Lady Luck

Alex Rider screamed.

It wasn't a normal scream, this one was vibrating with agony and pain, making his voice sound hoarse.

He shivered, as he saw the man he ceased to understand bring the whip down once more and tried helplessly to shield his open wounds from any further damage. But since he was handcuffed to a wooden chair, it didn't work.

Another wave of spasm hit him, as his skin was ripped open, allowing more blood to flow down his broken body. Eventually, the liquid dropped to the ground and formed a puddle.

Alex looked at it to figure out what it meant, but he felt dizzy and couldn't keep track of a single thought.

Pain was all over his clouded mind.

The man laughed insanely as he watched the desperate expression on the boy's face.

To him, torturing was fun, especially since his prisoner was Alex Rider.

The boy himself had been in captivity for at least two months. Although he soon began to start escaping attempts, he had never had any chance to flee from the beginning. It only resulted in more severe punishment.

And this time it would hurt like hell.

The man smiled at Alex, provoking him to glare.

He would not die. MI6 would find him fast enough to save his life…he hoped.

"Well Alex" the man spat at him. "I'm sure you want to test out something new, don't you?"

"No thanks, Dr. Three" he croaked. "I think I must reject."

The Asian's face turned into a mischievous grin while he took out something that looked like a child's toy.

But Alex knew better. The doctor was evil and dangerous. Nothing compared to a kid's innocence. No, nothing like a kid at all.

"This is my latest development. And trust me, you will be the first to try it out!"

Suddenly, he jumped forward and connected it to a fresh gash on Alex' chest. Then, he pushed a button, grinning even wider with excitement.

Electricity flew through the boy's veins, shocked him with hundreds of volt and made him shake violently.

Then, just when Alex thought, he couldn't endure it any longer, it stopped.

Breathing heavily, he sat on the chair and wondered if death was finally greeting him.

It wasn't. At least not yet. The only one welcoming him 'warmly' was a stoic guard pulling him on his feet.

He hadn't even noticed the Asian calling him. But he did notice, as a matter of fact, his legs buckling and eventually giving out below him.

Alex fell to the ground half-dead. He didn't move.

Hastily, someone fumbled for a pulse and pulled the boy up once more after finding one. Very weak, that is, but still there.

This time, the guard slung Alex' arm around his neck in order to support him.

The walk was seemingly endless and the walls were everything but flying by.

But when they had reached the tiny cell, 'home sweet home', as Alex mentally put it, the guard wordlessly punched the spy once more and left him.

To die? To rot? It didn't matter. It was the same all along.

Alex sighed, trying to ignore the pain and his surroundings.

His chest ached. The bullet wound was barely healed, not to mention the flesh that had been sliced open. The 'toy', as he remembered idly, had left huge burns around his injury, that were already turning black. It looked disgusting. Alex was crippled for life, he was sure of it.

If he didn't die due to his wounds, he would surely starve.

Hunger and thirst were unbearable.

He hadn't eaten for at least five days, although he couldn't be sure. He hadn't seen the sun since his capture. Fortunately, they brought him something to drink every two or three days.

On top, Alex was badly dehydrated and he knew it.

They wouldn't let him die just then. Dr. Three wanted to have more fun with him.

Silently, Alex closed his eyes, focusing hard to keep him from crying, though he couldn't prevent some almost unnoticeable sobs from coming out.

He wanted to go home. He wanted to see Jack. He wanted it to stop. But it wouldn't. Not until he died.

A melancholic smile stole itself on Alex' lips, making him remember how this hell had begun.

Scorpia had found him and had burnt down his house…with him inside. His guardian, one redhead named Jack Starbright, had been visiting a friend in Brooklyn, so luckily, she hadn't been in any danger.

Alex didn't want to imagine her utterly shocked expression, when she came home to find nothing but ashes.

After being able to flee outside the burning graveyard, an assassin had already been waiting for the spy. The man had greeted him with a sly smile and a metallic bullet.

And that was the very last thing he remembered.

Suddenly, desperation filled his mind, making him feel sad, lonely and doomed.

Hoping, he misjudged the situation and the dread he felt was nothing but a lie, he eventually let himself be taken over by darkness.

But deep down in his heart Alex Rider knew that absolute failure was more likely.

The boy awakened to pain.

As he opened his brown eyes, he was once again greeted by a fist racing towards his face.

Ducking, understandable as a mere reflex, was not granted.

The punch was hard and hurt like hell, Alex admitted, while he felt a pearly shimmering tooth being forced out of his mouth.

He opened his lips in order to scream, but nothing but more blood came out, dropping to the ground and dying the cold stone crimson.

His pale skin had already been swollen, but ached now even more due to the impact.

Alex suffocated, spitting the disgusting liquid out, wondering what on earth he might have done to deserve this treatment. All odds seemed to be against him and his infamous luck of the devil was not apparent at all.

"My dentist won't be happy to see this", Alex assumed, trying to get the sentence out in a whole, without coughing in between. He wasn't successful.

The man who had woken him looked angry, mad even, and glared at the prisoner with dull, grey eyes.

The spy had named him 'Mr. Cold', because he would rarely show any emotion. Nowadays, the boy loved it to tease him until he showed any sign of reaction.

Right now, this rather unusual game was everything Alex had. Despite the pain, that is.

"Shut up, brat!" Mr. Cold barked. "You won't get any food today for that crap."

The 'brat' knew, what would be coming next, so he tried helplessly to stand up. He failed miserably.

The boy hadn't noticed how weak he was, until he didn't even have enough strength left for such a simple move.

Alex Rider was currently running on nothing.

Mr. Cold recognized this weakness, hence he kicked the boy in the gut, asking himself what to do. He had uncountable muscles, but no brains at all.

After a couple of silent seconds, only disrupted by some pained whimpering, he decided it was time to bring his 'guest' back to the doctor. He definitely could not afford the psycho being mad at him. This would be absolutely lethal.

Eventually, he knocked Alex out with a well-aimed strike to a pressure point and carried him to his destination.

When the both of them arrived at the scene, one more conscious than the other, the Asian was already waiting for them. He glared.

Soon, he got even more furious, but tried to calm down. Rational thinking was the key to success after all. It didn't work, though. The doctor's rather annoyed expression gave away that much.

As soon as he had finally settled down, he spoke to his employee in a strong and clear voice. It was creepy.

"Would you mind not killing Alex next time you bring him?"

"N-No sir! My word, sir!" Mr. Cold stuttered.

Although he was strong, everyone gave him that much credit, at least, not even all his muscles would help him against this maniac and his gun.

"Leave now. I'm not to be disturbed."

The guard instantly did as he had been told, not wasting a single thought to disobeying. Mechanically, he bowed to represent his respect and his undeniable fear. Then, the man turned on his heels and exited the room.

The Asian was once again alone with his prisoner.

It was time to break some bones.

Scream after scream roared through the corridors and sent icy shivers down each man's spine who was unlucky enough to work for Scorpia.

Sabotage. Corruption. Intelligence. Assassination.

They should be used to it. But they were not.

Most of them, fearing for their very own welfare, tried to ignore the heartwrenching noise and walked away.

But Alex Rider couldn't.

The teenage spy was lying on the ground being kicked the hell out of him. The chains had recklessly been removed, but given, he wasn't able to use the newly-gained freedom for his benefit, it wasn't useful at all.

Crimson blood covered almost his whole body. He wouldn't last any longer. Not without proper medical attention. He needed help immediately.

Too bad he wasn't getting any.

Agony hit him, making him swear about his forsaken destiny.

Beat, he closed his eyes in resignation. Defeat was obvious. Death awaited him.

"What is wrong, Alex?" Dr. Three asked him with his bittersweet voice. "Do you want it to stop?"

The boy didn't respond.

Whether he didn't have the energy to speak or if he clung to the final sparkles of his dignity was unknown.

Fact was, that the Asian was not exactly pleased with his silent prisoner.

Grinning widely, he pinned Alex to the wall, without leaving him any space to escape. Not that he could have used it anyway. Not with that battered body of his.

Hastily, Alex caught his breath. He didn't get any air. His lungs felt as if on fire.

Suddenly, his adrenaline kicked in, making him struggle vainly, although he had already known that it was useless before he had even tried.

Every bit of strength and lastly determination had left him the same way his hopes had: painful and horrific.

The man, he noticed, was now smiling even wider and began to strangle him, enjoying the sight of the skin turning first red, then a deadly pale blue.

But just when the boy started to lose consciousness, the Asian removed his hands and let the spy hit the floor. Hard. He coughed desperately, while he forced more blood out of his mouth. He wished so badly to sleep. Why wouldn't they let him rest for once?

But somewhere deep in his heart he knew that if he fainted, everything would be lost without return.

Salvation seemed sweet and baited the youngster with all his might.

Death wasn't supposed to be pleasant. But yet it was.

Was MI6 searching for him? Was it even worth enduring torture any longer? Even if only for a while?

Alex himself didn't know and didn't care. As a matter of fact, he would fight until the very end.

Oblivious to him that it would come sooner than anyone expected.

Help was finally on its way, in its eternal race against destiny.

It was a nervewracking competition.

Time was running out, each minute shortened Alex' lifespan.

Finally, the Asian had left the boy to his fate. He was now hanging down the ceiling, aching and on the edge of sanity.

The pain was like electricity flowing through his veins and tortured the agent beyond humanity. Once again, he screamed, wishing it to be over. He couldn't stand it any longer. He knew he had promised himself to keep fighting no matter what, but now, he didn't feel his legs anymore. His luck was finally running out.

Alex' last wish, his dying wish, to be more precise, was peace. Silence. Death.

The boy didn't have anything left. Neither strength nor hope, all of them had already been taken away from him.

Nothing but darkness and lastly the kind numbness he had been wishing for greeted him as he slipped into the depths of unconsciousness.

Shooting. Screams. Noise.

K-Unit were defending themselves desperately against multiple guards, knocking down everyone and everything on their way.

The four of them had infiltrated the small base together with H- and J-Unit. And currently, they were about to save some Alex Rider. Cub, as they had realized after the briefing, was doing a great job in working for the Military Intelligence.

Unfortunately, his missions had been nothing but suicide right from the beginning. The boy's welfare was something neither Alan Blunt nor Tulip Jones cared for. Not even in the slightest.

"Where to?" Fox asked.

"That way!" Wolf barked, pointing to a small passage.

They had to hurry, otherwise it would be too late. Snake didn't know what they had done to Cub – Alex he corrected himself mentally – but the awful screams they had heard had been beyond human endurance.

Silently, the four men continued their walk, while they listened cautiously to every noise. Then, they tensed and stopped in their motions.

"They're comin'."

"Yeah. Finally some fun, eh?"

The moment Eagle wanted to nonsensically comment the situation, 6 well-armed guards came into sight.

Without thinking – not that they needed to, that was what they had been trained for after all – they took their guns out of their holsters, aimed carefully and shot. The fight was over before it even started.

The enemy was persistent like a dying lion, but that didn't change the undeniable fact that he was losing. Assumably, these men were not exactly experienced, probably some of the lower Scorpia operatives. Hence, they did not stand a chance against SAS.

The only sign leading to the men's presence were lifeless bodies littering the floor.

The men progressed with ease, their enemy didn't seem to have prepared for any kind of attack. But somehow, they mused, considering the fact they were dealing with Scorpia, that was simply too utopian. They weren't an infamous criminal organization for nothing.

On the other hand, in the midst of a bloody battle, the reasons didn't matter at all. A human life was at stake, they didn't have any time to think. They were soldiers willing to carry out their orders. Failure was not an option.

After a while, they ran into some Asian who had tried to escape. His aura was pulsing with madness, something that still shocked every man shitless. They knew, experience was nothing against that man. They were tough, yes, but Dr. Three was moreover a figure you just can't forget.

"How did you get in here? Where are my guards?"

"Dead" was the simple answer Wolf presented.

He himself was starting to grow fed up with this farce. Where the hell was Cub? They couldn't afford talking to some stranger! Especially not to an insane one. To make a long story short: Wolf wasn't exactly patient.

Hence, he held his gun to the enemy's head and stated calmly: "Game over. Tell me where you hide our agent."

Somehow the threat hanging unspoken in the air didn't impress the Asian at all. No, he even burst out laughing, grimacing strangely as he recalled the pathetic sight of one Alex Rider. They could have him. The boy wouldn't survive anyway.

"What's wrong, bastard?" Fox demanded to know, almost shouting. He gave away a rather intimidating expression, although the Asian ignored it perfectly.

"You can search all you want. He's probably a goner by now."

This simple statement, which unfortunately was, at least partly, true was enough to cut the last strings holding Wolf back loose. In this situation namely Fox, Eagle and Snake.

Mayhem was everything they could think of. And they would raise it upon the doctor.

After they had sent him flying with a roundhouse kick, they punctured his lungs with their knifes. As their rage ceased, they looked at each other shocked. No one dared to speak. Instead, they left Dr. Three for good. There wasn't much left of him.

They ran, opening each and every door in sight, mostly by brute force, while ignoring the sweat running down their faces. Neither of them met any other guards, the other units seemed to keep them busy and they were grateful for it.

The SAS men had heard enough. Nothing mattered but time. Ever-present, cruel time.

You can try, but eventually you can't escape its wrath. The four of them would try. And maybe, just maybe they would even win.

They hurried. They sprinted. And suddenly, there was a door.

Fox couldn't explain, but somehow, deep down in his heart, he knew that they had reached their destination.

There was a scent of finality in the air, floating unseen but yet noticed. It made even Wolf, who had been barking out orders just a minute ago, grow silent.

They were reluctant to go in, in fear of what they might find. Subconsciously, they repeated the words the madman had said in their minds.

"He's probably a goner by now."

But then, despite their hesitance, they realized, that their eagerness to know was just as big. They would never learn if they grew roots.

After Eagle had fought against the lock for a moment, K-Unit took a deep breath and walked in.

Instantly, they felt their blood freeze.

It was a mess. It was literally a bloody mess. And it was everywhere.

Alex, their little Cub, seemed even smaller the way he hung from the ceiling. Snake, being the medic after all, rushed to the boy's side and fumbled desperately for a pulse.

There was none.

"Shit!" he cried and began to undo the knots holding Alex up. Then, he lied him down and began doing reanimation. He thought he had broken one of the boy's ribs in the process, but just couldn't bring himself to care.

What was a mere bone compared to a life? Not very much, if you asked him.

In the meantime, his team members grew even more worried the moment they had realized what the medic was doing. The spy really was dying. The bastard had been right. Damn it.

Why him? Why a teenager aged 14? It just wasn't fair that the lord demanded such a young life. It was cruel.

After a few moments of inactivity, Wolf's senses kicked in again. Cub needed to go to hospital ASAP.

Hence, he checked his walkie-talkie and demanded help.

Then, everything was silent once again.

They were near giving up. They had failed. Inacceptable, in their eyes, the orbs of soldiers, but yet, it seemed to be a matter of fact. They couldn't change it. No one can.

But then, there was noise. They watched in shock, as Alex gasped for breath, a single tear flowing down his worn-out face.

A single word repeated itself constantly in their minds, like a mantra to make sure they understood. He was alive. Miracle.

Proud of his work, Snake now tended to Alex' other injuries. If he bled to death now, everything would be in vain.

The rest of K-Unit, Eagle, Fox and Wolf, full of relief, were by then already somewhere distant. Everyone daydreamed on his own, but they had one thing in common: They didn't even notice the envoy coming in.

As one Alex Rider was eases onto a stretcher, he too was drifting far away. It was strange, but in this moment, everything mundane was forgotten. Peace filled his very mind, silencing his thoughts until there was nothing left but the pacific foreboding of death. He closed his eyes once again.

And somewhere above in the depths of heaven, Lady Luck was smiling gently.