Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 8:15 A.M. NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK Lucas had made this trip so many times with Dad he knew it by heart — the train to Penn Station, the subway to Canal Street. When he got out of the subway, he looked up and found his landmark: the two silver buildings jutting into the sky. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. The World Trade Center was nine blocks south of the fire station. So he just followed his view of

第五章2001年9月11日星期二上午8:15 这条路卢卡斯和爸爸已经走了很多次了，他对这条路了如指掌——从火车到宾州车站，从地铁到运河街。 当他走出地铁时，他抬头一看，发现了他的地标:两座高耸入云的银色建筑。 世贸中心的双子塔。 世界贸易中心位于消防站以南9个街区。 所以他只是遵循他的观点

the towers until he hit the right street. As Lucas walked, he thought of the last time he and Dad visited the Trade Center. They'd gotten there early, before the observation deck was open. But the guard noticed Dad's FDNY hat and let them go up. They had the place to themselves. The view from the 110th floor was like looking down on Manhattan from a cloud. The whole island stretched out in front of them. The buildings below looked like toys, the rivers like trickling streams, the cars and trucks looked smaller than the models Lucas and Dad built in the basement.

直到他到达正确的街道。 卢卡斯一边走，一边想起了他和爸爸最后一次参观世贸中心的情景。 他们到达得很早，在观景台开放之前。 但是警卫注意到了爸爸戴的纽约消防局的帽子，让他们上去了。 这地方是他们自己的。 从110楼往下看，就像从云端俯瞰曼哈顿。 整个岛展现在他们面前。 下面的建筑物看起来像玩具，河流像涓涓细流，汽车和卡车看起来比卢卡斯和爸爸在地下室做的模型还小。

They stood there, just Dad and Lucas, alone on top of the world. That was right before the warehouse fire — only two years before now. It seemed like a very long time ago. When Lucas got to the firehouse, the garage door was open.

他们站在那里，只有爸爸和卢卡斯，独自站在世界之巅。 那是在仓库失火之前，也就是两年前。 好像是很久以前的事了。 卢卡斯到达消防站时，车库的门是开着的。

And there, right next to the Seagrave, was Uncle Benny. He glanced up and gave an offhand smile, obviously thinking that Lucas was just a neighborhood kid hoping to get a peek at the truck. But then Uncle Benny looked at Lucas again. "Hey, you!" he said with a surprised grin, striding over. He pulled Lucas into the garage. Lucas breathed in the familiar smell of diesel fuel and sweat. He'd always loved the sight of all the guys' black bunker coats hanging on the walls, the pants already tucked into the big black boots. The firehouse was crowded. The guys from the last shift were saying their good-byes and the morning men were just getting settled. Guys came from all over the firehouse to say hi to Lucas, wrapping him in bear hugs, rubbing his head, and telling him he was growing like a weed. "I've missed my assistant," said Georgie, who drove the truck and also did most of the cooking. On Lucas's visits with Dad, his favorite job was helping Georgie cook his famous tomato sauce.

就在西格雷夫旁边，是本尼叔叔。 他抬头瞥了一眼，随口一笑，显然认为卢卡斯只是一个邻居家的孩子，想看一眼那辆卡车。 但本尼叔叔又看了看卢卡斯。 “嘿，你!”他惊讶地笑着说，大步走了过来。 他把卢卡斯拉进了车库。 卢卡斯吸入了熟悉的柴油和汗水的气味。 他总是喜欢看到所有人的黑色防弹衣挂在墙上，裤子已经塞进了黑色的大靴子里。 消防站挤满了人。 上一班的人在道别，早班的人在整理。 消防员们从各个地方赶来跟卢卡斯打招呼，给他熊抱，揉他的头，告诉他他像野草一样茁壮成长。 “我很想念我的助手，”乔吉说，她开着卡车，也负责大部分的烹饪工作。 在卢卡斯拜访爸爸的时候，他最喜欢的工作就是帮乔治做他拿手的番茄酱。

Chief Douglas came over, his smile flashing from under his bushy gray mustache, followed by Mark, one of the youngest guys. He and his family lived not far from Lucas. His eight-year-old twin boys were football fanatics, and Mark coached their team. Last season they came to one of Lucas's games. Afterward, the twins had asked Lucas for his autograph. Suddenly Uncle Benny looked around. "Where's your pops?" he said. "He's already done at The Rock?" Lucas shook his head. "Your mom brought you?" Uncle Benny said. Lucas shook his head again. Uncle Benny eyed Lucas, and his smile faded. "You okay?" he said softly. Lucas didn't answer. Uncle Benny looked at Georgie, who gave him a nod. "Cover me, will you guys?" Uncle Benny asked. "I'll be back in a few." Uncle Benny led Lucas outside and they started walking. "This is some kind of day, isn't it?" he said, squinting up at the bright blue sky.

道格拉斯警长走了过来，他的微笑从他浓密的灰色胡子下闪过，后面跟着马克，他是最年轻的人之一。 他和他的家人住的地方离卢卡斯不远。 他8岁的双胞胎儿子是足球迷，马克是他们队的教练。 上个赛季，他们来看了卢卡斯的一场比赛。 后来，双胞胎向卢卡斯要了签名。 突然，本尼叔叔环顾四周。 “你爸爸呢?”他说。 “他已经离开岩石了?”卢卡斯摇了摇头。 “你妈妈带你来的?”本尼叔叔说。 卢卡斯又摇了摇头。 本尼叔叔看着卢卡斯，笑容消失了。 “你没事吧?”他轻声问道。 卢卡斯没有回答。本尼叔叔看着乔吉，乔吉向他点了点头。 “掩护我，好吗?”本尼叔叔问。 “我过一会儿就回来。”本尼叔叔把卢卡斯领到外面，他们开始散步。 “今天真是个好日子，不是吗?”他说着，眯起眼睛望着明亮的蓝天。

Neither of them said anything more, until finally Lucas came out with it. "Mom and Dad are making me quit football," he said. "Because of my concussions." Lucas watched Uncle Benny's face, waiting for his eyebrows to mash together in anger, for his cheeks to burn furious red. But Uncle Benny just nodded. Then he looked at Lucas. "I've been worried about you, kiddo," he said. "You've got yourself a darned good brain. I don't want you ending up like poor Stan Walsh." And then it suddenly hit Lucas — it was Uncle Benny who got Mom to bring him to see Dr. Barrett! He must have known he'd been Stan Walsh's doctor. Lucas had come all this way because he thought Uncle Benny would help him. And Uncle Benny was the reason he had to quit! Uncle Benny stopped and put his hands on Lucas's shoulders. It seemed like he was trying to keep Lucas pinned to the ground, like otherwise he'd fly away. He stared at Lucas with those bright-light eyes of his. "You'll find something else," he said.

他们俩谁也没再说什么，直到最后卢卡斯把话说了出来。 “爸爸妈妈让我退出足球，”他说。 “因为我的脑震荡。” 卢卡斯看着本尼叔叔的脸，等着他的眉毛气得皱成一团，等着他的脸颊烧得通红。 但本尼叔叔只是点了点头。 然后他看着卢卡斯。“我一直很担心你，孩子，”他说。 “你的脑子真他妈聪明。 我不希望你落得和可怜的斯坦·沃尔什一样的下场。” 然后卢卡斯突然想到，是本尼叔叔让妈妈带他去看医生的。 巴雷特!他肯定知道自己是斯坦·沃尔什的医生。 卢卡斯千里迢迢赶来，因为他认为本尼叔叔会帮助他。 而本尼叔叔就是他辞职的原因!本尼叔叔停下来，把手放在卢卡斯的肩膀上。 他似乎是想把卢卡斯摁在地上，否则他就会飞走。 他用那双明亮的眼睛盯着卢卡斯。 “你会找到别的工作的，”他说。