An
Yeah another update. Sorry it didn't come sooner but we had assessments.
First, how many of you have seen Hunger Games? It's amazing!
Okay now we've said that we feel we should clarify some things.
The person who identifies themselves as Me mentioned that they didn't completely understand the timeline. The prologue is Thursday the 12th of January; Ian got the next day's paper. John wasn't at work on the Friday because he was still moving in, the same day that Yassen visited Alex. Now it's the Tuesday, Monday was the day he eaves drops, tells Ellie everything and sees Walker. The story has happened over the course of five days (so far).
Something else, just a little reassurance for Evgenia.
When we first started Fanfiction we decided that we would not bring those died back for the dead without reasoning. (How they survived, what happened to them after etc) But we tweaked that idea a little. Because with imagination (and insanity) you can find reasoning for everything, though we had to be able to make a solid reason, have a lot of plausible background information that ties into the books. So you don't need to worry, we intend to make this story plausible which means no Jack, Ash etc.
One last thing, Coolio do you have an email we can contact you on because you have a lot of decent questions that we can't really answer through author's notes, also for casual chat as you seem to be quite talkative in your reviews.

Okay you know the drill; massive author's note is redeemed with a massive chapter and dramatic disclaimer.

Disclaimer: -insert dramatic disclaimer here- (consider it disclaimed)

Chapter Twelve

Saving the Paterfamilias: Part one

John stood quietly in the viewing room, next to his superior, Mitchell Talisman , observing two officials trying to get answers out Alex.
After he put Alex in cuffs, he hadn't said a word. He let John take him in, finger printing and all that but he refused to speak, not looking anyone in the eyes, acting like he had been given a lobotomy.
Completely emotionless.

"Before I hired you I made sure I understood your past and you promised that it would not interfere. I kept quiet about who you really are to keep you from the eyes of SO"

Talisman kept his eyes forward, he was probably in his late fifty's, early sixties, but the dim light made him look ancient.

"He is a lot like you"

John turned towards him.

"Sir?"

Talisman smiled at the officials fruitless attempts on Alex. John watched as Alex slightly tilted his head upward, looking them in the eyes, until they looked away from him first.

"Looking at him I can see you, not in looks however, but in attitude. I imagine, in different circumstances, the two of you would've been quite close"

John looked away from the window, a small lump forming in his throat.

"It's too late to know now"

Talisman regarded him.

"Something made the boy interfere with our case, to snoop around, trying to find answers before us. He got in contact with a former acquaintance of yours, never mind about him being an assassin. He then goes to a place that could get him killed; only Heaven knows why, but tells you to leave it to him, not to get involved.
I think the boy is trying to protect you from something, something about this case"

John mulled over this for a minute.

"Maybe he just doesn't want anything to do with me"

"Or maybe he doesn't want to get attached only to lose his father again. He seems very wary of people. Probably has trust issues. But he knows something about this case that we don't; something that could get you and your family hurt, even killed. Before we proceed we need to know what that is."

John wondered how the man could get this impression of Alex when he hadn't heard him say a single word, never even having met him face to face.

"What should I do?"

"Talk to him. Completely undocumented, just a conversation between the two of you. Only I will be watching"

John nodded.

"Call the others out"

...

Alex was leaning against the back of his metal seat; head tilted back, eyes shut with his hands cuffed behind him attaching him to the seat. The seat itself was bolted to the floor.
Every piece of furniture in the room was bolted down.
John walked into the room quietly, observing the scene, wondering what he should do.

"If I remove the cuffs, can I trust they you won't attack me?"

Alex smirked but didn't open his eyes.

"I have no reason too, it ain't gonna get me out of here any quicker"

John nodded and removed Alex's handcuffs. He could feel Alex watching him. There were small cuts on his wrists; somewhere along the line of interrogation someone had done them back up too tight. John sat on the corner of the table next to him. Alex refused to look up.

"May I see your tattoo?"

Alex seemed to think on the request for a moment. He pulled up his sleeve and rested his arm on the table.
John examined the words under the scorpion, which he hadn't originally seen earlier. He partially recognised the saying.

"What's the third word?"

Alex still didn't look at him.

"I came, I saw, I lived, I conquered. The exact order of events"

John felt sick at a sudden revelation.

"They tried to kill you"

Alex withdrew his arm.

"Technically, I did die. My age saved me...and a curb."

John had a feeling that he didn't need to ask what happened or where it happened.

"I had a nightmare early Monday morning, it strayed from the normal. Ash shot me in the chest, as I fell, the scene changed. I was on the footpath on Liverpool Street, bleeding to death, surrounded by people I didn't know. One teenager came out of the crowd and used his hands to stop the bleeding. He had brown eyes and a scorpion on his wrist"

Alex looked a little off colour, he met John's eyes.

"You bloody creeper, strangely prophetic though"

John smiled, causing crinkles to appear around his eyes.

"Yeah creepy, creeper reminds me about something Marcus was talking about, some game where his house got blown up. I don't understand it, everything is made of cubes"

Alex laughed, a genuine laugh.

"It's called Minecraft, my mate Oscar plays it, and it's not about the quality of the graphics it's about the quality of the game"

John couldn't help but to smile again, Alex was echoing his brother.

"Marcus told me the same thing" John felt his smile waver "What are you doing Alex? You could be charged with assaulting a FBI official"

Alex shrugged.

"Stole a four story crane once, but that's a story for another time. The point is that I can't be charged with anything, it's kinda like I have some kind of immunity. How is Cahil anyway?"

John was still reeling from the crane comment, he barely noticed the question.

"What possessed you to steal a crane?" John shook his head "Never mind..."

Alex chuckled.

"Cahil is going to be fine, just in a lot of pain"

Something akin to guilt crossed Alex's face.

"What's the damage?"

John sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Busted nose, cracked ribs, some bruising on his spine. You definitely got a mean right hook on you"

Alex looked down into his lap.

"Ian taught me, he also took me to my first karate lesson when I was six. We used to spar in the backyard"

John looked away not really wanting to ask the next question.

"When did he die?"

Alex shook his head.

"I don't think he did, but he disappeared when I was fourteen. Became property of Mr Grey and Madam Peppermint after that"

John stayed quiet for a moment, trying to decipher what he meant.

"Blunt and Jones?"

Alex nodded.

"Ash is dead though, saw it happen, he became a scorpion shortly after Malta"
Alex paused
"He put the bomb on your plane"

John snapped around to look at Alex. How did he know about Malta?

"What?"

Alex went silent, pursing his lips.

"I think it's time for you to ask me the questions you came in here to ask me John"

John knew he was right, but he wanted to know how much Alex knew about his past.

John sighed.

I guess that will have to wait

"While we're here, my name is Chase Evans and I suggest you call me by my surname not my first. Understand?"

Alex mumbled something; John decided to take that as a yes.

"What do you know about this case that we don't and why don't you want me involved?"

Alex rubbed the sores on his wrists, refusing to look at him again.

"Can I please make a call first; my foster parents should know what happened other than that I punched a cop"

"FBI official"

Alex furrowed his eyebrows.

"There's nothing official about Faust, and they're the same thing"

John strained a laugh.

"Not exactly"

"Can I call them or not?"

John examined Alex's face; there was something else that he was hiding.

"I want my answer first"

Alex met his gaze, something strong in his eyes.

"And I want my call"

John took a deep breath, trying not to get angry.

"What are you trying to hide Alex?"

Alex's jaw tightened.

"If you just let me handle it you wouldn't have to worry"

John stood up and looked down at Alex.

"Have to worry about what? You went to the bar to get some answers and you didn't like what you found out, what do you know? You don't have to do it alone"

Alex crossed his arms and turned his body away from him.

"I've been doing it alone for the past sixteen years, I needed help back then, I don't need it now"

Guilt slammed into John's gut making him feel ill.

"You had Ian"

Alex gave a humourless laugh.

"He was too busy playing Bond; he would just leave me with babysitters, if he or the Powers remembered to call one"

John noticed that Alex was blinking a lot, trying to hold back tears.
He knelt down beside him.

"Alex..."

Alex stood up and glared at him.

"Don't Chase, just don't. Don't tell me you're sorry; don't tell me that you regret what you did, because at the time that is what you wanted to do. It was your choice, you chose to leave"

His words mirrored what Cahil had told Alex earlier, the words that caused him to snap.
They cut into John like knives. Alex took a deep breath.

"Just do me one favour, just one. Don't dig any deeper into this case, leave it to me, because if you do, it will end badly. Don't let Marcus and Aiden be fatherless too!"

John could feel his hands shaking. With what he wasn't too sure.

"And what about you? If I am at risk of being killed then what about you?"

Alex lifted his head, his jaw tight.

"If it goes wrong, I don't have to worry about collateral damage. I have no family"

John looked away, pained.

"I'll go talk with my superior, get you that phone call"

John didn't look back at Alex, he turned and exited. Once in the viewing room he slammed his fist into the wall, splitting a knuckle. He wanted to break down right there, Talisman was looking at him.

"Can you please get him his phone call? I need fresh air"

He didn't wait for an answer, he just left.

...Line Break...

Alex didn't see John once as he was led through the corridors and then cuffed to a phone.
He knew what he had said had hurt him; he could see it on the man's face.
Alex felt really guilty, even though what he said was partially true, there were times in Alex's life when he did feel completely alone and abandoned, but he knew that John only did what he did to try and protect him.

Alex really needed to get this over with before it gets even more emotionally damaging.
There was only one guard, after all Alex was attached to the booth; the man wasn't even looking at him. It was because of his own actions that he learnt not to underestimate anyone. Alex punched in a number and listened to the dial tone.

"Hello?"

Alex sighed in relief that the number worked.

"Walker, I need help"

"You need to work on your greetings Alex, what do you need help with?"

"I'm in FBI custody"

"What!" Walker yelled through the phone.

Alex took his ear away from it, hissing. The guard looked over at him smirking, probably mistook that yell as an angry parent not a surprised and pissed off assassin. Alex gave him a wolf stare; the man shook his head smiling and looked away again.
Alex brought the phone back up to his ear.

"That was unnecessary, my ear is ringing now"

"What exactly do you think I can do Alex? I'm not a miracle worker, I'm an assassin. One step in that place and I'm dead"

Alex ran his hand through his hair, part of his mind that was a little off task noted that it was probably a trait that he got from John.

"You were with the CIA for five years, can you just walk in and pretend you're still an agent. I mean I'm the teenager that beat the shit out of an FBI official, who has the Scorpia symbol on his wrist, the appearance of the CIA won't be a shock for them, they had to contact Bryne anyway to try and get my file. You could just say it's a matter of international security and I need to be put into appropriate custody"

"That front won't last long"

"I don't need it to"

Alex heard a crackle at the other end of the phone and took it as Walker sighing.

"Where are you exactly?"

Alex did a quick scan of the area.

"The FBI's interrogation rooms, north wing, currently cuffed to a phone booth"

"Know the area, broke out of it once, a very long time ago"

The guard turned to look at Alex; he tapped his wrist, telling him to hurry up.

"How did you do it?"

"Well if my memory serves me well, do you see a fuse box next to the booth, its locked shut"

Alex eyed the silver box on the wall next to him.

"How does that help me?"

"Underneath the box there is a small pin like key taped down, great for picking locks on cuffs"

Alex cradled the phone between his head and shoulder while he reached underneath the fuse box and grabbed the key. He turned his back to the guard so he couldn't see Alex struggle with his cuffed hand. There was a satisfying click and the metal fell from his wrist and hung on the booth.

"Now what?"

Alex was sure he could hear Walker laugh.

"Kill the power, the phone will cut out at the same time, I'll be there soon, use the flashdrive I gave you"

"Okay, see you soon"

Alex slammed his hand on the phone hook, ending the conversation, but kept the phone at his ear so it looked like he was still talking. He fiddled with the lock on the fuse box trying not to cause too much noise. He opened it and stared at the mess of wires and switches.
He looked behind him.
The guard was looking away.
Alex grabbed a fist full of wires and tore them out, then ran his hand up across the board, hitting all the switches. Everything went dark except the fire exit lights above doors.

"Oi!"

The guard came at him; Alex smashed the palm of his hand under the man's earlobe, knocking him out cold. He hit the ground with a loud thud.
Alex turned and tore up the corridor, looking for an office with a laptop.

An
Sorry we had to cut it short, being sent to bed.
We will put up part two in a couple of days, till then enjoy.

-Jean & Diana