Alex found himself falling into a routine, but he always wondered when he would get his normal life back, or if he would ever get a normal life
Yassen was still at large, Scorpia gone into hiding, and Jack was all the way back in America.
No matter what changed, he was still alone, with no way to contact anyone.
Unknowns to Alex his brief piece was coming to an end, as a man delivered a letter with a scorpion stamped on one of the sides, the man smirked it was time for the payback.
Blunt, sat in his office reading the report that Crawley gave him. It seemed impossible to him that Alex rider had successfully completed a shooting course blindfolded when a month ago he barely could shoot clay plates right, but the boy had rider blood and John and Ian Riders had been nothing short of precision when it came to their skills. If anyone could surpass them it would be their own blood.
He watched the boy from the window of his office. He was sitting quietly in front of a desk, fidgeting with a small toy in his hand while talking to an agent. He didn't know how or when the boy had sparked friendship with his agents, but he had a mild suspicion, judging by the rumours that were circling around.
Of course no one had dared to ask him about them, but he had heard them and nobody had to tell him who had come up with such stupidity. He didn't know if he should be more disappointed with his agents for believing such a trivial rumour.
His phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. He answered, listening to the urgent voice from the other side
"I'm on my way" was the only thing he said before hanging up
Grabbing his briefcase he left his voice ignoring the two hushed voices whispering to each other while laughing.
"Mrs. Jones" he called his deputy that was working on her desk near the teenager, she looked up not even asking anything before grabbing her things
"don't cause any trouble while we're gone, Alex" she said
"I'm not the one who causes trouble" he said laughing to the other agent
They ignore the comment and left the building, entering a car
"Scorpia made contact, we have a meeting in Downey Street" he told Mrs. Jones.
There was never good news when Scorpia made contact with them, it always came with ridiculous demands impossible to meet. He wondered what they wanted this time.
They arrived at their destination in record time, it was categorized as an emergency after all, when it came to Scorpia every second was precious.
"Blunt, I always wish he met in different circumstances. Mrs. Jones, please have a seat" the prime minister greeted
"I believe you already been informed the reason for this meeting" he took out an envelope putting it on top of the table "Scorpia has a proposition, I took the liberty to read it first, and I've to say I was surprised."
The man slide the large envelope across the table for Blunt to take.
Dear Prime Minister,
It has come to The board of Scorpia attention, that our organization and your fine country doesn't have the best relation. Of course, we would like to change that, as we see the best advantages if we tied our forces.
In offer for immunity of Scorpia direct operation involving your country, we propose an exchange.
Our great organization is interested in one unofficial MI6 agent, Alex Rider, in exchange for that one agent not only Scorpia won't act in your country, but we will also release all of our British prisoners.
We will be expecting the delivery to occur tomorrow on Cawfield airbase at 23:00.
Sincerely,
SCORPIA
"I have to say Blunt, I'm the last one to question your methods, but I wonder why is Scorpia so interested in this child" the man leaned forward crossing his hands on top of the table "so tell me, have you recruited a child?"
"I thought you didn't question my methods" Blunt responded
The man threw is hands "your right, I Don't. It doesn't matter anyway because we're accepting the deal"
Mrs. Jones opened her mouth to say something, but Blunt raises his hand slightly, stopping her
"sir, Alex rider as helped us before, he has priceless Scorpia insights." Blunt said
"so make him say everything he knows now and then delivery him to Scorpia"
"you don't understand, he is valuable as an asset, he has a 100% success rate"
The prime minister laughed, "come on, Alan, you sent the kid in what? Two three missions"
"Most agents fails their first mission. He manages to complete them with almost no training, with the proper training he would be unstoppable."
"If you have to rely on a child to complete your future missions maybe it's a sign that you should train your agents better" the man said leaning back "my decision is final, you will make the exchange tonight"
Neither Blunt nor Mrs. Jones said anything as they got up and left the office.
"I tried" Blunt said to Mrs. Jones as they entered the car
"I know" she muttered. Truly she was surprised that her boss had stuck up for Alex, but in the end it was nothing more than a failed attempt, there was no way around this, Scorpia only asked for one thing, and it was Alex, there was no faking it, no way around it.
As they arrived to the department, Mrs. Jones noticed that Alex was in the same place, laughing as he talked to some agent. She had read Dr. Lamberg report, she knew how much Scorpia had scared him, and to know that in a few hours they here deliver him back to the place that he fought so hard to escape, it made her sick to her stomach. He may have brilliant skills, but in the end he is just a child, and it should be her job to protect him, not deliver him to the main source of danger.
"Call Smithers and Crawley to my office" blunt ordered before turning to enter his office
Mrs. Jones was quick to get the two agents and quickly locked themselves in Blunt's office
"Scorpia made an appearance and is asking for an exchange" Blunt began
"what do they want? "Crawley asked
Blunt slides copies of the letter to both of them, waiting for the to read
"Alex, they want Alex" Smithers stated with an underlining pain in his tone
"yes, they want Alex rider" Blunt stated leaning back in his chair "the prime minister left us no choice, we have to accept the deal"
"they will probably kill him or worse" Crawley said, it was true, Scorpia didn't take lightly being humiliated, and Alex did worse than that, he killed one of their board members
"we don't know that. It's too good of a deal for us to let it pass by, we don't have a choice"
" does he know" Smithers asked looking at a too much happy Alex that was sitting outside unknowns that his fate and probably death was being discussed inside the office
"no he doesn't, and that his why you are here"
"What? You want me to tell him that we will be sending him back to SCORPIA" Smithers exclaimed
"no, I will be the one to do it" Blunt responded, he was never the one to pass the hardest task to one of his employees, he always took full responsibility of his work "but I need something to calm him down, we need him docile, it doesn't need to be more stressful than it already is"
" So you want to sedate him?"
"Not knock him out, just enough so he cannot cause any trouble"
Smithers got up and left the office without saying anything, only to return a few moments later with a small vial in his hands.
He put it on top of the desk, showing to everyone
"put just 5 drops in a drink, more, and it will knock him out. It's tasteless, but has an almost instant effect."
Blunt hummed in agreement before turning to Crawley, "what have you been giving him?" of course everyone had noticed that almost everyday Crawley handed Alex some kind of drink
"lemon tea with honey, the doctor at the hospital recommended for his throat" he explained
Blunt nodded before pushing the vial towards Crawley "make sure" was the only instruction, the agent obediently nodded before pocketing the drug inside his jacket.
"Mrs. Jones, you've been quiet" Blunt said turning to the woman who until now had not utter a word
"what do you want me to say, Blunt, to jump in happiness that we are sending a teenager, son and nephew from your previous agents, to the enemy to be killed and tortured?"
"Don't think I want to do this, because I Don't, you heard the prime minster, he didn't give us a choice. I know he's not our boss, but if we don't do this ourselves, he will get us fired for using a minor and will hire someone else to do it for us"
"you've put that boy in my care, he's been sleeping in my son's bedroom" she said with pain in her face
"I know if I have known it would come to this I would never have done that" it was the closer that Blunt had ever come to say sorry
"let's get ready, we don't have much time until the drop-off"
Alex was still sitting in front of the desk that he proclaimed ownership, it was still a mystery to whom this desk belongs to since nobody had kicked him out. He watched bored as the time pass by and little by little agents left to go home. Alex wondered if Mrs. Jones would be taking much longer, he was starting to get hungry, besides Q would be waiting for him for his extra dose of Food.
Suddenly Crawley appeared in front of him holding a cup of what Alex could only presume to be steaming hot tea sweetened with honey.
"Blunt wants to talk with you. I brought you your tea, I'm afraid it's going to be a long night, international crises and all" Crawley explained holding out the cup.
Alex grabbed it, usually Crawley brought him his tea in the morning, when Alex could see Crawley drink his own cup of coffee. So it was strange for him to go get Alex some tea on purpose
"thanks" he said getting up, "so gramps wants to talk? I hope it's not to invite me for Christmas" Alex jokes, getting a small smile of amusement from the man before quickly disappearing.
Crawley opened the office door for Alex, "Blunt will be with you in a minute"
"Aren't you coming?" Alex asked when the agent didn't follow him
"no Alex"
"oh, it's a private event then" Alex said sitting down hearing the door close behind him
While sitting alone Alex wondered how much a fail of security was to leaving him alone in Blunt's office, he was pretty sure the laptop on top of the desk, or even some file he could probably could find inside a drawer contained highly confidential information
He played with the tea bag while waiting, watching as the steam came out of the drink. He wasn't very thirsty to be honest, and the tea tasted better in the morning when he was still half asleep, and it was cold outside, but now he was inside with the air conditioner on.
The door open five minutes later when Blunt got in, his tea remained untouched, steam no longer coming out of the cup.
Blunt sat in front of him, not saying anything. He just stared at Alex
After a minute or two of just staring, Alex was starting to get creeped out
"do you want a picture?" Alex asked, breaking the silence.
"Why didn't you drink the tea?" was his response.
Alex frowned, that sure was an odd question, "I'm not thirsty" Alex responded slowly.
"I don't like drinks in my office" Alex knew that this was a lie since he saw countless times several people holding cups of coffee.
"So, why is your dustbin full of cups?" Alex questioned, making Blunt's face fall.
"Just drink the tea, Alex" Blunt said rather forcefully.
Alex shrugged his shoulders, "why?"
"I have some concerning news for you, the tea would help you calm down" Blunt said, Alex eyes widened did something happen to jack? Crawley said there were some international crises, so probably Scorpia then.
"Did you put something in the drink?" Alex asked, suspicious, tilting the cup to look at the liquid.
"No, the tea has its natural proprieties."
"Right, well you can tell me, I'll skip the 'natural proprieties'" Alex said air quoting.
"Scorpia is back on the radar" he began, "they sent out a letter that concerns you" blunt said, passing him a piece of paper.
Alex took it, reading it carefully, his eyes widening as he progressed.
"What are you going to do? Set out a trap, right?" Ales asked, his heart racing.
Blunt leaned back in his chair fixing his suit, "we can't, they would know. Listen Alex, this deal is too good to pass by, there is too much risk. If we don't agree they will send out this same letter to some other agency, and they will hunt you down Alex, in the end Scorpia always get what they want" Blunt explained like he had thought of this situation for a long time, but Alex knew he had been happy when he received this letter, getting rid of Scorpia and Alex at the same time? He wouldn't be surprised if he threw a party.
"Bulshit, you didn't even try, just admitted that you want to get rid of me" Alex yelled jumping out of his chair.
"That was never the case, I have to do what is right for this country" Blunt said calmly like Alex would suddenly agree with him and go happily lay down on the altar to be sacrificed.
"What about me? After everything I have done for you, you'll throw me under the bus like that?" Alex yelled, he was panicking, and he knew it, he couldn't process in his mind going back to Scorpia "they will kill me" he said quietly to blunt like it was some deep secret.
"Alex" Blunt shook his head, "we don't know that."
Alex threw his hands gripping his head pacing around Blunt's office when he saw the exit door from the window, the path was clear, he could make it, he had to, it was his last chance he had to make it count.
He turned around back to Blunt and suddenly grabbed the cup of tea and threw it to Blunt, before bolting out of the door, they had made the mistake of leaving the office unlocked.
Alex heard movement behind him, but he didn't look, he had to get out "Crawley" he heard Blunt yell, but he ignored it, he ignored it until he couldn't.
He didn't understand what happen, he was running, and then his body locked itself, and he felt pain. He fell to the ground his muscles twitching like they had a life of their own, the door a few steps away from him, the green sign mocking him
He felt hands on him turning him upwards so he laid on his back, he had been shocked that had been obvious when he saw the taser gun that had been thrown to the side. His mouth was grabbed and forced open before he had time to understand what was happening, a liquid was forced inside and someone covered his mouth, forcing him to swallow.
Alex had no control of his body, as he was pushed on his feet by arms holding him on each side of him, his head hanged low as he had no force to force it up. He felt his heart rate slow down against his will, the tea would have calmed him down after all. He was dragged through the building hearing muffle voices around him, he couldn't figure out what they were saying, he couldn't think
Someone deposited him in the back of a van and close the door, leaving him laying on the floor of the vehicle alone. Alex looked at the fluorescent light on the ceiling of the Van, at least they had the decency of leaving it on. He took long and deep breaths, he had to clear his mind, he had to think, to find a way out of this mess.
The van turned on, he could feel the vibrations under him as the car moved, he was running out of time. The effects of the taser were passing, his body still hurt, but he could start to feel the control return to his muscles. He focused first on his fingers moving them one by one, until he could move his hand, and then his arm, and then he finally managed to sit up.
He looked around the van, they had left him alone, they knew he couldn't do anything back here, he had been shocked and drug, in truth Alex was helpless, he could only sit there and hope that some of his strength would have returned when they opened the door.
He sat there in silence, felling miserable of himself, how could he not? How could ha have been so dumb in trusting MI6, he should have run the first chance he got, but no, he let himself be fouled by a cat and some MacDonalds, it was so stupid that he almost deserved this. Deserved to spend the last few hours of his short life in the back of a cold van alone, he didn't even have the pleasure of having a last meal, not that he knew what he would pick, perhaps a pizza and a cold coke, that would've been nice.
He felt the van slow down, and the door being open by someone that he didn't know, at least he thinks that he didn't know considering that the person was using military gear with his face covered. He sat there looking at the man before two more entered and dragged him out, at least they didn't throw him to the ground or something.
Alex was dragged outside, and he could finally see where they were, the airport, the place where it all began, kind of ironic if you think about it.
The place was filled with agents everywhere all holding a gun ready for things to go south, he finally saw Mrs. Jones and Crawley, they were both looking at him, examining him, like he was a tool, that was all he has ever been to them, an object, a means to an end.
He saw a jet near them, the door was open and stairs were placed near, all around were more agents, this time they were Scorpia, it looked like a war waiting for it to begin.
As Alex was dragged nearer and nearer, he started to panic, he couldn't go back to be tortured or worse, he couldn't, he wouldn't.
He noticed a gun hanging from the hip of one of the agents dragging him, he had an idea, it wasn't bright, but it was the only one. He gathered all his strength and threw all his weight to the right, effectively throwing them both off balance in a moment of surprised. Alex acted quickly and stole the gun before running to the middle.
In the short span of time, he had gathered all the attention, everyone was screaming, weapons pointed at him, but Alex wasn't worried, they had to deliver him to Scorpia alive.
Alex raised his gun pointing at the main culprit "Alex" Mrs. Jones said, "you don't want to do this."
"Do you know what I want, Mrs. Jones?" he said, holding the gun firmly in his hands, "I want you to disappear from my life. I want to have a normal life, with a family. But I can't have that, can't I? Because of you, this is all your fault, yours, and Blunt's."
"Shooting me won't resolve anything" in other words you will still be delivered to Scorpia, that were watching the interaction with much interest
"you're right, Alex said" pointing the gun to his own head "Alex" this time she said alarmed.
Alex smiled, "they will kill me either way, this way you will lose your precious deal."
Suddenly in his peripheral view, he saw someone get off the jet "Alex" a voice called him softly making him look on reflex
It was Yassen, pointing a gun at Alex, the boy's eyes widen, and he lowers the gun just slightly before he is thrown of his feet, falling to the ground.
It was so suddenly that he thought that someone had tackled to the ground until he felt something come out of his chest. Confused, he lifted his hand, noticing that his fingers were painted in red, with his blood.
He opens his mouth but nothing came out as he looked at Yassen still holding the gun with a small trail of smoke coming from the end, Yassen had shot him, he concluded letting his head fall to the ground feeling his hair get wet from his blood.
He pressed his hand against his chest trying to stop the flow of blood, it was useless, he was already weak, his world blurring around the edges, a ringing sound was all he could hear
Oh god, he didn't want to die, he wasn't even old enough to drive a car. Why did this happen to him, he just wanted to play football, he had planned to make a career out of it, he wanted to maybe get married someday have Jack go and buy him a suit for him to wear, have kids and grow old in somewhere quiet.
His world was getting colder, his hand fell to the ground, no no no, this couldn't be how it ended, he was Alex Rider, he always manages to find a way in the end. Come on, find the strength, he could do this, he had to get up and get away from here. But he couldn't even lift his hand any more.
A tear ran out of his eye, and he looked to the sky, admiring the stars. He has never been a religious person, but now he hoped he could finally meet his parents, perhaps they were already waiting for him, Ian would be there to. Maybe now they could be a family, all four of them, have family dinners and movie nights, no MI6 no Scorpia, just them.
Yeah, that would be nice, that was the last push that Alex needed to finally let go, he closed his eyes and took the last breath.
Time of death 23:33