Needless to say, Beckman was not happy at all. Here she was being loan one of Britain's top assets, and he was kidnapped under her very nose. Reporting this to Joe Byrne, head of the CIA, had only served to create more tension between the NSA and CIA. Damn that Rider child.

Beckman still was appalled at the tone and way Rider used to speak with her at Castle the first time that she had met him. Byrne had warned her that the agent would be young, but she would never have guessed that a teenager would be one of the best MI6 agents out in the field. Not to mention, she wanted a spy who knew his place—like the army, where good soldiers didn't question orders and simply did as they were told. Instead of a willing and obedient teenage agent, Beckman got a teenager full of attitude and authority problems.

The General sighed. Even though she was not a fan of Agent Rider, she couldn't deny his results. And that's why she fought against her gut instinct of sending the rude child back to the states and figuring out another way to gather information, she didn't. It would only serve to offend MI6, and they were prideful enough as is.

Cursing colorfully, she checked in with Agent John Casey was shocked to her some good news—Chuck, the intersect had been found. Of course, good, positive new like that always came with a price—the bad news. The frustrating and devastating news that Alex Rider was still missing and most likely still Volkoff's prisoner. Unless of course the man got tired of the brat's cutting remarks and insults and kill the boy. But Beckman was going to be optimistic and not think nor dwell on that particular scenario.

General Beckman took a sip of her coffee, wishing she had something stronger—like scotch. Or whiskey. Or anything that would help her get her mind off this terrible awful mess she found herself in. As she drained her cup, she prayed to god that Rider and Volkoff were found soon.

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Volkoff liked to play games. That's what Casey had deduced. The madmen enjoyed toying with them, watching them spin around in circles as they attempted to find Alex. He and Sarah had knocked out henchmen at every turn, as the Intersect and two seasoned agents scurried around in the maze-like facility.

"Walker—got anything?" Casey asked for what felt like the hundredth time. Sarah shook her head in the negative, a frown on her face. Chuck too, sported a depressed look on his face. Casey was sure that his expression was a mirror of Chuck's, even though the senior agent was desperately trying to hide his worry.

"He has to have left his something!" Chuck cried out, slamming his fist into the wall, the wincing with the pain that he received from his action. "Volkoff's too crazy not to have some insane reason and plan in place!"

"How right you are Charles," a British voice echoed through the halls. "This is my game. A labyrinth for the spies, if you will. I got the idea after finding out a little bit of the organization calling themselves Perseus. That's the image I showed you Charles, I'm afraid I need the information that the NSA and CIA have on them before I act. You know how I detest not knowing everything. And, well, since you wouldn't talk, I'm giving you some incentive. I have your spy child here with me; neither he nor I am impressed with your attempts to find him so far, but perhaps if you know the stakes, you'll be the spies Alex needs."

Casey cursed under his breath and clenched his hands tightly into fists, ready to beat Volkoff so he never had to hear the man's voice again.

"So while you enjoy the challenges I've cooked up, borrow a similar idea from Perseus, know that Alex will be handed over to SCORPIA if you don't save him. And just so we're clear—they want to torture and kill him as slowly and painfully as possible. I hear it's one of the most heartbreaking things in the world, to hear a child scream. I'll make sure I record it so you hear every howl. Goodbye now, agents."

Silence encompassed the three shell-shocked adults; it was finally broken with a string of loud explicatives from Casey. Sarah was muttering some very unladylike things under her breath and Chuck had one of the most vicious looks he'd ever had on his face.

Wordlessly, the three agents returned to their search with even more vigor than before.

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Alex listened to each work Volkoff spoke, his hatred for the man only growing as he watched the change in expressions of Sarah, John, and Chuck as Volkoff's speech went on. Alex admitted to himself that he was terrified—he did not want to fall back into SCORPIA's hands. He knew that he'd wind up dead; with the trouble he had caused the organization he wouldn't be surprised if they mailed his head to Blunt, just to rub it in the Head of MI6's face. Alex shuddered, refusing to think about dying. He was getting out of this madhouse. Alive. Back to Jack. And Tom. He would make it out of here alive and only slightly bruised—then he would help Casey, Sarah, and Chuck capture Volkoff. He would not lead the older agents to their death. He was not giving up.

The entire time Alex had been bound in the room, he had been trying to figure a way to escape. Eyes narrowing and a semi-solid idea springing to mind, Alex allowed a half-grin to creep across his face. The smirk only widened when he heard Chuck's voice through the cameras Volkoff planted everywhere in the building.

"Casey! Sarah!" the Intersect called elatedly, "I think I found something!"

I am so so so so sorry for the amount of time it has taken me to finally upload/work on this story. I hope you can forgive me and hopefully you enjoyed this chapter.

please review! thanks :)