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Alex grabbed his luggage out of the Rover and, carrying it, entered the hotel, followed by Andrews. "Where to?"

"Check-in, just as you would expect. The reservation is in your name."

Alex walked to the registration desk, "Hello, I'm Alex Maitland. I believe you have a reservation for me."

The clerk didn't answer immediately, but began typing away at his keyboard. "Ah, yes, there it is. Odd, apparently you've an open-ended reservation. Not sure when you're leaving, then?" inquired the clerk with a raised eyebrow.

"Not exactly. No. I'll know soon enough, though," replied Alex, not knowing what else to say.

"Please, as soon as you do, let us know. In the meantime, I see your reservation has been prepaid for the first week. Since the computer indicates you're a returning guest, I've taken the liberty of putting you in the same room as last time. I trust you'll find that satisfactory. Now, if you'll just initial the form where I've placed the three red tick marks."

Alex was handed a copy of the registration form, two keys, and was asked if he needed help to his room. Alex declined, having been there before. He was anxious to get moving, and he quickly headed for the elevator.

He entered the elevator, and Andrews slid in with him. "There will be someone in the room, waiting for us. That will be for your briefing."

"I suppose."

The elevator reached Alex's floor, and he stepped off, along with Andrews. He headed down the hall, and was shocked to find Constable Elizabeth at the door. He wondered how she had beaten them to the hotel.

Andrews was less than pleased, "Constable Elizabeth, how good of you to come. You'll understand that this doesn't involve you any longer?" he said. Although he phrased it as a question, it was clearly intended as a command.

"That would be your opinion. I am here to observe the briefing as I was instructed. After that, I will take my leave. Beyond that you'll have to work it out with my superiors."

"Very well, then. The time and effort it would take to resolve this now, are just too trying. I want to be in and out without creating a scene. We're trying to be unobtrusive."

Alex entered the room, with the intent of leaving Andrews and Elizabeth outside to argue, but they followed him in. He normally would have been shocked to find someone in his room, but a tall man sat at the table, clearly the man Andrews said would be waiting for him. As Alex came in, the man put down his paper. "How nice to see you. I'm Harry Williams from MI6. I'll be brief." He noticed Elizabeth, and turned to Andrews, raising his eyebrows in inquiry. Andrews nodded curtly, indicating it wasn't to be fought over right now.

"I hope so. I'm really tired."

"I would imagine so. I'm sure your flight was pleasurable," remarked Williams.

"Yes, one of the best times I've ever had flying. Thank you."

"Very well, then. We expect you to play the tourist. We're hoping you know where to go to find your friend Nicky. We must assume his father would be in the same place."

"One would imagine so."

"We're going to have agents following you. However, for your own safety, we're not going to put a listening device on you. Nigel called ahead and insisted you'd be in grave danger if we did."

"You will keep a close eye on me, right?"

"Absolutely. There will be three agents following you at any given time. Every few hours one of them will go off duty and be replaced by another. They will alternate shifts regularly and be of various ages. We'll use both men and women. You won't know who they are and no three will work together more than once."

An idea began to creep into Alex's head, and he began to realize that he could easily dodge them if he wanted. He'd have to plan it carefully, though. He came up with a lie to do the trick.

"I know it isn't my business to tell you what to do, but I've got a suggestion that will make this go more quickly."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Well, Nicky always seemed concerned he was being followed. You'll scare him off and he may not approach me. All I suggest is that in close quarters, such as on the tube, you ride one car ahead or behind. I'll make sure to always board the third car of the third train that passes through the station. That will give you time to get in position, and signal me if you feel the need." Alex also knew that it would explain his delay in getting on a certain train later. He remembered the trick Nicky had told him before on how to get to the world below.

"Excellent idea."

"I object!" shouted Elizabeth. "You're putting him alone and into a possibly dangerous situation."

"Sorry, but he's volunteered and it fits our plans well."

"I'll be fine. Nicky won't hurt me. Once he invites me to his place, you'll know where he lives. When I leave you're on your own. Simple, safe, and quick. Just remember you promised not to hurt him."

"We know our end. Just be sure to keep yours."

"I will. Don't worry. You just have to hope he finds me."

"We think he will. We're not sure of the connection, but he appears to have singled you out for some reason."

He certainly has. If you only knew. Alex thought about Nicky briefly before looking around the room to see if they were expecting a response from him.

"Very well, then. I think we're done. I bid you good night. Just remember to call us before you leave the room. If you break that rule, we'll consider our bargain to be off." Harry handed Alex a paper with a room number on it. "Just call that room and say you're on your way. We'll take care of the rest."

Harry paused and picked up his coat. "Let's go," said Harry to Andrews and Elizabeth.

"Alex, take this. It's my card in case you need anything, or things go amiss with MI6," said Elizabeth handing Alex her card. Alex smiled and thanked her. He knew by the constant arguments among them, that he could play them against each other if he needed to, but he doubted he would have to resort to that.

After they had left, Alex took a shower and set his alarm. He had a plan to put into motion, and he quickly fell asleep as the fatigue of travel overtook him. At least the curse of jet lag wouldn't affect him -- Concorde was the ultimate solution for that, though Alex didn't realize it. However, so many hours in airplanes was enough to wear down even the hardiest soul.

It was a few seconds later, or so it seemed to Alex, that the alarm went off. Alex was still feeling a bit tired, but he got up and busied himself getting ready. He dialled the room number he was given and reported he would be going out for a bit and returning after lunch. Alex peeked out the window, and though it was nearly eight in the morning, it was a typical London day: overcast and cloudy with the ever present threat of drizzle.

His first order of business was to eat. Alex had heard great things about a bakery and café called Patisserie Valerie in Knightsbridge, so he decided to give that a try. He went to the tube station, and bought a travelcard which would allow unlimited travel for the next week. He hoped that it wouldn't be needed for the full week. He wanted to find Nicky sooner.

The route to his destination was simple and involved taking the Bakerloo line to Piccadilly Circus and changing there for his train to Knightsbridge. All the while, Alex continued listening for the sounds of Nicky's flute music, but to no avail. He was also looking around, trying to find who was following him.

Either the tail was good or Alex was bad at finding people. He was unable to tell who was following him, or if anyone was following him. Alex assumed someone would trail him the whole time since that was what he was told, and it would be much easier on him if he knew who that person was. He imagined there might even be more than one person as they had told him, because it would be awfully difficult to trail someone on the tube, especially when it was crowded. He just wasn't sure how truthful they had been. He'd have to find a quiet station and then see who was on the platform. He exited at the Knightsbridge station, and walked past Harrods and down to Patisserie Valerie.

It was crowded, but he found a table. The service, like most places in London, was horrible. It seemed like an eternity before someone came to take his order, but Alex was often impatient and, in truth, the service here was much better than many of the places he had been. There was a basket of fresh croissants on the table. Alex was no expert in the field of French pastries, but after having one of the croissants, he thought it was probably the best croissant he'd ever had. While he waited for his meal to be served he ate another one.

Alex found himself wishing he'd not left his CD player back in his room as he grew tired of waiting. Just as he was getting impatient to the point of irritation, the food came. It was excellent, but not memorable like the croissant. After finishing, he waved down a waiter, and asked for the bill. He paid, and left. He decided to amuse himself in Harrods for a bit, and then walk down towards Piccadilly Circus to pass the time. This was all for show, he knew. He had a plan.

His trip to Harrods was more than a bore for him, and he ended it earlier than he should have. Alex began walking towards the exit, and then up the street, wondering what he could do. Instead of his planned walk, he decided to go to the London Transport Museum, so he got back on the tube and went to the Covent Garden station. From there, it was a short walk to the museum, and he knew he'd enjoy it having been there on his previous trip. He even hoped he might learn something useful. Alex didn't learn much of real value, but it was fascinating to him nonetheless, and, more importantly, it occupied his time.

On the way out, he passed through the gift shop and bought a small duffel bag which had the tube map on it. It was tacky and touristy, but it suited his needs perfectly. He folded it up as small as he could and rolled the bag around it in order to make it seem as small and innocuous as possible.

He walked back to the tube station, still trying to locate anyone who would be tailing him. He didn't find anyone, and soon was in the Covent Garden tube stop. He hopped a train to King's Cross and then changed over to the Circle line for his train back to Baker Street. During the entire journey, he continually looked around for anyone who might be following him, but he was completely unsuccessful. Alex was starting to feel a bit paranoid, but he tried to steady his nerves and did his best to look around surreptitiously so as not to be too obvious. Soon, he would be executing his plan. He couldn't afford to raise suspicions.

He was back at the Baker Street station in no time, and he exited and went to his hotel. He didn't suppose he needed to check in, but he would. Alex was sure they'd notice and be watching for him. In fact, he didn't suppose he needed to tell them when he was leaving the hotel either as they had instructed. They were probably just trying to make sure he was playing by the rules.

Alex took his belongings that he had packed, and went through them, repacking them into his duffel bag. Each item was rolled tightly and wrapped in one or two rubber bands to make it as tight as possible. When he left home, he had purposely brought a larger piece of luggage than necessary in addition to a big pack of rubber bands. That way, if he left the hotel room with a smaller bag, nobody would think he was making a run for it. Alex wasn't planning on coming back to the hotel room, and he didn't want to leave anything behind. Soon everything was crammed into the duffel bag. A wave of nervousness swept over him again.

Alex decided to check in with his parents in order to forestall any problems there. He dialled the number, and as soon as his mother answered he realized he had awakened his parents up by his mother's groggy voice. He had neglected to consider the time change. This upset him, because he knew everything depended on details and here he had just missed an obvious one.

"Sorry about waking you up, Mom. I just wanted to call and check in. Everything's okay right now. I'm going to have a little walk. I've just finished packing a lunch and a book into a small bag." He said the last bit for the benefit of the people he assumed were listening in to his calls.

"That's okay, dear. Next time try to be mindful of the time difference. Was the flight ok?"

"Yes, Mom. It was wonderful. I'll be sure and tell you about it later."

"Is everything going well? Any concerns or problems?"

"No, everything is fine. They're doing everything they promised."

"Do you need me to wake your father?"

"No, Mom. Everything's fine. Go back to sleep."

"Thank you, Alex. I'll speak to you later unless you have anything important to add. It's still very early and I'm tired."

"OK. Bye," said Alex, hanging up. He hoped this wouldn't be the last time he ever spoke to his parents. At least he was pretty sure that's what he hoped for.

He bided his time, because he wanted to do this right. Although he was impatient to get started, he thought he should pretend to rest. After about an hour had passed, he dialled the other room. "This is Alex. I'm going out to have a picnic lunch near Wembley Park."

He hoped they didn't think that was too odd since the weather wasn't exactly beautiful. He wasn't too concerned about the fact he hated picnics and the outdoors, because it was very unlikely they knew that. It would have to do, since he needed an excuse to take the Metropolitan line in the correct direction. He walked out of the hotel, still unable to spot a tail. He realized he should not have expected to find whoever they were, because a professional wouldn't be so easy to spot. This certainly wasn't like the movies, that was for sure. He noticed that a light drizzle began to fall. Carrying the duffel bag, he went down into the Baker Street tube stop and down to the Metropolitan line platform, awaiting a train in the right direction. The smell of the tube always was noticeable. It was a unique, distinct, smell: a combination of dust and many other unidentifiable smells. It just smelled old, almost ancient.

He remembered that it was the third car of the third train he was supposed to get on. He just hoped it worked this time. He was very careful to notice anyone on the platform, but there was almost nobody waiting to get on. In fact, he noticed only one person who didn't get on the first or second trains. It was an average sized man, who was totally nondescript in every way. Alex supposed this is exactly who you would want for the job. It also meant that their was only one tail which further meant they lied to him. And, as far as he was concerned where the was one lie, there were more.

As the train came into the station he pretended he wasn't going to board it, and then as the doors started to shut, he jumped on, hoping the man following him would not make it. He noticed the plain-looking man make a dash for the car of the train closest to him, but Alex wasn't sure if he made it.

The train left, and Alex noticed he was shaking. If he did everything right, his next stop was Lords station. It was, perhaps, the longest two minutes of his life. He was pleased, though, when the train stopped at Lords and he was able to exit. He thought it odd that nobody else on the train even seemed to notice it had stopped. Alex realized it must be part of the magic that enabled Nicky's people to move between the two worlds without notice. Momentarily, the train went on, leaving him alone on the platform in the abandoned tube station.