Chapter 8
Author's notes: Well, it's finally here! I know you guys have been waiting a while (and mostly patient, too) so I hope it lives up to your expectations. As always, thanks to utemia, who beta-read it. It's thanks to her input that the SAS teams are believable. Although, any mistakes are mine. :D I hope she's happy with it. As always, thanks to the reviewers, I try to answer as many as I can, but I appreciate you all. (On that note, 100 reviews? WOW.)
--
--
Alan Blunt was a man used to dealing with setbacks. His entire job revolved around predicting outcomes and unforeseen events. He never made a plan without a sufficient number of back up plans in place. This was no exception.
MI6 had no means of tracking Alex Rider. The gadgets he had been given, designed for use in a hostile environments, produced no signal until activated by the wearer. But that was almost irrelevant. There was only one place that Rider would have gone. It had not been anticipated but it was the only logical option.
What to do about it, on the other hand, required consideration.
The Black Hand had come to the attention of MI6 by making numerous overseas contacts. Including, they suspected, Scorpia. Gregorovich's arrival in London had confirmed this. The information that their first agent had uncovered about why the Black Hand were dealing with Scorpia had made continued observation a priority.
Scorpia had been diminished after their loss to Alex. Their second defeat had weakened them even more. But they were far from finished. The money they would make from the drugs was paltry in comparison to what they had made from other contracts.
But if it succeeded, then the Black Hand would own the English underground. And Scorpia would own them. They would have an undeniable foothold on British soil. Alan Blunt was not prepared to have the organization responsible for a tenth of the world's terrorism, the same organization that had nearly killed millions of English schoolchildren, operating out of his country. It was inconceivable.
Yet Ben Daniels had confirmed this information and included a rough timeframe of when the shipment of unknown drugs would arrive. Action had become a necessity.
Yet acting before the drugs had arrived would mean loosing the opportunity to destroy them. It would be simple enough for Scorpia to retrieve the drugs and resell them to other gangs within London. They needed to capture the drugs before they made their way onto the streets of London and then trace them back to the suppliers.
Alan Blunt paused and considered the situation. Ben Daniels had been discovered. They had no agent within the Black Hand to notify them of the drugs arriving.
But they did have Alex Rider.
He tapped his fingers thoughtfully on his desk. Rider had a remarkable talent for finding information. The drugs would arrive soon. They could go in now, retrieve Rider and lose the drugs. Or they could wait for Rider to send the signal and risk the drugs making it to the street and causing chaos.
Alan Blunt weighed up the options.
They would wait.
--
--
"So what are you doing here?" Alex asked curiously, a few hours later. He'd tagged along with Yassen as the assassin walked around the warehouse, checking papers and making sure the last boxes were loaded properly. Yet he hadn't seen anything that jumped out at him. Everything looked boring and normal.
A nearby man overheard Alex's question and cast him a nervous glance. He moved away slowly, watching Yassen out of the corner of his eyes. A part of Alex was amused; the rest knew what kind of reputation Yassen had.
"Two hours and twenty seven minutes," Yassen said without looking at his watch. "That's longer than I expected you to wait."
Alex scowled at him before realizing with a start that he had just, possibly, been teased. It was a disconcerting feeling.
"What are you doing here?" He asked again, ignoring the feeling. "What is this?"
"This?" Yassen looked around him. Alex might have imagined the distaste in his voice. "Drugs, Alex, little more than that."
Alex was surprised that he had answered. But it didn't seem right. "And MI6 are interested in that because?"
"Perhaps that is a question you should ask them," Yassen said. He moved away.
Alex followed him. He wanted answers. "You said you were keeping me here," he pointed out. "You might as well tell me why."
Yassen looked at him. Alex fought the urge to check that his MedAlert bracelet was on his wrist. Yassen would surely notice that. "That would not be wise," Yassen said eventually. "You will not like it and," he gave a small half smile, "I suspect you would try to stop it."
Alex didn't deny it. "I thought you hated drugs," he said instead. Sure, Damian Cray had been behind Eagle Strike but he had implied that Yassen, at the very least, agreed with him.
Yassen nodded. "You are correct. But this was the job that I was given." He didn't add that he had been involved with many things that he did not agree with. As long as he was paid, he did not care.
--
--
"You and I are much alike, Alex," Yassen said later, in a lull between activity.
"I know," Alex said simply. Yassen looked at him sharply. "I was talking to …" Alex hesitated, searching for words to describe Ash. "… one of my father's friends. When he was with MI6. You came up."
Yassen nodded slowly. "Who was it?"
"Ash," Alex replied. "I don't know his name. You stabbed him in Malta, I think."
At that, Yassen nodded again but his gaze was distant. "I remember," he said softly. "Malta. I have never been back there, you know. That place… it was my greatest failure. Eagle Strike did not even compare. And now you say it was a set up."
Alex shifted uncomfortably. He couldn't even begin to imagine how Yassen was dealing with the information with fourteen years worth of memories to rearrange around it. He remembered the almost perpetual confusion that had surrounded him as he learnt the truth.
"Yeah." Alex swallowed. "It was a set up. To get him away from Scorpia."
Alex didn't dare break the silence that fell after that.
--
--
The briefing, when it happened, was short. They were in an empty, yet sturdy building not far from the warehouses that would serve as their base of operations. K-unit was at the front. Other SAS units, brought in by Alan Blunt, also attended.
"We assume that Alex Rider went to seek out Yassen Gregorovich. At this point in time, his status is unknown. Evidence indicates that he and Gregorovich are currently in or around the warehouses located here," he touched a map of the district. "The primary objective for K-unit will be to identify Rider's current status and his protection and retrieval when the signal is given. M-Unit, J-Unit, your primary objective will be to secure the shipment and to take down the hostiles guarding the warehouse and shipment. Your secondary objective, should an opportunity present itself, will be the capture or removal of Yassen Gregorovich."
Alan Blunt looked over the men in front of him. They were grimfaced and ready. He nodded slightly. "Snipers will go into position here and here," he touched more places on the map, first a warehouse close to their base that would give a nearly complete view of the loading dock, then one across the river. "Report any movement you see in the area. It is essential that Rider is not caught in the cross fire and that you wait for his signal before acting. You know the drill. Dismissed."
--
--
They were still there late that evening, long after all the other workers had gone home. The other warehouses along the docks were empty but the three belonging to the Black Hand were filled with restless energy.
"You have a shipment coming in," Alex guessed, watching the preparations happening in the warehouse.
"A very important shipment," Yassen agreed.
"What is it?"
Yassen stared at him for a long time, expression considering. "Drugs. A new concoction that they wish to introduce to England," he said eventually. "The Black Hand have made a deal with Scorpia who have assigned me with ensuring that the shipment arrives successfully."
"Why would they go to all this trouble just to get a different type of drug?" Alex asked, puzzled.
Yassen shrugged. "That is not my concern."
"But you know why," Alex said.
Yassen smiled. "Yes." He stared at Alex again. Alex shifted uncomfortably. These looks were happening far too often for his liking. "The Black Hand are attempting to instigate a … takeover, if you will. Having control over this drug will give them an edge over other gangs. Once they have the resources, it will be a simple matter for the situation to escalate into a gang war with only one probable outcome."
"A war?" Alex stared at him, horrified. He tried to image it. Gangs at the best of times were not peaceful. "People will die!"
"People are always dieing," Yassen said calmly. "This will merely give them a way."
Alex hesitated. He had to call MI6 to stop the shipment. But Yassen would know. He would be placing himself in danger.
And calling MI6 would mean that Yassen would fail again. Alex couldn't imagine Scorpia taking that well.
Alex didn't flip the switch on his MedAlert bracelet. The shipment wasn't here yet, he rationalized. He would wait until it was. Then … then he would decide.
--
--
Alex was still deliberating later when Yassen moved him from the warehouse to the stairs on the outside of the office. They overlooked the empty concrete area that could have been made for parking or storage. Jutting out from the bank, into the river, was a short small boat dock.
Alex scanned the area. The lights from the warehouse provided dim illumination only. There was no boat at the dock and the only people in the area were the Black Hand members. Some of them were patrolling as guards. Alex caught a glimpse of one of two.
If he had been Ben, he would have recognized one of them as Mike and might have been expecting what would happen. As it was, he didn't.
The men below milled around. The night was far from silent but Alex detected an expectant tension in the air. Beside him, Yassen looked at his watch and frowned.
"They're late."
--
--
The guards patrolling the area were carefully picked. Unfortunately for the Black Hand, they had not been picked with the interests of the gang in mind. Once they were at a safe distance from the warehouses, Mike nodded to his partner and pulled out a cell phone.
"Manny!" Mike hissed into his phone. His partner scanned the area around them, swinging his flashlight backwards and forwards. "It's happening! The boat's coming now!"
He paused, listening.
"Yes, yes," he said impatiently. "I know the deal. But, look, there's a change of plans. Gregorovich has some kid with him. I dunno who he is, but for christ's sake, don't hit the kid!"
He paused again. "Sure thing," he sighed in defeat. "How long will it take you to get here?"
"We'll be waiting," Mike said and snapped the phone shut. He nodded to his partner. "They're on their way."
--
--
So was it worth the wait? Or was it just confusing? Tell me and I can fix it.