Chapter 5:
Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider
A/N: Here you are…look out for more twists
The day of the funeral was bright and sunny, hardly the right weather, Max thought. As her father was laid into his grave she could not help but think over every thing that the autopsy technician told her. He had been poisoned by something yet unknown to the scientific world. He had been given it over time and he had only needed to drink alcohol once to stimulate the poison. Max knew her father almost never drank unless he was extremely distraught, what could have caused him to feel that way? Max was given the flag that had lain across his coffin and she was promoted to a rank lower than her father's till she could finish her training. Tears came unbidden that day. She realized that last hug they had shared should have told her he was going to die. Somehow he knew he was going to die but did nothing to stop it. When they got to his office she turned to her escort.
"I want to be alone with my father's things. If I need your help I will call you," she ordered.
The man nodded and closed the door. Max bee lined for her father's desk which held all his paper work over the years. Before opening the drawers she noticed that there were scratches on the lock, they had been forced open. She slid the drawer out and saw of his papers gone. Cursing under her breath she checked the other drawers with the same result. She laid her head on the desk and tried to think about what to do. That was when she heard a commotion outside.
"You can't go in there. She wants to be alone," said her escort who must have been guarding the door.
"But we must see her. We're friends," said a familiar voice.
"No, she gave me specific orders."
"And when do you take orders from a sixteen year old?" asked another familiar and harsher voice.
"Since she was promoted to a rank lower than the Commander."
She went to the door and opened it.
"What is all the commotion, I can't think!" she yelled out the door.
She did a double take when she saw that the people out side the door were her friends from MI6. The whole gang was there. They smiled when they saw her.
"Ma'am," said the escort, "I'm sorry but these men wouldn't leave when I told them you wanted to be alone."
"It's all right. Do you happen to know what happened to the contents contained in my father's desk?" she asked the man.
"No Ma'am we were given orders not to touch the stuff."
"Strange," she whispered.
She motioned for her friends to follow her into the room.
"So you are one step away from becoming a commander," said Wolf looking around the room, "You live up to the role."
"Well, I need to, or others think that I may not be fit to command," she answered going to the desk replacing her head, "I just need to see what my father was working on."
"Why?" asked Alex.
"Because what ever he was working on got him killed, I need to see that research but all his files are gone."
"Who had access to the room?" asked Snake.
"Anybody, Cam was usually the one who ran errands for my father but Cam's way to gentle to kill anybody. He gets sick at the sight of blood," she answered.
"How could so much paper work just disappear?" asked Snake.
Max thought over all the stuff her father told her when he was little as she reminisced, an event that happened one rainy day came into her mind.
It was the day her father was teaching her about hiding things. Whenever you look for something remember to check everything even an empty drawer. She remembered her father testing her by hiding her favorite candy somewhere in his office and she had to find. After looking everywhere she couldn't find it. Her father had laughed and opened a drawer had pulled out the sweet.
"But I looked there," she had protested.
"Not in the fake bottom," he had answered.
Max shot back from the desk and opened the nearest drawer.
"What's the matter?" asked Alex.
She ignored him and felt along the bottom of the drawer. After a few seconds she found the mechanism that released the bottom. She picked up the piece of the drawer and looked in. What she saw was some of her father's top secret files. She lifted them out of the desk.
"What are those?" asked Wolf.
"They may hold the answer as to why my father was killed," she answered placing them on the desk.
She checked the other drawers and found other compartments like it. When she had gathered all the files she looked at them. It talked about drug rings and assassination warnings but most of them were old and had no connection that she could see. But something caught her eye. It was a file on Cam. Why would her father be researching him? Something in her gut told her to go and check his room.
"You guys go back to England. I have duties here now and I won't be going back. Take care," she said and went out turning to the guard, "Please escort the men in there back to the chopper and make sure that it leaves."
The man nodded and went in to get the group. When Alex came out he saw her walking off and ran to her but never got there. The guard grabbed him and pulled him toward the chopper.
"Max!" he called.
She only kept walking. Alex felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Let it go Cub, she won't be coming back. We have to go," said Wolf.
"But Wolf, I…I," he hesitated for a second.
"I don't care. She wants us gone so we must go."
Alex looked at Wolf who had tears in his eyes. He realized Wolf was going to miss Max too. After a minute he nodded. They entered the chopper and left. Alex watched the ground pull away. He couldn't place the feeling of loss tugging on his heart.
Max couldn't keep herself from crying when the sound of the chopper grew quiet as it flew away. She loved Alex, she realized, and because she loved him she couldn't put him into danger. She couldn't see him again. But she also knew she had feelings for Cam. He though was someone who needed to stay. She walked for the barracks. When she entered her face was set in a hard line. The men in the room all stood at attention when she entered. She looked at the men then saw Cam standing at a relaxed attention. She saw his clothes were dusted with a white powder.
"Private," she said addressing him.
"Yes, ma'am?" he responded.
"Make sure you take care to wash your uniform properly next time," she ordered.
"I'll take extra care," he answered.
"Now everyone outside and have some free time. Tonight will be a seek and tag training exercise."
"Yes Ma'am!" answered all the men.
They all left except for Cam.
"How are you doing?" he asked her softly.
"I'm fine," she said holding back tears.
"Are you sure?" he asked coming over to her.
She nodded and stared at the wall. Suddenly Cam's arms were around her and he was cradling her close.
"Cam?" she asked.
"I know this might be a bad time but, Max, I…I love you. I don't want to see you cry," he said.
Max was speechless, she stood not moving.
"Max?" he asked.
She turned and sobbed into his chest.
"Shh, it'll be all right," he crooned.
She held onto his shirt and tightened her grip. Soon her tears stopped and she wiped away her tears. Alex was gone because she told him to go, he probably didn't have feelings for her. She thought it would be okay for her to love Cam. She was wrong, dead wrong.