Alex Rider: World Crisis

Chapter Four: Suicidal Rescue


Alex Rider sat inside the suite of a world renowned Italian hotel, pondering his options. Kristine Jennings, his American partner was being held hostage by SCORPIA and her whereabouts are unknown. He wanted to attempt a rescue mission as he felt that he was in debt of her. Earlier, she had rescued him from certain death at the airport. Alex Rider picked up the Siemens Mobile cell phone and kept it into one of his pockets. He had decided to rescue her.


Night had already fallen in Venice. The bright lights of Venice shimmered in perfect unison. However, Alex Rider wasn't interested in the sights of Venice. Maybe a newly-wed couple might enjoy them but he wasn't. He was there to enjoy the sights. He was there to rescue someone. And that person was Kristine.

Alex Rider parked his Aston Martin V12 Vanquish some twenty metres away from the Widow's Palace. It was there where he had his first encounter with SCORPIA. The unpleasant memory of his brief time at Widow's Palace was still vivid in his mind. He still shuddered to think of the underground room. Alex was inside his suit which Smithers had kindly provided him back at Mi6 headquarters. It was black and suited stealth activity.

He randomly chose an unlit window and crept up to it. As he had expected, the window had bars which prevented intruders. He decided to try a door. He walked towards the back where he saw an old oak door. He decided to try his luck as he gripped his wrist tightly, where his Tag Heuer was.

He activated the lock pick mode and began picking the door. Although he was never taught to use a lock pick, he quickly figured out a way to use the lock pick. After several strenuous minutes, the door was unlocked. Alex slowly opened the door and looked inside. The room was dimly lit and empty. There were sacks of coal and several bags of potatoes. Alex guessed he must have entered the store room.

Alex felt his pocket for a flash light. Luckily, he had brought it with him. Alex switched the pocket flash light on and quickly searched for another door. He found it at the far end of the room. He stealthily paced towards it and gladly found that it was unlocked. He opened it and found himself in a modernly furnished kitchen. It resembled somewhat like from a magazine he had read during his flight to Italy from the Great Britain. Alex walked into a hallway which was brightly lit.


He decided to walk upstairs and head for the late Julia Rothman's office. He hoped that he would discover something important there. Surprisingly, he had yet to see anyone inside the hue building. The last time he was there, the building was packed with people attending a party being held in the Widow's Palace. He stopped outside a door when he heard voices inside.

"How is the project going?" Alex heard a voice say whom he recognized as Dr. Three.

"It is going on as planned. However, I am having several doubts," Alex heard someone say in an Australian accent.

"What're your doubts about our project, this time?" said someone who sounded like a Korean or Japanese.

"Our previous project, Invisible Sword failed because of a fourteen year old boy. We have also lost another member on our board. In case you have forgotten Mr. Mikato, our client was extremely furious with our failure," the Australian muttered angrily.

"Alex Rider was well taken care of. The sniper whom we hired made sure he hit the target before leaving the scene," Mr. Mikato said.

"He managed to escape the bullet. I have news that he was admitted into a hospital and he's on our trail right now," another said with a slight accent which Alex couldn't identify.

"Alex Rider is taken care off. I met him in Rome with his partner, a CIA agent. I expect him to have already notified Mi6 about us. As you can see, Alex Rider's partner is right below us currently. I expect her to be dead by sunrise," Dr. Three said.

Dr. Three's reply stunned Alex. He hoped that he tide hasn't swept in yet. He checked his clock. It was already eight o' clock at night. Alex ran downstairs and looked for the basement. He soon saw a door at the far end of he hallway. He hoped that she was still alive. He opened the door and ran down the stone steps. His footsteps echoed loudly off the walls. He jumped the last few steps and saw a SCORPIA agent, seated against the wall, fast asleep.

Alex walked up to him cautiously. He looked on the desk. There was a cup of coffee, a newspaper and a television but there weren't any keys. Alex decided to try his luck and listened for any sounds. He couldn't hear any. He repeated his actions on every other door until he heard a small coughing sound. Alex picked the door's lock and soon, it sprang open. He saw Kristine struggling for breath.

The tide swept past Alex and filled the basement. Alex half swam half ran into the room and took Kristine out of the cell. The guard had already awakened and was staring in disbelief at Alex and Kristine. The water level was already at Alex's knee and Alex struggled to take Kristine and him out of the basement. The guard took out his pistol and fired a shot.

Luckily, Alex was wearing Smithers' suit and the bullet did not harm him. Alex briefly took out his cell phone and fired a stun dart at the guard. The guard fell instantly onto the sea water filled ground. Alex finally managed to heave both of them out of the basement and upstairs onto the ground floor. Kristine finally stirred from her brief period of unconsciousness and saw Alex panting beside her.

"Come on, we got to get out of here," he said to her as he took her hand and led her to the kitchen and the storage room. He opened the backdoor and was glad that it was still unlocked. He led her towards the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish and unlocked the doors. They jumped into the car and the car automatically locked itself.

Alex saw several SCORPIA agents exit the Widow's Palace front as he started the car. He guessed that the guard must have raised the alarm as the guards were heavily armed with several M4A1s. The engine roared before Alex stepped onto the pedal. The car leapt forward and passed the shower of bullets aimed at the car. The bullets whizzed off the body of the Aston Martin as it drove into the night.


How was that for a chapter? You know the drill…Just review, thanks