A Job Worth Doing
Alex was sick and tired of the safe haven. Not only had he had to endure nine hours a day of tutoring and education, from six to twelve and from five to eight, but he had also been ordered to stay fit and healthy.
The meals were sickeningly healthy, when he was brushing his teeth they made sure he did it right, they made him do his laundry twice a week, and for three hours a day, from one to four, he trained with Daven – a Scotsman and one of the other "guests" at the place. He was SAS, but since they seemed to have all the time in the world, and no ranking officers to answer to, Daven wasn't quite so hard on Alex as he should have been.
He did, however, make Alex work. There was this huge underground gym-like place where Dr. Stevens told Alex to train. Bench presses, lifting weights, running . . . and he was the one who operated the Mission Simulator. P.E. for spies. Alex liked him though; he was like . . . a sports coach. Steve Daven was encouraging, but still tough when he had to be.
All in all, the time Alex had remaining at the safe haven passed by quickly because his days were so action packed and tiring. It came as a surprise to him when one day, Daven said,
"I hear you're going home at the end of the week."
"I am?" Alex said, almost letting go of the weight which would have hurt very much if it had landed on his foot.
Daven smiled. "Yup. You're out of here."
Alex found himself smiling. He couldn't help it – he was going to be free soon.
"Well, that's something I haven't seen you do often," Daven said.
"What?"
"Smile," he responded. "You're such a serious kid." Daven sighed. "MI6 should never have involved you in this life."
This was one of the few times that Alex had seen Daven solemn. Daven was the type who looked on the bright side of things – he didn't like for things to get him down. He said it interfered with what he "had to do."
"You're a real talented kid and everything, Alex," Daven said, continuing, "but you shouldn't have been made to do this." He paused. "Did I ever tell you I had a boy?"
"No," Alex said shaking his head.
"Well, my son would be about three or four years younger than you," Daven said. "You're fifteen now, right?"
Alex nodded. "What happened to him?"
"My son?"
"Yeah."
"Nothing. He's fine."
Alex blinked. "You talked about him in the past tense."
"That's because he won't be my son anymore," Daven said with bitterness in his voice Alex hadn't heard before.
"What?"
"They told me I can't go back home anymore," Daven said, without expression. He said it very matter-of-factly. "I'd be endangering myself, and my family if I did. I understand. I follow orders. They know that's what's best, and I know it too."
"So you're not even going to try to get them to change their minds?"
Daven shrugged, and continued, his voice still with no emotion in it. "I already did that. But I don't want to involve my son into this business. He's only eleven. A parent's first and foremost obligation, duty, job, instinct – to protect their child. I'm not going to willingly endanger him. They can ruin my life, but they're not going to keep him from living the life he should – one that doesn't involve looking over his shoulder every step of the way."
Alex couldn't find anything to say.
Daven looked at him. "I don't know how cruel someone would have to be to take away that option from a kid like you. Sure you can handle a man's burden, but why should you have to? They're crazy."
Daven smiled, but the smile was strange. Alex knew him enough now to see there was sadness behind that smile. "But at least you've done things you can be proud of. I believe you saved all the school children in Britain from catching a deadly dose of smallpox, correct? Forget howI know that. Secrecy and all. My point is,this is a job worth doing, even if sometimes the price is too high. If anything is going to get you and me through the day, it's that."
Alex nodded.
Later that night, and late every night that week, he lay in bed awake with that in mind.
But when he saw the steps of his own home in Chelsea, this thought lost some of its intensity and faded a little. By the time Alex faced the gates of his own school, the thought became only a whisper at the back of his mind.
He had his life back.
A/N: I know. Sorta useless chapter, but it sets up some of the things I'm planning for Alex. You can alwaysrevert back here if there's something you don't getabout whyhe does things.Plus, with this chapter here, it opens up some dynamic possibilities for Alex.
Well, review please. I'd like to know what you think.
P.S. Guess where I got the name "Steve Daven"