3rd October 2001
State Security Services had gathered the evidence against Alexei Sarov. He was an enemy of Cuba and would be dealt with as such. Special Forces quickly took the perimeter. The compound at Caya Eskeletyo was only lightly guarded. The intelligence had been passed to them from a Scorpia agent on the inside. They approached the house with extra care. They entered the office. Alexei Sarov had taken his own life, a bullet to the head. The slow process of mopping up began, when a man moving in the shadows left the base unobserved. Corporal Lorenz and his unit were moving through the cellar. Each room was clean and empty. Only one was locked. Keys were tried and the door opened carefully. The stench of fasces, urine, vomit and blood filled the air. Chained to the wall was a naked youth, a teenager missing his feet.
25th October 2001
Angel Suarez was officially the senior press attaché at the Cuban embassy in Washington. In fact he was the Director of Intelligence. He looked at the file on his desk. The contents made even him ill. A child. MI6 and CIA had used a child for operations. The boy was being looked after at the Santa Cruz Military Hospital. He had been healed, was receiving psychiatric care and was a model patient in rehabilitation and physiotherapy. The boy pushing himself hard to walk again on prosthetics. He had told them everything. Torture at the hands of Scorpia had already broken the boy. Alex was a victim of blackmail and manipulation by his own country. The Central Committee had offered the boy the choice of staying in Cuba. Alex wanted to see his guardian, some woman called Jack Starbright who had recently returned to the United States. She had brought the boy up from the age of 7. Suarez thought she was probably CIA as well. The boy's life was based on lies, manipulation and blackmail.
Suarez picked up his coat and the file. He knew Joe Byrne was having lunch in Georgetown today. He was going to gate crash.
"Good afternoon, Joe. How is your lunch?" Suarez spoke with a Miami accented english and a white broad smile.
Joe Byrne was dining with his two assistant directors. The cuban knew they all had Level 1 clearance.
"Afternoon Angel. How are things in Havana?" answered the guarded CIA assistant director.
"I have some news for you regarding those missing tourists." Both Suarez and Byrne knew exactly what was being talked about without mentioning their names.
Suarez threw down the file. "You know, I didn't think anything in our line of business could shock me anymore then you and Alan Blunt lower my expectations. Read. I even had it translated into English for you."
Byrne read quickly, memorizing as he went. First. a brief mission report. The CIA knew Cuban State Security had taken out Alexei Sarov's operation at the beginning of the month. Scorpia had taken a real bashing recently. Some one on the inside was liquidating the Committee. Then the photo of a boy, the only thing Byrne could make out for certain was the blond very short hair. The face was a mass of bruising. It was hard to tell if it was alive or a corpse. "The Gardiner's son?"
"Foster son. Birth name Alexander John Rider. Keep reading."
Byrne actually swore. And wiped his face. "Alex is alive."
"He's actually doing really well. Dr. Torres at first thought he was too traumatized for any meaningful recovery. Alex has been most helpful and cooperative. He is responding to treatment well. He has PTSD and acute depression but therapy is helping."
The Covert Operations Chief quickly scanned the medical and interrogation records. "Do you know who tortured and raped him?"
"Yes. Scorpia operative. Yassen Gregorovich. He trained under Dr. Three and the assassin Hunter."
Still reading Byrne asked "It says Sarov was treating him as his son."
"Yes. Alex is grieving for him. The old bastard was kind to him. Scorpia's board wanted the boy broken. From what Alex says, Yassen Gregorovich first met him during his first mission taking out Herod Sayle. Gregorovich used the torture sessions as instruction. We have no other mention of Gregorovich ever taking a sexual partner."
Byrne was actually stumped by this revelation. Gregorovich had no known personal connections except his relationship with his trainer and partner Hunter "You're telling me Alex has a relationship with Yassen Gregorovich."
"I know you will want to use the boy for a sting. Must I remind you that Gregorovich is a controlling sadist and Alex is a fourteen year old child."
Byrne continued to read as his two companions read the pages as he finished them. "How did the amputations happen?"
"You can blame your agents and their little diving trip. Alex was pulled out of the water but only after he had encountered a great white shark. Both your agents were shark food at that point, I'm afraid."
"So, you have Alex. Are you going to use him to embarrass us?" Byrne knew a revelation like this could even bring down the President.
"No. Alex wants to see his guardian from London, Jack Starbright before he decides what to do. Your medical facilities in the US offer better rehabilitation and prosthetics for him. I'm afraid the base psychiatrist is adamant that Alex's welfare is first and foremost. We are not animals. We do not abuse children."
"I need to discuss it with the Brits." Byrne knew Blunt would not want to let Alex out from under his thumb, no matter how damaged the boy was.
"Oh how I would like to eavesdrop on your conversation with Blunt and Jones." Angel was almost laughing. " Don't worry I already couriered the file to Sir Charles Fellows. Seeing those two taken down a peg or two will be worth it." The the Cuban switched to deadly serious "Alex is afraid of going home to London. He knows Jack has left. He thinks MI6 will throw him in some mental home and forget about him. That boy deserves the best medical care, a family and stability. Dr. Torres has kept the Central Committee in Havana informed. The highest echelons of our government want what is best for Alex. Make sure it happens."
Jack had come home to her parents thinking Alex was dead. Now she was traveling to Cuba of all places. She was burning with curiosity to know what had happened to Alex and also afraid of finding out. The CIA man had told her very little. She had been offered full custody of Alex in America if everything went OK. Alex's living and medical expenses would be covered.
The petite red head was met by two uniformed Cuban Army officers at Havana airport, and was escorted through passport control and was shown back out onto the tarmac to a military helicopter. Jack sat sandwiched between the silent soldiers. She caught glimpses of fields and jungle and then the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean. The military base was on the shore. A short jeep ride followed to a grey grab building, the base hospital. Jack was allowed no time to gather her bearings. She was marched down a long hall to a lounge area. There sat Alex looking small and alone in a wheelchair. Alex coughed as they approached. The force of it seemed to rack through his entire frail frame. He was wrapped in a blanket despite the tropical heat.
Then Jack noticed there were no foot rests on the wheelchair. No feet.
"What happened Alex? Oh my God. Your… your..." exclaimed the shocked American.
"Crippled? Yeah. Thanks to the CIA." Alex countered in a flat voice and no enthusiasm. Alex looked with old eyes at his former guardian, it seemed like a million years since he had last seen her. "How are you Jack? I heard MI6 deported you."
"Alex, they told me you were dead. I've got a job in Baltimore. I have an apartment sorted out." Jack tried to explain, she had grieved for Alex.
Alex studied Jack, she had not touched or attempted to hug him "So no going back to London. I don't really plan to return." Alex tried his best puppy dog look, something that used to work on Jack when he wanted something bad enough, "I thought, maybe I could come stay with you in America."
For once in her life, Jack Starbright was lost for words. She then gathered herself. "Alex you need specialist help. Nursing. You're obviously not well."
"Yeah I have a recurring chest infection courtesy of being water boarded." Alex added as a matter of fact.
"Water Boarded?"
"Think Chinese water torture but with actual drowning. Its lovely." Alex added sarcastically, then quietly added "Jack you don't have to make a split decision. Only if it's a definite no. Tell me now and Dr. Torres can work something else out for me."
"Alex, I'm sorry. I have moved on." Jack was then bluntly honest. "You need someone who'll look after you. I didn't really look after you. We both looked after each other. I was the child sometimes more than you. God Alex I let MI6 use you." She thought guiltily I might well have disabled you myself. "I'm the last person on earth you need right now. You need someone who will fight for you tooth and nail. Someone who will put you first or die to protect you."
Alex deep down always knew Jack was never a mother to him, more a friend than a parent. She had known his relationship with Ian was neglectful at best, but she never said anything. Alex knew he should be angry, but he was too worn out for any intense emotion. He wondered what the future held. He could not stay in Santa Cruz forever. It was a Cuban military hospital. Dr. Torres wanted Alex placed with a family. Alex wanted his beloved Alexei back, telling him everything would be alright, telling him he was a beautiful boy even minus his feet. Singing softly to him to get Alex to sleep after his nightmares. Alexei, who had nursed Alex back to health before reality had hit and destroyed everything. Yassen had come and taught Alex everything he knew about inflicting pain. Yassen had instructed him in a calm intense way in interrogation techniques. This is how Dr. Three had taught Yassen. Yassen had been the victim. He had survived. So had Alex.
Jack stayed in the lounge to think about things. Alex knew she would not change her mind. Looking after old Alex had been easy. Occasional meals. Some cleaning and shopping. Not full time responsibility for an emotionally, physically and psychologically damaged teenager with a permanent disability. It was too much for Jack to take on. Too much for anyone, thought Alex bitterly.
Alex went to his session with Dr Torres and talked about Yassen. Yassen who had tortured Alex for 10 days. Then the russian stated that he had taught Alex all he knew about interrogation. Alex knew he had run out of time and had then asked not to die a virgin. Alex did not tell Dr Torres that he had then babbled about not having had full sex, only wanked people off or given them blow jobs. Yassen had had then asked who he meant by people. That whole encounter was burned into Alex's memory.
Alex had quipped "Well, you killed him." knowing that they had come fully circle to Ian's death.
Yassen had lost composure for the first time in the entire time Alex's had known him as a stream of russian expletives was hissed by the assassin.
Alex was risking antagonising Yassen further, "I want you Yassen. I want you to take, use me, show me what sex is, no matter how brutal or painful. Fuck me Yassen, make me yours completely. Its just a continuation of this isn't it. Just more instruction, more play". Alex then stared at Yassen, whose cold eyes seemed to tear into Alex's very soul.
Yassen then kissed Alex brutally. Possessive and controlling. Alex's lips and tongue were bitten. Pain was expected with Yassen. Alex was hard by the time the kiss finished. Yassen had slowly teased the boys erection and fondled his balls watching Alex's face as he orgasmed. Alex had recovered in Yassen's arms and then Yassen had taken his virginity.
"So Doc. Am I a sick fuck for goading Yassen into fucking me?"
"No, Alex. You played for more time. Time, which allowed you to survive and be rescued. Yassen was going to kill you there and then."
Alex mused on this. Alex had known Alexei had taken to drinking heavily when Yassen had arrived with Scorpia's decision to interrogate Alex. Alex told Yassen everything without need for coercion. Yassen had told Alex there was no rush. Alex had become Yassen's pupil.
Then, the Cubans had come. Alexei had died and Yassen had disappeared. Alex had survived. Alex just lumped the sex in with the torture because really there had not been much difference.
Alex had mused to Dr. Torres "I wonder what Yassen charged. By victim, by the day or the hours spent wringing screams and torment from each poor soul."
"That is a very intriguing question. In the Cuban security services, the interrogators are just salaried, no bonuses for results."
Alex looked at Dr. Torres in a new light. "Do you torture people? Would you have tortured me, if I had not volunteered everything I knew."
"No, I do not interrogate prisoners. I leave that to my collogues in Havana."
Alex then coughed again. The doctor pulled out a stethoscope and listened to Alex's lungs. "You need more antibiotics. I think you need to go to America tonight even without Ms. Starbright's guardianship. There you will get well, truly well and then take each day at a time. You can always come back to Cuba."
Jack looked guilty as she glanced at Alex on the evening flight to Washington DC. Alex traveled with a large ugly nurse. Alex was now on oxygen. Pneumonia was likely.