Bloody heck, I laughed my head off at this - hilarious! The idea itself, the conversation between Wolf and Yassen, and then Alex manipulating them so hyper-skillfully to do exactly what he wants - I loved it to bits! And the bond-joke at the end, and the sniping :). Brilliant job!

Oh, that goes *way* deeper plot-wise than I'd expected even after the sharp first chapter. Gorgeous backstory and plotting, and excellent hinting-but-not-showing on what Yassen has gone through (it makes imagining even more chilling).

I can't wait to see how you take this further! And how Yassen gets Alex 'entangled' in his plans :).

Author's Response: I'm so glad you like it; Yassen is my favorite character right now. There's so much that can be done with his story and still use elements from canon. Plus, he's just so hot - in a cold and calculating way.

Yay, yay, yay! I can't believe how long it took me to get around to this. That was bloody exciting! MI6 is so painfully dumb!

I loved the reaction Alex has to the letters from his uncle, almost unable to contain his curiosity.

Snake and Wolf were so great, coming to the rescue with an amazingly well-developed plan. I think it's a sign of how vulnerable Alex is emotionally at the moment that he was instinctively prepared for an attack when he first sees them. He's pretty much been alienated by everybody. Loved the moment where he thinks Scorpia would be easier to deal with because he knows what to expect.

Can't wait to read on!

*loves*

Y'know, I blew an entire night reading this a week ago, and spent most of today re-browsing it, and it's still awesome.

I still can't quite figure out *how* you manage to rack up tension through the entire story to sometimes near-unbearable intensity.

I love what you did with the Gentleman, because he sneaks up out of nowhere, is creepy as hell in a very rational way (which makes him even more scary, really). I love how he has Alex's measure and controls him through is fear for others (and himself) and really puts him through hell on the ship. And how he lets Alex believe (or well, maybe he doesn't know Yassen's intentions) that he's going to his death at the Australian's hands and the fear that comes with it.

The battle against Scorpia was awesome, and the moment Alex just walks into the board meeting took my breath away.

And Yassen... oh, I feel so *sorry* for Yassen here. Not because he doesn't deserve what happens, but because he seems to be searching for... a partner in Alex, someone to replace John or Ian... He's so bloody honest about things, where Alex is... not?

Don't get me wrong, I love the ending. It's perfectly in keeping with your portrayal of Alex throughout, there are hints that jumped out to me after getting to the end, and a lot of people whose loss hit Alex hard would *not* have died if Yassen hadn't employed the Gentleman to bring Alex to him. Alex is *right* in handing Yassen over. It's just that Yassen never sees it coming, which makes him... a sort of innocent (the way he sleeps in Alex's presence was wonderful symbolism here). And betrayal of that sort tends to hit me hard - especially when it hurts both of them so deeply.

So yeah, the ending hit me like a sledgehammer, and I don't think it would've this much if the story hadn't pulled me in until it read like canon - not like 'this is a fanfic, let's see how it plays with our chars, but 'this is real, and it hurts!

That's just spectacularly awesome, and I'm so, so glad you wrote this!!!

And sorry for all the waily waffling! :)