Alex sat two rows in front of Mr. and Mrs. Pleasure on the plane. They sniffled every now and then, earning a few odd looks from passers-by, but mostly kept quiet. He wasn't sure what the Pleasure's plans were, but he knew he wasn't going to go along with them. They most definitely would not allow him to rescue Sabina on his own. As soon as they reached London, he was going to visit Royal and General Bank - an old friend, you could say. He planned his escape until he fell asleep from exhaustion. He had not slept since they found out Sabina was kidnapped, two days before. His last thought, as his eyes closed was that he was sorry he had run away. If he had stayed in the house, he could have protected her. If he had been there, he could have saved her.
~o~o~o~
"Where are we going to get the money?" Mrs. Pleasure asked, careful not to wake Alex, who was sleeping in the back of the rental car they had bought upon their arrival.
"I don't know," Mr. Pleasure sighed. He rubbed his graying temple and slowed to a stop at the house they used when they needed to stay in London. He glanced at his wife then carefully said, "What if we were to send Alex..."
"No!" Mrs. Pleasure interrupted sharply. "Alex has been through enough in his short life. He does not need this on his shoulders, too."
Mr. Pleasure nodded, "You're right. I shouldn't have suggested it. But she's our only child, Liz. What are we going to do?"
Mrs. Pleasure placed a comforting hand on her husband's shoulder, "I don't know. But we have Alex, too. He means as much to us as Sabina does."
At that, they both turned to look at the boy sleeping fitfully - he never slept peacefully anymore - sprawled on the backseat. Mrs. Pleasure sighed. She hated to wake him; he needed the sleep, and there would always be a moment after he woke up when he looked so heartbroken as he remembered everything. She wished she could protect him from that feeling, and she was doing the best that she could. But it just wasn't good enough.
"Alex, we are here." Alex woke to the sound of Mrs. Pleasure's voice. Alex rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, feeling only slightly more refreshed than when he had fallen asleep. He sat up, looking around. They had arrived at the Pleasure's London house. Back in his hometown, Alex felt the memories tugging at his mind, but he pushed them away. He had to focus on the living, not the dead.
"Can I go take a look at downtown?" Alex asked, "I want to... Visit someplace."
The Pleasure's exchanged a knowing look. "Of course, dear. Just be back in time to eat." Mrs. Pleasure said brightly, acting as if all was fine in the world. Then she smiled sorrowfully at Alex, knowing that he was going to visit he and Jack's house. And her grave - empty, of course. There was not enough left of her to bury. "It'll be okay," she said kindly.
Alex understood the smile and the meaning behind it. Good, he thought. It would keep them from worrying about him for a while. "Thanks," He said aloud. He hesitated before he left, seeming undecided. Then he turned around and gave Mrs. Pleasure a hug. "Thank you," he said again, "for everything." Mrs. Pleasure responded by squeezing him tighter. Then he left without looking back.
~o~o~o~
He gazed at the Royal and General Bank down Liverpool ordinary looking business brought back lots of memories, both good and bad. He shook his head to clear it. There would be time for reminiscing later. Sabina a deep breath and steeling himself, he pushed open the door to find himself in a very ordinary-looking bank. If there was one thing MI6 didn't skimp on, it was deception. Royal and General Bank was a real, functioning bank, with citizens making both deposits and withdrawals who knew nothing of the real reason the bank was situated in this spot. Alex spotted a little, blonde secretary, sitting behind a desk and typing importantly on a computer. She was not the same person that he remembered from his days of working here, but he figured that she was in on the secret. She had the secret-government-agent look about her. Other people might not have noticed, but Alex himself had the look, and he could recognize it in someone else.
He stopped in front of her, placing his hands on the desk to get her attention. "I want to see Mr. Blunt," he said - rather bluntly, too.
The secretary started in surprise. "Excuse me?" she asked confused. It was not good for business to announce to whomever came asking that the director of MI6 was in the office down the hall and to the left. Her face cleared, however, when she saw who was asking. "Ah, Mr. Rider," she said with a smile, "We've been expecting you."
Alex shook his head. Once again, MI6 was one step ahead of him.
~o~o~o~
Mr. Blunt leaned forward, his chin resting on his hands. "Alex."
"Mr. Blunt."
"Why have you come to visit us?" He asked as if he didn't already know. Alex said as much, but Mr. Blunt merely inclined his head. "Yes, but what do you need from us?" He rephrased.
Alex looked at him coldly, "I need to talk to Smithers."
"Yes, yes. Be my guest. I'll have Smithers notified at once."
At this, Alex frowned in surprise, "You don't want anything in return?"
"Don't worry, Alex. I'll get my due." Mr. Blunt smiled wolfishly. Alex did not like the sound of that, but he was in no position to argue. When a young man came in to tell Mr. Blunt that Smithers was ready, Alex followed him wordlessly. The man led him through the maze of halls, eyeing him through the edges of his vision.
"What?" asked Alex finally.
The man hastily turned to face him. "Sorry, um. It's just... You're Alex Rider, right?"
Alex simply nodded.
"I..."
Whatever the man had been trying to say was lost as an excited voice boomed out, "Alex, my dear boy, it has been a long time since I've seen you last!" Smithers was the same big man, enthusiastically shaking Alex's hand.
"It's good to see you, Smithers," Alex said, Smithers's infectious spirit making him smile despite the circumstances.
"Although sad circumstances dampen this visit," Smithers said, echoing Alex's thoughts, "you will be amazed at what I have made. I've had some impressive breakthroughs! Come, come. I will show you." He bustled away, ushering Alex through the doorway.
"You are going on a rescue mission are you not?" Smithers asked, walking quickly. "Don't answer that. I already know all about it." He marched Alex through several more doors.
"All right, then. Here." He stopped suddenly, his face morphing. He looked serious. "Alex, my boy, be careful," he said lowly, "Listen to me. Keep your gaze broad, don't fixate on one thing. See the big picture. Don't think you know anything. Got it, Alex? You don't know anything. Do you understand?"
Perplexed, Alex only nodded.
Just as quickly as Smithers' face turned serious, his face reverted back to the joyful expression that it usually wore. He pulled Alex back out of the room, and whisked him back to the office. "Now, then. Let's check out all the wonderful gadgets that I have made just for you, dear boy." He said without any trace of the seriousness of before.
Alex was too shocked in the sudden change of nature to answer. He simply nodded slowly. Smithers handed him a pair goggles. "What are these for?" Alex asked. They were similar to diving goggles. They were dark blue with clear lenses and a yellow stripe running from the frames and around the elastic band to the other side.
"I don't know where your rescue mission is going to take place, therefore, I will supply you with gadgets that can be used virtually anywhere. These goggles are equipped with night vision, a small sonar radar, and a retinal display. All commands are issued through the mouthpiece that goes with it." Smithers said quickly. "The nosepiece can be removed to produce a flash drive," he paused to demonstrate then added, "And, of course, to make it look a little bit more fashionable."
He produced a black bag from underneath the table. "This is what you will carry everything in. It, as you've seen before, doubles as a parachute if you pull this string here," he pointed to a small zipper near the handle of the bag. "It is also waterproof and virtually fireproof."
"Virtually?" Alex inquired. It wasn't like Smithers to not see an invention through.
"Yes, it can only withstand a great amount of heat for small period of time. Usually around twenty to thirty minutes." Smithers explained. When Alex still looked skeptical, he added, "I only recently learned of your mission. There's only so much this old boy can do in such a short amount of time."
Smithers handed the bag to Alex who placed the goggles inside. "Here," Smithers said, grabbing a bag of six multicolored marbles and a calculator. "The marbles are bombs." When he saw Alex's grin, Smithers added, "Please use them responsibly." Then he continued with his demonstration, "They are magnetic. To detonate them, simply attach them to whatever you would like to blow up and press the corresponding color on the calculator. To set them to a timer, press the corresponding color three times in quick succession then hold it down until the time that you want is showing on the screen. Understand?"
Alex nodded, placing the marbles into the bag.
Smithers brandished a pen. "This pen," he said, "carries three tranquilizer darts as well as regular ink. Twist the cap like this, and the tranquilizer will load. Press the end to shoot the tranquilizer. Twist the lid back this way to return it to a regular pen. The tranquilizer should be enough to knock out a fully grown gorilla for at least an hour. And the ink is a lovely blue."
Alex placed everything in the bag, but didn't make a move to leave. He could tell Smithers wasn't quite done yet. "And my last, but not least, invention is this suit," Smithers said, confirming Alex's feeling.
"A diving suit?" Alex asked. The suit was dark blue with a black chest plate, shoulders, and stripe running down the leg. Something about it pulled at his mind, but Smithers began to talk again, and the feeling disappeared.
"A diving suit and more," Smithers said. "It is tight-fitting enough that you can wear it under your regular clothes without looking too odd. And I advise you to wear it at all times; the black parts are bullet proof. The whole suit is, obviously, waterproof and, again, virtually fireproof, but I wouldn't advise you to go running into any burning buildings. The suit, and you, can only take so much."
"Thank you," said Alex. He held out his hand to Smithers.
"The pleasure is all mine, dear boy," Smithers said and, disregarding Alex's hand, pulled him into a crushing hug. "Remember what I said," he whispered into Alex's ear dispelling any doubt that Alex had that he had dreamed Smithers's odd behavior. When Smithers released him, however, his made no indication that he had said anything at all. "Good luck, my friend. Be well."
With that, Smithers sent Alex on his way. He was escorted out by the same man who had led him in. This time, however, he wasn't eyeing Alex. In fact, he didn't even look at him until Alex was safely outside the building. There, he said, "Goodbye. Don't come back." Then he disappeared into the bank.
Alex stood for a moment outside the bank, a nagging suspicion tugging at his mind. Suddenly, Smithers strange behavior made sense. Smithers must have known something about where Sabina was, but, for some reason, couldn't tell Alex. He raced back inside. The petite blonde secretary was still typing at her computer. "Let me talk to Smithers," Alex demanded.
The secretary smiled nicely at him, "Is that a last name or first name?"
"It doesn't matter! You know who I am talking about."
"Okay, let me check the log books to see if we have anyone here of that name," she said and began typing at the computer.
Alex leaned forward, growling, "Let me through to Smithers or I will blow a hole in the door to the secret MI6 headquarters located under this bank and go find him myself."
The secretary, Jenni as her name tag suggested, said slowly, "Okay, Mr. Rider. There is no need for violence. I'll give him a call." She pressed a few numbers into the phone and handed it to Alex. "All personnel are required to carry a comms device on them at all times. This is his so he is sure to pick up."
"Thank you," said Alex. The phone rang. And rang. And rang. Finally, an automated message played. Smithers's voice said, "If you are calling about a malfunctioning gadget, you have the wrong number. If you are Mr. Blunt, I am off somewhere doing something very important and you will not be able to reach me for a while. And if you are Alex, don't worry about me. Focus on your mission. I'd suggest you start with getting a good night's sleep and then, in the morning, begin your search with a man named Reed Fletcher. Goodbye."
Alex wordlessly handed the phone back to Jenni who placed it gently back in its cradle. "Did you reach him?" she asked.
"No, and I'm not sure I ever will again."