Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 The peculiar word COACH on Natalie's plane ticket had conjured up images of leather benches, uniformed coachmen, and fine horses. Not tiny, hard seats and a pig. It wasn't so much the babysitter's attitude. Which was horrid. Or the tattoos and piercings. Which someday would cause the girl such embarrassment at her job— that is, should she ever find a real one. It wasn't even the girl's rudeness upon seeing Natalie and her brother. Granted, a warm hello and hugs were not warranted under the circumstances, but the stream of barnyard epithets was a bit… well, unseemly. To say the least. Yet all of the above was to be expected from a person of Nellie's station. And Natalie and Ian

could withstand the crudeness. Some sacrifices were necessary in order to get the information they needed. No, the worst part was the sloppiness. The candy wrappers and potato chip shards on the seats to either side of her, the backpack plopped on the floor between her feet instead of tucked under the seat in front. The nervous habit of shoveling fistfuls of snack mix into her mouth and chewing while speaking. Dreadful. Sloppy habits make a sloppy mind, according to the old Kabra family saying. Or maybe that was from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. Natalie wasn't quite sure. She winced as the loathsome babysitter spoke with a mouthful of food. "Soffy, unca wassoosa, y'nah gongahwawee!" Nellie said, spitting bits of peanut and Chex from the corners of her mouth. Natalie's brother, Ian, picked a fleck of Rice Krispie from his otherwise flawless jet-black hair. "Swallow, please, and repeat?" Nellie gulped. "Sorry, I don't care what you say, you're not going to get away with this."

"Oh?" Ian looked over his shoulder, up and down the crowded jetliner. "Do I see anyone sympathizing with your plight? No? What do you say, Natalie— did we get away with it?" "You can do this the easy way, you know, by answering one simple question…" Natalie pressed. They had asked Nellie a dozen times, and each answer had been sassier than the last. She would learn, though. If she knew what was good for her. And if not, well, the Kabras had other ways. "So. One last time— why are you going to Japan?" Nellie yanked a magazine out of the seat pocket in front of her, sending a set of earphones and some used tissues flying toward Ian, who leaped with a barely concealed yeep of disgust. "Because I love sudoku," Nellie said. "You can get the best sudoku puzzles on a flight to Japan, duh. Don't you know anything?" "Coffee, tea, complimentary snack packet, or anything else I can assist you with to make this your best flight ever?" a flight attendant piped up, walking slowly up the aisle.

"A Diet Coke and a restraining order, please?" Nellie said. "Because these two are not supposed to be in these seats, and they are harassing me." Ian let out a hearty laugh. "Ha-ha! Oh, Cousin Nell, you always crack me up with your jokes and whatnot— doesn't she, uh, Amy?" "Yes, Daniel," Natalie replied. "Just like back home. In… Homedale." "Oh, that's convincing," Nellie said. "Is there a cop on board? Because if there's not, I want to make a citizen's arrest. Can you do that in Italy, or wherever we are?" Smiling uneasily, the flight attendant placed a Diet Coke on Nellie's tray. As she stood back up, Natalie turned to the baffled woman and circled her finger by her ear in a subtle cuckoo gesture. Outside the window, lightning flashed. The plane suddenly began to lurch. "Heh-heh, well, looks like we're experiencing just a bit of bumpiness here…" the pilot said over the PA. The flight attendant began pushing her cart back up the aisle, calling out, "Please return your seats to the upright position."

Ian groaned. "I— I'm not feeling too well…." As he keeled forward, face turning green, it was Nellie's turn to look alarmed. Natalie smiled. She and Ian had planned this. Certain signals for certain contingencies. Kabras were masters of tight planning. Ian's act meant one thing only, and Natalie knew just what to do. Still, she couldn't help but feel pity for the girl. Underneath the raffishness there was a bit of spunk and spirit. In another circumstance, another time, she would make a good Kabra employee. "Uh, you're not going to be sick, are you?" Nellie said. "Because I hate the sight of puke." She leaned forward to sift through all the detritus on the floor, looking for an air-sickness bag. There. While Nellie was turned away, Natalie reached into her pocket and extracted a small vial of dark liquid. With a deft motion, she lifted the vial to Nellie's soda. Two drops was all that was needed. The plane jumped again, causing Natalie to flinch, and the entire contents of the vial spilled inside the Coke.

Oops. The beeping of the phone woke Dan up from a deep sleep. The first thing he noticed was Amy's hand, bone-white and clenching the armrest. "I don't know how you can sleep at a time like this…" she said through gritted teeth. The little jet banked to the left, causing Amy to let out a scream. "Sweet!" Dan said. "Do that again, Serge!" Serge laughed. "You like?" "No!" Amy blurted. Alistair was straining to hear the phone. "This is who?" he said, gesturing for everyone to be quiet. "Irina?" Amy groaned. "Yes, they did get away," Alistair said loudly. "They are with me, quite safe and sound… what? Did you say Japan?" Alistair let out a big laugh. "Oh, dear. You thought… you really believed that Dan and Amy didn't let the Kabra children take