Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider. If you actually read these, what do you think will happen next? I am not Anthony Horowitz.

Chapter 23: Patience

The last twenty-four hours, Alex had been more or less functioning in a fog. He wasn't quite sure what to think anymore, but had settled for tentatively accepting Nico's existence. Perhaps he was the only one that could actually be trusted, given that MI6 was most definitely infiltrated. But Nico… Nico seemed safe. It was amazing how knowing just a little bit had helped him try to accept someone.

Of course, there was still the issue of him still forgetting things – the report of his own captivity stymied him – when he should be free from all foreign influences. Though he trusted the unit not to drug him, even if they tried, he knew there was little opportunity for them to do it without drugging themselves in the process. So… safety in numbers, he supposed.

The morning of his next appointments rose bright and early, and Alex remembered Jones' parting words – Your safe house will move in a few days. Since no one had said anything so far, Alex suspected that that morning would be the last time he saw the safehouse. He took care to pack up his few school supplies, though by now, most everything was on the laptop. The USB he slipped into his jacket pocket. It was, by far, the most valuable piece and the most likely to get overlooked. And even though he had the password, he didn't want someone else snooping.

When both Mickey and Jacobs stayed behind at the safehouse, Alex's suspicions were confirmed. Usually, on outing days, only one person stayed behind. And given recent events, Alex had supposed that they would have been keeping a tighter eye on him. The number should have gone up, not down.

It didn't quite all add up though. If they were leaving, Mickey and Jacobs would have to find another mode of transportation. Or someone would have to double back and pick them up. Alex cast a suspicious glance at Cameron and Nico, but kept quiet as they drove through the Spanish countryside. As much as he didn't like the thought that Jones was still calling the shots, it wouldn't do to rock the boat now.

Wordlessly, Alex followed Nico out of the building for the last time. Though they had all been suspiciously silent that morning, it was clear that it was the end. The physical therapist had made it clear that his continued progress hinged on his persistence with the exercises, and then had downgraded him from the hard brace to a more minimalistic soft brace. They told him that it would only be a couple of more weeks before he could stop wearing it all the time, and to be honest, as much as Alex abhorred it, he was almost afraid of what came next. Although the disfigurement was hardly noticeable – thanks to the work of some of the best orthopedic surgeons in London, if Jones was to be believed – the safety of the brace was somewhat reassuring. Going without… it was hard to imagine.

As well, the insistent drilling and homework exercises were just another piece of evidence that this was the end of physical therapy for a while…

Surprisingly, Nico hadn't tried to force him into seeing the shrink – he had merely asked Alex if he wanted to and then not pressed at the resounding no. So… another point in his favor. Of course, something had occurred at the past meeting, though what exactly Alex couldn't remember.

It was a worrying, growing theme in his life.

Cameron was waiting for them outside, and a glance in the back of the SUV showed that he had stocked up on essentials while waiting for them. It was more than they usually had and indicated that something was changing.

"We're being relocated," Nico said as the car pulled away from the familiar building.

Alex merely nodded. Nothing surprising there. Though what had the others thought about seeing his already packed belongings…

"Mickey and Jacobs will be meeting us at the new location with the things from the safe house." Nico paused and peered at him. "There wasn't anything you need immediately, is there?"

Alex shook his head.

"We'll probably be driving all night and well into the morning."

So, well over 12 hours. It meant that wherever Jones was sending them was a bit of a trip. Further away from London…? Depending on the direction they were heading, 12 hours could take them well into France, or even Italy or Switzerland. Perhaps not Switzerland, if they took back roads and avoided cities on the way.

Nico passed back a couple of sheets of paper. "Although it's unlikely we'll be stopped anywhere, there are the identification papers just in case. The first sheet explains who we are and why we're traveling." He sent a rueful glance at Cameron. "But that's really only going to matter if Cameron gets caught speeding, so we should be fine. Think you can manage to play along?"

Alex resisted the urge to roll his eyes and nodded. He skimmed over the information, taking in the details here and there. France, it was. It was an awful lot of details for a just in case scenario, but then he also suspected that it wasn't generally good etiquette to have foreign military personnel operating inside another country without their permission. They just had to keep everything covert.

In turn, it just gave Alex hours to figure out why Jones had decided that France was the next safest place for him. What information did she have that suggested his position in middle of nowhere southern Spain was compromised…? Aside from Blunt being killed in the same country, but hours and hours to the north.

Out of it all though, the most unsettling fact was that he was glad that his guardian – this time – wasn't changing. At least Jones hadn't seen them as incompetent for not being able to keep a hold of him.

Given his newfound tentative trust in Nico, there was at least the possibility that Alex could relax a bit. It was unfortunate that they were likely all too honor bound to MI6 and Central Command to follow him off the grid for a real escape from those who chased him… but for the time being, perhaps they were adequate.

Crossing the border into France was completely unremarkable – as expected. It was nothing more than a nondescript bridge connecting a Spanish city to a French city, hardly visible with the sun rapidly setting behind them. At some point, Nico and Cameron switched positions driving, and Alex allowed himself to snooze in the back. Though he was marginally worried about nightmares, he suspected that he wouldn't be able to get deep enough asleep to really have to worry about that. Of course, a nightmare in the vehicle wouldn't exactly be ideal…

It was almost midday by the time they reached the new safe house, this time a two-story stone house set away from any cities or towns. Out in the countryside. The location was remote, with nothing but trees and shrubs in sight.

Perhaps this was Jones' attempt at keeping him from running off again. If there weren't any nearby towns to wander to, surely, he wouldn't go out. Of course, there were also a lot more options of places for him to hide if he desired. If Jones expected the location to be a deterrent… she clearly didn't understand his reasons for wanting to get away in the first place.

For now, though, he was content to play the meek little protected citizen – though it seemed that maybe Nico was starting to catch onto the fact that he wasn't quite as meek as he appeared. Maybe he would have to… explore those options. Instead of shutting them out completely, maybe it was time to start refining his skills once again…

Mickey and Jacobs had already arrived, obviously having taken a shorter, more direct route. There were likely sensors and who knows what else already set up around the property. Though it did make Alex wonder if these safe houses already existed or if someone was going around repurposing general houses… repurposed houses were probably safer than preexisting houses, considering the moles within MI6 – something else that needed to research.

Mickey threw him a suspicious glance as he crossed the lawn, as if he expected Alex to try to slip away the moment someone wasn't looking. It didn't matter. If anything, it was somewhat amusing. The harsh scrutiny would fade away over time. And by that time, perhaps Alex would have a chance to truly take things into his own hands.

Nico led the way down the small, almost nonexistent hall, to the bedroom at the very back of the house. There were two small windows up near the ceiling, not anywhere near big enough for him to even have a hope of slipping through. The only thing the room had going for it was that it was well lit, from the overhead lights.

"It's pretty small," Nico said, looking almost apologetic. "It looks like they've downgraded us quite a bit with this place." He shrugged. "It'll have to do until they decide we're better off somewhere else."

And if the previous trend was followed, they would possibly be stuck in this place for well over a month.

Alex glanced around the room, noting that his things had already been placed there, but not unpacked. All his possessions in the world boiled down to two small bags. It was twice what he had arrived to Spain with…

Nico jerked his head at the belongings. "I'll leave you to it." He sent a glance at the windows, then a cheeky smirk toward Alex. "Guess we don't have to worry about you slipping out the windows here."

Alex rolled his eyes, before flopping down on the bed. He ran his fingers over the hand-quilted bedspread, wondering just who had put enough thought into a mere MI6 safe house in another country. Perhaps it was just another sign that this house was being repurposed. Maybe in another life it was a cozy little getaway for French nationals. Perfect for a family vacation.

He snorted. If this was a family vacation, it was bordering on the most messed up one he had had to date.

Though Ian dragging him along on family "vacations" while he was actually working in the field was a little far-fetched…

He looked over his belongings and wondered where to start. There was really so little to do, but… it meant he had very little inspiration to do it. Clothes went into drawers. Books went onto the desk. Laptop, pens, papers, too. He fingered the USB in his pocket. He could run the minesweeper to see what kinds of protections they had around the house, but that wouldn't give him too much useful information before he had seen the house for himself.

There was definitely an upstairs, but he had no idea what they had up there this time. And who knew how the minesweeper worked when he was on the bottom floor and not the top… he had only run it before in the privacy of his room, upstairs in the last house.

Someone cleared their throat and Alex spun around. Cameron stood at his doorway, a visible frown on his face. It seemed that the confrontation with the unit leader he had been more or less avoiding over the past several days was finally happening – with or without his consent.

"We're going to be here for a couple of weeks," Cameron said, leaning against the doorway. The posture made it clear that there would be no escaping the conversation for Alex – not unless he physically charged the man. A dumb plan. "And you need to know that this won't be like the house in Spain. There won't be any unsupervised wandering. Someone stays with you at all times, and your door stays open."

So not locked out of his room, but left with little to no privacy. Alex scowled at that. The door was the only thing that gave him privacy at night. If he didn't have that, they were going to very quickly catch onto his nighttime habits. If they hadn't already…

"Yeah, that's what I thought. We've been moved to a higher threat level, and I think you know what that means."

Alex rolled his eyes. "I can expect to have someone breathing down my neck if I so much as think about taking a step outside."

Cameron gave him a sharp nod, though looked slightly puzzled by the lack of fight. "We're not going to pretend that we don't know that you know more than you're letting on."

It Alex a moment to work through that sentence, and fought to keep a scowl off his face at the implication.

"Our employers aren't exactly giving us a lot to work off of. They keep saying that if we need to know something, you'll be sure to let us know. But that's not been happening, so everything's going to get tightened down around here."

So, MI6 still thought he knew more than he was letting on. Did Jones not understand the ramifications of memory loss? Though to be fair, he wasn't about to mention the latest realization that it was still happening, to her.

Cameron gave him a sharp glance, as if waiting for him to spill all his secrets. Alex said nothing.

"Figures." Cameron let out a sharp huff, before turning toward the hall again. "We'll be making dinner in a couple of hours. Get settled in, take a nap, whatever, just keep the door open."

Alex frowned down at the ground. He had made some progress with Nico, but the others… As much as he hated to admit it, something was going to have to change.

A/N: Hey look, another chapter! And not too long of a wait. Miracles do happen. No promises on when the next chapter will be, but rest assured, it willhappen. Stay safe, everyone!