Chapter Text
/Save Alex/
It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and thick veils of rain shrouded the city in a monotonous grey. The last days of November brought wet weather, cold temperatures and a complete loss of sense of time. Anyone who didn't have to go out avoided the pouring rain and stayed off the streets. It was almost impossible to see more than a few metres ahead or be seen. Even the brightest colours looked dreary and lifeless.
Yassen had been sitting behind the wheel of the inconspicuous black rental car for more than an hour, parked just a few metres from his destination. He alternated between watching the house across the street, little more than a silhouette behind the grey veil, and looking at the information on his laptop.
/Save Alex/
The message had first appeared four days earlier. In the middle of an assignment on the other side of the world. An assignment he had only taken on to settle an old debt. That was why Yassen had initially ignored the message. Alex Rider had not been his responsibility for a long time, in fact he never had been. He was now practically an adult and responsible for the messes he got himself into.
Perhaps he had used his sources and abilities from time to time to indirectly check whether Alex was doing well. Perhaps he had occasionally thought of John's son and hoped that, despite his past, he was now leading a normal life, far away from the world into which he had been born through his family. Perhaps...
Yassen had ignored the message because he couldn't afford any distractions while he was working.
/Save Alex/
Twenty-four hours later, after completing his assignment, the message had spread rapidly across most of his contact channels. It was just those two words, repeated over and over, without any explanation.
At first, he had considered that it might be a trap set by the Department, which might be interested in him again after all these years, but he was now increasingly convinced that the traces bore the signature of Alex's little hacker friend Kyra Vashenko-Chao. Yassen had been keeping an eye on her, too, but for very different reasons. She had built a solid life for herself and used her impressive skills to make a name for herself in the tech world. He knew that she also spent her time as a white hat hacker and occasionally got involved in business that had no place for respectable citizens.
Yassen's computer skills were nowhere near those of the young woman, but he had learned two things over the years. He recognised her signature when he looked closely and she didn't hide it. And she knew he was still alive, sometimes even exactly where he was. She seemed to be watching him without doing anything with her knowledge.
Yassen didn't know exactly what that meant for him. He saw the fact that he was still at large after all these years as a sign that she had no interest in avenging her parents' death. Nevertheless, Yassen was not so naive as to underestimate her as an opponent and kept an eye on her.
Yassen had finally made his way to London. Not out of curiosity, not out of concern. If the message had come from Kyra, then there must have been a good reason for her to break her silence. If it wasn't her, then it was all the more important for Yassen to find out who else had uncovered his channels of communication so thoroughly. Even at the risk of walking into a trap.
Travelling halfway around the world involved two long flights, which he had used to prepare for his return to London. Arrangements had to be made and old contacts reactivated. Above all, he had done his research, even if there wasn't much to find.
Alex was still living in his uncle's house in Chelsea, studying at the local university and doing odd jobs. The attempt to hack the data on Alex's mobile phone had failed, but at least Yassen was able to locate it. According to the GPS, Alex had to be at home.
The university's computers had been easier to access. According to the administration's records, Alex had been absent without excuse for several days and had since been on sick leave. Otherwise, his file was unremarkable. Good grades, no strange absences. It seemed as if Alex had given up working for the Department and was now actually a normal student. Until recently, at least.
/Save Alex/
What did Yassen need to save Alex from, and how had Kyra come to the conclusion that he, of all people, should do it? Could do it?
/Save Alex/
Yassen had combed through the news from the past two weeks. Without any concrete evidence that Alex had even been in London or the surrounding area, it made little sense. Given his past, it was quite possible that he had left the island and was somewhere else.
Ultimately, there was only one solution: it was time for him to talk to Alex. After all the years they hadn't seen each other, he didn't know how this conversation would go. If Kyra had kept her little game with him to herself, it was quite possible that Alex didn't even know Yassen was still alive.
Yassen closed his laptop, pulled the collar of his jacket up a little higher, opened the car door and hurried across the street to the front door of the building, which was lying in darkness. The door lock was no problem for him; the alarm system was deactivated. Even though there had been no movement in the house for the past hour, Alex was definitely at home.
Not a single light was on throughout the ground floor. The little daylight from outside was just enough to make out silhouettes. Yassen looked around, listened for noises, but all remained quiet. He looked morosely at his wet street shoes and then at the stairs to the first floor. Without this annoying rain, he wouldn't have given them a second thought. He kept them on, drying them as best he could on the mat at the entrance so as not to leave any traces.
He pulled his gun from his waistband, walked silently up the stairs and got his bearings in the semi-darkness.
The first door concealed the bathroom. Behind the second door, which was ajar, lay a chaotic room. Judging by the decor, Yassen guessed that Tom Harris was the current occupant. According to the information he had been able to find, Jack Starbright had moved out six months ago. Tom now lived here instead.
That left only one room left on this floor. When Yassen slowly opened the ajar door, the room was as dim as the rest of the house. Muffled sounds revealed that appearances were deceiving. Soft breathing, the rustling of fabric. Yassen noticed movement on the bed, followed by a soft click and the reading lamp on the wall came on. The room was bathed in a mixture of light and deep shadows. It was enough to highlight the bruises on Alex's face. Plasters and bandages were visible at the edge of his shirt, suggesting that there were many more injuries beneath the fabric. That in itself was nothing unusual. What made Yassen pause was the expression on Alex's face, for which there was hardly any description. It definitely did not belong on the face of a normal young student.
‘Hello, Alex,’ Yassen finally said calmly, as if he hadn't just broken into the house after years of not seeing each other, and lowered his weapon.
Alex blinked a few times, as if he had to process the fact that Yassen was suddenly standing in his room. He moved his lips, but no sound came out. His face contorted in agony, his breathing quickened. He finally bit his lower lip so hard that it left a dark mark. His hands clenched into fists on the bedspread, and he looked away. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, he calmed down again and the blank expression on his face returned as he looked back at Yassen.
Yassen's thoughts raced.
/Save Alex/
As it stood, it was already too late for that. Whatever had happened had left marks that went far beyond the wounds on his body.
Yassen shouldn't be here. Alex now led a normal life with all the consequences that entailed. Yassen had no place there. It had been one thing to protect Alex from the effects of the past, from Scorpia, Julia Rothman and Nile. That was something he could influence. This was something completely different. But his decision had already been made when he boarded the plane to London.
Instead of turning around and leaving the house as quietly as he had entered it, he sat down in the chair at the desk. One hand on his thigh, the other resting on the desk with the gun. Alex's gaze followed his movements attentively. That was good, because it meant he hadn't shut himself off.
While Yassen sorted through his thoughts, Alex tried to say something again. The result was the same. Shaky movements, faltering breath, before visible tension froze him again.
Yassen recognised the frustration that paralysed Alex.
‘You don't have to use words if your voice won't let you. I'm sure you can think of something else to communicate.’
Alex tilted his head, looked at his hands, and then used them to point at Yassen, to take up the space with a circular motion, and to point at the floor. Concise, minimalistic, subdued. For the energy Alex had otherwise radiated, it was the mirror image of a quiet voice. It wasn't elegant, but the question was too obvious to be misunderstood.
‘Why am I here?’
Alex nodded briefly.
Yassen took out his mobile phone, opened one of the messages he had received in the past few days, and held the display so that Alex could see it clearly. It was a private chat on the darknet, his chat partner was listed as anonymous and had only written /Save Alex/ over and over again. Every question, every request from Yassen, was followed by just those two words. Emails and messages on his mobile phone had looked exactly the same.
A crease appeared between Alex's eyebrows and he tilted his head. Yassen spared him the trouble of formulating the question. ‘I guess it was your little hacker friend.’
Alex rubbed his eyes, shrugged his shoulders and nodded briefly again. Then he tapped his wrist and made a wiping motion.
Yassen considered the gesture but couldn't quite place it. ‘I don't understand you.’
Alex snorted in frustration, then grabbed his mobile phone and tapped on it, finally holding the display up to Yassen, but looking away.
/too late/
‘Too late to prevent something from happening, obviously. But apparently not too late to kill someone. I guess that's why I was sent here.’ h
Alex's head jerked around so abruptly that Yassen heard his vertebrae crack. His eyes widened, then his face closed again. Yassen could hardly imagine any other reason for himself being here, but Alex's reaction made it very clear that this was not what he wanted or needed.
He didn't get a chance to ask anything else. There were noises coming from downstairs, and the front door was slammed shut with exaggerated force. ‘It's me!’
Alex's eyes widened again, and he became frantic. With uncoordinated movements, he threw back the blanket, stumbled and swayed as he stood up, but managed to pull at Yassen's jacket. He moved his lips silently, but this time Yassen understood what he wanted to say.
‘Tom?’ he asked quietly.
Alex nodded frantically and pushed Yassen's shoulders. He seemed barely able to stand.
‘Okay, calm down. I won't hurt him, he won't see me. All right?’
Alex nodded again, but didn't really calm down as footsteps could be heard on the stairs. There was no time left to move to another room. Alex's room didn't offer many hiding places, so Yassen stepped silently behind the open door and routinely tucked his gun into his waistband. Meanwhile, Alex took a few steps forward to meet Tom. Just in time, because the next moment Yassen could see movement through the crack in the door hinges and Tom was standing less than half a metre away from him. An energetic whirlwind that stood in stark contrast to their conversation.
‘Alex! You're up. Everything okay, man? Feeling better?’
‘A bit feverish, tired.’
Yassen couldn't see Alex's face, only his left hand clutching the doorframe until his knuckles turned white. His voice sounded alarmingly quiet and fragile. It was nothing like the Alex he had known years ago.
‘I brought you some food, it's in the fridge, just pop it in the microwave.’
‘Thanks. Later. Study group?’
‘Yes, but I can postpone it and stay here. We can...’
‘Go. Have fun. I'm sleeping.’
‘Okay, but if you need anything or anything happens, let me know. I'll come right away, okay?’ He sounded uncertain.
‘Always,’ Alex replied, still monosyllabic and breathing heavily. Yassen suspected that every word cost him enormous effort.
Arms suddenly wrapped around Alex's torso as Tom pulled him close without warning. Alex hissed in pain as Yassen continued to draw back, even though the wall behind him left little room to do so. Tom immediately let go of Alex.
‘Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to hurt you. No hugs, understood.’
‘Okay.’
Finally, Tom said goodbye and his footsteps receded. Judging by the sounds, he did something in his room, then stomped unmistakably down the stairs. Alex didn't move an inch, and Yassen did the same, as they both listened to the sounds in the house. Tom rummaged around in the kitchen for a moment, then the front door opened and closed.
‘So you can talk after all,’ Yassen commented, stepping forward and swinging the door shut. At that moment, he saw Alex's ashen expression as his eyes closed. He couldn't prevent the boy from falling to the floor, but he was at least able to break his fall when he reflexively grabbed Alex's shoulders and knelt down with him. At the same time, he realised that Alex must have used up all his energy reserves to make a halfway normal impression on Tom. Breathing heavily, he leaned against Yassen's shoulder, his pulse racing and his forehead hot. The injuries and the poor lighting had concealed what was obvious up close. Alex did indeed have a slight fever and was anything but fit.
‘Come on, back to bed with you. Everything else can wait.’ Since Alex seemed unable to move, Yassen rearranged himself and managed to carry him the few steps to the bed. There he laid him down carefully and pulled the blanket over him. As he was about to leave, Alex grabbed his sleeve, barely any strength in his fingers. His eyes looked at him searchingly, but Yassen wasn't sure if Alex really recognised him anymore. His gaze was completely unfocused.
‘Help... me...’ he managed to say, his lips dry, then he seemed to finally lose consciousness. His hand let go of its own accord, his breathing became calmer.
Yassen allowed himself to brush a sweaty strand of hair from his forehead and made a decision. He sat back down on the desk chair and took out his mobile phone. After unlocking it, Kyra's message was still open.
/Assignment accepted. Requesting additional information./
He leaned back and studied the room's furnishings while he considered what to do next. Moments later, his mobile phone vibrated, alerting him to a new message. It was a data link containing a series of messages, police reports and other material.
Shortly afterwards, another message followed.
/Good luck./
Yassen began to read, accompanied by Alex's steady breathing and the soft patter of rain on the window pane.
oOo