Disclaimer: I do not own the Alex Rider series
Chapter Twenty-Five
Stryker held out a hand for Alex's contacts once the boy had finished removing them. Alex glanced down at the thin curved pieces of PMMA and then dropped them into the man's palm.
Stryker held them up to the light and examined them briefly before crushing them between his thumb and forefinger. The fragile PMMA splintered with little effort and he scattered the tiny spears of Plexiglas onto the concrete floor.
Alex watched him passively, hiding his panic under a well practised mask.
"Why did MI6 send you into North Manchester High School? How much do they think they know?" Stryker demanded, suddenly brusque, businesslike.
Alex didn't say anything.
"Rider," Stryker said in an annoyed voice. "You can make this hard on yourself or you can make it easy. Tell me what I want to know and it will be the latter."
Alex was silent for a moment and then he spoke, softly and deliberately.
"Go to hell."
Stryker frowned. "Have it your way then..."
The guard suddenly seized Alex from behind and dragged him to his feet. Alex struggled violently but his grip was like iron.
Stryker walked around the desk, his polished black leather shoes clicking on the floor. He stopped directly in front of Alex and smirked slightly, looking for all the world like an arrogant school boy. Alex briefly considered telling Stryker this but before he could say anything the man had lashed out, his fist connecting with Alex's jaw with a loud crack.
Alex's mouth snapped shut and he tasted the warm metallic tang of blood on his tongue.
Stryker's smirk widened. "Tell me what I want to know, Alex." His voice was quiet, almost gentle.
Alex glared up at him, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
Stryker sighed and then began to roll up his sleeves.
"You can try to be noble Rider but all it will bring you is pain. And in the end you will tell me what I want to know." His golden eyes flicked over Alex's face with what might have been a trace of pity in his stare. "They always do."
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Fox let out a silent breath of relief as Wolf finally swung the Jeep to a stop, and immediately leapt out into the night to help unload. He heard Snake and Wolf drop down onto the gravel behind him - Eagle seemed to be having a hard time to remove his grip on the dashboard.
They had pulled over in a lay-by at the side of a quiet back road beside a disused railway track in Capernwray. He glanced in the direction of their destination. Deep inky darkness greeted him.
They knew that the terrain they would have to cross to reach location was rough at best, rocky and sheer, dotted with patches of trees and veined with small water sources. They would have to cover a mile and a half of the rocky ground on foot, something that would take them a matter of minutes in the day but up to two hours in the darkness.
Fox reached into the back of the Jeep and took out his Bergen and G3 Assault Rifle, quickly completing a final check and then slung it over his shoulder. His Combat knife was already in place, strapped to his leg and his Browning handgun was also in it's holster at his waist. Satisfied with the condition of his weapons, he shouldered his Bergen and adjusted the straps, waiting for the others.
"Ready?" Wolf asked when everyone was finally finished.
"Ready!" Fox and Eagle chorused while Snake just nodded.
Wolf jerked his Bergen into a more comfortable position and then turned away, striding away from the Jeep, darkness already swallowing him.
Swapping glances, the others followed.
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J Unit were stationed on the south side of the building.
It wasn't anything special. The skeleton of a hotel that had closed down twelve years ago. It was reasonably large with five floors, not including the attic space, and had once been brightly coloured and well kept, the result of a rich American couples dream. But now it was faded and defaced. Each and every window was broken, the door half rotted away, the once honey yellow paintwork hidden with overgrown ivy and fluorescent spray paint.
It looked abandoned, decrepit. But Alan Blunt had told them that a high priority agent was in trouble here.
Their orders were simple.
Wait for back up and then go in, retrieve the agent and neutralise the hostiles. If they happened to find fifty of sixty missing boys in the process then that was icing on the cake.
He checked his watch.
8:07 pm.
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Alex was in a state and he knew it. Blood was pulsing from a cut above his right eye, his lip was split and there was a mottled patch of bruising on jaw. His shirt was torn open, revealing severe bruising around his ribs and chest. His breathing was accelerated and laboured. He wasn't sure how much more he could take of this.
Stryker was stood over him, breathing heavily.
"I can see I am not getting through to you, Rider." He growled. "So let's try this another way."
Alex lifted his head slightly, gazing up at Stryker defiantly, staring him straight in the eye.
"Jack Starbright." Stryker spoke the two words triumphantly. "I have people in London who could pay her a visit."
Alex froze.
Stryker noticed his reaction and his smirk went back into place.
"One more time Alex. Why did MI6 send you to investigate me?"
Yay! Another chapter complete. So what do you think? Disregarding all the information that I made up about Overt Kellet. Lol. Thanks for reading. Please review! Crystal X