Chapter Eight

That night, Alex sat in his chair, gazing out the window at the night sky. He couldn't sleep, and he wasn't stupid enough to even try. Instead, he puzzled over the mystery that was now growing at camp.

First and foremost would have to be Drew. The boy was a bloody puzzle, wrapped in an enigma, tied with a riddle. First he completely gave Alex the cold shoulder. Then, he starts looking out for Alex, pulling him away from possible discovery. And then...

Then his contacts dislodged.

For Alex now recognised what had happened in Drew's room, when he'd clapped his hand over his eye in pain and refused to look back at Alex. After the way Sandy's contacts had come out right in front of him in the lecture theatre, Alex was sure that was what happened. It meant that Drew either had bad eyesight and hated wearing glasses or...

Or he was trying to hide his identity too.

But why? Alex puzzled. Why change your eye colour? All MI6 had done for Alex was to dye his hair, and that had been enough to keep him from being recognised. It probably helped that he'd also had a haircut before leaving England, so his hair was quite different to how he used to wear it.

Why would you go as far as to put in contacts on top of that? Was it extreme paranoia? Or was there another undiscovered factor in this growing mystery?

Alex shook his head, annoyed.

He'd already let Rose in on the contact bit, and she promised to look into those too. But so far, they were getting nowhere, and fast. Whoever Drew might be, he was definitely good at covering his own tracks.

And then there was Tim. Or Matthew, as was his apparent real name.

The boy was definitely conspiring with James Olsen/Professor Hobbs. It really sounded like they were out to kill someone. Or at least, hurt them very badly.

... They never forgive, never forget...

That was what James Olsen had said. For a moment, Alex shuddered again. That was definitely Scorpia's motto. Which meant, there must be someone at Camp who had been in contact with Scorpia and managed to escape with their lives. Like himself.

Alex sighed. He dearly hoped upon every shooting star out there in the universe that they weren't talking about him. Or if they were, that they didn't recognise him at all.

It was almost twelve. Midnight. The full moon shone high up in the night sky.

Alex found his eyes tearing themselves away from the stars, twinkling in the night. Almost by their own free will, they instead focused downwards upon the shadowy grounds. At that moment, two blurry shadows moved into the moonlight. And Alex froze, for he clearly recognised the boy – Tim. The next moment, the other shadow turned his face towards the moon, and allowed Alex a glimpse.

It was Professor Hobbs.

Making up his mind, Alex grabbed his coat and sprinted out of his room, surprisingly quietly. The corridor was a cacophony of snoring and nightmarish murmurs. Alex skidded down the stairs pulling his iPod out of his coat pocket and turning it on. Quickly he set the iPod on the correct tune, before slowly edging out of the building.

As Alex hid amongst the shadows far enough away not to draw attention to himself, he once again thanked all the deities out there for Mr Smithers. For the iPod was currently allowing him to hear each and every word being spoken, without him needing to risk exposure.

"...just been in contact with the Mossad," A voice Alex recognised as being Hobb's said.

"We just got confirmation from headquarters," Tim – erm, Matthew said, "So it's definitely a go."

"I vote we act tomorrow night – he won't expect it so soon."

"You do realise we're leaving for that field trip in two days, don't you? If we act tomorrow and fail, we open ourselves up to all sorts of revenge. Plus, he may have a back-up team at the ready just in case. No, we can't risk it, it would be safer to act during or after the field trip."

There was quiet laughter, before Hobbs spoke again. "Ah Matt, you're good I'll give you that. But you still have a lot to learn. The target had been trained by Scorpia, when they were at their peak! He'll be expecting an attack the further into this camp we get. If we get in first and finish him off, we've got nothing to worry about!"

Silence. And even from where Alex was, he could feel the tension encompassed in that silence.

"Olsen. I may not be experienced like you," Matt began. His tone was so cold, so deadly, that for a moment Alex was sure Drew had replaced him, "But let's not forget which one of us was kicked out of the CIA for acting too hastily, and ending up putting a very important suspect in the asylum."

James Olsen growled. "Why do you always have to bring that up?"

"Because that proves that you're not as good as you think you are," Matthew said in a rather smug tone.

"And this is why I don't work with newbies!" Olsen sighed.

Alex bit his lip, trying hard not to move. Pins and needles were seriously affecting his legs. His feet had already gone numb.

"Bugger, bugger," he muttered under his breath, trying hard not to move for fear of discovery, "Crap!"

His leg suddenly gave off an involuntary jerk. A stick under his foot suddenly snapped, the sound echoing loud and clear.

There was a tense pause, in which Alex repeatedly swore in his mind.

"Who's there?" Hobbs shouted suddenly, breaking through the silence.

Alex winced, trying his best not to give himself away. He could hear rapid footsteps, closing in fast on where he was crouched. He was hardly breathing, hoping against hope that they wouldn't see him at all, that they would just walk pass where he was standing.

Suddenly, a firm hand wrapped itself around his mouth. Someone stood behind him, breathing extremely lightly.

"Don't say anything," a soft voice breathed into his ear. Unable to communicate, Alex nodded his agreement.

The hand disappeared and the figure moved past Alex.

"Come out right now!" Hobbs shouted again. He was much closer this time.

"Calm down!" Alex's rescuer barked.

Alex felt his eyebrows shoot up at that familiar voice – a moment later, Drew Wood stepped out into the moonlight to face Hobbs and Matthew, his expression calm.

"What are you doing?" Hobbs asked, surprise causing his words to come out louder than anticipated.

"Spying on you," Drew said calmly, "You never said you were meeting up tonight."

"I thought you could use the sleep," Matthew spoke up, sounding slightly abashed, "You haven't slept properly in three days."

Drew sneered. "As much as I would love to argue about my sleeping patterns, I suggest you move this conversation inside. You don't know who's out there, listening."

Hobbs and Matthew exchanged glances before nodding their goodbyes at Drew and walking away. Drew watched them go through cool brown eyes, before turning his piercing gaze back on Alex.

"Really," he said softly, "I thought you knew better."

Drew sounded almost disappointed at Alex. The boy shook his head, before leaving Alex alone, still rooted to the spot.

Alex let out a shaky breath. That had been too close for comfort.