-- Authors Note --

Hey! Back again! Before I start The Dirty Game, sequel to Dirty Little Secret I would just like to address a few reviews that I have gotten for Dirty Little Secret. Okay, so first, sorry if any of my mannerisms or phrases are not correct for a story that takes place in London. But, come on! I live in America! I know it would help but I'm not going to research. So, you know, bear with me, give me tips if you feel that strongly about it. You can't just expect me to know something like that; I've never even been to London! And only two people (I think) said something about it so it can't be that big of a deal to most of you. And also, my using 'than' instead of 'then'… whoops. Keep in mind that I am only fourteen but I know I should do that kind of stuff right and know how to use those words correctly and all but I type really fast and I often miss words or phrases or type the right word but the wrong form and I can't be bothered with serious editing. I have gotten better since I started this story though. If you still don't like it then whatever, it's not my problem. Either you can bypass a few errors in my writing or you can just not read my stories. Whichever you prefer.

ANYWAYS, here's the story, I was just tempted to start it. This first chapter may be a bit short but at least it's up. And no worries, Triple Threat will be updated ASAP. Hope you enjoy this chapter, this story will be a step up from DLS… I hope. This chapter and the ones to follow will hopefully redeem myself from the bad chapters at the end of DLS. SO, here it is. Enjoy! Review!

-Steph

Disclaimer: Me? Anthony Horowitz? Ha-ha, that's funny. First, my name's Steph and I'm only 14 and I'm a girl and… oh yeah, I live in the good 'ol U.S.A. No connection to Anthony Horowitz whatsoever. Second, I'm no where near as good a writer as him, I'm just doing this for fun.

The Dirty Game

Chapter One—The Mission

Then:

Blunt cleared his throat and shuffled his papers around.

"Did you need me for something?" I knew that I was stating the obvious, but I felt that they needed some prompting and urging in the right direction before they started talking. I had no doubt that they wanted to use me for another mission now. I waited patiently for one of them to start talking.

"Well, Urie," Blunt began, "you have worked for us for four years and you have contributed more to MI6 then many of our other older and more experienced agents. You've saved the world, as clichéd as it sounds, more times then Superman. MI6 relies greatly on your services. In these past four years you have done several jobs for us, not terribly difficult of dangerous but, now we have something bigger to ask of you. Urie, we have another mission for you…"

Now:

"You do," I said it more of a statement then a question. I couldn't say I was terribly surprised with the turn of events. It wasn't even really a turn of events. This was what I knew was coming the whole time.

"Yes, indeed we do," Blunt folded his hands on the glossy table top and looked me directly in the eye. I'd be lying if I said that that did not make me feel uncomfortable. Those gray eyes were so lifeless and… boring.

"And what would this mission entail?" I tried to get them straight to the point. I'd rather not spend the whole of a sunny afternoon in a stuffy, way too air-conditioned office.

"It will be… difficult," Blunt began severely, "for many different reasons. The mission will be the least of your troubles. It will be the setting in which it occurs and the… distractions that you may find there."

I wasn't to keen on what Blunt was saying, it almost sounded as though he felt I could not do whatever this new mission would ask of me.

"But," Blunt continued, I looked back up at him; apparently he wasn't done just yet, "through all the difficulties we, Mrs. Jones and I, still believe you to be the best agent to successfully complete this mission in an admirable way."

"Why would I be the best for the job?" Now I was curious.

"Well," Blunt began, "the setting will be more familiar to you then to anyone else," I should have seen it there but I didn't.

"And my age plays no factor?" I questioned dubiously.

"Your age is important in this mission too. It will help you fit in where you are going." Of course, it was always about my age in the end. "But," Blunt continued, "if you do not feel up to it then we understand and will find another agent to help us."

I almost snorted in amusement, sure they'd let me off that easily. Maybe the day a pig flew by Blunt's London office window. My laughter then dissipated. "I can do it," I said firmly. I basically just agreed to whatever they were asking of me. "I've escaped Scorpia twice now alive," though just barely the second time but I did not feel the need to point that out.

"We are well aware of that fact, Urie," Blunt said. "This mission will be no where near the extent of which the Scorpia mission rose too." He didn't sound quite so sure about his words.

"Will it involve Scorpia?" I immediately questioned.

Blunt glanced at Mrs. Jones quickly before replying. "As of this point in time," he began, "we are confident in telling you that no, Scorpia is not involved. We do, however, not know what the situation will morph into in a space of time. We hope it does not get more serious then it already is, that is why we would like to send you in immediately. We have already secured a place for you there," Blunt threw in the little piece of information.

My eyes narrowed suspiciously. He couldn't be implying what I thought he was.

Distractions that you may find there… The setting will be more familiar to you then to anyone else… It will help you fit in where you are going… Secured a place for you.

"You're not…"

"We're sending you to London."

"To London," I repeated, feeling no emotion whatsoever at Blunt's rather blunt words. "You're sending me to London." London was a big place, maybe it wasn't what I was thinking… only one way to find out: "Where in London exactly would I be?" I asked in a tight voice.

"You would be attending Brookland Prep."

And there it was.

I didn't understand. After everything they had done to get me away now they wanted me to go back, exactly to where the root of my troubles had begun. Sometimes I just did not understand the way that man's mind worked. I'm not sure I'd care to know either.

"And it wouldn't be at all suspicious when I show up out of the blue four years after everything that happened," I reasoned sarcastically.

"You're exactly right." See? I was right about Blunt and his mind; obviously it was not working right.

"Pardon?" I blinked.

"It will not be suspicious because no one will know that it is Alex Rider," Blunt explained. The use of my given name startled me a moment, I hadn't heard it in so long. I let it pass.

"My friends will still be there," I reminded him. "It's all of ours last year."

"I know. But, as I just said, you will not be going there as Alex Rider," there it was again, my old name. "You will be going as Urie Ross," and there it was, my new name, my name of the past four years.

"They will recognize me," I promised him. I still looked the same, same eye color, same hair color. My skin was a little tanner from the constant sun, I was a little taller and more muscled from playing soccer 24/7 and my hair was longer but I was still me and surely my friends would see that.

"Disguises, my boy," Blunt reminded me patiently.

"You're not shaving my head again," I warned him. It had taken far to long to grow my hair to the length it was now for them to shave it all off in a minute. I was not looking to repeat my experiences preparing for Point Blanc Academy. No thank you.

"There are ways to disguise you without cutting your hair off," Mrs. Jones said in a kind voice. The twinkle in her eyes suggested that she knew my reasoning for keeping my hair. "You look a bit different as it is, you're taller, tanner and more muscled," exactly, "so maybe hair dye and contacts would do the trick."

Well I could deal with hair dye and contacts.

Mrs. Jones eyed me, as if contemplating the way she wanted to disguise me. "Maybe… dark hair and hazel eyes." I didn't quite go for that idea and Mrs. Jones caught my look. "No?" She looked lost in thought for a second, she was sucking on her peppermint and it made a cracking noise, she'd bitten a little piece off of the edge. "Although," she taped her he pointer finger against her chin, "your hair has gotten remarkably lighter from the sun." She was right, my hair that used to be light brown was now more of a color that wasn't quite blonde but lighter then dirty blonde. It was kind of an in-between and it didn't look that bad. "Maybe," my attention snapped back to Mrs. Jones as she started speaking again, "keep the hair the color it is and… light green eyes."

"Um… sure," I agreed hesitatingly. I was still doubtful though. "They'll recognize me," I warned her once again.

"You will not be recognized by anyone, Urie," Blunt said firmly.

"I'm so sure about that fact."

"So it's settled then," Mrs. Jones cut in, obviously trying to steer the conversation away from the path that it was visibly taking. They couldn't have me walking away from this big mission. "We'll get the green contacts and you'll be in London within the week. Now on to someth—"

"Whoa, hold on," I interrupted her, raising my hand to ensure that she got my message loud and clear. "Within the week?" I echoed. "Isn't that a bit soon?" I wondered.

"Not at all," Blunt said. "The sooner we get you in then the sooner this whole thing will be solved and blown over. It's only bound to get worse if we wait for an extended amount of time," he reasoned.

"Do I get to know what this mission is or not?" They'd never prolonged telling me the mission for this long before. I was beginning to wonder whether or not this mission was going to be as "safe" and "easy" as they claimed.

It was silent for a moment. I wondered whether or not they had actually been planning on telling me today. Better to wait until I had already agreed to tell me that the mission actually entailed.

"Well," Blunt began, rearranging the papers in front of him on the desk, "it is quite complicated."

"But not dangerous," I reminded him.

"Now I never said it was not dangerous," Blunt admitted. "I said that it the mission would not be your only worry."

"So it is dangerous."

"You will not be in nearly the amount of danger as you were in with Scorpia."

"Could I ever be?" I wondered aloud.

"Nothing in the business can be known for sure," Blunt said.

"So do I get to know what I will be doing or would you rather not tell me until I am already in London?" I questioned sarcastically.

"In due time you will know everything, Urie," Blunt said, not really patiently.

"How long will I be in London?" I asked.

"We are not yet sure," Blunt replied.

"How will you explain my absence here?" I wanted to know next.

"You are visiting your ailing Grandmother," Blunt said quickly.

"Who am I traveling with?" I was growing curious now.

"You will be staying in a house."

"Well isn't that specific? Who with?"

"Two of our elder agents who will cover as your mother and father."

"Will they work with me?"

"Only if necessary."

"What about my real family? Mom and dad and Ian and everyone?"

"They will all remain behind and go about life as usual. They are not fit to travel with you."

"Will they know where and what I am doing?"

"They will know that you are in London working for us. That is all they will need."

"If I am visiting my 'ailing Grandmother' then shouldn't they all be along too?" I felt that the air quotes used around 'ailing Grandmother' were much needed.

Blunt kept steady, not allowing me to blow any holes is his 'plan'. "You're Grandmother is not dying. She merely tripped down the stairs one day and broke her leg. You offered to help her out until she was able to take care of herself once again."

"And my Grandfather?"

"Your Grandfather passed away from a heart attack last year."

"And what do the people at Brookland think? Do they know that it is me?" I switched gears a bit.

"They will not know who you truly are," Blunt assured me. "There is no need to worry them with all of this."

"Should they not be worried?" I asked curiously. Of course it had to be something they would worry over. Anything that I get sent in to is a situation to worry over.

"They would likely worry a lot if they were to know what you, the teenage spy they know as Alex Rider, were doing there."

"So who do they think I am?"

"They believe you to be Urie Ross, an American boy who has moved to London with his mother and father because his father was offered a job at the hospital there."

"My father is a doctor?"

"A very successful surgeon," Blunt clarified.

"Ah," I said thoughtfully. "And what about when I leave so suddenly?"

"Life in London did not suit you and your parents well. You miss the constant sun and warmth you find in Arizona. Your father took his job back at the Mayo Clinic and you, along with your mother, decided to move back with him."

"And what happens if someone does recognize me?"

"You will not be recognized," Blunt said firmly. "And if on the off chance that you are then you will deny all accusations. You are Urie Ross and have never heard of an Alex Rider. You are American and have never lived a day of your life in London."

"My accent?" I questioned dubiously. My English accent still remained, as it would always. I had been encouraged to take use of it when I first got here to make my story sound more convincing.

"Cover it up. You have been trained to be able to adopt any accent needed from you Urie," Blunt reminded me with a sigh. "Please use an American accent when you arrive in London."

"Will do," I said, putting on my very best impression of an American accent.

"Very good, Urie," Mrs. Jones praised me, "that will pass very well indeed."

"Fine," I said. "You think I'm ready for this? I haven't been on a mission in a while," I said doubtfully.

"Urie, you just arrived back from training. You will do fine. And we have a small, 'warm-up' mission I guess you could call it, to prepare you for London."

I eyed Blunt cautiously. "What do you want me to do?"

"It is perfectly safe with a very slim threat of danger. Any danger that you encounter will not be life threatening. You should not even be in danger at all," Mrs. Jones assured me.

"What am I doing?" I asked again.

"You will go to California tomorrow," Blunt said, "after school of course," he added. "It will be a very quick and easy mission just to get you back into the swing of it again. There is a very… how do I put this? Successful drug dealer in one of the cities. All we need is for you to gather proof that this man is who we think he is and our other operatives will take it from there."

"Which city?"

"I can't quite remember the name." Well that's a first, Blunt.

"And you don't think that I can stop this guy?"

"You are leaving for London and I do not have time to have you resolve this and be in London by your scheduled time."

"When am I leaving?"

"Three days," Blunt said, checking a paper that had just rolled off of the fax machine. "Your flight has just been confirmed."

"Wonderful." I paused. "You do know that there are bound to be tons of drug dealers in the city, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why do you have to stop this one?"

"This one is a bit different from all of the others." Blunt would not elaborate on that claim and I didn't push it.

"How am I supposed to know who he is?"

"Urie, dear boy, we are not so naive. We have photos."

"Tell me again why you need me for this particular mission. Just send the others in to handle it," I shrugged, not really seeing the point to it all. "You seem to have it all figured out already."

"You are wrong about that, Urie," Blunt informed me. "This particular dealer sells only to children. If an adult approached him then he will surely cover himself and whatever he has on his person at that time. He's not a stupid man," Blunt said, "he's lasted ten years in the business and he just keeps getting better."

"So what do I do?" I asked the question even though I already knew the answer to it.

Blunt eyed me. "You will pass as young enough to have this man work with you," he said. "Now, this man, Damien his name is, will only talk to you, or sell to you, by appointment only. We have secured you an appointment with him tomorrow at six thirty on the beach. You will buy something from him, you are looking for some pot I believe it is," Blunt looked to Mrs. Jones for conformation. Mrs. Jones nodded her head. Blunt looked back at me. "You will then set a meeting date, place and time with his for the following week. You, however, will not attend, he will show at the meeting place with his usual stuff and MI6 will take him in."

"That's all I have to do?" I questioned skeptically.

"That's all you have to do," Blunt confirmed.

"And what makes this one dealer so special?" I wondered again.

"The details are of no major concern to you, Urie," Blunt said. "All you have to do is meet with Damien, buy your pot and set a meeting for the next week. See? Simple. No worries, you'll be out of there in a few hours."

"What does he look like?" I sighed.

Blunt pulled a picture out of the folder that sat on the table next to him. He slid it across the table to me. I straightened it in front of me. It was a close up picture of a man's face but, judging by the man's, Damien's, expression he was not aware that he was being photographed. He was young, no more thirty-two, I was sure. His face was slim. He had dark hair and dark eyes. There were several piercing in one of his ears. He didn't look evil, that much was for sure.

"He doesn't look so bad," I admitted aloud, still keeping my eyes on the picture, taking in every detail.

"It's all apart of his cover," Blunt said.

I didn't say anything else on the matter. I kept looking at the picture, making sure to memorize every detail about Damien. I only looked up when I felt someone looking at the picture from over my shoulder. I instinctively put a hand over the picture to cover it. I looked up and saw that it was just Wolf.

Wolf grinned. "No need to hide it from me, Cub," he joked. "I'm a good guy too you know."

I ignored Wolf's teasing comments because the sight of him brought another question to mind. Wolf would not have been aloud to stay in the briefing room had he not had a part to play in this whole mission thing. Out of the two missions I had a feeling that I knew which one he was apart of.

"He's apart of it, isn't he?" I asked, turning back to Blunt and Mrs. Jones. "In the whole London mission, he's apart of it."

"Right you are, Cub," Wolf replied before Blunt or Mrs. Jones could.

"What's he going to be doing there?" This question was clearly directed to Blunt and Mrs. Jones.

"Wolf has been secured a teaching position at Brookland Prep," Blunt said.

My mouth dropped open. I looked over at Wolf, he just shrugged. I turned back to Mrs. Jones and Blunt. "Again? That didn't go so well the last time." I couldn't help the small smile that passed across my lips as I thought about the one gym class that I had had with Wolf. "He's not teaching gym, is he?" I couldn't help but ask. "Cuz' he didn't do so good with that one last time."

"Just remember who was sitting on whom, Cub," Wolf mocked me.

I made a face at Wolf before verbalizing my next question. Or at least I tried to. I only got so far as opening my mouth before Wolf cut me off.

"Don't worry, Cub," he began with, "I will have a disguise too. No one will recognize me either," he assured me.

"What's your name this time… Mr. Meckovac?" I snorted.

"It's actually Mackovic," Wolf informed me. "But no, I will not use the same name. This ti.me I am a Mr. Donavon." Wolf wrinkled his nose the slightest bit, apparently he was not overly fond of his new name.

I grinned at Wolf. "What are you going to try your hand at teaching now?"

Wolf flashed me a grin. "I will be a German teacher," he announced.

I couldn't contain the laugh the erupted from me. Wolf looked only slightly miffed at my laughter, I suppose he too could see how funny the picture of him teaching was too create.

"Don't laugh too much now," he warned me. I glanced at him and my laughter ceased. That glint was back into his eyes, nothing good ever came from that glint. "I believe that you, my young Cub, are a student in my class, double periods too." Now Wolf laughed.

"Well that will be interesting," I laughed a little too.

"Do you have anymore questions, Urie?" Blunt's bleak voice broke through our laughter. I stopped laughing and faced him and Mrs. Jones once again.

"I do have one," I admitted. Blunt raised his gray eyebrows. "Why is Wolf going to be there? I mean I guess I understand why but I thought that I wasn't receiving any outside help and all," I recalled what he had told me previously about my "parents".

Blunt weighed his words before continuing. "Well, you are the primary component in this mission," he began. "However, after seeing how well the two of you worked together in training and on the last mission I feel as though it would be wise for Wolf to be along with you. You will need help and I feel that you will be more open about it with someone you are more comfortable with."

"Alright."

"Anymore questions?"

"No," I said. "I'm just still wondering what exactly the London mission entails," I tried once again to get an answer from them.

"Do not concern yourself with the details just yet," Blunt advised me. "For the time being focus your efforts on tomorrow's task. Everything else will be explained in time, in due time."

"Fine," I sighed. I wanted to know what they were having me do this time.

"Now, if that is all you two gentlemen may be dismissed," Blunt excused Wolf and me.

I followed Wolf out of the air-conditioned office building and back out into the hot air.

Wolf turned to me and said, "Not that this whole little get together hasn't been a blast and all but I have things to take care of."

"Alright, see ya later, Wolf."

"Adios… or should I say, gut tschüs, Cub."

I laughed at Wolf and his German. "Have fun planning your lessons, Wolf!" I called back as I started to walk off in the direction that I knew would take me home.

"Have fun with your drug dealer, Cub!" Wolf called back.

I laughed as I loped off down the empty street. While I ran I couldn't help but wonder just what I had gotten myself into this time.

a/n: Good? Bad? Horrible? I hope it was okay. I didn't say what the London mission entailed because I honestly have no idea. Well, I'll update Triple Threat ASAP for anyone reading it and… yeah. Hope the chapter was up to your standards! Review! -Steph