Hey, guys! I know it's been forever, and I'm sure many of you were doubting this would ever get completed. It's not quite exactly what I imagined, but this ending chapter really does reflect my final thoughts/plans for this story. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider.

Alex hesitated, before knocking once.

Although he knew the Nakket compound well, it didn't mean he was allowed in every area. Still, he was able to easily follow Yassen's directions.

"Yes? Do come in."

His eyes immediately swiveled around the room, taking in the large room crammed with different projects in various forms of completion. Many of the objects were clearly weapons, it was less obvious with others.

The teen regarded the man warily. He looked familiar, yet his voice tugged at more memories than his figure did.

"I was just going to-"

The man turned around, stopping sharply as he realized who had entered.

"Alex?" the man's voice was barely above a whisper.

The teen nodded cautiously. "Are you…" he paused, the answer on the tip of his tongue. "Smithers?"

The man smiled, yet it was bittersweet. He nodded, putting down the device he had been holding. "I was known by that name while I worked in London, yes."

The boy swallowed. "Thank you. For everything."

Smithers looked torn as he continued to study the teen. "I wish I had done more," he admitted softly.

Despite his fuzzy memories, Alex had known Smithers had done a lot for him. He'd worked, invisibly in the background, for years. With his various gadgets, he'd saved his life numerous times during missions- when Blunt had refused to grant him other weapons to defend himself. Even after being fired by Blunt, Smithers had continued to aid him- guiding him to Yassen, providing intel to K-Unit, and also developing a treatment to aid in his memory retrieval and break Blunt's conditioning of him.

Alex bit his lip. "Could you… could you do me one last favor?"

Smithers' face broke into a wide grin. "Of course, my dear boy. Anything.."

He only had one more question.

"Do you trust them?" he blurted out.

Smithers' face shined with pure, unhindered honesty. He nodded. "I do."

O-o-O-o-O

Yassen's intel was right- nearly a week after he had warned them, MI6 and an SAS force attacked the Nakket base.

But they were ready.

It was short but brutal battle.

Alex spared the SAS forces, but no one stopped him from slaughtering the team of MI6 agents that had been sent to bring him in.

The teen panted, sharp eyes examining the body in front of him. He knew this man all too well- the lead agent had made his life a living hell at the Bank. It was fitting, that Blunt had sent him.

He didn't flinch when a hand placed itself on his shoulder.

"We should go," Snake said quietly. "Yassen has a plane ready for us."

O-o-O-o-O

"You'll get a call soon."

The woman blinked. She had known that it would come to this: a bullet to the brain, a short but productive life. It was dull, but to be expected in her line of work.

She hadn't expected to hear that voice before she died.

The boy (could he even be called that anymore? They had only treated him as a child in a legal sense, when it suited them) reclined on the chair. Posture loose and relax, most casual onlookers would have assumed he to be a family member, perhaps. If not for the fact they were on a high level of a flat complex, where drapes hid the army of sensors and heavily reinforced windows… yes, they would have made that assumption.

The teen tapped the glass lightly with the gun he held with ease- the ease of a lifetime of experience. Even now, years three years since he first stepped into their office… it wasn't right. He met her eyes. "Security is better than last time."

Her lips twitched in a smile. "So are you."

Alex allowed the gun to rest on the table in front of him. "I wanted to hear your side of the story- Blunt has a tendency to leave out the details." His voice flowed naturally, yet remained deliberately neutral.

Mrs. Jones nodded. Closure- she could understand that. "Your uncle cared for you… which made it easier for Blunt to manipulate him." She remembered the arguments all too well. "Ian thought training you would protect you from him." The woman sighed. "But in reality, Blunt had his eyes on you the moment he knew Helen was pregnant."

The teen swallowed, but nodded. "And… my parents?"

Mrs. Jones hesitated, but continued. "John was planning on leaving the spying world for good. Blunt purposefully leaked the information to Ash. He… he wanted you." She finished softly.

His eyes didn't burn with the fury she would have expected- just dull acceptance. Even without being given this information explicitly… she knew he had known the truth, perhaps subconsciously for years.

She quirked a humorless smile. "You probably noticed, but Blunt got me reassigned to a different division a few years back. He didn't like that I had grown attached."

The teen chuckled dryly. "I know." He looked up, facial expression still frustratingly unreadable. "That's why I'm here."

Ah, so here it was. Finally- the justified end of a spiral of lies, manipulation, and torture. She was ready.

"It's a warning." His voice was hard and unyielding, matching the eyes that seemed to -bore- into her. "When you become the Director, don't ever stoop to his level."

Before she even had a chance to blink again, he was gone.

O-o-O-o-O

Right on time, the grey man exited Royal & General Bank.

His routine could be set to a clock. The man obviously relied heavily on the 24/7 security he had for protection- he was smart enough to know that routines got people killed.

It was a funny thing, that curb. Years earlier, it had saved the life of a young boy. The spare 2cm had just barely allowed for a bullet to hit just above his heart- enough clearance that allowed the teen to live another day.

This time, however, the curb didn't do much to help. A different bullet, by a different gun, from a different sniper, hit the identical spot- 2cm above the heart.

Screams from -passersby- as the shot rang out, the man collapsed.

The grey man died almost instantly. Those who knew of the terrible sins he committed would argue- a far shorter and painless death than he deserved.

Blood dried on concrete.

Yes, the assassin mused to himself as he dispassionately began to strip down the gun. Routines got people killed.

But so did years of abusing, manipulating, and blackmailing a teenager into a world he didn't belong.

O-o-O-o-O

America was nice, he decided. No enemies hunted him down, K-Unit had stable jobs in various agencies and military branches… it was a fresh start, one that remained untainted from his previous memories of K-Unit or his time with the Pleasures.

He didn't quite fully trust K-Unit… but he was starting to remember more- memories about the good times he'd had with them. He had once trusted them. He would learn to trust them again, in time.

Although Yassin still had his hands full with relocating the Nakket, he still managed to pop in every once and a while.

"You had a chance to look at the brochures yet?"

Alex tore himself from his thoughts to the soldier who sat down in the chair beside him.

The teen hummed, nodding slightly. "I was thinking…" he bit his lip, hesitating. "Maybe West Point, or the Naval Academy."

Snake nodded in agreement. "Both are great Academies. They also have a lot of different programs to choose from- infantry, intelligence… or even becoming a military doctor." The soldier pressed his opinion lightly.

Alex cracked a smile. "Right, a doctor. Not like you're biased or anything."

Snake brightened, grinning. "Of course not."

"Shove off, Snake," Eagle scolded. "No one wants to hear what you want." He grimaced. "Who'd want to be a boring doctor anyway?" The soldier brightened, grinning slightly. "Besides, your talents lie elsewhere!" He nudged Alex slightly on the shoulder. "What do you say? I bet you'd make a great sniper."

"Who says he even has to go to college?" Wolf challenged gruffly. "It's alright if you just want to go straight into the military, you could even-"

"Not join the military at all," Fox interjected smoothly, ignoring the glares shot in his direction. "There are plenty of agencies here- FBI, CIA, NSA-" he started to list them off, but was quickly interrupted.

"I'm pretty sure Alex has already learned his ABCs," Eagle snickered. "But who knows? Maybe-"

Fox rolled his eyes. "My point is-"

"-you didn't catch up on it. International spies can be kind of slow when it comes to-"

"Think about it, yeah? Doctors get paid a good amount of-"

"Maybe he doesn't care about the money- did you ever think of that?"

"-a quality, stable job. Government agency is the way to go."

Alex couldn't help but grin as the verbal argument dissolved into a physical one.

Yeah, he was going to be just fine.

O-o-O-o-O

Most spies end with a bullet to the brain. If you're lucky, you'll be able to get out before then. Hopefully, you'll still have family left. Just remember that family doesn't always mean blood.

END.

Here is a MAJOR THANK YOU to everyone who has supported me throughout this story- all your favorites, follows, and reviews really kept me going. A special thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed- seriously, you guys are awesome!

I don't plan on there being a sequel for this story. Although I haven't been actively writing AR stories, something tells me I'm not quite done with this fandom.

If you have any final thoughts, I'd love to hear them!

Stay safe and healthy everyone :D