Hiya everyone :) I'm sorry it's kind of been a while again but this story is going a bit slow at the moment. I'v had a lot on my plate as well with going back to school and i've got a job which A - knackers me and B - takes up most of my writing fanfic time.

Chapter 9

Mrs Jones was sat in her apartment, staring out of her window at the crowded streets of London. The concourse was a tangle of cars, taxis and pedestrians, all of them trying to find their way home. It was late in the evening and the sun had long gone down, leaving the city to be lit up from the inside. Various people weaved in and out of each other across the pavement, all of them oblivious of what was happening to the world around them.

They were completely unaware of the corruption that was rotting through the Government currently. MI6 and now MI5 had been taken over by Scorpia. And there was nothing that could be done about it.

The only option was to lie low. Eventually Scorpia would slip up, or they would get on the wrong side of another nation. They would not stay in control for long. These were the words of Blunt.

Mrs Jones couldn't help but disagree with them. Scorpia weren't stupid, you shouldn't underestimate Julia Rothman. Now that they were in power they weren't going to give it up easily. They had the upper hand and they weren't going to throw it away.

They were already rounding up agents. They'd killed three already today.

Against Blunts wishes, Mrs Jones had been keeping an ear to the ground and an eye on the situation. Unlike Blunt she was determined that something had to be done about Scorpia. She didn't join the secret services to not stand up for her country when it really needed her.

She understood that she was putting herself in the firing line but she also understood that something had to be done. She turned to look down at a desk in front of her whilst picking up a piece of paper on it.

It had a list of names on it.

Campling, Kate

Bell, Michael

McRobert, Thomas

Rider, Ian

Sommerset, Andrew

Waterford, Susan

She crossed out Michael, Thomas, Andrew and Susan. Only Ian and Kate were left.

Mrs Jones stood up, her mind made up, she had to get through to Rider…both of them. She didn't know where they were, but she knew who would.

She pulled on her coat and boots, and just before leaving the house removed a handgun from a draw, hiding it in her coat pocket.

***AR***

As far as first impressions went, John Rider didn't believe he'd made the best first impression on Jack Starbright.

He'd hadn't done anything particular to offend her. He'd tried to be nice and welcoming. Although he'd never been very good at that sort of thing.

He could understand where her hostility came from though. She clearly loved and cared for Alex, and John had never really been there for his son. John did regret not having anything to do with his Son since the age of two, but he'd had his reasons.

If certain people knew that he was still alive it wouldn't just be his life in the firing line. Julia Rothman was the sort of person who would hold grudges easily. If she'd even remotely suspected John to still be alive she would come down hard on those he loved. And being Julia Rothman it would of probably only taken a few orders and she would have Alex standing before her. He'd already lost so much; he couldn't compromise Alex's safety.

Part of John wanted to tell Jack that he'd stayed away for Alex's safety. He also loved and cared for his son. But another part knew deep down that he was to blame. He had left Alex fatherless, without a proper guardian.

So he took the sidelong looks of distrust and the blunt tone because he knew it was a lot less than he deserved.

And then there was Alex. He looked so much like him it was slightly daunting. Ian had said Alex was his mini clone, and he was right. John was sure that if he were ten, him and Alex would be identical, right down to the last eyelash.

Alex wasn't as hostile as Jack though. Although, John couldn't say that the ten year old had entirely forgiven him. Alex was a smart child, he would often find his son watching him out of the corner of his eye, studying him almost. There was certainly no fool in him.

They'd been down at the cottage for two days now, and they'd only left once to pick up a few provisions that Jack had insisted on. So far nothing had seemingly gone wrong. This worried John a fair bit. It was true he had been well hidden here for several years, but no one had been looking for him. And Landermere wasn't an unobvious place; Ian and him had often come down here a lot when they were children during the summer break. It would not take Scorpia or Rothman long to make the connection with this place and send their own agents to check it out.

"Dad."

John was shaken out of his thoughts. He was still not quite used to the term 'Dad.' He wasn't overly used to the concept of him actually being a father and every time he was addressed as one it took his mind a few seconds to catch up with himself.

"Dad, do you want to play football?" Alex was standing by the back door, his face flushed from exercise and the cold. He had a red football tucked under his arm.

John smiled, "Alright then, I'll be out in a minute." He stood up from the kitchen table. Alex beamed and ran back outside.

John made his way over to the front door to find his shoes, Ian was lying across a sofa in the front room, skimming through a book. "Where did Alex get that football from?" John asked his brother.

Ian glanced up briefly, "he said he found it, in that old shed outside."

John froze for a second, but it went unnoticed by Ian who was already glancing through the book again. "Oh right," he said normally and picked up his shoes.

Alex was kicking the football up against the wall of the cottage when John stepped outside. He pulled his coat around him in a vain attempt to keep some of the cold out.

The football hit the brick wall with another dull thud, spinning slightly on impact. Alex prepared himself to kick it back as it sailed through the air, but it never reached him. John had run forward and intercepted it, tapping the ball away with a huge grin on his face.

"No fair!" Alex yelled as he charged after his father, who was already half way up the garden.

"You can hardly ask me to play football with you and then not let me have the ball," John replied with, still managing to dribble the ball away from Alex. However he slowed down slightly when he realised that stealing a football of your son probably wasn't the most fatherly thing to do. But as soon as he did so, Alex was upon him. He tackled the football of him and sped off back towards the house. Damn, that kid was fast.

John shook his head slightly as he ran after his son.

Jack watched John and Alex play football outside through the kitchen windows. She had another mug of instant coffee in her hands. She'd come to the conclusion that she'd been drinking way too much of the stuff, and had promised herself she would cut back soon…eventually…

Alex started laughing when John picked him up in an attempt to get the football off him. Jack couldn't help it, a small smile broke out on her face when she saw Alex with his Father. It had been a bit awkward for them these past few days. Almost as if Alex didn't quite know how to react around his Father, and John didn't know how to react around his son. But it seemed that a football had somehow brought them a bit closer together. And from a side-glance, you wouldn't have thought that the two had only really acknowledged each other's existence a few days ago.

Jack sighed, leaving the kitchen and entering the front room. She sat down on the unoccupied sofa opposite Ian.

"What are you reading?" She asked Ian.

"A history of Essex," said Ian. He put the book down, "It's terrible…"

"Really?" Questioned Jack. "I thought you were completely absorbed in the words of…" she looked down at the cover. "Arnold Warbeck…"

Ian shook his head. "Only out of sheer boredom. I never was a fan of History."

"Weren't you?" Jack questioned whilst bringing her legs up onto the sofa. "I would have put you down as the history sort."

"Not really. I never liked it much at school." He put the book down on the floor and then looked back up at Jack. "That's your fifth coffee today Jack. If you're not careful you might turn into the stuff."

"Don't be such a kill joy," said Jack. "Besides, I've only had four. You miss counted."

"No I didn't," Ian replied. "You had two at breakfast. You had one at lunch and then you had another earlier which you tried to hide behind the microwave when I entered the kitchen. And that's not including the one in your hand at the moment."

Jack narrowed her eyes, "are you stalking me?" She asked.

Ian laughed, "no," he replied. "Why would I do that Miss Starbright?"

Jack paused for a second as if in thought, "Because I'm so wonderful and charming and brilliant…" she ticked the characteristics of on her fingers, "...and it's more entertaining than reading Arnold Warbeck."

Ian laughed again, "oh yeah, how could I forget that."

"Is that Sarcasm!" Jack exclaimed, looking offended.

There was then a thud from the kitchen as the back door swung open and Alex came running in. Ian tensed suddenly, ready to leap up.

"Ian!" Alex exclaimed. "Please can you come play football!"

Ian relaxed. "Alright, I'll be out in a second. I'm just going to hide the jar of instant coffee."

"What!" Yelled Jack, leaping up. But she wasn't fast enough. Ian was already in the kitchen. "Ian! Come back!"

Alex laughed as he watched Jack lunge for Ian and just miss him.

***AR***

Ian and John had gone back inside, and Alex was sat on an old garden table throwing the ball at a wall of the cottage and catching it.

"Alex!" Jack called from the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes!"

"Okay!" he called back and jumped down off the table. He started to walk through the garden towards the shed, whistling to himself. He was going to put the football back, because if it did belong to someone then they would go looking for it in there.

However as he got closer to the shed he got the feeling something was wrong. There was a weird humming noise, and it was coming from the direction of the shed. Alex slowed down slightly, what could be making that noise? He certainly hadn't seen anything in there earlier that was capable of such a noise.

He then spotted the light. It was spilling out from the bottom of the shed door. Alex stopped. That certainly wasn't right.

Alex looked back up at the cottage, he could see Jack and his Dad through the kitchen windows. He looked back at the shed. The light and funny noise were still there.

Alex cautiously approached the shed, bringing up his hand to grasp the rusted handle. He gave the door a large tug…

Sorry for the cliff hanger!

I hope you liked this chapter - i know the story is a bit slow but it's going to heat up soon - i have to try and get the plot in a bit.

Anyways please R and R because all the nice comments make me feel warm and bubbly inside :D

I'm also thinking of doing another fanfic - but a Harry Potter one! Based on the Marauder era - but with a slight twist! I'm not entirely sure why i'm telling you this - i'll put it down to boredom because there's nothing decent on the telly at the mo...