Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 Amy's eyes were riveted astern where, she knew, Jonah and the Janus would appear any second now. At the last possible instant, Dan let up on the gas. The launch floated into the shadow of the yacht just as Jonah's boat burst into the open. Standing on the bow, the young star surveyed the Grand Canal in both directions. The Cahills were nowhere to be seen. His father shut his cell phone in disgust. "I've tried all our contacts at the Venice radio stations. Nobody has a traffic copter in the air right now." "Their craft is slow," put in Ponytail. "They cannot be far." Jonah nodded. "We'll split up, yo. We'll head under the bridge and check out that direction. Tell the others to go the opposite way."

Ponytail shouted the instructions to their Janus colleagues, and the two boats raced for the bend in the waterway that led to the Bay of San Marco. Then he put their motor in gear and roared through the stone arches beneath the Rialto Bridge. An eye peered over the gunwale of the launch and watched Jonah and company disappear in the distance. "They're gone," Amy whispered. "What now?" Dan popped up beside her. "I don't know. I honestly wasn't expecting this to work." "Let's get our diary pages and find Nellie," Amy said urgently. "The Janus won't stay away forever." Dan reignited the motor and piloted the launch out from behind the yacht. "I think I'm getting pretty good. I haven't hit anything for, like, ten minutes." "That's the real miracle." The thrum of a powerful engine reached their ears, and the water astern of the luxury craft began to churn.

"They're starting up," Amy commented. "Lucky they didn't pull away when the Janus were out there." As the small craft ventured into the center of the canal, the yacht began to move as well, falling into place behind them. The shadow of her pointed bow towered over them. Dan leaned on the throttle. "Better speed up. Those guys could run us over and think they've hit a goldfish." They backtracked along the broad waterway and swerved into the narrower canal that led to the moored Royal Saladin, where they'd stashed the Nannerl pages. "Dan — look!" The Cahills watched in bewilderment as the high-tech yacht maneuvered expertly into the smaller channel. "Why would anybody drive a big boat like that into a tiny little trickle?" asked Amy in consternation. "He could get stuck." "Only one reason," Dan said grimly. "He's following us."

"Why? He isn't one of the Janus." "Maybe not, but he's right on our tail." Dan had the throttle at maximum, but the yacht was keeping up easily. There was no doubt that the luxury craft could overtake them at will. The Cahills sailed past the old Church of San Luca and under the tiny bridge where the Royal Saladin was moored. Amy looked astern in trepidation and was surprised to find the yacht well back, coming to a virtual stop in the water. "What are they doing?" Dan wondered. "They had us!" It dawned on Amy first. "They're too tall! The upper deck can't make it under the bridge!" "Yes!" Dan made a rude gesture toward the yacht, which was now reversing up the channel. "In your face, you big doofus!" "We can't get the diary pages now," Amy warned. "Jonah can't see us, but whoever's on the yacht might." Dan didn't let up on the gas. "No problem. We'll just lose this guy and loop around to get our stuff." At top speed, he navigated their craft down

tributaries far too narrow for a larger boat. "Out of my way, landlubbers! Captain Dan coming through!" The launch lurched as they bounced off a stone dock. "Oops." "I hope you know where we are," Amy put in nervously. "Relax." Dan wheeled the launch along another tight channel, and there ahead of them was the Grand Canal. "Once we hit the main drag, it'll be easy to find the right turnoff for the Royal Saladin." The engine groaned in protest, but Dan showed it no mercy. He pushed the throttle as far as it would go, demanding everything the little motor would offer. The wind in his hair added to his exhilaration. In a few more seconds, they would be on the Grand Canal. "Ha!" he cheered. "It takes more than a million-dollar canoe to outsmart a Cahill!" And suddenly, a wall of shiny metal blocked their way. Where just a second ago the sparkling open waters of the wide channel had beckoned, now the full length of the high-tech yacht moved

out into their path. Desperately, Dan threw the launch into reverse, but there was no stopping. The engine screamed and stalled out. The Cahills continued on an arrow-straight collision course. Amy heard someone screaming and recognized her own voice. Dan shut his eyes. It was his only option. The launch rammed into the steel hull and came apart like a balsa wood model. Everything went dark.