Alex was simply walking to the store to get some eggs for Jack when it happened. He loved her like family and would do anything for her. That's why when Jack asked him for a favor, he'd do it without complaint. Or at least try to.

He was close to the store when he felt eyes boring holes in the back of his head. The gaze wasn't vicious, but Alex still wanted to know who they belonged to. A year into the spying business had made him paranoid.

He quickly went in and bought a carton of two dozen eggs. Why Jack would need that many was beyond Alex, but her wish was his command.

Walking out of the store, he scanned the area, but saw no one. Somehow though, the gaze felt familiar, as if he'd been studied through the same pair of eyes before. Alex remembered the other day when he went to the Royal and General. He had felt the same thing, but the feeling was gone when he was coming out, so he figured it must be someone untrained.

Untrained or not, Alex didn't like being watched. Using a dark and dingy alley for his escape, Alex carefully and quickly climbed onto the rooftop. He couldn't see anyone from his position but voices could distinctly be heard.

"..just here.."

"Think..roof...climbed..?"

Armed with the knowledge that there were two stalkers, he tried to get into a better position quietly without being detected. His plan backfired, however, when to his eternal embarrassment, he fell off the roof with a dull thud.

Ignoring the pain in his legs, he rolled into a fighting stance and faced his stalkers. Alex wasted precious seconds just comprehending to a full extent who exactly he was looking at. There was a moment of stunned silence where his perusers stared blankly back at him. It was broken when one screamed at the other to run.

Alex didn't follow as the two skidded out of sight.

When Alex got home, he didn't mention the incident to Jack, instead giving her the eggs and going to his room. For the rest of the day, Alex couldn't get the meeting out of his head.

Now that he thought about it, he recalled seeing a flash of brown hair disappearing around a corner when he got called in for a mission and the day he got back. And of course, that visit in the hospital and the way too personal questions. Laying in bed that night, Alex thought about how interesting school would be tomorrow.

"Bye, Jack! No breakfast or else I'm going got be late!" Alex ran out the door and hopped onto his bike. His legs were still a bit sore from the stunt he pulled yesterday but he didn't want a tardy added to his list of absences.

The bell rang just as he got into his seat. He would have to confront his pursuers later, it would seem.

Halfway during History, he decided to just deal with them during his lunch break. When the bell rang, however, Alex still couldn't find them. During English, the only class they shared, 'someone' was absent. Alex had a good idea who.

After school, he sighed and just walked around towards the bike shed. He should have known they wouldn't come to school from the fear that they had been seen.

His theory was proven wrong when he noticed his brown haired friends following him. Acting oblivious to their company, Alex went towards the bike shed and waited there for his little friends.

Sure enough, they rounded the corner a few minutes after. They both stopped in their tracks when they saw Alex waiting for them, arms crossed over his chest. With a dumbstruck look on their faces, they slowly tried backing out, only to find the door to the shed closed. Alex casually stepped to his right, blocking their only other escape.

"As of the twenty-fifth of November two-thousand-and-twelve, amendments to the Protection from Harassment Act have been made that makes stalking a specific offence in England and Wales. The amendments were made under the Protection of Freedoms Act two-thousand-and-twelve." He rattled off quietly.

They exchanged glances at each other, confusion splayed across their faces.

"Look. Either you tell me why you two were following me, or I'll report you to the police, James. And you too, Ryan. I know for a fact your fathers won't be pleased." No matter what their answer, Alex was still going to inform MI6. James and Ryan didn't need to know that, though.

Finally, Ryan gathered up the courage to speak. "We wanted to know why you were always absent." He muttered meekly.

Hearing the response, Alex stepped towards them threateningly. "You do know I could sue you, right? Or maybe even throw you in jail for five years, if I'm lucky."

The words were spoken softly, but both Ryan and James could hear the underlying steel. They had identical expression of fear on their face's.

Alex stepped back, the ferociousness gone from his face. He shook his head and turned away. "You two aren't worth my time. Just let me be and there'll be no trouble between us. Go home and let's just forget about this."

That night at dinner, he recounted the events to Jack about what happened and they both had a good laugh.

In another part of Chelsea, two brown haired boys were talking over the phone and agreed on the same thing:

Alex Rider was not someone you wanted to mess around with.