Sorry for the extremely long wait – life caught up, exams came much too quickly, and I got stressed out.

You may have noticed that this chapter is quite long. Reason being that even though I stopped updating, I didn't stop writing. I'm thinking maybe I should make all future chapters this long, just to give you all something more t read. What do you think?

Disclaimer – I do not, have not, and will not ever own Alex Rider

Warnings – This is the FIFTH STORY in my AR series 'Playing the Hero', so PLEASE read the preceding stories – I don't think this'll do well as a stand-alone. You have been warned...

Summary – Unbeknownst to them, all their past adventures had been leading to this point. Because it wasn't fate that brought them together. It was something else. A secret so big, that people would do anything to make sure it stayed just that. Secret. And so came the big question; how far would you go in the name of love? SEQUEL to 'Not Every Story Ends Happily Ever After'

Chapter 10 – So Close Together

The best thing about being supposedly dead, as opposed to being a registered spy or a wanted criminal, was the anonymity.

The international airport itself hadn't changed much, but walking out of it, Alex Rider had never felt so free. Granted, he was still scanning his surroundings for any signs of danger, or anyone with guns that may be trained in his direction, but overall he was much more relaxed than he would've fourteen years ago. It was a rather novel feeling, not being in mortal peril.

So of course, the universe would have to go and ruin that for him.

After paying the taxi driver, who had dropped him off a couple of streets away from the 'Bank', Alex began his long walk. Honestly, he wasn't sure why he was even paying a visit to MI6, considering the millions of other places he wanted to be.

But at that moment, it seemed wisest to try extracting information from an intelligence agency, rather than wondering around aimlessly on his own. After being out of the loop for so many years, he wouldn't even know where to pick up the trail, whereas he was quite certain that MI6 would have a dozen probable paths to follow. That and, he was sure MI6 had kept tabs on both Gregory and Dessi. So it seemed like the most logical place to start.

It was at that moment that he heard the shouts, and the unmistakable roar of guns.

Quickly, Alex ducked for cover behind the wall that separated the main street from its secluded and very well hidden alleyway. He took a deep breath, feeling the familiar rush of adrenalin pump through his veins.

I need a weapon!

Alex cast his gaze around for anything he could use to defend himself, though the best option was really to disarm the gunman to level the playing field. It was just as he made up his mind and readied his newly-recovered body, that Alex realised something rather important which he'd overlooked.

They didn't seem to be aiming for him at all.

Indeed, as Alex cautiously stuck his head around the corner of the brick wall, there were two people – a man and a woman – sprinting down the street as if their lives depended on it.

Which, to be fair, it probably did.

From the sounds of things, there were at least five men hunting them as they hurried down the main street. The two had somehow managed to gain quite an impressive lead – in fact, it was not actually possible to see their chasers, only to hear the guns and see the resulting blasts as their bullets took out chunks from neighbouring walls – but it was obvious one of the two was injured; she moved in a very uncoordinated fashion, limping wildly in obvious pain.

It almost seemed as if the only reason she was upright was due to the support of her friend.

Suddenly, another gunman leaped out from nowhere, only metres from where Alex himself was hiding. The man opened fire on the pair, both of whom threw themselves aside to avoid the hail of bullets, leaping from side to side in a deadly dance for survival.

But they wouldn't last forever; one slip up, and their bodies would be blasted into smithereens.

Without knowing why, because Alex's body never quite seemed to be able to reason with his mind, the former MI6 agent jumped out from his hiding spot and raced towards the gunman who, in his trigger-happy moment of concentration, had yet to notice the figure rapidly moving in his direction. Just as the gunman took aim once more, Alex tackled him from behind.

The man let out a shout of surprise as he hit the ground, hard, but Alex didn't give him any time to recover. A quick jerk of the elbow had the man disarmed, his gun falling with a clatter to the ground just out of reach. Unfortunately, that loss of his weapon seemed to trigger a response in the man Alex had pinned down.

With a roar, he flipped them both over. Alex saw the fist coming, but in his current position it was rather hard to avoid the impact. His head snapped back painfully. Blinking, dizzy and disorientated, Alex felt himself being pulled up by his shirt, before another blow was delivered. But he would have to be an idiot to allow himself to be hit for a third time. So when the fist closed in again, Alex twisted his body into a definitely unnatural position, and bucked the man off him, elbowing him in the face for good measure.

They both scrambled to their feet, panting and trying to ignore their injuries. From the corner of his eye, Alex noticed the two whom he'd originally intended to save staring at him, the man still supporting what appeared to be the entire weight of the woman. He was also rather aware of the gunshots that were nearing their position as the rest of the gunmen began to close in.

'What are you waiting for? Run!' Alex shouted, gesturing to the hidden alleyway while ducking the wild punch that had been directed towards him. It was with great relief when he saw that the two had understood him, and were quickly hurrying out of sight.

Alex turned his attention back to the problem at hand, and not a moment too soon; the next second, the man had come charging at him with a bellow, seemingly intent on either tackling Alex, or strangling him. Well, Alex wasn't about to let either of those two things happen: he wasn't the youngest ever spy for nothing. At the last minute, Alex dropped to the ground, lashing out with the force of years of training and experience.

There was a sickening crunch as the man's knee blew inwards, and he dropped to the ground with a howl. Alex dived for the gun, rolling quickly as the man tried to attack him through his pain. Springing to his feet, Alex gripped the hard-won weapon tightly before slamming the cold metal across the man's head. Once, twice more he did that, before a last blow send the man staggering to the ground, collapsing in on himself.

Breathing heavily, Alex cautiously approached the man, finger on the trigger just in case. But it seemed that he'd knocked the man out. And with the amount of force he'd applied, he was quite sure that the man wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon.

It was the shouts and the gunshots echoing down the street that jerked Alex out of his contemplation. The others were closing in, which meant that Alex needed to get out before his body could be used as a live target. Grabbing the arms of the fallen man, Alex quickly dragged him backwards into the hidden alleyway, the two disappearing from sight just as the first of the original pack of shooters appeared in view of the street.

Alex gestured for quiet, ushering them all deeper into the alleyway. The woman, who seemed only a few years older than himself, collapsed onto the ground, whimpering quietly in pain. Her leg was horribly mangled, and hanging limply at a rather gruesome angle. As the gunshots and the shouting drew closer, Alex leaned over and covered her mouth with his hand, mouthing an apology as he did.

Together they waited with baited breath. It wasn't long before a herd of men thundered past, guns blazing despite the fact that they could no longer see their prey. They completely overlooked the small alleyway cast in darkness, convinced as they were that the two they'd been hunting were already at the other end of the street. Alex put up his hand to signal to the two with him that they should wait until the coast was definitely clear.

What followed was probably the tensest two minutes of his life, as the sounds of the chase gradually began to dim.

'It's okay; I don't hear them anymore,' Alex breathed, turning to the two he'd just rescued.

'Yeah, thanks for that,' the man said, looking up from where he'd been trying to stem the flow of blood pouring out the woman's leg. 'You probably saved our lives.'

In that moment, their eyes connected, and familiarity struck Alex like a sword through the chest.

'... Ben?' he whispered, before dropping his eyes down to the injured woman. 'Rose?'

The man had recognised him too. In a matter of seconds, Alex found a gun pointed directly at his chest, as Ben stared at him in shock and fury.

'Who are you?' Ben demanded, voice suddenly cold and eyes empty. 'And how dare you impersonating him?'

'Impersonating –? No, Ben, it's me! Alex! Alex Rider!'

Rose chose that moment to succumb to her many wounds, and slump over in a dead faint.

.

Desiree Swan sat silently on the cold stone ground, hands clasped behind her back.

She was in Tom's ... home. It was really more like a broken down, highly unkempt room littered with old newspapers and empty glass bottles. The air was thick with the stench of alcohol and week-old takeaway.

The place was a couple of doors away from where she remembered a younger Tom Harris to have lived, back when his parents had been continuously fighting and he'd been around constantly at Alex's house. How Tom managed to afford it when he looked like he was homeless now was beyond her.

Sitting across from Dessi was the man himself, who had yet to stop staring at her in what she concluded to be amazement. To be perfectly honest, it was staring to freak her out. She was quite convinced the man hadn't blinked for the past fifteen minutes.

Finally, she broke the tense silence.

'Tom? I don't want to sound rude but ... what happened to you?'

Tom started at her voice, before looking down at himself and shrugging self-consciously. 'While Alex was out saving the world, I was out enjoying life. Guess neither path turned out quite right in the end.'

Dessi snorted. 'Yeah, tell me about it.'

They stared at each other in silence once more.

'So ... um ... do you want some lunch?' asked Tom, scratching his head.

'Are you going to poison it?'

Tom gave her a rather startled look that was so reminiscent of his youth that it seemed to take years of his now-haggard face. 'Why would I do that?'

'Um ... didn't you hear about me "killing" Alex?' Dessi asked, wondering if maybe the news didn't reach Europe. 'I thought you'd be the sort of person who would avenge your friend.'

'Oh that,' said Tom, dismissively waving his hand. 'Yeah, I heard about that. Never believed it though. When you grow up with an MI6 agent as your best friend, you don't really put much stock in the news.'

'Wish the rest of the world saw it that way,' sighed Desiree.

'Yeah, bad luck, eh?' shrugged Tom. 'You want some pizza? I think I've got leftovers from last week.'

Dessi raised an eyebrow at the mess that littered the floor. 'Yeah, I think I prefer some fresh food if you don't mind. Here, it'll be on me – NCIS lent me some money, and I think you could use a good meal or two in you. Just so you don't die on me.'

'Fine then,' Tom pouted, and that expression was so familiar that it startled a laugh out of Dessi. It was definitely good to know that some things never changed.

.

Ben sat in silence in his apartment, his gaze never once leaving the boy – the man sitting quietly in the corner, vigilantly tending to Rose. As if he knew her. As if ... Ben shook himself. No, it can't be him. Ben was just seeing things, that's all. His age was making him hallucinate. Yes, that was it.

But he knew it wasn't.

Ben sighed, though not loud enough to disturb the thick silence hanging in the air. He really should've taken Wolf's advice, and quit back when he still could've escaped the mystery unharmed. But it was too late, and now he was tangled within its depths as surely as if he were a helpless fly caught within the web of a giant spider. And the worst part was that he could do nothing but watch it all unravel in front of him, and pray that they all survived the resulting backlash in one piece.

Everything he had ever thought he'd known was about to change.

'Ben?'

That voice, so hoarse and different, and yet so familiar broke into his thoughts.

'Yeah?' Ben looked up into those concerned brown eyes.

'You alright?'

'I'm fine A...Alex.' God, the name sounded so strange, so foreign. From the expression in his eyes, Ben knew that Alex had caught the slight hesitation. He sighed. 'Sorry. It's just going to take some getting used to.'

'I know,' Alex smiled tiredly. 'I know.'

They lapsed into silence as Alex began to bandage up Rose's leg.

'This might not be my place to ask ...' Alex began quietly, 'but exactly what happened to her?'

'Mission gone wrong,' Ben sighed. 'It was meant to be a simple scouting mission. Obviously, it didn't end that well; I think the two unknowingly overheard something important. Either way she and her partner ended up as hostages. When I found out, I went after them without MI6's knowledge. I found Rose a couple of days after she managed to escape.'

'And her partner?'

Ben shook his head sadly. 'Agent Garnett. I don't know if you remember her at all. She was a good agent ... slightly boring, but very reliable and very talented. From what I can gather, she was planning on retiring after this mission, go travelling with her husband. She saw her first grandchild a few days before they left.'

Alex closed his eyes in silence. It wasn't often that people like Blunt remembered his Agents were humans too, who lived and loved. It was when things like this happened that made one realise just how deadly the world of espionage really was. And now more than ever he wished that he hadn't gotten caught up in this world at all.

'You planning on retiring in the near future?' Alex asked, washing the blood away from his hands.

Ben shrugged. 'Definitely been thinking about it. I don't really want to give my wife or kids premature coronaries anytime soon; they worry too much. It's the reason why I sent them away on holiday. Turned out to be a good thing too; I don't think my wife would take too kindly to having my bleeding protégée and a dead man in her living room.'

'Yeah,' Alex laughed, before suddenly sobering up.

'Alex?' Ben frowned, worried. 'What's wrong?'

'I just ...' Alex took a deep breath. 'Never mind. It's been a while since I've thought about it.'

'Thought about what?'

'Gregory.' Alex blinked back tears at the name. 'Where he is. What he looks like. Whether he likes Chinese food, or Italian.'

'Well, I don't know about the other things,' said Ben gently, 'but I do know that he's in Australia. In one of their orphanages. I would've adopted him myself – my wife had all the paperwork completed and everything – but they said it couldn't be done.'

'You would've done that for me?'

'Least we could do. No kid deserves to grow up without parents.'

Alex smiled. 'Thank you, Ben. It's good to know I've got such great friends, and I'm sure Desiree feels the same.'

Abruptly, Ben's face became a mask of cold anger. 'How can you even mention that name? That traitor; she murdered you –!' and he broke off, staring at Alex's definitely alive face. '... didn't she?' Ben shook his head as they were led in a full circle.

'I know what was reported all those years ago,' said Alex carefully. 'But it's not true. As you can see, I'm very much alive.'

'I ... I think it's time you told me what happened that day,' Ben said shakily.

'Yeah, I think so too.' And so Alex began the story of that fateful day. How the young couple and their child landed in Australia. How Dessi had gone to the AIS to hand in her resignation, and Alex had stayed behind to look after Gregory. How Michaelis Menten had somehow managed to track him down, the battle that had erupted between them, and Alex's eventual capture. He confessed to spending the last fourteen years locked away in who-knows-where as Menten's little plaything, before his daring escape and recovery upon Wren Island.

It took the better part of two hours for him to complete his story. When he finished, Ben Daniels was left speechless, gaping at him in shock, though it could've also been awe. It was Rose who finally spoke, breaking the stunned silence and scaring the crap out of the two men, neither of whom had noticed the woman waking.

'I think it's time we tracked Dessi down.'

.

It was rare for Gregory to get even a moment of peace and quiet. His unit never gave him a break, constantly harassing him to keep up, to run faster, to jump higher. And as if that wasn't enough, there was his trainer Shark who was every bit as deadly as his code-name. Between the two, Greg had received more bruises and injuries than he'd ever had in his whole short life.

But at that moment, with the sun just setting and his unit still at dinner, he finally had some time to himself.

And the first thing he did was pull out the page on a certain Alex Rider which he'd kept hidden in the depths of his bag.

Greg wasn't entirely sure why he was reading the now-crumpled piece of paper again. All he knew was that in his previous, rather brief scan of the thing, he'd missed out something vitally important. And if Shark had taught him anything, it was that spies had to trust their instinctual feelings, as it was their only permanent weapon when they were out in the field.

Alex John Rider ...

... fluent in French, Spanish and German ...

... understand basic Italian, and possibly Japanese ...

... athletically talented ...

... perhaps other unknown skills ...

... obtained a black belt in Karate, and has on many occasions successfully defended himself from other more skilled fighters ...

He had read it all before. If nothing else, this second reading affirmed in Greg's mind just how amazing this agent must have been.

'I really wish I could meet you,' whispered Greg, his eyes scanning the top of the document.

Current status: Unknown.

'Brilliant,' Greg muttered. 'You must be one of the only agents MI6 hasn't marked off as "deceased".' He knew, from their numerous case studies which Mrs Jones had forced on them, that more than one agent had been "brought back from the dead" because MI6 had labelled them as being deceased when they weren't. It seemed this particular agent was so amazing that even the agency didn't want to give up hope.

It was as Greg was about to put the document away that a single sentence at the very end of the page caught his eye.

While training at Brecon Beacons under the code-name 'Cub', Agent Rider managed to rake up an impressive list of property damage, along with being the cause of hospitalisation for several Green Jackets during RTI training.

Greg's eyes widened at the previously unread sentence.

'Alex Rider was Cub,' he breathed, his mind flashing back to that night he'd spent eavesdropping outside the Sergeant's cabin. They had said he looked like Alex ... like Cub. That must be why all those people kept giving him double takes when he was first introduced to them.

'I remind them of someone from SAS legend!' Greg grinned in the dark, before another voice, an echo, drifted through his head.

"He was having a kid, remember?"

That was what the Sergeant had said. Fourteen years ago, Alex Rider had been about to become a father.

And Greg ... he was fourteen, wasn't he? Could it ... could it be just a coincidence? If it was, why was his heart pounding so damn hard?

"I try not to, because that inevitably leads to ... her."

'Her' ... Had Shark perhaps been referring to his mother?

But, if he was ... why did he use such a disgusted tone of voice when a moment ago he'd been talking about Cub almost reverently?

In the falling darkness of the cabin, crystal blue eyes hardened with a look no fourteen year old should ever wear. He wanted answers, and screw the consequences, he was going to get them.

So lost was he in his newfound determinism that he failed to hear the intruder in F-Unit's cabin. The edge of a pistol flew through the darkness, colliding hard against his head. The piece of paper slipped from his suddenly limp fingers, fluttering unnoticed onto the ground.

He never even felt the pain before he was lost to the darkness.

.

Alex and Ben were walking around outside Ben's apartment. Officially, they were out for some fresh air. Unofficially, they were on the look-out for any suspicious behaviour, while Rose stayed behind in Ben's apartment (unwillingly of course), left to do some scouring using Ben's impossibly high security clearance.

'Hey Ben,' Alex began, 'do you mind me asking you a question?'

'Depends.'

'Well, I was just wondering ... whatever happened to K-Unit?'

That surprised a laugh out of Ben. 'Oh, I can't believe I haven't told you already!'

'Told me what?' asked Alex, a premature grin already forming on his face.

'You'll never believe this – okay, so the Sergeant retired several years ago; seven, I think. Guess who he named as his successor?'

'Just tell me already!'

'Okay, brace yourself,' Ben laughed. 'The new Sergeant is ... Wolf!'

Alex choked. 'Wolf? Seriously?'

'I know!'

Alex dissolved into laughter. 'Oh those poor men!'

'That was my reaction too!'

'Oh, that's classic!' Alex said, wiping a tear from his eye. 'Man, that made my day.'

Ben just grinned. At that moment, they were interrupted by Ben's phone which, for some reason, was playing the Macarena. Seeing that it was Rose calling them, Ben glanced around to check that the coast was clear before putting the phone on loudspeaker so that Alex could also hear whatever the woman had to say.

'Hey Rose,' greeted Ben.

'Hello people who never let me have any fun.'

'You know we still love you.'

'Yeah, whatever.'

'Come on Rose,' Alex grinned. 'We know you didn't call us just to complain. What did you find?'

'I'm not telling you.' There was a pause, in which Rose probably realised how counterproductive that would be. 'Alright fine, I'll tell you. Though to be honest, I'm not entirely sure myself what I've found.'

'Just hit us with it,' sighed Ben.

'Okay, so I was running a scan in the Australian criminal records for Dessi –'

'And you found her?' asked Alex excitedly.

'Uh, no. According to their records, no "Desiree Swan" was ever put into jail. So then I was running the same scan on international records, when a name popped up. Which is why I've called. Does "Drew Wood" ring a bell for either of you?'

Ben frowned. 'It's definitely very familiar –'

'Hang on!' Alex cut the man off. 'That's Dessi's old alias!'

'Oh, that's why –!'

'Did you follow it?'

'Of course I did, what kind of spy do you take me for?'

'Are you planning on telling us anytime soon?' asked Ben, squeezing his phone rather tightly in his hand.

'Well, "Drew Wood" landed in London not forty hours ago. According to his ... um, her incoming passenger card – you know, the one you have to fill in when you land so that you can get through customs? – "Drew Wood" is staying at the Dux Hotel. You wanna go check it out?'

'Way ahead of you there,' said Ben as both men took off at a run for his car.

'You stay put, Rose,' commanded Alex. 'Don't you even dare try come after us.'

'You're no fun.'

Ben grinned at the obvious pout in her voice, before disconnecting the line and starting up his car.

They had an AWOL spy to catch.

.

Ten pages. I think that makes up for my absence, don't you?

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Love Chariots99