Becoming Agent Rider

Back To Normal (Sort Of)

Eighteen hours later, Alex blearily blinked sleep from his eyes as the weak sunlight shone in his face, feeling a little more human now that he was properly rested. He shuffled into the bathroom to take a hot shower, reviving him further. Then, he went to the kitchen for some tea and whatever food he could scrounge up for a mid-morning breakfast since he'd donated most of his food before SAS training had started. All he found were a couple boxes of cereal, some canned fruit, and a couple of frozen pizzas. Alex ate the cereal, without milk. He'd have to go grocery shopping today. And get a haircut. It was getting a bit too long, military standards notwithstanding.

After breakfast, he checked Ian's - his, he mentally corrected - office to make sure everything was still secure. He frowned at the package on his desk that had definitely not been there the last time he was in the house. Cautiously approaching it, Alex looked it over without touching the box. It didn't look like it was contaminated with anything. Then again, that didn't mean much. He put his ear as close to the box as he could without touching it and listened for a minute. There was no sound coming from it. That eased his mind a little. At least he knew the package wasn't likely to contain a dangerous creature, like a scorpion. Still, it's appearance was suspicious so he grabbed a pair of latex gloves from the kitchen and returned to open the box.

Alex grinned in delight when he saw what was inside. A note from Smithers and a bunch of gifts from the gadget master. Discarding the gloves, he picked up the note and read it thoroughly.

Hello, old chap! Every agent has a standard field kit and I think it's about time you got yours! Of course, these are different from the other agents' kits but I hope you like them! You should already know how to use most of these.

The watch and calculator are both tracking and two-way communications devices. Turn the hour and minute hands on the watch to twelve for radio communication and press the left button three times to send a distress signal and activate the tracker. For the calculator, just press second function triple nine and we will be able to send each other text messages. Pressing second function double zero will send a distress signal and activate the tracker.

Keep these gadgets on you at all times and let's hope you don't have to use them! You're always welcome to come in for refills, my boy! Let me know if you have any ideas for new gadgets and I'll see if I can make it happen. See you tomorrow!

P.S. This note will disintegrate 10 seconds after reading it. Best not still be holding this when it does!

True to Smithers' word, the note burst into flames shortly after Alex finished reading, leaving behind a pile of ashes. Turning his attention to the rest of the package's contents, he found the aforementioned watch and calculator. He examined them and felt a nearly invisible earpiece attached to the underside of the watch, along with a tiny built-in microphone. This was certainly unexpected as MI6 had never really provided two-way communication before. It had always been a distress signal and then he would have to wait to see if they would show up. This was definitely an improvement. Alex hoped that he wouldn't just be ignored if he used them.