I still haven't decided on a new name yet, so keep the suggestions coming! :) Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! This is for you guys! :)
Warning: Amy is slightly OOC. I hope you don't mind! Also, Amy's relationship with Fiske will be rocky, but she'll come around, so don't worry! :) I have also changed it a little, so that the Starlings can be in it.
Disclaimer: I do not own The 39 Clues!
Amy, Dan, and Nellie stared in awe at Grace's home. It was magnificent. As they exited the limos, the man in black came out of the house. Amy's eyes widened and she moved protectively in front of Dan.
"What is that man doing here?" She hissed at Mr. McIntyre.
"Amy listen-"
"No!" Amy shook her head, she was too furious to even stutter, "I will not listen. That man" She pointed to the man in black. "Caused the explosion at the Franklin Institute!"
Mr. McIntyre dabbed at the sweat on his brow with a handkerchief while nervously looking around. "Amy, please let us talk more inside. There may be spies listening as we speak."
Amy looked reluctant, but she nodded her head and everyone went inside.
Mr. McIntyre and the man in black led them into a library, and the man in black locked the door. Before they could change the subject, Amy wheeled around and pointed to Mr. McIntyre, "Explain." She ordered.
Mr. McIntyre looked uncomfortable, "Well- umm- you see-"
"Spit it out!" Surprisingly, it was Sinead who spoke, for she wanted to know who had caused the explosion.
But it was the man in black who spoke, "That explosion, was not a fault of mine. The person, or should I say people, who caused that explosion, are in this room." He looked pointedly at the Holts, "But I will let them confess."
Surprisingly, Hamilton stepped up looking guilty. "It- it was my family that caused the explosion Sinead."
"You!"
Hamilton nodded sadly. Sinead had to look away, or she would have attacked him. Before they could progress, Amy stepped forward, "B- but, wh- who a- are you?" She asked the man in black.
He looked at her and smiled softly, "My name is Fiske Cahill, I am Grace's brother."
Amy and Dan gasped in shock.
"Grace had a brother!" Dan exclaimed.
The man in black, now known as Fiske, nodded. "Sadly, I wasn't the best of brothers. I abandoned her per say."
"But I thought Beatrice was her only sibling." Amy said.
"No. I, I went into hiding. I was a coward, the idea of the clue hunt scared me, you and Dan are far braver than I." Fiske looked at the two in admiration.
He stood straighter and looked around, "There is something you all should know." That got everyone's attention. "Since the beginning of the clue hunt, for some of you, even before, you have all wondered what branch Amy and Dan belong to. Well know, you'll know."
He gazed at everyone. Dan and Amy had an expectant look on their faces. "Amy and Dan are Madrigals. As are Nellie, Mr. McIntyre, and I."
Gasps of shock came from everyone in the room. Suddenly, the Kabras, Holts, Starlings, and Alistair Oh ran on the other side of the room, away from the Madrigals.
Fiske looked at everyone, and told them all to come back.
"Why should we?" Ian asked, "You're evil."
Fiske gave him a bland look, "Do you really think Amy is evil? Dan, I would agree is a little evil sometimes," Fiske joked, "But Amy?"
"It's the quiet ones you have to watch out for!" Eisenhower shouted.
Amy, surprisingly, rolled her eyes, and said, "Well, you act more evil than I do!"
"Be quiet you stupid Madrigal!" Mary-Tod yelled at her.
Thus erupting a loud argument to go throughout the room.
Fiske whistled a loud, shrilling whistle and called for silence.
"We are not here to argue. I brought you all here to see what has been happening."
Everyone quieted down and paid attention.
"What's been happening?" Dan asked.
Fiske looked down at him, then he looked at everyone else, "There has been a new series called, 'The 39 Clues' the first book was published during the beginning of the hunt. The most recently published book is called, 'The Sword Thief."
"Nothing has been published since Amy and Dan were in Korea a week ago, so we have reason to believe, that you are all being tracked."
Looking at everyone, Fiske pointed to the three books that were spread across the table in the library. Everyone ran to it at once, but Nellie got there first shortly followed by Amy and Dan.
The books were blue, green, and red. The first one was blue and was called, "The Maze of Bones." The second one was green and was called, "One False Note." The last, third one was red and called, "The Sword Thief."
Amy picked up the first one and flipped through the pages. She silently read the first page.
Five minutes before she died, Grace Cahill changed her will. Her lawyer brought out the alternate version, which had been her most guarded secret for seven years.
Before Amy could read any more, Fiske spoke, "We will read this in turns, one person will read one chapter, and then another shall read the next chapter."
Everyone nodded and Amy spoke, "I'll read the first chapter."
Fiske nodded and Amy began,
Five minutes before she died, Grace Cahill changed her will.
Her lawyer brought out the alternate version, which had been her most guarded secret for seven years. Whether or not she would actually be crazy enough to use it, William McIntyre had never been certain.
"Madam," he asked, "are you sure?"
Amy's hands shook as she read about her grandmother's last moments. Her voice shaky, she continued:
Grace gazed out the window, across the sunlit meadows of her estate. Her cat Saladin, snuggled beside her as he had throughout her illness, but his presence was not enough to comfort her today. She was about to set in motion events that might cause the end of civilization.
"Wait!" Natalie yelled.
Amy abruptly stopped reading.
"Yes, Miss Kabra?" Fiske asked.
"So, Grace had been planning this?" Natalie questioned.
Fiske nodded. Natalie got a look on her face, telling that she was concentrating.
After a moment she nodded, "Okay, I get it. Continue."
Amy nodded and kept reading.
"Yes, William." Her every breath was painful.
"I'm sure."
William broke the seal on the brown leather folder. He was a tall craggy man. His nose was pointed like a sun dial so it always cast a shadow over one side of his face. He had been Grace's adviser, her closest confident, for half her life. They'd shared many secrets over the years, but none as perilous as this.
Amy stopped to take a breath, but saw Ian staring intently at her. She blushed crimson, and looked down, continuing to read,
He held the document up for her to review. A fit of coughing wracked her body. Saladin meowed with concern. Once the coughing passed, William helped her take the pen. She scrawled her weak signature across the paper.
"They're so young," William lamented. "If only their parents-"
"But their parents didn't" Grace said bitterly. "And now the children must be old enough. They are our only chance."
"If they don't succeed-"
"Then five hundred years of work have been for nothing," Grace said. "Everything collapses. The family, the word,- all of it."
William nodded grimly. He took the folder from her hands.
Grace sat back, stroking Saladin's silver fur. The scene outside the window made her sad. It was too gorgeous a day to die. She wanted to have one last picnic with the children.
Amy's heart ached with pain as she read Grace's last thoughts.
She wanted to be young and strong and travel the world again. But her eyesight was failing. Her lungs labored. She clutched her jade necklace- a good luck talisman she'd found in China years ago. It had seen her through many close calls with death, many lucky misses. But the talisman couldn't help her anymore.
She'd worked hard to prepare for this day. Still, there was so much she'd left undone… so much she had never told the children.
"It will have to be enough," She whispered
And with that, Grace Cahill closed her eyes for the last time.
Amy hastily wiped away the tears that were flowing from her eyes. She had always wanted to know what her grandmother's last thoughts had been. Now, she knew. She was glad that she meant enough to Grace to have some of her last thoughts be about her.
Amy took a shuddering breath after wiping her tears away and said, "Th- there's a-a b-b-break."
Fiske nodded and Nellie patted her back soothingly.
When he was sure Grace had passed away, William McIntyre went to the window and closed the curtains. William preferred the darkness. It seemed more proper for the business at hand.
The door opened behind him. Grace's cat hissed and disappeared under the bed.
William didn't look back. He was staring at Grace Cahill's signature on her knew will, which had just become the most important document in the Cahill family's history.
"Well?" A brusque voice said.
William turned. A man stood in the doorway, his face obscured by shadows, his suit as black as oil.
"It's time," William said. "Make sure they suspect nothing."
William couldn't tell for sure, but he thought the man in black smiled.
"Don't worry," the man promised. "They'll never have a clue."
Amy stopped reading and looked at Fiske, she could feel a set of eyes staring at her, but she ignored it. "O-okay. That's th- the end of the ch-chapter."
Fiske nodded. He looked out the window and said, "It's time for dinner. We shall finish this tomorrow. After dinner You'll all be escorted to your rooms." Everyone nodded, and followed Fiske as he left the library.
Amy, wanting to read what was in the third one, grabbed the red book entitled, "The Sword Thief" and hid it in the her backpack. Making sure nobody noticed, she followed the rest out.
Yay! 10 reviews for one chapter! :) I'm soooo happy. But, someone said they were bored with my story plot. It was anonymous, so I don't know who it is. But, if you don't like my story, or you're bored with the plot, don't read. Thanks, review!