Prologue

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Alex Rider kicked the ball in Tom Harris' direction. The black haired boy stopped the ball with ease and proceeded towards the goal post. Dancing around the other team's defense, he managed to fool the goalie and score. Tom and Alex nodded at each other before running forward to take the ball away from the other team.

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"That was a great game," Tom exclaimed while he and Alex were making their way home.

"Yeah," Alex agreed.

He kept running his fingers to the left of his heart in attempt to ease the pain that had formed around his relatively fresh bullet wound. Tom looked at him with concerned eyes but knew Alex did not want to talk about it.

"Do you want to come in?" Alex asked Tom when they were standing in front of his home.

"No, I think I'll head home."

With a shrug Alex waved his friend good bye and entered his house to find Jack sitting at the kitchen table, accompanied by Tulip Jones and two other MI6 agents.

"What do you want?"

"Alex, have you noticed anything strange going on?" Tulip Jones went straight to the point.

"You mean besides finding the deputy of MI6 at my kitchen table?"

"This is serious Alex."

It wasn't Mrs. Jones who spoke but Jack Starbright. Alex stared at her with a raise eyebrow.

"Scorpia," was all she said.

"You said you convinced them to leave me alone," accused Alex.

Mrs. Jones gave a simple reply, "Unfortunately Scorpia can't always be trusted."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you need to disappear."

Alex looked at Jack as if expecting her say it was joke but she didn't. Instead she refused to meet his gaze.

"When do we leave?"

"Right now," Jones said.

Alex wanted to scream, but instead he made his way toward the stairs only to be stopped by Jacks voice, "I already packed some clothes for you."

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They left in a black sedan that had arrived shortly after Alex entered his house. The ride was uncomfortably quiet until a massive boom was heard. Alex turned to see smoke rise from what was his home for over fourteen years

R&R