Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider/NCIS.
AN: Like I promised, a bit more Taipan. Next chapter is pure Alex. (:
Chapter 11: Taipan (~2,240 words)
"If they know the how's and why's, they will use it against her. Right?", Tony, uncharacteristically serious, summarized.
"Yes. And then we're doomed.", Snake whispered. He went to sit next to his comrade.
Pulling him in for a hug, like one would a child, Snake looked at Ben.
"Taipan may be our last hope. We need to find her ASAP. They won't be nice to her and frankly, I don't want to picture what they will do to Sabina just to spite Alex."
Alex was knocked out just when she spotted Eagle sprinting on top of the roof.
In that single moment she wished she could see his face – however hurt and angry – one last time.
There was suddenly a desire inside her to explain – but he would understand, later.
Because there is going to be a later, she promised herself.
When she woke up again, she was in a cell, hands bound with rope, staring at the ceiling. She took stock of her injuries - only a light headache so far - and sat up. The spy still wore the uniform jacket of her boyfriend.
She hated herself for putting him through this, abandoning him again for a solo.
Hopefully, they have kept their word. If not, all of this would have been for nothing.
Carefully she got on her feet, trying to inspect the cell she was in. The door was locked, there were no windows or openings of any kind except for a hand-sized air supply.
No way out.
The spy deduced that she had to find another way to escape if she got the chance.
You have to survive.
You have to.
She examined everything very closely, the white walls, the smooth, thick metal door...
Committing it all to memory.
Information is a currency. Information is power, a voice supplied in her head, reciting one of thr many lectures she had to endure for the sake of training.
The bright light kept her awake, so she started some workout sessions.
That way she kept at least her stamina partially intact.
Ben sat in the same chair Alex had sat in, a few hours earlier. Eagle stood, back leaning against the wall.
He wasn't listening to any of their advice; almost as stubborn as Alex.
Maybe not only his childishness is infectious?
The line was accepted and the Sergeant came into view.
"Sir, we have a problem. Taipan may be the only one to help us out..."
Ben was cut off by a familiar cool voice in the background.
"What happened? Ben," the former assassin asked.
"Alex traded herself."
Quick and easy, Ben. As if it would hurt any less if you say it like that, Eagle thought sarcastically.
The Russian cursed. "When?"
"Twenty minutes ago. She sent them a message where to pick her up and to set her sister free."
The NCIS agents were obviously unsure of sharing that much information with someone they hadn't met and didn't trust. He was an assassin after all.
"What happened in-between her talking to me and the trade?"
"We received an official threat against her. They want to gather intel from her and threatened to kill her loved ones if she didn't oblige. After three days they planned to expose her to the world," Ben went on.
"Taipan, they have footage of her missions. They know about everything it seems. Even why she is still spying."
The Russian cursed again. "How?"
"We don't know. But they made her choose between trading herself or having one of us kidnapped. And we both know what that girl is thinking."
The Russian probably looked murderous by now. If the iciness in his voice was anything to go by, he was back in his killer-persona. It made Eagle's skin crawl and he felt goosebumps on his bare arms.
She had intentionally taken his uniform jacket with her. Why?
"Walker."
"Yes. And I suspect a few Russians as well; additionally to any number of guards. Can you tell us everything we need to know about Alex? We have to profile her to get to their hide-out. It has to be a place it's more unlikely for her to escape."
"How was she kidnapped?"
"Helicopter."
That answer seemed to appease the assassin somewhat, because he decided to help them. Or maybe it was just his soft spot for Alex that made him talk to them.
Taipan always wanted to help his 'niece' out if he could.
How many times did she mess one of his assignments up? How many times had he chosen to let her live?
The last thing he wanted was her to get hurt.
The Sergeant looked just as curious as everyone else, except Eagle. He knew she was exceptionally good. He had watched her practice, run and occasionally found himself on the receiving end of a lecture.
"She is very promising and refuses to use her full potential at times. She is using sarcasm to cope with situations. She is a natural at shooting. She is agile, fast and silent. She has nightmares, especially if she thinks too much about negative things. She is a runner. She learns quickly and rather passes out than to give up willingly. She likes to be honest, or as honest as you can be as a spy. She adapts easily to new environments and is very observant. Sleep-deprivation causes old nightmares to resurface. She is able to navigate through dark environments and uses her other senses to compensate the loss of one. She likes to issue challenges and be challenged. Alex doesn't want to show her weaknesses and masks some of her strengths if need be. She is like a lioness, protective of her family and ready to defend everyone who messes with them. She is very much like her father was. They look a lot alike and I know that she frequently dreams about her parents."
Taipan took a deep breath.
This was a lot of information. Information that was like gold and important.
Some of it was new to everyone. Some of it they had experienced first-hand or witnessed.
"When Alex talked to me last, she said, Scorpia was regrouping. If they truly merged with the Russian mob, she has all but signed her death threat, Fox. Scorpia will torture her for information but as much as they know about her, she knows a whole lot about them, too which is why she escaped even after the last time. But she doesn't know anything about the mob. And they know her too well, overestimating her rather than underestimating her. There are stories and rumors about her legendary luck. If you want to bail her out, it has to be soon."
This had to be the longest Taipan ever spoke.
"They won't trust me or I would have offered to go to them. You need to dig deep in her family history. Speak to PA, tell her you need to read Hunter's file. It might help you to calculate how many people want to execute revenge on her as proxy. And may I have a word with Eagle?"
Ben looked to the stoney-faced soldier. Eagle nodded once.
"Alright. We will leave you to it. If anything happens, we will inform you."
"Thank you. She is my niece, after all."
That last sentence evoked a few confused looks and an almost-smile from Ben who knew that Taipan had used the same tone as Alex did when she talked about him.
The other agents and soldiers left Eagle alone in the MTAC room.
They were pitying him and clearly thought the assassin was going to talk about something private.
And they would be correct.
Eagle checked the room.
He was alone.
He felt alone.
Isolated.
To his surprise, the Sergeant left the assassin, probably not without the Russian asking him to.
Taipan came into his view. He looked his usual self on first glance. Close-cropped blond hair, light-blue eyes, pale skin.
But his eyes were expressing something like compassion. How was it possible?
Maybe it's the light, tricking me into seeing things that are not there...
"I know that you would have done everything in your power to keep her from trading herself. She really is a lioness, trying to protect her young cubs."
"She traded herself after they threatened to take me next.", Eagle said, speaking for the first time since telling the others what happened last night.
He had the sudden urge to tell the Russian everything. He didn't want understanding, he wanted to cry and project his pain at something or someone.
The new information didn't evoke any reaction from the assassin.
"I guessed as much. Is her sister safe?"
"No. But she sent them a message to negotiate a deal. Sabina should be set free by now and will probably be found in a few hours."
The assassin nodded. He seemed to agree with this statement.
"If they are not stupid, she will be found soon. Somewhere completely unexpected and far enough away that you won't make any connections with their nest."
For a second, the room stayed silent. Then Eagle voiced what had bothered him so much.
"She told me she loved me. Last night. She told me she needed to do this stupid mission because she didn't want to sit at home, waiting for them to come kill her. She promised not to get herself killed. … How am I supposed to work rationally if I know, she is being tortured somewhere? I want to keep her as safe as I can between missions, assassinations and her damn luck... Why does she have to make it so damn hard? Why won't she take me up on my offer?"
The Russian smiled a faint, bitter smile upon hearing the words.
"Because, Chris, she is not used to anyone voluntarily willing to help her in any way. You are the first person in a long time to just care about her, not her status as spy, friend or victim. Try to prove to her that she can trust you to keep her safe if she lets you. It will be worth it. And never give up hope. This is your time to prove her wrong."
A small smile stretched on Eagle's lips.
"Aye, Yoda, sir."
He mock-saluted and the Russian grinned.
"Birdbrain. Get your princess, give her a dressing down in as many languages as you can speak, spank her if necessary and threaten her with high heels and glitz until eternity when you find her."
Yoda had spoken.
Eagle left the MTAC room feeling much more focused on the task at hand than when he entered it.
To everyone's surprise, he went to the white board in the room and started to write the most important facts on it with a black marker.
"We have probably not much more than three days. Sabina will most likely be found in two hours give or take one. Maybe she can describe the men that abducted her. If she gives us facials, Taipan may be able to identify a few of them. Or '6 can. If we know more about the mobsters, we can definitely search for their hide-out much more specifically. We know Walker. Alex told us a lot about him. Scorpia as well. Ben can supply more information if he thinks it necessary. And we know Alex. Now, we need to find what things overlap."
Eagle drew three columns on the board, heading one of each with 'Alex', 'Scorpia/Walker', 'Mob'.
"I would suggest we split up in three teams. One is responsible to find as much information as possible on the Mob. How do they operate? What is their motivation? Who is known to be a member? And so on. The second team should look out for anything on the police channel that sounds like Sabina being found. Try to trace her mobile – I don't think there is much hope they left it with her, but it's worth a try – and get her here safely. Someone should probably notify the Pleasures. Three is responsible for finding out more about Hunter and possibly Ian Rider. What were their last missions? Who could still hold a grudge? Why? We need this information to have a chance at narrowing down the people who chase Alex for revenge on her relatives."
Gibbs, Wolf and Ben exchanged a quick look. Then they nodded. Eagle's plan was thought-through, thorough and better than anything they could have come up with at the moment.
"Alright. McGee, Tony – two. You are the best acquainted with the local police, Tony, and McGee is our technology expert. Ziva, contact whoever to find out more about the mob and Hunter or Ian if you can.", Gibbs ordered.
"Snake, Lemming, you join group two. Snake, you have medical skills we might need and are the most soothing person in our team. Eagle, do whatever you think useful. I will try and work on the files again."
"I will call Mrs. Jones. Maybe she is willing to share some of the missing information."
They had a plan. Now they only needed it to work. And soon.