Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 A minute ago, he'd been so furious with Amy that their argument had filled his every thought. Now, in the blink of an eye, the entire world had changed. He resumed his struggle, banging and shouting. He couldn't blast his way out, but the fuss he was kicking up might attract someone's attention— maybe even a cop's. After ten minutes of it, he was sweat-soaked and exhausted— so much so that he almost didn't notice when the sedan chair stopped and was lowered to ground level. A new plan formed in Dan's mind. The instant that door opened, somebody was going to get a memorable kick in the head. And while the guy was picking up his teeth, Dan would be out of there and gone. There was a clicking sound as the panel was unlocked. He tensed, ready for action. His foot

was already coming forward as the slider eased open. There was no one to kick. Instead, he was looking at the interior of a van. Suddenly, the sedan chair tilted, and he was dumped into the cargo bay. The van's door shut, and the vehicle screeched away, burning rubber. Enraged, Dan managed to get to his knees for the first glimpse of his captors. "Is that you, or is the air pollution in Beijing as bad as they say?" sniffed Natalie Kabra. Dan drew in a shocked breath. Natalie's olive skin was darker than her mother's, but the two shared the same chiseled features— classic beauty camouflaging merciless, piercing eyes. In the case of Isabel, the eyes of a murderer. Natalie and her older brother, Ian, peered disdainfully back at him over the cargo partition. Dan looked around anxiously— no Isabel, at least, not in the van. The only other occupant was on a jump seat in the rear with Dan— a huge man, obviously the Kabras' hired goon. Dan wasn't going to give his Lucian cousins the

satisfaction of knowing he was scared. "No limo today?" he sneered. "What, you maxed out your credit cards in Africa?" Ian turned to the driver. "Stop short." The man slammed on the brakes, and the van bucked to a halt, sending Dan flying into the cargo partition. He came up stunned, lip swelling. "So Alistair was right," Dan groaned. "You guys are in China." "We're everywhere," Natalie purred. "And rest assured we're always several steps ahead of you two charity cases and your freakish babysitter." "Au pair," Dan corrected automatically. "Yes, we're in China," Ian said impatiently. "And so are you. Now explain to me what you were doing inside that temple in the Forbidden City." "Don't know what you're talking about," Dan mumbled stubbornly. Ian nodded agreeably. "I thought that might be your answer. This is the part where Mr. Chen helps you remember."

With the smile of a man who enjoys his work, the goon reached out, grabbed Dan by the collar, and hoisted him in the air. "Okay, okay!" Dan gave in. What was the point of taking a beating? Amy had the silk, so it was safe from these vultures. Besides, Dan was out of the contest. He didn't care if he never saw another Clue in his life. "Yeah, I broke into the temple because there was a Janus crest on the outside wall." "And what did you find?" Natalie probed, voice silky, expression ruthless. "Crickets," Dan replied. "About forty billion of them. Ugly suckers— like you two." "Anything else?" Ian demanded with a gesture at Mr. Chen. The goon twisted Dan's arm in a hammerlock and applied subtle pressure. The pain was unlike anything Dan had ever experienced before. It was a shattering agony that erased all thoughts but one: Make this stop. Still, he held back. If they know about the silk, that'll sic them on Amy….

Angry as he was with his sister, he couldn't do that to her. "Tell us the truth!" Ian ordered, his composure slightly broken. "Calm down," Natalie soothed. "No one can resist Mr. Chen's built-in lie detector test." "What do you know about the Holts?" Ian persisted. Dan saw no harm in replying. "Uncle Alistair's all freaked out about them. He says they've found a lead none of the rest of us have." "What lead?" Ian fairly exploded. His sister was patient. "If he knew, then obviously it wouldn't be a lead that nobody else has." "Hilarious," Ian muttered. "It won't be so funny if we lose to those gorillas! Can you imagine a world with them in charge?" Natalie sighed her agreement. "I guess we'll have to search the urchin just in case. And me without my flea powder…" But besides an inhaler, a few bills from three

different continents, and a dead cricket, there was nothing to be found. Mr. Chen placed a chloroform-soaked handkerchief over Dan's nose and mouth. Dan held his breath and put up a struggle, but a sharp chemical smell, somewhere between hospital antiseptic and rubbing alcohol, penetrated his defenses. His vision began to darken around the edges as the interior of the van receded from him. "Can't…" He tried to claw back, but it was no use. He was falling. "Nighty-night," Natalie whispered. Dan's last thought before blackness claimed him: I never realized how much she sounds like her mother. Saladin was munching contentedly on a shrimp dumpling when Nellie carried him through Tiananmen Square to the appointed meeting place in front of the Gate of Heavenly Peace. She spotted Amy and marched right up to her. "I got us a pretty good hotel right off the main drag— which I can't pronounce. It isn't luxe, but