Just the Beginning-

Chapter 10- The Aftermath

Alexa's POV

Everyone seemed to be really shook up. Amy and Dan called the meeting in Attleboro. Alexa got a list of names of the kidnapped Cahills, she was glad there were only seven names on the list, but the names themselves made Alexa want to kill X the second she read them, but she didn't they needed him. Vesper One might not like his son, but he won't be embarrassed, especially not by Alexa.

They arrived at Grace's estate, now owned by Dan and Amy, at noon. Ned looked a little better than when Alexa had saved him this morning, X had been under Alexa's watchful eyes during the whole flight and drive to Attleboro, since they couldn't have him handcuffed in public. Thank God for the Madrigal private jet and contacts. Alexa said to herself.

Alexa was one of the first to arrive. She meet Amy and Dan with Sinead and McIntyre in the living room. At the sight of her brother she came running to give him a hug, the siblings hugged crying for the lost of their triplet, Mr. McIntyre lead the siblings to a private room. Alexa walked into the room with a hard hand on X's shoulder.

"Hey, how are you guys doing?" Alexa asked, she knew the Vespers tried to kidnap them too. And now their guardians were in God knows where held hostages by Vespers.

Amy looked up while Dan kept staring at the phone at his hand. Alexa knew body language, but she didn't needed it to tell her cousins where everything but okay. She didn't even dare to look at X, she just motioned for him to stay, she knew he would she had implanted a chip on him that if he did something she didn't like he would suffer. She walked to her cousins and sat down next to them.

"I'll find them, I promise you we will." she said. "The Vespers have done a lot of things, but this is worst by far." she looked at X when she said it, he looked at the floor. "Has the Vespers made contact?"

Dan showed Alexa the phone in his hand. "This came when we got home." he said.

"It's from someone calling himself Vesper One." Amy said. Alexa looked up at X again, this time he looked at her with an expression that said what-did-you-expect? Alexa looked at the message on the screen.

Greetings, Amy and Dan Cahill.

I'd hope to meet you in person but perhaps it's better this way.

Congratulations on your escape from my team. Interesting that Dan chose not to use the lighter. A fundamental difference between him and me. Nevertheless, you have proven yourselves worthy of the task I now present you

After you succeed, I will release Reagan Holt, Phoenix Wizard, Natalie Kabra, Ted Starling, Alistair Oh, Nellie Gomez, and your dear Uncle Fiske. Until then, they will remain with me as a guarantee of your cooperation.

If you do not arrive in Florence, Italy, by tomorrow morning, one Cahill will die. If my instructions are not followed to the letter, one Cahill will die. We hold only seven. You do the Math.

You will hear from me upon your arrival in Florence. Have a pleasant journey.

Vesper One

"That sounds like dad to me." a voice broke Alexa out of her the anger she was feeling after she read the text. Alexa turned to face X, he had his usual ignorant smirk. People might die, people that have families that loved them, and wall he can do is gave me his stupid smirk? I want to punch him so much. Alexa said to herself, her fists were clenched the couch like her life depended on it, because X's life did depend on it. Stupid Serum. Alexa said trying to control herself from killing a possible asset to finding her family members.

"Your dad?" Dan asked bringing Alexa out of her anger management problem.

"Who are you?" Amy asked, there was fear in her voice as she clenched Dan closer to her with one hand and Alexa's arm with the other.

"Oh, you probably won't remember me, but I'm the one who grabbed you at the airport two years ago in New York." X said like kidnapping people wasn't a major felony and that he did it every day, well, the latter is probably because he did.

Amy and Dan looked at Alexa with a mixture of betrayal, fear, interest and curiosity. "He's not going to hurt you." Alexa said. They relaxed.

"Wait a minute, didn't you say you dated the Vesper leader's son once?" Dan asked.

X smiled. Alexa gave Dan a look that said I-going-to-kill-you. "So, you've been talking about me?" X said with a mocking grin.

Alexa rolled her eyes. "Well I needed an explanation for why I enjoyed kicking your butt so much." Alexa said.

"Admitted you still love me." he said.

"Ha, I never said I loved you because I never did." she said.

"Wow, darling. Never is a strong word, are you sure you want to use it to deny the obvious feelings you still harbor for me?"

"One, I'm not in denial, I NEVER loved you. Two, I have a boyfriend who I actually have feeling that don't involve me barfing."

There was a silence, Alexa was happy she won the verbal war between her and X. But X was disappointed. The silent lasted longer, Alexa finally acknowledged that Amy and Dan were still in the room.

"You have a boyfriend?" X asked quietly.

"Yes." Alexa said.

More silence. Until Amy spoke up. "What's his name?" Amy asked afraid to actually talk to him.

"X." Alexa said.

"What does the X stand for?" Dan asked X.

X looked at Dan and smirked. "That's another story for some other time, kid."

"It's his Vesper agent letter." Alexa explained.

"You ruined the mystery." X whined.

"You'll get over it." Alexa said.

"If X is your agent letter, then what's your real name?" Dan asked.

"It's-" Alexa began but X cut her off.

"Alexa! The kid already knows what to call me, he doesn't need to know my real name. Let me keep at least one shred of mystery between us." X pleaded.

"Fine." Alexa said.

"Wait!" Amy said. "We could use his name to find his dad."

Alexa and X looked at each other and laughed. Dan and Amy looked at the two puzzled. "If my father were to give me his last name he wouldn't call himself Vesper One." X said.

"Vesper One doesn't even trusts his own son with his own name." Alexa said. "The guy is paranoid."

"Ditto." X said. "I don't even know what he looks like."

"Than why do we need him?" Dan asked.

"Because Vesper One might not like his son." Alexa said only to be interrupted by X again.

"Hey." X said in protest.

"Shut up, you know it's true." Alexa said. "Vesper One might not trust his son, but he wouldn't want the embarrassment to have me beat his own son, again."

"Hey, you had a weapon, I had nothing." X said.

"I had a backpack, and last time I checked, you didn't need a weapon to stop me." Alexa said.

"The bump I had on the back of my head for three weeks would beg to differ." he said.

"What ever helps you sleep at night." she said.

"Is it always this way with you two?" Amy asked.

"No- Well, yes." Alexa said.

The argument between X and Alexa would have continued but Amy and Dan were saved by the bell, the door bell that is. Alexa stood up. "I'll get it." she said then turned to X. "Do anything to them and you'll suffer like you never suffered before."

"Oh, I'm so scared." he said, Alexa gave him a serious look. "No, worries. I'll take good care of your little cousins." he said sitting him self between Amy and Dan, they moved as far as they could from X.

"Yell if he tried anything." Alexa said to Amy and Dan. They nodded looking at the son of the most dangerous man they ever faced. Alexa went over to the door, she opened to see Ian standing outside with piles of unnecessary luggage, she recognized some of the luggage as Natalie's. Alexa hugged her Lucian cousin.

"We'll get her back." she said as she felt Ian hugging her back.

"Those Vespers are going to pay." Ian said as Alexa let go of him.

X always chose the wrong moments to walk into a room. "Hey, you must be Ian Kabra, your mom is one of the best Vespers we have." he said with a smile offering his hand to Ian. Alexa faced X just in time to see Ian's fist connect with X's nose.

Alexa held Ian back but not before suppressing a smile. "That's for my sister." Ian said before entering the living room.

Alexa knelt besides X to hear him moan in pain. "You better get used to that, a lot of people are coming here today that have lost someone." Alexa said smiling. X looked at Alexa with wide eyes. "That's right, and one of them is a bulky Tomas."

"I thought you said you needed me." X said, him voice muffled by him holding his nose.

"I do, but I don't see the harm of you getting roughed up a bit." she said pulling him up by his elbow and walking him to the living room.

"Father won't like that." he said still holding his bleeding nose.

"And I don't like having my cousin and uncle held up in God knows where, but we can't always get what we want." Alexa said getting an ice pack from the kitchen. "Besides, I'm being more welcoming then the Vespers would have been."

"What happened?" Dan asked as Alexa and X walked into the living room.

"I was nosing around the wrong place." X said holding the ice pack to his nose.

Amy and Dan looked at Ian's bruised hands to X's nose. "In other's words, Ian gave X what was coming to him." Dan said. He looked at Ian. "Dude, I might not like you but good job." he said to Ian, who was frowning.

"Why is he here?" Ian asked Alexa.

"Because the Vespers took seven of yours, so I took Vesper One's son." Alexa said, X grumbled. "I'm waiting for Vesper One to arrange a hostage exchange and get at least two Cahills back."

"How are you going to talk to him? We can't send massages from the phone he gave us." Amy said.

"Of course you can't that's a spy burner phone." X said. "He gives it to all his contacts."

"And we don't have to." Alexa said. "He might not know we have his son, when he does find out he'll look for who could catch him, and when he does he'll call me directly."

"How do you know that?" Ian asked.

"Because he knows me, and that I don't deal one-sided." Alexa said. "He'll be in contact."