Chapter 10, touching bases

Sitting in the car, Alex quietly reflected on what a twist his life had taken. Suddenly, he remembered something important.

"Shit, I need to call Jack!" He burst out, speaking the first words for 3 hours. Yassen's eyes flicked briefly to Alex before returning to the road.

"Who's Jack?" Ivana asked, jerking out of her silent reverie.

"Jack is Alex's American guardian; he left her back in the city." Yassen said quietly. Alex nodded and bit his lip.

"I should call her; she probably thinks I'm dead or something."

Yassen's face was empty as ever, but a note of caution entered his voice.

"You'll have to tell her that you may not see her for a long time."

Grimacing, Alex nodded. This wasn't a call he was looking forward to. Sighing, he dialled Jack's number into his phone. He was answered on the second ring.

"Hello?" A worried voice asked.

"Hi Jack, it's Alex."

A small explosion went off on the other end.

"ALEX, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! WHY HAVEN'T YOU CALLED ME???"

Painfully aware that the other two were curious to know why he held the hone like a poisonous reptile, he replied.

"Jeez Jack, calm down." He attempted.

"CALM DOWN??? AFTER DISSAPPEARING INTO THE NIGHT, YOU EXPECT ME TO 'CALM DOWN'?"

Wincing at the screaming, Alex spoke quietly.

"Jack, I need you to listen, this is really important."

Silence fell instantaneously on the line. Alex guesses jack had noted his serious tone.

"Jack, continue the holiday, I won't be coming back."

Jack's miserable voice set Alex's guilt running a marathon.

"Mi6 have got you again, haven't they?"

Drawing his hand over his face, Alex tried to answer safely.

"Ah….not exactly…"

Even though she was silent, Alex could sense Jack's confusion.

"Actually, with the way things are going, Mi6 are going to want my head on a platter…"

Ivana hissed at Alex to finish up, he answered with a rude hand gesture that earned him a look from Yassen.

Wincing, Alex did his best, spitting it out fast,

"You could say I've betrayed Mi6, I'm working for Yassen and with Ivana. I got to run now…Bye, love you!"

"ALEX RIDER, YOU GIVE ME AN EX…"

Pressing end, Alex breathed out.

"How'd she take it?" Yassen asked.

Alex just gave him a sarcastic glance and wondered how much trouble he was in.