Deception For Distraction
Alan Blunt was an extremely boring looking man. His plain grey suit and chalky complexion only assisted in making his features instantly forgettable. Appearance wise, there was nothing striking about this man. That was exactly why he excelled at what he did.
At that moment, a stout lady with short black hair and a peppermint in her mouth entered the room. A look of worry was evident on her face as she began pacing the floor in front of Blunt's desk.
"Alan what are we going to do? We can't just sit here!"Only ten minutes ago the heads of MI6 had received word of a hostage situation at Brookland School. Their worry was only intensified because that was the school that their youngest agent, Alex Rider, attended.
"Don't worry Tulip; our men are in their places around the school as we speak. They are set to enter the building and eliminate the enemy at my command."
What troubled Blunt was that the gunmen had yet to contact MI6. They did not yet know what the men wanted. The situation could diffuse quickly, with the men simply taking Alex and leaving (If Alex was what they had come for at all), or it could end with casualties in the hundreds. Blunt's hands were virtually tied until the gunmen contacted him.
"But what about Alex? Surely we cannot just leave him in there? He is one of our top agents!" Mrs. Jones had always held a soft spot for the young teen and right now her maternal instincts were telling her to get Alex out of that building.
"Rider will have to fend for himself. We cannot jeopardize the lives of hundreds of children to save just one. Rider knew the risks of the job when he agreed to work for us. Although he is one of our top agents, his life can be expended."
Mrs. Jones was just about to open her mouth to speak when the phone on Blunt's desk rang.
"Hello, Blunt speaking"
"Mr. Blunt, the gunmen of Brookland School are sending out a signal in thirty seconds. A television broadcasting from the school will cut across all other signals and be displayed across England. There is nothing you can do to deter this broadcasting. Oh, and it cannot be recorded, so I suggest you watch closely."
Alan slammed the phone back in its holder, showing a brief display of emotion before his face went blank. The gunmen had managed to call into his office and, even if he wasn't showing it, this scared him.
"Alan, what is it?" Mrs. Jones sounded anxious, apprehensive of her superior's answer.
"The gunmen are contacting us through a television broadcasting, which will be played across England. Watch closely."
Alan Blunt pressed the button on his desk that made the 80 inch plasma screen TV appear on his office wall. According to his watch, the broadcast was due to begin in ten seconds. He settled down in his chair and anxiously awaited the broadcasted images. For all he knew, all of England was about to witness the deaths of hundreds of schoolchildren. If that was the case, he could kiss his career goodbye. He would be fired before the broadcasting finished.
The TV screen suddenly went fuzzy, only to stop moments later, the image of a man in a black mask clearly visible. Although his eyes were the only things visible, Alan Blunt recognized him instantly. From the sharp intake of breath on the other side of the room, he knew Mrs. Jones had made a similar connection.
Yassen Gregorovich was behind the heist at Brookland School. This realization changed everything. This man was supposed to be dead, but somehow he was alive. At that moment Alan Blunt knew with renewed certainty that Alex Rider would not be walking out of that school today. Dead or alive, Yassen would have him. MI6 would have to focus on protecting the other students rather than exhaust their resources on their youngest agent.
Blunt focused once again on the screen in front of him, growing increasingly wary as the man continued to speak.
– RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER –
Yassen breathed a sigh of relief as the camcorder was turned off. Not only was phase two of his plan complete but the existence of Black Ace had been announced to all of England. Soon his organization would be feared across the globe.
MI6 would now follow his orders, placing their men around the school. However, there would be no men on the rooftop, and he planned to use this as his escape route. He had told Blunt to send his men in precisely fifteen minutes, or all students would be shot. Blunt will be listening to everything Yassen says. After all, only Alex knows that the assassin doesn't kill children. MI6 would be preoccupied with the lives of hundreds of schoolchildren rather than the safety of their youngest agent. Therefore, Yassen could easily get Alex out of the building. Fifteen minutes gave Yassen ample time to safely evacuate the building. His helicopter awaited him just out of sight. At the command, it could be here in seconds.
Alex shifted on the ground, trying for the umpteenth time to get comfortable. When Yassen's broadcasting had begun, Handler had moved away from him, engrossed in the assassin's words. Handler had been so engrossed, however, that he did not notice dropping the keys to Alex's cuffs. They had been dropped by the secretary, who was seated on the other side of the principal.
All Alex had to do was ask the principal to ask the secretary to pass them to him. The only complication was the fact he was gagged. He had never been good at charades, but right now it was Alex's only hope.
Alex shifted again, under the guise of getting comfortable when he actually moved closer to the principal. Alex pinched the Principal's thumb, causing him to look over at the teen. Alex looked the principal in the eyes as best he could then over at the keys on the floor. The principal looked at Alex blankly, not understanding the boy's message. Alex tried again, repeating the process then gently shaking their cuffed hands. This time the principal's eyes lit up with realization, and he subtly moved towards the secretary.
"Donna, keys," the principal could not risk saying anything more in fear of being heard. The secretary looked at the keys by her feet. Ever so slowly she picked them up with her feet and gently tossed them towards the principal. They landed right by Alex's cuffed hands. Alex tried to smile but the gag prevented him from doing so. He looked over at the principal, certain the man could see the twinkle in his eyes and take it as a smile. Alex nodded his head towards both the principal and the secretary, thanking them for taking that risk for him.
Alex's hands dug painfully into the metal as he twisted the key. He could feel the blood running down his arms as the cuffs attaching him to the principal were unlocked. The principal's eyes widened but Alex was glad to see he had the sense to remain still. It would be a shame to be caught now, Alex was so close to freedom. He tried three more keys before he found the right one to release him from the cuffs. Finally, his hands were free! Alex slipped the keys to the principal, hoping he would get the hint and unlock himself.
Alex hadn't been paying attention to Yassen's broadcast, but saw now that it was over. The assassin and the three guards were talking to each other jovially, happy that everything was going as planned. Yassen had yet to notice that Alex was unguarded and Alex planned to use this slip up fully to his advantage.
Alex got up slowly then, having not yet been noticed, slipped quickly out the door and into the hallway. He wiped the blood from his arms onto his pants, not wanting it to leave a drip trail. He had to contact MI6, but he had to save his classmates first. Alex decided that if he could take down the gunman in his classroom, then he could use the radio to confuse the other gunmen. Once the gunmen had left the rooms, Alex could lead the kids out of the school. It was an extremely risky plan. One million things could go wrong any second, but it was all he had to go on at the moment. Alex Rider began walking to his classroom.
– RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER –
Alan Blunt paced his office. Tulip Jones had gone to prepare the extra men that would be sent to the school as well as to position the men according Yassen's demand. Blunt could not shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Yassen was actually allowing them into the building. The entire operation was just too easy. Storm the building apprehend the gunmen, get the children to safety, capture Yassen. Something was up, and Blunt had a sneaking suspicion that Yassen was going to escape with Alex.
WellAlan thought, there's hardly anything I can do. Blunt decided to keep the men uninformed of his suspicions. They thought this was going to be a simple operation, and he was not going to lead them to believe otherwise. Rider was an excellent agent who could fend for himself. And, Blunt thought, if we let Alex be taken by Yassen we could track Yassen's location. All agents had a tracker placed on them. In Alex's case, it was on his school uniform when he attended classes. Blunt knew the boy would be wearing his uniform now, completely oblivious to the trackers existence. Blunt wasn't naive enough to believe that Yassen was going to be caught at Brookland School. But this gave them an opportunity to catch the assassin later on, when he had let his guard down.
Excellent, it was all settled then. Alex would be taken with Yassen and Yassen's location would be tracked. Blunt sat in his chair, at ease now that he had formulated a plan. The clock read 9:20, ten more minutes until MI6 would infiltrate the building.
– RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER –
"how the hell did he get out of those cuffs?" Yassen's face was livid, his usually pale complexion beat red with rage. Yassen looked down at the floor where Alex was supposed to be tied, and saw a glint of silver. Yassen was the epitome of calm as he bent down and picked up the keys.
The principal had thrown them there as soon as he had heard the guards approaching. He had not had enough time to undo his cuffs.
"Fredericks, where are your keys?" The man Alex called Handler visibly paled under Yassen's cold, unforgiving, yet perfectly calm gaze.
"I..uhh.u..umm..th..they..i d..dropped them, sir" The man was shaking violently, the termer in his voice preventing him from speaking coherently.
"Yes, Fredericks, you did. And I thought you were better than that."
BANG
For the second time that day Yassen watched one of his own men fall under his hand. It wasn't that he enjoyed killing his own men, he didn't, but he could have only the best of the best. Mistakes were not tolerated and the escape of Alex Rider was an extremely immense mistake.
The principal, secretary, and vice-principal were all silent, in shock from witnessing the harsh death. They were unnoticed by Yassen, however, as he quickly stormed out of the room in search of Alex. The remaining guards quickly followed, not wanting to be on the wrong side of their Boss's gun.
"All men on guard. The Rider boy is loose I the school. Keep your eyes out for him and report back to me immediately if you locate him. Do not underestimate him. He will bring you down if you do." Yassen talked into his radio as he walked. He didn't know for sure, but guessed Alex would return to his classroom.
Yassen looked at his watch and realized, in horror, that MI6 would be entering the building in seven minutes. This was not good. Yassen needed Rider and he needed him now. Play time was over. Yassen had told Alex that he loved him on that plane and he had meant it. That was why Alex was coming with him today, whether he wanted to or not. Yassen truly didn't want to hurt Alex but he needed to learn his place.
As he rounded the corner he saw exactly who he was looking for. The teen was creeping up behind the guard stationed at his classroom. He had already opened the door without the guard noticing, and now proceeded with the intent to take him out.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you Alex. George, there, could kill you in seconds."
Alex turned in alarm at hearing Yassen's voice. George, now aware of the teen's presence, quickly came up behind him and crushed his arms to his sides. Alex struggled, but George's hold on him was too strong. With his back to the man's chest and powerful arms encircling his chest and waist, there was nothing Alex could do to escape.
"That was a very stupid thing to do Alex"
"For you maybe, but seeing as how I'm the one kidnapped I'm sure you can understand how I didn't see my escape attempt as stupid." The teen glared at Yassen, but Yassen could detect a look of weariness in his eyes. Alex was tired of running and that was exactly how Yassen wanted him.
"Then it is very lucky that I happen to be prepared for your heroic nature," Yassen said, lifting a needle filled with tranquilizer to Alex's neck. "Sleep tight Alex, don't let the bed bugs bight"
Yassen's mocking tones were the last thing Alex heard before succumbing to the darkness. He could feel his body being lifted and thrown over a shoulder before he lost consciousness completely.
– RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER –
"Go, go, go, go"
The fifteen minutes were up and MI6 were in the building. They expected to be met by resistance. They had come prepared for a gunfight and casualties. Instead, they entered a school full of uninjured schoolchildren and nothing else. The only casualty had been a teacher, and the shooter was long gone.
After locking all of the classroom doors from the outside, Yassen and his men had filed into the helicopter awaiting them on the school roof. Alex was still unconscious and would remain so until they had reached their destination.
Black Ace was long gone by the time MI6 men came onto the roof.
Thank you everyone so much for your reviews. I tried to take your advice as much as possible when writing this chapter. I know Yassen may come off a bit strong now but i hope to make him a bit softer towards Alex in the future.
Thank you all so much for reading this far. The fourth chapter is coming, though i can't say how soon because i haven't had a chance to start it yet. Any advice or constructive critisism is welcome, as this is my first Alex Rider fanfiction.
A simple review is all it takes to make my day. It is so much easier to write knowing that people are actually reading this story.
so review please!