Alex Walker

Chapter 6:

There had been absolutely no conversation between Emily and Dennel since they got out of sight of the house that Alex had bought to stay at, the house where the two of them just got attacked by the terrorists. The only noise in the cabin was the reverberation from the Land Rovers engine, and the occasional rattle as the vehicle hit a pot hole. Then abruptly, Emily broke the silence, by asking where Dennel was intending to take them.

He simply replied with a grunt, and a quick "Away from them."

But Emily could see he was hiding something, and that he knew very well where they were heading. A Piper J3 Cub soared past, and Emily began to see what Dennel was planning. "I hope you're not planning to fly away from this island!"

"We'r-"

Emily didn't let Dennel finish even his first word, as she interrupted him, "No, you can't! I'm not leaving this island without Alex!"

"I was-"

"No! Alex could need out help! We are staying here!" A tear rolled down her cheek.

"For god's sake women! Let me explain! There is nothing we can do right now. But I know some people who can. I promise we are going to help Alex. I promise".

Emily began to calm down, and could see something in Dennel's green eyes, a look of sympathy, that he wasn't making this up, just to save himself.

Then something strange happened in the depths of Alex's mind. It was almost as if it was playing charades with Alex. Bicycle – Ride a bicycle – Ride – Rider.

Alex Rider.

Alex snapped awake, and almost sucked down the water. The automatic reflex of the lungs which happens just before a person drowns, which causes them to suck in water, almost killed Alex. He stood up, and spent a minute regaining regular breathing. The water level was now already up to his chest, and only had to fill up about a metre and a half further, before the entire room would be completely filled with water.

And then a sudden and bizarre thought struck him. He now once more produced the key from his pocket, only this time studying it closer. It appeared to be a standard key, with only one slight difference. The small hollow oval which made the handle of the key had several irregular notches around the edges. It appeared to be a key in its self. Trying his luck, Alex inserted the key backwards into the now submerged key hole. He had to put his head under the water to see where it was. But then, sure enough, the key began to turn. With his face now lit up, Alex turned the key, further and further until he heard the reassuring click of the internal mechanism unlocking. Now it was only a matter of turning the door handle.

He only had to slide it down a small amount, before the 24 cubic metres -equalling 24 tonnes- of water wrenched open the door and came cascading through, into the corridor. Alex was immediately sucked through, being pushed by the incredible force. He was now surfing this wave, travelling down a corridor that was no more than two metres wide. If he wasn't being held captive underground by a group of psychotic terrorists, then it could have almost been fun. Down the far end of the corridor, two armed figures came into view momentarily, before wheeling back on their heels with stunned expressions, and disappearing down the corridor. Too late. Alex quickly caught up to them, with the wall of water knocking the two men off their feet. The massive wave was now beginning to loose energy, so Alex needed to act fast. The two armed me were still impersonating a washing machine, tumbling down the corridor, so Alex had a chance. He edged towards one of the men, before grabbing his collar and pulling him upright. He thrusted his own elbow into the man's nose and grasped hold of his rifle, in turn swinging it around to make contact with the other man. The two of them were out cold, moments before the body of water came to an abrupt halt at the end of the corridor. Alex stood up, looked around for a second to make sure no one was near, and then disappeared down another corridor.

Dennel stared as he taxied around onto runway of Maunui international airport. Beside him, in the co-pilots seat sat Emily.

"Lima – Echo – Charlie. Request takeoff clearance, runway Three Niner Niner, straight out departure, with delta"

"Lima – Echo – Charlie, you are cleared for takeoff, straight out departure."

Emily watched as Dennel slid two leavers in the centre of the cockpit forwards. The Learjet 60xr quickly accelerated as, with a roar, the twin Pratt & Whitney Canada PW305A turbofans began to spit out 4,600 pounds of thrust. The runway lights flashed past, and as the jet reached rotation speed, it was flicked off the ground and spat into the sky like a bug. As Dennel pulled the aircraft into a port turn, Emily glanced over the entire island which was now several thousand feet below. Her eyes began to fill with water. She knew full well who she was leaving behind.