39 Clues - 05 - The Black Circle (7 page)

entrance to the suite as room service arrived."You get the laptop," said Dan, "I'll get

the food."They devoured piles of steaming hot pancakes with cups of hot chocolate,

and a feeling of good fortune rolled over them. They were well rested, well fed, newly

clothed. Could they be any more ready for ten hours of adventure? While they ate, Dan

checked their e-mail. He laughed so hard a chunk of pancake shot out of his mouth and

landed on Amy's plate."Gross!" she yelled, but she laughed, too. She flicked the

chewed-up gob of pancake onto the table and asked Dan what was so funny."We got

an e-mail from Hamilton. Check this out."Dan slid the laptop over where Amy could see

the screen. There was a picture of the Holts standing in front of the Omsk train station.

They were all wearing gigantic parkas and grinning from ear to ear. They looked like an

oversize team of gymnasts about to hit the slopes in the dead of winter-- except the

sun was shining and everyone else around them was dressed in thin sweaters. Below

the picture was Hamilton's reply to their e-mail of the night before:74My mom made us

pat these stupid things on for a family picture. She said it would make the perfect

Christmas card. Whatever. Not exactly cold in Siberia this time of year, so we ditched

the jackets. Dad's off looking for meat pies, Mom and the twins are looking for a

bathroom. I just got service on my laptop again-spotty out here in the tundra, har-har,

But I got your message. I'm at an Internet cafe. Had no trouble getting directions to

this Dostrovinsky statue. Dude's got a weird name, But that helped, Because someone

here at the cafe already told me where to find it. Lucky me, it's right around the corner.

I'll check out where the guy is looking and get right back to you. Cell phone service is

choppy, But I might get a bar or two once I'm out in the open air again. On the hunt --

Hammer."Hammer?" said Dan. "He's kidding, right?""It must be a family nickname."Dan stuffed a wad of pancake in his mouth and held his fork high in the air."Beware fellow

contestants -- the Hammer is on the case!"They were both giggling when they heard

Nellie's phone vibrating again.75"I think we better answer it this time," said Dan, all the

wind gone out of his sails.Amy walked to the phone and picked it up. Unknown caller

ID. She decided it was time to do some talking."Hello?" said Amy, picking up the

phone."Amy? Is that you, Amy?" Nellie's excited voice flooded across the line. She

sounded overjoyed."It's me, we're okay!" said Amy."Yes, yes, YES! Is Dan there? IS HE

SAFE?""Dan's okay, as long as he doesn't explode from eating too many pancakes.""I

was worried SICK about you two," said Nellie. "And Saladin won't stop crying. He

misses you guys. Russia? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! How COULD you let this

happen?""How's Saladin?" asked Dan.Amy waved him off as Nellie continued to rant."I

don't know what's gotten into you two! STAY PUT until I get there. I've already grabbed

a flight to Moscow. Where are you exactly?"Amy tried to do the math in her head...

Moscow to St. Petersburg ... probably an overnight train. It was a long time to

wait."We're in St. Petersburg, but we have to keep moving, Nellie," said Amy. "This

hunt we're on is time sensitive. I don't think we can sit here and do nothing all

day."Another call was trying to break in. It was Hamilton Holt.76"Listen, Nellie, I've got

to go. Come to Moscow and we'll call you as soon as we can. Hold tight.""NO WAY!

Stay where you a-"Amy clicked the phone and switched calls. Hamilton started yelling

into the phone so loudly Dan could hear it from across the room."I see it! I see what

that author dude is staring at!""Good job, Hamilton! What is it? What's he looking

at?"Dan sidled up next to Amy so he could listen in."Dad! I got this!"It sounded like

Eisenhower Holt was trying to grab the phone. Amy heard Mary-Todd yell something in

the background."Hey! Let go of that parka!"Reagan and Madison were howling

somewhere close by."He's looking at the ground!" Hamilton yelled. "It's all bricks, and

one of them says something on it. It says-- ""Hamilton? What's it say?""It says 'Alexei's Playroom,' and there's a little symbol here, looks like a six-sided gem.""You didn't tell

the Kabras, did you?""Those losers? No way," said Hamilton."Great job, Hamilton! You

did it! Um ... await further instructions.""You got it... Dad! Yo, Dad! This is getting WAY

out of hand. Hammer Holt, signing off!"77The phone went dead and Amy raced across

the room for the Russian guidebook."This confirms my suspicions," said Amy, riffling

through pages, searching, searching, searching....She lifted gleaming eyes to Dan. "Get

the backpack. We've got a royal village to visit!"78CHAPTER 8Amy Cahill had been

ripped off, bugged, double-crossed, and taken advantage of one too many times. She

was through with taking taxicabs."I have a better idea," said Dan. He put his beatnik

goatee and mustache on and walked right up to the hotel bank, flashing a smile along

with his passport and Visa gold card."I need a cash advance. Can you dig it?"Amy had

to stifle a laugh. Did Dan actually think he was going to get real money with a line like

that?"We have fee of one thousand rubles on American cards," said the teller. One

thousand rubles was about thirty bucks, which sounded like a lot of money to Amy.

Then again, it was NRR's money, not hers, and they'd just racked up more than $2,000

on their bill."That'll be fine," Dan replied. "And, ah, tip yourself another thousand while you're at it. I'll take a hundred thousand for myself if the card will hold it. Been

spending like a sailor on leave. I must be getting close to the limit on that thing."79Dan

laughed as if he didn't really care, but Amy knew better. They'd had to count every

penny back home."Ahhh, is good for you," said the man, suddenly Dan's best friend.

"In American dollars you have balance of six thousand. The card has forty-four

thousand unused. But you know the limits of your own credit, of course.""FORTY-FOUR

THOUSAND!" Dan choked back a cough of surprise, then asked for an additional

100,000 rubles, just in case. He leaned in close to Amy and whispered, "If rubles are

anything like marbles, my backpack is going to be really heavy."The teller counted out

the bills. The stack, amounting to about 7,500 American dollars, was so tall it teetered

back and forth as he reached the final 1,000. Dan's eyes got huge and he tipped the

teller another 1,000."Very kind, sir, very generous. Thank you! I wish you and your

young friend a good day."Amy's jaw dropped as she realized that in disguise, Dan

probably looked a lot older than she did."He's not older than me!" she said without

thinking.Dan smirked and leaned in close to the teller. "You know how sensitive little

sisters can be. She's impossible.""Keep it up, buddy," Amy said under her breath, "and I'll tear that fake mustache right off your dumb face."80As soon as they got out of the

lobby and into the street, Amy hammered Dan with questions. "What in the world do

you want with all that money?""I got a plan," said Dan."A plan? You're eating way too much candy and it's turning your head fizzy." Carrying around gobs of money made her

nervous."There, that looks like the perfect fit for our needs," said Dan.Dan was

watching a middle-aged man get out of a car. It was the smallest car Amy had ever

seen, more like a go-cart, really. And it was blue, which made Amy nervous. Blue was

Dan's favorite color."Time to start my car collection!" said Dan. "Come on. This is going

to be awesome.""You're so much dumber than I thought," Amy groaned. "And that's

saying something. Do you remember that neither one of us knows how to drive?"But

Dan bolted across the street and hailed the man. The guy was bald as a potato, with

stains on his tie and an attitude of being late for something important."How much for

the car?" asked Dan. "I'm in a rush and I've got cash."The man glanced at Dan, saw

how small he was, and let out a sharp hoot of a laugh. "Stupid Americans! Go

home!""See this backpack?" Dan said, trailing after him. "It's full of cash! I'm serious here!"81The man couldn't seem to help himself and turned back. "How much in

rucksack? Tiny Tim not cheap," he said.Tiny Tim?! thought Amy. "Wait a sec-- "

"Enough," said Dan, talking over her. "I'll give you, um, let's see ... how about twenty

thousand rubles for it?"Amy coughed up a weird yelping sound, as if there were a hair

ball stuck in her throat. The idea of spending twenty thousand anything was

outrageous."Thirty," said the man, fiddling with his tie and looking at Dan sideways.Dan

hauled bills out of the backpack."You know how to drive Russian car?" asked the man,

beaming. "I show you!"Dan beamed right back. "You got yourself a deal."A few minutes

later, the potato-headed man had taken his thirty thousand rubles, happy as a clam,

and given Dan and Amy a five-minute tour of Tiny Tim. It wasn't much bigger than a

refrigerator, and it only had two gears: slow and fast."Leave stick up until Tiny is

twenty-five, then slam it down, like so." The man grabbed the stick shift and yanked it

back about a foot. "No ... how you say ... clatch?""Clutch," corrected Amy, sounding

more interested in Tiny Tim."Little sister is rude," said the man.82"You said it," offered Dan, running his fingers through the fake goatee. Amy thought she might explode.The

man pointed to the pedals on the floor in front of the driver's seat. "That is brake, that

is gas. Easy!""Seems simple enough," said Dan. Amy still couldn't believe they'd just

bought a go-cart masquerading as an automobile."I am late," said the man, patting his

pocket to make sure the money was still there. "Be careful. Tiny is faster than he looks.

He will make man out of you. Da svidanya!""Dude, I'm so driving this thing," said Dan.

Amy gritted her teeth. She hated it when he called her dude. It made absolutely no

sense.Dan grinned. "We've got a boatload of money and our own car! This is

incredible.""Yeah," said Amy. "Incredibly stupid."Dan looked wounded. "It's not stupid.

Every time we use the card, NRR can track us. Now we're like outlaws -- cash only and

a cool ride of our own. Untraceable."Amy had to concede the point, but there was no

way she was letting her eleven-year-old brother drive her around Russia."Move over,

Richie Rich. I've practically got a learner's permit already. I can do this."83Dan

protested until his mustache fell off, but Amy wasn't budging. She settled into the

driver's seat, her nerves starting to get the best of her.Dan hopped back on the

offensive. "You absolutely sure you can do this? I've got experience on the streets of

Russia. Maybe you should let the exp-- ""Just stop talking and let me concentrate, will

you?""Oh, yeah, you sound really ready to drive," said Dan, strapping a tattered old

seat belt across his waist.That did it. Amy had had enough. She turned the key and the

tailpipe coughed out a plume of smoke. The engine rumbled and popped as if it wanted

nothing more than to race through traffic."Okay," said Amy, taking a deep breath and

setting her foot on the pedal. "Here goes thirty thousand rubles."Tiny Tim lurched along

the side of the road doing about three miles an hour until Amy caught the hang of it

and sped up to ten. Pretty soon she was doing twenty."You like Tiny Tim, don't you?"

said Dan. "Come on, let me drive it. Please?""Eat your heart out, dude," said Amy. "Just keep the directions coming and don't distract me."Dan grumbled, but he found the

dog-eared map of St. Pete in the guidebook. A smile bloomed on Amy's face. When the

speedometer hit 25, she slammed the84stick shift down and Tiny Tim lurched forward

with a sharp buzzing sound."Wow! He's got some giddyup!" said Amy.Tiny Tim swerved

back and forth as Amy tried to find the brake pedal."Amy," said Dan. "You see the

telephone pole, right? AMY!"Amy jerked the steering wheel hard to the left, narrowly

avoiding the sidewalk."C-c-calm down, Tiny Tim!" yelled Amy. She finally found the

brake pedal, tapping it softly a few times and bringing the car under control."I think I'm

getting the hang of it," she said.Amy glanced at Dan. He looked as miserable as the

time Aunt Beatrice confiscated his nunchucks. But he dutifully gave directions, asking

questions as they went."Tell me again why we're going to this village of royals.""The

royal village. In Russia they call it Tsarskoye Selo, the Tsar's Village. It's where the

Romanovs went on holiday.""And why do we care about the Romanovs again?" asked

Dan."They were the last royal family in Russia. This is the family Rasputin held so much

sway over."Amy had settled onto a long highway doing about forty. As they headed for

the Tsar's Village, she told Dan all about the last Russian royal family.85How they'd

been overthrown and banished to the village. One day they were the most powerful

family in Russia, the next they were prisoners. Amy was especially interested in the

young grand duchess Anastasia. Everything Amy had read about her was fantastic.

Anastasia was raised as a normal child, not like a royal, and she was exceptionally

charming. She was also brilliantly naughty, always playing pranks on her teachers and

friends."She liked to play all sorts of tricks, and apparently she was a great climber of

tall trees. Once she was up a tree it was hard to get her to come down.""Sounds like