Author's Note

Okay so I'm having the worst day possible and am trying to find some comfort in writing my stories so I hope you enjoy. Oh and I'm not in the mood to look through the books for descriptions of people so just go with whatever I say. And thanks to all the wonderful reviewers for their wonderful reviews! (I'm going to try to reply separately to all of you) And to anyone else who is reading my story but not reviewing: thanks for giving my story a chance! Review

Warning: When I was editing this chapter I cried! And I never cry!

Disclaimer: Everything recognizable belongs to Anthony Horowitz.

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Chapter 8

I collapsed with a groan onto the floor of my 'cell' clutching my bleeding hand in pain.

Today Scorpia had just attempted to get information about MI6 out of me, which I would not give, so every time I ignored their questions I was given a hard kick or punch somewhere on my body. So consequently I was all bruised up and sore now.

The man I had spoken to my first day here had been the one asking the questions. He got annoyed with me so he ordered one of the guards to cut me. The guard dragged his sharp dagger across the palm of my left hand. The gash was bleeding profusely and was burning like hell.

The guard who'd tossed me back into me cell slammed the door shut and smirked at me, the dim lighting and few scarce rays of sunlight casting ugly shadows on his face, "Not so high and mighty now are we Rider?" He laughed a cold laugh.

I clenched my teeth and said, "We'll see who's laughing in the end."

He pressed his face close to the bars and hissed, "I can guarantee this to you brat, this time Scorpia will have the last laugh," his voice echoed in the silence.

"You're forgetting who you're talking to…" I began.

"No you're just another one of those fucking Rider's; you're going to end up just like them."

"I've escaped you before; I can do it again," I said as much for his benefit as for mine, trying to reassure myself that everything would be okay in the end.

"I wouldn't count on it," he laughed as he walked away a door slamming shut behind him in the distance.

I stared at my hand, watching the red beads of blood making their trails along my palm before they dripped to the cold floor bellow.

I dragged myself over to the container of grimy water that had been given to me earlier. I hissed in pain as I plunged my hand into the icy water. I watched the already murky water turn a deep red color, "Good thing I wasn't planning on drinking that," I mumbled to myself. The cut wasn't too deep but it was deep enough so that it would need stitches, not that that was possible in my current situation.

"Hey," I heard a weak though distinctly female voice say. I turned and saw someone in the cell next to mine right up against the bars that were facing me. They balled something up in their hands and tossed it to me. It landed at few inches in front of my cell, "Take it, wrap it around your hand, it will help."

I crawled towards the bars and reached through, my fingers grasped around a piece of cloth that had seen better days but was still intact. I kept my hand in the water until the bleeding slowed and than tied the scratchy material around my hand.

"Thanks," I said eventually.

"It's nothing," the woman's voice said filled with emotion.

"Alex?" Jack's voice said tentatively, "There's something you should know…"

"Not now Jack," I said as I collapsed onto my back.

"But Alex…"

"Please Jack, right now I need quiet, let me think of away to get out of here," I pleaded with here.

"There's no way out," she sighed.

I forced myself back onto my feet, "You're not trained like I am," I slowly moved towards to the bench in my cell. I carefully stood on it and examined the window.

"We are though," a choked, male voice said, "If there was away out we would have found it by now."

"I always find a way," I said with icy determination as I pounded on the window. It was plastic and all clouded up and too small to fit threw. I gave a yelp of pain as I slammed by injured hand against the window without thinking. I jumped off the bench and began to pace around my cell.

"I'm not saying you should give up Alex but sometimes you just have to wait for someone to help you," Jack said calmly.

"No, I got myself into this and I will get myself out of it," I said forcefully.

"Alex this isn't your fault, you didn't choose to be here, you couldn't..."

"Actually Jack you're wrong," I said quietly as I sat down.

"Wh-what do you mean?" I was silent, "Alex what happened?"

"Scorpia came to my school."

"Oh no," Jack mumbled.

"Wolf was there, he tried to help me but they shot him. They were going to kill him so I… I told them I'd come if they let him live."

"That was brave Alex," Jack said admiringly.

"I don't know…"

"You've told me about Wolf, you said he was like a big brother to you, you saved his life, now I can bet you he will do the same for you."

I let her words sink in as I stared at the ceiling.

"How did my life get so screwed up?" I mused allowed.

I was silent for a few minutes before someone said, "You're doing something great for your country, I don't think that's screwed up," I groaned, who were these people and how did they know about me?

"How do you know about me?" I voiced one of my many questions.

"I told them Alex," Jack said quietly.

I sighed, "Jack you're not allowed to do that! You signed…"

She cut me off, "I know I signed the Official Secrets Act but I… I felt that they had the right to know."

"Why would they have the right to know?" it was silent and I groaned, "Okay fine, don't tell me. I have enough problems to deal with," I said as I got up and started pacing my cell again. Truth be told I was acting exactly like a 'cub' would, restless at being caged up; I laughed at the irony of it all.

"What?" Jack asked concerned.

"Oh nothing just thinking."

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I'd say I've been here for about a week, but I only have the crappy little window to tell by so it could have been more or it could have been less. I haven't talked to Jack or whoever else is down here since that first day. Most days I was taken upstairs for some form of punishment, nothing horrible, truthfully I thought it would be worse. They've beat me up pretty good every day so my body is now covered in bruises and a few more cuts have been added.

That's how my days go, sleep a few hours, if I'm lucky, wake up, refuse to answer their questions and get beat up and spend the rest of the day inside the safe confinements of my mind, thinking.

Thinking of away to get out of this place.

MI6 has spoken to me a few times; they tell me they are working on a plan and to hang in there. They're not the only ones; something has been forming in my head the last few days, it's still in the early stages but it's a plan nonetheless.

I eat the food and drink the water they give me. It's certainly not gourmet but it keeps me strong.

They are starting to get annoyed with me, so I know that soon much worse pain can be expected.

The loud creak of the door to my cell startled me out of my thoughts. I rough hand grabbed my arm and hauled me up, "Ugh I can stand by myself!" it earned me slap in the back of the head.

The guard kept his face stone straight and emotionless as he dragged me upstairs. I shut my eyes before we reached the top so the light wouldn't blind me. I opened my eyes in time to see us passing the room I was usually in. I was surprised but didn't say anything of it.

I was pushed through a door that led to a bigger room. I was tossed onto a raised wooden platform. I quickly got to my feet and looked around the room. It was really big. There was the part I was at, the platform and in front of me there were chairs, a lot of them. They were filled with people from Scorpia, some I recognized from when I'd trained with them, they were watching me expectantly and smirking.

Ooookay… I guess I missed the memo that said today's 'Watch Alex Rider Get Tortured Day'…

"Alex Rider," A voice said to me, a voice I recognized, "How very… wonderful it is to see you again."

I whipped around and came face to face with, "Mr. Jenkins?" I exclaimed in shock and disbelief. Okay I mean I hated this guy and he hated me but… Scorpia?

"Yes Mr. Rider."

"I should have known! You work for Scorpia!"

"Yes, yes I believe I do, don't I?" he said in a sickly calm voice though I could see the triumph and glee shinning in his dark eyes, "Finally I will have my chance to torture you. I've waited so long for this moment!"

"Yeah yeah so everyone seems to have it in for me but what did I ever do to you?"

Mr. Jenkins's face and voice changed drastically, "Do you remember who Nile was?" he asked coldly.

I decided to have a little fun with him, which probably wasn't my smartest move but if I was going to be locked back up I needed to have a little fun, "He was the guy with the bad skin problem right? Kind of looked like a Dalmatian? Or maybe Michael Jackson?" Mr. Jenkins's face darkened and he swung an arm as if to strike me but I dodged it and said, "Oh yeah, yep I remember him. Fell off a hot air balloon, poor guy,"

I snickered as two guards rushed forward to keep Mr. Jenkins from killing me. He struggled against their grips on his arms and yelled, "Let go of me! I'm not going to touch the little shit, yet!" the guards released his wearily but stayed close behind him, "Nile was my brother!" Okay I have to admit, I didn't see that one coming, "Don't you ever insult him again!" he roared.

I was surprised but I didn't let it show, instead I kept my face poker straight and said, "So I'm guessing the skin disease skipped a generation and went to him?" I howled in laughter as he lunged at me again, the guards barely catching him in time. I'm probably portraying myself as insane but I'm past caring and besides, I don't think I was ever 'fully sane' to begin with.

I stepped back a few steps enjoying the freedom of having no guards. Though I guess one wouldn't be needed with all the people and armed guards standing or sitting in the room.

"ENOUGH!" a voice roared and I turned to see the man I'd seen the first day here watching the scene unfolding before him and not looking too pleased, "Mr. Rider if you would please hold your tongue! And Jenkins, you will have your time with the boy!"

The guards released Mr. Jenkins; he stayed where he was but continued glaring daggers at me.

"It would do you well Mr. Rider to keep in mind that we hold your life in our hands and what you say and do can very well determine how much longer we shall allow you to live!"

"Yes sir," I mock saluted. Anyone with half a mind would not have said that but I guess being locked up in the dark for a week can do that to one. The man glared at me and I saw his hand itching to take a hold of the gun strapped to his side. I fake yawned and said, "So what do you want now? I was having oh so much fun in my oh so comfortable abode."

The man grinded his teeth and said icily, "I'm not a fan of cheekiness Mr. Rider, especially from my prisoners," he motioned to one of the guards behind me and my head cracked forward as I felt his heavy hand hit me.

I shook my head slightly and glared at the man in front of me.

"Better," he said briefly and continued in a business like voice, "Today we felt it was time for you to get to know who exactly you are, in a sense, living with. We were going to let you figure it out on your own but you have expressed almost no interest in knowing."

"Excuse me, sir, but why do I care who else is down there?"

He regarded me coolly before saying, "I think you will find you care very much indeed."

"I know Jack's there," I interrupted him, "Why don't you just let her go? What use is she to you anyway?" I demanded.

"You're absolutely right, she serves no purpose to us, her only purpose in the first place was to lure you to us. Turns out we didn't even need her! Maybe we'll just kill her now," he contemplated and I blanched. He caught sight of my face and grinned, "No? Well, I'm sure we will be able to come to a… a reasonable solution," he clapped his hands loudly twice.

Nothing happened for a moment and I looked around in confusion, "What did you do? Install those light clapper things? I don't think…"

"SHUT UP BOY!" he roared at me, "I've been more than fair to you and you are trying my patience! It is in your best interest to keep your mouth SHUT!"

I silenced as I watched the guards lead 9 people into the room. They stopped a few yards in front of me and they turned to face me. Jack I already knew, other than her there were 4 men, 2 women and a boy and a girl who looked about my age, maybe a little older. They were pretty skinny, and tired looking, and dirty, and scared. But from what I'd seen of prisoners they looked pretty well cared for… in a prisoners terms that is. It looked as if they had been allowed to bathe and cut their hair, not in the last week or so though and their clothes, though dirty and seemingly old, looked better for the wear. But I also didn't know how long they'd been here.

As I surveyed the crowd I couldn't let the feeling that I'm seen each and everyone of them at some point, whether in a picture or in person slide. I mean I couldn't know these people, could I?

One of the men reminded me strongly of… no, it's not possible.

I kept my eyes on them as I spoke, "What's the point of this? I know I'm the best looking person in the room already."

One of the men smiled slightly while one of the women shook her head.

"Are you really that stupid boy? Can you honestly tell me that you recognize none of these people?"

I looked more closely at the people lined up before me, "I…" I trailed off as I saw flashes of smiling faces I'd grown up with, happy pictures in photo albums or frames…

I opened my mouth but no words came out, I shook my head and backed up.

"So I've finally achieved the impossible?" the man asked incredulously, "I've rendered the Rider brat speechless. I know you recognize them," he strode over to me quickly and grabbed my arm. He waved my injured hand around in the air, "One of them gave this to you!" he exclaimed motioning to the scrap of cloth still tied around my palm, "Which one of you gave it to him?" he roared at the line of people in the front of the room.

The woman with the dark red stepped forward; she gazed at me with tears in her eyes, eyes that I knew only too well. I refused to believe it. She couldn't be… couldn't be

"I thought so!" the man roared triumphantly, he waved my hand around again, "The only gift a mother could give her son."

I gasped audibly and tried to move backwards but the man still had a tight grip on me. I felt dizzy, like at any moment I could pass out.

This was something I'd hoped for every day for as long as I could remember! But it wasn't possible! This was a dream, a dream, that's all it was. Soon I'd wake up and everything would be fine again.

I stared and whispered, "It's not possible…"

The man tossed me to the ground and roared, "And it's not possible for a fourteen year old boy to be one of MI6's greatest agents! It's not possible for you to have ruined so many of our carefully laid out plans! It's not possible for you to single handedly bring down a whole branch of Scorpia! It's not possible for you to have survived that shot!" he dragged me to my feet and ripped off my shirt. He pointed to my chest, where the scar from the bullet was sickeningly close to my heart, the long scar that ran almost the whole length of my abdomen. He tossed me to the ground again and gave me a swift kick in the gut with his steal toed boots. I groaned and clutched my stomach in pain. "There are a whole hell of a lot of things I thought weren't possible until I met you!" he glared down at me.

I was suddenly cold in just my faded jeans and converse sneakers. I wanted my black t-shirt back; I wanted my sweatshirt that I had placed on the little rotting bench in my cell back.

I wanted to go home, to see my friends, to be normal, to not have to worry about all the things I was currently worrying about.

I wished more that anything that the blackness I had grown to love after long hours of pain would claim me now, so I might have a few hours of peace.

A little part of me wished that that bullet had claimed my life. Maybe than things wouldn't be so damn confusing and hard. Maybe than I could get some peace…

I felt another kick, this time on my back, "Get up!"

I dragged myself to my feet. I felt utterly defeated but I didn't let it show. I stood tall and straight, with my legs slightly spread, my head held high and I kept my face expressionless and my eyes cold.

I surveyed the room, filled with people who wanted nothing more than to see me hurt and in pain.

My eyes fell again on 9 people lined in front of me.

Could it really be possible? Could this really be my… family?

"The bodies were never found…" I said quietly.

"He's catching on! If you're MI6's best agent I really don't want to know who their worst is," the man said.

I felt anger welling up inside of me but kept my eyes fixed on the people in front of me.

I walked closer to them and jumped off the platform, "Mom?" I said quietly to the women with the red hair, she nodded, tears falling from her eyes to trail down her cheeks. "Dad?" the man next to her nodded, "Uncle Ian?" I asked him and he nodded. For the first time since Uncle Ian had 'died' I felt like crying, I felt my eyes fill with tears. I didn't know who the other woman and young man were so I moved to the last man and the two children, "You-you're Greg, Lily and Paul," they looked surprised, I smiled softly and said, "I saw your picture in Mrs. Jones's apartment…"

"Oh yes, would that have been when we sent you to kill her?" I shied backwards violently and felt the edge of the wooden stage connect with my bare back.

"I didn't!" I yelled, half at the man and half at the three people who were her family.

"No you didn't did you?" he said thoughtfully, "You weren't ever able to kill a living, breathing person… on purpose. You were weak."

I jumped soundlessly back up to the platform and faced him, "Give me a fucking gun and we'll see who the weak one is," I growled at him in a manner I have to say Wolf would have been proud of.

The man laughed and I made a move towards him but was grabbed back at the last moment by two guards. "Whoa, down… what is it your little friends at MI6 call you? Oh yes Cub," he said in disdain and I struggled against the guards but their hold on me was too strong.

"Stop pretending!" he roared at me, "Stop pretending to be so strong! You're just a boy! If you had kept your nose in your business none of this would be happening! You'd still be a happy, clueless little boy!"

I growled and sprang from the guards hold and leaped onto the man who fell backwards in surprise, "I'm not the one who's pretending anything," I growled and raised a fist to punch him but right before my fist connected with his nose something heavy slammed into the back of head.

I had wished so hard for that comforting darkness to claim my body and my mind and for it to silence my thoughts.

Now that it came I moved eagerly towards it and welcomed its safe confinements with open arms.

My last coherent thought was, I'm safe now, now I have a family.

And than I gratefully accepted the calm that filled my body.

I embraced the darkness that would provide me with a world free of pain and hurt, though for however short a time it would be. To me it was a heaven on Earth.