Alex Rider: Contamination

By: Edna Baudelaire

Chapter Two: Bringing up the Past

We pulled into Alex's driveway just as the sun desperately tried to cast just a few more rays of light before it disappeared beyond the pink and orange horizon. I hopped off the handle bars and winced.

"Next time, I get the seat and you get the sore butt," I said, attempting to break the awkward silence. Throughout the entire ride home, Alex had given me the cold shoulder. It looked like he was not about to break his façade. He said nothing as he dismounted his bike and vanished through his front door. Rolling my eyes, I quickly followed.

With a sigh, I stepped inside. The fresh aroma of sautéed shrimp filled my nostrils. My stomach gurgled. I rested my hand upon it, trying to recall my last meal. I vaguely remembered scarfing down a bowl of Wheaties before rushing to my debriefing in Chelsea.

"Alex?" I heard a voice call. "What's wrong?" The slam of a door. Footsteps. "Alex?"

I stepped into the kitchen, searching for the source of the voice and wondered if I would be allowed to partake in that dinner that smelled oh-so delicious. I could see the pots and pans sitting atop the smoking stove, boiling and sizzling.

I guided myself towards where Alex had grumpily stomped off to, to find a girl, banging on a door. She was about 25, blonde and wearing a grease-stained apron.

"Hi," I said kindly, holding out my hand.

She turned, startled. "Who are you?" She asked, taking a cautious step backwards.

"I'm Annabelle," I said. "I'm working with Alex." I worked hard to keep a smile in my voice.

She eyed me suspiciously. "Alex, is this true? Are you working with this...this Annabelle?" She called through the door. Silence.

"I'll ask you one more time," she said, taking a step forward. I put my hands up. "Who are you?"

"I told you! I'm Annabelle and I'm supposed to be working with Alex!" I pleaded. "Alex! Tell her you know me!" A glint caught my eye. A cooking knife in this girls hand reflected off the overhead lights, causing my body to tense up. I took a step backwards.

"What are you doing here?" She asked in a low voice.

"Alex please!"

"I said—"

"Alex!" I shiver raced down my spine. I had no weapons or protection and the hallway was too narrow to try any moves without hurting myself as well. "God damnit Alex, help me out here!"

Suddenly, the door opened and Alex appeared in the cramped hallway. He looked around and saw the knife.

"It's alright Jack," he said. "She's with me." He disappeared into his room, leaving his door open. I took that as an invitation to follow, and quickly slipped past the crazy lady with the knife and the demented glint in her eye.

I hurried into his room, feeling Jacks eyes glaring into my back.

My close encounter with Jack quickly escaped my mind as the smell of "boy" hit me like a rock. Red spice, dirty clothes and male products filled my senses and I didn't know whether I should plug my nose or take another whiff. I tiptoed around filthy gym socks and various articles of clothing that were strewn across the floor carelessly. Since the moment I met Alex, he struck me as the "clean" and "proper" guy, but one look at his room and I quickly realized he was a typical boy. Sports posters littered the dark blue walls. A game system's controllers snaked their way about the clutter that covered his floor. A soiled shirt hung limply off of a dimly lit lamp in the corner of the room. I cleared my throat.

"Is your room always so...disastrous?" I asked as I poked his bed lightly, making sure nothing was alive before I cautiously sat down.

Alex eyed me from a chair a few feet away. "I'm never here. Why clean it?" he asked, bluntly.

I rolled my eyes. I was never home either but I always made sure my room was spotless. I couldn't stand filth. "Alright, let's do this. Get the files out," I said as I got up from the bed. I shoved some dirty clothes to the side and sat on the floor, with my back resting against the wall.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Uh...nothing. I just like to sit like this when I read over my files. It helps me think. You got a problem with that?" I asked, annoyed, my cheeks aflame with humility. Then, something out of the ordinary happened. Alex actually smiled. No, the "boy" fumes were not getting to my head. Alex actually showed an emotion other than hostility.

It was gone as quickly as it came. His features instantly became serious as he whipped out the huge stack of papers we were supposed to study, and now share.

"Alright, well Annabelle-"he started.

"Anna," I replied automatically.

"What?" Alex asked, perplexed.

"Just call me Anna," I replied. Alex stared at me incredulously. My cheeks reddened more. Something about that boys stare made me feel uncomfortable and self-conscious. "Proceed." I said with a casual wave of my hand.

He slowly shook his head before his stare returned to the files. "Alright, Anna. Your codename is Alyssa. Mine is Aaron. We are brother and sister." He paused, reading ahead. Silence hung in the air. I gently tapped my fingers upon the wood floor. Impatience boiled in my blood as each second slowly ticked past. His eyes slowly scanned the pages, as if he knew he was annoying me.

With a huge, forced sigh, I got up and retrieved my soiled files from atop his desk, which he had so rudely thrown there. I gathered them up and returned to my seat, intent on reading these Goddamn files, blood stains or no blood stains. I had to constantly squint and some of the most important words were covered up. My anger level steadily inclined as I glanced over at Alex, who read his clean, unmarked files, with a small, smug smile playing across his lips.

An hour later, I slammed my files down once I realized that Austin is not a Continent.

"Give me my files," I ordered as I held out my hand. I couldn't stand it anymore. It bothered me more than anything knowing that Alex defies rules, yet he gets his way. Here I am, and I was innocently attacked, and I lost my files in the process. How is that fair?

"No, these are my files," Alex said. "You had files too, remember?"

"Why, yes I do remember Alex. But do you remember that they are covered in your blood and scattered on the floor of a closet inside of MI6 Special Operations?" I asked in a child-like voice.

"They wouldn't be covered in my blood if you wouldn't have punched me in the face!" he replied angrily.

"Well, I wouldn't have punched you in the face if you wouldn't have attacked me in the first place!" Silence. I got him there.

"That's it!" He yelled as he got up. "I'm done. You are impossible to work with!"

I stood up, astonished at this childish outbreak. "Me! I'm impossible to work with! Well sorry Mr. Grumpy! I didn't sign up for this either!" I shouted as I quickly blocked the doorway with my body.

He angrily tried to get past me. "Get out of my way! I'm calling MI6 and dropping this mission." He forcefully shoved my arm away and stomped into the hallway.

"Oh, so that's it!" I screamed. "You don't want to work with me so you quit! You can't drop this mission, Alex. Lives are on the line!" I hurriedly grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him back to his room.

He whipped around. "Lives are always on the line, Annabelle!" He yelled. "You would know that, wouldn't you?" I paused. "You would know all about that sacrifice. You knew your parents lives were on the line, but '."

My breathe was knocked out of my lungs. "H-how do you know about that?"

He scoffed and angrily threw his files down. They cascaded out of the folders, littering the already filthy floor. "It was in my files."

I felt like someone had slapped me in the face. Who in their right mind, would need to tell my partner that? They're working with the undercover me, not the real me.

"The files don't matter! But your parents did."

"Alex, I swear, if you say one more word about my parents-"

"Did you hear their screams as they died-"

"Alex-"

"More importantly, did you even care?" I stared at the floor, willing the tears not to come. "You knew the consequences," he said quietly. "You didn't listen, and now your parents are dead. You tell me lives are on the line, but you of all people are the hypocrite. You act like you're all for saving lives when your actions killed your own parents." I couldn't breathe. It was like all the air in the room had disappeared, leaving me gasping.

"That was low, Alex." I managed to choke out before I rushed past him and out the door. The tears fell freely now. I was thankful the London streets were bare and I didn't have an audience. Salty drops of water slowly slithered down my face. I could barely speak of my parents without getting upset, and being told to my face that the reason they are not alive and breathing is me, broke my heart because inside, I know it's true. I know that because of me, my parents will never again kiss me goodbye, hug me hello, laugh or cry again. I already felt horrible about this and Alex just sent my self-respect down the drain.

Alex.

My misery quickly turned to anger, then hatred.

Fine, Alex didn't want to work with me. He made that much clear. I didn't need him. I would fulfill this mission by myself. I had to. Lives were on the line.

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I originally had a bunch of reviews for this story, but when I deleted the story and put up this new one, all my wonderful reviews went with it :( So it would be amazing if you would replenish them.