Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider or anything of the sort.

First off, I would sincerely like to apologize to my loyal reviews and those who have supported me for the (almost) year that I've been gone. There was a death in my family a while after my previous author's note and it really hit me hard. I am really sorry that I haven't said anything, but I was depressed for a while. I'm so sorry guys, but I'm better now, and I've started writing again!

I don't know when I'll update again, school is still tough and I a have a few other projects that I'm currently working on, so enjoy this teaser for now!

Chapter 11: New Gear

"Yassen!" Alex called out.

Drying off his hair with a towel, the elder poked his head into the room, "What?"

"I don't have any other clothes," the Rider frowned. He was still wearing the same outfit from before and frankly, it was beginning to smell. "Can I borrow some of yours?"

The two of them were currently staying at a hotel just outside of London, kindly paid for by Mr. Gregorovich himself, and in the process of planning their next prank. After the success of their first scheme, Alex had pressed Yassen into agreeing to going through with a more difficult one…one with higher consequences. The elder had decided that La Maison de Guerre was too risky to stay at, so he had moved them to a less extravagent one a few miles away.

Yassen sighed, "No."

Alex scowled, "Why not? Afraid that I'll get my teenage cooties all over them?" He didn't see the problem with borrowing a few articles of clothing for a few hours so he could wash his own.

"That's not exactly what I was thinking, but if that satisfies you, that's fine as well." The former assassin shrugged, stepping into the room in a black muscle shirt and gray drawstring sweatpants. "I was planning on taking you to a place that I go to…to get you an outfit of your own, which I can garuntee will be 500 times better than what MI6 has ever provided you with."

Raising an eyebrow, the younger blinked, "And what exactly am I going to be doing in this outfit that we have to have specially made?"

Yassen leaned casually against the doorframe, "Oh, I think we're both in the mood for a little payback right now."

Smirking, Alex slipped his shoes on. "Fine, let's go."

Nodding, the former assassin walked back to his room to change…again, as Alex combed his hair and rummaged around his hat and found a black cap. His blond hair was so noticeable, "Maybe I should dye it or something," he said, looking at his reflection in the mirror with frustration.

"Absolutely not," Yassen admonished, reappearing in the room as if by magic. Stepping behind the teen, the elder rearranged some hair and put the cap on. "There, it looks fine as it is."

Pulling the hat back off again and purposefully mussing up his hair, Alex blushed, "Shut up."

Punching the younger lightly on the back of the head, Yassen smirked, "That's no way to talk to the world's number one assassin."

"Former number one assassin," the Rider pointed out, smiling as he dodged another swift punch. "C'mon, I'm starting to look forward to the idea of changing out of these clothes a little too much."

As the two of them exited the hotel and climbed into the car, Yassen pulled a piece of black cloth from his pocket. "Sorry Alex, you're going to have to trust me on this…"

The Rider sighed; he'd expected as much, "Yeah well, what else can I do?"

Smirking, Yassen lifted the front of the cap to better see the younger's eyes. "Nothing."

"…" Alex sat still as the elder wrapped the cloth around his head, making sure to cover the eyes, and tied it securely at the back. Feeling the front of his cap lowered again, the teen relaxed into this seat. "So, how long is this going to take?"

"Not too long, maybe a half hour or so drive, that's all," Yassen answered.

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"Why is he making this so difficult?" Mrs. Jones complained as she paced in front of Alan Blunt and Smithers in her office. "I mean, what does he see in Yassen that he doesn't see in his life here?"

"Tulips, I'll just say this," Smithers sighed, "You need to calm down."

----------------------------------WITH ALEX---------------------------------------------------

The car came to a halt and Yassen killed the engine. "We're here." Alex heard the elder exit the car and seconds later his door was opened, letting in a stream of cool air. A warm hand reached for his as he was helped out and led in some random direction that Alex hoped was their destination. They entered through a few sets of doors when finally Yassen stopped. "Ready?"

"Finally," Alex scowled.

Yassen chuckled as the blindfold was removed. Alex began to open his eyes only to have them covered by a large hand. "Alex, open them slowing or else the light might affect you." Yassen pulled his hand away slightly but still held it directly in front of the younger's face.

As Alex slowly forced his eyes open, he blinked at the image of a palm a mere inch in front of him, but slowly adjusted. When Yassen pulled his hand away, the light hit him directly. "Where are we?"

The room was stark white, the empty shelves lining the walls, counters and tables, even lighting were all bright white. "Are you alright?"

Alex nodded hesitantly, rubbing his eyes, "How much longer here?"

"This, Alex," Yassen motioned around the room, "is where we are going to get your outfit sorted out."

"This...?" It was only then that the Rider realized the sheer size of the room. It had to be at least 100 feet long and 75 feet wide! "Whoa…"

Smirking, Yassen placed a gentle hand on the teen's shoulder, "Welcome to whole different world."

"But there's nothing here…" observed Alex.

As if on cue, a door near the two swung open, revealing a man in black. "Ah, Yassen! How good to see you again…and who's your friend, here?"

"This is Alex, Alex Dimitri," said the former assassin, sliding and arm around the younger's shoulders protectively. "He's here for an outfit."

"I see," commented the man, eye the teen up and down intently, a certain gleam in his eye. "Well, let's see what we can do."

He walked over to one of the shelves and pressed a well-concealed button. As the man stepped away, the walls began to rearrange themselves. New panels slid forward, revealing rows and rows of items. "So, let's get started. What will this be for?"

As Alex opened his mouth to reply, Yassen beat him to it, "Get him the most basic, just the essentials." The teen glared at the elder who shot him a pointed look in return.

"Hmmm, very well, let's see," the man murmured, walking to the opposite side of the room. "Color specifications?"

"Black," Yassen said curtly.

"…as usual," the man muttered as he picked a few items from the shelves. "Okay, let's take a look at what we have here."

Stepping on a certain combination of tiles in the middle of the room, a table rose up from the floor. Setting the items on the table, Yassen and Alex went and stood by it.

"We'll start with a bulletproof jersey, I'm sure you've seen those before," when Alex nodded, the man continued. "Next, a flame resistant and insulted, but light, long sleeved shirt. It is to be worn over the jersey, but under the vest. The vest has a variety of item already included. Such as a knife, a gun, bullets, smoke bombs, and a few smoke bombs. Make sure to zip it up all the way to the top, it'll protect you neck. Next, we have semi-stretchy cargo pants that are also flame resistant. I've included a calf strap where you can hide a knife under the pant leg. And finally, black sneakers. I know they're not the most practical, but they have trackers in them and are suited for your age range," the man finished, handing the receiver of the tracker to Yassen. "Nothing too complicated, should get you two through whatever needs to be done."

"Thank you, I'll send you the money in a few weeks," Yassen nodded, picking up their items and directing Alex to a changing room near the back of the room. "Go change, Alex."

Huffing slightly at being ordered around, the Rider obliged.

--------TBC----------

We'll see what happens next time, no promises on when I'll update, sorry.

please remember to review, but please, constructive critisism only!! :D loves you all soooooooooo much for sticking with me through all this ^^