Disclaimer – I own nothing that you already know from the Alex Rider series

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Chapter Two

Alex slept the whole night through for once, but still woke too early for the normal teenager. Going for his run around the Chelsea area, Alex thought about the upcoming dilemma. He had to behave in a way that wouldn't raise any of his peer's suspicions – especially when he was supposed to have a weak and sickly disposition – but someone at the SAS base would be assessing him and he had to give that his all.

He got back to his house without reaching a decision, and like with most of his missions, he decided to just go along with it. He'd do the best he could.

Riding into school on his Yamaha, Alex scanned the grounds for Tom. His only friend left at Brooklands, the others still found him a complete mystery. Tom was with Sophia, his girlfriend, so Alex left him to it and headed into the Post 16 common room and ditched his bag on a chair before flopping onto another one. He and Tom had first period free on a Monday morning, so they usually used the time to catch up as Alex wasn't Tom's only friend.

The common room held a canteen at one end that was next to the seats and tables area and then opened up to a big space that held several sofa's most of which had been dumpster diving at one point.

He leant back in his chair and closed his eyes just as his phone vibrated. Unlocking it, he studied the message. There has been an assembly arranged for Period 5 this afternoon, please can all students attend. He smiled grimly as Tom slid himself into a chair and his phone on the table.

"Anything to do with you?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"So it is to do with you!"

"Nope." He paused. "The new government initiative."

Tom rolled his eyes; "what, the one that were they are threatening to send us off to Army bases?"

"Not threatening. Doing."

"Wicked! Is Brooklands going? Which base? Are you going? What about all your 'medical' stuff – how are they going to explain that?"

Alex tilted his chair back and grinned. "Yes, Brecon Beacons, yes, haven't a clue."

"Hang on; I can't even remember the questions that I asked!"

"Yes, Brooklands is going – but only because Miliband was dead set on defying MI6, we're staying at an SAS base in Brecon Beacons, Wales, yes, I am going – they're forcing me back – and they said that they'd sort all of the 'medical' stuff out themselves, so, yeah." Alex waved his right hand in a vague direction as he finished talking.

"Is Brecon the same place that," he paused, leant forward and continued in a whisper; "they sent you when you first disappeared?"

Alex smiled indulgently at Tom's childish behaviour – any spy knew that making it obvious you were talking about something secret was the best way to get your cover blown. Out of the corner of his eye he could see some of the football team watching Tom and Alex. Phil spoke to Sam and then made his way over the two boys discussing Alex's secret. He plopped himself down next to Tom before speaking.

"What are you talking about in such covert ways, Tom?" Phil never even glanced at Tom to intent on trying to make Alex squirm under his gaze. But Alex had faced some pretty severe gazes and wasn't intimidated in the slightest, leaving it to Tom to defend him or not.

"Alex knows which schools have been chosen for the initiative, but he won't tell me his ways of getting such information…" Alex smirked wondering how on earth Tom was going to get out of this.

"You know which schools?" Phil addressed Alex this time.

"I have my ways."

Phil frowned but carried on; "Which are they? Or are you just trying to be the big man?"

Alex merely smiled as he checked his phone which had gone off yet again. Here at the Royal and General we pride ourselves on great customer service. For a full update on all of your financial services please join us this evening at 5.30pm. Rolling his eyes in Tom's direction he faced Phil. "Hey, some of us need the mystery. See you later Tom." And so saying he left a befuddled Phil and a laughing Tom behind him as he walked to his first appointment of the day. A half-an-hour session with the school's psychiatrist. The school had insisted on it if he was to continue with Brookland Comprehensive for his A-levels.

Dr. White was a small, nervous, blonde woman who was easily confused by Alex and usually finished their sessions early to make sense of the young man before her next troubled patient. As usual, by the end of the session, Alex was thoroughly enjoying himself as he wound the good Doctor into a panic. He went off whistling towards his first lesson, maths.