i know 'two chapters at once!?' it's amazing really. but i've had this for awhile and haven't been able to update it till now.

enjoy

000

The cold floor rushed up to meet Alex as the guard pushed him head first into the dark, damp cell. He heard a grunt as Chloe, then James were pushed in after him. The steel bars were slammed shut with a deafening clang. Turning onto his back he look up into the mask figures hidden face.

"Sorry, kids, but this is where the road ends for you." A chuckle escaped from the mans lips and he began to walk away.

Alex jumped to his feet and grasped the bars in his hands. "Wait!" He waited for the man to stop and look at him before he continued, "What are you going to do with us?" He knew it was a stupid question because he already knew the answer. He just wanted to hear it.

"Whatever the boss wants done." The man stood still, as if waiting for Alex to shout out again. They stared at each other before the captor turned around again and walked out of the solid metal door.

James came up beside Alex and put a hand on his shoulder. "What'll we do now?"

"What else is there to do?" A small voice came out of the corner. They looked back at Chloe, who had curled up in the corner, her knees to her chest. "It's all over. He's won and there's nothing we can do."

After exchanging glances with James, Alex walked over and took a spot beside her. "Chloe, can I ask a question?" He waited patiently.

She nodded slowly.

"What were you doing with that radio? It's a little suspicious, you know."

Suddenly she shoved her face into her hands. Her body began to shake with sobs. "I messed, Johnny." She wiped a way a long trail of tears before she continued. "My names not Chloe."

Both of the boys froze and stared at her harder. "What?" James squatted in the opposite corner.

"My names really Robin Harper. Chloe was my alias. I work with the CIA and they sent me here." She sniffed and wiped more tears away, "I thought this would be easy. The mission was to check things out and let the team know if anything...weird happened. I didn't think I'd mess up this badly. The radio was my only way of getting news back to the others and - it busted some how. I was trying to fix it."

They all sat in silence as Alex took in the information. All along he thought she had something to do with his being sent to Grace Royal Academy. He definitely didn't expect her to be on his side. The bad news was that he was back at square one.

"So that's why you were acting so weird." James finally spoke, breaking the silence. He was now sitting beside Robin, and hand on her knee. "I guess if anyone should have known that, it should have been you, Alex."

Robin's head snapped up and her eyes whipped over to Alex. "Alex? Whose Alex?"

James coughed loudly and he glanced sideways at Alex. "Sorry, it just sorta...slipped out."

"Would someone answer me, please? Who is Alex?" Her eyes shifted between the two.

What could he say? Anything he said about MI6 would surely start up some kind of problem. Anyway, he wasn't supposed to tell anyone. It was worse enough James knew.

Suddenly, James blurted out the one thing Alex hoped he wouldn't. "He's Alex. Alex Rider. He works for MI6. That is what it's called, isn't it?"

A wave of anxiety came over Alex as Robin stared at him even harder. There was no avoiding it now. "He's right."

"So, you're not Johnny?" She said quietly. "You were lying the whole time?"

He nodded quickly, trying to find a way out of the situation. " Yeah, but I had to. Just like you did. It's the only way I can be safe. At least, that's my opinion."

The tension was thick. She got to her feet suddenly, walking towards the barred door. Leaning against it, she looked back him. "I guess I shouldn't get upset. After all, I was doing the same thing. It's all part of the job, right." She looked down at the floor and dug the toe of her sneaker into a crack in the cement. "Well, I think now I can apologize for slamming the door into your face earlier. It's just...he said he'd kill you if I was ever seen talking to you again. Looks like all that was for nothing."

James looked up at ceiling before casting a worried look on Robin. "I'm sorry this happened. It's kinda my fault. You were only protecting us." He shook his head slowly, "I am such an idiot sometimes. I just blew everything and now we're all gonna get killed."

Remember, Alex, never use this unless you really to. You know, in case of an emergency.

The words came back to him suddenly, almost like a memory that wanted to make it's self known again. He slowly stood up and pulled his sneaker off. He felt stupid for forgetting why his shoes were a few centimeters taller then they needed to be. Smithers had place the knife into the left shoe. All he had to do was push the emblem on the side and...

A long blade slid quickly out of the heel. He looked it over and smiled to himself. Now all it had to do was cut through metal.

"Whoa! Where ahs that been hiding?" James carefully took the took out of Alex's hands. "That is absolutely amazing..."

Alex over at Robin to see what she thought. She was smiling too. "I guess you came more prepared then I did." She said.

Taking the shoe back from James, Alex went to the doors and placed the edge of the knife against the lock. He began sawing when James tapped him on the shoulder. "Are you sure that's gonna work? I mean, look how thin that is."

"Smithers said it was made out of some kind of reinforced metal. He promised that it could cut through anything. I just hope that his sense of humor is going to get us killed." He shrugged and began sawing again. Slowly, the blade began to cut deeper into the lock. Tiny shavings from the steel bars began dropping onto the floor.

000

After what felt like hours, the small blade slipped through the last bit of the lock. Alex looked down at thin little knife and was surprised that it was still sharp and dulled a little. He pressed the emblem on side and the knife slid quietly back into shoe. Quickly putting it back on his foot, Alex exchanged glances with James and Robin. He then wrapped his hands around the steel and pushed.

The door didn't put up much of a fight, as it swung open. Robin placed an arm around his shoulders and squeezed. James slammed a fist against his back.

Alex stepped out first, and look around. There was a long hall, lined with more prison like cells and an empty wall at one end. The other end was the metal door the mask figure had walked through.

James read his mind and went to test the door. His muscles tensed as he leaned all his weight against the door. After trying a minute, he turned back to the others and shrugged. "It's locked tight. There's gotta be another way."

"Let's split up. There might be another door around." Robin shrugged. "Though I doubt it from the looks of things."

000

there it is! i hope it fits what happened before. um, oh, and i have a pairing but i think people will be happy with it (shh...i'm not giving it away...it's a secret)

R&R!!