Chapter 43: Grave Peril

Brendan Chase had wanted to bury the remains of his family for years. He was torn between sending the absolute shit, Pierre, something nice and decapitating him for sheer fucking gall. Chase figured that it was probably a common feeling for anyone who met the man. A Grinch sweater and the bodies of his family. Chase wondered how he was going to respond and Gregorovich had been absolutely no help. The man had given him an amused look and told him the gift selection, while unusual, was typical of Pierre. Gregorovich, the lucky piece of shit, hadn't gotten anything, much less a confusing and contradictory pair of gifts way past Christmas. He was currently watching the excavation team with its' many corpse dogs and equipment attempt to locate the bodies and get a relative depth before having to dig them up. Chase half expected Pierre to turn up and ask how he liked his sweater. No such luck, unfortunately. At any rate, he made sure to stay a good way back until they were sure this place wasn't rigged to blow up. Jones would definitely consider it worth the collateral damage and the spot of the forest it would wipe him out. Nile was still on vacation, but he had the rest of his security with him. It was almost odd not to have a second-in-command around. They had found the bodies. Chase sighed. Technically, it was a huge risk to come here in person, but this was something he wanted to be done right. It would be a few hours until they dug up the remains, but what was left would be little more than bone in this environment. They would have to use dental records to identify them. Chase sat back and watched the crew. What had made Pierre so cynical? Why had he given him the information? At the same time, why did he stay on the fence? There were far worse entrance points into SCORPIA than Pierre had now. The man was barely twenty if his theory was right. What had made the man lose faith in the agency he served? It usually took longer. Frankly, most of them were so self-righteous it was frightening to meet with them for an extended period of time. Pierre struck him as the opposite. He knew he was in a moral grey area and was probably enjoying the crap out of confusing the hell out of him. Curse the man. He was going to need blood pressure medication at this rate. Or he might get a complex or something. This was interesting, but, honestly, who in their right mind sent a Grinch sweater and the location of a person's dead family members for Christmas?

Mandy had invited him over for dinner. There was nothing unusual about that in and of itself, but Alex suspected the next dinner topic would be somewhat awkward. The parliament he voted to wait on the decision about the exchange program and the new deadline was coming up. It was being talked about quite a bit. Alex suspected Jones had delayed the vote because it would probably pass and Sarov hadn't been exactly subtle to anyone in the know. Alex was sure that he and some of his friends might be booking plane tickets to Russia for the next school year. Alex would be halfway to thirteen at the time and he suspected that the candidacy would be decided well in the future of the actual school year. He wondered if Jones would come up with enough alternates that he could avoid being entered. Ian would have a fit. Surely there were enough deviant nobility to blackmail if nothing else. Alex was pondering this as he and Tom approached his friend's door. Mandy opened up and pulled him into a hug. Alex involuntarily stiffened before relaxing into it. Mandy was still wearing her goth getup, much to Alex's amusement. "Hello there, still being a threat to society?"

Mandy was practically carrying him inside. He hated being this small. "Shut up, munchkin."

Alex grinned into her collarbone. "Why? Do I remind you of how deprived of male company you are?"

That had him dropped and whacked upside the head. "Child abuse, Mandy, really?"

Mandy rolled her eyes. "Awww, munchkin, I'm almost not glad to see you."

Alex smirked. "Oh, but you miss my good looks and stunning intelligence."

Mandy smirked right back at him. "Yeah, you're stunningly low intelligence. I'm amazed your IQ is high enough to let you breathe without assistance."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "I'm amazed yours is high enough that it constitutes consent when you give it."

Tom was staring at them with a kind of horrified awe. Alex wondered if Tom needed more friends or a pet. "What have I done?"

Alex and Mandy answered at the same time. "Introduced us to the start of a wonderful friendship."

Tom paled. "Oh no, it's worse than you and Hale, much, much worse."

Alex shrugged. "Just relax and have an extra dessert, Tom."

Tom snorted at the rest of the table - James, Adrian, Nigel, Karen, Adrian, Gillian, and Richard were already there. The dinner was in its' usual set of three courses. Mrs. Teller smiled at his appearance. "How was Australia, dear?"

Alex returned her warm look. "Quite wild, Mrs. Teller."

She brought out the first course and very forcefully rejected his offers to help out. It was nice not to have to serve himself once in a while. Alex had also cooked for himself quite a bit. "How is the homeschooling?"

Alex shrugged. "Enlightening, Mrs. Teller."

She once again tried to get him to call her by her first name. It was the least tense dinner Alex had been to in a long, long time.

I t was Karen's turn to call the meeting to order. "Nothing major has occurred. We're investigating some rather salacious rumors surrounding the new English hire before next year. Some of the parents mentioned that he'd resigned before he was fired."

Alex had to interject. "Isn't that usually bullying, harassment, or pedophilia that couldn't be proven in court?"

Actually, with the way Ian was, Alex could probably get him to look into it. "Which is why we want to get on it."

Mandy interjected. Karen sighed softly. "Worst comes to worst, I can put a hit on him."

Alex knew how, actually. It would be a low-level one, but still. He was pretty sure he'd identified (with Maddox's help) all the bars where it could happen. Alex could play the part of a courier. Plenty of gangs used kids because they were less suspicious, more malleable, and got lighter sentences. Everyone just stared at him. "What? I'm not letting a pedophile near the primary students."

Alex would strangle the man with his bare hands and take whatever Tulip Jones blackmailed him with before that happened. "It could be a case of poor fit with his colleagues."

Alex shrugged. "I'd love to be proven wrong."

Mandy sighed but had a fond smile on her face. "Did anyone get their hands on a police report?"

Adrian shrugged. "For what it's worth, he has no convictions. Then again, they can be bribed and they can't start anything without evidence."

Gillian sighed. "Alright, we need to bug his house and preferably get our hands on his hard drive."

Alex shrugged. "I can give getting us remote administrative access a try."

Richard perked up. "Why not? It'll save us the bugs and a B&E trip."

They moved on to other less important things before Mandy got impatient and decided to shove the conversation along. Talking over Nigel (the meeting had descended into mostly gossip at this point), she addressed Alex. "What do you think if the exchange program?"

Mandy was practically bouncing in her chair.

A lex wondered how he was going to swing this. "It's interesting. Why now, though? They could have held off for a few more years, at least in theory."

Mandy shrugged. "But isn't it exciting? The country has been closed off for ages."

Alex shrugged. "It's a nice place to celebrate Christmas or summer hols, but I wouldn't want to live there."

Mandy pouted. "You went to Russia without me?! Alex!"

Alex laughed at the pouty expression. "Sorry, Mands, Ian wouldn't even take Tom."

Plus, she might have discovered the family cult and murdered by Marion. She pouted and then paused. "Why the grotesque favoritism?"

Alex let out a sigh. "It wasn't Ian. It was Grandfather. He's really strict about family traditions and stuff."

Mandy huffed. "Rude."

Tom shrugged. "His aunt and uncle from the other side are real nasty anyway. Alex doesn't even like them that much."

Alex rolled his eyes. "It's okay, Tom, they're only physically and mentally abusive about a quarter of the time you're around them. The rest of the time, they're either teaching you advanced topics or attempting to murder each other and Ian."

Dead silence fell across the room. "Uh, dude, that's really not okay."

It was Adrian. Alex snorted with laughter. "Yeah, but they're connected so the only way to get rid of them is to murder them yourself."

Mandy sighed. "This kinda why we exist, Alex."

Alex waved them off. "They mean well, but grandfather is planning on getting them psychological help."

Gillian gave him a withering look. "So basically you spend a month with your crazy relatives and hope for the best."

Alex shrugged. "I've got Ian and Gramps on my side."

Kind of. Sort of. If he could keep them from strangling each other. Tom seemed to detect his cue. "Alright, moving on. Who's applying for Russia?"

Mandy's arm shot up. Adrian and Gillian shook their heads. James snorted. "I think my uncle actually fought Russians, so I can't."

James was an orphan but raised by his elderly uncle and aunt. Nigel and Tom didn't speak any other languages fluently. Richard snorted. "I don't want to mess up my future ambitions."

Karen sighed. "My mother won't let me. Too risky, she says."

Alex sighed. "Ian's very cold war."

And, as an actual spy, Ian would likely cause a national incident before he let Alex live with 'the enemy' for nine months. "He might, but I wouldn't count on it."

Yeah, his boss might blackmail him into letting Alex go if enough snobby rich kids didn't sign up. Ian would go berserk. Alex had a feeling Gramps wouldn't care, and Yassen would be delighted to have him out from his uncle's watchful eye. Alex would have ordinarily liked to go but didn't want to have his activities restricted to the point that most children were. Mandy pouted. "If you do sign-up, I'll have daddy pull some strings so you get in."

The sentence reminded Alex that Mandy was, in fact, a teenager, for all of her intelligence. "You don't have to."

Mandy grinned. "It's okay, you meet all the qualifications, anyway."

Alex was pretty sure Tulip Jones and Alexei Sarov wielded more influence than Mr. Teller and had a much more vested interest in his going to Russia, but wasn't going to say so. "Err, thanks, Mandy."

Well, that was awkward. Nigel broke the silence. "If that's all, it's nearly midnight."

Alex shrugged and got up to go to bed.

Grim was waiting for him in his dream. An eerie specter, with the backdrop of a burning house. This time, there was more in the void. It was a garden. Alex noticed the plants at first. They were all deadly, deadly poison. "The fuck?"

Grim rolled his eyes. "Shortstack. Nice to see you too?"

It was deliberately phrased as a question. Alex flipped Grim off. Alex snarled. "What do you want, you self-serving-"

Grim threw a fireball. "Tsk, tsk. Get that temper under control."

Alex sighed. At least the fireball hadn't connected. "Now, shorty, try it again."

Alex sighed. "What do you want oh great one?"

Grim snorted. "Not an Oscar winner, but it will do."

Alex huffed. "You would think a former spy would be more subtle."

Alex picked up a rock and threw it at him. Grim didn't even have to dodge that hard. "I wish I could introduce you to Blunt. He seems to think I'm a perfect little weapon."

Grim smirked. "He's not wrong. It's just you make a better weapon than a spy. Ever tried not blowing shit up on missions? 'Cause the secret spy ain't so secret when you leave every enemy a smoldering ash pile in a smoking crater and rarely bother with hair dye or contacts."

Alex flipped him off again. "But that's the fun part."

Grim smirked. "Don't get me wrong. It's pretty awesome, but that's the kinda stuff that spreads, shortstack."

Grim motioned to the bench. "Come, let us sit."

Alex sighed and sat down next to the embodiment of death in dreamland. "Why am I here?"

Grim shrugged and plucked a flower. It was from a blooming Lily of the Valley. Grim immediately waved his hand over it, turning it into some sort of black stone. Alex scowled. "Show off."

Grim handed him the flower. It didn't feel like obsidian. "What is it?"

Grim snorted. "Black diamond. It's my stone, or, rather, one of them."

Alex figured Grim would get to the point sometime in the near future. "What are the others?"

Grim shrugged. "Garnet and moonstone."

Alex shrugged, so the myths had some truth after all. "Do you have a point you're getting to?"

Grim gestured at the flower. "Two, actually."

Alex looked at the man expectantly. "One, my compatriots tell me you're supposed to have a token to wear."

Alex huffed. "Can't you just give me a wristband or something?"

Alex knew that tokens could not be removed. "You're funny, shortstack. Tokens are a pride thing. I can veil it to all eyes but yours, though."

Alex huffed. "That would be nice."

Grim took his right hand. "I figured you'd want a bracelet since a ring would mess with your knife work."

Alex groaned. "It's like we're getting bloody engaged. Just fucking do it."

Grim smirked. A black ring made of solid diamond appeared on his wrist. Grim frowned. "Too plain."

The ring morphed on his arm. "It'll grow with me?"

Grim gave him a look that questioned his intelligence. The ring now had garnet and moonstone inlay. It was a lily with a wave design in red. The lily was almost like a real lily. The detail work was physically impossible for a human craftsman at the moment. "Why a lily?"

Grim smirked. "Well, you are a virgin, snookums."

Alex attempted to remove his hand to punch Grim. Grim chuckled. "They symbolize death, you stupid shit. I don't actually care who you fuck or if you fuck."

Alex sighed. "The red river should be obvious enough."

Alex raised an eyebrow at Grim. "Right."

Alex wondered of Grim was ADD. "What was the other thing?"

Grim sighed. "Do you want to save crazy, obsessed-with-you, and Russian?"

Alex looked at Grim. "Sarov or Yassen?"

Grim snorted. "It's a little sad when you have to ask which blond Russian stalker I mean."

Alex growled. It was a sensitive topic. "Shut the fuck up, Grim."

Grim sobered up. "I mean Sarov, shortstack."

Alex sighed. "Yes, I do."

The man had offered him a family, or at least his version of it. Alex had never really been offered that by anyone else who meant it that sincerely. Grim put a hand on his shoulder. "Then you have to go to Russia."

Alex turned into Grim. "What do you mean?"

Grim sighed. "It's the only way he stays sane. Go to Russia, be his son for nine months. I'm sorry, I looked into the different futures every way I know how."

Alex groaned. "What about Ian? What about the rest of it?"

Grim shrugged. "You can have the bank send your messages to you electronically. It can wait a year, for the most part. And your uncle is a grown, fully-trained adult. Let him fend for himself a year."

Alex glared at Grim. "I hate you sometimes."

Grim smirked. "No, you don't."

Alex wondered how Grim knew. The bracelet wasn't uncomfortable like the few he'd worn before. "Craftsmanship. You were wearing cheap shit. This one ain't."

Alex sighed. Grim was irritating when you forgot how he could read minds. Alex lay his head against Grim. "I thought this would be simple."

The man's unearthly hand gently patted him. "Life is always tiring, shortstack."

Alex sighed. "And now I have to live forever."

Grim huffed. The man was ice-cold. "Just do messages. Enjoy the one year you can spend as a kid. Sarov will actually be parental, you know."

Alex remembered something. "This is the year Grief starts his sicko replacements."

Grim shrugged. "Your family will be in trouble soon, too. I recommend you take care of the crazies at the same time. Remember your aunt's greatest wish."

Alex groaned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Alex was flung out of the void into consciousness.

Alex shot up in the guest bed he was currently resting in. It took him a minute to get his bearings and not throw up from the dizziness. He felt his right arm. The bracelet was on his arm, just a beautiful as in the dream. It was a masculine piece of jewelry, thank goodness. It would be way worse to be stuck with a woman's bracelet. His aunt's greatest wish...what would that mean? Marion had always wanted a compatriot in his mother. Meaning Alex by proxy if she couldn't have the original. So what was Grim telling him? Rescue the family first and then go get the rich kid(s)? That would make sense since Marion could call for backup if things got shady. Alex shrugged. Grief hadn't planned to kill them until his plan was complete (around three years). Julius had been from the youngest batch when Grief had nearly completed his plan. Alex looked at the clock and cursed. Even Mrs. Teller wouldn't be up for another hour. Alex knew he wasn't going to get back to sleep. He set to practicing after his warm-up. He had plenty of time for his two-hour workout. Breakfast wouldn't be ready for at least two and a half hours. Alex decided to try some meditation exercises before he did actually warm-up. As much as he hated meditation, it had its uses. After about a half hour, he was bored and began his warm-up. He did like the extra think-time. Alex finished his practice with barely enough time to shower and change into his spare set of clothes (he usually kept several on him in his backpack). Mrs. Teller looked at his freshly showered form oddly when he was the first down the stairs. Alex was starving. "Just finished my morning workout, ma'am."

Mrs. Teller placed his plate down in front of him a few seconds later. Ian barged in slightly later than stupendously early, but with the same impatient energy. Mrs. Teller shoved a plate into his hands before yelling for the rest of Alex's friends. Ian looked stupefied at the amount of unhealthy food on the said plate. Alex gave Ian the evil eye. "Thank you, Mrs. Teller. It looks delicious."

Ian actually managed to sound convincing, so Alex was pacified. Alex wondered what was going on. Ian was usually a little savvier than this. Tom was patient enough to wait until the car and that was about it. "What's going on?"

Ian lied smoothly. "Marion is having medical issues. I'll give Alex a few more details in private when we get home."

Translation: Marion and Darian are captured. I'm going to threaten Alex in private to let his dear old grandfather go on his own to retrieve their sorry, incompetent asses.

Alex immediately scowled at both of his adult relatives. Patrick was the first to speak up. "I shall be departing to rescue my children soon. Ian, I expect you to look after the children."

Alex glared at the man. "You're going alone?"

Alex didn't mean to make it sound like the man was incompetent or anything, but Patrick was old. Alex didn't really feel comfortable sitting at home while his aunt and uncle were possibly being tortured, either. "I can look after myself, Alex."

Alex sighed. "I didn't mean it like that."

It was one of the few times he had actually blushed. "Err, don't you think it would be educational to take me?"

Alex tried, with the most innocent expression he could possibly manage. Ian looked like he was about to explode from the sheer rage. Patrick looked amused. "Educational in the art of child abuse, perhaps. No, Alex, you will not be coming with me."

Alex huffed. It had been worth a try. "Jason and Lilly shall not either."

Alex mentally groaned. Welp, there went the rest of his argument. Ian looked pacified for once. There went all of his legal options. Luckily, he had some fake papers. Yassen might not be willing to help him, but Tara or Frank was psychotic enough to not care about his age. Maddox would help him find his aunt and uncle and whatever else he needed. Marion was pretty malleable in terms of what she would constitute 'family activities' and Darian was pliable in general. He would probably only take his aunt. Marion struck him as the more overprotective and secretive of the two. She would keep a secret. "Right."

Is what came out of his mouth. Ian didn't look like he bought Alex's lack of argument. "Alex, so help me, if you leave the country on some sort of misguided rescue attempt-"

Alex tuned out the rest of the lecture. What was Ian going to do? Ground him? He was mentally eighteen. It wouldn't exactly be a punishment that would affect his behavior. Patrick was eyeing him with a mixture of amusement and suspicion. Fenrir was sticking a massive paw under the door since Alex was late for their walk. Ian saw where his eyes had flicked to. "You're not listening to a word I say, are you?"

Alex shrugged. "Don't leave the country. Blah, blah, blah. Don't rescue your aunt and another uncle. Blah, blah, blah. Or else. Blah, blah, blah. Can I go now?"

His deadpan expression was worthy of Yassen. Ian sighed. "I suppose."

The two let him go with a glance at each other.

Ian Rider's first mistake was to assume Alex would actually obey him. His second was allowing Alex to walk his dog by himself. Alex entered the familiar bunker. "Maddox?"

The computer hologram appeared. "Yes, Alex?"

Alex saunters over. "I assume you know what happens next."

Maddox sighed (as much as a hologram could sigh). "You're going on a harebrained rescue mission and a trip to stop the insane doctor."

Alex grinned. Maddox knew most of what he did, if not how, and his goals regarding the knowledge. "Got it in one."

Maddox began uploading information into his third phone. "You'll want this, then."

Alex heard a shuffling voice behind him. "You aren't going without an adult, are you?"

Alex mentally groaned. Of all the times for Captain Brandon to appear, why did it have to be now? "Maybe. What's it to you?"

Brandon grinned. "Got a room for one more on the crazy train?"

Alex snorted. It wasn't a bad idea. "You get that you'll basically be kidnapping me, right?"

Brandon shrugged. "You'll go either way, so it's better if I come. Besides, your guardians know that you're a bit of a manipulative little shit, so I'll hardly be blamed."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "That's not how international law works."

Brandon growled. "Well, that's how this is going to work, so the international law can shove it. When do we leave?"

Alex stared. "Don't you have a job?"

Or a life? Or a pet? Or something? Brandon shrugged. "Dear Boss, due to some unavoidable family issues, I need to resign."

Was the Captain's retort. There was no way Alex was going alone. "Doesn't he know your family is dead?"

The man shrugged. "I haven't told him."

Alex huffed. "Fine. You can come. I'm in charge."

The computer began whirring. "Your boarding passes are printing now. They match your fake second set in the bank in Switzerland. You're welcome."

Alex grinned. "Aw, thanks."

Maddox sounded disapproving. "Do be careful, gentleman."

Alex smirked. "Am I ever not Maddox?"

Maddox made another whirring sound as the hologram moved. "I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer."

Alex and Brandon boarded the train to Switzerland close to dusk. Fenrir was padding silently along with them. "Are you sure we should take the dog?"

Alex shrugged. "Maddox must have included the documents for him for a reason."

Brandon shrugged. "Aren't we breaking some sort of quarantine law?"

Alex raised an eyebrow at the man. "Right, never mind then."

Technically, they were about to break all sorts of laws. Quarantine would be the least of them. Alex got to the bank and told Charles to wait in the lobby. Alex grabbed a few documents and had a bit of money transferred into the current Japanese currency. It should be enough for the few days they were going to be there. He slid it into his backpack and got out some of the metal devices to deposit. They had metal detectors at the airports. The rest of his stuff looked innocuous enough to pass an inspection. He could squeeze maybe that and an extra knife into the one X-ray proof case he had in his possession from the basement. Ian would get them from MI6 if he needed them. Alex decided to keep all three phones, but the one Ian had given him would be losing its battery for most of the trip. He stepped out into the lobby a few minutes later. "Ready to go?"

Brandon shrugged. He, like Alex, carried enough on him that a few days of spontaneous travel wouldn't be too much of a strain. "Yeah. My pack is good. You?"

Alex grinned. "Let's go. We've got a plane to catch."

Brandon rolled his eyes. He was getting old and really failing to adjust to civilian life, but that was okay. This was going to be exciting. The all-too-familiar sensation he got from just before a military strike was back. His smile may have had a slightly predatory edge. "Yes, we do."

The Zurich airport was clean if a bit crowded. Their flight wasn't until eight, so they had time for dinner. The crowds would help confuse any cameras they might come across. Alex knew that by entering a separate country, there would be an information delay. Jones would have to get the Swiss to give up their information if she discovered what names they were going by and which airport it was. Fenrir was well-behaved and, while a bit startled at his size, the staff seemed impressed by his sheer size. They didn't seem to give him any trouble, even though they didn't seem to have a cage large enough to fit him. Alex had just given them the extra plane ticket, slightly bemused. His baby was going to ride with him. Brandon just shook his head. "That mutt is more spoiled than you are."

Alex had grinned. "You bet your sorry ass, Ca-I mean, Pops."

The man rolled his eyes. "Language, son, we're in public."

Brandon managed to sound just scandalized enough for them to be actually related. The officials didn't seem remotely suspicious. Then again, the Swiss were well known for minding their own business. They had a nice dinner, nothing fancy. Fenrir had eyed his chicken so pitifully that Alex had just gotten an entire extra three breasts for him. Brandon had snorted with laughter at that. They boarded the plane, just as Alex got a text from Ian.

-A

Where are you?

-I

Alex wondered how to mention this. He was certain that Ian was going to lose it at the thought of him boarding a plane to Tokyo. Alex wondered how bad the next lecture was going to be. He was risking his life for his family, which was a legitimate reason in his book.

-I

Not in a mountain range?

-A

Ian was internally panicking. Patrick was already gone and he couldn't leave Britain without the other children. The man would actually kill him for that. Alex should have been back hours ago. Where was he?

-A

Alex, your ass better be home soon.

-I

Alex grinned. This was going to be fun. What was the worst that could possibly happen? He fingered the token that Grim had given him and sighed. For the family and his sanity. Yep, he was going to be in worse trouble than last time.

-I

Sorry. I'll bring you a nice souvenir.

-A

Fuck. He knew exactly where Alex was. Goddamn it. Patrick could take care of himself and the other side of the family. There was no need for him to get involved. Alex was turning into him. As in, a control freak.

-A

Alex, when you get back, if you get back, I will kill you.

-I

Alex figured Ian would have to get in line. After Yassen, but before Patrick. He couldn't help the faint amusement that came from pissing Ian off, though. His uncle was normally so reserved. It was nice to know he cared.

-I

Wouldn't that defeat the point of training me to survive?

-A

He was going to kill that cheeky little shit, he really was. Ian tried to text him again, only to find that Alex had either turned his phone off or destroyed it entirely. Shit. Now he couldn't even track Alex, or tell Patrick where he was and have the man ship him back on the first flight to England. Why hadn't Jones' new system stopped Alex from getting on a plane? None of the airports in England should have flown him. Ian face-palmed. Switzerland. Alex had probably flown from Switzerland. Welp, they were screwed. All he could do was wait. Jack looked at him expectantly. "Alex did a runner to go see his ill aunt in Japan."

Starbright smiled. "He's a sweetie, isn't he? I'm glad one of you cares enough to visit. You could hardly expect him to not care."

Ian supposed not. Damn it. Jack was smirking internally. Personally, she wondered why they all hadn't just gone. Really, it was kind of cruel to expect the kids not to visit. She was sure Alex would meet up with his grandfather and be fine. It wasn't as though Alex had never taken public transportation alone before and there were systems in place for unaccompanied minors in airports. She was sure Alex would be fine. Ian glared at her. "Whose bloody side are you on?"

Jack smiled. "Alex's, of course. Don't you remember hiring me?"

Yes, Ian remembered full bloody well. It had been kind of hilarious to have a civilian and future employee threaten him about Alex's safety. Her devotion to Alex was one of the reasons he hired her. They didn't even get the bleeding dog, again. Tom Harris was standing in the corner, looking less than alarmed. "He'll come back. You'll see."

Ian wanted to gripe at him. "How do you know?"

The Harris boy smirked. "Because if he was running away forever, he would've taken me to, you know."

Ian relaxed slightly at that. At least he knew Alex intended to come back. That was his real worry whenever his nephew disappeared. Now he only had to worry about said nephew dying at the hands of an international crime syndicate. Joy. He hoped Alex liked his last few days of freedom before the grounding to end all groundings. Ian stared into the flames of the fireplace. It was one of the last few days he could run it. Crawley walked in. Ian couldn't bring himself to even greet the man. "Where's Mini?"

Ian sighed. "Gone."

Crawley stared. "Again? Bloody hell."

Ian sat back. "It is, isn't it?"

Alex had promptly turned off his phone and removed the battery. Brandon eyed him worriedly. "Just told Ian I'll be gone a few days."

Brandon sat back and looked him in the eye. Alex noticed that the man had brown eyes. "How'd he take it?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. Brandon huffed. "Right, I'll ditch you after we're done in Tokyo, then."

Alex shrugged. "You don't have to. I can probably convince Jones not to press charges."

With some persuading and maybe a future favor for his least favorite agency. Blunt might go for that deal, too. Brandon snorted. "MI6 can ruin everything overnight for people, you know. They can take your credit, your house, your car, and even your identity - not to mention your life. I am not taking that chance, Alex. Best if I go on the run now. I have your alternate number and a few leads from the computer. If it helps, I was planning on ditching England anyway. This was more like a catalyst."

Alex stared. "Well, I'll miss having you as my doctor."

Brandon smiled lightly. "It is the one thing I'm good at. I told the computer to call me if you ever really need medical attention, you know."

Alex sighed. That was risky, especially if Jones put a report out on him. "You don't have to."

The man snorted. "I want to. You're a nice kid, even if you're a little weird."

Alex felt a faint smile appear on his face. "Thanks."

The man shrugged. "Goodnight."

Alex closed his eyes.

Sometimes, when his life had been particularly stressful or shitty, he had a nice dream once in a while. They were usually based on memories. Alex recognized the scene from his early childhood. It was the house in France. He was sitting in a picturesque clearing with some of the greenest grass he'd ever seen the trees were tall evergreens. There was a faint breeze that blew out across the clearing and made a wave noise across the grass. A woman with middle-eastern features sat across from him. Perfect French came out of her mouth. "Are you doing okay today, Alex."

Alex had paused from gathering the brightest yellow flowers he could find. "I usually am. What did you want today, Anmar?"

The woman was beautiful. Her eyes were almost like amber. Her clothes were casual but expensive. Even then, he could tell from the feel of the fabric. "To go for a walk. We can have cookies later if you want."

If Alex had been any older, she would have set off alarm bells in his head. Anmar had never actually harmed him. He suspected she had just been lonely or perhaps unable to have children of her own. "Okay, where are we going?"

The woman took a deep breath and rose. "You'll know when we get there, child."

They had walked quietly. Alex had been unconsciously echoing her silent tread. It was almost funny how slow they were moving. They had gone to a body of water. She had picked him up and carried him part of the way there, her walk became utterly silent. Alex had been amazed at the sight of the sparkling blue water and the deer. There had been a whole heard. "Everything needs water and so they all come here."

Alex had gaped. "It's beautiful."

The woman had smiled. "Yes, but also very dangerous. The predators know to lurk here since the deer will have to come."

Alex had stared. "What's a predator?"

Anmar had smiled. "Something that hunts a weaker thing and kills it for food."

Alex had glanced at the water. "Why?"

Anmar had shrugged. "It is the way of things. You see, a true predator lies in wait and attacks when victory is possible."

Alex had watched with her a while. Nothing had shown up. Eventually, they had gone back and he'd forgotten about it.

Alex was jolted awake by Brandon as they served breakfast/the second dinner. He blinked a few times. "We're about to land."

Alex stretched as much as the airplane seat would allow him to. "Thanks, Dad."

The breakfast was actually pretty good. It was still airplane food, but much better than the cardboard that they usually served. It had been nearly twelve hours. In Tokyo, it was close to three o'clock. It would be about eight in the morning in Switzerland and seven in London. Eh, it was about time for him to get up normally anyway. Alex was so glad he'd paid attention in primary when they'd taught time zones. It had come in handy way too often, but still. Brandon eyed him. "I'll probably need to change some money."

Alex shrugged. "I already did."

Brandon glared at him. "Yeah, but you are not paying for my hotel room and food."

Alex didn't much care either way but decided to let it go. "I'm sure they'll have a money-changing kiosk somewhere in the airport."

They had landed shortly after. Alex had read a few books on Japan, but nothing could have prepared him for the reality of the sheer amount of noise and people in and just outside the airport. The language sounded completely foreign. Neither he nor Brandon spoke Japanese. This would be interesting. Maddox had arranged for a taxi and the hotel at least. And then sent him a bunch of files to read with Brandon once they got off the plane. Alex made sure to make a note of a few things to get for people at home. No reason not to send souvenirs back. Speaking of gifts, he wondered how Chase liked the Grinch sweater and the family location stuff. Alex hadn't meant to be grotesque, but he couldn't resist the urge to send the man an ugly sweater. Let's be real, he was physically almost twelve and mentally almost eighteen. His soul would protest the injustice of not sending a hideous sweater.

Alex and Brandon sat down to read the information provided by Maddox together. They got through it in a few hours. "I'm ex-military, I did this for a living. You and the dog can stay behind."

Alex fixed the man with a glare. "I am a fully trained child-assassin. With a gun. I will not be staying behind."

The man lets out a long extended sigh. "Fine. Fine."

His relatives and (possible) allies were going to be buried alive tomorrow. They were currently sedated inside coffins. Alex had not questioned how the man had acquired a gun in between the airport and the hotel. Brandon had not questioned how he got a gun through customs. It was working nicely. "Now, shall we get started on the plan?"

Brandon huffed. "Fine. We need to stop the cars, preferably before the graveyard."

Alex began taking out his disguised plastic explosive. "What are those?"

Alex smirked. "You light the fuse and they go boom."

Brandon groaned. "It'll be a miracle if we both don't get arrested for terrorism."

Alex shrugged. "The engines and gunshots will give us plausible deniability."

Brandon looks at him. "What gunshots?"

Alex smirked. "The gunshots after the smoke grenades but before the real explosives."

Brandon groaned. "So gonna get arrested for terrorism."

Alex snarked. "Optimism is a gift, Charles. Now, we'll need disguises, so it's a good thing you got contacts and hair dye."

Charles sighed. It was basically a straight up ambush. "Now, we need to get the street furthest away from the police and relatively deserted."

The man sighed. He was worried. There had never been a mission like this in any of his tours. There had been no children, no possible civilian casualties, and no giant pets. They had also been in a war zone. Charles felt underprepared and undermanned. Even Special Forces would use four people at a minimum. He wondered how spies and assassins pulled this type of thing off. They were planning to attack the cars and drag their people off in the confusion. Brandon couldn't shake the feeling that this could go horribly wrong. They had no official backing or back-up either. Brandon didn't think the dog counted. Fenrir the most wolfish dog ever. The dog was giant and had creepy yellow eyes. Brandon knew he was going to have trouble sleeping the night before, even though he'd slept through a bombing or two.

Marion couldn't help but wonder if she was actually going to die in a grave buried alive. They hadn't even had the decency to sedate her properly. Of course, they would have had to use a higher dose than normal because she built a tolerance faster than most people. Marion figured it might have to do with the birth defect that made her sterile but had never bothered to find out. She was still immobilized, but very much aware of her surroundings, as she was lowered into the coffin. Darian, the useless moron, had at least gotten the distress signal out after he managed to blow their cover. They were all being buried together on the same day as a final fuck you. She mentally sighed as the last nail was hammered into the coffin. Would Patrick come? Would he even want to? Marion would be the first to admit that she was far from the ideal relative. Darian was a bit of a drag, too. She knew that he had the kids with him. Patrick could just let them die and raise the kids to be better than her and her brother. Ian wouldn't stop him. Alex. Alex would. Marion had a feeling he would come. She let her thoughts drift to Helen's son. So much like her. The nose and the stubborn set of his lips when she argued with him. The tilt of his head with a question. Oh, Alex. Marion wondered where he was at the moment.

Note: Sorry, it has been so long. The school is nuts, yadda, yadda.