‘And where did all this hatred and rivalry lead?’ said Ugo. ‘To the Great War. To millions of young men blown to pieces in the mud.’ He walked slowly round the table, looking into the faces of each man. ‘During that time the opportunities for criminal activity were immense,’ he said. ‘Many men like us got rich while the authorities were looking the other way, busy fighting the war. Our first aim will always be to push Europe into another war, to turn one country against another. For where there is chaos we can prosper –’

‘If what you say is true,’ interrupted a Turkish man at the far end of the table, ‘then what makes you think that you can unite us all? We are from many different countries, after all.’

‘No,’ said Ugo. ‘We are all the same. We are criminals. We do not care about borders and boundaries and nationalities. We are already united in crime. We will work together, from within, undermining society, overthrowing governments even, if we so desire. We can become the most powerful force in Europe, a secret underground empire of criminals.’

As James watched Ugo pacing the room, he caught sight of something he hadn’t seen before. A statue of Mithras, but not just any statue – it was the one from the garden at Casa Polipo. As he was wondering how it had got here, a terrible realisation was slowly dawning on James.

He was in a very perilous position.

He had blindly stumbled up here, and now, not 20 feet away from him, was the most dangerous collection of individuals in Europe.

He had seen enough. He had to get away, and get away fast while Ugo and the men were still inside the temple.

If he was caught…

Well, that didn’t bear thinking about.

He turned round and groped his way back out between the statues on to the ledge, where he paused for a moment to breathe in some fresh air. He stood up, ran along to the end and jumped across to the equestrian statue, just managing to catch hold of Ugo’s outstretched arm. Then he scrambled down and set off back towards the steps at a run.

If he could just get back to the funicular railway he could maybe walk down the tracks to the valley. With luck he might even be able to hitch a ride on the roof again.

With luck…

You idiot, James.

You’ve been a complete bloody fool.

Don’t think about that, now, just keep moving.

He entered one of the dark alleyways, his heart pounding.

Suddenly his head was yanked back and he grunted as someone pulled him into a doorway from behind, their hand across his mouth.

He lashed out with an elbow and the grip was released. He spun round, fists raised, ready to fight for his life.