Alex threw his keys onto his desk in the basement and shrugged off his jacket onto the floor. Pulling his chair towards him roughly he sat down and glared at the television opposite him.
"Good morning Alpha." He breathed and waited as blinds closed over the windows, more lights turned on in the room and the television screen turned on. A few words, white against a black background, formed on the screen:
Good morning Alex.
"Call." He stated, "Mrs Jones." The screen went blank as he waited for Mrs Jones to pick up her telephone. No less than two seconds later Alex was greeted with the familiar sight of Mrs Jones office and the woman herself, sat behind a wooden desk littered with papers that could be about him. He hadn't seen this for two years now; he hadn't seen her in person for at least three. It distressed him slightly, to find that he was excited at the chance to call her.
"Alex!" She exclaimed. "You look well."
"There was a murder outside my house." Alex cut through her; he needed to get to the bottom of this and was not fazed when Mrs Jones looked surprised.
"Really?" She shuffled some papers in front of her. "Well, I can't say we heard of anything in that area-"
"Someone was seen," Alex interrupted her again. "With eyes the same colour as mine." He said pointedly and Mrs Jones shrugged.
"Someone with blue eyes?" She asked, "hardly useful information-"
"There is only one person," Alex said loudly and stood up, his hands curled into fists, "who has eyes this exact shade of blue!" He shouted and the woman recoiled. There were a few moments of silence in which Alex tried to calm down. "Is she here?" He asked quietly and looked to the floor. He had to gather a lot of courage to say it; "Hera?" He looked up to the screen and those crystal blue eyes looked intently at Mrs Jones who pulled her jacket around herself tighter.
"Of course not." She said calmly and Alex sat back down with a sigh of relief. "Hera isn't even in the country." She concluded and sat forwards, towards the videophone on her desk. "Alex, murders happen. That doesn't necessarily mean we have anything to do with them." He nodded slowly.
"I know...I just..." He didn't know what to say.
"Keep safe, Alex." Mrs Jones said suddenly. "And if there's anything else you need then don't hesitate to call." She smiled at him and before he could even open his mouth she spoke again. "Until then I guess you have your quick encounter with the police." As soon as she uttered the last word the doorbell ran in Alex's house. He looked up and then back to the screen, "I guess that's them; wanting to know about the murder." Alex stood up.
"Goodbye Mrs Jones." Alex said and was already walking away when she said goodbye. "Good night Alpha," he said as he walked back up the stairs and the television switched off, the extra lights switched off and the blinds lifted from the windows. At the top of the stairs his phone rang. "Hello? Sabina, I know, I'm sorry, I'll be there soon."
***
"He knows." Hera said anxiously and Blunt was instantly worried; it was unlike Hera to become apprehensive so early on in a mission. "When I came back into the house and he talked to Mrs Rum-"
"Mrs Rum?" Blunt asked from the other end of the line. Hera, who was sat on her breakfast table, a bowl of cornflakes in her hands, turned to the television exasperatedly.
"Who?" She asked before realizing what he was asking, "oh, my new neighbour-"
"Hera, stay calm-"
"I am calm!" She shouted, waving her spoon at the screen. She took a moment to compose herself. "It's too risky; I'm getting out-"
"Alright." Blunt said suddenly and Hera was shocked. She almost dropped her spoon. "If the deadly nineteen year old can't handle simple observation, then that's fine." As he stopped Hera rolled her eyes.
"That's a ridiculous attempt to get me to stay." She replied. Then there were three minutes of silence in which Hera ate her late breakfast quietly and Blunt checked his computer screen. "I'll stay." Hera finally gave in and looked across to the screen suspended above the breakfast table in the kitchen. "But what if we meet; I live opposite him now!" She put her bowl down and brought her knees up to her chest, correcting her dress as she did so. "I'm not even going to be in disguise-"
"You know you don't need a disguise." Blunt reassured her. "You are more than capable." He said and she ran a hand through her hair. "Alright?" He said after a few moments and Hera frowned.
"Alright." She replied and reached across for a remote control; at the click of a button the screen went blank and metal blinds lifted from the kitchen windows. Hera jumped off the table and put her bowl in the sink. She walked back to her living room and looked through the window. She could just make out Alex walking from his house; he walked past police, which meant he had probably had his questioning. She was the first to be questioned and as soon as they knew her identity, the interrogation was over. She figured they'd do the same for Alex. She sighed as she watched his figure walk away; she'd have to follow him now.
***
Sabina was stood at the entrance of her university; she'd finished her lectures an hour ago and Alex said he'd see her at twelve. It was now one o'clock and she was growing impatient. Last night had seen the beginning of a small crack forming in the foundations of their relationship; he was in love with someone else. How could she possibly stand by him when he wasn't completely devoted to her? She loved him more than anything but it still wasn't enough. She ran a hand through her hair wearily and sighed.
"Sabina!" She looked up and saw Alex across the street, walking towards her. She smiled at him and walked forwards.
"Hey," She said as he reached her and embraced her and turned her head away from him so his lips caught her cheek. Before he had time to say anything about her actions, she spoke again; "where are we going?" She asked and Alex forced a smile but kept his mouth shut. He took her hand and pulled her after him. "Alex?" She asked, "come on, tell me-"
"It's a surprise!" He said and she laughed, held onto his arm tighter and they walked away from the university. Unknown to them, Alex's new shadow stood across the street, trying to pretend she didn't feel anything. Heck, she even decided to smile despite the fact that her heart was slashed to pieces. Pulling her summer hat further down to cover the fact that her eyes were burning red, she walked after them.
***
"Oh, Alex!" Sabina squealed and squeezed his arm affectionately as they walked through the hotel entrance and into the foyer. "You do listen to me." She muttered and Alex smiled. The hotel was like a beautiful glass house with marble floors and low chandeliers.
"I'm starving." Alex said and pulled her through to the restaurant that was surprisingly busy for this time of the day. As Sabina marveled at the paintings that adorned the ceiling and the tables overflowing with cakes and pastries, Alex guided her through the crowded room to their table. They sat down and Alex was relived to see Sabina smile broadly at him and take his hand. Should he tell her what happened? Should he tell her that the girl who shares the colour of his eyes was seen on his street? No; he couldn't do it. Seeing Sabina smile like that, it's all he really wanted.
"What?" Sabina asked with a small laugh. "What?" She said more urgently as he remained silent.
"Nothing." Alex shook his head. From the entrance of the hotel's restaurant, Hera stood and removed her sunglasses and hat. She lowered them slowly in her hands for this was the closest she had been to Alex yet; she could make out his face! Her eyes softened as, for the first time in three years she glimpsed the blue eyes and mess of blonde hair. He was still handsome, but there was something...something missing from him that meant he wasn't the same. What was it that had changed? She couldn't quite figure it out. As though in a daze, she walked forwards and sat down at a table shaded by plants and partially blocking her from Alex's view was a pillar of stone. She peered past the pillar and almost cringed as, like a silly schoolgirl with a crush, she smiled and sighed. Over the years Hera had become so used to her work that like a sixth sense she perceived the danger before she saw it. Twisting in her chair she cast a secret glance to the bar and saw a waiter with a tray of two drinks, pour white powder from a small bottle into one of the drinks.
She raised an eyebrow; Scorpia was losing their touch if they thought that could get past her or kill the formidable Alex Rider. As the waiter walked past her she smirked and stood up. She mirrored the waiter's walk across the room, and placed her glasses and hat back on as she did so. The waiter still had a way to walk to get to Alex. Hera stopped at a table where a businessman, only a few years older than her, was having lunch alone. She smiled as she saw he was eating steak.
"Hello," she said and sat down. The waiter was ten meters from Alex's table. The businessman looked outraged for a second before looking her up and down, watching her lean forwards in a seductive manner and smiled at her.
"Good afternoon," he said smoothly and adjusted his tie. The waiter had to wait for a group of women to cross his path. The man at the table was young but ageing rapidly, probably due to the stress of his work and she could tell she intrigued him.
"You look like a man who would enjoy a good story." She said in such a quiet voice he had to lean forwards to hear her. The waiter had begun to move again.
"I suppose-"
"There was a man," she began, not waiting to hear what he had to say, "a single man." She held up a gloved hand and raised a finger to indicate one man, "who took on an army of two thousand." She took a sip of the businessman's drink. The waiter was five meters away. "Can you guess how he won the war?" The man shook his head. Four meters. "He made everyone look right," she pointed to the right and the man, curious as to what she was talking about, looked right. Three meters. She picked up his steak knife that was jagged and sharp. Two meters" And he attacked from the left." She threw the knife. Less than a second later, for the throw had been that fast and powerful, the waiter stood with a knife in his chest. He looked down at Alex as Sabina screamed. The waiter fell to the floor, gasping for breath. Many people began to shout and scream in terror and when the gentleman who was about to eat his steak, turned left and saw the steak knife protruding from the red stain on the man's chest. He looked quickly to the woman in front of him and gasped. She was gone.
Alex stood up, grabbed Sabina's hand and tried to calm her down but the girl was almost hysterical. He began to run, pulling Sabina after him, he ran out of the restaurant and turned to her. He had to shake her to get her to calm down.
"Sabina!" He shouted at her and the authority in his voice made her instantly quiet. He looked from her, back into the restaurant and as he did so he saw, at the back of the restaurant, a woman walking up the stairs quickly. She wasn't dressed like staff and what innocent person would run from the scene of a murder? "Get home!" He shouted at Sabina and walked away, back into the hotel's restaurant.
"What about you?" Sabina called but he had no time to answer, he gained speed until he ran straight through the restaurant and to the back stairs. They led straight to the roof. He took one last glance back at the horrific scene in the restaurant before running up the stairs.
***
Hera could hear someone running up the stairs behind her; the sounds from the restaurant were dying down and she could hear the sound of shoes against the stone stairs. She ran faster and had to hold on to her hat to prevent it falling off. She came to a door and had to kick it open; it was wooden and fairly old so it did not take a lot of her strength to force it open. Sunlight stream through the dust that had risen as she had ran and she walked out into the sunshine. She was on the roof of the hotel and looked around for a route of escape. There was none; there were no stairs, no fire escape but she didn't need anything. She ran towards the sun and stood on the very edge of the roof; Hera was a talented free runner, meaning she needed no support but acrobatic movement to slither her way down the back of the building. She heard the footsteps stop and she froze; it could only mean that the person was right behind her and she knew it could only be him.
Alex shielded his eyes as the dazzling sunlight blinded him, he could see the figure of the woman with her back to him. Slowly, the figure turned around. He could make out no face; against the sun she was simply a silhouette. They stood in silence, Alex squinting at the woman and she simply stared at him. Hera took a deep breath; there he was, stood right in front of her, for the first time in years. She smiled at him and, with her back to the streets below, jumped.
"No!" Alex held out his hand as though trying to reach her but it was useless. As though he were watching it in slow motion, he took in every detail he could of the silhouette as the woman jumped and arched her back in the air. Alex cursed; he could see nothing of her face, he couldn't tell who it was for she just appeared a as a dark figure against the light. At least, he wouldn't have been able to see who it was, were it not for what happened next. As she jumped, the sunlight caught a pear-shaped diamond on a silver chain and it shimmered in the golden light above her before it, and the woman, fell and disappeared from view. Alex ran forwards and reached the edge of the roof. Looking down he could not see her. But he knew, the cut of the diamond, the expert jump, the curves of her body. She was here. Hera had come back to him.
***
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