Well, guys, I just got back from a week-long vacation with no internet access last night, and what do I do? I rush to type this and get it out of my head. The idea has really grabbed my attention, and it wouldn't leave me alone. I'm not sure how long it will be yet, but don't look for the end anytime soon! Hope you like it. (I know it's short, but this is just the intro chapter.)

"I'm sure you know why you're here, Alex," she said, her fingers folded atop the highly polished desk. He was sitting across from her, sprawled lazily in the chair.

He didn't answer. She hadn't expected him to. Over the years, he had stopped responding to much other than direct questions.

"There have been several minor... incidents in the past, but none of them merited disciplinary action. This, however... this is a different story entirely. To be honest, Alex, I'm surprised."

And she was. She had thought Alex Rider incapable of such things. But then, she pondered, a person could change a lot in four years, especially when that person just happened to be an agent for one of the most covert intelligence divisions that currently existed in the world.

"May I ask what possessed you?" she asked, unwrapping a new peppermint and placing it into her mouth.

"The mission objective is of the utmost importance. Never risk the success of the mission objective for anything," he said, bored. It was a word-for-word recitation of a line from the handbook that all agents got when they first started to work for MI:SO. Alan had warned her that he would likely use it to defend himself.

"That may be so, Alex, but the handbook counts on the fact that agents will still posses proper moral conduct," she countered. The flavor of the peppermint had always helped her to stay focused, something she needed in difficult meetings such as these, where Alex could easily direct the conversation elsewhere.

"The success of the mission was at stake. I ensured that the objective was completed, simple as that." Alex wasn't looking at her. He wasn't avoiding her gaze, really, but looking out of the window behind her to the gloomy skyline. He looked bored. His eyes had no life in them.

She tasted the peppermint again before she continued. "That man had a family, Alex. A wife of three years and a newborn daughter named Sarah. His death was one hundred percent avoidable."

For the first time, she saw emotion flicker across his face. The mention of the family had been a calculated risk. On one hand, it could trigger the emotions she needed him to feel - regret, guilt, pain. On the other, it could make him very, very angry. The moment he began his next sentence, she knew that her gamble had failed.

"Jack's death was avoidable," he said, his voice growing in pitch, "and Tom's, and Sabina's, even Ms. Bedfordshire's. But I don't see you sitting down their murderers, lecturing them about proper moral conduct!" He was fairly spitting by now, but she was unfazed. The mint was still sharp on her tongue.

"Their deaths were regrettable, Alex, but your behavior is inexcusable. Disciplinary actions will be taken."

"Fine with me!" he said, crossing his arms over his chest, "Do your worst!"

"You'll wish later that you hadn't said that," she told him, watching as his eyes grew cold again. "Your punishment won't be like most. I have thought up something special for you. You won't push paper for a few months before you return to active duty, and you won't be enjoying a cushy surveillance job. I've got something much different planned for you, Alex, and I can guarantee that you won't enjoy it."