The Sword Thief Page 5

  Dan's hair was standing on end, his face shadowed with black dust and his eyes the size of softballs. "He did it. Uncle Alistair. He saved our lives. Reached out. From the wall. How --?" Dan tottered toward her, his body bent over as he gawked at Amy's foot. "It's still there. He didn't amputate it when he -- "

  With that, Dan's knees buckled and he crumpled to the floor.

  "Dan!" Amy shouted. As she reached out to grab his arm, her ankle screamed with pain.

  "It's all right," Dan said, sitting up. "I'm all right. Don't call nine-one-one. Did my hair turn white? Like in movies, like when people get really, really scared?"

  "You're both safe now," Alistair said, moving his match around to outline the contours of a large room. "Dan, your hair is not white -- and you were right about the hiding place. It is more or less where you thought it would be. There was a small graffito, an ancient-looking symbol on what looked like an electrical plate. Once I pressed it, the door swung open. I merely brought you both in with me."

  Amy lunged forward on her good foot, keeping the other one in the air, and flung her arms around him. "Thank you," she said.

  She felt him flinch. For a horrible moment she felt as if she'd done something terribly wrong. She could tell he was not the hugging type. Then, awkwardly, Alistair wrapped his arms around her. "I... owed you one," he said softly.

  "Or two," Dan said.

  Alistair nodded. "I suppose my record is not very good in life-threatening situations." "Well, you've made up for it now," Amy said, burying her head in the shoulder of Alistair's silk suit jacket, which still smelled of aftershave.

  Gently, Alistair pulled himself away, glancing downward with concern. "How does your

  foot feel?"

  "Like it was jammed under a rail and then pulled out of its shoe," Amy said with a wince. "I can move it, but I think I sprained my ankle." "Bet you can't tap-dance," Dan said, still sounding a little shell-shocked.

  Amy smiled at her brother, never ever having imagined she would enjoy hearing his stupid humor. She felt a rush of warmth for him.

  "Oh, no, I see that look –no hugs!" Dan said, backing away.

  Numbly, he flicked on his flashlight and swept it slowly around the room, until the beam landed on a pile of old relics lying haphazardly on the floor and covered with thick, gray-black dust -- clothing, strange tarnished metal things, a metal box, a globe, a hefty cylinder. As they all moved closer, Alistair remarked, "Well, the yakuza may control some kind of underground network, but it doesn't look like they've been here in a few centuries."

  "Hey," Dan piped up. "What does Jar Jar Binks say when he meets a member of the Japanese Mafia?"

  Amy groaned. "You are recovering too quickly." "I'm game. Wait... " Alistair paused for a moment and smiled. '"You, sah? Yakuza?'"

  Dan's grin disappeared. "How did you know that? I just made it up out of my own

  head."

  "Puns are a sign of intelligence, deeply buried," Alistair replied, putting on his white gloves. He leaned into the pile of stuff and gingerly lifted a small, brittle garment. "Hard to tell how old this is under so many decades of metal dust."

  "Hey, check it out!" Dan said. He was unrolling a scroll that he'd pulled from behind a chest of drawers.

  "Careful!" Amy said.

  The scroll was open now, blackened around the edges but legible -- three lines of stylized Japanese characters. "What's it say?" Dan asked.

  Alistair looked closely. "It's a haiku, I think. Wait, let me get the meter right

  'To findthe new home / Of Hideyoshi's treasure / Use geometry.'" "Treasure?"

  Amy said. "Does that include the swords?"

  "We're rich!" Dan shouted. "Woo-hoo -- I knew it! Okay, geometry. I'll get this one. Hang on, give me a minute "

  "It could be anything ..." Amy said, gazing around the room. "We're in a big room," Dan declared. "So ... the volume of a parallelepiped, maybe?"

  "Beg pardon?" Alistair said.

  "A three-dimensional parallelogram, like this chamber," Dan explained. "How would

  That solve the problem?" Amy asked. "It's like trying to find a hypotenuse in a haystack."

  "Is that a joke?" Dan said. "Because if it is, you should give me a signal. Like, tap your head twice so I know when to laugh."

  He let go of the scroll with one hand. The snap of its shutting caromed off the walls into the silence. The dead silence.

  Amy glanced around nervously. "Um, shouldn't there have been another train by now ...?"

  Dan reached in his pockets. "I can't check. I think I dropped my schedule on the

  track."

  "I mean, just logically -- wouldn't another train have come through?" Amy said. "If not this direction, then the other? The trains are pretty frequent, right? Why is it so quiet?"

  Alistair stood bolt upright. "Point taken. They must have closed down the power. Which means -- "

  The distant thrum of voices now filtered in through the walls. It was coming from the north, from the track on the side opposite the one they'd used.

  "Who's that?" Dan asked. "Police?"

  Alistair's face suddenly looked aged and puckered. "No," he replied, his voice shaky.

  "Yakuza."

  "What do we do?" Dan asked.

  "They can't find us, right?" Amy said. "So we stay?"

  Alistair took Dan and Amy by the arm, pushing them toward the door. "They will eventually cross the tracks, see the lost shoe, the dropped schedule, the smudges worn off the wall plate. We must go."

  "Cube!" Amy blurted, suddenly breaking loose and racing back to the pile. "Look! Sphere! Cylinder! Para -- parallelowhatever! Those are geometric shapes -- right, Dan? They're right here!"

  Dan was already grabbing the globe, stuffing it into his backpack. "Take them all!"

  "Quickly!" Alistair said. He took a small cube in one hand, a triangulated tube in another. Amy scooped up the long cylinder and headed back to the door.

  In a moment, they were out on the track again. Alistair pushed the thick door closed behind him. Where a seamless, grime-darkened wall once stood, there was now the faint outline of a recently opened door.

  The train that had almost hit them was now stopped beyond them, its rear cars not yet having reached the next station platform.

  Amy pulled her shoe from under the rail and jammed it on her foot. She stumbled, her ankle throbbing with pain. But the thought of stopping petrified her. Clenching her teeth, she ran. They flew down the track, back in the direction they'd come. The station soon came into view, but the track was dotted with flashlights, beams moving around like fireflies.

  They all stopped, their ragged breaths echoing in the tunnel.

  "Police," Alistair whispered. "We cannot let them find us. They will arrest us."

  The lights were getting closer, the voices louder. From the other side, it sounded as if the

  Yakuza had switched over -- to their side of the tracks.

  "And the yakuza?" Dan asked.

  "They'll kill us," Alistair replied.

  "That's a no-brainer," Dan said, heading toward the cops. "No!" Amy grabbed him by the arm.

  "Where do you suggest we go?" Dan hissed.

  Amy looked up. The bottom rung of a ladder hung just above her head.

  "We must take the objects," Alistair said. He quickly removed his silk jacket, laid it flat, placed the objects on top, then gathered the jacket edges upward. Dan took a rope from his backpack and tied a knot, making a secure container.

  Amy was already climbing, grimacing against the pain. Dan put the other end of the rope between his teeth, grabbed the ladder, and pulled himself up.

  Below him, Alistair was gawking into the darkness, one hand on the ladder and the other clutching his walking stick. "Come on!" Dan shouted through his teeth.

  "Just go!" Alistair cried.

  Footsteps thudded against the track. A man appeared out of the darkness, his soot-covered face allowing only his teeth and eyes to pick up the light -- until Dan
noticed the gleam of a dagger in his right hand.

  Now Alistair was moving. He was on the second rung when a guttural shriek rang out.

  "HEEE-YAHHHHH!"

  Dan looked down to see the yakuza blade slicing through the air -- at Uncle Alistair's legs.

  CHAPTER 8

  "Watch out!" Amy screamed.

  "Hunh!"

  Alistair gasped, heaving himself upward. Clanggggg!

  Dan felt the ladder jolt. He hung on tight, staring at the amazing sight below.

  With a sharp, precise movement, Alistair had brought his walking stick down hard, knocking the blade from the attacker's hand. Then, on the back-swing, Alistair caught the yakuza on the side of the head, sending him spinning downward to the track. "Get out, Dan!" Alistair commanded, shouting upward. "How did you learn to do that?"

  Dan asked.

  "I'm full of surprises -- now move!" Alistair said.

  Amy had managed to push aside the grating at the top of the ladder. Dan scrambled to the street, pulling up the objects behind him. A moment later, with a loud grunt, Alistair heaved himself up onto the sidewalk. A mother pushing a baby in a stroller swerved around them. Dan quickly began shoving the grating back, getting it over three-quarters of the hole before Alistair yanked him away. "No time for that!" he said, pulling Dan with him as he stepped into the street. "Wait!" Dan protested. "What about Amy?" Amy was trying to catch up, limping over the curb in their direction.

  Shiiiink... SHIIIINK!

  Soot-stained fingers, reaching up from underground, were sliding the grate open. "Pardon me, please," Alistair said, rushing over to the hole. Like a golf pro, he drew back his walking stick and swung it down toward the fingers. Hard.

  "AAAAAAAGHHH!" came a tortured shout.

  Dan heard the thumping of multiple bodies hitting the ground below the ladder. Alistair knelt, his back to Amy. "Climb on."

  She leaped onto him and he locked his arms under her knees, grimacing as he limped

  across the street behind Dan. Their shadows were elongated in the setting sun, making them look like some misshapen beast.

  HONNNNK!

  A car swerved out of the way, its driver shouting at them.

  "The objects -- " Alistair called out through gritted teeth. "Drop them in that alleyway. We will come back for them!"

  Dan spotted a dark, narrow space between buildings and threw Alistair's tightly packed jacket into it.

  They raced around the corner, up a hill between low brick buildings where the smell of soy sauce and fried shrimp belched out of ground-floor windows in steamy wisps. Alistair darted right at the top of the hill, into the open gate at the back of a vast, empty playground. "Where are we going?" Dan cried out.

  "I have friends!" Alistair said. "All we need to do is get a taxi -- "

  As if by magic, a cab sped toward them up the street. Alistair let go of Amy with one hand and waved frantically, shouting in Japanese.

  But as the taxi swerved at him, it picked up speed, its engine roaring.

  "Look out!"

  Dan screamed.

  Alistair jumped away. Amy went flying off onto the blacktop as the cab hopped the curb, missing them by an inch. It squealed to a stop and spun around. At once, all four doors opened.

  "Yakuza!" Alistair shouted.

  Now even Amy was moving fast. As Dan ran after her, he heard a high whistling sound.

  "DUCK, AMY!" A jagged-edged silver metal disk sliced the air. It whizzed over Dan's head as he leaped for his sister, grabbing her by the waist.

  She screamed as they tumbled to the ground again. "What was that?" Amy gasped.

  "A shuriken,"

  Dan shouted. "A ninja throwing star!"

  "This way!" Alistair cried out. Dan felt the old man's hand clasp his wrist, yanking him upward. In a split second they were racing into a large steel tunnel, part of the playground.

  Thunk! Thunk! Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk!

  Dan flinched as each throwing star hit the outside of the tunnel, inches from their heads.

  They emerged from the other end into a complex of thick wooden climbing equipment. Alistair was running, crouched, his head low and his walking stick tucked under his arm. Splinters flew around their heads like hailstones.

  Barking, angry Japanese instructions rang out behind them. Car doors slammed. Tires screeched. Dan, Amy, and Alistair ran blindly out of the playground, across a lawn, into a backyard, over a small fence.

  "Yeowww!"

  Amy shouted, her foot jamming in the fence's links.

  "Keep up!" Alistair retorted.

  The throwing stars had stopped, Dan realized. The yakuza wouldn't use them in a residential neighborhood -- would they?

  They emerged at the other end of a block, this one with a line of stores on either side. To their right, Dan could hear a speeding engine. "Go left!"

  The street sloped downward to a big, open market area. Inside, vendors were packing up, cleaning out stalls. Dan realized that he, Amy, and Alistair could get safely lost in there. The yakuza would be asking for chaos if they followed.

  VRRROOOOOM!

  Dan stopped in his tracks. A red Porsche was turning into the road in front of them. Blocking their way to the market. Rounding the corner, the Porsche flashed its brights. Dan cowered, momentarily blinded.

  Grabbing his sister, he sprang away from the street. "Jump-jump!"

  They leaped onto the sidewalk, rolling past a metal mailbox as odd noises rang out. Thwip! Thwip-thwip!

  Shots flew by them, up the hill from the Porsche to where the yakuza taxi was now bearing down on them. Smash!

  One of the taxi's headlights popped. Thwip-thwip!

  A projectile cracked the taxi's windshield. The taxi began to skid to the left, whirling. Its tires hopped the curb -- and the car's broad left side hurtled toward Dan, Amy, and Alistair.

  Amy screamed. Or maybe it was Dan himself. He couldn't tell. He was only aware of flying through the air. His head banged against the side of the building as a flash of yellow steel rolled by him, massive and dented.

  With a sickening crunch, the taxi crashed through the plate glass window of a closed flower shop.

  79

  It came to rest on a bed of broken bouquets and shattered glass, its wheels in the air. Two men groggily worked their way out of the wreck, stumbling for a few seconds while they gained their bearing. Dan, Amy, and Alistair huddled together in the shadows, but the men ran up the hill, looking in dazed fear over their shoulder.

  "What just happened?" Amy said.

  "We were in a ninja fight," Dan said in amazement. "For the first time in my non-virtual

  life. And I hated it."

  A din of voices swelled from below as people from the market began walking up the hill to join the other gawkers, who descended from all sides.

  Dan slowly stood. The Porsche was partially blocked from view by the mailbox, but Dan could see its gleaming mag wheels and tinted windows. "If they hadn't saved our butts... "

  "Be careful," Alistair warned.

  Suddenly, Dan heard the doors fly open. He froze.

  "Mrrp?"

  The tiny cry rang out. Dan's heart thumped as a silky animal grazed his ankle, and he glanced down at an Egyptian Mau that looked identical to Saladin but for the slightly mangy coat.

  "Oh ..." Amy said with a wistful smile.

  "That looks just like you-know-who," Dan said.

  The Mau was slinking over to Amy, who held out her arms to it.

  "The breed is very popular around here," Alistair replied absently, his eyes still riveted on the Porsche. "Is anyone ... alive in there?"

  In reply, a figure staggered around from behind the mailbox. Dan's breath caught in his throat.

  "Next time, dudes, hold on to your tickets," said Nellie Gomez.

  CHAPTER 9

  Dan gaped, ignoring his sister, who opened and closed her mouth in a stunning imitation of a spotted blowfish.

  "Mrrp?" said Saladin.

&
nbsp; "Awwwweso-o-o-o-ome!

  " Dan didn't care who heard him scream. He scooped up Saladin and threw his arms around Nellie.

  Amy looked as if she'd just seen a ghost. But to Dan, Nellie felt real, all right. She felt all... spiky and leathery. And a split second later, Amy was all over her, too. Sobbing of course. Which made Nellie sob, too. Which almost ruined the whole thing. Even Alistair was a little teary.

  Saladin climbed into Amy's arms, and she smiled disbelievingly. "But how did you ...?"

  "Find you?" Nellie laughed. "It was all over the news -- subway shut down, people on

  the tracks ... I'm, like, ding! Amy and Dan, no-brainer!" |

  "Where'd you get the cool car?" Dan added. "Where did those shots come from?" Amy asked.

  "Where's the duffel?" Dan prodded.

  "How did you escape the Kabras?" Alistair said. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Nellie said with a laugh. "I need backup!" Behind her, two shadowy figures stepped out of the car. "She didn't escape us," said Ian Kabra.

  "Far frub it," said Natalie in a stuffed-up voice. Dan felt his blood run down to his feet. Amy gripped his arm. "We just survived a ninja attack," Dan reminded her. "Remember, there are two of them and four of us."

  Mrrp,"

  said Saladin.

  "Sorry, five," whispered Dan. "Ah-chooo!" Natalie sneezed. "I hate cats."

  ATTACK!"

  Dan yelled.

  Ian grinned patiently at him -- and brandished a sleek stun gun.

  "Dan duck!" Amy screamed.

  "You asked about the shots?" Ian said. "This is your answer. You survived the yakuza

  because of my handling of this weapon. And because I insisted on renting a swift precision car, not the beige Chevy Cobalt your babysitter wanted."

  "Id case you dod't udderstadt, you borons, we saved you," Natalie said. "Ah-chooo!" "But... why?" Dan said. "You hate us."

  "Dat's true." Natalie exhaled wearily.

  "Yo, Nat? Take your allergy meds, okay, so you're not spraying me in the car?" Smiling at Dan and

  Amy, Nellie grabbed the driver's door handle. "Get in, all of you." "But -- " Amy said, glancing reluctantly toward the Kabras.

  "We have to move before the yakuza return," Nellie said. "I'll explain everything. Oh. And we squeezed your duffels in the trunk."