/ ALEX

Two weeks later

Alex rubbed at his face with his free hand and then opened the door. The briefcase in his other hand did nothing to allievate the utter torture that was dealing with Camilla. Devil incarnate, that one. Alex was jerked away from his thoughts by a small form barreling towards him.

“ALEX!” Cheri screeched at the top of her lungs as she collided with him. It took all his balance and dexterity to not topple over.

‘Hey, Cheri. Nice to see ya too.” Alex said, grinning down at her.

The fourteen-year-old girl lets him go, and grabs the briefcase from him. “I got this. Go say hi to your boyfriend.”

“I don’t have--” Alex started, but Cheri was already downstairs. He sighed.

Walking into the kitchen, Alex spotted Saren standing in front of the fridge. Immediately, he brightened. “Hey, Saren!”

Saren turned at his voice. “Oh. Hey, Alex.”

“You okay?”

“...yeah. Just thinking.”

Alex walked closer. “You wanna talk about it?”

Saren hesitated before looking up at him. “Just… no matter what John says, there’s a spot in my memory that doesn’t seem right. He always says that I was always placed under his care, that my parents gave me to him at just a few days old. But… for the first four or five years of my life, I remember something else.”

“Something else, like…?”

“I don’t know,” Saren said, visibly frustrated. He walked over to the counter and leaned against it. “I keep trying to remember more, but the more I try, the more it slips away. It’s like a dream.”

Alex leaned against the counter next to him. “We’ll figure it out. We’ve got all the time in the world. And you’ll be safe, here, away from him.”

Saren only smiled sadly.

Alex tentatively reached over and squeezed Saren’s hand. He squeezed back.

After a moment, Saren spoke up. “By the way, I think Sami wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Yeah.” Saren squeezed his hand again, then let go. “I’m gonna make dinner.”

“You sure you’ll be okay?” Alex asked, biting his lip.

Saren gave him a soft smile. “Yeah. Go see the boss.”

……

Alex knocked on Sami’s office door before entering. He silently waited next to Cheri as Sami finished his call.

A minute later, Sami set his phone onto the desktop. He sighed. “That was Cole.”

“Is he okay?” Cheri asked.

“He’s alive. He’ll be in Central for a while longer, though.”

“Huh. He can take care of himself, though,” Alex said. “He’ll be fine.”

“Yeah! He’s good at what he does. Now, you called us down for something?” Cheri prompted.

“Yeah. I’ve got a job for you two. You’re not gonna like it.” Sami glanced at them.

“What is it?”

“Cole called me because he got intel on Levi Xero.”

“Xero? He’s-- he’s back?” Alex asked, shocked.

Sami looked at him sadly. “Yeah. I’m not sure why; maybe he wants revenge, maybe he got paid. Cole thinks he may be back for you, Alexander.”

Alex gulped. He had hoped that Levi had forgotten about him. Apparently, that was too much to ask for.

Cheri seemed lost in thought for a moment. “We don’t know for sure, but we need to figure it out. How are we going to handle this?”

Sami leaned back in his chair.

“From what I’ve heard, Xero is pretty susceptible to praise,” Cheri continued. “We could butter him up until he accidentally lets something slip.”

“True,” Alex said. “And he doesn’t know you, so I think you’d be best for the job.”

“He doesn’t know you either, Alex.” Sami said. “He probably wouldn’t recognize you.”

“What do you mean? He knows me,” Alex asked, confused.

Sami just gave him a look. Alex’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape.

“He knew me… then. You think I’ve changed that much?”

“Of course,” Sami replied. “Plus, I don’t want Cheri to go solo for this.”

Cheri pouted. “Hey, I can handle myself.”

“I know you can, Cher,” Sami said softly. “I just want to be careful. And Xero knows everyone except you two.”

“I mean… he doesn’t know Saren, does he?” Cheri asked.

Alex turned to her. “Saren is not going. He didn’t-- he hasn’t had training. He’s not going on a mission with us.”

Cheri grinned at him. “You seem rather protective, Al, why is that?”

Sami hushed her and glanced over at Alex. “I’ll ask Saren if he wants to go. I trust him. And the decision will be his, and his alone.”

Alex stared at the ceiling. “Fine.”

Sami nodded. “Alright. Xero’s throwing a party next Friday.”

“So soon?” Cheri asked.

“His birthday is the 13th,” Alex said softly.

“Ohhh.” Cheri said.

“Make sure to be careful until then.”