How It All Goes Down
Funeral Voices
- Fourteen year-old Alex Rider is awoken at 3:00AM by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Uh oh—there's no way this is "good news" (1.1).
- It's the police. Alex's uncle Ian, whom Alex lives with, has died after getting into a car accident while not wearing his seatbelt.
- Alex's parents died in a plane crash just weeks after he was born, and since then, Alex has lived with his uncle in Chelsea, London, where Ian works as a banker with Royal and General.
- As Alex struggles with his grief, a girl enters the room. It's Jack Starbright, an American college student who was hired as a housekeeper in exchange for room and board.
- They discuss their future—neither knows the contents of Ian's will—and Alex tells Jack that he's skeptical of the official report because Ian was always "careful" to wear "his seat belt" (1.26).
- Alex receives a series of visitors that day: a lawyer, a funeral director, a neighbor, and a priest. But there's one unexpected arrival: a coworker of Ian's named Crawley. He assures Alex that the bank will take care of him.
- Alex is worried that he'll lose the house and that Jack will be sent back to America, which is some heavy stuff for a fourteen-year-old (or, you know, anybody).
- It's the day of the funeral. Alex is standing in the crowd when he sees an all-black Rolls Royce pull up. Did Ian know any famous rappers?
- A man with an "expressionless" (1.35) face steps out of the car, flanked by two dudes in matching suits and sunglasses. Crawley taps Alex on the shoulder and tells him that it's Mr. Blunt, the chairman of the bank.
- After the ceremony, Mr. Blunt approaches Alex and offers his condolences; Alex feels uncomfortable just being around him.
- As Blunt walks back to the car, Alex notices a pistol strapped to the waist of one of his sidekicks. Why would bankers need to pack heat?
- Alex and Jack walk home. Alex notices a van with the words "Stryker & Son painted on its side" (1.51); it screeches away as they approach.
- Alex surveys the house when they walk inside and can tell that someone has been through their stuff. Most notably, Ian's office—which was always locked—is open and stripped clean.