39 Clues - 05 - The Black Circle Read Online Free PDF Page B

the ranks of the Lucians? The idea had crossed her mind before,
    but with the death of Grace Cahill, her suspicions had grown. There were secrets in
    Russia -- secrets that had to be protected at all cost. Dan and Amy had stumbled into a
    hornet's nest."They're on the move," said the bearded Russian in the front seat."Follow
    them," ordered Irina.The driver merged into traffic and tracked a blinking dot on his
    screen."He's pretty good on that bike," said the driver, laughing despite the
    ultra-serious agent sitting in the backseat of his van."I do not pay you for small talk,"
    Irina fired back.The bearded driver clammed up, and not another word was spoken
    during the drive through Volgograd. Irina felt the twitch in her eye return, soft at first
    but growing more violent. Twenty minutes passed before the driver spoke

    again."They've stopped. We're near the train station.""Let me out," said Irina. A wad of bills rolled past the driver and landed at his feet."I may need you again," said Irina as
    she opened the door. "Keep your phone on and don't leave the city."The driver nodded.
    He leaned down and picked the roll of bills off the floor. When he turned around again,
    Irina Spasky was gone.45* * *"Are you positive we're going to the right place?" asked
    Amy."Yup," said Dan. Amy sighed, still not convinced they should have boarded the
    high-speed train. But Dan had been adamant about keeping the lead he'd found hidden
    until they were safely out of town. He was learning to be careful about who might be
    watching."Let's have a look at it," said Amy. "You've been holding out on me long
    enough."Dan pulled the object he'd found in The Motherland Calls out of his front
    pocket. He glanced both ways down the center aisle of the train, then held it out to
    Amy."You can do the honors," said Dan. "I'm too tired to open it up."Instead, he fished around in the backpack for some chips and pulled out Amy's Russian guidebook."This
    thing is crushing my snacks."He set the book between them, cracked open a bag of
    pulverized Doritos, and disgusted his sister by tipping his head back and pouring the
    broken chips into his mouth.Amy rolled her eyes and got back to the cylinder. It was
    wrapped in a tremendous amount of twine, so it was awhile before she finally parted
    the paper and held the secret object in her hand. It was a tiny statue intricately carved
    out of a hard orange substance,46showing a bearded monk with wild eyes, standing
    with his arms folded in front of him.Amy brightened. "I think I know who this is!""It's
    that dude who got us the motorcycle!" said Dan, peering over. He frowned. "Or maybe
    it's his brother."Amy wasn't sure what to do with the precious carving. She was itching
    to refer to a certain page in the guidebook, but if she gave the carved monk to Dan,
    she worried he might drop it."Hold this," she said, succumbing to her desire for
    information. "And be careful. It's fragile.""Got it covered," said Dan, snatching the carving from her and holding it up to the light."It's almost see-through," he said as Amy
    riffled through the book. "And there's something hidden inside.""What?" asked Amy,
    reaching out for the carving."Whoa, there! Take it easy. This thing is fragile,
    remember?""What's in there? What do you see?""It's one of those pop-top games. I'm
    good at these. There's a little shoe, then two letters, a V and an A, then a
    heart.""Shoevaheart," said Dan. "Is that something you've heard of?"47Amy shook her head no, but something about the word tugged at her. She thought for a minute, but
    nothing crystallized, so she showed Dan the picture she'd been looking for in the
    guidebook."It's Rasputin," said Amy. "I'm sure of it."Dan looked at the photo, a grainy black-and-white of a man with furious eyes."Boy, these monk people sure get angry,"
    he said. Amy knew he was thinking back to the mob of monks who had chased them in
    Austria. "Why so sure it's this guy?""Rasputin wasn't any ordinary monk. He was said to
    be