All Isn't Well
Today was it. The day of the Ball, where Kristen and Shen would pose, smile, pretend to laugh, whatever it took to act natural. And Alex would steal from someone notorious for being the real leader of China's Triads. Yeah, what could go wrong?
Kristen frowned, and pulled the sides of her dress up further. Damn you Shen for picking this thing out. I look like a frickin slut! Jesus Christ, you'd think he would have half a sense of decency. Hah, well I might as well look good and innocent while Alex steals something from the Triads.
The hair stylist sighed behind her as she twisted her hair into an elaborate bun. For heaven's sake woman, I'm only 14! Well almost 15, but no need for all that…fashionable crap. As the stylist admired her handiwork, another woman did her makeup quickly.
Kristen frowned again as the woman dabbed pink powdery stuff on her cheeks. Why do I have to go through this crap but Shen doesn't? Lucky bastard. Then again, it's his fault that I have to get 'dressed up'.
The lady asked her to close her eyes, and she felt something brush against her lids in complicated patterns.
And finally, the torture was over. When Kristen opened her eyes, she almost started at the sight of herself. She had been transformed into an elegant, rich looking woman. The stylist gave her a pair of high heels and that was it. Kristen no longer recognized herself. While she usually wore jeans and a tight-fitting t-shirt, the dress she was wearing stuck tightly to her, silhouetting her tall figure. The high heels added height and she looked….glamorous, she mused. Odd.
She smiled and thanked the two ladies, who were looking rather harassed by now.
"Yes, yes. If I may, you look beautiful darling," the plumper of the two murmured.
Kristen grinned again as the two ladies left the suite and she went to find Shen.
He was in the kitchen, grabbing a can of beer while he watched a sports game.
She couldn't resist rolling her eyes.
"Shen! We'll be in the hotel in less than three hours and all you can do is drink and watch t.v.?" she asked mock indignantly as she tottered across the tile to sit on the sofa next to him.
He glanced over, about to reply, then stopped, slack jawed.
"Wow…you look…good…" he smirked, giving her the once-over.
"Well you don't look half-bad yourself. And why so surprised?" she muttered, a grin spreading across her cheeks.
Shen was wearing a regular suit, except the shirt and tie he wore were navy.
He smirked again. "No reason. Do you think I can get a lady today?"
"Oh would you get your head out of the gutter! That makes girls so…"
"Turned on?" he supplied, now grinning wickedly.
"Man, you really need to get some!"
"Unfortunately not for awhile, so you'll have to put up with it some more. When is Alex coming over?"
"In ah…ten minutes."
A half-smile planted itself on Shen's lips. "Hm…let's get rolling."
Someone knocked on the door. Shen got it, and Alex followed him into the room.
"Ok Alex, you need a dye job," Kristen glanced at the can of hair dye.
"Eurgh…lemme do it myself. Please."
When Alex was done, a Rolls-Royce took them to the exclusive hotel where the ball was to be held. He was snuck in by one of the guards that Shen had paid off (five hundred bucks, who wouldn't?) Shen flicked his invitation at one of two men who were checking them, who let them in.
"Ready?" he muttered, mouth next to her ear.
"Let's go," she murmured back out of the corner of her mouth.
The huge ballroom where it was being held buzzed with suppressed energy and polite treachery. The treachery, of course, came from each and every one of the Triad members.
"Ah, Shen sir, you find everything enjoyable?" Feng suddenly appeared, nodding curtly to Kristen.
She smiled tightly back at him.
"Yes, thanks very much Feng. Good of you to set this up," Shen gave off a mildly impressed air.
"Much appreciated sir," Feng's lips curved.
The woman on his arm giggled, fluttering her lashes at Shen. Kristen suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Slut. On the arm of Feng and flirting with Shen. Tsk tsk.
Another commander came to ask Feng a question so Shen steered Kristen out of the way and into a corner that had full view of the elevator.
--
Alex slipped from the elevator and walked to the door of Feng's suite. Of course, once inside the only alarms were on the window, and fire alarms. He slid the master key Shen had given him into the slot and pushed the door open as it clicked. Alex then produced Kristen's phone and took a picture of the room. Hurrying towards the living room's bookcase, he searched among the shelves for War and Peace. As he took it out, sure as hell, a number pad was there. Punching in '113', he watched as a card key slot appeared. The card went in and out. A light flashed green and a safe slowly appeared, being moved by smoothly whirring gears. As it came to a halt, Alex bent and dialed '13, 13, 13' and watched as something clicked and the door opened. Inside were a bundle of papers; Alex grabbed them and stuffed the loose leaf that Shen had given him inside. As he closed the door and carefully put everything back in place, he also put the paper inside the waistband of his pants—so he wouldn't lose it. Then, glancing at the picture in the cell phone, arranged everything so that nothing looked wrong.
Amazed that everything had gone off without a hitch, he exited the room and went down the elevator, still in his workman's guise. Across the huge room, Shen swore softly as he pulled Kristen to her feet. Someone had noticed Alex—what they were going to say was unknown. Alex caught Kristen's eye and winking, left the building. He was getting back to MI6's hotel; the other two were to follow surreptitiously.
They leisurely walked towards the exit—as if nothing was out of the usual. There, Shen got a taxi and it drove towards the hotel. Kristen gave the man fifty bucks—if they were short of one thing it definetly wasn't money.
As the two of them entered Alex's room, Kristen started scanning the papers with the pen Smithers had given her.
"Er, you and Shen should change. I'll take it from here, and tell the hotel staff to get ready to run," Alex offered.
"Yeah thanks," Kristen said, relieved. She kicked off her heels, grabbed her much loved jeans and a t-shirt and headed towards the bathroom to change.
Alex finished scanning the documents and stuffed them back in the waistband of his jeans. Kristen and Shen emerged from the other rooms and grabbed everything they had to tell the hotel manager to evacuate. But they didn't have to go far—the manager called them and told them they were already on the ship after MI6 received the first document. He urged them to hurry and make their way to the ship too so they could get rid of their trail.
The manager left. Alex made a last check on things and they too, fled. But it wasn't long before twenty Triad members—all armed and on motorcycles—caught up to them.
Fuck! Feng must've checked the safe! Some kind of alarm must've gone off! DAMN!
Shen was swearing violently as well.
Kristen shared a look with Alex—one that said to back down.
They raised their hands and the leader grinned violently.
"Good, good. Now, come with us. And if you cause any trouble…" he trailed off threateningly.
"Yeah we got it," Alex mumbled. One of the guns was jabbing uncomfortably into his neck.
"Good," the leader growled. "Take them ahead," he nodded to three members.
They were handcuffed around the men so they wouldn't fall off as they rode.
Shen gritted his teeth as he was pushed onto the motorcycle—jarring a very sensitive part of his anatomy.
Man this is fucking shit, Kristen glared at the men who just snickered. One of them made a point of staring at her chest. Bastards. Just 'cause I have a chest doesn't mean I'm a fucking whore. She would've kneed him in the balls if she wasn't handcuffed to the wrong guy.
Slowly, they made their way to Triad Headquarters. Feng was there, his face a mask of cold fury.
"So, the so called devoted leader of the China Triads decides to betray us?" he spat out. "And his little whore," Kristen's eyes whipped around to stare daggers at him, "I knew she was trouble from the first day the report came back she killed Alex Rider using a different method. And this, I presume, is Alex Rider?" he nodded at Alex.
The leader of the gang who'd attacked the trio nodded. "Yes. And while we were searching them, I found this in his pants."
The three of them smirked as Feng wrinkled his nose. "Normally I would ask why you were searching his pants," the leader flushed darkly, "But as these papers are of the utmost importance…I suppose you will be rewarded. Very well. Take them to the Interrogation Center."
Interrogation Center. Doesn't sound good, Alex grimaced. There must've been SOME alarm he'd overlooked…Shit.
Someone undid his handcuffs to the man in front of him, only to be cuffed to an iron bar. To the right of him, he saw Kristen, to the left, Shen.
"Well this is a party," he snorted.
"Boss, do we need to…search them?" one of the men asked, staring at Kristen hungrily.
"Hmmm…" while the boss deliberated, Alex saw Kristen discreetly tap the right jewel of her bracelet three times.
"Yes, you do," the man decided. "Just feel for anything and I'll take a look at it if it seems suspicious," he was amazingly arrogant.
The same men that they'd been handcuffed to, Shin, Tang and Hoo, approached the trio and started running their hands down their bodies. Kristen glared and kicked Hoo in the stomach when he tried to feel her up.
"Fucking pervert!" she growled in Chinese.
Shen glanced around; he'd hardly ever heard her speak Chinese before. Tang was patting around his butt—was the man homo or something?
That left Shin to efficiently frisk Alex. He did so much faster than the other two—Hoo who was still grimacing from the kick Kristen had delivered—and Tang, slowly assembling a switchblade and two guns Shen had had.
Hoo patted around and found a gun stuffed in her sneakers, and another one held to her body by the waistband of her jeans. He managed to grin—and drop the other two guns onto the pile assembled by Tang.
"Done," Shin announced to the boss. Kristen was amazed. Hoo hadn't even taken the lipstick (though that WAS in her bra) or the earrings, but had taken the compact powder thing.
The boss cast a critical eye over the pile and ordered two men to carry it to the 'Weapons Center'. Creative fellows weren't they? Then the man ordered handkerchiefs be tied around their mouths so they couldn't talk to each other.
That put a damper on things. But as soon as they had left, Kristen raised herself, pushing against the wall with great effort so that her hands could reach the lipstick tube.
"God Shen, Alex look the other-fucking-way!" she grunted, chafing her wrists on the cuffs. After they did so, she tipped her shirt so that the tube was hanging, and grabbed it with her mouth. Her hand came around to grab it, uncap it and smear some on the handcuffs. The metal sizzled, then seconds later dropped to the floor with a clang. Kristen winced, and then smeared more on her other handcuff. When she was out of them, she freed Shen and Alex.
Stabbing the last of the lipstick into the lock, she watched as it sizzled.
"Anything you need to get?" she whispered.
Alex shook his head.
"No. The stuff I had on me were actually really bad quality," Shen grinned.
"M'kay. So can we scarper?"
"Yeah."
Quietly, they snuck out of Triad HQ, Shen leading them. They were at the docks, about to jump onto MI6's ship when the telltale screech of tires and glint of metal gave away the Triad's position.
"Ah fuck."
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Ahh!! I'd promised myself I'd have this up two days ago—sorry! Just a hint, I update based on how many readers/reviewers I have. :D
Please review!
Review Replies:
Sheweapon1: lol thanks! I won't ever abandon a story (that would totally ruin the amount of work going into each one) so don't worry!
Blackruby873: Thanks!! Hope you liked this chapter!