Chapter 7: Fun in Jungle

After a few days trekking through the jungle, Ian and Alex both wanted to see a sign of civilization. Fortunately for them, the mission had been prepared by John Crawley, who actually did a fair bit of preparations. Ian had been given the coordinates to a cabin in the woods (several, in fact), a map, and some navigational equipment.

As they came across the cabin, Alex couldn't help but feel a stab of bitterness. He wondered if all agents got better back-up, actual weapons, and actual mission descriptions or if this was just one of the easier kinds that he hadn't had before. He kept the expression off of his face, at least. That would have been difficult to explain. He knew it would be horribly ironic to have the impulse control needed to avoid MI6 after the organization was through with him. So far, he hadn't had the urge to take down random drug dealers. He hadn't exactly planned on being so bored without Ian, though. He had barely made it seven days without taking an insane risk or doing something to break the monotony. He wondered how much convincing Ian would need to homeschool him and take Alex with him on all his 'business trips'. Probably not much. He had insisted on public school, but that had been before Alex had let him know he knew. He would feel bad manipulating the man, but he was starting to hate school with a passion and, frankly, he was lonely enough to not feel terribly guilty about it.

Alex turned his attention to the cabin. It was made mainly of wood ad looked as though it had been built recently. It reminded Alex of the wood cabins that the school had them stay in when they went to an outdoor camp as a bonding activity before secondary school. It was discrete and minimalistic. It was so far in the jungle there was no need for camouflage because the trees obscured your line of sight. He hoped it had running water. This was starting to resemble the SAS training exercises without the gear and the squad mates. He actually kind of missed the giant, supply-filled backpacks. The soldiers, he didn't miss. It still stung to remember how he had been treated, especially by Wolf. He decided the building didn't look like it would collapse and to follow Ian in.

Ian sighed when he saw the cabin. It was small and had a running water system he wouldn't count on being clean enough for drinking, but at least he knew for sure he was on the right track. He was actually sure that Alex should have complained at least once during their week-long 'hike'. He would have when he was ten and probably until he was in his twenties. He knew to expect a transmission from his people once he got to the cabin- it had a transmitter that would allow his phone to work. He hoped nothing dangerous would come up. Ian was very concerned about letting Alex come along for this part. He would have left him in the city, but the last time he left Alex alone for more than three days when he was over eight the results had been…inflammatory to say the least. He tried not to laugh as he recalled the day.

(Flashback)

He left Alex alone and there was a shop nearby that was claiming to sell statutes. He and Alex had both noticed that the shop had very low prices and never seemed to sell anything. He had had to go away for a few days and left Alex alone with some money. In retrospect, he should have gotten a babysitter. When he came back, both the hotel and shop had been set on fire (with nobody inside). Alex had been standing outside with a smug expression on his face. Apparently, Alex had discovered that they were money laundering in the shop next door and decided burning it down was the best solution. The gang had thought it was an attack by their rivals and burned down the hotel (which belonged to said rivals) as retribution, resulting in most of the employees fleeing. When he asked what happened, Alex had stated "the employees must have had a burnout". He had promptly burst out laughing before calling in MI6 to investigate and cover up some of that mess. He had not told them that Alex was responsible for it in any way and taken the reprimand of 'excessive' destruction.

(End flashback)

He still thought it was pretty hilarious (Alex, not the gang war). He got the text from Jones a moment later:

Ahead of schedule. Good Job. Base security of " The General" hasn't changed. Beware! YG was spotted in the area (unconfirmed), most likely post-job. Call for extraction if spotted. DO NOT engage!

He sent back:

Copy. Will confirm mission in debrief. Radio silence preferred for cover.

With that, the communication was done. He decided that if he caught a whiff of Gregorovitch in the area for real, then he was going to send Alex home. He was fairly certain the assassin wouldn't hurt him, but everyone else (including Ian) would be fair game. Mainly because Alex looked like a mini-John, but also because there were no contracts on him and from what he remembered Gregorovitch was all business. He put the phone away and decided to unpack before trying to pry open Alex.

Alex was feeling increasingly paranoid. He knew someone was watching both him and Ian. He had also read the text by staring at the mirror in the sink. YG had to be Yassen. He had mixed feelings regarding the man. On one hand he had saved his life repeatedly and died for him. On the other, they had taken turns killing each other (he more than suspected Yassen was half-assing it, but still), the man had shot Ian, and sent him to SCORPIA. He had probably been trying to help with that last one. To be fair, if it hadn't been for Julia Rothman he might have actually stayed with them and had his education in assassination actually done right. Instead, she had pretty much used him for her own revenge.

He decided to turn his attention back to the present. He was being followed and Ian had the 'I going to ask you questions' look on his face he had come to recognize from his various missions. Alex suddenly froze for a brief moment. There were only a few people who could track spies and remain out of sight, Yassen had been (maybe) spotted, and someone was following not one, but two Riders. Well, shit. At least he didn't have to wonder what the assassin was up to right now. He now knew exactly who was following him.

Ian decided to ask when he saw Alex freeze. "What is it?" "I think we are being followed." It was Ian's turn to freeze. Gregorovitch wouldn't be that obsessed would he? Alex was ten for God's sake. Ten. "Be extra careful then Alex. Don't leave my side unless I tell you to." He trusted Alex's instincts. They were right when it came to suspicious people. It was almost creepy how his nephew was better than him at spotting criminals. He had supported a healthy paranoia in Alex just for that. He had secretly run a few people Alex pointed out to him- they all had records or were on a watch list of some sort.

Alex was just glad somebody believed him for once in his life. He tried not to remember Eagle Strike as a flash of satisfaction washed through him. Then again, Ian had trained him, so it was probably easier for Ian to get it. He sincerely hoped he would not have to go up against Yassen ever, let alone this early being back. Ian was already rechecking for bugs for the fourth time. He wondered if the man was always that meticulous or if he had been bugged in the past. He decided to finish unpacking and boil the water- he didn't trust those pipes.

The watcher, known to most as Yassen Gregorovitch, was impressed. Apparently, the kid had figured out they were being followed (he read lips- it came in handy). Unfortunately, the temptation to take Alex for himself as a student had just about tripled. He was a selfish man in general, but he would admit that Alex deserved better than a life as his apprentice with SCORPIA. Plus, it was John's son. He knew the kid would be good. Frankly, Alex would make a better spy than Ian Rider could ever hope to be (he might be already). He would be tempted shoot the man if he took Alex anywhere near the assassination that he was about to commit. He would just follow them. Yassen liked knowing things ahead of people and he had an excuse to watch over Alex. It was definitely more about surveillance. He suppressed a sigh, knowing that he was probably lying to himself now. He decided to take one more look before finding a spot to sleep in.

Alex decided that if Yassen wanted to follow them and sleep in rainy trees, it was just fine with him. He was startled to find out that the man would voluntarily use time to stalk him, instead of taking more lucrative jobs as a successful assassin. Alex knew he wasn't the epitome of mental health, but even he knew creepily following the son of your dead mentor was not a healthy coping mechanism. Then again, spies creepily followed people all the time and called it surveillance. He himself had followed the man several times out of sheer curiosity. He decided that the similarities between him and Yassen were really not something he wanted to dwell on. Alex decided to go to sleep, since he had already had dinner. He still had no dreams.

Ian Rider was beyond worried. He would bet money that their mysterious follower was Gregorovitch. What the hell he wanted was a mystery. If he was going to kill them, he would have done it by now. If he wanted Alex for himself, Ian would be outclassed. If he wanted information, the man had been trained by Dr. Three. He really didn't want to think about what a man like Yassen Gregorovitch could possibly want with either of them. He also knew better than to contact his bosses. They were not above using him or Alex as bait. No way they were getting near his nephew. He supposed they would just humor the assassin and let him follow them- like they had a choice anyway. He decided to try to sleep. Ian didn't rest very well at all that night.

Alex, once again, woke up at sunrise. Ian was still sleeping. He decided to forgo the morning run because he knew they would be walking all day. He decided to ponder what Ian wasn't telling him. The text had called whoever they were after "The General". It reminded him of SCORPIA's rule about not calling targets by name. MI6 had always named the people they sent him to investigate. Actually, this seemed more like a Malagasto exercise than a SAS one. Was I really this dim for a week? Alex thought. MI6 had sent his uncle in an assassination mission-he was sure. Alex was also pretty sure whoever it was deserved it, but parts of him still twitched at knowing there was about to be a hit.

He decided to make breakfast, since he was already up. Alex wondered if the shorter sleep cycle meant something or if it was just because he was ten. He had already put the mission out of his mind. Alex had no idea how to even approach Ian about that part of his job. He wanted to forget he had ever come to the conclusions about this trip. Blunt should just change what he named a trip to pathological trap. If Alex ever had to do a mission for him again, he was taking a fifty caliber- screw Blunt and non-lethal weapons. In Blunt-ese, a nice, simple surveillance mission translated into watch out for the evil megalomaniac who wanted to nuke Europe and stop him.

Ian Rider woke to the sound of Alex making breakfast and wondered since when had he had the discipline to wake at the crack of dawn every morning. Neither he nor Jack were that strict. He put it on the almost endless list of questions to ask Alex. Ian decided to enjoy having someone actually helpful along on his missions, even if the person was his ten year old nephew. He tried not to be too hard on his co-workers, but they kind of sucked. He would bet money that Alex was better than them at ten then they would ever have a prayer of being. Seriously, they usually were by-the-book, demanded to be told everything, and tried to submit him for psychological evaluation at some point before blowing the operation and getting shot. Comparing them to John was probably unfair, but Tulip had been the last decent person he worked with. Smithers' devices never failed. After the fourth or fifth disaster-he meant partnership- he had told them no more partners. They had let him get away with it, for now.

He turned his attention back to Alex. "Thank you for making breakfast". "You are welcome, Ian". What else could he say? It's really nice that you got up and made breakfast, but I need to ask you tons of awkward questions. He decided to check for bugs again. Five times wasn't too paranoid, right? Alex was giving him a strange look. "I'm going to tell you some things about your parents, Alex. If you have questions, ask after ok?" Ian decided now was a good time as any. He went into it. He talked about how John was an ace agent and soldier in the SAS before. How John went undercover and Helen had gotten pregnant with him. How he had trained assassins and pretended to be one and, finally, that the plane had been blown up and not crashed. He also told Alex that one of the trainees Yassen Gregorovitch had become SCORPIA's top assassin. That and about SCORPIA itself. Afterward, Alex was silent for so long Ian was worried he'd caused Alex to go into shock. But the next question surprised him. "So who betrayed them? Someone had to have." "No one knows, Alex, but always be on your guard around any of your father's friends."

That part wasn't true, but Ian Rider didn't know it. Neither was the part about no one knowing about John being undercover, but Ruder didn't know that either. Yassen Gregorovitch wanted to growl at the man and maybe punch him a few times. Had he really just told Alex, in the middle of a sensitive mission, emotionally compromising information? Not to mention that if anyone knew that Alex knew they wouldn't hesitate to have him shot. He was pissed. He was now going to follow them on the mission and pray that incompetent didn't get the only person they both cared about get shot. At least he had the chance to eat and watch when they talked. Alex got up almost as early as he did. He decided that if he ever got the chance to shoot the man that went by Ash for a legitimate reason, he might even do it for free. He decided to concentrate on the two. Yassen had all the time he wanted, since he was now free to dictate his own hours and jobs. He had told his usual employers he was looking into to something that might take a few weeks and not to call him.

Alex was reeling. Why was Ian telling him this now? Of course, he knew all this and who betrayed his parents, but he wouldn't say that. Ian had probably broken the rules to pieces telling him all this. It was also why he had asked Ian the question. He was hoping the man would be curious enough to figure it out himself. This was rapidly becoming complicated. He suspected that Gregorovitch might not be the only one of the trio to foster borderline obsessive attachments. Ian was treating him like a partner and brother. He personally had jumped out of a window and gotten shot at (among other things) because Ian never drove without a seatbelt. Yassen was following them like a stalker (among other future things). They were all stubborn, intelligent, and paid attention to detail. Welcome to the family, he inwardly smirked, where all you need is an unhealthy obsession with the truth and/or a person. Alex decided that his sense of humor was rapidly becoming acidic.

He turned to the man. "Why did nobody find out?" "There was an investigation. Nothing stood out for anybody. It eventually got closed because nobody really wanted to think about it for a long time." "They shouldn't have. If the guy betrayed Mom and Dad, he might do it again". Once a traitor, always a traitor. Alex was pissed nobody had bothered to look into that heavily. Seriously, nobody had realized Ash was the leak. All it had taken him was one whole mission with the guy. He was not that subtle. Ian sighed. He agreed that it should have been looked into better. Yassen knew for a fact that 'darling' Ash was selling out ASIS to Winston Yu. He hoped the man had had the decency to leave Alex alone. "I'll look into it. I can't promise anything, ok." "Thank you, Ian".Yassen didn't normally get emotional enough to wish death on another human being, but he hoped the Australians were fond of shooting traitors. The man had killed John.

Ian decided that had better get started on their hike. It would be another long day for all of them. He decided then and there that there next trip would be somewhere civilized or at least relatively so. He knew that Alex could survive the jungle just fine. The fact was clearly evidenced by his ease and ability to silently keep up. Ian had decided to focus on civilized environments so far, since Alex would be in mostly cites for his (hopefully normal and vigilant) life. He would also go over the theory of other climates while they walked. He got started. "If and when you get stranded in….." He figured that it would be enough in a pinch for Alex.

Yassen actually approved of the curriculum, at least for now. He was familiar with the information, of course. He also thought that teaching Alex to survive in wilderness situations was good because it implied running away as a viable tactic. He had seen many too proud to run die for it. Yassen was also glad that neither of them was noisy; it would be irritating and make them easy to spot. He would watch and see. The base they were referring to would take another week to reach, if there was no trouble.