Hera and Alex froze in their embrace; the arches of their lips brushed past each other and they waited to see who would make the next move. The heat that had grown between them began to diffuse away as Alex opened his eyes and looked to Hera's face. A small smile flickered on his lips as he saw she was still in pain; her brow furrowed and her lips trembled. He shook his head.
"What are we doing, Hera?" He asked softly and she snapped her bright blue eyes open.
"What we should've done three years ago?" She suggested and looked away.
"Alex?!" They heard an urgent whisper at the door and looked to the wood as though figuring out who that was.
"Tom?" Alex muttered and went to open the door. As soon as his hand was on the metal handle of the door, Hera put hers there too and squeezed his hand so hard it hurt. Alex gasped and removed his hand from the door when she let go; he cradled his hand in the other, looking at her as though she'd lost her mind. "What the fuck was that?" He snarled as quietly as he could and Hera jabbed him on the shoulder with two fingers and he grabbed his shoulder as pain seared through him. He'd forgotten she would do this; simply cause him pain to stop him doing something. When they were sixteen, Alex had found their sadistic affection cute, now it was just incredibly painful, especially after she'd trained for three more years.
"What are you thinking?" Hera snapped back; "open the door and he'll find the two of us in this cosy little bathroom." Alex thought about it before he put his hand back to the door.
"He's my friend- don't hurt me!" He added quickly as she went to hit him again. Hera cleared her throat, reached down for her cardigan and put it back on, before she put her fingers to her lips and smiled sweetly at him.
"Sweetheart," she said with false kindness, "open the door and I'll kick your ass." Alex adopted a similar tone.
"Darling, you know you couldn't take me." He twisted the door handle and Hera put her hand there to stop him.
"No!" She said firmly and pulled his hand to twist the handle back.
"Yes!" Alex retorted and twisted the handle again. He saw some conflict happen in Hera's eyes before she let go of his hand.
"Fine," she finally gave her consent, "but let me handle this." Alex thought about it before nodding and opening the door, Tom practically fell into the bathroom with them. In an instant, no one was sure how fast; Hera had hoisted herself onto the bathroom counter, next to the sink and wrapped her legs around Tom's waist and her arms around his neck. "Hello, Tom," she whispered to his ear and Alex watched with a mixture of horror and amusement; he was horrified because she was treating his friend like an enemy and amused because he'd forgotten how violently efficient she could be. As Alex stood opposite Tom, he suddenly realised Hera was cutting off his air supply.
"Hera, no!" Alex pulled her arms away from Tom's neck and she unwrapped her legs from him.
"What's the problem?" Hera asked as Tom massaged his neck and looked to her with a shocked expression.
"You're an agent?" Tom choked and Hera looked like she was going to hit him.
"No," Alex said slowly and took a protective step between the two. He cocked his head back to Hera who was breathing deeply, slumped against the bathroom mirror. "Hera, that's not exactly how I thought you'd "handle" things." Alex said to her and nodded to Tom. "He knows everything about me; he can be trusted." Hera still did not look convinced but slowly her look of concern turned to one of realisation.
"He knows everything about you?" She asked and Alex nodded. "He clearly didn't know about me." She said plainly and Alex stumbled over his words. "Three years," Hera spoke over him, "three years, we worked together and you never mentioned me once?" Alex thought about it.
"I tried-"
"That is so typical of you." She snarled and Alex turned to her.
"Typical?" He repeated and did not even realise he'd pushed her legs apart and moved between them to get close to her face as she sat on the bathroom counter.
"Yes, typical, for the formidable Alex Rider, not to mention the fact that he gets saved by a girl on a regular basis." Hera replied, trying to keep her voice as quiet as possible. Alex gasped in offence.
"I saved you more times than you saved me; you were the one always getting caught-"
"Maybe I wouldn't have got caught if someone understood what is actually meant by evasive espionage-"
"Erm, guys?" Tom squeaked from the corner and the two turned to him with blushing faces; they were two spies who were renowned for never losing their tempers. "Can someone explain what's going on?" He asked and Hera's face softened as she saw he was quite frightened.
"A terrorist group is after Alex, I'm the agent guarding him." Hera explained and Alex rolled his eyes as she put on that adorable smile that made everyone melt. It's what Hera was known for; being beautiful and seductive and kind but having the ability to kill you in the blink of an eye.
"And you used to work together?" Tom asked, looking between the two. They nodded in unison. "Did you guys ever...?" He didn't need to finish the sentence.
"No."
"God, no." They said at the same time and avoided each other's eye. They looked up to Tom who suddenly felt uneasy as those blue eyes looked straight through him. He nodded and looked as though he had worked everything out. There was just one more thing.
"And we are in a bathroom because?" Hera removed the cardigan and showed him her scratches.
"I had to take care of someone." She explained and slid her cardigan back over her shoulders. Tom looked her up and down and found it strange that although Hera had killed someone, had committed such an evil act, it just made her more attractive, more dangerous. She bit her bottom lip and looked to him sharply.
"I won't tell anyone." He responded to her look and she smiled at him.
"Good." She whispered back and Alex, who had apparently been forgotten, looked from Hera to Tom and back again with a sinking feeling; he knew that look from Tom, the boy was already infatuated. And Hera, who was naive to the ways of teenage boys' hearts, had no idea what she was doing to Alex's best friend.
"OK." Alex said as loudly as he dared. "Let's get out of this bathroom." He said and Hera nodded. It amazed Tom how they worked together; in two minutes they had agreed how to get out without looking suspicious and some of it had not even involved talking. Hera left first to clear the hallway and a little while later, the boys returned to the party. For the next few hours the three of them acted as though nothing had happened. Many people asked Hera why she was gone for such a long time and at one point someone asked her about her necklace. It was a woman who was around ten years older than Hera, with a posh suit and painted nails that reminded Hera of a villainess she had once known.
"Who gave you that pretty little necklace?" The blonde woman asked and Hera thought for a moment before tilting her head to the side slightly.
"You can tell it was a gift?" She asked in return and the woman laughed.
"My dear, when someone is as lovely as you, I'd guess most of your possessions are gifts?" The woman enquired and could tell by the way Hera faltered that she was right. Hera looked away and caught Alex's eyes. He was talking to another man but she could tell he was listening. "So, who was it?" Alex unlocked his eyes from hers.
"First love." Hera replied. The rest of the party passed with no other incident.
***
"This is clearly an amateur group," Blunt muttered to himself as he looked over the papers Mrs Jones had given him. A few weeks ago, before Hera had returned to England, Jones had sent out seven spies to infiltrate the remaining three terrorist groups, after the death of Scorpia, and they had sent back everything they had learnt so far. Mrs Jones sat down opposite Blunt and reached across the desk. She picked up the files there and read aloud her own summary.
"Three months ago, there was been a period in the history of Scorpia which all gangs and organisations have named The Metamorphosis." She said and her eyes skimmed the page again. "It seems that following the death of each member of Scorpia, other individuals, not in our databases, moved in and attained power over Scorpia's resources, their money, their influence-"
"So a new bunch of psychopaths have rebuilt Scorpia." Blunt murmured and Mrs Jones shook her head.
"Not exactly," she paused. "Scorpia's usual dealings dealt with the psychopaths; they simply took orders and never had any ideas themselves. It seems this new group is forming plans of their own; agent Reeves has acquired some information about what he believes is a virus-" she rustled through the papers and removed a sheet of red paper. She handed it to Blunt who did not look too concerned; it was simply a rumour of a virus, nothing to be worried about just yet.
"We must find out everything about this new set of criminals." He said and Jones nodded before scribbling down notes on a piece of paper. "I want to know who is in this group," Blunt said quickly and stood up to stare out of the window, "I want to know where their base is, I want to know where they get their money from, I want..." he paused and Mrs Jones poised her pen above the paper. She looked up when he said nothing. He turned back to her and adjusted his jacket. "Do they still call themselves Scorpia?" He asked and Mrs Jones almost smiled; Blunt was very sharp. She shook her head.
"Swallowtail." She read from the papers, "is what they have renamed Scorpia." Blunt raised an eyebrow.
"Not very intimidating." He replied and Mrs Jones stood up to leave. As Mrs Jones approached the door she looked back to him and nodded in agreement.
"It's the name of a family of butterflies." She said nonchalantly. Mrs Jones left.
***
Alex and Sabina were walking under the stars that showered over London, as they approached Ian Rider's house once more. Before they walked into the house they stood in the driveway and waved to Tom as he approached his car across the street. Sabina leant against Alex's shoulder and he looked down to her.
"How was it?" He asked and she giggled.
"Absolutely thrilling." She replied and his smile broadened. "At least they've stopped asking me who I am and have moved on to Hera." She muttered and Alex nodded. "Poor thing," Sabina commented as they both watched Hera emerge from Mrs Rum's house, still being interrogated by the women there. Sabina noticed Alex's stony silence as Hera walked down the steps and approached Tom who stood by his car, waiting for her. "Does Tom...like her?" Sabina asked, aware of the awkward way Tom ran a hand through his hair. She looked up to Alex who sighed. Alex may be concerned but it seemed to elevate some of the tension between Sabina and Alex; perhaps Hera would be too distracted to pursue Alex. Even though Sabina knew Hera had said she would not take Alex away from her, it did not stop Sabina feeling intimidated.
By Tom's car, Hera stopped as she saw him stood, waiting for her to come down the steps. She was stood at Mrs Rum's door and smiled in a bashful way, a way in which she had not smiled in a long time. She lowered her gaze and walked down the steps. She didn't quite know what to think of him; he was attractive. But not in the same way Alex was, not in that dashing, charismatic way, she was used to. But he was gentle and kind, something Hera had forgotten human beings were capable of.
"That's a very short dress." Tom muttered, breaking Hera's train of thought. She looked to him and raised an eyebrow; it seemed a strange thing to point out. She looked down to her dress.
"I just have very long legs." She replied and walked past him.
"I wasn't complaining." Hera stopped as he said this and turned to him slowly.
"I'm sorry," she said and took a step towards him, "are you attempting to flirt with me?" She asked for she could not remember the last time someone had talked to her like that.
"Yes." He admitted, "how's it working out?"
"Badly." She replied with a giggle. Tom laughed and she could see colour rise in his pale cheeks.
"Well maybe you should come out with me some time and I could try again?" He suggested slyly and Hera was impressed that he was still trying.
"Not while I'm working." She replied sternly and when she saw his face fall she sighed. "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to," she said quickly, "but I can't." She walked towards him and kissed him quickly on the cheek. Tom felt a strange rush of electricity run through him as she did this and when she drew away from him he acted on impulse and grabbed her shoulders, pulled Hera into embrace and kissed her.
***
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