Up In The Air
"I'm so sorry sir; they were gone when we arrived on site. The Rider boy was nowhere to be found." The leader of the operation, Agent Sonata was standing before his superior, Alan Blunt at the Royal and General Bank.
The attack on the school had been uneventful. Not only had they not been met with resistance, but all children were unharmed. Only the death of one teacher had occurred throughout the hostage scare.
Sonata himself was confused to say the least. After all, the gunmen had gone to all the trouble of broadcasting live footage of the event across England. Why would they put their effort into making threats only to retreat before they could be carried out?
Oh well, Hansen thought. He would be excused any moment now. After he finished writing the report on the situation he would be on his way home. It would be nice to see his wife and daughter after a long day of work.
"Very well, Sonata. I expect a full report on my desk before you leave here tonight. You are dismissed."
Blunt was not worried about the situation. He had expected Yassen to leave with Alex. The existence of the tracker reassured Blunt. He knew Yassen could be located with only the click of a button. Even now, as he sat here sorting through his thoughts, the tracker was transmitting Alex's location. The teen and the assassin were in Birmingham.
Hmm, still close, thought Blunt. Yassen must be hiding out in the last place anyone would think to look for him, which is anywhere remotely close to the Royal and General. Well, that wasn't going to stop him from getting caught.
For a brief moment Alan Blunt nearly let his emotions dictate his decision. He was tempted to send a ream to the location immediately, if for no other reason than to spite the assassin. Show Yassen that Blunt would always have one up on him no matter how hard he tried.
Alan Blunt's rational side, however, knew that it would be more reasonable to send a team in approximately thirty minutes. This would give the assassin the necessary time needed to let down his guard and no longer expect an attack.
Yes, blunt thought. Sooner or later Alex would be back and working for him, while Yassen would be stopped once and for all.
Little did Blunt know that the assassin was already one step ahead of him.
– RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER –
"Come, Alex, those clothes aren't going to take themselves off and I'm sure your old enough to undress yourself. But believe me boy; if you don't do it yourself I'll be forced to make you take that uniform off for you."
Alex had only woken up thirty minutes ago, the tranquilizer having worn off sooner than expected, but Yassen was already getting fed up with the boy.
After waking up Alex had refused to be held down. He had beat off any guard that came close to him. Since then he had either been incredibly loud or disturbingly silent. Eventually, all nine guards in the chopper had held Alex down and tied his arms behind his back. They then bound his feet and gagged him for good measure. They were all thoroughly worn out by his antics at that point.
But now the helicopter had stopped so Alex could completely strip and be given a new pair of clothes. Yassen knew MI6 wasn't above tracking their agents, and he expected Alex to have a tracking device on him now. They had landed the chopper roughly three hours before they were scheduled to reach their destination. Yassen wasn't taking any chances when it came to being found.
Alex, however, was unaware of Yassen's assumptions and didn't take to kindly to being all but thrown out of the chopper. His bonds had been cut to allow him the privilege of undressing and dressing himself. The gag had remained in place. The guards were apprehensive to remove it should Alex once again begin talking and complaining just to spite them.
The teen currently stood on the rocky ledge in bare feet. His shoes had already been disposed of. If looks could kill Yassen would surely be dead on the ground. Alex's eyes shot daggers at the assassin as he removed his school uniform. He then slowly began dressing with the clothes provided for him.
The black t-shirt fit him perfectly, showing off his toned body and developed muscles. The green army style pants fit loosely, giving him ample space to move around and fight in if need be. He wondered briefly why Yassen would provide him with perfect combat clothes, and then decided not to question his good luck.
"Come on Rider, back in the chopper we've got a ways to go yet." Yassen turned back to the helicopter and began to step in. Just before he did he turned back to Alex to say one more thing.
"Oh, and no funny business this time or your wrists will be bound so tight they'll fall off. It's your choice Alex, play nice and keep your hands, or be naughty and lose them." Yassen smirked at Alex, ruffling the teen's hair before stepping fully into the chopper.
Alex followed dutifully, knowing that any escape attempt would be futile. There was nowhere for him to run. He would bide his time. If any promising escape attempt arose, he would take it. He just had to be patient.
And with that optimist thought Alex Rider boarded the chopper that would carry him away from everything he knew and loved.
– RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER –
Not a full hour after the chopper had took to the air, MI6 men arrived on the site. They approached cautiously, not wanting to draw attention to themselves.
The tracker on Agent Rider was transmitting to this destination. They knew that wherever this signal transmitted, Yassen would be located. Or so they assumed.
In reality, a somewhat muddied and torn Brookland uniform was all that awaited them. Not a person was in sight and their lead on Yassen came to an abrupt end.
What the head of MI6 had failed to consider was a change of clothes. This man could bring the world crashing to an end with the snap of his fingers, yet he could not predict the possibility of his youngest agent being given a change of clothes.
Blunt mentally kicked himself upon realization that the assassin had once again eluded him, with his youngest agent in tow. How could he have been so stupid? Of course Yassen would cover all his bases. There was no way in hell that a simple tracking device would bring this man down, and it was Alan Blunt's job to understand that.
He had failed; failed himself, his company, and his agent. The outcome of the situation, once again, rested in the hands of Ale Rider. If the boy could find an opportunity to return to MI6, he could reveal the location of Yassen Gregorovich.
Blunt settled back in his chair. For the eighth time in his career, Blunt emptied his problems onto the lap of a sixteen-year-old boy.
– RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER –
Alex could feel himself being pushed out of the chopper. More so, however, he could feel the searing pain that travelled up his arms when he put his hands up to brake his fall. After nearly seven hours of travelling in the chopper Alex was feeling more than a little woosy as his feet once again touched land.
"Come on Rider, on your feet we don't have all day." Alex had managed not to be tied up again and so he pushed himself to his feet. However, his bonds had been replaced by a blindfold when they had neared their destination so he couldn't move from where he was standing. Stupid Yassen; he knew one of Alex's greatest fears was being completely dependent on others, and the blindfold made him just that.
He was broken from his thoughts when he felt strong hands grasp his shoulders. They pushed him forward and he had no choice but to acquiesce for the time being as he allowed the person to lead him.
Even with the loss of his sight Alex could tell it was night time. A silence only darkness can bring engulfed him. It sat thick in the air not unlike smoke. Even the guards and Yassen were quiet as they approached headquarters of Black Ace.
Alex could feel the hardness under his feet and knew he was walking on pavement. He suddenly felt claustrophobic and was consumed by the overwhelming need to remove the blindfold. He reached up to take it off but the guard who was holding him pinned his arms to his sides. Alex began struggling and hyperventilating, suddenly fearing his loss of sight.
He was embarrassed by his actions. He did not want Yassen to see him as weak and made a mental note to learn to control his emotions better. Alex would be lying to himself, however, if he denied being relieved when Yassen removed the blindfold. The gag was next to come and Alex immediately spat on the ground, trying in vain to remove the musty taste from his mouth.
"Welcome to your new home Rider, you better get used to it." Alex looked around properly for the first time and saw that he was standing in the middle of a townhouse complex. Surprised was an understatement. Why in the world would an assassin have the headquarters of the most wanted international organization in the middle of a residential area?
Alex's thoughts must have shown on his face because one look at the teen and Yassen started chuckling.
"No Alex, I've not lost my mind if that's what you're thinking. I assure you I am still sane. And having HQ in a residential area is perfect. No one suspects it to be here and I can house my assassins close by. That's right. More than half of these buildings are home to men and women working under my hand. Whenever you step out of number 19, which is my complex and where you'll be staying, eyes will be on you. You will not be left unguarded for one second so keep that in mind when you're planning your escape attempt.
Alex looked up in alarm when, wondering how Yassen had caught on to his plan so quickly.
"Hahaha, it was just a guess Alex, but by that look I'm guessing it wasn't too far off from reality. After all, I would have been planning an escape attempt myself. You and I are alike Alex, whether you choose to believe it or not."
Yassen turned his back on Alex and proceeded to walk into number 19. He indicated for the guard to bring Alex along.
"You can let me go you know. I'm not going to run anywhere; I've got nowhere to go." Alex spoke up for the first time since having the gag removed. He was tired beyond exhaustion. He truly wasn't going anywhere...tonight.
Yassen turned and looked Alex in the eye, gauging whether the teen was telling the truth or not. He must have seen the tiredness on the teen's face because he nodded at the guard, who released Alex at once.
"Come on Alex, you need to rest. I'll give you the tour tomorrow. And I assure you it's a very...interesting place I have here." Yassen's voice gave Alex a chill down his spine. He could tell now that there was something more than met the eye when it came to number 19.
Alex failed to stifle a yawn and followed Yassen into the complex. He supposed his adventures could wait until tomorrow. For now he was just happy to fall down on the bed Yassen provided him with, even though he was locked in a small room with nothing in it other than the aforementioned bed.
Right before Yassen locked the door behind him, he turned back to Alex
"Oh, I almost forgot Alex. Your training starts tomorrow and I have specifically instructed the trainers not to hold anything back. I need you to be the best of the best Alex; I can see you have that full potential within you. With the right training, you just might get as good as me." Yassen smirked at him and Alex could have sworn he saw him wink.
"Oh...and Alex, don't go anywhere." This time Alex was positive he had seen the assassin wink. For some reason Yassen was in a playful mood. Alex knew that this could only mean something was planned for him tomorrow.
The day to come would definitely be an interesting one.
Well there it is folks. Its kinda short because i wanted to get it written and published as fast i could. I'm surprised how popular this story seems to be. Its already gotten 600 reads!! Thank you so much to those faithful reviewers you make my day!! I would answer you all here individually but i heard you weren't supposed to and i don't really want to get kicked off the site :P so i'll keep it to a general thankyou. But know that i really o appreciate it and all of your reviews are considered when i'm writing this story. I, of course, know the overall plot of this story and the direction it is going in but i dont have anymore chapters written as of now. So, that being said, i don't know how soon i will be a ble to update. But i will try my best to make it fast for all you faithful readers out there.
Don't forget to review, its what keeps me writing.
constructive critisism and words of advice are welcome. Remember, I'm a fanfiction newb :D