Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23 Nellie ran her hands through her hair groggily. She looked at the clock. She couldn't believe that she'd slept for twelve hours. Naturally, Dan and Amy were gone. And this time, they hadn't even left a note. She checked her e-mail, and sure enough, there were two messages from clashgrrl. She typed in the code and sighed. KEEP THEM CLOSE. RED ALERT. ARRANGE IMMEDIATE DEPARTURE. "Now you tell me," Nellie said out loud. Saladin mewed plaintively. "You, too?" Nellie asked. She scooped him up and petted him absentmindedly. She couldn't believe she'd lost Amy and Dan again. She'd give them an hour or so before she started to tear her hair out. Saladin squirmed out of her arms. She was holding him too tight. It was because she was worried. Something didn't feel right.

They were usually good about letting her know when they split. But she'd caught the looks between them when they'd found out she could fly a plane. They were starting to suspect her. Poor little dudes. They couldn't trust anybody. Another message popped up from clashgrrl. The subject line read don't b lame! That meant the message was of the utmost urgency. Nellie shut the laptop with one bare foot. She wasn't going to check in until she found them. She had a bad feeling about this. Irina stayed behind as Isabel entered the shop. Isabel had hired a car, but Irina had been able to keep up on a motorcycle. She wore a disguise, but Isabel hadn't taken any of the usual precautions, which meant that she felt safe in Jakarta. Isabel had a canvas shopping bag that had started out empty and was now bulging with items. Irina had been able to get close enough with the scope in her camera to see what Isabel was buying.

This last item sent a chill through Irina. It was just as she suspected. Isabel had cunning, but not much imagination. And so here it was. Her last stand would take place here. The power of the 39 Clues could not rest in Lucian hands if Isabel Kabra was the head of the branch. What would the consequences be if she acted against her leader? She knew very well. She would be cast out. Every Lucian would know that she had betrayed the branch. Isabel and Vikram would make sure of that. They would make up a story, slant things their way. Everything she knew would be gone— money, connections, purpose. The world would become an empty place, and she would become a ghost. She had no choice. She had to try. What is the difference between you? Amy had asked. This is the difference, Amy. There are some things I will not do. And there are some things I will not allow to happen. She turned and ran into Ian and Natalie. Natalie smiled. Irina couldn't see her eyes

behind the black sunglasses. "Good news. My countersurveillance indicates that your mother has not been tailed," Irina said. Not by a flicker of an eyelash would she allow these two hooligans to see they'd unnerved her. "I have more good news," Natalie said. "Mother received new orders this morning." "And?" Stealthily, Irina shot out a needle from each index finger. It would be easier to operate if these two were out of commission for a nice long while. Natalie moved with such speed that Irina had time for only a flicker of astonishment. She'd always thought of the sulky girl as incapable of zeal. Natalie's hand shot forward, grabbed Irina's finger, and bent it back almost all the way. Irina felt white pain as her finger joint popped. And then the needle sank in. Amy and Dan dropped the boxes on the beach and trudged up toward the path. "Why did we let Darma go?" Amy asked. "If we don't find anybody, we'll have to spend the night

here." "That would totally rock," Dan said. "Like Robinson Cruise-o." "Robinson Crusoe," Amy corrected. They reached the lush tropical forest and struck out on the path. "I bet Troppo will be glad to see us," Dan said. "We're just one big happy family, right?" Amy was filled with foreboding. The sun had gone down behind the hill, so the shadows were lengthening. She was suddenly afraid of what they would find. Dan stepped out into a clearing. "Whoa," he said. "Look at this." The shell of a large building stood by a stand of palms. Construction equipment still littered the ground, big concrete blocks, thick coils of wire, clay tiles. "It looks like they were going to build a hotel," Dan said. "Look, there are more buildings down there." "Dan," Amy said. "Look." She pointed to the sand. Footprints were clearly outlined. Dan put his own foot next to one. The

footprint was much larger, the footprint of a man. Amy's doubts about Dan's theory were suddenly crowded out by her fear. They followed the footprints past the abandoned hotel and through the clearing. Down the path they could see a small crescent beach, the sand colored pink by the setting sun. Tall palms surrounded it. The footprints disappeared, melded into the dimples of the soft sand. Amy caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. A hammock was strung between two palm trees. It swayed back and forth gently. She couldn't see the person lying in it, just one bare foot gently pushing the ground to keep it rocking. They walked closer, hardly breathing. As they reached the hammock, they could see a pair of perfectly pressed lemon-yellow linen shorts. A crisp white shirt. And, his eyes closed, a smile on his face… their cousin Alistair Oh.