FINALLY! A new chapter on my favorite fic! ! ! *does victory dance* And you can read it! By the way, for those of you who didn't read my oneshot In the Morning - well, go read it. Please.
Thank you SO MUCH to omg-KITTENS and Cinnamoncookies98! ! ! ! I owe you so much!
Ian reseated himself on the bench, with Amy next to him. He could feel her eyes on him, but determinedly avoided her gaze. All he wanted was to get this over with. Get their information and go back to the hotel.
"Let's take a quick tour of the harbor," suggested Isabel, "and then I'll show you the prettiest cove. I'll have you back in forty-five minutes. Promise!"
Ian heard Amy start to reply, but then the boat roared to life at the same time the ferry's horn rang out. For the next few seconds, conversation was impossible. Amy had her hands over her ears, but Ian decided to just weather it. Presentation was important, and it would look weak if he couldn't take a little noise.
The boat jolted up and down as Isabel steered it across another boat's wake. Ian heard his mother laugh. "Oopsie, sorry! Let's get away from this traffic. Don't worry, Amy, I'm an expert captain."
Ian reminded himself of the fact, although it was unnerving moving at this speed. To convince himself further, he turned his head in Amy's direction. "Mother keeps a boat at our place in the Bahamas." He had to shout to make himself heard, even though she was sitting quite close to him - agreeably close, in fact. "She's raced competitively. There's no cause for concern." He hoped.
As the boat maneuvered away from the traffic, Isabel sped up, hurtling across the water at such a speed the boat tilted slightly upwards. Ian grabbed the railing and clung on tightly.
"That's more like it!" Isabel seemed perfectly relaxed. Ian had seen her steer boats at this speed before; she was always completely focused, unlike now. He wondered if this was intentional, to keep Amy disoriented and shaken up. He certainly felt that way. "Don't you love it?"
"LOVE IT!" Ian knew he hadn't convinced anyone. His grip on the railing didn't loosen as they steered across waves that he could barely see from the wind forcing his eyes shut. Finally the boat slowed into a cove bordered by a white beach. Ian noted the presence of tourists on the sand - just stick figures from this distance, but if Amy put up a loud, noticeable struggle, then they might do something, alert the police... Then again, Amy wasn't the type to put up a loud noticeable struggle. But why was he thinking all this? If Amy cooperated, there wouldn't be any trouble and she could just go home.
Isabel seated herself in front of Ian and Amy and took their hands in hers. "Now, you two," she chided. "Enough squabbling. You're here to make up."
Ian winced inwardly. The gibe was directed at him, he knew.
"I'm not here to make up with Ian." Amy's voice came out braver than Ian remembered it. Then again, she was doing that a lot lately. "I'm here because he told me my parents were murdered."
Isabel had been right. Telling Amy about her parents had been an effective strategy to get her to come to the meeting. Surprisingly, Ian didn't feel the small glow of victory that usually came in situations like this. Instead he felt the sting of a feeling that was entirely unwelcome, and very confusing.
Guilt.
"Right to the point, aren't you?" Isabel was talking again. "I admire that! I'm going to tell you some ting in confidence and hope that you will respect it. I didn't come to Australia just to collect my children."
No, you came to take over their participation in the Clue Hunt, thought Ian, but kept silent.
"There is a mole in the Lucian branch. We believe this mole has been operating for some time. Thwarting us at every turn."
Ian studied Amy's face and noted how, for a fraction of a second, her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly - just the merest flicker of surprise and recognition crossing her face. Isabel did not seem to have noticed, too intent on delivering the information and getting what she came for. But Ian did, and he was fairly certain what it meant: Amy knew something. She knew about the person Isabel was talking about.
Which was impossible. Wasn't Isabel lying?
"We've wondered where they were getting information, resources. And then we realized. The Madrigals. One of our own has joined them."
"What does this have to do with me?" Amy's voice interrupted Ian's thoughts.
Don't worry, he thought. She's getting there. Ian recognized what his mother was doing: setting things up, building towards a big reveal. The goal was to be as dramatic as possible without going overboard, making sure the information hit the target in such a way that the person would be severely shaken up. Although Amy had sounded shaken up enough when they'd spoken on the phone... Perhaps all this was slightly unnecessary.
"I believe - we believe, those of us at the highest levels - that this person, this spy, this mole, along with the Madrigals - murdered your parents."
Again Ian noticed a change in Amy's facial features: surprise, fear, anger... and something like denial. She definitely knew something. Ian wondered if he should tell Isabel, but pushed the thought aside. Save it for later. Right now Isabel was busy.
"How do you know?" Ian noticed Amy swallow on the words. He realized he was intently studying her face to get her exact reaction, and looked away hurriedly, remembering Isabel's directive to be a part of the background.
"The fire was deliberately set. Cleverly done. We investigated ourselves. I'm sorry to shock, Amy but you must come to terms with it. You must see what you're up against. The Madrigals are ruthless."
"Why should I believe you?" Although he was deliberately trying not to look at her, Ian heard the open hostility in her voice. Isabel was going to have a hard time.
"Because I was close to your parents, for one thing. I mourned them. When I realized that the Lucian spy was aligned with the Madrigals, I decided I had to get involved with the hunt, I called off Ian and Natalie. I want an alliance with you Dan. I will help you bring the murderer to justice."
It was cleverly done, Ian had to admit - using the idea of the murderer to coax Amy into the alliance. He prayed she'd accept - if not, this whole endeavor would have been for nothing. As much as he hated to admit it, Amy and Dan were leagues ahead in the Clue hunt. And, if he was honest with himself, he wouldn't mind an alliance with Amy. At all.
"Who is it?"
"Not only will I help you, but the full resources of the Lucians will be placed before you and your brother. Information. Strongholds. Money. We'll share the clues, and we'll win together."
Win together? thought Ian. Not likely. He didn't like sharing victory, at best, and he knew Isabel would be even less willing. The alliance would have to be broken off at some point... Ian pushed the thought out of his mind. Betraying Amy once had been disconcerting; betraying her again would be difficult. To say the least.
"Enough about the clues." That meant she probably wasn't going to accept, then. Ian cursed inwardly. "Who killed my parents?"
"Irina Spasky."
Silence then. Isabel may not have told Ian who was responsible, but judging from his mother's habits and mannerisms, he had a pretty good idea who set the fire. And it wasn't Irina Spasky.
He'd been anticipating some lie, something to lead Amy off on a completely different tangent... but Irina? Irina, with whom they were in an alliance? What was his mother planning? At least this would account for Isabel's apparently growing distrust of Irina, but... why?
He risked a glance at Amy, and was rather surprised. Instead of looking angry or shocked or afraid, the primary expression on Amy's face was confusion. Extreme confusion. Why? Unless... Irina had been late. She'd taken a detour. And if she'd told Amy anything...
"My husband and I knew Irina when we were all teenagers." Isabel's voice broke into Ian's thoughts. "I watched her turn from an idealistic scholar into a cold-blooded killer. But I never dreamed she'd strike against her own relatives. The chase for the clues is a hunger for her. It's warped her. I'm sorry, Amy. This can't be easy to hear. But you should know who killed them." She paused. "If we join forces, we can defeat her."
There it was. Isabel no longer needed Irina. She'd turned against her, found her at fault. Ian had only seen it happen once before, and he still wasn't exactly sure what had become of the agent in question.
"...more than anything. The Madrigals... they are the game changers. What do we know about them? Only that they're bent on the destruction of all Cahill branches... yet nobody knows who or what they are. We suspect that the group was formed by rogue Cahills hundreds of years ago, and they are committed to the destruction of the entire family."
Rogue Cahills. Ian made a mental note. He'd heard something like that about the Madrigals, but here was confirmation.
"Surely you'd think the branches would unite against them. But for all those years, the branches couldn't form an alliance, even against a common enemy. Until now." Isabel clasped her hands, the picture of an earnest visionary. "We can make the future, Amy. We can find the thirty-nine clues and you can avenge your parents. If we work together."
Another mind tactic: giving a simple alliance symbolic importance, making Amy seem like just another shortsighted, feuding Cahill if she refused. It was all lying, of course. The alliance would have to be broken off just like any other alliance. Just like the alliance in Korea, the one that Ian still wasn't sure about...
"I don't see what you get out of this." Amy didn't seem that affected by the psychological manipulation. Then again, she'd experienced it before... Again Ian felt that most unwelcome twinge of guilt.
"Your brains. Your brother's instincts. You have to admit you're bested even my own children." Ian winced, but neither Amy nor Isabel seemed to notice. "And remember this, Amy - you could already be a Lucian. Grace chose not to have allegiances. You seem most like a Lucian to me."
Hardly, Ian thought. Amy and her brother hadn't used a single trace of subterfuge in the Clue hunt, which was what any sane Lucian would do. He'd mentally labeled her as an Ekat - what with her love of books and her intelligence - but it didn't quite seem to fit...
"So this could be just... coming home. One more thing we offer, the most important thing. Protection. Irina has more tricks up her sleeve, I promise you. And the Madrigals are ruthless."
Ian risked another quick look at Amy. She seemed completely dumbfounded. The decision seemed to be coming soon. Hastily he looked away, fixing his gaze in his mother's direction.
"What do you say, Amy? I hate to hit you with this all at once, but you need to get up to speed, and fast, if you want to survive."
Ian felt Amy's eyes on him, but he kept staring straight ahead. Don't say anything. He wasn't going to try and influence Amy's decision; his mother wanted him to stay out of it. Besides, did he want an alliance if it meant another betrayal? But if she refused...
He stiffened as he heard Amy's voice. "Dan and I can handle our own problems. So thanks, but no thanks."
Ian bit his lip, recalculating what this would mean. But Isabel persisted. "You need to be certain. I can't make this offer again."
Accept it, Ian urged mentally. Please. It would help him and Natalie get ahead in the Clue Hunt, but mostly he was worried about the consequences if she didn't take the deal. One did not say no to Isabel Kabra.
"It's my final answer."
No alliance, then. Although he hadn't really expected her to accept. Amy may have been shy and gentle, but she had her own tough, independent streak. And after the last alliance... who could blame her?
But what now? He doubted Amy would be allowed to go home with a shrug and a cheerful goodbye.
Isabel smiled, but now Ian could see an undertone of menace. He didn't like where this was going. At all. "I understand. I'll take you back." Rising from her deck chair, she walked to the railing. "But first, let's take a moment to admire this lovely cove. Australia has the most beautiful beaches in the world, don't you agree? Of course, you have to watch out for riptides and bluebottles and sharks, but what are the odds of one of them finding you? Shark attacks are actually quite rare."
Sharks.
So that was it.
Why did his palms suddenly feel clammy?
"I find sharks beautiful."
An image flashed into Ian's mind: fins above the surface, blood billowing like smoke in the water - Why the sudden surge of fear? It was only Amy...
"The great white is a killing machine that searches for food constantly."
Don't say a word.
"It has one purpose in life, and it knows exactly what it is and what to do about it."
Don't intervene.
"It can rip your arm or your leg off with one bite, but you can't blame the shark."
Whatever happens, you're a statue...
"And when blood foams in the water, what else can it do but keep feeding?"
...or it will be the worse for you.
It was too much. "Mum, please - " Ian began, not knowing what he was going to say. Suggest a compromise? Ask Amy to rethink her decision? Ask Isabel to rethink her decision? He need not have worried, though. Isabel just steamrollered on, as implacable as she always was in these situations, but Ian knew he was in for it later.
"Have you ever been in a shark cage? I have. I've looked into a shark's eyes and it's like looking at death itself."
An idea struck Ian then. Sharks, he'd heard it said, weren't as taken with human flesh as the media stated - in fact, they practically disliked the taste of humans. So how was Isabel... He was annoyed to find himself praying that it wouldn't work.
Then Isabel opened the storage compartment and brought out a bucket full of - that was blood. Wasn't it? It didn't look like human blood... something about the texture, or perhaps the color. The heavy smell was also a clue. Fish. The contents of that bucket, and what Isabel was now tossing in the water, was disemboweled fish.
Ian tensed involuntarily, fingers digging into the seat. He saw where Isabel was going now. Work the sharks into a frenzy on the fish blood, then throw a human in with them - how would they know the difference? What else can it do but keep feeding?
Isabel was rubbing hand sanitizer on hands as she turned back towards Amy and spoke in a deliberately casual tone. "All right, then. Why don't you tell me all the clues that you and your brother have gathered? Or would you rather go for a swim?"
Why was Isabel being so up front about it? She'd essentially admitted that all she wanted was for Amy to hand over the Clues. Then Ian realized, with a cold trickle of dread, that it didn't matter. At the end of the day, there were only two possible outcomes to this situation: Either Amy would hand over all the clues, and Isabel would allow her to go home unscathed.
Or she'd be dead.
Okay, that's done. I think it's only this chapter that I realized what a huge challenge it is to get Ian IC - at least where Amy is concerned. I mean, you have to balance his ruthless Lucian nature with his major crush on Amy. Factor in his loyalty to Isabel and the fact that he doesn't actually know he likes Amy that much - well, it's hard. To say the least. So please, if your review doesn't contain anything else, at least tell me if you think he's IC! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! ! ! ! ! ! And please go read In the Morning... and review...
One thing I specifically want to know, on the subject of ICness: I did this thing that you'll find several times throughout the fic, where Ian's thinking about Amy and indirectly compliments her, even though he doesn't realize it... is that IC? I thought it was.
It was also pretty fun finding out the mind games Isabel was playing with Amy so I could have Ian comment on them. Actually, I didn't really look for them, I was just like, "Hey, that sounds sort of like some psychological manipulation. Ian would notice that, right?"
Anyway. REVIEW I BEG OF YOU! ! ! ! ! ! My most popular fic has triple-digit reviews and it's pretty cliched, it's not even my best fic. THIS is my best fic. It should have reviews to match! So REVIEW! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Updates won't come for, say, the next week and a half, because I'm going to be on vacation without Internet access. Sorry, guys. But hey, at least there's this chapter, right?
