Alex frowned. "I'm not the one who needs baby-sitting. I want you to look after Jack while I'm away."

"Who's Jack? God, please don't tell me he's your dog or something."

"Actually, Jack is a she, and she's my guardian."

"If she looks after you then why do I have to look after her?"

"Because something weird is going on, and I don't want her to get hurt."

Wolf rolled his eyes. "This is ridiculous."

"Alex?" Jack called as she nervously walked to the door.

Alex turned around and smiled warmly at her. "It's okay, Jack. You'll be fine. I'll be back as soon as I can okay?"

"Okay."

"Just take care of her, okay?" Alex said as he walked past Wolf out the door. He climbed into his car and drove to Liverpool Street. He parked his car in front of the bank and got out. He looked at his watch – he was five minutes early. He leaned back against the car and waited. The next time he checked his watch, ten minutes had passed. Where was Dan? Alex decided to wait another five minutes before doing anything, but then he spotted something lying on the pavement about ten feet away. Alex walked over and picked it up. It was a strand of wooden beads. Alex recognized it. It belonged to the blue-eyed American. About half the beads had fallen off. Alex shoved the remains of the necklace into his pocket and looked around for any more clues. About three feet away, he spotted one of the beads. About four feet from there was another bead. Alex raised his eyebrow, curious. He began following the trail of beads on the ground. Luckily, the streets weren't too crowded at the time. Alex felt stupid following a trail of beads. It was something a four-year-old kid would do. A few yards down the street, the beads stopped at an alley. That's where a trail of blood started. It started out small – just a few drops. The number of drops grew. Soon enough, Alex was deep in the shady alley, walking along a small stream of blood. The smell of rotting flesh reached Alex's nose. Alex's heart began pounding. What had happened? Was Dan okay? It seemed impossible for Alex to believe that anyone could survive after losing that much blood. The trail of blood ended in a large, scarlet pool. The sickening, copper smell filled Alex's nostrils. Alex looked up, and then screamed. He was going to be sick. He wanted to look away, but he was fixated on the dead body nailed to a wooden board propped up against the wall. The man's face had been peeled off as well. Thankfully, it wasn't Dan, but still…who would have the malice to do such a thing?

A hand clamped over Alex's mouth and pulled him through a door. Alex immediately panicked and tried to fight off the assailant. Instead, he just flailed frantically.

"Alex, stop it," Dan muttered.

Hearing Dan's voice, Alex calmed down. "What happened? Who was that man?"

"His name was Tim Burton. He worked for the CIA."

Alex's eyes widened. Tim Burton – Tubs as Alex knew him – had been in Chechnya with Alex when Camryn died. "How do you know?"

"I used to work with him and Ryan Albright. I saw him walking by your house a few days ago. I followed him to a payphone yesterday. He called your house and asked to speak to you about Camryn."

Alex remembered what Jack had said about the phone call.

"Last night, Tim Burton came by your house again. It was late. He walked up to your front door. He looked like he was going to ring the doorbell but didn't. He just decided to leave. He reached the end of your driveway and an SUV came by and hit him."

"Did you see the driver? What kind of SUV was it?"

"It was a black Hummer. The driver got out and picked up Tim Burton's body and threw him in the back. I couldn't see the driver. It was too dark."

Alex mused. This might explain the blood on the ring. If so, why did Tubs have it? And how could anyone get his hands on that ring? Camryn had died wearing it and the lab had been blown up. Alex tried to put the new pieces together. Tubs wanted to talk to him about Camryn. He had been killed by someone driving a black Hummer. Who did he know who drove a black Hummer? Akira Aramaki. Alex shook his head. That couldn't be right. Akira didn't have a motive. Alex leaned back against the wall and ran his hands through his blonde hair.

"This doesn't make any sense," he grumbled.

"I don't know what's going on either, but you need to be careful," Dan said. "I think someone is trying to hurt you by making you think that Camryn's alive. Can you think of anyone who would do that?"

The answer came to Alex immediately. "Daisuke Takahashi."

Dan's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed. "That bastard…"

"Do you know him?"

"Of course. He started stalking Camryn after the mission in Los Angeles. I told him that if I ever caught him trailing Camryn again, I'd castrate him. God, I'm going to kill him."

"You'll have to beat me to it first," Alex said.

Dan grinned and shook his head. "I will."

"Alright, move the body before someone finds it," a voice said from deeper inside the building.

Alex and Dan shot each other worried looks. Dan grabbed the doorknob and twisted. It didn't move. It was locked. Footsteps approached the two boys.

"This is what I get for coming unarmed," Dan muttered.

Fortunately, Alex hadn't come unarmed. He was careful – just like his uncle taught him to be. He had shoved his leftover gadgets from Chechnya into his pocket before he left. Alex shoved a stick of the grape-flavored Bubble-O-7 into his mouth and chewed it for thirty seconds. He pulled the sticky wad out of his mouth and worked into the keyhole of the door. The two boys waiting anxiously until the lock finally burst.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

Alex whirled around. A bulky, muscular man of about thirty stood about fifteen feet away with a gun poised and ready to fire. Alex's eyes darted around for something to take cover behind. About three feet away was a metal table. Dan's eyes followed Alex's to the table. Alex's right hand was still in his pocket.

"Put your hands up where I can see them," the man ordered.

Dan obeyed immediately. Alex took his time. He unplugged the earphones from his iPod. He counted down in his head.

5…4…3…2…

"Down!" Alex shouted. He threw the iPod grenade and dove beneath the metal table with Dan. Alex could feel the power and the heat of the explosion.

"Let's go," Dan shouted over the roaring fire. He ran to the door and yanked it open. The two boys ran out into the open air and raced out of the alleyway. Tires screeched on the asphalt behind them as they ran down the street. Dan swore under his breath when he looked back. Alex pulled the football keychain from his pocket and tore the plastic ball off the chain. He dropped it onto the road. The little black and white ball exploded, sending smoke curling in every direction. The boys turned right at the corner. Dan ran up to a black Scion TC and grabbed the keys, which were hidden on top of the front tire. He opened the door of a Scion and climbed in. Alex climbed into the passenger side. Dan floored the accelerator and tore off down the street. Soon enough, a black Hummer was on their tail. The little Scion lurched violently when the Hummer rear-ended it.

"Damnit, why do you have to drive such a tiny car?!" Alex complained.

Dan took a sharp left turn around the corner. Alex's head slammed into the window. The Hummer had to slow down at the turn so that it wouldn't tip over. That bought Dan enough time to take another right turn and disappear.

"That's why," Dan said. "Looks like someone didn't pay attention in physics."

Alex frowned. "Whatever," he mumbled, rubbing the sore spot on the side of his head.