Chapter 34: Responses and Reasoning

Warning: Mentions of death, sexuality, bullying, and war. Occasional crude language (it should be obvious by now, but extra heavy in this chapter).

Alex hesitantly sat down and let the profound feeling of doom wash over him. Had Ian discovered any of his side projects? "Am I in trouble?"

Ian snorted. "Guilty conscience?"

Alex smirked. "I'd say fuck you, but Crawley might get jealous."

Jack choked on her coffee. "Alex!"

Alex widened his eyes innocently. "What?"

She swatted him lightly and went to get him a plate. Ian sighed. "Moving on from Alex's inappropriate cracks. In case none of you gathered from Alex's comment, Crawley and I are actually together."

Ian took a sip of coffee. "How did the custody battle go?"

Jack smiled. "Oh, they didn't stand a chance."

Ian put the coffee cup back down. "Good. How did school end up going?"

Jerry shrugged. "I graduated. I'm probably going to be traveling soon. I have a bit saved up."

Alex grinned. "You should go to Naples. I think you'll like it there."

Everybody looked at him funny. Jerry had been happy there. Jerry gave him a long look. "You know what, I just might."

Crawley frowned. "A bit close to the Italian coast for my taste."

Alex shrugged. "Yeah, but Jerry always liked the sunshine and warmth."

Jerry smiled faintly at him. He hadn't thought anybody had noticed. He hated the rain. It reminded him of his parents' arguments. Crawley let it go. Tom felt a little guilty he never noticed his brother disliked the rain. Ian heaved a sigh. Jones didn't have anything for him. Ian turned to Tom. "And you?"

Tom shrugged. "I'm passing."

Alex grinned. "Even in Spanish?"

Tom threw a napkin at him. "Yes, you prat."

Ian sighed. "I got your reports. Just try not to fall asleep during the lessons on verbs and you'll do a little better."

Jack turned to Alex. "And what is Alex up to?"

Ian shrugged. "An abbreviated version of college-level self-study."

Jack gave Ian the evil eye. "And you think it's age appropriate?"

Alex decided to interrupt. "Relax, I'm kind of interested in medicine right now. Besides, at least this way I might want to know what to study in college."

Jack huffed. "Just don't burn out."

Alex grinned. "Oh, no worries, I only study for half of my day.

Jack wasn't reassured. "I know for a fact that you work quite hard. Your plants are blooming, by the way. I'm not sure how to take care of some of them."

Alex shrugged. "It depends on the plant. I'll get on them tomorrow."

Ian eyed Alex. Did he mean harvesting the poison or just the regular gardening aspect? Crawley mentally sighed. Ian was getting the look. It meant Alex was going to get investigated. He was going to have to help, too. Jack looked at Alex. "How was the family reunion?"

Alex went over the entire thing mentally. "Reunion-y. I get the feeling the adults used to argue more, but my cousins were okay."

Tom grinned. "Finally met some weirdos like you, you mean."

Alex put on his best mock-innocent expression. "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about."

Jerry and Tom both nearly fall out of their chairs trying to keep from laughing. Jack interjected. "Moving on, how exactly is Alex going to be assessed?"

Ian sighed. "He'll be taking the GCSEs by the end of this year."

Jack mentally moaned but knew the man wouldn't be budged. "And after that?"

Ian tilted his head. "We could do online college classes, I suppose. There is also the possibility of sending him to study in the Americas. They have the occasional child student in their universities."

Alex wondered if Ian would really go for that option. Classes in college weren't mandatory, as long as you showed up for the test. Jack interjected. "I vote online. Some people in the universities aren't good influences."

Alex mentally rolled his eyes but was also glad. He liked being home and having a flexible schedule. Jerry sighed. "We'll also be able to have Alex interact with more people his age that we know."

Ian's gaze lasered in on Alex. "Alex?"

Alex mentally considered his options. "Online."

Ian mentally rearranged the schedule for Alex. "That's settled, then."

Crawley had a question. "Why are we asking Alex? Err..no offense, kid."

Alex rolled his eyes. Jack shot Crawley an amused look. "Have you seen Alex in an uncooperative mood? I don't just mean irritated or snarky. I mean when he full out doesn't want to do something."

Crawley thought about it for a second. "Never mind."

He had seen Ian in that kind of mood. Alex interjected. "Besides, it is my education."

Crawley shrugged. "Just thought I'd ask."

Alex snorted. "That and my decision is reasonable. It's not like I asked to transfer to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn underwater basket weaving. I think you guys would protest."

Tom chuckled. "The mental image, Al."

Ian rolled his eyes. "I think we're all done then unless anyone else has something to bring up?"

Crawley shook his head. Jack sighed. Jerry gave a half-shrug and a jerk of his head no. "Ok, family meeting over."

Tom motioned for him to stay and they both waited for the adults to leave. Jerry eyed them, but let it go. When the kitchen was finally empty, Tom glanced around the room. "How was it really?"

Alex let off a small faint smile. "I can't hide anything from you, can I?"

Tom smirked. "Nah, but you don't really need to. I mean, who would I tell?"

Alex snorted. "You could tell someone, I suppose. How are the people at school?"

It was the right question, apparently. Tom started talking and didn't stop for a while. "...and James pretty much took over from where you left off. The bullies still transfer or stop for some reason."

Alex's lips twitched. Tom continued. "Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you about something."

Alex shrugged. "Yes, Tom?"

Like he would ever deny his friend the ability to ask questions. "So, I'm kinda worried about Mandy, you know four years older and kinda a weirdo really likes snakes and thinks you're cute."

Alex mentally started. He'd almost forgotten about her. "And you want to know what's wrong?"

Tom looked a little sheepish. "Well, yeah."

Alex inhaled and exhaled slowly. "Fine, but I'm not invading her privacy unless I have to."

Tom flushed. "I didn't mean that; I just meant we go over and visit or something. We can add it on to your social interaction lists or something."

Alex snorted. "You make it sound like I'm special needs or something."

Tom grinned. "Oh, but Alex, you are special. We just took you out of school so you didn't get bullied."

Alex lightly shoves his friend. "Sure, Tom. Remind me again who took care of your school bullies."

It took Alex a few days of appeasing his housemates and setting up his house visit with Mandy (her name was actually Amanda, but nobody called her that) before he was able to take Fenrir on one of their extended walks without a chaperone (read: visit the bunker). He opened the heavy door with a practiced ease and slipped in. He was eager to check on the computer. It had probably been long enough that it had finally loaded and finished starting up. Alex felt as though something was different. The lights were staying on, he supposed. He walked towards the computer that he had partially restored. Alex walked toward the computer it was on and there was a message.

Begin Final Start-up?

Y/N

Alex hit yes, having already been committed to starting up whatever mysterious program Dr. Allen had cooked up before he died. He jumped as he heard the ceiling moving. It was a sort of grinding mechanical sound, but the machine seemed like it was running smoothly. He really needed more engineering knowledge. Fenrir seemed relaxed. Alex took a deep breath and felt a bit stupid. There was nobody here but him. "Hello?"

He heard whirring coming from behind him. "Behind you."

The voice seemed to come from the walls. Alex turned and felt his mouth drop open as he spotted a hologram. "What the hell?"

The hologram smirked slightly. "You didn't think the doctor would write a program for a sentient being and leave me completely without form, did you?"

Alex mentally whacked himself to hold back the sarcasm. Of course, the nutty, revenge-driven scientist made holograms. It just wouldn't make sense to have an AI without them. Not. "You're Maddox, then."

I wasn't really a question. The hologram shrugged. "Yes."

Alex looked at it. "What do you do?"

The computer raised its eyebrow at him. "The question should be what don't I do? I have to admit though, you are younger than what father had imagined."

Alex sighed. "I'm younger than a lot of people imagine."

The machine seemed to be trying to smile. "Yes, I suppose you would be Alex Rider or should I say, Alec Pierre?"

Alex sighed. "You hacked me."

Maddox shrugged. "Technically, I hacked the whole world."

Alex grinned. "Find anything interesting?"

Maddox flickered and appeared to teleport to left. "Some things that would curl your hair."

Alex rolled his eyes. "I don't know, Mad. It would take quite a bit."

The computer huffed. "So, what do you want? A million dollars? A pet pony?"

Alex snorted. "Freedom from MI6 and SCORPIA and a lessening of their influence and an education in money-handling, medicine, and engineering. Plus, all the stuff I'll need to get by."

The hologram rubbed its hands together. "A challenge, then."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Would you expect anything less from a boy who found you?"

The hologram seemed to consider it for a moment. "I suppose not. I'll start sending you weekly notes to read and some assignments. I have the most knowledge in the world at my disposal, after all."

Alex wondered if the AI was meant to be educational. "Thanks, I assume you have my test and other records."

Maddox shrugged. "Of course. I'll be scanning. Call me in the bunker if you want an appearance. If you are in immediate danger or something needs your attention, I'll try to text you."

Alex sighed. "You have my phone number?"

The chuckling echoed as the hologram vanished. "All three."

Alex walked toward the library. It was odd, how the computer seemed to have a good approximation of human reactions. Then again, Allen had been years ahead of his time. Maybe even decades. He spent the rest of the time attempting to see if the place had any hiding spots. Alex figured he'd be better off starting in living quarters. The first room he walked in set off his senses for some reason. He spotted a painting on the wall. It was odd because this place had seemed strangely devoid of anything but fake and creepy Nazi decor. Alex wondered if it could possibly be that obvious before moving over to the painting and lifting it off the wall. Someone had hollowed the drywall behind the painting. Alex pulled out several black, leather-bound journals. He flipped the first one open, curious about the contents. None of them were labeled on the outside. Alex wasn't surprised to find that it was a codex. He flipped through the first couple of codes and put the book in his backpack. The second book was a bound set of letters written in code. Well, he knew what he was doing after his homework. The codex probably held the keys for them. The third and final book appeared to be a bound set of completely unredacted files. They were in English. One of them had a silver scorpion on the front. SCORPIA. They seemed to pollute every element of his life. The last part of the book seemed to be personnel files for multiple agencies. Well, somebody had a traitor. Not that it seemed to be anything new. Alex shoved the two books into his bag with slightly more force and necessary and zipped it. Fenrir came into the room behind him, sniffing. "What is it?"

The wolf's ears twitched. Alex sighed and began to follow the wolf. This didn't feel right for some reason. He followed his wolf to the infirmary. Alex felt his mouth drop open as he walked in. There was a whole section that hadn't been there before. The shelves were clearly labeled and had different colored tints. It looked more like a weird area designed by modern artists than a hospital. "What the hell is this?"

Maddox appeared. "The advanced medical center. Also, the biometric locks have been set to you."

Alex started. "What does all of it do?"

Maddox sighed. "It mainly has to do with genetic modification and making existing remedies more effective, particularly the sprays in the drawers."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't that be excruciatingly painful on somebody fully grown? Or would it just make you sick for a while?"

Maddox looked at him. "It depends on what is being done. Some do both, but usually, you are either sick for a while or in excruciating pain for a few days."

Alex grimaced. "Why would anyone want to use it then?"

Maddox shrugs. "Enhancement to their form or if they were going to die otherwise."

He sighed. "What about side-effects and stuff? You can't tell me there aren't any."

Maddox whipped around. "Breach. One person approaching."

Alex drew his weapon. "Put the wall down over those shelves."

Maddox flickered. The grey-ish wall Alex remembered seeing descended from the ceiling. "Didn't you say this place was locked?"

Maddox shrugged. "Locks can be broken. And the others could have made security loopholes."

Alex sighed. "We may as well see what they want."

Fenrir tensed beside him. He heard an exclamation in a distinctly middle-class accent. "What in the bloody fuck is this place?"

The man drew a firearm of some sort. Without seeing it, the most Alex could tell you was that it was a handgun. Though, he'd had the same reaction, so he couldn't blame the man. His walk sounded distinctly military. The door opened. "What is a bleedin' kid and a giant fucking wolf doing with a hologram and a fucking handgun in a creepy-ass bunker?"

Alex shrugged. "Exploring?"

The man chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Can't blame you, I suppose. I would've done the same thing. Minus the gun, of course. Where'd you get it?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Nowhere special. What are you doing here?"

The man offered his hand. They both put the guns away. "Captain Charles Brandon. Honorable discharge. Here to investigate my dad's death. The paranoid old man had me change my name legally before he died."

Alex sighed. "Who was he?"

Charles sighed. "You don't know a bloke named Alastair Allen do you?"

Alex took a deep breath. "I guess you were the one he wanted in my place. I should give you the tapes."

Alex rummaged around for the drawer he put them in. He'd already made copies. The man seemed to be thinking. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

Alex did his best not to make a scathing remark. "I'm homeschooled and we're done until after dinner."

There was an awkward sort of silence. Charles started fidgeting nervously. "Er…"

Alex rolled his eyes and handed the man the tape where Allen talked about his death. "Spit it out."

Charles twitched a little. "So, I don't have a place at the moment and this is kind of yours…"

Alex shrugged. "Stay if you want. Just get a flat with a roommate soon or people will ask questions."

The man relaxed slightly. "I won't say anything about your gun if you don't tell people about mine."

Fenrir seemed to relax. "Fine. What did you do for the army, anyway?"

Alex was hoping engineer or doctor. Maybe scientist. "Doctor. I actually do have the doctorate by the way."

He seemed proud of the degree. "Any chance I could get you to review my homework or recommend a textbook?"

Charles had the faintest hint of a smile. "Sure." Alex decided to show him the library. They did a pretty good job of reading in amicable silence until Alex had to go.

Ian Rider was a very suspicious person. It, therefore, came as no surprise to Crawley that he was investigating where exactly mini-Rider went off to during the overgrown wolf's overlong walks. "He has to be up to something, Crawley."

Crawley sighed. "He is eleven and a half. It cannot be that bad. Maybe he just has a secret girlfriend or something."

Ian paused mid-pace. "At eleven? No. Besides, you said that last time, and then Gregorovich showed up."

Crawley sighed. "MI6 has confirmed rumors that he chose an apprentice."

Ian snorted bitterly. "Like he couldn't finish training that one or drop them for Alex when they realized exactly how skilled he is."

Crawley mentally groaned. This was why you didn't train children. "We have satellite confirmation that Gregorovich has not visited the island for an assignment in months."

Ian rolled his eyes. "With that man's client list? It means nothing. Besides, Gregorovich isn't the only threat. Sarov and that stupid drug dealer got involved. Don't think I forgot about Jones' little stunt either."

Crawley sighed. "Ian, relax. It's only a few hours every day."

On second thought, it wasn't at all relaxing, but he wasn't about to broadcast that either. Ian continued. "Byre was sticking his nose in it too."

Crawley mentally wished crucifixion on the man. "He won't cause a diplomatic incident. Not now, anyway. By the time he solidifies his new power base, Alex will be almost fully grown anyway."

Ian rubbed his eyes. "And Black Ops?"

Crawley snorted. "They can go suck a dick. You have the entire leadership dead to rights if you go public with any single assignment you've taken for them."

Ian supposed that was one way of handling them. "The crazy family members?"

Crawley sighed. "On paper, they are the better guardians. If you two go to court, you'll probably lose."

Ian sighed and Crawley continued. "Better start teaching Alex whatever culty shit they want him to know. You can always put a heavy negative tint on it if you want. Also, you could start out with the stories and leave the nastier shit for later. Not like they can say it isn't your family's version of teaching it."

Ian paused mid-pace again. "True. They'll probably figure it out."

Crawley grinned rather nastily. "Well, you said what you'd teach him, not the order. Also, from what you've told me the agreement is binding as long as you hold up your end. It falls under not your problem if they disagree with your teaching order and methods."

Ian snorted. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around."

Crawley smirked. "Is that the only reason?"

Ian pulled him physically off the chair and into a kiss. "I can think of a few others."

Alex walked in on Crawley getting water from the kitchen. Perfect. "So, Crawley."

Alex's voice was deceptively pleasant. "Yes, Alex?"

Alex took on a rather manic look. "You break Ian's heart. I break you. Got it?"

Crawley wondered how the kid could look actually menacing. "Err. Yes."

Alex sauntered out of the room. "Good."

Jack appeared after Alex left. "He does that to all of my dates, don't worry."

Crawley was not at all reassured, somehow. Starbright might think mini-Rider was nothing but sunshine and rainbows, but Crawley begged to differ. Plus, he had a man-eating wolf to take care of the body if something unfortunate happened. Ian walked in and got coffee. "Has Alex been death-threating Crawley?"

Crawley wondered how this was a common occurrence. Jack rolled her eyes. "Does he ever not death-threat my dates?"

Ian shrugged. "Good point."

Crawley sighed heavily. "Did we ever get that dog tested for wolf genes?"

Jack rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous Crawley, wolves are extinct in England. Besides, I don't really want to know what Alex would do if they tried to take Fenrir away."

Crawley ran his hands through his hair. Why was it always this family? Baxter was still griping about them not confiscating the wolf. Jones had rubbed it in by pointing a ten-year-old had done better than all of Black Operations before preemptively claiming Alex as theirs, should he choose to join the government in any capacity. Needless to say, neither Baxter nor Gregson had been particularly pleased with that remark. Then, there had been the absolute CF involving the parking lot explosion, which both agencies had neglected a bit due to other factors. Since it had been the both of them and the CIA, there had been a shitstorm involving jurisdiction. The CIA was also summarily refusing to fork over any of the evidence because they didn't want to be cut out of the retribution phase of the op (should it occur). Not to mention Ian's history of cutting out even his own bosses made him bad for interagency cooperation. Jones had asked him to tell Ian, who'd been mysteriously cooperative about leaving an investigation practically in his backyard alone. Ian NEVER did that. Crawley returned to the present. "You OK, Crawley?"

It was Jerry. "Yeah, kid. Just banking trouble."

Jerry swung up onto the countertop. "Eh, don't let it get to you. Want to go out for a walk?"

There was paperwork he still needed to do. Surprisingly, Crawley was able to let it go. "You know what, I think I would." It was one of the few nice, sunny days.

Captain Charles Brandon had seen and done a lot of things. Some of the places he'd been to had made him forget just how odd Londoners could be sometimes. Granted, most eleven-year-olds in London weren't packing. That Alex Rider was probably one of the odder kids he'd met. Brandon could tell he knew how to use a gun, but he didn't quite give off a child soldier vibe. He knew what that looked like and had to repress his gag reflex as all those fun memories came back up. Then again, it wasn't like he had anything better to do at the moment. He needed a job and a flatmate. The pension was really not enough to live on at the moment. Then again, he had this nice bunker, even if it came with a weird-ass hologram, an odd mutt, and the weirdest kid he'd ever met. He figured he'd go for clinical work. Surgery was out because of the hours. Charles already had no family, friends, or social life, thank you. Well, most of them were in the army to be fair. His mind kept wandering back to the tape, the kid, and the bunker. From what he understood, the only way the hologram would team up with the kid is if the kid was going against MI6. Brandon wondered why. The kid might be a little off, but he didn't deserve to die and didn't seem to have a death wish. He took a deep breath. The tapes the kid had given him had to be the ones his father was talking about. Charles sighed. He didn't want to believe it. He'd been a hardcore patriot once, after all. But, with some of the things he'd seen…the government was capable of terrible things. Great things. Things for the greater good. It didn't make them any less horrific. First things first, job, house, murder investigation. Then he could worry about the kid he'd just met. Hopefully, they wouldn't both wind up dead.

Brendan Chase was interested in Pierre. The most he'd been able to get, even with SCORPIA's vast resources, was the bare minimum for any decent file. Pierre had to be a newer identity. No suspicious travel patterns. Only one dodgy account at a shady bank. Contact with Yassen Gregorovich usually took vast amounts of credibility in the criminal world, but Pierre openly worked for intelligence. Chase got the feeling human resources was only the tip of the iceberg with this guy. They'd already linked him to the freelancers they'd hired to test the base. Graves and Stein. Unfortunately, those two didn't fall under what anyone would call credible witnesses. In fact, if they were ever caught, they'd have reasonable grounds for an insanity defense and that really said it all. Chase was really dying to find out what his other identities were. The most Nile had been able to get out of the bank was a promise to deliver the letter and the fact that the man had an account there. Out of sheer irritation at the sudden hole in his network, he summoned Yassen. Politely, of course. The man tended to get stabby around the employees if you were rude and reliable housekeeping was surprisingly difficult to find. "Yassen, do come in."

The man walked into his office. Even in SCORPIA, he was considered a bit of a holy terror. "Pierre."

Chase didn't phrase it as a question. "Owed me a favor and came highly recommended."

Chase sighed. Pulling teeth. "What exactly did this pertain to?"

Yassen was about as readable as stone. "Help to get someone out of a tight spot in exchange for an unidentified favor in the future. An apprentice was part of his repayment, though he is not from the usual circles of the skin trade."

Chase drummed his fingers on the desk. Not a human trafficker, then. He wasn't surprised. Pierre seemed too...firm in his disregard for SCORPIA for that sort of thing. Chase gave up on the subtle approach. "Who the hell is he and what does he do?"

Yassen didn't react at the change in tone. "He wisely doesn't use his actual name for the business and the closest you might have to a job description is fixer or consultant."

Chase sighed. "In other words, more slippery than a greased eel."

There might have been a ghost of a smile in Gregorovich's face at that comparison. "You could say that, Mr. Chase." Yassen was promptly dismissed.

Brendan Chase had finally decided on a reply. He'd gone against some of the recommendations from Dr. Steiner, but he had a bit of a gut feeling that he was right in doing so. Besides, he tended to take anything based in psychology with a grain of salt. They had all been fooled before. Chase didn't hold as much a grudge as some of the board over John Rider (cough, Rothman, cough). Really, the man had been pleasant enough. Plus, they'd gotten Yassen out of the ordeal. It reminded him of the early days of SCORPIA, doing this sort of thing. They actually had a challenge attempting to recruit some members and the few who resisted had always been...noteworthy. It took a lot to gain the respect of a SCORPIA executive board member, but a few solid operatives on both sides on the line did. Pierre almost reminded him of someone he'd met in the early days. It had been ages since he'd directly handled a large operation with an intelligence agency. Odair, maybe? Rider had been more polite, but that had been his role. They'd both had a fondness for the same sort of sarcastic jokes. Chase remembered Odair vividly. It was impossible not to really. The unnaturally green eyes and the build of an agility fighter. The almost androgynous features. Plus, all the gay jokes and the time he showed up to a GOP fundraiser in full drag and complained loudly about his (nonexistent) black Jewish boyfriend not being allowed in. Chase had barely resisted cracking up at that one and they were normally boring as shit. The death puns, dear god, the death puns. They never had found the body. Not SCORPIA, not MI6, not the CIA. One day, he'd just vanished. It was well known that most intelligence agencies (and crime syndicates) would pay a good deal of money for information of any kind on the man. Brendan sighed. He had a letter to type and shouldn't be reminiscing about the only (and long-dead) competent agent the CIA ever had.

Dear Mr. Pierre,

I'm sorry to hear about your allergy to wanted lists. Hopefully, it isn't kicked up by your recent communications with myself and dear Cossack. On a simpler note, would you perhaps consider expanding your market a little? You know how the smallest ideas can vastly improve company profits, I'm sure. Besides, you could be dead wrong about the amount of trouble it would bring you, especially considering the benefits. You should consider a large, stable private company, namely mine. I'm sure we could, at the very least, find ways to make your life easier.

Brendan Chase

Alex looked at Chase's letter with a mixture of amusement and alarm. He had a feeling Chase felt comfortable being more casual than some of the other board members. It didn't mean the man was any less deadly. Alex figured it was just him being Australian. ASIS definitely had a more familiar environment than MI6. Then again, Blunt had the charisma of a dead undertaker and Jones was more of a coin toss, but was probably going to end up just like him in a few years, give or take. He sighed a refocusing on the letter, which he'd predictably gotten on one of his semi-frequent trips to Switzerland. Ian seemed to have given up on caring about the trips as long as he got his homework done and paid attention to the extremely odd family history and philosophy he was supposed to have learned ages ago. At the moment, he was contemplating his reply to Chase. Alex groaned before deciding to go with his usual brand of humor bordering on disrespect.

Dear Mr. Chase,

I assure you my allergy shan't act up if you don't. As for my area, I say with all due respect to mind your own business. I'm well aware of your wide, pervasive, and ever-expanding to the point of borderline parasitism into the private area, Mr. Chase. As for the trouble, my independence is well worth it. On the lighter note, you seem to move awfully fast, Mr. Chase. Didn't your mother ever tell you that no means no? Besides, we really do know nothing about each other and I'd prefer to keep it that way.

Good day,

Alec Pierre

Amanda Teller was considered to be part of the fringes of the Brooklands social ecosystem. More recently, due to an unfortunate rumor spreading douche, she was also considered loose. The irony of her still being a virgin was not lost on her and more than once sent her into fits of amused, if slightly bitter, laughter. Amanda, who only answered to Mandy unless it was her mother, had found a bright spot in talking to the younger children. Tom had even decided to bring Alex, the boy genius over. Many was just hoping for a friend intelligent enough for decent conversation. Plus, Alex was nice. Everybody knew he hated bullies. Tom was sweet enough, but Alex well...Mandy liked him. One look at those adorable brown eyes and her people problems just faded away. She might have a problem with brown eyes. She rather eagerly awaited her playdate with the two boys, even if she pretended it was more for their sake. The d-bag had decided to spread rumors in hopes she would put out. How that worked in his mind, she wasn't sure. No self-respecting girl would touch him with a ten-foot pole and disposable gloves without some sort of drug involved and a lot of it. The rumors about him were...unsavory to say the least. Some of the other unpopular girls had made the mistake of going to the asshole's parties and regretted it. Amanda filed her nails before digging out the new super black nail polish she'd bought to paint her nails with. She had a pride in her black nails, naturally black hair, black lipstick, and blue tint eyeliner. Her eyes were a dull muddy brown. She wished she had Alex's chocolate color or just maybe something darker. Yes, mother, she knew the boys were only eleven. Yes, they were just friends. What kind of gross pervert did her mom think she was? Alex and Tom were cute, but in a definitely childlike way that triggered a gag reflex with the thought of dating them. Mandy carefully treated her gecko with a swab. Her mother wouldn't let her get a snake, and this had been their compromise. The gecko had a mild infection or so the vet said. Mandy just wanted Newton to get better. She carefully closed the terrarium after dropping more live crickets in. The doorbell rang to let the boys in.

Alex Rider mentally sighed as he approached the house. Nothing good ever happened to him in large, luxurious homes. Mandy's house indicated her family was well off, but not in an ostentatious way. Older money, most likely. He rang the doorbell. Mandy opened the door in all her goth girl glory. Alex though black made her look rather pale, but was wise enough not to say so aloud. "Good afternoon."

Mandy grinned. "No need to stand on formality. Tom was right, you do need more friends."

Alex snorted. "And you look like such a good influence, goth girl. Are you sure you're not going to sacrifice us to Cthulhu?"

Mandy laughed out loud. "Been listening to the principal, have we? He's a clueless idiot."

Alex smirked. "Even if you bought him a clue, I doubt he'd get it. If you have a real problem, try the secretary or the vice principal."

Mandy rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to them either. My peers, my problem. Besides, what can they really do? Put people in detention? It's such a huge punishment."

Alex grinned. "Yeah, I'm sure Mr. I-get-beaten-at-home-and-like-to-take-it-out-on-little-kids is definitely going to tremble in fear of quiet time in a nice air-conditioned room."

Mandy cuffed him. "That's the spirit. We'll turn you into a cynical social reject in no time."

Alex flashed his most innocent wide-eyed look. "But aren't I already?"

Mandy laughed. "Just wait until I introduce you to political commentary, you'll never look at government officials the same way again."

Mandy's mother just happened to be passing by. "AMANDA TELLER! No corrupting innocent children!"

Mandy put on an innocent face nobody believed. "But mom, I'm just introducing them to-"

Her mother rolled her eyes. "I'm kidding, corrupt them to your heart's content. We need more active informed citizens instead of idealistic tethered sheep. Just don't let your father hear those radio talks. He'll try to debate the commentators."

The mother walked off. "Why can't Ian be like that?"

Tom grinned. "He's paranoid about you landing yourself on a watch list." Alex groaned and they headed up to Mandy's room to see the gecko.

Mandy enjoyed having little kids around. They were all so young and impressionable. Well, Alex and Tom weren't that impressionable, but they still listened to her talk about the podcasts and all kinds of things. She didn't mention the other kids at school, but this was nice. Her mom brought up snacks that she hadn't made since Mandy was twelve. Of course, they were supposed to be for the boys' benefit, but if she was honest she ate quite a bit of them too. Alex seemed fascinated with the gecko, not that she blamed him. Reptiles were awesome. She liked snakes. Tom noticed her looking at Alex, who was staring at the gecko. "Don't mind him, he has a problem with animals."

Alex swatted at his friend. "Oi, I have one dog, you bum."

Tom grinned. "Yes, one massive dog the size of a horse who you handfed from the time it was a puppy."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Lots of people raise puppies."

Tom's eyes had an unholy gleam Alex suspected was just sheer amusement. "Yeah, but they don't feed them raw meat from the butcher and take them on train rides."

Alex sighed. "I just take one look in his eyes and crumble, you know. Can't help it."

Tom just kept snorting. "Yeah, his freaky yellow eyes. You're like one of those moms who refuses to admit their kid is a little weird."

Alex felt his lips involuntarily twitch. "I'm secure enough in my masculinity not to rise to that bait, Tom. Feeling threatened?"

Mandy lost it first and collapsed into a fit of giggles. The boys joined in, but Mandy kept laughing to the point of breathlessness. "It wasn't that funny."

She wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. "Oh, but it was."

Alex figured. "Mmmhmm. So Mandy, what's really wrong?"

Alex was trying to be soothing. He delicately reached for her hair and started gently running his hands through it. Mandy bit her lip awkwardly. "Um."

Alex delicately touched a few more strands. "Well? It's not like we're going to tell anyone."

Mandy huffed awkwardly. "Err. Did your family give you the talk?"

Alex flushed faintly at the memory. "Um, yeah."

Mandy sighed. "So this asshole decided to spread rumors that we, well...you know."

Alex mentally rolled his eyes. Mandy had probably never held anyone's hand, let alone had sex. He kept his face neutral and sympathetic, though. Alex did wonder if assault charges would apply if the guy had five years and a hundred pounds on him. Alex shrugged. "And?"

Mandy growled. "I didn't. I've never even touched a guy!"

Alex gently patted her shoulder. "I believe you, but most of your cretin peers don't, I assume?"

Mandy huffed and started pacing. "Yeah, and freaking Stone is having all his buddies spread it!"

Alex felt one of his nastier impulses come on. "Well, Mandy, you can keep denying rumors and making Stone look like he's telling the truth or you can turn this around on Stone."

Mandy froze mid-pace. "How?"

Alex's smirk came with an unholy grin. "Well, you target his pride. Start complaining about how he was in bed and make sure the gossip girl is nearby. You can say, oh, he was tiny and finished in like three seconds and that he called his mother's name out afterward and then you can tell your guy friend-"

Mandy interjected. "Mason."

Alex continued. "Mason, about how it's enough to put any girl off pity fucks for life."

Tom laughed. "Oh, Alex, you're evil."

Alex felt his fingers twitch. Strangling asshole rumored rapists was antisocial or so his shrink had told him. "He started it."

Mandy's eyes took on a savage cast. "You know what? You might just be onto something there, tadpole."

Needless to say, her social life improved after certain ghastly rumors about Stone began circling the school. Alex didn't know if it was his first or last name, but he hoped the guy got hit by a truck. There were enough misogynistic pieces of shit wasting oxygen in the world. Mandy called to arrange a permanent social event once a week a few days later. Ian raised an eyebrow after confirming it with Mrs. Teller. "She got attached."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Mandy is nice."

Ian shrugged. "Just remember…"

Alex rolled his eyes. Honestly, he was eleven. "We are just friends."

Ian sighed. "She dresses in solid black and publicly protests human right abuses by the government."

Alex grinned. "I support her endeavor wholeheartedly and hope she continues to exercise her right to free speech in Speaker's Corner."

Ian withheld him moan. "I don't like it, but have fun and don't burn any effigies. MI6 likes to track people who do."

Alex withheld his preferred comment. MI6 was a bunch of paranoid fuckers. "Yes, Ian."