The day has been saved. The schoolchildren of England will live to see another day, Herod Sayle's operation has been dismantled, and Alex is no worse for the wear. There's still a bit of unfinished business to take care of, however…
That's because Sayle is still alive. He kidnaps Alex at gunpoint and drags him to a roof, where he plans on killing him in cold blood. Before he can do so, however, Sayle is taken down by Yassen Gregorovich. To Alex's (and our) surprise, Yassen spares Alex's life.
The closing image is a strange one: Yassen waving "in a gesture of friendship" (17.80) as he copters away. In many ways, it's bizarre to see the man who killed Alex's uncle acting like they're old buddies, but it's a subtle way of reminding us of the little parallels between Yassen and Alex. We've got a feeling that this isn't the last time that these two will cross paths.