Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 From backstage, the sound system in the Bird's Nest was shattering. The drumbeats were artillery shells. The capacity crowd swallowed this incoming fire and howled for more— eighty-one thousand people in frenzied overdrive, rattling the interlacing steel "twigs" of the most famous stadium in the world. Dan had never much appreciated Jonah as a person or as a celebrity. But the guy definitely knew how to work an audience, even a humongous one that didn't speak much English. He conjured his rhymes like Zeus conjured thunderbolts. And yet, when he addressed the crowd in his down-to-earth way, it was somehow intimate, as if every one of the eighty-one thousand were enjoying a personal visit with the megastar. He was electrifying. Clutching his backstage pass, Dan stood in the

从后台传来，鸟巢的音响系统震得粉碎。 鼓声是炮弹声。 座无虚席的观众们吞下了即将到来的火舌，疯狂地狂呼着超过八万一千名观众，把这座世界上最著名的体育场交错的钢铁“树枝”震得嘎嘎作响。 但从来没有把约拿当作一个人或一个名人来欣赏。 但这家伙绝对知道如何打动观众，即使是一群不太会说英语的观众。 他变出了押韵，就像宙斯变出了霹雳。 然而，当他以平易近人的方式向人群讲话时，却显得有些亲密，仿佛八万一千名观众中的每一个人都在享受与这位超级巨星的私人访问。 他令人振奋。丹抓着他的后台通行证，站在

wings with Jonah's father and assorted roadies, bodyguards, and music journalists. He couldn't help wondering why Jonah even bothered with the 39 Clues. Who needed to become the most powerful person in history when being famous was so flat-out awesome? Jonah had it all— money, fame, screaming girls. Even the Cahill family had nothing to offer compared with that. A few feet away, Mr. Wizard's BlackBerry lit up like a Roman candle, and he took an urgent phone call. Dan looked on eagerly. "Is that about my sister? Have you found their hotel?" He had to cup his hands to his mouth and shout directly into the man's ear. "No— no luck on that!" Jonah's father yelled back. "But this is an emergency! The fans have broken through to the tunnel outside the dressing room. Security says there are hundreds of them! It's not going to be easy to get Jonah out of here! Come on!" He led Dan and the bodyguards through a heavy door marked RESTRICTED ACCESS in a dozen

约拿的父亲，各种各样的乐队管理员，保镖和音乐记者。 他不禁想知道约拿为什么要费心写这39条线索。 谁还需要成为历史上最有权势的人，当出名是如此的棒的时候？ 乔纳什么都有——金钱、名声、尖叫的女孩。 即使是卡希尔家族也无法提供与此相比的东西。 几英尺远的地方，奇才先生的黑莓手机像罗马蜡烛一样亮了起来，他接了一个紧急电话。 丹热切地看着。“是关于我妹妹的吗？” 你找到他们住的旅馆了吗？”他不得不双手捂着嘴，直接对着那人的耳朵大喊。 “不——不走运！”乔纳的父亲喊道。 “但这是紧急情况！”球迷们冲进了更衣室外的通道。 保安说有好几百人！要把约拿弄出去可不容易！来吧!”他领着丹和保镖们穿过一扇厚厚的门，门上写着“禁止进入”

languages. Now they were in the true guts of the Bird's Nest, the passages no one got to see during the Olympics on TV. They navigated the network of underground concrete tunnels, squinting in the harsh fluorescent light. After a few turns, they emerged into the main corridor and sheer bedlam. Five hundred Jonah Wizard fans, amped up to fever pitch, were jammed in like sardines, screaming for a glimpse of their idol. They held up signs, in Chinese and English, with messages like MARRY ME, JONAH; I WANNA BE YOUR GANGSTA; and THE YEAR OF THE WIZ. The never-ending chant of Jo-nah! Jo-nah! Jo-nah! rivaled the gigawatt sound system of the stadium. Broderick and the security guards formed a human wall, holding the fans back, and Dan joined them. A fistful of Chinese money was thrust into his face by a girl even younger than he was. "I must meet him! One kiss!" she shrieked. Her face was the color of an overripe tomato, so flushed was she with emotion. A paper airplane came sailing from the middle

语言。现在他们来到了真正的鸟巢，在奥运会期间，没有人能在电视上看到这些通道。 他们在纵横交错的地下混凝土隧道中穿行，在刺眼的荧光灯下眯着眼睛。 拐了几个弯后，他们来到了主走廊，一片混乱。 500名乔纳·奇才的粉丝，像沙丁鱼一样被挤在里面，尖叫着要看一眼他们的偶像。 他们举着中文和英文的牌子，上面写着：嫁给我吧，约拿；我想成为你的歹徒；还有今年的奇才奖。 永无休止的吟唱约拿！Jo-nah !Jo-nah !堪比体育场的千兆瓦音响系统。 布罗德里克和保安们围成人墙，把粉丝挡在后面，丹也加入了他们。 一个比他还年轻的女孩把一大把中国钱塞到他脸上。 “我一定要见见他！”亲一下！”她尖叫道。 她的脸是熟透了的西红柿的颜色，她激动得满脸通红。 一架纸飞机从中间驶来

of the crowd and bounced off Dan's head. He unfolded it and giggled in amazement. The page contained a pink impression of kissing lips along with a Beijing telephone number. At that moment, Amy, Nellie, and the Clue hunt might as well have been a million miles away. Amy and Nellie were less than a hundred feet back, at the edge of the surging crowd. "You know, this kind of brings back memories," shouted Nellie, straining to push ahead in the sea of people. "Green Day at Fenway Park, summer 2005. I sucker punched a bouncer and got Billie Joe Armstrong to autograph my forehead. I didn't wash my face for a month." "But how are we going to get through to Jonah to ask if he's seen Dan?" cried Amy in despair. "No way can we sucker punch all these people!" Suddenly, Jonah's voice echoed through the underground tunnels of the Bird's Nest. "Goodnight, Beijing! You're the bomb! Word!" The stadium rocked with cheers. In the

从人群中弹起，弹到了丹的头上。 他打开它，惊奇地咯咯笑起来。 这张纸上有一个粉红色的接吻图案，还有一个北京的电话号码。 在那一刻，艾米、内莉和寻找线索的队伍就像在一百万英里之外。 艾米和内莉在后面不到一百英尺的地方，在汹涌的人群的边缘。 “你知道，这种东西会勾起我的回忆，"内莉喊道，一边在人山人海中奋力向前挤。 2005年夏天，芬威公园的绿日队。 我揍了一个保镖还让比利·乔·阿姆斯特朗在我额头上签名。 我一个月没洗脸了。” “可是我们怎么才能找到约拿，问他有没有看见丹呢？”艾米绝望地叫道。 “我们不可能把这些人都打趴下！”突然，约拿的声音在鸟巢的地下隧道中回响。 “晚安,北京!你太棒了！词!”体育场里充满了欢呼声。 在

corridor, the already charged atmosphere went supercritical. The chanting ceased; the cheering ceased; the signs were dropped. Five hundred crazed fans devoted all their energy to pushing. At the front, Dan, Broderick Wizard, and the security guards struggled to hold off the advancing wall of humanity. Even Jonah, who saw frenzied admirers everywhere he went, was alarmed by the ferocity of this onslaught. "Let's get out of here, yo! These people are psycho!" He wheeled away from the dressing room and sprinted for the emergency exit. That was when Dan made his first mistake. He took his eye off the crowd and turned to look at Jonah. The girl with the money leaped onto his back and hung on, clamping her arms around his head. Blinded, he staggered backward, and the throng poured in through the opening in the line. When the crowd began to move, oozing forward like an enormous amoeba, Nellie tucked Amy behind her and plowed into the fray. Amy followed, stumbling over fallen fans,

走廊里，已经带电的气氛变成了超临界。 诵经声停止了；欢呼声停止了；牌子被放下了。 500名狂热的粉丝倾尽全力推动。 在前线，丹、布罗德里克·奇才和保安们奋力阻挡着这堵人墙。 就连约拿，他走到哪里都看见狂热的崇拜者，也被这猛烈的进攻吓了一跳。 “我们离开这里吧，哟！”这些人都是神经病！”他离开更衣室，向紧急出口冲去。 就在那时丹犯了第一个错误。 他把目光从人群中移开，转过身来看着约拿。 那个拿着钱的女孩跳上他的背，紧紧抓住他的头。 他双目失明，踉踉跄跄地向后退去，人群从队列的开口涌了进来。 当人群开始移动，像一只巨大的变形虫一样向前蠕动时，内莉把艾米塞在身后，冲进了人群。 艾米跟在后面，被倒下的扇子绊倒，

putting all her faith in the au pair. If Amy had bothered to look down instead of scanning the area for a glimpse of Jonah, she would have seen that she had very nearly stepped on the brother she was so anxious to find. Nellie and Amy barreled right over Dan, following the stampede. "Faster!" Amy shouted. Nellie stopped, poised like a pointer. The herd was thundering down the hallway to Jonah's dressing room. But Nellie's sharp eyes were focused on the emergency exit. "You think he left the building?" Amy panted. "You don't get Billie Joe Armstrong's autograph on your forehead without following your instincts," she shot back. "Come on!" They blasted through the door to see a Hummer stretch limo parked at the curb. The window was down, revealing none other than Jonah Wizard inside, drinking from a water bottle. A bodyguard jumped out of the front of the car and moved to bar their way. But Jonah called him back. "It's all good, Bruno. The little chick's my

把所有的信心都寄托在互惠生身上。 如果艾米不厌其烦地往下看，而不是扫视周围，看乔纳一眼，她就会发现自己差点踩到那个她急着想找的哥哥。 踩踏事件发生后，内莉和艾米从丹身上碾过。 “快!”艾米喊道。内莉停了下来，像一只指针一样摆好姿势。 一群人轰隆隆地穿过走廊，来到乔纳的化妆间。 但内莉敏锐的眼睛盯着紧急出口。 “你认为他离开了大楼？”艾米气喘。 “如果不听从直觉，你就不会在额头上得到比莉·乔·阿姆斯特朗的签名，”她回击道。 “来吧!”他们破门而入，看到一辆悍马加长豪华轿车停在路边。 窗户是放下来的，里面露出的不是别人，正是拿着水瓶喝水的大法师约拿。 一个保镖从车前跳出来挡住他们的去路。 约拿却叫他回去。 “一切都好，布鲁诺。这只小鸡是我的