Hey people! I want to thank everyone that reviewed which is so far only two people…Julia and Honey…umm…sorry forgot the pen name, but Naomi, right? And for the thing about longer chapters, I tend to keep my chapters short so readers won't get eyesore…
Warning: If you had not read SCORPIA the fifth Alex Rider book yet there will be spoilers ahead…actually there were already spoilers…sorry, my bad for not mentioning this earlier. For you Americans out there, SCORPIA will be out in the United States in…I'd say around April of 2005….yes…it is slow by one year in the United States (screw Borders and Barnes & Nobles) You can order SCORPIA on Amazon.uk
Alex Rider stared gloomily at the building in front of him. Creatively labeled Mansions & Flats it was supposedly a real estate company, but was in fact the Bristol headquarters for MI6. The agent with the typical reflective sunglasses ushered Alex in, through the back, and down a set of old, rickety stairs into the headquarters, which, curiously enough, looked almost identical to the ones in London. They walked down the long hallway, and the agent opened the door, motioning Alex to follow him. Grudgingly, Alex walked up to the door, and found himself face to face once more with: Alan Blunt.
The surviving members of SCORPIA sat down for a meeting. The numbers of the original founders had dwindled to a mere six. Julia Rothman had suffered her fiery fate a month ago, Max Grendel had been murdered by Rothman, and Levi Kroll's gun had gone off unexpectedly in the night for the second time, and Kroll wasn't as lucky this time.
Dr. Three was in charge this time. His face was blank, emotionless, and his tone was cold. "Invisible Sword was the worst disaster that SCORPIA has suffered in its history. Let it be the last," Dr. Three paused, and swept his icy gaze about the room, "Fortunately, our client from the Middle East has willingly gave us another chance at our original assignment…however he made it clear it was our last chance. We are also expected to return a third of our original payment to him." Dr. Three clenched his teeth, "Unfortunately, there is no one alive left to blame in this embarrassing failure. Rothman and Nile are both dead, and Alex Rider had been confirmed dead also."
At this point, the black man with Japanese eyes and a diamond the size of a pea embedded into his front tooth spoke up, "I am curious to know, Dr. Three, how we have been able to confirm the death of John Rider's son. Certainly, MI6 are no amateurs in faking the deaths of people. Take John Rider for example, and two of our targets years ago. I have also been through the boy's records. He was able to fake his death once and lead a surprise attack on a certain Dr. Grief."
Dr. Three nodded. "All precautions had been taken, Mr. Mikato. Our young, inexperienced, and now dead sniper had confirmed that he saw the boy go down. Hospital records showed that the bullet had punctured the heart, and the boy was dead on arrival. Alex Rider was cremated, but his ashes were dug up by our specialists, and matched his DNA. Since John Rider had died in a plane crash, those could not have been his ashes. All likely suspects exiting the hospital that Rider had been taken to had been taped or photographed, and none of their skeletal structures had matched Rider's. I personally walked through the hospital and saw no signs of extra security personnel."
Dr. Three looked over at Mikato, who nodded his approval. "Our next project, that I have liberally nicknamed: Picasso, will proceed immediately. The targets this time shall be the American and British soldiers that are stationed in Iraq. Unlike Invisible Sword, Picasso will not be separated into phases. No warning will be sent to either the Brits or the Americans. "Dr. Three scanned the room for objections. There were none. "All the equipment is ready, and we shall begin to see the results in…oh…I'll say three days."