Hello, hello.

I'm back with this short little...meaningless story. It's just Ian leaving for another one of his missions.

I've always liked his character, but have hated how he always lied to everyone, but working as a spy, your life is probably one giant lie. I can understand that, doesn't mean I like it...

I don't own the Alex Rider series, Anthony Horowitz does. This is all random, and no Copyright Infrigement is intended.

Enjoy!

It was Monday the sixteenth of March when the phone rang.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

The phone didn't get a fourth chance to ring as a sleepy Ian Rider picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Rider."

Ian rubbed his eyes, blinking away the haze of sleep. He sat up, his muscle joints aching. The dark blue covers fell to his waist, his gray T-shirt wrinkled.

"Yes?"

"There will be a business conference meeting in two days time. You're to be flown out to New York City where you will meet our American counterparts to discuss the new contract. A car will arrive to pick you up in twenty minutes. Pack for cold weather. Neutral colors are recommended. You will be driven to the bank to discuss the details of the deal. Goodbye."

His hand dropped back down to his side after placing the wireless phone back onto its stand on his bedside table. Okay, time to decode the message. He knew 'Business Conference' refered to a mission that would no doubt take place in New York City where he'd meet his 'American counterparts', definitely the CIA. And he had to report to the Royal & General, aka MI6 headquarters to be briefed by the heads of Special Operations.

Ian rolled out of his bed, pushing back the covers and neatly pulling them back across the bed. He glanced quickly at the digital clock, reading the neon green block numbers 2:57 a.m.

He slid on a pair of dark jeans, folding his sweatpants before peeling his gray T-shirt off. He slipped on a long-sleeved white shirt, quickly doing up the buttons as he stuffed several pairs of black slacks and dark shirts into his suitcase. He added two winter coats, before sticking his arms through the sleeves of a black leather jacket.

He opened his bedroom door, before dragging his suitcase along down the stairs. He stepped into the kitchen, blinking at the bright lights. A tousled blond head and a fiery red one both looked up at him, before turning back to the glasses of water in front of them. "Alex? Jack? Why are you two still awake?"

Alex smiled sadly. He sighed, and opened his mouth before closing it again, looking to Jack for an answer. She stared at Ian for a while, and the silence was becoming unbearable. "We heard the phone ring. And we knew no one else would call this early but your bosses." She paused, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. Her green eyes were bright, shining with tears. "Leaving again, huh? Where to this time? Italy? France? Germany?"

"New York, actually," Ian answered, still standing in the doorway. "I'll be gone for a few weeks, maybe a month. I don't know."

Alex frowned slightly. The eleven year old looked at him, his brown eyes pleading. "But Ian! You promised you'd watch me play! I'm captain of the team this year."

Ian rubbed his temples before answering in a weary voice. "I know, Alex. I'm sorry, I really am. But you know my job requires me to travel."

Jack interrupted, her voice sharp as steel. "Right. I forgot. Overseas finance manager, right?" He nodded quietly as she continued. "What business deal takes weeks to seal? What business deal has you coming back home covered in bruises or cuts? What business deal has you spending more time in some foreign country rather than with Alex? What job has you breaking every single promise you make? What—"

"Jack. Stop. It's all right, Ian has a job. It's okay." Alex placed a hand on Jack's arm. She shook her head angrily. "Jack. This always happens," he whispered in a hushed voice. "It's not going to change."

Jack sniffed, before ruffling Alex's hair fondly. "Go back to sleep, Al."

The boy nodded, before running over to his uncle and wrapping his arms around his waist. "Bring me something back from New York." Ian smiled briefly.

"'Course I will, kiddo." Alex pulled back, grinning, before dashing up the stairs. Jack turned towards him.

"Ian. You can't keep doing this! You never spend time with Alex, and when you plan to, some business trip comes up, and the next thing we know, you're jetting off to Australia or China leaving a stupid sticky note that says 'Sorry for not being there. Business.' Did you know I went to meet Alex's teacher last week because she was wondering why he grew quiet all of a sudden? Why he stopped talking to his friends? She thought he was going into depression. The principal even suggested he visit a psychiatrist?" Jack waved her arms in the air to accent her point.

"You practically live for your job, Ian! Whenever you're here you have your head stuck in a file, signing paperwork, grabbing paychecks...and what job gets you coming back with bruises and various cuts?"

Ian cut in, his blue eyes blazing. "I take a few days off during the trip to have some fun. Mountain climbing. Biking. Diving. Extreme sports."

Jack waved her hands airily. "That doesn't change a thing, Ian. You barely know anything about Alex's life. You've never met any of his friends, not that he invites them over a lot. You don't even know their names. You don't even know how he's doing in school, for God's sake. I doubt you even know he's top of the class. Did you even remember when he told you he'd gotten a perfect score on his Science test? He'd studied for it the entire week. Of course not, you were reading some sort of file about the recent business deal in Hong Kong."

Ian pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't tell them anything and they were blaming him? It's not like he could say to them, out of the blue, 'Hey, did you know that I've been lying to both of you practically all the time? The Royal & General Bank where I work at isn't actually a bank, it's MI6's headquarters! Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you. I'm not an overseas finance manager; I'm one of their best spies! And the entire time I've been away on 'business trips' I've actually been saving the world!'

Yeah, right. They'd admit him to the nearest insane asylum.

"Jack," he said wearily. "I'm sorry. I know I break practically every one of my promises, but this can wait till I get back."

She sighed, her previous anger evaporating. Now, she looked like someone who'd just had the world planted onto their shoulders. "Right. It can wait; it always does."

As you can clearly see, Ian lies yet again. And as I said, it is meaningless, just a little thing I came up with on the spot. It's a one-shot and will NOT be continued just like my other one-shots unless (like the others) a bout of inspiration hits me. Then, well...I guess we'll see.

Ooh! Idea!

Maybe I'll write a story dedicated to you if you could list your birthday down in the Reviews section. And I'll see if I can put something together and post it on your B-Day!

But don't be put out if I miss it, 'cause I don't know...maybe it'll be late but I'll try if I can upload stuff for everyone's birthday if you want one. They'll probably be one-shots...