Disclaimer: I do not own the Alex Rider series.

Claimer: I do own the AIS and all characters from the AIS (e.g. Desiree Swan), and any other characters you don't recognise from the Alex Rider series.

Chapter 13

Alex gasped for air, his arms stinging and his body trembling uncontrollably. He had now officially changed his opinion of tasers, and vowed never, ever, ever to laugh at anyone who got tasered on TV now. To have all that electricity running through your body…well, it was not an experience he wanted to repeat in a hurry. If at all.

He sat with his back to the cold wall, sweat pouring down his face as his body reacted to the aftermath of the pain. He was facing the direction of the door that he couldn't see. The sun had long since set, and now his cell was pitch black.

After William had revealed a little more of Desiree's past, he'd ordered for Alex to be cut loose and dragged to another room. This one had its walls pretty much lined with torture implements, from whips to knives and finally, electrical devices. Including a smaller more powerful version of the police tasers. There were two chains hanging from the ceiling, and a puddle of blood on the floor.

Alex shuddered as he remembered the blood. It was still wet, fresh. The boy was sure that whoever had spilt the blood had done so that very day.

The teenage spy had put up a struggle when the guards tried to tie his arms to the chain; it was only a rather painful punch to his exposed stomach that allowed the guards to actually get the job done. After that, William had paced around Alex for a bit. The boy wasn't sure what the Scorpia agent had said to him, having zoned out to block off his drawling voice. He'd only zoned in every so often to make annoying comments to the man.

Alex sighed, leaning his head back against the cold wall. He had no idea how long he'd been here, locked in this cell, and trapped in this place. But then again he supposed that he probably didn't want to know either.

William had apparently been asking the boy questions about MI6, and in the end had gotten fed up with the boy's silence. He'd gone over to the wall and picked up the taser, which he'd then applied directly to the base of Alex's neck. The teenage spy was not a stranger to pain, but that was the worst pain he'd ever felt in his life. It was as if he'd been lit on fire, while a thousand knives pierced his flesh. The boy tried not to make any noise, but in the end he couldn't stop himself crying out in pain.

The taser was pressed to his body for so long that eventually he'd blacked out from the pain. When he woke up, he found himself in the cell. The sun had still been up, so he could still see, but he really wished he couldn't. There was another puddle of blood on the floor, as well as a bucket, which contained water that was a bloody red colour. Alex had no doubt that the blood in this cell was from the same person who'd spilt the blood in the torture room.

The sun had set slowly, extinguishing all light from the cell.

Alex sighed again. His muscles had stopped trembling from the after affects of the pain, but his throat hurt like hell from all his yelling. Lifting a hand, he wiped the sweat off his forehead. He felt really weak, but at least he was able to move around. He only hoped that MI6 were planning on actually rescuing them today. Or tonight, since the sun had already set.

With nothing else to dwell on, the teenage spy's thoughts turned back to Desiree. After Alex had been thrown, quite literally, into this cell, William had informed him that he had some 'unfinished business' to deal with before he left. Alex sincerely hoped that the man wasn't talking about Desiree.

The Australian girl seemed to be able to attract trouble far better than he'd ever done. Alex couldn't believe that the girl was unfortunate enough to have encountered William before this, much less have the sadistic man as her first foster family. And Alex thought that he was unlucky, what with having dead parents killed by his traitorous dead godfather, and a dead uncle who was killed by a dead assassin who was friends with his dead father who had been a double agent, whom a dead Scorpia board member used to have a crush on, which had then caused her to want to kill Alex (along with every other kid in the country) which had ultimately caused her to become dead. Wow, talk about a complicated life.

Alex ruffled his sweat-soaked hair with a sigh as he wondered about the Desiree. Where was she? Was she alright? Okay she probably wasn't alright, not after what she had to go through at the hands of William, but was she alive? No, she had to be alive. Alex refused to think of the other possibility. He had a firm grip on his mind not to wander down that lane. All the same though. What if she was gone? What if he could never see her again, never see her smile, or look into her crystal blue eyes, or hear her laugh, or…? Alex growled at himself to shut the hell up.

The teenage spy groaned out loud in frustration, toying with the watch that William had carelessly overlooked, the watch that had to ability to hopefully blast open the door to the cell. Hopefully Dessi still had her bracelet on. That would at least give her a chance at escaping. He himself wanted to escape, but since he cell was pitch black, he couldn't see a thing. It would all be guess work. He knew that there was no way he could escape through the roof; there'd been enough time when the sun was up to see that even if he could reach it, he couldn't open it or blow it apart.

That just left the extremely secure door. Even if he got out of that, there was the guard room which he'd been dragged through. In his weakened state, he very much doubted his ability to take out those three guards, and still live. Alex growled in frustration, swearing under his breath before stopping due to the pain in his throat.

How he wished MI6 had the ability to act a little more quickly sometimes. Not that he was asking too much, but since it was his life on the line, he was allowed to be a little frustrated at them.

It was nearing midnight when they were finally ready. And by ready, he meant understood where they were actually going. Tom was beside himself with anger and frustration at how annoyingly slow the MI6 agents and SAS soldiers moved. Didn't they realise that Desiree's and Alex's lives were on the line? Obviously not, with the way they took forever just to unload the freakin' cars!

The boy sat back in his seat with a frustrated sigh. He was supposed to stay in the car for the duration of the rescue, along with Agent Andrew Banks who was acting as the 'base' and coordinating the rescue, since he couldn't move without pain yet. Rose was right; with the adrenaline pumping through him at the thought of the others going in for the rescue, the boy couldn't stop fidgeting let alone fall asleep.

Agent Rose Allende had given Tom an earpiece to wear, along with a throat microphone in case he needed to contact them. Later he'd been told that the mic was for "emergency purposes only", but Agent Crawley had only yelled that to him after he kept using the mic to shout at the MI6 agents and SAS soldiers to "hurry the hell up", which had amused Andrew to no end. At least he could hear what was going on through the earpiece. Otherwise he'd have been even more in the dark. Tom zoned back into the muttered responses when his friend's name was mentioned.

"…Alex's heat signal detected in east holding cell. Appears to be the same one used to hold Miss Swan and Mr Harris earlier today. Over," Andrew said, eyeing the monitor screen which showed a red heat signal apparently leaning against the wall. They had to use heat signals to find the exact location of each person inside the compound, since the GPS locator placed inside Alex's watch and Desiree's bracelet only allowed accuracy within a ten metre radius. They were used to make sure that the two were still in the general vicinity of the compound.

"Base this is Wolf. We're making our way towards the east holding cell with Fox. Over."

"Copy that Wolf. No shooting to kill unless absolutely necessary. Remember your orders. Good luck. Over and out."

"Base this is Blossom. We're about to enter the west wing to look for signs of any agents as well as the girl. Over."

Tom snickered slightly and Banks threw him an amused look. He'd been told earlier by Rose about who had what code names. She'd been extremely annoyed when she said that her own was 'Blossom', and had given the boy a look that had clearly said don't-even-think- about-laughing-or-else. Although, if he was completely honest, Agent Crawley's code name was far more hilarious.

"Blossom this is base. Good luck, over and out."

Banks looked extremely harassed as he searched his monitor for signs of other life. It only came up with Alex's and the three in the guarding room's heat signal, and no matter what, Banks could only seem to find the boy. After all the trouble they went to get to him, Andrew couldn't believe that Scorpia would leave the boy so unguarded. What was even more troubling than Scorpia's apparent lack of security, was the fact that the girl simply could not be located.

"Base this is Lion. We're all in position surrounding the compound. Over."

"Lion this is base. Reminding you again that your unit and M-Unit must not under any circumstance shoot to kill, unless it is absolutely necessary. Remember your orders. Good luck. Over," Andrew Banks said into his headpiece.

"Base this Lion. Copy that. Over and out."

Andrew sighed, looking over the monitor for the hundredth time. He was still unable to find any sign of the girl, despite her GPS location not moving from the compound. He hoped that the others had better luck finding her, since there was a possibility that Scorpia were blocking her signal from MI6's monitors. Of course there was another possible explanation, but Banks didn't really want to accept that one just yet.

"Where's Desiree?" Tom whispered to the agent. Banks started and turned to the boy, who had been craning his neck around to look at the monitor. Tom could only make out four heat signals, three of them too big to be teenagers, and the one in the cell he had been held in earlier had already been labelled 'A. Rider'.

Andrew let out a sigh. "Don't know. She's not on the screen for some reason…"

Tom frowned. "There aren't a lot of people on the screen," he said, "There were definitely three more when I was there. Two guards who took Dessi away, and some guy who I'm pretty sure was in charge of the whole thing."

Agent Banks nodded, and began typing furiously on the keypad. The screen turned blank, then the heat signals appeared again. It still only showed four of them. "This is so frustrating," he growled, refreshing the monitor again. Still the same result showed up.

Andrew sighed, then pulled out another laptop, making Tom hold onto the first one with the heat signals. Banks began furiously typing again, and soon the new laptop was covered with rows upon rows of random codes and numbers, interspersed with symbols. As Andrew typed, more and more rows appeared. Tom watched, transfixed, as the MI6 agent hacked into any and every computerised signal within a twenty metre radius of the compound.

Many of the rows of symbols were discarded, and they flew to the side. Some were kept a little longer before also being pushed away. In the end, Banks had only a few rows left, which Tom assumed were potential Scorpia signals which they could be using to scatter the heat signals of Desiree, William and the two guards.

More furious typing, and another row was discarded. Banks paused, his brows furrowing in thought, before he typed out another command and another row flew to the side. It pretty much continued in this fashion, until the MI6 agent had only two rows left. No matter what he did, those two rows refused to cut down to one.

Tom watched on in fascination, wondering what was going on. From the swearing and muttering that Banks was doing under his breath, it appeared that the MI6 agent could do nothing that would allow him to hack into either of the last two signals, which meant that there was no way he could know which one belonged to Scorpia, and which one belonged to some extremely nerdy kid whose computer signal was being bounced around close by the compound.

At last, Agent Banks sighed in frustration. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a phone similar to the one Alex had been given on his birthday. Tapping a couple of buttons on the touch screen, he put the phone to his ear, tapping his fingers in frustration as he waited for someone to pick up. After a couple of rings, someone did.

"Ah, yes, this is Agent Andrew Banks. I need to speak with Mr Smithers immediately."

Tom watched on as the MI6 agent was probably connected to the gadget master.

"Yes, hi Smithers. I need your help…"

From then on, Tom had no idea what Andrew was saying, or what Smithers was saying in reply. All the boy knew was that Andrew and Smithers understood each other. The MI6 resumed his typing with renewed vigour, the phone tucked between his ear and his shoulder. For several tense minutes, there was only the sound of the keyboard clicking away, and Banks muttering some incoherent sentence to Smithers.

Then finally, they had success. Another row flew away, and the MI6 agent was left with the only signal that could possibly be used by Scorpia. Banks barely had time to celebrate before Smithers started telling him how to hack past the signal so that they could locate the girl.

Tom watched the laptop he'd been given to hold with interest. He could see five people, whom he assumed were K-unit and Ben, making their way steadily towards the three heat signals that obviously belonged to the men in the guard room. He saw when the two groups collided. After a few tense seconds, five people continued along to where Alex's heat signal lay. Before long, a message came through his earpiece.

"Base, this is Fox. We have Cub. Repeat, we have Cub. We are now retreating from the east holding cells. The three guards have been knocked out, and will be taken with us. Over."

Tom punched the air in victory. They had Alex! The boy grinned, resisting the urge to get up and dance, but he couldn't help the waves of joy and relief that washed over him. Andrew hastily told Smithers to hold on for a sec, before turning on his mic.

"Fox, this is base. Good job. Now get out. Over."

There was a soft chuckle from the other side before Ben replied, "Base this is Fox. Copy that. Over and out."

Andrew sighed with relief. Well, that was one teen out. Now to locate the last one…He tucked the phone back under his head, and began his furious typing again. Tom followed the heat signals as they stopped by the guard room and picked up the three unconscious men. They left the corridor the same way they went in, and a few moments later exited the compound altogether.

Tom watched as they met with who he assumed were D-unit, though it could have been M-unit. Snake reported in that they'd passed the three guards onto Lion and his unit. Banks glanced at Tom, telling the boy to take over the commands since he was so close to actually hacking past Scorpia's signals.

Tom nodded and turned his mic on.

"Hey Snake, this is base," he said, enjoying the moment of stunned silence when Snake recognised the boy's voice, "How's A-Cub? Over."

"Er, hey base, this is Snake. Cub is refusing to leave quietly and is demanding we take him with us for the next step. Over." Tom could hear Alex's voice arguing in the background, along with another voice that he couldn't recognise.

Tom glanced at Banks, who nodded wordlessly; he'd heard the request behind the report.

"Snake this is Base. You have permission to take Al-Cub with you. Over," Tom said, mentally berating himself for almost using Alex's real name twice.

"Base, this is Snake. Copy that," there was a sudden muffled yell in the background. Then, "Cub has been given a shot of adrenaline to get him through. Over and out."

Tom grinned. Alex had endured assassins, bullets and mad men trying to blow him up, and yet the teenage spy still complained quite frequently that injections came with the worst pain he had to go through. Even compared to bullets almost going through your heart.

The boy watched as the six heat signals of Wolf, Eagle, Snake, Shark, Ben and Alex crept back into the compound. They second part of the plan was for K-unit and Ben, and now Alex, to join the other agents in the west wing, since during their scouting mission they had determined that most of Scorpia's guards and agents that were on the compound spent their time in the west wing. If they were still there, then it would take all of them to bring them down.

"Blossom, this is base," Tom said, "The K is coming to join you guys now, as well as Cub. Over."

"Base this is Blossom. Copy that, we're falling back now. Over and out."

Watching as K-unit, Ben and Alex joined up with the other agents, Tom briefly crossed his fingers as h wished them luck. Andrew had yet to hack past the heat signals, so they would be going in blind.

The group of agents and SAS soldiers crept forwards. Their heat signals faded as they entered the area which Scorpia's signals were blocking. Tom bit his lip, looking across worriedly at Andrew who was furiously typing away. Come on…..

Suddenly, Andrew pressed a key down with a sense of finality, and then lifting his hand off the keyboard with a flourish. The screen was suddenly and rapidly filling with numbers. Andrew thanked Smithers and hung up, putting the phone back into his pocket before turning his mic back on. Both he and Tom turned their attentions back to the laptop which Tom held, holding their breaths.

One by one, the heat signals of their agents reappeared on the screen. Andrew smiled in triumph. Then abruptly, his smile slid off his face. Both he and Tom's expressions changed to ones of utter horror as they watched the monitor reveal more and more of the previously blocked areas. Andrew grabbed at his mic in panic.

"All agents, this is base. Pull out, pull out NOW! It's a trap! Get out, GET OUT!"

Oooooh! What happened??? What's going to happen??? And why has no-one seen Desiree at all???

You guys know the drill. The more reviews I get, the faster I upload!!!

So, did you like that chapter? Was it good? Suspenseful? Or really and horribly bad? Tell me what you think in a review!!! And remember, anonymous reviews accepted!!! I just won't be able to personally reply to you.

Anyways, toodles, and don't forget to review!
Love Chariots99

Ps – I know nothing about hacking stuff, so if you do, then you're welcomed to tell me what it would look like. In the mean time, just pretend for the sake of my sanity that my imagination is correct.