Year thirteen Brookland Comprehensive School had decided to go to the Brecon Beacons training facility, mainly used for SAS and spy training it was said. They had only been given clearance as Miss Baxter's mother was high up in the ranks of MI6.

They were standing on the grass being told that they would be given lessons on several different things this including How to Kill, Defence, and something called Scorpia. Tom fidgeted at this remembering that Alex had told him it was a top secret assassination group.

After going through an hour of talks someone was introduced as Agent Rider.

Tom sat up in surprise it was Alex.

'Hello,' said Alex in a voice Tom had never heard him use before. 'I am Agent Rider you may call me Agent Rider, cub or sir we are not in school so I am not just Alex understand!'

When all the students nodded Alex continued he just looked the part so much. Eyes cold and unfeeling, face expressionless, scars on his arms and legs. There was the fact that he still wore his hair long which reminded them of the Alex they had once known.

'So now we've got the introductions over with I would like to say that I am the world's foremost expert on Scorpia, mainly because I'm the only one to have taken them on and lived to tell the tale.'

He paused to let this sink in, 'five times. But listen here if you piss off Scorpia they will do everything they can do get vengeance. Scorpia in actual fact stands for Sabotage as in their failed plan Invisible Sword which I stopped at fourteen but that's confidential, Corruption they have been known to stop or help governments get elected, Intelligence and Assassination. They train their assassins on Malagosto an island off of Venice, I know because I went undercover there about three years ago. They are dangerous. There are several board members but most are now dead. You can tell them because of their enigma a silver scorpion, which is now being displayed on the board behind us.'

Alex stopped as everyone turned to see the silver scorpion which gave off an air of being deadly. 'It was chosen as both a reflection of their name and the fact that scorpions seem harmless but are really deadly and silent. To defeat them you have to become as deadly as they ultimately are. You should not aim to destroy them all at once but rather take them down brick by brick, which is what I did concerning Operation Blue when I was almost fifteen.'

'Now I'm not expecting you to become top spies, it takes a remarkable person to survive for any amount of time as a spy.'

'Now though Scorpia is all but diminished the assassins its trained are not so I would like you to ask any questions regarding them but preferably not on my missions or secret identity they are classified!'

Another half an hour later and they was out in the muck all everyone was chatting excitedly among themselves when the SAS soldiers and Alex came in everyone went silent.

Alex sidled in to sit beside Alex and James, 'hi you can call me Alex when we're not in lessons,' he smiled.

'Wow,' said James, 'can you tell us anything?'

'Do you want to know?' said Alex.

'Yes,' said James.

'You know I have enemies, a lot of enemies, they have shot me, fed me to lions, jellyfish, poisoned me, tried to set me on fire or attempted to stab me and I survived that. If they knew you knew they would do the same to you. Now I have a question could you survive?'

James gulped.

'Don't answer I know the answer.'

Mr Bray who had accompanied his students, 'hello Al-Agent Rider,' he said.

'Hi,' smiled Alex.

'So this is where you've been disappearing off to?'

'Well I'm on recovery you know torture doesn't do your body wonders,' smiled Alex and the teacher visibly gulped looking way out of his depths.