Chapter Six

"Hey, kid, anything medically relevant I need to know?" Snake asked as he walked past Alex's open door where he was engrossed in chemistry coursework.

Alex knew he couldn't be a complete idiot and not tell Snake anything, but he didn't want him making the connection between Alex Rider and Cub. Although Snake's use of 'kid' was rather insulting. "I've got a lot of scars, but nothing particularly new. No stitches or bruising the last ones had the stitches out about 6 weeks ago, and no fractures or breaks within the last year." He paused for a moment taking in Snakes worried expression but moved straight on. "If something becomes relevant I'll tell you about it." Snake opened his mouth to protest but Alex cut him off. "If I'm not in a position to tell you anything, Ben will tell you. But don't pressure him about anything now, he won't say."

Snake frowned. "If you're not going to tell me about any of your injuries... What about allergies?"

"None. I don't have asthma or a weak immune system, heck, even different kinds of water don't bother me and I've got 20-20 vision. The only thing that even remotely fits into those categories is the fact that my skin went itchy if I used bubble bath as a child!" Alex smiled properly, almost laughing at himself.

Snake was astounded by the difference a smile made to the young face in front of him. He looked younger, as if a weight had been lifted. But even as Snake watched, his face rearranged itself back to its normal guarded expression.

"Okay." Snake said. "Let me know if anything changes." Alex nodded and turned back to the last few sentences he needed to write, while Snake pushed off the door frame and made his way into the living room.

"Anyone else think that kid looks kinda familiar?" He asked the room in general although he was watching Ben in particular - he had his own theory about who the kid was. Ben didn't so much as blink at Snakes question, but answered in a normal fashion. "You've probably seen him around and helped him out at some point." Ben paused. "Professionally, of course."

A small voice piped up from the corner. "He's lying to you, y'know."

Wolf glared at Ivy. "We're not interested in your trouble making."

Ivy glared back at him; "Перейти ебет себя" she said before turning back to the window.

"Imaginative." Alex drawled as he leant on the door frame. "Everyone okay with fajitas?" He asked.

Eagle looked at him with amazement. "You can cook?" He asked in an awed voice.

Alex raised his eyebrows giving Eagle a look that said seriously? He nodded slowly in Eagle's direction as he went into the kitchen. Eagle followed him.

When Alex turned to face him, Eagle said; "What?! I haven't had my second lunch today."

"How on earth do you survive at Brecon?" Eagle grinned. "Kitchen duty."

Alex snorted. "Come on, I'll teach you."

While they ate dinner Rose was allowed to have one of her wrists free, but K-Unit kept jumping each time she moved even the slightest bit. Alex was fed up of it by the end of the meal and obviously Rose was to. So when it came to cleaning up, he volunteered himself and Rose, which the five men protested against. "Look at her." Alex said. "She's been cooped up all day she probably wants a stretch. What harm can she do while I'm watching her?"

"It took five full grown men to hold her down earlier, Alex. You tell me what she could do." Ben said.

Alex turned to Rose. "Your training has involved fighting off large groups of people who are all bigger than you and not letting them get hold of you hasn't it." He waited for confirmation and got it. "Plus Ben, you forget that I've had training which was then boosted by Scorpia as well. She won't get away from me."

Ben sighed but relented. Alex walked into the kitchen. "Aren't you forgetting something, Alex?"

"Nope." He replied. "You should have noticed that she kept switching the hand she was eating with. Shame on you Ben."

Rose rolled her eyes but stood up, collected the plates and followed Alex into the kitchen.

"I'll wash, you dry." Alex told her.

She nodded and went back out for the other dishes. K-Unit watched her suspiciously but did nothing as she stacked the dishes. "If you're an assassin," Cheetah began, "how come you don't wear your hair back." He asked as he watched her tuck her hair behind her ear for the umpteenth time.

"None of your business." She replied.

Ben leant forward; "how did you get out of the handcuffs, you don't have anything on you."

She sighed in a world weary way and reached for the back of her head. K-Unit all reached for their tasers. Rose rolled her eyes, threw a hair grip on the table and left with the dishes saying; "always check a girls hair. You're lucky; I already lost my chopsticks."

Back in the kitchen Alex raised his eyebrows; "you have chopsticks as weapons?"

She sighed and then grinned; "no, but I wish I did."

Picking up a wet plate she turned to Alex to speak again and dropped the plate.

It smashed and brought K-Unit and Ben running. "Its' okay guys, she just dropped a plate. Its' okay, you can relax. Rose, put the radio on."

He got the dustpan and brush out, gave them to Rose and picked up the biggest bits putting them in an empty container, then put the container down where Rose could put the other smaller pieces into it.

"Sorry," She said. "I'm not usually this big of a clutz."

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter." He said as he watched her twirl around the room, putting things away, from the darkened window in front of the sink.

"You read my letter then?"

He nodded and breathed in deeply. She stopped dancing and began to watch him nervously. "I can't go back, Alex. Not if i value my life or my father's wishes."

"I met Yassen several times and he never seemed particularly bothered about his career choice."

"I know you met him. It always ended up with Scorpia's failure when you were around. But the job got to him in the end; it always gets to you in the end. You were the reason the job got to him, he began to grow a conscience and it grew each time he saw you fighting for your country." She threw her dark mood off and began dancing to Michel Jackson's 'beat it' again.

Alex struggled not to laugh, she was an awful dancer, even though she seemed to walk, or run, with the grace of a dancer, just like her father actually.

She danced her way back over to the sink for another dish and slipped on the wet patch from where she'd dropped the plate earlier, smacking her hand loudly on the counter and crying out quietly. Alex caught her as she fell.

Realising for the first time that it was a beautiful woman he was keeping prisoner and holding in his arms, if he just...

Rose, on the other hand, had already realised how cute Alex was and was just silently begging him to kiss her already.

They both recoiled at the same time as they realised just what the other person was to them. To Alex she was someone that had lead to Jack's death and part of the organisation that he was destroying piece by piece. To Rose he was the person her father had loved more than her and the reason for her cruel and unusual punishments which had been administered when her father failed due to Alex Rider.

Neither of them had noticed K-Unit and Ben in the door way who now shuffled nervously as Rose fell the rest of the way to the floor.

She got up slowly, and backed into the counter, tea-towel in hand, reaching for another dish. She looked almost afraid of them all.

Alex ran a hand through his hair. "What." He said to the men gathered at the doorway, they shrugged and moved as a unit back into the living-room, apart from Ben who gave Alex a look. "Just go, Ben." Ben nodded, glanced at Rose and left.

"Put the last of the dishes away, I'm going to bed." Alex said as he ran his hand through his hair again. In the living-room he asked one of the men to sit in the kitchen while Rose finished tidying.

Rose was scared. She remembered what Rob had done and couldn't believe that she'd wanted Alex Rider of all people to kiss her. All she knew is that she was never going back to being at Rob and Scorpia's mercy.