Hello everyone! I know this is a long time in coming and that excuses do not interest any of you, I will refrain from making any. I am happy to write again and hope to update all of my stories in the near future.
Anyways, on to the story.
Disclaimer: Alex Rider is on fanfiction for a reason….that should be obvious enough.
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Time seemed to glide by in a blur, the doors allowing the Russian to enter what seemed like seconds after they had closed behind him. Alex was still trying to understand the implications and risks his friends had taken in order to get him out of the compound when the man's voice shook him from his thoughts.
"It is time, Alex." He did not need to prompt the teen; he knew what was at stake.
"I..I," He stumbled for words, the image of Wolf, bloodied and defenseless for his sake replaying in his head. "You knew it would come to this."
"Yes," was all the assassin said, his words echoing through the abandoned room.
"Why are you forcing me to do this? Why can't you people stay out of my life?"
"You were tested and found to be exceptional. This is nothing more than picking the best for our team."
"Tested? I have been run ragged these last weeks doing every possible activity that would bring me pain, all against my will. I do not call that testing." Alex glared at Yassen, his brown eyes smoldering with anger and hopelessness.
"You were tested before you arrived, Alex Rider." Before the teen could fire another question, Yassen continued. "The laboratory you escaped from, you did not think it was coincidence that we were able to find you?"
"Sarov planned that? He had me captured and beaten just to see if I would survive?" Disbelief filled his voice, but inside the boy knew that what he heard was true; his life was not his own and that development just proved it.
"Your answer, boy, I don't have much time," the assassin said with impatience, the only emotion that he had shown throughout their exchange.
"I don't have a choice, now do I? You knew there was a mole and just waited until now to apprehend him. You know I have to take this job, but so help me, when I have the chance, I will get rid of you, Yassen Gregorovich, and be rid of this life forever."
The man did not respond, just turned to leave, muttering over his shoulder so that it was barely discernable to Alex. "You can't get rid of who you are."
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The sun shone brightly as people darted here and there. The roof on which Alex sat had a complete view of the main street and the pub that he would be watching. His target was known to frequent there and so Yassen had led him to the building adjacent.
"Here is your gun with one bullet," Yassen explained, handing over a Grach, the silver casing flittering in the sun's rays. There were no markings, no serial number, only the hard gray surface. The teen almost refused to take the weapon, trying to see a way around what he was about to do.
"Take the gun, Tovarish. It will be over soon." Yassen reverted back to his native tongue, Alex having had minimal lessons of Russian. But calling the boy comrade seemed necessary, though he almost pushed the thought away that he was just trying to ignite the boy's anger. Calling him a brother of sorts may be the thing to set the boy off.
"Oh, yeah, thanks," said the boy sarcastically, his blonde head shifting to look at the many people who meandered through the Russian streets, bags and coats clutched tightly to their bodies and ignoring the fact that an assassin, his captor, called him comrade. More than ever he wished he was still 14, naïve and unaware of the constant conflicts that he seemed to find himself in and away from this man who continued to try and ruin his life. Or help him ruin others. But he hoped it didn't make it as bad to kill someone who had done so many despicable things over a man who had saved his life….or was he just justifying it to make it easier?
"Alex." The assassin's voice was hard, any civility gone. Alex took the gun from the outstretched hand, knowing that Yassen was prepared for anything he might try. He sighed in defeat.
"Your target will emerge from the establishment in exactly 4 minutes. Don't miss him or your friend will pay." The Russian turned to leave, but he turned back once again to address his ward. "The block is secured. I wouldn't run off if I were you." And then he was gone.
Alex had assumed as much, but the way Yassen had commanded him seemed almost as if…no. It was not possible that Yassen, loyal as long as the money kept flowing, would challenge Alex to run off.
He tried to calm himself, hoping that this was just a test to see if he would do it and at the last second, Yassen would call him off. But he knew this was real; this was what they wanted his reality to be. He was just a pawn, his feelings not taken into consideration. But there had to be a way to get around this.
The ladder that Yassen and he had ascended earlier was to his left, but the teen had failed to establish his complete surroundings. A blue house to his right was flush against the hotel he was on, the buildings sharing a wall. Three more dachas followed that layout. Yassen had said that the area was secured but they wouldn't know that he had flown the coop until it was too late. All he had to do was make it to the other end of the lane and he would have a chance of evasion.
He tucked the gun into his waistband, sure that if he needed more ammunition that he could find some in the streets of Russia. Then, he crouched low, staying below the shallow walls bordering the roof. Peeling paint and various trash littering the ground around his feet were the only things he saw, keeping low and making it to where the two walls connected to make a short barrier. Peeking above the edge, Alex tried to spot any of Yassen's men, failed to see any, and hopped over quickly. He continued in this fashion to the very last of the dachas, and scurried down a narrow and rickety ladder.
The teen found himself in an alley, the dank smell of waste causing him to wrinkle his nose. The target should have come out of the pub by now, Yassen realizing that he was either not on the roof of did not have the guts to pull the trigger. Both were basically correct.
A shot went off, from where the young spy could not tell, stopping him mid-step and causing his breath to freeze in his chest. After a moment of screaming, Alex had no doubt that the man was dead, probably by Yassen's hand.
Alex debated on what to do, now that he was on the run in a foreign country and looking extremely out of place with his all black attire. Hoping for luck, Alex strode onto the street in the opposite direction as the house he had been placed, head down, his senses on overdrive. Colliding with a woman, Alex covered a cringe as she began to insult him with words he probably did not want to know the translation. He doubled his efforts in finding some place to hide when a man came up beside him, taking his arm in an iron grip.
Alex started to struggle, but the man's voice stopped him. "I'm here to help you." His voice was soft and yet filled with authority, someone used to being obeyed. If Alex didn't know any better, he could say that Yassen and the man could be twins when it came to how they carried themselves.
"I was told that you would need help eluding certain terrorist members," the man whispered so that the boy beside him was the only one able to discern what he was saying. They were walking briskly so as to look like they belonged, the man's thick accent making it hard for Alex to understand him.
"Who are-"
"No time for that. Bwestra, in here." Fairly pushing the teen up a ramp into what looked to be a deserted boutique, Alex picked up on the man's use of the word quickly, one of the only words he really knew. Obviously, he was informed of what kind of trouble the teen was in.
Alex tried to ask again who the man was, but was stopped when the man pulled him further into the store and covered his mouth with a meaty hand. Just then, a man from Delta unit passed by, his eyes scouring the crowd for his 'teammember.'
"You stay here, I'll be back," the man said quietly. He let go of Alex and moved to the front of the shop and waltzed into the lively street again. Alex felt that something was wrong just before the man shoved the ramp to cover what had looked like the front of a boutique store, trapping him inside. Moments later, his fears were confirmed when he felt the whole store move. He had been tricked, and was once again a prisoner.
He felt for the gun, somehow knowing that the man had taken it. He was not wrong. The teen had no idea if the man was with Sarov, but he knew that he had blown his one chance of escape. When he left, he would never visit Russia again.
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Yassen ascended the ladder two rungs at a time, knowing that Alex would not be on the roof. He smiled slightly. He knew his challenge would not go untried.
The roof was empty, various wrappers and cigarette butts littering the dirty cement floor, years of filth that would never be cleaned. He was not surprised to find the gun missing along with his ward. He had specifically picked this building, hoping and knowing that Alex would see the houses alongside one another. He had also neglected to post guards in that direction, knowing Vicktor would take care of his trainee. All he had to do was pacify Sarov and he would go and meet his long time friend.
Zeus climbed onto the roof to stand beside him, rage and energy rolling off of him in waves. "Let me find the runt and I'll make sure he pays for this."
"That won't be necessary," replied the assassin, pressing down on the remote that controlled the watch on Alex's arm. Within 20 seconds, he would be unconscious, sleeping soundly in the back of a semi truck heading for a secluded dacha in the countryside.
Yassen proceeded to climb down and get in the car that was waiting. Sarov would not be happy. Yassen allowed himself some satisfaction in that.
An hour later, he approached the library door where Sarov was pacing. Confidently striding in, Yassen appraised the state of the room, taking in the overturned books and the broken table. A bottle of vodka sat partly gone on a mahogany desk.
When Sarov saw Yassen, his red face contorted in anger. "You," he said menacingly, his finger pointing accusingly at the assassin. "You let him get away."
"I did everything that you asked. But we did bring him here because he was the best," responded Yassen coolly, a picture of calm despite the rage directed at him.
"If I find out that you double crossed me, I will make it so that you are hunted, tortured, and burned for what you have done. Nowhere will be safe for you."
"He could not have gone far and he does not speak Russian. He will stick out in this culture. You know that he will not go unnoticed."
Sarov took a gulp of the liquid in the long necked bottle, closing his eyes as if to shut out the world around him. Going to place the bottle on the table once again, he stopped to turn to the assassin. "You have a plan. This was part of it the whole time."
"This will test him like no test we can give him here. He does not know he is being tested and will have to survive like he would in the field. It will be an easy thing to find him." Yassen knew by the look in Sarov's eyes that he believed him, seeing the wisdom behind his false words.
"Why did you not tell me about your plan? Why did you keep this from me, tovarish?" Sarov's steely gaze took in the man before him, the epitome of calm and collected.
Yassen bristled at the term comrade. "I thought it better if no one knew of my plans so that there would be no chance of him finding out. Besides, I had no certainties that he would take the bait." He knew though; he had known the boy would not forsake a path that could save him from taking someone's life. Either way would have tested Alex in ways that drills could not accomplish.
A small smile alighted Sarov's lips. "Soon, little Alex will be back in the compound, having no idea of your plan."
Yassen allowed himself some satisfaction. Not only had he gotten Alex on his own terms, but he had kept his trust with Sarov which could prove useful at some point.
And Alex would follow in his father's footsteps.
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Okay, so that was it. Not much action but I wanted to move Alex from training. Soooo, I don't know how you all liked it but it was fun to write. Thanks for taking the time to read!
Cailiean44