(A/N: I didn't name boy boths Alex and do the whole John thing on purpose... strange...)

7. Kicked Out

Alex Meyer was as white as a ghost- the guy really had been worried. His dark brown eyes were miserable, and Alex could understand exactly how he felt- he'd been there before. Now, Alex Meyer looked directly into Alex's eyes. "Thanks."

"It wasn't a problem."

"Rider, I thought that you hated me," Alex Meyer cautiously told him.

"Oh, I did."

"Then what changed?"

"I guess it's because you poured your entire heart out to me. You seemed so human. Yes, you annoy me, but I've been kind of freeloading off you…"

"You're the one who just saved both of our tails out there."

"Blame the MI6."

"Speaking of the MI6, you need to tell me your story."

Alex shrugged. "We made a deal. We've got time. I might as well."

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"I guess I could blame my father- John Rider, and my uncle, Ian Rider, for the whole thing. My dad was a spy- not a teenage spy, but one of the best. He actually liked spying- I personally don't, but he did."

"Wait a minute… your dad's name is John?"

"Yeah, why?"

"So is Vivie's."

Alex Rider scowled. "Whatever. Anyway, my uncle was a spy as well, but apparently wasn't as good as his brother. Since my father was top-notch, he was sent to be a double agent for MI6 for an organization called Scorpia. It was rising then, and I've managed to mostly do away with it now, but they're still a threat. Anyway, sometime during all this, he met my mother, who was a nurse at one of the hospitals he stayed in. Of course, they got to know each other.

"My mom detested my father's job. I have no doubt that she would be annoyed now if she knew what I've been up to. Of course, Alan Blunt hated that my father had fallen in love. He wasn't afraid for his own life- most agents aren't- but he would be for somebody that he loved, and Blunt knew it. Well, it was too bad, since they obviously ended up together anyway.

"Since spies usually don't have friends- they can't when they have to lie all the time- the wedding was really small and simple. When my mom found out that I was on the way, my dad decided that he had had enough of all this spying business and that he wanted to live a normal life. That kind of got him killed in the end.

"My father's best friend and godfather- he's dead now, and good riddance- was supposed to get him back safely. Well, my dad managed to get back, alright- but then his best friend got into a boatload of trouble for screwing up so much, and that was when he crossed over to the dark side. He became a double agent too- and to prove his loyalty to Scorpia, he killed my parents."

Alex Rider paused for a moment, and Alex waited patiently. He quickly continued.

"I was supposed to have been on the plane. The bomb was placed in my father's luggage, and my parents died instantly. After their death- I don't think that I was even a year old- my uncle took me in and raised me.

"I knew that he wasn't my father- but in all those years, he lied to me, saying that he was a banker. One night, police officers showed up and told me- and my housekeeper, Jack Starbright, that I was going to visit in Washington D.C.- that he had died in a car crash, that if he had been wearing a seatbelt, he wouldn't have died.

"I saw through the lie. He was always so careful- he insisted that I always wore a seatbelt, and he always checked to make sure I did, too. When I investigated the business, the MI6 told me that I either could help them or go to an orphanage. Well, that pretty much left me with no choice, so I finished the mission that had killed my uncle, and it kind of went downhill from there."

So they had both been used and hurt at a young age, both in their own ways. Their environments had ensured that- they'd been doomed from the start. Now, their similarities were banning them together- and they were becoming a team.

If Alex thought about them, Alex Rider and Vivie were actually pretty alike- both of their fathers were named John, both of them hadn't chosen to be heroes, both of them had had the weight of the entire world on their shoulders, and they had narrowly escaped with their lives and left indelible scars on their lives and hearts.

"Hey, Mr. MI6 Agent… is this Jane Browne character dead?"

"She died from the curse," Alex confirmed.

"You're still going to have to go to court."

"Hey, leave him alone, would you? This sucks. We've got things to do."

The officer let out a huff. "You are so lucky that you're with the MI6. I'll clear his name," he growled. "Now go."

"I never thought that the MI6 would help me out. Looks like all that fun managed to help me out in the end," Alex Rider muttered under his breath.

"I am so going to hurt Nessa for this," Alex growled. "She could have told me that you were coming! I mean, we don't need to get arrested for attacking the weatherman, do we?"

"Why Nessa?"

"Well, she was on the phone with your MI6 agent, wasn't she? I don't know about you, but I think that she knows something. That's so stupid." Alex sighed and tried to remember the way back to the ice-cream shop. "Aren't you technically a legal adult now? Can't you choose to do whatever you want?"

"Technically, I can, and I don't like being sued, but… well, duty calls."

Alex nodded, kind of understanding what he meant. Alex hadn't wanted to see Aaron again, but he had gone to help Vivie out of love. (He hadn't proposed to Vivie yet since he wanted to wait until they were ready for that level of commitment.) Angela and Luke, on the other hand, were the rash ones.

"Rider… I don't usually get involved in these things… and I hate to say this, but I'm going to need your help."

"We'll talk about it after we talk to Nessa."

"Sure… why do you think that your MI6 guy wants you to partner with Vivie?"

"I don't know… the curse?"

"It sounds like it." Alex sighed. "Look, I'm really sorry that you got dragged into this mess- as you've seen, it's not real pretty, and… well, thanks for your help so far. I wish that I could repay you for your kindness."

"Just prank-call the MI6 and tell them that I committed suicide, and I'll call it even."

"I'll think about it," Alex promised. "Man, I'm glad that I brought Fisher a red car. Where is it?"

"Maybe that one with the black-haired girl trying to break into it?"

"Oh, it's just Angela- Farrior's fiancé," Alex realized. "Angela!"

She turned around, her pretty dark eyes saucy and joyful. Her black hair was amazingly long, but it was neat. She had very little makeup on- just enough to accentuate her eyes. Her smile was wide and her expression slightly shocked.

"Alex! It's you!" She giggled slightly. "And who's your friend?"