OMG It's been a really long time since I last updated and I'm extremely sorry for leaving you hanging for way too long after last chapter's cliff hanger. I had my mid-terms which thankfully I'm over and done with...

This chapter was really hard for me to write and I finally understand what prople mean when they say they have a severe case of writers' block but I'm all over it now so don't worry I am NEVER abandoning this fanfic!

I also want to thank the people who reviewed last chapter. I got 10 reviews! My thanks go to: Optomistic Emo Kleptomaniac, Sportmuffel, Mythomagic Champion, FallingStar93, She weapon1, Grim, Kenna, Nooryii and my guest reviewers. Thanks to everyone who's put this story on their Fav/Alert list!

And K Unit are going to be included in this story since so many people showed interest!

Oh and one more thing: Could you please tell me what do you think of Alex and Ben's relationship? Do you think that it is going in a certain *cough* romantic *cough* direction from the way I've written their interactions? Would you like it to be that way or not? Please tell me in a review.

Disclaimer: I'm a first year medical student I don't have time to even think about pursuing the rights to Alex Rider anymore(...sigh...)

Hits count: 3,563!

Warnings: None, except a slightly emotionally unstable Alex and Language.

He wanted to go back in there and help Ben, but he knew that he would just be a burden on the older spy in his current state.

It was then that Alex heard it, echoing loudly in the empty alley and freezing him in his place, a single gunshot…

No, no, no, NO! Please no! Oh please don't be Ben! Oh God please let Ben be safe! Please… Alex pleaded silently, his vision beginning to blur with tears.

He stood rooted to the spot and even though the sun shone brightly and warmly over the small town, the temperature in the alley seemed to drop drastically and Alex found himself shivering in raw cold anxiety.

He can't be dead. He was trained by MI6 and the SAS before them, so he can handle a two on one fight, right?

Alex tried to reason with himself, but almost immediately a little sinister voice in his head replied, No one is resistant to a bullet, no matter how well they are trained. He's dead and it's your fault! You could've helped him, evened out the odds a bit, maybe even saved his life, but you chose to run away like the coward that you are!

No! I-I would never abandon him! Alex replied frantically as he turned around and began moving back towards the door.

He had only taken three steps when the door flung open with a loud bang. Alex's breath hitched in anticipation as his eyes tried to focus on the face of the figure that stumbled into the alley.

Ben! Alex relaxed as he noted the familiar short black hair and deep comforting blue eyes. He unconsciously did a mental check for any injuries and felt relief flood through his veins when he saw none, at least nothing significant, only a few scrapes here and there.

Ben, who was too preoccupied with making sure he wasn't followed, didn't notice Alex until he almost ran into him.

"Alex! What the fuck are you doing here? I told you to get to the car!" Ben exclaimed more in concern than anger.

"I heard the gunshot… and I-I thought that you…" Alex trailed away figuring that his meaning was obvious, besides, now that he was sure that Ben is alive, he didn't even want to think about the alternative.

At that realization the Liverpudlian's eyes softened a little, "Alex…" he called softly, his hand caressing the boy's blonde locks gently. Somehow that single word, filled with unspoken emotion and promise, was enough to instill calm in the teen spy's frantic heart. For now the fog of misery and fear has cleared and he was able to pull himself together.

"I'll be fine." Alex said more to reassure himself than to Ben.

Ben looked doubtful for a second and was about to voice his concern, but at the last second he decided against it and said instead. "Alright then we must hurry, I don't know how long it'll take for them to start following us."

"Why? What happened in there? You shot one of them? Is he dead?-"

"They're not dead." Unfortunately. "But I did knock them out. I'm going to call HQ as soon as we're somewhere safe so that they could send some agents to arrest those two for interrogation, but for now let's get out of here."

With that said Ben took a deep breath, slipped on his masks of indifference, before examining Alex once more, he was a little unnerved to see the teen's face devoid of emotion. However he had to admit that if they were going to make it back to his car without a hitch, then they mustn't draw attention to themselves and Alex in panic mode wouldn't be the way to do it.

He nodded to Alex and they both moved out of the alley and to the open street up ahead.

On the opposite side of the road and from the shadow of an old beech tree, a man watched a boy in his teen years and a man in his early twenties, emerge from the alley opposite him and next to a subtle ice-cream parlor neighboring Sainsbury's. It was the boy he was interested in.

He matched the picture he had been provided with perfectly. Fair hair with serious brown eyes and the blank expression that everyone in the world of espionage mastered, however he was cleaner now and there was a distinct lack of blood covering his body. This was Alex Rider, the reason Pierce, José and him were ordered to scour the English countryside and threatened with a slow excruciating death if they failed to find him. And here he was right there in front of him, relying on crutches to move his undoubtedly battered body, as if begging him to make a move. It was almost too perfect and too tempting.

But the man restrained himself, after all he wasn't going to make the same mistake his two partners did. He had heard everything through the almost invisible communicator stuck in his ear. He had warned them beforehand and specifically told them that any move they were going to make to capture the spy had to be thoroughly planned and that they had to report back to him if they stumbled on any clues leading to their target's whereabouts. Apparently he had only wasted his breath, because those two did the exact opposite of what they had agreed to, and now he had to deal with the repercussions. He wasn't going to die because those thugs couldn't capture a pathetic injured little kid.

The only problem was the man accompanying the boy. He literally had no information on him, he didn't even hear his name mentioned, not even once through the receiver. All he had was the physical description, black hair and blue eyes with a slightly pale complexion and a body that he could only link to that of a soldier. He wore the same expressionless façade as Rider.

If he's a spy as well, then I must proceed with the utmost caution. The man thought as he withdrew a nearly empty packet of luxury Dunhill cigarettes and casually stuck one into his mouth before he reached for the silver lighter in his pocket. He ignited the tip of the cigarette and inhaled one long drag of it. Feeling the acrid smoke trickle into his lungs and curl around for few seconds, before exhaling it with a pleasurable sigh. He watched the snake-like cloud of smoke dance in front of his shaded eyes with interest, imagining the gray tendrils wrapping around the body of the fair-haired boy who had become nuisance, not only to him but to the higher-ups as well. He imagined them tightening around Rider's neck, suffocating him till he started thrashing helplessly and whatever light left in his eyes was snuffed out.

With that image firmly imbedded into his sub-conscious, he took out his smart phone and took a quick picture of Rider and his associate, before making a couple of phone calls.

Time to set the plan in motion. He thought, a sadistic smirk gracing his lips. Kurst will definitely be pleased and Hernandez has been missing his toy.

Alex was exhausted by the time they reached the area where Ben's black Range Rover was parked. His shoulders were shaking from the strain they have subjected to all day and his right thigh was beginning to throb with renewed intensity. He wasn't surprised, after all he hadn't had the chance to properly exercise his body ever since he was kidnapped more than a month ago. This has taken quite a toll on his muscles and he found that he was tiring more quickly and more easily than before. To make things worse, he had to rely on these stupid crutches which he was beginning to loath with each passing second.

Thankfully, Ben had been considerate of his current state and had suggested they take a shortcut through the currently deserted Greenwood Park, not only because Alex looked like he was about to collapse from the emotional and physical stress but to put as much distance as he could between themselves and the two thugs that he'd left unconscious on the tiled floor of the parlor. Right now they were nearing the eastern gate of the park, a few meters from which, Ben had parked his car.

Alex swung his crutches forward, the padded tips colliding with the cobblestone path with a shallow thud. He cursed silently with his mind as the wound in his left arm was strained by the jolt. It hadn't bothered him earlier, but now every little sting seemed to be multiplied tenfold. He just wished that the pain would ease a bit, but he wasn't about to whine about it. However, more than anything he wished he was home.

It came as a surprise to Alex that the image that flashed in his mind at the thought wasn't the house in Chelsea or even the Pleasures' house in San Francisco, it was Ben's. He had only spent a few days in it and never once had he even felt the slightest urge to leave. Ben had made sure that he was comfortable and above all he had understood what Alex has been through more than anyone else including Jack.

Alex glanced sideways at the Liverpudlian, he was currently preoccupied with a heated conversation on the phone. Alex had missed the first part of it as he'd been concentrating on ignoring the pain.

"… What do you mean you can't send in a team of agent's to investigate?" Ben was hissing into the receiver.

There was a brief pause as Ben listened to the reply, apparently it didn't satisfy him because he muttered something undoubtedly crude under his breath before replying. "Alright listen, just send someone to apprehend the two men I told you about. I'll speak with Mrs. Jones and take care of the rest."

Ben waited for the reply and nodded when he heard it. "Thanks O'Neil." He said and hung up with a frustrated sigh.

Alex looked expectantly at the older spy but when Ben refused to meet his gaze he asked, "What's wrong?"

Ben looked reluctant to answer for a while, choosing instead to focus on the tree-lined path ahead. When he finally answered, it was in a heavy tone that reflected his darkening mood, "Some terrorist group has sent a threatening message to Downing Street a few days ago, the sender's identity is unknown and the messege's contents are highly classified so only a selected few were given the right to read it. I'm guessing that from MI6, Mrs. Jones was the sole person to see it. Apparently that is the reason why the meeting in Birmingham was organized. And unfortunately because of this, MI6's operatives are spread thin trying to gather as much intelligence on the matter as possible, they don't have the time nor the resources to investigate Kurst's issue properly or provide backup if we need it." Ben sighed and raked a hand through his black hair in irritation before continuing "I had to pull a lot of favours to get someone to come here and seize those bastards for interrogation."

Alex nodded in understanding but didn't comment, it had gotten significantly darker since they entered the park and it wasn't just because there was a canopy of leaves concealing half of their view of the sky, but also because a few clouds had appeared, floating lazily across the before clear blue expanse above. As he watched, one slowly moved and obstructed his view of the sun, plunging the area around him in a dim hazy light.

"So what're we going to do?" He spoke finally with a dejected tone.

"The only thing that we can do, take matters into our own hands."

"What do you mean?"

Ben turned his head as he walked so that he was holding Alex's gaze with his own, a reassuring smile graced his features as when he calmly said. "You'll see."

Alex didn't get a chance to answer because they were now standing outside the eastern gate of Greenwood Park and he could see Ben's Range Rover a few park spaces away. He let out a sigh of relief, thankful that he would finally be leaving this place and its dark memories behind.

He watched the Liverpudlian as he strode to unlock the black SUV and was about to follow, when the stench of tobacco smoke suddenly hit him.

Simultaneously, he felt the cold steel of a gun pressed against his temple and a thick arm snaked around his neck, tight enough so that he could just barely breathe. The body of his captor pressed against him intensifying the acrid smell of cigarettes but he didn't even cry out, too paralyzed by fear so that any rational thoughts seemed nonexistent to him. His blood ran cold and all he could focus on was Ben's back as he walked closer to his car, totally unaware of what is going on behind him.

"Miss me, Rider." His captor whispered into his ear.

Alex didn't respond…

What will happen to poor Alex next? I'll leave you to ponder that XD

Don't forget to comment on Alex and Ben's relationship! I really need to know!

Thank you for reading!

Love, RBR XX