Firstly, I'd like to apologise for three things: one, I'm sorry if I didn't reply to your reviews last chapter; some of them it wouldn't allow me to send a reply back, and some it did. Thank you, anyway, for reviewing.
Two, I'm sorry if some bits in this chapter don't match up with what was written in chapter 8; sometimes I've gotten muddled up with the events that happened last time, and in this one too - hopefully, I've matched them up together correctly. If I haven't, then I hope you still remember what happened last chapter, anyway.
Three: I'm really sorry for this taking ages to get out. I'm sorry, I really am. Just so you know, I've got the next chapter written, and a fair idea of where this story is now going to go - there'll be a bit of action in the story; mainly Alex (and possibly James) getting into some trouble, but it will end happily for Alex.... there may be a sequl in which Alex has to leave the place he'll be living again, but I don't want to say any more than that.
Also, I've started a LiveJournal account. Find it on my profile page. It should be public, so anyone can see it, but if you can't, well, I dunno how to change it to public, so you're just gunna hafta get an account and add me as a friend. Sorry. I'll try to update it as often as I can, but send me messages if I forget/ you want to ask me something on there, if you don't want to ask me on here.
Disclaimer: The characters ain't mine, but the plot is. Ha.
Alex POV - Chapter 9
Settling in for the night, Alex waited for hours before he heard anything productive. Footsteps, many of them, where in the Parc. Hitting the gravel, Alex could easily tell which direction they were coming from, and Alex turned his body that way, watching and waiting to see who was going to appear beyond the tree line, the Harry Potter book ready in his right hand to be used at any given moment, in the left the bug spray that he'd took out his bag earlier in the evening in his left.
Alex knew when he entered the Parc that he would find one of two things. One, that agents from MI6 of some sort - be it active agents or soldiers - would be coming to get him and take him back to England, and thus into Blunt's hands. Or two, help. Real, honest, help. Somebody - or more than one person - who would be able to help him start a new life away from Blunt, the spy world, danger and England. Although Alex had the luck of the devil on his side when he was on a mission, usually, outside of his missions, his luck ran out. Therefore, Alex surmised, I won't get my hopes up that option two will happen, he scoffed at the idea.
He needed a plan for the most probable outcome that the Sergeant in the tunnel was lying about help awaiting him in the Parc.
After he had picked his tree out in the woods, Alex remembered the items he still had in his backpack, and used them to create a plan. When he heard the heavy footfalls on the pathways, Alex knew instantly that the men who he would soon see weren't there to help him. Boots, and lots of them - soldiers. Alex had his plan, though, so whilst a part of his conscience worried, the rest of him focused on what he had to do.
Men in black uniform weren't exactly what Alex was expecting to see. Yes, he was expecting soldiers, and these were quite obviously soldiers. But in black? Not exactly the usual colours of the British army. Then again, they would blend in with their surroundings with their black gear as it was dark out.
It was pretty obvious that the men were trying to be sneaky; constantly looking around, hiding partly in the shadows, whispering to each other. Unfortunately, with gravel under their feet, they might as well have been stamping for all the noise they made. Especially with the amount of men with them, sneaky was definitely not the right word to describe what they were doing. More like bumbling idiots, Alex thought.
When the last man marched past him, Alex moved slightly into a more convenient position in order to be able to watch them, as well as put his plan into action.
Leaning downwards in order to have a clear shot, Alex pointed the Harry Potter book he received from Smithers before he went on his mission to the French mountains.
By hiding above the men in the trees, it meant that Alex could aim the book at one of the men in the centre of the arranged order the soldiers stood in. This then meant that those behind him would see him fall, and hopefully those in front of him would be pushed slightly, creating the most confusion and commotion amongst them. Also, by aiming for the middle man, the soldiers wouldn't know which direction the attack had come from, so if Alex didn't want to move trees, he could strike again without having to.
Pressing the authors name, an electric current shot out of the spine and into the targets back. When the current hit the man, an expletive "shit!" was screamed into the air, and within five seconds, the man was unconscious on the floor.
The reaction was instantaneous amongst the soldiers, and couldn't have had a better impact nor been more amusing to both Alex and his plans.
Firstly, the men jumped into the air, panic in their eyes as they heard their comrade shout - no, scream - "shit". Then, reaching for their guns at their hips, they looked around frantically for the culprit who somehow silently and invisibly knocked out their friend.
The confusion on their faces, as well as the fear of the unknown, made the soldiers fumble about. Who can fight the invisible?
The leader of the soldiers tried to get order back into the men, shouting orders for them to pick "Whale" up and take him to the trucks and informing the "bosses" confirmed three things. One, these were SAS soldiers. The use of the codename, as well as the British accent confirmed as much. Now that Alex knew who he was up against, he could alter his plan to suit his enemies. Two, the SAS soldiers had vehicles to help follow, if not track, Alex should he leave the Parc. And three, these were just the pawns in a chess game - really, it was a game. A game of wits and nerves and outmanoeuvring the weaker, less daring side. By being pawns, Alex figured that they no doubt knew nothing of Alex except he was a boy who had escaped from MI6's clutches. The soldiers most probably assumed that he wasn't dangerous, that he didn't have weapons on him that could do serious damage to the men. Oh, how wrong you are.
As Whale was escorted away by two soldiers, nine were left in the Parc for Alex to deal with.
During the commotion, Alex opted to move trees, deciding not to risk exposure by striking from the same place twice in quick concession. The noise level of the soldiers masked any sounds he may have made. By the time he'd travelled three trees, and was perching where he could easily aim, the book was charged, ready for another go at the bumbling idiots.
Aiming this time for two men very close together, who almost over-lapped each other, Alex pressed the authors name, and electricity flew through the air, stunning both men.
Alex almost laughed in delight as he realised he could take two down at once. Again he moved trees, waiting for the book to charge back up.
Unfortunately, the two men both fell on their fronts, and the leader, a very smart man, used this as an indication of where the culprit would be hiding. The man kept his eyes on the trees, but Alex had moved on by then, too quick for the soldier to follow.
For Alex, by the time he reached his new destination, the book wasn't charged to full capacity, so he lent downwards towards the soldiers, but still kept out of sight. Aiming close to the soldiers necks and backs, Alex used the anti-bug-spray-that-actually-attracts-bugs spray, putting pressure on the nozzle.
Again, he moved on quickly before the soldiers could find him, but this time moved away from the men, delving into the forest of trees, rather than the walkway. Seven trees in, and feeling rather safe in the dark provided by the canopy of leaves and branches, Alex climbed down his tree and onto the ground. He could hear the commotion of yells and shouts and cries as bugs rushed towards the soldiers, obviously scaring them, if not hurting them. This time, Alex allowed himself a chuckle to escape.
He really shouldn't have, though, because even though a lot of noise was coming from the soldiers, the men were trained to notice things, even in times of distress. As he moved away from his tree, he heard the dreaded sound of guns being taken out of belts, safety catches releasing. Looking towards the soldiers, Alex noticed that they had spotted him, even amongst the insects flying, and instantly he started to run, deciding to sprint to where he knew the gates where so he could get out.
As the soldiers moved to follow him, though, unfortunately for them, the flies, insects and bugs also moved with them. This disabled their sight, and meant by the time Alex had ran a few metres, they lost track of him.
As Alex ran, he noticed a pale face hiding near the tree line; a boy with long dark hair, and wearing a very old black top with jeans. He was too far away, and it was too dark to notice much else about the boy, though.
A shout went up, and Alex knew he was finally spotted by the soldiers. Not having the time to ask the questions he so desperately needed to know, Alex decided to run towards the boy; maybe the kid had a hiding place or would be willing to help him?
As Alex moved closer to the boy, he saw the kid move out of the tree line, waving his hands in the air to attract his attention even further. As the boy moved into the light, Alex saw that the kid had dark blue eyes, and instantly Alex recognised him; James Sprintz. Even though almost a year had passed since he'd last seen him, Alex would never forget that face.
Questions instantly bubbled up inside of him, wondering why James was here, was it another part of the trap? Was James here by accident, on purpose or by coincidence? Why wasn't he back home in Austria? Had the soldiers seen him? If it was by accident, had James recognised him?
As Alex approached James, he, too, started to run. Catching up to the dark haired boy, they ran as fast as they both could, heading towards the Parc's gates. Deciding not to waste his breath, and knowing now wasn't the time, Alex kept the questions to himself; the soldiers were in pursuit of the boys, and asking questions would mean he couldn't come up with a plan to get away.
At the gates, James rushed through them, followed by Alex. He knew that he had to do something to give them time to get away, and so closed the gates before using the bug spray around the handles of the gates where the two doors closed together.
Within thirty seconds, bugs, insects and flies surrounded the area, and Alex saw even more flew in before the soldiers got there.
Alex tuned away from the gate, and looked towards James. Noticing that his attention was otherwise occupied, Alex looked in the direction his friend was and could see a black car coming towards them.
Instantly, fear gripped him; was this the "truck" the soldiers were referring to earlier? Or was this a new threat to him, an unknown enemy he couldn't have predicted?
Reaching to grab James, intending to pull him away from the cars direction and towards a dark patch in the street, Alex reached into thin air. Looking wildly around, Alex spotted James walking to the edge of the road to where the car had finally come to a stop. A man, who looked almost the spitting image of an older James, stepped out of the vehicle, an angry expression on his face.
As James rushed past him, however, running across the street and reached for the door handle of the back seat of the car, he looked back at Alex who had decided to come along, a confused expression crossed the elder mans face.
Alex saw the man look to the heavens, shutting his eyes, before he climbed into the car. James, the adrenaline rush still in his body, ordered his father's personal driver to drive, as Alex sat there, dazed.
End Notes:
Alright, yes, I know that the Harry Potter book in Point Blanc had a stun dart in it, not electric current that could shock you, but I needed to change it slightly to fit in with this story - yes, I am trying to place this story as close to the books as I can, but sometimes things need changing.
Also, I'm really sorry that it has taken me so long to get this up… I've actually had this written for over a month now, but wanted to get another one or two chapters written before then, or at least a plan in mind of where I want it to go - and a plan, I have… maybe a sequel for it, too.
Please review, and tell me what you think. Sorry about any typos - I haven't read over it, so didn't look for any mistakes.