...The Mistake...

...Chapter Two...

The man led him toward the docks where the yachts had pulled up and were now resting. Alex sighed again, grimacing as the butt of the gun bumped harshly into the back of his neck once more. He'd been walking for quite a while, as night had already started to fall, the sunset lighting up the entire sky. If it weren't for the situation that he'd found himself in, he might have thought of it as beautiful. But, as that wasn't the case, he barely spared the sky a glance, too intent on watching his feet to make sure that he didn't trip over any debris.

Alex was led up a thin, unsteady plank of wood, and his eyes could only just catch a glimpse of words written on the side of the ship, though he couldn't read what they said. He heard the small crash as the man behind him kicked the wooden plank away from the yacht, the wood making a barely audible splash as it sank into the water below. He frowned as he felt the boat rumble underneath his feet, noting that the yacht was slowly pulling away from the dock and beginning to carefully drive through the water.

Alex swallowed as he felt warm breath against the back of his neck, shivers running down his spine. The male quietly spoke into his ear, "I'll have to apologize for this, Alex, though you won't forgive me either way," the man said dryly, trailing off. This left Alex wondering for a moment but before he could open his mouth to speak, he felt something being shot into the side of his neck and he flinched, his hand immediately going up to where the pain was sending shooting pains throughout his muscles. His fingers met the shape of a small dart sticking out from his neck and he tugged it out, stumbling forward slightly as the drug took effect. He glanced sharply over his shoulder, but he couldn't see anything but two blurry figures standing in front of him. It was only then that he realized that he was already on the ground.

The only thought running through his mind before he fell unconscious was, I have the worst luck.

Sabina Pleasure smiled as she finished her book before glancing beside her at Alex's beach towel, which was still lying next to her, unoccupied. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He should have been back by now. With a small shake of her head, she gathered hers and Alex's things up in her beach bag and slipped her sandals on before making her way back to her house. She was going to call a taxi, but decided that she should probably try and keep an eye out for her wayward friend.

As she walked along the side of the road, lost in thought on where Alex could possibly be, she vaguely recognized the smell of cinder and smoke. As she glanced up, she noticed that quite a few police cars, ambulances and fire trucks were rushing down the road, directly toward her house. She cast a worried glance behind her before she started to run home. Something was obviously wrong. She only hoped that it had nothing to do with her family or Alex.

Rounding the corner, she stood stock still in shock as a few more explosions were set off inside what used to be her house. Now it was a large burning inferno, ready to blow up at any time. She rushed forward, dropping her things on the gravel road and ran across the grass toward her house, ignoring the calls of the officers behind her. She ran into her mother's arms, who was sobbing but looked a little better then Sabina had expected. She glanced around swiftly, trying to locate her father. When she couldn't find him, she felt her worry build. "Mom... Where's Dad?"

Her mother gave another great sob and fell to her knees and Sabina's eyes widened in fear, tears gathering and blurring her vision. "Mom…He's not…?"

Sabina took the nod her mother gave as her answer and she fell next to her on her knees, a hand held over her mouth as her mind slowly digested what that meant. Her father was dead. He had probably been burnt to death in the blaze that wasn't even close to going out. She felt her arms drop to her sides, but she didn't move otherwise. Her entire body was slowly going numb, her mind not being able to fully comprehend what had just happened; her body was going into complete shock.

It was a surprise to the officers that found her a few minutes later, following the mother's screams, that Sabina Pleasure didn't die of heart failure.

When Mrs. Pleasure had been asked about Alex Rider, the young man that had been staying with them for summer vacation, she shook her head and said that she didn't know where he was. The officers concluded that he must have died in the fire as well. Sabina Pleasure and her mother were flown to a nearby hospital, and everything else was left for the officers to clean up.

This is another edited version of this chapter being re-posted! And thank you to my new beta, Nari Starfire, for beta'ing for me!

Enjoy!