Silence.

Heavy. . .stifling. . . thick and chilling. . .utter silence. Alex felt like a stone statue, shouldering the entire weight of the universe. So quiet. . .so cold. . .so numb. . .

He slowly shifted his gaze down, towards his feet. His feet, where Mr. Stronson lay.

Frozen. The man was frozen into silence. So still, so quiet.

Alex was numb. I killed him. He noticed then, a small, neat hole situated just above the man's left eyebrow. A few, fat drops of blood were oozing out.

Another perfect hole. . .and there's less blood this time.

"W-why. . .?" A strangled, tortured sob broke into his dull observations.

Oh. . .Ricard. I forgot about Ricard.

The slightly chubby boy was on his knees, inches away from his dead father. So close, and yet, so far away. Ricard stared at his father, eyes wide with shock, mouth slack with disbelief. Trembling, he looked up at Alex.

"You – you shot him. You. . .shot my father."

Alex blinked, and gazed at the small weapon in his hand. Yeah. . .I guess I did. Woodenly, he slid the weapon back in his pocket. He didn't need it anymore. His mission was done. Finished.

"Why?!" Ricard suddenly screamed. "Why did you lie to me? Why did you kill him?! Why?"

Numbly, Alex wondered the same thing. Yet, he couldn't seem to find the answer. Everything seemed to be covered in a thick fog. A cold fog that stretched its fingers deeper and deeper into the cracks, searing and freezing and numbing as it went.

As he stared at Ricard in a dumbfounded manner, it occurred to him that the boy was waiting for an answer. Needing some kind of an answer. Alex struggled to figure it out, and finally, something floated into his muddled brain. His mouth automatically moved to speak it aloud.

"Mission. . ." he whispered. "It was my mission."

That's right. It was my mission, and I finished it. I'm done.

With that thought, Alex realized that he no longer needed to stay. It was time for him to return. To go back to Scorpia. So he silently turned, and walked out of the study, and into the hall.

An enraged, agonized scream followed him, shaking with pain and shock and loss. Alex barely heard it, barely registered the sound. After all, it was just a simple echo of what shrieked behind the numbing fog.

Father. . .I completed my mission. . .just like I was supposed to. I killed him, just as they told me to. Are you proud of me, Dad? I'm doing just what you did, before you died. Am I. . .just like you, now?

XXxxXX

This was the house. The house where Alex was supposed to kill someone. Jack could hardly wait for the car to come to a stop. As soon as it was safe to do so, she threw open the door, and leaped out. Her Alex was inside this place, and if she didn't do something, he'd -

She ran. Fear sent her straight to the front door at an incredible speed. Jack whipped out a hand for the handle, reaching out to throw open the door.

Before she could touch it, it opened. A stranger stood in the open doorway.

Jack jerked to a stop. She stared, suddenly finding herself staring at a young, pale face. A face, which was vaguely familiar. A face that was also completely blank. Empty. It was like a pale mask, framed with wild blond hair.

Her heart started to pound slowly, so horrifically slowly. This stranger. . .was he. . .? She met the boy's gaze, and instantly flinched back. At first glance, those brown orbs were dead. Just. . .dull and flat. But as she made herself look closer, she saw.

Never in her life had she seen a gaze that screamed so loud. It was crying and yelling and shrieking all at the same time. Those eyes were begging for help, for something – anything to heal their pain, to save them.

"Alex?" she whispered, totally shocked and horrified. No. . .please, please don't let this be my little Alex. This can't be him – not this broken shell. . . Yet, she knew, without a doubt. This was Alex. And he definitely had just killed a person.

XxxX

At once, the boy in the doorway jerked, a brief look of horror crossing his face. At that same instant, his mask broke, and his blank mind shook as so many things rushed inside.

. . . only a little blood came out this time. . .

Jack! It's Jack – she's here! She's -

I want -

...two neat little holes – one, two. . . .

No! She can't be here! She'll – she won't understand! About my father, about MI6, about Scorpia!

...are you proud now? I can kill, just like you. . .

I want to hug her. . .

She can't know! If she finds out that I've killed – I'll -

. . .faces, forever frozen in shock, forever frozen in death. . .

I want to cry on her shoulder. . .

She'll hate me. I can't let that hurt her! I can't share this nightmare with her! Jack. . .

. . .mission completed. I killed. . . .

I want her to understand. . .

Jack, please, go away! Get out of here! While you still can. . .

. . .again. And I will do it again. . . .

Please. . .

. . .because I am an assassin, now. . .

Help me.

"Jack," Alex felt so overwhelmed. Inside his head, something was both begging and shrieking at the same time, telling him to run away, tell him to throw himself into Jack's arms and cry. . .

For a moment, he was frozen, not knowing what to do. Then an image, that horrible, cursed image flashed into his mind, and he long as blood coated his hands, he could never go back. It was too late.

He belonged to Scorpia, just as his father had. And Jack. . .she didn't deserve to be dragged into that mess. That horror, that pain. That death. . .

Swallowing harshly, Alex clenched his fists. His vision became blurry, as tears threatened to spill free. This was for the best.

Methodically, he wiped the images, the screams, the blood – everything from his mind, forcing it to become an ocean of emptiness. His face a blank mask once again, he met Jack's gaze dead on.

"Good-bye, Jack."

Then he stepped around her, and broke into a run. He had to get out of here, and fast. It wouldn't be long before the police would be swarming this place, along with MI6. And by that time, he needed to be safe within Scorpia's chilling embrace.

Safe.

Alex found himself making a strange sound – something between a broken chuckle and a sob.

XxxX

She stared after him, only vaguely aware of a shattering sensation somewhere deep inside her. Something had just torn, just broken, and Alex had just left her.

Alone. Her Alex. . .was no longer her Alex. He had become a weapon of Scorpia.

Jack fell to her knees, tears starting to break free. Her poor Alex. . .he was so broken, hurting, suffering. . . She wanted to help him! She wanted to hug him, and tell him everything was all right. He didn't have to murder people – he was just a child for crying out loud!

Just a little boy. He should be in school, studying and fooling around with kids his own age. He should be worrying about what to wear for his first date with a cute girl, or getting into trouble for some harmless prank.

Yet. . .he had become a killer. He had become a part of a world that no child should even know about. And he was hurting so bad inside. . .

Jack sniffled, and wiped her eyes. Getting to her feet, she looked back to the car, where Algonthin was waiting. The man stood silently beside the car, his bright eyes intent on the fleeing figure of Alex.

She walked over to the car, sat in the passenger seat, and closed the door. "Take me to MI6," she said to him. "I don't care what it takes, I want that child back with me, where he belongs. I know now that he doesn't want any part of what he's involved in. And I will do whatever I can to help get him back."

Wordlessly, Algonthin looked down at her. He blinked, then got back in the car. Seconds later, the vehicle was roaring down the street, making a beeline for the city's MI6 headquarters.