Becoming Agent Rider

Birthday Surprises

С днем ​​рождения. Когда вы закончите читать книги, мы приступим к урокам полета. (Happy birthday. When you finish reading the books, we will start flying lessons.)

It was his birthday? Alex checked the date and blinked. It was his birthday. And Yassen had gotten him a gift. Yassen had gotten him a gift and had it delivered at five o'clock in the bloody morning. Did the man even know what sleep was?

Вы не могли бы его доставить через час или что-то в этом роде?! (You couldn't have had it delivered an hour later or something?!)

Вы хотели, чтобы кто-нибудь заметил доставку? (Did you want someone to take note of the delivery?)

Alex blinked. The contract killer had a point. No one in the neighborhood would have seen the delivery take place. It was too early in the morning for that. Then, the implications fully hit him. He was sixteen now, he realized a little disbelievingly. There were many times in the past two years that he hadn't thought he would live long enough to see his next birthday. But he had now reached two of them and it was partially thanks to the assassin. And that was the other thing. The contract killer hadn't just saved his life and given him chances, but was training him as well. And now, Yassen had remembered his birthday and planned out a present - a surprise - for him with enough care to securely deliver it in the little bit of free time he had in both of their busy schedules. Sure, the gift was training related. But it felt less like a training requirement and more like an extra. An indulgence. Besides, even Ian, his own uncle, hadn't done anything like this. Once Ian was away from London, it was like Alex didn't exist. It all came down to Jack celebrating with him. And she was never going to be able to do that again. He wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

Спасибо. (Thank you.)

Пожалуйста. (You are welcome.)

Alex just sat there, flipping through the textbooks as he came to terms with the revelation that his arrangement with Yassen extended beyond just teacher and student with a side of complicated history. He should probably get a gift for the man's birthday too, he thought. Only to realize that he didn't know anything about Yassen that wasn't SCORPIA or training related. Although it was absurd, to him, it was like SCORPIA had been the man's beginning. But that wasn't true. Where had Yassen come from? How had he ended up with SCORPIA? Had the man always been this capable and cold? He didn't know the answer to any of these questions and doubted that the man would tell him either. Maybe he could get a gift for a special occasion instead then. Christmas, perhaps.

His phone's alarm rang, startling Alex out of his thoughts. It was time to get ready for the day. He went through his morning routine of necessities and training exercises, but still had plenty of time to get to the Royal and General. However, when he walked through the front doors of the Bank, there was an instant sense of foreboding. Because instead of Crawley being ready to take him to whatever they had planned for the day, it was Mrs. Jones standing in the reception area, waiting for him.

"Is something wrong?" Alex asked warily.

"No," Jones replied, a twinkle of amusement in her eye. Then, she frowned slightly. "Unless your instincts say otherwise?"

Alex shook his head, which Jones took as enough of an answer and started walking to the lift. Following her, they were sat in Jones' office a few minutes later. He politely declined her offer of a peppermint.

"Alex, I would like to start this off by saying happy birthday," Jones said after popping the candy into her mouth.

"... Thanks."