AN: So, I took a little longer than I'd hoped, but it hasn't been TOO long, right? I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for your patience with me. Also, last chapter I mentioned Alex having his ninja sneakers on, but he lost one, so that's inaccurate. Sorry, and thanks to The Gentleman Ghost for pointing that out. Enjoy chapter fourteen everyone!

-Chapter Fourteen-

We made it to Bakersfield without another run-in with the Erasers. We'd gone off track, but using the map I'd bought back at Lake Mead, we managed to find our way to Bakersfield. The kids were always hungry, and several times we'd actually stooped to dumpster-diving. Even I woofed down some half-eaten chicken nuggets and some discarded fried rice—when you're really hungry, you'll eat anything.

When I called Sabina, we'd changed the rendezvous point to a place called Hanford. She'd sounded worried and paranoid, and told me that she needed to talk to me, but not over the phone. Then she'd hung up.

Lovely.

Now, we had just passed a sign that read 'Hanford, One Mile.' I was anxious to meet Sabina, to find out what was bothering her so much that she couldn't say it over the phone. I was scared that something was really wrong and, all things considered, I had a right to be.

A few minutes later, Max and the gang swooped down to me so that we could walk into the town. We hung back around the outskirts where we couldn't easily be seen. I needed some time to find and talk to Sabina before all heck broke loose, so we were going to have to find a place for the kids to hide. We were headed towards a large trunked tree when I felt a tug on the end of my shirt.

"Alex, that lady is staring at you," Nudge said. I looked in the direction she was pointing.

There she was, leaning against an SUV and shielding her eyes from the sun. I couldn't see her well from where I was, but I knew for sure that it was Sabina. I would know her anywhere.

I handed Angel to Max and promised that I'd be right back, and to hide behind the tree, then took off towards Sabina, trying not to run at my full speed. I think I was still going a little too fast, though, because the first expression I could make out on her face was surprise.

"Alex?" She called. I was already skidding to a halt just in front of her.

We just stared at each other for a few moments, slightly incredulous. I hadn't seen her in so long, and now she was…here.

"Did your hair get lighter?" She finally asked in a weak voice.

I smiled and threw my arms around her, hugging her tightly to my chest.

"Thank you so much for coming," I said into her hair.

"I wouldn't have left you hanging," she replied, the sound muffled by my back.

We broke apart, and I stared briefly into her soft-yet-no-nonsense eyes before taking a deep breath.

"All right, I have some explaining to do," I said quietly. I glanced over my shoulder, and could just make out the kids heads, peering around the tall tree.

"Why don't you introduce me to the kids first," Sabina suggested, but I shook my head. I know that a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes a thousand words are needed so that the picture doesn't scare the crap out of someone.

"I think I'd better explain before I do anything. Can we sit?"

We sat down on her bumper so that we could keep an eye on the kids, and so that I could keep an eye out for Erasers.

"I'm going to explain this all, and if I go to fast, feel free to stop me, but I'm going to try to get through everything quickly so that we can get out of here." She nodded, and I continued.

"I'm a spy for MI6, and my—"

"What?"

"That's not the weirdest thing I'm about to tell you, just as a heads up."

"Oh, grand. A spy, really? How is that possible?"

"That's a whole other can of worms, trust me. My dad was a spy, and now I am. I know it's hard to believe, but everything I say in the next few minutes is going to be hard to believe, and I need you to just have a little faith. Can you do that?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't have faith in you, Alex," she pointed out, giving me a steady glance.

"Good point." I had a flash of guilt and uncertainty, but it was too late to turn back now. I closed my eyes briefly, and when I opened them again they were locked on hers.

"My latest mission was to go inspect this company called Itex," I finally said. "There were rumors about…unethical practices, to say in the least. It was thought that they were taking kids from this orphanage, so I went there and pretended to be an orphan. I met this kid named Charlie and he was already slated to go 'work' in Itex.

"Then it was my turn. I went to this 'doctor's office' where they made me do all these tests, like swimming and weight lifting and running—stuff you wouldn't think you would have to do in a doctor's office. Shortly after that, I was taken to the Itex lab to 'work', only I wasn't working."

I took a breath to glance at Sabina, who was staring straight forward, concentrating on my words. When I stopped, she looked at me.

"Well, what did you do there?" She prompted, seeming confused and a little worried.

"I sat in cage." Her eyes widened, but I kept on going. "Charlie was in the cage next to me. They had been experimenting on him. He was so messed up I hardly recognize him, and not long after I arrived, he died. I snagged his journal, which I still have. He wrote about his experiences until he couldn't write anymore."

"You kept it for proof, right?"

"Well, at first it was for proof. Now, though, I don't think I'll need it," I said, looking back to the kids.

"Jeez, Alex, stop being so cryptic. Just tell me the rest of the story. I can take it."

"Well, I met these kids, whose cages were also near mine. They had never lived outside of the lab. They had been experimented on from the time they were conceived. They, ah…"

"Just spit it out," Sabina said flatly. I looked at her, and it suddenly occurred to me that she was right. She could take it. She was stronger than I gave her credit for.

"They have wings," I managed. "The scientists at Itex played around with their DNA, and so they're part bird." I snuck a glance at Sabina again, and kept going once I ascertained that she wasn't going to go screaming into the distance.

"They wanted out. I wanted out. I started thinking of an escape plan, and then I was taken. They knocked me out and did who knows what to me. I woke up four day later, naked in some kind of liquid. Then they pulled me out and stuck me on a metal table to examine me. I felt sick and freezing, and some scientist had a conscience and went haywire. They then put me in my cage again. Some scientists came by and talked about me like I was an animal, saying how I had snow leopard DNA in me and I would be able to run fast and jump far and climb well.

"Then I found my tail."

"Whoa. Hold up," Sabina interrupted. "I see no tail."

I stood up and worked my tail out of the leg of my pants. It felt good to finally stretch it out. Sabina stared incredulously. Finally she was showing a little bit of shock. I figured that my story didn't really seem real to her until she saw actual, tangible evidence.

She stared at me intently without interrupting as I sped through the remainder of my story. I told her about our escape, about the kids' appetites, about the Erasers, about everything. I was talking a mile a minute, but she didn't stop me until I finished with, "And so now I'm here."

"That's…a lot to take in," she said slowly.

"Are you okay?"

Sabina's eyes met mine again, and she nodded. "I'm good. It'll take a little bit of time for me to really wrap my brain around everything, but it's nothing I can't handle. We've probably got to get going, right? Let's go get the kids."

"They're over here. Come on."

As we walked towards the kids, I noticed that she looked surprisingly composed. I don't really know what I was expecting—Screaming? Running? Denial?—but she didn't seem too phased. Whatever she was feeling, she kept it on the inside. Outwardly, she looked completely normal. It was a little weird, I must say.

"Wait, Alex." She stopped me when we were about half way to where the kids were waiting. I could see Max peeking out from behind the tree, but she didn't come towards us.

"What?"

"I got these call from the same number you called me with. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. They asked if I knew you and said they were the police…I hung up as fast as I could so they couldn't trace me, but I don't know. It might have been those…um…Scissors?"

"Erasers," I corrected, and she reddened.

"Erasers, sorry. I've got a lot on my mind. But do you think it could be them? Do they talk like normal people?"

"They do. And they look like them, too, when they're not morphed. It could have been them. And—wait. When you say they asked for me, did they say my last name, too?"

"Yeah," she said, confirming my fears. "They asked if I knew an Alex Rider."

I cursed under my breath.

"Why does that matter?" She demanded.

"The orphanage gave Itex my alias, Alex Harrison. It's highly likely that they figured out I was a spy. I don't know how they figured it out, though. Unless…" I pulled my draw-string bag off my back and pulled it open. I saw wrappers, a few pennies, my remaining ninja sneaker, Charlie's journal, my tourist shirt, my glasses, my extra lenses, and…that was it. I dug through it like a raccoon in a trash can, and came up short. My 'mother's broach' was missing.

"I lost one of my gadgets," I told Sabina, who was finally showing some signs of anxiety.

"What?"

"I lost this broach I had to communicate with MI6. It's gone. I don't know where I lost it—maybe at the facility, maybe on my way here… I don't know."

She took a deep breath. "Okay, anything else?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is there anything else I should know before I risk everything I have in order to help you?"

"I think that's it," I replied calmly.

"Well then," she said in a business-like manner. "Introduce me to the kids."

AN: I've already started the next chapters, so keep your fingers crossed and maybe I'll update within the century(:

Also, what do you guys think of my new cover for this story? I don't know how well you can see it, but I used a sunset picture I took and added some words I think this new story cover idea is pretty cool.