- Still reeling from the revelation that his uncle was a spy for the British Government, Alex is kidnapped and interrogated by an unknown group of paramilitary agents. It will take all his hidden skills to turn the tables on his captors.
- Alex Rider is brought to the Department of Special Operations and briefed on the situation. Michael Rosco was one of two recent high-profile accidental deaths, the other being Russian gas and oil tycoon Gregoriy Serenkov, who's troublesome teenage son Stepan was also sent to Point Blanc. Ian was building a friendship with Serenkov before he died, as the Department thought he could be a useful asset. The connection to the deaths and the school is too big of a coincidence for them to ignore, but the Department cannot step in without cause for investigation, and the only ones who can get into Point Blanc are troubled ultra-rich teens. Mrs. Jones tells Alex his mission will be to blend in with the other students and simply observe and report any strange findings. Alex is resolved to help find whoever is responsible for his uncle's murder. The next day Alex prepares for school, but Jack wants an explanation for the dramatics of the previous day. Alex tells her it was just a misunderstanding and Mr. Blunt sorted it. Jack does not believe him, nor does she understand how a man from the bank could have such influence, but allows Alex to go to school with a promise to talk about it later. As he leaves, Alex is observed by someone in a parked car. He arrives at school and is met by Tom, who asks what happened when he followed the car. Alex tells him it was nothing, but Tom starts spouting his own theories. Alex tells him he got it wrong, it was just a crash, but he is approached by Aisha, who expresses her condolences and support. Tom agrees it was brave of Alex to come to school, and they separate for class, but Tom still does not believe Ian's death was accidental.
Crawley comes to see Mrs. Jones with the ballistics report from Ian's murder, showing a match to a Korean standard-issue pistol. Ian was in charge of helping a North Korean defector make it out safely, and theorizes they must have found out who was responsible and used a military gun to send a message. Jones wonders if perhaps the evidence is too perfect. Meanwhile, Alex is pulled from class to meet with a grief counselor, Geoffery Daniels, who is permitted to speak with him alone. As soon as the headmistress leaves, Daniels tells Alex he is actually from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and is aware of the truth behind his uncle's death. Alex is wary of the strange man, who provides identification to prove his credentials, and tells Alex that the Department is an outdated branch of operations, that Alan Blunt is an unscrupulous man that has turned the Department into an all but a private agency for his own purposes, and Daniels has been waiting for an opportunity to bring him down. He suspects Alex may be the key to Blunt's undoing, and asks Alex if the Department have asked him to work for them, a highly illegal and unethical action. Alex doesn't say anything, and they two are interrupted by Tom walking in on them. Daniels quietly warns Alex to be careful of anything Blunt asks him to do, and to watch out for others that might be interested in his activities. During lunch, Tom invites Alex to come around that evening and wind down with a movie marathon, which Alex agrees to. When Tom leaves, Alex calls the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and briefly reaches Daniels, confirming his identity.
Alan Blunt has returned from meeting with Sir David Friend, a British billionaire who runs a food and farming empire, and suggests to Mrs. Jones that the family would make a good cover story for Alex. They Friends have a daughter, but Alan has learned that she will be away while Alex would be there. Mrs. Jones is still disgusted at the thought of using a grieving teenager in dangerous field work, but Blunt orders her to be Alex's handler, and asks for continuous updates. Alex and Tom bike home from school, and go their separate ways after planning to meet up later. Before Alex reaches home, he is run into by a van, which stops as two masked and black uniformed men get out and drug him. Alex is abducted as the van speeds away. That night, Alex awakens, handcuffed and blindfolded, as the van arrives at its destination. He is dragged to an underground complex and brought to an interrogation room, and his blindfold removed. A man enters, Wolf, and tells Alex that there is no hope of anyone finding him, and tells him to answer one simple question in exchange for his freedom. He asks Alex what his uncle Ian's real job was. When Alex tells him he worked at a bank, Wolf warns him that lying will come with consequences.
At the Rider residence, Jack answers the phone to Tom, who is calling to see if Alex is doing okay, since he never showed up to movie night. Immediately worried, Jack hangs up and tries to call Alex's cell phone, but he does not pick up. In the compound, Wolf asks Alex a new question, and demands to know about Point Blanc. Alex tells him it just means a close range gunshot, but Wolf gives him a last warning not to make things worse by trying to deceive them. Alex is groggy from the drugs and from hitting his head on the van, so Wolf gives him some water. He asks again about Point Blanc. When Alex denies any knowledge, he is dragged away to a large empty room and chained to a chair. When the guards leave, bright lights are switched on, and extremely loud rock music is played from the speakers. Alex composes himself from the initial shock, and begins to sing while staring at the CCTV camera. In the monitor room, Wolf watches along with three other soldiers. His lieutenant, Snake, remarks on Alex's resilience, and Wolf reminds her that the boy is nothing but a subject. Meanwhile, Jack has tried over and over to get in touch with Alex, and has even called the Police in an attempt to report him missing, but the cops assume he is just a teenager staying out late, and refuse to take any action for the night. Jack calls Tom and demands the password to Alex's laptop. She finds a finished upload of the video Alex took at Ian's murder scene, and recognizes Crawley from his and Mrs. Jones' visit to the house, and finds the business card with Jones' phone number.
Back in the interrogation room, Wolf shows Alex he has files on both Jack and Tom, and threatens to make them give up the information Alex is hiding. Alex asks to see the file, and becomes distraught at the sight of his friend's photos. Wolf promises to send him home if he cooperates, and asks again about Point Blanc. Alex gives a glib answer and throws the file in Wolf's face, and is put back into the torture room with more loud music. Jack has called Mrs. Jones to the house, and tells her she knows that she and the others are spies. She has made copies of the video and the information and sent it to law firms across the world, and warns Mrs. Jones that if anything happens to her, they will blow their operation wide open. Impressed, Jones asks what Jack wants, and the housekeeper demands to know where Alex is, but Mrs. Jones does not know.
After Alex resists another round of ear-splitting music, it is finally turned off. Pipes in the ceiling are activated, and begin dousing him in freezing cold water. Wolf, Snake, and the others watch from the monitor room as he is forced the sit through the deluge. Snake speaks up against their treatment of the boy, despite Wolf's claims that they are only doing their job. She does not back down, and her concerns are shared by the other two members of their squad, Fox and Eagle. Snake asks Wolf to turn off the water, and Wolf allows it. However, as the water subsides, they see that Alex has escaped, using the paperclip from the file to pick open the cuffs. They sound the alarm and run out after him. They are unable to find him on the thermal cameras, as the cold water has lowered his body temperature. Alex just barely manages to hide as the squad begins a systematic search of the grounds, and slips past two of them in the darkness. He runs for it, but is lost in the compound. He finds what seems to be the road leading out, and spots a car approaching. He runs to it and yells for help, but to his surprise, Geoffery Daniels steps out. He tells Alex to get in to his car so he can take him to safety, but Alex doesn't understand what he's doing there and is extremely suspicious, refusing to go with him. Daniels pulls a gun on Alex as his captors find and surround him. Alex, having realized the truth of the situation, dares Daniels to shoot. When Daniels hesitates, Alex asks if he has passed the test. Mrs. Jones arrives and orders everyone to stand down. Daniels is actually a Department agent called Smithers, as are Wolf and the others. She aborts their mission, and Wolf tells her they need to talk. Jones orders him to put it in his report, and tells Alex to come back with her so she can take him home. Alex is angry, but goes with her.
Alan Blunt reviews the footage of Alex's questioning with Smithers and Crawley, who tells him Wolf reported that the boy seems to have been conditioned against interrogation and torture. They surmise that Ian must have taken the precaution, along with teaching him self defense and other physical skills. Mrs. Jones enters and demands to know why she was not informed about the operation, and Blunt tells her they had to be sure Alex was up for the task ahead of him. Jones tells him never to go behind her back with her agent again if he wants her to be his handler. Blunt tells the group that the operation at Point Blanc must stay a close secret between the four of them only. Jack cleans up Alex's cut, and tells him to walk away from whatever they are asking him to do for them. Alex tries to convince her that he won't be in any danger, but she doesn't trust the Department. Alex says he has to find out who was responsible for his uncle's murder, and bring them to justice no matter what. Jones meets with Wolf, who wants to know who Alex is and why they were asking about Point Blanc. Jones can't tell him anything, and Wolf tells her that Alex was genuinely scared during the interrogation, but was using it to hold back the information, a technique that suggests he's been training for something like this his entire life. Even so, Wolf can tell that he does not want to be a spy, and thinks she and Blunt are forcing him. Alex has no idea what he's being trained for, and Wolf warns Jones that if Alex dies during this mission, she is responsible.
Smithers shows Blunt and Crawley the security footage from Michael Rosco's death, just outside the elevator, showing him seemingly step right out into the empty lift shaft. However, Smithers has worked out what really happened, and demonstrates a life-like hologram technology. He tells them that only a few agencies in the world could be capable of setting up something so advanced. Meanwhile, Martin Wilby returns to his apartment to find Yassin waiting for him. Wilby tells him the Department have bought their evidence of a North Korean hit team, there has been no talk of Yassin or Point Blanc. Yassin is pleased with Wilby, and reminds him to get in contact immediately if anything changes. Across the city, Alex enters the Department Headquarters to begin briefing for his mission. Blunt congratulates the boy on his performance during the 'training exercise', but Alex is only interested in getting on with the mission, finding out out who killed Ian, and never seeing Blunt again. Mrs. Jones and Smithers fill Alex in on the details of his cover. He will pose as Alex Friend, the troubled son of Sir David and his wife, Lady Caroline. Their daughter is also a juvenile delinquent, so Alex should fit right in. They have created a cover story for why the Friends want him in Point Blanc, and to help sell the illusion, Alex will live with the billionaire couple at their estate for several days before being brought to the school. All the pieces are already in place, and Alex will begin his mission immediately.
At Point Blanc, high in the French Alps, the headmaster of the school, Dr. Greif, listens to his right hand woman, Eva Stellenbosch's concerns that they might be moving too quickly, and their activities may be noticed. Greif tells her they had always planned for one last student, and Alex Friend will be perfect for their plan.
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