Alex and I were back at the suite again that night. Alex was really quiet, still shaken. Finally, I spoke.

"Rothman wants to adopt me," I told Alex.

"You can't be serious."

"Believe it or not, I am."

"What did you say to her?"

"Nothing yet. I can use that to my advantage. Maybe I can get some details on Invisible Sword."

"Do you really think we can stop it?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure how yet."

"So you're going to tell Mrs. Rothman that you want to be her kid?"

"Sure. Hopefully, she'll believe me."

"She will – you're good at lying." Ouch…that hurt. Seeing my pained expression, Alex realized what he said.

"Sorry, I didn't mean that."

"Yes, you did."

"Cam, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry for speaking the truth." I went into the bedroom and locked the door. I flopped onto the bed and cried myself to sleep.

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I'm falling…weightlessly free falling. I love the feeling. The rush of adrenaline takes my mind off all my problems and worries. I open my eyes, and I realize I'm not falling but flying. I see Venice below me. Hey, there's Rothman's mansion. I fly lower. In the Western tower of the mansion is a huge satellite dish, probably for the TV. I fly around the mansion. Nothing's really going on. I fly by an open window and hear angry voices. One is Nile's. The other is Rothman's.

"What do we do with the boy?" Rothman asks.

"Throw him off the tower. Make it look like he committed suicide," Nile answers.

"What about the cyanide? That will be discovered in the autopsy."

"Just forget about the cyanide and throw him in the sea. It'll be near impossible to find the body."

A little while later, Rothman's car pulls out of the driveway. I follow it to the cliffs where Alex and I had once almost lost our lives. Rothman and Nile climb out and open the trunk. I see a boy bound with ropes and gagged. I hover lower to get a better view. My heart stops. I'm terrified. The two Scorpia assassins haul Alex out of the trunk. He struggles as they push him to the edge, but he can't break loose. Nile gives Alex one final shove. Alex loses his balance. I dive down and grab his hand. He loses his footing on the cliff. I struggle to hold on to him.

"Let me go, Cam," Alex tells me.

"I can't. I won't."

"Let go, or you die with me."

"I don't care."

"Cam, don't do this. Let me go."

Too late. The air releases me. Alex and I fall. Alex pulls me close as we fall to our death. Just before we hit the water, I pull together every ounce of courage I have. I have to let him know. I can't die peacefully if I don't.

"I love you, Alex."

My eyes snapped open. Alex was standing over me, gripping my shoulders. I gasped for air. I sat up and grabbed Alex, hugging him tightly.

"It's okay, Cam," he said. "You're safe. You're okay."

"I love you," I blurted out in confession.

"I know."

Alex and I sat in the living room of Rothman's castle-like mansion. Rothman and Nile came into the room.

"The two of you are going to witness Scorpia's greatest project," Rothman said. "We're taking a little trip back to the U.K."

"What kind of project?" I asked.

"One that will change the course of this world completely. Thousands of people will die. It can't be stopped. The doomed can't be saved."

Oh, wonderful. I wondered if she knew that Alex had been vaccinated. Did she know she was going to kill Alex? She had to know…

So the four of us piled into Rothman's car and went to Rothman's private landing strip. There was a small jet waiting for us. We climbed aboard and headed back to the U.K. During the ride, Alex couldn't sit still. He was nervous, and I don't blame him. Once we landed, a car picked us up and drove us to an abandoned church called The Church of Forgotten Saints. The Roman architecture was amazing. The steps lead up to a rectangular section. Beyond that was a dome. We walked up the marble steps to the bronze doors that had turned green with age. There were statues lining the stairs to the door. They were all crippled from the wearing of age and weather.

"Let's go in," Rothman said leading the way. She walked up to the middle door, and it opened electronically upon arrival – kind of like the doors at the supermarket. That was odd.

Rothman saw the confused look on my face and chuckled. "Scorpia took over this building a few years ago and made some adjustments."

Alex and I followed the other two assassins inside. We entered the grand hall. Everything was dusty and gray. Rothman continued forward as Alex and I marveled at the old building. Arc lamps overhead flashed on as if cued by Rothman's footsteps. Simultaneously, five doors slid open. Alex and I proceeded forward into the dome. Black and white tiles lay in a pattern on the floor. Stained-glass windows and an old, beaten, and worn organ highlighted the age of the church. The place was filled with electronic equipment. The modern machines clashed terribly with the classical church. There were about a dozen people working the machines. Another dozen served as guards wielding automatic machine guns.

"It's all wrong," Alex whispered to me. "Kellner said that the terahertz dishes would be on a tall building."

Mark Kellner was the prime minister's director of communications. Indeed, he was wrong. The terahertz dishes were attached to a hot-air balloon. A team of six men was inflating the balloon that had been painted white and blue to blend into the sky. Four terahertz dishes were attached to the bottom of the basket.

"Are we going for a balloon ride?" Alex asked Rothman.

She shook her head. "The balloon is going to rise above the church. The ropes will keep it at a thousand feet. Once it reaches a thousand feet, the dishes will automatically activate and send terahertz beams all over London."

"What's the motivation behind this?"

Rothman eyed Alex suspiciously. "We made impossible demands of the American government that they can't comply to. Because they didn't meet our demands, thousands will die. In a few months, we'll launch Invisible Sword again but in New York City."

I bit down hard on my lip to keep my anger at bay. New York – my home – would fall to this mad woman if I didn't stop her. My friends who I've known since elementary school would die.

"This will destroy the alliance between the Americans and the British," Rothman continued. "Along the way, Scorpia will also gain twenty-five million dollars."

"You're sick, Rothman," Alex muttered. "Killing children to get rich."

My heart stopped. Alex had yet another slip of tongue. Rothman bore her black eyes into him. I nervously tugged at my jacket, waiting for her reaction.

"I never said anything about children," she said menacingly.

"There will be adults and children who will die," Alex said, trying to cover for himself.

"Someone else has told you that children are the targets of Invisible Sword. Who told you?"

"No one told me," Alex lied.

"What's that in your mouth?"

"A retainer."

"You didn't have one on Malagosto."

"I didn't have it in then."

"Take it out."

Alex didn't move.

"Don't make me take it out myself, because – mark my words – I will bash your head open with a hammer to get it out."

Alex reluctantly took the retainer out and held it out for Rothman to see. Circuitry and a switch made it obvious that it wasn't an ordinary retainer. I realized it was a homing device.

"Drop it," Rothman ordered.

Alex obeyed. Rothman stomped on it, cracking the plastic. When she lifted her foot, we saw that it had broken clear in half. The device was useless.

I stared at Alex in disbelief.

"I told you to search him!" Rothman screamed at Nile.

"I did. I only didn't check his mouth."

"Mrs. Jones is still alive, isn't she?"

Alex didn't answer. I slapped him hard across the face.

"I can't believe you, Alex!" I shouted, slapping him on the other side of his face. I pulled my arm back to punch him, but Rothman caught my wrist.

"Calm down, Camryn."

I struggled against her.

"Camryn, I know you're upset, but don't worry. We'll take care of him."

I finally relaxed. Rothman put her hand on my shoulder.

"Alex will die with all the other fifteen-year-olds in London," she said.

Suddenly, glass shattered. A smoke grenade flew through the broken window. I smiled. Our plan worked. Smoke began to fill the church. Alex attacked the three guards closest to us. Nile reached for his samurai swords, but I was quicker. I drove my elbow hard into his ribcage. Rothman stared at me, shocked. I drove her into the ground with a roundhouse kick to the chest.

"Camryn – you…" She couldn't find the words to express her astonishment. "I can't believe-"

"Sabotage, Corruption, Intelligence, and Assassination – that's what you taught me. Didn't you ever think that it might come back and bite you in the ass?"