The Bard of the Bodleian (an Alex Rider fanfiction)

Chapter 3: The Spiral Staircase

Disclaimer: all characters and references to Alex Rider, Mission Impossible, James Bond, Narnia, Marvel and any William Shakespeare play are not our own (we're just big nerds).

Together they cautiously walked up the steps, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was rather slow going as the spiral staircase was cloaked in darkness, the steps barely visible in the gloom. Alex was well aware that if they were discovered, it would be very difficult to explain how they got here. Soon they reached the next floor, the doorway opening up into a fairly large room with the same paneled walls so common at Oxford University. In the middle of the room was the woman Alex recognised from the tour. She appeared somewhat flustered from climbing the staircase but was busy spreading out the papers she had been carrying across a table. Also in the room were two other men whom Alex had never seen before. One was tall and lanky, well over six foot. He had mousy brown hair that flopped over his eyes in a classic scholarly style. He was obviously in charge, his voice carrying across the large room to where Alex and Tom were hiding.

"About time! What kept you, Ariel?"

"Sorry, Prospero, it look some time to locate the manuscript-"

"Why don't we just use our real names?" The second guy asked, turning to the first. He was much shorter than the tall man, whom Alex assumed was Prospero. Wide set and brutish, his muscles were clearly visible through his tight t-shirt. "Seriously, Dorian, why are you being so theatrical?"

Alex rolled his eyes, he couldn't help but agree. Shakespeare nerds.

"It's safer that we don't address each other out in the open, Caliban, you never know who's listening." Prospero replied, not without exasperation.

"We've just climbed up a bloody spiral staircase hidden behind a secret door, who the hell is there to overhear us?!"

Alex heard Tom shift uncomfortably behind him. He was a few steps below Alex, unable to see the scene playing out before them, he could only hear their voices.

"I don't care if we're on Oxford high street or the middle of the desert. We are using the codenames. If you're not happy with that you are welcome to go."

For a moment, Alex thought that Caliban would leave, but he just muttered something inaudible under his breath and settled into an angry silence.

"So," Ariel interrupted, raising her eyebrows at the two men. "Back to the matter at hand, what's next?"

"Now we go ahead with Phase two," Prospero replied, smiling with a hint of excitement to his voice, "we acquire the manuscript."

"What manuscuscript?" Tom whispered in Alex's ear.

He shrugged at his friend, "I have no idea."

There was movement again in the room, as Caliban swept up the collection of pages before following Prospero and Ariel to another door at the opposite side of the room. He had failed to realise one of the pages had fallen off the table and was now lying underneath it on the carpet. The three of them exited through the door and silence once again descended.

Alex was now sure these three idiot people weren't Scorpia, but his gut told him that they were certainly up to no good. Though to be honest it really didn't take a genius to figure that out. And anyway, he was curious. Motioning for Tom to stay where he was, hidden on the staircase, he crept across the room and picked up the fallen sheet of paper, scanning the page in his hand. It didn't tell him much, it was only a photocopy of a newspaper article, advertising the Bodleian's Shakespeare exhibition, with a few brief comments by the curator. He was about to turn back to Tom with what he had found when the door swung open and Caliban appeared.

There was a moment of stunned silence, then Caliban reacted, but Alex was faster. Crossing the room with reactions born from countless life-threatening situations, Alex aimed a kick at the man with the intent of temporarily incapacitating him. He certainly would have done, had it not been for Caliban's attempted block. As it was the man was still hit with force, causing him to double over in pain, gasping slightly from the strength of the blow. Alex was about to continue with a second strike to the head, but froze as he felt the all too familiar feeling of a gun pressed to his head.

"I would stop if I were you," came the calm voice of Prospero. Alex did as he was told, lowering his hands in an act of surrender.

"Good," continued Prospero. "Sit." He gestured to a chair and Alex, with not much choice left, sat. Alex hoped Tom had used his initiative and got out of sight.

The woman, Ariel, appeared behind him, a look of shock on her face.

"I recognise him! He was in the hall," she glared at Alex. "You followed me. What do you know?"

Alex said nothing.

"Answer her!" Prospero glared at him threateningly.

Alex decided it was best to pull the scared kid card. It had served him well on many occasions, and was the reason Alex had been employed at MI6 in the first place. Although in recent months he was beginning to grow more into the man he was going to be, leaving behind the boy he once was. Still, worth a try.

"I followed you through the door because you left a few pages behind when you dropped them," he purposely made his voice slightly higher pitched trying to sound as scared and kid-like as possible. "I was going to give them to you but I saw you disappear through that bookshelf door and I followed you up here." The lie was flimsy but thankfully Prospero nodded, seeming to accept the story. Caliban on the other hand was less believing.

"Then why, you little brat, did you kick me?" He snarled at Alex.

"We don't have time, Caliban. Get the rope, we'll tie him up and leave him here," Prospero interjected. "By the time he's discovered we'll be long gone."

"But-"

"Caliban. We don't kill anyone. That's the rule. Anyway, what's the worst he can do? He's just a kid."

Caliban muttered a few barely audible curse words, before reaching into his bag for a rope and tying Alex to the chair, smiling to himself as he made the ropes as tight as possible. Finally he stuffed a wad of material into Alex's mouth.

"Don't want you shouting for help now do we," he said before hitting Alex hard across the head. Caliban was strong and he put all of his anger behind the blow, causing Alex to reel and his head to spin. He slumped forward slightly, prevented from falling only by the ropes that held him.

Through his dazed thoughts he heard Prospero's angered words: "Caliban, leave. Now!" before there was the sound of footsteps and he was once again alone in the room.