A Kidnapping Foiled


Alex had been disappointed to discover his talent. Some people didn't get one at all. Hell, most people didn't get one at all. It was still incredibly disappointing. He could turn anything into aluminum. Like a cheap knock-off of fucking King Midas. At least he could mostly control it, unlike the unfortunate legendary king. Ian…well, Alex was pretty sure he had been disappointed too. Ian got extra fast healing. His father had gotten the ability to see a few minutes into the future. Alex got the ability to turn shit into fucking aluminum. Literally. Though he didn't make a habit of touching human waste. Alex knew better than to try it on a person. Even turning parts of them into metal would be a death sentence. He was ninety percent sure slowly turning into aluminum would be a gruesome and painful death. Tom was chewing his lower lip as he walked towards Alex. "Mate?"

Tom sat down next to him and gave him puppy eyes. Mhm. He was not turning the toilets into solid metal again. People had screeched for weeks while they had been removed and repaired. "Yes, Tom?"

Tom held out a wooden medallion. It had been cracked and hastily glued together. "Can you turn this into aluminum for me?"

Alex sighed. Tom kept giving him puppy eyes. "Please. It's the last present Jerry gave me before he moved to Italy and I'm scared that if it breaks again-"

Alex held up a hand to cut him off. Bloody hell. Tom continued the puppy eyes. Alex took the medallion and concentrated. The wood shifted in his hands. He had been unable to describe the sensation to multiple physicists. There were a few every year who tracked him down through the government database to try to study whatever it was that made everything turn into aluminum. Most of them were fascinated by him. There had even been that one child prodigy who still visited every three years. Alex was pretty sure that the kid was wired a bit differently. Then again, what kind of parents heard "so I tracked this other child through a government database and now I want to see him for the research" and went "sure thing, snookums"? Tom poked him. Alex grinned and handed him back the medallion. He'd tried to fix some of the obvious chips by converting some of the surrounding air molecules. "Thaaaank you!"

Tom practically bounced in his chair. Well, it was better than those church people who came by and tried to get him to join the church and use his gift to make them money. Alex had politely explained how their plans would collapse the value of aluminum in three years. They had shut up and left after that. Ian had made sure that he understood those things. "You're very welcome, Tom."

Every so often, people would ask him to convert cheap jewelry that had nickel. Alex usually obliged, especially if they had an allergy. Vice Principal Bray was making a beeline for their lunch table. "Alex! Uh, there's someone here to see you about your, ahem, gift."

The man was always uncomfortable bringing up his talent. Alex sighed. Tom lightly squeezed his hand before releasing it as he rose from the lunch table. Mr. Bray looked uncomfortable. "You aren't obliged to see everyone who wants to see you, you know. You have the legal right to refuse."

They had this discussion every time this happened. Alex's answer was always the same. "I'd rather they not try to badger me via other means. Plus, I don't mind. The doctors say it has no impact on my health."

Mr. Bray, still on script, shifted uncomfortably. He coughed into his hand. Alex occasionally wondered whether the man was a cyborg and this was his programmed response. "As you probably figured out, I'm morally opposed to the Curies Act and I think the registries are an outrageous abuse of human rights. It's not your fault that you were born with an ability that not everyone possesses."

Well, that was new. Normally he just grumbled under his breath at this point. Alex gave the man a soft grin. Expressing that to the wrong person would get him fired within the day. "This one particularly creepy, then?"

Some weirdos were sexually attracted to talents in general and Alex's specific one. Bray let out a long slow sigh. He was going to take that as a yes. "Please insist on a chaperone."

Alex gave Bray a look. You know, he wasn't bloody made of glass. Then again, working for MI6 hadn't exactly improved his reputation. Maybe that was why he seemed to be trying to be more supportive? "You can come along, then."

Mr. Bray nodded grimly. Alex wondered if the man was going to pull out weapons. Then again, he was just a Vice Principal.

Brendan Chase knew that this was a long shot. Look, his mines in Australia ran out of aluminum. There was a kid who could just make it! Out of air! And anything else! Talk about profits and not having to pay workers. Plus, he was morbidly curious about whether it worked on people. He was entirely willing to kill and kidnap over this. That said, it was best to try the legal route for these things before you went kidnapping children. He wasn't a complete monster. Not to mention, Interpol tended to frown on that sort of thing. Plus, strip mining was ghastly for the local ecology. The fines were killing him. Brendan watched as a short-looking teen in a hoodie was brought in. Bray seemed to dislike him for some random reason. Oh, well, you couldn't win them all. Brendan swept forward. The kid jumped about a mile. Jeez, what was going on in schools these days?! "Hello! I'm Brendan Chase! I was hoping you'd be willing to move to Australia. Preferably today, but I suppose if your family needs some incentives I can wait until the end of the week."

Alex just looked at him. Brendan was starting to feel uncomfortable. He was reminded of Yassen. It was probably the blonde hair and dead inside look. Vice Principal Killjoy answered. "Excuse me?! He's fourteen! You can't just ask him to move in! And the age of consent in Britain is sixteen! Not fourteen!"

What did that have to- Ah, shit. They thought he was one of those fetishists. "No, no. I'm offering him a job! Turning things into metal! Nothing unfortunate!"

Neither of them looked particularly convinced. Damn it. This was not going the way he hoped. "Which is why you want to move him to a foreign country, isolate him from his peers and potentially his guardians, and create a financial dependence for his whole family on you."

Goddamn it, you couldn't bribe anyone these days. Why did the little baby Alex have the one Vice Principal who looked after his students?! This was not how it was supposed to go! Ah, well, there was always kidnapping. It was baby Alex who spoke up next. "And what were you planning for my salary?"

Brendan perked up and whipped out a contract. Unfortunately, the Vice Principal decided to intervene again. The contract was snatched up. "Don't sign anything and it wouldn't be legal if you did."

Goddamn it. This motherfucker. Why did Bray have to be so mean about this? Bray's smile contained no joy and Brendan was lightly shoved towards the door. "Alex will consult his guardians about your generous offer and get back to you. Now, please leave before I summon the police for attempted coercion."

That motherfucker. Well, hopefully, Alex's parents would help him see sense. This was just ridiculous. Brendan was escorted out of the building by two secretaries. Now, really. This was just offensive.

Alex stood opposite Mr. Bray for a good long while. This was probably one of the most awkward parts of his life. "He's going to try to kidnap me."

The man coughed lightly. At least he wasn't outright calling Alex crazy. He seemed to be considering Alex's statement. "It's not unheard of for wealthy businessmen to do so. And we both know that the police won't look for you very hard."

It was an unfortunate reality that people like Alex were considered freaks of nature. Consequently, there was almost no protection from law enforcement. Unless he applied for it. Blunt would more than likely stop it from going through so he could keep using Alex. "Mr. Chase was on Interpol's Most Wanted until a few months ago. Human trafficking, scamming the Australian government, and various other crimes. The list is a hobby of mine. My online community concluded that he bribed his way off."

Alex sucked in a breath through his teeth. He sounded like a lovely individual. Not. "Goody. Is there anything we can do?"

Mr. Bray pinched the bridge of his nose. Alex wondered if he should apologize. "I'm afraid most of my suggestions are highly illegal. That said, Mr. Chase wants you to use your gift. Perhaps you should give him what he wants in a way he doesn't expect."

Alex blinked. Was Mr. Bray suggesting what he thought he was? "In theory, it takes me about twenty minutes to turn someone into metal."

Mr. Bray gave him a look. Alex twitched. "In theory, his heart weighs less than a kilo and you only need to get one valve."

Honestly, go Mr. Bray! That was a helpful tip. Wait. "Why are you helping me?"

Mr. Bray sighed. Alex kept looking at him. There was a pause. The man looked like he was in pain. Or about to cry. Or both. "I had a son. He was a bit like you, except it was diamonds. He didn't make it one month after we were forced to register. The cartels wanted to keep their monopoly, you see. The police didn't bother investigating at all. Ever since I've been a rather avid supporter of rights for people like you and my son."

Alex was unsure of what to say. He awkwardly patted Mr. Bray on the shoulder. The man seemed to appreciate it. "Every time you get called to this office for one of those stupid meetings, I half expect you to be shot in front of me. Just like him."

Alex wondered whether he should awkwardly leave or awkwardly stay. There was a silence as he continued patting the man on the shoulder. "Sorry?"

The man let out a sigh. Alex swallowed. "I probably shouldn't have dumped that on you. Have a biscuit. And some tea. I'm going to excuse you from classes."

Alex slumped into one of the overstuffed chairs and nibbled at the biscuit. It was a ginger snap. The tea was nice, at least. The secretaries were shooting him sympathetic looks. Alex was feeling twitchy.

Mr. Bray sighed as the final bell rang. Alex slunk out of his office. He was part of an organization that protected rogue talents. Ian had registered Alex the second his talents came in. Mr. Bray had both despaired and rejoiced that day. Alex was incredibly popular with his peers, even if most of them didn't know how to interact with a grieving person with issues. They hadn't seemed to mind that he had a talent at all. It had given him hope for the equal rights movements. He had hoped and prayed that the metal was unremarkable enough that people would leave him alone. Alex had made it to fourteen before the disappearance started. He wasn't as willfully blind as most people. Someone somewhere was blackmailing him. Or extorting him. Or what have you. Now there was Brendan Chase in the picture. It had taken him nine years of digging, learning new skills, and divorce over his 'obsession' for him to find out the names of the men in charge of the diamond cartel that killed his son. Bray wondered if

encouraging him to aggressively protect himself was the best idea. The courts could very well still convict him of manslaughter. They were far, far, harsher on talents on average. It was probably better than being trafficked to god-knows-where to do god-knows-what. The secretaries were eyeing him. Bray had slowly replaced most of the teachers in the school with people who at least sympathized with his cause. "Is he going to be okay?"

Oh, Ms. Bedfordshire. "I hope so."

The woman nodded gravely. They all knew what happened to the talented children that vanished into foreign countries. "Starbright is responsible but they may not give the two of them a choice."

The secretary wilted slightly. He rose from the chair. It was time to head home.

Alex sighed and burned the contract the second he got out of the school. Motherfucking Australian creeper. He didn't care if it was just turning barrels of slag into metal. It was still weird. Tom was walking home with him. Alex grinned at the other boy. "So, how goes the dating life?"

Tom scowled and launched into an explanation of his newest disastrous relationship. It lasted until they got to Alex's front door. Tom followed him in and kept talking. Alex deadbolted the door behind him. There were five locks on the door and Jack was already in. Jack emerged from the living room looking pale. "I heard you had a visitor at school today."

The wobble in her voice belied her attempts to be casual. Tom looked at him. Jack let out a slightly stilted breath. "I got us takeout."

Tom let out a whoop and ran for the kitchen. Alex was pulled into a hug. Jack was shaking ever so slightly. He leaned into the hug. She smelled like cinnamon. "The school called."

Alex gently patted her on the back. Jack had lost one of her relatives to riots in America about a decade ago. "It's going to be okay. We're not America."

Jack let out a breath. She squeezed a bit harder before letting him go. "Let's eat."

She was tense as they ate dinner. That said, you couldn't blame Jack for that. Jack got up to start a movie for them as banging rang against the front door. She froze slightly. "Get upstairs."

Alex's eyes flicked to her. Jack fixed him with a look. "It could be the neighbors."

Jack shook her head as the banging resumed. She pulled out her phone and dialed the emergency number, dropping it near the door as they all went upstairs. It would take them at least twenty minutes to get through the door or wall. Ian had told him about the design of the house. Jack shoved them into Ian's office. "The door is the most fortified on this floor."

She locked the door behind them. The office did have a window. Tom's eyes were wide. Alex felt Tom settle on one side of him and Jack on the other. He started turning random spots of the carpet into metal. They both looked at him. "Uneven terrain and if I accidentally get them, this makes it look more like an accident."

Tom and Jack were both shaking against him. Alex's hand went to the knife he kept near his calf. He heard the door give way after several more minutes of banging. The sound of boots going up the stairs was sending thrums of panic through him. Normally, he was alone for this sort of thing. Alex felt his talent thrum beneath his skin. Jack and Tom would be the only safe thing in this house once he let go. They checked the rooms one by one. Alex waited with bated breath. BAM! The door collapsed. Alex let the wave flood out of him into the carpet in front of him. The carpet and desk took on a metallic sheen as the men in front of him collapsed. The metal rapidly spread everywhere in front of him. The screams rang out as the men fell to the floor. Alex heard the crunches of broken bones. "Alex."

He immediately snapped his mental barrier back down. He heard sirens behind him. The partially metal men were now letting out soft moans.

Blunt stared at him across the desk. Alex refused to back down. "Nine fatalities. Three permanent amputations. Broken bones are uncountable. One had a quarter of his brain turned into metal."

Alex folded his arms. This motherfucker had some nerve. "Yes. I was attacked in the place I call home with the people I call my family. The house you elected not to put protection on. I called the police with their predictably slow response time and retreated. You know full well what kind of society we live in. I'm not about to let myself be bloody kidnapped and watch Tom and Jack be held as hostages. I panicked like a fucking normal person would. Would we even be having this meeting if I wasn't talented?!"

Blunt fixed him with a look. Alex continued glaring. "Are you accusing me of being prejudiced?"

Alex shrugged. He supposed it might be read like that. "I just think it's fishy that you seem to rescue the normal agents more. And also that there was never any attempt to find the normal people who murdered my family members."

Blunt didn't blink. Then again, Alex would have been more surprised if he did react. "An unfortunate set of coincidences."

Alex snorted and walked up to the desk. Blunt was a piece of shit. "You told me yourself that you don't believe in coincidences."

Blunt let out a slight cough. Alex kept glaring. "Yes, well. I hope you appreciate your delicate position."

Alex was not in the mood for the blackmail bullshit. He glared at the man. "I hope you appreciate having a cold dead heart only in the metaphor."

With that, he walked out of the office. If Blunt didn't want to get to the point, he was out of here. Alex left the office, not stopping for anyone. He stepped out onto the street. Jack was waiting for him in the car. "Thank you."

Jack ruffled his hair and they got in the car. Alex huffed. "Post-kidnapping ice cream?"

Alex grinned at the woman. Jack was the best. "Ice cream would be great."


Fin


Based on a prompt by Zyzyax (see story summary). This is the 99th 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). Want to take part in our Alex Rider anniversary celebrations in September? Join the WoC discord to take part in a fanfic event! Want to showcase your work to your fellow fans and authors? The WoC server has a new feature! Any author who joins can ask to join our authors' feed, which shows all the fics from the authors who opt in, including non-AR fics!