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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 16

The smoke was seeping into the cell thick and fast. How it could even get through the heavily closed door was beyond the prisoners. Soon enough, there was enough smoke in the cell to really cause a problem.

Rose stared worriedly at the girl in Alex's arms as she violently coughed again. The smoke was playing havoc with Desiree's lungs, that and the fact that many of her ribs had been broken caused unending amounts of pain to shoot through her body as she coughed and coughed.

"She can't breathe!"Alex said, trying to steady the girl. A red trail was making its way out of the corner of her mouth; she'd started to cough up blood. Rose frowned – that was not a good sign. In the girl's battered state, that could only mean one thing; one of Desiree's broken ribs had punctured her lung.

Rose bit her lip. She had to get the girl to stop coughing, otherwise it would be the death of her. "Desiree? Sweetie, if you can hear me, I want you to know that we're right here, okay?" Through her coughs, the girl made a weak attempt to nod. "Okay, I need you to try and stop coughing. Can you do that for me? Just, concentrate on something else for two seconds, long enough so that you can draw in a breath. I know you're in a lot of pain, but if you can't get air into your lungs, you're not going to make it. So, just concentrate on...concentrate on Alex!" The boy turned to Rose, raising an eyebrow. Agent Allende ignored him, "Concentrate on a goodtime you had with Alex! Like...err..." Rose looked at the boy, silently telling him to contribute something.

Alex sighed, his mind flashing back. "Dessi? Do you remember on my birthday, how we made Tom mad by refusing to tell him what you gave me as a present? Concentrate on how funny his face was, how pathetic his glare was compared to Wolf...or Jake. Can you do that?"

Through the pain, Alex's voice floated into Desiree's head. Then, the memory came up, of Tom trying futilely to find out what Desiree had given Alex. Slowly, as that image solidified in her mind, the girl's hacking coughs subsided. Before she could draw in a breath, Alex and Rose both pushed her onto the floor, where there was less smoke, to make sure that another coughing attack wouldn't be triggered.

Desiree drew in a deep rasping breath, lying face down on the floor with her head tilted to one side. She ignored the sharp sting of her broken rib stabbing into her lung. Alex lay down next to her, and hesitantly put a reassuring arm around her waist (though only because of Rose's glare which plainly told him that he'd better keep the girl calm or else he'd suffer a fate worse than death). Dessi stiffened slightly at the boy's touch, and for a moment Alex was about to withdraw his arm. Then the girl carefully leaned into his one armed embrace, closing her eyes. Alex felt her slowly relax against him, and for the first time in a while smiled.

Rose watched the whole exchange with a smile on her face. If they were going to die, at least those two had found each other. The MI6 agent shifted around so that she could lie down in a comfortable position with slightly fresher air, a little way away from the two teenagers.

And that was when the door to their cell burst open, and a sudden influx of black smoke billowed in. Before their vision was completely obscured, Rose and Alex both saw the incomers staring at them in horror, apparently not realising that the three of them were not dead.

"Jake!" Alex shouted with joy, causing the girl in his arm to jolt awake.

"Alex? Desiree? Agent Allende? You guys alive?" Alex recognised Jake's voice, muffled as it was by the scarf around his mouth. Footsteps approached them, and suddenly through the thick black smoke Jake's face appeared.

"No, we're dead and that's why I'm not talking to you right not," Alex replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He heard Rose's muffled snort.

"Jake," Desiree whispered, squinting up at her field partner.

Jake gave a small smile in her direction turning his head so that he could shout without deafening her. "Oi, Terry! You got the other one?"

"Yep," Terry's voice came from beside them.

"Okay, let's go," Jake ordered, and with that he stood, holding out a hand so that he could help Desiree up. The girl didn't take it. "Dessi? You coming or what?"

"Alex?" The Aussie girl whispered, completely ignoring her field partner, "I can't walk."

Alex bit his lip in worry. "I'll carry you," he volunteered. The boy felt rather than saw Desiree's head making a small nodding motion. "Okay," Alex stood carefully, before bending down and carefully picking Desiree up. The girl tiredly wrapped one of her arms around the boy's neck, while tucking the injured one around her own chest.

Jake couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy when he realised that Desiree was being carried by Alex. She was his field partner, not the MI6 boy's! But a bigger emotion soon took over, and it was a while before he realised that it was actually a feeling of protectiveness towards the battered girl in Alex's arms.

"Come on," Jake said gruffly, "Let's go. Terry? You got Agent Allende?"

"I can walk perfectly well," a female voice snapped through the smoke.

They all heard Terry sigh. "Well, I found her. Does that count?"

Jake rolled his eyes, though they couldn't see it through the smoke, before ordering Terry and Rose to grab the wire which would guide them back. Jake reached out until he could hold onto Alex's shirt so that he could direct the boy since he didn't have any free hands.

It was noticeably hotter in the corridor. Jake bit his lip in worry, before ordering them to move as fast as they could. The five of them, or rather four with one being carried, ran silently through the corridors, blindly following the wire that was their guide. Alex lagged behind with Jake, making sure that he didn't bash the girl in his arms into anything.

The smoke thickened, and it wasn't long before Desiree's hacking coughs started again. She shook so violently that Alex had to tighten his grip around to girl to make sure that she wasn't accidently jolted out of his arms. Terry and Rose paused in worry, but Jake yelled at them to keep going, "The sooner we're out the sooner we can get her medical assistance!"

Tense minutes passed before they saw the doorway to freedom. Terry stumbled out first, before turning and catching Rose who managed to trip over a non-existent item in her haste to get outside. Jake came next, literally dragging Alex by the shirt as the boy stumbled out. Desiree glanced up briefly as she felt the sun on her face, before burying her head into Alex's chest to continue her coughing fit.

Terry gave his unit member a worried glance. "We have to get to Dean. He's called for the ambulances already."

Jake nodded grimly, motioning for Alex to hand over his field partner. The boy glared at Jake, before realising that in his weakened state, with the adrenalin leaving his body, there was no way he'd be able to get Desiree to medical assistance on time. Grudgingly he gave Desiree to Jake, who wrapped her in his arms and took off.

"Don't worry," Terry said, "She's a tough one. She'll be fine." He wasn't really sure who he was trying to convince. "Come on, we need to get you two checked up."

In the distance, they could see fire fighters already working to try and contain the blaze that had, thankfully, not been able to spread to where they currently stood. Without another word Terry set off at a slow pace to allow for the two MI6 agents to keep up without overexerting themselves.

They walked in silence. Rose was chewing her lip in worry, continuously glancing back at Alex as if he was about to faint on them at any moment. Terry too seemed worried about the boy, though Alex ignored the two and kept his head down. With the adrenalin shot that he'd been given so long ago finally fading away, each step felt like it would send him tumbling to the ground.

As they neared the spot where Dean had parked, the saw an ambulance racing off, its sirens whirling at full blast.

"What took you so long?" Were the first words out of Dean's mouth when Terry, Alex and Rose finally arrived at their vehicle. There was another ambulance parked next to it. The minute the paramedics caught sight of Alex and Rose, they hustled them over to the ambulance and started examining the pair for injuries and smoke inhalation.

"Is Dessi going to be okay?" Terry asked, ignoring his field partner. Instead he caught sight of his unit leader sitting on the road, leaning against the car with a lost expression on his face. "Jake?" Terry said, going over to the brown haired man.

Jake drew in a small breath. "They don't know," he whispered, "She was hurt so badly..." Jake shook his head, trying to clear his mind.

"She'll be find," Terry said as soothingly as he could through the fear that gripped him when he thought about losing the girl, "She's been through so much worse, and if she can make it through all that, she can make it through this."

Jake smiled sadly at his friend, before nodding. "You're right," he said, "She's a strong girl."

"That's right. Now let's get going," Terry stood, dragging Jake up with him, "We'll go visit Dessi in hospital, and you'll see that she'll make it."

Dean came over to the two. "Agent Allende has been cleared," he said with a glance over his shoulder at the ambulance, "But Alex has suffered minor smoke inhalation and their taking him to St Dominic's."

"Right," Jake said, regaining his normal confidence, "Let's go."

They arrived at St Dominic's and, due to their status as government agents, were ushered through to the emergency waiting rooms. They'd been sitting there for about ten minutes when Alex joined them, having reassured the nurses (countless times) that he wouldn't overexert himself, and not kicking up a fuss when he was spoon fed the most disgusting medication ever made in the history of mankind (in his personal opinion anyway).

"Any news?" Alex asked as he sat down next to Rose. The three AIS agents were all lost in their own grim thoughts, and hadn't noticed the boy's arrival. Rose on the other hand, gave Alex a small smile.

"No," she sighed, "All we can hear is them rushing around in there," Rose said, jerking a thumb in the direction of the emergency ward, "But so far, no news. They said that they'd inform us as soon as they've stabilised Desiree, but for now all we can do is hope."

"That...sounds really grim," Alex admitted.

"Yeah, I know."

They sat in silence, listening to the hustle and bustle coming from the emergency ward. It seemed like days had passed when the doors to the ward finally opened and a doctor came out, wiping sweat from his forehead. Jake stood from his seat, giving the doctor a questioning look as the other four stood up too.

The doctor nodded. "She's stable."

There was a collective sigh of relief. Terry and Dean turned to Jake with smiles on their faces, ready to tell their unit leader 'we told you so' when a loud alarm came from the emergency ward. The doctor spun as someone came running out.

"She's crashing again!" The person yelled before disappearing in again. The doctor didn't waste any time before running after them, closing the ward doors behind him. They could still hear the muffled shouts of "Call a code!" and "Clear!", along with about three different machines beeping at the same time.

Jake dropped back into his seat with a barely concealed moan of anxiety. Terry and Dean sat either side of him, bracing their friend with their silent support. Rose remained standing with Alex, the two of them feeling like they were intruding upon a private moment. Rose turned to Alex.

"I heard from the receptionist that some of my collegues and your friends are still here," she said quietly, "Do you want to go see them? So they know you're alive?" Alex nodded, and the two of them left the Australians quietly, taking the elevator until they reached the correct floor.

"Umm...this way," Rose said after running her eye down a list of ward numbers, "I'm pretty sure they're...ah! Here we are!"

Rose pushed open the door to a private ward and let Alex enter before her. Alex only had time to see Ben in the bed with Tom beside him when someone threw their arms around him in an extremely tight hug, knocking him backwards. He wouldn've fallen had Rose not caught and steadied him at the last moment.

"Oh, Alex!" Jack cried, "I was so worried about you!"

"Umph...Jack? Can't breath," Alex wheezed. Immediately Jack let him go, only to pull him into yet another hug. Rose smiled at the two of them before walking over to join Tom and Ben, leaving Alex to fend for himself.

"How're you feeling?" She asked as she sat down.

Ben smiled at her. "It's still a little sore," he said, guesturing to his bound up hand, "But they think it'll heal. At least I'm a lot better off than Alving or Crawley."

"Well, that's a relief," Rose joked. Alex and Jack made their way over to them, the latter refusing to let go of Alex's arm. They both sat down next to Rose.

"Hey Ben," Alex said with a smile for the ex-SAS soldier turned MI6 agent.

"Alex,"Ben greeted with a smile, "Good to see you got out of there alright...Which reminds me..." Ben turned to Rose with a frown on his face, causing the twenty-two year old to recoil slightly. "Why the hell did you sacrifice yourself like that?"

"Uh," Rose stammered, her mouth suddenly dry, "Well, you know...um...I had no choice?"

Ben actually growled. "How many times do I have to tell you to not keep putting yourself in harms way? Why don't you ever listen to me?"

"Well...you see..."

"Hang on," Alex interrupted, turning to the slightly pale Rose, "Do you know him?"

Rose stopped, staring at Alex in surprise. She turned to Ben. "You didn't tell him?"

"How was I supposed to know that he knew you?"

Rose shook her head, before turning to Alex with a grin on her face. "About a year and a half after someone joins MI6, they're allowed to finally go out on field missions. MI6 assigns them mentors who basically guide them for about six months before allowing them out on their own."

"Let me guess, you got Ben as your mentor," Alex said.

"Yep!" Rose answered with a smile. "I was so happy that I didn't get Crawley! And I mean, at that time Ben had only been working with MI6 for like a few weeks or something, but since he had previous training in the field, he was given full field status immediately. And I have to say that it was quite fun being with him."

"Yeah, and unlike Crawley I actually have a sense of humour," Ben joked.

"Really?" Rose asked with great sarcasm, "You were trying to be funny?"

"Oh, shut it Rose," Ben grinned.

"But yeah," Rose said, turning back to Alex, "I basically tailed Ben around, got sent in to do measly stuff until he was sure that I wouldn't accidentally kill anyone. After that, it was fun, sort of. Anyways, a couple of months later, and halfway through one of the missions that Ben and I were on, MI6 awarded me full field status and got packed off to a mission in America. But, boy, I'll never forget my last mission with Ben.

"After all, it's not everyday you see an Afghan kid blow up an entire boathouse that was the site of an illegal boxing ring and then escaping on some boat or other."

Jake, Terry and Dean crowded around the bed of their final unit member. The girl was asleep, which was probably for the best considering the number of tubes that were currently attatched to her.

It had taken almost half an hour before Desiree Swan was officially declared fully stable. Now, almost an hour later, there were still no signs that she was about to die on them. The machines worked away, emptying her lungs of the blood which had seeped in when her broken ribs had stabbed them. Her arm was now properly plastered in a cast, allowing the doubly broken forearm to heal properly.

"She looks so peaceful," Jake whispered, "I wish she could look like that when she was awake."

Terry smiled grimly. "That's a lost cause, mate. She's been through too much."

Jake sighed. Don't I know that, he thought.

"Do you think Scorpia's threat is over?" Dean asked, deciding to steer the conversation away from that uncomfortable topic.

"Dunno," Terry said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I hope it is," Jake said, "I'd like nothing more than to be back home where it's not snowing."

"Awww," Terry smirked, "Poor Jakie is cold!"

"Shut it Phillips."

"Excuse me? Mr Wood?" A meek voice said from the doorway, "There's a lady here who wants to see you."

Jake turned to see Mrs Jones standing in the doorway while the lady who had announced her presence scuttled away. Shooting Terry and Dean a glance that told them to stay put, he got up and walked over the the second in command of the MI6.

"Mrs Jones," Jake said, extending a hand which Jones shook.

"Let's talk outside," Mrs Jones said and, without waiting for a response, turned and left. Jake raised an eyebrow at her retreating back before following her out into the deserted waiting area. She sat down, motioning for him to take a seat too.

"So?" Jake asked.

"I'd just like to say that I'm very grateful to you and your team for risking your lives to rescue our MI6 agents," Mrs Jones began, her eyes shining with sincerity, "And I'm also sorry about the way my superior treated you. He refuses to speak with you, but I hope that you accept my apology."

Jake grinned wryly. "Don't worry. I'm used to Blunt's behaviour by now," he said, "It's not the first time I"ve had to deal with that man. And honestly, I can't wait until I get out from under his nose."

"That's to be expected, I suppose," Mrs Jones smiled, "I just thought that you should be informed as to the fates of the escaped Scorpia agents. Every one of them were caught. There was a bit of a struggle though, and two of them didn't make it, but still...We also apprehended William and his personal guards in the afternoon when they made their way to a private airstrip that Scorpia never realised we knew about."

"So, it's over then?" Jake asked, "Once Desiree wakes up and gets the okay, we can go home?"

Mrs Jones nodded. "Yes, though I dare say that Miss Swan would want to remain for a little while longer." Seeing the questioning look on Jake's face, she decided to expand, "Alex's school is holding a dance in five days time. I was just speaking to Mr Rider, and he let it slip that he was interested in taking Miss Swan as his...partner."

Jake's eyes narrowed as another bout of overprotectiveness rushed through him. But before he could say anything else, rushed footsteps approached them from inside the emergency ward. A moment later, Terry poked his head out, an estatic expression plastered on his face.

"Jake! Desiree's awake!" He exclaimed.

Immediately Jake shot up from his chair, leaving behind a slightly bemused Mrs Jones as he followed Terry back to Desiree's bed. Dean was talking to her happily, telling her about everything she'd missed so far, though not in too great a detail.

Desiree noticed her field partner's entrance. Her crystal blue eyes fixed with his, and she broke into a wide smile.

No cliffie this time!!! Lol, I didn't think you could stand another one.

This story's almost over :( It's been so fun writing all this. Start thinking about whether or not you guys want a sequel and if you do/don't, tell me!!!!!!

Anyways, please review and let me know what you think!

Love Chariots99

Ps, OMG!!!!!! ONLY 5 MORE REVIEWS UNTIL 100!!!!!!!!!!*hint*hint*!!!