Epilogue

The newsreaders voice droned on to the next story.

"And in recent news, the search for a missing 14 year old boy ended tragically yesterday after a week of searching. The body of the victim, Alex Rider, was discovered yesterday in an abandoned building on the outskirts of the town. His death is being treated as suspicious by the authorities and the police are asking anyone with any information to contact them.

Next up: could school exams be responsible for an increase in mental health problems among children?"

The funeral of Alex Rider took place on a bright sunny afternoon in April. In attendance were several of his classmates and teachers as well as Jack – the only family he had had left. Standing hidden in the shade were a dozen intelligence from a variety of organisations including MI6, SAS and CIA. Hidden, dotted around the graveyard were several of the people that Alex had saved from Point Blanc.

Alex proved more popular in death than in life.

The funeral was a closed coffin event: no one wanted to see the horrific damage that this poor innocent child had been forced to endure at the hands of his captors. Little did they know that wasn't the only reason that the authorities wanted his body not on display.

The 'official' story was that Alex Rider had been abducted and beaten before being shot by the gang he was supposedly involved in. The true story wasn't much different.

There was just one small alteration to the story which had been omitted: Alex Rider may be officially dead but if anyone from the funeral had just looked closer at their surroundings they would notice a boy who held a striking resemblance to the recently deceased hiding in the shadows. The security forces knew the truth but that was it.

Two more people would learn the truth before the end of the day. Jack Starbright would receive full citizenship of the United Kingdom delivered to her by an eerily familiar boy who she would only recognise after he left and Tom Harris would see his young friend deposit a small gift on his window sill before sliding back into the darkness.