3 Chapter 3: Nothing else matters

Alex awoke to a bright, sunny mourning.

He noticed that he seemed closer to the ground and that the bed seemed larger than he remembers in his bedroom in Chelsea. Wait! Chelsea?!

He was with the Pleasures visiting colleges and then- oh. So it was real.

He took the time to check over his chest. He was shorter and almost completely unblemished.

He went to the bathroom to check his reflection. The dark, serious brown eyes were exactly as he remembered, but his chest was clear of all the scars he had gotten on his missions.

Well, shit. How old was he? What was the date? What the hell was he supposed to do?

He turned to see his back and noticed a black mark on his arm. It was a black poppy that was tattooed on his right shoulder.

How patriotic, Alex smirked to himself. Death must have a cruel sense of humor.

Then again, in the legends he always did. He checked the calendar to see what the actual date was. He was ten.

TEN! Oh hell, what did I get myself into? Great, he should have known better than to deal with Death.

But I just had to go bloody do it then, didn't I? As he got dressed, he remembered that he had to act normal for the next few days.

At least it was only at school. Jack was in the picture, but he could conceivably be upset about Ian being on a business trip for the next few days.

It was a nice Saturday mourning. For once, it was a bright sunny day. The temperature was at the perfect mark between warm and cold (he'd checked).

First things first. I am NOT working for Blunt ever again if I can help it.

Alex knew that he would need all the help he could get in that department. He also recalled that Ian would be taking him on holiday sometime after the current term. He had been ten so long ago. His memories were hazier then he expected.

Unfortunately, the only people who could help him in that department were people in the world he had been hoping to avoid.

Cough, people who worked against intelligence agencies, cough. He decided to ignore that situation for the moment, plus he had four years to worry about it and try to prevent his uncle from being killed.

The lack of will was kind of dubious at this point. Ian had been prepared for just about everything, but his death. It didn't really add up.

Plus, Blunt wasn't exactly known for telling the truth. Alex continued to scan his room, passively listening for steps outside his door. Had the bank suppressed his will?

Alex wouldn't put it past them. He sighed. Going at it alone was going to be a gargantuan task.

He was also considering quietly adding to Ian's household security. It wasn't inconceivable that some enemy of his uncle might consider kidnapping him. I mean really, Ian was MI6's top spy, he had to have enemies of some sort.

Alex remembered the incident with the triads and a few others. Sure they'd gotten them to back down eventually. He also really didn't want to have to explain his new ability to defeat criminals and escape captivity to anyone, least of all someone from his favorite government department.

They might get the idea to put him in the field earlier, and wouldn't that be fun?

There was that.

There was also the fact that if someone in SCORPIA managed to hear about his new abilities they wouldn't hesitate to murder Ian and kidnap him.

Child assassins were rare and valuable.

Right, he would have to be stealthy.

Alex was hoping Ian would stick to his usual policy of not asking awkward questions and he doubted Jack would think anything was amiss.

Then he heard Jack coming up the stairs. He had to struggle against tears.

She was alive.

He wanted to laugh and hug her, but he knew that she would be suspicious if he did more than usual.

She opened the door and smiled softly, the light reflecting off the orange strands of her hair, giving her a soft glow.

"Alex, you're up. Breakfast is ready."

She looked younger somehow. Less worried. He smiled "I'll be down in a minute, Jack."

She smiles more broadly this time. "Tom will be over in a few hours for you to play. Don't forget to pick-up afterward."

With that, she left. Alex was smiling for the first time in a few months.

Jack was alive. Ian was alive. Nothing else mattered now.