Alex looked himself over in the full-length mirror in disgust. His fair hair had been dyed black, he was wearing green-tinted contacts, and his hair had been spiked. He looked like a messed-up version of Harry Potter. Every possible thing except for Botox and plastic surgery had been done to him. The result was horrible, yet beautiful. Beautiful in the way that no one would ever recognize him, and horrible in the way that he looked like some Daniel Radcliffe wannabe. His disgust must have shown on his face, because Mrs. Jones remarked "Be grateful for the black hair. Alan was considering a nice bright orange, but I managed to convince him that you looked too dark to be a redhead."

Alex frowned, "I look like an overgrown version of Harry Potter."

Mrs. Jones smiled in amusement, "Well Mr. Potter, it's time to meet your new muggle grandparents, so you can hide from You-Know-Who."

Alex stared at her, startled at the sarcasm in the second-in-command's voice.

The smile slid off of Mrs. Jones face," That was a joke Alex. You've got to relax. You've just recovered from a bullet wound and your grandparents are coming to get you. Nothing to be nervous about…you should be ecstatic."

As if on cue, and Alex suspected they were, an old man and woman were ushered into the room. The old woman, who had loving hazel eyes, and curly white hair rushed to him, folding him in an embrace. The old man followed, "Alex Rider, or should I say Eric Ledel. Nice to meet you! You have quite a reputation!" exclaimed the old man.

Alex sighed. Did everyone know about this so-called reputation except for himself? Mrs. Jones leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Former agents Lila O'shien, and Robert Brownling. Don't worry Alex, they'll take excellent care of you until this is all over."

Mrs. Jones looked genuinely sad, as Alex left with the old couple. Did she know something he didn't wondered Alex, a sense of foreboding welling up inside him. Alex turned his attention back to Brownling, or Stuart, who was talking excitedly about the new flat that they had bought, and how happy they were that he could finally see it now that he was out of the hospital. The old couple seemed alright. Much better than the billionaire Friend family that he had had to stay with for a week months ago.

Looking down at the hospital, the observer tensed. Someone was exiting the hospital. The observer looked down to see an old couple walking with a teenaged boy. The boy looked nothing like the target, but the MI6 were expert at disguises. The observer took a picture of the boy. The computer back at base would run a scan to check the skull of the boy and the target. The observer continued to watch the couple and the boy, never noticing the ambulance that had just silently left the hospital property.

Alex Rider had already spent a month with the old couple, in Bristol posing as Eric Ledel. One Month. The old couple was not a problem. They were genuinely nice, and Alex found himself enjoying their company. Alex was even more surprised that the two were actually married. As Stuart had put it, a spark of romance had begun when the two had been partnered on several operations for the MI6 in the past. Alex was temporarily reminded of another two agents, but he swept the thought out of his mind. Troy and Carver were long dead.

For one long month Alex had lived in Bristol, attended school, and even joined the soccer team as Eric Ledel. Months ago, this normal life would have appealed to Alex, but now, he found himself wishing it away, pining secretly in his heart for the moment that he could emerge from hiding. However, one month was a long time, and Alex had managed to convince himself that he would be in hiding for the rest of his life when he received a call from Mrs. Jones.

"Alex?" Mrs. Jones sounded slightly breathless.

Alex's heart leaped, if it was now safe to call him Alex over a phone….

"Alex? I have good news and bad news…" Mrs. Jones sounded a bit sad and awkward now…uh-oh thought Alex

"Alex, it's safe for you to come out of hiding now…but something else came up, we need you again…come over to the Bristol office right away, we'll talk about it more there."