Disclaimer: I don't own the 39 Clues

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"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood,

but of respect and joy in each other's life."

- Richard Bach

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The Cahills were silent for a minute; no one made a sound. Then, chaos broke loose.

"I can't believe she handcuffed me to him!" Natalie shrieked.

"What do you mean? I'm the one suffering!" Dan exclaimed. "I'll have to deal with you for who knows how long!"

"Yo, everyone calm down, alright?" Jonah said. "The faster we get out of here, the faster we can get these handcuffs off and get the hostages back."

"Maddie said she'll give us the first clue once we get out of here, but how will we do that, exactly?" Ted said.

"There's a keypad next to the door. If we can figure out the password, we can get out of here." said Sinead.

Ian and Amy walked over to the keypad.

"Hm," said Ian, studying the keypad. "It has no numbers, just letters. It has to be a word."

"This will take us forever!" Dan exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air, bringing Natalie's hand with him.

"Maybe it's the location of where we are." said Reagan after a moment. "It seems logical, doesn't it?"

Everyone was silent, thinking about that.

"It seems like our best bet, so far." said Ned.

"Maddie mentioned that we were somewhere in Europe." said Ted. "It would probably be a European country."

"But there are tons of European countries." said Hamilton. "How are we supposed to figure out which one is the right one?"

"Guess?" Madison suggested.

Ian sighed. "I don't see any other way."

"Wait," said Sinead, suddenly in front of the T.V. screen. "Look at the name on the television."

Hamilton examined it. "RAI."

"Exactly," said Sinead, looking triumphant. "RAI is a television company in Italy."

Amy's eyes widened. "So, that means..."

"We're probably in Italy." finshed Dan.

"But don't you think it's too obvious? We figured it out in no time." said Ted. "It's like Maddie wants us to get out of here."

"She probably does." said Amy. "Think about it, whoever she works for kidnapped the hostages for a reason. They want some kind of ransom, probably."

"But they can't get it if we're stuck in here." said Ian.

"That's right. I suspect the clues will get harder as we go on." said Amy.

"Alright! Now, that that is settled, put that password in the keypad, already!" said Jonah.

Ian punched in Italy into the keypad. He pressed the Enter button.

"Password accepted." said an electronic voice.

The door swung open.

"Yes!" Dan said, pumping his free fist in the air.

"Let's go," said Ian, walking out the door with Amy.

They all walked into a long cement hallway. They walked down it and stopped at a door.

"Do we just open it?" Hamilton said.

"I guess," said Dan, pushing the door open.

They were met with bright sunlight. The Cahills squinted in the sudden light. It took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust. When they did, they saw two huge men a few feet ahead of them.

One of them stepped forward. He handed them an envelope. "From Maddie. Those are the instructions you are to follow."

The other man stepped forward. He gave them another envelope. "This is the first clue."

"A few miles from here is a local restaurant. Go there and open these envelopes. Do not under any circumstances look back. Got it?" said the first one.

The Cahills nodded.

The second one smiled without warmth. "Welcome to Italy."

"Buona fortuna, Cahills." said the first one, gesturing for them to go away.

The Cahills quickly walked away, eager to escape the two men. They walked for a few miles, looking for the restaurant the two had told them to go to.

"Hey, is it that one?" Madison asked, pointing.

It was a restaurant with few people around it.

"I think so," said Ned. "Let's go inside."

They walked into the restaurant. People milled about, chatting and laughing in Italian. Tourists seemed to be there, as well, speaking in their own languages. The clue hunters walked over to one of the tables.

A girl who looked about sixteen walked over to their table. She had curly brown hair tied in a ponytail and a bright smile. She seemed to be a waitress.

"Benvenuto!" she said, smiling.

"Er, we don't speak Italian." said Dan, looking confused.

"Oh!" she said. "You are American tourists, then?"

Sinead nodded. "That's right."

"Alright," she said. "What would you like today?"

The Cahills quickly finished ordering and the waitress walked away.

"We probably look like criminals to all of these people." said Reagan, lowering her voice. "You know, because of these handcuffs and all."

They were getting some strange and suspicious stares from the people around them.

"I'm surprised they haven't recognized Jonah, yet." said Hamilton.

Jonah was hiding his face with the menu.

"We can't keep that up forever." said Ian. "We'll have to get him a hat and sunglasses to disguise himself or people will start to recognize him."

"Let's read the instructions Maddie gave us, now." said Sinead. "We can deal with all of that later."

Ian opened up the envelope and read aloud, lowering his voice so that the other people in the restaurant couldn't hear.

Welcome to Italy, Cahills. I do hope you enjoy your stay here. Some rules before you read your first clue.

One, If you involve the police, the hostages die.

Two, If you try to get rid of your handcuffs, the hostages die.

Three, Once you find four of the hostages, you'll be handed the key to your handcuffs. Do with it as you please.

Four, If you fail to solve the clue or do something we don't like, we'll kidnap one of you, as well.

Play by our rules, alright? You wouldn't want anything happening to the hostages, would you?

The Cahills were silent as they thought about that letter.

"At least we won't have these handcuffs on the whole time." Dan said, trying to lighten the mood.

"We should read the first clue." said Ted.

Ian nodded and opened the other envelope. He read it aloud.

This attraction was built in 1602

Criminals walked across it to pay their dues

They look at their last glimpse of Venice and sigh

For they had lost their freedom because of their crimes

"That makes no sense." said Dan. "This clue doesn't help us at all!"

"This sounds familiar," Amy mused. "This attraction was built in 1602."

"Well, that means wherever we're going was built in 1602." said Jonah.

"Criminals walked across it to pay their dues." said Amy.

"It says criminals walked across it. Maybe a bridge?" said Hamilton.

"They look at their last glimpse of Venice and sigh." said Amy.

"Whatever this is, it must be in Venice." said Reagan.

"For they had lost their freedom because of their crimes." finished Amy.

"Maybe they're on their way to a prison or something." said Dan.

"That's it!" Sinead said, her eyes lighting up. "The Bridge of Sighs!"

"You're right!" Amy said, her face brightening.

"What's the Bridge of Sighs?" Dan asked.

"The Bridge of Sighs was built in 1602 and designed by Antonio Contino. The bridge connects the old prison and interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace to the new prison. The prisoners walked across it to get to the prison." explained Sinead. "It's in Venice, Italy."

"Now, it makes sense." said Dan, smiling.

Natalie rolled her eyes.

"So, that's where they're holding the first hostage?" Hamilton said. "Somewhere at the Bridge of Sighs?"

"It seems so," said Ian.

"Well? Let's go, dawgs!" said Jonah, standing up.

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End of Chapter Two

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Translations:

Buona Fortuna: Good luck

Benvenuto: Welcome

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