Ok, these last few years have been royally hectic.

1. I now have a Master's Degree and will start on my PhD this fall.

2. I do not speak, read or write Russian. All of this comes from Google translate and because my writing program on my tablet did not let me copy and paste the actual Russian I had to copy down the phonetic version at the bottom. So please, do not complain.

3. I own nothing and am writing this during the US v. Germany match of the World Cup. All I own is over 100,000 in student loans due to Bachelor's, Masters and soon to be Doctorate. Later Note: SERIOUSLY?! What happened Brazil?!

4. I finished this during the Netherlands v. Argentina Match.

5. Soccer is AWESOME!

6. {{...}}. Translation

7. The Alex Rider part is a bit AU but bear with me, this came to me during the pregame for Brazil v. Germany

ENJOY!

Alex tried to close his eyes as the psycho from SCORPIA approached him. He was finally going to die, he knew it.

"Pozhaluysta ... dayte ... mne ... pereyti" he begged in Russian. {{ Please, let me go.}} The man took the gag out of his mouth so Alex could drink water that Alex was honestly tired of drinking. The teen had already soiled himself, Kyril used it as further torment. "YA nikomu ne skazhu , gde vy nakhodites' . YA ne skazhu im, chto vy sdelali. Prosto otpusti menya ." {{I will not tell anyone where you are. I will not tell them what you did. Just let me go.}}

"K sozhaleniyu, vasha udacha , nakonets, zakonchilis." The man replied. {{Sorry, your luck has run out.}}

Alex looked at the man, Russian was a language known to only a few of SCORPIA's operatives. This language was key in how Alex knew the man. They'd both trained at SCORPIA after all but unlike Alex, Kyril embraced his inner assassin. The man hated everyone to the extent that he wanted to see them tortured. He wanted to see them in pain.

It was just too bad that neither of them knew that Kyril's torturing of Alex – tying the teen up and forcing him to watch as Kyril tortured his victims and knowing that there was nothing that Alex could do to stop the insane man – got the attention of the BAU.

Kyril picked people who looked close to the people important to Alex Rider.

Someone who looked like Jack…

Ian…

Tom…

Ben…

Wolf…

Snake…

Eagle…

John Rider…

Helen Rider…

And finally, himself.

There was a system, Kyril would kidnap the victims and hold them for 70 hours in the local area, if they screamed or tried to get away he would break their legs or begin the fun early. Then he would drive around with them in his truck on the 10 hour confusing journey to his house in the canyon.

The kid had been terrified when he saw his doppleganger tied up with his arms bound behind the concrete post that hadn't allowed for any movement. His mouth was gagged and tied behind his head with a bandana. Alex had the look in his face of someone who'd been starved, he had a cut above his left eye and each boy had the look in their eyes as though they were begging each other to help them. At the same time, there was a look of utter despair – both boys knew they couldn't save each other much less themselves.

Alex sealed his eyes tight as he heard the American boy scream. He couldn't help it, he closed his eyes as though he could seal his ears if he closed his eyes tight enough.

Agent Morgan could hear the screams by the victim caused by the Unsub. He knew they were close. They'd begun following this Unsub for the last few weeks, back when a member of the San Diego County Police Force had been taken while on a jog in the early morning. His body had been found four days later with a white t-shirt with the name "Eagle" written on it. That was when they connected it to six previous murders, the locals had tried to catch the man but when two more bodies appeared they finally admitted defeat and called the BAU.

The latest to be abducted was a 16 year old male who'd been out on the beach at the time of the abduction. The kid had made so much noise that there were no less than 16 eye witnesses. The fact that the teen had made such a noise potentially saved his life. Unfortunately, it still took 4 days to find the Unsub.

A part of Morgan wanted the teen to stop screaming but at the same time, he knew that the only way the teen would stop screaming was if he were to die. Nothing in him wanted that to happen.

They surrounded the house. It was a simple single family home in the middle of a wooded area up in the canyon. The only reason they even knew the location was because fire protection agencies put cameras up here along the roads after the last wildfire when people got lost or broke down due to their car running over debris from the fire.

They broke down the front door, this was definitely the place.

The screaming came from the basement.

The Unsub had the boy tied up to a chair and there was the distinct smell of burning flesh.

A local shot the Unsub after the Unsub went for the gun.

They untied Gary and got him to paramedics to treat the second and third degree burns and the locals quickly left the scene – some of them sick over the smell of rotting and burning flesh.

Morgan looked around the basement with his flashlight, the police cut the power just a few minutes ago so the house didn't burn down by what may or may not be running.

That's when he saw the teen tied to the post. He could smell the sharp ammonia smell of urine and even the smell of feces. There was no telling if the boy was alive.

But damn, if he didn't look like Gary.

Suddenly the pieces began falling into place in Morgan's mind.

All of these murders would have led to one place, the death of the teenager tied to the post.

He was wearing filthy cargo pants, black, and matching combat boots. His shirt was open and a black scorpion was crudely tattooed over the teen's heart. It was obviously infected.

The teen had dirty blonde hair and even though his eyes were closed and he appeared unconscious, Morgan was willing to bet the teen had brown eyes.

Morgan quickly called Hotch. "Hey, I found another victim. We need paramedics and some bolt cutters down here."

Then he called another number, Penelope Garcia. "Baby Girl, I need you to do a check in any military for anyone on leave for the last six weeks or MIA who look like Gary."

Although he couldn't see it, he knew she'd nodded, "Got 421 who are blonde haired and brown eyed in the US alone who are on leave. Another 22 who are MIA."

"Thanks Baby Girl, I was hoping to get lucky there. I'll give you more information as I know it."

Alex opened his eyes as he heard English and barely stopped himself from tensing up, he couldn't help it. The last "friend" Kyril brought over who spoke English gave him the Scorpion tattoo using a chisel and mallet. It probably wouldn't have hurt so badly if the man hadn't tried to cause him so much pain – truly a sadist. He did his best to appear unconscious, he would make his move when they let him free.

Hotch brought down the bolt cutters and they cut the teen from the post.

No one was ready for what happened next.

The teen's brown eyes snapped open and he struck out.

Jujitsu, Krav Maga, Karate, Kung Foo.

Even weak this teen had a deadly repertoire.

He collapsed into the corner after getting a few good hits to get out of their hands. He searched for the gun that Kyril stashed there while looking like he was trying to get away from them.

Then the light to the basement came on.

Alex squinted in the sudden light.

"My name is Agent Morgan of the FBI." Morgan introduced as he dropped his gun and took out his wallet and kicked it over to Alex.

Alex leaned down, not taking his eyes off of the man. This had to be a trick. Kyril really went all out trying to convince Alex he was saved before he would die.

He looked at the wallet; there were details in there that Kyril wouldn't waste time on. A badge, family pictures, over 300 dollars in US currency. He took out the hundred dollar bill and held it up to the light. No way would Kyril give a fake that much money.

He found a movie stub to Gravity with Sandra Bullock. Kyril wasn't in the US then…

He found the license. About to expire. Derek Morgan.

He put it back and wiped it off on the inside of his shirt, taking his fingerprints off of it and tossed it back over to Morgan.

He then began speaking in halting English, with a heavy Russian accent. "FBI?"

Morgan nodded. "It's OK, you're safe now. He can't hurt you anymore. My name is Derek Morgan and this is Senior Agent Aaron Hotchner."

Hotch waved to the weary teen.

"Znayete li vy ostanovit' yego?" The teen asked in a language neither of them knew. {{Did you stop him?}}

Morgan got out his phone and went to a translator app.

Alex nearly rolled his eyes but made sure that he looked weary at them. He repeated what he'd just said after he saw the app going. Only an idiot not born in the last 20 years wouldn't recognize a translator app. "Znayete li vy ostanovit' yego?"

The app beeped.

Morgan looked down at the screen.

RUSSIAN: Translation: Did you stop him?

Morgan spoke into the phone. "Yes."

It spoke to Alex, "Da."

Alex looked visibly releaved.

Hotch took the phone from Morgan. "He is dead. You are safe."

Alex nodded as he heard the translation. "Menya zovut Alexei. On ubil tak mnogo lyudey. On privel menya v Ameriku? On khotel ubit' menya . On ugrozhal ubit' menya tak mnogo raz. On mertv ?"

The app beeped and spoke in English, "My name is Alexei. He killed so many people. He brought me to America? He wanted to kill me. He threatened to kill me so many times. He is dead?"

Hotch nodded, "You need medical attention. Will you let us help you?"

The app translated again.

Alexei nodded, "Da."

They helped him up the stairs and then Hotch turned to Morgan, "You'll need to save those, if you can. We're going to need a translator. Otherwise his testimony isn't going to be worth anything."

Morgan nodded, "Yeah."

The next time they saw him, he was in a hospital bed and clean for the first time in weeks. He was wearing Captain America pajama pants and boxers that the nurses got for the teen from the gift shop downstairs and his chest had a huge bandage on it. That didn't prevent Hotch from being able to count every one of the teen's ribs.

Alex lay there, somewhat frustrated. He had moved to Russia (well, Estonia really) when he was 14 after Ian died and Yassen took custody of him after MI6 allowed him to be shot before halfway through his 14th year of life. He was even thinking in Russian and he was bored out of his mind. He knew that he couldn't reveal that he wasn't purely Russian because he and Gary were essentially the only witnesses. Kyril had delighted in telling Alex that Gary was going to be his "practice Alex" before the real thing was going to happen.

Penelope Garcia had found one missing persons report from St. Petersburg Russia regarding one Alexei Zolnerowich, age 16. Adopted son of Yassen Zolnerowich of Narva Estonia (a small town about two hours from St. Petersburg) and immediately contacted Yassen.

Little did she know she was contacted Yassen Gregorvich – wanted fugitive.

Narva, Estonia

When Yassen got the call about Alexei he immediately jumped on his motorcycle and headed for St. Petersburg. He'd packed just one bag but he knew that he had a home in Oceanside, CA so once he got there he wouldn't have a problem getting around.

He hired a translator when he touched down, his usual one who knew he spoke fluent English as well as his son. So they BS'd whenever the man went to translate for Yassen.

They went to the hospital.

Yassen caught Alexei in the hall while the teen was working on walking. After being nearly starved for six weeks, the teen had to work on getting his muscle mass back up.

"Papa!" Alexei cried out as he saw his father.

The BAU agents nearby did a double take, the blonde smooth faced man with light eyes could have been another face in the crowd but the look of concern on the man's face told the tales that separated him from the pack.

"Alexei!" Yassen called as he ran over to his son and wrapped his arms around him.

The translator, 34 year old Benjamin Polkov (a Russian-American) walked over to the agents and introduced himself, "I am Benjamin Polkov. Mr. Zolnerowich uses my services whenever he comes to the states."

Hotch looked at Polkov, the man was about average height and looked to be in decent shape even if the shirt was a little tight implying that the man had put on a bit of weight. "Agent Aaron Hotchner of the BAU."

"Agent Hotcher, it is a pleasure." He said nodding his head.

"Do you officially translate?" an older gentleman with a beard asked him. "Agent David Rossi."

Polkov nodded, "Yes, Yassen has quite a few business contacts around here and he comes a few times a year on business. He only makes the long trips while Alexei is in school."

David Rossi nodded, "And was that when Alexei was taken?"

Polkov nodded, "Yeah, during Yassen's last trip to the States about two months ago. I've never seen him so upset. He cancelled the rest of his meetings so he could fly back to St. Petersburg. Alexei had called him from a school trip that morning, well in Russia. I think it was about 8 or 9 pm here. They were going to the Yelagin Palace to the north of St. Petersburg. Alexei has always had a fascination of history. Yassen got the call at 8 am that the school couldn't find Alexei and they suspected kidnapping."

"You know the family well then?"

Polkov nodded, "Yeah. I was Yassen's translator the first time they came over here. Alexei wanted to visit every historical landmark in DC during that trip. After that, Yassen put me on retainer after for translating for the 14 year old. I have my own firm and Yassen has several friends who pay well. But when Yassen calls, I come."

Across the room, Alexei and Yassen were talking in rapid Russian. So quickly that Polkov was barely able to keep up.

"Do you know what they are talking about?"

Ben nodded, "Alexei is telling his father everything that happened. Yassen just said that he knows members of the former KGB who would happily…" Ben turned to the Agents. "The man is dead?"

Rossi and Hotch nodded, "Yes, he was killed by Agents when we found the residence."

Ben nodded stiffly, "Good."

AR m BAU

Yassen carefully picked up Alex and took him back to his room, "Sleep tight малютка." Yassen whispered. "I will be here when you wake." {{Little one}}

Alexei smiled and did as Yassen suggested and was quickly asleep.

Yassen left the room and walked over to the agents. He turned to Ben and spoke in rapid Russian.

Ben turned to the agents, "He wants to thank you for saving his son. He has spent long nights in the past few weeks praying for someone to call to tell him they found Alexei."

Rossi nodded, "We're glad we could help."

Yassen nodded and grinned and spoke again.

"He was wondering if you could tell him how you found his son."

Rossi nodded and they borrowed a conference room upstairs.

Upstairs, Yassen learned how they found his son. He saw the pictures of the people and his face went to stone.

Rossi and Hotch knew that they found the connection.

"These people are all from Alexei's past. They all look like people from Alexei's past."

Rossi frowned, "You sound uncertain."

Yassen shrugged.

"He adopted Alexei two years ago. He was Alexei's godfather before he adopted the teen. The man who took Alexei was someone from his father's life. John and Kyril apparently went through basic for SAS a little over a decade ago. John found out something that led to Kyril's entire career being destroyed."

Rossi nodded, he knew soldiers and one thing that would get them to snap would be to have their entire career ruined when someone found out the wrong information about them. Things were getting clearer. "But why didn't he go after John, Alexei's biological father? What happened?"

Yassen bowed his head.

"John and Helena died in a plane crash when Alexei was an infant. Alexei is the last member of the family left."

Yassen looked into the room where Gary was sleeping. The lad did have a great resemblance to Alexei.

A man with brown hair and eyes stood near the door near him.

Yassen quickly looked for Ben and waived him over.

"He is Yassen, Alexei's father." Ben introduced.

Mike Bishop shook the Russian's hand. "I heard you were the father of the boy they found tied up."

Yassen nodded,

"Yes, for the last few weeks he has been waiting on that phone call."

Mike smiled lightly, "I can commiserate. We didn't know he was missing for the entire weekend because he was supposed to be over at a friend's house while we were out of town, when we got back the police were finally able to contact us and tell us about the kidnapping. It's been a long week for us."

Yassen frowned, this man was supposed to hate him. Because of Alexei this teen was taken.

"It is a pain I would not wish on my worst enemy. The thought that the police might call and tell you they found his body. It happened to me twice. Each time, it was not him. I was relieved but at the same time, to have a body would have been to know that he was in a place with no pain where no one could hurt him..."

Mike swallowed hard, he couldn't imagine that pain. At least he hadn't had the police contact him to ID a body.

"He feels a responsibility to you. He wishes to compensate you. If not for this mad man fixing his gaze on his son, your son would never have been taken."

Yassen pulled out a check from the National Bank of Switzerland - for 500,000 euro. One hundred thousand for every day they did not know where Gary was.

Mike balked at the check. "I can't accept this."

Yassen rattled off some rapid Russian to Ben.

"He insists. He says that he feels responsible and that this is really the least he could do."

Mike's mind was boggled. He couldn't imagine where giving over €500,000 was the least someone could do. "No. This is not necessary."

Yassen grinned.

"And that is why he knows you deserve it. Use it for his future. The future that never should have been interrupted."

The case was tied up.

Gary gave his statement and was released to his parent's custody a week later.

Alexei spent over a month in the hospital. Yassen did not want to send his son back to Romanov Academy but Alexei wouldn't hear of not going back. So Yassen donated enough to the school that there would be a guard going with them to every field trip.

Two kidnappings were prevented in the next six months leading other parents to donate enough money to ensure the future of the Romanov Academy Security Team.

SCORPIA was officially ended after Yassen Gregorovich came out of retirement for the next three months and went after the remaining members. It ended rather quickly after that. No one wanted Yassen Gregorovich's attention.

THE END