Clifford Riley - The 39 Clues: Rapid Fire 4: Crushed

UNLOCK A TOP SECRET FILE
ABOUT THE CAHILLS DEADLIEST ENEMY
THE VESPERS!

1. The seven Rapid Fire stories each contain a fragment of a code. Collect the fragments in order to assemble a complete ten-digit code.
2. Go to www.the39clues.com .
3. Click on My Cards.
4. Enter the ten-digit Rapid Fire code to unlock a digital card and Top Secret Vesper file!

The code fragment for this story is: R

Are you ready to save the world?

Contents

Seven Months After the Clue Hunt

Ian Kabra looked in the mirror, cleared his throat, and bared his soul.

Amy, he began. And paused. Amy. Amy, I have to I have to tell you that... He stopped, rubbed his face, and pushed his shoulders back. Amy Cahill, I find you interesting.

No, it wasnt that she was just interesting. She was... something.

There were so many things wrong with her so many things that he shouldnt like about her. She was richer than he was these days, and yet she still acted so poor. And far too many of her clothes were made of cotton, rather than silk.

But he found that he almost didnt care. He looked back at the mirror. I know its completely ridiculous, but I cant keep quiet about it any longer. Your closet looks like it was put together by a blind nun, and your brother acts like a cross between a monkey and a go-kart, and you have the social skills of a rock. But I like you, Amy. Quite quite a bit. He paused. So, congratulations.

His bedroom door swung open, and Natalie stood in the door frame. Ian jumped back from the mirror, but he couldnt meet his sisters eye.

Really? she asked, putting her hands on her hips. Really, Ian?

What? he asked, lifting his shoulders as if there were nothing in the world strange about giving a speech to ones mirror before traveling internationally to declare ones affection to a former nemesis. He scratched the back of his head. All right, it was strange. And made worse by being caught by his little sister. But he was sixteen years old, and a Kabra shouldnt he be better at this? Shouldnt he know the exact words to say that would make Amy Cahill realize what he meant? That he liked her, regardless of certain extraneous factors.

You really think shes going to fall for that? asked Natalie. You might as well not go.

Ian sighed. There was nothing normal about being a Kabra from the mansion to the private jets to the private dinners with the Queen but there seemed to be something universal about the way little sisters could be such pests.

Im going, Natalie, said Ian. Weve talked about this before.

Fine. Go and make a fool of yourself, Natalie said, shrugging.

Why dont you go shop for a private island or something? he snapped.

Natalies eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. You know I cant. Why would you say something so mean? she gasped. She turned and fled down the hall, leaving Ian to look between the hall and the mirror.

He was going to America. He was going to tell Amy Cahill how he felt. He hadnt before because he thought there was no way those feelings would last. But they had. It was pathetic, he knew that. And it was entirely un-Kabra-like. Natalies reaction was proof enough of that. Still, there was no point in keeping the news from Amy. Shed be thrilled, and she needed some good news in her life.

Ian left his room and wandered down the Kabra mansions lofty and well-decorated halls. Brilliant chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the light reflecting off of the highly polished wood floors. Masterpieces by famous relatives Van Gogh, Picasso, Degas, and Rembrandt to name only a few hung on the walls. Ian and Natalie had practically grown up in a museum, but rather than being intimidated by their home, they reveled in it. There was no tiptoeing around these works of art. They not only owned these things; they deserved them.

Or at least, they had. Ian wasnt so sure how things worked anymore.

He found Natalie watching television in the theater. Ian joined her, sinking down into one of the plush velvet chairs. The butler was in his usual tailcoat, making popcorn in the corner.

Bickerduff, said Ian, well be packing later tonight. Im going to America in a few days.

Very good, sir, said Bickerduff, bringing the popcorn to the two Kabras.

Natalie threw a look at her brother that would have withered a lesser man. Like I said, youd better get a better speech, or I wouldnt even bother.

Ian ignored her. Just because she had her opinions didnt mean that they were correct.

Natalie didnt like being ignored. She snatched up the remote and jabbed at the buttons. The channels on the wall-sized screen flashed from station to station.

More Weetabix

Doctor!

Isabel Kabra

Downton

Wait, go back, Ian cried. Natalie flipped back to BBC1, where their mothers face was spread across the massive screen. The Kabras leaned forward; Ians heart rate ticked upward, as if he were being chased.

Known to many as a fashionable fixture in the philanthropic and art scenes, Isabel Kabra shocked the world when she was arrested last year for the murder of Americans Hope Cahill and Arthur Trent. Now weve received reports that Mrs. Kabra has been released from the custody of her American prison and will be serving out her parole by heading AidWorks Wonders, a charitable organization. The conditions of Mrs. Kabras parole will limit her movements to Boston, the same region where she committed murder eight years ago.

Natalie turned the television off, and the Kabras sat quietly for a moment, letting the realization sink in: Their mother was out of jail. Ian went cold, and goose bumps popped up on his arms and neck.

Just six months ago, there was little Ian Kabra wouldnt do to gain an edge in the hunt for the 39 Clues: the quest for the secret that would make the finder the most powerful person in the world. The contest had taken the participants, which included Ian and Natalie and Amy and Dan Cahill, to the farthest corners of the globe and had nearly killed them all on multiple occasions.

Isabel had wanted that ultimate power, and shed done despicable things in her effort to find the Clues and to win. Shed murdered Amy and Dans parents; shed shot Natalie, her own daughter, in the foot. Shed shot her. Ian knew his mother better than almost anyone else could, and even he had trouble believing it had actually happened. But the scar on Natalies foot, and the way she curled it under herself as if to protect it, didnt lie.

Isabel had expected the Kabras to be the first to find the Clues. She had trained Ian and Natalie since birth to be the ruthless stars of the Cahill family. And at first, Ian had enjoyed it. The Clue hunt was the ultimate test of wits and daring, and there was little Kabras liked better than proving their superiority.

But the quest had been more heartless than even Ian had expected. With so much at stake, the competitors had started to see each other merely as obstacles, rather than real human beings. Ian and Natalie had been expected to do the same, and theyd seen a side of their mother that no one else in the world should ever have to. Shed almost turned them into killers. And while Ian wasnt necessarily a do-gooder or a saint, he knew that he wasnt a murderer.