Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider or any of the characters in the series. Don't sue me Mr. Horowitz because I am a totally devoted fan, and I'm selling half of my worldly possessions so I can afford to buy your 6th book: Ark Angel. God knows what I'll have to sell maybe my bike to be able to afford the 7th book!
Thanks for the reviews Xarilyn and Honey Nut Loop!!!! About Alex's character…well…it's kind of hard to put him in character for me because I'm not very sarcastic so it's kind of hard to have the responses…sorry!!! And about the breaks…well I make them and they show up in the preview so I don't know what happens to them when they show up on the fanfic. Sorry about that!
Readers: Please review to me and tell me whether you want Alex to die in the end or not!!! All votes count and I'll try to end this fanfic by chapter 9 or 10 by writing longer chapters!!! Please review and tell me because I can't write chapter 8 until I know whether you people want Alex dead or not.
"Christmastime in Iraq. How strange it was to be "celebrating" a holiday in a war-torn country when a bomb could land on all of us any moment," thought Private Jonathon Green as he sifted through his small stack of presents. The presents had obviously been opened and checked, and the cards had probably been read, too, but at least they had arrived on time. Green opened the present sent by his little sister Natalie. Sweet! It was a video of Resident Evil: Apocalypse, the movie he had desperately wanted to watch, but couldn't because he had been shipped off to Iraq. Thankfully, there was a TV and a cassette player in the house they were occupying with the British soldiers. Since he was not on any kind of duty, Green called a couple of friends over, and together they settled themselves in front of the TV and popped in the tape, anxious to watch the movie before they were called on duty.
Green pressed play.
He was wondering whether the video was somehow broken when several things popped into his mind:
Destroy the video. Kill the Brits.
Jonathon Green and his friends got up to follow the instructions.
Different scene…if anyone knows how I can add the breaks I'd love to know. Don't tell me "preview" because it takes the piece of I call a computer around half an hour to finish loading the preview…and when it's finally done, it freezes.
He was sure it was Scorpia. No other terrorist cell could be capable of such a…atrocity. Alex glanced at the headline again; just to be sure his eyes were not tricking him.
Widespread massacre of British soldiers in Iraq shock the world!!!!
Camp York-Iraq: In Camp York, the encampment where a number of British and American soldiers were spending their Christmas, a bloodbath occurred on Christmas Day when a number of American soldiers brutally massacred the British soldiers. The same scene was repeated in other encampments all over Iraq where the British and American soldiers had been sharing camp and sharing a holiday. Outraged British officials have been demanding an explanation for the extreme acts of violence, but no American officials have yet given any public statements. American marines questioned claimed to have no memory of committing any acts of violence. Meanwhile, the death tolls….
Alex felt a bit sick. Assassination, he thought. He was angry, but this had nothing to do with him. Nothing at all, he chided himself. For once, maybe he could act like a normal schoolboy: gasp over the deaths, but do nothing about it. Ignore it. But like a fly buzzing beneath his ear, a little voice inside him spoke: Is that what you want Alex? To do nothing?
Different scene below
Alan Blunt found himself sitting in his usual seat watching politicians bicker once more at a COBRA. The minister of justice and the minister of foreign affairs were yelling at each other over the table, with the Prime Minister looking increasingly bewildered at the head of the table as he struggled to listen to both.
"I'm telling you, we should have pulled the troops out of Iraq long ago. Now you want to pull them out?! Look what the Americans have done! There are NO troops left to pull out. I say we break it off with the Americans! We're better off without them!!" bellowed the minister of justice.
"Why can't you be patient and wait to see what the Americans will say? They…well…they might have an explanation! The Americans have been our allies since the beginning of time. We will let them know our anger, but refrain from withdrawing our troops and our alliance until we hear what they have to say! "Retorted the minister of foreign affairs, his whole face turning red with anger.
"Say? I don't give a bloody hell what they'll say! They already showed us once before they wouldn't help us during the Invisible Sword crisis! You…You want to HEAR what they have to SAY?!"
At that moment, something clicked in Blunt's head. He was not a spymaster for nothing.
"Scorpia did this." He said quietly, and a hush fell over the meeting room. "Scorpia did this. " Blunt said again, "I'm sure it was their doing. Look at it this way, gentlemen. During Invisible Sword, they had us outraged at the Americans. Right now, they have us doing it again." Blunt gravely met the eyes of all those at the table. "Many hate us and even more hate the Americans. Suppose this was a plan to break up the alliance between the two countries?"
"Why would Scorpia want to do that?" asked the Prime Minister.
"Most likely, they were paid to." Responded Blunt.
"Now how would they do it?" demanded the minister of Justice. "How could Scorpia somehow control the minds of the American soldiers? That's just impossible!"
"We all thought Invisible Sword was impossible."
Another silence filled the room. "What do you propose we do, Alan?" asked the Prime Minister.
Blunt was silent for a second. "We do the opposite of what is expected. We team up with the CIA. One agency can't take out Scorpia, but maybe two can."
Another silence, and then the Minister of Internal affairs leaped up from his seat, his mouth twisted in a furious snarl.
"TEAM UP with the CIA? Are you mad, Blunt? Do you know what kind of affect this will have on the public? A bunch of effing American soldiers just murdered a score of British soldiers! You think the public will just accept the fact that WE will team up with the CIA? That's like consorting with the enemy right now! What will you tell the public if we team up with the CIA?"
"The truth."
"Oh yes, Mr. Blunt! The truth, yes. The public will just accept the fact that there is a secret organization of crime they never heard of called Scorpia that has been trying to break up the American-British alliance, an idea which is absolutely absurd by the way, and has somehow controlled the American soldiers, telling them to kill our men. Oh, did I mention that your children almost got killed earlier by this Scorpia? Yes, "the Minister of Internal Affairs laughed mirthlessly, "That will be a great explanation Blunt! The people of England will take that so much better than the fact that American soldiers drunk too much, and committed the acts as they were drunk, which is what I think the truth, by the way!"
The table erupted as the politicians at the table began to bicker once more. The Prime Minister sent Blunt a stern look, and wordlessly, Blunt left the room.
Change of scenes
Alex Rider's head spun as he strained is mind, running down lists of people he knew. None of them were possibilities. He read the mysterious note again:
Alex,
The American soldiers were naughty and got something DIFFERENT from Santa!A friend
Whoever wrote him the note certainly knew about his involvement with MI6, or they wouldn't have gave him this…tip, if that's what it was. That shortened the list to: Jack, but she was now back in the States, with the assumption that he was dead, Tom and Jerry Harris, who thought the same, Mrs. Jones, Alan Blunt, and perhaps Smithers, Alex's only ally at MI6, and Scorpia, who should be thinking that Alex was dead. Suppose Scorpia had….no, though Alex, all precautions had been taken. He had even had to leave the hospital sitting in an ambulance. If Scorpia had found you, Alex told himself, you would be dead right now. Alex thought about giving the note to Brownling and O'shien. They could give it to the MI6 for him. Yes, that is what he would do. Alex hurriedly entered the house, trying to keep down the little voice that was buzzing inside his head, calling for him to do more than that.
Scene Change :D
"Has Alex Rider responded to our little message yet?" inquired a man who was the most ordinary looking person at the table of masterminds.
Dr. Three frowned. "I'm afraid not, Monsieur Mione. If he chooses not to act, we may have to take him by force."
Mr. Mikato spoke up. "I spoke with Yassen about the boy before his tragic death. The boy seemed to have been recruited against his own will. Rider may not have taken much action regarding the note, but no doubt he will be disturbed by it. Curiosity and meddling are in his blood. I could bet the diamond on my tooth that he will go for a walk, to ponder the contents of the note, its origins. He will be tempted to take action…perhaps we were to slip him a little more something…"
"Or we could just grab the boy off the street. It would save us a load of time," Growled Kowalski.
The two men started to bicker, but the Australian held up his hand and spoke. One hour later, a plan was formed. Alex Rider would be in the clutches of Scorpia soon.
Scene Change :D
The killers were in British custody. There were a lot of them. They were being interrogated. The interrogations were harsh. The British was not happy. Jonathon Green entered the interrogation room for the third time to see a new interrogator. The man reminded him more than ever of the living dead. The man was examining a small scrap of paper in his hands. He didn't look up until Jonathon sat down on the hard wooden bench. The man's eyes bore into him.
"Mr. Green, I suppose?"
Jonathon nodded and resisted a shudder. The man's voice was emotionless. Perhaps he was the living dead.
"I already told the other interrogators. I don't remember anything, just all of a sudden realize that I was---"
"Mr. Green, what did you get for Christmas?" the man interrupted.
The question threw Jonathon completely off guard. "Well….uh…" Jonathon began listing the few items he received. When he was finished, the man dismissed him.
Scene change
Alex couldn't get his head to clear. His "grandparents" had given Blunt the note, and were as confused as he. He went out for a walk. It was early morning and the fresh, still unpolluted air felt good. As he wandered absently among the early morning throng, Alex sensed that something was wrong. The instinct that made him such a good spy suddenly clicked on. Casually he looked behind him. There in the crowds, was a man Alex was sure he had seen at the Widow's Palace. Hoping he was mistaken, Alex took a sharp right, and wandered into a bookshop. The man was right behind him. Uh-oh. Although it was the last place Alex wanted to go, it was his only chance. The Bristol headquarters for MI6 was only about three blocks away. Alex strolled along the anime section of the shop, looking for a way to leave without the man's notice. There along the cookbooks were a herd of teenagers, gossiping loudly. They were right next to the path that led to the back door. Alex strolled purposefully towards the teenagers, catching one of them in the eye and waving. Confused, the teenager waved back. The group was now closer to the backdoor than ever. Alex went up to them, through their group and opened the door. A siren began to wail. Shit, thought Alex. The backdoor was actually an unmarked emergency exit. Opening the door will sound the alarm. Alex broke into a run, aware that the man had followed. Alex scanned the area. He was two blocks away, but save a few shops there was nowhere to hide. His only hope was that someone would spot a child being chased by a man and call the police. Alex made a sharp left turn, circled around, and crossed the street with a throng of Japanese tourists. Had he lost the man? Alex scanned the crowd, and saw him. He also saw a black Rolls Royce with shaded windows only a few meters away.
Cursing under his breath, Alex stayed with the Japanese tourists for a while, hoping that his dark hair would conceal him for a while. He was one block away. He could no longer see his pursuer or the Rolls Royce. Alex left the tourists and crossed the street. He was half a block away now, walking slowly so he won't attract any attention. Something whizzed by his head, and Alex saw the spark the object formed as it hit a metal pole nearby. They were shooting at him; in a crowd. Alex ducked into a crowded Chinese restaurant, remembering something he had learned about safety in numbers. As he looked around desperately for a phone, someone grabbed his shoulder, and stuck something against his stomach. It was an Asian woman. She bent down and whispered into his ear:
"Hello Alex Rider. I suggest you do what I say because I have a gun against your stomach. If you don't, I will fire the gun, and it will be a long, painful death for you as your own stomach acids leak out and eat away your internal organs. Also, we have someone watching the agents assigned to play your grandparents. You make a stupid mistake Alex, and the street you were living on will be blown to smithereens. Do I make myself clear?"
Alex nodded. The woman steered him to the Rolls Royce. Upon entering the car, Alex found himself blindfolded and bound tightly. Something sharp jabbed him in his right arm: A hypodermic needle.
As he struggled to stay conscious, Alex gasped, "What do you want from me?"
He felt the woman lift touch cheek.
"I want nothing from you Alex, but Scorpia does."
Alex opened his mouth with a retort, but darkness overtook him.