I Have No Strings
Alex was practically vibrating with excitement. He had wanted this internship. Hell, almost everyone in his uni with the same degree wanted this internship. It had been such a long shot. The email was sitting in his inbox. Alex typed out his reply, barely remembering to spell-check it. He heard the door open in front of him. "TOM! I GOT IT! I GOT INNNNN!"
Alex pulled a very startled Tom into a hug. Tom patted him on the back. "The internship? At Wehner Inc?"
Alex released his friend and let out a whoop. "YES!"
Tom rolled his eyes and ruffled his hair. Alex shoved him playfully. "I'm happy for you, but be gentle. I think that hug bruised my ribs."
Alex made a huffing noise. Rude. "That wasn't bruised ribs!"
Tom patted him on the hand. Alex grinned and flopped down on the couch. "This one pays well, right?"
Alex grinned. He squeezed the pillow. "Yeah. I'll be covered for my part of the rent for a while."
Tom sat down next to him. Alex perked up. "Did you want to celebrate with the rest of the boys or just me?"
Alex tossed the couch pillow onto the opposite chair. He considered it. "Just you, I think."
Tom nodded. They both knew that Alex was fonder of smaller gatherings these days. Plus, the landlord had threatened to boot them if they had another loud party too soon. Tom poked him.
"Are you good?"
Alex rubbed his face. He looked at the computer and felt his goofy grin come back. "Yeah, just a bit shocked about it."
Tom leaned back against the couch. Alex could feel his friend's gaze turn hopeful. "I will trade you sexual favors for the leftover pizza."
Alex burst out laughing. Tom could have asked for a lot more. "Just take the pizza, Tom. You know I don't get your obsession with cold, day-old, pizza."
Tom let out a cheer as Alex pulled out his phone for delivery. He scrolled through and got their usual options for pizza. Both of them could agree on a medium-crust pepperoni and mushroom pizza. He also made sure to check the button for a liter of Coca-Cola (you were only getting that dream internship once, right?) and the double-chocolate brownies. "I got you the brownies you like."
Tom made little happy noises. It was the little things in life. Honestly, Alex was pretty sure Tom only liked them because his mother had never made him brownies. Or any other baked treat, for that matter. Either way, five pounds was a small price to pay for Tom's squeals of excitement. Tom flopped into his lap. Alex was met with fluffy curls for ages and big blue eyes.
"I love you forever."
Alex grinned. "I know, you dork."
It was going to be a nice night.
Alex woke up the next morning to the doorbell ringing and a face full of Tom's fluffy curls. They were both fully clothed. Tom clung to him. "No. No waking up. Only snuggles."
Alex gently removed Tom from his person. Tom was allergic to weekend mornings before ten these days. Alex was starting to think this was a solid policy. He opened the door to see two faces that he never wanted to see again. Tulip Jones and Alan Blunt.
Alex slammed the door shut on them and locked it. That was it. He was going back to bed and never answering the door before noon. Tom was right.
Alex began walking towards the bedroom when he heard the lock sliding in its socket. "Fuck."
Alex decided that tea would do instead of sleep. Especially since he and Tom had fallen asleep watching trashy action movies last night. The pair of them were utterly unflappable as they moved through the house with almost robotic precision. He leaned against the counter. "I thought we were done."
Alan Blunt's eyes glinted. He could tell the man was taking the place in. "It seems not. We have a task for you."
Alex gave him a scathing look. "I have this thing. It's called a real job. There's even a contract and government regulations. I don't think I'm going to have time for your little task."
Blunt cleared his throat. Jones pulled out one of her fucking peppermints of doom. Alex knew then and there that he wasn't doing a single thing they said. "Well, conveniently enough, that's why we pulled some strings to get you the job."
Alex felt his stomach drop. And then he got angry. How dare they?! Even if it was him, that job should have been left alone. Alex internally cringed at the thought that someone else's place had been stolen for him. "We just want you to do your real job. And keep an eye on the company. They've come up on our radar for a few things, namely financial fraud."
Financial fraud, Alex's effing ass. He wasn't a gullible teen anymore. Blunt was bullshitting him about something. They would risk using a person they hadn't seen in seven years for a bit of financial fraud. "That sounds like MI5's problem."
Blunt's eyes narrowed at him. Jones was still sucking on her peppermint. It was she who spoke next. "It's just a little thing. And we have a flash drive from Smithers."
Blunt set it on the table. Alex stared at him. He vaguely remembered that MI6 and the company had gotten into a spat about a patent. It had been so bad that it occupied the middle section of the news for weeks. That was what they wanted. Corporate espionage. Access to the technology so they could rip it off and not pay for it. "I'm going to go with no."
Blunt blinked. He was as expressionless as Alex remembered. "Your father would have done it."
Alex's heart skipped a beat. "Yeah, and he's dead because you couldn't spot a traitor."
Blunt let out a sigh. "I'm afraid-"
Alex cut him off. "You'll what? Admit to blackmailing me? My lease is signed. I have copies. My bank accounts are safely away from you. I got my trust a year ago and the house in Chelsea is now deeded in my name. You don't own my life anymore. Get out. And don't think I didn't see through your attempts at corporate espionage."
Blunt twitched. Tulip went slightly pale. They left without another word. Alex was enjoying being an established adult.
Fin
Based on a prompt by mediaboy (see story summary). This is the 300th work in the Winds of Change 2022 Alex Rider Prompt event, where a new prompt (plus a short 1-3K work) is posted every day. For more details, see the AO3 collection. We have an index of all the prompts used in this event so far and going forwards - join the discord to get access to the online index (and to take part in our events, chat about everything and anything, and meet a load of awesome people!
