The day's weather was mirroring his mood - gray and rainy. Alex sat in the armored vehicle he had been led to after landing at Heathrow airport, watching each tiny droplet of water roll down the window pane until they disappeared from his sight. The droplets would rush down until they met a larger droplet, faltering as the merged droplets slowly ran down until it became too heavy, and picked up the pace again. Only to crash head first into the ground below. That alternation of pace was his life and he wondered if it would always be like this. As he stared out the window, he thought over the last three days. It had started out calmly, and slowly, enough with the party he and the Pleasures attended. Then, the pace of events had rushed by as he discovered the bomb and his life with MI6 had caught up with him. After that, the proposition that Byrne offered him was an easy decision to make. He had already put the Pleasures in enough danger as it was. They didn't need him in the safehouse, painting an even larger target on their backs. That left joining the investigation or going back to MI6. He had to admit that he was curious and wanted to find out more about the park bombing but he didn't want to go back to the espionage world. So without hesitation, he had told Byrne that he'd go back to England. Even though there was a high chance of MI6 making him work for them again, especially since he was asking for protection, it was better than putting the Pleasures in more danger or willingly working for another intelligence agency. After making the decision, there were hurried goodbyes to the Pleasures. Edward tried to make him promise that he wouldn't go back to the intelligence world. He promised he would try but that there was no guarantee. He might be finished with the intelligence world but that world might not be finished with him. Liz had pulled him into a hug, telling him to be careful and that they would always be there for him, no matter what. Sabina had looked at him sadly, told him not to do anything stupid, and then given him a short kiss while her parents weren't looking. For security purposes, he and the Pleasures were not allowed to know the details of each other's living arrangements.
Shortly after the goodbyes, early evening had arrived and he was on a flight back to England. It was an 11 hour flight and he would arrive at around noon, London time. During the long flight, he pondered the recent attacks. Something Byrne had said was bothering him. Byrne had assumed that both the Scorpia operative and the triad member were low level agents. But how would the Scorpia operative know to attack during the park bombing then? Because those two couldn't be coincidences. He couldn't figure it out but noticing the time, he made himself get as much sleep as he could. There was no telling what the next day would bring and when he would be able to get a decent night's sleep again. For all he knew, he could be halfway across the globe in another third world country again by tomorrow.
When the plane had landed, he woke up, gathered his duffel bag, and followed the other passengers out. He had spotted the agents waiting for him almost at once but as he had headed over towards them, a pair of men getting off another plane caught his attention. He recognized those men as the Scorpia agents who had been involved in the shooting at his school, Brookland Comprehensive, that prompted his mission in Cairo. Alarmed, he started to change direction in order to follow them but the agents had met him halfway and the brief distraction made him lose sight of the men. He hadn't thought about the shooting in awhile. In fact, he had been so hollowed out after Jack's death that he hadn't even said goodbye to his best friend, Tom Harris, when he moved to America. Startled by this revelation, he went over his memories from the time of the shooting to the day Edward Pleasure had come back to England for him. It was only after this reflection that he realized something about the shooting didn't add up. It made sense if Scorpia was behind the shooting. And now that he had seen the men in England, he was reminded that Tom would need protection. The rest of Brookland were probably safe since he wasn't close enough with any of the people there. He would make sure it was a part of his meeting with Blunt and Jones. Although, if it was Scorpia, wouldn't Razim have mentioned it at his compound in Cairo? After all, he had been interested in emotional pain. That was why he had lost Jack. He hadn't mentioned it though, which led Alex to believe that Scorpia wasn't behind the attack. He had his suspicions but he would have to confirm it.
Finally, Alex was roused from his thoughts as the car stopped in front of the Royal and General Bank on Liverpool Street. He got out of the car and headed towards the entrance with his duffel bag, avoiding the dark patch on the sidewalk where he had been shot. Entering the familiar lobby, he walked across the brown marble floor to ask the receptionist for Alan Blunt. She must've already had orders about him because the receptionist didn't bother denying Blunt's existence at the bank but gestured for him to sit on the leather sofa. A few minutes later, Mrs. Jones came out of one of the three elevators to the side of the receptionist's desk, wearing her usual dark suit with the scent of peppermint lingering in the air around her.
"Alex. Did you have a good flight?" Mrs. Jones greeted him. He stood up to follow her into the elevator but said nothing, letting his presence and rumpled clothes answer. Alex could feel Mrs. Jones' black bead-like eyes studying him while she frowned at his lack of response. Mrs. Jones could see that Alex had almost returned to his old self - to how he was before Cairo - but she doubted that he would ever really be the same again. Another thing she noticed was that Alex had an inner calm about him. He had always been mature for his age. But now, he had a quiet confidence and his maturity level was beyond any teenager's. She felt a twinge of regret as she thought of the role she had played in causing him to grow up so fast. Finally, they got out of the elevator when they reached the sixteenth floor and continued down the hallway to a door marked 1605. When they went in, Mrs. Jones headed over to the leather chair beside the wooden desk and Alex sat down in the single empty office chair facing the heads of MI6. Blunt was wearing his usual gray suit with gray hair and a gray face that had forgotten how to smile a long time ago. He was reading a report and seemed to have not noticed that they had come into the room. But that was typical of Blunt.
Finally, Blunt looked up. "Agent Rider. I didn't expect to see you again." Immediately, warning bells were going off in Alex's mind and he was on guard. He had never felt like an agent and the heads of MI6 had never referred to him by that title before. No one did. Sure, there was that one time that Blunt had made his preference of not having his agents doing extreme sports clear after the triads had sent someone to kill Alex as he was surfing the Cribber. But they generally avoided calling him an agent so directly. He was treated like an agent whenever it suited their needs and treated as a child the rest of the time. The heads were up to something.
"I'm not an agent," Alex replied calmly. Mrs. Jones seemed to be pleased at his answer. Interesting. The heads had never presented anything less than a united front unless it was a part of their manipulation. This didn't seem to be the case right now though. Otherwise, Mrs. Jones would have maintained her expressionless face. Maybe only one of the heads were up to something then.
Blunt ignored his response and continued. "It's just as well that your situation has come up. What do you know about the drug called monosuncane? You might be more familiar with its street name - sun rock."
"Only that it looks like a gold colored crystal," Alex said with a shrug. He didn't like where this was going.
Mrs. Jones took over, giving Alex a brief overview of the drug. "Monosuncane is a new stimulant drug mostly being marketed towards teenagers and university students as something that will help them beat the increased competition in getting into top schools by increasing energy, focus, and mental alertness with feelings of exhilaration. Much like cocaine and methamphetamine but without the nasal damage and dental problems. It's also much more addictive than any other drug we've seen."
"We have reason to believe that the drug originated from Mexico, the Sinaloa cartel in particular, and that they are using teenagers as their primary carriers who make their way to the United States and Europe. You've made it clear what your position is on drugs with that Skoda incident so I'm sure you'll find this worth your time. While we negotiate with Scorpia and the triads to leave you alone, we want you to find a way in as one of their carriers. All you have to do is follow the cartel's instructions to make your way through the pipeline and back here to report on the people and the channels they use to transport the drugs. All the better if you can find out how it's being produced," Blunt went on. "A search and report mission."
"No," Alex responded. "I won't do it. You can find somebody else. Besides, you have nothing to blackmail me with anymore," he finished bitterly.
"Well, that's unfortunate." Blunt's tone and lack of expression hadn't changed but there was something about him that made Alex think that the human part had just flushed away in that instant. Just like the briefing for his first mission. "Since you are no longer our operative and you refuse to go undercover in Mexico as a part of your protection, I'm afraid there's not much we could do to shield you from Scorpia and the triads. Of course, there were 19,000 members last time the triads were after you. Since then, their numbers have increased to 25,000 and all of them will be after your blood. You won't be safe anywhere."
Alex had already known Blunt would say something like this. It had happened before when he asked for help with the reporter. However, he was ready for it this time. Thanks to Byrne's words in Cairo, the proposition in San Francisco, and the reflection he'd done in the car, he had an idea. It was a gamble but it would be worth it just to see their reactions even if he was wrong. "I saw the sniper and pilot from the shooting at Brookland when I got off the plane today. Shortly after the shooting, I also heard that you were going into forced retirement. Those wouldn't happen to be connected now, would they?" Alex casually asked. Blunt seemed to shift uncomfortably in his chair so Alex went on. "With Mr. Byrne offering me a place on the park bombing investigation and the Australians offering me a permanent visa after I worked for them last time, it looks like I have other options. With these choices, you can't manipulate me anymore, Mr. Blunt. We wouldn't want another Ash, would we?" Both of the heads flinched imperceptibly at the mention of his godfather, who had turned into a double agent for Scorpia after the horrible treatment Blunt had given him. Because of this, Ash had betrayed Alex when he worked with ASIS, the Australian secret service. Alex didn't like bringing up his godfather but it was the best he had for driving home the point that treating him badly would not end well for them. The heads could see that Alex had changed, even in the short time he had spent in Blunt's office today. Earlier, he had been his usual self when dealing with a mission briefing, reluctant and naïve until after they had manipulated him to where they wanted him to be. Never before had he turned their game against them like he did now with his barely veiled threats. Alex was nowhere near as ruthless of an agent as they were but it seemed he was headed down that path. After his mission in Cairo, the heads had thought it was a possibility that Alex had killed the part of himself that they had created when he shot Julius in cold blood. Now, they were certain that the part they created had survived. Which meant some other part of Alex had died that day. The heads were afraid to find out exactly which part.
Mrs. Jones had been unusually quiet so far but, unwrapping a peppermint, she spoke up now. "The sniper at Brookland was not from Scorpia. I had my suspicions as well and did some investigating." Blunt tensed up and glared, silently willing her to shut up. "He deserves to know, Alan," she retorted. Turning back to Alex, she added, "Alan's forced retirement isn't connected to the shooting though. The new prime minister insisted on the retirement and that you were not to be used again after he found out about your involvement with us during the incident with Desmond McCain."
There was a moment's silence. Then suddenly, Blunt's gray eyes looked very tired and resigned. "Yes, I recruited the sniper and helicopter pilot. I thought I was doing the right thing. That using you was what was best for the country. I still believe that using you was the best thing for the country. You have saved this country several times along with many others. But I also know it turned out that I was wrong about Cairo and Scorpia had tricked me."
Alex was impressed. The heads of MI6 never admitted when they were wrong. It must have taken a lot of courage to admit it now. At the same time, he said disgustedly, "And you still expect me to work for you after that? You endangered my friends and then knowingly sent me to go up against the most dangerous criminal organization for the third time without telling me it was Scorpia."
Blunt sighed heavily. "No, not now that you know about it. I hope you will at least consider - "
"No," Mrs. Jones interrupted. "Alex has done enough this past year. Alan, this is your last week as head of MI6 anyways. After you leave, I'd just make sure that Alex is pulled out of the mission if you force him into it." Turning to Alex once more, she said, "Of course, if you want to take the mission, you can. It's your choice. If you don't, we'll still negotiate with Scorpia and the triads to leave you alone but we'll send you to a safehouse in Berlin with an agent until the negotiations are finished. Joe Byrne was right when he said we could protect you better due to your status. This way, we have more legal power to back us up in the negotiations."
"I'll go to the safehouse," Alex decided, "but I have another request. With two criminal organizations after me, I'd like my friend, Tom, to have some protection."
"Of course," Mrs. Jones said. "I'll arrange for an agent to watch your friend."
Alex nodded in satisfaction before asking, "Who's the agent I'll be staying with?"
Mrs. Jones smiled and said, "You'll see." Alex wasn't sure if he should be comforted by this or alarmed. The smile that was meant to be reassuring looked strange on her face and the vague answer wouldn't bode well if his past experiences with the heads of MI6 were anything to go by. Blunt, for his part, had recognized that his role was over in this meeting and had gone back to ignoring them and reading the report. "You should go see Mr. Smithers by the way. He'll give you what you need for the trip, just in case anything goes wrong." With his luck, that was a very likely possibility but Alex brightened considerably at this anyways. Smithers was probably the only true friend he had within MI6 and had never let him down.
Alex made his way to Smithers' office on the eleventh floor. He had only been there once before and had thought it to be too boring and anonymous at the time for the gadget master of MI6. Until Smithers had shown him all the technology he had built into the ordinary looking objects in the large, square room. Even the painting on the wall had been a plasma television screen that beamed real time satellite pictures of places around the world. Alex knocked on the door and saw Smithers sitting behind the desk and typing something into the computer. The gadget master had his fat suit on again. The last time Alex had seen Smithers, it had been revealed that he always wore a fat suit so that no one would know to look for Smithers as a thin, wiry Irishman in his late thirties with short brown hair and blue eyes if he was ever pursued by enemies.
"Alex, my dear boy! Good to see you. Come in! Door!" The door swung shut behind Alex, having been voice activated. Alex went to take a seat in the leather chair opposite from the gadget master. "I hear you're in trouble with the triads again. Nasty people, I must say. Now, Mrs. Jones says you're to go to Berlin. A vacation of sorts while we sort out your situation. I'm told to give you some things for this trip." Smithers pulled open a drawer and took out an iPhone, sliding it towards Alex. "This will work anywhere in the world, even underwater and in space. It gives you a direct link with this office."
"Does it do anything else?" Alex asked curiously. The last phone Smithers had given him could record and duplicate fingerprints but Alex didn't see how that would help him this time.
"Quite a few things actually. It's amazing how many things we can fit in by using the apps! I'm still working on putting more gadgets into these! Anyways, put the phone upside down and you can use iMovie to jam security cameras as well as access the x-ray machine with sound amplifier which will work through 10 inches of solid walls. Do the same thing with iTunes and you have a bug finder and listening device that will pick up and record conversations for up to 15 yards, including tapping into phone conversations. Now, if you use Find My iPhone, all you need to do is keep the app open for 3 minutes and the phone will emit a tracking signal for us to follow for 24 hours. So make sure to keep the phone on you if you can! Wouldn't want to be tracking some other poor fellow! Also, Mrs. Jones said you're not to have any weapons but I've put in some tranquilizer darts for you. All you have to do is dial 999 with the top of the phone aimed at your target. Since you always seem to need them, you have 3 darts in the phone but you can refill it." Smithers reached into his drawer again and slid over 5 more darts. Alex nodded and pocketed them with the phone while the gadget master spoke into his potted plant for his assistant to bring something else up. After the seats of the leather sofa had split apart to allow the assistant to be brought up, Alex could see that there was a bottle and some clothes.
"Thank you, Miss Pickering," Smithers said and waited for her to descend back into the office she came from before continuing. "Since we're trying to help you evade assassination attempts, here is a bottle of shampoo to help you change your look a bit. It will turn your distinctive fair hair into a dark brown and the color won't wash out unless you use one of my special conditioners. It's not much of a disguise, I'll admit, but at least you won't be recognizable from a mile away! I'll give you the conditioner when you come back to England. Next, I've been working on a line of bulletproof clothes for you. So, here is a jersey, a t-shirt, a windbreaker, and a hoodie. That's all I have for you for now, old chap!"
"Thanks, Mr. Smithers!" Alex said.
"My pleasure! It's always fun to develop things for you. Just try to stay out of trouble! I'd be terribly sorry if anything happened to you!" With those parting words, Alex left the office only to find himself facing someone quite familiar.