Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 The fat man stood up, giving them cover for an instant. Dan grabbed the chance. He dodged behind a thick curtain, pulling Amy after him. They found themselves in a short hallway that led to a side door. They dashed outside. Now they were in an even smaller alley that snaked behind the shops. They knew Irina would be out there in a matter of seconds. They dodged a cart piled high with crates and a surprised man sleeping in the sun. Seeing a back door to a shop, they ran through it into a storeroom. It was dark and dusty, and Dan started to wheeze. "Use your inhaler," Amy said. "It's… in… Nellie's… carry-on," Dan got out. He hated this feeling. As though someone were squeezing his lungs. It happened at the worst

那个胖子站了起来，暂时掩护了他们一下。 丹抓住了这个机会。他躲到厚窗帘后面，拉着艾米跟在后面。 他们发现自己来到了一条通往侧门的短走廊。 他们冲了出去。现在他们来到了一条更小的小巷，那条小巷蜿蜒在商店后面。 他们知道伊琳娜几秒钟后就会出现。 他们躲开了一辆堆满板条箱的马车和一个在阳光下熟睡的人。 他们看到一家商店有个后门，就跑进了一间储藏室。 天又黑又满是灰尘，丹开始气喘吁吁。 “用你的吸入器，”艾米说。 “这是…………内莉的随身,”丹了。 他讨厌这种感觉。好像有人在挤压他的肺。 它发生在最坏的情况下

times. "Good place for it. Come on." Amy quickly led Dan out of the dusty storeroom and into the store. It was bright and airy, with spangled belly dancing costumes hanging from the ceiling. "Welcome! You are looking for lovely costume? I'll give you a deal!" "Not my color! But thanks!" Dan called as he ran out. Down another twisting street, then another. Finally, Amy ordered a halt. "We lost her." "For now." Dan grabbed her elbow. "Amy, look." Only a few feet away, they saw a sign: S A K H ET In the dramatically red-curtained window, a statue stood alone. Blue stone, with a lion's head, standing tall and proud. Amy and Dan looked at each other. Without a word, they pushed into the shop.

次。“这是个好地方。 来吧。”艾米迅速领着丹走出满是灰尘的储藏室，进了商店。 房间明亮通风，天花板上挂着亮晶晶的肚皮舞服装。 “欢迎!你在找漂亮的服装吗？ 我跟你做个交易！”“不是我的颜色！”但是谢谢!”丹边跑边喊。 沿着一条蜿蜒的街道，又一条。 最后，艾米下令暂停。 “我们失去了她。”“现在。”丹抓住她的胳膊肘。 “艾米,看看。”就在几英尺远的地方，他们看到了一个牌子：S a K H ET。在那扇挂着醒目红色窗帘的窗户里，一座雕像孤零零地立着。 蓝色的石头，带着狮子头，傲然挺立。 艾米和丹面面相觑。 他们一言不发地挤进了商店。

They made a beeline for the Sakhet statue. It was obviously very old. The surface was worn and one of the lion's ears had cracked off. The shop owner hurried forward, a thin, eager man in black pants and a white shirt. "You are interested? She is beautiful. Authentic, not a replica. Once owned by Napoleon," the man went on. "You have an excellent eye." "Napoleon? Isn't that an Italian pastry?" Dan asked. "Sort of gooey inside?" Amy rolled her eyes. "You're the one with goo— for brains. Napoleon was the French emperor. Remember, he conquered the world? We saw a picture of him in the Lucian stronghold back in Paris? He's a Cahill. One of our ancestors." The Lucian branch of the Cahill family had a strategic sense that was amazing. Of course, their powers had dwindled down to the petty, nasty deeds of Ian and Natalie Kabra and the crazy Russian Irina Spasky. "If he'd picked out this Sakhet, it could be important," Dan said. "It can't be this easy," Amy said.

他们径直向萨凯特雕像走去。 它显然非常古老。 表面已经磨损，狮子的一只耳朵已经开裂了。 店主匆匆走上前来，他是一个穿着黑裤子和白衬衫的瘦瘦的、热心的人。 “你有兴趣吗？”她很漂亮。 真品，不是复制品。曾经是拿破仑的，”那人接着说。 “你的眼光很好。” “拿破仑?那不是意大利糕点吗？”丹问道。 “里面有点黏糊糊的？”艾米翻了个白眼。 “你是有好脑子的那个。 拿破仑是法国皇帝。 还记得吗，他征服了世界？ 我们在巴黎的卢西恩据点看到了他的照片？ 他是卡希尔家的人。我们的祖先之一。” 卡希尔家族的卢西恩分支有着惊人的战略意识。 当然，他们的权力已经减少到伊恩和娜塔莉·卡布拉以及疯狂的俄罗斯人伊琳娜·斯帕斯基的卑鄙龌龊行为。 “如果他选了这顶帽子，那可能很重要，”丹说。 “不可能这么容易，”艾米说。

"Why not, when everything else has been so hard?" Dan pointed out. The shopkeeper raised his voice, trying to get them back again. "I see you are fascinated. Yes, Napoleon owned many treasures. Some went back to France, some stayed here." He put his hand on the statue and caressed it. "Are your parents with you? I'll give you the best price. I have the premier shop in Cairo." "No, thanks," Dan said. Back home, he was a collector. He knew the best way to bargain was to pretend you didn't care. "Come on, Amy. Let's keep looking. Why would Napoleon have stuff in Egypt, anyway?" "Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798," Amy said. "Ah, the young lady knows her history. I would be so proud if this statue came into her brilliant hands. Here." He gave her the statue. It felt strange to touch something so old. Something Napoleon had touched. Every so often she got a deep thrill from a sense of her own DNA linking like a chain down a line leading to a bunch of extraordinary people. Napoleon!

“为什么不呢，别的事情都那么艰难？”丹指出。 店主提高了嗓门，想把它们抢回来。 “我看你很着迷。 是的，拿破仑拥有许多珍宝。 一些人回到了法国，一些人留在了这里。” 他把手放在雕像上，抚摸着它。 “你的父母和你在一起吗？” 我会给你最优惠的价格。 我的店是开罗最好的。” “不，谢谢，”丹说。在家乡，他是个收藏家。 他知道最好的讨价还价方式就是假装你不在乎。 “来吧，艾米。我们继续找。 拿破仑怎么会在埃及有东西呢？”“拿破仑在1798年入侵埃及，”艾米说。 “啊，这位小姐知道她的历史。 如果这座雕像能交到她的手中，我会非常自豪。 在这里。”他把雕像给了她。 触摸这么古老的东西感觉很奇怪。 拿破仑碰过的东西。 每隔一段时间，她就会因为自己的DNA像一条链一样连接在一起而感到深深的兴奋，这条链通向一群非凡的人。 拿破仑!

"Only two thousand," he said. Amy jumped. "Two thousand dollars?" "For you, fifteen hundred. Someone from the Cairo Museum is interested in this piece. He is coming back at four o'clock." "I doubt that, Abdul." Amy turned. She'd noticed the tall, blond stranger browsing at the other part of the store. She hadn't noticed him draw closer. He was in his twenties, dressed in a T-shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals. His eyes were vivid green next to his tan. "Unless he's looking for a trinket for his key ring," he said in a British accent. He plucked the Sakhet from her hands. "I'd date this piece at… maybe 2007?" "Really, Theo, you are mistaken," the shopkeeper said, smiling uneasily. "This is authentic, I assure you—" "Assurances aside, I think you're trying to take these two youngsters for a ride on the fake artifact express," the man named Theo said. "He said Napoleon had owned it," Dan said.

“只有两千，”他说。 艾米跳。“两千美元？”“给你，一千五百。 开罗博物馆有人对这件作品感兴趣。 他四点钟回来。” “我对此表示怀疑，阿卜杜勒。”艾米了。 她注意到那个高个子、金发碧眼的陌生人正在商店的另一边浏览。 她没有注意到他走近了。 他二十多岁，穿着t恤、卡其色短裤和凉鞋。 他的眼睛是鲜艳的绿色，与他的棕褐色相衬。 “除非他是在给钥匙扣找一件小饰品，”他用英国口音说。 他从她手中夺过沙吉特。 “我认为这幅画的年代是……也许是2007年？”“真的，西奥，你错了，”店主说，不安地笑着。 “我保证这是真的，”“先不说保证，我觉得你是想让这两个年轻人搭上假文物快车，”那个叫西奥的人说。 “他说拿破仑拥有它，”丹说。

"Maybe," Theo said. "Joe Napoleon down the street runs a great Italian restaurant." "I told you Napoleon was Italian," Dan said scornfully to Amy. "Actually, he was born in Corsica," Theo said. "Would you kids like to see the rest of the shop?" "No need," Abdul said quickly. "I see I don't have what you want. Perhaps next door you'll find what you're looking for. It's time for my tea break, so…" Theo strode past him and pushed open a heavy curtain. At a long table, several workers were hunched over. Amy stood on tiptoe as the shop owner tried to block her view. The workers were using wire brushes and sandpaper on a row of statues similar to the Sakhet. They were sanding and brushing them in order to make them look old. Abdul shrugged. "Hey, it's a living." "No harm, no foul," Theo said. Just then Dan grabbed Amy's arm. Peering through the window and shading her eyes was Irina.

“也许吧，”西奥说。“乔·拿破仑在街上开了一家很棒的意大利餐馆。” “我告诉过你拿破仑是意大利人，”丹轻蔑地对艾米说。 “实际上，他出生在科西嘉岛，”西奥说。 “你们想看看商店的其他部分吗？”“不需要，”阿卜杜勒很快地说。 “我知道我没有你想要的东西。 也许你在隔壁就能找到你要找的东西。 我的茶歇时间到了，所以……”西奥大步从他身边走过，拉开沉重的窗帘。 在一张长桌旁，几个工人弯着腰。 艾米踮着脚尖站着，因为店主试图挡住她的视线。 工人们正在用钢丝刷和砂纸在一排类似萨凯特的雕像上作画。 他们用砂纸和刷子把它们磨成旧的样子。 Abdul耸耸肩。“嘿，这是一种生活。” “没有伤害，没有犯规，”西奥说。 就在这时丹抓住了艾米的胳膊。 伊琳娜正透过窗户遮住她的眼睛。