Chapter Text
James Adams crouched low, concealed behind a thick hedge as he observed the mansion through the scope of his sniper rifle. His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the grounds. It was a typical mission — a covert operation to retrieve information about a high-profile weapons deal — and James was executing his role perfectly. His team was in position, and the objective was clear: infiltrate the mansion, extract the intel, and get out clean. No problems.
Except there’s something off, James thought, his instincts humming in the back of his mind. He didn’t know what it was, but something about the situation didn’t feel right. The feeling had become a constant companion throughout the mission, and it was starting to gnaw at him. Maybe it was just the pressure of always being on edge. But whatever it was, it was enough to make him hesitate for a fraction of a second.
“James,” Dana’s voice crackled through the comms, a little too loudly for his taste, “Are you good? The target’s about to arrive.”
“Yeah, I’m good,” James replied, trying to shake the unease. “I’m in position. Stay sharp.”
Dana, Kyle, and Bruce, his fellow agents, were positioned at strategic points on the estate, ready to execute their roles once the target arrived. The plan was simple: as soon as they had the intel, they would extract it and escape without a trace. But the gnawing feeling refused to leave him.
The first sign that something was wrong came in the form of a sleek black Range Rover gliding up the long driveway of the mansion. James’s eyes locked onto the vehicle as it slowed to a stop, but it wasn’t the car that made his heart skip a beat. It was the man who emerged from it.
No… it can’t be.
James’s breath hitched in his throat as he watched the figure step out of the vehicle. Tall, wearing dark, tailored clothes. His features sharp, his eyes cold. This man didn’t belong here. He couldn’t be here.
Yassen Gregorovich.
The name struck James like a physical blow. The most infamous assassin in the world. A man tied to the darkest corners of MI6 operations. A man whose presence was always a harbinger of death. But why was he here? And why now?
James’s hand clenched around the rifle, his mind racing. Yassen Gregorovich was not supposed to be here. After the mission with Alex Rider years ago — the mission that went horribly wrong — Yassen had disappeared off the grid, just like everyone else connected to MI6's Youth Division.
But there was no way James was going to entertain that thought. That life was gone. He wasn’t Alex Rider anymore. He was James Adams. That was his identity now. His past — the real past — was something he’d buried, discarded.
He shook his head, forcing himself to focus. There was no time for this.
“Focus, James,” he muttered under his breath.
“Everything clear?” Kyle asked, his voice crackling through the comms.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. We’ll move in once the intel’s secured.”
But James couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that something was off. Yassen Gregorovich’s arrival on the scene couldn’t be a coincidence. He had to be here for a reason.
As the seconds ticked by, a sense of foreboding settled over James. He didn’t know why Yassen was here or what role he played in this operation, but he couldn’t let it distract him. He had a mission to complete.
The mission went off without a hitch, but the unease in James’s gut didn’t fade. As the team made their way back to CHERUB, he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something larger was at play. He’d been trained to trust his instincts, and right now, they were screaming at him that trouble was coming.
“Everything went smooth,” Dana commented, wiping the sweat off her forehead. “Not a single hitch.”
“Yeah,” James said, his voice tight. “Too smooth.”
The air around him felt charged, like something big was about to happen. As they neared the gates of the CHERUB campus, the sense of danger heightened. His body went rigid, every muscle coiled and ready to move.
“Something’s wrong,” he muttered. He turned to his teammates. “Stay alert.”
And just like that, the calm was shattered.
The sound of screeching tires filled the air. SCORPIA agents flooded the perimeter of the campus, their movements swift and coordinated. The security alarms blared, and gunfire rang out as the SCORPIA agents breached the gates.
“Move, now!” James shouted, grabbing Dana and Kyle by the arm and yanking them toward cover. The chaos erupted around them as gunshots raked through the air, and the familiar sounds of an attack flooded the campus.
Bruce ducked behind a concrete barrier, looking over at James with a sharp expression. “What the hell is going on? Who the hell are these people?”
“SCORPIA,” James said, his voice clipped. “They’re here for me. We need to move, now.”
“What?” Kyle’s voice trembled with disbelief. “What do you mean, ‘they’re here for you’? What’s going on, James?”
James’s mind raced. He knew what was happening. SCORPIA had somehow tracked him down. The past he thought he had buried was now catching up with him, and there was no way out.
“They’re here for me,” James repeated, a cold chill running down his spine. “Because of who I was.”
“Who you were?” Bruce repeated. “What are you talking about?”
James’s eyes flicked toward his friends, his heart heavy with the truth. “I’m not just James Adams. I was… Alex Rider.”
The words hit the air with the force of a bomb.
Kyle froze. “What?”
Bruce’s mouth fell open, and Dana’s eyes narrowed in confusion.
“You’re Alex Rider?” Dana’s voice was incredulous. “The Alex Rider? The MI6 spy?”
James nodded slowly, a painful lump forming in his throat. “Yeah. I was Alex Rider. But that life is gone. After a mission went wrong, I was left for dead. I faked my death. I ran. And I became James Adams.”
Dana took a step back, her face pale with shock. “But why didn’t you tell us? All this time, we’ve been working together, and you never said a word.”
James’s expression hardened. “Because I didn’t want to bring that life back. I didn’t want to drag any of you into it. Alex Rider is dead. He was abandoned. He doesn’t exist anymore.”
Bruce shook his head. “You’ve been lying to us the whole time. This whole time, we thought you were just some regular kid.”
“I am just some regular kid now,” James snapped, frustration lacing his voice. “I made myself someone else. I wanted to forget who I was. I wanted to forget the lies, the danger, the things I’ve done.”
Dana looked at him with wide eyes. “So... SCORPIA? They’re after you because of your past?”
James nodded, his face grim. “Yes. And they won’t stop until they get what they want.”
A loud crash echoed through the air, followed by the unmistakable sound of gunfire.
“We need to get moving,” James said, pulling them all to their feet. “SCORPIA’s after me. They want me dead, or worse.”
The campus was in chaos. SCORPIA agents had overrun the outer perimeter and were making their way through the campus, systematically taking out anyone who got in their way. James and his team found themselves cornered in a hallway, trapped between the SCORPIA forces and nowhere to run.
“Stay down!” James barked, signaling to his teammates. “We fight to survive, but we need to make it to the safe house.”
The group took cover behind a nearby wall, the sounds of gunfire echoing in the distance. James’s mind was working fast. He knew how SCORPIA operated. They would stop at nothing to eliminate threats. And right now, James was the biggest threat.
“James,” Bruce said, his voice tight. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
“Because I thought I could keep you safe,” James replied, his voice cold. “But now they’re here, and it’s too late. There’s no running anymore.”
Dana’s face was pale, her hands shaking as she gripped her weapon. “What do we do now?”
“We fight,” James said firmly. “We survive. And we protect each other.”
The door to the hallway burst open, and SCORPIA agents poured in, weapons raised. James didn’t hesitate. He dove into action, leading the charge, his body moving instinctively, trained by years of combat and survival. His past life as Alex Rider may have been buried, but the skills — the instincts — never left him.
The fight for survival had just begun.