Yes, I know it's been too long. But this is chapter 11. With the issue of whether Alex let her go or not, I went with the option that most of you wanted and what I thought Alex would choose in his emotional state. And I'm sorry to say that this story is drawing to a close. This is the last chapter but there is an epilogue. And don't worry there will be a sequel. Well I hope you like it...

Chapter 11

She screwed her eyes shut as her mask was pulled off. How had she let this happen? Everything had gone completely wrong and it was all her fault. The pain in her shoulder was excruciating and it took all her strength to keep from crying out.

"You?" Disbelief and shock permeated his tone. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, immediately regretting it. Alex's face was fraught with confusion and his mouth hung open. How was she going to get out of this?

"Felicity, what the hell is going on?" Alex asked weakly. Wasn't it obvious? Not knowing what to tell him, she chose to remain quiet. Alex gritted his teeth.

"Felicity, tell me what's going on," he said, his voice beginning to sound angry. Alyssa blinked once trying to mask the anxiety she was feeling. Finally, she looked up at him with vacant eyes.

"I asked you a question," he exclaimed, shaking her arms. She cried out as a bolt of pain shot through her shoulder.

Alex hadn't meant to hurt her and immediately drew his hands back, shifting his weight in the process. However, Alyssa took advantage of this opportunity. Despite her agony, she rolled Alex's weight off her and scrambled up. But Alex was faster. His right arm darted out and grabbed her leg, bringing her crashing to the ground once again. She let out a guttural cry as her head hit the road and blood began to trickle down her cheek. She let out a stream of expletives, her first words in a long time.

Alex moved quickly, retrieving two sets of plastic ties from his pocket. He used them to bind the writhing girl's hands and feet to stop any further attempts at escape. Alyssa continued to curse when she discovered her inability to break through the cuffs. As for Alex, now that his quarry was incapacitated, he began a methodical search of Alyssa. Rifling through her virtually empty pockets, his face turned grim as he located the diamond. Alyssa's face fell when she saw the object in his hand. Her only hope now was to persuade Alex to release her.



"Please, Alex, you've got to let me go," she beseeched trying to inject as much vulnerability into her voice. But this was the wrong thing to say. Unfortunately, she realised her mistake too late.

"How do you know my name?" Alex demanded. She stammered trying to come up with a believable lie. But her mind failed her, and once again, the thief was silent.

Meanwhile, Alex was finally beginning to understand. At first, when he saw her, even when he found the diamond, he thought there must be an explanation. But now he had no doubt that Felicity Reynolds and the Masked Man were one and the same. He looked down into the eyes of the girl he had kissed, the girl he had feelings for; the same girl who had known his name all along. The hurt bore a deep hole through his chest.

"How could you do this?" he asked acidly. She looked confused. Was he talking about the theft?

"Don't you know?" she replied. He narrowed his eyes and she shrank away under the intensity of his glare.

"Alex, I'm sorry, I -"

"Just shut up," he yelled; his anger and pain now mixed into one, creating a mixture even more potent. He didn't want to hear this. He didn't want to hear her try and excuse what she had done. He didn't want her pathetic attempts at apology. He was already sick of her lies. Pulling a small scarf from his pocket he wound it around Alyssa's mouth, silencing her despite her vehement protests. Perhaps it was cruel but he was way past caring.

Getting back up he walked away, fury bubbling inside him, as she lay there, burning with humiliation.

Good! She deserves a lot more than this for what she did to me.

And before he turned away, their eyes met, hers no longer repentant but filled with ice. Alex looked away and pulled out his mobile, making a call.

"I have the thief."

Alex stared up at the ceiling blankly becoming irritated as the sun's rays came through the window and shone on his face. Why couldn't the weather mirror his feelings for once? At least if there was thunderstorm raging outside he would feel like someone understood what he was going through. But that was the problem. No one did know what he was going through. There weren't exactly many people out there whose girlfriends turned out to be major jewel thieves. Perhaps there were a few. But he doubted there were any whose girlfriends had also lied about the way they felt just to get close to you because you were an MI6 agent.

God, my world is messed up.

So, he had been throwing himself this private pity party for almost a week now, refusing to leave the house at all or tell anyone what happened. He hadn't answered any of Tom's calls and even Jack couldn't explain Alex's behaviour. He should feel glad. He had caught the Masked Man and retrieved the Greed diamond. But none of that mattered really. All Alex felt was anger, embarrassment and isolation. But most of all he was hurt. Though he was reluctant to admit it, Felicity, if that was even her real name, had gotten under his skin. In such a short space of time she had come to mean a lot to him and he had thought that she felt the same way. But it was all fake and he couldn't control the fury which overwhelmed him when he thought about her now. He tried to make himself feel satisfied that she was now behind bars where she belonged but it was a hollow, empty feeling which did nothing to mend the ache in his chest.

"Alex," said Jack, opening his door carefully, "you've got a phone call."

"Just tell Tom I'm busy," he told her dismissively.

"It's not Tom," she said and from her tone Alex knew exactly who it was.

"No way." Alex jumped up, some life finally beginning to creep back into his voice.

"He said it's important," she said apologetically, handing him the phone.

Yeah, with Alan Blunt, it's always important, no matter who gets hurt in the process.

"What do you want," Alex asked impatiently. Some insane part of him hoped it was another mission already; something to distract him from his current situation.

"Firstly, I would like to congratulate you on your success on the mission." Blunt paused, but if he thought he was going to get a response then he was going to be disappointed.

"Well, the reason I called, Alex, was because we have a job for you," he said and Alex felt an odd sense of relief to think he could soon get away.

"You see, we've not been having much luck interrogating our newest prisoner. Due to the unusual nature of this case and your...experiences, we think you would have more success and so we'd like you to try your hand at questioning the thief."

"You can't do that to me," he exclaimed. How could he be so callous?

Oh wait, this is Alan Blunt we're talking about.

"I think you'll find I can," Blunt said simply. Alex exploded.

"Do you even have a heart? What the hell is wrong with you? I hate you, you know that. I hate you for sending me on this mission. I hate you for not giving a damn about me. And I hate you for forcing me to become a stupid spy in the first place."



"If you're quite finished, Alex," he said showing no reaction to the rebuke, "we'll see you this afternoon." And he hung up the phone. Alex punched the wall in frustration and bitterness. There really was no way out.

If I hold on to the anger, will it make everything else go away?

Alyssa didn't know the answer to this question but it was how she had chosen to deal with her predicament. If it kept at bay the guilt, the fear and the pain then maybe she would be okay. Because these feeling were there, under the surface, just waiting to make their presence known the minute she got complacent. She couldn't believe she had gotten caught, though she knew exactly whose fault that was. But it was easier to blame Alex for her incarceration rather than herself, despite feeling terrible about the way things worked out between them. She didn't know what was going to happen. Kane would know by now that something had gone wrong and would be trying to do something to rescue her. It would be just like Prison Break, her warped sense of humour told her. And she allowed herself a laugh because she knew that she wasn't going to smiling much in the future.

Jail. It had seemed like such an impossible thought before, but now it was a certainty and it filled Alyssa with fear. How could she ever survive in prison, with all its barriers and restraints? Time would become her enemy and there would be ample opportunities to look back on her mistakes. She couldn't believe that he wouldn't let her explain how he had nothing to do with the theft. She had wanted to tell him that everything between them had been real. But he hadn't listened to her and gagged her instead. And for this she was really mad. She knew he was angry but he had treated her like an animal and she watched while any feelings he had for her disappeared. He hadn't even looked at her when she was taken away to a hospital for her dislocated shoulder and concussion. And he hadn't even cared when she woke up two days later to find herself in a cell back in London, after being shipped home like a piece of cargo. If he couldn't come to see her, even if it was to shout and scream, how could she ever hope to tell him her side of the story? So why should she waste her time trying to convince him when it was obvious he didn't give a damn. Anyway, she didn't know why she was worrying. It wasn't like she would ever see him again. And yet, despite her steely self-control she couldn't stop herself from missing him.

So here she was, sitting in a standard interrogation room waiting to be questioned by some of MI6's goons. She knew they were getting impatient. After five days of probing, she hadn't given them anything, not even her name. She remained silent in 

the face of their questions, throwing in the odd sarcastic comment every so often. Idly, she wondered how much longer this cycle would go on. How long before they gave up and she was left to rot in prison?

Alex watched her though the one way glass trying to come up with a way to proceed. She looked good despite the cut on her face and her arm which was in a sling. He tried to get a sense of what she was feeling but he couldn't be sure. She just sat there all her emotions bottled up inside.

I guess I'm not allowed to know what she's feeling anymore.

Not that he had been much good at reading her before. He hadn't noticed but she wasn't one to share her misery and now, he seriously doubted he was going to get much out of her. Well, he had better get it over with so he could go home and mope around some more. Sighing, he headed for the door.

"Where are my doughnuts, Jones? I thought I told you yesterday that I would tell you everything if…" Alyssa trailed off when she saw who came through the door. Her eyes widened in surprise and her whole body stiffened. Tension flooded the room as Alex came to sit opposite her. Neither one looked directly at the other. For the first time in a week, Alyssa felt flustered and was just about to say something when she saw the hard look in Alex's eyes. Anger flared inside her. If he was going to be pathetic and immature then she would do the same.

"Agent Rider, so nice to finally meet you," she said, lacing her voice with sugar. Okay, she was being bitchy but if it kept the pain from the tone then so be it.

"Since you know my real name, why don't you tell me yours?" Alex said monotonously. As long as she didn't know how much she had hurt him, he could get through this.

"Wow, do you say that to all the girls, or am I special?"

"Special is not the word I would use," remarked Alex, "I was thinking liar, thief, bitch or maybe even failure." The last one filled Alyssa with shame and suddenly she her fury at Alex intensified. But she kept her voice even and delivered the next line with nonchalant cruelty.

"Not that most of those aren't true, but I seem to remember you were singing a different tune a week ago," she said and then quoted him, "Oh Felicity, you're so beautiful." He visibly winced and she hated herself for what she was doing. But she couldn't stop herself.

"But, you're right, Alex, my name isn't Felicity, but you can't honestly expect me to tell you my real name." No one said anything for a minute.

"Elis."

"Excuse me," she responded.



"I'll call you Elis for the moment. I think it fits," he said decidedly.

"Whatever," she said, a little confused. Who the hell was Elis?

"Where are the other jewels, Elis?" She stayed silent for a moment.

Finally she spoke and when the words came out of her mouth, her voice was almost soft, "I'm not going to tell you, Alex." "This is a waste of my time," Alex declared suddenly, getting to up face the one way mirror.

"I agree."

"Look, why can't you just tell me what they want to know?" he cried in frustration, turning back.

He really doesn't care, does he?

"They? Don't you want some answers too Alex?" her voice beginning to show some real emotion.

"Yes…no – I don't know," he said, aggravated that he couldn't keep his cool. Alyssa smiled sadly at his answer and went up to the door.

"I'd like to go back to my cell now," she said dully, "I'm sure you thought that Alex would be able to get more answers out of me but he won't. This is too difficult." Alex watched her back in muted awe, fervently trying to work out what she meant. He saw as, someone outside miraculously obeyed, opening the door and leading her away. She didn't look back.

Alex sank down into the chair as the thoughts weaved in and out of his mind. Seeing the way she had acted just now had thrown Alex into a state of confusion. Her ugly words and sarcastic attitude had fuelled his ire, but hints of regret and sadness had also irked him. She didn't deserve his pity after what she had done. But the strangest thing was that he could still see the girl from a week ago. He had expected some sort of dramatic transformation from Felicity into a monster. But there wasn't one. And he wasn't sure how he felt about that. But the fact was that he had trusted her, something he didn't do too often, and got burned. She was a liar; it was as simple as that.

By the time she got back into her cell, her eyes were smarting. But she wasn't going to cry over him, an insignificant boy who wasn't the least bit bothered about her. He wasn't important.

She sank down onto the poor excuse for a bed and put her head into her hands. This was a disaster. She looked up when she heard the door opening a few minutes later, for some strange reason, thinking it was Alex. She sighed disappointed when she saw it was one of the guards.

"What?" she asked, rudely.

"Agent Rider left this for you," he said handing her a small piece of folded paper. She took it without a word and turned 

her back on the guard, who left her alone in the cell. Slowly, she opened it and her heart sank when she read the message:

ELIS LIES

He hates me.

SO THATS THE END! EPILOGUE WILL BE UP IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. I PROMISE.

BrucasGirl4Lyf – thanks sis!

michellefromhell – thanks, I'm really glad you're enjoying it.

Asainwannabe13 – thanks, I'm glad you liked the ending. It was surprisingly hard to come up with. I wanted something simple.

Quazety – thank so much for the review. Yeah, I wish I won Alex Rider for a day. He is definitely hot.

Segala – thanks for the review, i'm glad you're enjoying the story!

Fuurai – thanks for the review. I know you wanted him to let her go but I thought that because he was so angry he wouldn't.

Royalheires93 – thanks. Hope you liked this chapter too and there will definitely be a sequel.

Wizard rowan – thanks, i hope i've done alright with the emotions in this chapter too

AD – Thanks for you BLODDY BRILLIANT review. Lol. It made me happy

mimiR – thanks – well yeah he's really mad but so is she. I think they're both kind of justified in their feelings

Kitzy – thanks so much. Yeah i agree – Alex is hot!

Pollywantacracker – thanks - your use of capital made me happy

Crazy-gal-in-blue – thank you. YAY go BILLY!

FlyingLikeaPhantom – thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Alice- thanks for the review. Yeah, i agree with your points. I think this was really the only way to go. I think it'll be a while before they can start repairing their relationship. It definitely won't happen overnight.

Fan O' Fanfic – thanks lol your review made me laugh

Book wurm – thanks, hope you like this chapter

Kaitiemarie219 – THANK YOU! Glad you're enjoying it

Kaia – thanks for all the reviews. Lol they really did spur me into writing. I was having trouble with the story and then i saw the reviews from you and it made me really determined to update. Hope you like it

Werewolf5 – thanks, yeah either way it would have have been bad. But I think he was just so angry that he couldn't let her go no matter how much it hurt him.