A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews! Here is chapter 12! Ian is in the story now and Amy will be heading to Italy. Enjoy and no flames please.

Amy POV

When we rebuilt Grace's Manor we added a communication and command center in the attic. It's stuffed full of high tech gear.

The babble of voices was deafening and made my head hurt. Thirty-six screens are on with thirty-six angry Cahills, each with a different opinion of what to do immediately. There were tears from Phoenix's mother, Leila Wizard, blind rage from the Holts, genuine distress with also cold calculation from Ian Kabra, and Sinead's and Ned's distress and upset emotions. Sinead had traveled to meet Ted, Ned, and Alistar at the hospital, only to find out about the kidnappings from Ned.

On monitor number 27 (Asia/ Oceana) Jonah wizard pleaded with his aunt on monitor 11 (southwestern USA). His normally confident features were replaced with a deep concerned expression.

"Leila, you can't call the cops! The Vesper said no police, and the dude isn't playing!"

"So I'm supposed to do nothing at all when my little boy has been abducted?" Leila demanded.

I tried to step in and help Jonah. "You are supposed to leave it in my hands. I'm the one the Vespers contacted." I didn't expect so much acid in her next comment.

"And exactly who are you? A sixteen-year-old child," Leila snapped.

"She's a Madrigal, that's who she is!" Eisenhower yelled. He had only one volume setting, which was unfortunately, loud. "I never trusted them before, and I'm definitely not about to start now! How do we know they aren't behind the kidnappings? That they made the Vespers up? I've never heard of any Vesper!"

Sinead spoke up on 22 (West Asia/ Middle East). "Why would Amy kidnap her own family?" she pointed out. "It's also happening to all the branches not just the Thomas."

Ned who was with her at Tel Aviv, where he'd been accepted as an inpatient, nodded. "You should have seen the guys who grabbed Alistar and Ted! They had meant business-" His train of thought was erased off as pain contorted his face.

I tried to get the conversation back under control, but my stammer kept getting in the way. "It'll be better for R-Re- it'll be better for Regan if we k-keep our heads-"

This is a global high-tech brawl more than a meeting. No one can get bickering Cahills to unite! McIntyre is insane to put me in charge. I mean, sure, there had been some cooperation at the Clue Hunt's end, but it was the younger generation, just a handful.

"Why should we give this kidnapper what he wants?" Eisenhower demanded. "We can't let him get away with grabbing our family! That'll just encourage him to come and hit us again!"

"Dad, he's got Regan!" Hamilton argued.

"Hamilton's right," I quickly put in. "We are at Vesper One's mercy right now- at least until we can rescue the hostages. We have to figure out where he's h-holding the h-host-tages-" I glanced at McIntyre. He watched impassively as I floundered in front of the entire family. Thanks for the help. I thought sarcastically.

Eisenhower's veins bulged as he waved off Hamilton's efforts to quiet him. "I'm not putting my daughter's life in the hands of a babbling teeny-bopper! You don't even know or have your own plan! Make your mind up! Are you doing what the Vesper tells you or are you searching for the hostages?"

This inquiry about strategy jolted me out of helplessness. "We're going to do both!" I said.

I straightened my back, ramrod straight and bend slightly forward, as if leaning into the next challenge, just like Grace. I looked directly into the camera broadcasting me all around the world. "I propose a two-pronged response. I'll travel to Italy and follow Vesper One's demands. We don't have a choice. Our hostages' safety depends on that. Sinead, can you come back and set up a Cahill command center in Grace's house? Ian, will you help her?"

"Of course," Sinead said.

"I'll be on the next flight," Ian promised.

"The command center will have two missions. First, to find out where the hostages are being held, so we can rescue them. Second, we need to answer a huge question: who are the Vespers and what are they trying to obtain? They've been dogging our family since the Cahill family has been around, yet they are a complete and total question mark. As horrendous these kidnappings are, they may possibly be just the beginning. If we're at war, we ought to learn something about our enemies, especially when they seem to know an awful lot about all of us." I soon secured promises of help from Cahills of all branches all over the world. "Its settled, then, I'll keep Vesper One happy in Italy. Sinead and Ian will keep you posted from here."

Ian spoke up on monitor 4. "Is that the cat?" Saladin, with his tail in the air, marched across the keyboards. "That cat hates me."

"Why should it be different from everyone else, Lucian?" Eisenhower Holt growled. Did he have to say that?

McIntyre decided now would be a good time to appear at my elbow and help. "That's the exact kind of infighting our loved ones could be killed because of. We are more than just the separate branches of Lucian, Janus, Ekaterina, Tomas, and Madrigal. We are all Cahills, and we're under attack."

I cut the connection and sighed. "Well, I did the best I could. I don't know if any one actually believed me."

Mr. McIntyre placed a hand on my shoulder. "You did marvelous, my dear. You can't expect to erase five hundred years of mistrust and hostility in a ten-minute conversation. I don't believe anyone could do that better- and I include Grace in that."

I loaded my small suitcase and backpack in McIntyre's car for the ride to the airport. Inside my backpack was a smoke bomb that looked like a lollipop, in fact, on an airport security X-ray it would appear as a lollipop.

I scratched under Saladin's collar. "Be careful, Saladin. Don't be too mean to Ian."

McIntyre started the car and called for me to get in. I sat shotgun as we drove to the airport. How little did I know that I wasn't the only one going to Italy today.

I flew first class to Florence. Once I was settled on a bench in the Florence airport I fished out the Vesper phone. I looked at the screen. It showed a picture of a white and featureless room. Wearing prison-style jumpsuits were the eight Cahill hostages. The caption said: Our guests.

I'll send it to the comm. center. Sinead should be there by now to analyze it.

But this isn't something to just be analyzed.

I can't fall to pieces, that won't help them. I argued with myself. I took out my laptop and downloaded the picture. Then I linked it to the comm. Center.

As I waited for it to load I took out a small blackened spiral notebook. McIntyre gave this to me before I left. He said it was Grace's, but he couldn't understand what she wrote. I flipped through the pages until I found the clearest. On it was written:

VSP 79- Puny described first test.

Well, VSP could mean Vesper, but what does "Puny" mean? Classic Grace- weird and shorthand of her own.

The computer finally beeped signaling the upload complete. A moment later, Ian Kabra appeared on screen. I was surprised.

"Hey, Ian, isn't it about two in the morning over there?"

"I'm still on London time, jet lag. I don't suppose you have tea in this mausoleum, Love."

"D-don't call m-me love." How does he always make me stutter? Recollecting myself I added," There's diet Snapple in the fridge, if you want."

"I figured not," he said as he pulled the picture out of the printer. He smiled grimly as he looked at it. "My poor sister, she won't like that jumpsuit."

"Thank you for getting there so fast. What happened to your face? Have you been bothering Saladin?" On Ian's olive skin from the corner of his eye over his cheek to his chin was a long scratch.

"No! Saladin has been attacking me for no reason at all." Then changing the subject Ian asked, "Any word on what your 'task' will be?"

My shoulders slumped. "No, not yet, it's driving me crazy. When will Vesper One contact me?"

"He's trying to keep you off balance," Ian reasoned. "It's a good strategy, very good mastery of the tactical arts."

Ian would know about strategy. It's a Lucian specialty. As I regarded my cousin I thought of something: Why is he saying positive things about Vesper One?