Chapter 2: The Project
By seven Jamie had found all of the information her parents needed, but it had taken almost all of the time her mother had given her. She had changed out of her baggy school clothes and into a nicer pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt. Jamie smiled grimly at herself in the mirror. "I'm so all american1" she thought. She grabbed the information from her printer and was heading down the stairs when the doorbell rang.
"Jamie, answer the door, please," called her mother from the kitchen. Jamie walked down the last few stairs. She was purposely taking her time and delaying this meeting for as long as she could. When she opened the door, Dylan was standing there looking down at her with a big grin on his face. He was extremely tall, probably six foot four. He was in decent shape and very tan. His blue eyes were just plain icy and they seemed to bore into Jamie.
"Hi, Jamie, it's been so long since I last saw you!" he exclaimed as he walked inside. He went to give Jamie a hug but she sidestepped him.
"I had been hoping it would be a longer time before I saw you again," Jamie said.
"Now, Jamie, be nice to your Uncle," her mother said as she came out of the kitchen. "Dylan, it is so nice to see you." Her mother and uncle hugged and headed into the kitchen. "Oh, Jamie, is that the information I need?" Her mother asked.
"Yeah, here," Jamie replied shortly handing the papers to her mother who smiled and turned back to the kitchen. "Mom, is dad home yet?" Jamie asked as she entered the kitchen.
"Oh, no, he isn't. He must be stuck at work still," her mother mused unconcernedly. "Dylan, how about you have a seat and dinner will be ready in just about two seconds. Jamie, come get these dishes and put them out."
Jamie grabbed the dishes and silverware and put them at the proper places. Her mother brought over a large bowl of delicious smelling stew and they all sat down. Jamie sat on one side of the table, her mother and Dylan on the other; like always it was her against everyone else. Jamie ate her food quietly and listened to Dylan and her mother talk about mundane things like work and the news. Suddenly Dylan turned to her.
"So what is this I hear about an interesting new pen pal?" he asked. Jamie couldn't believe he knew already. Her mother hadn't said anything about it while she had been sitting there and Jamie herself had not brought it up. Her mother must have told him about it over the phone before he came over.
"It's just something the school assigns to the ninth graders every year. It's nothing special," Jamie replied nonchalantly.
"Did you find anything interesting on that website you were on?" her mother asked.
"No. I didn't have much time because I had to do your research for you," Jamie replied shortly. She was getting seriously annoyed by how superior all the adults in her home life seemed to be. They just had to poke their noses into everything she did or said.
"Well. Now that you seem to be finished eating you can go back to your computer and find out everything about your pen pal. From what classes he is taking to what he likes to eat!" said Dylan. "We all know how wonderful you are with computers. You can find out almost anything!"
Jamie did not like the way this compliment was going. "I think I'll just write a nice, mundane letter asking him for the sort of information pen pals are supposed to ask for," she snapped at Dylan. With that she got up and headed towards the stairs. Dylan followed her to the bottom of the stairs.
"You know, I think I have heard the name Alex Rider before. How about you do a deep background check on this English school boy," he suggested slyly.
"No. I am perfectly fine doing things my way," she replied and continued on her way up the stairs.
"Just make sure you don't tire yourself out too much doing all of that homework! I want to have a little chat with you when your mother and I are done talking," he called up to her. Jamie pretended to not hear him and she stopped herself from cringing as she went into her room. She hated Dylan. Hated him with every ounce of her being. She didn't care that he was her uncle. There was just something wrong with him. Jamie went straight over to her computer when she got to her room and worked on her homework. She really needed to get all of her work done, not that it would actually take her that long. She was practically a genius. She knew numerous languages and was fluent in almost all of them. Jamie just made sure that the students in her school didn't realize how smart she was. She would spend her time checking her homework so that it would be almost perfect. That was really what took her such a long time. She had just finished her last item of homework when she heard Dylan coming up the stairs.
Dylan poked his head in her room. "Let's go have a little chat," he said with a grin on his face. Jamie walked past him and headed down the hall to the room at the back of the house. Dylan followed her and closed the door behind him. They were in a very empty room. There was a rug and a covered window but that was about it. It was a bare, cold room, meant to intimidate anyone who entered it. As far as Jamie knew, she was the only person to ever come into the room.
"What is this about?" she demanded. "I have not done anything wrong. I haven't been rude and I have done everything everyone has told me to do."
"You call this being polite?" Dylan asked, as he leaned against he wall. He was watching her the way a lion watches a gazelle. Jamie did her best to act like it did not bother her at all. He thrived off knowing he was in control and she was not going to give him that satisfaction tonight. She was tired of him. She was tired of just about everything at the moment and she wanted to beat the crap right out of him.
"We just want to be sure that you will do as you are told in the future as well. We have noticed that you have been being especially good lately, but that may just mean you are waiting for the right time to backfire," Dylan suggested.
"Who the heck is the all encompassing "we"? Is it you and my parents or someone from your little group?" she asked. Since she was usually a mute once she entered this room her banter was an unwelcome addition in Dylan's mind and Jamie was enjoying his trepidation. Dylan started to pace slowly in front of her, effectively blocking the door and her only way out of the room.
"Your mother had to look up some of our information today?" he asked. Jamie just stood there and stared at him because she knew he already knew that answer. "Have you figured out what is going on yet?" he asked.
"Something big," she replied. The longer she kept him talking, the better for her. "You had me looking up where the largest connection of water pipes is under London and you needed some heavy explosives, but I thought there were other people who were better at that sort of stuff than I am."
"Maybe, but for this project we decided you would be the best person to have on hand. You had better listen to your mother and I when we get into this middle of this project and do as you are told," he said. He had been advancing on her the whole time.
"What if I just go into school tomorrow and tell the principle what type of home life I have? Or how about I tell her about all of the things you have me work on besides my homework?" Jamie taunted. She knew she was going to get it, but tonight she was feeling prepared, like she would actually be able to hold her own for once. She was not prepared for Dylan to come at her and punch her in the side of the head.
"If you even THINK of doing something like that, it will be the last thought you ever have," Dylan spat at her. "We have been extremely nice to you on your mother's behalf, but if you do anything to compromise this project or this group I will finally get my way with you." Jamie rubbed her head where his fist had made contact. She stood up angrily.
"You have been nice to me?" she demanded. "You've used me in more ways than I can count and you call that being nice?" She ran at him and managed to slap him across the face before he moved completely out of the way. "Someone else needs to remember to stay alert," she added in a mocking tone towards him. Dylan snarled and attacked her. Jamie did her best to block his most harmful blows, using all of her training to protect herself from the person who had trained her. She managed to kick him in the stomach, which forced him to back off for a few seconds. When she looked in his face she saw that he had not been expecting much of a fight.
Jamie used Dylan's momentary weakness to go in for another attack. She went at him but ended up being tossed over his back and into the wall. She lay there dazed as Dylan loomed over her.
"You are just too impulsive, Jamie," Dylan reprimanded as if this were a lesson. "You just do not know when your opponent has the upper hand and when you should back off."
"Maybe that is because I had a crappy teacher," she managed. Dylan swooped down on her, grabbed her by the throat and lifted her from the ground. Jamie tried to pry his fingers from her neck but he was too strong for her.
"You had better remember everything you have ever been taught, Miss Jamie because if you slip up, this will seem like a small bruise," he said. Jamie was already seeing black spots in front of her eyes when Dylan whacked her head into the wall. He released her neck and Jamie slumped to the floor, completely unconscious.
Dylan took one last look and Jamie, wiped his bloody nose and left the room. It was time to begin phase two and there was no time for him to be messing around with teenage girls. He smiled. She just better remember what he had said because he was not in the mood for forgiveness. This project was worth too much to him and the people he represented. He said goodbye to Mrs. Falcon and headed to his next appointment to set the stage for the next act.