Vanishing Trails
Alex was tracking down yet another smuggler. MI6 had dropped any illusion of sending him on only the necessary missions after he turned eighteen. Alex enjoyed pinning animal smugglers with their weapons. They rarely treated the animals remotely humanely. It was always something delicate or obscenely large. Alex had seen parrots missing over half their feathers from either plucking or stress. Lions, rhinoceros, and tigers were other favorites. Alex had run across smugglers for oceanic creatures as well. Sharks and other large fish were also exceedingly popular. The tanks were never clean or filtered. Alex was fairly certain that they never fed half the fish. Alex returned his attention to the present. There was a flash of blue coat in front of him. Other people milled about in the strangest clothes he'd ever seen in his life. Well, that was technically not true. There had been stranger clothes. Plus, the weird outfits some billionaires forced their poor staff to wear. There had been times Alex had been tempted to take pictures and release them online for a good round of public shaming or eight. These were some of the strangest creatures he'd ever seen. Were they using golden coins? What in the fuck was wrong with these people? There were prices called out in a currency that he'd never heard of. Maybe they had made it up just for this event? It seemed to be a mix of a circus and some sort of giant creature sale. Fireworks exploded in the background. Alex watched as a man tried to sell things off a cart. It looked like some sort of animatronic figurines, except smaller. Hey, Alex respected hobbies, as long as they didn't involve torturing animals. Hopefully, that one wasn't involved in the trades going on here. More fireworks exploded around him. Alex sighed as he rolled up to the stand. Maybe the man would know the basic layout of the place? "Do you know where they're showing the creatures?"
The man shrugged and handed him a pamphlet. "Main tent. Like all the other acts."
Circuses were not an uncommon cover for smuggling and laundering the money. Alex looked closer at the figurines. They looked handmade. "Nice work."
The man beamed. Alex wondered what had occurred. "Thank you! The charms are a family secret."
Alex nodded. He waved his goodbye as someone approached to buy another figurine. The animals would probably be near the big tent, then. Alex raced towards the center of the carnival. There would be just enough time to interrupt the sales and get out before he was spotted. He began having to dodge people as he got closer to the big tent. Ideally, the police would have shown up by now. Alex wondered what was holding them back.
He got to the big tent with maybe a
few minutes to spare if the show was running on time. Alex saw a flash of blue
out of the corner of his eye. He brought his knife down on the first set of
chains. Sometimes releasing the animals was the best option. "Alohemora!"
A lock next to him sprung open. Alex moved on the one next to it and began to pick it as the large, scaled creature brushed past him. Probably some sort of large lizard. The creature in front of him was screeching. Blue Coat had moved on to cages closer to him. "What are you doing here?"
The man was whispering at least. Alex glared at him. The British accent was a surprise. "The same as you! Releasing the creatures before they get sold."
Alex pulled the man behind a barrel as the lock slid to the floor. The door clanged open. Alex assumed that it was the person who was getting the animals for the show above. The man in blue let out a sigh of relief as they weren't spotted. Alex stepped out from behind the barrel. The man followed suit. "Can't you use your wand?"
Alex wondered what the hell Blue Coat was talking about. "I don't have one."
Newt gawked. Alex rolled his eyes and started on the next lock. "You're a No-Maj?"
Alex huffed. He had no idea what that was slang for. Perhaps he should spend more time on Twitter or something. "That sounds offensive."
Blue Coat flushed. Alex wondered what that was about. He waved the wand in a circle. "Alohemora!"
Every lock burst open in front of him. What in the fuck?! Maybe it was an electromagnetic pulse of some sort. He was going to kill Joe if the man had kept that hidden from him. The blonde man passed out as the creatures stampeded past them. Alex resisted the urge to facepalm as he picked the blond man up. "I'm surrounded by bloody idiots."
The creatures were letting out ungodly sounds as they fell upon the crowds. Alex heard the first screams as he dragged the blond man towards the end of the circus. He heard a screech behind him. Alex turned to see a large black bird extend a talon towards him. The wings seemed to blend with the night. Alex felt the breath get crushed out of him. He felt as though he were being squeezed through a tube.
Alex landed
in a field on top of Blue Coat. The bird let out a screech of what Alex guessed
was triumph. A black feather fell on him. Alex picked it up. "What in the
hell?"
The bird let out a screech. Alex felt a wave of warmth pass over him. Blue Coat began to stir as the bird flew away, leaving Alex with the black feather. Blue Coat woke up on the ground. "I don't know where we are. The bird brought us somewhere."
The man coughed loudly. "It's an augury. They're very rare and very smart. They can carry large loads."
Alex brandished the feather at him. Blue Coat looked shocked. "Do the feathers do anything?"
The man rubbed his eyes. He seemed to be collecting his thoughts. "The bird must have liked you. If you put it on a silver chain around your neck, it'll make you invisible."
Alex looked at him skeptically. Newt handed him a chain. Alex slid the feather into the pendant portion. The man held up a mirror. Alex had no reflection. He removed the necklace. He appeared in the mirror. "So, uh, any explanations? That was like magic."
Blue Coat gave him a nervous look and nodded vigorously. Alex stuck the necklace in his jacket pocket. "Strictly speaking, I should confiscate that and wipe your memory. I'm not, though. I'd probably kill you if I tried a memory modification. I'm pants at charms."
Alex nodded. That meant no knife fight now. "Great. Can you Mary Poppins us a location?"
Blue Coat waved the stick around. Alex watched it emit smoke from the tip. The man sighed. "Let me try again."
This time, the smoke began to form words. The man pulled out some sort of map. "Any luck?"
At this rate, Alex could try the stars or local plant life. "We're a bit out there, I'm afraid."
Alex resisted a groan. That meant there were miles to go before they got to anywhere civilized. "How out there?"
Blue Coat let out a sigh. "North Africa."
Alex stared. They had been in America before. "I'm afraid I can't get us back to America on my own. I can try to get us to a village, though."
Alex sighed. At least he wasn't stuck with someone who was completely useless. From there, he could use the nice credit cards that people gave him for expenses to try to get home. Plus, he needed some sort of cover story. He could probably make it up on the way home. At least he'd mostly rescued the animals he'd come for. Alex felt the man grab him. The feeling from earlier was back. Alex felt the sensation of being sent through a tube. When the sensation was over, there was a village that appeared in front of him. Blue Coat walked off. Alex felt his muscles freeze. "I'm sure you can take it from here. The spell will wear off in a few seconds."
The man then vanished in front of him. Alex stared even as he unfroze. Just who the hell was the man in the blue coat? He sighed as he approached the village. There was probably a bus somewhere here once a week. Hopefully, it would arrive soon. Camping was a pain without the right equipment. He'd ponder the man in the blue coat more once he got back.
Written for Prompt #76 by Zyzyax. This is the 29th work in the Winds of Change 2022 Alex Rider Prompt event, where a new prompt (plus a short 1-3K work) is posted every day. For more details, see the AO3 collection :) Want to discuss? Leave a comment beneath, or join the discord (Link on AO3 Fics or just PM me, lol).
