The Hunter's Prey Chapter 2
"This mission, Alex, is top secret." Alan Blunt said, sounding almost mysterious.
Alex raised his eyebrows.
Alan Blunt chucked a folder in front of Alex, onto the table.
Alex picked it up and opened it. He scanned the picture of one Roberto Giovanni; also known as the Vile Hunter. Personally, Alex thought it was a stupid nickname.
The picture was a bit blurry, and Alex wondered why MI6 couldn't get a 100 percent clear picture, what with all the technology they had.
He looked up at Alan Blunt questioningly and Alan Blunt answered snappishly.
"He does everything underground. He lives, sleeps and works underground. It's not our fault he rarely sees sunlight." Alan Blunt said, trying to defend himself.
Alex vaguely wondered whether Robert Giovanni was a vampire, he certainly fit the criteria, well, whatever Alex's version of one was supposedly like.
His hair was lank and black, his eyes were dark from what Alex could see, he was a tall man, his face was half turned away in the picture but Alex could see that he was pale and his eyes and forehead were creased against the sunlight.
"What's he doing there?" Alex asked, nodding to the picture.
"He meets an associate in a few minutes." Alan Blunt said shortly.
"Roberto Giovanni was thrown into prison at the age of thirty-eight after he murdered an associate, Phyllis Crawford, when he found out she was working for us. We suspected Roberto, who had had many run-ins with the police already had killed, or was involved in the torture and murder of some of the richest men in the country. Poor Phyllis…" Mrs Jones said, lowering her head in respect.
"All we want you to do Alex is locate Giovanni."
Alex opened his mouth to speak before Mrs Jones added,
"He escaped prison; of course, he had outside help," She sighed.
"The last time we saw him was in Portugal, after that…there was nothing."
"If you saw him in Portugal…why didn't you just get him back?" Alex asked.
There was a short pause.
"He's up to something. Him and his underground group. We thought, if we watched him, kept a close eye on him, we could arrest him and expose his group and whatever it is that they're doing." Alan Blunt explained.
"Obviously it didn't work." Alex filled in.
"…So will you do it Alex? Your new mission?" Mrs Jones said.
"Me?"
"Yes, you Alex. We wouldn't have told you all of this otherwise." Mrs Jones said.
"No." Alex said firmly.
"No?" Alan Blunt repeated.
"No." Alex confirmed. They had a short staring match before Alan Blunt spoke, his voice slow.
"You live with a woman named Jack Starbright, correct?" Alan Blunt asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Yes." Alex said just as slowly. He wondered where this was going.
"She comes from America?" Alan Blunt questioned.
"What's this got to do with anything?" Alex asked, wary.
"Do you want us to deport her?" Alan Blunt asked.
Alex jumped up, his mouth agape.
"Deport her! She's got as much right to be here as you do! She's a British Citizen, she was born here." Alex said, infuriated.
"A few calls. A few letters. I'm sure something can be arranged." Alan Blunt twiddled his thumbs.
Alex glared at the man before him, but he knew if he did not do this then Jack would be going back to America.
"You just want me to locate him?"
"Yes. Locate him, tell us where he is and you can go home. That's all."
Alex stared down at the pale face in the picture and a new expression came over his face: determination.
"I'll do it."
Alex opened his eyes and blinked, taking stock of his surroundings. Why did this feel so familiar? His hands were tied up and so were his legs. He noticed he had been unceremoniously dumped on the floor of a moving vehicle. It was big; it must've been a lorry. Alex tested the bonds, knowing he was too weak to escape this time and anyway, Hunch and Pierce would make sure he didn't slip from their clutches another time. The last thing he remembered was Hunch's fist in his face. He wondered how long he had been out for. Where were they going?
Mentally, he cursed Alan Blunt for nearly blackmailing him into this and Mrs Jones too, he added silently, she didn't even say a word to help him. Trying to act as though she cared, but Alex knew better. They didn't give a damn whether he lived or died. Where were they now? He had been beaten and bruised, of course worse had happened before, but if he wasn't careful, he wouldn't live to see his fifteenth birthday! Alex knew, if Alan Blunt could hear his moaning now, he would most probably tell him to put a sock in it and then tell him to be proud of all his scars and purple bruises, after all, it was something to show the grandchildren.
He could hear the engine vibrating loudly. He gasped when the lorry started going uphill and he slid across the floor, his back thumping into the lorry wall. Then the lorry started speeding, Alex was sure, and if he didn't know better, he would suspect Hunch and Pierce were breaking the law just to punish him, letting him get beaten to a pulp for the fun of it. After a while and having cramps in his legs, Alex felt the lorry start going downhill sharply. He let out a small cry that was stifled by the gag in his mouth as he careered down to the opposite wall of the lorry. He met it with a friendly 'thump'.
"Keep it down in there!" He heard someone shout through the thick wall, and Alex distinguished Hunch's voice, he felt like murdering him.
The back of the lorry was empty except for himself, and Alex could smell the faint scent of blood. A wave of nausea hit him but he kept the bile down, after all he was gagged. Alex counted twenty minutes before the lorry came to an eventual stop. The engine was turned off, two doors slammed, footsteps. There was silence for a minute. Maybe they would just leave him here, let him starve to death. But then the back door slid open so quickly that Alex flinched. He had been in the dark for so long now, that the light was almost blinding.
"Having fun?" Someone asked loudly in his ear. Someone kicked him. Coarse hands grabbed him around the middle and pulled him to his feet. Alex's vision shook slightly before he composed himself.
He looked into Pierce's sneering face. Hunch was on his other side.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"That's for us to know, and for you to…not find out."
Pierce pulled him out of the lorry and Alex looked around, taking stock of his surroundings. They were in a car park of sorts.
"Ah, Alex Rider! I've been expecting you."
It was Roberto Giovanni.
A/N: Does that qualify as a cliff-hanger or not? I don't really know. Anyway, this story is back! As you can see. Somethings are still a bit murky with this story, but I have an outline for it and I love it! What do you think of the baddy's name? It was allI could think of. And as for the 'Vile Hunter', well I don't like it as much as Alex likes it, but i wanted it to do something with the title.
A BIG THANKS to: Zepplin Girl, MzHissyFits, Lizzy borden and IwuvMyKenshyPoo!
Review! Pretty please!
