纯美苹果园

译文资料区 => 暗影狂奔 => Shadowrun 5E => 主题作者是: Razr 于 2018-06-16, 周六 14:05:58

主题: 【暗影狂奔第五版核心规则书翻译】烟起之处p.154-157
作者: Razr2018-06-16, 周六 14:05:58
括号中是译注。感谢翻译群各位朋友的帮助!


烟起之处 WHERE THERE’S SMOKE

    “他们会在这里停车。”女孩说道,手顺着一列如同环保主义的失败的标志一般杵在街道上的人工树木,指向一个装饰着砖面的、名叫“执行官身体强化”的赛博诊所。
    “告诉我你对此很有信心,虫虫。”查理·驯马(Charlie Broken Horse)说道。
    瓢虫(Ladybug)两眼一翻;这一动作同时无意中把她浓浓的眼妆从紫色切换成了深红。她的身高甚至还不够让她看到她开着的保时捷·阿圭勒(核心那辆西风3000的同款画皮)那滚滚的车轮。瓢虫还没到一米五高,大概45公斤重,如果你把她身上带着的所有装备都算上的话。她看起来就像是一个正在露营旅行的图中的女童子军,或者一个维修技师的助手。而这两个比喻都会把她激怒的。
    “我只搞了两个用来作阻挡掩护的和第三个在周围绕行侦察的侦察无人机,”骇客说道,“我还可以同时搞定那辆豪车并干掉司机。”
    “不,我的意思是你是否确定这就是我们要找的人?”
    她两手在胸前一抱。“叛乱者(Riser)跟踪了这家伙好几个星期。他让我一边调查他的所有财务情况,一边对他在新网大楼门前走过的每他妈一步都做详细的联网跟踪。叛乱者最后发出的一次定位就在离这货不到十米的地方。这对你而言说明了什么?”
    “这说明他离的很近,但我们是否确定我们知道原因所在?叛乱者这人最近不大对劲,你知道不?“
    “就算他最近成了他妈的英格兰女王我也不在乎。他消失之前离这货很近,所以这就是我们的着眼点。”
    而且他们毫无疑问会着眼于此。他们的朋友和搭档在失踪之前正在干一件活,而人遇到这种情况是不会任其自流了事的。他们不知道这件活办的过程中涉及到的是什么,也不知道任何关于它的细节;他们只知道既然他不见了,那么他们就理应去寻找他。
“They’ll park right there.” The girl said and pointed along a line of artificial trees, sunken into the street like signposts of failed environmentalism, to a brick-faced cyber clinic called Executive Body Enhancements.
 “Tell me you’re sure about this, bug.” Charlie Broken Horse said.
Ladybug rolled her eyes; the action unconsciously shifted her heavy eye makeup from purple to deep red. She was hardly tall enough to see over the steering wheel of her Porsche Aguilar. Ladybug couldn’t have been more than one-and-a-half meters, maybe 45 kilos if you counted all the gear she was packing. She looked like a girl scout on the way to a camping trip or a tech repairman’s sidekick. She would have resented both comparisons.
 “I only nicked two spotter drones to run interference and a third is orbiting for coverage,” the hacker said. “I’ll still be able still handle the limo and take out the driver.”
“No, I mean are you sure this is the guy?”
She folded her arms. “Riser tailed this guy for weeks. He had me checking into all his financials as well as doing detailed cyber-surveillance on every fragging step he took outside the NeoNET Tower. The last ping Riser sent was less than ten meters from this guy. What does that tell you?”
“It means he was close, but are we sure we know why? Riser hasn’t exactly been himself lately, you know?”
 “I don’t care if he’s been the frakking Queen of England. He was close to this guy when he went dark, so this is where we look.”
And there was no question that they would look. Their friend and partner had been working a case when he went missing, and that wasn’t something you let slide. They didn’t know what the job he had been working on involved or any details about it at all; they just knew that now that he was gone, it was their job to find him.
    这位修士(指查理)试着在座位上伸展身体,但他每动一下都会顶到车内的某个地方上。他不知道自己还能在这逼仄的阿圭勒里坐多久,但他的一身朋克风装备和传统苏族(Sioux)战纹意味着他不能在车外等待。在这城里确实有些地方他能带着这身装扮闲逛而完全不引起注意,但这里并不是其中之一。
    “记住我们在哪里,”瓢虫说道,“在贝尔维尤(Bellevue,华盛顿州城市,与西雅图同属国王郡,隔岸相对),警察反应部队会在你扣扳机那一刻的三分钟内赶到。我们需要在那之前就离开。”
    他点点头,研究这街道和附近的诊所。梵尚岛是当下的时尚。行人成群成组地踱着,承受着一波波霓虹标识和他们头上闪烁着的耀眼的AROs的冲击。一辆豪华轿车滑出车流,缓缓停在“执行官身体强化”的前面。两个百夫长安保的警官守在大门两边,如同优秀安保应该的那样一副扑克脸。他们看到车时向前走去。豪车的车门打开,一位迷人的金发女性在一把红伞的遮挡下迈出车门。查理一下肌肉绷紧,伸手随时准备开门。
    瓢虫开口说:“操,那是凯瑟琳·米娅·罗德里格斯(Katherine Mya Rodriguez)!你知道的,那个在那些拟感片里扮演玛利亚·水银(Maria Mercurial,传奇歌手)的人!她一定也是在这里完成工作的。”
    查理对于安保更感兴趣。他看着安保人员走过双层门的第一层来迎接顾客。外层门是用透明防弹玻璃做成的,真的能阻挡子弹。这对门在顾客身后啪地关上,然后第二层门打开。查理知道,这种系统在高级赛博诊所中很常见。除了作为一种重要的用于锁住不请自来的东西的安全协议以外,两层门之间的空间还通过一套净化系统循环空气,使它可以作为细菌的缓冲区。查理开口想说什么,但瓢虫打断了他。
    “系我的鞋带都比控制这些门保持开或关要更难呢。这不会是问题。”
    他笑着放松了下来。只是一点点而已。
The adept tried to stretch out in the passenger seat, but every movement found him wedged up against some part of the car’s interior. He didn’t know how much longer he could sit inside the cramped Aguilar, but his punker gear and traditional Sioux war paint meant he couldn’t wait outside the car. There were some parts of town where he could get away with a look like that and not be noticed at all, but this wasn’t one of them.
“Remember where we are,” Ladybug said. “In Bellevue, police response will be under three minutes from the moment you pull your gun. We need to be gone by then.”
He nodded, studying the street and nearby clinic. Vashon Island was the fashion of the day. Pedestrians strolled along in groups and pairs taking in the wash of neon signage and flashing AROs glaring above their heads. A limousine slipped out of the queue and eased to a stop in front of Executive Body Enhancements. Two Centurion Security officers flanked the doorway, faces blank like good security guards should be. They stepped forward at the sight of the vehicle. The limo doors opened, and an attractive blond woman stepped out under the cover of a red umbrella. Charlie tensed and reached for the door.
Ladybug said, “Drek, that’s Katherine Mya Rodriguez! You know, the one who played Maria Mercurial in those sims! She must get work done here too.”
Charlie was more interested in the security. He watched the officers move out past the first set of double doors to meet the client. The outer doors were made of clear ballistic glass, virtually bulletproof. They snapped shut behind the client, and a second set of doors opened. Charlie knew this type of system was popular in high-end cyber clinics. In addition to being an important security protocol designed to lock out unwanted elements, the space between the doors circulated air through a purifier system, making it a bacterial buffer zone. Charlie started to say something, but Ladybug cut him off.  “Tying my shoes is harder than slaving those doors to stay open or shut. It won’t be a problem.”
He smiled and relaxed. But only a little.
    瓢虫依然看起来很紧张。她皱起眉毛说:“我不太确定自己对于在其它吸烟帮成员不在的情况下这样做到底有什么感想。”
    “变化越多就变化越少(Plus ça change,一句法国谚语),小虫虫,”查理说道,“或者就像我的族人说的,自然伟力的一切造物,都以圆环的形式造成(everything the power does, it does in a circle,这是拉科塔苏族诗人黑麋鹿(Black Elk)作品中的一句话)。”
    早在叛乱者失踪之前,臭名昭著的吸烟者俱乐部成员间的一切就已分崩离析。凯林(Kai-lin)越来越多地单独为极道干活。塞塔(Seta)走进一间DIMR(Dunkelzahn Institute of Magical Research,黑牙魔法研究院)的办公室要求一份工作。多亏了汤米·泰隆(Tommy Talon,人类法师,和龙打交道不少)的正面推荐,她真的得到了一份工作。那之后他们就再也没有从他们的法师那里收到消息了。
    瓢虫叹了口气。她抬起两腿屈膝收在胸前。“变化很吃屎。我希望事情能像从前那样。”
    “多久以前的从前?”
    “在这一切以前。“他们看着那辆豪车从路边启动。它的轮胎沿着拥挤的街道破开路上的脏水。
Ladybug still looked tense. She furrowed her brow and said, “I’m not sure how I feel about doing this without the rest of the Smokers.”
 “Plus ça change, little bug,” Charlie said. “Or as my people say it, everything the power does, it does in a circle.”
Even before Riser disappeared, things between the members of the infamous Smokers Club were falling apart. Kai-lin was doing more and more solo work for the Yakuza. Seta had walked into a DIMR office and asked for a job. Thanks to a positive recommendation from Tommy Talon, she actually got one. They hadn’t heard from their mage since.
Ladybug sighed. She pulled her knees up against her chest. “Change sucks. I want things to be the way they were.”
“At which point?”
“Before all this.” They watched the limousine pull away from the curb. Its tires pushed dirty water down the crowded street.
    “你想往前回溯多远?回到共鸣找上你之前?回到希丝塔比(Hestaby,巨龙内战后被流放的巨龙)流亡,或者黑牙(Dunkehlzahn,为对抗怖物下了一盘大棋的巨龙总统)被刺杀之前?或者你说的是甚至更之前,在我们知道UGE(Unexplained Genetic Expression,无法解释的基因表现,即新生儿变成精灵或矮人的现象)是什么之前,在你还穿着尿布而我因为说自己看到了精魂而被踢屁股之前?”他摇了摇头,然后往一旁啐了一口,“过去并不像我们记得的那么美好,虫虫。”
    虽然他发表了这一小段独白,但他内心的一部分同意她的观点。太多和他一起开始狂奔的人已经死掉或金盆洗手了。他正在逐渐老去,而暗影却越发黑暗。他在成长中接受了事物是某种样子的,然后突然它们就不再是那样的了。有的人在那一切发生时受了惊吓并对此过度反应。他们努力与变化搏斗。查理已经见过了太多变化来去,以至于他明白他无法阻止这一切。他只是努力阻止它杀死自己。随着叛乱者失踪和吸烟帮散落成灰,他唯一能确定的常数就是超企的威力。无论暗影何等变化,他们永远都在那里,布满天际、玷污着光芒。这也意味着在那里永远都会有为他这种人准备的工作。
      “重点在于,”他说道,希望瓢虫没有注意到他这一番思考间的停顿,“你不能让昨天消耗掉太多的今天。”
    瓢虫嗤之以鼻。“这是不是又一个你们族人的说法?”
    “实际上是切罗基(Cherokee,另一个美洲印第安民族)人说的。但谁知道呢?”
    她两眼一翻,眼妆切换到绿色。
    “我的无人机刚刚追踪到了他的豪车,所以如果你正在变得畏首畏尾,那你最好赶紧克服一下。”
“How far back do you want to go? Before the resonance found you? Before Hestaby went into exile, or Dunkehlzahn was assassinated? Or are you talking about even further back, before we knew what UGE was, when you were in diapers and I was getting my ass kicked for saying I saw spirits? Are those the good old days you want?” He shook his head, then spat to one side. “The past is never as good as we remember it, bug.”
Despite that little monologue, part of him agreed with her. Too many of the people he’d started running with were dead or out of the biz. He was getting older and the shadows darker. He’d grown used to things being one way, and suddenly they weren’t that way anymore. Some people get scared and overreact when that happens. They fight against the change. Charlie had seen enough change come and go that he knew he couldn’t stop it. He just tried to keep it from killing him. With Riser missing and the Smokers scattered like ash, the only constant he could count on was the power of the megacorps. No matter how much the shadows changed, they would always be up there, filling the sky and blotting out the light. That meant there would always be work for people like him.
“The point is,” he said, hoping Ladybug didn’t notice his pause for thought, “you can’t let yesterday use up too much of today.”
Ladybug snorted. “Is that another one the things your people say?”
 “The Cherokee, actually. But who keeps track?”
She rolled her eyes, and her makeup shifted to green.
“My spotters just locked on to his limo, so if you’re getting cold feet about this run, you better get over it real quick.”
    不久后一辆三菱·夜空在诊所前渐渐停下。像之前一样,保安们走向街道去迎接顾客。迈出车门的第一个人是一个看起来就知道怎么照顾好自己的巨魔保镖。查理又多等了几秒钟。他想要看清楚目标的脸。如果他足够幸运的话,这位艾瑞克·雷顿(Eric Leiden)博士身上就有所有查理想要的答案。这位科学家,这个狗管理(MFIC, Mother Fucker In Charge),最后爬出夜空的车门。他有着篮球运动员的身高和骷髅的体格。一套黑西装和雨衣松垮地挂在他的骨架子上。雷顿惨白的皮肤和头发看起来比起一个人类更适合一个吸血鬼。
    查理一把拉开阿圭勒的车门说道,“在这呆着,直到——”
    “计划我懂,哥们儿。”
    他在她肩膀上捏了捏表示信任,然后溜出阿圭勒的车门,步调一致地跟在一队正朝着诊所方向走去的行人后面。当走得足够近时,他突然小跑起来。查理刚好在内门啪地关上的一刹那冲进打开的外门。守卫们转向他,他们的赛博殖装让他们运动都带着残影。但他们还是不够快。魔力将他的身体催动得比跳线能做到的更快。他在第一个守卫举枪的时刻冲到守卫面前,侧滑一步把守卫的枪口转向那个巨魔。
    然后一枪打中了膝盖。巨魔痛苦地哀嚎着,向后倒在墙上。
Moments later a Mitsubishi Nightsky rolled to a stop in front of the clinic. As before, the guards walked into the street to meet the client. The first person to step out was a troll bodyguard who looked like he knew how to handle himself. Charlie waited a second longer. He wanted to see the target’s face. If he
was lucky, Dr. Eric Leiden had all the answers Charlie needed. The scientist, the MFIC, climbed out of the Nightsky last. He was basketball tall and skeleton thin. A black suit and raincoat hung loosely on his frame. Lieden’s pasty skin and hair seemed better suited for a vampire than a man.
Charlie popped open the Aguilar’s door and said, “Stay put until—”
 “I know the plan, chummer.”
He gave her shoulder a re-assuring squeeze and slid out of the Aguilar, falling into step behind a group of pedestrians moving in the direction of the clinic. When he was close enough, he broke into a jog. Charlie hit the open outer doors just as the inner doors slammed shut. The guards turned toward him, cyberware making their motions into a blur. But they still weren’t fast enough. Mana pushed his body faster than wires could. He caught the first guard as he raised his pistol, sidestepped and redirected the man’s shot toward the troll.
And caught him in the kneecap. The troll yowled in pain and fell back against the wall.
    这位修士(指查理)借后坐力自然地运动着,把枪口抬起戳向第二个保安的下巴。金属撞在骨头上,然后手枪再一次怒吼。
    查理继续行动着。他用两只手指卡住剩下的保安的手腕,将手枪逼出他震得麻木的手指。往他下肋的一记快拳打得他横膈膜抽筋,而往腹腔神经丛打去的第二拳让他跪在了地上。
    这位修士猛地抽出他自己的勃朗宁手枪,把它指向西装男。“听说你就是那个管事儿的王八羔子。”查理把枪怼在西装男的胸口。“我想要答案。”
    查理抓着这个科学家的肩膀把他带向豪车,在那里他觉得瓢虫应该正在努力放倒司机。他拉开他的手枪的击锤,质问这个吓坏了的男人。“叛乱者在哪?!”
    这个科学家脸上露出的表情是恐惧与疑惑的混合。这不是查理预想的结果。这绝对不是他想看到的东西。他挥舞着枪的侧面狠狠地在对方脸上扇出了血,然后又问了一次同样的问题。
    “我不知道那是谁!”这个科学家说道,舌头打结地努力挤出几个清晰的字眼。
The adept used his leverage to continue the natural motion and forced the pistol up and into the chin of the second guard. Metal connected with bone, and the pistol barked again.
Charlie kept moving. He jammed two fingers into the remaining guard’s wrist, forcing the pistol from his numb fingers. A quick strike to the lower ribs disrupted his diaphragm, and a second blow to the solar plexus buckled his knees.
The adept yanked out his own Browning pistol and turned it on the suited man. “Word has it you’re the sonuvabitch in charge.” Charlie jammed the gun into the suit’s chest. “I want answers.”
Charlie grabbed the scientist by the shoulder and turned him towards the limo where he hoped Ladybug was at work incapacitating the driver. He pulled back the hammer of his pistol and asked the frightened man, “Where is Riser?!”
The look on the scientist’s face was a mixture of fear and confusion. It wasn’t what Charlie expected. It definitely wasn’t what he wanted to see. He swung the flat side of the pistol across the man’s face hard enough to draw blood and then asked the question again.
“I don’t know who that is!” the scientist said, his tongue struggling to get the words out clearly.
    查理就是在这时听到了一阵呢喃。
    一开始听起来像是那个巨魔在对自己喃喃自语。他看起来像是努力试着在站起,扶着墙保持平衡,用没有受伤的一条腿从地上支撑起自己。但他太虚弱以至于没有什么进展。查理又盯着他看了一小会儿。终于,查理意识到那个巨魔并没有武器。他并没有能够站起来,但他依然在喃喃自语。查理感觉到他周围的空气变得静止而湿润。他眼睛一眨,把视觉从现实界切换出去。物质世界淡化成灰色,而明亮的魔法世界在他周围亮起。在星界中,那巨魔如同火焰般熠熠生辉。
    “操。”他几乎没有嗅到危险的时间,就被一记法力箭打得肚里翻江倒海。是他妈他自己犯了错——他本应该在他看到保镖的时候就检查对方是不是觉醒者的。他蹒跚着,努力恢复过来,然后举起手枪开火。然后空气扭曲了起来,聚合成某种庞大的、不定型的、湿润的东西,塞满了整个诊所入口。这是一个水元素,它朝前涌来,包裹住查理把无助的他丢出门外。他重重摔在夜空轿车上弹了起来,而他的手枪滑过了人行道。没所谓——那枪对于这个超前的精魂并没有用。查理弓起背一个鲤鱼打挺站了起来。他身体一沉摆出一个格斗者的蹲姿,估摸着这个新敌人。他不得不依靠他的双手,但这通常而言就足够了。
    这个元素以波浪之柱的形态出现。锁链挂在它长而畸形的手臂上,而它的手指长成尖锐的利爪,正飞快地向他的脸上袭来。查理闪避并翻滚着。他知道那巨魔还在移动着,也许正在努力施放另一个法术,但他本人现在还不能从这个精魂身上分神。
    精魂猛扑过来,查理则在同一瞬间向后转身,刚刚好跃出它的触及。这差点就没成功——精魂速度快得惊人。那一下法力箭迟缓了查理的动作,他没法继续保持与精魂拉开距离。如果他继续腾挪闪避,他就会输掉。他必须结束这一切,要快。
That’s when Charlie heard the grumbling.
At first it sounded like the troll was mumbling to himself. He looked like he was trying to stand up, using the wall for balance, pushing himself off the floor with his good leg, but he was too shaky to make much progress. Charlie stared a moment longer. It finally occurred to him that the troll wasn’t armed. He wasn’t making much progress, but he was still mumbling. Charlie felt the air around him grow still and moist. He shifted his vision, moving between realities in a blink. The physical world dulled to grey, and the bright contrasts of the magical world flared up around him. In astral space the troll glowed like fire.
“Drek.” He barely had time to breathe the curse before a manabolt twisted in his gut. His own damn fault—he should have checked if the bodyguard was Awakened as soon as he saw him. He staggered, recovered, and raised his pistol to fire. Then the air was twisting, coalescing into something large, something amorphous, something wet that filled the entire entryway. It was a water elemental, and it surged forward, enveloping Charlie and casting him helplessly through the door. He bounced off the Nightsky limousine, and his pistol skittered across the pavement. No matter—the gun was useless against the advancing spirit. Charlie arched his back and flipped up to his feet. He sank into a fighter’s crouch, measuring this new opponent. He would have to rely on his hands, but that usually was enough.
The elemental had taken the shape of a pillar of waves. Chains dangled from its elongated arms, and its hands ended in sharp claws that were darting toward his face. Charlie ducked and rolled. He knew the troll was still moving, perhaps working on another spell, but he couldn’t take his attention off the spirit.
The spirit lunged, and Charlie spun backwards with exact timing, dancing just out of reach. It almost didn’t work—the spirit was sick fast. The manabolt was slowing Charlie down, and he couldn’t stay clear of the spirit much longer. If he kept dancing around, he would lose. He needed this over, fast.
    查理沉入自己的心神中,攫住潜藏在自己身体中的所有愤怒。他想到变化、失去,以及他如同斗篷般一直背负在肩上的恐惧,然后他将所有这一切中的力量聚集到胸口,灌进他的手臂。他的拳头破开空气和法力,轰击入精魂体内。他感觉到精魂的形体崩塌了。它的脑袋在查理·驯马拳头的骨节间分崩离析,而这位修士怒吼了起来。
    查理向前踉跄了几步,因为这记拳头纯粹的力量而失去平衡。那个巨魔法师还在那里,向他爬来并呢喃着。他做好准备面对第二下法力箭的冲击,因为他已经无法阻止法师施放它。
    这道法术的威力让查理跪在地上。他的体内翻滚着,并且他感觉到自己双膝弯曲着。如果他被第三道法力箭击中,那痛苦就会将他压倒了。
    突然两声枪响划破长空。那巨魔两眼一翻,跌倒在地上。瓢虫趴在夜空的车顶篷上,又往巨魔身上多开了三枪来确保他死透。“孤星条子已经在路上了。把他弄进他妈的车里,查理!”
    查理虚弱地竖起大拇指。他勉强站起身来扫视着莱顿博士。这位好博士看起来两脚生根愣在了原地。他的脑袋在倒地的巨魔与入口处倒在血泊中的保安之间来回转动。他把查理的手枪拿在手里,而且他对于武器的了解足够他两腿分立摆出一个射击姿势。他抬起枪口指向查理,尖叫着:“你们这些人想从我这里得到什么?!”
    查理猛扑向他的目标。他的目光对上科学家瞪大的双眼,在其中看到了恐惧。对方试图扣下扳机。什么都没发生。对方试了一次又一次,直到查理从他手里把枪一把夺了过来。
    “生物感应保险。”查理一边说道,一边抓着他的肩膀把他丢进豪车的后座。这位修士抹去嘴角的血迹,“现在,让我们都冷静下来,这样我才能有机会告诉你我要什么,你才能有机会把它给我。”
    如果他找到了叛乱者——当他找到叛乱者的时候——他会确保他的头头知道他为了追踪目标经历了什么。
Charlie reached down into himself and grabbed hold of all the anger buried inside him. He thought about change, and loss, and the fear he wore like a mantle, and he carried the force of all of it up into his chest and through his arm. His fist carved through air and mana, blasting into the spirit. He felt the spirit’s form give way. Its head came apart against the ridge of Charlie Broken Horse’s fist, and the adept roared.
Charlie stumbled forward, thrown off balance by the sheer power of the blow. The troll mage was still there, reaching for him and mumbling. He braced himself against the impact of a second manabolt because he couldn’t stop the mage from casting it.
The force of the spell sent Charlie to his knees. His stomach lurched, and he felt his knees buckling. If he was hit by a third manabolt, the pain would overwhelm him.
Two gunshots split the air. The troll’s eyes rolled back in his head as he toppled over. Ladybug leaned over the hood of the Nightsky, firing three more times into the troll to be sure. “Lone Star is on the way. Get him in the fragging car, Charlie!”
Charlie offered a weak thumbs up. He climbed to his feet and scanned for Dr. Lieden. The good doctor appeared to be rooted in place. His head swung back and forth between the downed troll and bloody security men slumped in the entrance. He had Charlie’s gun in his hands, and he knew enough about weapons to spread his legs into a shooter’s stance. He raised the barrel of the gun toward Charlie and screamed, “What do you people want from me?!”
Charlie lunged towards his target. He met the scientist’s wide eyes and saw fear there. The man tried to squeeze the trigger. Nothing happened. The man tried again and again until Charlie snatched the pistol out of his hand.
“Biometric safety.” Charlie said as he grabbed him by the shoulder and tossed him in the back of the limo. The adept wiped the blood from his mouth, “Now, let’s all calm down so I have a chance to tell you what I want and you have a chance to give it to me.”
If he found Riser—when he found Riser—he’d make sure his boss knew what he went through to track him down.