DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ALEX RIDER. If I did, I would have let Alex kill Mrs. Jones, let Ian still be alive, and let Yassen kill John. YAS

Thanks to OnlyABookworm for being awesome and sticking with me through my extremely slow writing!

Operation Zeta 08

Gossip spread throughout the Royal and General Bank like wild tongues of flame, leaving scorch marks everywhere it touched. Agent Tran was dead. A desk agent with no risk. It served as a reminder to everyone. Even low level desk agents could be killed.

Mrs. Jones wasn't going to lie to herself. She had kept a cool, calm facade on as she received the news, but her stomach was doing somersaults and knotting itself together. Something like this just didn't add up at all.

The phone placed neatly at the corner of her desk began to ring, pulling Mrs. Jones out of her deep thoughts. She carefully pulled out a handkerchief, reached for the phone, and placed the earpiece next to her ear, but made sure not to touch it, "Yes?"

"The autopsy is complete, ma'am," the voice on the other side, "The report is being sent to you now."

Mrs. Jones used her free hand to log on to her laptop, "Thank you." She put the phone back, tucking the handkerchief away. She quickly navigated through her security protocols, then opened the new email.

Agent Micheal Tran (Clearance Level 3)

Subject shows defense wounds, though no traces of foreign DNA has been found. The subject was put into hydrogen peroxide postmortem. Cause of death was a bullet to the brain. The bullet was removed postmortem before the autopsy. Signs show that a crude, blunt knife was used.

Mrs. Jones was disappointed at the lack of information. She read it once more, then deleted it. Agent Tran's death had to be caused by someone who knew MI6 well. The protocols, the procedures. Anything or everything.

Was it possible…?

She mentally shook her head. Even as a desk agent, Tran had had a generous pay. There was no way he would ever betray his country for more money. Right?

Though Mrs. Jones reasoned with herself, she couldn't completely shake the suspicion from the back of her mind.

It was time she did a bit of investigation herself.

OPERATION*ZETA

Two weeks had passed before the doctor had deemed it safe to wean Alex off of the Vicodin that he had been so dependent on for the stabbing pain. His bullet wound was healing nicely, according to the doctor, and if he gave it a bit more rest, he would be good as new in no time. He was amazed that when he moved his shoulder around a bit, no pain came along with it. It was still sore whenever he touched it by accident, and he was getting a lot of intense physical therapy, but Alex was grateful that the wound didn't feel like a burden. It was completely unlike the bullet scar above his heart.

He was watching the rest of his unit yelling at the Brookland kids by the track. They stood by the finish line, shouting insults at the children in loud, intimidating voices that once would have scared Alex, but now he grinned at them, giving the four a thumbs-up.

"Friggin' maggots," he saw Snake mouth towards him. Alex grinned again and began to make his way towards them.

"Cub," Wolf greeted gruffly before turning around and shouting another frightening insult.

"How nice of you to join us," Eagle grinned with a faux southern-American accent, "Y'all didn't tell me that we've got a cowboy in your grade!"

Alex furrowed his eyebrows, trying to decipher what the burly soldier had zealously exclaimed, "Y'all? Cowbo – Oh. You mean Frank?"

Eagle grinned, returning back to his normal voice, "So that's his name."

Alex shot the man a confused and concerned glance before raising a questioning eyebrow at the other members. They shrugged, equally as puzzled.

"KEEP RUNNING!"

Alex rolled his eyes at Wolf, breaking out into a cough. It was a cough that didn't seem to want to go away. He had had it for the past two weeks. He felt miserable, but Snake had assured him it had to be allergies. Something in the environment was irritating him.

Alex watched the slick, sweat covered children pass them, noting that they didn't dare give him angry glares like they had been for the previous weeks.

"Don't you think you're working them too hard?" He found himself asking.

Rock was the only one to answer, "They're brats. We're trying to beat the inner brat out of them."

Alex raised his eyebrows, stifling a small cough, "That sounds legitimate."

He turned around, facing away from the track and watching as a unit of SAS soldiers jogged past, carrying their packs and gun. He eyed the assault course, where he could see a drill sergeant yelling at a couple more soldiers. It was a normal experience now.

What wasn't normal was the Sergeant approaching him with Mrs. Jones and Smithers in tow. Mrs. Jones seemed exactly like the day he'd left for Brecon Beacons. She was still apathetic, her face set in a neutral expression, clutching a couple folders in her hands. Smithers was in his fat suit, merrily wobbling along.

Alex nudged Wolf and Snake, who were the closest to him. They turned, eyes widening, nudging Rock and Eagle. In unison, they snapped to attention.

"At ease, soldiers," the Sergeant looked disgruntled.

Alex and the rest of his unit relaxed, looking questioningly at the MI6 agents behind the Sergeant.

"Agent Rider," Mrs. Jones had a disapproving look on her face, "glad to see you're better."

There wasn't an ounce of sincerity in her voice.

Alex chose to ignore the statement, "Is it time?"

Mrs. Jones didn't answer. She handed him a single folder. Alex noted that she didn't have anymore left, which meant that this was a solo operation. Fantastic.

"Let's continue this conversation somewhere private," Mrs. Jones gestured towards the office, "I believe your classmates are getting curious."

Alex nodded, not bothering to confirm her statement. He could already hear the curious chattering of his classmates, who had clearly stopped running.

"K-Unit, please stay here," Mrs. Jones pinned the others with a stern look, "Agent."

Alex followed the head of MI6, grinning as Smithers greeted him jovially with a, "hello, old bean!" and patting him on the back with a thick hand. The Sergeant followed behind. Even though Alex couldn't see him, he could sense his unease.

"It's time, isn't it?" Alex had abandoned his 'soldier' aura that he had grown so comfortable with. He was a spy now, in the presence of Mrs. Jones.

She didn't say anything. Instead, she opened the door and allowed Alex to walk in, Smithers tightly squeezing in afterward. After the Sergeant unhappily entered, Mrs. Jones closed the door tightly and sat down on one side of the desk, motioning towards the folder in Alex's hands.

Alex opened the folder, frowning as he was met by a passport, reading "The United States of America". He opened it, raising his eyebrows at the nearly pristine pages and his own picture staring back up at him. The name beside his photo was not his own. Daniel Matthews.

Alex placed the passport on his lap and leafed through the other pages. A worn looking birth certificate was next, declaring that his parents were Fredrick and Evelyn Matthews. A couple other essential documents proving that Alex Rider was actually Daniel Matthews.

He flipped to the next page, finally arriving at the objectives.

Operation Zeta

(Clearance Level 10)

Operative: Agent A*** R****

Objective: Agent will be stationed by a known Zeta-SCORPIA affiliated area. Agent will scout and report. Units K and M will be flown in when enough information is gathered.

"You want me to do a scouting mission," Alex flipped to the next sheet of paper, glaring at the picture that presented itself to him. It was a large, grey skyscraper, completed with tinted windows, "An undercover scouting mission, though Zeta and SCORPIA will suspect my involvement with the case."

Mrs. Jones' expression didn't change, "That's why we'll be injecting you with a tracker."

Alex opened his mouth, clearly about to argue when he felt a small prick on his arm, "Ow!"

Smithers removed the needle from his arm, "Sorry, old bean!" He opened a laptop that he somehow produced from a small case beside him. He began typing furiously until a small dot began blinking on the screen. Beside it, his name was listed, showing his vitals signs as well.

"You're using me," Alex realized. This wasn't exactly the first time he'd been used as bait, "again."

The Sergeant made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat, "I have to protest! Cub is an SAS sol-"

"He is a spy before a soldier," Mrs. Jones cut right through him, "Alex, there won't be any complications. We've taken all the precautionary measures. Even if you are taken, we will know where you are."

"You always say that," Alex muttered.

The woman let out the tiniest sigh. Alex almost thought he had imagined it.

"We're sending you in with a partner."

His eyebrows shot up, and he nearly toppled over, "What? Who? He isn't in the file."

The stoic Mrs. Jones gestured for him to keep reading. Alex did so, turning the picture of the building on its side.

Staring up at him was a picture of Ben Daniels.

OPERATION ZETA

He was dressed uncomfortably in unnaturally tight, black leather pants and a black bulletproof vest. Guns and knives were strapped to him. A glittering zeta was pinned to his chest. It was the normal attire of the common guard.

"Matthews! Hurry up!" It was said in accented Greek. He still hadn't gotten used to the new language. He wasn't exactly a whiz at languages, unlike his half-brother. Well, his fake half-brother.

Ben Daniels – or rather, Jake Matthews, hurried to awkwardly strap a sheathed sword on his back, "I'm coming, sir."

He hurried out into the hallway, his feet not making a single sound on the carpeted area. Still, the man waiting for him had somehow heard him, even though his head was turned. The man was showing signs of aging. His once mousey brown hair was speckled with grey spots. However, Ben – Jake – knew that he was still incredibly strong. This man, John Smith, obviously not his real name, was his mentor.

"Finally," the man huffed in Greek, "my bones grow weary as I wait for an undisciplined youngster."

Ben didn't give any response. He shifted uncomfortably in his clothes, envying the older man in his cargo pants and t-shirt.

John turned, eying Ben in his clothes, "You look ridiculous. Go change." He threw Ben a set of black fabric, his brown eyes laughing.

"What?" Ben was confused, "I thought this was the standard uniform."

John snorted, "And you believed the lie. Did you think there was no reason for being alienated from the other guards?"
Ben stared open mouthed at the man before him. John's lips curved up into a smile, "It showed me how far you were prepared to go for this job. Now, get changed. We have some people to meet."

The undercover agent gaped for another couple of seconds before creeping back into the room, mumbling curses in Greek under his breath. He could hear John outside, chuckling at his misfortune.

Ben, all too gladly, stripped his uncomfortable leather pants, vest, and weapons off, then hopped into the other set. It was a relief.

He followed the other man down the hall, hands clenched, "Who are we meeting, sir?"

They arrived by the elevator, and John punched the down arrow, "Your brother."

Ben felt like he had been slapped, "What?"

"Excuse me," John said gracefully in Greek, "your half-brother. Daniel, was it not?"

John's words sent a heavy stone sinking to the bottom of Ben's stomach. He swallowed and nodded nervously.

Shite. Rider, you'd better be there.


A/N: So... how was that...?

GUESS WHAT? WE'RE ALMOST TO 100 REVIEWS! WHOO. ACCOMPLISHMENT. Sort of.

I'm sorry for the extremely slow updates. It's just that I'm nearing finals in school, and I barely have time to write! (It's just that I'm getting an average of 5 hours of sleep every day. I'm trying to stay healthy and sleep longer, therefore cutting time off of my usually writing time).

ANNOUNCEMENT: I have set up a forum named "Revival of SpyFest". Stupid title, yes, but since we are nearing June, I'm all pumped up for the new SpyFest! Please go check it out! And if you will, please comment on the "Updates on SpyFest" thread. Just to say that you're still interested or if you have any questions.

Anyway, I'd, of course, like to thank each and every one of you. You guys make everything possible, AND OMG I JUST WANT TO *SQUISHSQUISH* YOU GUYS (insert a million hearts here)

Oooh, one last thing, and you don't have to follow this if you don't want to. I have recently set up a Twitter account dedicated to fanfiction. This is for updates on stories, spoilers (LOL NO WAY), and more. I wanted to set this up mainly because I don't exactly post often anymore to tell you guys things. On Twitter, I don't really have to post a whole chapter to tell you guys one thing. The link won't show up on this thing, even with the spaces, so the link is attached to my profile.

If you did check it out, you may have noticed that I am going to be posting a story on May 25th. Also known as Memorial Day... So look out for that...

HEM. Now I'm done. Thank you guys so much again.

-Al (gives hugs and kisses to everyone)