All Part of the Plan

Half an Inch

All part of the plan. It was all part of the plan, even though he knew it was bound to happen. No one lived forever. It just happened when Jake Marshall, known as Snake to some, least expected it.

It was a routine mission. Get in, get out; no complications. And just like a badly directed James Bond film, everything went wrong.

'Someone must have jinxed us,' he mused, as him and his partner, Alex Rider aka Cub, faced down the barrel of a Khar MK40. Things were looking dire for the two operatives. Between them, they had only two guns, both out of ammo. The younger of the pair was seriously malnourished, not to mention dehydrated.

"Did you really think that it would as easy as to take the data and just walk away?" The cold, emotionless man on the opposite end of the gun was saying.

Snake and Alex shared a look. The Scott nodded his head ever so slightly, and Cub didn't disappoint.

"You're right," he sighed, stepping forward, hands raised above his head. Snake turned to look at him, a look of fake surprise plastered to his face.

All part of the plan, he thought.

The mad mans grip faltered slightly, taken aback by his opponents easy surrender.

That's when Alex struck. He lashed out with a roundhouse kick, causing the agents gun to go flying out of his grip.

The teen caught it mid-air, and shot the assassin in-between the eyes.

All part of the plan.

The noise from the shot sent at least half a dozen guards scrambling in their direction. Alex bent down, unclipped a pack of ammo from the dead mans belt, and tossed it to Snake who swiftly reloaded his gun.

All part of the plan.

The two of them managed to shoot down half the assailants. Switching to the offensive, Snake and Alex engaged in hand-to-hand.

But they were assassins, trained to kill. Trained to be merciless. So naturally, they played dirty.

The rest was a blur to Snake. Everything had happened so fast, he didn't even get time to register what had happened until Alex was on the floor, three bullets lodged in his chest, blood rapidly pooling around him.

With a cry if rage, he killed the last two agents.

All part if the plan.

He crouched down next to the seventeen-year old laying on the hard, unforgiving soil, covered in foliage.

"Cub, stay with me," he mumbled as he bunched his shirt and shoved it into the boys wounds.

All part of the plan, Snake kept repeating, trying to keep salty tears from falling. All part of the plan.

Even as Cub pushed his hand away. Even as he coughed, blood splattering the leaves on the ground.

All part of the- "I'm not going to... make it. It's no use."

Snake shook his head, replacing his shirt on the injury. "Don't.. Don't say that. You'll see. We'll get out of here. Alive. You'll be okay. We'll be okay. I know we will. It's just all-"

"All part of the... the plan, I know." The boy gave a tired smile, and Snake was hit with the realization of the amount of maturity he held. He was loyal, brave... He was dying for Christ's sake, he should have been freaking out.

"Take the drive... and get the hell outta here."

Snake had to hold back a choked sob as his words were thrown back in his face. A year ago in Bolivia, they had been in a similar situation. Snake was the one injured; nothing major. Just a bullet to the shoulder.

But Alex hadn't left him. He has stayed by side, repeating something under his breath over and over. Snake had neither heard nor understood him until a crazed mad man had tracked them down and held them at gunpoint in a train station bathroom.

"Just leave... It's all... part of the... plan."

There it was. Five words that had kept him going, in thick and thin. And at that moment Snake knew Alex was right. He had always been right.

It was all part of the plan. A twisted, warped one, but a plan all the same.

Snakes grip slackened.

"You're right. It's all part of the plan, isn't it?" He whispered, brushing his wards hair away from his sweat covered forehead in a fatherly manner.

The SAS man was hit with a sudden bout of déjà vu. Back three years ago when he had landed guardianship of the broken boy who had been Alex Rider.

Slowly, he had bounced back, becoming more open and social. But the nightmares had stayed. Every few days, he would wake suddenly, breathing heavily and shaken to the core, victim to his minds torture.

Snake would rush to his room and hold the boy. Giving him comfort by rubbing circles on his back and brushing away the bangs that tangled with his long, golden lashes.

He would whisper it over and over until Alex fell into a light slumber; "It's all part of the plan. All part of the plan..."

He had grown and matured right before Snakes eyes. He could have thought him as his own son.

"I'm glad... glad I've had the... pleasure of... of meeting you... and-"

Snake shushed him by placing a pale, shaking finger over the boys blue lips.

All part of the plan.

Alex coughed again. "Stay with me... until the... end. Please."

All part of the plan.

Snake couldn't deny the spy his last wish, so despite losing precious minutes, he sat down next to him.

"I guess... Saturday night is off," the teenagers eyes clouded over.

The elder of the pair smiled through tears that threatened to fall. "You always had been a cheeky bastard," he said fondly, throat seizing.

They sat in silence, Alex not even acknowledging the fact that his guardian had tear streaming down his face.

"Thank you... for every... thing."

Snake looked up and studied the youths face, storing every single detail to his memory. The scar on his cheek, the five o' clock shadow...

Alex weakly reached up and pulled his wooden bead necklace off his neck. "Don't... mourn my... death too... long," he said, placing it in the Scott's hand and closing his eyes.

"Don't Alex, please," Snake pleaded even though he knew the boy wasn't going to make it. His pulse was weakening. He was losing him.

All part of the plan, all part of the plan-

"It's... okay, Snake. It's all... just part of the plan."

Snake pondered on the boys last words as his pulse slowly became sluggish and then came to a stop.

"All part of the plan."

Snake stood up angrily. He wanted to kick to scream. It wasn't fair! But he controlled himself.

"All part of the plan. It was all just part of the plan.'' He kept repeating. "All part of the plan."