Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 Ian Kabra couldn't decide what was worse: being stranded on a road of bones, or having to put up with his little sister. "Look at me! This is a disaster!" she howled. Ian quirked his lip at that. Natalie's leggings were torn, her Prada shoes were scuffed beyond repair, and her normally sleek hair looked like it had been gone over with an eggbeater. Ian knew he hadn't fared much better, bruised and battered after an all-out rumble with the Holts. "This clue hunt is stupid. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Natalie said, her voice particularly shrill in the small backseat of the busted-up Land Rover. The driver was on the phone trying to reach a tow company and gingerly feeling his broken nose. "The big guy is quicker than he looks," said Ian, trying to lighten the mood. "I'd hate to take him

伊恩·卡布拉不知道哪个更糟：是被困在一条满是骨头的路上，还是不得不忍受他的小妹妹。 “看着我！”这是一场灾难！” 伊恩听了这话，抿了抿嘴。 娜塔莉的打底裤破了，她的普拉达鞋磨得无法修复，她平时光滑的头发看起来像被打蛋器打过一样。 伊恩知道他的情况也好不到哪里去，在与霍尔特队的一场全力厮杀之后，他遍体鳞伤。 “寻找线索是愚蠢的。 愚蠢的!愚蠢的!愚蠢的!”娜塔莉说，她的声音在那辆被撞坏的路虎的小后座上显得特别刺耳。 司机正在打电话，试图联系拖车公司，小心翼翼地摸着他受伤的鼻子。 “这个大个子比他看起来要快，”伊恩说，试图让气氛轻松起来。 “我不愿意带他去

on when his back is working properly." "Face it, Ian, we've hit bottom. They trashed the car. We're sitting on a road of peasant bones, and we're stuck in Siberia. It's a nightmare. I WANT TO GO HOME!" That was it. Ian couldn't take one more second confined in a small space with Natalie. He stepped out of the car and paced, dialing his phone. Five rings later, he hung up, unable to reach his father. As usual. He dialed again. This time, after three rings, Irina Spasky answered. "I'm busy," she snapped. "Our day isn't going as well as I'd expected. I hope you have better news for me." "Couldn't handle the Holts? Why am I not surprised?" Ian refused to be distracted by the sniping. He gathered himself, took a very deep breath, and put in the order. "You have to get rid of them. They're working with the Holts, and I'm pretty certain they've relayed another message. Dan and Amy are too close." For some reason, Amy's face and her stupid

看他的背什么时候能正常工作。” “面对现实吧，伊恩，我们已经触底了。 他们把车砸了。我们坐在一条满是农民尸骨的路上，被困在西伯利亚。 这是一场噩梦。我想回家！”就是这样。 伊恩再也受不了和娜塔莉一起被关在狭小的空间里了。 他下了车，踱着步，拨着电话。 五声铃响后，他挂断了电话，联系不上他的父亲。 像往常一样。他又拨了一次。 这一次，三声铃响后，伊琳娜·斯帕斯基接了电话。 “我很忙，”她厉声说。“我们今天过得不像我预期的那么好。 我希望你有更好的消息告诉我。” “对付不了霍尔特一家？” 为什么我一点也不惊讶？”伊恩拒绝被狙击分散注意力。 他打起精神，深深地吸了一口气，然后把东西放好。 “你必须摆脱他们。 他们在和霍尔特合作，我很确定他们又传递了一条信息。 丹和艾米太亲密了。” 不知道为什么，艾米的脸和她那愚蠢的

stutter flashed into his mind. He paused. "Get them out of Russia." He had chosen his words carefully. It was not officially a kill order. And yet he knew Irina would go to any extreme to remove the risk. "Agreed," Irina finally answered. "Relay the details when you've accomplished your task." Irina clicked off her phone. It was done. The one-hour flight from St. Petersburg to Moscow gave Amy and Dan the time they needed to decipher the riddle and formulate a plan. They were back in their disguises, and this time they decided to leave them on until they were finished exploring the Kremlin. It didn't seem like a good idea to visit the Russian center of power looking like two kids who'd gotten separated from their parents. Lenin, Amy had immediately assumed, was a reference to the Kremlin, where the preserved body of the leader of the Russian Revolution was still on display, decades after his death.

他突然想起了口吃。 他停顿了一下。“把他们赶出俄罗斯。” 他言辞谨慎。 这不是正式的杀戮命令。 但他知道伊琳娜为了消除风险会不择手段。 “同意。”伊琳娜最后回答。 “当你完成任务后，再传达细节。” 伊琳娜关掉了手机。 一切都结束了。从圣。 从彼得堡到莫斯科给了艾米和丹足够的时间来破解这个谜题并制定一个计划。 他们又穿上了伪装，这一次他们决定一直穿着，直到他们把克里姆林宫搜完。 像两个与父母失散的孩子一样去拜访俄罗斯的权力中心似乎不是个好主意。 艾米立刻认为列宁指的是克里姆林宫，这位俄国革命领袖的遗体在他死后几十年仍陈列在那里。

This time, the rest of the riddle required the skills of both Dan and Amy. Amy was quick to put the first part together: SKP, she was sure, stood for State Kremlin Palace, a prestigious concert hall on the sprawling grounds of the Kremlin. Dan was first to suggest the meaning of the rest of the numbers and letters. "BAL BOX4 R3 must be a row of seats. Balcony Box Four, third row, to be exact," Dan said. Amy nodded approvingly. "I don't always think you were switched at birth with my real brother. The rest of the numbers must be some sort of combination or code. I bet we can figure it out when we get there." A dash through the airport and a quick cab ride later, Dan and Amy stood squarely in front of the State Kremlin Palace, the guidebook open. They were down to a couple of hours, and a sense of heightened urgency crackled in their voices. "We'll need to get to the upper section," said Amy. They were looking at a seating chart for the State Kremlin Palace, where Amy had circled Row 3 in one of the balcony boxes. Amy checked her watch again.

这一次，剩下的谜语需要丹和艾米的技巧。 艾米很快就把第一部分拼好了：她确信SKP代表克里姆林宫国家宫（State Kremlin Palace），一个位于克里姆林宫广阔场地上的著名音乐厅。 丹是第一个说出其余数字和字母含义的人。 “balbox4r3必须是一排座位。 确切地说，是第四包厢，第三排。”丹说。 艾米赞许地点点头。“我并不总是认为你和我的亲哥哥一出生就被调换了。 其余的数字一定是某种组合或代码。 我敢打赌，我们到了那里就能弄清楚。” 匆匆穿过机场，坐了一会儿出租车，丹和艾米笔直地站在克林姆林宫前，导游手册打开了。 只剩几个小时了，他们的声音里充满了紧迫感。 “我们得爬到上面去，”艾米说。 他们正在看克林姆林宫的座位表，艾米坐在第三排包厢的一个包厢里。 艾米又看了看表。

"Two hours and counting. I don't think we're going to make it." "We'll make it," said Dan, heading for the entrance of the looming white theater. There was a hallway outside the main seating area, with doors leading inside and lots of ornate artwork on the walls. Tourists were perusing the space, waiting for a chance to get inside and look around. The next tour didn't start for another twenty minutes. "This is our chance," whispered Amy. "Come on, we'll sneak in while everyone is milling around." Somewhere in the deep recesses of the very building in which Dan and Amy searched, a person tracked their every move. Very resourceful, these two, NRR thought. They might make the deadline after all. NRR dialed a phone and let it ring several times before the call was picked up. "Is this a secure line?" "I will not dignify that with an answer," NRR answered.

“两个小时了，还在继续。我不认为我们会成功。” “我们会成功的。”丹说着，朝隐约可见的白色剧院的入口走去。 在主座位区外面有一条走廊，门通向里面，墙上挂着许多华丽的艺术品。 游客们在这个空间里细看，等着有机会进去看看。 下一趟旅行过了二十分钟才开始。 “这是我们的机会，”艾米低声说。 “来吧，我们趁大家都在闲逛的时候溜进去。” 在丹和艾米搜索的那栋楼深处的某个地方，一个人跟踪着他们的一举一动。 NRR认为，这两个人非常机智。 他们终究还是有可能赶上最后期限的。 NRR拨了一个电话，让它响了好几次才被接起。 “这条线路安全吗？”“我不会回答这个问题，”NRR回答说。

"Okay, okay. Just make it quick." "I will be seeing them shortly. Do you still want me to go through with it?" A pause ensued on the line. NRR was used to this. The contact was a thinker who liked to weigh every option. "They are extraordinary, aren't they? No one can say they haven't proven themselves." "They understood from the start it could not be done alone," NRR responded. "And recruiting a team like the Holts? Simply remarkable. I didn't think it was possible." "So we go ahead, then?" asked NRR. "We're a go. If they make it to your desk, take them to the room. I think they're ready." The line went dead and NRR turned back to the bank of video screens.

“好吧,好吧。快点。” “我很快就会见到他们。 你还想让我把它做完吗？”电话里停顿了一下。 NRR已经习惯了这一点。联系人是一个喜欢权衡每一个选择的思考者。 “他们很了不起，不是吗？” 没有人能说他们没有证明自己。” “他们从一开始就明白，单靠自己的力量是做不到的，”NRR回应道。 “招募像霍尔特这样的球队？” 简单地引人注目。我认为这是不可能的。” “那我们就继续吧？”美国全国广播公司问道。 “我们开始了。如果他们出现在你的办公桌上，把他们带到房间里。 我认为他们准备好了。”电话断了，NRR又转向一排电视屏幕。