作者 主题: 【Lockdown】熟悉的面孔 p228-235  (阅读 6230 次)

副标题: (鬼)故事,又名如何当一名合格的face 翻译:薛猫

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【Lockdown】熟悉的面孔 p228-235
« 于: 2018-04-18, 周三 18:15:22 »
FAMILIAR
FACES

BY Scott Schletz
熟悉的面孔
作者:Scott Schletz


剧透 -   :
A.J. tried to enjoy how good it felt to be around familiar faces
again. Spending almost a month scrambling to survive with a revolving door of teammates or running solo seemed all the more
miserable when he was fnally back working with a small group
he had come to trust with his life through years of friendship.
But it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. They’d all been changed
by their time away from each other, by their time fghting tooth
and nail to survive in the chaos of the early days and then taking work where and when it came as the QZ settled into its
dark future.
Happy to be back in good company, unsure how long it was
going to last.
“We got another call from Rothberg. I know she’s not your
favorite, but the nuyen spend just the same.” Nash’s voice came
from the doorway. When A.J. turned from the table, he saw the
team’s rigger leaning against the doorframe. The ork’s nondescript dark-blue coveralls were folded and tied at the waist to reveal his dirt- and oil-stained t-shirt below.
“Never let anyone say I let my personal issues get in the way
of the team making money,” A.J. replied with a laugh. He took
the last of his cold cup of soykaf like a shot of good whiskey. “I’ll
call her now.”
“No need. I told her we’d be meet her at Whipple’s,” Nash
said with a smile. “I know you, A.J. You got a wild streak, a mean
streak, and a horrible sense of humor, but when it comes to work,
you’re all pro.”
A.J. wasn’t happy that Nash had taken the meeting, and he
was even less happy at the location. He hated meeting on someone else’s turf, even if it was virtual. Whipple’s was a former Novatech spot, now owned by NeoNET and turned into a spacethemed virtual club/museum. The whole place was dedicated to
Novatech’s failed comet probe back before Crash 2.0. It was depressing to say the least, but the worst part was that everything
in the place would bend to the every whim of NeoNET Matrix
Security. MatSec gave NeoNET’s Johnson, Zoh Rothberg, all the
cards when it came to monitoring the meeting.
“If it bites us in the ass, consider this my ‘I told you so.’” A.J.
canceled the dialing he had already started on his headware link.
“Everyone else—we got work coming in.”
“Yup,” Nash said, this time a little sheepish.
“Making your face the last to know? Not chill.” A.J. shook his
head as he spoke and looked at the ork disapprovingly.
“Thought I might need backup if you got your panties in a
wad,” Nash said. His tone said he was trying to be funny.
“Glad we didn’t have to help,” said Brutus’ distinctive deep
voice from the other room.
A.J. shook his head in humorous disbelief. He was wondering
how only a few moments earlier he could have been contemplating how nice it was to have familiar faces around. They were often
a pain in his ass. But at least they were a familiar pain.
A.J试着享受着有熟悉面孔在旁边的感觉。终于能和一队与自己有着多年友谊、能够以命相交的队友的一道工作之后,那要么走马灯般换队友要么独自求生的一个月显得更加悲惨。可现在也并非全是阳光与玫瑰色。分别的日子、之前在混乱中竭力求生的日子,以及在隔离区的黑暗已成定局后随时随地接任务的日子,让他们都改变了。
很高兴能回到好同伴中间,但不确定这能持续多久。
“罗森伯格又有信息了。我知道你不喜欢她,但新円花起来都是一样的。”纳什的声音从门口传来。从桌旁转身,A.J看到队伍里的机师正倚着门框。兽人那毫无个性的深蓝色连身服被卷了起来绑在腰间,露出了下面沾满污渍和油迹T恤。“可不能让别人说我因为个人问题阻碍了我的队伍赚钱。”A.J回以大笑。他拿起最后一杯凉掉的豆咖,当成上的好威士忌一饮而尽。“我现在打给她。”
“没必要。我告诉她我们在Whipple’s见面。”纳什笑着说。“我了解你,A.J,你有点野、有点刻薄,幽默感还很差,但说到工作,你总是专业的。”
A.J不喜欢纳什决定了会面,他更不喜欢会面地点。他讨厌在别人的地盘见面,哪怕只是虚拟的。Whipple's以前是超新科技的,现在归新网,是个太空主题的虚拟俱乐部兼博物馆。整个地方致敬了超新科技在崩溃2.0前那次失败的彗星探测。这么说有点绝望,但最糟糕的部分是那地方完全服从新网矩阵安保(Matrix
Security)的任何一点风吹草动。为了监控这次会面,矩安把所有牌都给了新网的约翰逊,佐伊·罗森伯格。
“如果我们被反咬一口,记得这句‘我告诉过你了’。”A.J取消了已经在脑部通讯链拨打的号码。
“其他所有人——我们有活干了。”
“好嘞,”纳什说着,这时有点不好意思。
“现在想把脸藏起来了?这可不酷。”A.J.摇了摇头,一边说一边不赞成地看着兽人。
“在你们纠结得内裤搅成一团的时候我觉得我可能需要支援。”纳什回应,他的语气说明他在打趣。
“很高兴我们不用帮忙,”布鲁图特有的低沉嗓音从另一个房间传来。
A.J.摇摇头,带着玩笑式的难以置信。他想自己怎么能几分钟前还在想着熟人在身边有多妙。他们常让他头痛。但至少是熟悉的头痛。

剧透 -   :

A.J. hated VR meetings. Personas lacked personality. Programmers could add whatever code they wanted and the most meek
and soft-hearted sap in the meat world could look like a cold negotiator in the Matrix. Tells, twitches, and nervous habits were
all ways to know when you could push for more cash, take the
deal, or cut and run if it looked like a set up, but in the Matrix they
didn’t exist. It also didn’t help that A.J. hated having to use an
external link. He had no desire to get the ’ware in his head fried,
so he used a throwaway for meets. Luckily, Paimon had at least
modifed the persona on his Meta Link to look a little better than
the rather boring androgynous white fgure.
A.J.’s trilby-wearing grey fgure stood among the crowd of
other virtual patrons inside Whipple’s. The majority of the personas were NeoNET employees relaxing after a hard day at work.
Their appearances varied, but most of them fell within normal
range of customization allowed on midrange commlinks. None
of them looked like the distinctive full-custom jobs that most
hackers put together for themselves.
A.J. mingled with the locals, trying to overhear bits of conversation and see if anything interesting was going on inside
the NeoNET Towers, where most of them were physically located. Most of the talk was the boring everyday stuff of someone
living high above the trouble around them. He caught some
chat about the trouble on the lower floors, likely referring to the
head case issues the Towers had on their lowest floors, but that
was nothing new.
As 1900 rolled over on the clock, a floating doorway appeared in front of A.J. He logged onto the private host and
stepped through the door into a small virtual offce. A tall, strawberry-blonde persona stood nearby, looking out a virtual window
over what appeared to be a real, live-captured view of Boston. It
was the actual view from her offce window, and A.J. knew it was
meant to impress, to make sure whoever was meeting with her
knew that her offce sat at the top of Central Tower, the highest of
the NeoNET Towers.
It didn’t impress him. In fact, he found it infuriating. The
view reminded him of how detached this woman was from the
reality of the lives she manipulated. The puppetmaster controlling her expendable marionettes living in the hell below.
The QZ had settled down a little, but it was still a fight every
day to draw breath. But not for Zoh Rothberg, former Voice of
Celedyr, now stuck in the cage with the rest of the animals.
A.J. had his doubts on that. He often wondered if her position
as the Voice had simply changed from a media role to a full-time
role as Celedyr hid within the QZ. He was one of three dragons
still inside the zone according to the rumors—the others were Eliohann, the cause of the nightmare according to the rumor mill,
and Damon. A.J. could believe that Damon still inside, but Celedyr? That was a stretch—it took a lot to keep a great dragon from
doing as they pleased. Usually, it took another great dragon.
“Good evenin’, A.J.,” Rothberg said in her soft Irish brogue.
“Good evening, ma’am,” A.J. replied, “I believe you have work
for my team?”
“No friendly banter, no idle conversation to soften the mood,
no warm-up to gauge my mood and get a sense of my malleability for negotiations? I’m not sure how I should take that.” Rothberg let her accent thicken as she spoke.
A.J. had dealt with Rothberg before. Her accent was cute
and at times made her sound like an innocent girl, but he knew
enough not to be fooled. She had depths he hadn’t begun to fathom.
“I save my banter for social and personal visits. If you wanted
to fly me up to the Tower I’d be happy to banter with you until
the cows came home,” A.J. paused briefly, “I didn’t think so. So
what’s the job?”
Rothberg turned and leaned over the back of the high-backed
desk chair. A.J. had seen real images of the woman, and the persona’s likeness was remarkable, taking full advantage of NeoNET’s vaunted tech prowess.
“Reconnaissance and investigation,” Rothberg said flatly.
A.J. knew what that meant. A trip north. Salem had become
a mysterious place since the QZ started. Rumors circulated daily
about portals to other dimensions, metaplanar monsters on the
prowl, megacorporate experiments running rampant, a dragon
devouring all the children, the corporations making rumors to
keep people away and then slowly releasing people after they
were cured, and hundreds more. Some were fantasies of those who wished to escape the horrible nightmares of those who had succumbed to the misery of a severed life, but it was all a
load of drek. No one but the people in Salem knew what was
going on in Salem, and A.J. was pretty sure they liked it that way.
He had met a young man who had been there. Shortly after the quarantine began, this adventurous fellow set forth on a
quest to explore the QZ. He traveled the north and got chased
out by trained dogs and a kindly spirit that understood the kid
was more of a threat to himself than others.
The kid had actually done a decent job of poking around Salem back then, getting a feel for the place while it was in transition, but that was then. Now was another story.
“Where?” A.J. asked, though he already knew the answer.
“Salem,” Rothberg confrmed. “Seven thousand fve hundred
for each of the six members of your team. I want reports on four
groups in the area.”
“One hundred K. We’ll split it how we see ft,” A.J. replied with
zero hesitation.
Rothberg’s eyes narrowed, and she lifted a single eyebrow.
A.J. wasn’t sure what was going through her head but he knew
his counteroffer was way high. It was a negotiator’s ploy meant to
tell him a number of things while increasing the size of the middle ground they’d eventually meet. Her reaction was interesting.
She didn’t look shocked or insulted; instead she was curious and
thoughtful. It could have been part of the persona coding, but A.J.
doubted it. This persona was too close to the real thing.
Regardless, it honestly wasn’t a good sign. A.J. had jumped
so high for another reason, far more personal—he didn’t want to
work for her or her company.
“For a hundred thousand nuyen I expect thorough results.
That was why I was hiring your team in the frst place,” Rothberg
smiled as she spoke and tapped a virtual keyboard on her virtual
desk. “One quarter now, the rest on delivery of the reports.”
A.J.’s headware link reported an incoming transaction. Twenty-fve thousand nuyen from an account in Zurich Orbital Gemeinshaft Bank. He was shocked. For a moment he actually stood
silent and stunned. This was bad news. Rothberg had already paid
almost two-thirds of her original total offer and agreed to over
double the initial offer. Something was going to go sideways on
this run, and badly.
When he fnally regained his composure, A.J. spoke. “Who
and where are the four groups?”
“I’ll transfer a datafle.” The persona tapped a few more virtual
keys, and a manila folder appeared in front of A.J. All the extra
flourishes and movement for Rothberg’s persona weren’t necessary, making A.J. almost positive the coding on it was designed
to mimic the real woman’s actions.
With a thought and no movement from his persona A.J.
downloaded the fle and then stored it on his headware link instead of the unsecured Meta Link. He’d read it over later. The deal
was struck and no matter who was listed in that file, the team had
a job to do. A.J. tried to convince himself that was the whole reason, but deep down he knew it wasn’t. He really didn’t want any
more time to think about how this run could blow up.
“If you have no more questions, you can contact me at the
number in the datafle. Feel free to use it anytime.” Rothberg’s
persona gave an odd smile, that single eyebrow raise, and a slight
lowering of her head. It was the kind of look A.J. would see as
flirtatious in the real world. He’d seen it many times before, but
without the oddness in the smile. It reminded him of a crocodile
smiling at a baby gazelle stuck in the mud.
“We’ll contact you when the job’s done,” A.J. said coldly and
then jacked out.
A.J.讨厌VR会面。化身缺少人格。程序员能随意添加代码,肉界最温和、最心软的蠢蛋在矩阵会像是冷酷的谈判专家。语气、肌肉抽动、紧张时的习惯都能让你知道该何时讨价还价、何时成交,或者在看似陷阱时马上跑路,但在矩阵,这些都不存在。此外,A.J.还讨厌用外部接口。他毫无意愿将脑子里的硬件烧掉,因此会面用的一次性的。幸好,帕蒙至少还修饰了一下大众链上的化身,让它看起来比那些无趣的中性人形好一点。
A.J.带着毡帽的灰色人形站在Whipple's内其他虚拟顾客之中。大部分化身都是新网雇员,在一天辛劳后来这里放松。他们的外表各异,但大部分都还在中等通讯链允许的自定义范围内。没有哪个看起来像是大多数骇客会给自己弄的那些引人注目的全自定义化身。
A.J.融入了当地人,试图偷听一点对话,看看新网群塔里是否有什么趣事发生,那里正是大部分人物理实体的所在。大多对话都是些高高在上、远离麻烦的人的无聊日常。他听见有人谈到低层有些麻烦,可能指的是塔群最底层的脑病患,但这也不是什么新闻了。
时钟移动到19:00,一扇漂浮的门出现在A.J.面前。他登入私人主机,踏入这扇门进入一间虚拟小办公室。一个高个、有着浅红金发的化身站在一旁,从虚拟窗户看向外面的似乎是实时的真实波士顿景色。那实际上是她的办公室外的真实画面,A.J.知道它的目的是让人心生敬畏,让任何与她会面的人知道她的办公室位于中心塔——新网群塔中最高的一座——的顶端。
但对A.J.毫无感觉。实际上他觉得很恼火。这样的景色让他想到这个女人离那些她操弄的生命有多远。人偶师控制着活在她脚下的地狱里那些可随时抛弃的提线木偶。
隔离区已经安定一些了,但每天依然有让人心惊的打斗。但对佐伊·罗森伯格来说并非如此,作为塞勒迪尔的前任巨龙之声,她现在与其他兽类一起被困在了这座牢笼内。但A.J.有自己的怀疑。他常常会好奇,她作为巨龙之声的社交角色是否因为塞勒迪尔藏身隔离区转为了全职。根据传言,他是三头仍在隔离区的龙之一,另外的则是伊里奥海恩,流言称他是这场噩梦的罪魁祸首,还有达蒙。A.J.可以相信达蒙还在里面,但是塞勒迪尔?这可真极端——让一头巨龙不能随心所欲得花大力气。通常需要另一头巨龙。
“晚上好,A.J.,”罗森伯格用轻柔的爱尔兰腔打招呼。
“晚上,女士,”A.J.回答,“我相信你有活给我的队伍?”
“没有友好的拌嘴,没有缓解气氛的无意义对话,没有试探情绪的开场白,也没有测试我对交涉的容忍度?我不知该怎么应对了。”罗森伯格说话时将口音加重。
A.J.和罗森伯格打过交道。她的口音很可爱,有时会让她像个单纯的少女,可他了解的够多了,没法被愚弄。她深不可测。
“我把拌嘴留给社交活动还有私人拜访。如果你要把我带上塔我会很乐意和你拌嘴到太阳下山,”A.J.短暂地停顿,“我想不是。所以,是什么工作?”
罗森伯格转身,往前倚靠在高背办公椅的椅背上。A.J.见过这个女人的真实照片,凭着新网值得吹嘘的技术实力,这个化身和照片像得惊人。
“侦查还有调查,”罗森伯格平淡地说。
A.J.知道这是什么意思。往北去。自隔离区建立起,萨勒姆就成了神秘之地。每天流传着关于去往其它次元的传送门、泛位面怪物四处游荡、公司实验暴走、龙吞食孩童、公司散布谣言把无关人员隔开并缓慢放出治愈的人,还有其它上百种的各类传言。有些是那些已经屈服于悲惨的隔离生活的人希望逃离这可怖噩梦的幻想,但全都是狗屎。除了在萨勒姆的人,没人知道那里发生着什么,A.J.十分确信那些人希望保持现状。
他曾经见过一个到过那里的年轻人。隔离开始后没多久,这个有冒险精神的小伙子就开始了隔离区探索之旅。他到了北面,结果被警戒犬还有一位友好的精魂赶开了——对方知道这孩子对他自己的威胁远高于对他人的。
其实那孩子那时的刺探工作做得不错,至少把握到了萨勒姆过渡期的大概情况,但只是那时。现在又是另一种状况了。
“哪里?”A.J.问道,虽然他早就知晓答案。
“萨勒姆,”罗森伯格确认了他的猜测。“你队里的六个人,每人7500。我要那个区域里四个团体的报告。”
“10万,我们自己分。”A.J.毫不迟疑地回答。
罗森伯格眯起眼睛,然后扬起一边眉毛。
A.J.不知道她脑子里在想什么,但他知道他还价太高了。这是交涉人的策略,能在帮他获取不少信息的同时促使双方最终达成共识。她的反应很有意思。她看起来并不震惊,也没觉得被侮辱了。相反,她显得好奇、深思。这可能是化身代码的作用,但A.J.不信。这个化身太像真的了。
不管怎样,这真的不是个好现象。A.J.开价这么高还有一个更为私人的原因——他不想给她或她的公司干活。
“10万新円,我希望拿到详尽的结果。这也是我雇佣你的队伍的原因。”罗森伯格微笑着,边说边敲击着虚拟桌面上的虚拟键盘。“先付四分之一,提交报告时给剩下的。”
A.J.的脑部通讯链报告有现金入账。从一个苏黎世轨道共同体银行的账户来的2万5千新円。他被吓到了。有那么一瞬间他就站在那里一句话都说不出。这是坏消息。罗森伯格已经预付了原本总金额的将近三分之二,还同意把最初的报酬翻一倍多。这次狂奔要出事,出坏事。
终于冷静下来之后,A.J.开口了。“这四个团体是谁?在哪里?”
“我会传个文件。”化身又敲了几下虚拟键盘,一份写在马尼拉纸上的文件出现在A.J.面前。罗森伯格的化身这些多余的、无用的花招和动作,让A.J.几乎确信化身的代码被设计为模拟这个女人真实的一举一动。
仅凭思想,A.J.的化身一动不动地下载了这份文件,把它装在脑部通讯链而不是这个不安全的大众链里。他等会儿再看。协议达成,不管文件里有谁,他的队伍都得开工了。A.J.努力说服自己这就是原因,但在内心深处他知道不只这点。他真的不愿再花时间考虑这次狂奔会怎么出事。
“如果没有其它问题,你之后可以用文件里的号码联系我。欢迎随时联系。”罗森伯格的化身露出一个古怪的微笑,一边的眉毛上挑,头稍稍低下。在现实世界里A.J.会把这当成挑逗。他见过很多次了,但都没有那古怪的微笑。让他想起鳄鱼朝被困泥潭的幼羚羊微笑。
“完成后我们会联系你的。”A.J.冷漠地说,然后下线。
« 上次编辑: 2018-05-12, 周六 00:05:31 由 NewAlbionDrone »
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Re: 【Lockdown】熟悉的面孔 p228-235 (进行中……
« 回帖 #1 于: 2018-04-24, 周二 19:21:13 »
剧透 -   :

“Rain, head in the game.” Brutus’ voice was a harsh clip over the
audio link in A.J.’s cyberears.
“Sorry, B. Headache again. Eyes aren’t focusing right. I’ll run
it through the scope’s imaging instead,” Rain replied. His feed
immediately switched from the blurry and shaky cybereye
feed to a crisp magnifed shot from his rifle’s imaging scope,
complete with crosshairs laid over the target’s chest.
A.J.’s worries rose again. It wasn’t the first time Rain had complained of headaches and focusing issues. The team’s long gun
and long-range surveillance man had also mentioned exhaustion
and memory issues lately. Rain thought it was the result of too
many concussions, including a recent one from a close encounter of the troll-fst kind, but A.J. had a different idea that he kept
to himself while he kept an eye on his friend and running mate.
“You all seeing what I’m seeing?” Paimon asked over the
team’s comms.
A.J. put his attention back on the feeds on his AR HUD. He
didn’t manage to spot the issue before Nash clued him in.
“Tats on the neck. They’re Aztec. He’s either a Jaguar Guard,
or he never lets anyone from Aztechnology see his ink. They
happily grab impersonators to participate in their special ceremonies,” the rigger said with a chuckle.
“Get high res stills. It’s not enough to confrm the ID for Zoh,
but this place might just be a whole lot of circumstantial,” Brutus
said.
“My neo-Nahuatl is pretty good. We can still go with my plan,”
A.J. piped in. He had offered to head down and do some street
work, but Brutus wasn’t a fan of putting anyone that close to danger if their suspicions were correct. And it looked like they were.
“Not a fan of Rothberg, but you’ll get that close to the heartrippers for her info,” Nash said. “A.J. my old friend, you are a
strange cat sometimes. That adrenal addiction is going to get you
in serious trouble one of … oh wait, it already has. Many times.”
“My dislike for Rothberg is personal. This is professional.
We’re being paid to do a job, and I intend to do it well,” A.J.’s tone
was all business, but there was a personal part of him that just
wanted to rub Rothberg’s face in the things he and his team could
do that her own people could not.

“We got time, and we still need to do initial recon on site four.
Rain, break off and head there. We’ll keep eyes on here for a few
more hours and then head your way once you’re in place. Burst
on channel one-one when you’re there. Radio silence until Pai
mon gives you the all clear. Dorian, send a raven to keep tabs.”
Brutus issued commands like the natural tactical leader he was.
“Confrmed, radio silent now.” Rain’s feed on A.J.’s HUD went
blank frst and then closed out completely.
“Raven on watch. How apropos for such a place as this,”
Dorian said.
The rest of them continued to grab audio and video foot
age from the town of Swampscott. The place was normal at frst
glance, but any extended observation would give a trained eye
reason to pause. The small neighborhood had done what many
of the neighborhoods in the QZ did to survive: They compressed
their populations and built a barrier, in this case buses and over
turned cars with sheet-metal walls on wooden platforms to make
walkways on the tops of the vehicular wall.
The frst odd thing A.J. had noticed upon arrival was the pos
ture and positioning of their guards. Most were stationed on the
rooftops, but none of them walked along the edge. They were
all far enough back from the edge to give them a full view of
the surrounding ground level but limiting their exposure to any
thing shooting from below. They didn’t walk as much as prowl
the roofs. Regular towns that A.J. had visited in his travels of the
QZ usually put their guards on the lower walls and any of the
armed civilians that patrolled from the roof walked within a me
ter of the edge to see as much terrain below as possible while
accidentally exposing most of themselves to attacks.
Then there were the weapons. Brutus was the gun nut and
had pointed out that almost every guard was kitted with an as
sault rifle and sidearm from Armamentos Murreta, Aztechnolo
gy’s personal weapons brand. It was suspicious even before Pai
mon confrmed there was no Aztechnology facility in the area
they could have raided. Paimon also pointed out the network the
town was running had megacorporate-grade encryption, and all
of the guards were on a closed communication network.
The hits added up after that. The neighborhood got extra
supply drops that Nash confrmed were coming from Aztech
nology-registered planes. Most of the people were speaking
a foreign language that A.J. confrmed was neo-Nahuatl. And
Rain had tapped a tinted window with a laser mic and caught
the group inside performing what Brutus identifed as an Aztec
Sun ceremony. The tattoo was just more observational evidence.
They still didn’t have names or any offcial Aztechnology docu
mentation, though, and that was what A.J. wanted.
What A.J. also wanted was a chance to talk to his team about
something without Rain on comms, and now was the perfect op
portunity.
“Anyone noticed any abnormalities in Rain’s behavior lately?”
A.J. asked.
“Whattaya mean boss?” Nash replied frst.
“Yeah, like what?” Paimon followed right after.
“All of Rain’s behavior is odd to me,” Dorian added.
“Is this chatter necessary?” Brutus asked. A.J. fgured Brutus
might question the need for unnecessary comms use.
“It’s important Brutus. And as for what, you tell me. Anything
strange,” A.J. didn’t want to skew their answers with his own, pos
sibly paranoid, observations.
“The headaches are odd. Him even getting hit by that troll is
strange,” Paimon said.
“He’s been asking me a lot of questions about Zoh and NeoN
ET. He won’t let me run diagnostics on his eyes either. I think they
might be the issue more than any concussion. Regular ’ware main
tenance is hard to come by in here,” Nash added.
“A.J., spill it. What’re you thinking?” Brutus asked.
A.J. considered waving the whole thing off, but he worried
that the whole thing could come back to bite him in the ass if it
turned out he was right. In the end he went with the truth. “I think
Rain might be infected.”
The others were quiet for a few seconds. A.J. could imagine
their faces deep in thought, considering the possibility of Rain
turning into a shambler, or worse, a rager. He’d be a terror. When
someone fnally spoke it was deep, calm voice of Brutus, “That
could be a problem.”
Others followed quickly as Paimon added, “We’ve got no way
to verify that. Not until he snaps.”
“When could it have happened?” Nash asked.
“I’m not sure. He operates solo so often it could have been
anytime. We could run a test. There was that run we did for Evo.
Paimon was pretty sure the device we grabbed was a scanner to
test for nanites in their circuitry.” A.J. was glad no one was flying
into defensive mode. Calmer heads solved problems.
“Not a huge fan of that idea. It was hard enough getting it for
them. I’m sure they’ll have it under tighter security so they don’t
lose it again,” Brutus said..
“Maybe they’ll let us borrow it?” Nash said.
“Yeah, I’m sure they will hand it right over and ask no ques
tions,” Dorian said.
“Kill it, both of you. A.J., you serious?” Brutus said to get things
back on track
“Wish I weren’t,” A.J. responded, “but Rain has our backs from
way off. Too dangerous of a prospect to keep worrying. Best to
know.”
“All right. Let’s get back on this op and then pull a side job
after,” Brutus got them back on task, but then added one more
remark. “A.J., how’s the funding look? I can put a chunk of my five K from this op in a kitty.”
A.J., smiling where no one could see him, said, “That’d be
great. I’ll pool in some from my savings into the group kitty, too.
A little from everyone, and we should have operating expenses
covered.”
“雷恩,专心点。”透过A.J.赛博耳的声链,布鲁图的声音成了沙哑的片段。
“抱歉,B。又头痛了。眼睛没法聚焦。我用镜头的图像吧。”雷恩回答。他的图像反馈马上从模糊、抖动的赛博眼视野切到了来复枪镜头放大后的清晰视野,还有十字标浮在目标的胸口。
A.J.又开始担心了。这不是雷恩第一次抱怨头痛还有聚焦的毛病。这位队伍里的长管枪手兼远距侦查员最近还提到了疲劳和记忆丢失。雷恩觉得这是太多次头部冲击造成的,包括最近一次和巨魔的拳头檫身而过。但A.J.有别的想法,他把这个想法留给自己,同时紧盯着自己的朋友兼队友。
“你们都看到我看到的了吗?”帕蒙从队伍的通讯链里发问。
A.J.把注意力转回AR HUD的信息流。纳什给他指出后他才发现了问题。“脖子上的纹身。是阿兹特克的。要么他是个美洲豹守卫,要么他从没让阿兹科技的人见到他的墨水。他们会很开心地请抓到模仿者、请他们参加特殊典礼。”机师轻笑着说道。
“要高清的图像。虽然还不够确认佐伊要的ID,但这个地方可能提供很多间接证据。”布鲁图说。
“我的新那瓦特语说的不错,我们还可以继续我的计划。”A.J.插入。他提出过去进行些街头调查,但若是他们的怀疑是对的,布鲁图不喜欢让任何人靠近危险。看起来确实是对的。
“不喜欢罗森伯格,但你们得靠近那些挖心的才能弄到她要的信息。”纳什说,“A.J.,我的老朋友,你有时真是只怪猫。肾上腺素成瘾总有一天会让你惹麻烦……哦等等,已经惹过了。很多次。”
“我对罗森伯格的不喜是私人的,这是工作。我们收钱办事,我决心要办得漂亮。”A.J.的语气完全是公事公办,但他内心私人的某处想让自己和自己的队友拿她的人干不了的事糊她一脸。
“我们有时间,我们还有四号地点的初次侦察。雷恩,停止观察,去那边。我们会再盯着这里几小时,等你就位后过去。就位后开启频道11。帕蒙通知警报解除前保持无线静默。多利安,派只渡鸦去盯着。”作为天生的战术领导,布鲁图熟练地下达指令。“收到,开始无线静默。”雷恩发往A.J.HUD的画面变成空白,随后完全消失了。
“渡鸦监视中。真是适合这种地方。”多利安说。
其他人继续抓取万普斯科特镇的声音和影像片段。一眼看去,这里十分平常,但仔细观察后会让任何训练有素的人停步。这个小型街区做了隔离区里许多街区一样的事情:为了生存,他们压缩了人口密度,建起一道屏障。万普斯科特使用了巴士和翻转的汽车,交通工具筑成的围墙上还用木头上复金属板构成了走道。
A.J.来到后注意到的第一件怪事是他们守卫的姿态和站位。大部分都再屋顶上,但没有人在边缘走动。他们都离边缘十分远,对周围环境有全面的视野,同时能限制下方的火力复盖。他们很少走动,更多为潜行。A.J.旅途中去过的寻常小镇通常会把守卫安排在矮墙上,在屋顶的持械居民则在距边缘一米的位置巡逻,好看清下方地形,同时也把大部分巡逻人员暴露在突然袭击中。
然后是武器。布鲁图是个枪械疯子,他指出几乎所有守卫都配戴着Armamentos Murreta的突击步枪和侧枪,这是阿兹科技自有武器品牌。在帕蒙确认这个区域没有阿兹科技的设施能够缴获这类武器前已经够可疑了。帕蒙还指出这个镇上运行的网络有着超企等级的加密,所有守卫都在闭路通讯网络中。
之后猜测被进一步证实。这个街区收到了额外的空投补给,纳什确认来自在阿兹科技注册的飞机。大部分人都说着外语,A.J.确认是新那瓦特语。雷恩用激光麦克风戳了一扇有色玻璃,听见里面的人正在举行阿兹特克的太阳典礼。纹身则是更加明显的证据。但他们还没拿到名字或者任何阿兹科技官方文件,这才是A.J.想要的。
A.J.还希望有机会在雷恩不在通讯链的时候跟队友聊点事情,现在正是最好的行动机会。
“有人注意到雷恩最近举动有点不对吗?”A.J.问道。
“什么意思,老大?”纳什第一个回答。
“对啊,比如?”帕蒙紧接着说。
“我觉得雷恩全部行为都很奇怪。”多利安加了一句。
“现在闲聊有必要吗?”布鲁图提问。A.J.猜布鲁图是在质疑用通讯链的必要性。
“很重要,布鲁图。原因,你们告诉我。任何奇怪的事。”A.J.不希望用自己很可能是多疑过头的观察误导其他人。
“头痛很奇怪。他会被那只巨魔打到就很奇怪了。”帕蒙说。
“他一直问我很多关于佐伊和新网的事情。他还不让我检查他的眼睛。我怀疑眼睛才是问题,不是什么脑震荡。这里定期保养殖装太困难了。”纳什补充道。
“A.J.,说出来。你在想什么?”布鲁图发问。
A.J.考虑把这件事一笔带过,但他担心如果自己是对的,它还是会反过来反咬一口。最后他直接说出了本意。“我觉得雷恩可能被感染了。”
其他人安静了几秒。A.J.能想象到他们陷入沉思的面孔,都在考虑雷恩成为拖行者(shambler),或者更糟,成为狂怒者(rager)的可能性。他会成为噩梦。终于有人说话,是布鲁图低沉、冷静的声音,“那会是个问题。”
其他人迅速跟上,帕蒙接着说,“我们没有办法确认。直到他爆发。”
“可能是什么时候感染的?”纳什发问。
“我不确定。他太经常单独行动了,什么时候都可能。我们可以进行一次测试。那次我们对天演的狂奔。帕蒙确信我们顺走的设备是用来检测回路中的纳米体的。”A.J.庆幸没有人进入防御姿态。冷静的头脑才能解决问题。
“不太喜欢这个主意。给他们弄到那台设备已经够难的了。我想信这些设备现在被更严格地保护着,免得再次弄丢。”布鲁图说。
“他们或许会让我们借一台?”纳什提出。
“对啊,我确定他们会直接二话不说递给我们。”多利安说。
“闭嘴,你们两个。A.J.,你是认真的吗?”布鲁图把话题拉了回来。
“希望我不是。”A.J.回答。“但是雷恩从远处负责我们的后方。可能性太过危险,没法不担心。最好确定。”
“好。让我们回到这次任务上,之后再进行点副业。”布鲁图让他们继续任务,但随后补充了一句,“A.J.,资金什么情况?我可以从我的五千里拨一点给行动资金。”
A.J.在没人看见的地方微笑了,接着说道,“那太棒了。我也会给集体行动资金里添点我攒的。每人出一点,我们就能凑够行动开销了。”
剧透 -   :

A.J. watched the door shudder from another impact. Brutus had
been rocked back off the door on the hit before that and hadn’t
made it back in place yet. A.J.’s activated reflex system allowed
him to detect the bending of the door with each hit. It was only
a fraction of a millimeter, but by one fraction at a time, the things
on the other side of that door were getting closer to the runners.
From the corner of his vision A.J. saw Dorian’s body twitch on
the floor next to him. The elf coughed out the dust his body had
inhaled while his soul was off galavanting on the astral. Dorian
sat up and pulled himself back against the wall to continue his
coughing fit.
“What’d you see?” Paimon asked frantically.
Dorian held up a fnger and continued his coughing ft. A.J.
noticed for the frst time just how much dust was hanging in the
air from all the impacts straining the stone door frame.
“Fuck a minute. We ain’t got the time,” Nash called from the
window where he watched the grounds below.
“Ease off, all of you,” A.J. cut in. “Rain, what’s the situation on
the roof?” Another impact punctuated his question better than
any vocal inflection.
“They’re all over,” Rain reported. “Three-sixty coverage.
I count one-nine-six—yeah, you heard me—on the outside.
They’re jamming the outer door, traffc must be tight in there.”
A.J. rose from his crouched position and peeked over the half-wall of the church balcony. Below, the nave was an undulating
mass of bodies bumping and shoving toward the narthex. Approaching the stairs of the tower that led to the runner’s position
on the balcony. It was a mass of shamblers like A.J. had never
seen before. He slipped back below the lip without being spotted.
“Way out,” Dorian coughed, “below the altar.” He managed to
get the words out before another coughing ft started.
“Christ, Dorian, stop coughing, we need more info,” Nash
said. A.J. didn’t know if he was serious or not.
“That and worse,” Brutus said just before an impact sent him
tumbling to the ground. A.J. looked to the door and could see it
was starting to have visible play. They didn’t have much time left.
“Dorian,” A.J. grabbed the elven mage’s collars and locked
eyes with him. “Three questions, shake yes or no. Will we ft?”
A nod. “Can you summon us some cover?” A nod, but A.J. could
see the doubt in his eyes. “Can you bring the hellfre if we haul
your ass out?” A nod, and this time the iron returned to his eyes.
“Brutus, you got the details. What’s the plan?” A.J. said, turning back to the door. But Brutus wasn’t there. A.J. scanned quickly
and saw Brutus lying, unmoving, a few meters away. He sprang
across the distance but knew what happened halfway there when
he could see the odd angle of his friend’s neck between the
pews. “Brutus is down. Paimon, strip him. Rain, get back in here.
Nash, get your roto in here. Dorian, get us a little friend, and keep
yourself conscious.”
A.J.’s orders were followed without comment, though Paimon
let some emotion out when he choked up at the sight of his big
friend’s neck. A.J.’s plan had relied on Brutus being able to carry
Dorian if he put himself out from casting strain, but that had to
change. An impact on the door coincided perfectly with Nash’s
Rotodrone crashing through a stained-glass window. A.J. looked
up and saw Rain quietly sliding down a rope back to the balcony.
“Dorian, tell your latest friend to be ready to flip the altar for
us and then cover our escape. When we’re clear, he can be clear.
I know how you roll, don’t ask the spirit to sacrifce itself. Rain,
you slip down and get a good spot to cover us dropping into
the hole and then follow. Paimon, lead the way. Spray and pray
with Brutus’ AK. He’d like that. Dorian, stay close to Paimon and
keep him covered. Nash, you lose a friend. When we go, put a
roto over the hole. Cut ’em up if they try to follow. I’ll send Rain
ahead of me and be the last man down. Everything on my go.
Let’s get out of here and tell everyone the story of how Brutus
saved all our asses.” A.J. did his best authoritative tactical voice,
but he wasn’t Brutus.
A.J. gave his old friend one last look and then called, “Go!”
A.J.看着门在另一次冲击下颤抖。布鲁图在冲击前从门边滚开,还没到位置。A.J.启动反射系统,让他能够探测到每次冲击时门的弯曲程度。只有零点几厘米,但随着每次增加一点,门那边的东西正不断向狂奔者们靠近。
A.J.从眼角看见多利按的身体在旁边的地板上抽搐。精灵咳出身体里的灰尘,然后吸气,他的灵魂正在星界游荡。多利安坐起身,让自己倚着墙,继续咳嗽。
“你看到了什么?”帕蒙慌乱地问。
多利安竖起一根手指,继续咳嗽。A.J.第一次留意到让石制门框变形的撞击竟然扬起了这么多灰尘。
“操它的一分钟。我们没那个时间。”纳什从窗户大喊,他正盯着下方地面。
“你们全部放轻松,”A.J.插话。“雷恩,屋顶的情况怎样?”又一声撞击加重了他的问题,胜过任何语调。
“他们到处都是。”雷恩回报。“360全复盖。我数到了1-9-6只——你们没听错——在外面。他们堵住了门,那的交通一定塞住了。”
A.J.从蹲姿起身,从教堂楼厅的矮墙上探头。下面的中厅是一片起伏的躯体,互相碰撞、朝前厅挤去。A.J.从未见过如此多的拖行者。他滑回墙凹处,没被发现。
“外面,”多利安边咳边说,“圣坛下面。”他成功在又开始咳嗽前吧话说完。
“老天,多利安,别咳了,我们需要更多信息,”纳什说。A.J.不知道他是认真的还是开玩笑。
“情况更糟了,”布鲁图说完就被冲倒在地。A.J.看向门,他能看见门开始出现可见的偏移。他们没多少时间了。
“多利安,”A.J.揪住精灵法师的领口,盯着他的眼睛。“三个问题。摇头点头表示是否。我们能过去吗?”点头。“能给召唤点掩护吗?”点头,但A.J.能看见他眼里的疑虑。“要是我们把你弄出去,你能弄来地狱火吗?”点头,这次坚定重回他的眼中。
“布鲁图,你有细节。什么计划?”A.J.说着转会门的方向。但布鲁图不在。A.J.迅速扫过地板,看见几米之外,布鲁图躺着,一动不动。他奔过去,但半途就知道发生了什么——他看见朋友加在椅子之间,脖子扭向古怪的方向。“布鲁图倒了。帕蒙,扒了他。雷恩,回来这里。纳什,让你的旋翼进来。多利安,给我们点小伙伴,自己保持清醒。”
没人说话,A.J的指令被执行了,虽然帕蒙看见他的大个子朋友的脖子时抽泣了一下,露出了一些情绪。A.J.的计划指望布鲁图能在多利因耗竭晕倒的时候把他扛起来,但计划要变了。门上一声撞击,同时纳什的旋翼无人机撞破彩色玻璃飞进来。A.J.抬头看见雷恩无声的沿着绳子滑下回到楼厅。
“多利安,告诉你最新的朋友准备好掀开圣坛并掩护我们逃脱。我们走了,他就可以走。我知道你们的方式,别叫精魂牺牲自己。雷恩,滑下来找个好地点掩护我们进入地道然后跟上。帕蒙,带路。用布鲁图的AK开枪祈祷。他会喜欢的。多利安,紧跟帕蒙,掩护他。纳什,你失去了一个朋友。我们走时,放一架旋翼在洞口上面。他们要是跟上来,碾碎他们。雷恩走我前面,我最后。听我说行动。让我们离开这里,告诉所有人布鲁图救了我们的额狗命。”A.J.努力用最权威、最专业的口吻,但他不是布鲁图。
A.J看了老朋友最后一眼,然后喊道,“行动!”
« 上次编辑: 2018-05-06, 周日 12:09:23 由 NewAlbionDrone »
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Re: 【Lockdown】熟悉的面孔 p228-235 (进行中……
« 回帖 #2 于: 2018-05-04, 周五 20:19:10 »
剧透 -   :

“I’m kind of glad the light down here isn’t great. A.J., I don’t think
you look so good,” Rain said as he shifted the glowing green
chemstick toward A.J.’s face.
“Fuck off,” A.J. retorted and then immediately regretted let
ting his teeth touch his lips as he tasted coppery blood. It wasn’t
his, it was from the rain of blood that came down the narrow hole
as the shamblers converged on the team’s narrow escape route
and the Rotodrone pureed them. He tried not to think about what
else was in the blood, like millions of nanites that might be work
ing their way into his system and trying to turn him into a sham
bler, a rager, a head case, or whatever else anyone wanted to call
these freaks. He had a little internal laugh at the thought of him
and Rain joining forces. Double trouble.
It was hard to imagine a friend turning. A.J. had never been a
big horror trid fan, so all the references to zombie movies people had been making in comparison to the quarantine went right over his head. He did think he understood at least one of the
concepts they talked about. This universal theme of sacrifce, the
moment when a friend gets infected and you took care of them
yourself. He looked at Rain and tried to imagine him as a sham
bler or a rager and then thought the same for himself. He hoped
he had friends good enough to not let that happen.
Trekking through the narrow tunnels under the church wasn’t
pleasant. He wasn’t sure when they were constructed. There were
so many eras in New England’s history when tunnels like this may
have been needed. Beneath the altar had been an entrance to a
small crypt. It had defnitely not been a pleasant experience to
drop into a dark hole, see skeletal remains all around, and then
have blood and bits of gore poured down over your head. A.J.
had taken it well, but the strain of being covered in blood that could be crawling in nanites looking to get in and destroy his brain was starting to wear on him.
“我有点庆幸这里的光线不好。A.J.,我不觉得你有这么好看。”雷恩一边说一边把发着绿光的化学照明棒照向A.J.的脸。
“滚。”A.J.反驳道,然后马上后悔让自己的牙齿碰到嘴唇——他尝到了锈味的血。不是他的,而是堵在狭窄的逃脱洞口的拖行者被旋翼无人机净化时落下的血雨。他努力不去想血液里有什么,比如上百万个纳米体正入侵他的系统、把他变成拖行者、狂怒者、脑病患,又或者这些怪物的其它称呼。他和雷恩联合,他内心笑了笑。双重麻烦。
很难想象一个朋友被转变。A.J.从来不是恐怖三维电影迷,人们拿来和隔离区比较的那些僵尸电影直接被他略过了。但他觉得自己至少理解他们说的一个概念。普适的牺牲主题,有朋友被感染,你就得自己解决他们。他看着雷恩,试着想象他是个拖行者或狂怒者,然后想象自己变成同样的情况。他希望他的朋友们和自己关系够好,能阻止这种事情发生。
在教堂地下的狭窄地道中摸索不是多么愉快的事。他不确定地道是什么时候建造的。新英格兰的历史上有太多需要这种地道的时代了。祭坛下方是一个通往小地下墓穴的入口。掉进漆黑的洞口、看见周围全都是尸骨,还有血液和肉碎倾洒在脑袋上,这绝不是愉快的经历。这些A.J.都还能应付,但血液中或许有潜伏的纳米体正想方设法进入并摧毁他的大脑这种思虑正开始让他动摇。
剧透 -   :
“Dorian,” A.J. called ahead into the darkness. The sound
seemed to go nowhere, absorbed by the earthen walls of the tunnels that led through a hole in the crypt wall.
“The comms work. Unless you enjoy making extra noise in unstable underground passages,” came Dorian’s voice in his ear. As
if to emphasize the elf’s point, dirt and dust fell from the ceiling.
A.J. mentally scolded himself but remembered to not make
it a message to the others. He was further off his game than he
thought. “Sorry. Got enough juice left for a quick clean-up. I need
to get this gore off me,” A.J. sent mentally.
“I can manage,” Dorian whispered through the comms, “I’ll
hold where I am. Keep moving forward.”
“多利安,”A.J.朝前方的黑暗呼叫。声音似乎传到了虚空,被穿过墓穴墙壁的地道东面的土墙吸收了。
“通讯链能用了。除非你喜欢在这个不结实的地下通道里制造多余的噪声。”耳中传来了多利安的声音。似乎像是为了印证精灵的观点,尘土从顶部落下。
A.J.心里数落了一下自己,但还是记得没把它当成信息传给其他人。他比自己以为的还要走神。“抱歉。还剩足够的液体来个快速清洁。我得把这些血肉弄掉。”A.J.用意念发送。
“我来处理。”多利安在通讯链里轻声说,“我会待在原地。继续往前。”
剧透 -   :
A.J. kept going and could see where the others ahead of him
were squeezing past the tall elf pressed against the wall. The
movement reminded him of their order, which he needed to
change. “Rain, push to the front, scout ahead. Paimon and Nash,
stick tight together, give Rain some breathing room. Dorian, you
and I will bring up the rear.”
Brief acknowledgments were returned all around, and everyone started switching positions. When A.J. reached Dorian,
the elf waved his hands across his throat, then muted his throat
mic and put the hand up to stop A.J.. While the pair stood there
Dorian muttered under his breath while casting. A.J. felt the shift
in weight as the blood and gore sloughed off and fell to the
ground. He stepped forward and caught Dorian as the mage
stumbled from the strain.
A.J.继续前进,直到见到高个的精灵贴在墙边,前面的其他人正挤着通过。动作让他想起了他们的指令,他得更改了。“雷恩,穿到最前,在前面侦查。帕蒙和纳什,靠在一起,给雷恩点呼吸空间。多利安,我和你负责后方。”
所有人传回简短的确认后各自交换了位置。A.J.到多利安的位置时,精灵用手在喉咙上划了一下,关掉了喉部麦克风,并伸手示意A.J.停下。两人站在那里,多利安压低声音念咒施法。A.J.感到身上的重量变轻了,血肉碎块脱落掉到地上。他上前一步接住了因耗竭步伐不稳的多利安。
剧透 -   :
“You chill?” A.J. asked in a low whisper.
“Fine. Just need a second,” Dorian replied a little louder and
then stared directly into A.J.’s eyes. A.J. could see that the elf was
fully alert and putting the weak knees on for show. After a good
thirty seconds Dorian continued, “You sure it’s wise to put Rain
out in front.”
“We’re down Brutus. We have no choice. Need a shooter out
front, and Rain’s our shooter right now,” A.J. sent through his
headware link.
“I’ll be honest. I’ve heard Rain say ‘Geek the mage frst’
more times than I’d care to count. I feel I would be his frst
target, and …”
“That’s why you’re back here,” A.J. cut in. “I’ll cover you. You
send him off to snoozeville.”
“Will do,” Dorian said, and he straightened and appeared to
regain his composure. “Thanks.”
“Null persp,” A.J. said aloud. “Let’s move.”
After another ten minutes in the tunnel, which seemed like
hours to A.J., Rain called for the group to stop. They all waited
quietly, though through his cyberears A.J. could hear Dorian’s
rapid heartbeat, Nash clicking his SMG stock into the extended
position, and Paimon fidgeting the stock of Brutus’ AK into his
shoulder.
“还好吗?”A.J.压低声音轻声问到。
“没事,只要一秒,”多利安有些大声地回答,然后直接盯着A.J.的眼睛,A.J.能看到这位精灵正处在全面警戒状态,膝盖发抖只是表演。过了三十秒,多利安继续说,“你确定让雷恩在最前面是好主意。”
“我们失去了布鲁图。我们没有选择。要个枪手在前面,现在雷恩是我们的枪手。”A.J.用头部通讯链发信。
“我会老实说。我听过雷恩说过太多次‘先干法师’,多得都懒得数了。我觉得我会是他的第一个目标,还有……”
“这就是为什么你在后面,”A.J.打断他,“我会掩护你。你送他去瞌睡国。”
“可以。”多利安说,他站直身子,似乎回复了冷静,“多谢。”
“没事”,A.J.大声说,“我们走吧。”
在地道里又走了十分钟,但A.J.觉得有好几个小时,雷恩让队伍停下。他们都安静地等着,但通过他的赛博耳A.J.能听见多利安的心跳加速,纳什把SMG枪托扣到伸长位置,帕蒙一点一点把布鲁图的AK的枪托移到肩上。
剧透 -   :
Somewhere behind them he could hear shuffling feet, but he
knew it was far off. A.J. had run rope across a few beams shortly after his talk with Dorian. Rain had suggested it after Nash
informed everyone that the Roto’s camera was showing shamblers dropping into the tunnels just before he lost contact. The
rope wouldn’t stop them, but shamblers were remarkably clumsy
and fell over all sorts of things.
“Shit, A.J., Nash is moving up,” Paimon sent the message over
the commlink to avoid making noise.
“Hold there. We’re moving up,” A.J. replied then spoke aloud
to Dorian. “Move up. Nash’s going off plan.”
The rear pair started forward. They weren’t ten steps before
A.J. heard the sound behind him change. Shamblers were tripping and grunting as they struggled to stand with others tripping
behind them and on top of them. It meant they had between ten
and ffteen minutes until the frst of them caught up. Hopefully
Rain’s delay wouldn’t last that long.
When the rear guard reached Paimon, he was hard at work,
clicking away at his virtual keyboard. “Thank the code, watch my
meat,” Paimon said with a gasp and then dropped to the ground.
A.J. saw Paimon’s devil persona blink into existence on his AR
and then charge forward at a swirling black mass. The sight did
not give A.J. a good feeling. The devil icon had his pitchfork and
a wicked black shield out from the instant it formed. Paimon was
duking it out with something on the Matrix, and A.J. and Dorian
were on bodywatch. At least they could see what was going on.
他能听见身后某处有脚步拖动声,但他知道还有很远。和多利安交谈后没多久,A.J.拉了几道绳子。雷恩的建议,就在纳什告诉所有人旋翼的摄像机在失去联系之前显示拖行者们跳入这个地洞之后。绳子阻止不了他们,但拖行者们十分笨拙,会被任何东西绊倒。
“该死,A.J.,纳什上前了,”帕蒙用通讯链传过来信息,以免制造噪音。
“别动,我们上去。”A.J.回复,然后大声对多利安说,“往前,纳什脱离计划了。”
殿后二人组开始朝前走去。他们没走十步,A.J.就听见他身后的声音变了。拖行者们摔绊着咕哝着,有的挣扎着站立,其它摔在它们背后或身上。这说明在第一个拖行者赶上来之前他们还有十到十五分钟。希望雷恩的拖延不会那么久。
当后卫到帕蒙的位置时,他正在专心工作,敲打着他的虚拟键盘。“感谢代码,看好我的肉身。”帕蒙深吸一口气然后倒在地上。
A.J.看到帕蒙的恶魔化身在他的AR闪现,然后朝一团黑色物质扑去。这场景让A.J.有不好的预感。恶魔图标出现的一刹那就亮出了他的尖叉和一面邪恶的盾牌。帕蒙正在和矩阵里的什么东西单挑,A.J和多利安守着他的身体。至少他们能看到发生了什么。
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably an Andrik

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Re: 【Lockdown】熟悉的面孔 p228-235 (进行中……
« 回帖 #3 于: 2018-05-06, 周日 00:51:16 »
剧透 -   :

Paimon was struggling to fght using AR and was on the defensive, but as soon as A.J. and Dorian came into sight he activated
the offensive setting of his Confgurator program and went full
VR. The noise was brutal, but it was the same for his opponent. Or
opponents, A.J. couldn’t quite tell.
The amorphous black mass had come out of nowhere and
gone after Nash’s link when he moved up. Paimon seemed entirely focused on getting the mass off Nash and then fending it
off as it came after him. A.J. didn’t know how he could help. He
didn’t even know what the mass was.
The mass lashed out with smoky tendrils that formed into different shapes as they struck. Taloned claws raked at the shield,
pixelating bits of the code in Paimon’s Armor program. Canine
jaws snapped closed, only virtual centimeters from his head. He
returned the attacks, pitchfork jabbing forward into the blackness. He felt the sting in his arm as the code of the mass lashed
back with biofeedback.
帕蒙艰难地战斗着,只能防御,但A.J.和多利安一出现在视野他就激活了配置程序的进攻模式进入全VR。杂讯很强,但对他的对手也一样。或者是对手们,A.J.不太能分辨。
变形的黑色物质凭空出现,在纳什向前时攻击了他的通讯链。帕蒙似乎全神贯注地想把这团物质从纳什身上弄走,在它转向自己时全力抵抗。A.J.不知该如何帮忙。他甚至不知道那团物质是什么。
黑色物质甩出烟状触手,进攻时化作各种形状。尖锐的爪子抓挠着盾牌,将帕蒙护甲程序的代码变成一块块像素。长有尖牙的巨颚猛然合上,在虚拟世界里他的头只有几厘米。他回击,尖叉捅进黑暗之中。他感到手臂刺痛,黑色物质的代码用生物反馈反击。
剧透 -   :
A.J. and Dorian looked on with a deep sense of helplessness.
Neither was capable of cybercombat.
But A.J. was not entirely helpless. “Dorian, start dragging Paimon. Yell if you have trouble. Quiet time is over,” A.J. sent the
message on the run as he ran down the tunnel.
“Nash, Rain, situation?” A.J. spoke as he jogged in the darkness. His thermographic systems gave enough contrast between
air and walls to allow him to move quickly. The faint print marks
on the ground where the pressure of Rain and Nash’s feet had
warmed the dirt also helped. Nash’s were newer and easier to
follow, but Rain’s light step had still left some traces. The steps
got brighter as he moved faster and caught up to the unresponsive pair.
Rain and Nash were not his goal though—they could take care
of themselves and cover each other. A.J. wanted to fnd whatever
was fghting Paimon. Over his own heavy breath, A.J. could hear
a scuffle ahead. The sounds of hard fist impacts, not gunfre. He
wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.
A.J.和多利安只能全然无力地旁观。两人都不会矩阵战斗。
但A.J.并非无助。“多利安,拖着帕蒙走。有麻烦就喊。安静时光结束了。”A.J.一边跑向地道深处一边发出信息。
“纳什,雷恩,情况?”A.J.奔入黑暗的同时提问。他的热成像系统足够区分空气和墙,让他能够移动得更快。地面上雷恩和纳什走过的压力加热了尘土,留下了微弱和痕迹,这点也帮了忙。纳什的痕迹更新更好辨认,但雷恩轻盈的脚步还是留下了一点痕迹。随着他加快移动速度赶上没有回应的两人,地上脚印变得更加明亮。
但雷恩和纳什不是他的目标——他们能互相照顾、互相掩护。A.J.想找到到底是什么在和帕蒙战斗。除了自己沉重的呼吸声之外,A.J.还能听见前方有打斗声。拳头重击的声音,不是枪声。他不确定是会是什么情况。
剧透 -   :
The sound was getting louder and closer quickly. A.J. could
see the prints turning a corner ahead, and the sound led him
to believe the fght was just around the corner. He slowed and
drew his pistol, making sure to change out the hollow-point
rounds for gel before he popped his head around the corner to
get a better view.
As his thermographic vision adjusted to the presence of
warm fgures, A.J. took a second to scan the room with the ghostly haze of heat trails in the air.
Two fgures were fghting in the
center of a small room with smooth walls, but he couldn’t identify
either of the fgures right away. There was more than two. Seated
against two of the walls were eight metahuman masses, all slightly warmer than they should be. A.J. could see hot strings, likely
wires, leading from their heads into the ceiling.
The strange heat patterns in the room weren’t changing, so
A.J. switched to low-light and activated the flashlight on his pistol
while bringing it to bear on the fghting fgures. He was surprised
to see it was Nash and Rain. The flashlight hit Rain directly in the
face, and his momentary blindness allowed Nash to land a crushing blow to the man’s temple. Rain went down hard.
“Holy ghost A.J., am I glad to see you,” Nash spoke in chopped
phrases as he planted his hands on his knees and huffed to catch
his breath.
声音很快愈发响、愈发近。A.J.能看见脚印在前方转了个弯,打斗声让他相信战斗就在转角处。他放慢脚步,拔出手枪,确定把达姆弹换成了凝胶弹后把脑袋探出墙角看清情况。
热成像视觉适应了有温度的人体后,A.J.花了一秒钟检查这个空气中弥漫着若有若无的热烟气的房间。
两个人正在一个有光滑墙面的小房间中央打斗,但他不能马上辨认出其中任何一个。不只两个人。靠着其中两面墙坐着的有八具人体,全都比正常温度稍高。A.J.能看见热线,看起来是缆线,从他们的头部连接到天花板。
房间里奇怪的热像没有改变,A.J.于是切换到低光模式,打开手枪上的手电筒,把光打向正在战斗的两人。他惊讶地发现那是纳什和雷恩。手电的光直接打在了雷恩的脸上,他暂时失去了视觉,让纳什有机会在他的太阳穴上重重一击。雷恩沉重地倒地。
“圣鬼在上,A.J.,我见到你真高兴。”纳什断断续续地说,一边把手撑在膝盖上喘着粗气。
剧透 -   :
“What the fuck is happening here?” A.J. asked as he looked at
the eight fgures, now revealed as six humans, an ork, and an elf.
They all had datajacks with wires running up into the ceiling, and
every one looked malnourished. As A.J. focused on the group for
a moment, he spotted the battle between Paimon and the black
mass going on in his AR feed. The difference was now he was
behind the black mass.
Paimon looked to have taken some hits. The shield was
chipped and worn, and Paimon’s body was covered in tiny black
bite and slash marks. It took only an instant for A.J. to realize the
group on the ground were the ones controlling the black mass.
“They’re fghting Paimon. Knock ’em out Nash,” A.J. called out
as he raised his big pistol.
“Whoa, wait,” Nash cried out as he leapt in front of the jackedin octet. “That’s what Rain was trying to do. I stopped him. I don’t think they are what we think they are.”
“这里TM的在干什么?”A.J.边问边看着那八个人体,他现在看清是六个人类,一个兽人,还有一个精灵。
他们都装了数据接口,线一直连到天花板,每个人看起来都营养不良。A.J.盯着这些人看了一会,然后注意到他的AR视野中帕蒙和那团黑色物质的战斗还在进行。不同的是他现在位于黑色物质之后。
帕蒙看起来被打了几下。盾牌碎裂残损,帕蒙的身体上复盖了细小的黑色咬痕和砍伤的痕迹。A.J.只用了一秒钟就意识到坐在地板上的这群人就是控制那团黑色物质的家伙。
“他们在和帕蒙战斗。把他们敲晕,纳什。”A.J.说着举起了他的重型手枪。
“喂,等等。”纳什大叫着奔到接入中的八人组前面。“雷恩想这么做。我阻止他了。我觉得他们不是我们以为的东西。”
剧透 -   :
A.J. considered his friend’s words. He could still see the battle
raging between Paimon and the blackness. It looked like it was
coming from them, but if Rain was infected, why would he try
to stop them? Unless it was the real Rain and not some infected
personality. The confusion was hurting his brain something ferce.
“Maybe we should cut the wires. Dump ’em without shooting them,” A.J. suggested. Nash looked at the wires for a brief
second like he was considering it. He shifted his stance a few
times as if pacing in place but kept himself between A.J. and
the group on the floor. “Maybe pull the plug on one. See what
happens,” A.J. added as he tried to convince Nash.
“Well, maybe. These guys don’t look healthy. That could kill
them,” Nash said.
A.J. saw Paimon take a hit that completely pixelated his
shield. Time was short. A.J. pushed forward but tucked the pistol
away as he moved. “I’m pulling one plug. If it helps Paimon, we’ll
pull the rest. If not, we’re in deep shit.”
A.J. wrapped his hand around the datacord and used the
thumb switch to release the latch on the datajack. As his arm
tensed to pull, A.J. felt cold metal pressed into the short hairs on
the back of his head. “Not so fast, boss,” Nash said from behind
him, “Ease off the cord. Nice and slow.”
A.J.考虑着这位朋友的话。他见到帕蒙和那团黑色物质还在激战。看起是从他们那边来的,但如果雷恩被感染了,他为什么要尝试阻止他们呢?除非那是真正的雷恩而不是被感染的人格。迷惑让A.J.脑袋生疼。
“或许我们应该断开这些连线。不打他们,只是让他们甩出来。”A.J.提议。纳什看了接线几秒种,似乎在考虑。他换了几次姿势,好像在原地踱步,但一直把自己隔在A.J.和地上那群人之间。“要么拔掉一个的线。看会发生什么。”A.J.加了一句,努力说服纳什。
“那样,或许吧。这些家伙看起来不健康。可能会杀了他们。”纳什说。
A.J.看见一次攻击完全击碎了帕蒙的盾牌。时间很短。A.J.推开纳什上前,但是移动时把手枪收了回去。“我要拔掉一根线。如果能帮到帕蒙,我们就把剩下的拔了。如果不能,我们有大麻烦了。”
A.J.用手握住数据线,按下拇指开关把数据接口的卡扣打开。他绷劲手臂打算拉的时候,A.J.感到冰冷的金属压在了他后脑的短发上。“别那么快,老板。”纳什在他身后说,“让手离开那根线。慢慢地,小心地。”
剧透 -   :
A.J. considered his speed versus Nash’s. A.J. knew he was
faster, but all it took was one misstep and he was catching a
bullet to the back of the head. He let up his thumb and Nash
leaned off his head and took a few quick steps back. It was a
smart move that put the rigger out of arms’ reach.
“I’m not sure what to do with you. I know you’re a pro and
you don’t take too much personally. But can you write this off?
Can you let Paimon go? And Dorian? And Rain? They’d all come
after me. They’d make it personal. But you, you’re not as emotional. All that metal makes you cold. Even this job. You hate Rothberg. Why, I don’t know, but I know you hate her, and yet
you pushed to get all the data you could f—”
It happened in a blink. Literally. While Nash was talking A.J.
was timing his vocal rhythm along with his blinks. It was an odd
identifcation technique he had learned somewhere in his tradecraft days that was excellent for seeing through even the best nanodisguise. It had the secondary advantage of timing the
moment when a person had zero visual perception. The ideal
time to make a move.
A.J.比较着他和纳什的速度。A.J.知道他更快,但只要有一点失误他的后脑勺就会挨一颗子弹。他松开拇指,纳什离开他的脑袋迅速退了几步。聪明的做法,机师现在离他有好几个手臂的距离。
“我不知道该拿你怎么办。我知道你很专业,你不会把私事扯进工作。但你能翻篇吗?你能让帕蒙离开吗?还有多利安?还有雷恩?他们都会来追我。他们会把这当成私事。但你,你没那么情绪化。这些金属让你冷漠无情。包括这份工作。你恨罗森伯格。为何,我不清楚。但我知道你恨她,但你还是尽全力拿到所有你能找到的——”
眨眼之间。字面意义上的。纳什说话时A.J.正在给他的语调和眨眼次数计时。这是种古怪的辨识技巧,他在他那些间谍生涯中的某处学到的,能有效看穿哪怕最好的纳米伪装。第二个优点则是计算一个人视觉察觉为零的时刻。行动的理想时机。
剧透 -   :
By the time Nash was opening his eyes, A.J.’s Colt was
drawn, passing gut height, and had already fred one round
that was about to hit his turncoat friend in the shin. A.J. pulled
the trigger a second time at solar plexus level and a third at
where his smartlink system estimated Nash’s head would be
after frst the two impacts. A.J. was sliding to his right as he
fred, increasing the distance Nash would have to swing the
SMG he carried.
All three rounds made solid contact, silencing and stumbling the villain during his soliloquy, but it wasn’t enough to
put him down. The SMG roared to life as Nash swung it around
and past A.J..
Rounds pounded into A.J.’s gut and chest, but none of them
penetrated the plates woven into the ballistic fabric. But that
didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. The hits and his motion threw off A.J.’s
aim, and several shots sailed wide of Nash who was also now
moving to his right. Nash sprayed rounds that slammed into A.J.’s
body armor—front on purpose and back from ricochets.
A.J. was trying to conserve ammo, but he still popped off a
few more shots as he got into position. He had circled the room
and fnally had a good line on what he really wanted. He fired
repeatedly as he crossed the span of the room and then let himself slam into the wall to stop his movement. Nash continued to fre past him, and he didn’t realize what A.J. was up to until it was
too late. A.J. lined up the smartlink and fred two quick shots. The
rounds, thick gel-flled sacs, slammed into Nash’s right eye and
then his exposed temple. Nash tumbled to the ground, flopping
uncontrolled.
纳什眨眼睁开的时候,A.J.的柯尔特已经拔出,举到高过腹部,打出了一轮子弹,正要正中他假冒的朋友。A.J.第二次朝腹部神经丛扣动扳机,第三次朝他估计两次冲击后纳什头部的智能链系统会在的位置。A.J.一边开火一边向右侧滑动,增加纳什挥动SMG的距离。
三轮子弹都结结实实地命中了,让独白中的反派跌跌撞撞地闭上了嘴。但还不够撂倒他。SMG怒吼着动了起来,纳什挥着它指向A.J.。
好几发子弹打中了A.J.的腹部和胸部,但都没有穿透织进防弹织物里的防弹板。但这不代表不会痛。子弹还有他的移动让A.J.打偏了,几发子弹朝纳什远方飞去,而纳什现在也在朝右边移动。纳什喷射着子弹,子弹打进了A.J.的身体护甲——前面是有意的,后面是反弹。
A.J.在尽量节省子弹,但他还是在到达位置后射出了几发。他绕着房间移动,终于找到了他真正想要的射击视线。他一边连续开枪一边冲过房间中间,然后把自己撞在墙上止住自己的移动。纳什继续朝他开火,没意识到A.J.的真正意图,直到为时已晚。A.J.对齐智能链,迅速射出两发结实的凝胶胶囊弹,一枚打中纳什的右眼,一枚打中他裸露的太阳穴。纳什摔倒在地,止不住地打滚。
剧透 -   :
A.J. paused a moment to take in the scene. The AR display of
the local Matrix showed a beaten and battered Paimon, but no
black mass. The victory was not Paimon’s to claim, though. It was
a combination of A.J.’s and Nash’s actions that led to the end of
the blackness. Nash’s initial blind spray had put rounds into fve
of the eight. Three of the wounds weren’t serious but one was a
gutshot—those killed slow—and the last was a clean shot through
the head of the ork. They were enough to slow the blackness,
but A.J. laying into the rest of them with nine gel rounds set the
Matrix monstrosity up for Paimon’s fnishing touches.
The moment over, A.J. set to work tidying things up before
Paimon and Dorian joined him or Rain woke up. He managed to
bind Nash and the surviving members of the jacked octet, along
with Rain just in case, before a bedraggled Paimon and exhausted
Dorian stumbled into the room.
Over the next few minutes he briefed Paimon and Dorian on
what had transpired before setting them to a few new tasks. He
had expected Paimon to be upset that the Matrix victory was
not his alone, but the hacker gave a hearty and genuine thanks.
Dorian eyed the octet (now only a sextet) with a vindictive glare.
He had offered to summon a spirit to do the deed if A.J. was
squeamish. That step somehow made Dorian okay with killing in
cold blood. If the spirit did it, it wasn’t him. A.J. had tried to argue
it once, but fnally gave up, fguring that whatever helped Dorian
sleep at night was okay. A.J. was not near as worried about what
he had to do with the six—it was what he’d have to do with Nash
and Rain that had him off-balance.
A.J.停顿了一刻,观察这里的情况。本地网域的AR视野显现出一个遍体鳞伤的帕蒙,但那团黑色物质不见了。然而胜利不属于帕蒙。正是A.J.和纳什的行动终结了这团黑色。纳什最初的盲目喷射打中了八个中的五个。其中三个伤势不太严重,但有一个被击中了腹部——缓慢的死亡——最后是干净利落的一枪穿过了兽人的脑袋。这些足以拖慢黑雾,但A.J.把九颗凝胶弹送给了剩下的,困住了矩阵怪物,让帕蒙发起最后一击。
观察结束。A.J.着手清理战场等帕蒙和多利安过来、雷恩清醒。他设法把纳什和剩下还活着的连线八人组绑了起来,雷恩单独绑住,以防万一。随后大汗淋漓的帕蒙和精疲力尽的多利安跌跌撞撞地进了房间。
之后几分钟他简要地告诉帕蒙和多利安发生了什么,然后给了他们一些新任务。他原本以为帕蒙会因为不能独享矩阵胜利而不快,但骇客给了他一个真诚而衷心的感谢。
多利安用仇恨的视线地盯着八人组(现在是六人组)。他提出如果 A.J.的精神太纤细他可以召唤精魂了解这些事。这种做法让多利安不介意冷血地杀人。如果是精魂干的,那就和他没关系。 A.J.曾经和他争论过一次,但最终放弃了。他觉得不管怎样,只要能让多利安在夜晚睡得安心就好。 A.J.不太担心那这六人怎么办——怎么处理纳什和雷恩才是让他焦虑的。
剧透 -   :
A.J. had team members scan the local area astrally while also
looking for a solid Matrix connection. The astral around them
was clear; they were in the basement of a small offce building
a half mile from the church. The Matrix was shoddy, and Paimon
said the noise was too bad to do any real hacking. Calls, though,
could be made and messages sent. After the recons were done,
A.J. sent Paimon to follow the cables and Dorian to cover him.
The look he gave both kept them from arguing and made sure
they both understood to only return on orders or A.J.’s screams
for help.
A.J.让队友从星界扫描本地区域,同时寻找可靠的矩阵连接。他们周围的星界无恙;他们正位于一个栋小办公楼的地下室,离教堂有半英里远。矩阵很烂,帕蒙说杂讯太强,没法真正骇任何东西。但能打电话,能发信息。侦察结束后,A.J.让帕蒙沿着那些数据线寻找,多利安掩护。他的眼神让他们没有多说,A.J.确定他们理解了只有自己下了指令或者自己尖声呼救时他们才能才返回。
剧透 -   :
When they left, A.J. took a pair of stim patches from his kit and
held them in his hands. He looked down at the two of them, arms
trussed behind their backs and considered his plan. In the end he
slapped them both at the same time and took a step back.

“WhatthefuckI’llkillyou,youpieceofshit!” Rain blurted all rolled together and flailed in his bonds. It took a moment for him to fully realize what was going on before he calmed and glared at A.J.,
“Ghost, A.J., untie me. Nash’s gone batshit.”
Nash’s eyes were slowly coming around, and he shook his
head repeatedly as if confused. Then he started to mumble. It
was the same thing over and over, but eventually A.J. could make
it out, “I have control. I can move. I have control.”
“Easy. Both of you. Time for a chat,” A.J. stood back from them
and talked loud and clear.

“A.J.. It wasn’t me. I’m not me. I’m me now. But I wasn’t me
then. I swear,” Nash ranted. He looked over at Rain. “Rain, man,
I’m so sorry. I must be infected. It’s taking me over. I had to watch
while it did everything. It was horrible. Please. Just kill me.”
“Please do, A.J.,” Rain added coldly.
“Not so fast, slick,” A.J. said to Rain, “I’m not sure you’re all
there either. You got the signs, too.”
“Are you fucking serious?” Rain spat the words. “I’ve been
covering your ass for how many years. Don’t you don’t think I’d
tell ya if I was gettin’ squirrelly? Well, ain’t that a big ol’ fuck-you!”
“It’s not him A.J.. It’s me. I’m infected. Give me your gun. I’ll do
myself. Please. Let me end this. I can’t keep watching the horror
show from inside my own head,” Nash pleaded.
A.J. thought about it. He owed Nash the courtesy of letting
him do it. A.J. certainly didn’t want innocent blood on his hands,
especially the innocent blood of his own friend. There was nothing he could do if Nash was infected. After a few seconds, A.J.
pulled the big Colt 2066 out of his holster and laid it in his old
friend’s lap. He slipped a knife from his belt and cut the plastic tie
that bound Nash’s hands.
Rain scrambled away from the pair. “Are you fucking nuts A.J.?
That thing is full of shit. If you can’t see that, you’re fred as our
face. You must be fucking blind.”
“Don’t worry Rain. It’ll be over soon,” Nash said apologetically
as he grabbed the big pistol and pressed it to his chin.
A.J. turned away and Rain screamed, “A.J. look out!” But A.J.
didn’t move at all. He heard the dry click of the trigger pull, but
the Colt was empty.
When A.J. heard Nash trying to scramble to his feet, he spun
and planted his boot square in the chest that had once belonged
to his old friend. He popped his second Colt from the holster with
a shrug of his shoulder and leveled the big pistol at the head of
what once was Nash.
“Can I still be your face?” A.J. said while looking at Rain. Then
he pulled the trigger.
他们离开后,A.J.从工具包里拿出两片兴奋贴放在手上。他朝下看着两人,把手扣在他们的背上,思考着自己的计划。最后他双手同时拍在两人身上,后退一步。
“你TM的什么鬼我要杀了你你这狗娘养的!”被捆起来、骨头被反扣的雷恩脱口大骂。他花了一会才完全意识到发生了什么,然后才冷静下来,盯着A.J.,“鬼魂,A.J.,解开我。纳什发神经了。”
纳什的眼睛慢慢睁开,他摇了几下头,似乎有点迷糊。然后他开始嘟哝。同样的声音不断重复,最后A.J.终于听懂了。“我能控制。我能动。我能控制。”
“轻松点,你们两个都是。聊天的时间到了。”A.J.从他们身边站开,大声而清晰地说。
“A.J.。不是我。我不是我。我现在是我了。但刚才我不是我。我发誓。”纳什大声辩白着。他看向雷恩。“雷恩,老兄,我很抱歉。我一定是被感染了。它控制了我。它干一切事情的时候我只能看着。太可怕了。拜托。直接杀了我吧。”
“请吧,A.J.。”雷恩冷冷地加上。
“别那么快,滑头。”A.J.对雷恩说。“我也不确定你是不是正常。你也有迹象。”
“你TM是认真的?”雷恩喷出这句。“我给你们擦屁股有多少多年了。你不觉得我要是疯了会告诉你们?好啊,这可不是个天大的操你TM的?”
“不是他,A.J.,是我。我被感染了。给我你的枪。我自己来。拜托了,让我结束这些。我不能一直在我自己的脑子里看恐怖秀。”纳什乞求着。
A.J.想了想。他欠纳什自我了断的尊严。A.J.当然不想手上沾染无辜的鲜血,尤其是自己朋友的无辜鲜血。要是纳什被感染了,他什么也做不了。若干秒后,A.J.从枪套取出他的柯尔特2066,放到老朋友的腿上。他从皮带上抽出一把小刀划开绑住纳什双手的塑料带。
雷恩从两人身边爬开。“你TM脑子有病啊A.J.?这玩意全是狗屎。你要是看不出,你这个出面人就被解雇了。你是TM的瞎了。”
“别担心雷恩。很快就会结束的。”纳什抱歉地说,一边抓起重型手枪抵住自己的脸颊。
A.J.转身,雷恩尖叫道,“A.J.小心!”但A.J.一动不动。他听见干巴巴的扳机叩响,但柯尔特是空的。
A.J.听见纳什挣扎着想站起来,他猛然回转,将靴子踩在曾经是自己老朋友的人的胸口。他一抖肩从枪套里抽出另一把柯尔特,将重型手枪举到曾经是纳什的人的头部。
“我还是你们的出面人吗?”他看着雷恩问。然后扣下扳机。
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably an Andrik