Alex Rider 1

Alicia (I’ve made a case that didn’t happen!)

Alex paced in Alan’s office, Bags beneath his eyes from no sleep. Amazingly enough, his mind was still whirring, crammed with facts. “So, Mr Dale needs help. How can you trust him? You expect me to go to Russia to look at the business at the capitol city owned by Mr Gropet…to see if he works with Poison dart!!!” Alan looked at him up and down, sighing. “Send him to Smithers. He will get some sense out of Alex. Mrs Jones laid a hand on his shoulder as they journeyed to Smithers. He was still surprised as the sheet of paper turned to ash as he was presented with his new gadgets. Smithers wasn’t there but he skimmed through the sheet of paper that he had left. A boomerang that contained sharp diamond sides (if you took the cap off) A cap (The hat) that had a help signal lodged deep in the side of the cap (it could also record things up to 3 miles away ), a phone that could shoot darts, rubber bullets, steam and deadly mistletoe juice and a few 50p that when twisted three times right, would become a hand grenade. Armed with these weapons, he journeyed to Russia to start another case.

Chloe

As he got off the plane, he barely glimpsed the dull, grey landscape before he was pushed into a sleek black limo, and hurried out of the airport. The great thing about his spy career was being a VIP 50% of the time. The rest of the time? Being nearly murdered of course. Alex had more and more enemies with each mission. Not that he actually wanted to be in near-death situations. It just came with being a spy. After a five-minute drive, he had arrived at a tall tower of a hotel made of yellow bricks that looked quite old compared to the other modern glass and steel buildings and also looked oddly familiar.

One final Gadget – Benjamin

“Right, we have arrived,” said the chauffeur, “There we have it, no one has lived in this hotel since 1987, fourteen years ago.”  Just then, Smithers came running up to Alex, “Just you wait,” he said. “I have finished creating an update to a gadget you used last time.” Alex watched as Smithers pulled out what looked like an ordinary Game Boy Advance, “The newest model,” he said. Alex gasped in astonishment as Smithers demonstrated the various functions of the Console. “…Various new functions included, it doubles up as a pocket knife, you can insert FireRed into the console to light a match, perfect for exploring dark areas.” “Insert Super Mario Bros and it will create a time-bomb, perfect if you need to escape in a hurry or to break through something.” “…And I installed my own camera app on it, where there is a heat detector to see if there is anything hidden, or you can just use the normal camera.” Alex was impressed, “Thank You, Smithers,” he said. “My pleasure,” he replied, “All of the luck to you for helping Mr Dale on your assignment.” Alex nodded. He could not wait to get started on his mission!

Alicia

The bitter Russian air bit, unforgiving, cold and selfish. It seemed as if it was reminding him of his sure doom. He was staying with Mr Dale, who turned out to be the most worrying, self-important man that existed. He insisted on two food tasters, two bodyguards and two nightguards. Within a day he rode to the capital city and like in Stormbreaker, he went as a fortunate boy who had won the dream experience of his life, a visit to a weaponry factory. Playing on his Game Boy Advance, he killed a few hours, noticing every detail needed, like how super Mario had bombs hidden in the turtles. Mr Gropet was a queer man, almost all skin and bone, he fell asleep at 00:00 exact and his hands were sharp deadly claws. And all his assistants, all factory workers and servants, had one finger missing. It was their thumb, on the left-hand side. Alex was creeped out but knew that he had to stay alert every day and not give anything away.

Chloe

By the second day, Alex knew something major was going on behind his back. There were servants guarding every door and patrolling the corridors and they all looked like they were on an endless shift, moving in the same pattern every single day. And of course, if he tried to wander down a different corridor or even peep into a different room, they would push him back. He had to go at night. First, he would check if there was a basement. It was certain that no secret business would be on the floors which were supposed to be full of rooms in case someone like Alex came along, which was all good except for the fact still remained that he didn’t know where the entrance to the basement where he would be. In the kitchens? He’d have to check. Until then, he wouldn’t be able to do any investigating.

Benjamin

Alex continued to ponder through troubling thoughts. First, who was this Mr Dale? Where was he? Alex fumbled through a cupboard in his room. A single bottle lay, unscathed, on the top. Out of curiosity, he picked it up gently and, seeing that there was a small note inside it, Alex took it out and squinted at it as he tried to read it.

Day 967, 1987

It has been, at long last, after these fateful 967 days, that I have found myself on the teetering edge of glory. I have found freedom. It has taken me 967 days but not a single day was wasted. And those efforts have rewarded me at long last. I must go now and make my escape. Wish me luck that I don’t die. I have decided to keep this page in a bottle I took from the cafeteria so that this will help helpless souls for many more generations to come. Here is my clue to achieving freedom: Every other day, freedom lurks beneath our feet. . . 

Your faithful servant, A. J. G.

Alex’s heart skipped a beat. Was the hotel a prison? Who was AJC? Alex would be the one to find out.

Alicia

Underneath our feet…underneath our feet. That proved that there was a basement somewhere. Alex had spotted a cupboard…that was it! Alex scrambled to the nearest cupboard which was his (in his room)and he banged nine taps onto the cupboard door, six double taps and seven triple taps. The door revolved creakingly and became a lift, zooming down. Luckily Alex had remembered to bring some of his gadgets including his hat and his phone it would become useful later id he was in mortal peril which well, would be quite likely. The lit was fitted with a silencing gadget so it made no ping and the slick doors slid open. Infront of him were three doors. What could he do?

A)wait

B)go back

C)die by choosing a random door

D) listen to the strange, gurgling voice coming from the speakers

Alex chose D.

Chloe

Shivering, Alex turned to face the speakers. At first, he couldn’t understand but then the voice turned louder and clearer and seemed to be talking to him. “I have left one last clue for your escape to follow the map of the hotel and look for the direction of the hotel exit. That is where you will find your escape.” The map of the hotel. That meant the one in the bedroom. The one that was hanging above his bed. Could this AJG have taken it down from some corridor and put it in that room on purpose? It would be unlikely that he knew this place well enough to draw the map himself.

 Looking around the circular room, Alex realized that the doors of the elevator had melted back into the wall without a trace. The doors were all equally spaced apart so he couldn’t tell which direction he’d come from. He started tapping the wall all the way around until he heard a noise and tried to force the door open. He’d almost given up when Alex remembered. He’d done nine taps, six double taps and seven triple taps to open the door so maybe it would work the same way down here. He tapped the pattern onto the door and it silently slid open. Even if there were guards outside his door, they would never hear a thing. His watch told him that it was 12:00 already. That meant he would probably have to finish discovering this secret exit later or somebody would suspect something. Just before he left the room, he decided to pull the map off the wall. It would come in handy later and maybe next time he would bring a marker to mark which wall was actually the elevator and hopefully then he would be able to find out more about Mr Gropet. Because although Mr Dale was obviously terrified of Mr Gropet, he generally was scared of everything so that wasn’t really evidence.

Benjamin – Part 2  – The Plan

Over the next few days, Alex yearned to return to the underground basement. But most of the time, he was heavily guarded and supervised under all circumstances. The only time when Alex could do things was at nightfall. After finishing doing the chores for the day, Alex sat down in his room (his cell). He wondered when night would fall and listened to the sounds around him for a little while. THUD! Night had fallen. Right away, Alex got to work. First, he would find a way out of his cell. Easy. Alex pulled out the Game Boy Advance and loaded Bitlocker into it. The effect was immediate. CLICK! The cell door opened. Alex exited the room, into the darkness. . .

Chloe

Unknown to Alex, an alarm had been raised with guards now searching for a fair-haired boy who had broken into the factory. Alex was suspected and his room was bugged. Luckily for Alex, he debugged his room every night ever since he had found the secret elevator. He couldn’t risk getting found out. This was now a bigger problem as there seemed to be more guards and he never was left alone for more than a few minutes. It was certain that they suspected him of something. could it be the factory? That night, Alex made his plan of escape. Part 1:create a distraction to get free of the guards. Part 2: gather all his things and escape via the secret elevator and through the factory, making sure to take photos as evidence on his Nintendo. Part 3 would be much harder. He’d need to somehow sneak onto a plane flying to London without a ticket, convince Alan Blunt that Mr Gropet was a criminal working with Poison Dart and that he needed to be arrested. The plan would take place tonight.

Benjamin – Part 3 – The Plan Commences

Tonight was the night, and Alex would uncover the secrets of the basement.

The bells of the nearby church chimed eleven times. The echoes of the ominous chimes faded. In a place northbound of Moscow, danger lurked in every corner of the streets. As soon as the full moon appeared in the translucent sky, the killings started. Every month, one young citizen would mysteriously vanish. A few days later, they would suddenly reappear, dead, in awkward positions. . .

200 miles away, Alex Rider began the long-awaited plan.

Alicia

Alex had to escape, and fast. The hall he ate in was on fire and the building was collapsing and the guards had gone. Abseiling down the side of the building with no harness scared him to death. In his mind, Alex ticked part one and two. There was a lightweight rucksack on his back that carried all his supplies  mainly food, but his gadgets as well there was a false bottom, and even if they found it, there would be nothing suspicious about the gadgets that he had. soon, Alex encountered a lottery shop. “Last few minutes!” the speaker blared out. using some spare change, he bought a ticket.He was old enough to use a debit card , so there would be no risk.

A few minutes later, Alex, much to the disappointment of others, had won! He had won a full 5 billion pounds! As the announcer slipped him the card, he felt relieved. Soon, he was on a first class seat on a plane. Quickly dying his hair brown and changing into a casual (but actually bulletproof) trousers, jeans and a jacket he disguised himself. Suddenly, he felt a pang of guilt. Jack wouldn’t approve of his money rush. After they had landed, Alex hailed a taxi and sped off to Royal and General bank. In a moment he was there and yelling at Mrs Jones and Alan to arrest Mr Gropet.  “I’m afraid we can’t do that yet, even though I trust you,” Alan replied slowly, “you see… .”

Outside the door, someone was spying.He was holding a gun and he was griping it so tight, that his knuckles were white. He was to kill the interfering Alex Rider. It was an employee from Scorpia. He had gone under many names before. With Hunter, his code name was Cossack. With his parents and old friends, his name was Yasha. But now with his enemies and employers alike, he had one name: Yassen Gregorvich. He was waiting for their conversation to end. He was waiting to strike.

What happened to the real Alan Blunt…

Ten minutes earlier

In the midst of the confusion, Yassen had sneaked up behind him, pulled out his knife and slit Alan Blunt’s throat, kicking him under the sofa in the corner and putting on a wig and mask both modified to simulate the exact features of Alan. Next he ordered some guards to tidy the room while he sorted out some business. In fact, he did have business to attend to. Taking off his mask and wig, he then ran past Alex, knowing he would be followed, into the basement. Just as planned. Once he reached the basement, he sidestepped Alex and hurried up to the office, putting on the mask and wig and ordering the coffee from a guard that was another agent in disguise and after Mrs Jones had been killed, running out of the building to create a diversion. Unknown to Alex, the basement was all an ambush set up by Scorpia weeks ago as a way to get rid of Alex Rider and the case with Mr Gropet was just a way to keep MI6 busy while the trap was being set up. Mr Dale and Mr Gropet were both Scorpia agents in disguise and even Alex’s escape had been planned. Down in the bottom basement, 20 Scorpia agents were waiting for him each with a handgun, waiting to attack.

In the basement

As Alex reached the second last floor, he started to feel uneasy. There was no sign of Yassen yet and he had been pretty sure that he wasn’t far behind. He hadn’t heard anybody else here so he figured he must have been tricked. There must be some sort of trap set up on the bottom floor, possibly an ambush. The best option would be to come up and inform Mrs Jones or Alan Blunt that something was down there. So Alex ran up to the ground floor and then to Alan’s office only to find an unconscious and possibly dead Mrs Jones and a dead Alan Blunt under the sofa.