Chapter 55: Fabrications and Flame

Alex was going to dinner with his friends. The atmosphere was pretty somber once the adults left them alone. "So, drug dealer."

Adrian was never one for subtlety. Alex placed his fork down. "I say he dies."

Adrian stared at him. "Jesus. Maybe we go over the other options first?"

Tom was staring at him. James looked a little stunned. "Alex are you okay?"

It was Gillian, of course. "Perfectly fine. Never better."

Seven pairs of skeptical eyes turned on him. "Really?"

It was James asking this time. Alex rolled his eyes. "Yes. I'm seeing a psychologist and everything, don't worry."

Mandy looked at him. "Who?"

Alex shrugged. "Belinda Mordant."

Adrian hissed. "She was forced to retire for unethical therapies."

Tom blinked. Alex shrugged. "She seems competent enough."

Tom was looking between him and everybody else. "Relax, Tom. Everything is fine. Perfectly fine."

Tom just looked at him. "Alex, you would say that even if we were sitting in a house and everything was on fire."

Alex huffed. "Material possessions aren't really worth that much."

Tom snorted. "Missing the point, Alex."

Alex grinned. "But, Tom, you like me anyway."

Tom rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I do. Dumb blonde moments and all."

Alex would have thrown his fork at Tom if they were in his house. Instead, he just gave Tom the evil eye. "Fine. You can do your own homework from now on."

Tom began to protest but was cut off by Nigel. "I'd like to get this meeting done by midnight."

Alex quieted down. Tom was still giving him a playfully pleading look. They both knew that the sentence was a lie. "Right. Drug dealer."

Adrian sighed. "An arrest is an option, but we'd have to do a lot of planning. We could steal or destroy his supply and let the street take care of the rest. Or we can go on the sliding scale of interpersonal violence."

Alex considered it for a second. "Destroying his stuff would be pretty easy. I've got all kinds of fun stuff. Plus, drug labs blow up all the time."

He had done that in the beginning. Dropped a ship on a conference center. "But that begs the question of what happens if the guy gets out of trouble."

Tom sighed. "Alex. You can't punish everyone personally."

Alex looked at his best friend. "Do you really want me to accept that challenge, Tom?"

His friend was glaring at him. "Alex."

Alex gave Tom an innocent look. "Tom."

Mandy cut in. "How about a compromise?"

Alex was instantly suspicious. "Like what?"

Mandy sighed. "Get him caught with his supplies. He'll go to prison for a very long time, and nobody has to get out their weaponry collection."

Alex could live with that. "Fine by me."

Tom's eye twitched. The rest of the group seemed to accept that idea. Adrian stood. "Next, we have to vote."

After the meeting, it was educational activities time. Adrian was teaching this time. "Alright, how much do you know about parkour?"

Alex only knew the bare basics. They had helped him quite a bit. It was more muscle memory at this point. He'd decided to wait for practice partners and a real teacher because some of it could get pretty dangerous. It was like parachuting without a buddy. You didn't do it unless you had to. Alex felt his lips twitch as he remembered a certain BASE jump. He'd made more over the years. Some for fun and some not. Maybe he'd pick up a "new" hobby to tick off Ian. The most dangerous extreme sport in the world. Ian would either hate it or insist on coming with him. Adrian grinned. "So, the first thing we should go over is safety tips. I would not recommend doing this without a partner unless you are actively running from people you want to avoid. Try to avoid anything over three stories unless you are experienced. Water is never optimal if you are running afterward. And, you know, general common sense."

Alex really just wanted to get started but was trying to focus on his friend. There was an obstacle course in the basement. Alex got the feeling they could change it as they went along. He also had other underground spaces that Tom knew about. Maybe Maddox could be convinced to change up the basement? Alex was pretty sure the computer didn't mind, but he didn't want to risk pissing him off. "And now we can start running leaps. After warm-up."

Alex grinned at his fellow friends' groans. Tom looked at him. "You're insane, Al."

Alex laughed a bit. "Says the one on the football team. Don't you practice at least five times a week?"

Tom rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but you're the only one in the class that liked warm-up."

Alex shrugged. It was kind of fun. "Is everybody warm?"

Adrian eyed them expectantly. Alex interrupted. "Uh, no. Not even close."

Adrian looked at him. "How long is it going to take?"

Alex shrugged. "I'll speed up. Maybe twenty?"

Adrian sighed. "Seconds?"

The man sounded hopeful for some reason. "Nope. Minutes."

Alex sped up after that. Sword training with Ian was pretty intense. It was kind of a pain to take almost forty minutes to warm up. He caught Mandy sending him a mildly envious look. "Erm. How much do you exercise per day?"

Alex shrugged. He was done now. "About three or four hours. I take every fifteenth day off, though."

Tom squeaked. "Four hours?! Where do you have the time?"

Alex shrugged. "Here and there."

It helped that he slept less than he used to originally. Six to ten hours was plenty. Twelve actually made him mildly ill. Mandy looked at Adrian. "Did you check with your doctor?"

Alex shrugged. "Oh, yeah. All three. Plus, Ian checked, too."

Adrian sighed loudly. "Alright, back to class. We're doing running jumps. Try not to fall face first."

It was a fun time.

Everybody except Alex and Adrian was out of breath at the end. Alex realized comparing them to the standards he was used to was patently unfair and didn't say a word. It was kind of funny to see, though. Tom just looked at him funny. "How?"

Alex shrugged. "Sword practice with Ian."

Plus, his own private exercises and karate class. James just looked at him. "You should try out for a marathon."

Alex shrugged. Marathons weren't really his thing. He honestly preferred football. "How would you feel about a pet snake?"

James perked up a bit. "Sounds awesome. Why?"

Alex shrugged. "Just curious. Mandy mentioned she liked snakes so I wondered."

James accepted it without question. Alex was glad they were only twelve sometimes. It made for less suspicious friends. You could even ask random questions. Adrian tapped the doorway. "We need to plan now."

Alex shrugged and finished his cool-ish down. They all went back to their secret library. "So, we frame him with pictures and burn down his lab."

Adrian was taking notes. "Yeah, but we need to plan the details."

Alex shrugged. "I can get the pictures since I don't have school. You guys can do the lab."

Adrian scribbled down a note. "Right, but what about actually getting him tied up. He's not just going to let you do it if you ask nicely."

Alex shrugged. "I can handle it."

He had sedatives in the basement, after all. Diluted poisons worked great for these things. "I'll take your word for it. Reluctantly. You are going to add to the files once you are done."

Alex shrugged. "Fine."

Adrian sighed. "Now, does anyone store explosi-"

Alex just raised his hand. "Of course, you do. Care to lend us some?"

Alex had a twisted sort of grin on his face. "Of course. Sharing is caring."

Tom rolled his eyes. "You would say that."

Alex smirked. "We share prank items all the time, Tom."

James just shook his head. "I'll just start saving up for bail and attorney fees, shall I?"

Alex laughed. The rest of the group looked amused. It was bedtime shortly after that.

Alex was not going to enlist Ian for help, so this required careful planning. He decided to take a few key items for his shenanigans. Alex grabbed a bug. The real challenge would be getting it attached to the guy or his lair. He was going to have to get creative. Thankfully, the basement and his own underground fort had their own sets. Alex decided to take a leaf out of the future's book. Nobody in this era had ever heard of hacking cellphones unless they were in security or intelligence. This would work to his advantage. Plus, the phones would have a lot more holes in their software, since no company would have bothered to firm up the software for your average, everyday Joe. Alex remembered how several viruses worked. They wouldn't hit the public for another few years if he was careful (and remembered correctly). The first thing would be getting access to the device. It would be better if he actually had the physical phone, but the guy would probably ditch the phone if it went missing for any significant portion of time. The next best would be the phone company. "Sorry, my phone isn't working." It was classic. In theory, you could clone the phone and nobody would be any the wiser, as long as you didn't make any calls from it yourself. A short program would ensure all phone calls would be recorded by the clone. It was a pity phone software was so new and vulnerable, wasn't it? Alex had checked and there weren't even laws written for what he could do on phones. Smithers was a wonderful, wonderful man. Alex hadn't even asked for those specific kinds of books. First, he'd have to look up the model software and hardware and do a test run, of course. It wouldn't do to overpower the guy's phone or the clone he had made. That could have nasty consequences with the way the batteries were built. Safety standards were different from the world he'd left behind. A few years later in his other life, there had been a series of battery flames and blow-ups. It had resulted in better safety standards than the current ones. Of course, unless somebody deliberately rigged a phone to blow, the most you would probably get was singed skin and maybe a missing ear or finger. Or if you were hideously unlucky, the shrapnel would lodge in your brain and eventually kill you. At any rate, Alex did not want the phone to actually blow up. Alex wondered if cheerfully whistling would arouse too much suspicion from Ian. Probably, but he didn't care. About twenty minutes into his project, Ian barged in. "What are you doing?"

Alex gave him a look. "Typing. On my computer. Look, I even have most of my weapons on my bed."

Ian was eyeing him suspiciously. Alex was glad he hadn't gotten the phones to rig up to his computer yet (he was going to get the make and model of the guy's phone later today). "Alex."

Alex gave Ian his most put-upon look. "Oh, c'mon Ian. I have two totally non-malignant projects running that Smithers checks. I'd have to be programming at some point during the week and I do this for fun."

Ian let out a long sigh. "Alright."

Alex gave Ian a thoroughly unamused look. "Did you have something to tell me or did you just barge in because your paranoia is setting in?"

Ian huffed. "My paranoia is justified, brat. I was coming to tell you we're going to The Tower next week."

Alex shrugged. "Cool."

Ian looked at him. "You really have changed, haven't you?"

Alex wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. "It happens, Ian."

Ian man looked at him for a bit and then left him alone.

Ian Rider knew he was a complete failure at parenting sometimes. He'd kind of not known that Smithers had that much interaction with Alex. Had Alex mentioned it? Ian couldn't actually remember. He decided he was going several floors off from his usual spot. It was time to visit the device maker. "Smithers."

The man looked excited to see him. "Ian. How can I help you? Exploding pens? We've got a new Taser model -"

Ian cut him off with a raised hand. "I'm here about Alex."

Smithers paused. "Ah, caught on, did you?"

Ian sighed. "He didn't exactly tell me anything."

Smithers sighed. "Your nephew is quite brilliant really. He used a VPN to contact me and has at least two independent servers, although he likes to pretend it's only one. The current projects are translating Mandarin reliably and something to do with semi-conductors and smaller computer chips. You wouldn't really understand most of the second one, I'm afraid."

Ian stared. "Mandarin. Alex doesn't know – shit."

Smithers gave him a sympathetic look. "I suspect he has more…offensive projects, but he doesn't show me them, so I can neither confirm nor deny such things."

Smithers was almost certain he did but wasn't about to try to find them. It was bad form and he was weaker in some of the areas Alex was better in. It wasn't really his aim to make Alex cross with him either. "Goddamn it, Smithers, why doesn't anybody tell me these things."

He sympathized with Ian Rider, but Smithers was ultimately more empathetic towards Alex. His guardian had once been similarly absent. It hadn't led anywhere good for him. MI6 had not exactly been his first choice in careers, but it had been that or jail time. Smithers didn't resent it anymore, but he didn't want Alex in the same position. "I assumed he told you or that you would ask."

That was a complete lie, but Ian Rider didn't know him well enough to tell. He knew for a fact Alex wasn't going to tell Ian unless he had to. Smithers also knew Ian Rider was absent enough not to notice. "Well, next time, tell me. And ask me. I'm his guardian."

Smithers personally didn't think much of Ian Rider's parenting abilities but knew enough to keep his mouth shut about that. It was better if he could act semi-paternally in private. "I'll keep you updated."

Ian left. Oh, Smithers would keep him updated alright. He'd just write the papers with as much technical jargon as possible and deliberately obfuscate much of the projects. It might be a touch spiteful, but Smithers was of the opinion Ian couldn't take care of a damn pet rock, much less Alex. An alert popped up on his computer. Alex had a question. Well, best get back to it. He'd have to do actual work after lunch.

Alex loved Smithers. Maybe more than he should for someone thoroughly attached to MI6, but Smithers was fun. Smithers gave him hacking books and reviewed his code. The man even sent him unauthorized gadgets to take apart for fun. It was kind of nice, almost like having that cool computer uncle he never knew he wanted or needed. Gramps knew stuff and so did Ian, but they both tended to suck the fun out of it. Plus, Smithers knew more. He was also more fun and didn't give him that "only for emergencies" bullshit. Computer skills needed to be practiced. Alex thoroughly enjoyed doing so. If a career in IT didn't sound like something MI6 might recruit him for, Alex might actually go for it. For now, he wanted to stay off their radar. Art degrees were useless, right? A fake logo on one of their helicopters sprang to mind. Damn it. Underwater basket weaving? Ian would kill him. Jack might know about college stuff. Alex was pretty sure Ian had a degree, but Ian would be much less supportive of him not choosing something actually useful. He hadn't really taken college seriously last time around and now kind of regretted it. Medicine? He actually wouldn't mind the ability to perform surgery, especially if some idiot decided to shoot his relatives. It would require a shit ton of schooling, though. Alex kind of disliked college. Hmm. Alex walked downstairs. "Jack."

Jack looked up. "Yes, Honey."

Alex plopped himself down. "How did you decide what major you wanted?"

Jack paused. "I decided I wanted to study something I could tolerate doing for the rest of my life. I even liked it on most days. Why?"

Alex frowned. "I'm trying to pick a major."

Jack sat down next to him. "What did you have in mind?"

Alex looked at her. "Medicine. I want to be a surgeon."

Jack looked at him. "Why?"

Alex looked her in the eye. "I want to save people who need help."

Jack looked startled. "That's very honorable of you."

Jack had personally been hoping he would choose something less stressful. Alex shrugged. "Eh, not really."

Jack gave him a fond look. "I'll get a few medical school pamphlets."

Alex gave her a fond look. "Thank you, Jack."

Jack just looked at him oddly but walked off to get started. Alex realized that he had never thanked her for that much in his past life. The guilt poked at him. Alex crushed it. He would do better this time. He would be better this time.

Tom Harris knew that two years ago he would never have dreamed he would actually be doing this. It was almost like being an actual spy. Tom was pretty sure Alex would disapprove of his dream, but still be nice to him about it. His fingers circled the tracking device in his pocket once more. It was a bad habit, but not all of them could just drop all of their tells like Alex. He was actually concerned about his friend and ninety percent sure it was Ian/the other relatives' fault. Who in the bloody hell went from basically pacifism to "let's kill him" in one year without serious shit going on? Tom was almost certain they routinely harmed him physically. I mean, Alex was pretty well-fed, but the guy wore long sleeves in the middle of London summer. No, he was not buying "the sun gives you cancer" for even a hot second. He'd been there. Maybe he could convince Alex to do a slumber party? James would probably go for it. Tom had asked him about one of the scars and been told: "Aunt Crazy got a little too enthusiastic during cooking lessons". Yeah, sure. Maybe if Aunt Crazy was practicing butchering humans on him. You could not possibly bugger up that badly while chopping tomatoes. Especially since Aunt Crazy was graceful, just like the rest of Alex's mutant family. She had just gotten out of the hospital and she was still not clumsy in the slightest. Tom was ninety percent sure Ian wasn't in on it, but you never knew. Plus, Alex was wearing long sleeves in the summer. Even their school uniforms didn't have long sleeves during summer. Tom tried to refocus on the situation at hand. He was glad Mandy had forged the paperwork to get him that year-long trip to Russia. Maybe General "I really want a son" would be a bit nicer than the rest of Alex's relatives. Mandy had said that Alex looked creepily like the dude's dead son, but Tom figured that it worked to Alex's advantage. With any luck, general dude would be feeling extra paternal. Tom was kind of crossing his fingers on that one. Maybe one of them would get a real father figure. Tom had kind of read Alex's letters to the man (he didn't trust Alex's creep-dar to work) and it had seemed pretty wholesome. Gillian had been pretty good about translating them from very formal Russian. Tom felt the tracker inside his jacket as the man approached. For once, he could focus. It was time.

Alex waited until Ian left the house and was way out of the driveway before he grabbed his backpack. It was time to stalk a drug dealer. With Ian around, he couldn't really do a twenty-four-hour stint, which was probably for the best, but it was irritating to him nonetheless. Alex kind of missed the freedom he had once had. Of course, the death of his relatives and friends was way too high a cost for him to pay, but it had been almost nice to have nobody question his whereabouts if he disappeared for days on end. He pulled out a device. One of his friends would have gotten somebody to place a tracker on the man or done it themselves. The dealer was easy enough to find once he got in the general area. It was a pretty touristy area near the museum district. Alex figured this would be easier than he thought. Nobody would question a twelve-year-old taking pictures of random people in London. Alex made sure to slow down as much as possible before snapping pictures of the guy. He was leaning on a fire hydrant near a restaurant. Alex glanced at the place. It looked like the usual overpriced tourist trap place, but it was going to be a very convenient early lunch for him. Alex walked in and waited to be seated. Sure enough, the menu was...not at all Ian approved. Alex gleefully chose fish and chips. "I'll have, ehhm, that fish and chips thang."

Well, the southern accent might be a bit strong, but it seemed to do the trick. "Do y'all have coca-cola?"

The waiter sighed. "Yes, we do. I'll bring the ketchup, shall I?"

Alex beamed at the man. "Sure thang, thank yuh."

The waiter went off to get his food. Alex took the moment to get out his camera and set it in the position where it would be pointed at the drug dealer through the glass. Then he switched the flash off and set it to snap pictures every two seconds. It was going to be a more interesting day than most. He'd had to leave Fenrir at home, much to his dog's disappointment. Fenrir was very recognizable and Alex didn't really want to risk it. It was kind of fun. Maybe he'd go to the science museum afterward. The fish and chips came out pretty quickly. Alex was glad. They were pretty delicious, even with putting ketchup on his fish. It was kind of a travesty, but he needed to fit the stereotype. Alex put as little ketchup on it as possible, though. The waiter's expression was kind of hilarious. It was the look one might wear when discovering a cockroach in your cookie jar. "Are you ready for the check?"

Alex cheerfully replied. "Yes, thank yuh. It was wonderful."

The waiter sighed and wandered off to get him the check. Alex flicked his camera off the photo-taking mode. He would check the photos later after he went to the museum. Ian had mentioned they had a new exhibit on gemstones.

Alex got back to the house with about an hour to spare for dinner. He'd walk Fenrir in the evening. Ian immediately swooped in on him. "Where were you?"

Alex took off his shoes. "Good evening to you too, Ian. I had a nice day, what about you?"

Ian glared at him with no small amount of suspicion. "Why did General Sarov send you the biggest pile of Russian medical textbooks I have ever seen in my life?"

Alex perked up. "Wait, really? I only asked for two and as book suggestions."

Ian looked at him. There was a large pile of books in the entryway behind Ian. "Oh, he sent you your two books alright. And their extended reading. And the extended reading of that extended reading."

Alex just stared at Ian in shock. Ian was giving him a thoroughly grumpy look. "I didn't even know you were interested in medicine."

Alex sighed. "I was planning on telling you eventually."

Ian huffed. "Like when? The day you graduate with your doctorate?"

Alex retorted. "Don't be ridiculous, Ian, I would have told you after my pre-med degree."

Ian glared at him. "I told you not to write letters to dodgy people."

Alex raised an eyebrow at Ian. "Just because you two disagree on how to run a government doesn't mean he's a criminal."

Ian snorted. "He's a communist."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Yes, Ian, the word is communist, not terrorist. We've got a dictionary if you don't know the difference."

He heard Jack choke back a laugh from inside the living room doorway. Ian was giving him a look. "I could ground you for that comment, but I'm not going to."

Alex gave him a significant look. "Can I have my books?"

Ian flipped one open. "Can you even read these?"

Alex gave his uncle the evil eye. "Yes. If I have issues, there is a nice Russian-English dictionary you just happen to own."

Ian sighed. "I really wish you would involve me in your life a bit more."

Alex grabbed the book out of Ian's hands with a little more force than strictly necessary. "That ship sailed after you missed my birthday twice in a row while I was standing right next to you."

Alex stared at the pile. "That really is a ludicrous number of books."

And then he left Ian standing in the doorway. It was time to review the footage.

Tom was home already. His best friend immediately popped up on the stairs. "So, did you get it?"

Alex felt a rueful little smile appear on his face. "We'll see."

Tom was practically bouncing in his chair as Alex uploaded the humongous number of pictures. It didn't help that he had shot quite a few at the gemstone exhibit. "You went to a museum?!"

Alex gave Tom an amused look. "Well, I occasionally like going to them. They had giant diamonds and Fabergé eggs, Tom."

Tom just gave him a look. "You're a hopeless nerd, Alex. We'll have to take you to an arcade for an exorcism of the Study Demon."

Alex burst out laughing. Tom pulled him in for a hug. Alex could barely stop laughing long enough to return it. Tom was giving him a concerned look. "Erm. I'm not that funny, Alex."

Alex felt his sides begin to ache. He took a few deep breaths. "I love you, Tom."

Tom looked at him and there was a slight pause. "I love you, too."

Alex gave his friend a soft look. "Will you tell me all your secrets now?"

Tom looked so hopeful that Alex snorted. "No, Tom, but one day, when we're older, I'll tell you all my secrets and we'll be a real family. You'll see, I promise."

Alex was determined that Tom would actually live this time and would, in fact, see. Tom was hovering behind him as the computer slowly dragged itself through downloading his pictures. "I'm bored, Alex."

Alex rolled his eyes. He sometimes suspected Tom might have ADHD. Or maybe he was just getting mentally old. "What do you want to do, Tom?"

Tom gave him a look that would be mildly impish one anybody else but set off every mischief alarm Alex had. "Can I rub the fact that you saw the British Supreme Exhibit for Supernerds on opening day without him in Ian's face?"

Alex glared at Tom. "Be nice, Tom."

Tom lounged on Alex's bed, next to Fenrir. "But it'll make him so irritated, Alex."

Alex sighed. "Toom."

Tom gave him a look. "Alex. Please. He doesn't deserve you. Pretty, please."

It took a lot out of him not to cave immediately at Tom's soft pleading eyes. "No."

Tom pouted. "But, Alex-"

Alex gave Tom a look that quelled any protest. "Fiiiine."

Alex felt his lips twitch. He'd missed Tom after he died. There was no real replacement for your best friend, he supposed. Tom was now up and about again. "Will you write a paper for me?"

Alex turned. "When was this paper assigned?"

Tom shrugged. "I dunno, like, three weeks ago."

Alex was well aware of Tom's study habits. "Mmmhmm. When did you write the first sentence of your draft?"

Tom gave him a deceptively innocent look. "What draft? There were no drafts due."

Alex sighed. "No. But I'll help you finish it."

Tom cheered. "Alex, you are a wonderful human being."

Alex was doing his best not to cackle. "No, I'm not. Let's get this paper party started."

Tom rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't call it a party by any stretch of the imagination."

After the pictures finally downloaded, Tom hovered over his head. "Aren't you still not done with your paper?"

Tom huffed. "Screw the paper. This is more important."

Alex shook his head. "Tom, your education is important."

Tom placed his head on top of Alex's. "I feel like only you and Jack actually care."

Alex sighed. "Tooom."

Tom ignored him in favor of scrutinizing the monitor. "Score!"

Alex glanced at the photos. "Yep."

Tom hovering. "So, what are we doing now?"

Alex stretched. "You will finish your paper. I will go walk Fenrir to Mandy's house."

Tom pouted. "Killjoy."

Alex chuckled and hit the download button for the photos. He had been a little miffed at the price of computer storage. In a few years, it would be far cheaper for far more storage space. "I'm going to haul all my books up first."

Tom looked at him. "How did you get away with ordering so many?"

Alex snorted. "I didn't. You remember that Russian guy I told you about?"

Tom rolled his eyes. "Duh. I'm not a super genius, but my memory is fine."

Alex smirked. "Well, he sent me books."

Tom started laughing. "Damn, I'm tempted to start a club with him to annoy Ian. I'll bet he's a professional in passive-aggressive."

Alex laughed. "You can check out his politics in the old newspapers. He's kind of a political shark."

Alex had actually found the articles by accident. He was researching for a school project and had stumbled onto them. Sarov had been interesting to study posthumously, even if it had been hard to choke out the whole "he went insane with grief and committed suicide near an old communist ship" line. Alex wasn't sure what streak of masochism had led him to do Sarov as a project when he could have chosen any other politician or wealthy Russian. It had been kind of fun to read. Sort of. The teacher had been batshit crazy enough to "understand completely" when Alex had choked up. This was the same woman who talked about Benjamin Franklin as "Benny" and George Washington as "charming ol' George". It was kind of amusing, although he had doubts as to her sanity. She had been pretty nice to him, despite his abysmal marks in some of his other classes at the American school. Mrs. Linsey had even let him read from her own personal library. Alex had actually enjoyed some of her history books and history wasn't normally his cup of tea. The notes on his report had been particularly fun to read when Edward gave them to him. Apparently, he was "a charming sensitive boy" who "didn't deserve his social troubles". Alex had laughed at that one but had silently given her a nice chocolate collection before he wandered off for the last time. She had just looked at it in shock before thanking him. Tom's voice brought him back to the present. "Alex?"

Alex's eyes flicked to Tom. "Yes?"

Tom was looking at him almost fearfully. "Are you okay?"

Alex sighed. "Yes, Tom. Never been better."

Tom didn't look at all reassured. "Alex? What's really going on?"

Alex really wanted to tell him everything. He hadn't realized how lonely the secrets made him.

Tom watched as Alex's eyes searched for something in him. He could only hope Alex would find whatever it was. "Are you sure you really want to know?"

Tom glared at him. "Always."

Alex looked torn between laughing and crying. "Give me a minute."

There was a pause and Alex looked far away. Sure, he was there, but not really. Alex snapped back to reality. Tom looked at him. His best friend took a deep breath. "It'll be better if I can just show you, but I had to ask for permission."

Tom looked puzzled. "Permission? From who? From what?"

Alex tilted his head. "Look into my eyes and hold my hand."

Tom did. There was a faint green tinge around Alex, especially his eyes. Then, the brown eyes suddenly glowed green. Tom felt a jolt. Then, he was standing in a garden. It was made of jewels and his house was burning in the distance without the rest of his surroundings. "What is this place?"

Alex was beside him. "My mind."

Tom looked at his friend in shock. "I'm not the Alex you know, not really. I'm actually mentally eighteen. I came back because...because I had a chance...and because everyone died."

Tom started. "How? Why?"

Alex smiled grimly. "Why don't I show you? It all started when we were both fourteen and Ian died."

Tom's mouth fell open in horror. God, that sounded horrible. Alex offered him a hand. "Was I…? Did I…?"

Alex gave him a smile, but it looked like he was in pain while giving it. "You were the best friend anyone could ever have asked for."

Tom took his hand. "Then let's get this shitshow on the road. I'll never leave you."

Alex's hand tightened for a second on his. "I love you too, Tom."

Tom turned toward his burning home. They walked toward it together.

It was a few hours before Alex brought them both out of memory lane. Alex had given Tom the broad strokes of his old life, including all the murder he'd committed as revenge, but left out some of the newer stuff. Maybe it was unfair to dump all of this on a twelve-year-old, but Alex was running low on options for trustworthy people. Tom was gasping for breath. Alex had tried to "fast-forward" as much of the gore as he could. He hoped Tom hadn't seen too much. Tom had tried to strenuously object, but Alex had overridden that objection quite well. His best friend was not calming down that well. Alex put a hand on his shoulder. "Are we still okay?"

Tom whacked him upside the head and then hugged him while bursting into tears. "Of course, you utter idiot."

Alex would be lying if he didn't say that he was relieved. It was probably horribly selfish, but he didn't care. He had Tom, his best friend, back. Or something close enough. Alex was glad. He felt less heavy, albeit a little guilty for being responsible for Tom having an emotional breakdown. "You know, you can stop being my friend if this is too much."

Tom whacked him again. He seemed to be evening out. "No way in hell, dumbass. You're the first person besides myself I've ever cried for."

Alex buried his face in Tom's hair. Ian picked that exact moment to barge in. Alex occasionally wanted to murder his uncle. "Umm, what's wrong?"

Alex glared over Tom's head. "First break-up, now fuck-off."

Ian took one look at him and Tom and walked out of there. When the door shut, Tom started laughing. "What's so funny?"

Tom swiped at his eyes and Alex grabbed the tissues off his desk and forked them over to Tom. "Ian is really useless as a parent."

Alex shook his head but was not about to admit to it. There may or may not have been a rueful sort of grin on his face. "Yes, Tom, and the sky is blue."

Tom looked at him in shock. "You mean...you know?"

Alex laughed. "Yeah, I pretty much figured it out last time and this version of Ian is even less responsible. I just defend him because he's pretty much the sanest family member I've got left. I will deny ever saying this until the day I die, but, yes, I know he's terrible. It's okay, though. It's all okay, Tom, I can deal with this. I just tried to get you better parents this time because you were the closest thing I had to a brother. You still are, really."

Tom just stared at him. And then started laughing. Alex was a little concerned about his sanity at the moment. "You know."

Tom gasped out the phrase in between laughs. "Are you okay, Tom?"

Tom shook his head and gestured at the ceiling. "All this and he asks if I'm okay. I'm fine Alex."

Alex hesitated. "Are you sure?"

Tom rolled his eyes. "Yes, now go get your books before Ian decides to set them on fire while you're distracted."

Alex snorted. Ian was petty, but that would be a whole new level of petty. "If you insist."

He went down the stairs and began hauling his books up.

Ian paused him about halfway through bringing his books. "So, uh, is Tom going to be okay?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Yes, Ian."

Jack took that moment to jump in. "What does he mean, is Tom going to be okay?"

Alex shrugged and leaned his books against the banister of the stairs. "Ian caught me comforting Tom after his first break-up. Don't worry, he stopped crying now."

Jack seemed to puff up with her next inhale. "IAN RIDER! You left a CRYING CHILD ALONE!"

Ian looked a little dumbstruck. "I didn't know what to do. Besides, he had Alex. I'm fine with just John comforting me all the time."

Fail, Ian. You fail. Alex thought Jack's fire-red hair was quite fitting sometimes. Alex just grabbed his books and ran up the stairs around the two of them. He was not eager for the coming storm. He began to rush through the task. Taking the stairs two at a time was a really understated skill, you know. Alex caught snippets of the argument he was doing his best to tune out. "They'll learn to be self-soothing."

Alex let the thump of his textbooks cut off the first part of Jack's reply. "...a sign of emotional neglect. Did you even read any parenting books?!"

Alex took a deep breath. Tom was eyeing him with a hint of concern. "You sure you don't want to go with my running away idea?"

Alex huffed. Oh, Tom. "Take your GCSEs and then we'll talk."

Tom pouted at Alex. "At least you're considering it."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Don't you have an essay due?"

Tom shook his head. "Sometimes, Alex, I worry you got the importance of education drilled into you a little bit too hard."

Fenrir's leash was beside Alex's door. The minute Alex grabbed it, the wolf woke up and jumped off the bed. The leash easily latched into the collar slot. Tom just looked at them both. "Can I come with you?"

Alex decided to let Tom make his own choices. "If you want, but it'll cost you about an hour of homework time."

Tom grabbed his jacket off of Alex's chair. "Some things are more important."

Alex paused. "Wash your face first."

Tom did the quickest face wash in the history of washing, but Alex let it go. Next, he grabbed a backpack. Tom gaped as he pulled an entire section of the wall away to reveal a bunch of steel boxes. The one labeled "Explosives" was opened and Alex jammed in enough to level several houses before closing the box and replacing the wall. "Got the pictures?"

Tom grinned. "Yeah, let's go."

Mandy, of course, was not about to let them get back at any kind of reasonable time. Alex was suddenly glad he had forgotten to leave a note again. What a shame. Ian would just have to wring his hands and worry. Alex wondered if it was taking petty a little too far. Tom hadn't thought of leaving a note either. "So, you got the pictures."

Alex gestured at Tom. "So, Alex decided to concoct a story that involves my first break-up and Ian, so if you could spread it around that would be great."

Alex ran his hands through his hair. "It was the first thing that came to mind Tom, besides it got Ian out of there, now didn't it?"

Mandy looked between the two of them. "Why did Ian leave you two alone when one of you was crying?"

Alex shrugged. "Well, it wasn't an important crying fit, so he probably figured it was fine."

Mandy muttered something about emotional abuse under her breath and let them in. Mandy cooed over Fenrir. "He's so pretty."

Alex pets his wolf. "Yeah, I've had him for almost two years now. I got him as a puppy."

Mandy pet Fenrir some more. "Feel free to bring him by more often."

Fenrir was eyeing her with a mix of apprehension and amusement. Alex was glad his baby was very well-behaved sometimes. Mandy straight-up hugged his pet. "So cute. I wish I had a dog, but mum wouldn't stand for it. Too much mess."

Alex ruffled Fenrir's fur. "Oh yeah, especially the sock-chewing phase, you know."

Tom interrupted them. "Guys, pictures. Drug dealer. Explosives."

They both returned to the present. "Right."

Alex handed over his homemade explosives. "Here you go. Are you sure you guys don't want any help?"

Mandy gave him an amused look. "You've done more than enough. We're good. Do you two want to watch TV or something?"

Tom gave her an innocent look. "Do they have any shows on bad parenting?"

Alex internally cringed but refused to show any change in expression. This was going to be a long night.

It was about one in the morning by the time he and Tom got back. Jack wasn't in the living room, but Ian was. "Where were you three?"

Alex let Fenrir off the leash. "Did you check the answering machine? Mrs. Teller left you a message that we were going to be late."

Ian looked awkwardly at them. "Erm, no."

Alex sighed. "Next time, do that."

Ian sighed. "Sorry, I just worry, you know. I guess that's why Jack went to bed."

Alex Rider occasionally questioned Ian's sanity. "Yes, that's probably it."

Alex's tone contained the faintest hint of dryness. Tom was looking between them. "Tom, you might want to go to bed."

His friend glared at him. "No. I have to face my fear of conflict eventually. I'm not leaving you alone anymore."

Ian looked shocked. Alex knew better than to argue with that expression. "Okay. You do have school tomorrow, though."

Ian just looked between them. "Tom, I want to speak to Alex alone."

Tom snapped at that. "Why? So, you can beat him like the rest of his relatives?! How about no? Does no work for you?"

Ian looked like he'd been slapped. "What?!"

Tom was on a roll now. "Oh, good, you're just an oblivious fuck, not an abusive fuck. For the record, you need to keep Alex far, far away from the rest of his abusive asshole relatives."

Tom got up and went up the stairs after that. Alex winced at the door slam. Ian was giving him an incredulous look. "What is Tom talking about?"

Alex gave Ian the look he usually reserved for the class dumbass. "Think, Ian, what do the cuts and bruises from weapons training usually look like to outsiders?"

Ian thought for a minute. "Umm. Defensive wounds?"

Alex was trying to rein in the sarcasm. It was kind of hard, actually. "Yes, Ian. What do people normally think when they see defensive wounds on children?"

Ian looked startled. "Call Social - oh."

Alex resisted the eyeroll, but it was hard. "Yes, Ian. That's what Tom was 'going on' about."

Ian pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Right. Well, we can't tell him anything because he's not officially adopted or a blood relative."

Alex gave Ian the evil eye. "Right. I'm just going to go to bed before I give in to my sudden and inexplicable urge to deck you."

Ian waited until he left, but Alex was pretty sure he made the man groan. Alex was also pretty sure he heard the man mutter something about knowing Patrick was a bad idea and how he should have just gone on the run from the man like they had done when Alex was younger. It explained a lot, Alex mused. There was no way Ian could have wanted to move around that much. The packing had probably been hell, not to mention the paperwork to enroll him in school and language lessons. Alex rubbed his eyes. It was time to go to bed. Two days before his grand heist and counting. He hoped Brendan Chase paid well. This was a pain in the ass to plan and get away unseen from. But then, that was probably a point.

A/N: Sorry it's late. I had finals and am moving out of my dorm.