A/N: This is a companion piece to Beware, but I'm pretty sure it still makes sense by itself. It's AU like the other one. Just like all my other stories, please R/R and mention if you see any errors - I don't have a beta but I'm doing my best. I'm not very happy with the title, so Worth It was because I had a lack of a better one. If you have any ideas for a new title for this, please message me or leave it in your review.

All that echoes through the empty hallway is the fast tempo of someone's footsteps as they run from their own personal hell. The spy glances back but it is just as empty as it was seconds before. The door looms ahead and he doesn't slow down his headlong sprint. He simply crashes through the heavy door and into the bright sunlight.

The change in lighting blinds him so he closes his eyes and continues his charge – right into someone standing outside the door. He goes tumbling back, swallowing a cry of dismay. So close!

The person he nearly ran over walks towards his prone form, footsteps crunching on the gravel of the compound yard. The stranger's gait is like that of a predator, muscles gliding flawlessly together. He wears combat boots worn down from age, khaki slacks and a neatly pressed blue shirt. Serious brown eyes peer out from a lightly tanned face, and the windswept blonde hair hangs over his forehead. His face is smooth, young, and emotionless.

The spy's eyes widen as he examines the man. It is the man that betrayed his country and killed the last agent assigned to the case, an assassin whose reputation is known worldwide. As he looks into the cold brown eyes, he can see why Alan Blunt had warned him about this man. His gaze holds no pity, no compassion. It is as if he doesn't care who lives or dies.

The assassin reaches for the gun strapped to his hip, flicking off the safety and holding it in a loose, comfortable grip. The boy lying on the ground quakes with adrenaline, fear, anticipation. He closes his eyes, waiting for the loud crack of gunfire that never comes.

Instead, the assassin begins to talk. "I'll give you the same warning the last teen spy received." His voice is a smooth tenor, colored with a faint English accent. "Go home, back to your friends and your school. Killing is for grown-ups and you're still a child. When they ask you again, say no. It's not worth it."

There is a muted click as the safety is flipped back on, and when the world's second teenage spy opens his eyes, Alex Rider is nowhere to be seen. He pushes his confused thoughts to the back of his mind and scrambles to his feet. There will be time to think later - if he can ever escape alive.