New chapter already! Its a lot longer too!

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything or make any money, but I'm working on it :)

When Alex had first applied for a job, Jay Smith wasn't too sure about him. Not that Jay had any solid reasoning as to why he found himself so apprehensive. The boy was polite to a fault, well-mannered, good-looking, and Jay knew his accent would bring in the young ladies. The boy just put him on edge. Jay finally figured it out. It was Alex's eyes. They looked like Jay's cousin Bill's had after he came back from the war. His eyes were too old, they had seen too much. Jay often wondered what had happened to Alex because he knew he was way too young to have been in the military. When it came down to it Jay decided to hire Alex because he knew his cousin had a hell of a time getting a regular job after quitting the Army. It was the least he could do, he thought.

Alex spent most of his shift stocking equipment and helping customers who needed assistance. Occasionally, when Alex had down time he reviewed his schedule for the next day.

6 am-Wake up, go for jog

7.30-Shower, eat

8.30 to 12.30-Karate, boxing, weight training

1.30 to 6.30-Work

7.30-Dinner

8.30 to 10.30-Homework

Alex knew he was a machine, but his strict schedules kept him sane. He wouldn't, couldn't give into the depression that was constantly clawing at him, threatening to pull him under. He had decided to continue with karate and physical training as a reminder to himself that his past has not been some insane nightmare. That Ian, Jack, Yassen, and even MI6, had been real. It was for the memories of the people he loved and lost that kept him from becoming a blubbering mess. It allowed him to power through the constant pain he felt.

It was almost closing time when Alex's perfectly planned life was thrown horribly off track. All the employees were cleaning up and preparing to go home when a bell chimed, signaling that someone had entered the building. Alex heard the footsteps heading toward the back of the store and didn't even bother looking up.

He heard the voice of the customer conversing with Jay, but thought nothing of it until he heard his own name. Alex went immediately into spy mode, cursing himself the whole time. "Who the fuck was asking about me?" he thought ducking around looking for some place to eavesdrop. Alex eventually hid behind a rack of camo hunter jackets, not far from the talking men. He listened.

"…yes, he works here." his boss Jay said irritably.

"Is he here now?" the other man asked coolly. "I must speak to him, it's a family issue."

Alex vaguely recognized the voice. It was definitely a Brit, and his words carried a thinly veiled threat, Let me see Alex or unspeakable things will happen to you.

Alex swallowed and thought furiously, who the hell was this? What did they want? And most importantly, were they going to hurt someone? Alex decided he wasn't going to someone who had an issue with him take it out on someone else.

Never Again.

Alex steeled himself and stepped out from behind the coat rack.

"I'm here." Alex announced defensively. "Who's asking?"

Both Jay and the unidentified man spun around in surprise. But their surprise was nothing compared to Alex's. The man inquiring about him was John Crawley!

"You!" Alex cried wildly.

"Uhh…hello Alex…" Crawley said lamely.

"Perhaps we could speak somewhere more privately?" suggested Crawley glancing around at the growing number of eyes watching their exchange.

Alex nodded once and silently led the way to the employee parking lot, stopping to punch out and grab his schoolbag.

Alex was angry, sure, but a little part of him, the part that had been dead for over a year now, was curious. Why was Crawley here? Was MI6 approaching him again? I had been over a year since he left England. Why now? And as soon as he and Crawley were alone Alex bombarded the man with just those questions, although perhaps a little more colourfully.

Crawley waited till Alex was quite done before answering.

"I'm here on behalf of MI6,"

Anger flared up in Alex but his torrent of curses was silenced by a raised hand.

"Let me finish," Crawley interjected quickly. Alex nodded and gestured for him to continue.

"I am here an behalf of MI6, but they didn't send me," Crawley explained ", I came to see you on my own."

Alex was confused.

"What for?" Alex challenged.

Crawley looked around at the empty parking lot thoughtfully before speaking.

"Is there somewhere that we could sit down and talk without being overheard?" he asked finally.

Alex racked his brain.

"Yeah, actually. There's a diner across the street."

"Excellent." Crawley replied.

So five minutes later Alex and Crawley were sitting in a corner booth of a small nondescript diner, Crawley sipping a coffee and Alex nursing a Coke.

Alex spoke first.

"So what's this all about?" he asked wearily.

Crawley studied him for a moment before launching into his tale, with Alex growing more and more bemused by the second.

The gist of the story was a very rich (big surprise) German named Johannes Schrecklich was insane. MI6 knew he was doing something, something horrible, but they weren't sure what yet. All their attempts to infiltrate Schrecklich's compound in Bavaria were, to put it lightly, unsuccessful. Several tidbits of information had been gleaned of course, but nothing of very much interest, or so they thought.

"So why do you need me?" Alex asked, dreading the answer.

"Well," Crawley began nervously ",one piece of information that was gathered is Schrecklich has, well…"

Crawley paused suddenly looking unsure.

"What?" demanded Alex, his interest piqued.

"He likes young men." Crawley said quickly, his eyes averted.

"Young blonde men."

Alex looked at Crawley in disbelief. They wanted him to do WHAT? Alex debated in silence for perhaps 30 seconds before reaching his conclusion.

"No," he said simply

Crawley didn't look surprised. He simply nodded and sipped his coffee. Just as Alex was beginning to calm down Crawley spoke, quite suddenly.

"How are you getting along at school?"

The question seemed innocent enough, but like everything MI6 does, Alex was sure there was something behind it.

"Fine." he replied. It was easy to lie. He wasn't all that popular. Most people thought he was too strange, too quiet, and too studious.

"Really?" Crawley asked somewhat snidely. "Because, like it or not MI6 has been keeping an eye on you to make sure you were safe from any remnants of Scorpia who could be looking for revenge."

Alex felt a jolt of several emotions, anger, relief, sadness.

"We know what kind of life you've been living and, frankly, it isn't much of a life at all." Crawley stated bluntly.

Alex wanted to argue, to tell this man off, but he couldn't. It was the truth. Alex didn't belong to this world, to Sabina's, Jay's, or any of the kids at schools world. It was all fake, all pretend. He was caught in an ocean of lies and, MI6, CIA, ASIS, were the ones with some shreds of truth. Half truths, maybe, but truths.

Alex imagined for a moment that he never went to Cornwall, to Sayle's compound there. He'd be dead along with all the other schoolchildren. The world would get some story about a tragic accident. England would be quarantined. Millions dead. But that didn't happen. Alex happened. And he kicked some motherfucking ass. He lost so much though. Every adult that he loved and trusted was snatched away by, now that he thought about it, Scorpia. But Alex bested them. He did, and could still do what no one else could. He could save the world.

Alex took a deep breath before turning to face Crawley.

"What do I have to do?"

Thanks for reading! R&R!