Note: For those of you that had already read the original "last chapter" yesterday, I split up chapter eighteen and the epilogue that used to be at the end. It's convenient anyway because I forgot to mention a few things and, though I wanted to post a chapter nineteen containing those details, you aren't allowed to use single chapters for author's notes. Shoot. So you can go ahead and skip all the way to the end where I've added stuff to the AN!

Epilogue

The security man hated his job. He hadn't gone and trained at the police academy for six months to stare at television screens all day. It was the same thing during his ten hour shifts: eat, watch, sleep, watch, use the bathroom, yell at Miller for something totally irrelevant, watch some more… The only interesting things he came across were things like watching people have panic attacks, trying to smuggle illegal objects through security, or kids throwing hissy fits. The other security guards posted out there got to see the real action. He was forced to watch behind closed doors.

"Miller!"

The younger security man, a red-haired kid in his early twenties, burst through the door. "Yes?"

"Get me another coffee, would you?" the plumper, older (and slightly more purplish) one ordered gruffly.

His beady little eyes strayed towards the monitors on one side of the small room, subconsciously searching for anything out of place. At first the heated argument between a couple caught his attention, causing him to sit up and scoot closer, but then two particular figures in the corner of one screen sounded off red alarms in his head.

"Miller!"

The door opened again, revealing the flushed face of his secondary. "I'm already on it, sir—"

"No, forget about the coffee, you idiot!" The man snapped. He kept his eyes on the blond-haired boy and the older man standing next to him in the security line. "Hand me the phone. I need to make a call. NO, NOT THAT PHONE. THE CELL PHONE, BOY!"

He waited impatiently, glaring at the screen before him. Two seconds later, the prepaid cell phone was in his hand, his stout fingers having trouble dialing the number he'd been forced to memorize. It rang once and clicked, the cool, clipped voice of his superior commanding, "Speak."

The security man grinned wickedly, using his other hand to pause and zoom in on the camera's grainy image. "I've found him, sir. I've found Alex Rider."

On the other end of the line, Adrian Castillo was congratulating the man as he sat a under a large umbrella on the pool deck behind his vacation home in Costa Rica. He wore only a short-sleeved button up and lightweight swim trunks, though he had no intention of touching the pool, especially not when his nephew was close to contaminating it with the Brazilian models he'd brought over.

The temperature was at a steady eighty-eight degrees with a light breeze. The sky was beautiful and unblemished by wispy white clouds, allowing the bright Caribbean sun to wash over the palm trees and brighten the lively colors that sprang up around the coral-colored house. It was six thousand square feet of just one of many paradises.

Castillo hung up the phone and gestured to one of the men in black suits standing at his shoulder. He gave him a few quick orders in his ear, sending the man walking swiftly away. Having already forgotten about him, Castillo glanced over at the oversized, cerulean blue pool next to him and watched his nephew. It seemed the he still needed to learn some lessons on how he treated his guests, particularly when they were as insignificant as these ones. One of the first rules is: don't get attached.

After taking a sip from his cocktail, he sighed and called, "Cesar, venga aquí," and gestured with his fingers.

It took a minute or two, but the twenty-year-old playboy finally disentangled himself from the women and climbed out of the pool. It wasn't difficult to see why the female population (and some of the male on occasion) fawned over him; born from a Hispanic father and half German, half Irish mother, Cesar Dominguez knew exactly how to flaunt the coffee-colored skin and ruffled dark hair. He'd learned his womanizing ways on his own growing up in private school and going through several private tutors. Even with his arrogant, sometimes foolish ways, the young man was actually very smart. Unlike his father, he knew how to grow an empire and attain power; even better, he was an excellent manipulator. He could turn anyone into useless putty in his hands. These reasons were exactly why Castillo had adopted him.

Wrapping a thick towel around his waist, Cesar approached his uncle, pool water dripping from his hair and down the carefully sculpted arms and chest, his prized possessions… other than what he couldn't display openly. "¿Tío?" he greeted with a smile. Uncle?

"Ready yourself, Cesar," Castillo said simply, still speaking in Spanish. He looked up at him through his sunglasses. "Your vacation is over. Remember that project we discussed a few months ago?"

Cesar had no trouble at all recalling it. The smile widened into an enthusiastic grin. "Of course. How could I forget?"

"It's time." Castillo downed the last of his drink, finishing with a satisfied sigh. "Let's pay Mr. Rider and his friends a visit."

Note: If you haven't noticed already, you must be blind because there WILL be a sequel! I haven't got too much planned for it yet but I have some ideas churning away in my head (details below). Unfortunately, I may not be starting it anytime soon for various reasons, like I like to spend time developing the plot and details, etc; school starts TOMORROW (omg); and I would like to continue my other Alex Rider fic And the Truth Will Set You Free since I've only got one chapter done for that.

So yes, I'm really sorry if I don't start the sequel for a while... months even. It's my senior year but I'll do my best to take advantage of holiday breaks and such(:

I do have some thoughts about the sequel:

-Do you prefer first or third person? To be specific, I use third person limited because it's kind of like first and third morphed into one. But I found myself, as I wrote this fic, sometimes wishing that I was writing in third. I guess I could cheat like I sort of did with these first and last chapters and use both, but I'm not sure yet. What are your opinions?

-Two words for the main idea/plot that has planted itself in my head: spy school. Now, I know that may elicit some different responses though we all might have the same picture in our head when thinking of those words. However, as I go through the details while brainstorming, I want to make it genuine and good, something that is unexpected and different from whatever cliches and stuff that come up when you hear "spy school." It's just a possibility though; I'll try to come up with other things.

Aside from that, if you have any suggestions or ideas you'd like to see for the sequel, please do share because your opinions are highly valued and always considered!

Feel free to continue commenting/reviewing/asking questions/whatever the story, even long after it's been finished, and since I won't be updating it anymore, I will try to PM you a response. I can't guarantee that I'll be on FF everyday but I'll check in often on my fics and all.

Thank you thank you thank you all SO much for your amazing support. You have no idea how much it really means to me when people truly appreciate my work. It just motivates me to work harder and better myself. I do not have regrets about joining this site and it's all because of you guys.

Thank you again. Thankyouthankyouthankyou. Seriously. I love you all. You're awesome.

Thank you.