Too Close to Home --- Chapter 13

Oh God, it was only the first morning, the second day of having the drug in his system, and already Alex Rider wanted to die. He vowed to keep on going, if only so that he could get his own back at Gregorovich, Rothman and the rest of the Black Hawk Group once MI6 finally rescued him.

OOO

When the night surveillance team first heard the signal, they were sure that they had to be imagining it. In truth, none of the MI6 agents hoped that the boy might still be alive, let alone that he might be in a position to activate his transmitter.

But there it was, clear as could be. High-pitched, tonal beeps calling for the attention of the surveillance team.

Mr Sykes, an elderly agent with many years experience and old friend of Smithers, wasted no time in organising his team: computer technicians were sent to verify the authenticity of the signal and to trace its location, while field agents were sent to notify the Special Ops and to prepare for a rescue mission. And then Mr Sykes picked up the phone and alerted senior agents Blunt and Jones. He knew that this news would be of personal importance to them as the boy's direct superiors.

Alex's signal turned out to be coming from a warehouse in an industrial estate near Guildford – only an hour away!

Less than fifteen minutes after the signal was first heard, the night surveillance team was briefing the Special Ops.

Less than fifteen minutes after that, a full assault team was ready to go to Guilford. Snipers, task force, helicopters and vans; it seemed that half of MI6 was on its way to rescue Alex Rider.

OOO

Alex was not aware of the approaching rescue teams currently speeding towards him down the M25 and flying towards him over Surrey. His world had long been reduced to a haze of pain.

It had been three days since he was first been poisoned, and it was very clear that his metabolism was reacting very badly to the drug. Rothman still forced him to take part in the tests, but it was a losing battle. There was no way Alex could even think straight, so fighting was out of the question. He'd failed all the tests, one after the after, leaving him feeling drained and upset … and not just a little hurt. It didn't seem very fair to be put through this after he'd agreed to go along with Gregorovich's plan.

One of Alex's last rational thoughts before giving in to the burning cramps in his abdomen and slipping into unconsciousness was that he couldn't wait to get that bastard Yassen Gregorovich back by betraying him to MI6. The grim satisfaction of that thought helped Alex to keep the will to live.

OOO

"Is he alive?" Tulip Jones wanted to know.

"He's alive, but he's in pretty bad shape. Looks like he's been through a rough time. And completely delirious too. Keeps calling me 'Tom' for some reason."

"But he'll live?"

The man at the other end of the pone hesitated for a moment, before responding, "I daresay he'll pull through. Soon as we identify whatever they pumped into him we'll be able to work against it."

"Any idea how he managed to activate his mobile phone transmitter?"

"I think the Black Hawk Group might have got a little careless. They clearly underestimated him and let him get too near his gadget. We had to shoot two guards to get at the boy, but apart from that it was almost too easy."

Mrs Jones smiled. They had Alex back. And he'd once against proved his strength as an agent. She also felt very relieved. After the fiasco in the school, she'd feared that the Black Hawk Group wouldn't give Alex a second chance. Like most others, she'd already thought him dead. It had, after all, been over ten days since his abduction. A memorial had already been planned at the school – Alex was to receive a special mention for bravery after the memorial for the Black Hawk Group's schoolchildren victims.

"I'll be at the hospital in a few hours. We have to debrief him before anyone else can see him! If possible, get them to keep him under until we get there."

"Roger that. We'll have guards everywhere. There's no way they're getting this boy back. Not after what happened with Scorpia last time!"

Mrs Jones smiled again. She couldn't wait to tell Alan the good news! She would also have to tell Jack Starbright of course, but that could wait until after the debriefing. National security was always her top priority. It wasn't like an extra day or two would change anything in Strabright's life – she was already in mourning any way.

Even though it was the middle of the night, Mrs Jones made her way to the Royal and General offices – several of the Special Ops agents had been sent there to be debriefed about the rescue mission. A sample of Alex's blood had also been taken to the MI6 headquarters in order for a specialised laboratory team to work on identifying the poison and work on an antidote.

Several hours later, Mrs Jones was entering Alex's hospital room with Alan Blunt. She stopped in shock at the sight of Alex's bruises – his entire face was blue and mottled, like he'd just spent a few days in a boxing ring. His eyes were closed, but he was conscious.

At the sound of newcomers, Alex opened his eyes and looked up. It took his eyes a moment to focus, but finally he recognised his MI6 bosses. He allowed himself to slump with relief. He'd done it. He'd made it out of the clutches of the villains and back into the camp of the good guys. Alive.

"Can't say I'm sorry to see you for once," he joked weakly.

"How you feeling?"

Alex shuddered. "I think they pumped me full of some painkillers or something, but I still feeling like throwing up every time I move."

"We identified a poison in your blood stream, Alex. Now don't worry; you're going to be fine, but it might take a few days for it to clear you system."

Alex wanted to explain that he already knew about the poison. He even knew it was Yew-based, but Blunt cut him off. "You were very lucky, you know. But I don't really believe in luck. Any idea why they kept you alive?"

Alex had prepared this speech. He was going to tell them everything from Gregorovich's mistaken beliefs about John Rider's loyalty to Scorpia to his plans to turn Alex into a traitor. But before he could even start, he was again interrupted, this times by Mrs Jones.

"No matter why they kept you alive – I don't really want to think about what they were hoping to achieve. Most likely they wanted to use you as a bargaining chip with us. I presume they found out about your association with MI6 or they would have killed you earlier. But the most important is that you are fine. The doctors think you'll be out and about in about two weeks. Good as new and ready to go! And that coincides well with school half term. There are a few cases we have running at the moment that could use your expertise."

Alex frowned, "You want me to take on a new mission?"

"Oh, it won't be anything dangerous, I assure you. Just some routine groundwork. You know the drill; people underestimate you because you're a kid, so you can slip in unnoticed. Just like now. The Black Hawk Group would never have taken the chance of letting you live if you'd been any older."

Alex knew he should tell them all he had learnt about the Black Hawk Group, but somehow he couldn't get his mouth to work. He felt too angry at both Blunt and Jones for assuming he'd be willing to take on another mission – so soon!

When you thought about it, the only people who truly underestimated him were MI6. Not only that, but they wanted to send him straight back on a dangerous mission – and he knew it would be dangerous, whatever they said now – when he was still so battered from the past two weeks that he didn't feel like he'd ever be able to move normally again.

He'd tell them about Gregorovich's plans later, he decided. And while he was at it, he'd let them know exactly what he thought of their little games. He didn't want to be taken advantage of any longer. At least Gregorovich didn't underrate him. On the contrary, Gregorovich had trusted Alex not only with information about the Black Hawk Group – its locations, agents, long-term goals and surveillance methods; but also with a task of direct importance.

To Gregorovich, it would actually make a difference if Alex lived or die.

To MI6, his death would merely be an inconvenience …

Those two facts in themselves made Alex fear for his future. He knew the time was not far off that he would have to make a decision about who to trust ... and who to work for. In the meantime, he was safe. He was with the good guys. He would be looked after. He—

With a small sigh, Alex let himself fall back on the pillow. MI6 had messed up his life. Leaking a small amount of innocuous information back to Gregorovich would keep his options open until the time came when he felt ready to commit to either one or the other cause.

The End