Chapter 46: Contention

Alex and Marion got back to a very tense home. Alex had gone back on his real passport on the off-chance Jones was watching airports. Alex didn't want to give Tulip any more ammunition in the blackmail department. Marion had been surprisingly quiet. Then again, Alex had given her a ton of reading and learned his lesson about how just one word in the heat of the moment could change everything. There were days he cursed his own stupidity. Marion was rapidly flipping through a gargantuan amount of files courtesy of Alex. "Where did you get all of this?"

It was the Drevin file. Alex had Maddox steal and copy all of their info from the Pentagon. Joe Byrne should really know better than to keep all his eggs in a high-risk military-target basket. Drevin aside, Alex could think of at least one other group who had succeeded in their attack. Ah crap, another thing to put on his to-do list. Alex didn't care if he was new to being Deputy Director or not. Marion was still looking at him. "Er...Do I have to tell you?"

Marion smirked. "I can always ask Ian if this came from MI6."

Alex flinched. Ah, there was the Marion he knew and occasionally wanted to murder. She must be getting back to normal after going on a mission with him. That, or she had been restraining herself as a courtesy for the duration. "An acquaintance of mine hacked the Pentagon."

And a few other places. Maddox was special like that. Alex said in an undertone. Fortunately, the captain had picked that moment to announce their landing. "An acquaintance, riiight."

Alex rolled his eyes. It was the truth. If the relatives didn't believe him, it was their problem. Maddox counted as a person, from his point of view. The airport was packed, of course. Alex didn't think airports had any middle ground. The places were either packed or creepy and deserted. The baggage claim went surprisingly smoothly considering the amount of illegal crap they both carried on with them. Alex wondered whether his aunt had split personalities sometimes. Or it could be that she was just nicer when away from the family and its responsibilities. Alex would be the first to admit that he was probably nicer to Ian than all of the rest of them. Then again, Ian was a lot nicer to him. Fenrir brushed up against him. Alex would swear the cabbie was giving them the evil eye, not that Alex blamed him. Fenrir was kind of massive for a cab. The two of them all but ran from the cab after Alex got his bags. Marion shook her head after she caught up with them, but let it go with an amused look. Alex strolled up to the house and rang the doorbell. It was opened by a very surprised Jack. "Miss me?"

Jack hugged him. "Of course, you noble idiot. Ian was furious when you ran off. This must be the aunt I've been hearing about."

Marion glided up to her. "Marion Beckett."

Jack took the hand. "Jack Starbright."

Alex shifted awkwardly while the two of them spent the next forty-five seconds staring at each other. Jack finally spoke. "Do come in."

Alex would normally have slipped past her, but Fenrir made it kind of difficult. This was going to be interesting.

Alex felt himself barely keeping the triumphant smirk off of his face as he walked into the house with his relatives. It was nice to have someone crossed off the list and not having been stuck on the sidelines either. Plus, he'd gotten one over both Ian and Patrick. Marion sat down at the table next to Patrick. Jack and Tom were the only ones happy here. Patrick, Ian, and Crawley were doing a decent job of being civil. His cousins looked ready to bolt at any second. Fenrir fluffed up at Ian's look. Alex ran a hand through his fur. "Be nice, Fenrir."

Tom smirked. "How's the baby, Alex?"

Alex chuckled and hugged his pet before sitting at the table. "Well, thank you."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Uh, uh. You are washing your hands after petting that filthy animal. You aren't catching some disease on my watch."

Alex pouted. "Filthy animal? I wash my dog at least once a week."

Jack kept glaring him. "Fine. Fine."

Fenrir was shooting a hopeful look between him and the table. "Don't worry, boy, I'll find a way to slip you some of Jack's delicious cooking."

Jack playfully smacked his arm. "All that hard work and the dog gets to eat it."

Alex dried his hands. "Yeah, a whole eight minutes and forty-five seconds of it."

This was one of Jack's favorite kinds of salad. Jack gave him an expression of mock offense. "Well, if that's how you want to put it-"

Alex hastily amended. "It looks great, though."

The redhead turned faintly pink. "Thank you, Alex."

Alex let out a mental sigh of relief. They sat down to lunch.

"So, what kept you so long?"

Jack held back a sigh at Ian's completely tactless approach. The woman had been hospitalized, for heaven's sake. She probably wanted a few days to bond with her nephew that Ian had kept her from meeting for ten straight years. Marion seemed to be able to hold her own, though. "Well, first I was unable to meet the health requirements to fly the entire distance and had to rest in between."

Ian was still looking accusatory. "And then?"

Marion let out a sigh. "Unavoidable work emergency. I had to do a briefing and take immediate action."

Jack was a little startled. "Your boss gave you a challenging assignment straight out of the hospital?"

Marion gave her a soft smile. "Contingency management is my department at the bank, I'm afraid."

Jack shrugged. To each their own. This was why she hadn't wanted a more conventional job after college. "Do you and Ian work for the same one?"

Marion laughed at that. "Good heavens, no. He'd never have been able to dodge me for that long if I did. Our banks are actually rivals, but occasionally work together."

Jack blinked. Ian was never that open about his work. "What department does Ian work in?"

Marion smirked. "Overseas finance. I don't envy him. I've heard the clientele are extremely persnickety. You get a lot of last-minute rescheduling and the time zones are a pain. Plus, there are politics involved."

Jack looked at Ian. "Really?"

Ian gave Marion the evil eye when he thought she wasn't looking. "Yes, it's really quite dull for most people, though."

Mmm. Hmm. Jack glanced at the rest of the table. "So how was the rest of the trip?"

Marion smiled. "Quite good. I took Alex skiing and snowboarding."

Alex piped up. "And you met Fynn."

Marion smiled. "Shut it, brat."

Alex grinned. Jack stifled her laughter. "Oh, but his eyes were such an attractive-"

Marion brandished her fork at him. "I'm warning you."

Alex kept right at it. "And it would be such a shame if we hadn't been able to look at his gloriously defined-"

Marion's glass of water was promptly upended over Alex's head. Jack burst out laughing as Alex sputtered and attempted to dry himself off. She just had to speak up. "Karma for all of my dates you ruined."

Alex blinked and let out an expression of mock despair. "The world is conspiring against me."

Jack got up to take the plates. "Exactly, dear."

Alex gave her an offended look. "But they were all scumbags."

Jack sighed. "Yes, but it would have been nice to get through dinner without you sending me their tax returns or evidence of three wives or anything they did wrong in their life at least once."

Alex looked a little sheepish. "I'd forgotten about that part."

Jack was more amused than upset, looking back. "At least I had a decent excuse to break up with the rude ones."

Her lips were twitching.

Ian (predictably) summoned him to his office after lunch 'at his earliest convenience'. That really meant right-fucking-now/after you finish feeding your mutant. Alex was less than amused but entertained himself by dragging out Fenrir feeding as much as he could, just to make Ian wait. Alex took a few deep breaths. He wondered if he wasn't developing some sort of anger management issue. Jack was washing dishes next to him. "Happy late birthday, by the way. Tom and I didn't forget."

Alex suddenly felt a lot better. "Thanks."

Tom was there. "So, did Aunt Crazy play nice this time?"

Alex grinned. "Yeah, I fell down during skiing, though."

Alex did have a few bruises from that. It helped that he'd remembered what balancing felt like. Tom grinned. "I missed you falling on your ass in the snow? No fair!"

Alex rolled his eyes. Tom seemed to think he was 'unnaturally' graceful. Tom was completely right, but Alex wasn't going to admit it. "Yeah, you did."

Tom pouted. "She got you a nice plant kit. Jack seems to think you like flowers now. I got you a nice, manly gift."

That got him a swat from Jack. She was all about not trying to influence his interests, however traditionally feminine. Alex rolled his eyes. Tom wasn't actually serious about that sort of thing, he just liked ribbing Alex about growing flowers. "Thank you, you two. I don't know what I would do without you."

Tom gave him a cheeky grin. "Suffer and die."

Alex swatted in his general direction. "Prat."

Tom grabbed his hand and used it to yank him into a hug. "Oh, you two."

Jack ended up joining them. Alex was startled to realize how close he was to her in height. Then again, Jack wasn't a tall woman. Tom was still shorter than him and he was totally smug about it. Alex didn't say anything because he knew Tom was still a bit sore about being shorter than most of the girls in their class. Alex knew it had been a long two years for the three of them. "I got you two something, too."

Actually, he'd altered both gifts with Maddox's help. They'd been inspired by Smithers' devices. They released him. Tom's was a leather bracelet with runes symbolizing friendship. Alex had put a tracking device linked to Maddox into the leather. The tooling had been the hardest part. Jack's had been trickier, but he'd managed to get a bracelet to match her necklace and had glued a similar device underneath one of the decorative details. They'd both come from the base. It had been the computer's idea, but Alex had agreed. "Wow, these are nice."

Alex smirked. "Still doubting my taste in accessories, Tom? For shame. I mean, you saw me in drama class."

Tom grinned. "Yeah, ol' Gibbons tried to put you in costume design with the girls. Definitely senile, that one."

Jack snorted. "Or maybe not, considering."

They were both nice pieces. Tom shook his head. "Nope, can you imagine what kind of dresses a boy would make for the girls?"

Jack had faith in Alex's sense decency. Then again, his and Ian's jokes… "Definitely senile, that one."

Alex grinned. "Well, I have to go. Ian wants a meeting."

Jack let her hand fall to his shoulder. "Don't let him get you down. It's good that you care about your relatives."

Alex lightly touched the hand. "I won't and I know."

Jack's eyes were filled with concern. Alex felt the warmth from his first day back. Oh, Jack…

Alex headed to Ian's office with not a little foreboding. To his surprise, all the adults excluding Darian were there. He reluctantly left the furball outside. Alex sat in the chair. He couldn't bring himself to regret anything he had done. They all seemed to be waiting for him. Death's tattoos warmed on his back again. There was no stinging this time. Alex leaned back in the seat. If they wanted him to speak first, they were going to be here. Patrick was the first to speak. "There is a fine line between tenacity and indomitability. I'm beginning to think you're the latter."

Alex felt a smile with more teeth than joy appear on his face. "Good."

He refused to be ordered against his morals by anyone. That included his mildly sociopathic family members. Ian looked startled. "Something to add, Ian?"

Marion was being curiously quiet, considering her usually outspoken approach. "What were you two doing?"

Alex shrugged. "I'm sure you can guess what Marion was doing. I was enjoying an unexpected ski holiday."

Ian glared. "And you shut your phones off because?"

Alex gave him the evil eye. "You'd have tracked them and dragged our asses back otherwise. This was something that needed to be taken care of."

Ian glared. "Damn right, I would."

Patrick stomped on Ian's foot. "Be as that may-"

Alex got up. "Oh, shove it up your ass, you hypocritical fuck. The only reason you're upset is that this is going by my rules and not yours."

Crawley was staring at him with a kind of horrified awe. Marion's expression was priceless. Ian just looked constipated and Patrick was...amused? "It wasn't safe."

Ah, Ian doing his best broken-record imitation. "Fuck you. I got kidnapped on one of your trips with me and fended off two attempts back when you used to leave me home alone."

Ian looked like he'd been slapped. Marion exploded. "You what?!"

Alex gave her a glare. "I'm not going to hear a word out of your mouth considering the events of the past few days."

That was even excluding the fact he'd gotten to participate. He'd wanted to, but what honestly responsible adult would have let that happen. She looked away. Patrick still looked slightly amused and puzzled. "What's the matter, Gramps, never heard the word no in your life? If so, better get ready to hear it a lot more."

The man just looked slightly stunned. "Alex, be reasonable."

Alex scowled. "This coming from the guy who approves Marion's educational plans for her kids. Try another one."

Patrick sighed. "I could be forced to intervene."

Alex barely kept his hand from twitching toward his gun. "Keep your nose out of Ian's sole custody or I'll shoot it off."

Crawley sharp inhale behind him was not surprising. That may have been over the line, but still. He wasn't going to stand for this garbage. Ian cut in. "Alex, no death threat-ing the relatives."

Alex rolled his eyes. "I was only threatening to maim him, besides you actually tried to strangle one."

Ian sighed. "That was a mistake."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, you mistakenly wrapped your hands around his neck. Save that one for Jones, why don't you?"

Ian huffed. "I avenged your kidnapping attempts and the like."

Alex snorted. "And that makes it so much better. Alright, three cheers for the family."

Crawley seemed to be edging toward the door. Patrick sighed. "Moving on. We need to discuss living arrangements."

At least Gramps knew when to quit. "And I need to be here, why?"

Patrick gave him a look. "Because we are planning for Christmas next year, now hush."

Then, he and Ian began to debate location. Ian refused to go to Tel Aviv. Patrick didn't like London. They couldn't go back to Russia for a while. Crawley put his foot down on most of the African continent. Alex decided to cut in. "What about Nebraska?"

Patrick shrugged. "Property is cheap, as are hunting licenses."

Ian was actually considering it. "It'll have to be rural."

Patrick shrugged. "That should be easy enough to pull off."

Alex was just beginning to relax when Marion opened her mouth. "What about water activities? It's landlocked."

Alex mentally groaned. Ian had an answer. "Get something near a real or artificial lake."

Crawley blinked. "There aren't fish, though."

Patrick shook his head. "Not necessarily. Lakes can be stocked."

Alex sighed as they all belly-ached about the fish ratios in stocked versus real lakes. He looked at Marion and rolled his eyes. His aunt was just as bored with lakes as he was. Marion smirked back at him. Then she silently stalked over and whispered in his ear. "While the rest of the Nerd Herd debate lakes, why don't we leave?"

Alex watched the door as they inched towards it. The doorknob began turning of its own accord. Alex resisted a snort as the door silently opened to the face of his unrepentant pet. Fenrir actually looked quite pleased with himself. Marion was shaking with suppressed laughter as they shut the door behind them, the others still engrossed in their enlightening conversation. Marion whispered as they went down the hall. "The furry mutt is good for something, who knew?"

Alex elbowed her in the gut. "My baby is good for plenty of things."

Fenrir nipped his other hand. They were out of the hallway. Alex raised his voice to its normal level. "Alright, the odds of Ian actually getting me up for your plane ride are about null, so I guess this is goodbye."

Marion hugged him. Alex could smell her perfume wafting over him. "Goodbye."

Alex went off to say goodbye to his cousins and Darian.

Lilly raced over to him in a blur of red hair and Jason wasn't much better. Alex almost fell over under both of them. "Thanks for getting mom."

Lilly was rather breathless. Jason ruffled his hair. "Yeah, this is kind of the longest we've ever been without her."

Alex felt a stab of envy. To his surprise, Darian had gone out. "Hey, where's Darian?"

Jason shrugged. "Not here. Marion talked with him and then he scurried off muttering about sellers and accounts and passports."

Alex sat down on the couch. Darian was the guy who ran stuff to fences. Who'd have thought? Alex got up as Fenrir nipped him again. "Alright, ya furry rat, I'm following you."

Alex followed a very smug furball up the stairs. They were heading for his room. Alex hoped it wasn't a repeat of the Great Sock Shredding. Jack would have a fit. Then again, he would need new clothes soon anyway. Fenrir looked a little too smug as they went up to his room. Alex noticed the mail that Fenrir had left on his bed near his presents from Jack and Tom. It was all stamped as delivered for the current day. "Did you hide this from Ian?"

The wolf gave a sort of head jerk that Alex realized was probably Fenrir's version of a nod. A wet nose pressed against his left arm. "Thank you, Fenrir."

Fenrir let out a rumbling noise that sounded more human than dog. The first one was a letter from the Department for Education. It felt heavy stiff. That was odd, he wasn't expecting an assessment notice until later in the year. Alex shrugged and ripped it open. It was a notice informing him that he'd made the program as an alternate. What the hell? He hadn't even filled out the damn forms. Great. No wonder Ian was grumpy as fuck. On the other hand, Death had told him to go if he wanted Sarov to stay sane. This way, he could honestly tell Ian that it totally wasn't his fault. Alex was secretly glad he didn't have to lie about such a huge thing. His and Ian's relationship was put through enough obstacles already. Alex didn't think his relatives would care that much, except for the 'not a cult' knowledge he was supposed to be learning. Ian could probably condense it. Alex hoped. There were a few more things on the bed. Alex was saving his presents for last. The second envelope was a letter from Sarov. Alex had come to recognize the envelopes stationary the man preferred to use. Alex drew his 'letter opener' through the seal. It was written entirely in Russian on stationary from Russia. The calligraphy was rather elegant.

Dear Alex,

Allow me to first congratulate you on your acceptance into the transfer program. It is very prestigious, even here in Russia. I am sure we will be seeing each other again soon enough. Your cougar of a guardian is not very friendly. Then again, we do generally oppose one another. Even as an alternate, I daresay you will be in Russia this time next year. Children often get sick, even in western countries. I have volunteered to host you as a student, though my only son has been dead for quite some time. The minister seemed receptive to my request.

I was glad to read that you had gotten through so many Russian classics in the last letter, despite the frequent travel that leads to your unorthodox schooling. It is a shame they are not more widely read. What did you think of Crime and Punishment? I have to say it was one of the better assigned readings on my son's list. I can recommend several other novels, even if your tastes run in the vein of some more modern writers. You seem to have quite the full schedule, but even I can cram in a book or two in mine.

It may seem presumptive, but I have already begun arranging for your stay. You will be attending classes at a very fine institution, but it is not a boarding school. Your friend, Ms. Teller, will be nearby. It is a pretty stiff walk for most children, but I am sure you can make it. I hope you will enjoy your time here.

My best wishes and regards,

General Alexei Sarov

Alex just stared at the letter. Yeah, if somebody didn't suddenly come down with a bad case of food poisoning a week before the exchange trip, he'd eat his snow boots. Fenrir brushed up against his hand. Alex grinned and ran his hand through his pet's fur. The fluff ball was awesome. The next envelope was from Yassen. Alex was almost curious. "It better not be another body part." It was heavier than a conventional letter, so it was a legitimate concern. Alex sighed and decided it was best not to wait too long. The letter, to his surprise, wasn't a letter at all, but instead a set of pictures. Alex recognized them to be of his father. In SCORPIA uniform and mostly at Malagosto, but it was still more pictures than anyone but Maddox had ever given him. There was a flash of something resembling warmth. It had no card, but Yassen wasn't the fluffy, card-giving type anyway. Alex went for the third and last package that Fenrir had brought him. It was from Charles, of all people. Alex was kind of shocked the man actually remembered his birthday. Then again, the guy had gone on a trip with him to Japan and shot at a bunch of random dudes who kidnapped his aunt, no questions asked and no police called. Brandon, really? Ian had forgotten his birthday again, but the doctor who met him all of five times and saw his medical file once didn't. Alex more ticked about the principle, rather than the presents. Really, happy late birthday was not that much to ask for. Hell, even the freaking contract killer remembered his goddamn birthday. Alex took a deep breath and tried not to get terribly upset. Jack and Tom remembered. Jack and Tom remembered. Alex picked up Tom's gift. He nearly laughed out loud after he opened it and found pranking supplies. Subtle, Harris. About as subtle as a charging rhinoceros. Ah, who was the poor victim - he meant fellow prankee - this time? Unbeknownst to Tom, Alex had once used a very similar set to prank certain people at a certain bank in the past life. Alex grinned at the memory of Tulip's expression before moving onto Jack's present. It was a pot with soil in it and a note.

Dear Alex,

One of my few friends in college (you might call it uni) majored in plant biology. She got pretty excited when she heard I liked plants and gave me a couple of seeds. Mind you, she got kind of cagey when I asked what it was. Weirdo. I forgot about them until I started going through some of my old things. Anyway, since I kill everything that's green I thought you could have them instead and it could be a project. I've got no clue if they'll grow after this long, but we'll see. Happy Birthday!

Love,

Jack

P.S. If it doesn't grow, we'll get something else.

Alex smiled at the paper before putting it in his usual spot in the wall. It was so typical of her, it made him ache inside. He had missed her when she was gone. Even if she had killed every last flower, bamboo, and cactus he'd given her. Jack would get this hilariously sulky expression after yet another plant was relieved of its torment - sorry, care - at her hand. It didn't help that she was fond of pickier plants, like orchids. Alex had actually been impressed that time she did in a bamboo plant before he realized it was a complete accident on her part. Alex made a mental note to ask her for a scrapbook the next time she went out to the store. Fenrir helped himself to Alex's bed as he put his stuff on his desk. He rolled his eye. "Furry rat."

The wolf ignored him and stretched itself out. Fenrir was enormous. The fluff shot him a hopeful look with wide eyes. Alex snorted and got on the bed. The shaggy fur was extra fluffy. Alex figured Fenrir might have gotten his winter coat or something. He buried his face in the dog's fur. Fenrir was all but purring. "I love you."

It was slightly muffled by the fur, but Alex was pretty sure Fenrir got the idea. His dog was so warm that he didn't need a blanket to fall asleep. It felt like he'd only been unconscious for a few moments when he was awoken by a prodding sensation near his shoulder. Alex groaned into Fenrir fur and opened his eyes to Darian. "What's up?"

Alex was pretty sure it came out right. Darian handed him an envelope. "Bank and new fake ID details."

Alex rubbed his eyes. "Why?"

Darian shrugged. "You burned one for us. It's only fair we give you one back."

Alex felt the rest of his drowsiness beginning to fade. "Thanks."

Darian glanced around. "Yeah, just don't tell pops. He doesn't know about this and he'd stick a bunch of malware in it if he did."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Marion didn't bug it?"

Darian looked shifty. "Well, she did, but I stuck a flash drive in there that'll remove the virus."

"Why?"

Darian sighed. "Remember at Christmas when you told me to start making my own choices like an actual adult?"

Alex ran his hand along Fenrir's fur. "Yeah. It's not the sort of thing you forget snarling at a relative."

Darian gave him a bitter smirk. "Maybe not you. Anyway, I took a good long look at all the choices I made and decided I didn't like looking at myself in the mirror. So, uh, this is my choice. Baby steps, you know."

Alex sighed. "Your choice is to look out for me instead of Patrick?"

Darian's nod was so earnest Alex didn't really have the heart to tell the guy that this wasn't quite what he had in mind. "Alright, try to look out for the kids. I'm not sure I like the idea of Marion being their prime educator."

Darian gave him a look. "You know, I never really did either."

Darian looked hesitant to leave. "Err… I know it's kinda late, but happy birthday."

Darian produced a small package. "It's a bug scanner disguised as a calculator. Nobody tells me anything, but I used to build and repair these and bugs and sooner or later the relatives will stick you with something."

Alex let a soft smile cross his face. "Thank you."

Darian hesitantly moved in for a hug. "Welcome. I got to go. See ya at the next reunion."

Darian Beckett had never been one to go against the grain, so to speak. It was one of the reasons he did so well in the army. He knew he wasn't exactly leader material, but he wasn't stupid either. Then, Alex had come into his life with all the delicacy of a wrecking ball. Helen's kid. Helen had been the only reason he'd ever gone against his family. When she'd died, he was crushed. Darian had been happy to let Patrick and Marion make most (if not all) of his life choices for his entire life, excluding the events surrounding Helen. He'd been content, he supposed. Definitely not happy and a touch apathetic. Marion should never have been allowed to adopt children. He'd known that, but hadn't said a word. Alex was different. Then again, he didn't know anyone else who would have called Patrick a hypocritical fuck to his face. Marion had slipped a bug into Ian's office. Darian had put it in the letter but didn't have the guts to say it to Alex's face. Alex wasn't entirely wrong either. That had been his catalyst, really. All he needed was a little push. Then again, he wasn't technically betraying Patrick, just looking out for the future (Alex) leadership. It was an excuse that wouldn't have a prayer of saving him if he ever had to use it. Patrick would kill him for that. He wasn't John or one of the other precious types. Darian just hoped Alex ended up better than Patrick. He took a deep breath. Encourage Alex to go against the family. Don't let Patrick get custody. Keep the kids away from Marion as much as possible. It wasn't much of a plan, he'd admit. Maybe it was better that way. Darian had decided his new boss was Alex, family tradition or no family tradition. He wasn't sure he could actually function without one and he wasn't sure if he even wanted to try. Soldiers follow orders. Darian felt an oncoming headache that usually came with trying to go against conditioning. But I am. That reply stilled the onslaught of flashbacks that was threatening his current state of mind. Darian sighed. Crisis averted. Now he just had to make sure Marion didn't notice anything enough to bitch about it to Patrick. It was easy enough. Nobody, after all, paid him that much mind. Patrick expected plots from Ian, Marion, and Alex. Darian knew he didn't even make the list of possible threats. Better for him. It had always been Marion as the center of attention. She was skilled but vastly overrated in his opinion. Arrogant. She didn't think she would ever be caught. Darian sighed softly. Those two were really controlling. Especially after Helen died. Maybe one day he'd get to pick his own menu without the two of them dropping their two cents in. Yeah, right. Was it too much to hope that Alex would be fairer than the army or Patrick? Maybe, maybe not. He would just have to hope. Alex was right. He really was pathetic. Darian wandered off to bed. He was desperately praying this wouldn't backfire on him.

Marion was waiting for him in the morning. "Did you follow my instructions?"

Darian inwardly smirked. "Yes."

He had, but he'd just tacked a few things on the end that she hadn't told him to do. "Good."

The children were watching them nervously. Darian wondered why. It wasn't as though he ever openly or covertly argued with Marion. Well, he was now, but this was the first time in over a decade. Patrick got down with his usual scowl and lack of morning greeting before 6:00 a.m. "Time to go, children."

Darian wondered if the man actually cared. He could disappear. Darian had enough skills and training for that. But then, there would be nobody watching out for the kids. It was one of the reasons he'd put up with his relatives controlling, abusive asses. That, and he'd had nowhere else to go even when he could have gotten away. They were on the plane before either Mr. & Mrs. Twit decided to have another go at him. "Enjoy your trip in the coffin?"

Bitch. She knew he was anxious about tight spaces. "I don't know, sis. How was the nice, long waterboarding you got?"

Marion scowled at him. "Now, children, not in public, please."

Yeah, sure dad. No mention of how Marion totally started it, of course. But then, it would defeat the purpose of having a golden child. The children just looked resigned. Darian was resolved to actually follow Alex's directions before, but that really was what cinched it for him. So much for the family philosophy of actually parenting ones' children. Darian wondered how long he'd been willfully looking the other way. There was a sinking sensation inside him as he got off the plane. Patrick was eyeing him. "I want a word, son."

Darian followed him. What else would he do? His whole life was following other people. "Sure, dad."

Patrick sat before him. Darian hadn't had to even think about protocol in years. "Sit."

There was the invitation. "What do you want, father?"

For once, Marion wasn't there. "Alex?"

Of course, the man had long ago dispensed with the preliminary greetings. "He'll be fine. I don't think he'd switch up his morals even if Marion decided to go the more physical route."

Yeah, he was betting on that. "I am counting on it."

Darian mentally sighed but gave no outward response. So am I, father. So am I.

Ian Rider was not particularly happy with his boss at the moment. He strolled into Tulip Jones and Alan Blunt's meeting without so much as knocking. Then, he flung down copies of the three applications onto Blunt's desk. "I don't remember giving my consent for these, oddly enough."

Blunt coughed. Jones gave him a severe look. "I don't remember you knocking, Agent Rider."

Ian felt his lips twist into an unamused smile. "I must have forgotten it somewhere in between cleaning up the CIA's mess and cleaning up yours."

Blunt was as expressionless as always. Tulip looked as though she'd been slapped. Under different circumstances, it might have been funny. Sadly, this wasn't anything he found remotely entertaining. Blunt began speaking. "I fail to see an issue with letting the boy take a semester or two abroad. It's all above board, I assure you."

Ian growled. "Above board?! This is Russia. Their bloody roads can't even be built above board. What cretinous-"

Jones cut him off. "Alan assures me nothing nefarious was going on."

Ian smirked. "Yeah, Tulip? We all know what that is worth around here. My dead brother is the last time I had everlasting faith in Blunt's analytic abilities."

Blunt opened his mouth, only to immediately shut when Tulip stomped on his foot. Ian gave her a look. "Are you going to believe him, the guy who never saw Howell coming, despite claiming to be God's gift to intelligence, or me the guy who broke into the Kremlin and got away twice?"

Ian didn't wait for dismissal. He stopped at the door. "Oh, and Tulip?"

Tulip Jones was still staring at him. "Yes, Ian?"

Ian turned around so she could see just how serious he was. One of her specialties was behavioral analysis. And psychological manipulation. Hissed a voice in his head that was either John or Alex. "If Alex dies, I'm pledging my allegiance to SCORPIA's board in exchange for your heads on a platter."

Blunt actually looked startled for once. Tulip was so white she looked ready to faint. "Duly noted."

Ian inwardly smirked as he slammed the door. She'd even forgotten his title.

John Crawley glared at him across the man's desk. "Did you really need to threaten them like that?"

Ian glared right back. "Abso-fucking-lutely."

Crawley sat back in his chair and groaned into his hands. Ian was perfectly happy sticking to his threats on this one. He was also quite serious. "They'll want me to spy on you now."

Ian shrugged. "I'm aware."

Crawley gave him a look. "I mean really spy on you."

Ian shrugged. "So do your job how you see fit."

Crawley seemed to be struggling. "Conflict of interest."

Ian tilted his chair back further, tempting fate. "Is this sort of thing ever really not?"

Crawley looked panicked. "I'm not you, Ian. I can't juggle this shit. I don't even want to try. Please, Ian, what do I do?"

Ian let the chair fall back into proper alignment. "For starters, you don't have this conversation in a bugged office."

Ian pulled out a device that he'd gotten from dubious sources. It looked like a pen. He twisted it and a faint buzzing noise was emitted. "That'll take care of it."

John looked shocked and a little betrayed. "They bugged my office? Why?"

Ian shrugged. "It's just what they do, John. Precautionary in your case, probably. It's one of the reasons I don't let people in my home office."

Crawley just stared at him. "Why did you never warn me?"

Ian sighed. "You never needed a warning, John. Have you ever mishandled a case or even a bloody paperclip?"

Crawley gave Ian the evil eye. "No, but someone needs to cover up your chaos-radiating ass."

Ian popped out of his chair. "Exactly, Crawley."

Crawley gave him the look of paperwork hell. "What exactly?"

Ian grinned. "Me chaos, you order."

John gave him a look that told him he was going to be turning in his paperwork in triplicate, with late forms, and with at least three departments for a while. Ian shrugged. "How does that help me?"

Ian began to pace. "Be yourself, John. Play pretend. Or just report what you see. I don't really care if Jones knows every detail of our sex life, you know."

Crawley turned a shade of pink more common to floral arrangements than people. "I'm sure some things can be omitted."

Ian grinned and twisted his 'pen'. It was the Cheshire grin he always wore when pulling a great prank. "Exactly, Crawley, have a nice day."

Crawley grumbled under his breath. "Bipolar twerp."

Ian turned and was laughing. "Oh, but you love me anyway."

Crawley gave the door the evil eye. "Heaven help me, but I do."

Alex was baking a cake with Tom. It was one of Jack's few exceptions to her ten-minute rule. Her reasoning was that cake only took less than ten minutes of prep if it came from a box. Alex's reasoning was that cake was delicious and you got to eat the leftover icing. Tom had just watched the conversation they all knew would end with a cake with no small amount of amusement. Especially when Alex pulled out his wounded puppy look and told Jack he hadn't gotten any birthday cake. You'd have thought he was about to tell them Marion's illness was terminal from the look he got, honestly. Tom had barely kept from laughing at loud at Alex's look. Having to play Romeo to Alex's Juliet had been good for something, at least. The only reason he'd gotten the part was that he bribed the school spirit committee (not the secret one). They had both been in running for the lead. The teacher just hadn't decided which lead for the two of them. Tom was currently sneaking a spoonful of batter and made sure to concentrate on the critical part of not dropping it all over himself. Alex looked directly at him and began shaking with silent laughter. Hey, just because Alex was mutantly graceful didn't mean the rest of them were. Some people had to make an effort not to fall and break their face. Meh, his gene donors were just defective. That was it. He just managed to get away with it when Jack turned around. "Tom Harris!"

Uh, oh. It was still better than his parents though.

John Crawley was supposed to be working. He was actually staring at a wall and sighing. The paperwork on his desk was not being done for once. Jones barged in a few seconds later. "Where did he get that?"

Crawley shrugged. "I don't know."

He didn't want to, either. Jones huffed. "He was serious this time."

Crawley opened a random file on his desk. "You guys did threaten Mini with Russia. The kid's nice enough not to be considered bait, even if they weren't related. If you try to get other people in on this, he gets the sympathy card."

Jones stared at him. "Mini? They are nothing alike."

Crawley shrugged. "Sometimes and sometimes they are."

Tulip was looking at him funny. "Do you know something I don't?"

Crawley closed the file he was currently unable to pay attention to. "I know lots of things you don't, Tulip. Is there something specific you need?"

Jones sat down in front of him. Her stiff, formal way of sitting was so very different from Ian's controlled lounge. Crawley supposed there was a point in that but didn't want to think about it too much. "We need you to re-do those files."

Crawley sighed. It wasn't like he hadn't seen this coming, the nosy shits. "I'll need a few weeks."

Tulip shrugged. "Take all the time you need. This is an internal assignment only. No records. You understand."

Yes, he did. Crawley didn't like it one bit, either. "Yes, ma'am."

Jones continued. She seemed to think he needed the talk on how not to involve other agents. He'd been working here for longer than Ian. "Yes, ma'am."

Crawley was at his usual tune out the unnecessary bits part of this talk. Jones walked out not too much longer and left Crawley alone with his currently unpleasant line of thought. It all came down to choices in the end. Ian or Jones. Ian or Jones. If only it were that simple. He sometimes wished he was actually a banker. But then he would never have met Ian. He'd been working for MI6 for as long as he'd been out of school. Ian or Jones. Crawley remembered all of the times Ian had caused him paperwork. The same shit-eating grin and sparkle of life in the brown eyes. Jones slowly fading to grey after her children and John Rider were murdered. She used to be so much more. He remembered. Tailing Ian with Mini. Killing off Howell right under her nose. It made him feel alive. The way his wife had walked out with no small amount of contempt. I want a man who loves me more than paperwork, John. Mini's eye-rolling at possible imminent death. You're not really going to let him go off alone, are you? The days after he was injured where Ian's pranks on the nurses were his only bright spot. Don't worry, Crawley, lighting a thistle on fire and acting like a madman who believes in zombies probably won't get me banned. He'd actually had trouble breathing he was laughing so hard at the time. Ian or Jones. The people Ian had killed in the name of patriotism and the growing corruption. He wasn't blind or deaf. They had all employed SCORPIA. Ian, and fuck you Blunt. Crawley made his choice. He wondered if they would be surprised. Maybe.