The 39 Clues Book 7: The Viper's Nest by Peter Lerangis Page B
Authors: Peter Lerangis
Tags: Fiction, General, Historical, Children's Books, Action & Adventure, Family, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, YA), Children's Fiction, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Orphans, Brothers and sisters, Other, Children's stories, Children: Grades 4-6, Adventure stories (Children's, Code and Cipher Stories, Orphans & Foster Homes, Mysteries; Espionage; & Detective Stories, Family - Siblings, Juvenile Mysteries, Ciphers, Historical - Ancient Civilizations, Historical - Other, Family & home stories (Children's, Cahill; Dan (Fictitious character), Cahill; Amy (Fictitious character)
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us.
Or die, Eisenhower had added.
Alistair dusted himself off and lifted his cane. None of them remembered that Oh Enterprises had been a proud NASCAR sponsor. None of them knew how Alistair Oh could handle even the lowliest automobile.
He glanced down the hill. The argument still raged. Soon it would be over, and the Holts would be after him. He would have to flee on foot while he had a chance.
Turning toward the road, he noticed a glint of silver in the dust--a cell phone. Most likely dead, but perhaps
69
the aftermath of some recent picnic. If it worked, he could use it to call a car service.
Picking it up, he noticed a text message notification. He pressed read.
SBS! M347.
How sad that people no longer communicated in real words. By now he had mastered "omg," "osm," "imho," "lol," "ttfn," and "rofl"--but not "sbs." Such Boffo Shenanigans perhaps. Sis Boom Shazam? Super Bowl Sunday. He winced as he remembered Sushi Burrito Special, a notorious product line that led to his company's demise. He'd been so obsessed with the hunt for the 39 Clues that he'd neglected to oversee the proper storage, resulting in the illness of thirteen people. And bankruptcy.
He clicked through the various menus, trying to find some sort of ID. But it was fruitless. Finally, holding the phone to his ear, he tapped out the number for information.
Static. Broken sound.
He tossed the phone back onto the ground and carefully placed his fallen bowler back on his head. Thwock.
A soccer ball knocked it off again.
"Freeze," came a rough voice from behind him. "Hands in the air and about-face -- harch!"
Alistair tried not to shake as he turned.
"I hope," Eisenhower Holt said, "you play good defense."
70
CHAPTER 13
Dan wondered how Shaka Zulu would handle a ride in a busted Yugo with two females arguing over hotel accommodations.
"You're the one who worries about money," Amy said. "A tent is perfect. We'd use it every day."
"I need a mirror, clean sheets, and those little paper-wrapped soaps," Nellie said. "I collect them. If you use them at home they remind you of where you've been--"
"This search is not about comfort," Amy said. "You're being like the Kabras and Alistair--pampered and fussy. First it's the secrets, and now it's--"
"Excuse me, Little Miss Anger Management," Nellie interrupted. "What's happened to you?"
"OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!" Dan announced.
"Cram it, Shaka," Amy said dully.
But Dan ignored her. A brave warrior never took the bait. He was fighting to focus on the Shaka postcard, now wrinkled and sweat-soaked after their adventure. He stared at the last lines:
71
BIMRSESOSEIM GEKK #4
BGOQBG GEKK
ALPHA>1
"This doesn't look right," he said.
"Lots of African words have odd pronunciations," Amy began lecturing. "Like, you make a clicking sound while saying it, like the Xhosa tribe."
The way Amy said the word, it was like a tongue-click followed by -osa.
"Right, but those words have, like, Xs and exclamation points in the middle and stuff," Dan said. "These are different. They don't look African. They just look...weird."
"If it's not African weird, maybe it's Dutch weird," Nellie said. "They use lots of double letters. My aunt married a guy named Vanderdoonk."
Amy was peering at the names closely. "The brothers Gekk? I told you, those are the limo drivers. This is a business card for a taxi service."
"What about the stuff under the name?" Dan asked.
'"Alpha more than one,'" Amy said. "Alpha means 'A' --like, the best. They're bragging. Advertising."
Dan began to write. He scribbled the alphabet across the top of the card. "I'm thinking it's a code. 'Alpha' means 'alphabet.' 'More than one' is actually an arrow pointing to the right. It could mean 'substitute each letter with the one to the right' --like, B becomes C."
"You actually think like that?" Nellie asked.
Dan began replacing the letters one by one.
72
CJNSTFTPTFJN HFLL #4
"Like I said, it was a dumb idea," Dan said.
"Whoa, wait," Amy said. "What
Or die, Eisenhower had added.
Alistair dusted himself off and lifted his cane. None of them remembered that Oh Enterprises had been a proud NASCAR sponsor. None of them knew how Alistair Oh could handle even the lowliest automobile.
He glanced down the hill. The argument still raged. Soon it would be over, and the Holts would be after him. He would have to flee on foot while he had a chance.
Turning toward the road, he noticed a glint of silver in the dust--a cell phone. Most likely dead, but perhaps
69
the aftermath of some recent picnic. If it worked, he could use it to call a car service.
Picking it up, he noticed a text message notification. He pressed read.
SBS! M347.
How sad that people no longer communicated in real words. By now he had mastered "omg," "osm," "imho," "lol," "ttfn," and "rofl"--but not "sbs." Such Boffo Shenanigans perhaps. Sis Boom Shazam? Super Bowl Sunday. He winced as he remembered Sushi Burrito Special, a notorious product line that led to his company's demise. He'd been so obsessed with the hunt for the 39 Clues that he'd neglected to oversee the proper storage, resulting in the illness of thirteen people. And bankruptcy.
He clicked through the various menus, trying to find some sort of ID. But it was fruitless. Finally, holding the phone to his ear, he tapped out the number for information.
Static. Broken sound.
He tossed the phone back onto the ground and carefully placed his fallen bowler back on his head. Thwock.
A soccer ball knocked it off again.
"Freeze," came a rough voice from behind him. "Hands in the air and about-face -- harch!"
Alistair tried not to shake as he turned.
"I hope," Eisenhower Holt said, "you play good defense."
70
CHAPTER 13
Dan wondered how Shaka Zulu would handle a ride in a busted Yugo with two females arguing over hotel accommodations.
"You're the one who worries about money," Amy said. "A tent is perfect. We'd use it every day."
"I need a mirror, clean sheets, and those little paper-wrapped soaps," Nellie said. "I collect them. If you use them at home they remind you of where you've been--"
"This search is not about comfort," Amy said. "You're being like the Kabras and Alistair--pampered and fussy. First it's the secrets, and now it's--"
"Excuse me, Little Miss Anger Management," Nellie interrupted. "What's happened to you?"
"OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!" Dan announced.
"Cram it, Shaka," Amy said dully.
But Dan ignored her. A brave warrior never took the bait. He was fighting to focus on the Shaka postcard, now wrinkled and sweat-soaked after their adventure. He stared at the last lines:
71
BIMRSESOSEIM GEKK #4
BGOQBG GEKK
ALPHA>1
"This doesn't look right," he said.
"Lots of African words have odd pronunciations," Amy began lecturing. "Like, you make a clicking sound while saying it, like the Xhosa tribe."
The way Amy said the word, it was like a tongue-click followed by -osa.
"Right, but those words have, like, Xs and exclamation points in the middle and stuff," Dan said. "These are different. They don't look African. They just look...weird."
"If it's not African weird, maybe it's Dutch weird," Nellie said. "They use lots of double letters. My aunt married a guy named Vanderdoonk."
Amy was peering at the names closely. "The brothers Gekk? I told you, those are the limo drivers. This is a business card for a taxi service."
"What about the stuff under the name?" Dan asked.
'"Alpha more than one,'" Amy said. "Alpha means 'A' --like, the best. They're bragging. Advertising."
Dan began to write. He scribbled the alphabet across the top of the card. "I'm thinking it's a code. 'Alpha' means 'alphabet.' 'More than one' is actually an arrow pointing to the right. It could mean 'substitute each letter with the one to the right' --like, B becomes C."
"You actually think like that?" Nellie asked.
Dan began replacing the letters one by one.
72
CJNSTFTPTFJN HFLL #4
"Like I said, it was a dumb idea," Dan said.
"Whoa, wait," Amy said. "What
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