Chapter 9:
Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider for the five millionth time…not blaming the readers.
A/N: Here's the next chapter!
He saw the flat line on the heart monitor of the girl. He smiled inwardly and turned to planning to kill the other annoyances at hand. But he did not see the nurses and technicians refitting the pads of the heart monitor to the girl's chest. He did not hear the slight beeping of the monitor as the girl lay sleeping.
"What's that?" asked Alex.
They were looking at footage from the mess hall the night before Max got sick. They had stopped on a frame where Max was looking at something across the room not paying attention to her food. Alex watched as a hand slipped a chemical into her food. She turned and started eating, happily talking to the person whose hand had just slipped something into what she was now digging into. Alex ground his teeth.
"We have to go now," he told Wolf, "We have to get Max out of that hospital before anything else happens to her."
"Where's the hospital?" Wolf asked Fox.
"Let me pull up recent satellite photos to make sure," he said, "Here it is. Just past the barracks on the left."
"All right here's the plan. We split up and surround the building. Once inside we go and retrieve Max. No bullets, no kills," explained Wolf.
The group nodded and left. Alex silently wished Max to be okay.
Max was dizzy, but she was alive and she felt a lot better.
"Oh, you're awake," said a woman next to her.
"Where am I?" Max asked.
"The hospital."
That answered everything, Max wanted to sit up. She did so. The nurse watched and smiled.
"I'll go get the doctor," she said and left the room.
Max sighed, she wondered what had happened. The doctor, a nice looking man with black hair and bright green eyes, came into the room. He immediately checked her vitals and nodded, smiling the whole time.
"Well it looks like you're better," said the doctor, "You had us scared yesterday but we took some more blood tests and whatever was making you sick is gone now. You're okay to leave Max. Just take it easy."
She nodded and sat in the bed. She would wait here for a few minutes.
Alex was on the opposite side of the building that was supposed to be the hospital. He passed under window sills and quietly snuck past open doors. As he neared another window something made him stop.
"You're okay to leave Max. Just take it easy."
Alex froze right next to the window. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had to look inside. When he moved his head into the right position he saw Max sitting in a bed. She was haggard but other than that she looked okay. Later he would realize the other building wasn't what the others thought it was. Now, he was too happy to think of the others. Without meaning to he sighed. Max's head snapped in his direction. He didn't move. She saw him and happiness registered in her eyes for a minute then rage. She stood and came over to the window.
"What are you doing here?!" she asked furious.
"Well…I….um…" he couldn't seem to speak.
Her face softened.
"It's okay, come on in," she said and moved from the window.
Surprised he crawled through the window into the room.
"What's with the change of heart?" he asked.
"I'm just happy you're here. But seriously why are you here?" she asked.
Alex filled her in on what they found. She was surprised as she tried to remember who was sitting across from her the night before. Some names came into mind and a few she crossed off thinking them no matter.
"Where are the others?" Max asked suddenly.
Alex's face went white. He stood motionless for a few seconds.
"What is the building opposite this one?" he asked.
"That's the holding block," she said, "It's higher security than the one you went into."
"You know about that?"
"Yeah."
Alex faked a smile.
"We have to go and tell them," Alex said serious.
"That place is swarming with guards who have weapons that they are allowed to use in the area of the base," Max said, "I can't call them since there are no phones in there. We'll have to walk over there."
Alex nodded. Max stood. She wasn't dressed and she hurried Alex out of the room. Once changed she motioned for Alex to follow her. They came into the sunlight and Max immediately turned left. She headed for the other building.
He looked at the girl coming for the building he was in. He couldn't believe that she survived. He wasn't going to fail this time. He was going to make her and her friends suffer. He ordered his henchmen to keep the girl busy and to bring the boy into cell. When he turned to the TV monitors he saw the limp bodies of the other foreigners being dragged into separate cells where they would wait till the young boy the girl was so fond of had kicked the bucket. He smiled to himself and watched the final battle begin.
Max saw the men before they started shooting at her and Alex. She was wondering why they were shooting at her but then realized that the person who was the cause of all the trouble was probably commanding them. She pushed Alex out of the line of fire as she rolled to the side behind a concrete pillar used for climbing when training. She didn't know where Alex went.
Alex felt Max's shove as he tumbled to the ground. He rolled back up and hid behind a tree, not very protective but effective. The shooting moved farther from him and he peered out from behind the tree. No one was blocking his way to the door. He made a break for it. There was a bang then a sharp sting in his neck. Alex didn't know what happened but as his vision blurred he cursed himself for being so reckless.
A/N: Sorry it's short but this should keep you happy for now. Thanks for continuing to read.