Sorry about the long wait, I've been very busy. Hope you like it!
Chapter 3
Mr T Smith
The office was large and scarcely furnished. A single rectangular desk stood in the centre of the room, surrounded by three chairs. The walls were a dull shade of cream, and a large abstract painting was hung on the wall behind the desk. The room felt very uncomfortable, especially for Alex Rider.
"I'm so sorry, Alex, I'm afraid I have some bad news." Blunt muttered, not able to meet Alex's eyes. He fiddled with his pen, trying to find the words to say.
"I believe you collapsed before the shot in the corridor. Is this true?" Blunt glanced awkwardly at Alex.
"What shot?" Alex replied urgently. He sat up in his chair, causing pain to shoot through his chest. He had been told very little about his last day in hospital. He could remember the shots through the window, and the Scorpia man dead on the floor. He could also remember the conversation about Cheng Zhi and the IOC. The last thing he could remember was talking to an ashen-faced Sabina outside in the corridor. Then his mind was blank. Was there another shooting?
"You collapsed onto the bench just before the shot. I'm afraid it was probably meant for you." Blunt paused and looked thoughtfully at Alex. Alex was leaning forward with his head in his hands, desperately trying to remember what happened.
"The bullet went straight through her skull. She felt no pain." Blunt muttered, as he adjusted his cuff links. Alex had not seen Mrs. Jones or Sabina since he was in hospital. Was one of them dead? His question was soon answered. Mrs Jones came through the door behind him, followed by Cassack.
"I know Sabina was a very good friend of yours Alex, I'm sorry." Mrs. Jones said, as she walked over to Blunt, and sat beside him. Alex stared blankly at the floor, in shock. Scorpia had killed his parents, his best friend and maybe even his uncle. He wanted revenge. Badly.
"I'm going to get Scorpia." Alex said through gritted teeth. He was so angry, he couldn't feel sad about Sabina's death.
"Well it just so happens that we have the opportunity. As you know, Cheng Zhi has connections with various gangs, and these could include Scorpia. We would like you and Cassack to go to the IOC Headquarters in London, and see what you can find. Do you think you could manage that?" Blunt asked Alex. He was back to his normal, business-like self. Cassack was now standing protectively beside Alex.
"Of course I could manage it." Alex said angrily. He didn't like Blunt questioning his abilities. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw the painting on the wall begin to slide upwards. It disappeared into the ceiling, revealing a plump man holding a box.
"Good. I think you might be needing these." Smithers said with a smile. It was the first smile Alex had seen all day, but it did little to cheer him up. Smithers walked over to the desk and dropped the box in front of Alex. He then put his hands on his hips, as if walking three metres was a challenge, and waited for Alex to open the box.
Alex opened the box cautiously, and looked inside. There was a blue quiksilver wallet and a chain, that looked very much like Alex's normal wallet. He took out the wallet and handed the empty box back to Smithers. He opened the wallet and saw a name tag. It read:
Thomas Smith
52 Warren Avenue
Hunworth
Yorkshire
"You better return this to Thomas. It's got a credit card inside." Alex said. He looked at Smithers, puzzled.
"That's your secret identity. You will be working undercover with Cassack." Smithers looked pleased with himself as he told Alex about the wallet.
"The black magnetic strip on the credit card is a lot stronger than usual. It will pull apart any security lock, or crack any code in seconds. Just hold the strip against the lock, and it will click open. The coin is a tracking device. We can pinpoint your position anywhere in the UK. Just remember not to spend it!"
Alex was stunned. He examined the contents of the wallet carefully, but nothing gave away there real uses. It was just a credit card, belonging to Mr T Smith, and a two pence coin.
"So Tom, are you ready to visit the IOC?" Mrs Jones asked, grinning at Alex. Alex shoved the wallet in the back pocket of his jeans and smiled.
"Let's go."
