A Bad School Outing

Mr. Brown the Politics teacher at Brookland School had taken his fourteen students out to a posh restaurant in London's West End. They would be graduating in a month and going on exam leave tomorrow so he wanted a chance to take them out before they left Brookland forever. Most of the Politics students were going onto university. Only Alex Rider wasn't; he'd somehow got a job as a civil servant despite his poor attendance record since his uncle's death more than four years ago.

Alex was sitting beside Tom Harris when the door opened. Two men walked in both wearing identical designer suits which must have cost hundreds or thousands. They were complete opposites. One was a tall, lithe, black, skin-headed man whose eyes were as black as the night. The other was a small, muscular, albino man his red eyes missing the pigment needed for colour looked evil in his long ash blonde pulled into a long ponytail. But Alex recognised the pair as a couple of assassins. They had been with SCORPIS but after Alex had destroyed them they had gone into business together. Alex somehow doubted they were her for the soup of the day. But Alex sank into the seat trying his best not to be noticed as he observed the pair of killers.

'What's up?' hissed Tom who had noticed Alex's strange behaviour.

'Assassins,' Alex hissed back dark eyes on the pair of assassins.

Alex took this as a sign that Alex didn't want to be noticed. Tom turned to Beth Thorn and began talking about trivial things that he knew Alex would never talk about. Alex never said anything more than was absolutely necessary. Alex watched as the assassins demanded to see the manager. As soon as the manager was out unknown to all but Alex and the manager the taller assassin took out a knife. Alex moved quicker than anyone would have believed possible from the usually quiet but polite boy, even if there were rumours and secrets surrounding him. He lunged at the black man knocking him over so the over so the knife was embedded in the red carpet. There were gasps all around as the manager still frozen in fear looked up in gratitude and awe at the teenager who had saved his life stood looking at his would be killers without a trace of fears. In truth the manager was a little bit intimidated by the blonde.

'Alex Rider,' snarled the smaller assassin. Alex was a little surprised; he'd never met the two just heard about them during a conversation with Ben who had met the two. But he supposed that being the only teenage spy in the world there were those who knew him, especially ex-SCORPIA assassins.

Alex was grabbed by the tall black man.

'Well if it isn't the great Alex Rider in the flesh,' sneered the black man.

Alex didn't reply as he flipped the man on his back the same way you would handle a light school bag. Everyone watching him gasped in shock and fear at the fact that a teenager was able to do stuff like this. The man was up in seconds and Alex found himself facing two guns. But Alex had faced ten times worse.

'Leave him alone,' said a terrified Mr. Brown not understanding how a teenager could be involved with men like this but wanting to protect any student of his even the school bad boy who was involved with who knows what.

'This is between us and the teenage spy,' snarled the small albino assassin.

There were gasps from the whole room but Tom. Mr. Brown, however, was putting it together; the mysterious absences, the bruises, and his job as a civil servant. Alex Rider had somehow managed to get himself recruited by the government as a secret agent.

'You're dead,' sneered the albino assassin who seemed to do all the talking for the pair.

'You'd think I'd stopped talking then,' said Alex coolly calm as ever weighing up his options.

'We all know that a spy's life is short and tragic,' replied albino assassin sneering at Alex again.

'Of course,' smiled Alex, 'any spy or assassin lives fast and dies you. But it's not my turn to die … it's yours!'

Alex then took out two guns and shot both assassins cleanly through the head without a second thought. He blew the wisps of smoke of the barrel head of his guns. He put the guns in his secret pocket and took out his dark, sleek work phone.

'Requesting a clear up team for two assassins who happened to be here. And plenty of OSAs,' Alex flipped the phone shut a looked at the pale civilians staring at him and sighed. It was going to be a long night.

He sat where he had been before with everyone staring at him in fear and shock. They knew his secret and didn't like it in the slightest.