Ok, I know my chapters are shorter then they usually are but could someone please review? Maybe I'm expecting too much; I don't know.

This is the last chapter that I am going to upload today even though I have almost the entire thing written. I'll wait till Monday and if I have five more reviews by that point I'll put chapter four up (I'm impressed with how much I wrote on the chapter, almost eight pages worth of typing); if not then you have to wait for next Saturday since I will have no internet access (or technology access) for the entire next week.

I hope you like this chapter. The real action starts in chapter four, though. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Do what you must

When someone wakes up they usually expect to be in a bed or at least something soft.

The fact that Alex could feel hard, cold rock under his back was not reassuring in the least.

With a groan Alex pushed himself into a sitting position and put his head between his knees, squeezing slightly. Blood pounded through his brain, much louder that it was supposed to be, and it felt like his head was inflating and deflating rapidly over and over again.

When his headache had subsided to the point that he could concentrate on what was going on Alex looked up and examined his surroundings. The walls were grey concrete, the single door was the same shade of grey, and there was no door handle, no way for him to get out.

Slowly Alex's memories trickled back to him as he became more alert. He remembered opening the curtains so that he could see outside while he worked on his homework. He remembered the strange creak coming from the loose board in the hallway.

He also remembered the two men in black who had attacked him.

Great, just great. If Alex was guessing right then he was probably a hostage, though why he did not know. Probably something to do with his uncle.

The room was small, only about two meters from wall to wall and two and a half tall. It was clearly not a guest room. The only sign that it was even used regularly was the lack of dust . . . and the strange dark stains on the floor.

Suddenly there was the sound of heavy footsteps that stopped outside of his door. Alex trembled, a shiver going up his spine.

"The boy should be awake now, Sr." the first voice was emotionless, though Alex could hardly hear it through the thick walls and door.

"Good, you may leave now," rough, with an undertone of something, the other man seemed to be the one in charge.

"Yes Sr."

One set of retreating footsteps echoed down the hall ominously, leaving the other man standing outside the door. There was a soft beep and a click before the door swung inward. Alex had to blink for several moments as the light from the outside spilled in to the darker room.

The outline of the man came into focus. He was tall and overly muscular. The middle of his head was bald, his only remaining hair strangling to hold on to the sides. At one point he may have been blond but what was left was now bleached white. Old scars peppered the exposed skin on his arms, some looked to have been purposefully inflicted. One scar ran across his face, over his nose, under his left eye, and dipped down to trace the man's jaw.

Cold, calculating grey eyes focused on Alex's own and the man smiled. It wasn't a good smile.

"Hello Alex, my name is Walter Johnson," the man began, his smile growing slightly larger and Alex felt a flash of fear, "I need you to answer some questions for me."

0~o~0

"Alex, I'm home!" Ian called as he stepped through his front door and locking it behind him.

His latest mission had, thankfully, not resulted in any broken bones and so for once he came home with only a few bruises that could easily be hidden. It had been a relatively easy assignment. All he had to do was infiltrate a local criminal ring and send information to MI6. After a couple of weeks, 'Jonathan Moore' was involved in a scuffle and died of a bullet wound. Hours later almost the entire criminal ring was shut down and the people involved arrested. Those who had escaped were being tracked down.

He didn't exactly enjoy his job, and he hated lying to Alex, but as the saying goes: Once a spy, always a spy. No matter how hard some tried there was no escaping the job once you had been recruited. If someone became a spy, they were a spy until they died, retired or not. Such had been the case for their entire family.

He just hoped that, when the time came, they would show mercy on his nephew and wait until he was of age. If he knew Blunt, though, it would happen sooner rather than later.

"Alex?" Ian's eyes narrowed as he looked around, hand twitching toward his hidden gun.

Alex always responded when Ian called, but this time he didn't hear the voice of the ten year old, he didn't hear anything at all.

The house was silent. Ian's eyes flicked around, his muscles tensing. He knew that Alex might just be out playing with his friends and that everything was alright.

But Alex didn't have any friends here.

Worried eyes examined every detail of the room as Ian put his bag down. The couch was shifted slightly and the pillow displaced. The curtains were open, which was not good. Open window meant that someone could see inside the house and have a clear shot. A wrinkled paper lay innocently on the floor.

Cautiously check to make sure that there were no observers Ian bent to pick up the paper. The silence was unnerving. He skimmed through paper quickly, pausing when he noticed that the last sentence had cut off in the middle, unfinished.

Alex would never have stopped so suddenly like that without reason.

Turning the paper over Ian's blood ran cold.

If you want your nephew back, Ian Rider, come to the old mill tonight and come alone. Bring anyone else and we'll kill you nephew.

You know who we are, so you should know which one I'm talking about.

In seconds his phone was out and ringing, pressed against his ear.

"What is it, Agent?" Alan Blunt answered with his usual emotionless voice.

"There has been a situation," Ian said, standing up, hands shaking with rage, "My nephew had been kidnapped. They know who I am."

A pause, as if Blunt were considering something, and then he replied, "Agent Neil will arrive as backup in two hours. Do what you must."

Ian nodded, though Blunt could see him, and hung up.

Alex was in trouble, there was no time to waste.

0~o~0

I know it takes effort to post a review but if you made it to the bottom of this chapter that means you like it, right? Please review? Pretty please with extra chapters on top?