Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 The Peoria International Airport had its share of mums and bored children. But rarely ones with an arsenal of poisons tucked into carry-on shampoo bottles, which made Ian Kabra quite proud. The fact that the Cahill children had missed their flight did spoil things a bit. Not to mention the airport uniforms they were wearing. "I can't believe we have to make ourselves look so… so…" stammered Natalie Kabra. "Working class?" said Ian, whose airline security shirt was already making him itch. "Remember what Mother said. It's no longer so easy to infiltrate airline personnel. Be grateful for our Lucian contacts." "Don't get me started on the little airplane name badges," Natalie grumbled.

皮奥里亚国际机场有很多妈妈和无聊的孩子。 但很少有人把一大堆毒药塞进随身携带的洗发水瓶子里，这让伊恩·卡布拉非常自豪。 卡希尔家的孩子们错过了航班，这确实有点破坏了气氛。 更别提他们穿的机场制服了。 “我真不敢相信我们要把自己打扮得那么……那么……”娜塔莉·卡布拉结结巴巴地说。 “工人阶级？”伊恩说，他的航空安检衬衫已经让他发痒了。 “记住妈妈说的话。 混入航空公司人员已经不那么容易了。 感谢我们与卢西恩的联系。” “别让我开始说飞机的小胸牌，”娜塔莉抱怨道。

"Will you two be quiet?" said Isabel Kabra as they rounded a corner, heading for the airport employee lounge. A brimmed SUPERVISOR cap could not hide the anger in her eyes as she hissed softly into her mobile: "Arif, speak slowly. My Indonesian is exceptional but not perfect… yes, I know you outwitted them… of course they didn't suspect you knew English, that is precisely why we pay you the big bucks… yes, I saw their names on the passenger list to Peoria, but they were not in their seats, Arif!… Ah, you have information on the next flight… three hours? Good. We shall hope they are on it. And, Arif… you should hope so, too." She flipped the phone shut, her face flushed. "Well, then, happy news! Hakuna matata and all that," Ian said cheerily. "We'll rest and have a fine dining moment while we wait." He looked around at the various airport fast-food choices. "Well, er, we'll rest…" "Three hours— here?" Natalie pulled on her starched collar. "Yesterday it was Tokyo, Paris, Vienna, Seoul, Sydney, and Java. I had such respect for the Cahills' location scouting. But—

“你们俩能安静点吗？”伊莎贝尔·卡布拉说，这时他们正拐过一个弯，朝机场员工休息室走去。 她戴着一顶帽檐的“主管”帽，无法掩饰眼中的愤怒，轻声对着手机说：“阿里夫，说慢点。 我的印尼语很好，但不完美，是的，我知道你比他们聪明，他们当然不会怀疑你懂英语，这正是我们付你大笔钱的原因，是的，我在飞往皮奥里亚的乘客名单上看到了他们的名字，但他们不在座位上，阿里夫！啊，你有下一班飞机的信息吗，三小时后？ 好。我们希望他们在上面。 还有，阿里夫……你也应该希望如此。” 她把手机关上，脸涨得通红。 “那么，好消息！”Hakuna matata之类的。”伊恩高兴地说。 “我们在等的时候休息一下，美美地吃上一顿。” 他看了看机场里各种各样的快餐。 “好吧，嗯，我们休息……”“三个小时——在这儿？”娜塔莉拉上她浆过的衣领。 “昨天是东京、巴黎、维也纳、首尔、悉尼和爪哇。 我很尊重卡希尔夫妇的选址工作。 但是,

oh, honestly, Mother, that bumpy little puddle jumper to… P-Peo—" Her face turned green. "Excuse me, I'm not feeling well." Ian watched her run off. "She has a point." "Complaining about a location?" Isabel spun on her son. "When those children evaded us in Indonesia—twice? What does that tell you, Ian?" "That they're lucky?" Ian guessed. "Those children," his mother said, "are our only worthy adversaries." Ian barked a laugh. "Good one, Mother!" "Are you laughing at me, Ian?" "No." Ian dropped the smile. "Then is it possible, Mother, that they have flown somewhere else?" "Remember who is leading them," Isabel replied. "That nose-ringed nanny grafted to an iPod. It's a wonder they ever make a flight on time. No, Ian, we will not panic. They will be on the next flight they can manage to book. Remember, by our little arrangement with Bae Oh, we have taken out Alistair. Here in Peoria, they will be alone. To eliminate them, there must

哦，说实话，妈妈，那个颠簸的小水坑跳船……P-Peo——”她的脸变绿了。 “对不起，我感觉不舒服。” 伊恩看着她跑掉了。“她说得有道理。” “抱怨地点？”伊莎贝尔转身看着她的儿子。 “当那些孩子在印度尼西亚逃离我们时——两次？” 这说明了什么，伊恩？”“他们很幸运？”伊恩猜。 “那些孩子，”他的母亲说，“是我们唯一有价值的对手。” 伊恩厉声大笑。“好样的，妈妈！”“你在笑我吗，伊恩？”“没有。” 伊恩收起了笑容。“那么有没有可能，妈妈，他们已经飞到别的地方去了？”“记住是谁在领导他们，”伊莎贝尔回答。 “那个戴鼻环的保姆嫁接到了iPod上。 他们能准时起飞真是个奇迹。 不，伊恩，我们不会慌的。 他们将乘坐他们能订到的下一班航班。 记住，根据我们和小裴的约定，我们已经除掉了阿利斯泰尔。 在皮奥里亚，他们将孤身一人。 为了消除它们，必须

be no variables— that is the lesson of Indonesia." Ian nodded. Do not question her, he told himself. Not when she is in a state like this. Still, it was a pity to attack them with such force. Especially the girl, Amy. He'd never met anyone like her. Shy. Gentle. With an exciting edge of hostility. So unlike the girls back home, who flung themselves at him so often that his chauffeurs traveled with first-aid kits. Doesn't she know better? Isn't she smart enough to stop the hunt? It was the boy and the au pair. He was a pint- sized hothead. She was a collection of piercings and piggish-ness. If only Amy and Dan had stayed trapped in the cave in Seoul, at least long enough to get discouraged. Why did they antagonize Mother? They don't know what it's like to live with her. "Right you are," Ian said. "They're asking for it. Heaven forbid they listen to the brains of the outfit." "And that would be—?" Isabel said Ian looked away. "Well, the sister, I'd say.

没有变数——这是印尼的教训。” 伊恩点点头。不要问她，他对自己说。 她现在这种状态是不行的。 尽管如此，用这样的力量攻击他们还是很遗憾的。 尤其是那个女孩，艾米。他从未见过像她这样的人。 害羞。温柔。带着令人兴奋的敌意。 不像家乡的女孩，她们经常向他扑来扑去，以至于他的司机都带着急救箱。 难道她不明白吗？难道她不够聪明，不能阻止追捕吗？ 是那个男孩和那个互惠生。 他是个性情急躁的人。 她浑身上下都是穿孔和猪八戒。 要是艾米和丹被困在首尔的山洞里就好了，至少要有足够的时间让他们感到气馁。 他们为什么要和妈妈作对？ 他们不知道和她住在一起是什么感觉。 “你说得对，”伊恩说。 “这是他们自找的。但愿他们不会听信这个组织的头脑。” “那是——？”伊莎贝尔说伊恩把目光移开了。 “嗯，我想是那个妹妹。

Amy." He felt a smile inching across his face. "Ian?" His mother grabbed his wrist. "If you are having the inkling of a shadow of a thought…" "Mother!" Ian could feel the blood rushing to his face. "How could you suspect for a moment…?" "Mother! Ian!" Natalie was racing out of the bathroom now. She looked even sicker than before. "I just got a text message from Reagan Holt!" Isabel Kabra looked aghast. "You texted a Tomas?" "No! She hacked into my mobile." Dismayed, Natalie looked at the screen in her hand and began reading." 'Thanks, Nat. We managed to pick up Dan and Amy's next loction from your phine'— oh, good grief, the spelling!— 'location from your phone. We are on their tail, and if we smell a Lucian, WATCH OUT. ttfn, Reagan.'" Ian groaned. The Holts were one of the more unpleasant aspects of this hunt— nasty, brutish, and dull. "So much for the Cahills being alone."

艾米。”他感到脸上露出一丝微笑。 “伊恩?”他妈妈抓住他的手腕。 “如果你有什么隐晦的想法……”“妈妈！”伊恩能感觉到血液涌向他的脸。 “你怎么会有那么一瞬间怀疑……？”“妈妈!伊恩!”娜塔莉现在正从浴室里跑出来。 她看起来比以前更虚弱了。 “我刚收到里根·霍尔特的短信！”伊莎贝尔·卡布拉惊呆了。 “你给一个叫托马斯的人发短信了？”“不!她黑进了我的手机。” 娜塔莉沮丧地看着手里的屏幕，开始读起来。 “谢谢，纳特。我们从你的电话里找到了丹和艾米的下一个住处——哦，天哪，拼写错误！”-“从你的手机定位。” 我们在跟踪他们，如果我们闻到卢西安的味道，小心。 ttfn,里根。’”伊恩呻吟道。 霍尔特是这次狩猎中最令人不愉快的方面之一——肮脏、野蛮、沉闷。 “卡希尔一家再也不会孤单了。”

"Perhaps we can put a 'Tomas-Free Zone' sign on the landing strip," Natalie said. "That will confuse the dolts— sorry, Holts— for a day or so." "Those dimwits," Isabel said with a calm smile, "may be good with a paraglider, but they will not stop us from isolating Dan and Amy here. And once we have them, we'll have some fun with this." She pulled out a glowing green vial from her shoulder bag. Ian swallowed hard. "It's the liquid we snatched from the Cahills in Paris!" Natalie said. "Mother, you've made a mistake!" Isabel glared at her daughter. "As Ian no doubt realizes, this vial is a fake. Inside it is a poison. After we administer this, they will experience a slow deterioration of body function, culminating in a long hospital stay and then death." Isabel opened her shoulder bag to reveal a collection of hypodermic needles. "I see," Ian said. "We, erm, force-feed them, as

娜塔莉说：“也许我们可以在跑道上放一个‘托马斯自由区’的标志。” “这会让那些笨蛋——对不起，霍尔特——困惑一天左右。” “那些笨蛋，”伊莎贝尔平静地笑着说，“也许会玩滑翔伞，但他们不能阻止我们把丹和艾米隔离在这里。 一旦我们有了它们，我们就会玩得很开心。” 她从背包里拿出一个发光的绿色小瓶。 伊恩使劲咽了口气。“这是我们在巴黎的卡希尔山上偷来的液体！”娜塔莉说。 “妈妈，你弄错了！”伊莎贝尔怒视着她的女儿。 伊恩无疑意识到，这个瓶子是假的。 里面是一种毒药。在我们给他们注射这种药物后，他们的身体功能会缓慢恶化，最终导致长期住院，然后死亡。” 伊莎贝尔打开她的肩包，露出一堆皮下注射针头。 “我明白了，”伊恩说。“我们，嗯，强迫他们进食，就像