Authors Note
Told you I'd update this week! No more long breaks like last time, there's only a few chapters left until the end. Hope you like it. Review. –Steph
Disclaimer: Everything recognizable belongs to Anthony Horowitz.
Dirty Little Secret
Chapter 17
Alex's POV
As soon as I saw Jenkins kneel down with that gun I knew that it was too late. I was hurtling down the street at too high of a speed to stop. With every second that passed he got so much closer.
He was only a couple yards away by now and I did the only thing I could. I briefly checked the road in front of me, good, no cars. Then I eased my foot on the break slightly and ducked my head down between my knees. I gripped the bottom of the steering so tight my knuckles started to turn white. I heard the bullet release from the gun the splintering and cracking of the glass where my head had been not seconds ago.
I waited another second before yanking my head back up. There was a clean bullet whole through the window. I glanced briefly in the rearview mirror and saw Jenkins straightening up, he looked frustrated and began running towards me, the gun poised and ready all the while. The two black Scorpia cars were still right behind me.
I looked back at the rode and slammed on the brake as a silver minivan swung leisurely around the corner. The woman in the driver's seats eyes got very wide when she saw me skidding towards her. What a sight I must have been for her, bloody and bruised. She jerked the steering wheel to the side in a desperate attempt to get out of my path. I swung my steering wheel in the opposite direction and hurtled through the low fence that surrounded Brookland Prep. The Scorpia cars hurtled off down the road.
The fence gave away easily as the massive wheels connected with it. The Hummer bounced over the fence and continued its journey towards a patch of tall trees. I slammed the brakes down again and desperately spun the steering wheel around but the tires got stuck momentarily in a patch of thick mud.
Instead of going forwards and most likely becoming a Hummer pretzel with one of the trees I grabbed my gun from next to me and jumped out of the door. The icy wind hit my bare chest like a punch to the gut and I shivered. I gritted my teeth and looked around.
There was a class at the far end of the field gathered together. They were looking in my direction with a mixture of shock and fear spread across their faces. I recognized some of those faces, my friends. I'm sure they didn't recognize me, however.
One of the Scorpia cars had suffered a head on collision with a truck and the other had rammed into the side of its partner. Jenkins was helping the Scorpia agents disentangle themselves from airbags. He was also keeping the onlookers away. Amazing what you will do while having a gun pointed at you.
They probably figured that I had crashed and that they had a moment. I took the opportunity and slunk away quietly. I stepped behind a tree and looked around again. I couldn't go into the school and there was no cover anywhere besides the group of trees I was under now. What I needed was a phone and more cover. Right past the playing fields there was a brick wall that would provide some shelter.
Without thinking I darted out of the cover of the trees and, keeping low to the ground, sprinted as fast as I could towards the wall.
How I wished I had a jacket of a shirt of any kind! It was freezing and I was a bloody mess!
I was right on the class and they still hadn't noticed I was there. They were still starring down the rode towards where the Scorpia men were. They hopped over the broken down fence and searched the car. When they found I wasn't there they became frustrated.
"Oh my God!" a voice shouted in alarm.
I froze mid stride and looked in horror to my left, where the class was.
One of them had caught sight of me and my blood soaked front. My friends turned to look my way too and their mouths fell open when they saw me.
"There he is!"
"We're going to kill you, Rider!" Scorpia men roared at me from the other end of the field. There were nine of them and they all started to advance on me quickly. They each had a gun. I was horribly outnumbered and my stomach sank with dread.
Blake made as to move towards me but I motioned frantically with my hands for her to stay. She stopped and shifted her weight from foot to foot. I refused to look at any of their faces.
"None of you move," Jenkins snarled at the students and helpless gym teachers and brandished his gun in their direction. "It's not you we want," he said with a sneer. "We only want Rider," his eyes locked on me.
I backed up. There was no where to go. I had no cover; the field was big and bare. I was left standing helpless as some of my previous dizziness returned.
"You can't do anything, Rider," Jenkins spat at me and he took several more big steps in my direction. "You're wounded," he pointed out, rapturously taking in the bloody wound on my shoulder and the dried blood that still cakes the scars from when the man had brutally slashed my skin with the knife.
"Ya think?" I couldn't help but shoot back sarcastically.
Jenkins ignored my comment and looked at the students that were huddled together fearfully in the middle of the field. His face lit up with an ugly smile. "Ah, I see. This just works out so much better for us," he said with a wicked grin. "All you friends here. You will come with us, Rider."
I didn't speak but I did keep my gun angled towards them, Jenkins in particular.
"You! Drop the phone or I'll shoot one of your students," one of the other Scorpia people roared at the gym teacher. He had been fumbling with his cell phone but promptly dropped it as the muzzle of the gun aimed at his head.
I looked around, hoping that MI6 would be there to save me. But this time they weren't, I was all alone. Jenkins noticed my wandering gaze and, if possible, his grin broke out wider across his face. "There's no one to save you now, Rider," he mocked me.
I remained silent as I stood there.
"Get him," Jenkins ordered the eight men behind him.
Suddenly, eight men with guns hurtled towards me. I tried to fight them off but I was too weak to do much. The pried the gun from my grasp and carelessly tossed it aside. I forced to me knees and my arms were pulled roughly behind my back. The fresh wound on my shoulder seared with white hot pain as the skin was stretched.
My wrists were tied together tightly with a wire that cut through the flesh. I hung my head only to have it yanked back up. One of the men grabbed a fistful on my hair and pulled my head back so that I was looking upwards. I kept my mouth firmly set. I wouldn't let them have the satisfaction of knowing that they had hurt me.
Jenkins stepped in front of me but I refused to let my eyes land on him. He delivered a breath taking kick to my stomach with his steel toed boot. I gasped and gulped in air as fast as I could.
I blinked and looked back towards the sky. No one said anything.
I kept my eyes firmly focused on the dark rain clouds that were now hiding the bright blue from earlier. When I spoke I made sure that my voice was loud and clear, so that everyone could hear me. "Go ahead, kill me," I spoke calmly and my voice was steady and strong, unnerved. On the inside I was scared though. "I've saved my family; you can do what you want with me."
"We've been through the brave little boy routine before, Rider," Jenkins spat at me.
"Just kill me," I said calmly, "I know you want to."
"I don't want to kill you," Jenkins spat. "Death is too good for someone like you. No, I plan to make you suffer long and hard. And I can guarantee, that by the end you will be wishing for death."
I chanced a glance over to my friends. They were all starring at me with an identical expression of dumbfounded horror written across all of their faces.
Alarms rang throughout the school and I looked over to the once safe building. The windows were crowded with the faces of students. I looked back at the ground in shame.
I sharp cuff to the back of the head brought me back to reality. I couldn't give up now, not after everything I'd done so far. There had to be someway away from the guards…
"There's no way out this time," Jenkins spat at me, almost reading my mind. I blinked as I felt some saliva hit my cheek. Disgusting.
Maybe Jenkins was right. Or maybe, just maybe, he wasn't. There was always a way out. Always, but that was before.
I then felt four rough hands grab my arms and haul me upwards. I stumbled forwards several steps as I was dropped unceremoniously onto my feet. With no regard whatsoever to my freshly injured arm I was yanked backwards. I blinked rapidly in a vain attempt to clear the white spots away from the front of my eyes.
I was helpless to do anything as I was dragged behind the two Scorpia men limply.
The sirens of police cars wailed madly down the street but they wouldn't be able to do anything.
"Stop!" a voice suddenly cut through the deathly still air. I planted my feet into the ground and refused to move forwards anymore, I knew that voice. I turned my head and shuddered in horror.
"Blake, stop!" I yelled as I watched my friend running towards us.
"Shut up, Rider," one of the Scorpia men growled at me.
"Blake! STOP!" I yelled again despite the threat that had been evident in the mans voice.
"I said, shut up, Rider!" the man yelled again and a heavy boot collided with my injured shoulder. My mouth worked rapidly, opening and closing but no sound came out. A fresh wave of blinding pain engulfed my body.
"Miss Anderson," Jenkins's voice boomed loudly across the field. Blake stopped in her tracks, up until that moment no one had realized that the leader of the men in black was Mr. Jenkins, the supposed history teacher. Blake starred with her mouth agape. "You will not come any closer. We are not interested in you or anyone else, we have what we've came for."
"But… I… Alex… why?" she stuttered out.
"You may all think that you know your precious Alex Rider," he began with a smirk, "But you don't. You might think he's brave, that he's strong, just because he serves MI6. but MI6 is filled with nothing more then a bunch of cowards that dump their dirty work on children! Alex Rider fits in perfectly with the whole equation, his whole fucking family does!" he roared. "They're all nothing more then a bunch of cowards, great spies my ass. Look at the boy," here Jenkins gave me a sharp shove in the chest that sent me reeling backwards. I fell on my back and squeezed my eyes closed in humiliation. "He's not strong," Jenkins scoffed as he looked down at me in contempt.
My wrists were raw and bloody from trying to loosen the wire that refused to budge. Each twist of my wrists only succeeded in digging the wire in deeper.
"Cowards, all of them. See how MI6 runs? Their not even here to save their most important agent," Jenkins laughed in amusement. "Their teenage protégée," he mocked.
Blake edged a little closer to me. I tilted my head to the side and with my eyes I pleaded with her to stop.
"You're no better then them then," Blake began. "Why would you torture a teenager?"
A fist lashed out and collided with Blake's face, sending her spinning backwards. A hand flew up to her rapidly bruising cheek and tears filled her eyes.
"All of you," Jenkins roared, brandishing his gun around the field, "Keep your damn mouths shut and don't move!"
"Stand up, Rider," a gruff voice snarled at me and I was once again pulled to my feet. One of the men jammed the muzzle of a gun into my temple. I starred straight forwards.
"Another word out of any of you and the boy will be dead," Jenkins bellowed.
I stood perfectly still and discreetly attempted to free my hands one last time. I gritted my teeth against the pangs shooting up my arms and strained a finger upwards once more. I managed to hook onto the knot in the wire.
Using wire to bind my hands would be Scorpia's… let's just say first mistake of them catching me a second time. They'd already made many mistakes earlier in the day, such as having their 'prisoners' remarkably unguarded. But, you see, the thing about wire is that it is very hard to tie it in a knot that is tight and remains tight. I could already begin to feel the knot loosening under my prying fingers. I slipped a finger into the middle of the knot…
The seven other Scorpia agent and Jenkins were standing in front of me. Only the man holding the gun to my head held me, and only with one hand at that. I'd have to be careful though, he still held the gun to my head.
3-2-
1
I yanked down on the knot and at the same time slammed a kick into the man's stomach. The impact jarred my shoulder again but the little groan the man let out was well worth it. His hand slacked on the gun as he tried to regain the breath I had just forced out of him. I shoved my palm upwards into his nose and was rewarded with a satisfactory snapping sound. I wrenched the gun out of his hands and slammed it into his head. He fell to the ground, unconscious and blood seeped from his broken nose and slid down his pale face.
I took several steps backwards.
I chanced a glance over to Blake and her eyes widened when she saw me. Unfortunately, Jenkins caught her expression and he whipped around furry lighted his face, his eyes glinted murderously.
I lifted the gun I had stolen from the unconscious Scorpia agent into an offensive stance.
"Think you're clever, eh, Rider?" Jenkins all but snarled at me. "You can't get away from us."
"Really?" I asked, feigning surprise. "It seems I just did," I bit back in a voice that was just as hard as his.
Jenkins shouldered his gun a little higher and I reciprocated the action. "I'm going to kill you, Rider," he snapped.
"You can try," I laughed.
"You'll get it now, Rider," Jenkins barked at me. He took several unnerving steps in my direction.
He was stopped by one of the other Scorpia agents. The man in black grabbed Jenkins's arm to stop him from getting too close to me. "Remember what the boss said," the man said in a hushed voice that I was still able to hear. "He wants the boy alive."
Jenkins replied with a rather nasty word but stayed where he was. He did not, however, bring to an end the death glare that was beating in my direction.
"Put the gun down, Rider," Jenkins said in a voice that full of forced calm. I could visibly see him grinding his teeth together.
"No," I shot back.
"Put the gun down, Rider," Jenkins repeated.
A plan formed in my head. Given it was a pretty bad plan but a plan nonetheless and I seemed to lacking in that area as of yet.
I aimed my gun a point just over Jenkins's left shoulder and fired a single shot. All the guards, and Jenkins too of course, looked around to see what it was. I took the opportunity to run the short distance the stone wall. I vaulted over the wall and leaned back against the freezing cold stone. I let out a shaky breath. I opened my eyes and saw the stunned and horrified faces of my once classmates peering through the windows. I grimaced and turned around so they would stop starring at my bloody front.
"What the hell was that, Rider?" Jenkins bellowed, furious.
I stuck my head over the wall and lent the gun on the top of the wall. I didn't say anything, just grinned insanely at Jenkins.
Jenkins's face was rapidly turning red. He pulled one of the men in black over to his side and they conversed in hushed voices. The man in black nodded his head once in affirmation and then prowled across the grassy field. My eyes widened. His path took him straight to where Blake was still standing, frozen with terror and the monstrous man approached her. The man grabbed her easily and then spun her around so the her back was pressed up against his chest. He pulled a 9mm shotgun out of the inside of his thick, black jacket and held it up to Blake's head.
Blake was visibly quaking in fear.
"Shit," I cursed under my breath as she did nothing to conceal her fear. Didn't she know? No, I suppose she wouldn't, she had no reason to. You don't show fear to people like these men. They reveal in you fear and it gives them strength and a feeling of power over you. no matter how scared you may be on the inside, on the outside you can't show it. I've learned the hard way. Without the fear people like Scorpia become disgruntled, unsure of themselves and if they are doing it right. In a manner of speaking, it is their job to scare people but once that fear doesn't show they don't know what to do.
"Come to us, Rider," Jenkins grinned wickedly, he knew he'd won… and I knew it too. But I still didn't move. "You come with us," he ordered me calmly, "Or the girl's brains will lie on this field."
I shuddered. There was no doubt in my mind that he would do exactly as he said.
I climbed to me feet, leaning against the wall for support as a wave of dizziness washed over my bruised, bloody and battered body.
Blake's innocent eyes widened as she saw me. Through her fear there was still a sense of determination. "Alex, no! Don't! I ca…" she started to yell frantically but a gloved hand clapped over her mouth.
The man that was holding Blake released the safety on the gun.
Despite the pain it caused I jumped over the wall and took several steps towards Jenkins.
"Drop the gun," he ordered me.
I slide the strap of the gun from around my shoulders and dropped it to the grass below. It made a dull thud at the impact.
I stood perfectly still as I was once again surrounded by the men in black. Once again my arms were wrenched behind my back and bound, though this time with rope. The rope was pulled tight and taught around the mess the wire had made of them. There was no escaping this time. All I could do was to not show them my fear.
"Let her go, Jenkins!" I yelled firmly.
"As you wish," Jenkins said with a sadistic smile and gestured to the man that imprisoned Blake flamboyantly.
The man in black let go of Blake like she was a disease. Blake stumbled at the sudden release and had just managed to get her feet under her when the guard backhanded her across the face with the hilt of his handgun. Blake let out a cry of pain and fell limply to the cold grass, blood seeping from the wound on her cheek.
She managed to push herself of off the ground and as soon as the man in black had turned his back to her she scampered back to our friends. I looked back at grass, ashamed to meet any of their eyes. No doubt MI6 had made me out to be some great spy and this was how they got to see me.
"I think, that your precious little girlfriend over there," Jenkins waved a hand in Blake's direction, "Has the wrong idea about our Alex Rider," he smirked. "I'd love nothing more then to watch you suffer but perhaps, the one thing I would like more is for everyone to watch you suffer! Once and for all, the last of Alex Rider. And for you to know that your friends are watching as you died… there's nothing better in the world."
"You're sick," I spat at him. It earned me a punch in the gut that left me gasping for breath. Jenkins shoved me down to the ground. I scrambled to my hands and knees only to feel a boot connect with the already torn up flesh. I fell back on my stomach. I rested my head in the grass, trying to regain my breath, frantically trying to think of something, anything, I could do. But there was nothing.
Four gloved hands yanked me up by my shoulders and, once again, I was forced onto my knees.
Jenkins appeared in front of me with a look of pure joy on his face. "Would you like your death to come quick? Or would you like it to be drawn out?" he mussed aloud. My face remained as impassive as stone, no emotion. "You'd salvage what is left of your dignity of the end comes quick. But that would be no fun. I want not just to ruin you, I want to see you suffer. I could send a bullet through your head right now and you'd die instantly. But, where would the fun in that be?"
"Where would the fun be, indeed," I muttered stonily.
"The boss said…" one of the Scorpia men began.
"I could give less what the fucking boss said!" Jenkins roared. Then he turned back to me. Apparently, Jenkins had heard my little comment and smirked. "It's nice to know that we agree on one thing, Rider. But, I am not a cruel man," I laughed loudly in disbelief at that comment. Jenkins glared at me but didn't say anything. "Taking into effect that there are many virgin eyes upon us at this very moment," he gestured to the crowded windows of the school that towered behind us and the class cowering by the bleachers. "I will allow you to keep the tiny, miniscule, dignity that you have left."
"How kind of you," I growled.
"Cheeky to the very end, is that the Rider way?" I didn't say anything. "No less, I shall dispose of you and then move on to the rest of that no good family of yours and the MI6 woman's too. I'll get that American girl and that MI6 operative you seem so fond of."
"You won't get them," I said firmly.
"Oh, won't I?" Jenkins laughed. "You see, as we speak they are on there way to 'save' you. They will be too late," he assured me. "Any last words, oh great Alex Rider?"
Once again I kept my mouth shut, trapping in all of the things, all of the insults I wanted to hurl at the evil man standing before me. The one that juggled my fate in his black gloved hands.
He picked up his gun and aimed it at the spot between my eyes.
The seconds ticked by in slow motion as I starred down the ugly muzzle of the gun. I blinked and then closed my eyes. I drew a deep breath, I knew it would be the last I ever took, and stole my body. I accepted my fate and the fact that I was powerless to prevent it.
I'd had remarkable luck up until this point but luck runs out. It seems I had soaked mine dry.
Nevertheless, I had found my family, something I never thought I would do! I talked to them, really talked to them. We helped each other. I'd saved them. I'd found and saved Jack, I saved Wolf from being killed that day in the cafeteria. I returned Mrs. Jones's family to her. Wolf was there, he'd protect them all, make sure that they were all safe.
Jenkins's lips moved and words came out but I didn't listen.
"Say goodbye, Alex Rider," was what I heard. His voice was gleeful and eager.
"Goodbye," a new voice said softly and the trigger of a gun was pulled and there was a shot. There was a scream of pain. Funny, I didn't feel any pain. Everything was hazy and blurry in front of my eyes but I felt no pain. Maybe this was what it was like to die?
But somehow, I didn't quite think that that was all there was to it.
a/n: ugh, I can't seem to write a half-way decent chapter for this story! The little bit at the end was good but, gr. I'll update soon. Review! -Steph
