Well hi there, fancy seeing you here... long time no see, sorry about that! Anyway we are fully back to Mr Rider and only have four chapters to go after this one! That's the funny thing, we're so close to the end of the book and yet I still have no idea how on earth Alex is going to get out of this one - especially after this chapter!
This chapter was set back in England between Blunt, Jones and the new Prime Minister. I like these kind of chapters because, aside from the fact that I sometimes feel like I need a break from Alex's wild rollercoaster-ride of a life, it tends to give us more information, and usually calms us in the knowledge that MI6 are definitely doing something to help. I say usually because this is not always the case. Sometimes the cold-blooded Mr Blunt refuses to help Alex, assuming that he'll get out of it himself, which is why this chapter particularly surprised me.
I'm just going to jump straight into the middle of this chapter. Basically the Prime Minister is not that keen on having Alex as a spy, worrying more about the diplomatic ramifications of sending planes in to destroy the fields than the lives of hundreds of people: including Alex. Blunt goes on to say something next which I never expected to hear him say: "I want to know he's safe".
...
This man has sent Alex into life-threatening situations numerous times and has never shown any remorse, concern or emotion about doing so. His cold-blooded attitude stops emotions from getting in the way of these missions, and he has watched as Alex has been beaten, injured, nearly killed, without turning a hair. I thought it was amazing that this boy, who he so evidently disliked at the beginning of this series has one the admiration of a man who never seems to admire or be worried about anyone. It's a testament to how well Alex has done, in spite of the blackmail from MI6, that Alan Blunt actually respects him and wants him to survive. I thought that was a pretty major piece of character development there, and Mrs Jones even notices the change.
Most of this chapter is just discussion about what to do. They have all recieved Alex's message about what McCain is doing in Kenya and are working out how to stop it. Horowitz has never portrayed politicians in a positive light. They never react well to the idea of Alex, and I think that's pretty realistic: an adult who has worked hard to be where they are and knows their intelligence is unlikely to like being proven wrong by a child. You see it all the time in children's fiction - most notably in Harry Potter, where the reactions of characters like Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge (both politicians...) are negative when it comes to Harry trying to tell them they are wrong. In the Alex Rider books they nearly always make the wrong decisions, leaving Alex to sort it out himself.
Here the Prime Minister decides to bomb the fields which have been sprayed, hoping to destroy them that way. They know that Alex may be in the area but in their opinion they have no other choice. Mrs Jones point out that by blowing it up theycould just be spreading the spores further, and the Prime Minister refuses to listen to the risks. He seems determined not to do anything MI6 want: they suggested using flame-throwers which would be more effective in destroying the spores and therefore seem a far better solution, but still he turns a lind eye and goes with what his own men are telling him. It just seems like he's being soiteful for no reason and this could cost Kenya thousands or millions of lives.
He did say something that I whole-heartedly agree with however: he ordered that this be Alex's last mission, that he must return to school. You'd think if the PM ordered this, MI6 would have to obey, but I know there's another book, so I wonder what goes wrong...
The final 2 pages change scene: back in Kenya, McCain has discovered Bennett's foot, left by the crocodiles. Surprisingly he sheds a tear which, although he was her fiance, does seem strange. I could never really picture the two of them together. Anyway he finds Alex's torn shirt but realises it has NO BLOOD on it and works out that he must have escaped. He sends his men out, and they're particularly good trackers and will catch up with Alex VERY SOON and it is VERY BAD and I DON'T KNOW HOW ALEX IS GOING TO PULL THIS ONE OFF!!!
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