Sadly, we're getting close to the end of this story. There's a few more chapters, and then that's it amigos, 'tis all over. However, the next few chapters are when things really come to light and all this mystery really gets revealed. The last chapter especially will tie things up nicely. But for now, just enjoy this chapter. It's rather short and not much happens, but Alex does something crucial that's going to prove helpful in the next chapter...
Chapter Six, Last Chance
As Alex walked down the street to his house, he noticed a dark blue car parked on the kerb. He groaned, he must have forgotten that he and Jack were meant to be having guests today. That was why Jack had been so upset at him on the phone.
Alex let himself into the house, juggling the box of chocolates, flowers and house keys. Part of Alex's mind suggested dryly that it would have more sense to put the chocolates at least in his bag, so he'd had fewer things to carry around.
"Jack, I'm home!" He called out, hoping he wasn't interrupting any conversations she was having with guests.
"I'm in the living room." Jack sounded subdued. Alex wondered if she was more upset then he'd realised. He walked out to see her, arranging a wholly repentant and humble expression on his face as befitted his circumstances.
"Jack, I'm sorry-" He stopped halfway through his carefully planned apology, the scene in front of him registering for the first time.
There were two men. One of them was holding Jack by her handcuffed arms, a gun held against the base of her neck. The other was looking at Alex impassively, holding a mobile phone. Both were wearing balaclavas and bullet proof vests. Professional thugs then?
"What do you want?" Alex demanded once he'd gotten over his initial shock and fright, throwing the gifts for Jack on a nearby coffee table, "If it's the disc, I don't have it anymore, I threw it out."
The man holding the phone smiled at him.
"No you didn't; it was upstairs in your computer. We have it now. We're not after the disc however, we're here for you. Remember what Ray Dunne said about looking for Gregorovich?"
Alex swallowed, trying not to meet Jack's frightened gaze. He'd realised that these men were not MI5. That meant they could play by any rules they wanted.
"Yeah…you guys are here to make sure I get the message."
The same man mockingly clapped his hands.
"Bravo Mr. Rider, bravo. You may not have been bright enough to put our boss's friendly warning to good use, but at least you're smart enough to realise that you are thoroughly screwed."
Alex didn't react to the man's derision, choosing to fix him with a hard, unflinching glare instead. He knew that showing the near-panic he was feeling for himself and Jack would only put these men at the advantage.
"And Ray Dunne is your boss then?"
The man smiled again and held out the phone he was holding to Alex.
"And he wants a little word with you."
Slowly, almost unwillingly, Alex took the phone. He put it to his ear and arranged the steadiest voice he could.
"Hello."
Ray sounded different, voice apparently warped a little in his anger. His accent seemed to have lost a great deal of its strength, replaced by a harsh, biting quality to his syllables.
"You're in trouble Alex; a lot of trouble."
"Am I?" Alex asked, surprised himself by the sarcasm he could work up, "I had no idea. I thought the two goons here were just here to look pretty. I was going to say they weren't doing a very good job." Alex was rewarded by the infuriated expressions on the two men's faces.
Ray took awhile to respond and when he did, Alex thought that just maybe he could hear the barest hint of amusement in the man's voice. It was quickly swept away and buried however.
"You've got a smart mouth on you Alex, I don't appreciate it. I'm telling you now, not many other people will either."
Alex winced as another rude answer popped out of his mouth before he could stop it.
"Yeah well, I've been told I'm a bit of an 'acquired taste'. Unfortunately, I'm not interested in earning your approval."
This time, there was no good humour to Ray's reply. When he spoke again, he sounded even more unlike himself.
"See Alex, you just made a rather large mistake. I was thinking of just letting you figure out my lesson for yourself before, but now I'm irritated. Bad things happen to people when I'm irritated."
Despite the melodramatic nature of Ray's words, Alex felt a shudder pass through him. The cold certainty in the man's tone was impossible to doubt.
"What sort of things?" Alex asked, trying to quash the growing horror that was creeping into his voice.
"Put me back on to Derrick." Ray ordered Alex icily. Genuinely scared now, Alex passed the phone back to the man who'd originally given to him. Derrick listened to Ray for a few minutes before muttering a quick affirmative and hanging up. Tucking the phone into his belt, he turned to his friend who was still restraining Jack.
"Got the go-ahead from Dunne." He said, "You know what to do."
The man nodded and began dragging Jack. Panicking, Alex lunged forward.
"No!" He shouted, driving his shoulder into the man's ribs. More surprised then hurt due to the Kevlar vest he wore, the man let go of Jack for a moment. Taking advantage of the gap in the man's defences, Alex pushed Jack away from him and dived in, aiming a kick at the man's shin. Ideally he would have like to kick the man in the torso, but the bullet-proof vest made his torso more or less kick-proof.
Cursing, the man winced and swung his arm at Alex. Dodging under the blow, Alex gritted his teeth and cracked his forehead against the man's nose. The man's nose didn't break, but he shouted in pain and began to level his gun at Alex. Before he could fire though, Derrick appeared.
"Not Rider!" He shouted furiously, "The woman only!"
Horrified, Alex lunged to grab Jack, but before he could manage even three steps, Derrick got a hold on him from behind. Fists clenched in Alex's shirt, he threw Alex to the ground. Feeling his head crack agonisingly against the polished wood floor, Alex was stunned. He could only lie on the ground, seeing stars and trying to cradle his throbbing head, as Jack was dragged away kicking and screaming.
Clenching his teeth and moaning, Alex managed to push himself to his feet after a moment or two. He could hear the two men and Jack in the bathroom; there was the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked and Jack's sobbing. Alex tried to run, but still dizzy and near to blacking out; his feet just couldn't manage it. His feet slid out constantly from underneath him as he stumbled to the bathroom, moaning.
Then, when he was a mere two metres away, came the sound he'd been dreading. Three shots in rapid succession. There was a brief, quickly stifled scream from Jack. Then, a thump. Alex managed to scream Jack's name before all but falling into the bathroom.
On his knees, Alex looked around wildly. Jack was sprawled in front of him, but there was no blood. Not daring to get his hopes up, he looked up at Derrick and the other man. Derrick regarded him blankly, eyes hard and demanding attention. The other man was holstering his gun, the spent bullets not lodged in Jack's body as Alex had feared, but in the roof. Shaking from relief and pain, Alex asked the obvious question.
"W-what did you do?"
Derrick shrugged and motioned for his friend to get ready to leave. He nodded and left the room.
"She got kicked," He said to Alex dispassionately, "She'll regain consciousness soon and with no lasting damage."
Alex breathed out a quiet murmur of relief and Derrick shook his head.
"Do you understand though?" He demanded harshly, "This is the only chance you have left. After this, we'll spare your house and go straight to executions."
Alex felt unshed tears stinging in his eyes.
"Why?" He whispered, "What is Ray hiding? Why does everyone say Yassen Gregorovich is dead?"
Derrick shook his head again, but Alex saw a reluctant sympathy in the man's trouble eyes.
"Just let it go kid," Derrick said seriously, "There's only a world of pain in this direction, just forget about all of this."
"I can't!" Alex rasped, "I can't just ignore what I saw and what I know is true! I need to understand what my friend got shot for, what his Mum got arrested for…What Jack had to go through all of this for!"
Derrick looked guiltily at his phone for a moment, as if expecting Ray Dunne's voice to sound of its own accord, demanding he say nothing. With no such thing occurring, Derrick sighed and crouched next to Alex. Alex wavered briefly, almost collapsing to the ground like Jack, but Derrick steadied him, catching him by the shoulders.
"Okay, listen closely," Derrick said once Alex was steady on his knees again, "Ray wants you to stop what you're doing for a reason! He will do everything in his power to make this whole thing disappear; even make you disappear if that's what it takes. Understand me?"
Alex nodded miserably, realising he couldn't push this man any further. Derrick nodded in satisfaction and stood. Looking down on Alex, an awkward expression crossed his face.
"I've got to make sure you can't follow me now, or see which way I go."
Alex winced, knowing what he meant.
"I won't look!"
Derrick shrugged and looked amused now.
"I know you wouldn't, but I've already broken enough orders today, I figure I should at least follow some of them."
Alex opened his mouth to protest, but there was a horrible, engulfing pain and sudden blackness before he could speak. Derrick's blow came so fast that Alex never saw it coming.
Derrick climbed back into the driver's seat of the car that he and his team mate, Oliver, had come in. Oliver was already waiting for him, singing along to 'Bad to the Bone'. Derrick frowned briefly, thinking it was rather fitting considering the circumstances. Then, he pushed that thought aside and smoothly pulled away from Alex's house and into the main road. After a few minutes, Oliver turned the music down (Derrick was relieved, the loud music had been hurting his head) and looked over at him.
"You took care of the kid?" He had an accent that could have been labelled 'from Dublin with love'.
"Yeah mate," Derrick responded, honking in annoyance at a Citroen driver who pulled out in front of them, "Tyke's out cold. Poor lad, he's gonna have one blinder of a headache when he comes round. I don't just mean physically either, he's gonna have a real headache getting his shit together too. If he doesn't, MI6 are gonna come down on him like a heap of fucking bricks."
As always, feel free to tell me what you think :)
By the way, has anyone got any guesses how Ray Dunne, Yassen Gregorovich and MI6 are all connected yet?