Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21 The room door slammed. Nellie tossed her key on the dresser. "That pool is better than a chai smoothie. I am totally refreshed. Let me grab a shower and we'll discuss dinner plans. We only have one more evening in Aswan and I have some ideas." Nellie stepped into the bathroom. Dan and Amy crowded in with her and closed the door. "Guys? Uh, I know we've gotten close and all? But this is a lit-tle too much togetherness for me, 'kay?" Nellie said. Amy reached over and turned on the shower full blast. "The hotel room is bugged," she said underneath the noise of the rushing water. "Bugs in this hotel? Impossible. What is it, a spider or something? Chill out, I'll take care of it."

"Not bugs, bugged," Dan said. "As in, illegal surveillance." "We need you to go out there and cover for us while we search for whoever's bugging us," Amy said. "Whoever it is, he or she is probably nearby." "All you have to do is keep talking. We've thought a lot about this, and we think you have the necessary skills," Dan said. "Very funny, Dan-o. But true. When it comes to nonstop chat, I'm the champ," Nellie agreed. Nellie turned off the shower and they all returned to the main room. "That pool is so fine," she said, as if she'd never been interrupted. "I met this couple from Scotland, and I was all, whoa, you have some delish smoked salmon in your excellent country…." Amy raised the window carefully, not making a sound. She and Dan quietly climbed out. "—and they were all, 'Aye, lassie, we dew, ye ken our bonny fish, ye dew!'" Nellie said in a terrible Scottish accent. "So I said, 'You know what ye lads and lassies need in Scotland? Bagels! To go with!' 'Whoa,' they said, 'lassie, ye canna be

serious, that is one orrrig-in-al guid idea….'" With the drone of Nellie's Scottish burr in their ears, they hurried away. Down the curving path, under the palms, past the gardens, and circling back to the front door of the hotel. "I'm betting lobby," Dan said. "The device has a wireless transmitter, so we're going to have to examine everyone's ears." "And how are we going to do that?" "Say we're at a Q-Tip convention?" They strolled inside. The lobby was crowded with guests taking shelter from the mid-afternoon heat. Dan and Amy paused near a column and watched the crowd. At first it was hard to single any one person out. Tourists stood and sat and chatted, read guidebooks and magazines, passed each other newspapers, all taking a breather before the next round of temples. Dan pointed with his chin to a man sitting with his back to them. He was a beefy guy in a stiff straw hat, a newspaper held up in front of his face. His thick neck was sunburned bright red. "He

hasn't turned a page in five minutes. And he's got something in his ear. Come on." "But I don't recognize him…." "I bet it's Eisenhower Holt in disguise." Amy followed. Dan strode over to the man and ripped away the newspaper from in front of his face. "You're busted!" "Just what do you think you are doing, sir?" the man blustered in a British accent. Dan quickly handed him back his paper. "Uh, busted for wearing the best hat in the joint!" he said. "You rock!" Amy tugged Dan away. "While you were assaulting that guy, everybody in the lobby looked up," she whispered. "Except him." A man sat in the corner, a newspaper in front of his face. He was dressed in a suit the color of vanilla ice cream. Above the matching shoes, Dan glimpsed bright pink socks. "That's him," Dan declared. "There's only one jerk we know who can conduct high-tech surveillance and accessorize at the same time."

He'd made a dumb joke, but it was only to cover up how crazy-mad he felt at the sight of his uncle. Alistair Oh had been the only Cahill to truly befriend them. At least, they'd thought so. Sure, they'd double-crossed each other a few times, but they'd also ended up working together. Alistair had saved their necks on more than one occasion. But he'd ended up being like the rest of the Cahills— out for himself and willing to betray anyone who got in his way. Dan stalked over and grabbed a fistful of the newspaper, tearing it away from Alistair's face. "Surprise!" Alistair Oh looked up at them sheepishly. "Greetings, young ones." "Greetings, weasel," Dan said. "Perhaps an explanation is in order—" "Perhaps a whomp upside the head is in order," Dan said. Amy took a few steps and reached for a house phone. She dialed their room number. When Nellie answered, she said, "Okay, you can stop now."

"Man, that's guid news," Nellie said. "This lassie is about to pass out." Amy hung up the phone and turned back to Alistair. Dan faced their uncle, his arms crossed. "I realize things look bad," Alistair said. "Did you hear that?" Dan asked. "A dead man is talking." "Amazing," Amy said. "But didn't you mean to say a lying, cheating, double-crossing dead man?" "I had good reason for what I did!" Alistair exclaimed. "My safety depends on my being dead. Anything less wouldn't have worked. Do you see, our alliance will be stronger than ever." "We don't have an alliance," Dan said. "Because you lied." "A small necessary deception. Think about it. Now I can operate undercover. You will have a truly silent partner. The Kabras think I'm dead. Soon the news will spread out to all Cahills." "Your uncle thinks you're alive." "Well." Alistair gave a slight cough. "He might have his reasons. But he won't tell the others. We