Liability

Chapter 2

Alex cycled back to his Chelsea home and unlocked the door."I'm back!" He called.

"You're late, Alex, very late." The woman came out of the kitchen, a frown upon her young face, her short, mousey brown hair bounced on her shoulders as she walked towards Alex who had just shut the front door. Angela Hall had been seconded by MI6 to look after Alex after the death of Jack.

"Sorry." Alex replied.

"You're dinner is in the kitchen." She told him sharply and Alex wandered into the kitchen and seated himself at the small two-person kitchen table, the one he and Jack used to eat at, in front of the chicken pie, chips and peas. He quickly explained why he'd been late to Angela.

Alex was trying his best to forget Jack, forget everything that had happened in the last year and a half, he knew if he thought about it and about her he would be hurting himself, making it worse.

Alex woke early the next morning, his body clock still conforming to his school days. He'd been pulled out of Brookland Secondary School three weeks prior. Mrs. Jones asked Angela to have a word with Mr. Bray and told him that it was in Alex's best interest that he no longer attended the school. Mr. Bray agreed; his attendance had been appalling in the past year. Students were becoming disrupted when he was around and also they had begun bullying the boy.

He picked up his phone and remembered that he was going to ring Tom last night, but he'd never got the chance.

Sorry about last night Alex typed. He wasn't expecting a reply from Tom as it was only 0630. That was until a buzz came from Alex's bedside table.

Just don't die... He had replied, rather much to Alex's surprise.

You know me Tom I'll be fine! It was a while before Alex got the reply back, Tom had mist likely fallen asleep in between texts and he was sure that if they saw each other, Tom would be annoyed about Alex texting him at the ungodly hour.

Famous last words, lol :p See you when you get back. The text said. It buzzed again just seconds later. Oh, I want a souvenir from where ever you're going! Alex chuckled. He hoped Tom was seriously joking when he said famous last words.

Alex placed his phone back on the table and dressed before going downstairs to have breakfast. Mrs. Jones wanted him at the bank for 0830. It was 0730; it would take him about forty-five minutes to get to Liverpool Street from his Chelsea home.

Alex took his bike from the garage and cycled to Sloane Square Station. He left his bike in the bike rack just outside the station. The station was packed with business men and women all smartly dressed in their suits, stereotypical briefcases hanging from one arm and a mobile phone plastered to their ear. Sloane Square Station was the dullest place on Earth on a Monday morning, business men and women in the drab suits; even the school children wore their boring coloured uniforms. He pushed his year ticket through the slot and the gates opened and he his way through the gate. Alex made his way through the different underground tunnels to find the station he needed. The Circle Line train came within minutes and Alex got on. He found himself a spot, squashed between an elderly man who had glasses and a long, white beard, and a business man and woman who were chatting, Alex thought they might have been business partners as no one talked to each other on the tube. There was a crying child somewhere in his carriage and a mother shouting at another child. It was going to be a long journey. More people seem to get on than the amount that got off, making Alex feel even more crushed between bodies, like sardines in a tin.

Finally, the announcement came out that the next station was Liverpool Street Station. Alex pushed himself towards the door on the left knowing that it was this side that would open. The tube halted with a jolt and people flooded off at the popular station. Alex breathed in the slightly fresher air as he made his way out of the station and towards the bank.

Alex entered the office once more. Most probably the last time before the intensive training began. The office was as boring and as dull as usual, much like everything else was on the miserable Monday morning.

"Good morning, Alex." Mrs. Jones said. Alex grumbled a 'morning' back just to please her; he still received a warning look from her creepily cold, dark eyes.

"Have they arrived yet?" Alex wondered, Alex was feeling anxious, although he did not dare to show it, about meeting the team.

"Not yet. You've chosen some good agents, Alex." She said exasperatedly. "I think you'll do well in this mission. Have you thought about how you're going to complete your mission?" Alex shrugged and shook his head.

"I don't know, I-" He was cut off by the intercom buzzing. Mrs. Jones pressed a button.

"They're here, in conference room B," He said.

"Thank you, William." Mrs. Jones replied. Alex looked up at her as a sign that he could leave the office. "Yes, Alex, you can go."

Alex wandered out the room and up to the next floor level where there were four large conference rooms. He opened the door and let himself through where he saw four agents stood making small talk quietly in the corner.

"Uh, hi," Alex said nervously. They all turned round simultaneously to see the young boy and all were visibly startled at how young the blond boy was. Sure, they had been told they would be led by a young agent, but they didn't really know how young he would be.

The woman stood forward. "I'm Agent Williams, nice to meet you." Alex took her hand and shook it firmly.

"Agent Birch." They too shook hands.

"Probationary Agent Donnelly." He announced and once again shook hands.

"Alex!" Ben Daniels said ecstatically. "It's nice to see you again, though I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Yeah, me too." Alex told him. There was an awkward moment of silence before Alex addressed them all. "I take it you were briefed by Mr. Crawley?" He asked. They all nodded their consent. "OK, we leave for STANTA in two days. You'll all have packed for two weeks worth of training and have gone down to Smithers to get your gadgets," Donnelly's eyes lit up at the thought of gadgets. Much like Alex had done on his first trip to see the Gadget Man.

Thanks for the reviews of last chapter :) Hope you like this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it...

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