Journey - REVISED EDITION

The Beginning of the End (Pt. 2)

I do not own Alex Rider. On to the story, because disclaimers are boring.

"What are you doing here?" Louis swallowed, his heart flipping over in his chest. It hurt to breathe, all the pain and loss of four years ago rushing back, leaving him reeling in shock, stumbling for a foothold.

Zayn opened and closed his mouth, his eyes wide in surprise, stunned into silence. He looked better, healthier, his cheeks not so hollow, his defined arms showing through the suit jacket. His hair was styled up into a quiff, no longer hanging limp over his eyes, like it had been last time they'd seen him.

Bitterness welled up inside Louis, making his jaw clench and hands shake. "Answer me."

"I was assigned to this mission to represent MI6 and assist the current guardians of the person of interest." Zayn replied, his Bradford accent thick as ever. His voice was cold and unfamiliar, and Louis watched with a sick sort of fascination as his former friend schooled his face into an expressionless mask.

Just then, Wolf came in carrying what must have been Alex, Snake not far behind him. The boy was noticeably thin, bringing back unpleasant memories. Louis swallowed, holding back his tears, and helped Snake clear off one of the beds.

"He's got a slight fever, but it's mostly dehydration. His body thinks it's being attacked so it's trying to expel whatever bacteria it thinks infecting it." Wolf said, as he gently lowered Alex down.

"Why would it think it's being attacked?" Lion asked from the doorway.

Wolf lifted up the teen's shirt, exposing white bandages wrapped around a small waist.

"Oh." Lion said lamely.

"Someone get me some scissors." Wolf commanded, and Lion left the room. "Don't just stand there, Panther. Put your bag down and do something to help. We don't have time for slackers."

Zayn's jaw clenched, and his shoulders squared. At that, something deep inside Louis twisted and slithered its way up, the pain of being left behind causing bile to gather in his throat. Zayn's gesture was so familiar to him...it shouldn't have hurt as much as it did.

"Fennec, get me the disinfectant from the bathroom, along with my kit. It's under the sink." Snake asked softly.

Louis turned from the room, heading across the hall towards the small bathroom the eight (Nine? Did Alex count as an adult?) men shared. He collected the items, and walked back into the room, just in time to see Snake finish cutting the bandages off the lad's chest, peeling them back to reveal an angry red wound, slightly puckered, the stitches showing up clear and even.

"It doesn't look infected." he remarked, ever the trouble-maker.

Snake glanced up, slightly surprised. "It's not."

"Then what's the issue?" Panther said from right behind his shoulder.

Louis tensed at the close presence of someone he had once considered a friend.

"He's too weak to properly heal as fast and as efficiently as he should. He's suffering from idiopathic pain, which, pared with exhaustion, and overexertion explains the fever. The pain is what the meds are for." Snake gestured with his head toward the bottle that had been tossed, abandoned, at the end of the bed. Wolf handed him a damp cloth and a disinfectant wipe, and Snake began to gently clean around the wound.

"But I though idiopathic pain was untreatable." Louis pursed his lips, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"It is." Snake didn't even bother looking up, but his voice said it all.

"They're just going to dope him up?!" Zayn grabbed the medication, anger clear in his voice.

"He's easier to control that way." Wolf responded, standing up. "If he's half-asleep and high, he can't fight back, or say no."