Alex sat poised in the backseat of the dramatized limousine he was forced into, clutching his suitcase in his lap. Was he having second thoughts about this? He glanced out the tinted window, watching as they passed by multiple children pointing at his ride and shrunk down in his seat, regardless of them not being able to see in anyway. No...no. Of course not.
When he first brought the subject up at dinner (Wolf had made spaghetti!), there was an explosion of negative responses. K-Unit was against the idea and even went so far as to say they'd march into MI6 right then and have a serious talk with the heads. Eventually, he managed to convince them (he may or may not have used..puppy dog eyes. Don't tell anyone) to let him go, that he couldn't tell them why but he just needed to. They were extremely reluctant, and Fox said he could only go on the condition that he contact them specifically if something were to go wrong. He personally called Smithers to request their number be imputed into the music player MI6 was providing, making sure to put the phone on speaker so his guardians could listen in. And that was that. Alex was to be deployed immediately. Everyone helped in packing his bag (he was only allowed one, MI6 already told him they filled the Friend's mansion up with teen related things to make it more realistic. Which was better in the long run, as Alex didn't really own much of those kinds of things anyway.
So here he was, after some hugs, goodlucks, "come back alive"s, and an embarrassing kiss on the cheek from Eagle, he was shoved into a limo and is now on his way to his rich cover family. Oh boy, was he excited.
Watching the town buildings fall away and be replaced by forest, he groaned internally. Let's get this over with.
He zoned out the rest of the ride, absentmindedly watching the blue of the afternoon sky fade to dark pinks and shades of orange. The driver called back that they were pulling in now, and- he doesn't even think he finished his spaghetti. Darn.
The car pulled to a stop, and the driver unnecessarily got out and opened Alex's door for him. Humming in thanks and climbing out, pulling his suitcase along with him, he hoped Snake put his leftover dinner in the fridge. This mission wouldn't take long. In and out. That's what Mr. Blunt told him. When has the head of MI6 ever lied to him? (Haha.)
David met him at the door, claiming dinner was on the table ready for them. "I already ate." The man looked at him strangely. "Spaghetti. It was quite good."
"Ah, yes, well, let me show you around the place." He frowned, closing the door as Alex let himself inside. "Someone's sure in a hurry."
"Yes.." Alex's eyes scanned over the entryway lazily, "I've got food in the fridge." He thought.
Alex only half paid attention while his fake "father" figure showed him around the mansion. If he was being honest, it was bigger on the outside. He half registered a pool, and the dining room where David peeked in to let his wife know what he was doing. Alex gave her a half smile while introducing himself. Finally, they came across the upstairs bedrooms.
"And here's where you'll be staying." David said with the fakest enthusiasm it sounded like he could muster. (Not to worry, Alex didn't want to be here either.) Without another word, the teen flopped down onto the mattress with a sigh after dropping his suitcase to the floor. David excused himself with a "Ms. Stellenbosch will be here in the morning." and Alex listened to his footsteps fade in the direction of the stairs. To go eat dinner, no doubt.
Rolling over and reaching towards his bag, he pulled out the papers with the information he needed to know about the Friend family and what his role was. At the top of the article it read, "Alex Friend". He couldn't wait to go home. With a grumble, Alex started reading for what felt like the hundredth time, only to doze off halfway through.
Alex startled awake with a silent gasp, blurrily looking around the room at the overdated video game posters plastered on the walls. What...
"Alex!" Jumping again, he finally came to his senses. Glancing at the deer themed (really?) alarm clock next to the bed. 9AM. Wasn't it too early..? Taking on his role instantly, he shoved the sheets onto the floor.
"What!?" He hoarsely hollered down the hall, spying the stairs around the corner where Caroline briefly stood.
"Ms. Stellenbosch seems to have arrived early. Please do get dressed and come down for your interview." She tapped back down the stairs.
Taking a deep breath, Alex took in his current attire. Deeming it unfit for a rebellious teenager, he dug through his bag for a T-shirt adorning some band and some ripped dark jeans. There we go. Shoving his music player into his pocket, he made his way downstairs and into the common room. Both David and Caroline were sitting across from what Alex can only assume is Eva Stellenbosch. Both of his 'parents' stood at the sight of him, and Alex noted how Stellenbosch's brunet hair brushed her shoulders as she turned her head to get a glimpse of him. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Alex made an act of looking her up and down before glaring at the two standing adults. "Who's she?" He gestures halfheartedly towards Stellenbosch.
"Alex!" Caroline scolded. David furrowed his brows and opened his mouth to probably shout something horrid at him, but before he could, Ms. Stellenbosch stood, blocking Alex's view of them.
"You must be Alex." She smiled (wickedly. It was an evil smile.) politely at him, brushing some of her hair behind her ear while taking in his appearance. "I'm here for your interview. Why don't you take a seat?" She looked behind her, "I'm sure your parents wouldn't mind giving us some privacy?" She phrased it like a question, but it sounded more like a silent demand to Alex.
Shutting his mouth, David nodded and followed his wife out of the common room, not before muttering a, "Be polite, Alex." over his shoulder.
Smirking slightly as he made his way towards the now empty seats, Alex flopped down with his arms spread around the back. "Yes, David." He said instead of the typical parental figure title. He pronounced his name loudly on purpose, careful on each syllable. He didn't miss the almost microscopic satisfied smile Stellenbosch quickly hid when Alex looked her way. (He doesn't know why it sends an invisible shiver down his spine.)
Fiddling with the music player in his pocket, Alex zoned in on the (devilish) lady seated in front of him, thinking back on the articles he read and preparing for whatever she decided to throw his way. She gave him another smile and crossed her legs.
"Well." Ms Stellenbosch uncrossed her legs and stood, "I think that went quite well, don't you?" She looked him up and down once again as he followed her in standing. "Alex."
He gave her an annoyed stare before muttering nonsense under his breath, walking to the door.
"Make sure to pack a bag, Alex. We leave immediately."
Once again, Alex is seated in the back of a car. Well, at least it wasn't a limousine this time. But what makes this slightly worse is that he's not alone in the backseat. There's a man sitting calmly in the other window seat, his build closely resembled Wolf's, in such a way that forced Alex to keep his suitcase (the one he already had packed since leaving home. Actual home.) placed on the floor between his legs. Wolf… he misses him.
He misses all of them. It's only been what? Not even a day, and he already wishes to be back within the confines of their town apartment, squished between said military soldiers on their single couch while watching some cheesy movie Eagle decided to put on and munching on whatever Wolf decided to whip up that night. He's starving, maybe he should've taken his Spaghetti to go.
What kind of other students would be there? He hopes it's not a crowded school, but knowing the amount of horrid teenagers in the East, he doubts his wish would come true. Glancing towards the passenger seat of the upend car, Alex observed Stellenbosch. She was looking down at files in her lap. Leaning forward ever so slightly, he spotted his name, Alex Friend, on the papers. She's reading about him. Or.. fake him.
The car came to a slow stop on the side of the street, multiple large trees encircling the area. Alex's heart skipped a beat when he looked around and saw no buildings nearby. Keeping up his charade, he groaned. "What's the ho-"
The large male sitting next to him leaned over, his large shoulders shadowing the left side of the back seat. He very calmly reached into his jacket pocket and pulled something out, and before Alex could react, only getting time to slowly reach for the door handle, there was a sharp prick to the side of his neck. Hand flying to the sting, Alex froze up, alarmed.
"I'm sorry, Alex. But we can't have you remembering the proper way back, can we?" His eyes drooped and he half protested as a blindfold was wrapped around his head, and his arms were yanked behind his back, and- he was out.