Chapter 47: A House Visit

Belinda Mordant was not expecting a house visit. Then again, one does not usually expect guests at three in the morning who break in but politely leave your lock and windows intact. "Good morning, Doctor."

Ah, her new exception to her rule not to take patients ever again. "Good morning, Alex. Shall we begin?"

Alex gave her a cheeky grin. "Are you sure you don't want tea?"

Belinda rose, letting the blanket she had around her fall. "Yes."

Alex followed her in. "Do you know how often you'll be away this year?"

Alex shrugged. "Nope."

Belinda sighed. Stability of the home in question. "Next year?"

Alex had a habit of sitting perfectly still. Funny, most people would fidget. "I'll probably be going to Russia. I'm marked as an alternate in the transfer program, but there are other factors that will probably see me going."

Belinda began penning a few notes. She would need them. "Other factors?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Blunt, Jones, Sarov."

Belinda wondered why even the basic questions had needed an essay. This was probably why. "You don't sound too happy with the first two."

Alex scowled. There was a flash of emotion that he wiped off too quickly for her to read. "Oh, I'm not."

Belinda could tell from his tone that he was not willing to talk about it for the moment. "Do you want to go to Russia?"

Alex seemed to think about it. Had nobody asked him? "Yes."

It was a firmer answer than she expected. Most people who routinely had their autonomy removed had issues making decisions. "What is your earliest clear memory?"

Alex thought for a moment. "A field."

Belinda knew it was a nice or at least neutral memory. "What are your goals here?"

Alex seemed surprised. "I'm sorry?"

Belinda put down the clipboard. "Your therapy goals, Alex. What do want from therapy?"

Alex didn't seem to have considered it. Not uncommon in children referred by a family member, but she preferred to ask anybody above the age of eleven either way. "Well, I'd like a normal night of sleep, for one."

Insomnia. "Anything else? Do take your time."

Alex was quiet for a while. She thought he might not answer her. "I'm not sure, but I kind of want my family to get along."

Belinda made a note to ask about it later. Sadly, he might be one of the many children who found out that it was impossible for people to get along in his case. You couldn't change your relatives, but you could change your reaction to them. Belinda usually let her patients find out about their families the hard way. The younger ones would only accept with time that families feuded. The questions continued in her normal vein for some time.

Alex got back to his house sometime later. Fenrir had waited for him. "Hey."

Fenrir accompanied him to the breakfast table. Alex technically had slept the six hours he needed, but the late night hours were a killer. Jack spotted him at the table around fifteen minutes later with Fenrir sitting at his side. "Where were you?"

Alex suppressed a yawn. "Psychologist. Just got back."

Jack ruffled his hair before walking towards the fridge. "Those are some odd hours, but I guess if it works…" There was a pause as she went for the fridge. "Darn, I forgot to get more eggs. How does cake for breakfast sound?"

Alex felt a grin appear his face. "I love you."

Jack let out a peal of laughter. "I didn't honestly expect a protest."

Ian wandered down shortly after. "Why is there cake on the table?"

Alex pulled a perfectly innocent expression. "We ran out of everything else for breakfast."

Ian ran his hands through his hair. "Are you sure we're out of groceries?"

Alex kept his face completely straight and slightly mournful. It was hard while eating cake, okay? "Yep."

Ian sat down and muttered under his breath before moving onto coffee. Crawley walked down in his usual suit and gaped at the sight of Ian eating cake for breakfast. One look at MIni told him that Alex was pulling a fast one. It was almost Ian's expression when he was trying to keep a poker face, but not entirely serious in the attempt. Crawley sat down to breakfast. Well, he may be a grown-ass man, but he was still not going to protest cake for breakfast. Tom bounced in about ten minutes before Starbright would leave for his school. "Cake for breakfast! Score!"

Mini was grinning as though Christmas had come early. "Oh, Tom, don't you love me now."

Tom stuck out his tongue. "Yeah, but only because you didn't let the dog eat it."

Fenrir's wide yellow eyes were looking hopefully at Tom's plate. "Cake is bad for dogs."

Jack glanced at the clock. "Christ! Tom, time to go. We're going to be late!"

After about five frantic minutes later, they vacated the house.

Alex felt himself smiling as he watched them go. Ian had finished breakfast. "Alright, Crawley and I are going to work. Have you got your study set up for the day?"

Alex shrugged. "Yep."

They left after a few minutes. Fenrir was at his side while he brushed his teeth. Alex took one look at his books and decided he was going to have to return them to the base and avoid studying for the next few hours. "Fenrir, do you want to go to the base?" The wolf perked up instantly. "Yeah, let's go." It was still a bit chilly, even early in the year. Alex put on one of his lighter coats and went the now-familiar route to the base. "Maddox, can you hear me?"

Maddox's hologram form appeared in front of him. "Almost always, Mr. Rider. How can I help you today?"

Alex sat down. "Do you have any recommended reading?"

Alex heard what he thought might be a printer running. He got up just in time to grab the sheet. "I compiled a list of second-year medical texts and commonly assigned military ones that did not involve machine repair."

Alex grinned. "No building tanks for me then, huh?"

The hologram shook its head at him. "The words 'illegal for civilians to own' come to mind for some odd reason. I can't imagine why."

Alex grinned. "But I own a lot of illegal things."

Maddox arched its hologram eyebrow at him. "Yes, but a tank is a whole new level of illegal, don't you think?"

Alex shrugged. Hey, it was worth a shot. "Besides, Antonio will probably own a few in your inevitable war with the CIA and cartels, don't you think?"

Alex pouted. "Yeah, but it's not really the point now is it?"

The hologram ignored him. "Speaking of which, your status report is waiting. I diverted it from the mail system, as I don't think MI6 will appreciate Antonio's update on his status with your joint plan taking over South America."

Alex picked up a larger stack of paper. At least the reading probably wouldn't be dull. I mean, this was a summary of the interesting stuff. "I'm shocked he'd send it like that."

Maddox flickered. "On the contrary, your mail would have been perfectly fine, were your relatives not who they were. Antonio took over an operation that made quite a bit sending cocaine over the mail to accountants. They deemed the lower risk to their person worth the mark-up."

Alex stared. "That's actually interesting."

Maddox's voice took a very dry turn. "Yes, well, best get on with that reading."

Alex began flipping through Antonio's stuff first. It was way more interesting than his textbooks. Alex was actually impressed with the sheer amount of information and corruption Antonio could gather and perpetuate. Then again, there had to be a reason that an actual intelligence agency was on semi-officially speaking terms with him. Little did they know, he was working to dissolve their efficacy in his region. Of course, they might have figured that out already. Alex was reading the part where Antonio was slowly taking over the other cartels as well. He had to be subtle because the CIA liked to have options. Alex mentally snorted. Hypocrites, the bloody lot of them. Antonio was trying to take over the others so they would have fewer people to massacre. Sadly, they'd still have to take some of the more unstable and corrupt ones down, but Alex wasn't about to let people keep their positions if it meant innocent people suffering. They might have to replace the government as well, depending on how corrupt the officials were and what kind of candidates were left over after everybody else got kicked out. Cough, invited to dinner and poisoned, cough. Political and literal bloodbath. Alex sighed and got managed to get through it in a few hours. Hostile takeovers, even the ones involving illiterate populations, took a surprising amount of paperwork. He should probably write up some sort of government plan if he was going to take it over, right? I mean, education and tax systems didn't just appear from nowhere and Antonio's system, while efficient, collapsed if there was no one to play the despotic leader or if said leader didn't actively watch out for themselves and the people. The whole point of this was not to create another corrupt dictatorship after all. Alex groaned and promised himself that he would look into it. Ian liked that sort of thing, right? Alex wondered if Tulip would get too suspicious if he asked her for suggestions, but he figured she was a huge civics nerd. Hmm. Maybe the required reading for A-Level Civics would do the trick. Alex wondered how much he could straight-up rip off of other constitutions. And it would have to be in Spanish. Well, at least Tom could probably sucker the Spanish teacher into editing his 'theoretical' constitution.

Ian Rider was thoroughly surprised when John Crawley walked into his office unannounced. That was typically more his thing, but he wasn't about to complain. Plus, if he had the option between staring at Crawley and staring at boring paperwork, the answer was going to be his boyfriend every time. Ian knew he was staring a bit too long when Crawley glanced up. "Ian, I'm not a food item and it's two hours away from lunch."

Ian flashed Crawley an innocent expression that fooled neither of them. "Whaaat? I like looking at you more than boring black and white lines."

Crawley snorted. "Uh, huh. Sure. Keep telling yourself that. It's so not happening in your office." Crawley wondered why he had ever thought Ian was in the least shy about relationships. Ian just kept looking at him. "You're a distraction."

Ian grinned. "I'm a nice-looking one, though."

Crawley felt that a mature response was unlikely to have an effect and threw his pen at his coworker. Jones walked in at that exact moment. "I'm going to pretend I didn't see that. Julia Rothman's body just turned up on a beach."

Ian grinned. "Score." Crawley resisted the urge to facepalm sometimes, he really did. Jones fixed Ian with a look. "I mean, uh, I'll conduct this investigation with as much professionalism and interagency cooperation as possible."

Crawley resisted a snort. Sure he would. "One would hope, Agent Rider."

Jones stalked out of his office. Crawley just shook his head. "How on earth you ended up as a top agent is a mystery."

Ian smirked. "They don't really care that much how I act. I mean, I could dress up as a bum as long as I do my job and get away with it. It's called skill in the field."

Crawley gave him the evil eye over a stack of paperwork. "Why do I bother?"

Ian got up to follow Jones and took Crawley's hand. He felt his heart skip a beat, despite everything. "Because you like me."

Crawley resisted the urge to growl. Yes, he did. Unfortunately, being in a relationship did not make Ian act any more mature. Pssh. You like him, pranks and all. Great, now Mini was in his head and outside of his head. Crawley supposed it would have happened eventually, but had thought it would take a couple more years. Lah de dah, you don't actually mind or you would have quit being his friend years ago. Why did mental Mini have to be right? Crawley was glad he didn't get an answer one snarky Rider was enough for any given conversation and they were almost at Jones' office.

Alex was almost done with his non-family related work. Next were Ian's assigned books and his own self-study. "You get all this Maddox?"

The machine answered him. "Naturally. I took a peek before you read. It's a good plan, for all that I know."

Alex sighed. "What do you mean?"

Maddox flickered and then appeared seated next to him. "I'm sentient and have quite a bit more knowledge than you can memorize, but even my predictions can fail."

Alex closed his file. He was finished with the last page anyway. "How?"

Maddox let out what was probably equivalent to a human sigh. "Humans have a certain degree of unpredictability. Furthermore, my algorithms are based in logic and I'm not sure how they account for human emotion."

Alex shrugged. "Makes sense."

Maddox sniffed. "On the contrary, humankind does not."

Alex felt himself laugh. "Then you're in the same boat as the rest of us Maddox."

The hologram sniffed. "It's quite discomfiting."

Alex chuckled. "I wonder what would happen if you met Belinda."

Maddox huffed. "Your psychiatrist? I think not. She would cave at the first threat of interrogation, government or otherwise."

Alex tilted his head. "True, but she fears death above imprisonment, we know that."

Maddox tsked. "It is beside the point, Alex. Besides, the one I wager she fears most is still locked up."

Alex smirked. "Yeah, but we know they won't try the release approach. High probability of escape in transit and all that garbage."

Maddox decided to move on. It was what Alex thought that expression meant. "Speaking of escape probability, we need to discuss options that involve your imprisonment. You have no backing, aside from other operatives and your drug dealer."

Alex gave Maddox a look. "You'd think if I got caught, I'd be dead."

Maddox's hologram got up. "No, you'd be imprisoned in some sort of black site."

Alex twisted his neck a bit. "Aren't those supposed to be impossible to escape from?"

Maddox's normally bland smile turned slightly savage. "Supposed to be is the phrase word here, besides you have me. I'm the best computer in the world, you know."

Alex raised an eyebrow. Was that competition he heard? "I have the chance to dissect their programs better than the makers ever could. Besides, the bugs and cameras are hopelessly easy when one is on the network with administrative access."

Alex just stared at the machine. "And you're bringing this up, why?"

Maddox began pacing. It was an oddly human habit on him. "Your probability of imprisonment just became statistically significant."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "And you're worried about me?"

Maddox whirred. "Worry is not in my programming."

Alex shrugged. "Yeah, but you can change on your own, can't you?"

Maddox flickered. "I need a moment of contemplation."

Alex shrugged. "Sure."

He went back to reading. Maddox was surprisingly nice about the whole thing. He wondered how detached the machine actually was.

Alex wandered back to his house with Fenrir sometime close to when Tom would get home. When he got near his house, there was a familiar figure standing in the street. Nile. Of course, he was here. "Oh, no."

Nile fell into step beside him. Alex made sure the next turn was away from his house. "Oh, yes."

They were now going towards the park. "I could yell for help."

Nile smirked. "I'd be out of jail in an hour."

Alex was having to hold Fenrir's leash to keep him from biting the man. "Yeah, and your boss would then murder you for attracting attention."

Nile looked stumped. "Your dog looks unruly."

Alex was emotionally drained from studying. "Your job is unruly."

Nile chuckled. "True."

Alex loosened his grip and immediately had to tighten it again. "Down, Fenrir."

The wolf seemed reluctant to obey. "So, Yassen?"

Alex rolled his eyes. Nile was nuts if he wanted to gossip about Cossack. "Yes?"

Nile had to speed up his walk. Alex was totally doing it on purpose. "He's, uh, he's got plans."

Alex's tone could have given any desert a run for its money. "I'm aware. Was there something in particular you wanted?"

Nile sighed. "He's not the nicest."

Alex let the eyebrow arch appear on his face. "He sent me a severed head for Christmas."

Nile backed away as he illegally let his dog off the leash. "Just be careful."

Alex couldn't resist inserting the final jab. "Does that include or exclude meeting you?"

Nile had already vanished by the time he turned around. Well, Yassen could not possibly blame him for Nile's stalking. He hoped.

-C

So, that Nile guy, is he always this stalker-y or am I special?

-A

Cossack felt a jolt of alarm. He thought he had taken care of that little problem in Australia. Apparently not.

-A

You are special. Special education, that is. How on Earth do you manage to run into him this time?

-C

Alex huffed. Yeah, blame the victim, sure, Yassen. Yes, it was totally his fault that Nile had developed some sort of unhealthy obsession. Note the sarcasm.

-A

And what did you discuss?

-C

Alex withheld a groan. How did Yassen always know? Most people found him completely unpredictable.

-C

How do you know we talked at all?

-A

Yassen read the text and nearly snorted. If they hadn't talked, he would eat his shoes. Alex did have a tendency to poke the hornet's nest as well.

-A

If you didn't, I will eat my boots. Out with it.

-C

Alex would never admit to pouting, but he would admit that this came pretty close. He was tempted to stick his tongue out at the phone as well.

-C

It was totally not my fault. I was walking my dog in my actual neighborhood and he was just standing in the street.

-A

Yeah, sure, and he was just a nice banker. Try again, Alex. Besides, people like Nile were not exactly known for respecting things like personal boundaries if you let them get away with it.

-A

No need to hold back for dramatic purposes. Then, what happened?

-C

Alex rolled his eyes. What did Yassen think was happening when they were meeting up? A tea party?

-C

I told him that he was a stalker-y creep, like usual. Gave him the semi-polite version of fuck off, like usual. I mean, it was the verbal equivalent of hitting someone with a brick. Then he managed to choke out some sort of half-assed warning about you, which was new. I told him about your special ideas about Christmas. And then he vanished after I out-snarked him, like usual. Anyone normal would be getting a serious pedo-vibe right now.

-A

Cossack let out a long sigh. Because Nile was the kind of man to listen to social niceties, he really was. He was trying to interfere, which was definitely against their agreement. Alex's verbal sparring would appeal on multiple levels to certain people who weren't used to hearing no. Nile was one of the few people who he didn't have a section of personal preferences on. Grr.

-A

And you didn't shoot him because?

-C

Alex resisted the urge to facepalm. It wasn't like Nile was death-threatening him or something. Besides, people frowned on that sort of thing and he lived here.

-C

No death threat and I live here.

-A

Yassen sighed. Honestly, where was Ian Rider in all of this? Probably screwing around with his boyfriend or MI6. Did he think the news wouldn't spread?

-A

He. Is. A. Wanted. Terrorist. I doubt you would be convicted in English court regardless. Furthermore, you might want to prepare for a severed head soon.

-C

Alex rolled his eyes. Cossack was supposed to be trigger happy, but he wondered why Nile was so high on his shit list without even threatening him first. Wait, what?!

-C

What?! Why?! It doesn't make any sense.

-A

Cossack felt a grim sort of amusement. Alex did really fail to see their interactions from Nile's perspective.

-A

Because he believes there is some sort of competition and sending you some sort of physical symbolism of his allegiance is the way to go now.

-C

Well, the man was a murdering psychopath. That combined with their limited interaction would lead him to that conclusion. Nile would see it as a completely normal thing. Then again, in Nile's country of origin, it probably was.

-C

Competition for what?!

-A

Ah, Alex. You really don't see it do you. Then again, Yassen had picked the subtle approach for a reason and Nile was about as subtle as a rampaging rhinoceros.

-A

Whose student you will be.

-C

Alex stared at his phone. Really? Those two were going to make him go prematurely gray as it was. Besides, it wasn't like he was actually in running for a position. Right? He had morals and stuff.

-C

There is no competition, though.

-A

Yassen inwardly smirked. That Alex knew about. He might have to hunt down and kill Nile if he kept this up, though. It would be a pain in the ass.

-A

Yes, but he doesn't know that. Nor does he comprehend why we would otherwise be talking. This is someone who does not possess a normal range of human emotion, you realize.

-C

Alex let out a moan. Why was it always him? Couldn't Nile have picked someone else to stalk, like some sort of other kid. His boss? Anyone?

-C

I'm going to need to think now.

-A

Cossack couldn't resist a snarky reply. He put up with enough of Alex's antics to deserve at least one.

-A

Don't hurt yourself.

-C

Alex snapped his phone shut to keep himself from telling Yassen to do something anatomically impossible with his phone. Fenrir butted his head against Alex's leg as he slowly began to get up in time for everyone to get home. The phone was quickly stowed away. Jack and Tom came in first. Shorter school hours, you know. Tom walked right up to him and dumped a folder in his lap. "What's this?"

Tom grinned. "Homework. Or did you forget we had it during the joys of homeschool?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "And your homework is in my lap, why?"

Tom plopped down next to him. "I need help?"

Alex snorted. Some things never changed. "Uh, huh. What project, paper, or an otherwise unnamed pile of misery did you forget this time?"

Tom gave him a look that belonged on the face of someone who had a relative recently hospitalized. "It was only a little Spanish paper."

Alex rolled his eyes. "They aren't that hard."

Tom gave him a pleading look. "They are when I also have a math project."

Tom started his usual round of begging. Alex gave in on the second round. He was a bit of a sucker for his best friend. "Alright, fine, I'll bloody do it. Don't let it get this late ever again, though."

Tom grinned. "I won't."

They both knew that was a total lie, but Alex wasn't about to say anything. Jack looked on in total amusement that she wasn't even trying to hide. "You could've stepped in anytime there."

Jack smirked. "Oh, but I was enjoying myself far too much."

Tom looked between them. "Alex quit adulting."

Alex grinned. "Tom, are you telling me I shouldn't act more mature? Tsk, tsk. You're a bad influence."

Tom stuck out his tongue. "Yes, yes I am, but you're better off for it."

Jack was choking back her laughter at those two. She had missed the banter, secretly of course. It reminded her of her own family at times. Jack left them to it and wandered into the kitchen. It was nice to have them back.

Ian wandered in on Tom and Alex bickering over some kind of paper. He was still in a kind of daze after the day he'd been having. Julia Rothman was found dead and nobody knew how or why. They suspected that the body had been frozen for some time, but they didn't know why. She'd been killed with a caliber far higher than necessary to end her life, but they'd found shards that matched bulletproof glass inside her skin, so perhaps they'd shot out the window and then shot her with the same gun. MI6 had been wondering why she'd been so quiet, but Ian supposed one could no longer conduct business when dead. Why let them find the body? They aren't dead unless there is a body. Ian inhaled as he recalled one of his and John's last conversations. Right, they wanted everyone to know she was dead now. Hadn't she been in Venice, though? Why had her coworkers dumped her near enough to Britain that it would be the beach she washed up on? Alex was waving his hand in front of his face. "Anyone home, or did you finally go brain-dead in your old age?"

Crawley burst out laughing behind him. Ian gave Alex the evil eye. "My mind is perfectly fine, brat, and a good afternoon to you, too."

Alex blinked innocently at him. "I was just checking."

Ian rolled his eyes. "Sure you were. What are you and Tom arguing over anyway?"

Alex pulled an innocent look that would fool about ninety percent of the population. "Nothing you adults need to worry about."

Ian wondered if it was worth dragging out of Alex. Probably not. "Alright then, I won't. I need to update a few things in my office. I'll see you at dinner."

Ian walked up the stairs. Alex was physically unable to fire any gun above a certain caliber without injuring himself, so Ian could check at least one (and the most personally important) suspect off the list. That left just a couple hundred more. Rothman had a lot of enemies and dubious coworkers. Oh, boy. Then again, there were only a few people who would be willing to take the hit on a SCORPIA board member. The fact that there had been a delay in the reveal and no visible revenge almost certainly said inside job or that it had been sanctioned by at least a few of her colleagues. Her second-in-command was alive and well, as far as they knew. Surveillance on the island had its benefits. Ian sighed. It didn't much matter, he supposed. The MI6 agent strongly doubted it was anyone particularly friendly to their side who took the hit out on her. He wondered how Alex would take the news.

Alex stepped into Ian's office with no small amount of trepidation after dinner. Please don't let him have discovered one of my plots. Please don't let him have discovered one of my plots. Ian closed the door behind them. "Take a seat, Alex."

He wondered why Alex looked so nervous. It wasn't like anything bad could happen here. Well, he had taken precautions against it. "Why did you call me here?"

The waiting was a special kind of agony for him. "Well, Julia Rothman was found dead this morning. Jones D-noticed it, so you won't hear about it on the news. I just thought you should know."

Ian could hardly blame his nephew for the relief that was visible across his face. In truth, Ian was quite relieved, too. Rothman had been one of the more vindictive board members and had seemed to forget about Alex, but Ian could never be sure. Now she was no longer a threat to either of them. It was one sigh of relief that he was glad to breathe. That still left Kurst, a man nobody wanted to mess with. He was also quite infamous for his bloody grudge matches with both independent people and organizations. Ian was not about to tell Alex about that, though. Ian vaguely wondered if they would ever attempt to replace deceased members. None of them were getting younger. Then again, it wasn't the type of job you retired from. Ian returned to the present when Alex spoke up. "So how'd she die?"

Ian shrugged. "Got shot."

Alex gave him a goofy grin. "So, uh, I guess she had one shot too many."

Ian snorted with laughter. "Sure. Go do Tom's homework for him."

Alex laughed. "You don't know that."

Ian rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, I do."

Alex walked out of his office, leaving him alone to write his threat assessment.

Alex's week went pretty normally for the rest. He knew who murdered Julia Rothman but wasn't about to reveal that fact. Ian would go ballistic. Jones would come sniffing around. Blunt would do one of his creepy visits. Alex didn't really feel like making it family business either. Patrick, while one of the more adult adults in his life, was not really Alex's first choice for a confidante. Darian was still too pliable to make Alex trust him with any kind of secret. Marion was completely batshit, so Alex was only going to tell her in the event that it became necessary for someone to die. At the rate he was going, his new best friend was going to be a computer of debatable sentience and his dog. Fenrir was shedding so much fur, Alex had felt guilty enough to ask Jack if she wanted help vacuuming or using one of those hair-trapping devices. Jack had just given him an amused look and gone back to eyeing a patch of fur with a slightly manic look. Alex had decided it was best to leave her to it and backed away slowly. Fenrir was currently in bed with him. He felt the dog huff next to him. "I hope Sarov likes dogs. I'm not going to Russia without you."

Fenrir huffed and laid a massive paw on him, the yellow eyes met his. "I wonder, how close to human intelligence are you?"

The wolf bopped Alex's hand with its nose. It then raised its ears. "What is it?"

Fenrir got out of bed. Alex grabbed a knife and followed suit. "So, decided to go for the antisocial angle of your insanity plea?"

Alex grinned. "I dunno, Mandy, going for the sleepwalking angle on yours?"

Amanda Teller grinned and sat down on his bed. "Your glorified fluff ball let me sign you up for Russia."

Fenrir walked over to her and woofed. "Yeah, sure. Treachery." Fenrir padded over to him and skimmed his front with his large furry body. The wolf then pulled an innocent look. "Uh, huh, sure."

Mandy grinned. "Aww, you two could audition for the asylum together." Alex couldn't keep himself from laughing at that. "Gotcha, brat."

Alex sighed. "Why are you breaking into my room at two in the morning?"

Mandy waved the comment off. "Not like you're sleeping anyway."

Alex shrugged. "That's fair. I use the same excuse."

Mandy ruffled his hair. Alex half-heartedly shoved her arm. "I would get to it sooner if you didn't have replies to my comments."

Alex gave her a wide-eyed look. "Grow up? Never!"

Mandy swatted him. "Brat."

Alex grinned. "LARP candidate."

Mandy snorted. "Drama class is still lower on the scale in school-land." Alex pulled a mock-serious face. "But drama is a refined British art that has been respected for-"

Mandy promptly shoved a pillow into his mouth. "Puh. I could get some horrid disease."

Mandy shrugged. "Unlikely, dogs aren't that compatible with humans. Besides, you've got health insurance."

Alex snorted. "Now you've done it. I'm going to die of some horrid new disease that transmits between mammals."

Mandy grinned. "Yeah, you definitely need company. That paranoia has definitely begun to set in."

Alex retorted. "Says the one who wanted an untraceable phone."

Mandy got up and sat on his bed. "It's time for me to update you before the next meeting."

Alex got serious. "Yeah, how have things been on your end? Tom and I haven't really been able to have that much private time."

Mandy scooted close enough to touch him. "Yeah, that's part of why I broke in. Tom helped."

Mandy watched her friend with no small amount of trepidation. "Part of?"

Mandy leaned in close. "Yeah, I wanted to check on you, brat."

Alex returned her hug and moved his head to meet her eyes. She'd never seen his eyes actually reflect his age before. "Miss me?"

Mandy smiled softly. "Always, brat. Nobody argues like you."

Alex laid his head against her shoulder. "I missed you too."

Mandy patted his head. "Anyway, time for updates. The last case you helped on is going well. The school secretary got her paperwork sorted. James took up your habit of making people reconsider bullying younger students. Adrian is finally finishing up school. I get to take my ever-so-lovely GCSEs soon. Gillian is about to go to uni. Nigel still has two years left and is probably going to be an engineer. Karen's supposed to go to some preppy marriage school. Richard is getting a job with his family."

Mandy seemed to forget to breathe. "Breathe Mandy."

Mandy flushed. "Sorry."

Alex and Mandy were both joined by Fenrir. "Everything is just so busy."

Alex noticed the shadows underneath her concealer. "Sleep is important, Mandy."

Mandy seemed to be just barely conscious. "Brat."

Her tone was belied by a huge yawn. "Mmm. Hmm. I'm totally right, though."

Alex watched his friend pass out in his bed. Ah, the horrors of the public education system.

Fenrir was giving him an indigent look. "She needs the sleep more than we do, fluff."

Fenrir gave him a pleading look. "Alright, just this once, we can go for a walk."

Alex got dressed and grabbed a leash. It was early spring and the night was freezing. Alex found himself taking the route to Tom's old house. The night made the city eerily silent. The house was still burnt to the ground, but if anybody asked, they could hardly blame him for being curious after an appropriate amount of time for his friend to mourn. He moved towards the house. It was time to confirm a suspicion of his. Tom had died last time. Nobody, not even the agents, had seen anybody enter or exit. The thing was, even SCORPIA wasn't that good. There would have to have been an out-of-place repairman or another unknown entrance or it was an inside job or there was gross negligence going on (it would be the first time). Alex intended to find out. "Well, Fenrir, are you ready to look for something?"

Fenrir gave him a look that suggested the wolf mutant was mildly offended. Alex removed his gloves and replaced them with surgical ones, wincing at the cold. He walked through the black, twisted remains, wondering at the destruction. Mankind are the most destructive creatures ever created and also, the most ingenious. Thanks for that cheerful thought, Grim. Always happy to help. What? My burgeoning depression? This is what I get for trying to be philosophical. Aren't you the embodiment of Death or something? Well, yes. Can't you, oh, help me look? I'm the embodiment of death, not the embodiment of architecture and city planning. Fine. No need to get snarky. Pot, shut up. Oh, I love being bound to you eternally, too, Grim. I was under coercement. Of what? Dying? You can't die. Actually… You know what, never mind. The point I was getting to, Shortstack, I hope you lie well. What the fuck Grim? Alex didn't have long to wait. Mrs. Harris was approaching. "What are you doing here?"

Alex sighed. "I'm not really sure. I think I'm checking to see if there's anything left."

Mrs. Harris lapsed into silence. "It's okay. I'm not sure why I'm here either."

It was then Alex realized she was quite drunk. Lovely. "Is he okay? Does he miss me?"

Alex looked at her. It was about Tom, of course. "He's pretty good, Ma'am."

He didn't know her maiden name. "Does he miss me, though?"

Alex wondered if he should tell her the truth. Eh, probably not. "Yeah, I don't think he'd want to see you like this though."

She hiccupped. "No, he wouldn't."

She wandered off. Alex watched her go with the faintest pang of pity. He had a task to get to and she was an adult who made her own choices, though.

Author's note: 新年快乐！年年有余！