Chapter 16: When the cat is away…

Ian Rider had been gone for weeks and Alex was bored. Spending time alone to reconnect with Tom and Jack was nice, but Alex was starting to miss the thrill that being with Ian or having Yassen around brought. The mind games and people who could match his observation skills and intelligence were nice, if tiring. Jones had been surprisingly quiet. Alex couldn't help but be relieved that she wasn't interfering with his life at the moment. Even texting Yassen wasn't quite relieving the itch at the back of his mind. Alex had already redone his papers in all the languages he knew, continued advancing his computer skills and Russian, written down all of his missions and edited it into a format that wasn't first person or specific to events. He had also recorded everything he learned that could possibly be important, including politics of turbulent areas. Alex had taken an interest in geopolitics and written several papers on the Middle East just for shits and giggles. In desperation, he had even begun looking at college curriculum after finishing his ridiculously easy class work. He was bored out of his mind. Hell, he might even visit Jones if the feeling lasted for another day.

Alex knew how to get to her house and past the doorman. No one would question another child in a giant apartment building. There wouldn't be extra security. Moving everything in her apartment two inches to the left would be insanely funny. Besides, it was totally good payback for the missions that may or may not be in his future. Little did he know, Tulip Jones would be coming for him. Today, in fact. When Alex got to school, he noticed the hallways were more crowded than usual. Tom came barreling in his direction. "What is it, Tom?" His friend was practically bouncing. Then again, he had the same reaction the time the school had given people ice cream for coming to the teachers' night. "Can you believe it?!" Alex could readily believe a good many things the regular population wouldn't. "Believe what, Tom?" Tom was almost a little too exuberant for it to be anything good. "The SAS is coming in to speak today." Alex mentally cursed Death to every hell he had ever heard of just for sending him back to this. Alex quickly plastered on a reasonably pleased expression. "That's great Tom. You're into that sort of thing. It sounds interesting." Alex was trying to be happy for his friend. Tom liked hearing about the military and spying. He decided to translate the lecture into Russian so he wouldn't fall asleep during the presentation.

Tom (of course) pulled him through the crowd to get front row seats. Alex sighed and took out the school prepared notepads. The teachers didn't want to look bad and so (he assumed) they had gotten the idea for giving everyone a pen and pad. Alex sat down and began prepping to take the slides down in Russian. He was fluent enough that he would only have to correct the grammar and write the occasional looked up word in English. Tom shot him a questioning look when he titled the notes in Cyrillic letters. Alex glanced around to make sure they hadn't started yet. "Practicing my Russian." Tom gave him a thumbs-up. The last few people settled into their seats and the lights were dimmed so that everyone could see the slides better. Surprisingly, most of his classmates looked like they couldn't wait for it to start. They were certainly more engaged than with the usual assemblies. Alex looked at the stage and could barely keep his face blank. It was the Sergeant. Of course, the man wouldn't recognize him at the moment.

Alex wrote what was on the slides and what the man said on his pad. The pace was not too horrible, but he felt pleased at the amount he wouldn't have to translate later. If he couldn't think of the word, he wrote it in English. This was actually a commonly used exercise for learning languages. The presentation was fairly standard and talked about career options in the army and the like. Afterwards, Jones came on and gave a slightly less boring lecture on the relationship between the armed services and MI6. She glossed over the fact that there was a lot of tension between the two. Actually, both of them sugar coated the entire thing. They left out the parts about your asshole coworkers, nearly dying horribly, and your even more asshole bosses. Not to mention RTI, the nasty things terrorists would do to you, and… Alex could go on for a while. Smithers actually came on as well to talk about integrated technology. It was Alex's favorite of the three. The man was passionate about his job and a passable speaker. Alex still got the horrible feeling that this was some kind of trap. Alex checked to make sure that his knives and concealed firearm were there. He could still feel them, but it was reassuring to know he could defend himself. The uniform was loose on him, since it was designed to fit even the heavier students. Weapons were easy to conceal, if you knew how.

He saw Jones making her way towards the table and decided to allow himself to be cornered. Well, he had been wishing for more excitement in his life. "Alex, it's so nice to see you under better circumstances." Alex respectfully inclined his head. "Mrs. Jones, what a surprise. From what I've seen and heard, you are quite busy with your job. To have you take time from your busy day to visit the school is...quite the honor." Alex decided polite was the way to go. He was supposed to be representing his school and the last thing he needed was a black spot on his record. Besides, he could tell from her expression that she knew that he knew that she was really here for him. "What did you think of the presentation?" Jones supposed this sounded professional enough to be overheard. "My classmates seem to have enjoyed it. For the target audience, I think it went well. Personally, I have done quite a bit of research on the subject and found it a bit dry and over generalized, but I suppose being educated on a subject makes a general presentation dull." I know exactly what you left out, Jones. Don't push me. Alex tried to silently project his want of her to move on. She smiled thinly. "You do have a point, I suppose. Mind if I see your notes?" Alex knew she wouldn't let it go if he lied and said he hadn't taken any, so he forked over his pad. "Interesting. Studying Russian are we? It isn't taught at the school if I recall." Alex flashed her a cool smile. "No, I've taken an interest in learning a few things on my own, particularly about civics and the dark side of the government and military." Thankfully, he was saved from further conversation by the announcement that they were all to go to auditorium. Tom shot him a look that said he would be explaining later.

After they day was finally over, Alex got a note from an office worker. He decided to read it later. Alex was pretty sure he knew exactly who it was from. Tom grabbed his arm and started walking through the halls. "What was that all about?" Alex didn't really want to endanger his friend by telling him everything, so he decided on the safer parts of the truth. "Well, I saw a murder recently, but it wasn't too bad. I also just found out that my dad had a dishonorable discharge from the SAS, but can you keep it a secret? She was one of his coworkers and took it kind of hard." Tom's eyes widened slightly, but he nodded. "Man that must have sucked for you. I'm sorry." Alex gave him a soft smile. "It's fine Tom, you can tell Jerry and no one else." With that, the two boys went their separate ways. Alex decided that it was private enough to see what Jones wanted. He was surprised by the neat and elaborate cursive. Alex would have pegged her for something practical, if neat.

Alex,

First, I wanted to apologize for my treatment of you. I seem to forget that you are not an adult more often than not and, frankly, our opinions of the world tend to differ so much I find myself judging you for those differences. I have been told that I tend to focus on the greater good and forget the individuals that make it up. It isn't really an excuse, but I felt the need to explain. Additionally, the job I do is quite stressful and I face a certain degree of pressure to maintain appearances for the department. If you can forgive me, perhaps we can start over? Hello, Alex. It's nice to meet you. I'm Tulip Jones, but you can call me Tulip.

Regards,

Tulip

P.S. I promised a certain coworker I would make sure you were alright. Don't do anything to Crawley, please. Also, I took the liberty of place a trace and my number on the phone your uncle gave you.

Alex was personally surprised by the surprisingly sincere apology he got from the deputy head of MI6. He snorted as he read the post script. Alex supposed he could put up with Crawley watching his every move outside the house, but it still felt intrusive. Alex decided to send a reply- it wouldn't do to keep her waiting, after all.

I forgive you Jones. Don't take it personally, but Tulip really doesn't suit you.

-A

And now he had two people who could kidnap him at a moment's notice on text conversations. Alex didn't really mind about the pictures and he could live without being angry at her for it. It didn't mean he agreed with her or would ever support her views. Sure enough, he could spot Crawley. Ian would have had a good reason to raise the security around him, but he still resented being followed on principle. If Jones hadn't told him it was for Ian, he would have done his best to make Crawley's job especially difficult. The fact that he was being traced made him ultra-paranoid. Alex knew he was on the verge of doing something really stupid, if he got the opportunity. Something like dropping a boat on a convention center stupid. At least he had the challenge of getting Fenrir past Crawley to look forward to. Jack hadn't said anything about him getting giant seemly overnight, but she seemed to know something was off about the dog and stayed far away from it.

Alex walked into his house and shut the door with slightly more force than necessary. He found Jack waiting with dinner. "Thank you, Jack. It smells wonderful." Jack smiled at him. "You know that shaggy horse you call a dog sheds all over your clothes, right." Jack would know, since she did the laundry. "Shaggy horse?" Alex clutched his chest dramatically. "My poor, poor hound will be heartbroken at such slander." Jack doubled over laughing at that. "Dinner is served." Alex grinned and sat down. Jack sat across from him. "So, Alex do we have a new member of the family officially yet or are you still in denial?" Alex decided to go with denial. "I haven't the faintest clue what you are talking about." Jack smirked. "Sure you don't. The dog climbed a smooth wall two stories up and slept in your bed without you knowing did it?" Alex groaned and knew he was caught. Damn, but having a giant fur ball to wake up to was surprisingly comforting. "Fine, we officially have a new member of the family. His name is Fenrir and all we have to do is get him registered and vaccinated." Jack looked very pleased with herself. "So can I pet him or what?" Alex rolled his eyes. "Yes, you can pet him. He is in the closet." Alex decided to go up and get him.

Fenrir looked really happy to be let out early. Alex didn't blame him. Fenrir bounded down the stairs in about two jumps and landed next to a very surprised Jack. She squeaked and jumped. Then, she promptly burst out laughing- for an entire minute. Alex was questioning her sanity. "What on earth is that funny?" Jack gasped for breath. "You hid that massive thing in your closet for weeks. It's like a real-life closet monster." Alex just rolled his eyes. "Well, the closet monster needs a run, so am I going to be out for an hour or two." Fenrir had been almost nocturnal and had kept him out late a few times. Alex hadn't minded terribly, but he liked normal sleeping hours as much as the next guy and was glad he had to do less sneaking around at midnight. Alex fed him chunks of meat he acquired from the butcher later in the day. The guy didn't question why he needed massive amounts of red meat and Alex didn't talk about it. It had worked out nicely. Alex strongly suspected the store might be a front for something less than legal, because they never seemed to sell much and the prices were exceedingly low, but he decided not to look too closely at his convenient meat supply.

Crawley did his best not to gape at the massive mutt that Rider junior was running alongside. The thing even ate raw meat. Fenrir was an appropriate name, he supposed. He just couldn't work out how Ian had failed to mention he had a dog. Maybe the paperwork was still going through? Crawley nearly groaned when he saw where the meat came from. Everybody in the neighborhood knew that the shop was a money laundering site for the local crime groups. It should not be this hard for him to keep a ten year old safe right? Ian would probably skin him alive if he found out where he had let Alex go. The man was paranoid and very protective. Crawley was still not over the dog. He hadn't thought Ian was involved in any cases with altered animals, but he decided to double-check. It would be just like him to adopt some horrendous lab experiment and not warn anyone in advance. Seriously, that dog was creepy and giant and way too quiet for that size to be normal. It could probably eat the kid for a meal. Speaking of the kid, Alex ran fast. Really, really fast. Crawley was starting to wonder if he shouldn't check if the kid was altered by the end of it. He could probably outrun most agents. Crawley had given up and used the tracker a few times and he was no slouch.

Ian Rider had his first downtime after weeks of busy mission. He had told Jones to look after Alex and the woman said she put someone on it. Ian would just have to have faith, even if he didn't particularly feel like. He returned his attention to the computer in front of him. It was time to look up those plants. Ian had only recognized one of them as foxglove, which was definitely poisonous. It took some searching, but Ian found a few of them eventually. Rosary peas, oleander, and nightshade were all highly toxic. Ian was starting to sense a pattern here. He supposed he should put up signs to warn the neighbors. At least his nephew had the sense to surround them in thistles so nobody would go near them. Ian decided to look up a few more out of morbid curiosity. English yew, crown flower, and angel's trumpet were also extremely toxic. Ian wondered if there was someone specific Alex wanted to poison. Some of the plants turned out to be extremely flammable or have flammable pollen. Ian was seriously questioning whether or not to quit early and check on his nephew. Why on earth would Alex know that kind of thing? Ian had specifically avoided poison of any kind in Alex's lessons. His blood ran cold at the thought he had next. Gregorovich. Gregorovich would know these kinds of things. Ian knew there was nothing that he could do about it now, but he wondered just how much Alex had learned on his own and how much had been the assassin's idea.

When Tulip Jones read Crawley's report, she began to wonder how Alex always seemed to find trouble. Really, he had acquired a massive 'dog' and found money launderers to buy meat from in the space of a few weeks. Tulip personally doubted that it was actually a dog, but she didn't think she would be allowed to test her theory. Crawley had refused to go near it, for some reason. She thought it looked perfectly tame, if a bit large and wolfish. Ian could wait until he got back to hear that part, best not to stress him out mid-mission after all. Oh well, she doubted that the specimen would listen to anybody but Alex. She wondered how he had gotten it to obey him. The reports she had read from the Black Operations division of MI6 hadn't said much, but from what she could tell all of them had been highly aggressive towards humans and had eaten several trainers. Since it wasn't a menace to society from what she could tell (or Alex), Jones figured Alex could keep his highly suspect 'dog'. It seemed better off in his hands anyway. Personally, she had regretted the approach Alan had her take. He was usually right, but he could go too far. This time, he hadn't been. It was the first time he had failed to predict a reaction. They were both puzzled by it, but the man hadn't seemed at all troubled. Tulip was questioning all the times she thought he had gone too far, but she hadn't said anything. Alan knew she was, because unless it was Alex Rider, he always seemed to know. Tulip shut down her computer and read the text she had gotten from Alex. She was relieved that he was still talking with her, but suspected he was the type to remember this sort of thing for a long, long time.

Yassen Gregorovich was somewhat irked when he finally completed his assignment. He had gotten it done just in time for Ian Rider's coworkers to tail Alex. The assassination had been a particularly delicate one. The target had been extremely paranoid and Yassen had less than complete information to work with. It had taken several weeks for him to find a hole for him to get through. In the end, he had been very successful and the man was very dead. On his flight back, he allowed his thoughts to drift back to Alex. They did so when he wasn't entirely focused on his job. To be fair, both he and Alex could easily run circles around John Crawley all day long. Ian Rider was far from a good guardian, but he was the best in his field, currently. Alex seemed to have inherited and picked up enough from the man. It was a question of both risk and trust. Could Alex dodge his tails without too much suspicion? Would he even want to? Alex didn't seem to want him turned in, but it didn't mean they weren't using him as bait. If he were to visit in person, it could draw unwanted attention from his lot as well. Both the Doctor and D'Arc were particularly eager for him to train a replacement. Gordon Ross had also been particularly persistent, though not to the same extent. They had all helpfully pointed out that there were plenty of child soldiers worldwide who wouldn't be missed. In truth, he did not think he would make eight months without resorting to neck breaking. Yassen had shot people just because they were particularly annoying. He was getting off track, anyhow. The assassin sent a text to Alex and made his decision.

Alan Blunt was puzzled. There were very few times that he had failed to anticipate someone's reaction correctly. Alex Rider was now on a very short list. The last one had been Yassen Gregorovich. By all accounts he had been planning to disappear, but something had changed, something that ended with the best assassin in the world. People he had failed to predict tended to be dangerous or insane or both. They were very difficult to plan around, mainly because they didn't react the way most people did to manipulation. Even John had been easy to predict. Ian Rider had his moments of spontaneity, but Blunt had a good idea of his motives. Alex was almost fluid. Sure he was secretive and appeared to care for his friends and relatives, but besides that… There was a blank slate and Alan Blunt hated not having answers. He decided not dwell on it overmuch. After all, he had faith in Tulip and she seemed determined to unravel Alex Rider. There were other more pressing matters at hand, anyhow. The other directors he was 'working' with all had blackmail files inches thick, but he still was getting an unfortunate amount of stubbornness from Joe Byrne. The man didn't really like his brand of interagency cooperation.

Alex Rider cursed when he got up and realized it was a Saturday and he had set his alarm for school times. Oh well, he should be up by now, anyway. He opened his bedroom door and was surprised to find Fenrir sitting outside it. Jack seemed paranoid that the dog would eat him in his sleep and had told him to keep it out of his room at night. Alex didn't see what the big deal was. He shut the door behind the massive fur ball, which (true to the announcement) was absolutely enormous. Fenrir shot his bed a hopeful look. Alex snorted. "Go on then, Jack said nothing about letting you in during the day, you know." The thing could probably use his bed as its own. While he was probably violating the spirit of the rule, he was following the letter of it. Jack should know better after all the crap he'd pulled on her and Ian when he was younger, anyway. They had been far too amused with his loopholes to ground him. Alex usually got off scot-free when he didn't do anything too bad. The giant wolf had made itself at home on his comforter. Jack had gone out for the day, so he had the house to himself. Alex decided to check for messages from Yassen and felt a jolt of anticipation. The man had decided to come after all. Alex wasn't sure how it would go, but he had already decided that if Jack saw him he would be 'an old friend of his dad's'. It wasn't even a lie, technically.

A voice behind him made Alex start. "You know I would make a comment about you letting a predator in your bed, but you are already meeting me." Alex couldn't quite keep the smirk off his face. "Yassen, you know, someone should really put a bell on you." The comment fell out of his mouth before he registered who he was talking to. A flicker of amusement entered the man's otherwise cold, icy eyes. Alex took a good, long look at the man before he heard the man sigh. "Breakfast, Alex?" Alex shrugged. He couldn't really imagine the man doing something as plebeian as cooking, so this should be interesting. Yassen soundlessly glided down the stairs. The walk was every bit as silent and predatory as he remembered. Alex followed behind him, feeling comparatively clumsy. "So, um, is Crawley still breathing, because I kind of told Jones I wouldn't do anything to him." Yassen just rolled his eyes. "Yes, your tail is fine. I currently am under the radar, as they say, from my employers and your uncle's." Alex stepped up to the stove and the man raised a single eyebrow. "What? I can cook you know." Yassen just looked at him. Alex decided to humor the man and sit down. Breakfast was decidedly quieter than normal, but it was a good kind of quiet.

Afterwards, the man stood up and headed towards the living room. "It is time for your first lesson, Alex, invisibility." Yassen was sure it wouldn't take long. After all, that uncle had probably taught him the basics. He recited the same lecture he had gotten from Professor Yermalov, with his own additions. Alex payed attention, even though he knew the basics. It was almost fun learning from Yassen. It had a more serious overtone, but part of Alex was glad he could take this seriously. This was obvious training. Yassen finished as easily as he started. Alex had payed attention to the whole thing. Now for a little quiz. "On a more practical note, Alex, your tail is stationed across the street. What are the issues with this that will allow us to get by him unseen?" Alex thought for a minute. "Cars will obstruct his view. There is only one of him, so we can go out the back or a window. Also, if he lets down his guard, nobody has his back." Yassen felt inordinately pleased at the fact he got it all right. He let none of it show, however. "Acceptable." Yassen decided more question were in order. "If there were multiple tails, how would you do it?" Alex seemed to give him a look. "It depends. Where are they? How good are they? Do we know if they use regular patterns or just watch the front?..." Yassen could honestly say that this wasn't that bad.

Alex figured that 'acceptable' was Yassen for 'you pass'. It seemed to be the only word he used at times. They both decided not to push it and went out the first-story window at the back of the house. Yassen saw his garden in the backyard and passed it without a word; though Alex was sure he recognized the plants. Alex had left his phone at home. He didn't want Jones tracking him down while he was with Yassen. Alex just didn't picture it ending well. They made their way across the neighborhood and went on the intercity train. Alex felt really paranoid following the assassin around where anyone could see them. Yassen was always observant. He had made sure that he changed his appearance enough not to be spotted by anyone but Alex. There were places in England that no one would bat an eyelid at a few gunshots, just like in every other country. He hefted the duffel bag he had brought with him. It contained a few things that would not be ok with the authorities to say the least. Alex seemed a little tense, but he supposed it went with the territory. He tended to make people nervous, but in this case he suspected Alex was more afraid of being found with him. When they arrived at a small town, it was almost ten o'clock. Yassen continued to move into the countryside and into the forest. He noted Alex was very, very quiet.

After a while, they came upon an area he deemed deep enough in. Alex was feeling twitchy, but he felt himself relaxing as they went deeper and deeper into the forest. With Yassen, it almost seemed natural to just have the two of them in absolute silence (or as close as it got in a forest, he could hear the leaves in the wind and the faint rustling of animals). The man began soundlessly setting up targets. Alex felt the anticipation return with a buzz. Yassen turned around faster than he had ever seen the man move. "I will teach you to shoot, properly. I am known as one of the greatest marksmen in the world. Do not play around with firearms." Yassen sounded deadly without even raising his voice. "Let me see what you can do." Alex was unsure if he should demonstrate his skill or not. Alex decided to hit the bullseye every time. He was careful to take a few seconds to aim between each shot. Alex began to get into a rhythm similar to the ones he had seen some of the SAS soldiers do. The pauses between shots were superfluous, but otherwise Alex thought he pulled off normal shooting well. The voice almost startled him. "Your aim is fine Alex, your hesitation is not." Yassen knew Alex was far too accurate to be shooting normally, but was hesitant to pull the trigger for whatever reason. The targets weren't even people-shaped. Since they were both wearing earmuffs, Yassen decided an incentive was not out of line, of course Alex would not be physically harmed. The earmuffs didn't quite cover up the sound of gunfire.

When Alex heard a gunshot near his head, a jolt of panic set off his instincts. He fired at every single target faster than he ever had before. He felt a stab of horror when he realized just how accurate he was. Yassen was standing there tapping his foot. "What the hell?!" Yassen glanced at him coolly. "I though an incentive would improve your shooting." Alex felt his heart rate slowing down. "Did it, then?" Yassen shrugged. "Yes, but this is also an important lesson. Fear will eventually blind you. You didn't even register what you were shooting at, did you?" Alex knew there was no point in denying it. The man sighed. "No emotion is always best when killing, never forget this." Alex doubted he ever personally would. Yassen decided it was demonstration time while Alex's pulse rate returned to normal. He was better than most of the Malgasto graduates, but nowhere near his level. Alex watched with a quiet awe as the man fired two guns with a stunning speed and accuracy. Alex tried and failed at not gaping. The man paused to check his student's reaction and felt a (well justified) sense of smugness. "You will catch flies, you know." Alex snapped his mouth shut and colored ever so slightly. It was nice to have his skill appreciated. Alex felt himself flushing. Smug bastard. Yassen was smirking. "Time to go, Alex." Alex couldn't help but be relieved. The adrenaline was fading and leaving him drained. Yassen left him after they got back from the train station. One minute he was there, the next he wasn't. Alex supposed he should be used to people disappearing on him.

He sighed as he went around the back and in through the window. Alex had just gotten safely inside, closed the window, and grabbed his phone when he heard knocking at the door. Mentally, he swore and went to open it. It was Crawley. "What do you want?" Fenrir seemed to sense the fact that he was not in the mood for visitors and came running from the kitchen. The wolf didn't even need to jump before it floored Crawley. "Shit! Down, Fenrir." The wolf looked hopefully at Alex before getting off the MI6 agent. "Sorry, Mr. Crawley. I'm still training him." Alex could barely keep his laughter contained at the man's indignant expression. Well, that was bullshit, but Crawley didn't know it. Crawley got up a brushed off the jacket he was wearing. "We should talk inside, Alex." It didn't sound like Ian was dead, but Alex felt uneasy all the same. "Come in, then." Crawley sat down across from Alex on the couch. Alex felt that this silence was almost unbearable. "Do you want a drink or something?" Crawley's face seemed to soften for a minute. "No, thank you. I wanted to check on you, actually. Your phone didn't seem to move all day." Alex sighed. Damn, he was paranoid. "I left it on the desk, since I was at home." Crawley gave him a derisive look. "Right, because the dirt and leaves got themselves all over you. Don't insult my intelligence, please." Alex sighed. "Sorry. What do you want, though?" Crawley thought for a minute. "Keep your phone on you at all times. People get kidnapped from their houses to, you know. For God's sake, don't run off again. Your uncle and my boss will have my hide if you go missing on my watch." Alex supposed it wasn't too bad. "And you won't mention this to anyone?" Crawley was not impressed by the bargaining skills. Still, mini-Rider had a point. "No, I'd get fired at best." He decided to get up and leave before the kid got ideas.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief when Crawley left. The guy was no slouch. He pet Fenrir while feeding him. Alex decided to leave Jack a note and take his wolf out early. With any luck, Crawley would keep his distance. Yassen hadn't seemed too suspicious of him. Actually, Alex thought he was surprisingly nice company. Aside from the shooting near him part, but Alex knew that Yassen wouldn't kill him. The man had good points, even though Alex knew he would be uncomfortable with idea of killing someone. Fenrir was done. Alex grabbed the collar and leash and sighed as the fur ball gave him its most pitiable expression. "Sorry, London has leash laws, you know. I'll take it off at the park, ok?" It was woody and vacant enough that Alex could get away with it. The wolf pouted, but let him put it on. At almost full size, the thing could easily run any human down. Alex supposed that it was kind of the point, but he liked having something to compete against.

Alex noted Crawley following him and hoped Ian got back soon. He would have to update Yassen. At least he had one more weekend day with the man. Alex kind of liked being around him. It wasn't the same as being with Ian, but it was fun and even more thrilling at times. When he got back, Jack was waiting for him at the table. Alex gave her his usual greeting and sat down after taking the wolf off the leash. Not that he had told Jack what it was. She hadn't mentioned noticing anything unusual about it, so Alex didn't bring it to her attention. It always sat next to him when they ate. Fenrir wasn't very doglike, but he had enough of the traits to get away with act. Alex just hoped Ian wouldn't ask too many questions when he got home. He was a lot harder to fool than Jack. "I filed the papers for the shaggy horse today." Alex couldn't help the grin. "Thanks, Jack." The woman seemed resigned to keeping the fur ball around if it kept him happy. "Do you think Ian will like him?" Jack just gave Alex a look. "You know him better than I do. Besides, you take care of it, so I don't see a problem either way." Jack thought she would subtly encourage Alex not to always go for the man's approval. Eventually, he would have to make his own choices, anyway. Ian wasn't cruel, just a little thoughtless at times. He hadn't called at all and it had been almost six weeks. Alex seemed to be trying to stay cheerful for her sake, but she could tell he was lonely. Jack fully blamed Ian for the enormous dog they now owned. It was entirely his fault. Though, it seemed to be growing on her, like a non-symptomatic fungus. It seemed to cheer Alex up, so she was tolerating Fenrir for now.

When Alex went upstairs, Jack sighed loudly. As she cleaned the kitchen, she let her resentment of Ian Rider simmer. The man had basically vanished for weeks on end, again. It wasn't even the first or the longest time. At least Alex seemed happier with the damn dog. Jack wasn't going to mention it, but she thought it might be some sort of mutant. The thing was actually horse-sized and looked creepily like a wolf. It seemed gentle enough, but it still gave her the creeps. There was a reason she didn't want Alex keeping it in his room. Really, he should get it checked out. Alex had gotten it vaccinated, but that was about it. The vet had complimented him on having such a healthy husky mix and that had been that. Jack would swear it was a wolf if she hadn't been informed they were extinct in England. At any rate the massive fur ball hadn't bitten anyone or destroyed anything major, so she wasn't too irritated. It was totally Ian's fault. If Alex wasn't left alone so often, he wouldn't feel need to seek comfort in large, scary fur balls. Jack hoped the man would be home soon. Alex seemed extra anxious this time around.

Alex woke up to a giant, grey, furry mass occupying his bed with him. He ran his hands through Fenrir's fur. He hadn't let the wolf in, but it wasn't inconceivable that he got in on his own. Fenrir was supposed to be smart and his door had a push down handle the 'dog' could easily open, especially if it wasn't locked. The wolf opened one eye that was slowly turning the yellow-gold that would mark him as a wolf, rather than a dog. His eyes were still mostly blue, though. Alex blinked and scanned the room. The clock told him it was six in the morning. He decided that it was time to get out of bed anyway. Alex felt a little bad leaving his pet by itself, but he needed to get dressed. He felt eyes at the back of his neck as he finished getting dressed. "Hello, Yassen." The man didn't so much as make a single sound as Alex turned around. The look seemed ever so slightly disapproving. "What is it?" The cold blue eyes seemed to freeze over ever so slightly. "You let your pet wolf sleep with you." Alex sighed. What was it with adults and Fenrir? "Actually, he let himself in last night. Jack won't let me keep him in here overnight." The man tilted his head ever so slightly. "Technicalities, Alex. So far, I vote the housekeeper highest in common sense." Alex let the wry smile across his face. "She is down-to-earth, isn't she? How long were you watching last night?" Alex didn't feel at all violated by it. It was Yassen, after all. Besides, if anyone deserved to get the drop on him, it was the assassin.

"The whole time, Alex, you have a lot to learn about counter surveillance." Yassen was as even toned as ever. Alex decided to pet his wolf one last time before going downstairs. Just to prove a point. The assassin's eyes narrowed, but there was no other outward reaction. Alex got the feeling he would be paying for that later. Yassen seemed to vanish again. Alex really wanted to be able to do that. He met Jack downstairs for breakfast. "Is your homework done, before you mess around with the furry mound?" Alex snorted. "It's been done since Friday, Jack." Alex never let his homework run until the last minute. Fenrir had followed him down, equally silently. Alex wondered if Yassen had a furry cousin sometimes. He decided to keep that question to himself. "The bank called and said Ian would be back tomorrow." Alex rolled his eyes. "Jack, we both know what that is worth." Jack just sighed. "Be careful out there, you never know what's out there." Alex would have laughed at the ludicrous idea of him being kidnapped with Yassen around, but he didn't want to explain why it was so funny. "I will, Jack. You know how it is, trouble finds me." Alex shut the door behind him. Crawley seemed to be on a break, because he wasn't in his car. Alex took the opportunity to disappear and headed to the train station. He could almost sense Yassen nearby, but knew he wouldn't find the man if he looked. Fenrir had decided to tag along and Alex had put him on a leash.

He got to the same spot as yesterday, only slightly earlier. Yassen seemed to appear from nowhere. Alex barely kept from jumping, but he was determined not to let the man prove whatever point he was trying to make. He decided to let the wolf off the leash at this moment. "Are you suicidal?" Alex felt his mouth fall open at the blunt question. The urge to start laughing was almost overwhelming. "Not that I recall. Why?" Yassen just fixed him with a look. Alex couldn't honestly figure out what the man was getting at. He took a few risks, so what? It made life interesting. It was Yassen's turn to be puzzled. He didn't see how anyone could be so reckless and want to live. Alex had an enormous wolf as a pet, routinely went along with MI6 missions without proper training, met him, and nearly died on a near monthly basis. More, if he counted their conversations and anyone else would. Well, there was an easy way to check if he was telling the truth. Yassen's hand went inside his jacket. The only warning Alex got was a flash of steel, which he instinctively dodged while drawing his gun. Fortunately, his hand changed direction at the last second or he would have shot the man. As it was, it grazed Yassen's cheek. "Christ, I could have killed you. You're teaching me instinctive firing, you know how dangerous that was." Yassen shrugged. "It was unlikely you would. You know me by name and on a personal level." Alex sighed. "Are you going to point a gun at me every single lesson?" Yassen smirked. "Only until you quit panicking." He had drawn on instinct as well, but he could control his firing impulse. Alex decided digging the man's knife out of the tree nearby wasn't out of line. Yassen cleaned the new addition to his face. It would be a joy to explain to his employers, but then he didn't owe them an explanation.

Yassen seemed determined to make him perfectly at ease with a firearm pointed at him, because he drew it at random points during the lesson. Supposedly to test his reaction time, but Alex suspected the assassin had another motive entirely. Namely, putting some sort of fear into him. Alex supposed he had a point, though, because by the end if the lesson Alex could control whether or not he fired when someone pointed a gun at him. At the last time, when he released the safety but didn't fire, he finally got an 'acceptable' from the man. Alex could have passed out from sheer relief at that point. While he trusted Yassen, the lesson was still nerve wracking. At least the man seemed satisfied that he had a healthy will to live by the end of it. "Um, we have a first aid kit at the house." Yassen huffed. "It will be fine. The scarring will be minimal and I have already cleaned it." Alex looked sheepish. "Still, sorry." Yassen didn't look pissed. "As you say, I knew the risks. Besides, you have learned your lesson that you should look before you shoot." Fenrir took that moment to show up. Yassen actually softened faintly. "We had best go our separate ways. Your tail will find this spot any minute now." Alex held up his hand. "Goodbye, Yassen." The assassin smiled faintly. "Until next time, Alex." Yassen vanished at almost the same time Alex began to hear a faint crunching behind him. Alex waited.

Sure enough, Crawley came crunching through the brush shortly afterward. Fenrir stayed at his side. "Least you have that bloody dog trained. Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you? The forest must have crapped out the tracker, because it was useless. Bloody hell, I almost had to call your uncle and tell him you vanished in the woods. Do you know how scary he is when he thinks you're in danger?" Alex waited to see if he was done. "Sorry, I didn't know the forest would do that. I was just walking Fenrir, since he likes the woods. And no, I don't." Crawley sighed. "Sorry, it's not really you that's the problem, kid." Alex snorted. "I've heard worse. Besides, I like my alone time, you know, so this kind of works out." Crawley just groaned. "And now I have to go all the way back. This is almost worse than the SAS." Alex knew from personal experience that the SAS was way worse, but he supposed he was dressed for the woods and Crawley was wearing a suit. "It's not that far, but we can walk if running is too much for your suit." Alex could easily make up that part of his workout later. Crawley was mentally cursing the family athleticism. Why couldn't the kid be a normal, video gaming brat who was slightly chubby and easy to tail? Alex cheerfully hummed a tune as he set a much slower than necessary (for him) pace. Crawley sighed and offered the kid a ride. At least he wasn't the talkative and athletic type. Alex decided to accept, just to pacify the man. He felt like he was under arrest again.

Alex realized that he practically reeked of gunfire about halfway through the ride. Crawley had decided not to ask how or why the kid had a gun. He was sure Agent Rider was doing a perfectly fine job raising his nephew. Alex was glad it wasn't Ian. The man would have definitely started interrogating him by now. Crawley was quiet through the entire ride. Alex realized he was probably tired. The man parked across his house a good while later. Crawley fixed him with a look. "I assume you can walk across the street without vanishing into the shrubbery." Damn, the man was a grouch. Alex couldn't keep the reply from falling out of his mouth. "The shrubbery, sure. I'll try to avoid the dirty white vans, too. I can't help it that I'm irresistible to creepy psychopaths, you know." Alex decided to get out of the car. Crawley made sure to wait until the door closed before sending a two-fingered salute at Alex's back. He was so not doing another day of this. That kid was more slippery than Ian sometimes. Clearly, he could look after himself for four hours until Ian got back. This was getting out of hand and there went another suit. At least he could expense it, this time. Jones seemed to be trying to keep everyone from killing each other. Crawley decided he would be having a stiff drink when he got home. Between Ian, mini, and Scooby, he needed it.

Alex got up Monday just a little sore from his training with Yassen and exercise. Fenrir had let himself in again. He looked at his phone and sighed. The assassin was a very demanding teacher. Alex was glad that he had gone, despite the duplicity involved with meeting and working with him. Alex put the outings on his ever growing list of things he didn't plan on telling Ian. He carefully replaced his phone in its concealed area. Alex was dressed and down the stairs before Jack even finished cooking breakfast. After greeting her, he sat at the table and watched her cook. Supposedly, Ian was coming home today, but Alex had decided not to get his hopes up. It had been six weeks, after all. What were a few more days? Alex mentally added weeding his garden to the mental to-do list he had for the day. Meeting with Yassen had effectively killed the urge to do something foolish, at least for a while. Alex was pretty sure he was addicted to adrenaline, if that was even possible. People had extreme sports clubs, right? Maybe he could get into one when he was older. Jerry had done base-jumping and mentioned a looser organization that got together as a group. Alex could almost picture a normal job and doing one of those.

Ian Rider was tired and very sore. The mission had ended rougher than he had expected. Sitting on the plane had been almost unbearable. At least he was back, but it had been six weeks. Ian actually felt kind of bad about leaving Alex for that long, but he did have a job to do. Jones had looked after his nephew after a few threats had been made. They were now resolved on a very permanent note. Jones had not been overly happy with her suspects disappearing, but Ian could live with it. Blunt hadn't seemed to give a shit how they got off the street as long as it happened. Ian pulled up next to the house and felt a sudden sense of foreboding. When Starbright opened the door, he could tell something was off. "We need to talk before Alex gets home." Ian felt a sudden jolt of panic and wondered what was going on. He mutely followed her to the living room and sat down. "Here is the thing, Ian, Alex kind of adopted a giant dog while you were gone. He hid it in the closet and lets it sleep in his bed. I'm not fond of the fur ball, but Alex takes care of everything, so I don't have a problem." Ian was surprised to say the least. From her tone he had expected something on par with drugs. He was kind of surprised. Alex hadn't even mentioned wanting a pet. "Okay, not what I was expecting." Starbright rolled her eyes. "Is Alex ever? The dog also really looks like a horse-sized wolf, so don't shoot it."

Ian was sure it was an exaggeration. "Guns are illegal in England, Ms. Starbright." Jack held back a comment. "Ready to meet the new family member?" She went up and opened the door. Ian froze at the sight of the most gigantic wolf he'd ever seen in his life came running down the stairs. He could barely breathe and resisted the temptation to draw a weapon. The thing walked up and sniffed him and let out a whine. Jack rolled her eyes. "Alex doesn't get home for another three hours you overgrown mutant. You are going to have to wait for that walk." Ian was still attempting to calm his heart rate. "Alex adopted that thing?" Jack was now thoroughly enjoying herself. "Yep, won't hear a word against it, either." Ian wondered how the hell Alex had managed to stumble on the missing member of Project Direwolf. There was no way that was a normal dog. Why can't he have settled for a nice, normal, very mean pit bull? Jack continued on. "He even feeds the thing raw meat and takes it to the forest or the park on weekends." Ian barely kept from moaning. From the sound of it, Alex was completely besotted with it. "I suppose it'll have to stay then." Came out of his mouth before he knew what he was saying. Jack smirked. "Better work up some enthusiasm, then. You were gone for a while. Isn't it great Alex is so responsible?" Ian held back a groan. Responsible, his ass. They were so having a talk when Alex got home. He could swear the housekeeper was enjoying this.

Jack had the tact to hold back her laughter until after Ian Rider went upstairs. The expression on his face was priceless. Jack honestly wished she had a camera to capture the entirely gob smacked expression. She knew it was passive-aggressive, but couldn't quite hold back her vindictive glee at knowing that at this moment Ian Rider was regretting every minute he had spent out of town. She could hear him unpacking upstairs. Jack decided that a bit of celebration was in order and decided to make Alex's favorite dinner. He could use a bit of cheering up.

Ian Rider was very much regretting the time he had spent out of town, mainly because of the terrifying new addition to the household. Crawley was calling him, so Ian picked up. "Hi, Agent Rider. How was the meeting with the new pet?" Ian was pissed. Had everyone known but him? He was so not in the mood. "Screw you, Crawley. You could have at least warned me, you ass." Crawley was feeling a tiny bit of vindictive satisfaction. "But why would I deprive you of the fun? At least you didn't have to follow it around the woods with no path and a kid to look after." Ian sighed. "Really, you guys let him keep it? What part of safe includes genetically altered predators?" Crawley rolled his eyes. "It seems to like him well enough, besides it got trained at some point, which is more than I can say for the ones in our darling colleagues' care." Ian decided snapping at him wouldn't be productive. Nothing had actually happened. "You have a point there. I have to finish unpacking now. I'll do the report tomorrow." Crawley was glad Ian saw it this way. "Good news. Boss wants an in person debrief. See you then." Ian hung up before muttering. "Good news for trees, maybe." He decided to finish unpacking.

Alex Rider had no expectations either way as to when Ian would be home. He knew from experience exactly how some of these things went. There wasn't really a set time period or anything. Alex knew Tom could tell he was particularly tense today because his friend was 'subtly' keeping people off his back. He was privately grateful that Tom wasn't the curious type. It would keep him safe in more ways than one when it came to Alex. When he got home, Alex saw Ian's car, but decided to go with his original plan of dropping his backpack inside the door and going to the backyard. It was a nice day today. The wind kept the rare sun from being too hot and since it was halfway until Christmas break, the outside had cooled considerably. Alex wasn't stupid and didn't have a particular desire for random people to die, so he had surrounded his most dangerous plants in thistles. He had changed before leaving school so he wouldn't get his uniform dirty. The gloves and pants protected him from the stinging plants. No human or animal would want to come here by accident.

Alex didn't mind caring for his own hazardous materials. He had carefully pulled up the weeds and cut the plants when necessary. In some cases, even the pollen was toxic, so he had made sure to breathe ever so carefully. He picked the seeds and flowers off some of them. Alex knew that assassins weren't the only ones who kept private supplies of heart-stopping poisons. It was the only reason he had even grown these things, despite the risk. Alex knew how to care for and store the plants, but dealing with them was still somewhat nerve-wracking. He had to keep telling himself that this did not make him an assassin. This was just in case he ran out of options or someone threatened his family. Even so, Alex knew he really didn't want to poison anyone. He would keep some on him and some hidden away in the less visible parts of the house. Alex decided he would restart the poison section of the basement. The upkeep was a pain, Ian would object if and when he noticed, and Jones would have a field day if she found out, but Alex considered having the option worth it. He knew that Yassen would probably approve, at least. Fenrir seemed intelligent enough to stay far, far away from this part of the garden. The wolf refused to go within five feet of the thistles. Alex approved.