Sorry, I haven't updated for such a long time, but I'm getting really busy... :( Thank you Shijuuro Seika for favoriting my story! Hopefully you'll get some time to review soon? Also, the places might/might not be from the places that they visited in the other books, so keep that in mind. And there's a plus: Whoever finds out the code gets a cookie, and it's a thousand words! :P

Disclaimer: I don't own The 39 Clues.

Chapter 3: We Search (For Trouble)

"We're going to find Amy and Dan Cahill. We're going to give them the serum, and we'll take the Vespers down."

Wow, I love being dramatic. I think I have a natural talent for it, don't you think? As we made our not so secret departure from the Vesper base in a helicopter, I fiddled with the serums. I continually stared at the mixed colors of the glowing blue and green lights emanating from the vials. I admit, I was very tempted to drink the serums right now. I could get strength, intelligence, and strategy all in two gulps. But somehow, I knew that I wouldn't be able to handle the power or else I would become like the Vespers.

I looked up, and my mind went racing through the possible places that Amy and Dan had gone to and could be hiding in. Tokyo, Austria, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, Italy, and Africa. I asked Avery about it, and he told me the most likely hiding places would be on a secluded, deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. That narrowed it down a lot. We decided that our best shot would be to fly around, check for anything unusual, and if we didn't find anything, we would find a (hopefully) secret place to rest, and then search again.

I could see that Akira was already starting on a fingerprint tracking device from a few parts laying around in the helicopter. She never ceases to amaze me with her mind. Put the fingerprint on the screen, and bam, the location was automatically revealed. But somehow, I doubted even that would work. If Amy and Dan Cahill survived the clue hunt AND the Vespers, they probably were smart enough to leave nothing behind. Our first stop was in Christmas Island, Australia. To keep it simple, it looked like paradise. Clear, sky blue water and a sandy island with vibrant green vegetation. Akira pulled out a heat-seeking device, and scanned over the island. "No signs," she reported. "But they might be underground."

Avery said, "We should split into two groups. We'll meet back here when we're done searching." It was me and Avery, and Zeke and Akira. We set off in different directions, keeping a sharp eye for anything unusual. We had a few encounters with some poisonous animals and Avery's cursing, but other than that, everything was normal. No secret doors or tunnels. Defeated, we trudged back to our meeting point. Akira and Zeke were also there, and one look on their faces said they found nothing. "Our next stop is Palau then?" Zeke asked.

With a sigh, I nodded. Akira commented, "It makes sense if they're hiding there. There's supposed to be a lot of caves there, which could keep them easily hidden." A few hours later (yeah, our helicopters are pretty fast) We arrived to the Rocky Islands of Palau. We briskly started our search the moment we got out of the helicopter. We entered various caves that had shining crystals in them, but found nothing. I broke off a chunk of crystal as a little souvenir. Suddenly, there was a shout, and we raced over to Zeke and Akira. They looked really excited, even though Akira was facedown in the dirt. "What happened?" I asked.

"So we were walking in the cave-"

"And then Zeke tripped me-"

"And when she fell-"

"I saw this secret code-"

"And that's when we yelled to you!"

"Aww, they're even completing each others sentences," I said playfully. Akira gave me a cold stare that made me cower behind Zeke. Smirking, Avery asked, "So, where's the clue?" Akira pointed to the ground. There, etched in the ground, was: S, U. A stale orb. Avery frowned, and muttered, "That's Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Before Vesper One told them to find a stale orb, or an astrolabe. But why?" "Looks like we're off to Samarkand then," Akira guessed.

"Get out of the cave and put your hands up!" a voice yelled through a speaker. Cursing, we slowly went to the entrance. Ten helicopters were floating in the air, all with huge missiles aimed at us. "Either come quietly or disappear," the voice shouted nastily. We were caught by the Vespers. We filed into a helicopter at gunpoint, and sat down stiffly. They wrapped our hands and feet in buzz chains. Oh joy. One move, and let's just say you'll be twitching for the rest of your life. I caught Akira's eye, who looked at her hand. On three, she seemed to say. I relayed a very spasmic eye message to the others. Click. The chains fell off with a small hiss, and we jumped onto the guards before they even realized what was happening. Severals shocks and one big burn to a guards butt later, we overpowered the pilot and settled it down back onto Palau.

We had to get off the island fast, and with OUR helicopter, we started our flight to Samarkand. Avery was piloting it, while the rest of us were asleep from our... disruptive day. I sighed heavily for probably the billionth time. How would we even find Amy and Dan in time? And the Vespers had virtually unlimited resources, so who knows what other tools they have. But the good thing is, we had a lead. Or so we thought.

How did you like it? I don't think this was one of my best chapters... I think it's a bit rushed. If you didn't get the code, here's the hint: It'll reveal the location of Amy and Dan. Tell your answers in reviews! And I have 100 views! WOO HOO! THANKS GUISE!

Also, I'm planning to make another story. It's going to be called Son of Destiny. It was one of my story ideas on my profile. I'm not exactly sure, but i might make a chapter for it in hopefully two weeks! REVIEEEEEW

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