(Alex Rider Fanfiction) Floating in the Dark

Six

It was the next day; three days of him as a French transfer student. Three days of him pretending to be a normal schoolboy, which was something he wished he could be, and something that he could never be, never again.

Staining to keep his mind empty of such dark thoughts, Alex now strode over to the tennis courts. It was lunch break, so he had an hour to become Ricard's friend. A short hour to somehow get close to that snobby, arrogant brat. It was nearly impossible, but Alex walked towards the courts with an idea in his head.

Ricard was currently snickering as he tried to bully a small boy into playing against him. The boy was smart enough to realize that he'd lose within three seconds, and that if he'd lost, he'd have to suffer through Ricard's mockery. It was clear that the rich kid had an uncanny skill for making someone feel lower than a grain of dirt in a matter of seconds.

Alex stepped through the gate in the chain-link fence, closing it behind him. "Hey," he called out. Both boys looked over at him, but he focused his gaze on Ricard in particular. "Are you Ricard?"

"Yeah, what of it?" Ricard retorted. The smaller boy took this chance to get out of there, wasting no time at all.

Alex put on a confident smile, and picked up a spare tennis racket that had been leaning against the fence. "I heard you're somewhat decent in tennis."

"Huh?" Ricard scrunched up his round face as he eyed Alex, his expression showing both suspicion and disbelief. "You wanna play?"

In answer, Alex swung the racket in a back-hand motion, as if testing it out. Shouldering it, he cocked his head in a confident manner. "What's the matter? Don't want to play?"

Ricard wasn't sure what to think of this. "Why should I play you?"

Alex made a grin. "Because if you lose, you have to follow me around for the next twenty-four hours, and be my slave. You'll have to do whatever I want."

"Huh?!" Ricard blinked, his jaw going slack. "Are you ki-?!"

"You scared?" Alex said the magic words. At once, Ricard's face hardened.

"All right. But if I win, you have to be my slave. For twenty-four straight hours, got it?"

Alex smiled. It was his own smile this time, but it wasn't one of joy or amusement. It was nothing more than the smile of a predator who had finally cornered his prey. He crossed over to the other side of the net.

"Let's play."

cccc

"Sir?" A young man poked his head into Alan Blunt's office. "Mr. Algonthin is here?"

Alan Blunt looked up from the mess of papers on his desk. He regarded the young aide with a severe expression. "Send him in, then."

"Yes, sir!" The aide pulled his head from view, and hurriedly shut the door. Moments later, it opened again, this time admitting a tall, thin man. He seemed to have more bones than meat on him, and it was a wonder that he was able to move as gracefully as he did.

Algonthin went straight to one of the chairs placed in front of the desk, and folded his long limbs into a sitting position. His dark eyes bright, he quietly watched Alan Blunt.

"I apologize for not informing you earlier," Blunt began. His tone made it clear that he wasn't sorry at all. "But it is a matter of extreme importance. The position needs to be filled, you understand. With Mrs. Jones no longer here, it has become a bit of a barn. Too much duties left undone."

Algonthin just blinked.

"So as of this moment," Blunt went on, completely unfazed by the new Deputy Head's lack of response, "I am handing this Rider business over to you. I'll have the information transferred over right away. I want this handled as quickly and quietly as possible. And," Blunt paused, interlocking his fingers, and resting his chin on them, "I want the boy unharmed."