Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20 "NOOOOO!" Dan wrenched his hand out of Amy's and launched himself forward. His rage was palpable. Amy knew there was no way he was going to allow the box— Lester's box— to remain in the hands of the enemy. For an old guy, the man proved surprisingly agile. He sidestepped Dan's charge and thrust out his foot. Dan tripped and ended up sprawled in the dirt. Amy rushed to his side. He looked up at her wildly. "We can take them— you go for Nellie and I'll—" "Oh, please," the man in gray said. "And then what— run to escape us? Exactly where do you plan on running to?" In desperation, Amy realized he was right. He had probably chosen this location for exactly that

reason. It was miles away from anywhere safe, and Dan was surely still too weak to run very far. "Perhaps you should hear me out instead," the man said. "Shall we go somewhere more comfortable where we can talk?" "You tried to kill us!" Dan shouted. "In Austria! Why would we ever sit down with a murderer?" The man looked surprised. "You have misunderstood. Forgivable, given that you do not have all the facts. I'm afraid I must insist on our sitting down together. I am alone at the moment, but I have help nearby." He held up a cell phone. "I assume you would rather talk to me than to some of my less genteel colleagues." The threat could not have been any clearer. They sat under an awning at the side of one of the buildings, a combination bar and general store. Nellie took the box and locked it in the car. Then, oddly, she did not sit down with them but went to stand by the side of the road. Amy and Dan sat next to each other, opposite their adversary.

"Do you know about Moore Town?" the man asked. Amy had already decided not to say one word more than necessary to him. Neither she nor Dan replied. It was apparently a rhetorical question anyway; the man continued speaking, unfazed by their lack of response. "It was one of the original settlements of the Windward Maroons," he said. "Another was Nanny Town, named, of course, for The Right Excellent Nanny." Amy shivered. It seemed that he already knew about their Nanny investigations. Of course. Nellie must have told him. Nellie must have told him everything. "It was both her home and her base of operations," he continued. "I wish Nanny Town could have been our meeting place, but it's been abandoned for many years now." He took a sip of his drink. "The bridge you crossed over is the only access to the town," he said. "The Maroons were very clever; all of their settlements had only one point of entry. It made

the towns easy to guard. Just a few Maroons could hold off much larger numbers of British troops. Nanny Town had a similar defense; it was on a high spur overlooking a river." Amy glanced at Nellie, whose back was to them. Nellie seemed to be watching the road back toward the bridge. The man followed her gaze. "Yes, that's right," he said. "She's standing guard. With her there, no one can sneak up on us, because the only way into Moore Town is along that road." "Not interested in a geography lesson from someone who tried to kill us," Dan snapped. That was the only good thing about the mess they were in: Dan's anger had made him much more himself. The man inclined his head. "But of course. Your impatience is understandable." He interlaced his fingers and put his hands on the table in front of him. "The first thing I should tell you is that I am speaking to you on behalf of the Madrigals." Amy nudged Dan under the table. She could

feel his anger seething. Stay calm, she tried to tell him telepathically. Focus. We have to find a way to get that box back and then get out of here…. "The Madrigals have been following your progress with great interest," the man said. "They are quite impressed. I have been charged with the task of discovering how you perform on a particular task they have set for you." "We're not doing anything for them!" Amy burst out. The man shrugged. "Fine. But I must tell you the consequences for not cooperating. Without going into too much detail, you should know that we are holding your other companion." "Our other—?" Amy stopped, aghast. Saladin! She had been so exhausted at the hotel the night before, she hadn't even noticed that the cat wasn't there. "You— you better not— you just leave him alone!" Dan could barely get the words out. "Wh–what have you done to him?" Amy's voice quavered. She didn't even want to imagine what they might do to Saladin…. Who were these

people who would threaten a poor innocent cat? "Why, nothing," the man said. "He's perfectly fine. And will continue to be, so long as you cooperate. It's quite simple: All you have to do is get the box to open." "I want your word on something," Dan said. Amy could tell from his voice that he was still struggling to suppress his fury. "You're hardly in a position to negotiate." "You're wrong about that. You want us to do this. If you didn't, you'd just do it yourselves. So I want something in return." The man said nothing. Dan went on. "Once you get your precious little secret out of the box, I want it back. The box— and Saladin." The man shrugged. "I believe that can be arranged." "I want your word on it," Dan said doggedly. He looked at the man with an expression of disdain. "That is, if your word is any good," he added spitefully.