39 Clues - 05 - The Black Circle (3 page)

down, you maniac!" Amy howled, but Dan was having the time of his life. It took him

several tries26to get out of first gear and the engine redlined. Horns honked and

pedestrians glared as the bike swerved all over the road. Dan finally got ahold of

second gear and headed into oncoming traffic, nearly letting go of the handlebars as

the bike careened out of control."D-D-D-D-Da ..." spluttered Amy, pointing to an

oncoming slew of honking traffic. Dan slammed into third gear and raced back into his

own lane."I'm really getting the hang of this," he yelled, zipping along in traffic with a

grin as wide as a monster truck. Amy tore off her wig and red glasses, stowing them in

the backpack."You're going to get us killed is more like it!""Don't worry about a thing. I got this!"Amy pulled on a beat-up old helmet she'd found rolling around on the floor of

the sidecar. Then she grabbed the guidebook and turned to the back page, where the

bearded Russian had scribbled directions."We take the third left," she yelled, glancing

up in search of directions. Every sign she saw was written in Russian, and they were

just about to pass the turn they needed."Right here!" Amy screamed, white-knuckling

the sidecar as Dan slammed on the brakes and swung the bike into a hard left."This is

awesome!" howled Dan, leaving a black streak of burned rubber behind the bike. "Eat

your heart out, Hamilton Holt!"27It was twenty hair-raising minutes until the bike came

to a stop in a football-field-size parking lot.Dan tore off his helmet, mustache, and

goatee and gazed up over the sprawling grassy knoll. On the far end there stood a

massive statue of a woman holding a sword over her head, rising like a skyscraper into

the cloudy horizon. They'd seen it in the distance as they raced across the city, but up

close it was a frightening spectacle."The Motherland Calls," said Amy. "It's twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty. Do you know what it commemorates?""Don't have a clue, but

I'm sure you're going to tell me.""The Battle of Stalingrad in World War Two, and it's

nothing to make jokes about. Over a million people died right here."Parents had died

here, leaving children to grieve in the care of others. Dan knew how awful that felt. All

the unanswered questions, the frustration, the terrible sense that you'd lost your place

in the world. Amy reached for her jade necklace, the one from Grace, and rubbed the

pendant."Better get the show on the road. Never know who might be following us,"

Dan said, starting up the pathway toward The Motherland Calls.There were people

everywhere -- families, old couples with canes, sightseers galore, and uniformed

guards.28"I was hoping we wouldn't run into anyone here," said Amy. "This place is

crawling with police and tourists. Take it slow and easy, okay, Dan? Better safe than

sorry."Dan nodded and suggested they split up to cover more ground. Amy had figured

out that the mother sitting in a chair in the little glass paperweight was a reference to

the enormous statue. One of the walls in the tiny room also had an eye on it, and this is

where things got a little scary. If Amy was right about this being a reference to one of

the eyes on the face of The Motherland Calls, it would mean climbing all the way to the

top of a statue that was almost as tall as a mountain.Dan looked up. And up, and up.

How are we going to get up there? And what are we going to find?29CHAPTER

4Hamilton Holt was the first to hit the pavement, followed by his sisters, who tumbled

out in big-time wrestling mode, beating the tar out of each other. The Holts had tracked

Dan and Amy all the way from Cairo in search of Clues, hotwiring a 1970s Eastern

European van the moment they touched down in Russia. Landing at the Volgograd

airport, they'd had no idea where to turn next, but the Holts were nothing if not

conspicuously American. The same Russian who had picked up Amy and Dan smelled

money and moved in for the kill. It didn't take long to put two and two together. Ten

minutes later, the Russian was a hundred dollars richer and the Holts knew right where

to go.Gazing up at The Motherland Calls, Hamilton could tell that he'd finally arrived in

a foreign land that might actually appreciate his size and strength."Gather round,

troops!" howled Eisenhower Holt, the kingpin of the sweat-suited band of

Neanderthals."Hamilton, front and center!"30Hamilton, the biggest and brawniest of the

three Holt kids, darted to within three inches of his father's face and screamed, "SIR,

YES SIR!""Son, you've got protein-bar breath and you're spraying spit again. Get it

under control!"Hamilton's face fell. It was hard to scream those Ss without showering

someone."Won't happen again, SIR!"Eisenhower nodded in stern approval."You're on

point. It's our most important task. Figure out what those nitwits are up to and report

back. Drag 'em back to the van if you have to. Got your two-way?"Hamilton pulled a

two-way radio out of his pocket, hit the call button, and screamed into it. "SIR, YES

SIR!"Eisenhower pulled out his own radio and screamed right back."GO GET 'EM,

BOY!"Hamilton bolted toward the towering statue, proud to be at the center of the

action. He glanced back at his family. His younger sisters, Reagan and Madison, were

already duct-taping a GPS under the sidecar on Dan's motorbike. They complained

bitterly about being hungry, and then Madison punched Reagan in the shoulder, which

seemed to make her feel a little better. Mary-Todd, their mom, was on surveillance in

the van, keeping an eye out for other teams.31"Must eat!" bellowed Eisenhower. The

last thing Hamilton heard was his dad yelling something about spying a food cart

loaded down with Russian meat pies.It didn't take Hamilton long to spot Amy lurking

around the front of The Motherland Calls. She was running her fingers along the stone,

peering carefully at every seam and corner.What's that scrawny geek up to, and

where's that stupid little brother of hers?He turned and saw Dan approaching from the

other side of the statue. One was standing thirty feet to his left, the other ten feet to

his right, and he didn't know which one to go after. The thought of disappointing his

dad, again, put him in a cold sweat."Hey, Hamilton!" yelled Dan. "Did you see me on

that motorcycle? Better than that donkey you were riding in Cairo!""It was a Vespa, you

moron! And come say that to my face!"Then, with Hamilton looking on, Dan signaled

his sister by turning his hand as if he needed a key.Hey! Do they think I'm

stupid?"Looks like someone's got a key," yelled Hamilton, turning to Amy as his

two-way radio went off."Get moving!" boomed Eisenhower. "We've got

company!"Hamilton, Amy, and Dan all swiveled toward the parking lot in unison. Ian

and Natalie Kabra were32pulling up in a white stretch limousine, almost as if they

couldn't bother to be inconspicuous. Eisenhower Holt started peppering the limo with

meat pies from a huge bag, taking a bite out of each one before letting it fly. From a

distance, it looked as if Eisenhower was unpinning hand grenades and throwing them

into a bunker."Your dad is a menace. You know that, right?" asked Dan. He'd moved

within ten wary feet of Hamilton, motioning Amy to toss him the glass paperweight.

Amy dug inside the backpack, but Hamilton took four big steps and cornered

her."What's in the bag? Come on, fork it over!" said Hamilton, looming over Amy. He

was just about to rip the backpack out of her hands when Amy said something that

shocked him."The K-K-K-Kabras are closing in on us," said Amy. Hamilton could tell she

was desperately trying to get her voice under control. "How many c-c-clues do you

have?"Hamilton stopped cold. "We've got plenty! More than you two losers, I'm

sure.""We have ten. You have ten?" said Dan, looking Hamilton straight in the eye. His

sister shifted from foot to foot, eyeing both of them warily. Grace had taught Dan how

to bluff like a Vegas poker player, and Hamilton didn't know what to think."You got

TEN? No way you got ten!"Dad is going to freak out if we're that behind! he

thought.33Police were beginning to swarm the place, making sure the mischief

breaking out in the parking lot didn't spill over into the park itself."You could be a hero,

Hamilton," said Amy. "You want to come back with something useful, don't you?"That

one hit Hamilton right between the eyes. There was nothing he wanted more than to

please Eisenhower Holt."What have you got in mind?" he asked, glaring down at

them.He waited, watching the two Cahills as they stared at each other like each could

read the other's mind.Finally, Dan nodded. "Let's get the show on the road before it's

too late," he said. "This way!"Dan led the three of them around to the back of The

Motherland Calls. The base of the statue was about as wide as a skyscraper, and the

whole way around, Hamilton wondered if he should clobber Dan and Amy and take the

backpack.Calm down! Let it play out! If they trick you, then you can clobber 'em!"Can

you radio your dad?" Amy asked. "Tell him you've almost got what we came for and to

keep the Kabras away from The Motherland Calls."Hamilton gave Amy a searching look,

then pressed the button and yelled into the receiver."Holt here! Mission nearing

success. Stay clear!""Roger that!"34Hamilton turned on Amy and Dan. "Now give me

the goods."Dan hesitated, then pointed to one of the stone slabs on The Motherland

Calls. "Before you showed up to complicate things, I hit the jackpot," said Dan.Hamilton

took a closer look and saw the letters TSV carved into the stone above a small keyhole.

Amy saw it, too. She smashed the glass paperweight against the stone pathway."Hey!"

yelped Dan. "That was my job!""Got it!" said Amy. The key was free of its round prison, and before Hamilton's unbelieving eyes, she inserted it into the stone panel. Dan

pushed hard against the secret door, but it didn't budge."Step aside, shrimp," said

Hamilton. He shoved Dan out of the way and smashed his frame against the smooth

stone. The panel gave easily, and the three of them dashed inside."Close the door

behind you, big guy. We've got work to do," said Dan.Hamilton almost shoved Dan to

the ground, but he knew it wouldn't take much to injure the little jerk, and that might

complicate things."This better be good," said Hamilton."Don't worry," said Dan. "It will be."* * *With the secret opening firmly shut, Dan was able to breathe a sigh of relief

and take stock of his35surroundings. It was magnificent inside The Motherland Calls;

wide open all the way to the top, with a web of beams and support systems all through

the middle. Light trickled in from minute cracks that lined every side of the structure.

Dan felt like he'd entered the shadowy realm of a gargantuan spider."Where's Gandalf

when you need him?" asked Dan."You're a weird kid, you know that?" said

Hamilton.Amy frowned at both of them. "We have to get to the top, where the eyes

are," she said."Bring it on," said Hamilton, peering up into the beams for the best place

to start. "This will be a piece of cake."Dan had already begun climbing a service ladder

that ran two stories up into The Motherland Calls, but Hamilton had a different idea. He

went straight for a massive steel beam running up the middle of the statue, with giant

rivets on each side."See you at the top, losers!"By the time Dan and Amy reached the

final rung of the ladder, Hamilton had scaled the steel beam like a lumberjack racing up

a redwood. He was way ahead of them, disappearing into the faint light above."We

have to get there first!" yelled Amy. "Come on!"At the top of the ladder, Dan saw

something. The crisscrossing beams were also designed as narrow catwalks.36They

were a foot wide and flat, and there was a cable running above them for holding on to.

But there was no rail."They must clip into the cable for safety when they're working up

here," said Dan. "We can do this!""A carabiner would have been nice," said Amy.

Looking up reminded her of a long series of rope bridges in an old movie. One where

everyone falls into a bottomless canyon.Dan grabbed the cable and began walking, first

slowly, then faster and faster as he gained confidence. He was standing at the other

side of the statue, twenty-five feet higher in the air before he looked back. Amy hadn't

moved, and Hamilton was still fifty feet above them, traveling up the middle of the

statue."Come on, Amy! You can do it!"Amy took a deep breath and stepped out onto

the beam. She wobbled back and forth, then stopped, gripping the cable tighter."Keep

moving, Dan! I'll make it. Just get there first!"Dan hesitated, his head pivoting between

Hamilton ahead and Amy behind him. It could be Christmas before she reaches the top!

he thought."Get moving, Dan!" Amy yelled.Dan took off like a monkey, arms and legs

working in unison as he raced up another twenty-five feet. He turned at the other side

and sped up even more. The switchback routine gave Dan an advantage

over37Hamilton: It was much easier going up this way than climbing straight up the

middle. As Dan crossed the center of the statue for the fourth time, he overtook his

larger competitor, who was gasping for air after having climbed over a hundred vertical

feet."Nice day for a stroll, wouldn't you say?" called Dan. He was also totally out of