The 39 Clues: Book 8 Read Online Free PDF Page A

conversation was everywhere, much of it on cell phones, which everyone seemed to have. For the first time since arriving in China, he really had a sense
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    of being at the center of the busiest, most populated nation on earth.
    A plan --that was it. He needed a post-39 Clues plan. He'd gone straight from his regular life to Grace's funeral to the contest. What was next? Aunt Beatrice? Not an option. The US Embassy? No good, that just led to Aunt Beatrice. Amy?
    I'll never forgive her for what she said!
    He turned back to glare at her, but his view of Amy was obstructed by a wedding party crossing the square. Instead of a rented limo, the bride and groom rode in old-fashioned sedan chairs, sliding doors drawn.
    What's a Boston kid doing in this bizarre, alien place, ten thousand miles from Fenway?
    Disoriented as he was, he had to admit this was the best way to travel in Beijing --carried around by bearers who toted you, unjostled, through the crowds in Tiananmen Square. The first chair brushed by close enough for Dan to see the grain in the painted wood. The second stopped directly in front of him. He stared in amazement as the sliding panel was swept aside.
    It happened so fast that it was all over by the time Dan had the chance to register any alarm. Two strong arms reached out and hauled him inside. Then his captor jumped down to the square, slammed the door shut, and joined the bearers who were carrying the chair. Before Dan could protest, he was hoisted up and moving quickly.
    "Hey!" Desperately, Dan worked at the slider, but it
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    was locked in place. He pounded on the wooden panel. "Let me out!"
    No one paid any attention. In fact, he seemed to be gathering speed, jolted along as the bearers broke into a run. A horn honked; traffic noise. They were out of the square, moving along the city streets.
    Dan pressed his back against the side of the compartment and kicked frantically at the closed slider. The chair shook, but the panel held firm. He got up to a crouch and slammed his shoulder against the wall. Pain stabbed through his upper body. He fought through it, pounding ever harder. There were shouts of agitation from the bearers, but their distress never even slowed them down.
    For the first time, Dan's determination to escape gave way to fear.
    I'm being kidnapped!
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    CHAPTER 6
    A minute ago, he'd been so furious with Amy that their argument had filled his every thought. Now, in the blink of an eye, the entire world had changed.
    He resumed his struggle, banging and shouting. He couldn't blast his way out, but the fuss he was kicking up might attract someone's attention --maybe even a cop's.
    After ten minutes of it, he was sweat-soaked and exhausted--so much so that he almost didn't notice when the sedan chair stopped and was lowered to ground level. A new plan formed in Dan's mind. The instant that door opened, somebody was going to get a memorable kick in the head. And while the guy was picking up his teeth, Dan would be out of there and gone.
    There was a clicking sound as the panel was unlocked. He tensed, ready for action. His foot was already coming forward as the slider eased open.
    There was no one to kick. Instead, he was looking at the interior of a van. Suddenly, the sedan chair tilted, and he was dumped into the cargo bay. The van's
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    door shut, and the vehicle screeched away, burning rubber.
    Enraged, Dan managed to get to his knees for the first glimpse of his captors.
    "Is that you, or is the air pollution in Beijing as bad as they say?" sniffed Natalie Kabra.
    Dan drew in a shocked breath. Natalie's olive skin was darker than her mother's, but the two shared the same chiseled features --classic beauty camouflaging merciless, piercing eyes. In the case of Isabel, the eyes of a murderer.
    Natalie and her older brother, Ian, peered disdainfully back at him over the cargo partition. Dan looked around anxiously--no Isabel, at least, not in the van. The only other occupant was on a jump seat in the