Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 A minute ago, he'd been so furious with Amy that their argument had filled his every thought. Now, in the blink of an eye, the entire world had changed. He resumed his struggle, banging and shouting. He couldn't blast his way out, but the fuss he was kicking up might attract someone's attention— maybe even a cop's. After ten minutes of it, he was sweat-soaked and exhausted— so much so that he almost didn't notice when the sedan chair stopped and was lowered to ground level. A new plan formed in Dan's mind. The instant that door opened, somebody was going to get a memorable kick in the head. And while the guy was picking up his teeth, Dan would be out of there and gone. There was a clicking sound as the panel was unlocked. He tensed, ready for action. His foot

一分钟前，他还在生艾美的气，他们的争吵充斥着他的脑海。 现在，一眨眼，整个世界都改变了。 他继续挣扎着，敲打着，叫喊着。 他不能炸出一条路来，但是他所引起的骚动可能会引起某人的注意——甚至可能是警察的注意。 十分钟后，他汗流浃背，筋疲力尽——以至于他几乎没有注意到轿子停了下来，降到了地面。 丹的脑海里形成了一个新的计划。 那扇门一打开，某人的头就会被狠狠踢上一脚。 当那个人在收拾牙齿的时候，丹就会离开那里消失。 当面板被解锁时，有一声咔嗒声。 他紧张起来，准备行动。 他的脚

was already coming forward as the slider eased open. There was no one to kick. Instead, he was looking at the interior of a van. Suddenly, the sedan chair tilted, and he was dumped into the cargo bay. The van's door shut, and the vehicle screeched away, burning rubber. Enraged, Dan managed to get to his knees for the first glimpse of his captors. "Is that you, or is the air pollution in Beijing as bad as they say?" sniffed Natalie Kabra. Dan drew in a shocked breath. Natalie's olive skin was darker than her mother's, but the two shared the same chiseled features— classic beauty camouflaging merciless, piercing eyes. In the case of Isabel, the eyes of a murderer. Natalie and her older brother, Ian, peered disdainfully back at him over the cargo partition. Dan looked around anxiously— no Isabel, at least, not in the van. The only other occupant was on a jump seat in the rear with Dan— a huge man, obviously the Kabras' hired goon. Dan wasn't going to give his Lucian cousins the

滑块慢慢打开时，他已经向前走了。 没有人可以踢。相反，他在看一辆货车的内部。 突然，轿子倾斜了，他被扔进了货舱。 货车的门关上了，车子尖叫着开走了，燃烧着橡胶。 丹被激怒了，他设法跪了下来，第一眼看到了抓他的人。 纳塔利·卡布拉嗤之以鼻地说：“是你，还是北京的空气污染真的像他们说的那么严重？” 丹震惊地吸了一口气。 娜塔莉橄榄色的皮肤比她母亲的肤色更深，但两人有着相同的轮廓分明的五官——经典的美貌掩盖了无情、锐利的眼睛。 在伊莎贝尔的案子里，凶手的眼睛。 娜塔莉和她的哥哥伊恩（Ian）隔着货舱隔板轻蔑地回望着他。 丹焦急地环顾四周——至少在车里没有伊莎贝尔。 唯一的其他乘客和丹一起坐在后排的弹跳座椅上——一个高大的男人，显然是卡布拉雇来的打手。 丹不会给他卢西安的表亲们

satisfaction of knowing he was scared. "No limo today?" he sneered. "What, you maxed out your credit cards in Africa?" Ian turned to the driver. "Stop short." The man slammed on the brakes, and the van bucked to a halt, sending Dan flying into the cargo partition. He came up stunned, lip swelling. "So Alistair was right," Dan groaned. "You guys are in China." "We're everywhere," Natalie purred. "And rest assured we're always several steps ahead of you two charity cases and your freakish babysitter." "Au pair," Dan corrected automatically. "Yes, we're in China," Ian said impatiently. "And so are you. Now explain to me what you were doing inside that temple in the Forbidden City." "Don't know what you're talking about," Dan mumbled stubbornly. Ian nodded agreeably. "I thought that might be your answer. This is the part where Mr. Chen helps you remember."

知道他害怕的满足感。 “今天没有豪华轿车？”他冷笑道。 “什么，你在非洲刷爆了信用卡？”伊恩转向司机。 “停止”。那人猛踩刹车，面包车猛地停了下来，丹飞进了货物隔板。 他目瞪口呆地走过来，嘴唇肿了起来。 “看来阿利斯泰尔是对的。”丹呻吟道。 “你们在中国。”“我们无处不在，”娜塔莉咕噜着。 “请放心，我们总是比你的两个慈善案件和你的变态保姆领先一步。” “互惠生。”丹不假思索地纠正。 “是的，我们在中国。”伊恩不耐烦地说。 “你也一样。现在给我解释一下你在紫禁城的庙里做什么。” “不知道你在说什么。”丹固执地嘟囔着。 伊恩愉快地点点头。“我想这可能就是你的答案。 这是陈先生帮你记住的部分。”

With the smile of a man who enjoys his work, the goon reached out, grabbed Dan by the collar, and hoisted him in the air. "Okay, okay!" Dan gave in. What was the point of taking a beating? Amy had the silk, so it was safe from these vultures. Besides, Dan was out of the contest. He didn't care if he never saw another Clue in his life. "Yeah, I broke into the temple because there was a Janus crest on the outside wall." "And what did you find?" Natalie probed, voice silky, expression ruthless. "Crickets," Dan replied. "About forty billion of them. Ugly suckers— like you two." "Anything else?" Ian demanded with a gesture at Mr. Chen. The goon twisted Dan's arm in a hammerlock and applied subtle pressure. The pain was unlike anything Dan had ever experienced before. It was a shattering agony that erased all thoughts but one: Make this stop. Still, he held back. If they know about the silk, that'll sic them on Amy….

带着一个喜欢自己工作的人的微笑，打手伸出手，抓住丹的衣领，把他举到空中。 “好了,好了!”丹让步了。 挨揍有什么意义？ 艾米有丝绸，所以不会被这些秃鹫偷走。 此外，丹已经退出了比赛。 他不在乎他这辈子再也见不到线索了。 “是的，我闯进寺庙是因为外面的墙上有一个两面神的徽章。” “你发现了什么？”娜塔莉探问着，声音柔滑，表情冷酷。 “蟋蟀，”丹回答。“大约有400亿人。 丑陋的笨蛋——就像你们两个。” “还有别的事吗?”伊恩朝陈先生做了个手势，问道。 那打手用铁锤把丹的胳膊扭了一下，轻轻地压了一下。 这种痛苦是丹从未经历过的。 这是一种毁灭性的痛苦，让所有的想法都消失了，只有一个念头：停下来。 不过，他还是有所保留。如果他们知道丝绸的事，他们就会盯上艾米....

Angry as he was with his sister, he couldn't do that to her. "Tell us the truth!" Ian ordered, his composure slightly broken. "Calm down," Natalie soothed. "No one can resist Mr. Chen's built-in lie detector test." "What do you know about the Holts?" Ian persisted. Dan saw no harm in replying. "Uncle Alistair's all freaked out about them. He says they've found a lead none of the rest of us have." "What lead?" Ian fairly exploded. His sister was patient. "If he knew, then obviously it wouldn't be a lead that nobody else has." "Hilarious," Ian muttered. "It won't be so funny if we lose to those gorillas! Can you imagine a world with them in charge?" Natalie sighed her agreement. "I guess we'll have to search the urchin just in case. And me without my flea powder…" But besides an inhaler, a few bills from three

虽然他对妹妹很生气，但他不能那样对她。 “告诉我们真相！”伊恩命令道，他的镇静有点崩溃了。 “冷静点，”娜塔莉安慰道。 “没人能抗拒陈先生内置的测谎仪测试。” “你对霍尔特一家了解多少？”伊恩依然存在。 丹觉得回答也无妨。 “阿利斯泰尔叔叔被他们吓坏了。 他说他们找到了一条我们其他人都没有找到的线索。” “什么领导?”伊恩勃然大怒。 他的妹妹很有耐心。“如果他知道，那么很明显，这就不是其他人没有的线索了。” “太搞笑了，”伊恩喃喃地说。 “如果我们输给那些大猩猩，那就没那么好笑了！”你能想象一个由他们统治的世界吗？”娜塔莉叹了口气表示同意。 “我想我们得搜一下那个顽童的身，以防万一。 我没有跳蚤粉……”但除了一个吸入器，还有三个人的几张钞票

different continents, and a dead cricket, there was nothing to be found. Mr. Chen placed a chloroform-soaked handkerchief over Dan's nose and mouth. Dan held his breath and put up a struggle, but a sharp chemical smell, somewhere between hospital antiseptic and rubbing alcohol, penetrated his defenses. His vision began to darken around the edges as the interior of the van receded from him. "Can't…" He tried to claw back, but it was no use. He was falling. "Nighty-night," Natalie whispered. Dan's last thought before blackness claimed him: I never realized how much she sounds like her mother. Saladin was munching contentedly on a shrimp dumpling when Nellie carried him through Tiananmen Square to the appointed meeting place in front of the Gate of Heavenly Peace. She spotted Amy and marched right up to her. "I got us a pretty good hotel right off the main drag— which I can't pronounce. It isn't luxe, but

不同的大陆，一只死蟋蟀，什么也没找到。 陈先生用一块浸过氯仿的手帕捂住丹的口鼻。 丹屏住呼吸，挣扎着，但一股刺鼻的化学气味，介于医院消毒剂和外用酒精之间，穿透了他的防御。 随着货车的内部离他渐行渐远，他的视线开始变得模糊。 “不行……”他想抓回去，但没有用。 他在坠落。“晚安，”娜塔莉低声说。 在黑暗降临之前，丹的最后一个想法是：我从来没有意识到她的声音有多么像她的母亲。 当内莉抱着萨拉丁穿过天安门广场，来到天和门前约定的集会地点时，他正在心满意足地大嚼着一个虾饺。 她发现了艾米，径直走向她。 “我在主干道附近找了一家不错的酒店——我不会念这个名字。 它并不豪华，但是