The Maze of Bones (The 39 Clues #1)(18)

"We'll need transportation for three people," Amy said uncertainly. "And hotels. And food."

Dan took a deep breath. "I'm going to sell my cards and coins. There's a shop down on the square -- "

"Dan! You've spent years collecting that stuff!"

"It'll double our money. The store will rip me off, but I can get three thousand easy for all of it."

Amy stared at him like he'd dropped in from outer space. "Dan, I think the smoke messed up your brain. Are you sure?"

For some weird reason, he was. He wanted to go on this clue hunt more than he wanted his collection. He wanted to get back at whoever had burned down Grace's house. He wanted to find the secret of the thirty-nine clues. Most of all, he wanted to finally use that stupid passport and make his parents proud. Maybe along the way he'd find new photos for his album. "I'm sure," he said.

Amy did something completely disgusting. She hugged him.

"Gross!" Dan protested.

He pushed her away. Amy was smiling, but she had tears in her eyes.

"Maybe you're not such a dweeb," she said.

"Yeah, well, stop crying already, and let's get out of -- wait, where are we going?"

"Tonight a hotel in town," she said. "Then tomorrow ... I've got an idea about Ben Franklin."

"But you don't have the book anymore."

"I didn't need the book for this. Mom's note said 'Follow Franklin.' Ben Franklin started as a printer here in Boston, when he was a teenager working for his brother."

"So we just look around town?"

Amy shook her head. "That's what the others are probably doing. But we're going to follow where he went next, like follow his life. Benjamin Franklin didn't stay in Boston.

When he was seventeen, he ran away from his brother's shop and started his own printing business in another city."

"So we run away, too! We follow Franklin!"

"Exactly," Amy said. "I just hope nobody else has thought of that yet. We need to book three train tickets to Philadelphia."

"Philadelphia," Dan repeated. The only things he knew about Philadelphia were the Liberty Bell and the Phillies. "So when we get there, what do we look for?"

Amy touched the jade necklace like it might protect her. "I'm guessing a secret that could get us killed."

CHAPTER 7

A mile away in Copley Square, Irina Spasky -- code name Team Five -- was worrying about her poison. She had loaded her fingernail injectors with the usual mixture, but she feared it would not be enough for this meeting.

Back in the Cold War, she and her KGB colleagues used poison-injecting umbrellas, or spray painted toxins on toilet seats. Those were the good old days! Now Irina worked by herself, so she had to keep things simple. The needles extended when she bent back her fingers at the first joint. They were almost impossible to see and caused only a tiny pinprick sensation. The poison would leave her victims very sick, perhaps paralyzed, for many days -- enough to give Irina a good head start in the search. Best of all, the poison was completely untraceable and had no antidote.

Unfortunately, it was slow-acting. Her victims might not show symptoms for eight hours or more. If she needed to incapacitate her enemies quickly, she would have to rely on other means.

Ian and Natalie Kabra were not to be underestimated. Back when they were ten and seven, perhaps Irina could've overpowered them. Now they were fourteen and eleven ... a very different story indeed.

She wandered Copley Square, waiting to spot them. They had agreed on standard antisurveillance tactics, only setting a general area and time for their rendezvous. The storm clouds had cleared. It was a beautiful summer afternoon, which Irina hated. All this sunshine and flowers and children playing -- bah.

She preferred a steel-gray winter in St. Petersburg, a much better climate for espionage.

She bought a coffee from a street kiosk, then spotted Ian and Natalie across the plaza, walking in front of Trinity Church. Their eyes met hers briefly and they kept walking.

Irina's move. She followed them at a distance, checking to see if they had grown a "tail" -- any surveillance, any followers, any possible angles for photographers. After fifteen minutes, she saw nothing. She waited for them to turn and see her.

As soon as they did, Irina turned and walked off. The game reversed. She led them across the plaza, toward the library, knowing they would be watching for tails on her.

If they saw anything, Ian and Natalie would disappear. The meeting would be aborted.

After fifteen minutes, Irina changed course and noticed the Kabras across Boylston Street, still shadowing her. This meant she was clean. No surveillance. The children turned toward the Copley Plaza Hotel, and Irina followed.

They met in the busy lobby, where neither party could ambush the other.

Natalie and Ian looked much too relaxed, sitting across from each other on overstuffed sofas. The little brats had changed out of their funeral suits -- Ian wore a sky-blue polo shirt, beige trousers, and tasseled loafers; Natalie wore a white linen dress that showed off her coffee skin. Their eyes glittered like amber. They were so lovely they made heads turn, which was not a good thing for a secret meeting.

"You attract too much attention," Irina scolded. "You should be uglier."

Natalie laughed. "Is that what keeps you alive, dear cousin?"