The Mistake.

Chapter One.

Alex Rider sighed and stretched out across the towel he was resting on, a yawn escaping him. He was on a small vacation in the South of France with Sabina Pleasure's family. He breathed in the fresh sea-salt air and closed his eyes; the sun beating down on his topless form. He could very clearly recall what had happened a month ago. Being caught by Sarov and his men; just barely managing to survive Conrad's vicious assault after he'd gotten out of the handcuffs strapping him to a metal post; then finally watching Sarov shoot himself in the head. After that, Sabina had shown up when he was taking a walk back in London, and had invited him to go on a vacation with her family.

They'd only been here for a few days and already he felt completely relaxed and at ease. He frowned for a moment after that thought. But for the past couple of hours he'd been replaying what happened in Skeleton Key and then in Murmansk in his head. His face twisted into a grimace before he sat up, removing a pair of black sunglasses from his eyes.

Out of the corner of his eye, Alex could see yachts pulling up to the dock, and people otherwise running around doing errands. He yawned again, glancing beside him to Sabina Pleasure, who was engrossed in her book. 'The Lord of the Rings' was embosomed in large bold letters on the cover, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"I'm going to go get a coke and take a walk or something. Need anything while I'm gone?" Alex asked, watching as the 15-year-old shook her head, waving her water bottle in the air. Taking it as a 'no', he got up to his feet, snatching his navy blue shirt from the ground before pulling it on. "I'll be back in a few."

Alex walked off, leaving Sabina to lie there in the sun, still reading her book. He passed through the small town, idly scanning the shop signs before he stopped at a small café. Sitting at one of the tables, he asked the waiter for a glass of coke, handing him the appropriate amount of change. The waiter quickly returned with the soda, a plastic straw sticking out from the dark liquid. With a sigh, he stirred the ice chips around in his drink with the straw, staring off in front of him, once again managing to drag himself back into his rather morbid thoughts.

Unknown to Alex, he was being watched by a pair of cold blue eyes. The male they belonged to stayed hidden inside the small restaurant, placing a cell phone back in his pocket. A flicker of curiosity was only faintly noticeable in his gaze before a small smirk slid across his lips and he slowly, silently, made his way over to where Alex was sitting.

Alex was still rather oblivious, stirring his drink in small circles with the straw, taking small sips of the dark liquid in the glass. So he didn't pay much attention when someone leaned over him.

"Can I get you another drink?" a husky, accented voice asked.

Absentmindedly, Alex shook his head and answered back in flawless French, "No, thank you." It only took him a few seconds after that to realize that the male hadn't asked him in French, which was decidedly odd for a waiter. In fact…Alex's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, his muscles stiffening slightly as his nervousness rose… The male behind him sounded rather…familiar. But he couldn't place where he'd heard the voice before.

Before Alex could so much as open his mouth, he felt the cold unforgiving metal of a gun held to the back of his neck. His eyes widened a little, before he forced himself to relax, trying to get a glance of the male behind him from the corner of his eye. Why does this always happen to me? Alex mused as he felt a hand grab the collar of his shirt and, almost gently, lift him out of his seat. He still couldn't place the voice to a face in his memory, and it was really beginning to frustrate him.

Usually in a situation where he had a gun pointing at the back of his neck, he'd stay silent. However, he was far to frustrated with his memory, and himself, to care. "Who the hell are you and what do you want?" He snapped, though he had the brain power to keep it in a hissed whisper.

The male behind him let out an almost familiar chuckle before he got a whispered answer in his ear, his back being pulled back against the male's chest. "Really Alex…I'm truly hurt that you don't remember me," the accented voice all but purred in his ear.

Alex grimaced faintly, just a faint twitching of his cheekbones.

"As to what I want," the voice continued, amusement seeping into the male's voice. "Well… I thought that would be obvious."

Alex's eyes narrowed. "Well, it's not," he snapped once again, his voice low and sounding decidedly like he was growling out the answer.

A small pat on the head was the only answer he got in return as he was lead away from the café. The gun was obviously concealed by something and did in fact only look like the male had a hand against the back of his head; in an almost fatherly gesture. He bit his lower lip harshly, not managing to break the skin, but the added pain somehow helped clear his muddled thoughts.

Okay, so he was with some stranger, being lead through town with a gun pointing at the back of his head. Second point… The man somehow knew who he was, as he remembered his name being mentioned. Who the male was, was still a complete mystery to Alex, other then the fact that his voice sounded vaguely familiar. And Alex still had no idea what the guy wanted with him. He sighed faintly, inwardly groaning. This is so screwed up.

I know people who are reading this are probably ready to throw knives at me. If not for the fact that I've once again started a new fic', then for the fact that I left it at a cliffy. Sorry! But think of it this way… Give me at least five reviews and I'll start on and update the next chapter.

R&R.