Chapter Ten
Touché
Disclaimer: I don't own the Alex Rider series. I'm just borrowing it. Everything you recognize is not mine. I also don't own the idea of "since no one is supposed to know, everyone knows." It's from the Fanfiction "A Small World" by prone2dementia. Go read if you haven't read it yet, it's hilarious. Thanks to ReillyScarecrowRocks for figuring it out.
Now, on with the story!
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0630 March 20- present day
Alex sat up in bed, sweat pouring down his face. His brain went into overdrive, identifying himself in a strange, unknown setting. Before he knew what he was doing, he had sprung out of bed, was in a fighting stance, and had his hand on his watch. Six thirty AM it flashed. Then he suddenly realized where he was; in Alistar's mansion.
Irritated at his spy instincts for disturbing any chance he had of sleeping in, Alex looked at a new set of clothes laid out in front of him. The adrenalin was pumping through his veins, and he could barely focus on the pile of clothes on the dressing table. There was a pair of what looked like normal grey sweatpants with a white cotton T-shirt. There was a pair of black boxers, blue socks, and clean, brand new Nike running shoes. A bag was placed beside the pile of clothes with toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, and, strangely, a tube of zit cream.
They all looked perfectly normal, and did seem like the kind of things any thoughtful host would provide for anyone staying over. However, old habits die hard.
Alex made sure not to touch anything and gave a through scan of the room with his eyes. He looked over every part carefully, committing it to memory and checking for any irregularities. From the inside, it looked Victorian. On the way here, he was too overcome with exhaustion to do more glance around the room once, and fall asleep. Now he could really appreciate it.
The theme of the room seemed to be the moon and the stars, as everything was a shade of blue and silver, except for the beautifully carved mahogany furniture. The four-poster bed took up a good sized portion of the room, with blue drapes, and silver inlay on the posts. The floor was covered in plush blue carpet with silver waves flowing through. Three sides of the room were painted like the night sky, with stars twinkling in a dark blue night. There was one moon on each wall, each in a different phrase. The last wall, the one on the right side of the bed, was made of a full length arched window that from this height gave a breath-taking view of the sky as the sun was just rising.
What Alex found strange was how far he could see. It was all flat and rolling hills, and from this height, he could see a lot of the countryside. There was no 50 feet electric high fence, patrolling guards, massive dogs, or indeed any form of force protecting this mansion. This was very unlike some of the other major masterminds he had dealt with.
Wishing he had Smither's Nintendo DS with him now, Alex reluctantly took the clothes on the dresser. He walked into the adjoining room and found a Jacuzzi three times the size of a normal bath tub. He turned the water on, and cleaned himself all over. It felt good to have a shower after spending all that time on a stinky wine truck.
After he was done, he put on the clothes that were on the dresser. He accepted the fact that right now, Alistar held all the cards, and he would just have to trust that the clothes wouldn't kill him.
He wore his bulletproof windbreaker on top, kept his own shoes, just in case, and slit a small hole in the pocket of his pants so he could have better access to the knife strapped to his thigh. Carrying a gun would be too noticeable, but a small switchblade was easily hidden. If worst comes to worst, he still had the darts and other things in Smither's watch, the bulletproof windbreaker (with a parachute), and lock-picks in his shoes. Let's hope they were enough for what was going to happen.
Alex was about to find out why a criminal organization had gone against their own Intelligence agency for him. The wanted something of his, and badly. This worked out better than I thought it would,Alex thought.
A flicker of what could have been a smile danced on his face, but it faded immediately as his thoughts went to JackDon't worry Jack, I have a plan. A plan that will cause MI6 to be sorry for all of the manipulating, deceit, blackmail… oh and not to mention all the near death experiences he'd found himself in due to their actions of 'best intentions'.
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0700 March 20th
"I see you're up early." A calm voice said from behind Alex.
"The sun rise is really beautiful here." Alex responded. He had come downstairs to find himself in a large living room, with the east side made out of all glass. He wasn't exaggerating- it offered a breath-taking view of the French countryside.
A deep throated chuckle accompanied his words. "I didn't know you were a person who was interested in things such as simple sights. But then again, there is much I don't know about you." Alistar's bad mood from yesterday after discovering his father's death seemed gone. His tone was almost friendly. He was probably trained to be a good actor.
Alex turned around and raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you even existed until about a day ago, and you are telling me that you don't know me well enough?"
"Well, I did not know about my father until about day ago, so I guess we're even." Instead of being accompanied by the gloom that Alex expected, this almost seemed light hearted. Over his father's death so quick? "Plus, I'm very intrigued about a boy who could put the worlds' intelligence agencies in such a state."
"As I am very intrigued by a man who risked going against his own intelligence agency in broad daylight for the life of a fugitive boy."
"Touché."
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0300 March 18th ( or Night of March 17th)
"Touché" Said Smithers, panting with exertion through his "work suit".
Alex had just successfully evaded the entire team of MI6 guards sent to watch his house—or so he thought. He had stumbled into a trip laser of Smithers', after fooling the cameras, passing the trip wires, placing strategic rocks on pressure pads, and deactivating the few explosives. He cursed himself for not being careful enough to think of lighting a small match for smoke to check for lasers. He though the light would attract too much attention and that no one would care enough, or have the time to set up a series of complicated lasers. But that's exactly what Smithers had done; curse his mechanical geniusness.
Still, Alex had not gone out without a fight. He knew that the entire MI6 team was spread out on the other side of his house and preoccupied with shadows that looked like him moving about, and the weight from rocks placed on pads to prove it. There was just Smithers and one guard in the way, so he ran.
There was a lot of shooting behind him, but as it was dark, most of the bullets missed, and the few people who had been issued night vision goggles were aiming for his chest, and his windbreaker protected him. MI6 wanted him dead if he tried to escape today. Good thing to know.
He thought he had gotten pretty far into the woods away from his house before a net was sprung out of nowhere seemingly, and pinned him down hard, into the ground.
The jovial voice of Smithers pierced the night air. "Alex m'boy, you're not an easy person to pin down, pun intended."
Alex then responded with what he thought about Smithers jumping out at unsuspecting boys in woods at night. If he was going to be dragged like a trussed turkey to Blunt, at least he'd go with his mouth intact.
Smithers chuckled and replied, "Touché". He quickly gained control of his breathing, and proceeded to explain in a serious tone. "Alex, I'm not part of the team who is responsible for bringing you in; I was just sent to erect a maze of lasers around your place that, I quote, "a mouse would have a hard time getting out of". That is what I have done, and that is all that I will do tonight."With a click of a button, Alex was freed of all of the ropes.
"You can't let him go!" A voice shouted out of the darkness. A thunk followed. Alex went to check up on the man that had crept up on them, and realized he was dead from a dart in his neck. He glanced at Smithers, then pocketed the gun from the dead man. It would come in handy someday.
"You're letting me go?" Said Alex. He slowly stood up, knowing Smither could have him flat on his back in a second if he made a wrong move.
"Alex, this is hard for me to say, but I trust you. Because no one is supposed to know about you, everyone in MI6 has heard of you. I'm not deaf, blind, or stupid; no matter how much I try to appear so at times; and with almost everyone coming to me before missions for gadgets, I probably know more than most people. Alex, I..." Smithers voice faltered for a bit.
"I think I understand Smithers. You knew about me all this time; the blackmails... and probably Greene too." Alex's voice was soft. He probably should've been mad, but he was sick of being mad all the time, at himself, at Jack, at Green, and most of all at Blunt. If actually felt nice that someone finally knew what he was going through.
"Alex m'boy..."
"It's okay Smithers." Alex cracked a sad smile. "You don't have to apologize. Really. Letting me go right now more than makes up for it. Plus your inventions have saved my life more times than I can count." Alex didn't know why he was comforting Smithers. But this was the tone of a man who had seen too much, probably suffered even more than Alex had.
"Alex, I'm not sure if you understand. I'm not the only person feeling this way." Smithers sounded a bit desperate. "Let's just say not everyone is impressed with the way MI6 is becoming. People whisper, and talk, and think. Blunt has overstepped his power on several occasions; you're not the only person he's blackmailed, as you probably saw with Greene."
"How did you know about that?"
"I have my sources"
"You bugged Blunt's office?" Alex whistled, impressed. "I don't get what I'm supposed to do with this information Smithers. You're telling me what, exactly?"
"There's a change happening in MI6, Alex." Smithers paused, choosing his words carefully, deciding how much to share. "There's a stir because of you. If you manage to get away today, it will be a direct hit to Blunt's dictatorship."
"Interesting." Smithers had given him food for thought.
"Knowing Blunt, he'll probably retaliate with something drastic. (The 'something drastic' turns out to be an international red alert. =P Who knew?) You need to be prepared and kept hidden. The longer you stay hidden, the better. It shows that Blunt can't do everything."
"How do you propose I stay hidden? It's not easy to not be noticed by one of the world's best intelligence agencies."
"I've prepared some gadgets for you to use. Here's a watch, a pocket knife, and a pair of shoes. Hurry, take off your shoes and put these ones. I'll leave a false trail with your other shoes, and maybe make it seem like you're barefoot. There's not much time, but the heels of both your shoes come off: inside the left one is a manual explaining in detail how to use the gadgets. The manual dissolves on contact with water, so destroy it soon after reading it."
"Thanks Smithers."
"Good luck m'boy."
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A/N: This is probabally the least of my worries right now, (referring to my unhappiness with the flow and pace of this chapter), but does the italics bother people? It actually bugs the Cradoodles out of me, but I thought normally flashbacks were always done in italics. Or maybe just in the few books I've read. In any case, if it bothers anyone like it does me, just leave a review telling me so. Here: I've made it easy. Just copy and paste the text below and leave in a review.
The overuse of italicized words in the flashback makes my brain fluid explode and come bursting out of my ears, cascading like Niagara Falls. It really and truly bugs the cradoodles out of me. Please change the italics back into plain wondrous writing, or else I will go to planet Earth, where I believe the author lives, and lure her to a dark alley. You have been warned.
There. Wasn't that easy? If you're smart, or have had the patience to continue reading this horribly long author note, you will now notice how the underlined parts can even be removed and other content be inserted. See how kind I am? That's why you should forgive me for the extremely long wait for this chapter. *hides behind the magnificentness of the word cradoodles*.
Now you can't kill me. haha
~Blown =P