Disclaimer: I do not own the Alex Rider series.
So, I've managed to squeeze out another chapter. A triptych really. I know it's very short at only two thousand or so words but I like it. It fits nicely enough and it was a nice, easy way to continue the story. They're be more of a main chapter next and it will be longer. Okay? So, without further ado, here is the next chapter.
The name for this chapter came from the song 'Clocks' by Coldplay.
"..."
"I missed you too" Yassen said. He frowned when he realised he was talking to the dialling tone. Quickly he pocketed his phone and looked out over the huge city sprawled out below him. He took a deep breath and exhaled peacefully.
Alex Rider was somewhere down there. Yassen let himself wonder about the boy. He had an uncanny resemblance to John. With his mother's eyes. He was still so young. Too young to be used. But then again, was Yassen any better, training Jamie? John Rider would never have let his boys get into the trouble they somehow managed to. But maybe it was fate. Or something stronger.
Whatever the case, Yassen couldn't deny that he worried about Alex. He'd taken to checking in on the boy any time he was in England and had managed to piece together, through things he'd learned himself and information he'd gathered from contacts, that Alex had been black-mailed into working for MI6. He was living with an SAS lieutenant. Yassen had brushed with the man before, Wolf, and he hadn't seemed like the family type. Wolf's fiance, Jack Starbright, had been threatened by MI6 with deportation.
As to how Alex was brought to the government's attention, Yassen had no explanation. He supposed it had been to do with Alex being John's son.
Yassen frowned. Alex was not his concern. He was already looking after one Rider and Jamie was enough for anyone. At least with this infatuation of his. Yassen shook his head and wondered if he was the only person who dwelt on thoughts when he was alone. Probably.
Maybe the pressure of trying to help Matthew was finally getting to him. He'd been assigned to more and more missions than ever and the strain was getting hold of him. At least now, after that nasty business with Sayle, he could finally take a few weeks to re cooperate.
Or maybe it was this 'relationship' Jamie had been pulled into. Ella Port was not on equal footing with Jamie. At least, not in Matthew's eyes. Ella didn't love Jamie. She did enjoy having a non commitment relationship with an added element of danger. Plus the fact that Matthew would give Jamie the hiding of a lifetime if he got wind of his daughter's 'habits'.
Maybe it was Scorpia. They were getting ready to eradicate Stiletto and Matthew was too arrogant to see what was happening right before his eyes. A storm was brewing and Yassen had every intention of grabbing Jamie and running the minute it started to pour.
Jamie. Should he tell Jamie about Alex working for MI6? Probably. But he knew he wasn't going to tell Jamie. That would be ridiculous. The boy would fly off the handle and go into the Royal & General all guns blazing. He'd be killed in a matter of seconds. So then, that only left one option. To not tell him. And it would probably best if he had a word with Daniil about spilling the beans.
Yassen's phone rang again and he frowned, pushing the answer button.
"Yassen, it's Doctor Rhodes" a voice said straight away. Yassen could practically hear the disdain in the man's voice. It was a well known secret that Rhodes hated him. To be honest, Yassen had no idea why. Rhodes did, however, absolutely adore Jamie and gave him the best of the best whenever Jamie had been injured.
"Yassen, Jamie called round the other day. With splintered bones. He said something abot a fight. I want to know what the hell you think you're doing, putting a boy of his age in so much danger!? He should be stacking shelves as a summer job, not fighting some maniac! How, in the name of God, did you think pinning him against a mad man was a good idea!?" Rhodes yelled into the phone.
Yassen blinked. Of course. Why Daniil was avoiding him. He'd let Jamie get away with changing the subject in their little conversation.
"Who do you think you are putting him in so much danger!? I know you bullied him into it and I think you should be asham-"
"Actually, I didn't. I haven't seen Jamie in a while. I've been on a mission that just wrapped up. So whatever happened had nothing to do with me. Now, tell me exactly what's wrong with him" Yassen said quietly, an undertone of anger in his tone.
"Oh. Okay. Well then. He had a few very severe breakages in his leg but I set them with..."
As Rhodes continued to explain Jamie's various injuries Yassen vowed silently to himself that Daniil was going to regret ever taking Jamie with him in the first place.
"Hey, Jack, we're almost out of bog roll" Wolf called from the bathroom.
"And you're being your usual charming self I see" Jack called back. Wolf smiled to himself. He was the closest he'd ever been to being perfectly content. He had a great fiance, he was making enough money to support himself, Jack and Alex and Jack's wedding plans were coming along great.
Life was great.
Wolf flushed the toilet and started washing his hands carefully. The smell of soap caught in his nostrils and he frowned.
"Jack, you bought that lavender soap again! You know I hate it. The guys will never let me hear the end of it if I turn up for an excercise smelling like lavender again" Wolf called grumpily.
Jack chuckled.
Wolf ignored her and looked around for a towel to dry his hands with. None.
"Jack! No towel" he called loudly.
Jack let out an exasperated sigh while Wolf reached for the tiny bit of toilet roll that remained. Wolf dried his hands and went to dump the soaking toilet paper in the bin as Jack appeared in the door with a towel.
"I took it to wash it. You're lucky I have no problem with washing your smellies otherwise you'd be filthy" Jack said, grinning.
But Wolf wasn't listening. He was staring down at the bin. More specifically, what was in the bin. A plain white pregnancy test smiled up at him, the little pink cross mocking him silently.
The word that sprang to mind then was so foul to Wolf that he couldn't eve turn to look at his fiance. Four letters that would disrupt his nearly prefectly content existence.
B-A-B-Y.
"So you gave him the letter?" Ian asked his brother quietly. The thunderous waves were showering him in spray and he closed his eyes against the salty sting.
John nodded and stood beside his brother, shoulder to shoulder.
"He's grown up so fast" John commented dryly. He was still in a daze from his encounter with Jamie. It had been an emotional occasion and he still wasn't quite sure what had happened. One minute he was staring into his son's eyes, the next he was bolting away from him.
"Kids have a nasty habit of doing that" Ian replied. He turned and started to make his way back to the holiday home he'd rented. John followed, rubbing his palms together to try and get a bit of heat into them.
"I suppose. He looks like his mum. His hair's a lot darker than I when I last saw him" John said, running a hand through his hair.
"You saw him last when he was six. He was never going to stay the same" Ian said, smiling to himself.
"You're right. But he has little mannerisms. He runs his hand through his hair when he's thinking something over. And he tilts his head to the side when he's listening to someone speak to him. And his mouth, it quirks a little if he thinks somethings funny" John said aloud, more to himself than Ian.
Ian snorted in amusement.
"How long did you follow him for?" he asked, glancing back over his shoulder at his older brother.
"A week. He's got a girlfriend too" John replied, staring out to sea.
"You do that too. You run a hand through your hair when you're thinking" Ian said, grinning.
John smirked. It was nice to be able to talk to his brother without both of them having their guards fully up. Without having to worry about their jobs.
"You should meet up with Alex as soon as you can. He'll have missed you a lot, John" Ian said quietly.
John nodded to himself. That was the next thing on his to do list. Pay Alex a visit. Poor kid had been left out of the loop long enough. It was time to tell him what was really going on behind the scenes.
"What about Helen? How's your investigation going?" Ian inquired.
John took a deep breath and exhaled tranquilly.
"That's what I meant to talk to you about. Remember how Helen's mum raised her? Remember how her dad left them when Helen was really young? Well, he was a scientist. G. Beckett. I dug up an article about him disappearing two months after he left Helen's mum. Then his trail goes cold. And, I finally got contact details for Helen's mum. Called her and told her I was a detective looking into the plane explosion" John said quickly.
"And?" Ian pressed for his brother to continue.
"She told me that Helen's dad's name was Gregory Beckett" John finished.
Ian frowned.
"Gregory Beckett? What's so big about that?" he asked.
"Because, my baby brother, Gregory Beckett specialized in biochemistry. And five years after he left Helen's mum he got work at a place called Estrov. In Russia. Hired to assist in developing weapons for biochemical warfare. Thirteen and a half years later the place blew up. Gregory died. His wife died six months later on his son's fourteenth birthday" John explained in a flat tone, a slight twinkle in his eyes.
"And? So what, Helen had a half-brother? Is he still alive?" Ian asked, genuinely puzzled.
John let the question hang in the air. Ian reflected upon the information and then, five minutes later, gave a slight gasp.
"No" he said shortly.
"I'm afraid so" John replied.
"Does he know?" Ian asked.
"Not as far as I know. Neither did Helen. Just one of those funny little connections that go un-noticed" John said gently.
Ian shook his head.
"No. That is too big to go unnoticed. MI6 had a file on both of them. They would have realised it" Ian said.
"No one did. Funny really, isn't it? How the two of them both impacted on me separately? They both probably thought of me as the only thing linking the two of them. But I'm sure of one thing Ian. Helen is out there somewhere. And she's had ten years to find out that piece of information. So I'm guessing she knows" John replied.
"John, Helen would've surface by now if she was alive. If she is alive, and that's a huge if, she's probably in a coma in an MI6 clinic. Or confined to one anyway, whether she needs it or not. They'd never let her get out. What makes you so sure she's alive anyway?" Ian said, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"She is Ian. I can feel it in my gut. And I'm going to find her" John said determinedly.
Ian let out a low whistle.
"So, Gregory Beckett. Father of two. I did always wonder where Yassen got Gregorovich from. Russian names with the father and the ending, right?" Ian said.
John nodded.
Later that night Ian drifted into John's room and leaned on the door frame with one shoulder.
"So, you said Jamie considers himself Russian, didn't you?" he asked.
John rolled over to face his brother and nodded.
"So, is he Jamie Ivanovich or Jamie Yassenovich?" Ian asked.
John threw a pillow at Ian and smiled at him.
"My name's not Ivan. I'm not Russian" he said, neglecting the question.
Ian smirked.
"'Night big brother. It's nice to have you back" he said, switching off John's light.
"'Night Ian. It's nice to be back" John replied, rolling over. An hour later the question was still gnawing at his mind, relentlessly denying him sleep. Jamie. Was he really a Rider after all the time that had passed?
Okay, so, that was fun, right? I know the end wasn't so great but it was the best I had. Anyway, I have a serious recommendation for you. There's a new author I'm betaing for; DreamsInBlackAndWhite. She's posting a story soon called 'The Baby Book' that I've done beta on. I think it's really great for a first ever story and I'd really appreciate it if you'd check it out because she's very self conscious about her writing and she needs a bit of reassurance. I had to practically beg her to make an account! Am I allowed mention other author's stories here?
Please Review, it makes my day!