Mrs. Tulip Jones of MI6 barged into the heads office, out of breath. "Alan…" she began.

Alan Blunt, head of MI6, looked up, a little more than annoyed at the noisy entrance. "What is it Mrs. Jones?" he asked, setting his pen on top of the file he was reading. "We have a problem." She paused. Blunt scowled. "Well, are you stopping for suspense, or is that all I need to know? Go on," he growled.

Mrs. Jones opened her mouth to speak when the door smashed open. The receptionist, a lady by the name of Sara, burst in. "Sir, we have a mole in the building," she blurted, cheeks flushed. Blunts head whipped around to glare at Mrs. Jones. "What?" he spat. "Why wasn't I informed about this?"

Jones crossed her arms. "Well, I was going to tell you, if you would let me," she sniped back. Blunt sighed. This was one stressful day. One of his agents, Parker, had gone MIA, and the "gas-leak" explosion in downtown was not helping. "Thank you for informing me," Blunt called to the receptionist in a clipped tone. "You're dismissed." The woman nodded meekly and shut the door softly behind her.

Blunt rubbed his forehead. When he looked up, his emotionless mask was back in place. Blunts mask rarely cracked, but when it did, it was only for a short amount of time. "Okay," he said, composed. "Proceed." Jones made a sound close to a huff. "As I was saying, our sources informed us that there was a mole in the building." Blunt nodded. This was Britain's top-secret intelligence agency. A mole here and there was to be expected.

"Do you have any idea on who it is?" Mrs. Jones shook her head. "We don't know exactly who it is, but I can tell you he's very high up on the ladder." "What do you purpose we do?" Mrs. Jones took a deep breath.

"Alan, I know you might not approve, but I think we should assign agents to Alex Rider. You know. Protection detail."

Blunt looked up sharply. "Rider? Why?"

"Well, Al- Rider has made quite a lot of enemies in the underworld. They may be out to get him. I think we-," Blunt cut her off by saying, "Agent Rider is quite safe, Mrs. Jones." Jones raised an eyebrow. "Safe? And please, pray tell where he is?"

Blunt smiled cruelly. "Why, in Santa Domingo." Jones stepped back. "Where in the world is that?" she wondered aloud. Blunt chuckled. "In the Dominican Republic, of course."