Alexander reached into his suit coat and pulled out a small chunk of bluestone. King’s distrust of Alexander continued to grow as his role in the mission became secondary to Alexander’s whims. And that threatened King’s personal goal of finding Fiona. If Alexander’s objective shifted, King might be left high and dry. He would continue, of course, but with time short for Fiona, the delay could be deadly.

Davidson took the stone and looked it over. “This is actually a piece of a golem animated from the stones of Stonehenge?”

“It is,” Alexander said.

Holding it up close to his eyes, Davidson stared at the stone as the bright sunlight glimmered off the blue specks. “We need a lab.”

Alexander stood. “I have one waiting.” He stood, leading the way out of the room.

Davidson eagerly followed.

King hesitated for a moment. Could he trust Alexander? If he turned bad, could he be stopped? Deciding the answer to both questions was an unquestionable “no,” King took a handful of fries and followed after them.

*   *   *

THE LAB WAS both impressive and sketchy. The equipment looked new, or at least rarely used, and the small warehouse that held it was in a seedy part of town. In fact, everything looked like it had been brought in and rigged to be used specifically for this occasion and would likely disappear when they were done.

King didn’t like that everything he had done since heading to Rome was outside the reach of U.S. resources, but he couldn’t deny the results. Though those results were slow in coming this afternoon. The hot Mediterranean sun beat down on the metal building, heating its insides like an oven. Even the mighty Hercules had shed his suit coat and unbuttoned the first few buttons on his shirt.

“It’s too bad your people didn’t think to bring in an air conditioner,” King said.

“I’ll be sure to have them take care of it next time,” Alexander replied.

As King wondered whether or not Alexander was joking he realized that the man had just confirmed his suspicions. This was a temporary lab.

Tension had King’s body in a tight grip. Unless they found some kind of lead soon, their investigation will have run dry. King checked the date and time on his watch. Day four was well under way and Fiona was now out of insulin. He gripped the edge of the lab table he was leaning on, feeling his anger rise.

“I’ve got something,” Davidson said, backing away from a microscope he’d been standing over for the past ten minutes.

King stood straight and headed for Davidson, eager for news.