No more running...

Tricked

Yegor had received the set of information loud and clear at two a.m. in the morning in his home. He was never much of a heavy sleeper. Always awake like an owl. He had answered a phone call, fully awake.

"Change of plans." The voice on the other line said. "We have his whereabouts. Berlin. Sending you the coordinates to his exact location. Go. I want him back. Alive."

Time skip...

Yegor had been trained by Scorpia themselves six months ago and had shown exceptionally good results. This was his first mission and he wasn't about to blow it.

He had taken a plane to Berlin, Germany. Ordering first class, compliments of Scorpia, he sipped his Martini and ate his Caviar.

How he had all the guns in his suitcase skipped passed all the metal detectors at the airport's security system was simple. He had cleverly disguised them in huge bottles of water. They had appeared empty at first, but if one could see it up close, they would have spotted the reflective mirror would created an optical illusion, thus, tricking the naked eye. These one way glasses were used very commonly in police stations. The empty bottles were passed on to the security guard who had returned them to him afterwards and they did not go through the metal scanners. Yegor had travelled under the name of 'Paul Ivanov' as a personal gymnastics teacher having flied over from Russia. After the officials had checked his name through the system thanks to Scorpia creating a fake background page about him on a fake website, he was free to leave. He had then switched the guns from the bottles so fast, having pretended to place the empty bottles into his suitcase, proceeding to carry it abroad the aircraft as his personal hand held baggage.

Yegor had alighted the plane without any further disruptions. He was escorted by a Scorpia member under him in a black taxi just outside the airport. They drove him to his hotel which was a luxurious five star.

Upon arrival, he took out his gun which was a small silencer. It had always been his favourite gun compared to the pistol which housed more bullets. Yegor didn't think he'd need those extra bullets to do the job. One was all he needed, and he would do it as silently as possible.

In the hotel, he had locked the door and made the necessary arrangements to carry out this procedure with a total success rate of 100%. Scorpia did not tolerate failures.

He meets a woman at exactly three o'clock by the name of Sarah Olsky. She was also an extremely skilled assassin hired by Scorpia and she was at his disposal. They meet privately at a small cafe. The smell of fresh brewed coffee and freshly baked pastries filled his nostrils as he approached the rear booth.

Both had discussed their plans quietly away from prying eyes. Sarah was to go by the name of Adele and Yegor was to go by the name of Adrian. They would be posing as husband and wife. Both Scorpia assassins headed into their respective restrooms to change their appearances.

Alex Rider trudged through an unknown street, the scorching heat of Berlin shining down on him. He was hungry and lost. And to top it all off, he was very broke. He looked like one of those homeless children who fought on the street for food in those movies.

A lady with a sun hat walked pass him. She held a handbag and wore red a v-neck sweater. Beside her was a man no older than her. He was wearing a Harrison tweed jacket with a polo shirt tucked underneath.

Alex passed by them without a glance, two people walking along as they minded their own business. The woman seemed to look at him in concern.

"Are you lost?" She asked him in fluent German. Alex nodded. She didn't seem surprised at all that he understood her, despite the obvious looks of a British kid, which had struck him as a bit odd. Alex remembered what Ian had always told him when he was younger. Never ever talk to strangers you hardly know. But it was too late now. The stranger already saw his face.

"Well, my name is Adele. Why don't you come over to our house and we'll call your parents from there. Does that sound good? My husband won't mind at all. Will you, Adrian dear?" The man beside her shook his head, still eyeing Alex.

Alex was debating whether or not to follow this lovely couple. He heard his stomach growl and defied all of Ian's rules and went along with them.

Their apartment was a cosy little place. There was a small fireplace and a coffe table with two chairs that stood opposite each other. "Pardon the space. We weren't expecting company. Let me get out an extra chair from the storage while Adrian gets the food. You must be starving. Please. Sit and make yourself at home."

Adele retreats behind a door and pulls off her wig and artificial wrinkled cheeks. She removes a single pistol from her handbag and loads a loaded magazine. She flips open her phone and sends a message. "We are in position Mr. Gregorovich. Awaiting your orders, sir."

Almost immediately, there was a reply. "Good. Await my signal. Do not engage yet."

Alex sits patiently at the coffee table. Drumming his fingers as he admires the place around him. Adrian hadn't come out of the kitchen yet. He was taking an awfully long time to remove a baked lamb casserole from the oven. Until Alex realized this. There was no fresh smell of a baked lamb casserole. It was a possibility that the closed door to the kitchen might have blocked it, but still, he would have still smelled traces of it. But there was nothing. He sniffed the air once again for confirmation. It smelled clean.

Alex looked back to the room that Adeline had entered. Surely she couldn't have had that much trouble taking out a chair. Maybe she was.

Alex got up to make sure that she wasn't hurt when he spotted the glint of metal in his peripheral vision. Then, something ripped passed him as he dodged. A bullet that he barely heard coming had ripped through the wooden legs of the coffee table.

Alex scrambled to hide behind the sofa. He was unarmed. Not good. Someone was trying to kill him. But who? He risked a peak as he saw an unfamiliar woman. She was tall and definitely an American. What happened to Adeline? And Adrian? Were they alright? So many questions were whirling in his mind.

"Alex Rider. Come out come out wherever you are. You know you can't hide. Scorpia never forgives and Scorpia never forgets." Alex cursed. Scorpia. That name was all too familiar as flashes of his previous mission raced through his mind as he closed his eyes shut. He remained quiet, his lips pursing into a hard line.

He had to find a way out. But how?

Yegor stood in position. He was now outside. After having been told to get the lamb casserole from the oven, he climbed out kitchen the window and crept to the side of the house. He faced the living room and he saw Alex Rider hiding behind a sofa eyes flashed with pure fear.

Yegor aimed his gun. Just a single shot with a single bullet to the left shoulder won't let him bleed to death. He took aim, closing one eye for parallax error. Once he was sure of it, he pulled the trigger.

Alex felt the flash of pain in his left shoulder. Someone had just shot him. He felt himself go unconscious as two figures slowly approached him from both sides. A man he didn't know climbed through the front window and the unknown woman stood in front of him, her gun lowered.

He felt them grab onto his jacket roughly and he slipped into unconsciousness.