Chapter 2: A little too much Rockstar
A/N: I feel so spoiled. 21, sorry, 22!! reviews for the first chapter in a new fandom? That breaks my previous record of 9 for one chapter. And I have more people on alerts for this than my other story which has four chapters. This could work out!
Seriously, I love you reviewers! We are bff4l! I send you all a big cyber cookie for making my weekend.
And a huge thank you to Dream of Stories, who will be beta-ing me!
Now this chapter is even longer than the first one (6631 words long w/o a/ns), so that should please you. On the down side, this is all the finished material I have. I combined my 2 chapters so that I could just have done with all the preparation crap and get to the point already! I need some action, some drama! The bad part is that I still have to write that action and drama. But I have some stuff, so it’s coming I tell you! I'm doing a lot of research on the SAS to get a better feel for that whole side of things. And I need to take some time to figure a few main points/characters out. But I shan't give up! Just don't expect an update for at least a week. I need to deal with IB bio exams and I have to work on my extended essay and stuff...
Anyways, I’ll let you get on with it…
“Did you hear, Alex?”
Tom Harris, Alex’s best friend bounded up to him in the schoolyard. “Our homeroom is going to be training with the SAS! I can’t believe we were selected!”
Alex grinned. “Hey Tom,” he greeted his friend with much less enthusiasm. His lack of sleep had not improved his energy levels.
“Isn’t it going to be great?” Tom asked excitedly. “Of course,” he lowered his voice, “you’ve trained with them before right?” Tom was the only person besides Jack who knew about Alex’s other life.
“Yeah,” Alex replied.
“What are they like?” Tom asked eagerly.
Alex thought for a minute. What could he tell Tom? The words ‘evil’, ‘sadistic’, and ‘brutal’ came to mind, but he didn’t feel like crushing his friend’s ignorance just yet. Let him be excited for a while. “They’re tough,” he decided on finally.
“Right,” Tom nodded his head solemnly. Then he broke into a huge grin. “This is going to be so cool!”
It was official: his entire class was insane. And not just a bit nutty with a few screws up in their heads loose, but totally, completely insane - so far off the deep end it wasn’t even funny, Alex thought with slight awe.
It seemed Tom was not the only one to be caught up in the whirlwind of SAS madness. All day the students had chattered excitedly, gossiping and talking about getting their “letters” that had informed them of the trip. This seemed to be the most exciting thing to happen at Brookland since Alex had taken care of the school bullies behind the bike shed a few years back. Rumours floated around about the reason that Brookland was chosen, ranging from somewhat logical (“Our school has good test results and fitness levels”) to the completely absurd (“The aliens were somehow controlling the government”). When Alex had heard one about how the government was “recruiting them to a private army of assassins by brainwashing them and turning them to the dark side,” he had to laugh. Of course, given that Alex was in their class, it really wasn’t that ridiculous, not that the boy making it up knew that of course.
And so the whole of Brookland was alight with the news.
For Alex, it couldn’t have been worse. As far as he was concerned, anyone actually wanting to go to the SAS was bloody insane, and those that were excited were so far over the rainbow there was no hope of return. It was like his schoolmates expected this trip to be fun or something. Alex knew better.
His own experience with the SAS training had been a far cry from the adventurous escape from school his class was expecting. He had faced primitive conditions, sleep deprivation, few amenities, and intense physical and psychological torture as he was screamed at, bullied, pushed, and tripped through “walks” through mountains, the infamous Killing House, the nightmarish assault course, self defence with men twice his size, and ‘fun’ night manoeuvre, all in the unceasing Welsh rain. And that was just the orthodox training methods.
On top of that, Alex was unceremoniously dumped in a unit of men nearly twice his age who were less-than-pleased to be stuck with a fourteen year old boy, and alternated between making his life hell and ignoring him completely. No, Alex was not exactly looking forward to his return to the Brecon Beacons, and his classmates’ enthusiasm was only making it worse.
Tom had been going on about it all day, utterly missing his friend’s discomfort. And Alex’s other friends, who he wasn’t as close to as Tom, were just as excited, and, since they knew nothing about MI6, he was obliged to dredge up his most enthusiastic “Woos” so as to not arouse suspicion. He didn’t need to give them any reasons to be wary of him.
As much as he didn’t want to acknowledge Blunt’s remarks from the previous day, they were truer than he was comfortable admitting. His many absences were taking a toll on his friendships. He had heard rumours going around about him being involved with drugs and gangs. While his friends would never go so far as to accuse him of those things, he could tell they didn’t buy his sick excuses. When he’d first come back, they’d been cautious of him. They had just started to trust him again and he couldn’t bear to loose that trust.
He supposed this mission did have one benefit: SAS training was nothing if not bonding. If Alex and Wolf (his old team leader) could come to a truce-like agreement (albeit a tentative, unspoken, and very, very twisted one), anything was possible.
And Alex supposed he had to excuse his classmates. They didn’t know what to expect. He almost wished he was as naïve as they were. And so he tried to be excited and to talk with his friends.
But by last period, any tolerance Alex might have had for the ignorance of his classmates was gone. His patience was worn thin and he just wanted to scream in frustration. The constant whispering and note passing was giving him a headache. He didn’t think he could take any more girls worrying about whether there would be proper hygiene facilities or boys boasting about how they were going to break records and be better than the actual SAS troopers. The most reasonable response he had heard all day was the more lazy kids in his class worrying about keeping up. At least they were thinking somewhat rationally.
When the bell finally rang, it was an immense relief to Alex. Finally he could go home and just chill for one of the last times for a long while. He wasn’t expecting any at training. The SAS didn’t believe in free time. Hurriedly calling goodbye to his friends, he moved quickly to his bike and set off towards his house. He immediately felt better as he flew down the road, the wind against his face. He loved his bike and the sense of freedom he got from riding fast. It was so liberating.
Alex rode home and went immediately upstairs. If he finished his homework, he’d have time to relax for a while before bed. He opened his history textbook and looked at the first question: Describe the Gunpowder Plot and its greater significance. He knew this and began to write. But though he tried valiantly to concentrate, guilty thoughts kept crowding his mind.
He felt bad about being so annoyed with his friends. After all, it’s not like they had any idea what to expect. They were just acting like normal teenagers. He was not. It was like he was behind a glass pane. The realities of their world didn’t touch him. He just looked on as they went through the highs and lows of adolescence. The glass kept him alone. He was so empty without life. He desperately wished he could break that glass and just feel.
And he felt bad because he was to blame for the situation his class was in. None of this was their fault; it was his and MI6’s. He couldn’t let anything happen to them. His friends did not deserve to be targeted by a ruthless criminal organization. He would keep them safe.
Alex fell asleep over his textbook.
The next few days progressed much the same. It was still like everyone had drunk a little too much Rockstar(i). Alex was beginning to settle in more to the whole school routine. He talked to his friends, played football, and did homework.
On Tuesday, Tom asked him to go to the movies with a group of people. On impulse, Alex agreed. As the time approached, Alex got more and more nervous. This was the first out of school thing he had done with his friends in nearly a year. He was apprehensive about fitting in – Blunt’s comment was still stinging.
Calling a good bye to Jack, Alex left his house and walked to the cinema. As he was about to get to the there, Alex almost turned back. What if he did something stupid? What could he talk about with normal teenagers? What if they didn’t like him anymore? But then Tom saw him and waved him over and Alex had no choice but to join him, giving him a weak smile. Tom, noticing this, grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear, “Relax Alex! We’re your friends. This is going to be fun.”
Alex swallowed and nodded. Tom cuffed him gently on the head. “You dolt. It’ll be fine. Now come on, the others are inside.”
They walked inside and Tom steered him over to a group of waiting teenagers. There were two boys and a girl. The girl caught sight of him first. “Alex!” she cried and promptly hugged him. Caught by surprise, Alex tentatively hugged her back after a moment. She stepped back, saying with a smile, “Tom said he wasn’t sure if you were coming. I’m so glad you did! We missed having you around.” Alex smiled back. This was Emma, a girl he had known for years.
The boys came over too. One with short blonde hair clasped his hand warmly saying, “Hey mate! We were wondering if you ceased to exist outside of school or something.” That was Nick, a general prankster. The other, a tall dark boy, shook hands with Alex. “I’m glad you’re back,” he said quietly. Josh was the serious one of the group. Alex wasn’t quite sure how to respond to all of this. He hadn’t been expecting such a warm welcome.
“Did you guys get the tickets?” Tom asked with a wink at Alex, saving him from having to answer.
“Actually, I got the tickets,” Emma said with a mock sniff. “These two are totally useless.” She linked her arm through Alex’s and dragged him off, saying “Now Alex, have you heard about…”
Two hours later, the five teenagers walked out of the movie theatre laughing. “Oh my god, it’s the…DEEP FREEZE!” Tom parodied. They all laughed. The movie “The Day After Tomorrow” had been a little over the top.
“Seriously though, I think that was one of the worst movies I have ever seen,” Alex said.
“Yeah,” Josh agreed. “That’s right up there with the archaic movies my mom made me watch last weekend.”
“Hey, I thought the part where they were stuck in the library was very dramatic!” Emma argued. The four guys turned to stare at her. She looked back at them with a straight face. Then her lip quivered and she doubled over giggling. “Your faces!” she gasped.
“You wanna go grab something to eat?” Nick asked after they calmed down again.
“Sure,” said Alex. Emma nodded, and Tom and Josh agreed as well. “Where d’you want to go?” Alex asked.
“How about that pizza place?” Nick suggested.
“Sounds good,” said Josh. They set off walking.
Half way there, Nick stopped walking abruptly. They turned to look at him quizzically.
“Oh no,” he said. “Guys…
“I think I’m going to pee my pants,” Josh moaned.
“Thanks for sharing.” Alex laughed. “I really wanted to know that.”
Everyone just laughed harder at this.
A while later they made it to the pizza place and sat down. They ordered and then talked about random things. Alex sat back and let the conversation wash over him. He was comfortable here. It had been surprisingly easy to fit back into his old group.
Tom noticing his expression, grinned and gave him a thumbs up. Alex realised that Tom had set everything up for him to feel at ease. Feeling a rush of gratitude towards him, Alex mouthed “Thank you.” Tom just waved him off and returned to the conversation of the others about whether ninjas or pirates were cooler.
It wasn’t until after they had finished eating that the question Alex had been dreading came up.
“So Alex,” Nick asked casually. “Where have you been?”
“I’ve been sick,” Alex replied, feeling guilty for having to lie to his friends.
They stared at him incredulously. “Um, mate,” Nick said, “You do realise that no one believes you, right?”
“I really was!” Alex insisted, feeling horrible.
“Fine. Don’t tell us,” Nick said.
“I am telling you. I was really stressed out after Ian…died and the doctors said it lowered my immune system,” Alex explained, trying to be as convincing as possible, while inwardly being sickened by having to lie.
“Alex,” Emma said, “we’re your friends. Don’t you trust us?” she asked, looking a little hurt.
“I do trust you!” Alex exclaimed. “I…” he floundered, looking desperately at Tom.
“Look,” Tom cut in. “Just let him alone. He was sick. I know.”
The others looked like they were going to protest, but, to Alex’s surprise, Josh stopped them.
“I’m sure if Alex isn’t telling us something he has a good reason,” he said quietly, looking eyes with Alex. “He’s never lied to us before.”
Emma and Nick agreed reluctantly. “Sorry mate,” Nick said sheepishly. “It’s just, we’re your friends and all – we care, you know?”
“Yeah, s’alright,” Alex responded, feeling horrible.
There was a mellow silence for a minute, before Tom interjected, saying brightly, “Who wants dessert?”
Laying in bed that night, Alex looked up at the ceiling, realising how lucky he was to have such good friends. As much as SAS training was going to be hell, he felt somehow comforted that, for once, he was not doing this alone. He missed his friends; he hadn’t realised how much before. Emma: the happy-go-lucky tomboy until you messed with her friends; Nick: the smart-ass prankster who was actually really intelligent; Josh: strong and steady, he said little, but perceived so much and was always deeply loyal; and Tom: Tom, his best friend who was always there, no matter what. For the first time in weeks, Alex fell asleep with a smile.
The days passed pretty normally after that. Until Friday, that it. That’s when Scorpia made their hit.
Alex had been sitting in maths dully recording the statements of proof for congruent triangles when armed Special Forces in full body armour stormed the room. Alex had frozen at the sight of figures swathed in black. He watched in shock and horror, finding it too unreal that that world had invaded his school. It wasn’t until a white-faced Tom had dragged him onto the floor that Alex realized the men were yelling “Get down, get down!” The team quickly secured the room, covering the windows and door. From the noise outside, it appeared units were doing the same through out the building. Alex noted that one man came over discreetly to stand next to him.
They waited nearly an hour before the school was cleared and the threat was declared neutralised. The students were sent home, their questions deflected with the universal response “An explanation will be coming as soon as we have one.” As they left, there were a lot of excited exchanges of rumours. It seemed that a threat was welcomed as a way to get out of class.
In the chaos, Alex had been discreetly removed from the crowd and taken to a
car by a SF man. He was driven directly to
It seemed that Scorpia had taken their first hit on Alex and his class. Luckily, MI6 had intercepted their plans and had activated the many SF teams around the area. They had been able to neutralize the threat before it had reached the school, but had decided to secure the building just in case. With Scorpia, anything was to be expected.
Digesting this, Alex realised he was rather surprised that it had taken Scorpia this long to act. He would have expected their retaliation to be far swifter. But even this attack bothered him. There had been no back-up plan and the whole thing seemed to be far too simple and rather sloppy. It was almost as if Scorpia has no intention of success. But that made no sense – why waste money and people in an attempt, as well as loose whatever element of surprise they had?
“Scorpia didn’t want this to succeed. Why?” Alex asked.
Blunt looked at him for a moment. “We don’t know that. Perhaps this new leadership is ineffective.”
Alex knew immediately that they didn’t believe that at all. They were, as usual, keeping something important from him. But before he could question them further, Mrs. Jones cut in.
“Alex, there’s one more thing. I’m afraid these attacks have complicated
things.” She sighed then continued. ”Our cousins across the river at 5 have
gotten involved, as this was a terrorist attack in
“And?” Alex prompted.
She sighed again. “Understand that we don’t agree with this at all, but I’m afraid we were given no choice. The government of the day has decided that the students in your class should be informed of the attacks on them and the true purpose of sending them to the Beacons.”
Alex was shocked. Why would it be a good thing to scare his class mates and create panic? “Why would anyone want to do that?” he asked, confused.
“Because they’re bloody politicians,” Blunt growled. Alex looked at him in surprise. Blunt never showed emotions. “They think that this could help them push a new defence bill through parliament. They care more about their little careers than the safety of this nation.” He took out a bottle and poured himself a drink. “We told them that this was stupid, that it’d play right into Scorpia’s hand to give this more publicity. Even 5 agreed with us, which never happens. But of course they didn’t listen when they saw an opportunity to play their little games,” he said vehemently. ii
“We have no choice in this matter. So on Monday, we along with other officials will be at your school to explain this to your class,” Mrs. Jones told Alex. “You will, of course, be kept out of this. It really shouldn’t change much, except perhaps motivate your classmates some.”
Alex nodded. “Can I go home now?” he asked.
She looked at him a little sympathetically. “Not quite yet,” she said gently. “We need to make sure that your house is secure. You’ll just have to hang out here for a bit. Perhaps you’d like to visit Mr. Smithers?” she suggested.
Alex smiled. Smithers was perhaps his only friend in MI6. No matter how down he was, a visit with Smithers would be sure to cheer him up. “That would be nice,” he replied.
Mrs. Jones nodded. “Just go out to the waiting room. We’ll send someone up to take you down.”
Alex stood, nodded to Blunt and Mrs. Jones and went outside to wait.
Alex waited and waited and waited, but no one came. It had been nearly an hour and the formal chair he was sitting in – straight wooden back with a pathetic cushion for all its elegance – was becoming quite uncomfortable. He wondered if Mrs. Jones hadn’t made the call. He supposed this could be some sort of test. But that didn’t make sense – what was the purpose? No, more likely Smithers got distracted and forgot to send someone. He stood up to stretch and his phone fell on the ground.
He bent down to retrieve it and was about to put it back into his pocket when a thought hit him: he’d never called Jack! She’d be worried sick when he never came home.
Quickly he dialled her number. “Hello?” her voice answered, tense and worried.
“Jack?” he said.
“Alex!” she screamed. “Oh my God, are you ok? Is everything alright? I saw on the news that your school was attacked. You’re not hurt are you? I was so worried!”
“I’m fine, Jack,” Alex said tiredly. “Nothing actually made it as far as our school.”
“Thank god,” she said simply, clearly relieved. “Where are you now?”
“I’m at headquarters,” he replied. “They want me to stay here until they’re sure it’s safe.”
“Alright. Do you know when you’re coming home?” she asked, exhausted after hours of worry.
“They said it shouldn’t be too long,” he said unsure.
“Ok. Well, stay safe,” she said. “Call me if anything changes.”
“I will,” he promised. “Bye.”
He hung up and stood there for a moment undecided. No one still had come for him. He could wait some more… He glanced around the deserted waiting room. The only person was a secretary at the far end bent over her desk, engrossed in typing furiously on her computer. His mind made up, he turned and walked off.
He vaguely remembered the way to Smithers’ office. And he supposed if he got too lost, he could always ask directions. Besides, after everything MI6 had put him through, he deserved to have a look around the place.
As he walked through the labyrinth of white hallways, Alex glanced curiously
at the people he passed. There were many, seeing as it was only
And then there were a few who upon seeing his face turned white as if they had seen a ghost. At first Alex didn’t understand why and tried to ignore it. But then as he passed by one such person, he heard the whispered words “John Rider.” Then he realised. These were people who had known his father. Everyone always said how closely he resembled his dad. For these people, it was like they had seen a ghost, seeing John Rider’s son walk down the hall. Realising this, Alex lifted his chin. He was proud to be his father’s son.
Still, he was grateful when he reached a less populated stretch of hallway. If he remembered right, Smithers’ office was somewhere around here. That was when he spotted the rather rotund man hurrying towards him. When the man caught sight of Alex, he grinned hugely. “Alex, old chap!” he exclaimed. “Terribly sorry about the wait. I’m afraid I got caught up in testing. Quite a useful little bugger, it is. But you seem to have made it down here alright!”
Alex smiled. “Don’t worry about it Mr. Smithers. What are you testing?”
“Come see, come see!” Smithers waved excitedly for him to follow. “You might be very interested in some of it. I developed a whole line of useful things for you – you never know when some of it might come in handy.”
Alex followed the man into an elevator concealed behind an ordinary looking door.
“Right this way,” Smithers directed as he led Alex into a futuristic-looking laboratory. It was quite large, filled with workbenches and cabinets, littered with gadgetry and raw materials. There were several other people there, working on various projects.
Smithers led Alex over to an area. “Have a seat,” he said.
Alex looked around and seeing no chairs, hauled himself up onto a workbench. “I hope I’m not interrupting your work or anything,” he apologised. “Mrs. Jones just suggested this because she didn’t have anything for me to do.”
“Nonsense, dear boy,” Smithers assured him warmly, waving away his apology. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to you in far too long. Besides, while you’re here, we’ll just have you check a few things for us. Now, how have you been? I hear you’ve gone back to school.”
“Yeah,” Alex said. “It’s been really nice, this whole normalcy thing. Kind of like a much needed vacation.”
Smithers nodded, wrestling with a device in the workbench. “Normalcy does have its benefits,” he agreed. “Are you getting out of this world, then? After this whole Scorpia business is dealt with?”
“No,” Alex said quietly. Smithers looked up at him intently. “At least, I don’t think so. Blunt will never just let me go. And I don’t think I can just walk away from all of this.”
Smithers nodded slowly. “It’s a shame, really, that you had to be dragged into all of this. I worry about you, old boy. But I suppose you’re right. Most people find it very hard to get out of all of this.” He fiddled with a screwdriver, doing something to the device. “Perhaps you could come to some sort of agreement with the higher-ups. Like you could only work once every two months or so. Or something like that.”
Alex thought that over. “You think they would go for that?” he asked disbelievingly.
Smithers chuckled. “Alex old boy, do you really think they’d pass up an opportunity to have their top agent work for them consentingly?”
Alex frowned at this. “I doubt I’m their top agent.”
“Oh, you’re certainly up there,” Smithers replied, distracted by a particularly difficult screw.
Alex sighed. “You know, I don’t really mind the missions so much, apart from the whole family history and near death things. I just really miss my friends. I hate having to lie all the time to everyone.” He was revealing more to Smithers than he had to anyone else, but he inexplicably knew that he could trust the man. And Smithers was the one person in MI6 who actually seemed to care about Alex.
Smithers nodded at him sympathetically. “I know old chap, I know. But I’m sure they’d understand. After all, it’d be dangerous for them if they found out. But take a look at this; it’ll cheer you up.” He took a device off the workbench and handed it to Alex.
“What is it?” Alex asked curiously. It looked to be an iPhone.
“Why, it’s an iPhone!” Smithers exclaimed mischievously. “Every teenager’s dream.”
Alex gave him a reproving look. “Yes, but what does it do?”
Smithers laughed, a jolly chortle. “You mean, besides everything an iPhone normally does? Well, it does it a lot faster for one thing. Any signal incoming or outgoing is secure and it gets reception everywhere, and I mean everywhere.”
“And?” Alex prompted, know that would not be all the phone would do.
“Demanding aren’t you?” Smithers asked. “There is of course a highly developed contacting system. Speed dial 1 and you get a direct line to Alan Blunt’s office. Speed dial 2 and you get a direct line to me. We also put a few more useful things in,” he said with a wink. “You might be interested in the games section, the Minesweeper game in particular. Use it to locate bugs. The Superman game is also quite useful – an X-ray/Listening device, like that gameboy I gave you. A bit more powerful though. It works the same way, plug in the headphones and place it against any surface. Now, a camera is a standard feature, so be just improved the resolution a bit. If there’s anything you need to send us ever, just text it.”
“That’s cool,” Alex said impressed.
Smithers smiled. “Yes, but there’s one more feature. Do you remember the phone I gave you before?” Alex nodded. “Well, there’s a similar drugged needle reaction, just a fair bit stronger. Call 9999 and it fires out the top right,” he indicated the spot. “You also get 5 shots, instant reload of course.”
“Wow Smithers,” Alex enthused. “You’ve really outdone yourself.”
“Thank you, dear boy,” Smithers replied fondly. “Now, I want you to keep it. You’re up against Scorpia, so you never know when it might come in handy.”
“Thank you,” Alex said quietly. Smithers was the one person he could truly count on to do right by him.
“Don’t mention it,” Smithers said jovially and returned to whatever it was that he was working on.
“So Alex,” he said conversationally after a moment, “I hear you’re going to train with the SAS.”
Alex nodded. “Yeah. I think Blunt and Mrs. Jones are insane for having a class of 14-year-olds go. It’s not exactly summer camp and the men aren’t going to like it at all.”
“Yes, it does seem rather ludicrous,” Smithers agreed, “but they have to keep them safe somewhere I suppose. And they really want you to train.”
Alex made a face and Smithers laughed. “Come now, old boy. It can’t be all that bad!”
“It was last time,” Alex said miserably. “I didn’t want to be there and they didn’t want me there. The worst was my unit.”
“Really?” Smithers asked. “That Ben Daniels said they gave you a bit of a hard time in training.”
“Yeah,” Alex replied. “But Ben and the others just ignored me mostly. Wolf was the only one who really went after me.” He sighed. “I think he was just insulted that his unit got stuck with me. But at the end if training I helped him out and then I saw him again at Point Blanc and he took bullets for me, so I think we’re ok now.”
Smithers nodded. “Sounds like it. How did you help him out?” he asked curiously.
Alex grinned. “I kicked him out of a plane.”
Smithers laughed. “How noble of you,” he teased. There was a pause for a moment as he wrestled with the device before him. “Blasted LEDs,” he muttered. “Don’t…ever…work!” With a groan he set the device aside and turned to Alex.
“You know, I wouldn’t worry to much about training. I believe Ben’s going to be there.”
“Really?” Alex asked, interested. “Ben’ll be there?” Smithers nodded, a twinkle in his eye.
“I really like Ben,” Alex confessed. “During training he was all cold and
everything, but in
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it. He was just in here the other day, you know. He always stops in to say hello. He seemed quite pleased to find out you’ll be joining him in the Beacons.”
“He knows?” Alex queried.
“Yes. He was just worried about this whole Scorpia business, as was I.” He looked at Alex intently. “He cares quite a lot about you, you know. He’ll look out for you.”
Alex wasn’t quite sure what to say to that. “He’s kind of like an older brother. That’s what it was like last time, anyway,” he remarked slowly. “But why is he in training anyway? I thought he left the SAS.”
“It’s to recover from his injury I suppose,” Smithers mused, “although I heard something about him rejoining his old unit. There’s a rumour that the SAS and MI6 are in talks about forming some kind of joint task force.”
Alex laughed. “Smithers, you are worse than the girls in my school about gossip.”
“Whatever, old chap, as I believe you teenagers say,” Smithers retorted. “Now come over here. I want you to tell me what you think about…”
A while later, Mrs. Jones came to tell Alex that he could go home. He left after thanking Smithers profusely, feeling significantly better about life in general. Smithers had that effect.
He was dead tired though, and went home and straight to bed, pausing only to assure Jack that he was indeed fine. He slept soundly and woke up late the next morning, glad that it was a Saturday.
The whole weekend Jack pampered him. She made his favourite food, rented his favourite movies, and took him wherever he wanted to go. Knowing in advance that he was leaving for an assignment was a novelty, and Jack was adamant that she planned to make the next few days perfect. Neither of them wanted to broach the subject of the fast approaching Tuesday when he would be leaving.
Monday morning dawned bright and early. Alex woke up groaning as his alarm went off. Blindly slapping at his clock, he rolled out of bed and got in the shower. Standing under the spray helped to wake him up some. He and Jack had been up late watching movies the night before. He realised it was probably irresponsible, but he just didn’t care. He wanted to make the most of last few days before he left.
He got out of the shower and quickly towelled off, throwing on clothes. He made his way downstairs to the kitchen where Jack was making breakfast.
“Morning sleepyhead,” she greeted him brightly. “I made eggs.”
He smiled and said, “Thanks Jack.” He paused then added, “for…everything.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she replied easily. “But you better hurry – you’re running late!”
Seeing she was right, Alex ate quickly and ran out the door calling a hasty goodbye. Jumping on his bike, he pedalled quickly to his school. As he raced inside, he briefly noted the guards posted around the building. They must be MI6’s security plan, he decided. He slid into his seat in homeroom just before the bell rang. His teacher sent him a reproving look, to which he just grinned sheepishly.
Homeroom was the one class he, Tom, Emma, Nick, and Josh all had together. This meant they were all going to the SAS camp.
The teacher had just started attendance when the loudspeaker crackled to life.
Will all homerooms please report to the auditorium for an assembly.
The students in his class jumped up, talking excitedly.
“I wonder what this is about?” Emma asked as they poured out into the hall.
“Probably about what happened on Friday,” Tom speculated. Alex agreed. Mrs Jones had said they were coming to explain things.
As they walked into the auditorium, Alex caught sight of two of the figures on the stage: Mrs. Jones and Alan Blunt. Seeing them, Alex felt somehow violated by their presence in his school. They weren’t part of this world and he needed to stay safely in his ‘spy’ world, not his real world.
Alex sat down with his class and observed the other figures. There was an older man sitting down talking to a younger man, who Alex didn’t recognise. However, the older man seemed somehow familiar. Alex tried to remember where he had seen him before. Then it clicked: the COBRA meeting. These men must be MI5.
The principal began speaking first. Alex zoned out as he talked about why they were there and welcomed the guests.
The older man Alex had noticed before got up to speak. “Good morning. I am Harry Pearce, Director of the Security Service,” he began. “I would first like to assure you that every precaution has been taken to secure you. You will have noticed the guards that have been posted. Every effort is being made to keep you out of danger. Now, the attack on Friday was an attempt mad by the international criminal organization Scorpia. The intent behind this attack is unknown, as is the reason. However, intelligence has suggested that the homeroom 9B was specifically targeted.”
A flurry of whispers exploded at this. Tom turned to Alex and asked quietly, “because of you?” Alex nodded regretfully. Tom reached out and squeezed his shoulder, knowing how awful Alex was feeling.
Mr. Pearce continued, “And now I’d like to turn you over to my esteemed colleague from the Secret Intelligence Service, Mrs. Jones.”
Mrs. Jones rose and walked over to the podium. “Thank you Mr. Pearce.”
“We at the SIS have had extensive dealings with Scorpia. While not to be trifled with, Scorpia is not an ideological group. Rather, their mission is monetary gain. Therefore, they will be amenable to compensation. We have already opened negotiations and I assure you, we will resolve this as quickly as possible. Until then, you need not worry. You have the finest protection. Thank you.” She returned to her seat.
The principal came forward again to make some closing remarks, which Alex ignored. He ended with “You are dismissed. Homeroom 9B, please stay behind and move up front.”
The other students got up to leave as Alex and his class moved forward. As soon as the last students were gone, Mrs. Jones stood up and began to talk again.
“Now, I’m sure you’re all aware that your class leaves tomorrow for training with the SAS. While you are there, you will be under the protection of the finest Special Forces in the world. In addition, you will be receiving training on dealing with potential attacks.” She paused and looked around the room. “You will not tell anyone where you are going. If anyone asks, say we are moving you to a secure location, nothing more. You make think this is a game. Take this not seriously and you will die. Tell someone and you will die. Scorpia does not mess around. They have every intention of killing you and they have the means to if they find you. Don’t help them.” She gave a stern look to emphasis this. “Now, you may return to class. Alex Rider, please stay behind.”
The students got up to leave giving Alex curious looks.
Emma asked quietly, “What do they want?”
Alex shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Tom gave him a meaningful look and left. As the last of the students and staff filed out, he walked up to the stage,
“I hope you have a good excuse for this,” he said bluntly.
“Of course Alex,” Mrs. Jones frowned. “Alex, this is Mr. Pearce as you heard and Adam Carter, the Head of the Counter-Terrorism Section of MI5.” She indicated the younger man. Alex shook hands with them both.
“A pleasure, Agent Rider,” Carter said. “We’d like you to know that your security is our top priority right now. We’re doing all we can to protect you.”
Alex nodded. “Thank you.”
The MI5 men left.
Mrs. Jones turned to Alex. “Now, while you’re at the camp, we want you to train. Obviously you need to be doing alternate exercises from the rest of your class without raising suspicions. Therefore, we’ll say that due to your illnesses, you are in a delicate state and must do less strenuous work.”
Alex nodded. This made sense. Perhaps it would even lend credence to his sick excuses.
Mrs. Jones added, “You can tell your classmates that was what we wished to discuss. Good luck Alex.”
He turned and left going back to class. The teacher didn’t question him as he returned and sat down. Nick, sitting across from him, poked him. “Hey Alex, what did they want?” Emma, Josh and Tom all leaned in to hear his answer.
“They were just worried about me training because I’ve been sick so much. I guess they’re going to have me doing easier stuff or something,” he whispered back.
Emma, Josh, and Nick all seemed to accept that, but Tom shot him a covert look that said he was having none of it. Alex mouthed that he would tell him later.
“So what did you think of that Jones woman?” Emma asked. “She was seriously creeping me out with all of her ‘you will die’ remarks.”
“Yeah,” Nick added. “Like, we know we’re in deep shit. There’s like Special Forces dudes making us cower on the floor for hours! But seriously, how dangerous can a group of crack pots be?”
Alex laughed to himself. If only they knew.
i I couldn’t resist. For those of you who don't know, Rockstar is an energy drink that makes you really hyper and tastes really, really, bad.
ii This is inspired by Spooks (the TV series)
I love Smithers. I really, really love him.
So Harry Pearce and Adam Carter – they’re not mine, they're from my most favorite TV show ever! Now be honest, who realised who they were? I was gonna tell you where their from, but my lovely beta suggested I make you guess. So whoever guesses correctly first gets a cookie (a metaphorical one of course)and anyone who gets it right goes on my A-list! Now, why are they in this story? Eh, I needed some MI5 guys and why make them up when you can just steal them? I hope you don’t mind their little cameo.
Now, about my ocs Emma, Josh, and Nick: I don’t think Alex wouldn’t have any friends. I mean, come on. He seems like a social kind of guy. And even if he did miss a lot of school, he’d still have friends (trust me, I know from experience). As to their role in this story, I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that far. They are minor characters, Tom being the chief friend, but they’ll probably pop up fairly frequently. So yeah…
And Blunt’s rant in this one follows my theory of if you need an excuse for something that doesn’t make sense, blame it on the government (preferably politicians). It’s fool proof - jk.
Anyway, see you all next time. And review!
JK Mafia
