Hi everyone! I'd like to thank all of you who've reviewed and/or put this story on their favourites and/or alerts list. Thank you! Seeing these notifications on my email makes me feel so happy!
Before I get to the disclaimer, warnings and hits count, I'd like to comment on something that I've found to be really unusual (for me anyway!) I've gotten exactly 3 reviews for all chapters except two. I don't know If that was coiencidence or not but I want you to know that I won't get mad if I get more than 3 reviews per chapter LOL!
So how about this, from now on any review I reply to, and I reply to all my reviews as the people who actually review know, will contain a teaser for the next chapter, either a paragraph from that chapter or a few words that will give you a vague idea on what to expect next.
Disclaimer: If I owned Alex Rider I wouldn't be writing this now would I?
Hits count: 1,972 (WOW! so close to 2,000!)
Warnings: Mentions and after-effects of torture.
Oh and just one more tiny thing (Don't kill me plaese!). Happy Birthday Aniki-xvi! I know it's a bit early but here you go!
Now onto real business, finally =P
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Zeljan said. "The handle is gold plated and encrusted with diamonds at the sides. The blade is twelve centimeters long and diamond edged as well so it can cut through anything with ease. It cost a small fortune, wouldn't want to let it go to waste now."
He approached the boy, his blade held loosely yet expertly. The sound of Symphony Number 5 in C minor by Beethoven echoing around the room…
A hand lay on his shoulder. It was shaking him gently. A man was kneeling next to him, calling his name with an anxious urgency. Why wouldn't he leave him alone?
"Alex! Alex answer me, please." The distant voice pleaded.
"Get away from me!" Alex responded harshly, shrugging the hand off of his shoulder.
Shocked silence followed.
"Alex?" Ben asked softly after he recovered. "Are you alright?" He cursed himself at how stupid his question was.
Of course he isn't you idiot. What kind of question is that? He scolded himself while mentally slapping himself.
Ben tried to close the distance between himself and the teen, being slow and careful not to alarm the boy, but as soon as he was too close for Alex, the teen exclaimed, "Leave me alone!"
"I'm not leaving you, you hear me?" Ben stated impatiently, unintentionally raising his voice.
Alex cringed. He turned his head slowly, facing Ben for the first time since he descended to this state. Fresh tears were flowing from his eyes. When he spoke, he was hesitant and scared? Thought Ben.
"I'm sorry, p-please don't hurt me, sir." Alex looked pleadingly at Ben.
To say the Loverpudlian was shocked would be the understatement of the century, he was mortified by the mere thought that Alex was afraid that he would even think of inflicting any harm on him. However, when he looked closely into the blonde's eyes, he saw that they were dull, lifeless and empty. It was like he didn't even recognize that the person crouched next to him was his previous mission partner and new friend.
Ben acted on pure instinct, he wrapped his arms protectively around the teen and pulled him gently against his firm chest and whispering comforting words to him. Alex struggled against his hold but it was futile considering the way Ben 'hugged' him, so he alternated between calling Ben profanities and begging him to let go.
They remained locked in that position for ten minutes, the world around them forgotten for now. Alex's struggling became significantly less violent and he found himself, after a while, unconsciously clinging on to Ben for his sanity. It seemed so unfair to him that just when things started to look up and he had finally started to relax, Kurst had to come and ruin it even though he wasn't physically there.
Why am I so damn fucked up?! Alex thought to himself exasperatedly. He had seen the shocked expression on Ben's face and had seen the hurt in his eyes when he had shrugged him off. It didn't make him feel any better that he had broken down and acted like a fucking baby, as he put it, when the Liverpudlian raised his voice just above normal level.
Truth be told, up until a few seconds ago he wasn't even aware that Ben Daniels was in the alley with him. He had been too busy being tormented by his own version of hell to realize that.
"I'm sorry…" Alex muttered ashamedly, breaking the heavy silence that had descended upon them. He unlatched himself from Ben and wrapped his arms protectively around himself.
"Don't apologize, you did nothing wrong." Ben spoke softly as he rubbed Alex's back comfortingly.
"No, I-I snapped at you when you were only trying to help. I just… I just can't get him out of my head and it's driving me crazy!" Alex exclaimed vehemently.
Ben was quite surprised by Alex's declaration. He had decided a while ago that he wouldn't breach the topic of Alex's captivity with the teen just yet, because he concluded that it would be too uncomfortable for Alex to recount so soon after his escape. As well as the fact that he would be informed of every detail after the debriefing that will take place at the Bank in a few days. However, this mention of a specific person, in addition to the fact that Alex had called him 'sir' a few minutes ago, made him suddenly curious.
"Who are you talking about, Alex?" Ben questioned.
Alex blanched but replied nonetheless, "Kurst…" He intentionally left out Hernandez, he didn't even want to think about the man, let alone say his name.
Now it was Ben's turn to pale, "That can't be possible, Alex. Zeljan Kurst is in prison." His eyes wandered to Alex's face to see shock plainly etched in his features and decided to explain. "Remember what Scorpia's last mission was?"
Alex nodded. His mind helpfully, or rather unhelpfully, provided him with memories of his last mission. Needless to say, it wasn't pleasant and Alex had to use every inch of self control so that he wouldn't breakdown again then and there. "Yeah, they were trying to get the British government to return the Elgin marbles back to Greece, by Blackmail through me."
"That's right, Kusrt was arrested shortly afterwards by INTERPOL and was put in ADX Florence max security prison. In fact, he is currently in death row awaiting his execution by lethal injection."
"Then he must've escaped!" Alex exclaimed. Then after he saw doubt flicker in Ben's eyes he added, "Look Ben, I think that I would know who was torturing me for the past month!"
"Calm down, I believe you. It's just that I would've been informed of his escape if he did. After all he's a dangerous wanted criminal…"
Alex pondered this over. Is it possible? He asked mentally. He had overheard Kurst once speak to one of his underlings about something similar…
He was back in his cell again. Battered, bloody and in so much agony. His wrists chained to the cold stone wall behind him. The door had just closed and was locked with a resounding thud.
It was rare that Kurst would ever escort him back to his cell once the session is over. He usually left that job to one of the guards. However, today Kurst had had the marvelous idea of taunting Alex all the way back from the 'torture room'.
Alex vaguely remembered Kurst insulting him, telling him how worthless he was and how no one would ever save him so he might as well surrender to him. Somehow those words cut deeper than any wound Kurst had ever inflicted. Alex had fought all the way back not to let the words affect him. He tried to hang on to hope, but there was none. Anyone he would've put his faith in to come and rescue him was dead. All he had was MI6 and the thought made him more depressed than hopeful because, as far as he was concerned, they had always let him down.
Sounds filtered through the haze of pain that clouded his mind. He couldn't make sense of them to begin with, but he found himself listening more attentively. Slowly, the sounds gained meaning.
"…Are you sure that he won't talk?"Kurst's all too familiar voice came from behind the locked door.
"Positive, sir. He underwent the surgery and was threatened appropriately so he wouldn't break under any circumstances." Another voice, the owner of which, Alex did not recognize.
"Good."
Alex had paid no heed to the memory after that, until now. Suddenly everything clicked and he found himself grabbing Ben's arm to get his full attention. "The man in prison is not Kurst. He's a double who was forced to undergo a plastic surgery so that he would look him. They must've blackmailed him."
"That would make sense…" Ben muttered as he pulled out his mobile phone from his black jeans' pocket. He hastily dialed a number and stuck the phone to his ear. A few seconds later the call was connected. "Agent Daniels's speaking, please connect me to Mrs. Jones… What? When? ... fine. When will she be back?... Alright, thank you Agent O'Neil."
Ben cut the connection and turned to Alex who was watching him expectantly the whole time.
"She's not in her office, apparently she's attending some meeting in Birmingham." He replied to Alex's questioning look.
"Why not call her directly? Don't you have her mobile phone number?" Alex asked.
"No, her phone was specially modified by Smithers. Her number cannot be saved, even temporarily on any other mobile phone. It's less risky that way for her and the organization."
"So you'll just have to call her later then?"
"Yeah." Ben replied as he moved to retrieve the boy's crutches.
"Thanks" Alex said when Ben handed the black crutches to him. He even shocked himself when he found himself giving the older man a small smile.
Ben helped Alex stand without straining his bullet wound, his eyes briefly examining the teen for any signs of discomfort. When he found none, he ushered Alex out of the murky dimness of the alley and into the bright afternoon sun.
Ben absently noted that, although it felt like they'd spent ages in the alleyway, nothing seemed to have changed outside. The street was still devoid of people and the sun was still brightly shining in the sky. However, he did notice that the music he had heard before had stopped playing.
As they walked up the street in silence he found himself thinking about what had happened. However, he couldn't figure out why the teen spy had reacted the way he did, or more importantly, what triggered such a reaction in the first place. And why the hell was he repeating that phrase over and over? He pondered. He obviously had some sort of flash back…
"I don't wanna talk about it." Alex said, as if reading the Liverpudlian's thoughts. His tone of voice making it clear that the matter is not even up for negotiation.
"Huh?" Ben commented oh so intelligently. "How did you-"
"You're not that hard to read, for me anyway."
"You know you're gonna have to tell me someday."
"Yeah, someday. How about in a century?" Alex retorted dryly.
"Really funny, Alex." Ben said and somehow the conversation seemed to end at that.
"Wait for me at the ice-cream parlor. I just need to put these grocery bags back in the car so we don' t have to carry them around with us. I won't be long." Ben said motioning for Alex to go on without him.
They had just stepped out of Sainsbury's fluorescently lit interior and were now back in the natural warm light of the sun. They had shopped in relative silence, save the occasional comment from Ben about different types of food and each one's health benefits and his random comments about the town's short history. Alex had listened in silence, pleased with the company and secretly amused by the agent's lively attitude outside of the field. However, despite the older spy's effort to keep the teenager entertained and comfortable, he was getting tired even though said teen refused to voice any complaints.
Ben couldn't blame him, walking with the aid of crutches put a lot of strain on a person's arms and shoulders. That is why he had offered to walk to the car alone, after all Alex needed the rest. It's only for a few minutes, nothing bad could happen. Right? Ben thought as he watched the blonde 'walk' away and disappear inside the ice-cream shop right next to Sainsbury's.
Ben pushed open the door to the ice-cream parlor, hearing a soft chime as the bell on the doorframe sounded in the nearly empty shop. His eyes slowly adjusting to the dimmer interior, he scanned the different booths for the fair haired boy and found him sitting in the one at the far corner of the room. He had looked up at hearing the sound of the bell and was now smiling at Ben in greeting.
As he strode towards Alex, Ben became aware of two things. The first was that there were only three customers, other than them, in the parlor. A young couple chatting idly at the other corner of the room and a man in his early thirties who was reading a newspaper while waiting to be served. The other thing that he noticed, albeit with a feeling of unease, was that the booth Alex had chosen had a complete view of the room, most likely so that he could watch all newcomers and note any exits.
He shouldn't have to think that way, but taking on difficult missions for a whole year with little to no breaks in between must've made him paranoid. The older spy thought forlornly, wishing that they could've had this time together under different conditions.
He sighed softly as he approached the teen and placed a gentle smile on his face. He hoped it didn't look fake but judging by the way Alex returned it he thought he must've passed, if barely.
"Hope I didn't make you wait for long?" Ben asked as he sat down opposite to Alex.
"No not at all, you were only gone for eleven minutes and forty seven seconds." Alex replied dryly. He had been counting the seconds ever since he sat down for lack of anything else to do.
"Sorry."
"No problem, I needed the rest."
They lapsed into a companionable bout of silence, each examining the menus, which were placed in an ornate holder at the centre of the table, trying to decide what to order.
A few minutes later, a bored-looking young waiter carrying a note pad trudged towards them. "Are you ready to order, sir?" He directed his question to Ben completely ignoring Alex.
Ben saw irritation flash briefly through Alex's brown eyes before vanishing under an emotionless mask.
"What would you like to order Alex?" The Liverpudlian turned away from the waiter giving Alex all his attention.
"Well, I dunno Ben, nothing in particular seems to strike my fancy. What do you think?" Alex spoke adopting Victorian Era speech and accent, while discreetly winking at Ben. Oh you're gonna pay for ignoring me! Alex mentally said to the waiter.
"Oh, that is simply absurd Alex, my friend. But do take your time, I'm sure this kind young man wouldn't mind at all." Ben played along.
The waiter was now glaring at Alex and tapping his foot impatiently but Alex paid him no heed, making a show of flipping through the menu and pausing at each picture. He had already decided what he wanted to order a while ago, but just couldn't resist giving the waiter a taste of his own medicine.
Finally Alex spoke in an incredulous tone. "I can't possibly order before you do…"
The waiter barely bit back a groan, but Ben noticed, being the observant spy he is and decided to take pity on him. "I'll have a bowl of vanilla and chocolate ice-cream, low fat."
The waiter hastily wrote it down. "And you young man?" He turned grudgingly to Alex.
Alex sighed in annoyance but gave the order nonetheless, "I'll have a Rainbow Sherbet, two scoops."
The waiter nodded, and left.
Alex immediately turned to Ben. "You're no fun." He said hitting the man lightly on the arm from across the table.
"You were killing him."
"What? 'The kind young man' deserved it." Alex said barely managing to keep a straight face.
"Huh?!"
"You sounded like his grandmother!" Alex exclaimed with a wide grin, getting odd looks from the young couple opposite to them.
"Fine, is this what I get for supporting you, mister 'nothing strikes my fancy'?" Ben replied sarcastically.
They looked at each other for five seconds before bursting into a fit of laughter. Now every person in the shop was giving them dirty looks for disturbing their peace. Somehow that just made them laugh even harder.
Finally, the fit subsided and they were both rubbing tears from their eyes. They were both shocked. This was the first time in a long while since any of them has displayed so much emotion, and in public.
"Ice-cream's here!" Alex said a bit over excitedly, since he could see the waiter walking towards them much more easily from where he sat. He was surprised by how quickly he had relaxed. It seemed that just being around Ben made him feel safe and protected, two things that he had lost with the death of the Pleasures.
Ben smiled genuinely at the teen's antics and shook his head in amusement. "Calm down Alex it's just ice-cream."
The waiter served their orders, shooting a venomous look at Alex before he walked away.
What the hell is wrong with him? Alex thought in confusion, but as soon as he had a taste of his ice-cream all thoughts dissolved as he concentrated on the delicious flavors that seemed to linger on his mouth even after he swallowed. They had never been so vibrant in his mouth.
"This is so good!" Alex exclaimed as he took another bite. He had tasted a rainbow sherbet before, it was Jack's favorite and she had insisted on many occasions that he try it and when he did, it became his usual order whenever he went to an ice-cream parlor, be it with friends or with her.
Jack…
"Glad you like it."
"Yeah, thank you very much for inviting me today."
The door bell chimed.
The sonorous sound echoing around the now empty parlor, the few customers who were there to begin with, seemed to have left while Alex and Ben were waiting to be served. The only person other than them present was the girl standing next to the cashier, chewing gum and texting at the same time, oblivious to the world around her.
Ben looked up to see who had entered. He saw two men wearing identical black shirts, jackets and jeans, in addition to black mirrored shades. Somehow Ben got the feeling that they weren't there to try out the new Warm Waffle Sundae. That feeling was confirmed when his gaze drifted to Alex.
Alex sat rigidly in his seat. The smile that had graced his face moments ago was gone without a trace. His eyes were glued to the newcomers with something akin to panic.
"B-Ben, It's them."
So who do you think is Alex talking about? What are your predictions for the next chapter?
Tell me, I'm really interested to know also you will get that teaser!
Love, RBR XX
