Okay, so I won't waste time with excuses of why I didn't write. The facts are that I didn't and that I am now so I hope that mollifies you somewhat. I am going on with this story in a purely chapter by chapter mindset having no idea where I had originally planned for it to go so if you would like for it to continue, please review with ideas and suggestions. Anything helps. And as I was preparing to write the next chapter I realized that I had submitted only some of the chapter leaving the first page in Microsoft Word. So if you got the message via email that I updated once again, just read the first part and maybe it will make more sense…

Disclaimer: When I start to smoke pipes in the evening and smell like peppermint, then I could understand any confusion but until that time I am simply an American girl writing fanfiction.

Chapter 5

Sunlight seeped into Alex's consciousness, cries of pain from his abused muscles following immediately. It had been a week since he had escaped from his last prison before finding himself in yet another. How lucky for me, he mused.

Reluctantly, he opened his eyes, knowing that Yassen most likely knew he was awake anyway. The cameras monitoring his every move swiveled with Alex as he went to look out his ceiling high windows. Just as expected, the door to his chamber opened as he took in the rolling mountains iced with snow.

"Good morning, Alex."

Alex said nothing, having learned sarcasm meant punishment but not wanting to give the Russian any encouragement by being polite.

"It is rude to say nothing when spoken to, Alex." Yassen always addressed his apprentice in a detached tone but Alex could hear the warning creeping into his voice.

I have to make a choice now; join or fight. But I can't give up now if I choose to fight.

Alex knew that Yassen was assessing his mood, testing how far until he broke. Then what? Show him the secret lair? Give him a pat on the back? What happened when Yassen believed that Alex was finally compliant enough to be molded?

Maybe take off my watch?

An idea formed in Alex's mind.

ARARARARAR

Alex had never worked so hard in his entire life. His whole body screamed for a reprieve as he sparred with Yassen, but he pressed on, determined to find the precise time in which to announce his defection from MI6. Block after agonizing block, Alex forced himself to stay focused on the task at hand, but he was anxious for his upcoming performance. He would have to be extremely believable or Yassen would see through his charade.

After four hours of sparring and other various physically exhausting activities, Alex was led to a room that served as a classroom for various testing and training in a mental capacity. Not only did he receive refreshers from his time on Malagosta, but he learned that there was a myriad of crap that he was being forced to regurgitate. As Alex took the only desk in the room and the door whisked shut behind him, Yassen began his lesson on behavioral analysis.

"Having the ability to correctly read a person' body language is unequivocal when it comes to field work. Certain words or mannerisms may trigger an emotion or reaction that you need to be able to decipher. Now, I've prepared-" Alex continued to listen half-heartedly, but watched the Russian. Would he take off his watch if Yassen thought Alex loyal to their cause? Could he chance Yassen not doing that and Alex appearing a traitor? There had to be some way to get the wretched thing off without swearing allegiance to Sarov and SCORPIA.

"Are you listening, Alex?" Yassen's sharp tone cut off the boy's thoughts, effectively leaving him in the same predicament he found himself in moments before.

"Everyone shows glimpses of the same universal expressions; anger, joy, fear. They all appear the same no matter the continent." Word for Word.

"And who created this theory?"

"Micro expressions were observed and recorded by a man named Paul Ekman." Alex sighed as if bored. "Anything else?"

"Fine, since you are so skilled in reading your fellow humans, let's take a test."Alex's stomach clenched at the sight of Yassen's tight lipped grin. "SCORPIA just created a new training toy and I'm sure you will be the perfect guinea pig. Just a warning." His eyes turned cold. "You know what failure brings."

Nodding once, Alex rose from his chair after being motioned towards the door. A week of seeing no one in the halls, Alex knew they had some sort of system that demanded everyone desert the hallway whenever he was to use them. Alex supposed it had something to do with trying to break him but he had never broached the subject. Maybe being friendlier with Yassen would make his defection more believable?

"Why has Sarov kept me from any contact besides a select few when there are hundreds of recruits?" Alex tried to sound bored but add some timidity in his voice as well, trying to sell it as best he could.

Glancing at him quizzically, Yassen did not punish him for his inquiry. "Why so chatty, Alex?"

"Do you think the recruits will corrupt my training, hinder my potential?" Yassen's face remained stoic. "Or is it something else? Will they help me escape?"

Alex found himself against the wall, Yassen's forearm pressing painfully against his throat, his feet dangling off the floor.

"I am here for one purpose. To train you. I will do my job no matter how hard you believe you are making it. Being kept apart was for your safety as much as for your training. I'm here to empower you and help you see your potential. You are still oblivious to the bigger picture here." With that, he let Alex collapse on the ground, his eyes still hard, mouth in a straight line.

"You think by torturing me and holding me here, it is empowering me?" Alex let the sarcasm drip from his words, knowing any hopes for acting as if he had been broken any time soon were gone. But he couldn't keep himself from goading the Russian, frustration from his imprisonment overtaking his need for caution.

Yassen did not answer, but motioned for Alex to stand, his face expressionless once again. There was no way for Alex to tell if he had hit a nerve or merely angered his captor but he didn't want to stop since he was already started.

"I will find a way out. Someone will help me and when I do, I will disappear and MI6 and SCORPIA will never find me. You've given me many skills and I plan to use them to defeat you." By the end, Alex was glaring, chest heaving with pent up anger. At MI6, SCORPIA, his father.

Yassen said nothing, only motioned once again for Alex to rise. The teen thought briefly about refusing but decided against it, not wanting to seem any more of a child than he already had.

The assassin stalked gracefully behind Alex as he wondered what new toy SCORPIA had invented and what kind of destruction it would create. But his mind did not stay there long. He found himself pondering Yassen's curious reactions to his statements. A mention of escape had thrown him into a defensive and highly volatile state but when a threat to do just that was given, nothing. No anger, no tight lipped smile that said it was an impossible feat. Just nothingness.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Alex concentrated on how to make contact with the recruits. Yassen watched him like a hawk and spent every waking moment either with him or monitoring his movements. The only time he was not privy to Alex's actions was in Fox's presence, Fox having told him bluntly that there was such thing as doctor-client privilege and he would be thorough in his notes and reports. But he and Yassen both knew Alex would not be forthcoming if the assassin was in the room with him. So he had acquiesced though not without threatening to break every bone in Fox's body without killing him if he ever spoke to Yassen in that tone again. But Alex was free for at least half-an-hour during these sessions, sometimes more depending on what activities they had focused on and how extensively Yassen had beaten him without any exertion on his part. But it was in that time he would be able to plan. He would strategize with Fox during his sessions and then somehow escape the lab like the first day. Then-

A hand on his shoulder halted his steps, as Yassen swiped a key card activating the door. It swung inward without a sound, the darkness enveloping his senses as soon as Alex stepped through the door. Yassen kept his hand on his apprentice's shoulder as if Alex's speech of escape would occur any second. Synthetic lighting flickered on, revealing a solid white room with an examination chair stationed like an instrument of torture in the center. A single door led out of the room opposite the one they had entered through, a one way mirror lining the same wall. This was an observation room of some sort.

"Sit down." Yassen's voice rang around the small chamber.

Alex hesitated. Sighing in frustration, Yassen shoved the boy in the back, pitching him towards the contraption. Alex jumped up, turning to face Yassen but was blindsided by the man's fist. Falling once again, he was hoisted up by the arms and positioned on the chair, struggling all the while.

It happened in less than a moment. Pain shot up his arm, radiating to his shoulder and spreading to his whole body, causing his struggles to cease. Yassen wasted no time using his pain to restrain Alex with the arm and ankle shackles attached to the chair. Dropping the remote into his pocket, Yassen watched as Alex focused in on what had transpired while his captor had elicited the pain in his watch. Tugging uselessly at the restraints, Alex glared hotly at the assassin.

"This will not be a painful exercise, Alex, unless you refuse to cooperate again. We will start in a moment." Yassen opened the door to the room behind the one way mirror, lost to Alex's sight. Alex felt apprehension creep across from his inability to see where Yassen was.

A noise caught his attention as he sat waiting for Yassen to start whatever test he would be forced to endure. A man walked in, mid-twenties, light brown hair, blue eyes widening as he took in Alex tied to the chair.

"Oh, sorry-"

"No, wait," whispered Alex earnestly, his eyes betraying the urgency in his voice.

"What-" The man's voice carried and Alex was sure Yassen would walk in.

"Shh! Help me out of this chair." Alex didn't want to beg but couldn't keep the plea from affecting his usually even tone.

"I don't know. What are you here for?"

"My name is-" Alex felt his air passage close as a vise-like grip closed around his throat, effectively cutting off any speech and any hope Alex had entertained.

"That will be all, Grant." The man nodded hurriedly at the sight of Yassen, but still gazing with a confused expression towards Alex. The door slid shut and Yassen released his grip on Alex's throat. "Better luck next time, Alex." Yassen disappeared once again from view, but his voice was still close as he apprised Alex of what was transpiring. "This test will determine how affluent you are in reading body language. This helmet," he placed a bulky contraption over Alex's eyes, causing him to stiffen in response, "will be how you take the test." He stopped talking once again, as if adjusting something behind Alex, then he was in front of him. "I will be in that room watching your progress."

Sneering, Alex faced where he thought Yassen was. "Are you going to show me pictures and have me guess what I see?"

He was rewarded with a low chuckle, causing his sneer to fade.

Within moments of no movement, unease curdled once again in his middle but was replaced by fear as a high pitched humming sounded in his ear. Then he was thrust into a brightly lit vision of a London square.

Women in winter coats waltzed past with their chins up, men rushing by on their mobiles. Cars whizzed by on the street, various models and colors passing in a crawl, the afternoon rush. The sun was hidden by clouds, their grey bodies threatening to disperse what they held so tightly.

Alex tried to ascertain where he was but could not make out any exact logos of the myriad shops alongside the street, people filing by him as if he was no one.

One lady in particular was engrossed in texting on her phone, her face set in concentration, failing to see Alex as she walked down the street. She strolled right into the teen, her voice barely above a whisper as she apologized.

What an odd vision, thought Alex as he tried vainly to remember if Yassen had actually told him what his objective was in this test. It seemed to be just another day in London society if he hadn't known better, but he had no idea how he was to pass this test.

"Excuse me?"

The voice pulled Alex from his thoughts, the young spy taking in a middle aged man who had attempted to appear presentable but still smelled of the streets. But choosing to be polite, Alex turned and gave a small smile of encouragement.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if you could help me find my daughter. She was right here and now I can't seem to find her…" The man seemed genuinely distressed until Alex gazed into his eyes. His eyes were dilated and the man had done a half shoulder shrug, basically screaming liar. Aha…

"I'm sorry, sir, but I am in an extremely tight bind right now, but good luck. I'm sure she hasn't gone far." With that, Alex turned to walk away, understanding and awe for this project overcoming him. This was amazing and it was his job to determine who was telling the truth or trying to deceive him in those situations.

Some time passed and Alex found himself in a park, children playing football in a field adjacent to a playground. He found himself drawn to the swings, few parents and their young ones out with the clouds about to let go of their wares. But one woman pushed her son gaily, his laughter ringing softly across the yard.

Almost against his will, Alex felt himself walk towards her, his feet propelled by some unseen force. When he was directly in front of the pair, the woman peered up but had no fear in her eyes. "Hello."

"''Ello." Her accent was thick, her brown hair curly unruly around her head as the wind whipped in about.

"It's about to rain," stated Alex, not sure what was supposed to happen at this juncture.

"I suppose," she replied calmly, unfazed by Alex and by the daunting rain clouds. "Are you alone?"

Alex looked about, half-expecting to see Crawley with his white dog walking briskly in the background. But there was no Crawley, no Tom or Sabina, no one from his old life. He was alone.

"Yes." He heard the sadness that emanated from his comment but could not stem the overpowering emotion of abandonment he was feeling. All he wanted to feel was a part of something bigger than himself, right? Isn't that what Yassen was offering him?

This test is rigged, thought Alex sourly.

"We are alone too. My husband was just lost in the war." Alex watched her expression, the muscles around her eyes following suit in what real sorrow would look like, her brow furrowed as she recalled the sadness most likely.

"I'm sorry for your loss," said Alex, his voice ringing with sincerity. "How long ago?"

"Oh, it was four months ago." It was matter-of-fact, no emotion. But something in her face said it had been longer than that, a festering wound. Her sorrow seemed to be years long, not months.

"You don't believe that," stated Alex. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling she would know what he meant. Her face contorted as her mask crumpled, tears streaming down her face.

"He was gone so much, he never ev'n made it to one birthday party for our son past his fifth." She had to pause in order to calm herself. Alex thought maybe her husband had been a spy like his uncle or even in the SAS. Either job strained the family.

"He was gone way befor' he set foot in that war zone." She swiped at a tear that had escaped. "Well, sorry, but I do have to be goin.' Good day to you." She pulled her son from the swing and strolled from the park, her plain yellow dress swishing as she walked. Alex felt the sting of loss in his own life so acutely it was as if it was recent. He would have to remember to ask Yassen about the emotional responses that had been evoked throughout this process.

He went through various other tests that left him drained and tired. He was only wrong once but he corrected himself in time to not have any bodily harm come to his dream person or whatever virtual reality form he was forced to endure.

The world around him turned fuzzy as he felt himself being pulled back into reality.

He felt Yassen pull the glasses off his head, the mechanical whirring of the machines shutting off.

"Did you enjoy the pictures, Alex?" Before he could answer, Yassen had the remote out, Alex expecting the pain to engulf him at any moment. But he only felt his muscles relax, as all the fight drained out of him. Yassen had activated the other drug.

Before he could protest, Alex found himself in a blackness the swallowed him completely, taking him to a peaceful oblivion.

Okay, so that test was more of a last minute thought and I had no idea how you readers would enjoy it but there it is. There will be more K-Unit and Sarov action next chapter, probably mostly other characters than Alex. Still trying to find where I'm going with this so if you want this to continue, review please!!!!!

Cailiean44