Journey - REVISED EDITION

Reunion?? Of Sorts?? Pt 1

I do not own Alex Rider... or One Direction... crap I just gave some stuff away... great, now I'm terrified... anyway....

"I'm sorry." Tom said at last.

"It's not your fault, kid." Snake answered, wearily.

"No, it is. I shouldn't have come, but I didn't really have anywhere else to go." Tom persisted.

"You're right. You shouldn't have come, but you did, and you're not leaving now." Wolf spoke up, his voice rough and gravely, and if Tom noticed the redness around his eyes, he didn't say anything.

"Snake will show you to your room, and we will continue this conversation in the morning, but as for right now-"

A loud thump was heard from the floor above them; Snake and Wolf shared a quick look before taking off toward the stairs, going up two at a time.

Tom followed close behind, apprehension rising up, his chest getting tight with the weight of it. Whirling around the corner into the bedroom they apparently all shared, he was met with a sight he didn't think he'd ever see.

Alex was kneeling on the floor, in front of the smashed window, unmoving. The curtains fluttered in the slight breeze, the blood stains on them illuminated by the moonlight. Rain was coming in, soaking the material, and wetting the carpet.

"Alex?" Snake asked softly.

Alex remained quiet, but Tom could see his shoulders shaking in barely repressed emotion. Wolf inhaled sharply, and Tom followed his line of sight, to where one of the beds had been ripped apart.

"Alex, where is Fox?" Wolf stepped forward, shutting the window, his face impassive but his actions tight and controlled.

"They took him." Alex whispered. Snake knelt down to Alex's level and softly took the note Alex had been clutching.

"Wolf." He said, warningly, before passing him the bloodied paper.

Welcome back, Alex.

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"Well, we know for a fact that it's Fox's blood, but I don't think it's a life threatening injury. They probably just used it to solidify the threat, make it real and tangible." Snake explained to the head of MI6.

Lights were flashing all around the front lawn, agents, forensics, and police mingling on the crime scene, while the sky began to lighten and the dark of night dissipate.

Wolf was being quesitoned by another agent, while Eagle, sat with his head in between his knees. He'd been restocking on groceries, thus missing the entire fiasco with Alex, Tom and Fox. He was still in shock really.

Mrs. Jones remained silent.

"With all due respect ma'am, they're picking us off one by one." Snake said sharply, not sounding at all respectful.

"I'm well aware of the dangers of protecting Alex, solider. I trust you to remember your place and leave to MI6 that which is MI6's business." Mrs Jones replied, her tone clipped.

"Mrs. Jones. First it was Falcon, now Fox. I'm just not sure how much more we can take." Snake gritted his teeth, and tried to hold his tongue. He was exhausted and discouraged; arguing with the head of one of the world's most efficient spy organizations would get him nowhere.

"Hopefully you won't have to deal with anymore problems. I'm moving you to a new location where you're new team-mates will already be waiting." Mrs. Jones took out her phone, furiously typing away at something.

"Team-mates?" Snake asked, incredulously. "There's more than one?"

"Yes. It's obvious to me that Alex is more than you can handle just by yourself, and so four more men will be joining you later today." Mrs. Jones replied, obviously distracted.

"Agents or soldiers?" The SAS soldier questioned, his voice sharp.

Mrs Jones merely smiled at him, and answered, "Yes."

"So they're like Fox?"

"So many questions. You'll have to ask them yourself." She made to get in the car that had just pulled up, but was stopped by a sudden commotion nearby.

It was Tom, yelling and biting and trying very hard to get to Mrs. Jones, the arms of her bodyguards stopping him from getting any closer than twenty feet.

"Let me go!" He struggled and managed to break free, only to get grabbed again and dragged away. "I have to talk to to Mrs. Jones!" Looking wildly at the blank faces around him, his eyes caught Snake's and he hurriedly blurted out, "Snake, Alex's gone to find SCORPIA!"

Snake stiffened and turned to Mrs. Jones. Her lips were pressed together.

"This changes nothing. Proceed as planned. I'll contact you later with new orders." She motioned to her men and they released Tom, who glared at them and muttered something under his breath that probably wasn't very complimentary.

"Mrs. Jones. Alex has LITERALLY run off, on his own, to find SCORPIA and get murdered, and you do nothing?! We can still stop him. He doesn't have to die!" Snake was livid. Alex was just a boy; there was no way he'd ever make it out of SCORPIA's clutches alive, much less with Falcon and Fox.

Mrs Jones turned to face Snake head on, her grey eyes flashing. "If there's one thing I've learned from Alex, it's to never underestimate him. He always comes out in the end. You need to trust me, and follow your orders. That's all I require of you. Until then, I suggest you stop questioning your authority, or I will remove Alex from your unit's custody, and find a replacement for you as well." Without waiting for a reply, Mrs Jones slid into her vehicle and sped away.

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