It had been three weeks since Jacquelyn had called the Pleasure's house. Since then, she had gotten enough money for a passport to London, plus a little extra. She was waiting at the airport for her flight. To pass the time, she looked up the name, Alex Rider. Almost nothing was written about him. She finally found a website with some information. His parents died when he was three months old, so he was passed off to his uncle, Ian Rider. Ian had died when Alex was fourteen. So he had been passed off to a woman named Jack Starbright, who died two years ago while in Egypt. She felt terrible for the kid! So many people in his life had died! He was now staying with the Pleasure family of three. But she had called the Pleasures, and he wasn't with them. He had left. Why?

Her flight was called. She quickly bordered the plane, sitting next to a pleasant young man, who smiled brightly to her as she sat down. "Hello,"She said politely.

"Hello, Ms..." He trailed off.

"Smith. Jacquelyn Smith."

"Hello. Ms. Smith." He continued, "I'm Holden Locum. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Locum." She answered.

He smiled at her again, "What brings a pretty little lady such as yourself on a plane to London?"

Jacquelyn laughed, flattered, "I'm looking for someone. An Alex Rider. I don't know how, but I know him. He might be my son, but I don't remember having a son. Or a husband."

"Oh. That's a bit confusing. Would you like some peanuts?" He said, nodding to the trolley lady.

"Sure. Here's a dollar." Jacquelyn offered.

He shook his head, "Now, I couldn't do that! I'll pay. A beautiful young lady shouldn't have to pay for her own peanuts, now should she."

"No, no! I can't take your money!" Jacquelyn protested.

"But I insist!" He quickly bought two bags of peanuts.

Jacquelyn smiled, "Thank you, Mr. Locum."

"Please, call me Holden, Pretty lady!" He said with a smile.

And so she did. She and Holden talked and talked. By the time they were finished, it was like they had known each other forever. One thing she did find interesting, though, was that he was born in Russia.

"Your name doesn't sound Russian, though." She had asked him.

He had answered, "I changed it. I came to America during a time when Russian people weren't liked much. I learned English in Russia, then left for America."

"Oh. So what was your Russian name?" She had inquired.

"Yasha Gregorovitch." He had said quietly.

~o~o~o~

Alex had been debriefed already. They finally got a lead. He was to be one of the trainees sent by Scorpia to be turned into a killer. Alex had experience with Scorpia, therefore he would be able to pass scrutiny. M16 thought there might be someone willing to talk about A.I.T., a mole, in their ranks. It was Alex's job to find him. There were three suspects. A twenty year old caucasian male shown to have several suspicious phone calls and seems to disappear every once in a while when not on duty. This one seemed the least likely, mainly because the phone calls were triangulated to suspiciously near his wife's house, and he was a known smoker which was banned on Scorpia's grounds.

The second was a thirty-two year old hispanic female who's background is very ambiguous. It was a wonder that she passed Scorpia's scrutiny, possibly because of inside help. Her record in Scorpia is almost too good to be true. She didn't even toe the line. There is a possibility she could be, but if she did, she didn't gget caught. In her picture, she was short and very lithe. Her eyes gleamed dangerously in the light of the camera.

The third was a forty-three year old caucasian male. He's the largest of the three of them, and set like a bear. He had been caught exactly two times sneaking back onto training duty. He said he was only gone for a minute, to get a drink both times, but M16 managed to get one of the trainees to talk. His picture was grainy, nowhere near as good as the other two, but you could make out the unmistakably bushy beard that almost hid his face from sight.

Alex was going to be 'recruited' tomorrow when he picks a fight with one of the older trainees in the city and wins. He was sure he would win. None of the recruits knew more than one of the arts, and Alex knew several. But before, he needed to pay a visit to Yassen.

~o~o~o~

Alex sat facing the doors sipping his expresso slowly. It had been twenty minutes since he had walked in, and he was beginning to have doubts that Yassen would come. How would he even know he was here? Reluctantly, he drained the last bit of the coffee, and ambled to the door. The door opened just as he was about to step outside, and a man bundled in a cloak shouldered past him muttering, "Watch where you're going."

Alex smiled. So he had been seen, after all. The man had given him a slip of paper that read, "Meet me at B17, Main Street." Alex shoved the paper in his mouth, chewing it to a pulp, before spitting it into a trash can.

He made it across town in record time, and payed the cab driver a slightly bit extra for his endeavors. He knocked only once on the door, but was immediately admitted. "Come," commanded Yassen, "I have someone you need to meet."

Alex followed without question upstairs. The room was brightly decorated with holiday adornments. A christmas tree sat in the corner, next to a roaring fireplace. A basket of Easter eggs sat on the mantle. The scent of roast turkey pervaded the room. Alex raised an eyebrow, but made no verbal remark. Instead, he chose to study the girl sitting cross-legged on the floor, typing furiously on a computer.

"This," Yassen introduced, "is Laura Glitzor. She is our version of Smithers."

The girl gave no inclination that she heard the man, and Alex took the time to really analyze her. She was small, about his age. She typed fast, more than eighty words per minute, he presumed. Abruptly, she turned, "Finished looking? Because I've got some things to say and very little time to say it. You, Alex Rider, need some backup. I am that backup. You will also need some tech. I've heard you are familiar with the little playthings, yes?" She continued without letting Alex get a word in edgewise, "I also have a lot of those playthings. You will appreciate them. They will save your life. Any questions?"

Alex stared at her, confused. "Umm... no."

"Good." She went back to typing, "Leave me alone. I'm trying to hack the CIA database to see what they've been up to. You never really know, do you?'

Yassen led Alex back down the stairs, elaborating as he went, "She is one of the best hackers in the U.K. I've hired her to infiltrate Scorpia with you. M16 isn't planning to bring help, so I've taken matters into my own hands."

Alex raised an eyebrow, "When have they not been?"

Yassen answered with, "Until next time." Closing the door in Alex's face.

Alex mused over the interactions, until he reached the apartment M16 was providing him for the night. He then shook it off, preparing a cold sandwich for himself before heading to bed. He would see how things went in the morning. Right now, though, he needed sleep. A lot of it.