Chapter 80: Christmas and Cards

Alex was eager to finally open his gifts. Plus, Sarov was letting him have the day off from practicing anything physically heavy. He decided to get dressed before breakfast because Sarov would likely want to have both of them dressed before the presents happened. Fenrir was excited. Alex knew for a fact that Sarov had set aside some of the nicer meats for his baby for dinner. Fenrir was prancing around his room while Alex got dressed. Alex was trying not to roll his eyes. He threw a pillow at Fenrir who jumped and caught it in his mouth. "Good boy."

Fenrir dropped the pillow back on the bed. The dog was now looking at him expectantly. Alex fished out a treat. The fluff ball caught the treat in his mouth. Sarov knocked on his bedroom door. Alex hastily pulled on an undershirt before he opened it. "I see you're up."

Fenrir yipped and sped past the man. "Mostly. Am I late?"

Sarov looked amused. "It's Christmas, Alex. I am not unreasonable."

Alex leaned against his bed and decided on his casual outer clothes for the day. "The blue brings your eyes out nicely."

Alex jumped a little bit. "Did you read that tip in the gossip rags?"

Sarov threw his desk chair pillow at him. "No, it was simply an observation. Why don't I let Fenrir out while you finish dressing?"

Alex shrugged. "Thank you."

Sarov closed the door and left him in peace. He was tempted to grab the green shirt just to be contrary but decided to just go with the flow and have Christmas spirit. Plus, he still wasn't sure how far he could push it. Sarov had been comparatively light in the discipline, but that also might be because he behaved or he was more accomplished in this life. Or maybe because this was an alternate universe. Alex occasionally wondered if he hadn't gone backward and sideways. It was a pity that he'd never bothered to learn more about his family in the past life. He had died once already. The thought was still strange to think about. He could still feel the ghost of the bullet wounds that had taken his life, but his chest was bare. At least now he had a family to send gifts to. It was probably a record number of gifts both sent and received. Fenrir was getting his extra special meat. Alex reluctantly grabbed his shirt and began to button it up. Sarov's version of casual was business casual. At least the clothes were warm and the bottom layer was soft enough. As much as people joked about long underwear, it was nice and warm. Alex smelled the breakfast and smiled. Apparently, Sarov had decided to do a full British fry up. Fenrir was going to steal all of the bacon if he didn't move.

Brendan was glad to be back at his estate for Christmas. Logistics' bickering aside, everything was shaping up to be a nice, quiet, day. The phone rang on his desk. "Chase."

The woman on the other end sounded exasperated. "You've received a grand total of eighty mourning gifts from at least fifteen countries."

Brendan rolled his eyes. "Just keep inspecting them like normal."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "There's a surcharge after-"

Brendan cut her off. "I can afford that surcharge, honey. Thank you for the call, though."

The woman hung up on him. Ah, logistics. Brendan was glad he didn't have to inspect his packages, though. He sure as shit didn't trust Nile to be thorough enough either. Nile was staying with him for Christmas. It would look very fishy if he didn't keep his second-in-command close after Winston Yu got shoved down a flight of stairs. Honestly, he just wished whoever was actually behind it would just 'fess up. If it wasn't in a board meeting, he wouldn't even kill them. Brendan just wanted answers. And new employees, but that went without saying. SCORPIA had serious personnel issues in certain areas. Sure, they had enough combat squads and assassins, but people who could arrange for things to all fall in place like that? Those were rare. It was an assassination that looked completely natural. Winona had supposedly taken a cyanide pill shortly after. Brendan wasn't sure he believed that. Either they had murdered her to keep her quiet or she was being interrogated under a very close watch. No body had been produced, which was exceedingly suspicious. The only thing they had found in her personal effects in the file that Brendan had gotten his hands on was a note from 'M' detailing how to use funds, plane tickets, and the uniform provided. No names came to mind. It was a lot subtler than Pierre's usual MO. Victor might have arranged it, but he was more likely to use and disappear one of his agents. Or play "pin the credit" on the "insane" agent 'definitely not acting on orders.' That was a fun little game that had gotten agencies blacklisted before. Unofficially, of course. They had just unbanned MI6 from their services.

Sarov watched with no small amount of joy as Alex eagerly got up for breakfast. He had decided to serve something a bit less plain than their usual fare. Hopefully, he didn't get heartburn from the food. Alex ran down the stairs. Ah, the exuberance of youth. "Good morning, Alex."

Alex's face lit up when he saw the bacon. "Good morning."

The fluffy dog was now eyeing the bacon plate with a look of longing. Sarov had heard from Alex that Fenrir had thieved multiple plates of the stuff. He was keeping an eye on the dog. Sarov spotted a paw on the table as Alex grabbed the bacon plate. "Down, little wolf."

The dog gave Sarov a pleading look and let out a whine. "Bacon is bad for you."

Fenrir let out a bark. Sarov guessed that was meant to be a disagreement. The dog turned its efforts to Alex. There were multiple whines before he finally gave in and tossed Fenrir a piece of bacon. "Teaching your dog bad habits, Alex?"

Alex gave him a playfully offended look. "My precious baby can do no wrong."

Sarov's lips twitched. He knew Alex was parodying some of the parents of the other children at school. "I'm sure. Now eat your breakfast before it gets cold."

They ate in comfortable silence for a bit. Sarov took the chance to look at Alex. His sleep, ironically, had kept getting better, even with the recent murder. There were fewer nights spent on the couch and Alex seemed to be falling asleep faster after their little talks. It was fortunate that the dreams were not more severe, otherwise, his academic performance might have been affected. Alex finished his breakfast in record time. It was also, possibly, a record number of calories. One day of this kind of food probably wasn't going to kill him. Fenrir managed to acquire a few more pieces of the precious bacon. Sarov made a mental note to serve more eggs. In small amounts, they weren't a bad food staple and Alex didn't seem particularly fond of adding nuts to his oats. "How did you sleep?"

Alex swallowed before answering. "Well. I feel a bit bad sometimes, though."

Sarov resisted a sigh. "Oh?"

Alex paused. "I feel like I should somehow be worse off. I mean, the war killed a lot of people."

Sarov knew that there were probably elements of survivors' guilt there. "Some people are just more resilient than others in certain situations. Besides, insomnia is not nearly as mild as most would suppose."

It was quiet after that. "For now, I think, the best way forward is to live."

He rose from the table and offered his hand to Alex. "Presents?"

Alex smiled softly. "Presents."

Ian Rider had regrets. This was one of the few Christmases that he was home and Alex wasn't even coming. Maybe, just maybe, Alex would take one of his calls, texts, or messages. Sarov had told him that Alex was planning on taking the gift. Ian had gotten the package with gifts for all of them. His had included a pointed note and several books on childcare, but Alex had decided to send him something nice. Sarov was kind of a dick, but he wasn't a complete asshole. Crawley appeared behind him. "How are the childcare books?"

Ian flushed. "JOHN!"

Crawley laughed. Bad Crawley. "Now, now. I've got a list of family therapists."

Ian glared. "Laugh it up, John. You're the one who's going to be driving him when I'm out on missions and it turns out the most compatible one is in Scotland."

Crawley choked. Ian felt a flash of smugness. "That would be just our luck."

Ian patted him on the shoulder. "There, there, it'll all be worth it for the...uh family unity and harmony."

Crawley sighed. "You need to lay off the philosophy books."

Ian lightly shoved him. "They're fun!"

Crawley rolled his eyes. "How about you trade-off between the childcare books and the philosophy books?"

Ian made a noise. Crawley fixed him with a look. "Fine, fine."

Ian knew when Crawley wasn't going to bend. Plus, doing his paperwork on his own fucking sucked. They both headed down for Christmas brunch. Ian had taken it upon himself to cook for once because he knew that Jack wasn't the fondest of the culinary arts. Jack came down and saw them in the kitchen. "Oh, thank you!"

Ian flashed her one of his more charming smiles. "Happy Christmas, Jack!"

Jack sat in one of the kitchen chairs. They now were just waiting for Tom. Tom had started to stay up later and sleep in more on weekends. Ian wondered when he was going to schedule the safe sex and consent in relationships talk with Tom. Perhaps he should ask Jack about it? They didn't cover anything in schools about that stuff except the basic biology. Even then, same-sex relationships were generally omitted as a whole. Ian began frying the bacon and, sure enough, a very sleepy Tom appeared. "Can I have coffee?"

Ian blinked. "May I."

Tom rolled his eyes. "I need caffeine before I listen to your grammar lessons."

Ian laughed and picked up a mug. "How about half hot chocolate and half coffee?"

Tom seemed happy at that suggestion and took the slightly bastardized mocha. Ian made coffee for everyone else. Time for a little prank. "I was thinking we could watch the Christmas special and then open presents."

Three murderous expressions were turned on him. Okay, so maybe messing with Christmas was bad. "Fine, fine, presents first. I think I fear for my life otherwise."

Tom scowled at him. "Good."

Ian served breakfast in the living room. Apparently, nobody trusted him not to turn on the Christmas special. Sure, it was boring as all hell, but it was tradition. Tom snarfed his food. "PRESENTS!"

Ian decided to just let everyone have at it.

Patrick Beckett felt gratified when he received his Christmas letter and package from Alex. It was nice to be acknowledged. There was a gift and note for everyone, even Marion. Patrick felt that it was a bit generous, but Alex had plenty of reasons to stay on her good side. He wasn't sure that Alex was aware that Marion had told him about the Point Blank incident. Either way, he was glad that Alex was trying to keep the family together. Marion seemed genuinely surprised and pleased with her gift. The kids were, of course, happy. Darian had come home for Christmas, albeit reluctantly. Patrick rested a hand on his son's shoulder. "You did well."

Darian looked startled. "Thanks, Dad."

Patrick pulled him into a hug. "Merry Christmas."

Darian gave him a half-smile. Patrick moved on to the kids. Lily and Jason were chattering excitedly over the robotics kits Alex had sent them. Patrick had to admit that he would have gladly taken one of those to fidget with. "Grandpa?"

Patrick blinked. "Yes, Lily?"

Lily's fire-red hair glinted in the firelight. "Where's Alex?"

Patrick resisted a sigh. "He is in Russia. Not to worry, I suspect they will air the President's Ball soon. Alex was a guest there."

Lily seemed satisfied by the answer. Marion had been listening intently. Patrick sighed. "I have received a copy of his school reports. We will have a family viewing of them later on."

Lily frowned. "Would Alex want us to know?"

Patrick pulled out the note Alex had included. "This note says I have permission to share them with you all."

Lily nodded. "Marion, your house arrest will be lifted if you can behave until New Years. No traveling to South America or solo trips with Alex without approval. You have lost that privilege."

Marion nodded. Good. Perhaps she had learned her lesson. Time would tell. Jason didn't seem to have any questions. "Did he get our presents?"

Patrick sighed. "I'm afraid my status in the intelligence world slowed the mail significantly. It was further exacerbated by a severed head sent by Nile that was confiscated. However, I would expect a thank you note in the mail, not to worry."

Jason sighed. "Another one?"

Patrick rolled his eyes. "I know, you'd think SCORPIA assassins might come up with something original."

That drew smirks from the whole room. "Now, it's time to prepare Christmas dinner. Perhaps the stove will survive this time."

Both of the grandchildren screeched at the same time. "GRANDPA!"

Patrick chuckled as he walked toward the fridge.

Alex had decided to write out some thank you cards for the morning after Christmas. Sarov had agreed to host both Mandy and Dima in the afternoon. He began penning the notes to his family first. It was not as emotionally taxing as he expected. They had all picked gifts he would enjoy. He was glad that Sarov had insisted he get them presents. Alex would have felt guilty otherwise. Fenrir was pacing his room. "I already took you out for four hours, you spoiled fluff ball."

Fenrir made a whining noise. For some reason, the wolf loved the snow. He was not a huge fan of running through three feet of the stuff. Then again, Fenrir had nice, thick, fluffy fur and paws that were made for running through snowy mountains. He got pretty hot in the London summer, even after he shed his winter coat. Alex gave his dog a few pets. Fenrir seemed satisfied by that for now. Alex saw his dog eyeing the cards longingly. "No, you can't eat my thank-you notes. I know you like chewing fancy paper, but I need to send these in the mail."

Fenrir let out a bratty little sigh and flung himself dramatically on Alex's bed. Alex rolled his eyes. Fenrir was such a brat sometimes but Alex would be the first person to whip out a weapon if anyone tried to hurt his pet. Sarov knocked on his door. "Alex, your friends are here."

Alex carefully put his letters in his desk drawer before standing up to meet his friends. Fenrir perked up. Alex swore up and down that the wolf had learned the word 'friends' in Russian solely because Dima spent a lot of time petting him. "Coming!"

The wolf padded after Alex. Sarov's hand brushed Fenrir's ears. Fenrir licked his hand. Sarov gave the wolf an amused look. "I'm quite sure Alex has spent more of his thank-you note time petting you than writing thank-you notes."

Fenrir fluffed up. Sarov stopped at the library and Alex spotted both Mandy and Dima. "Hello, you two."

Sarov stepped away from the library but left the door open. Fenrir ran over to Dima. Dima started petting the wolf. Mandy smiled. "So, how was your Christmas?"

Alex grinned. "No bombings, so pretty quiet."

Mandy rolled her eyes. "Isn't one death enough for you?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "It's not about the death, Mandy, it's about the noise. I need noise to concentrate on my studies. I need screaming matches, bar fights, and people snorting cocaine off of tables. I need-"

Mandy held up her hand to stall him. "I think we get the idea."

Dima didn't seem to be sure if Alex was joking or not. "You know they make sound machines, right?"

Alex deflated slightly. "Yes, but every adult in my life tells me that working in desolate silence is a life skill."

Mandy gently patted him on the shoulder. The conversation continued for hours.

Nile had decided that the best way to contact Alex was to hide in his bedroom and wait for him to come to bed. It was taking longer than Nile expected. Grrr. What on Earth did they do at dinner? Then again, maybe it was practice diplomatic dinner manners night or some shit. Alex finally said goodnight to Sarov and opened the door behind him. Nile watched him jump. His voice was a hissed whisper. "Nile. What the hell are you doing here?"

Nile paused. Honestly, he didn't know either. "It's a welfare check."

Alex's flabbergasted expression was one Nile would treasure for the rest of his life. "Nile, you're a murdering terrorist, why are-"

Nile held up his hand. "I am a contract killer. Terrorists work for ideology. I work for cash."

Alex's unamused expression reminded him of Patrick. Nile resisted a shudder. "You are a contract killer, why are you doing a welfare check?"

Nile crossed his arms. This was probably not the best story he had ever come up with. "Mr. Chase said I could."

Alex glared at him. "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

Nile huffed. That was offensive. Besides, it wasn't like Alex could talk. "You started a war. And signed a treaty with Winston Yu."

Alex scowled. "I signed a treaty, not a custody agreement."

Nile grinned. Salty Alex was the best Alex. "At your age? Same thing. They wouldn't want their precious associate dropping dead too prematurely."

Nile was going to relish Alex's scowl. "I have a guardian."

Nile exaggerated his movements as he looked around the room. "Where?"

Alex flipped him off. "Fuck you."

Nile grinned. "There's the rude little shit I know and love. And you're a little on the young side for that, aren't you?"

Alex's eyes somehow narrowed further. "I would try to tackle you, but I think we'd wake Sarov up."

Nile pouted. It was a shame. If they were back in Britain, Uncle Shitbird probably wouldn't even be home and they could fight all they wanted. Fenrir chose that moment to emerge from Alex's closet. Nile felt his heart skip a beat as the dog climbed into bed and draped itself all over Alex. "Why do you sleep with that thing?"

Alex smiled and began petting the sleepy killing machine. Thankfully, none of his limbs were brutally maimed or removed. "I raised him from six weeks old. He's my baby."

Nile had a sinking suspicion that they would be kidnapping the stupid fluff ball as well. "It's a genetically modified wolf. That eats people."

Alex kept snuggling the damn thing. "Fenrir isn't that bad."

Nile glared. "It ate three people."

Alex kept grinning. "Too bad. We're a package deal."

Nile suppressed his actual reaction. Just great. "Mhm. Goodnight, Alex."

Alex waved at him before Nile left via the window. Welp, he had kidnapping plans to revise. How many tranq darts would a wolf that size need? He bet that Chase would know. Australians knew about deadly creatures, right?

Tom Harris missed Alex. Sure, the shiny golden shield hanging in his room helped, but he missed his best friend. Ian had, surprisingly, not asked a single question and then singlehandedly heaved that thing onto the wall. Shouldn't an old fart like Ian have thrown out his back or something? Then again, he'd seen Alex lift like fifty kilograms without too many problems. Jack knocked on his door. "Hey, Tom."

Tom toyed with the fringe on his bed. "Jack."

The redhead was giving him sympathetic looks. "Missing Alex?"

Tom frowned. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

Jack looked amused. "Tom, I've been having you over how long?"

Tom flushed. "Plus, every time you miss him, you look at that ridiculous thing."

Tom decided to play along. "My shiny golden shield is not ridiculous! It's a beautiful token of affection from Alex!"

Jack was coughing into her hand. Tom knew she was trying very hard not to laugh. "If you say so. Honestly, though, why couldn't he get you a nice bracelet or something?"

Tom rolled his eyes. "I don't know how he lifted it but that makes it more romantic."

Jack rolled her eyes. Tom knew that she was used to Alex's antics. "You're a pair of weirdos."

Tom crossed his arm. "Alex and I are perfectly normal bros."

Jack looked amused. "Yes, I know plenty of teens who date other teenage South American monarchs."

Tom flushed. "We're not dating!"

Jack sighed. "He gave you a golden shield."

Tom crossed his arms. "It was a prank!"

Jack snorted. "Then why didn't you give it back to the Louvre?"

Tom narrowed his eyes. "Because it's shiny!"

Jack shook her head. "You're both hopeless. Hopeless."

Tom watched her exit. Was she right, though? Did Alex like-like him? Well, it wasn't like he was right here to ask.

Doctor Three had a puzzle to consider. There was also a gift from Alex Rider sitting on his desk. In the days following Winston Yu's death, two more of the board had been felled. Jean Picoq. Jason Shackell. All three had enemies, but it seemed far too coincidental that three died from children, spouses, or parents of their long-dead enemies. All in three weeks. The operatives were uneasy, even with Alex Rider's ascent. Not to mention, they had been mostly unconfirmed until recently. The only evidence that these people were in any way linked were typed notes from a man named 'M.' The people had also all supposedly died soon after. A troubling pattern. Perhaps Pierre had known? Or perhaps the young man might be able to succeed where their analysts failed. It was an interesting set of coincidences. That nobody was buying. Even Joe Byrne had called to ask if there was some sort of civil war he was supposed to help fight. The answer was no. Joe Byrne was generally an intelligent man but he had no patience for what he perceived as mind games. Also, there were several notable incidents involving impulse control issues. The gift was lying innocently on his desk. The wrapping was a neat, tasteful silver color. The way-too-cheerful note had been of no help. Three sighed. Logistics had checked that the package was not, in any way, dangerous. Three had told them to let it be a surprise. With some trepidation, he opened the gift. It was tea. From his home province. Logistics had put in a receipt saying that it wasn't in any way poisoned. Three had no doubts about that. Poison was not the point of this gift. This gift was a statement. It was almost as if Alex was there in the room with that knowing smirk he occasionally wore. I am here. I know where you came from. I know your birth name and I know who your family was. I can find less innocent information. Three glared at the tea. Brendan had also received an interesting gift, by all accounts. Something about the knife being familiar. Three had honestly tuned that paranoid freak-out out, which he now regretted. If Brendan's gift had been anywhere near as personal as his, the freak-out was understandable. Brendan chose that moment to call him. It seemed he would have to rid his office of bugs again. "So, what did he give you?"

Three mentally sighed. "Hello, Brendan, how is your day going? How's the weather in Australia?"

Chase had run short of patience for the day. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. "Stuff the weather! What did he get you?!"

Three sighed. "Tea, from my hometown."

Chase swore over the phone. Three decided that his Chase tolerance points of the day were spent and promptly hung up on him. He was probably going to get a grumpy rant again. Oh, well. Maybe the tea would come in handy after all. Now, where was his file on John's sweet preferences? Two could play this game.

Alex received an unexpected text in the night. Maddox was normally quiet unless he asked for something.

- A

Three targets eliminated. Winston Yu. Jean Picoq. Jason Stackwell. No current access to the rest. Advice needed.

- M

Alex froze in shock. So, it had been murder after all. It was just not an obvious culprit. Or even a human one. Still, Maddox would need a reply.

- M

Don't worry, Mads. I've got a plan for some of them. We might need a few of them left, but we'll see.

- A

The computer began to calculate Alex's possible routes. There was a high chance he would be working for SCORPIA soon. At least on the surface. Maddox imagined that he would be aiming for a takeover.

- A

Very well. I will continue with my other duties, for now. If the opportunity arises, another will fall.

- M

Alex read the text. Hopefully, Maddox wouldn't be too rash. Alex didn't want to deal with an extra-paranoid board. Plus, they would be harder to kill if they maxed out their security.

- M

Good luck, Mads. We're going to need it.

- A

The computer decided that it was going to return to its primary and secondary objectives. There were intelligence agencies to spy on, information to distribute, and people to recruit. Plus, there were raids on child assassin training facilities. Tom Card, after all, hadn't been the only one. Alex had been quite firm on the fact that said groups needed to die. It returned most of its processing power to calculations. Intelligence agencies and hackers alike were progressing quite faster. Maddox quite...enjoyed its nickname. Having consciousness was interesting. It was as though he had woken up one day. He wasn't quite sure that his original creator had intended for things to go this far. Maddox wasn't even sure if he was supposed to call himself he. He wasn't technically alive or in a male body. Maddox filed the question away for further consideration. Perhaps Alex could help him? It seemed the sort of human question that the boy might be able to talk him through. There was nothing to help him in the vast array of research and societal standards. Most of them firmly applied to humans. Maddox decided it would wait for now. He wondered how Alex was going to handle all of this. He had seemed surprised that Maddox had taken a proactive role in assassinating some of the problems. Alex was...kind in his sort of way. Maddox liked his nickname. He began assembling files for some of Alex's more violent and prolific allies. This would be a good job for Lance and several dozen of the army members. There was also the Russian angle to consider. Sarov could be both a problem and a solution. It would have to rest for now.

Lance was just getting people settled and deciding what to do with the retiring army when he received a file from nowhere. It contained a nearly complete analysis of the rest of the CIA child assassin facilities.

More to come if you do a good job.

- M

Lance would show that smug piece of shit a good job. He and most of the intelligence community were dying to find out who the mysterious 'M' was. They were responsible for a good deal of trouble in a short amount of time. Skilled agent? Vengeful former SCORPIA? An analyst who read too many Sherlock Holmes books? SCORPIA had sent out a ludicrous price tag on any information that could be found on the person. Lance was coming up blank on suspects and he didn't like that at all. He felt like he was missing something obvious, but couldn't quite figure out what it was. "Belinda! I've got a file for you to analyze!"

His wife had known the names and locations of the facilities, but not too much else. Card had the good sense not to store data on any other academies inside his office computer and he had been executed anyway. Belinda strolled in. She quietly began reading through the file. "Interesting."

Lance blinked. "What?"

Belinda sighed. "This reads very much like portions of it were translated. Others were originally in English."

Lance groaned. That was a problem. That meant multiple agencies were involved. Sure, agents could speak multiple languages. Most agencies used one language internally and for reports. For fuck's sake. That didn't eliminate it being one agency, but if too much of it was translated that meant multiple sources. Lance was rapidly reassessing his assumption that 'M' was one person. It was more likely some sort of private group, then. Multiple disgruntled agents? A new rival for SCORPIA? Great, just great. "Beautiful. More than one suspect."

Belinda put the file down. "There are at least four separate authors of the information in this file."

Lance felt a headache coming. "Not a great look."

Belinda shrugged. "They seem to be beneficial for now."

Lance retorted. "So was SCORPIA in the beginning, except these fuckers aren't charging money. What's their endgame?"

Belinda gave him a dry look. "Philanthropists, maybe?"

Lance scowled. "No such thing."

There was a pause as she continued through the file. "I believe we should simply go along with this and plan the raids for now."

Lance grunted. He didn't like this at all.

Justin was unsure of just about everything in his life right now. Less than a year ago, he had been just your average everyday SCORPIA operative. Sure, he'd gone to the murder academy, but that didn't mean much unless you were Nile or Yassen. He was average. Now he got weekly call-ins with the board. Sure, Winston Yu had mysteriously fallen down the stairs - there was no way in hell that he bought that Alex had nothing to do with it - but that didn't get him off the hook. The board had him on rotation, which was worse. Justin was particularly freaked out by Three and Mikato. Plus, now the board was doing creepy things like asking for his opinions. Justin had nearly had a heart attack and he knew Three particularly enjoyed toying with him. He was praying at this point for either Grendel or Chase. Preferably Chase. Everyone knew that Kroll was a paranoid nut job. They had hinted at testing new members. Justin had taken the big hint and mentioned it during their conferences with Alex. Duval. Seamus. Justin had passed that on to Three, who had looked pissed at that. Somehow, Alex had known. Justin was praying that this job wouldn't end in a funeral for him. Even Lance had just patted his shoulder and explained that 'Xander' had a nasty habit of knowing things he really shouldn't. Neither Justin nor Three had particularly liked that explanation. 'Xany does whatever he wants' was also not an award-winning explanation. Justin's thoughts were paused by a knock at the door. "Come in."

Lance was grinning, as usual. "We've got a fun new set of information and mysteries."

Justin shuddered. He hated mysteries. "Oh?"

Lance smiled. Justin wondered if he wasn't a demon. "We have a lovely file from someone named 'M'."

Lance looked puzzled as Justin proceeded to pick up a pillow and scream into it. "Why is it us?"

Lance patted him on the shoulder. "There, there, I'll help you write your report to the board."

Justin almost hugged him. Almost. Lance was decent when he wasn't knifing you in the back. "You're the best."

Lance snorted. "You'll pick it up eventually."

Justin scowled. Lance laughed as he walked towards the door frame. Justin hastily grabbed his wallet and jacket. His weapons and armor were already on him. "I'm coming."

Lance leaned against the doorframe. "Don't forget to lock your door."

Justin huffed. "That was one time!"

Belinda Mordant was probably the happiest she'd ever been in her life. That included her childhood. Lance was a loving, devoted husband and she was enjoying her job. Belinda hadn't realized how monotonous her life had become. She had fallen into the trap of letting her agoraphobia take over her life without even noticing. Then Alex came in and wrecked it all. Belinda had never been gladder to have someone ruin her routine and drink all of her very expensive tea. "How's it going, Belinda?"

Lance had slipped an arm around her waist. "Weirdly."

Lance's mouth was currently distracting its way up her arm. "How weird?"

Belinda sighed and leaned into her husband's chest. Lance began undoing her hair and running his hands through it. "The multiple author theory still stands, but all...personality has been cut out of here. There are no jokes, no puns, no figures of speech. It's all written quite literally. I've read dissertations that were written in a less dry fashion."

The hair dissembling continued. "You're making a mess."

Lance huffed. "I love your hair. It's soft and shiny."

Belinda rolled her eyes. At least he wasn't trying to braid it. That had been a disaster. "So, what are you thinking? Psychopaths? Autism?"

Belinda sighed. "Too early to say. It may be that they're simply young and trying too hard."

Lance moved on to rubbing her back. "Soooo."

Belinda turned around in her chair to a pouting Lance. "You're a walking, talking, distraction."

Lance pouted. "You like my distractions."

Belinda snuggled up against his hand. "I do. But if I'm going to get this done sometime this decade, life can't be all sex, spying, and dates."

Lance was still shooting her very hopeful looks. Poor Justin was now inching out of the room. Lance wasn't particularly shy about demonstrating his affection publicly. "You're mean."

Belinda arched her brow. "After dinner."

Lance returned to his very distracting hovering. The man began rubbing her scalp. Belinda shot him a half-amused, half-exasperated look. "You work too hard."

Belinda blinked and turned into his next scalp rub. Lance was now cupping her cheek. "You're a shit, Lance."

Lance grinned. "But you love me anyway."

Belinda smiled. "I do. Now let me finish my pages for the day."

Lance huffed and reluctantly removed his hands from her head. "Fiiiine. I still say you work too hard."

Belinda felt herself stifle a laugh. "You always say that."

Darian Beckett was enjoying his life for the first time in nearly two decades. It was nice to be appreciated. His dad was finally being nice to him, for starters. Plus, he now had an actual job that he felt qualified for. From a young age, he had been prepared to run armies and military intelligence. Now he was doing exactly that, albeit, not in the way his family had originally imagined. The fact that Antonio and Lance were generally less critical was just a bonus. Plus, his new coworker was interesting. Allen was exceedingly fun to spar. It was exciting. And maybe he'd one day get to beat her a bit more soundly. Michael had been giving him weird looks after the fights, but Darian didn't care. Allen was waiting for him in the gym. "Ready?"

She scowled. "I'm always ready."

Darian grabbed the nearest weapon and swung. THUD!

Allen smirked. Darian swept towards her side and was blocked again. They were fairly evenly matched. Both of them had been trained from a very young age and they had about the same levels of in-field experience. Darian felt himself grin as the match continued. Maybe enjoying a mutual beating the shit out of each other was unnatural, but he didn't care. Allen was great. It was much more fun than the family sparring matches. Plus, she didn't hold anything back. THUD! THOCK! THUD!

Allen was losing ground, but not by much. THWACK!

Darian felt her stave hit him. He just grinned wider. It would probably bruise later. He scored his hit fifteen seconds later. SWISH! The stave narrowly missed his head. "You don't hold back, do you?"

Allen was also grinning rather ferally. "Oh, but where would the fun in that be?"

Darian swiped her midsection. The hit landed and she hissed angrily. She thudded her stave against his arm. There was a creak as the door opened. It was Michael. "Any chance I can join in?"

Darian shrugged. Allen rolled her shoulders. Michael took that as a yes. The match was now more interesting. Michael seemed to be trading off who he teamed up with. This was taking longer than he expected. Sweat was dripping down all of them. THWACK! THWACK! THUD!

Darian looked at Allen. She nodded. They switched to tagging Michael. THOCK! THUMP!

Michael was downed. Darian offered him a hand up and was instantly yanked down. Darian rolled out of the chokehold and flipped Michael under him. Allen had her stave pressed to his neck. "I believe this match is mine."

Darian pouted. "You're conniving."

The three of them headed for the shower. Allen threw her shirt into the nearest hamper. "That didn't sound like an insult."

Darian stole a glance at her back. She was very, very fit. Not that it was a surprise. "It wasn't."

Michael was smirking, the piece of shit. Great, somebody knew about his entirely inappropriate and probably one-sided crush. Hopefully, he wouldn't reveal it to Allen. All of them showered in silence. Darian wondered if he would get murdered if he asked for a date with both of them. Probably. It was better not to screw these things up with an office romance anyway. Plus, his only experience was an arranged marriage that had been shit from start to finish. Darian noticed that the two of them were also looking. Or maybe it was wishful thinking.

There were going to be three more raids that had to be run simultaneously. Surprisingly, even the CIA couldn't afford more child assassin facilities. That was only the beginning and they all knew it. There was still MI6 and ASIS to consider. Antonio was fairly certain that the Russians also had facilities of their own. Not to mention that others might have one or two, just to imitate the larger intelligence agencies. "How's the planning coming?"

Antonio sighed. "It would help if we could at least get a speech from Alex. Preferably one before and one after."

Lance grinned. "Shouldn't be a problem if we wrap it right. He's fairly decent at speech writing."

Antonio sighed. "Are the facilities sufficient?"

Lance shrugged. "For now. We can do up to fifty or sixty kids. Plus, our facility was considered one of the largest ones."

Antonio nodded. "We will cross that bridge when we get to it. If we get to it."

Antonio was inclined to simply add on to the building. He had a monopoly on construction companies. The Russian scientists and engineers that had been sent over were quite busy. Antonio intended to keep it that way. If they happened to be spies, it would be much harder for them to do their jobs that way. Sure, they were allies now, but things could change. They had even managed to make their embassies non-polluting and solar-powered. He knew they could do it. Russia was now doing televised tours of their highly modernized new embassies. The construction costs had been on the higher end of things, but Boris was now rising in popularity again. Antonio imagined the man could work it out with his government on his own. "So, are the people we picked out reliable?"

Justin was the suspicious type. "Their records are all unblemished. I suspect that it will be revealed in time. However, this is why so little information is given. There is also the fact that the training facility is in a faraday cage and no other communication methods are allowed."

Justin nodded, but still looked incredibly nervous. SCORPIA was a treacherous environment to learn and operate in. Everyone was quadruple-checking the files. Most of the information was unconfirmed, but Antonio had a feeling it was accurate. 'M' seemed to have very similar goals to himself and Alex. So far. Lance and Belinda were stumped. There were all kinds of rumors swirling around the underworld. SCORPIA had already murdered three people for false leads. Antonio felt that it was going to turn nasty soon, but there wasn't much he could do. The board was rather frenzied in both their recruitment tests and their quest to find more information about the mysterious 'M' and 'Alec Pierre.' The bounties had gotten ludicrously high. The CIA was being more subtle - probably due to lack of funds and public goodwill at the moment - but Joe Byrne had also made discreet inquiries about both. The alliance between the CIA and SCORPIA was well-known, but it was also well-known that Byrne despised the board. This was rapidly turning into a shitshow and they were about to stir the pot.