Remembrance Day with Alex Rider

Remembrance Day Chapter 4

Getting ready for school the next day, Alex can't help but dread the day ahead, at the same time as being more excited than he'd ever been, or at least since Cairo... on a happier note, Alex had received his uniform as he was leaving the Royal & General, and he was pleased to report they fit for once. His normal school uniform was discarded in a heap on the floor, if everything went to plan Alex wouldn't be needing them again.

Pulling on his bullet-proof vest, Alex pondered what Brecon Beacons would look like after so many years. Probably exactly the same, the Sergeant didn't like change much. Maybe a few more huts, a new course, definitely more mud after the rainy season they'd just had. He grabbed one of his many black t-shirts, grabbing the green and brown camouflage jacket hanging on his chair, and shoved his phone in one of the many pockets, along with a small black device that might look like some sort of modern pager or calculator, but was actually an advanced piece of technology linked directly to MI6's early warning system, so if there were any emergencies in the London area, he could be quickly told about the situation, or Alex could use it to send or receive messages directly with the head and deputy of MI6. The small device had come in handy when Alex had to report to the office suddenly after school, even though it was a false alarm.

Already dressed and showered, he ran downstairs to shove some cereal down his throat, soon returning to his room to fill his military style backpack with the necessary equipment for the day. because of his position in the parade, Alex didn't actually have to partake in any lessons, he had to be ready in formation early, and Blunt had been quick to volunteer him to help organise the students, probably some sort of final act of superiority before Alex was shipped off to deepest darkest Wales. After the parade, All cadets were required to remain for a short time to participate in a special military-only parade, and to stand in rows whilst the two minutes of silence were held at eleven o'clock. All the messing around with formations and orders and marching would take hours, Alex knew from experience, and he would probably be pulled from school early to return to BB anyway.

So Alex started packing his 'accessories' into his bag, smiling as he did so. If they were fully allowed to carry anything they needed during the group activities, then Alex would certainly be taking everything necessary at BB. That included the stupid beret hat thing (in Alex's opinion it was useless, it kept falling off his head anyway) and all the formal paperwork would probably come in handy if everyone reacted the way Alex thought they would. His badge went in the bag (The SAS one and the MI6 one) as well as his holsters for guns and knives. That would be interesting putting those on... His grin widened into a full blown smile, sniggering quietly as he finished packing ALL of his weapons into the bag, minus the ones he always kept on him. On second though, he put an extra knife in his boot and another small pistol in the small of his back. A big parade through central London was a huge terrorist target, you could never be too careful, and most people couldn't see a threat even if it was right under their nose.

Running outside to avoid being late, Alex hopped on his bike and raced to school, eager to tell Tom about his adventure last night and his evil plan to annoy '6 to high heavens. He locked his bike up and quickly walked towards Tom, who was attempting to chat up one of the girls in the year below, but she clearly wanted nothing to do with him. Alex snuck up behind Tom and waved the poor girl off. As Tom was abut to follow after her, Alex quickly taped on his shoulders with more force than necessary, petrifying Tom.

Mouth as wide as ... well, as wide as it could be, he nearly shouted at Alex, "I- wait... - Arghhh! Alex, what did I tell you about sneaking up on me? Don't do it!" Alex was having a bit of a giggling fit, unusual for his normally silent and un-emotional character. "Wait, are you okay?! I don't think I've ever seen you this happy, even if it is at my misery!" Tom turned slightly more serious, worried his friend was on a new medication or something, but quickly discovered from Alex's smile that it was probably something to do with '6.