could. He had three choices. Scorpia, MI6 or Dad-and-Yassen. He couldn't be loyal to his mother if she was planning to kill hundreds of innocents. But was joining forces with a deadly assassin really any better? Alex shot a glance at Yassen, who was watching the scene impassively. Yassen wasn't in this to save people. He was just pleasing John.
"Won't people in Scorpia try to kill me over track-record?" He asked, slowly looking away from Yassen, and back to his father's earnest blue eyes.
"They haven't tried to kill me yet" John smiled. "Your mother currently reigns supreme. We're untouchable. You'll be perfectly safe. I wouldn't ask you to do this if you would be in danger. And Yassen and I will be nearby anyway."
Sure. Alex was in absolutely no danger. Heh. Heard that one before.
"And she won't suspect us?" He asked. "After you asking to come over here at the same time her squad travelled over for me?"
"No. It was extremely difficult for me to discover when her men were due to travel. I told you she hasn't trusted me. I've been under close surveillance, and she believes I've heard nothing about you and that I have very little interest in you. She's eager to have Yassen under her wing too. And if we play our parts well she'll have no reason to suspect."
"How do we communicate if we're pretending to ignore each other?"
John smiled and patted his knee. "Don't worry yourself about that, Alex. I've got a few followers who we can use as messengers."
Alex nodded slowly. He wasn't sure if John was being condescending or overprotective. "And if you've only been awake four weeks, how did you manage to get followers?"
John shrugged, smiling boyishly now. "People are fickle, Alex. Your mother is a tyrant, and there are a few within Scorpia who would like to see her brought down. Anyway, who wouldn't want me for a leader?"
Alex pressed a quick smile on his face, then, satisfied that he'd followed all the rules of politeness-when-reuniting-with-a-parent, he let it fall and stood up. "I need to think about this."
"There isn't time." Yassen said. Alex scowled at him.
John looked faintly surprised. "We don't have a choice, Alex. People are going to die. We have to stop her, no matter what."
"I still need to think about it."
John swallowed and glanced at Yassen, then back to Alex. "I can't give you much time."
Alex nodded and walked back to the kitchen. He didn't need a lot of time. He just needed a few minutes without his father and an assassin drilling him with their eyes.
Neither man made an attempt to follow him, and Alex shut the kitchen door behind him gratefully. He crossed over to the window again, and stared up at the small chink of sky, grabbing a glass from the drying rack by the sink and holding it to his forehead, cooling his temperature. Okay. Breathe. Think.
He had to decide what his priorities were. He had to have a plan. But the more he thought about it, the fewer his options became. He stared intently at the sliver of grey, watching as a wisp of cloud drifted across, then slid out of view. He turned the tap and took a drink. Jack and Sabina. They were his top priority. And at the moment he was sure they were safe. Sabina would be with her parents. Jack would be with either MI6 or Scorpia, most likely MI6. MI6 wouldn't hurt either of them, and with no way to contact Alex, they couldn't use them as leverage at the moment. They would be safe. Scorpia could have Jack, but if his mother was as interested in him as John had suggested, then Jack would be safe at Scorpia too. Well, not safe, but out of imminent danger. His mum wouldn't start off by killing his closest friend.
After Jack and Sabina came the people his mother was planning to kill. He hated that they should dictate his next move when they were faceless and nameless and he didn't even know her proposed method of mass destruction. But he knew enough of Scorpia's leaders to assume his mother would kill anybody if it suited her. Innocents of all ages. There was no good thinking that because she was his mother she was going to be better than Rothman or Yu or any of the others.
He didn't want to see her. The thought made his stomach churn. And yet, if his father was to stop her killing all these people, Alex would have to be there. Have to act like he'd never acted before. Not under a false persona, but as himself. Act as himself, and yet not be himself. Pretend to his mother that he was on her side. When she was going to murder.
His head droned from lack of sleep. He'd wished for a father figure to take Ian's place, someone he could rely on. He'd made the mistake with Ash. It wasn't going to happen again. He would tread carefully around his father.
He mocked himself in his head. Acting as if his dad was one of the bad guys. Scorpia were the bad guys. Maybe even MI6. Not John Rider. John Rider had risked coming for him, just so Alex would be warned about his mother. He should be grateful, not mistrustful.
He had to trust John. Because like it or not, he was going back into the Lion's Den. There was no avoiding it. A Scorpia on the rise would have no trouble finding him. There was no use hiding. He had to deal. He had to stop her.
He downed another glass of water, trying to clear his head. This would be his final mission. He pretty much had a 100 success rate. He would get through it. He always did.
It didn't stop him stamping the glass down and putting his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes fiercely, as if his vision would improve and he would discover that the man he had seen in the other room was a mirage.
"What do you think?" John asked in a low voice, making sure it wouldn't carry to the kitchen.
Yassen adjusted his position slightly in the armchair. "He doesn't trust you."
John scowled with almost exactly the same expression his son had used earlier. Yassen smirked.
"Well you better talk to him" John said, pacing the room, hands in pockets, "because I can't think of anything else."
Yassen smiled again, his eyes travelling coolly towards the closed kitchen door. "He will agree. He has no other choice. He just likes to pretend that he has. As for trusting you, he would be a fool to believe everything you say just because you are his father. It is natural for him not to trust anyone."
"But you don't think he suspects...?" John whispered.
"He is not a mind reader, Hunter. I think seeing both of us alive and then meeting his mother will take up enough of his thoughts."
John ran a hand through his hair. "I like him. I'd like to tell him."
Yassen frowned. "I already told you. Alex may look like you, but his mind works differently. He won't agree. He will most certainly refuse to help you, and then we will have to chase him and hide him from Scorpia and MI6 till you stop Helen. Which will take much longer without him."
"I know, and you're right. I just feel that starting off a relationship on lies-"
"Not lies, partial truths."
"Partial truths then. I lost him for fourteen years, I'm not going to lose him again."
"Give him time" Yassen said. "Perhaps when the moment comes he will have been assimilated enough to agree with you. For now, we wait. Alex will not refuse."
John patted the ridge of Yassen's armchair. "It's good to have you back, Cossack."
Yassen nodded. He'd been thinking about retirement before Eagle Strike. He was still thinking about it now. But John Rider changed everything. He would retire when this was over. But before that, he would do whatever it took to please John. Even if it meant forcing Alex to follow his father. But Yassen hoped it wouldn't come to that. He had too much respect for Alex to think of him as a child, to be manipulated and coddled, the way John was still thinking.
He smiled to himself softly. John and Alex Rider still had a lot to learn about each other.
Alex walked back into the living room. "Okay, I'm in" he said, without any procrastination.
John jumped up from his seat in delight and relief. "Good man! Alright, we leave in twenty minutes. But let's go out to the back garden first."
Alex frowned. John strode past him, leading the way. Alex was reluctant to follow. He felt Yassen's hand on his shoulder, turning him around, directing him after John.
"What's in the back garden?" He asked warily.
Yassen's lips curved. It was nearly a smile.
An unexpected shove sent Alex sprawling on the single vacant flowerbed. He turned round angrily. John and Yassen smiled down at him. Well, John smiled. Half-teasing. Yassen's face was expressionless again. "You fell" he explained "while you were running away from the safe house."
"Yeah, that's right, wipe at it" John encouraged as Alex swiped at the dirt across his cheek. There must have been some light rain in the early hours of the morning, the earth was damp, and some of it was sticky. All of it frosted.
"Maybe I have a really good sense of balance and didn't trip" Alex accused Yassen, trying to get up.
"Hold it" John said, grabbing at Alex's ankle. "You shouldn't have let him clean his feet" he scolded Yassen.
"You would have complained if I hadn't" Yassen shrugged.
"Probably" John flashed a conceding grin, kneeling down beside Alex and sniffing the foot. "Soap and antiseptic cream. Not exactly been-on-the-run-all-night-material, eh? Get some water will you Cossack?"
"Why don't you call him Yassen?" Alex queried, jerking his foot out of John's hands and accepting the hand up.
"Custom" John shrugged. "I trained him not to use names, only labels."
"So what are you calling my mother then?"
John grimaced. "Helen. We're not quite back in routine yet. Heck, I'm so skinny right now I bet you could floor me in a fight!"
Alex wasn't sure if that was true. But he'd fancy his chances. Although, with Yassen breathing down his neck, there would be no possibility of him really winning anything.
Yassen returned with a basin of water. Alex debated whether it would be hot or cold. He was right. It was cold. He yanked his trouser legs away from the water, nearly toppling as John raised first one foot, then the other, and Yassen flooded them. Then they made him tramp about in the flowerbed, and then wipe his feet on the tiny patch of grass. Then they were satisfied.
"We'll be a couple of hours journey" John said to Alex, "I'd go to the loo. No cleaning up in there, mind!"
"I have an idea" Alex grumbled. "I find a pair of trainers as I'm running away, and try them on, and amazingly they're just my size."
John chuckled and clapped him on the back. He actually seemed to be enjoying himself, which made Alex nervous. If the man could act enjoyment that well, how could you ever know what he was really thinking?
He gazed at himself in the mirror one last time. His left cheek was streaked with mud. He'd wiped most of the dirt off his clothes, on the premise that if he really had been running all night, he'd have noticed in the morning and brushed it off anyway. He looked tired, his hair flopping into his eyes, his eyes themselves hard and unfeeling. He had to do a double take on the eyes. He was surprised at how well they masked him. One thing was for sure. He looked like he'd been on the run all night, and he felt it too.
Now he only had to convince Scorpia.
He sighed heavily, pushing the hair away from his eyes, and went to join dad and the best man.
"I don't suppose you could get a message to my friend?" He asked the back of John's head.
"I don't think that would be wise, do you?" John twisted round a corner. "Lord, it's good to drive again."
Alex hoped he wasn't planning on getting carried away with the speedometer, they were going fast enough as it was, racing back up the country roads.
"Well, I thought I should let Jack know I'm ok..." He found himself a little fixated with what he could see of his father's head. Accepting Yassen was alive hadn't been too difficult. But he had to keep staring at the blonde hair and jersey neck to remind himself that his dad was real.
"Is this your friend you were in the safe house with?" John asked, spinning the wheel again. "You can't contact him, son. MI6 will be hoping for that."
"Her." Alex muttered.
"Sorry?"
"Her. Jack is a she."
"Oh" John grinned, catching Alex's eye in the rear-view mirror. "Girlfriend?"
"Just friend. She's double my age."
"Sabina is his girlfriend" Yassen reminded John. Alex looked out of the window uncomfortably. John chuckled.
Yassen had chosen to sit in the backseat beside Alex. Alex wasn't sure why. Perhaps he was making sure Alex didn't bolt. Or maybe it was because he didn't fancy going headfirst through the windscreen, as there was slim-to-none chance of Alex getting out of the car right now. John still drove recklessly. There was nothing but fields around them, no-one to concern themselves about their speed, except Alex. He simultaneously confirmed his father's existence, and that his seatbelt was secure every five minutes.
There was a car waiting for them seven-eighth's of the way along the road, off to the side. No-one in sight.
John slowed. "Can you drive, do you think, Alex?"
Alex nodded. He could improve on that last piece of driving he'd endured, he was sure.
"Are you certain?" John parked, and turned round to face him, looking concerned. "Yassen said you would be able to handle it, but..."
"There's nothing to crash into" Alex spread his hands, indicating the surrounding fields. "I'll drive."
"Good man. Okay. We're going to drop you here. Your story is that you wandered off into the dark, found the car unlocked at the side of the road, you don't know in which direction. You looked around for people, found no-one, and fell asleep inside the car. Now you're heading back to the safe house to MI6 because you need to make sure your friend Jack's ok. MI6 will be there of course, hoping for your return. You'll have to evade them. Because Scorpia will be there too. That's one reason why we thought you should have the car. If you run straight into MI6, which is a possibility, you'll have to put your foot down. And we risk blowing our cover if Yassen and I go any further."
Alex stared at the Ford, which looked at least ten years old, and was a little rusted. "Aren't they going to be a bit suspicious? That I found an unlocked car with keys and everything?"
John flashed him a grin and hopped out of the car. "That's why I'm going to show you how to hotwire it."
John leaned over Alex as the boy worked, pointing and gesturing with gloved hands to show Alex what he meant. The proximity made Alex nervous. He wondered where Yassen was.
"Good boy, now, to get power to the dash you run a wire from the positive side of the battery to the positive side of that red wire...ok, good...now we cross the terminals with the pliers you found in the back seat, that's going to crank the engine...there, yes...good...make sure the car's in neutral and the brake's on... now that flat-blade screwdriver, place it at the top centre of the steering column...ok, now push it between the wheel and column, you're pushing the locking pin away from the wheel...harder than that, it won't break...good!"
Alex was impressed to hear the engine growl. John winked. "But this doesn't mean you're allowed to go breaking into other people's cars, understand?"
Alex glanced over the stick and pedals, reminding himself of what was what. "Okay" he said, "I'm ready."
He wasn't ready. To give himself up to Scorpia? To his mother? He reflected that on other occasions he was flung into things. Somehow that was easier. Having to think about it too much beforehand made him edgy.
John hugged him. "Remember, when it's all over I'm going to make everything up to you. You just have to pretend to trust your mother, to hate MI6 even more than you probably do in real life. And be a little affronted that I don't give you much attention when you arrive, then basically ignore me. My men will find you. Alright?"
Alex nodded. John stood back and reached out and touched his son's cheek for a moment, serious again. "I wouldn't ask you to do this if so many lives weren't at stake" he whispered.
"I know."
"Well, so long. I'm proud of you."
Alex nodded again. He looked for Yassen, but couldn't see him.
John took one last long look at him and stood back from the car. "You keep following the road, okay? And put that belt on!"
Alex smiled and reached over and slammed the door. John stood back.
Alex slowly turned the car round and steered back onto the road. He had barely driven twenty metres when he saw the other car turn and race back in the opposite direction.
He was alone.
He prepared himself for what was ahead, driving carefully, not wanting to stall. Driving wasn't so difficult. Especially on a wide open country road with no other vehicles in sight.
He glanced at the seat behind him in the mirror. An assortment of junk, and a couple of tools were strewn across. Newspaper. Remnants of someone's fish and chips. Hammer. Piece of wire. The wire could prove useful later, but he knew he couldn't take it with him. No gadgets, no tools. Scorpia would uncover it in an instant.
He tried not to think about his father too much. John had told him that he'd sent all his men home, and yet this car had been sitting waiting for them. It niggled away at his brain. He scolded himself mentally and concentrated on his driving. He would be there soon.
He was starting to think that he recognised his surroundings, when out of the corner of his eye he spotted a car crossing the fields, converging on him. The car was black. Unmarked. He had no idea whether it was MI6 or Scorpia. His heartrate began to intensify. He narrowed his eyes.
And across to his right, another dark car. No identification. Tearing straight for him.
Alex had no option. Till he knew who they were, he had to evade both of them. He'd planned to park the car once he was a little further along and get out, head toward the safe house inconspicuously. No chance of that now. Both cars would be on him in a minute. If he drove on, he'd surely drive into whatever leftovers of MI6 were lying in wait for him. And if either of these guys were MI6, they'dve surely radioed ahead by now. He'd be caught by the wrong people. He had to turn. And he had to do it fast, because these guys nearly had him.
Spinning 180 degrees in a fast moving car is dangerous. It doesn't help if you've never had driving lessons. Alex lowered his speed to 45mph, not wanting to flip the car. Gritting his teeth, he took his foot off the gas, yanking the wheel for a quarter turn, pressing hard on the brake, barren fields whirling around him, aware of the nearness of the two dark cars, so close he could've seen faces, if the world hadn't currently been a kaleidoscope. As the car's rear swung round, Alex took the wheel back to its original position and swung the stick to third gear, stomping hard on the accelerator, quickly moving into fourth, then fifth gear as his car raced back the way it had came. He wanted to whoop for a moment at his success. But although he was now heading in the best direction, the two cars were closer than ever. Alex forced more speed out of the little car, more than he should have dared, one mistake would take him out of control. His thoughts raced at the same speed. If this was MI6 they would surely have communicated by now. Told him to stop. He risked a quick glance at the occupants of the car on his right. They were Scorpia, he was almost certain. And the other car-
The other car introduced itself. Alex's heart leapt into his throat, as the car rammed into one of his rear wheels at 90 degrees. He slammed at the brakes, eyes closing involuntarily as the back left wheel was crushed and the car disabled, spinning around, airbag blowing up in his face, that was nice of Dad and Yassen to make sure he had a car with an airbag, spinning more, like a sick roundabout, then smacking to a halt, three remaining wheels skidding, then sagging to stationary.
For a moment there was silence. The airbag enveloped Alex's face, and he gasped for breath, nerves wrangled, heart hammering. He wasn't going to attempt jumping out of the car. He'd given them enough of a show already.
He'd locked his car door earlier, but that was remedied with a quick smash. Sharp air and wedges of glass greeted him. The door smacked back. Hands grabbed for him, shoving the airbag back, stretching across his body for his seatbelt, clicking it free, fists tight on his t-shirt, and then he was bundled out of the Ford and slammed to the ground, bodies piling on top of him.
He decided to play it like he was shocked. It wasn't hard. He felt disengaged. His thoughts were running fast and furious, but still hadn't quite caught up with his body. Part of his mind was somewhere back there on the road before he'd did his massive turn.
Cruel hands snatched his wrists behind his back and he could feel plasticuffs being snapped into his skin. His head was dragged up by the hair for a rubber gag to find its way into his mouth, then he was unceremoniously dropped with a clunk. Alex blinked the water-haze from his eyes, wriggling half-heartedly. Two boots came into his line of vision. Two boots that dearly wanted to smash into him. Alex recognised the owner's smug voice as the toe of one of the boots nudged his cheek. Last night's scratch marks on his leg burned furiously, aided by the weight of the two men sitting on them.
"Oh, isn't that cute" his friend from last night sing-songed, smiling victoriously down at him, "you hotwired the big car." Then his voice hardened and the boot pressed harder into Alex's face. "Let's move."
Alex was yanked up, fingers digging into his arms, making him want to squirm. Eight of them. Eight brutal guys grinning at him like all their birthdays had come at once. Like they wanted nothing more than to stomp him into the ground and smash every bone in his body.
On reflection, maybe his mum being head of Scorpia had some minor advantages...
A/N: Okay, so here's the deal. The following chap is getting along well, so it can be up in 7-8 days, if I get hundreds and hundreds of reviews. Yes, I am talking about you people who have this on alerts but never review. Also Techie has decided she should get rewarded for putting all these chaps up and would like at least five hails/hellos/virtual cookies/something vaguely relevant before she sticks the next chap up. Thanks again to everybody who reviewed last time coz I nearly wasn't motivated to do this chap but you made me feel guilty, and thanks espesh to XxXmaximuM-RideRXxX who has been reading through the vaguest plot-line in history and making suggestions. (And for anyone who's got so much time on their hands that they've actually looked at my bio, we are going to get round to writing something on it. Something other than 'oh, yeah, we're putting a story up!'...)
