Free The 39 Clues Invasion by Riley Clifford Page A

and mayhem in their wake. Simeon had tortured for them, even murdered. But sometimes luck tossed him an easy job.
    Simeon didn’t really care either way. Working for the Vespers was really no different than working for any of the other syndicates, cartels, and dictators that had hired him in the past. The client just presented him with their concern, he picked the right tools, and he dealt with it.
    Problem solved.

     
    After school the next day, Jake and Atticus barely had a chance to toss down their book bags and punch in the security code before Atticus started complaining again. Jake groaned as he crouched down to unlace his running shoes. Coach had been pushing the team hard to be ready for the regional meet this weekend, and Jake was completely beat.
    “I don’t want to go,” Atticus whined. “I’m sure you’ll win and everything. But all I get to do is sit there and watch high-schoolers wearing tight pants run around in circles. Can’t I just stay here and hang out with Dan?”
    Jake sighed. Dad had told him to let Atticus have friends over — which inevitably meant Dan. Other than the Harvard professors who had identified Atticus as a prodigy and called to try to stump him with new logic problems, Dan Cahill was Atticus’s only real friend.
    Jake wasn’t sure that the Cahill kid was a good influence on Atticus. Since the two had met in an online gaming chat room, there had been a marked uptick in fart jokes in the Rosenbloom household. Astrid said it was just the way eleven-year-old boys were, but Jake blamed Dan.
    “We won’t get into any trouble,” Atticus promised.
    Fat chance of that, with the Cahill kid in the mix , Jake thought.
    “And I’ll have my phone, so you can call me in between races.”
    Jake shook his head. “I promised Dad I wouldn’t leave you here alone.”
    Atticus’s face fell. “I won’t be alone. Dan will be here.”
    At home, Atticus had books and online friends to distract him. Sitting in the bleachers for hours, Atticus would torture himself worrying about his mom. What could really go wrong if he stayed home? Atticus and Dan were dumb sometimes, but they weren’t that dumb.
    Jake glanced up at the security panel just inside the front door. Last year Jake’s dad had installed a state-of-the-art security system so museums would lend him artifacts to study. If anyone came into the house without typing in the code, the police were guaranteed to be there in five minutes. Right now there was a priceless Aztec mask from the Peabody Museum in Dad’s study, and the house was sealed as tight as a vault.
    “Okay, sure.” Jake stood up, slipping into his sneakers. “What do you want to do for dinner?”
    Atticus perked up. “Hawaiian pizza?”
    “Pizza? Again?”
    It was the third night in a row.
    “We can do something else if you want,” Atticus said, but Jake could hear the disappointment in his voice.
    Jake shrugged. “No, pizza is good. I’ll go order it online.”
    “Then can we call Mom? We promised to check in,” Atticus suggested.
    Atticus tried to hide it, but Jake could see his lip was trembling. His little brother didn’t want to call to let his mom know that he was okay. He needed to call to know that she was okay.
    Jake didn’t trust his voice, so he just nodded. He remembered when Dad had first pulled him aside to tell him why Astrid was looking so tired, why she had dropped out of her tennis league and was napping all the time. His father’s voice had come out ragged and whispery, like something had clamped down on his vocal cords.
    Now Jake’s voice was threatening to do the same thing, and he couldn’t let Atticus hear that. The kid was already teetering on the edge. It was Jake’s job to keep him from losing it entirely.
    It was just a matter of time before his whole world unraveled.

     
    Dan Cahill nearly spilled his Twizzlers as he tried to walk down the sidewalk and open two packets at the same time. Lately he liked to wrap a red one around