Chapter Text
Alex was staring with growing horror at Alan Blunt. "So, what do you say?"
Alex thought for a minute. They were threatening Jack's visa status but this was espionage. Ian had made sure to tell him what this kind of agreement usually constituted. He wanted none of it. "I think you're fucking crackers. I'm a schoolboy, not a spy."
Blunt stared at him. There was a long pause. "You don't have very many options. I'd hate to see Ms. Starbright detained indefinitely."
Alex felt a surge of rage. Did he just threaten to fucking torture Jack?! His vision burned red at the edges. How dare he! Alex picked up his steaknife and jammed it into Blunt's thigh. "Fuck you."
The puddle of red matched Alex's mood perfectly. The man began to convulse. Alex felt a prick at the back of his neck and the world faded to grey.
He woke in the same cell he'd originally been placed in. At least, he assumed so. Crawley was sitting across from him. "You killed the head of MI6."
Alex shrugged. "He had it coming."
Crawley pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do you even realize what you've done?"
Alex honestly didn't care. "Probably not."
There was a long silence. "You're not going to regular prison, you understand. There's a place we keep people who are threats to national security."
Alex glared at the man. "If you had gotten one of your adult agents to work the case like a good little agency, you wouldn't be in this mess."
Crawley gave him a look that suggested he was stupid. "Oh, I'm well aware."
There was a long silence as they both stared at each other. Alex let the buzzing at the back of his mind begin to settle. The violence burned just beneath his skin. Crawley seemed to sense that scolding him was not going to be doing him any good.
Alex was handcuffed by two large men. He didn't say a word to either of them. Alex felt a prick at his neck. His vision began to swim but he didn't fall unconscious. The rest of the trip had him feeling sick. There was no way he could keep track of the time or where he was going. Alex was pretty sure there was a plane and a ship involved. The air smelled like the sea at least. The roaring in his ears might just be whatever drug they gave him. His vision was useless. It was like trying to look through a kaleidoscope. The images shattered in front of his face. It was almost relaxing, except for the nausea. He saw Blunt bleeding out again and again and felt a vicious, guilt-tinged, rush of satisfaction. Alex felt himself drifting off.
The warden was not happy. He stared down at his newest prisoner. It was a child. He had signed up to guard hardened criminals, not young boys that looked like they belonged next door to his family. The boy stirred. He opened his eyes. Beautiful brown eyes. Fuck him, but he had a son that age. The guards twitched but the warden did not. "Hi, I'm Alex."
The angelic smile decorated his face. That did it. What the hell was MI6 playing at? "I'm the warden of the prison. You can call me John."
Alex nodded. "Er, okay, John."
The kid was British?! What in the ever-loving fuck?! "So...how does the whole prison thing work?"
John watched the kid visibly droop. "It's going to be okay, kid. First off, you should stay away from Giovanni. Nobody can prove anything but…"
Alex blinked at the lack of handcuffs. The warden was helpfully telling him about all the security features of the prison and he wasn't about to interrupt. The man hadn't even asked him about what he'd done, though apparently it was against the rules to discuss specific crimes. Alex doubted anyone actually followed that rule. Plus, he had a sneaking suspicion that they had him on live CCTV and denying it wasn't going to get him anywhere. The warden seemed to have a habit of reaching for his hand, remembering he didn't want to be touched, and recoiling apologetically. "I'm sorry about that, I just, you're very young."
Alex drooped at this. "Fourteen and three months."
The warden shuddered slightly. Every single person at the table looked up at that.
"I was guessing twelve."
Alex fixed the man with a look. The man guffawed. "You can arm wrestle me after you hit puberty."
Alex just arched a brow. The warden stepped in. "Everyone, this is Alex. He's going to be staying for the foreseeable future."
There were grumbling all around. Alex got the impression that fourteen-year-olds were not on the acceptable list of criminal-approved prisoners. "What?! He doesn't even have a beard yet!"
Alex rolled his eyes as he got his food from the cafeteria lady who was staring more at him than his lunch tray. The warden sighed loudly behind him. "You know I don't get to know the crimes of any of the prisoners. Blunt is Blunt."
Alex muttered under his breath. "Not anymore."
The room froze. "Pardon?"
Alex shrugged. "That's why I got sent here. I kind of...stabbed him after he threatened my family."
The entire room stared at him in shock. "He, uh, died."
There were at least three whoops that came from the cafeteria table. The warden sighed. "I'll leave you to get acquainted."
Alex was immediately mobbed after he sat down. Well, mobbed with questions. Everyone kept a healthy two-foot radius away from him and his food. They wanted to know about politics. Elections. Every detail of Blunt's murder. Whether he had been doing other things before his first meeting with Blunt. Alex point-blank refused to answer anything personal. He didn't even know if he liked girls, let alone dated one, fuck's sake. Not that he told any of them that. Alex didn't understand why one of them wanted to know about clothing brands or art at all but then one of them had dropped hints that they were mob fronts. Alex promptly forgot every single last name he'd been told. The names probably weren't even real anyway. He finished his food. It was about Brooklands cafeteria grade. Not great. Not terrible.
After lunch finally finished, they were all hustled off to the library. Alex decided to actually try to find any decent books. Should he even try to keep up with his schooling? It wasn't like he had any future prospects. Well, Ian wouldn't have taken that as an excuse. You never know, Alex. Alex sighed and picked out textbooks that looked similar enough to what he was supposed to be studying. The librarian nodded as he signed the slip. She gave him a considering look. "Stay out of trouble."
Alex gave her an incredulous look. "I'll do my best."
His tone was probably rather dry. She flushed and finished up the paperwork. Alex took his stack of books and sat down in the corner of the library. There were a few people who glanced his way but they seemed to sense that he wanted to be left alone. Alex really wasn't that big on having huge amounts of attention. Sure, he'd been popular at school but it was the football team and drama class popular. Meaning that the attention was shared. He cracked the French textbook open with a sigh. Apparently, verb tenses were just as awful in prison.