Beneath the towering shadow of Big Ben, Alex watched the bustling crowds crossing Westminster Bridge. London was alive, but something about today felt different, as if the city itself held its breath, waiting.

I hope it's not a bomb, he thought. Not again. He'd seen enough of those. Alex's heart was pounding. He'd had a pretty bad night and he was still feeling groggy from the sleeping pills the doctor had given him. He was all alone in the city. His father was in New York. His mother had gone to Italy. And the night before, Alex's best friend, Jack Starbright, had gone back to America. She'd come to London to help Alex, but there had been no sign of his parents, and in the end she'd had to go home. Alex's father, Ian, had phoned while he was still in New York. He'd sounded worried, and he'd made Alex promise to stay at the safe house and wait for him. He was due to fly to London in a couple of days, but he was still in New York, and Alex was alone in the city, waiting. He'd wanted to go home. He'd wanted to be with his mother. But he was afraid. He'd seen the way that men in dark suits had watched him. He'd seen the way they'd been following him. He'd seen the way they'd tried to kill him. And he'd seen the way they'd nearly killed his friend, Jack. So Alex had agreed to stay at the safe house. It was one of those tall buildings in the center of London, where the rich and famous lived. Alex had been there before. He'd been there when he'd met Jack, and he'd been there when he'd been forced to steal the prototype of a new computer game. He'd had to steal it from a rich man who was living in the building. He'd had to steal it because his mother had been kidnapped. Alex hadn't known it at the time, but he'd been sent to the safe house by MI6, the British secret service. It was where spies lived, and now Alex was a spy, and that's why he was there. MI6 was keeping him safe. But Alex was still afraid. There had been a time when he'd been afraid of everything. He'd been afraid of spiders and the dark and the strange man who'd tried to kill him. But now he was afraid of the people he'd seen. The ones who were trying to kill him. The ones who had murdered his father. They'd killed his father, and they were still after him. That was why Alex was in the city alone. He'd gone out because he was bored. He'd decided to walk through St. James's Park and cross Westminster Bridge, where he could see Big Ben. And now he was standing there, looking up at the tower. The bell was ringing, and he could hear it above the noise of the traffic. He wondered how long the bell had been ringing. He wondered if it was the same bell that had been there for a hundred years. He thought about his father, about the time he'd gone to see Big Ben with his father. Ian Rider had been a good man. Alex had loved him very much. Ian had been a spy for MI6, but Alex had known that when he was eight years old. He'd known it the moment his father had come home, changed his clothes, and gone out again. That was when he'd found the gun in his father's desk, the gun that had killed his mother. It had been a terrible day, and it had changed Alex's life. He'd been sent to live in a place called The Institute. He'd been told that his father was dead, that his mother had died in an accident. He'd been told that he was an orphan, and he'd believed it. He hadn't known that his father was still alive. He hadn't known that he had a twin brother. He hadn't known that he was going to become a spy. He hadn't known that he was going to be sent on his first mission to Paris. He hadn't known that the Scorpia ring was going to try to kill him, and that he was going to kill one of them. He hadn't known that his own brother was going to try to kill him. He hadn't known that he was going to save the world. But he had known that the world was a dangerous place. He'd known it from the very beginning. He'd known it when he'd been sent to the Scorpia training camp. He'd known it when he'd been trained to kill. He'd known it when he'd seen the way that the other children had been trained to kill. He'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been brainwashed, the way they'd been turned into killers. He'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been conditioned, the way they'd been made into weapons. He'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been used, the way they'd been sent out to kill. He'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been betrayed, the way they'd been abandoned. He'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been killed, the way they'd been sacrificed. And he'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been sent to their deaths. He'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been murdered. He'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been slaughtered. He'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been butchered. And he'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been tortured, the way they'd been maimed, the way they'd been crippled. And he'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been destroyed. And he'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been killed. And he'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been murdered. And he'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been slaughtered. And he'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been butchered. And he'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been tortured, the way they'd been maimed, the way they'd been crippled. And he'd known it when he'd seen the way they'd been destroyed. Alex was afraid. He was afraid of the people who had killed his father. He was afraid of the people who had tried to kill him. He was afraid of the people who had killed his friend. He was afraid of the people who had tried to kill him. He was afraid of the people who had tried to kill him. He was afraid of the people who had tried to kill him. He was afraid of the people who had tried to kill him. He was afraid of the people who had tried to kill him. He was afraid of the people who had tried to kill him. He was afraid of the people who had tried to kill him. He was afraid of the people who had tried to kill him. 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