Alex's (POV)

        Two hours.

        Two hours we've been dragging Mack through the corn. Tripping over roots and sometimes even going up to our knees in mud.

        Two long, painful hours.

        I take a breath, wincing as my stomach gives an uncomfortable stab of pain.

        Well what should I expect? I missed my last dose of medicine for the day, so now I'm paying for it.

        Mack trips again, making us fall into a kneeling position before I automatically pull him back up with Polly's assistants.

         And this doesn't exactly help much.

         Mack groans. "Is this day over yet?" He mumbles, his eyes fluttering half closed.

          Polly sighs, then gives him a firm whack on the shoulder. His eyes immediately flying back open.

         "Wha-" He looks around in surprise before they clear. "Oh yeah." He takes his right arm, swinging it out. "Onwards and upwards I always say." He babbles, his eyes drooping again.

          Polly rolls her eyes. "Mack, you don't get to fall asleep while we're dragging your sorry butt around." She huffs. "We're tired too." Her own eyes flutter a couple times. "And these nasty clothes don't help much either." She wrinkles her nose.

         I can agree on that.

         Now that the storm has blown away, the humid heat of summer hangs in the air. Our once soaking wet clothes now an uncomfortable dampness with the heat, stiff mud dry all over us.

         I frown, feeling the icky material drag across my skin at each step.

         Nope, not very comfortable.

        "Well I can't help that." Mack says. "But I am the one with the broken leg here." He whines.

         Yeah, I think everyone's at the end of their rope.

        "Just shut it, Mack!" Polly gasps out between breaths.

         But Mack stubbornly continues. "But it's tru-"

         "Shut it!" Polly snaps, her hard gaze turning to meet Mack's.

          We step out of the cornfield, into a small forest of trees.

          Made it.

          But Polly and Mack don't seem to notice since they seem to be stuck in a staring contest at the moment.

        And with each of them giving the other a murderous glare, I can see how they wouldn't notice.

        Mack opens his mouth to add more to their little conversation.

        The hair on the back of my neck suddenly stands on end.

         I tense up, stopping our walking.

        "That's not fai-" I swing my gaze over to Mack's, and he snaps his mouth shut at the sight of my face.

        He immediately starts looking around, his eyes widening.

        I scan the surroundings.

        Trees at our front and sides, cornfield at our backs.

        I release Mack, taking a step forward.

        "Alex, what is it?" I hear Polly's concerned voice ask.

       I don't say anything, my eyes locked on a large tree that's around fifteen feet away. The only tree around that's big enough to hide anyone behind it.

        My heart thuds loudly in my ears.

        He found us?

        I should've been more careful. I should've done something different.

       "Alex?" Now Mack's quiet voice breaks the still air.

        I wince, the sudden noise sounding like a yell to my ears.

        I start to slowly back up.

      "Guys." I mumble out from the corner of my mouth, my eyes never leaving the tree. "We need to-" I stop as laughter begins to emit from over behind the large tree.

         I hear Polly and Mack draw in a sharp breath.

        "You need to what?" A voice asks, echoing throughout the quiet forest.

         I automatically position myself so I'm directly in front of Mack and Polly.

        "Hmm?" The voice questions. "There's nowhere to go now, Alex." A branch cracks.

         My palms are slick with sweat, arms trembling at my side.

         Suddenly there's movement, and Ben steps out from behind the tree.

        Polly gasps, and I hear Mack shuffle forward a step.

         "There's nothing you can do." He gives me a twisted smile, a strange look in his eye.

         My heart sinks as my eyes land on the pistol he has strapped to his hip.

         He's right.

         There's nothing I can do.

         Then his evil smile turns into his normal pleasant one. His face returning to what it had been during the whole month I've known him.

         He looks over my shoulder. "Polly, my dear." He gives a nod. "Sorry you got dragged into this mess." He smirks.

        Polly let's a breath out. "You bastard!" She hisses between clinched teeth as she takes a step forward.

        Ben just seems amused, leaning up against a tree.

       "And Mack." His smirk turns back into that twisted smile. "I couldn't be happier you're here, you spoiled brat." He spits the last few words out with venom.

       Mack seems completely appalled, his mouth hanging slightly open.

        I can't blame him.

       This Ben....is a completely different character from the laid-back, carefree, joking around Ben that they're all accustomed to.

       This Ben-

       Is pure evil.

       Ben let's a snort out at the expressions on everyone's faces.

        He rights himself from his leaning position against the tree, coming forward a few steps.

       "What? No-" He makes a surprised face, bringing his hands up. "Why Ben, Why!" He pretend pleads. "Or-" He gets down on his knees, into a begging position. "Please, please don't kill me!" He shakes his hands, his face the picture of sadness.

        We stay silent, our wide eyes glued on him.

        He stops his little show, staring at us a few seconds.

        He rolls his eyes. "Geez, cat got your tongue?" He smirks again, standing up.

        I wince, my headache giving a squeeze of pain.

        "Why?" Comes Mack's quiet reply.

         Ben smiles. "Finally! Someone asks." He rubs his hands together.

        He looks like he's thinking hard, but then he just shrugs. "Ya know what?" He crosses his arms. "Let's just say, it involves a lot of money." He simply says, his interest in wanting to tell us seeming to of disappeared.

        Polly huffs. "You're doing all this." She waves her arms around. "For some little underground criminal group?!" She yells in anger, her hands going up to her hips.

         Mack joins in. "Yeah, it seems like you would've made more money by being an actor." He points out.

         Ben takes another step forward, his eyes growing hard. "You all have no idea the size of this 'criminal' group." He mocks Polly's voice.

         He tilts his head to the side. "We're spread out all over the US." He lowers his voice. "The CIA's keeping all the info out of papers, the TV." He smiles. "Trying to keep it all under lock and key." He stares at me.

         I feel myself unconsciously avoid direct eye contact, looking down at the forest floor.

        "But Alex here would understand." He pauses, and I feel my heart stop. "With you being a secret and all."

        My eyes widen, and I look up.

        He smirks. "Oh yes, I know ALL about you Alex Rider." He raises an eyebrow. "The worlds first teenage spy." He slowly says, gauging my reaction.

         I struggle for a breath, my heart now hammering painfully in my chest.

         How does he know?

         And if he knows, then.....

         He reads the question in my eyes. "You could say that our underground organization was originally established by.....Scorpia."

       My brain freezes.

         What?

         That can't be.

         "But it is true." Ben says, replying to what I hadn't realized I'd even said out loud.

         "About five years back I believe, Scorpia came to the US and started a small group." He lazily waves a hand around. "Long story short, that small group branched out into more, then those branched out, and so on." He pauses. "And now over those five years, there's hundreds of underground criminal groups spread out all over the US that are lead by one main organization."

         "So no, Mack." He looks back at him. "I didn't go into acting when this...this business is about to take over the world." He gives an evil smile.

          Everyone stays quiet, processing.

         "And with me being one of the higher ups, I was allowed to see some top secret material that Scorpia had ever-so-nicely provided for us." He shakes his head. "Well, material they gave us before you destroyed them, Alex." He shrugs. "But we should actually be thanking you for that. Because that means less competition for us." He laughs again.

         "So that's how I learned about, Alex here. And ever since....you could say I've been a little obsessed with him." His eyes cloud over with something I'd seen way too many times that month I was captured.

         Insanity.

        "I've read about every mission you've been on. I know about everyone you've lost, and....how you lost them." He smirks, his eyes back on me.

        I look away, my breathing growing more labored.

       "It's a shame really." He pauses, running a hand down the side of his neck. "What you went through.....is unbelievable."

         No.

        "I mean!" He shouts, almost like he's excited. "You were tortured for a month! You watched your friend, the housekeeper, burn to death.....Jack I believe her name was."

         I flinch at her name, a rock finding its way on my chest.

        "Then there was Tom. Who sounded like a great friend if I do say so myself." He continues on, ticking his fingers off.

         My throat tightens, my eyes looking back up at Ben.

        "That must've been really hard." He sadly says. "When they practically blew his brains out in your face!"

         My eyes widen, a dark tunnel enveloping my vision.

          Screams
           
          Blood

          Blood everywhere

           Tom

          Unblinking eyes

         "Then there's the lovely, Sabina. And her poor, unfortunate parents." He shrugs. "They didn't do anything. And yet, they had to pay." He pauses again. "Because of you, Alex."

          The sound of my harsh breathing fills my ears, my unblinking eyes staring down at the ground.

          "Stop it!" I hear a frantic Polly shout at Ben.

           Blood

           Twisted smiles

           Smell

           Horror

           "Stop." I pathetically mumble, a crippling urge to crumple to the ground filling my head.

         "Sabina watches her parents get torn limb to limb." I feel the heat of his stare on my face. "Then you watch her slowly get cut apart. Another person dying because of YOU!" He shouts the ending.

          My arms come up to cover my ears as images from all those events start invading my mind.

          All the screams, shouts, pleads for mercy repeatedly going through my head. All the agonizing pain I went through, consuming me once more.

           I fall to the ground, bringing my knees up to my chest. My hands firmly pressed against my ears as I start unconsciously rocking back and forth.

          I feel something touch my back, and I flinch away, bringing a hand out to smack it away.

         Everything just go away!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Polly's (POV)

         My body feels frozen, everything Ben said about what Alex has been through, echoing in my head.

          He witnessed all that?

         The shock disappears as I watch Alex fall to the ground, his knees going up to his chest, hands covering his ears.

         And judging from the way Alex is behaving, I'd say Ben didn't make all that up just for the fun of it.

          He really did go through all that.

        I move forward, crouching down beside him. Placing a hand on Alex's back, I try to show him that someone's here.

        He immediately flinches away, his hand coming back to smack mine away.

        I pull my hand away, a frown showing up on my face.

        He's really riled up about this. My eyes squint in anger, and I look up at the fake Ben.

        He's just standing there, a satisfied smile on his face.

        Oh yeah, I'll wipe that smile off.

        But Mack hobbles forward first, Ben only being five feet away now.

       "Alright, what do you want?" Mack angrily asks, getting into Ben's face. "Because I think we're done here." Mack glares at Ben, his face only a foot away.

         Wow.

        I've never seen Mack like this before.

         I stand up.

         Ben takes a step back. "Oh, on the contrary, Mack." He smirks. "I'm pretty sure we're not done here." Suddenly, Ben's hand shoots out, hitting Mack square on the shoulder.

         Mack shouts in pain. Losing his balance, he falls backwards onto his back.

         "Hey!" I yell, moving forward.

          "You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that." Ben sighs, cracking his neck.

         His eyes land on me, and he takes a step forward.

         Right onto Mack's already broken leg.

          Mack screams, his fingers digging into the soft ground as Ben wiggles his foot around.

          Ben looks down at Mack, amusement showing in his eyes.

         Red flares in my vision.

         No one gets away with hurting my friends!

         I take the last couple steps towards Ben, then swing my right arm out to hit him in the face.

          In a flash, his hand comes up, catching my fist before it makes contact with his pretty face.

        His eyes snap over to me.

        Another one of those smirks that are starting to grate on my nerves, appears on his lips. "Polly, Polly, Polly." He chides, using my captured hand to pull me closer to him.

         I stare into his eyes, my face only inches away from his.

         I scrunch up my face at the smell of his breath, my eyes hard with hate.

        "So beautiful." He says, and my eyes widen in horror. "If only things had been different." He smirks, leaning in closer.

        My stomach turns as he delicately sniffs my hair.

       What the actual-

        I jerk my other hand forward, raking it down the left side of his face. I grimace, feeling skin and blood collect under my fingernails.

        I hear a quick intake of breath from Ben, then I'm harshly flung to the ground beside Mack.

      I shut my eyes, the breath getting knocked from me as my back smacks the ground. I lay there, gasping for breath.

      After another couple seconds, I open my eyes back up.

      Everyone's still in the same positions.

      Alex's shaking form huddled up seven feet away. Mack sitting next to me, eyes watering in pain as he leans over his sore leg.

       Ben just stands there, his body turned away from us.

       He might not of screamed, but you can bet that hurt.

       I watch with cautious eyes as he takes some deep breaths, his hands continuously flexing at his sides.

       I suddenly feel scared.

       He's going to kill us all now. My eyes land on the gun that's attached to his hip. He's going to shoot us!

      Mack places a hand on my arm, offering me a shaky but encouraging smile.

      Ben turns back to face us.

       His good mood has completely disappeared now, his face set in a hard frown, eyes as cold as ice.

       I involuntary lean back as his eyes land on me.

       He slowly lifts his left hand, wiping the blood off that's dribbling down his cheek.

       "Oh Polly." He makes a face, his voice quite but with noticeable steel in it. "You'll regret that." He turns around, heading back to the large tree.

         Coming back, I see he's carrying a tan duffle bag.

         I gulp.

          He stops in front of me and Mack. My eyes stay glued on his gun as he takes it out of the holster.

         He fiddles with it a second, then points it directly at me.

         Mack instantly sits upright, moving so he's shielding me.

        "If either one of you moves." He pause, waving the gun around. "I'll shoot the one who didn't." His eyes stay steady, not a hint of a lie.

        "And I won't hesitate to do so." He places it back in the holster.

         He turns from us, heading over to Alex.

         I hear each beat of my heart in my ears.

          What's he doing?

          He kneels beside Alex's still shaking frame, then starts digging through the bag.

          He pauses, looking back up at Alex. "This was too easy." He smirks, shaking his head in amusement.

        What?!

          Realization dawns on me.

         He used Alex's weakness against him. Making him have a panic attack just so it would make things easier!

         More anger bubbles up.

        I let a breath out.

         Hold it together Polly. One move and Mack gets a bullet through him.

         And judging by how fast he grabbed my hand earlier, I'd say he could put a bullet in each of us before we could even move.

         My eyes widen as Ben pulls a needle out.

        And not the type you use to sew someone up with.

        Alex has thankfully stopped rocking now. But I can still hear his fast breathing, his arms still trembling.

       Ben leans in closer to Alex. "Sorry, but this will make it easier for the both of us." Then taking the needle, he quickly jabs it into Alex's neck, pushing down on the end to inject whatever that is.

       Alex flinches away, and my heart breaks as I hear a whimper come from him.

       Ben puts the needle back in his bag, his eyes carefully examining Alex.

       Finally, I can't keep my mouth shut any longer.

       "What are you doing to him?!" I exclaim.

       Ben's eyes snap over to me, anger flashing through them. "Just giving him a sedative." He clarifies, raising an eyebrow.

        "Why?" I challenge, Mack nodding his head beside me.

        Ben frowns, then his eyes light with realization. "Oh, that's right." He stands back up, looking down at Alex. "I didn't tell you everything."

        I feel like snorting.

        Yeah, like telling us there's secretly a big underground organization that's trying to take over the world isn't enough.

        Hint the sarcasm.

        Alex suddenly stops all movement, his body going completely stiff. Then he seems to lose all control of his muscles, his body falling with a thump to the ground.

        He lays there flat on his back, breathing returning to a normal speed, eyes shut.

        I get the sudden urge to go over to him, to comfort him.

       But I restrain myself.

       Ben smiles once again. "You see, I'm letting you all go." He declares, spreading his arms wide.

        Wait. What?

         He reads the confusion in our eyes.

         "I don't need y'all, and I'd prefer not to kill you if possible." He fiddles with the bag in his hand.

       "Well then let us have Alex and we'll go." Mack says.

         He chuckles. "Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that."

        "What!" Mack yells. "You just said you're letting us go." I add.

          Ben shakes his head. "No. I said y'all." He motions towards us. "Would be free to go."

         Oh no!

          "What do you want with, Alex?" Mack questions.

          Ben gets a weird look in his eyes, and he looks back down at Alex. "Let's just say we've got these matches that we do every so often, and Alex here." His eyes light with excitement. "Is going to make me richer than I could of ever dreamed!"

         Matches...?

          My mind clicks.

          Fighting matches.

        "I mean, who would've thought!" He throws his hands up. "That I'd be working on a farm that the owners just-so-happens to foster The Alex Rider from all the reports I've read about!" His face fills with wonder, and the old Ben from before shows through.

         "Now, now I can become rich!" He looks back down at Alex. "He'll need a little work." He uses his foot to prod Alex's arm. "With what that torturing did to him and all." He brings his face back up. "But I have faith in him."

         No.

        He can't do this.

        "And no one will even be expecting it." I hear Ben mumble to himself.

        "That's kidnapping!!" Mack shouts.

         Ben rolls his eyes. "Oh trust me." He digs through his bag. "It'll be like a walk in the park compared to what he's been through already." He smirks. "Probably." He adds quietly.

         He waves a hand around. "Besides, he's already done something like this before." He goes back to searching in his bag.

         Something like this?

        Does he mean fought before?

        He takes a thick rope out of the bag, throwing it to Mack. "Tie her up." He nods his head towards me.

         I feel a smirk grow on my face. He's cautious of me. And he should be.

         "You can't take him!" I yell.

          Ben's gaze hardens. "Just you watch me."

           I slouch in defeat.

           Mack begins tying up my wrists, the prickly rope scraping uncomfortably against my skin.

          "And make sure you do it good and tight." Ben tells Mack, a threat clear in his voice.

          I wince as he tightens it.

         Finally he's done, and Ben moves over to Mack. With a another piece of rope, he quickly yet expertly ties Mack's hands together.

         "There, now you can't try anymore funny business." He reaches over, testing to see if Mack tied mine tight enough.

         He stands up. Then reaching back into his bag, he pulls out a walkie-talkie.

         Placing it up to his mouth, he presses the button. "Ready for pick-up." He mumbles into it.

         He waits a second, then a static noise fills the air. "Copy." Is the short reply.

         Ben looks back over at us. "As you can see, I've already arranged to be picked up." He sets the radio back in the bag. "So by the time you get yourself's out of those ropes, we'll be far away." He smirks.

         No!

         He can't take him.

        He just found his family.

        The sound of a engine fills the night air.

        Ben looks out towards the direction that leads back to the Browns house.

        "Time to go." He walks back to Alex. Then kneeling down beside him again, I watch as he reaches a hand down to his neck.

        He grabs something, then jerks on it.

       I wince as Alex's neck jerks painfully up with it.

       Alex's wooden bead necklace I've never actually seen, except from peaking out from his shirt, held securely in his hand.

        Really? He couldn't of just slid it off his head?

        No, he had to jerk it off.

        He walks back over to us. Then holding his hand out, he lets the necklace slip out of his hand, falling onto the ground right in-between me and Mack.

       "Here's a...."' He pauses. "Token to remember him by." He smirks yet again, turning around.

        An idea strikes me.

        It probably won't work, but I'm game to try.

        "Wait!" I shout.

         He pauses his steps, waiting for me to continue. "What about the Browns?" I ask.

         He turns back around, his brows furrowed in confusion. "What about them?"

         "If you do this, the Browns will never forgive you." I toughen my voice.

          He laughs. "I don't care about them." His eyes harden. "The only reason I came to work on this stupid farm was because my boss said to."

         So that's how they've been doing it.

         They have some of their own men go and work on the farms they target, then they use the men on the inside to set the right day up for the rest to come and ransack the farm.

          It's a full proof plan.

         "Ben." I get his attention. "You came here two years ago. Saying you were penniless, homeless, and had no family."

        I straighten up. "Well I believe you were pretty much telling the truth about all that."

        He frowns. "And you know what?" I continue. "The Browns gave you all that." I sincerely say.

        "A job, a home, and most importantly." I watch as his eyes lose some of their anger. "They accepted you as a part of their family." I finish with.

        He shoulders slouch a bit, and I see a deep sadness ignite in his eyes.

        "Ben if you do this." My eyes start watering. "They'll regret the day they met you." I look away.

        It's quiet for a moment.

        Did I actually get through to him?

      Hope sparks in me.

       I look over his way.

       Ben moves back towards Alex. "It's too late now anyway." He lightly says.

       I hear the sound of a engine getting closer.

       He clears his throat. "And like I said." He places his bag over his shoulder, then his gaze locks on mine. "I don't care." His gaze hardens, and he turns his back to me.

        I sigh, a great disappointment filling me.

        It was worth a try.

        "It's never too late." I whisper out, feeling helpless as the tears begin to fall.

        They're taking Alex.

        And there's nothing I can do.

        I glance over at Mack, his face the look of pure misery.

        He feels the same as I do.

        Helpless.

        Suddenly, the forest lights up as a truck comes around the corner from the cornfield.

         No!

        They're going to take him away. What if we never see him again? I didn't even get to say goodbye.

         Tears freely stream down my face, my jaw trembling. I wiggle my wrists around, seeing if there's anyway out.

        They stay snugly tied against my wrists, not giving even a millimeter.

         I watch as Ben picks Alex up bridal style, arms flexing with the strain of his dead weight.

         He carries him over to the now parked truck. Opening the back door, he places Alex inside.

         I watch with a heavy heart as Alex's calm face disappears into the truck.

         Ben walks over to the passenger side, opening the door.

          He looks back over at us, his face unreadable. Then he gets in, slamming the door shut.

         Looking over at Mack, I see his eyes are slowly filling with tears, his eyes rapidly blinking to keep them away.

          I slouch, feeling the wetness from the ground soak into my shorts.

          My watery eyes stay focused on the tailgate of the truck until it disappears around the corner.

          I open my parched lips, letting a whisper flow out.

         "Goodbye, Alex."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N

             I'm sooooo sorry Alex!!! Will you ever forgive me?!? *Gets on knees*  so sorry!!😭😭

            *Clears throat* So, yup....Alex just got kidnapped (again😂) Where he's going to be used in their underground fights.😅

           Only one more chapter left, which is more like a filler chapter actually.🤗

       Ugh, and I just want you to know that I slaved away writing this while I've had a bad cold these last couple days. (I hate being sick 🤒🤕😷)

           
            Questions:

             1. So did any of you guys expect the person that went looking for them in that last chapter to be Ben? (I hope I didn't disappoint anyone too badly lol😅)

              2. Is anyone surprised at how this chapter turned out?

              3. Who wants to high five Polly for her excellent cat move? (Me lol🖐🏻)

             4. Anyone excited about book two? (I am!!)

              5. Do you feel just as bad as I do about Alex's predicament? 😭

          Thank you everyone!!!! And I have a really exciting idea for the next book! (I'm literally like hyped about it😆😎)🍪

           Comment! Vote!!❤

          Next update: probably Friday (I want to finish this book as soon as possible👍🏻)

Maggy

Edited:6/24/17