Hey, guys! Look, yes, this is one of those Alex-American-CIA-Girl-Agent stories, but this one is actually good! Please believe me! Just keep reading, you'll get it soon. Well, if any of you know me, then you know I usually have a lengthy, strange, authors note, followed by a story of the same likeness. WEll, I'm sorry, fans, but I'm gonna write this story more seriously. I know! Terrible, right? Well, too bad! Just read the story. I own nothing! This is an alternate ending to Crocodile Tears. Spoilers? Not really. you do need to read Crocodile Tears to understand it though.

Alex Rider has a complicated life. But, we all know that don't we? What is his current complication? He was kidnapped, taken to Africa, and will be tortured tomorrow by unknown means to find out what MI6 knew. Just another day in paradise.

Alex was getting tired of the gun on his back. It pushed him along, prodded him, smacked him. And he listened to it. Truthfully, he had no choice.

"Where are we going, McCain?" Alex said. "I'm beginning to think my torture is going in circles all day in the sun."

McCain smiled unfriendly. "No, Alex, what lies in store for you is much worse than going in circles." McCain giggled to himself, as if that was funny somehow.

"Then could we get it over with? We've been going in circles, and I don't think we will be going in to orbit by doing so, if that's what your doing." This earned Alex another smack with the gun from the guard.

"I had some unexpected, ah, . . . business, come up, and it needed to be dealt with right away." McCain said, looking straight forward, "And so I'm afraid you will have to wait." McCain smiled again, as if that was the best thing that ever happened to Alex.

Just then another guard come up, he was running, which looked rather silly with his bulky body. Despite the current situation, Alex was tempted to laugh.

He barked something in another language to McCain, making Alex wish he had payed more attention in language class.

McCain's sick smile thickened with each word the guard said.

"Come with me Alex, I have something I want you to see." McCain started walking in the direction the guard had come from.

"Anything to break the boredom," Alex said, starting to follow McCain.

Another smack.

Alex wasn't the only one getting tired of guns. Across the safari camp, there was another, a girl.

She was sick of the gun too. It poked and prodded her, smacked her when she made smart remarks. Did she listen to it? No. No she did not.

Brandi know the guards didn't understand her, she just didn't care. That's why she kept talking.

"That gun really complements you eyes, you know." She said to the guard. "Brings out the gold flecks. I like it. Maybe if you held it up to you eyes, And maybe shot it off, . . . Yeah! You could pass for an underwear model any day!"

The guard just stared at her. He recognized her tone, not her words. And her tone was happy. Why was she happy? She had a gun to her back being led to her death. Maybe he could help with the not-being-happy-thing. He smacked her in the back of the head.

"Ow!" She said. "Whatd'ya do that for? Gosh, I hate this hotel! 5 star service my a-"

"Ahem." McCain said behind her.

"Thank goodness! I was getting tired of Alejandro here. Can we get on to the being-tortured thing? I've been looking forward to it!" She said, rattling off at 100 miles per hour, as usual. She didn't just do it to un-nerve the guards, she did it because she was nervous.

"You should be, Brandi." McCain said with that tone that drove her nuts. "Oh, you really should be."

That's when she noticed the boy.

Why did McCain have a girl with him? A girl his age none the less! She talked excitedly with an American accent. She reminded him slightly of Jack.

At first, he thought she was talking about his torture, then he saw that there was a gun pointed at her too. And he recognized the tone McCain used with him when he was threatening him. Yes, this girl was a captive too.

McCain turned back to him. "This, Alex, is Brandi. She is going to be tortured too-"

The girl, Brandi, broke in, "That's right! Torturedtorturedtourtured!" She sang the last part. The guard hit her again.

"Ow!" she said rubbing her head. "Now, Alejandro, we talked about this, . . . "

Alex was not entirely sure the girl was sane.

"Are you sure she's sane?" Alex said aloud.

"No, not really." McCain said. "But neither am I, really."

Alex agreed with that.

"But as I was saying, Brandi here is going to be tortured to death, you are going to watch her. Then the same thing will happen to you."

"Alright," Brandie said. rubbing her hands together like she was about to go into a fight. "Lets do this thing."

"Lets." McCain said.

McCain led them both to the edge of a pond. There was a tree next to it with a pole sticking out of it, on the end of the pole were two handles. there was a rickety step ladder going up to the handles. Alex knew what was going to happen before McCain said it.

"Here's how this works." McCain started, seeming to enjoy this too much. "You go up the step ladder, you hang on to the handles, you tell us what we want to know, or, . . . "

He pulled a piece of meat out of his pocket, it strangely resembled bacon. He tossed it to the water under the pole. Everything was silent for a moment.

Then a huge crocodile leaped out of the water and grabbed it. Suddenly they were all there. Tons of crocodiles, moving the water, fighting over the food.

Alex was shocked. They were going to feed him to the crocodiles! The girl looked confused.

"So, if we don't tell you what you want you'll give bacon to crocodiles?" She said. "That doesn't even make since, I mean, what if the crocodiles don't want bacon?"

"YOU!" McCain yelled. "We're going to feed YOU to the crocodiles!" It was the first time Alex had seen him angry since he had got here. He began to thing that maybe the girl WASN'T crazy.

"Ohhhhh!" She said. "I get it now!"

McCain sighed.

"Go ahead," He mumbled, and two guards pushed her forward. She went.

"Wow," She said, walking up the ladder. "this ladder REALLY sucks. I mean, the boards creek, the paints peeling, don't you guys have any money to replace this thing?"

"Just go!" McCain yelled at her. "Wow, I'm going to enjoy your death! Your so annoying!"

He smiled, back to his old self, when she grabbed onto the handles.

"All right, Jones." He said. Alex guessed that was her last name. "What does the CIA know?" So she worked for the CIA? When did they start recruiting kids?

"Know about what?" She said. "'Cause, you know they know a lot of things, do you want what caused last years oil spill, thier favorite color for uniforms-"

"I want to know what they know about me." McCain said though gritted teeth. Alex was impressed, he had not been able to make him mad this whole time and the girl had done it twice already.

"What? Oh, you? Nothing." She said.

"You were caught snooping though my office with gadgets given to you by the CIA."

Brandi smiled sweetly. "You know how I work, McCain. I don't always get to telling them stuff."

"Well then why are the CIA currently analyzing samples of genetically engineered plants?"

Brandi thought about this. Then the turned to Alex and looked him straight in the eye.

"I tell you what, Desmond McCain. If you do what the CIA says, then they can tell you who you parents are."

McCain's eyes went wide for a split second. then they narrowed.

"How dare you insult me! Your bluffing! The CIA knows nothing of me! You said yourself!"

Brandi leaned forward best she could.

"Yes they do. They investigate everyone with lots of money. They found out some things about you. Some things YOU might be interested in knowing."

McCain roared in rage.

"GUARDS!" He yelled. Both shifted the sights of their guns to Brandi.

The girl looked him in the eyes she? Yes. It couldn't be an accident.

He made his move.

Brandi had played a dangerous game when she told McCain the CIA knew who his parents were. It was a plan, but not a foolproof one. He could have shot her on the spot, or he could have done nothing. Luckily, he did exactly what she wanted him to do.

She watched as the boy, Alex, lashed his foot out, catching one guard in the back of the neck. it must have been a pressure point or something, because he passed out cold. He had more trouble with the other guard. He kicked out again, hitting the other guard in the stomach. But this guard was ready. He reached down, grabbing his foot. The boy chopped the guards hand, and he let go, howling in pain, giving Alex the opportunity to knock him out too.

McCain just stood there, shocked and reached for the guards gun, but Alex already had both.

And so McCain took the only option. He ran.

Brandi hoped Alex would get over here soon. Her arms were aching already.

Alex came over to the edge. He reached out as far as he could.

"Grab on!" He said. Those two words told her he was British.

She did, gladly. He pulled and she jumped at the same time.

They landed in a heap on the bank of the river. She got up immediately.

"We need to go. He'll be here with guards soon."

"Wait!" Alex said.

"Wait nothing!" Brandi said."We've got to-"

"Who are you?" Alex cut her off.

"Oh, yeah," Brandi said, already walking.

"I'm Brandi Jones. CIA."She said. "You?"

"Alex Rider. MI6" he said.

So? You like? You tell? You review? You favorite?

~CrAzY