OUT OF THE SHADOWS / ±q¼v¹³
PART 10 / ²Ä 10 ³¡¥÷
--15--
Ken boarded the New Godphoenix via the hatch leading from the craft's
massive main landing gear. He moved slowly, his head and shoulder pounding
in synch. When he entered the cockpit, the others turned to face him,
and he tried to ignore the feeling of their eyes on him as he took his
seat. / ªÖ®¦¸g¥Ñ¿µ¤f·f¼¤F·sªº Godphoenix ¨Ó¦Û¸¾÷ªºÃe¤j¥Dnªº°_¸¨¬[ªº»â¥ý¡C ¥L²¾°Ê±oºCºC, ¥LªºÀY©MªÓ synch ªººV¡C
·í¥L¶i¤J¤F¾r¾pû®y¿µªº®ÉÔ, ¨ä¾lªÌ·Ç³Æ±¹ï¥L¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¸ÕµÛ¤£²z¸B¦b¥L¤Wªº¥L̲´·úªº·Pı·í¥L¦û¾Ú¤F¥Lªº®y¦ì¡C
"I sent Ryu to look over the airliner wreckage right after we talked
with Dr. Rafael," Jun said. / " §Ú°en´N¦b§Ṳ́§«á¹M¤Î«È¾÷´Ý¾l¬Ýªº Ryu ©M Rafael
³Õ¤h»¡¸Ü",¤»¤ë»¡¡C
"And?" / "¦Ó¥B"?
"Wasn't anything important there," Ryu said. "The wreck
wasn't even the same plane that got reported missing. I don't think there
had been anybody in it--there wasn't even any luggage or belongings or..."
He looked at Jinpei. "Anything else." / " «nªºªF¦è¤£¦b¨º¸Ì",Ryu
»¡¡C "´ÝÀe¤£¬Æ¦Ü±o¨ì³ø§i¤£¨£ªº¬Û¦P¸¾÷¡C §Ú¤£»{¬°¤w¸g¦³¥ô¦ó¤H¦b¥¦¸Ì±-- ¨S¦³¥©Zªº¥ô¦ó¦æ§õ©Î©Ò¦³ª«©Î¡C¡C¡C"¥L¬Ý
Jinpei ¡C " §OªºªF¦è".
"A lure," Ken said softly, shaking his head. "Of course."
/ "¤@Ó»ç",ªÖ®¦¬X©M¦a»¡,·nÀY¡C " ·íµM".
"Where to now?" Ryu asked. / " ¦bþ¸Ì¨ì²{¦b"? Ryu °Ý¡C
Ken sighed. "Home. Let the ISO handle the cleanup." / ªÖ®¦¼Û®§¡C
"®a¡C Åý°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´³B²z²M°£¡C"
Once the island had vanished from their viewscreens, the radio pinged
and Dr. Nambu's image appeared on center screen. Ken spoke first. "We're
sorry, Hakase. We were unable to find the passengers from that fallen
airliner. The wreck we found on Easton Island wasn't the same plane."
/ ¤@¥¹®q¤w¸g±q¥L̪º viewscreens ®ø¥¢,¦¬µ¾÷ÜÛ¦a¸¹L¡A¦Ó¥B Nambu's ³Õ¤h¼v¹³¦b¤¤¥¡ªº¿Ã¹õ¤W¥X²{¡C ªÖ®¦º¥ý»¡¡C "
§Ú̬OÃø¹Lªº,Hakase¡C §Ṳ́£¯à°÷µo²{¨Ó¦Û¨º¬[¼Z¸¨ªº«È¾÷¼«È¡C ´ÝÀe§Ú̦b Easton ®q¤Wµo²{¤£¬O¬Û¦Pªº¸¾÷¡C"
The image nodded. "I understand. I have new information on Getz."
Ken's eyes narrowed, but before he could reply, the doctor continued.
"We found the body of the real Eric Getz in a London hotel room,
alongside the bodies of several Galactor soldiers." An image flashed
on the screen: a leering mug shot of Getz's impostor in Birdstyle, his
helmet off. "We're doing a background check of his replacement now,
but we have no results so far." / ¼v¹³ÂIÀY¡C "§Ú¤F¸Ñ¡C §Ú¦³Ãö©ó Getz ªº·s¸ê°T¡C"ªÖ®¦ªº²´·úÁY¤p¡A¦ý¬O¥L¥i¥HµªÂФ§«e¡AÂå¥ÍÄ~Äò¡C
"§Ú̦b¤@ÓÛ´°®ÈÀ]©Ð¶¡¤¤µo²{¯u¥¿ªº¦ã¤O§J Getz ªº¨Åé,¾aµÛ¤@¨Ç Galactor x¤Hªº¨Åé". ¤@Ó¼v¹³¦b¿Ã¹õ¤W°{²{:
Birdstyle ªº¤@Ó°e¬îªiÁy Getz's ªº«_¦W³»´Àªº¤Hª`®g,¨«¶}ªº¥L¿û²¯¡C "§ÚÌ¥¿¦b²{¦b°µ¥Lªº´À´«I´ºÀˬd¡A¦ý¬O§Ų́ì²{¦b¬°¤î¨S¦³µ²ªG"
¡C
"We're sorry, Hakase," Ken said, but there was an edge to his
voice that caused the others to stare. "This mission was a failure."
/ " §Ú̬OÃø¹Lªº,Hakase",ªÖ®¦»¡, ¦ý¬O¦³¹ï¥Lªº¾ÉP¨ä¾lªÌª`µøªºÁnµÃä½t¡C "³o¤@Ó¥ô°È¬O¥¢±Ñ"
¡C
"Not entirely. Return to base. Good work, people." / "¤£¬O§¹¥þ¡C
¦^¨ì¥H§@°ò¦¡C ¦n¤u§@¡A¤H¡C"
Joe found Rafael sitting at the helm of his boat in the little cove not
far from the ruined temple. Joe's boat was roped to the stern. Without
a word, the young man broke from the jungle and leaped lightly from the
shore to the back of Rafael's boat. Dr. Rafael grabbed the wheel as the
boat rocked violently, and jostled from its perch, Rafael's hawk launched
into the air with a loud flapping of wings. / ³ìµo²{ Rafael ¦bÂ÷·´·Àªº¦x¼q¤£«Ü»·ªº¤p¤p®üÆW¤¤§¤¦b¥Lªº²î²ë«e¡C
³ìªº²î³Q¥H÷±N§À³¡Ã´¦í¨ì¡C ¨S¦³¤@Ó¦r¡A¦~»´ªº¨k¤H±qÂOªL¦Ó¥B»´»´ªºÂ_±¼±q®ü©¤¨ì Rafael's ªº²îI±¸õÅD¡C Rafael ³Õ¤h§ì¨ú¤F½ü¤l¦p³Q·n°Êªº²î²r¯Pªº,
¦Ó¥B±q¥¦ªº´Ï¤ì±ÀÀ½,Rafael's ªºÆN¶i¤J©M¤jÁnªº¯Í»H©ç¥´ªºªÅ®ð¤§¤ºµo®g¡C
"I thought you would be here waiting," Rafael said. "Why
did you go back?" / "§Ú·Q¡A§A±N·|¦b³o¸Ìµ¥Ô",Rafael »¡¡C "§A¬°¤°»ò¦^¥h"?
Joe shrugged and threw himself into the seat beside Rafael's, setting
the boat rocking again. The old man glared at him. / ³ì¶i¤J¦b Rafael's ®ÇÃ䪺®y¦ì¤§¤ºÁqªÓ¦Ó¥B¥á¥L¦Û¤v,¦A¤@¦¸³]©w²î·nÂ\¡C
¦Ñ¤H¦b¥Lµo¯t¥ú¡C
"Are you certain you don't want to go back to the ISO?" / "§A¬O½T©wªº§A¤£·Qn¦^¥h°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´¶Ü"?
"Positive." / "¿n·¥ªº".
"Your actions still tell me a far different story," Rafael said.
"You deliberately used a feather shuriken on Getz's imposter. You
lured the others through the base with a second feather, and even now
you can't leave them alone." "I didn't intend--" Joe stopped.
The horror in the impostor's expression as Joe confronted him hardly made
up for the horror of Eric Getz's death, but it was only fitting, and the
feather the most appropriate weapon. That bastard got an easy death. I
hope I left him shivering all the way to hell, at least. Turning his gaze
skyward, he watched the hawk glide over the boat in wide, lazy circles.
"It all worked out in the end." / "§Aªº¦æ°Ê¤´µM§i¶D§Ú¤@Ó»·ªº¤£¦P¬G¨Æ",Rafael
»¡¡C " §A¬G·N¦a¨Ï¥Î¦b Getz's ¤Wªº¦Ð¤ò shuriken ¨M©wÃöµ|¡C §A¸g¹L©M¤@®Ú²Ä¤G®Ú¦Ð¤òªº°ò¦¤Þ»¤¤F¨ä¾lªÌ¡A¦Ó¥B¬Æ¦Ü²{¦b§A¤£¯à§OºÞ¥LÌ¡C""§Ú¨S¦³p¹º--"³Q°±¤îªº³ì¡C
³ìèè±¹ï¤F¥Lªº«_¦W³»´Àªº¤Hªí¹FªºÅåÀb¬°¦ã¤O§J Getz's ªº¦º¤`ÅåÀb²Õ¦¨¡A¦ý¬O¥¦¬O°ß¤@ªº°t¥ó , ©M¦Ð¤ò³Ì¾A·íªºªZ¾¹¡C ¨º¤@Ó¨p¥Í¤l±o¨ì¤F¤@Ó®e©öªº¦º¤`¡C
§Ú§Æ±æ§Ú¯d¤U¤FŸ§Ý©Ò¦³ªº¸ô¦aº»ªº¥L,¦Ü¤Ö¡C ¦V¤ÑªÅÂà¥Lªºª`µø,¥L¬Ý¤F¼eªº, Ãi´kªº¶ê°é¦b²î¤WªºÆN·Æ°Ê¡C "¥¦¥þ³¡¦bµ²§ô¤¤¸Õºâ "
¡C
"You were very lucky. This time." Rafael's voice lowered. "Look,
Joe. I told you before, I don't care if you rejoin the Kagaku Ninjatai
or not, just as long as you know to come to me when the time is right.
But you have to commit. You either join them or stay far away from them--don't
continue to hover between. It can hurt us all if your judgment slips because
you're trying to help your old team from outside. Besides, it'll only
hurt you in the long run." / "§A«D±`©¯¹B¡C ³o¦¸¡C"Rafael's ªºÁnµ°§C¡C
"¯«±¡,³ì¡C §Ú¥H«e§i¶D¤F§A, ¦pªG§A¦A¥[¤J Kagaku Ninjatai ¡A§Ú¤£Ãö¤ß, ¥¿¦p¥un·í®É¶¡¬O¥¿½Tªº®ÉÔ¡A§Aª¾¹D¨«ªñ§Ú¡C
¦ý¬O§A¥²¶·©e°U¡C §A©Î±µ¦X³B¦b»·³Bªº¥L̩ΰ±¯d±q¥LÌ-- ¤£Ä~Äò½L±Û¦b¤§¶¡¡C ¦]¬°§A¥¿¦b¹Á¸Õ±q¥~±À°§U§Aªº¦Ñ¤p²Õ¡A©Ò¥H¦pªG§Aªº§PÂ_¤O·ÆË¡A¥¦¯à¶Ë®`§ÚÌ¥þ³¡¡C
¦¹¥~¡A¥¦¥u±N³Ì«á¶Ë®`§A¡C"
"We'll wind up on the same sites. We have the same goals." /
"§Ú̱N¦b¬Û¦Pªº¦ì¸m¤Wµ²§ô¡C §Ú̦³¬Û¦Pªº¥Ø¼Ð¡C"
"Yes, that's something to consider. But bear this in mind: either
the Condor is dead or he's not." / "¬Oªº¡A¨º¬O¬Y¨Æ¦Ò¼{¡C ¦ý¬O°O¦í³o: ©Î¨rÆN¦º¡A§_«h¥L¤£¬O¡C"
Joe glared at the sky. Above him, the hawk tilted its wings, flashing
patterned feathers as it completed another slow circle. / ³ì¦b¤ÑªÅµo¯t¥ú¡C ¦b¥L¤W±¡AÆN¶É±×¤F¥¦ªº¯Í»H,·í¥¦§¹¦¨¤F¥t¥~ºCªº¶ê°é®ÉÔ¡A°{Ã{¼Ò¥é¤F¦Ð¤ò¡C
"Thanks for covering for me back there," he said finally. /
" ÁÂÁ¬°§Ú¥]§tªº¦b¨º¸Ì¦^",¥L³Ì«á»¡¡C
"Aa." Rafael twisted the key in the boat's ignition and the
dual engines roared. "I don't think they believed me, but at this
point, they don't have much of a choice." / "Aa". Rafael
À¾¤F³Q§qªº²îÂI¤õ©MÂù«ªº¤ÞÀºÆ_°Í¡C "§Ú¤£»{¬°¡A¥L̬۫H¤F§Ú¡A¦ý¬O¦¹®É¡A¥L̨S¦³³\¦h¿ï¾Ü" ¡C
No one spoke for the rest of the flight home. Ken reclined on a seat in
the back of the cockpit, helmet off, asleep. Ryu watched the instruments,
thankful for something to keep him occupied, and Jinpei stared blankly
through the forward viewscreen. Jun sat beside Ken, watching him. He was
battered, drained, his face pale and bruised, but to Jun he looked stronger
than he had in the past two years. The moment he opened his eyes, she
knew, he would be the same old Ken, the same indomitable Gatchaman. No
matter how many times he was knocked down, he would bounce back, unstoppable.
/ ¨S¦³¤H¬°¸¦æªº¨ä¾lªÌ®a»¡¡C ªÖ®¦¦b¾r¾pû®y¿µªº«á±¤@Ó®y¦ì¤W¾a¦b, ¿û²¯¨«¶},ºÎ¼ô¤Fªº¡C Ryu ¬Ý¤F¤u¨ã, ·PÁªºÅý¬Y¨Æ¨Ï¥L³Q¦û»â,¦Ó¥B
Jinpei ¯íµM¦aª`µø¹L¦V«eªº viewscreen ¡C ¤»¤ë¦bªÖ®¦®ÇÃ䧤,¬Ý¥L¡C ¥L³QºV¥´,±Æ¥X·¾¥~,¥LªºÁyÅÜ»a¥Õ¦Ó¥B¥´¶Ë¡A¦ý¬O¨ì¤»¤ë¥L¬Ý¤ñ¥L¦b¹L¥h¤G¦~¤º¦³§ó¸û±j§§¡C
¤ù¨è¥L¥´¶}¤F¥Lªº²´·ú,¦oª¾¹D,¥L±N·|¬O¦Ñ¼Ë¤lªÖ®¦,¬Û¦Pªº¤£©}ªAªº Gatchaman ¡C µL½×¥L³Q¥´Ë¦a¦h³\¦h¦¸,¥L±N·|«ì´_,µLªk¨î¤îªº¡C
What had Ken seen? After ordering Ryu to head for home, he'd fallen asleep,
shutting everyone out. But this would not be the last of it. They still
had the debriefing to attend, questions to answer, details to review.
/ ªÖ®¦¤w¸g¬Ý¨ì¤°»ò? ¦b©R¥O Ryu ¥h®a¤§«á¡A¥L¤w¸gºÎµÛ,Ãö¤W¥X¨CÓ¤H¡C ¦ý¬O³o±N¤£¬O¥¦ªº³Ì«áªÌ¡C ¥L̤´µM¦³¤F¥ô°È³ø§i°Ñ¥[,¸ß°Ý¦^µª,²Ó»¡ÀË°Q¡C
Now she felt embarrassed for losing control, for chasing shadows and calling
them Joe. They'd spent two years trying to cope with the death of their
teammate, trying to let go. They had held a service for him and put away
his personal effects. Even now, Joe's trailer sat moldering in a warehouse
on the outskirts of Utoland. Perhaps they should have thrown everything
out, but no one had wanted to give the order. / ²{¦b¦o¬°¥¢±Ñªº±±¨î·Pı§xµ~,¬°°l¼v¹³¦Ó¥BºÙ¥L̬°³ì¡C
¥L̦³«×¹L¤G¦~¹Á¸ÕÀ³¥I¥L̪º¶¤¤Í¦º¤`, ¹Á¸ÕÅý¥h¡C ¥L̤w¸g¬°¥L®³µÛ¤@ÓªA°È¦Ó¥B©ñ±ó¥LªºÓ¤H®ÄªG¡C ¬Æ¦Ü²{¦b¡A³ìªº°lÂܪ̧¤µÛ¦b Utoland
ªºªñ¥¤Wªº¤@¶¡Ü®w¤¤»G¦´¡C ¤]³\¥LÌÀ³¸Ón§â¨C¥ó¨Æª«¥á¥X¥hªº¡A¦ý¬O¨S¦³¤H¤w¸g·Qnµ¹¦¸§Ç¡C
The day they put the trailer into storage, Ken had refused to go near
it, so Jun and Jinpei had spent the afternoon cleaning out cabinets, searching
for food that might spoil and securing loose items in the closets. They'd
found a carton of orange juice and a tub of butter that had grown two
inches of fuzz in the refrigerator, but no other food at all. The trailer
had been a mess--normally tidy as a matter of survival in that tiny space,
Joe had let the housekeeping slide for weeks before the end. Jun remembered
picking up the clothing scattered on the floor, muttering to herself about
men and dirty socks; taking it all back to the Snack and throwing it into
the washer. It wasn't until she had pulled his clothes from the dryer
to fold that she'd realized what she had been doing. Jun had clutched
a shirt that would stay empty forever, feeling the cotton crumple in her
hands, warm and smelling of fabric softener; robbed of any trace of its
owner and as dead as the man who had worn it. Jinpei had found her sitting
on the floor in the middle of a scattered pile of clean laundry, sobbing
like a child. / ¨º¤Ñ¥Ļâ°lÂܪ̸m©óÀxÂÃ,ªÖ®¦¤w¸g©Úµ´¥h¦b¥¦ªºªþªñ¡A¦]¦¹¡A¤»¤ë©M Jinpei ¤w¸g«×¹L¤È«á¬°¥i¯à¯}Ãaªº¹ª«²M¼ä¥X¤º»Õ
, ·j¯Á¦Ó¥B©T©w¾ÀÃoªº¼eÃP¶µ¥Ø¡C ¥ḺN·|µo²{¤F¾ï¤l¥Äªº¤@Óµw¯È²°¦Ó¥Bµo²{¤F¤w¸g®âºØ¹q¦B½cªº¤G¦T²Ó¤ò, ¦ý¬O§¹¥þ¨S¦³¨ä¥Lªº¹ª«¥¤ªoªº¯D¬Ö¡C
°lÂܪ̤w¸g¬O¤@¹Î¶Ã-- ¥¿±`¦a¾ã»ôªº¦p·¥¤pªºªÅ¶¡¥Í¦sªº¤@Өƥó¡A³ì¤w¸g¦bµ²§ô¤§«eÅý®a¨Æ¤Û¿O¤ùªø¹F¼ÆÓ¬P´Á¤§¤[¡C ¤»¤ë°O±o¤w¸g¬B°_¦b¦aªO¤W³Q´²§Gªº¦çªA,Ãö©ó¨k¤H©M»êżªºÄû¤l¹ï¦o¦Û¤v³ä³ä¦Û»y;
¥þ³¡¦V«á¦a±a¥¦¨ì¤p¦Y¦Ó¥B±N¥¦¥á¶i¬~¦ç¾÷¡C ¥¦¬O¤£ª½¨ì¦o©Ô¤F¨Ó¦Û°®¦ç¾÷ªº¥L¦çªAºPÅ|¦o¦³¤F¸Ñ¤F¦o¤w¸g°µªº¡C ¤»¤ë¤w¸g§ì¨c¤@¥ó±N·|¥Ã»·¦a°±¯dªÅªºÅ¨m,·Pı´Öªá¦b¦oªº¤â¤¤§Ë½K,
·Å·xªº¦Ó¥B´ª«¬X³n¾¯ªº»D; ¥ô¦óªº¥¦¾Ö¦³ªÌªº²ª¸ñ©M¹³¤w¸g¬ï¥¦ªº¨k¤H¤@¼Ëªº§¹¥þ¦a·m¹Ü¡C Jinpei ¤w¸gµo²{°®²bªº¬~¦ç©±ªºÂ÷´²°ï¤¤¥¡ªº¦b¦aªO¤Wªº¦o®y¦ì¦w±Æ,¹³¤@ӫĤlµo¥X¶ã«|Ánµ¡C
Jun lowered her head, wiping her eyes with a gloved hand. That had been
the only time she'd taken the chance to mourn, and after seeing what it
had done to Jinpei, she had never allowed herself to fall apart like that
again. Instead she'd kept busy caring for the others. Ryu had been open,
but quiet about his grief. Jinpei had cried off and on for weeks. He had
written long letters and burned them without letting anyone read what
was in them. Ken had been the worst--refusing to eat, work out, or speak
to anyone; spending his time either alone or asleep. All the light had
drained out of him, and Jun had been truly afraid Joe's death had been
the blow that had finally brought him down. Maybe, because of that, she
had refused to let go of him, even when he'd recovered and wanted to go.
I used Joe's death as a weapon, hanging it above Ken's head whenever he
did something I disapproved of. I am so ashamed.... That was a dirty move.
I shouldn't have been so selfish. But now this... it hurts even worse
than the day... than the day he-- / ¤»¤ë°§C¤F¦oªºÀY,¥Î¤@°¦³Q¤â®Mªº¤âÀ¿«ø¦oªº²´·ú¡C ¨º¤w¸g¬O°ß¤@ªº¤@¦¸¦o¤w¸g§Q¥Î¾÷·|«s±¥¡A¦Ó¥B¦b¬Ý¨£¥¦¤w¸g¹ï
Jinpei °µªº¤§«á¡A¦o±q¥¼¤¹³\¦o¦Û¤v¦A¤@¦¸¤À§O¦a¸¨¤U°_¨Ó¹³¨º¤@¼Ë¡C §ï¬°¦o¦³«O«ù¤F¦£¸Lªº·ÓÅU¨ä¾lªÌ¡C Ryu ¤w¸g¬O¤½¶} , ¦ý¬OÃö©ó¥Lªº¶Ëµh¦wÀR¡C
Jinpei ¤w¸gúÂ÷¶}©M¦bªø¹F¼ÆÓ¬P´Á¤§¤[¤§¤W¡C ¥L¤£»Ýn¨Ï¥ô¦ó¤HŪ¦b¥Ḻ̸ªºªF¦è´N¤w¸g¼gªøªº«H¦Ó¥B¿U¿N¥LÌ¡C ªÖ®¦¤w¸g¬O³ÌÃa-- ©Úµ´¦Y¡M¸Õºâ¡M©Î¸ò¥ô¦ó¤H»¡¸Ü;
ªá¶O¥Lªº©w®É©Î©t¿Wªº©ÎºÎ¼ô¤Fªº¡C ©Ò¦³ªº¥ú¤w¸g±Æ¥X·¾¥~Â÷¥L¡A¦Ó¥B¤»¤ë¤w¸g¬O¯u¹ê®`©È³ìªº¦º¤`¤w¸g¬O³Ì«á¤w¸g§â¥L±a¤U¨Óªº¥´À»¡C ¤]³\¡A¦]¬°¨º¡A¦o¤w¸g©Úµ´Åý¥L¥h,§Y¨Ï·í¥L¤w¸g§ä¦^¦Ó¥B·Qn¥h¡C
§Ú¥H³ìªº¦º¤`§@¬°¤@ÓªZ¾¹¡A¦bªÖ®¦ªºÀY¤W±Äa±¾¥¦µL½×¦ó®É¥L°µ¤F¬Y¨Æ§Ú¤Ï¹ï¡C §Ú¬O³o»òºF·\ªº.... ¨º¬O¤@¦¸»êżªº²¾°Ê¡C §ÚÀ³¸Ó¨S¦³¬O¦p¦¹¦Û¨p¡C
¦ý¬O²{¦b³o¡C¡C¡C ¥¦¶Ë®`¬Æ¦Ü§óÁV¶W¹L¨º¤Ñ¡C¡C¡C ¶W¹L¨º¤Ñ¥L--
Ryu broke the silence. "Brace yourselves. We're going under."
There was a jolt as the craft splashed below the ocean surface. The viewscreen
dimmed, and ocean froth cleared to reveal the underwater view. / Ryu Â_±¼¤F¨HÀq¡C
"¤ä¼µ§A̦ۤv¡C §ÚÌ¥¿¦b¥h¦b¤§¤U¡C"·í¸¾÷¦b¤j®üªí±¤U±ÂqÀ㪺®ÉÔ¡A¦³¤@¦¸·n®Ì¡C viewscreen ·t²H¡A¦Ó¥B¤j®ü¨Ï¥Íªwªj²M°£ªºÅã¥Ü¦b¤ô¤¤ªºµø³¥¡C
Another five minutes, and the lights of the fortress came into sight.
When the airlock drained, Jun moved to Ken's side and woke him with a
hand on his shoulder, then gently guided him to the door. He glanced back
at her, eyes startled at the contact. Jun shook her head and gave him
a little push. It was time to move on. / ¥t¥~¤¤ÀÄÁ¡A¦Ó¥B«°³ùªº¥ú§e²{²´«e¡C ·í airlock ±Æ¥X·¾¥~ªº®ÉÔ,¤»¤ë·h¨ìªÖ®¦ªº¨Ãä¦Ó¥B¥Î¦b¥LªºªÓ¤W¤@°¦¤â³ê¿ô¥L,µM«á³vº¥¦a«ü¾É¤F¥L¨ìªù¡C
¥L¦V«á¦a¦b¦o¿h°{,²´·ú¦b³sµ¸¾_Åå¡C ¤»¤ë·nÀY¦Ó¥Bµ¹¤©¤F¥L¤p¤pªº±À°Ê¡C ¥¦¬O¸ÓÄ~Äòªº®ÉÔ¡C
"Your CT scan checks out fine," the physician said. "You
have a minor cut on your head, a few burns and bruises and that wrenched
shoulder. We'd like to keep you overnight for observation. Not because
we expect anything, but because the effects of that kind of trauma sometimes
show up late and unannounced. Otherwise, you should be sore for a week
or two, but that's all." / "§Aªº CT ±½´yÀˬd»@´Ú",Âå®v»¡¡C "§A¦³¦b§AªºÀY¡A¤@¨Ç¿N¶Ë©M·ï¶Ë¤Wªº¸û¤p¤Á¡A¦Ó¥B¨º²r§á¤FªÓ¡C
§ÚÌ·Qn¬°Æ[¹î¨Ï§A«O«ù«e¤@±ßªº¡C ¤£¦]¬°§ÚÌ´Á«Ý¥ô¦ó¨Æ¡A¦ý¬O¦]¬°¨ººØ¥~¶Ëªº®ÄªG¦³®É¥X²{¿ðªº¦Ó¥B¤£«Å§G¡C §_«h¡A§AÀ³¸Ó¹ï¤@¬P´Á©Î¤G¬P´Á¬O¯kµhªº,
¦ý¬O©Ò¦³ªº¡C"
"Aa." Ken scooted up on the bed and nodded, eyes at half mast.
His body ached more from fatigue than from his injuries. The nap he'd
taken during the trip home hadn't even made a dent. / "Aa".
ªÖ®¦»´§Ö¦a©b¶]¦b§É¤W¤W±¦Ó¥BÂIÀY,¦b¤@¥bªº¤Ñ½u¬Wªº²´·ú¡C ¥Lªº¨Åé¦h±q¯h²Öµh¶W¹L±q¥Lªº¨ü¶Ë¡C ¥L¦b®È¦æ´Á¶¡¤w¸g¦û¾Ú®aªº¤pºÎ¤£¦³¬Æ¦Ü»s³y¤F¤@Ó¥W²ª¡C
"Have you put him on painkillers of any sort?" Nambu asked from
the doorway. / " §A§â¥L©ñ¦b¥ô¦óªºÃþ«¬¤îµhÃĤF"? Nambu ±qªù¤f°Ý¡C
"No, Hakase. He refuses to take them. I've prescribed ibuprofen if
he changes his mind." To Ken he said, "Have a good rest."
Then he left the room, flanked by a nurse, to continue his rounds. Nambu
shook the physician's hand as he passed, then stepped into the private
room and closed the door before taking a chair beside the bed. / "¤£,Hakase¡C
¥L©Úµ´±a¥LÌ¡C ¦pªG¥L§ïÅÜ¥Lªº·Qªk¡A§Ú¤w¸g³W©w ibuprofen ¡C"¹ïªÖ®¦¥L»¡ ",¦³¦n¥ð®§¡C"µM«á¥LÂ÷¶}¤F©Ð¶¡,±Á{µÛ¤@¦ìÅ@¤h,
Ä~Äò¥Lªº¦^¦X¡C ·í¥L³q¹Lªº®ÉÔ¡A Nambu ´¤Âå®vªº¤â, µM«á¶i¤J¨p¤Hªº©Ð¶¡¤§¤º½ñ¦Ó¥B¦b¦û¾Ú¦b§É®ÇÃ䪺¤@±i´È¤l¤§«eÃö³¬¤Fªù¡C
"The others?" Ken shoved a pillow beneath his back, wincing
as his stiff shoulder protested. The physician had confined his arm in
a sling which he'd bound to Ken's chest with a warning to keep it still,
but Ken kept forgetting. / "¨ä¾lªÌ"? ³Q±ÀÀ½¤@ÓªEÀY¥LªºI³¡¤§¤UªºªÖ®¦ , ¬ÈÁY¦p¥Lªº±j¯PªÓ¤Ï¹ï¡C
Âå®v¤w¸g¨î¤@Ó§ë¥Û¾¹ªº¥L¤âÁu¥L¦³¬ù§ôªº¨ìªÖ®¦ªº¯Ý¥H¤@Óĵ§i¨Ï¥¦«O«ùÀR¤îªº,¦ý¬OªÖ®¦Ä~Äò§Ñ°O¡C
"They're fine. Jinpei has some second-degree burns on his arm from
whatever you found in that temple, but the burns are small and otherwise
he's in good shape. You picked up the worst of it." / "¥L̫ܦn¡C
Jinpei ¦³¤@¨Ç²Ä¤G- µ{«×±q¤£½×¤°»ò¦b¥Lªº¤âÁu¤W¿U¿N§A¦b¨º¦x¼q¤¤µo²{¡A¦ý¬O¿N¶Ë«Ü¤p¡A¦Ó¥B§_«h¥Lª¬ªp¨}¦n¡C §A¬B°_¥¦ªº³ÌÃa¡C"
"Oh. Good," Ken said absently. / "®@¡C ¦nªº,"ªÖ®¦¤ß¤£¦b²j¦a»¡¡C
"So maybe you can explain to me why." The Professor's voice
took on a knife's edge. "Why you took it into your head to perform
such a rash and irresponsible move, to unnecessarily endanger your own
life. I know this was your first mission in over two years, but I did
not expect you to throw common sense out the window." / " ¦p¦¹ªº¤]³\§A¯à¹ï§Ú¸ÑÄÀ¬°¤°»ò".
±Ð±ÂªºÁnµ©Ó¾á¤MªºÃä½t¡C "§A¬°¤°»ò®³¥¦¶i§AªºÀY¤§¤ºªí²{¤@¦¸¦p¦¹»´²vªº©M¤£t³d¥ôªº²¾°Ê, ¤£¥²n¦a¦M¤Î§A¦Û¤vªº¥Í¬¡¡C §Úª¾¹D¡A³o¦b¶W¹L¤G¦~¤¤¬O§Aªº²Ä¤@Ó¥ô°È¡A¦ý¬O§Ú¨S¦³´Á«Ý§A§â±`ÃÑ¥á¥X¥hµ¡¤á¡C"
Ken let the words roll over him, distantly hearing the anger and concern.
Hadn't he heard these words before, from another source? Fairly recently?
/ ªÖ®¦Åý¦b¥L¤Wªº¦r±²ª«,»·¦aÅ¥©Á«ã©MÃö¤ß¡C ¥H«e¥LÁÙ¨SÅ¥¨ì³o¨Ç¦r,±q¥t¤@Ó¨Ó·½? ³Ìªñ¤½¥¦a?
Father? / ¤÷¿Ë?
No. He remembered being jostled, the feel of a shoulder supporting him,
the faded silhouettes of trees. The old man? / ¸¹½X¥L°O±o¤w¸g³Q±ÀÀ½, ¨º¤@Ó¤ä«ù¥L ªºªÓ·Pı,¾ðªº¤w¿Æ¦âªº¶Â¦â¥b¨°¼±¼v¡C
¦Ñ¤H?
The shadow? / ¼v¹³?
The memories came in a flash: a familiar voice--Ken! Wake up, damn you!
The shadow on the sandstone walls; the fake Getz lying dead, a feather
buried in his throat. That strange Dr. Rafael whose explanations didn't
ring entirely true. / °O¾Ð¤@Àþ¶¡¨Ó: ¤@ºØ¼ô±xªºÁnµ--ªÖ®¦! ¿ô¨Ó,¶A©G§A! ¦b¨F©¥Àð¾À¤Wªº¼v¹³; °²ªº Getz
»¡ÁÀ¦º,¤@®Ú¦Ð¤ò¦b¥Lªº«|³ï¤¤®I¸®¡C §¹¥þ¯u¹êªº¨º¨S¦³»ïÅTªº©_©Ç Rafael ³Õ¤h¡C
Outside, this circle of thought, Nambu continued. "Do you realize
what you could have done? Do you realize what you might have done to the
team if you'd been badly injured or killed? You're not sixteen anymore,
and even Jinpei is showing better judgment at age twelve than you did
today!" / ¥~±,·Qªkªº³o¤@Ó¶ê°é,Nambu Ä~Äò¡C " §A¤F¸Ñ¤°»ò§AÀ³¸Ó¥i¥H°µ? §A¤F¸Ñ¤°»ò§AÀ³¸Ó¥i¥H¹ï¤p²Õ°µ¦pªG§AÄY«¦a¤w¸g¨ü¶Ë©Î±þ?
¤ñ¸û§A¤µ¤Ñ°µ¡A§A¤£¦A¤£¬O¤Q¤»¡A¦Ó¥B¥©Zªº Jinpei ¥¿¦b¤Q¤G·³Åã¥Ü¸û¦nªº§PÂ_¤O!"
Ken lunged up in bed toward the Doctor, eyes wide and blazing. "You
want to talk about judgment?" he shouted, and the Professor pulled
back in his chair. "Our very first mission in two years, and you
dump that snake Getz on us! With no warning, with little introduction,
with Joe's rank and Joe's colors! Didn't you think about how we would
feel? Did you expect us to trust him? And then you don't even act surprised
when you find out that your people didn't do enough of a background check
to realize he was a Galactor agent! You set us up to fail, and now you
have the nerve to be angry about a risk I took? Where the hell is your
judgment? Where is your conscience?" / ¦b¹ï©óÂå¥Í, ¼eªº©M¿K¿Uªº²´·ú§É¤¤¦V¤W¦³ªÍªºªÖ®¦¡C
"§A·Qn½Í½×§PÂ_¤O"? ¥L©I³Û¡A¦Ó¥B±Ð±Â¦b¥Lªº´È¤l¤¤¦V«á¦a©Ô¡C " §Ú̪º«D±`²Ä¤@ªº¥ô°È¦b¤G¦~¤¤¡A¦Ó¥B§A¶É¨ø¦b§Ṳ́Wªº¨º³D
Getz! ÂǥѨS¦³Äµ§i,ÂǥѤpªº¤¶²Ð,Âǥѳ쪺±Æ¦W©M³ìªºÃC¦â! §A¨S·Q§Ú̱N·|¦p¦ó·Pı¶Ü? §A´Á«Ý§ÚÌ«H¿à¥L¶Ü? µM«á·í§Aµo²{§Aªº¥Á±ÚI´ºÀˬd¨S¦³¨¬°÷°µ¤F¸Ñ¥L¬O
Galactor ¥N²z¤Hªº®ÉÔ¡A§A¤£¬Æ¦Üªí²{·P¨ìÅå³Y! §A«Ø¥ß§ÚÌ¥¢±Ñ¡A¦Ó¥B²{¦b§A¨ì³B¦³¯«¸g«Ü¥Í®ð·ÀI§Ú®³? ¦aº»¬O§Aªº§PÂ_¤Oþ¸Ì? §Aªº¨}¤ß¦bþ¸Ì?"
His voice reverberated off the walls of the hospital room. The door opened
a crack and the concerned faces of two of the nurses appeared. Nambu waved
them off. One left, but the other hesitated. Turning to glare at her,
he waved again, and reluctantly she retreated. / ¥LªºÁnµ¨«¶}¦^ÅTÂå°|©Ð¶¡ªºÀð¾À¡C ªù¥´¶}¤FµõÁ_©M³Q¥X²{ªºÅ@¤h¤GÃö¤ßªºÁy¡C
Nambu ¨«¶}´§»R¤F¥LÌ¡C ¤@¥ªÃä,¦ý¬O¥t¤@ÓµS¿Ý¡C ·Ç³Æ¦b¦oµo¯t¥ú,¥L¦A¤@¦¸´§»R¡A¦Ó¥B¤£±¡Ä@¦a¦oºM°h¡C
"Don't mind them, Hakase," Ken snarled. "Answer me!"
/ "¤£n¯d·N¥LÌ,Hakase",ªÖ®¦§q¥s¡C "¦^µª§Ú"!
"Ken, bring your voice down. We can discuss this quietly." /
"ªÖ®¦,§â§AªºÁnµ±a¤U¨Ó¡C §Ú̯à¦wÀR¦a°Q½×³o¡C"
"We're used to playing the pawns for you, but this time you crossed
the line!" Ken shouted. "You lied to us!" / "§Ú̲ߺD©ó¬°§Aª±¨å·í¡A¦ý¬O³o¦¸§A¥æ¤e¤F½u"!
ªÖ®¦©I³Û¡C "§A¹ï§ÚÌ»¡ÁÀ"!
"Tell me where and when I lied to you." / " §i¶D§Ú¦bþ¸Ì¦Ó¥B·í§Ú¹ï§A»¡ÁÀªº®ÉÔ".
Ken stopped and swallowed, thinking furiously. "All right, so you
didn't lie. You just withhold the truth. You never told us you were considering
a replacement for Joe. In the past two years you never told us what the
ISO was doing about the Syndicate's return; about this base. About the
vehicles we'd use to fight. About Joe's injuries--and you knew, even before
he left!" He swallowed again. "You know, if you had said something
to us, just one thing, maybe Joe would still be alive today! Do you think
so little of us that you constantly have to leave us out of the loop,
blundering around like fools, eagerly grabbing for every little tidbit
you toss at us? With the kind of responsibility we hold, the team deserves
better than that! I deserve better than that!" / ªÖ®¦°±¤î¦Ó¥B§],¨g¼É¦a·Q¡C "¦nªº¡A¦]¦¹¡A§A¨S¦³½öµÛ¡C
§A¶È¶È¦©¯d¨Æ¹ê¡C §A±q¤£§i¶D¤F§Ú̧A¥¿¦b¬°³ì¦Ò¼{¤@Ó´À´«¡C ¦b¹L¥h¤G¦~¤¤§A±q¤£§i¶D¤F§Ṳ́°»ò°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´¥¿¦b°µÃö©ó¥ø·~Áp¦Xªº¦^ªð¨Æ; Ãö©ó³o¤@Ó°ò¦¡C
Ãö©ó¨®½ø§Ú̱N·|¨Ï¥Î¹ï§Ü¡C Ãö©ó³ìªº¨ü¶Ë--¦Ó¥B§Aª¾¹D, ¬Æ¦Ü¦b¥LÂ÷¶}! ¤§«e"¥L¦A¤@¦¸§]¡C " °²¦p§A»¡¡A§Aª¾¹D¬Y¨Æ¹ï§ÚÌ,
¥u¬O¤@¥ó¨Æª«,¤]³\³ì±N·|¤´µM¬O¬¡µÛªº¤µ¤Ñ! §A·Q¶Ü¦p¦¹ªº§Ṳ́@ÂIÂI¥HP©ó§A¤£Åܦa¥²¶·±qÀô¯d¤U§ÚÌ, ¯Bļªº¦b¬Û¦üªº·M¤H©P³ò,¼ö¤ß¦a¬°§A¦b§Ú̧ëÂYªº¨C¤@¤p¤Ö¦Ó¦n¦YªºªF¦è§ì?
»P³d¥ôªºÃþ«¬§Ṳ́伵,¤p²Õ¸Ó±o¨ì¤ñ¨º§ó! §Ú¸Ó±o¨ì¤ñ¨º§ó!"
"Ken--" "I thought of you as a mentor, as family!"
His voice rose again, his face flushed. "Is this what I can expect
from family?" / "ªÖ®¦--""§Ú§â§A·í°µ¤@Ó¨}®v, ·í°µ®a®x"! ¥LªºÁnµ¦A¤@¦¸¤W¤É,¥LªºÁyÁyµo¬õ¡C
" ³o¬O§Ú©Ò¯à±q®a®x´Á«Ýªº"?
"Ken--" / "ªÖ®¦--"
"It wouldn't surprise me if you knew Getz was a traitor before you
let him in." Ken let his voice drop and he turned his face away from
Nambu in disgust. "See what good it did you. You let him lead us
on, and we escaped his traps only through luck and the good graces of
some mysterious stranger! From now on, in each successive mission, I'll
be wasting valuable time wondering what you haven't told us and why."
/ "¦pªG§Aª¾¹D¡A¥¦±N¤£¨Ï§Ú¦YÅå¡A¦b§AÅý¥L¶i¥h¤§«e , Getz ¬O«q°fªÌ" ¡C ªÖ®¦Åý¥LªºÁnµ¤U°¡A¦Ó¥B¥L±q¹½´cªº Nambu
©Úµ´¥LªºÁy¡C "¬Ý¨£¥¦°µ¤F§A¤°»ò¦n³B¡C §AÅý¥L±a»â§Ú̦b,¤§¤W¦Ó¥B§ÚÌ¥u¸g¹L¹B®ð©M¤@¨Ç¯«¯µªº¯¥Í¤Hªº¦nÀu¶®°k²æ¤F¥Lªº°é®M! ±q²{¦b¶}©l¡A¦b¨CÓ³sÄòªº¥ô°È¤¤¡A§Ú±N®ö¶O¦³»ùȪº®É¶¡Ä±±o©_©Ç§A©Ò¨S¦³§i¶D§Ú̪º©M¬°¤°»ò¡C"
Deliberately, the doctor stood and approached the bed. In a move that
surprised the young man, he placed a hand on Ken's uninjured shoulder
and stared him directly in the face. "Ken, this is neither the time
nor the place," he said, very softly. "But I'll give this to
you. I'll tell you what you want to hear." Ken strained against the
hand that forced him gently but firmly back onto the pillows, surprised
at the older man's strength. "Yes, I knew about Getz's replacement.
It was last-minute information that we were lucky to receive. I had to
make a tough decision, but it turned out to be the right one: with your
help, we were able to track down and eliminate an informant from within
the ISO building." / ¬G·N¦a¡AÂå¥Í¯¸µÛ¨Ã¥B±µªñ§É¡C ¦b¤@¦¸¨Ï¦~»´ªº¨k¤H¦YÅ媺²¾°Ê¤¤¡A¥L¦bÁy¤¤ª½±µ¦a©ñ¤@°¦¤â¦bªÖ®¦ªº¥¼¨ü¶Ë®`ªºªÓ¤W¦Ó¥Bª`µø¤F¥L¡C
"ªÖ®¦,³o¬J¤£¬O®É¶¡¤]¤£¬O¦a¤è",¥L»¡,«D±`¬X©M¦a¡C "¦ý¬O§Ú±N§â³oµ¹§A¡C §Ú±N§i¶D§A§A©Ò·QnÅ¥¨ìªº¡C"
ªÖ®¦ºò±iªº¤Ï¹ï¦V«á¦a¦bªEÀY¤§¤W³vº¥¦a¦ý¬O°í©T±j¢¤F¥Lªº¤â,¦b¸û¦~ªøªº¨k¤H¤O¶q¦YÅå¡C "¬Oªº¡A§Úª¾¹D Getz's ªº´À´«¡C ³Ì«áªº¸ê®Æ¬O§ÚÌ©¯¹B±µ¨ü¡C
§Ú¥²¶·§@¥X¤@ÓÁ}Ãøªº¨M©w¡A¦ý¬O¥¦Åܦ¨Åv§Q¤@: ÂǥѧAªºÀ°¦£¡A§Ú̯à°÷°lÂܧä¨ì¨Ã¥B°£¥h¨Ó¦Û°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´«Ø¿vª«¤§¤ºªº¤@Ó³qª¾ªÌ¡C"
He continued to explain, quietly and patiently, about his plans for a
new fifth member of the team; of the countless candidates who had died
because of the informant they had just caught; about his reluctance to
bring the team back into battle before they knew the Syndicate's return
was absolute. As he backtracked over two years worth of plans, Ken slowly
drew back from his hands, his gaze distant, his mind working. / ¥LÄ~Äò¸ÑÄÀ,¦wÀR¦a¦Ó¥B§Ô@¦a,Ãö©óÃö©ó¤p²Õªº¤@Ó·sªº²Ä¤Ó¦¨ûªº¥Lp¹ºªº¨Æ;
¦]¬°¥L̶ȶȤw¸g®·®»ªº³qª¾ªÌ¤w¸g¦ºªº¼Æ¤£ºÉªºÔ¿ï¤H; Ãö©ó¥Lªº¤£±¡Ä@¶i¤J¾Ôª§¤§¤º§â¤p²Õ±a¦^¨Ó¦b¥L̪¾¹D¤F¥ø·~Áp¦Xªº¦^ªð¬Oµ´¹ïªº¤§«e¡C ·í¥L¦b¤G¦~¥H¨Óªð¦^p¹ºªº»ùÈ®ÉÔ,
ªÖ®¦ºCºC¦a±q¥Lªº¤â¡A»·ªº¥Lª`µøË°h, ¤u§@ªº¥L¤ß¡C
"As for Joe, I knew something was wrong, but not to what extent,"
Nambu said. "I'd received a report from a physician who had examined
him after an accident, and to be honest, I couldn't believe what I'd heard.
I tried to get Joe in for CT scans and x-rays, but as you can see, he
didn't stay around long enough for that. Even if I had told you everything
immediately, I doubt either of us could have kept events from proceeding
as they had." / " Ãö©ó³ì¡A§Úª¾¹D¡A¬Y¨Æ¬O¿ù»~ªº, ¦ý¬O¤£¨ì¤°»ò½d³ò",Nambu »¡¡C "
§Ú¤w¸g¦¬¨ì¨Ó¦Û¤@Ó¦b·N¥~¨Æ¥ó¤§«á¤w¸g½Õ¬d¥LªºÂå®v¤@¶µ³ø§i, ©M¬O¸Û¹êªº,§Ú¤£¥i¥H¬Û«H§Ú¦³Å¥¨ìªº¡C §Ú¸ÕµÛ¬° CT Åý³ìÀò±o¿ý¨ú±½´y©M X¥ú¡A¦ý¬O·í§A¯à¬Ý¨£ªº®ÉÔ,¥L¹ï©ó¨º¨S¦³°±¯d¦bªþªñªøªº¥R¨¬¡C
§Y¨Ï§Ú¤w¸g¥ß¨è§i¶D§A¨C¥ó¨Æª«, §Ú§ÚÌÃhºÃ¥ô¤@À³¸Ó¥i¥H±qµÛ¤â¶i¦æ«O«ù¨Æ¥ó·í¥L̦³¡C"
Ken felt suddenly weary and his head began to pound. Settling back in
the pillows, he closed his eyes, retreating. / ªÖ®¦Ä±±o¬ðµM¯h¡A¦Ó¥B¥LªºÀY¶}©l±j¯P¥´À»¡C ¦bªEÀY¤¤¦V«á¦a¸Ñ¨M,¥LÃö³¬¤F¥Lªº²´·ú,ºM°h¡C
"You need to rest," Nambu said, standing. "Ken, I'm sorry.
I regret the gaps in communication, and I can't even promise you it won't
happen again. Just know that I trust you. I believe in you. Please bear
with me." / "§A»Ýn¥ð®§",Nambu »¡,¯¸µÛ¡C "ªÖ®¦,¹ï¤£°_¡C §Ú¬°·¾³qªºÁ_»Ø·P¨ì¿ò¾Ñ¡A¦Ó¥B§Ú¤£¯à¬Æ¦ÜµªÀ³§A¥¦±N¤£¦Aµo¥Í¡C
¶È¶Èª¾¹D§Ú«H¿à§A¡C §Ú¬Û«H§A¡C ½Ð§Ô¨ü§Ú¡C"
With that, he left the room, and the door swept shut behind him, leaving
only the white noise of the hospital air conditioning. / ¥Ñ©ó¨º¡A¥LÂ÷¶}¤F©Ð¶¡¡A¦Ó¥Bªù¦b¥L«á±²M±½Ãö¤W,
Â÷¶}¥u¦³Âå°|ªÅ½Õªº¥Õ¦â¾¸µ¡C
"In due time," Ken said softly. / "¦b¾A·íªº®É¶¡¤¤" ¡AªÖ®¦¬X©M¦a»¡¡C
"Joe, wait!" / "³ì,µ¥Ô"!
"That's not Joe. It can't be. Otherwise, why would he run from us?
He's dead. He's gone. We know that." / "¨º¤£¬O³ì¡C ¥¦¤£¯à¬O¡C §_«h¡A¥L¬°¤°»ò±N·|±q§Ú̶]?
¥L¦º¡C ¥L¤£¨£¤F¡C §Ú̪¾¹D¨º¡C"
Why would he run from us? / ¥L¬°¤°»ò±N·|±q§Ú̶]?
"Joe, wake up. Wake up, now." / "³ì,¿ô¨Ó¡C ²{¦b¿ô¨Ó¡C"
The cyborg opened his eyes and blinked at the light above him. The team's
voices still echoed in his mind, piercing and raw. Squeezing his eyes
shut, he stretched on the metal operating table and heard stiff muscles
squeak in protest. When he opened his eyes again, he found Dr. Rafael's
bulky form blocking out the light. His arm snagged on something, and he
discovered a line leading from that arm to an IV bag suspended above the
table. / cyborg ¦b¥L¤W±ªº¥ú¥´¶}¤F¥Lªº²´·ú¦Ó¥B¯w²´¡C ¤p²ÕªºÁnµ¤´µM¦b¥Lªº¤ß¤¤ÀHÁnªþ©M, ¨ë°©ªº©M¥Í¦×¡C À½À£³QÃö¤Wªº¥L²´·ú,¥L¦bª÷Äݾާ@®à¤l¤W¦ù®i¨Ã¥BÅ¥¨ì¤F§Üijªº±j¯P¦Ù¦×§s§sÁn¡C
·í¥L¦A¤@¦¸¥´¶}¤F¥Lªº²´·ú®ÉÔ,¥L¥X¦Û¥úµo²{ Rafael's ³Õ¤hÃe¤jªº§Î¦¡ªýÂ_¡C ¥Lªº¤âÁu¦b¬Y¨Æ¤§¤W²Ê¿i¡A¦Ó¥B¥L±q¨º¤@°¦¤âÁu¨ì³Q¤¤Â_¦b®à¤l¤W±ªº¤@Ó
4 ³U¤lµo²{¤F¤@±ø½u»â¥ý¡C
"Tired?" / "¯h²Öªº"?
"Of course." Joe stretched again and groaned, then sat up, refusing
the doctor's offered hand. / " ·íµM". ³ì¦A¤@¦¸¦ù®i¦Ó¥B©D§u, µM«á¼õ©],©Úµ´³Q´£¨Ñ¤âªºÂå¥Í¡C
"After experiencing three close-range explosions in one day, that's
normal." Rafael didn't smile. / "¦b¤@¤Ñ¤º¸g¾ú¤TÓµ²§ô- ½d³òÃz¬µ¤§«á¡A¨º¬O±`ºA"
¡C Rafael ¨S¦³·L¯º¡C
"What's this for?" Joe glanced at the fluid in the IV bag--not
blood. / "³o¬O¬°¤°»ò"? ³ìª`µø 4 ªº²GÅé³U¤l-- ¤£¦å¡C
"Antibiotics to boost your natural defenses. Just a precaution."
/ " §Ü¥Í¯À±À¶i§Aªº¦ÛµM¨¾½Ã¡C ¥u¬O¹w¨¾¡C"
"Should I expect this every time, or am I still in the break-in period?"
Piercing blue eyes regarded the doctor, and Joe's voice carried an edge.
/ " À³¸Ó§Ú¨C¤@¦¸´Á«Ý³o, ©Î§Ú¤´µM¬O¦b¥ð®§- ¦bªº®É´Á¤¤"? ¨ë°©ªºÂŦⲴ·úµø¬°¤FÂå¥Í¡A¦Ó¥B³ìªºÁnµÄâ±a¤FÃä½t¡C
"As I said, it's a precaution. Wounds deep enough to draw blood run
the risk of infection." Dr. Rafael turned, scooped some folded garments
into his arms and presented them to Joe. "You'll have three days
to rest before you proceed to the next installation." / "·í§Ú»¡ªº®ÉÔ,¥¦¬O¹w¨¾¡C
¨ü¶Ë²`ªº¥R¨¬©â³Q¶]¶Ç¬Vªº·ÀI¦å¡C"Rafael ³Õ¤h±N , ¨V¨ú¤@¨ÇºPÅ|¦çªAÅܦ¨¥Lªº¤âÁu¦Ó¥B±N¥Ļe²{µ¹³ì¡C "¦b§A«e¶i¨ì¤U¤@Ó¦w¸Ë¤§«e
, §A±N¦³¤T¤Ñ¥ð®§" ¡C
Joe took the bundle and found briefs and one of his well-worn sweatsuits.
With another glance at Rafael, he pulled on his clothes, leaving the shirt
off because of the IV. / ³ì±a¤F®¹¦Ó¥Bµo²{¤FºKn©M¥Lªº¥Î¤Fªº sweatsuits ¤§¤@¡C ÂǥѦb Rafael
ªº¥t¤@¿h¡A¥L¦b¥Lªº¦çªA¤W©Ô, ¯d¤UŨmÂ÷¶}¦]¬° 4.
"Three days. Where did the lead come from?" / "¤T¤Ñ¡C ½u¯Á¨Ó¦ÛþùØ©O?"
"Why did you think I was there?" This time, Rafael did smile.
"You took them by surprise, so their evacuation from that installation
was a little less tidy than they'd planned. We were able to track them
to their next location." / " §A¬°¤°»ò»{¬°§Ú¦³"? ³o¦¸¡A Rafael °µ¤F·L¯º¡C
" §A¨Ï¥LÌÅå³Y¡A¦]¦¹¡A¨Ó¦Û¨º¤@Ó¦w¸Ëªº¥L̺M°hµy·L¬O¤ñ¥L̤֪º´È¤lI¸n¦³pµe¡C §Ú̯à°÷°lÂÜ¥L̨ì¥L̪º¤UÓ¦aÂI¡C"
"Why not just pursue them now?" / " ¬°¤°»ò¤£¶È¶È²{¦b°l¨D¥LÌ"?
Rafael's smile faded. "They've already made more progress than I'd
like. You need to be in top condition. This next job will take all your
resources." / ¤w¿Æ¦âªº Rafael's ªº·L¯º¡C "¥L̤w¸g¨Ï¸û§Ú¬°¦hªº¶i¨B·Qn¤F¡C §A»Ýn·í¦b³»¦yªº±¡ªp¡C
³o¤UÓ¤u§@±N±Ä¨ú§A©Ò¦³ªº¸ê·½¡C"
"As I told you on the trip home, we have the body of Eric Getz, but
we were unable to recover the body of his double," Nambu said, pacing
the space between his desk and the bank of viewscreens behind it. "That
portion of the temple remained relatively intact, but our search teams
found no remains." / "·í§Ú¦b®È¦æ®a¤W§i¶D§Aªº®ÉÔ,§Ú̦³¦ã¤O§J Getz ªº¨Åé¡A¦ý¬O§Ṳ́£¯à°÷§ä¦^¥Lªº¥[¿¨Åé",Nambu
»¡,¿â¨B¦b¥¦«á±ªº¦b¥L®Ñ®à©M viewscreens ªº»È¦æ¤§¶¡ªºªÅ¶¡¡C "¦x¼qªº¨º³¡¤À«O«ù¬Û¹ï¦a©|¥¼³Q¤H¸I¹L¡A¦ý¬O§Ú̪º·j´M¤p²Õ¨Sµo²{¿òÀe"
¡C
"I'm sorry, Hakase." Jun sat in a single chair before the desk,
looking small and out of place in the oversized office. In her new civilian
clothes, the ends of her hair still damp from a recent shower, she kept
her hands folded in her lap and her knees tightly together. "We should
have thought to take him back to the New Godphoenix, but in light of what
we saw... we were distracted." She let her head drop. "Now Galactor
may have his Birdstyle." / "¹ï¤£°_,Hakase". ¤»¤ë¦b®Ñ®à«eªº¤@±i³æ¤@´È¤l¤¤§¤,
¬Ý°_¨Ó«Ü¤p©MÂ÷¶}¦a¤è¦b³Q¯S¤j¸¹ªº¿ì¤½«Ç¤¤¡C ¦b¦oªº·s¥¥Áªº¦çªA , ¨Ó¦Û¤@¦¸³Ìªñªº°}«B¦oÀY¾vµM¦Ó·Ã®ðªºµ²§ô¤¤¡A¦oºòºò¦a¤@°_«O«ù¤F¦b¦oªº½¥»\©M¦oªº½¥¤¤³QºPÅ|ªº¦o¤â¡C
"§ÚÌÀ³¸Ón·Qªº§â¥L±a¦^·sªº Godphoenix, ¦ý¬O¦b¥ú¤¤§Ú̩Ҭݨ£ªº¡C¡C¡C §Ú̳Q¤À¤ß¡C"¦oÅý¦oªºÀY¤U°¡C "²{¦b
Galactor ¥i¯à¦³¥Lªº Birdstyle" ¡C
"No matter." Nambu waved that away. "I refitted one of
Joe's old uniforms. Even if they do have and analyze it, they won't have
any more information then they did when they found your shoe." Jun
winced at that. "Nevertheless, I have all of you scheduled for a
refitting in two weeks, and I've reset the Birdstyle transformation signal."
/ ¨S¦³¨Æ¥ó. Nambu ´§»R¨ºÂ÷¶}¡C "§Ú§ï¸Ë¤F³ìªºÂ¨îªA¤§¤@¡C §Y¨Ï¥L̽T¹ê¦³¨Ã¥B¤ÀªR¥¦, ¥L̵M«á±N¨S¦³¥ô¦óªº¸ê®Æ·í¥L̵o²{§Aªº¾c®ÉÔ¡A¥LÌ°µ¡C"¤»¤ë¦b¨º¬ÈÁY¡C
"µM¦Ó¡A§Ú¦b¤GÓ¬P´Á¤¤¬°¤@Ó§ï¸Ë¹w©w§A¥þ³¡³£¡A¦Ó¥B§Ú¤w¸g«·s³]©w Birdstyle Âà§Î«H¸¹" ¡C
"Why did you give him the old uniform? Did you suspect him?"
/ "§A¬°¤°»òµ¹¥Lªº¨îªA? §AÃhºÃ¥L¶Ü?"
Nambu waved again. "A time constraint," he said absently, and
she frowned. "Now. Ken's report said that Gant was killed by a feather
shuriken." / Nambu ¦A¤@¦¸´§»R¡C "¤@Ó¦¸¨î",¥L¤ß¤£¦b²j¦a»¡¡A¦Ó¥B¦o½K¬ÜÀY¡C "²{¦b¡C
ªÖ®¦ªº³ø§i»¡¤F Gant ³Q¦Ð¤ò shuriken ±þ¤F¡C"
"Yes." / "¬Oªº".
"None of you threw feather shuriken on this mission?" / "§A¨S¦³¤@Ó¥á¦b³o¤@Ó¥ô°È¤Wªº¦Ð¤ò
shuriken"?
"No, Hakase. We rarely use them anyway, and they became so much Joe's
trademark that it no longer seems right. Especially now. We didn't think
to take the evidence with us, things happened so fast. I'm certain the
feather was one of his." / "¤£,Hakase¡C §Ú̫ܤ֦aµL½×¦p¦ó¨Ï¥Î¥LÌ¡A¦Ó¥B¥LÌÅܦ¨¦p¦¹ªº«Ü¦h³ì°Ó¼Ð¥HP©ó¥¦¤£¦A¦ü¥G¥¿½T¡C
¤×¨ä²{¦b¡C §Ų́S¦³·Q©M§Ú̱ĨúÃÒ¾Ú,¨Æª«µo¥Í¦p¦¹ªº§Ö³t¡C §Ú¬O¯S©wªº¥L¦Ð¤ò¬O¤@¡C"
Nambu shook his head. "That doesn't mean much in itself. There is
a collector's market for your spent weapons. People scavenge them once
the fighting ends." / Nambu ·nÀY¡C "¨º¤£§ó¥[¥»¨Ó·N¿×¡C ¬°§Aªºªá¶OªZ¾¹¦³»`¶°®aªº¥«³õ¡C ¤@¥¹¾Ô°«µ²§ô¡A¤HÌ¥´±½¥LÌ¡C"
"Whoever threw it knew how," Jun countered quietly. "The
shuriken wouldn't have killed Getz--Gant--so quickly unless the poison
gas charge had deployed, so the gas charge had either been unused or hadn't
fired the first time the feather had been thrown. Also, the point of the
shuriken had been imbedded deep in his throat, which is a difficult target
to hit with any degree of force." In her mind's eye, she saw the
weapon sunk straight to the feathering; by her assessment, the tip of
the blade had probably struck bone. / " ¥ô¦ó¤H¥á¥¦ª¾¹D¦p¦ó",¤»¤ë¦wÀR¦a¨î¤î¡C
"shuriken ¤£·|±þ Getz--Gant-- ¦p¦¹ªº§Ö°£«D¬rÃĥ˴µ¶O¥Î¤w¸g®i¶}¡A¦]¦¹¡A¥Ë´µ¶O¥Î¤w¸g¤£¬O¤£¥Îªº´N¬O¨S¦³ÂI¿U²Ä¤@©w®É¦Ð¤ò¤w¸g³Q¥á¡C
¦P®É, shuriken ªºÂI¤w¸g³Q¨Ï´¡¤J¥Lªº«|³ï²`³B,¬O¥H¥ô¦óªº¤O¶qµ{«×¸I¼²ªº¤@Ó§xÃøªº¥Ø¼Ð¡C"¦b¦oªº·Q¹³¤O¤¤¡A¦o¬Ý¨£³Q¨I¸¨¹ï¨ºÓ¦Ð¤òªºª½½uªZ¾¹;
Âǵۦoªºµû¦ô¡A¤M¾Wªº³»ºÝ¥i¯à¤w¸g¥´°©ÀY¡C
"You reported that later Dr. Rafael had demonstrated he could throw
the shuriken with proficiency. He mentioned that he had several."
/ "§A³ø§i¤F¸û¿ðªº Rafael ³Õ¤h¤w¸g¥Ü½d¥L¥i¥H¥Îºë³q¥á shuriken ¡C ¥L´£¨ì¤F¥L¦³¤@¨Ç¡C"
"Yes. He knew how to handle the shuriken, but he didn't throw it
with any force. The feather barely stuck where it hit." Jun shook
her head. "I suspect he has people working for him; people we didn't
see. He was a big man--tall, with broad shoulders--but I don't think he
could have done it all. He certainly couldn't have rescued Ken from the
burning Eagle Sharp like he claimed." / "¬Oªº¡C ¥Lª¾¹D¤F¸Ó¦p¦ó³B²z shuriken
¡A¦ý¬O¥L¨S¦³¥Î¥ô¦óªº¤O¶q¥á¥¦¡C ¦Ð¤ò´X¥GªþµÛ¥¦¸I¼²ªº¦a¤è¡C"¤»¤ë·nÀY¡C "§ÚÃhºÃ¥L¬°¥LÅý¤H¤u§@; ¤ḨŲ́S¦³¬Ý¨£¡C ¥L¬O¤jªº¨k¤H--°ªªº,ÂǥѤj½d³òªºªÓ--¦ý¬O§Ú¤£»{¬°¥LÀ³¸Ó¥i¥H³Q¥þ³¡°µ¥¦¡C
¥L½T©w¦a´N¤£·|±Ï¥X¨Ó¦Û¿NÆNªºªÖ®¦¾U§Qªº¦PÃþ¤F¥L«ÅºÙ¡C"
Nambu stopped pacing and sat. Propping his elbows on his desk, folding
his hands and leaning toward her, he regarded Jun with a calculating stare.
"I've heard the others' accounts," he said. "Tell me. Do
you believe it was Joe?" / Nambu °±¤î¿â¨B¦Ó¥B§¤µÛ¡C ¹ï©ó¦o¤ä¼µ¦b¥Lªº®Ñ®à¡A§éÅ|ªº¥L¤â¦Ó¥B¶É±×¤Wªº¥L¤â¨y,¥L¥Î¤@Ópºâª`µøµø¬°¤»¤ë¡C
" §Ú¤w¸gÅ¥¨ì¥t¤@Ó¸ÑÄÀ",¥L»¡¡C "§i¶D§Ú¡C §A¬Û«H¥¦¬O³ì¶Ü?"
Jun's eyes widened, her mouth opened slightly and she nearly recoiled
as if his words had been an accusation rather than an honest question.
"I--I want to believe it," she said softly, looking down at
her folded hands. "I really want to believe he's alive, but it doesn't
make sense. Why wouldn't he have contacted us directly, if only to warn
us away?" / ¤»¤ëªº²´·úÂX¤j, ¦oªº¼L¨Ç·L¦a¥´¶}¡A¦Ó¥B¦o´X¥G°h«o¡A¦n¹³¥L©Ò»¡ªº¸Ü¤w¸g¬O¤@Ó«ü±±¨Ã«D¤@Ӹ۹ꪺ°ÝÃD¡C "§Ú--
§Ú·Qn¬Û«H¥¦",¦o¬X©M¦a»¡,©¹¤U¬Ý³QºPÅ|¤âªº¦o¡C "§Ú¯uªº·Qn¬Û«H¡A¥L¬¡µÛ¡A¦ý¬O¥¦¤@ÂI¹D²z¤]¨S¦³¡C ¥L¬°¤°»ò¤£¤w¸gª½±µ¦a³sµ¸§ÚÌ,
¦pªG¤£®Æ³º·|ĵ§i§ÚÌÂ÷¶}?"
The interview ended, and with her shoulders sagging, Jun walked out of
the office to find Jinpei leaning against the opposite wall, waiting.
When he saw her, he pushed away from the wall and walked beside her until
they reached the elevator. / ±½Íµ²§ô¡A¦Ó¥B¥Ñ©ó¦oªºªÓ¤U««¡A¤»¤ë¨«¥X¿ì¤½«Çµo²{ʾa¬Û¤ÏªºÀð¾À¡Aµ¥Ô ªº Jinpei
¡C ·í¥L¬Ý¨£¤F¦oªº®ÉÔ,¥L»·Â÷Àð¾À±À°Ê¦Ó¥B¦b¦o®ÇÃ䨫¸ôª½¨ì¥L̨ì¹F¹q±è¡C
"Are you okay, Oneechan?" / " §A¬O¦n,Oneechan"?
She nodded slowly. / ¦oÂIÀY±oºCºC¡C
"He asked you about Joe too, didn't he?" / " ¥L°Ý§AÃö©ó³ìªº¨Æ¤]¡A¥L¤£¨S¦³¶Ü"?
"I don't want to talk about it." She jabbed at the button for
their floor, then startled as she felt his small arms wrap around her
middle. Silently she returned his hug and held him tightly, watching the
numbers on the panel as the elevator descended. / "§Ú¤£·Qn½Í½×¥¦"
¡C ¦o¹ï©ó¥L̪º¦aªO¦b¶s¦©ÂW, µM«á¾_Åå·í¦o¦b¦oªº¤¤¥¡©P³ò·Pı¥Lªº¤p¤âÁu¥~®M¡C ÀqÀq¦a¦oºòºò¦aÂkÁÙ¤F¥Lªº¾Ö©ê¦Ó¥B®»¦í¤F¥L, ¬Ý¦b»ö¿öªO¤Wªº¼Æ¦r·í¹q±è°¡C
--16--
Waves crashed against jagged rocks beneath a cloudless sky. A small yellow
plane puttered overhead while a park guide, droning through her script,
led a group of tourists off a small ferry and past the gates of the Alamo
Prison. / ªi®ö¦b´¸®Ôªº¤ÑªÅ¤§¤U¼Y·´¹ï§Ü¿÷¾¦§Îªº©¥¥Û¡C ¤@Ó¤pªº¶À¦â¸¾÷µLºë¥´¨¼¦a¤u§@¤FÃB¥~¶}¾P·í¤@Ó¤½¶é«ü¤Þªº®ÉÔ, droning
¬ï¶V¦oªº¤â¼gÅé,¦b¤@¿´¤pªº´ç½ü¥~©M¶V¹L¥Õ·¨ºÊº»ªºªù¤Þ¾É¤@¸sÆ[¥ú«È¡C
Joe watched the tourists file past, then taking care not to be seen by
the guide, slipped in behind them and darted in the opposite direction,
across the prison yard. As he moved along concrete walls sprinkled with
grafitti, he could already feel the resonance of power beneath his feet,
vibrations from some sort of activity. / ³ì¬ÝÆ[¥ú«ÈÀÉ®×¹L¥h, µM«á¤p¤ß¤£³Q«ü¤Þ¬Ý¨ì, ·Æ˦b¥L̫ᱦӥB¦b¬Û¤Ïªº¤è¦V¤¤§ë®g,¶V¹LºÊº»½X¡C
·í¥L²¾°Ê¤F»P¶î¾~¤@°_Åxªº¦V«e¨ãÅ骺Àð¾À®ÉÔ,¥L¥i¥H¤w¸g¦b¥Lªº¸}¤§¤U·Pı¤O¶qªº¦@»ï,¨Ó¦Û¬¡°Êªº¤@¨ÇÃþ«¬ªº¾_°Ê¡C
Unlike Easton Island, this time he had a map which included maintenance
accessways not shown on the tour. Surely the Syndicate had engineered
one or two of those accessways into passages from their installation to
the surface. Joe began his search on the west side, listening and feeling
carefully along the doors and corridors, hoping for some sign that he
was getting closer to the activity downstairs. He found it on the north
side, in what had once been the prison kitchen. The door was heavily armored,
but the lock yielded quickly enough, and soon Joe was on his way below
ground level. / ¤£¹³ Easton ®q¡A³o¦¸¥L¦³¤F¤@±i¥]¬A¤F¤£³Q¦b®È¹C¤WÅã¥ÜªººûÅ@ accessways ªº¦a¹Ï¡C ·íµM¥ø·~Áp¦X¤w¸g³]p¨º¨Ç
accessways ¤¤ªº¤@©Î¤G¶i±q¥L̪º¦w¸Ë¨ìªí±ªº³q¹D¡C ³ì¤p¤ß¦aªuµÛªù©M¨«´Y¶}©l¤F¦b¦è¤èÃä¡AÅ¥¦Ó¥B·Pı¤Wªº¥L·j´M,§Æ±æ¥L¥¿¦bÅܤñ¸û¾aªñ¨ì¬¡°Ê¼Ó¤Uªº¤@¨Ç²Å¸¹¡C
¥L¦bÃä¥_³¡¤Wµo²{¥¦,¦b´¿¸g¤w¸g¬OºÊº»¼p©ÐªºªF¦è¡C ªù«Ü«ªZ¸Ë¡A¦ý¬OÂê«Ü§Ö¦a¨¬°÷²£¥Í¡A¦Ó¥B«Ü§Ö³ì¦b³~¤¤¬O¦b¤g¦aªº¤ô·Ç¤U±¡C
The walls changed from musty stone and cinderblock to brushed steel, lit
by spotlights that dimmed regularly as some sort of manufacturing cycle
drained the power. His enhanced hearing picked up a distant grinding noise
and he felt the vibration of heavy machinery. As he followed these signs
he found the number of soldiers in the area increased as he neared the
source. / Àð¾À§ïÅܱqµo¾`ªº¥ÛÀY©M·Ñ´í¿j¨ì²¨¨ê¿û, ³Q¦p³Q±Æ¥X·¾¥~¤O¶qªº¤@¨ÇºØ»s³y·~ªº©P´Á¸g±`¦a·t²HªºµJÂIµo«G¡C ¥Lªº¥i´£°ªªºÅ¥ÃÒ·|¬B°_»·ªº¬ã¿i¾¸µ¡A¦Ó¥B¥L·Pı¤F«ªº¾÷¾¹¾_°Ê¡C
·í·í¥Lªñªº¤F¨Ó·½ªº®ÉÔ¡A¥L¸òÀH¤F¥L¦b³Q¼W¥[ªº°Ï°ì¤¤µo²{x¤Hªº¼Æ¦r³o¨Ç²Å¸¹¡C
At last, a double door with tiny glass portholes revealed the work site
he'd been looking for. An enormous drill, like one used to dig subway
tunnels, pointed straight down and kicked up dirt in its wake. / ³Ì«á¡A©M³QÅã¥Ü¤u§@ªº·¥¤p¬Á¼þ²ìµ¡ªº¤@Ó¨âÃä¶}ªºªù¦ì©ó¥L¤w¸g§ä´M¡C
¤@Ó¥¨¤jªºÆp¤Õ¾÷, ¹³¤@¹L¥h¤@ª½«õ¦a¤UÅKÀG¹D,µ§ª½¦a«ü¤U¨Ó¦Ó¥B½ð°_¥¦ªº¦u©]¦Ã«¯¡C
Okay, so they're digging. Why? They could be expanding the base, building
a tunnel for a missile like the Garender he'd just destroyed, tunneling
down to the mantle again or operating on a new option. The conversations
of the men shouting over the noise of the drill offered little, so Joe
placed a small tracer behind a light panel, then left the work area, striking
out to explore. / ¦n¡A¦]¦¹¥LÌ¥¿¦b«õ¡C ¬°¤°»ò? ¥LÌ¥i¯àÂX±i°ò¦,¬°¹³¥L¦³èè¯}Ãaªº Garender ¤@¼Ëªº¤@Ó¸¼u«Ø¿vÀG¹D,
³z¯Ç¦A¤@¦¸åP¸¨¨ì¦a²[©Î¦b·sªº¿ï¶µ¤W¾Þ§@¡C ¦bÆp¤Õ¾÷ªº¾¸µ¤§¤W©I³Û ªº¨k¤H¥æ½Í¤Ö´£¨Ñ¡A¦]¦¹¡A³ì©ñ¸m¤F¦b»´ªº»ö¿öªO«á±ªº¤@Ó¤pªº°lÂܪÌ, µM«á¯d¤U¤F¤u§@°Ï°ì,
¥´À»¥X±´¨s¡C
As he moved toward what he perceived to be the core of the base, the corridors
became more ornate, with rich carpet on the floors, ceilings studded with
crystal chandeliers and the walls finished in burgundy and trimmed with
gold. Something felt odd here. Now that he was away from the vibration
of the drills, an eerie hissing resonated along his nerves--not quite
a sound, not quite a feeling, but a combination of the two. His first
instinct was to get away, but he paused and waited, leaning against the
wall in the shadow of a curving stairwell. Two guards moved past him,
jogging with their guns held at the ready. Had they detected him, or were
they just changing shift? After several minutes of watching quietly, Joe
went on. / ·í¥L¹ï©ó¥L·Pı¬O°ò¦ªº®Ö¤ß²¾°Êªº®ÉÔ,¨«´YÅܱo§ó¸Ë¹¢ªº,ÂǥѦb¦aªO¤Wªº´I¦³¦a´à¡A¤ÑªáªO¥H¤ô´¹ªº¦Q¿O©M¦b¬õµµ¦â¤¤³Q§¹¦¨¨Ã¥B¥H¶Àª÷¾ã²zªºÀð¾À§Gº¡Áû²É¡C
¬Y¨Æ¦b³o¸Ìı±o©_¼Æ¡C ¬JµM¥L»·Â÷Æp¤Õ¾÷ªº¾_°Ê,©Ç½Ïªºµo¥X¼R¼RÁnªuµÛ¥Lªº¯«¸g¦@»ï-- ¤£¬Û·í¤@ºØÁnµ, ¤£¬Û·í·Pı , ¦ý¬O¤@Ó²Õ¦X¨º¤G¡C ¥Lªº²Ä¤@¥»¯à¬O°kÂ÷¡A¦ý¬O¥L¼È°±¦Ó¥Bµ¥Ô,ʾaÅs¦±ªº¼Ó±è¤«ªº¼v¹³Àð¾À¡C
¤GÓ¦u½Ã²¾°Ê¤F¹L¥h¥L,©M¥L̪ººjºC¶]®³µÛ¦b²{ª÷¡C ¥L̵o²{¥L¤F,©Î¥LÌ¥¿¦b¶È¶È§ïÅÜÅܤƶܶÜ? ¦b¦wÀR¦a¬Ýªº¦n´X¤ÀÄÁ¤§«á¡A³ìÄ~Äò¡C
As he continued, the hissing grew louder and more uncomfortable. The brightly
lit corridors here made it harder to move unseen, and his instincts warned
him to back away, to get out of there. Surely he had enough information
for Rafael. He had at least enough to confirm the doctor's suspicions
and form a basis for a plan. Still a growing curiosity forced him on.
/ ·í¥LÄ~Äòªº®ÉÔ,¨ºÓµo¥X¼R¼RÁnÅܱo§ó¤jÁn©M§ó¤£µÎªA¡C ©ú«G¦aµo«Gªº¨«´Y¦b³o¸Ì¨Ï²¾°Ê¬O§xÃø¥¼¨£¹L¡A¦Ó¥B¥Lªº¥»¯àĵ§i¤F¥L°hÁY , ¦b¨º¸ÌÂ÷¶}¡C
·íµM¥L¬° Rafael ¦³¤F¥R¨¬ªº¸ê®Æ¡C ¥L¦Ü¤Ö¨¬°÷¦³¬°¤@Óp¹º½T©wÂå¥Íªº²qºÃ¦Ó¥B§Î¦¨¤@ºØ°ò¦¡C µM¦Ó¤@ºØ¼W¥[ªº¦n©_¤ß±j¢¤F¥L¦b¤§¤W¡C
He found an ornate, carved double door where the hissing came louder and
stronger than anywhere else. Nearly unbearable at this point, it grated
against his nerves like tinfoil scraping teeth, and he shuddered. The
hallway offered nowhere for him to conceal himself, so he turned to the
ceiling: a small chandelier glittered in the center of a gilt-lined dome
right before the doors. Better than nothing. He jumped straight up, bracing
his arms and legs against the insides of the dome, contorting his body
to get around the light fixture. Glass tinkled as his side brushed the
tiny prisms of the chandelier, and he could feel the heat of the bulbs
through his clothing. Breathing shallowly, he listened. / ¥Lµo²{¸Ë¹¢¡A¤ñ¥ô¦ó¦a¤è¤jÁn©M±j§§ªº¨ºÓµo¥X¼R¼RÁn¨Óªº¦³ÀJ¨èªº¨âÃä¶}ªºªù¡C
´X¥GµLªk§Ô¨ü¦¹®É¡A¥¦¹³¥µ±ó¤ú¾¦ ªº¿ü¯ÈÄl¿{¹ï§Ü¥Lªº¯«¸g¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¾Ô·X¡C ¨«´YµL³B´£¨ÑÅý¥LÁôÂÃ¥L¦Û¤v, ¦]¦¹¥LÂà¦V¤ÑªáªO: ¤@Ó¤pªº¦Q¿O¦bªù¤§«e¥¿½T¦a¦bÁáª÷±Æ¦¨¤@¦æªº¶ê³»¤¤¤ß¤¤ÀéÄê¡C
¤ñ¸û¦nªº¶W¹L¨S¨Æ¡C ¥Lµ§ª½¦a¦V¤W¸õÅD,¤ä¼µ¹ï§Ü¶ê³»ªº¤º³¡¥L¤â©M»L, §á¥Lªº¨Åé¶Ç¶}»´ªº©T©wª«¡C ·í¥Lªº¨Ã䲨¨ê¤F¦Q¿Oªº·¥¤p¸WÃè¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¥i¥H¸g¹L¥Lªº¦çªA²y²ô·Pı¨ì«¤jÀ£¤Oªº®ÉÔ¡A¬Á¼þµo¥X
tinkle ªºÁnÅT¡C ²L¦a©I§l,¥LÅ¥¡C
GelSadora's voice came to him faintly, and his breath caught. "Yes,
of course I realize the Kagaku Ninjatai are not to be underestimated.
That's another difference between me and that idiot Katse." / GelSadora's
ªºÁnµ·L®z¦a¨«ªñ¥L¡A¦Ó¥B¥Lªº©I§l®·®»¡C " ¬Oªº¡A·íµM§Ú¤F¸Ñ¡A Kagaku Ninjatai ¬O¤£³Q§C¦ô¡C ¨º¬O¦b§Ú©M¨º¥Õè Katse
¤§¶¡ªº¥t¤@ºØ¤£¦P¡C"
"That remains to be seen." That deeper, resonant voice startled
Joe, and he nearly lost his purchase on the ceiling. That's X. He's here?
He began to shiver steadily as the hissing came louder and louder, roaring
through his body. Rafael said he'd keyed some system in me to detect him.
X is really here! / "¨º«O«ù³Q¬Ý¨ì" ¡C ¨º§ó²`¤J¦a¡A¦@»ïªºÁnµ¾_Åå¤F³ì¡A¦Ó¥B¥L´X¥G¥¢¥h¤F¦b¤ÑªáªO¤Wªº¥LÁʶR¡C
¨º¬O X ¥L¦b³o¸Ì?¡C ·í¨ºÓµo¥X¼R¼RÁn¨Ó±o¶V¨Ó¶V°ªÁnªº®ÉÔ¡A¥L¶}©léw¦a¥´Å¸,¸g¹L¥Lªº¨Åé§qÁn¡C Rafael »¡¤F¥L¦³¦b§Ú¸Ì±Áä¤J¤@¨Ç¨t²Îµo²{¥L¡C
X ¦b³o¸Ì¬O¯uªº!
"What is the basis of our next operation?" / "§Ú̪º¤UÓ¤â³Nªº°ò¦¬O¤°»ò"?
"Look at the screen, GelSadora. Our next project-- Wait!" The
hissing stopped. Joe tensed. / "¬Ý¿Ã¹õ¡A GelSadora ¡C §Ú̪º¤UÓpµe-- µ¥Ô!"¨ºÓµo¥X¼R¼RÁn°±¤î¡C
³ì©Ôºò¡C
Suddenly a supersonic squeal rang through the corridor, sending a white-hot
spike of pain through Joe's skull. His vision clouded and both hands went
numb. Joe cried out, both hands going to his head, and he fell. / ¬ðµM¤@Án¶Wµªiªº¦y¥s»ïÅT¹L¨«´Y,¸g¹L³ìªºÀY»\°©°eµhWªº¤@¤ä¥Õ¼öªºªø°v¡C
³±¶³±K§Gªº¥Lµø³¥©M¨â°¦¤âÅܳ¤ì¡C ³ì¤j¥s,¨R©ü¥LªºÀY ¨âªÌªº¤â,¦Ó¥B¥L¶^¸¨¡C
Right on top of the guard standing below. / ¦b¤U±ªº¦b¯¸¥ß ªº¦u½Ã³»ºÝ¤WªºÅv§Q¡C
"There's an intruder!" X roared. "Call the guards!"
/ "¦³¤@Ó«I¤JªÌ"! X §q¡C "¥´¹q¸Üµ¹¦u½Ã"!
Both men went sprawling. The soldier yelped and tried to simultaneously
regain his feet and bring his gun to bear. Joe kicked out blindly and
his foot met flesh. The Galactor hit the wall, dropped and lay unmoving.
Inside the control room, GelSadora shouted, "Intruder on the grounds!
Outside the command center! Deal with him!" / ¨â¦ì¨k¤H¥hÂX®i¡C ³Q¥s¦Ó¥B¹Á¸Õ¦P®É¦a¨ú¦^¥Lªº¸}¦Ó¥B±aµÛ¥Lªººj¨ìx¤H§Ô¨ü¡C
³ìª¼¥Ø¦a½ð¥X¥h¡A¦Ó¥B¥Lªº¸}¹J¨£¤F¦×¡C Galactor À»¤¤¤FÀð¾À, °§C¦Ó¥B©ñ¸m¤£²¾°Ê¡C ¦b±±¨î©Ð¶¡¸Ì¡A GelSadora ©I³Û,"¦b²z¥Ñ¤Wªº«I¤JªÌ!
¦b«ü¥O¤¤¤ßªº¥~±! ³B²z¥L!"
An alarm shrieked. With a curse, Joe staggered to his feet and ran. He
heard the footsteps behind him and willed himself to run faster, but X's
attack had left him weak and clumsy. He heard gunfire, and a wide stripe
of pain lashed across his back from his hip to opposite shoulder. His
armor tightened, making his flight more awkward, and more shots drew a
burning line across the back of his leg. Snarling, he found a weapon on
his belt and threw it at the guards that materialized around him, and
was rewarded with a strangled cry of pain. Coming to a dead end, he glanced
up in time to see the open, unfinished vent shaft above him. Gathering
himself, he leaped straight up and climbed the seamed metal walls, hearing
the shouts dwindling behind him. / ¤@Ánĵ³ø¦y¥s¡C ÂǥѶA©G¡A³ìÂÚ¶\¨ì¥Lªº¸}¦Ó¥B¶]¡C ¥LÅ¥¨ì¦b¥L«á±ªº¸}¨B¦Ó¥B³Q¨M·N¥L¦Û¤v¶]§ó§Ö³t¦a¡A¦ý¬O
X's ªº³Q¦³§ðÀ»Åý¥L®zªº©M²Â©å¡C ¥LÅ¥¨ì¤FºjÀ»¡A¦Ó¥BµhWªº¤@±ø¼eªº´³¯¾¶V¹L±q¥LªºÁv³¡¨ì¬Û¤ÏªºªÓ¥LI³¡Ã@¥´¡C ¥Lªº²¯¥Ò°Çºò,¨Ï¥Lªº¸¦æ§ó²Â©å,¦Ó¥B§ó¦hªºª`®g©Ô¾î¹L¥Lªº»LI±ªº¤@±ø¿U¿Nªº½u¡C
§q¥s,¥L¥H¦b¥L©P³ò½á»P¹ê½è, ¦Ó¥B»PµhWªº³Q°Ç¦ºªºúÁn¤@°_¼ú½àªº¦u½Ãµo²{¦b¥Lªº±a¤l¤Wªº¤@ÓªZ¾¹¦Ó¥B¥á¥¦¡C ¨ì¹F¤@ÓºÉÀY, ¥L¿h°{¦b¤Î®É¤W±¬Ý¨£¦b¥L¤W±ªº¶}©ñ,
¥¼§¹¦¨ªº±Æ®ð¤f¶b¡C ¶°·|¥L¦Û¤v, ¥Lµ§ª½¦a¦V¤W¸õÅD¦Ó¥BÃkµn¨ºÁ_¦Xª÷ÄÝ»sªºÀð¾À,Å¥¦b¥L«á±´î¤Ö ªº©I³Û¡C
Another squeal hit him and he grimaced, but the signal was much fainter
now, the pain bearable. As he wound his way back to the surface, he heard
screams above, meaning the guards must have materialized on the prison
grounds, looking for him. He found a door and shoved it open into the
startled faces of five green-suits waiting outside, but before they could
react, he leaped over their heads, landing on the high stone wall that
surrounded the compound. As they shouted and pointed, he glanced over
his shoulder at the sharp rocks and crashing waves below. Then he turned
and dove off the wall, wishing for the gliding power of his birdstyle,
hoping he would make it past the rocks. / ¥t¤@Án¦y¥s¸I¼²¥L©M¥L§ê°Áy¡A¦ý¬O«H¸¹²{¦b¬O«D±`·L®zªº,
¥i§Ô¨üªºµhW¡C ·í¥L§â¥Lªº¤èªk¨ü¶Ë¦^ªí±ªº®ÉÔ,¥LÅ¥¨ì¦y¥sÁn¤W¤è,·N¿×¦u½Ã¤@©w´¿¸g¦bºÊº»²z¥Ñ¤W½á»P¹ê½è¹L¡A§ä´M¥L¡C ¥L¶i¤J¤ªº³Q¾_Å媺Áy¤§¤ºµo²{¤F¤@®°ªù¦Ó¥B±ÀÀ½¤F¥¦°_¨Ó¶}©ñªº°_¨Óºñ¦âªº-¾A¦Xµ¥Ô¥~±,¦ý¬O¥LÌ¥i¥H¤ÏÀ³¤§«e¡A¥L³Q¸õ¹L¥L̪ºÀY,¦b¥]³ò¤F²V¦Xª«ªº°ª¥ÛÀYÀð¾À¤Wµn³°¡C
·í¥LÌ©I³Û©M¦yªº,¥L¦b¤U±ªº¾U§Q©¥¥Û©Mµ´¹ïªºªi®öÂsÄý¥LªºªÓ¡C µM«á¥LÂà¦V©M¦bÀð¾À¥~ÂF¤l,´Á±æ¥Lªº birdstyle ªº·Æ°Ê¹q·½, §Æ±æ¥L±N·|¨Ï¥¦¹L¥h©¥¥Û¡C
His body crashed into the water, sinking several feet before he bobbed
to the surface, then turned back to the mainland, swimming with powerful
strokes. The waves battered and pounded him, slapping his face when he
tried to surface for air, but at the same time, concealing him in the
churning foam. The current tried to drag him back. But at last he fought
his way to a rock on the opposite shore and pulled himself onto it, chest
heaving. He stayed there and watched the sun set over the base before
he climbed up the rocks to safety. / ¥Lªº³QåP¸¨¤ôªº¨Åé,¨I¨S¦b¥L«eªº¤@¨Ç¸}¹ïªí±®¶°Ê, µM«á§é¦^¨ì¤j³°,¥H¦³¤Oªºµ§¹º´åªa¡C
ªi®öºV¥´¦Ó¥B±j¯P¥´À»¤F¥L, ¥X©_¦a§Ö¥LªºÁy·í¥L¸ÕµÛ¬°ªÅ®ð¤É¦Ü¤ô±ªº®ÉÔ, ¦ý¬O¦P®É,¦bÅͨŪwªjÁôÂÃ¥L¡C ´é¬y¸ÕµÛ§â¥L©ì©Ô¦^¨Ó¡C ¦ý¬O³Ì«á¥L¦b¥¦¤§¤W¥´¥M¤F¦b¬Û¤Ïªº®ü©¤¤Wªº¨ì¤@¶ô©¥¥Ûªº¥L¸ô¦Ó¥B©Ô¤F¥L¦Û¤v,¯Ý¥Î¤OÁ|°_¡C
¥L¦b¨º¸Ì°±¯d¨Ã¥B¬Ý¤Ó¶§³]©w¦b°ò¦¤§¤W¥H«e¥L³Qª¦¤W¹ï¦w¥þªº©¥¥Û¡C
A bearded man pushing an ancient shopping cart full of garbage bags eyed
him warily as Joe stood at a public phone booth, waiting to be relayed
through to Rafael. He'd traded his tattered combat suit for a sweatshirt,
jeans and a jacket, all overpriced from local tourist shops--at this point
he was beginning to appreciate the indestructible qualities of his old
ISO uniforms. / ²´ªº¤@Ó±À°Ê¤@Ó»·¥jªº¥Rº¡©U§£ªºÁʪ«¨®³U¤l ªº¦³Å½¨k¤H¥L¯d¤ß¦a·í³ì¦b¤@Ó¤½²³ªº¹q¸Ü«F¯¸¥ß, µ¥Ô³Q±µ´À¸g¹L¨ì
Rafael¡C ¥L¦³¬°¤@Ó¹B°Êm¡A¤û¥J¿Ç©M¤@¥ó§¨§J¥æ©ö¤F¥Lªº¯}Äê¾Ô°«¶D³^,¥þ³¡±q¦a¤è¹C«Èªº°Ó©±©w»ù¹L°ª--¦¹®É¥L¥¿¦b¶}©l·P¿E¥LªºÂ°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´¨îªAªº¤£¯à¯}Ãaªº«~½è¡C
After a final series of clicks, he heard a familiar voice: "Rafael
here." / ¦b¤@³Ì«áªº¨t¦CÂIÀ»¤§«á¡A¥LÅ¥¨ì¤F¤@ºØ¼ô±xªºÁnµ: "¦b³o¸Ìªº Rafael".
"I'm in the city," Joe said. "The beacon's planted. And
X is here, Doctor. He knew I was close." / " §Ú¦b«°¥«¤¤",³ì»¡¡C
"³QºØ´Óªº«H¸¹¡C ¦Ó¥B X ¦b³o¸Ì,Âå¥Í¡C ¥L»{ÃѤF§Ú¬O±µªñªº¡C"
"How did he react?" / "¥L¦p¦ó¤ÏÀ³"?
"He hit me with some kind of sonic attack. I can't get near him."
/ "¥L¥Îµªiªº§ðÀ»¤@¨ÇÃþ«¬¸I¼²§Ú¡C §Ú¤£¯à¨ì¹F¦b¥Lªºªþªñ¡C"
"Don't even try," Rafael said quickly. "Just stay put for
now. I want you back here, but they might be watching for you. Lie low,
look around and play tourist until I contact you again." / "¤£n¬Æ¦Ü¸Õ",Rafael
»¡±o«Ü§Ö¡C "¥¿ª½ªº°±¯d¬°²{¦b©ñ¡C §Ú·Qn§A«á±ªº³o¸Ì¡A¦ý¬O¥LÌ¥i¯à¯d·N§A¡C ª½¨ì§Ú¦A¤@¦¸³sµ¸§A¡A½öµÛ§C, ¥|³B¬Ý¬Ý¦Ó¥Bª±Æ[¥ú«È¡C"
"I'll phone you. My radio's broken." / "§Ú±N¥´¹q¸Üµ¹§A¡C ¥´¯}ªº§Ú¦¬µ¾÷¡C"
"Wait until Sunday at least. Be careful." / "¦Ü¤Öµ¥Ô¨ì¬P´Á¤é¡C
n¤p¤ß¡C"
The phone clicked, leaving a dial tone. After all this work, he was left
waiting again, hiding. With a growl, Joe slammed the receiver back onto
its hook and stalked back down the dark street. / ¹q¸Ü«ö, ¯d¤U¤@Óµo°T¡C ¦b©Ò¦³ªº³o¤@Ó¤u§@¤§«á¡A¥L³Q¯d¤U¦A¤@¦¸µ¥Ô¡AÂáC
ÂǥѤ@Ó§pÁn¡A¦b¥¦ªº¹_¤§¤W§â±µ¦¬¾¹²rµMÃö¤W¦^¨Ó¦Ó¥B®¨®¨¾aªñªº³ìªu¶Â·tªºµó¹D¦V¤U¦^¡C
Julia stretched in her chair, wincing at the pain in her side. She'd received
three days off to rest after her encounter with the Syndicate spy within
ISO headquarters, a meeting that had given her a hematoma and two cracked
ribs. Taken off active duty for a month, she was restricted to desk work,
but she couldn't complain. Thankfully she'd been absent when they brought
in Getz's body, so she hadn't been forced to look at his dead face, at
the accusation only she could see. After all, he had paid the ultimate
price for unearthing that mole, not Julia, and now his corpse lay in a
refrigerated drawer at the city morgue, pending notification of next of
kin. / ¯ü²ú¨È¦b¦oªº´È¤l¤¤¦ù®i,¦b¦oªº¨Ã䤤ªºµhW¬ÈÁY¡C ¦b»P¥ø·~Áp¦Xªº¦o¬Û·|¦b°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´Á`³¡¸Ì±°»¹î¤§«á¡A¦o¤w¸g¦¬¨ì¤T¤Ñ°²¥ð®§,
¤@Ó·|ij¤w¸gµ¹¦o¤@®Ú hematoma ©M¤G®Ú¯}¸Hªº¦Ø°©¡C ¬°¤@Ӥ뮳¨«¶}¿n·¥ªº³d¥ô,¦o³Q¨î¨ì®Ñ®à¤u§@¡A¦ý¬O¦o¤£¥i¥H©ê«è¡C ·í¥L̤޶i Getz's
ªº¨Åé®ÉÔ¡A¼y©¯¦a¦o¤w¸g¯Ê®u¡A¦]¦¹¡A¦o¨S¦³¤£±o¤£¬Ý¥Lªº¦ºÁy,¦b«ü±±¤£¹L¦o¥i¥H¬Ý¨£¡C ²¦³º¡A¥L¤w¸g¬°µo±¸¨º¤@Óµi¦Ó¤£¬O¯ü²ú¨È¥I¥X¥N»ù¡A¦Ó¥B²{¦b¥Lªº«ÍÅé¦b«°¥«³¯«Í©Ò¦b©ó¤@Ó³Q©â±P§N«oªº,·í¿Ë±ªº¤U¤@Óªº³qª¾®ÉÔ¡C
As she straightened to look back at her computer screen, the phone rang.
Without looking at it, she snagged the receiver and put it to her ear.
"Evers." / ·í¦o§Ëª½¦^¬Ý¦oªº¹q¸£¿Ã¹õªº®ÉÔ,¹q¸Ü»ïÅT¡C ¤£¬Ý¥¦¡A¦o²Ê¿i¤F±µ¦¬¾¹¦Ó¥B©ñ¤F¥¦¨ì¦oªº¦Õ¦·¡C "´¿¸g".
"Julia, it's Mike. How're you doing?" / "¯ü²ú¨È,¥¦¬O³Á¥i¡C How're
§A°µ?"
"Oh, I'm all right, though there has to be an easier way to get paid
time off in this outfit." She smiled. / "®@,§Ú¬O¨SÃö«Y , ÁöµM¦b¨º¸Ì¥²¶·¬O¤@Ó¸û®e©öªº¤èªk¦b³o¤@ӥΨ㤤±o¨ìÁÙ²M®É¶¡".
¦o·L¯º¡C
The voice on the other end chuckled. "Yeah, there should be, but
that's the price you pay for being indispensable." / ¦b³Q¦Y¦Yªº¯º¥t¤@ºÝ¤WªºÁnµ¡C
"¬Oªº,À³¸Ó¦³, ¦ý¬O§A¤ä¥I¤£¥i¯Ê¤Öªº¶O¥Î»ù®æ".
"I'll remember that. What can I do for you?" "I need you
to come to my office as soon as you can break away--I want some input
on an item I received today. Get up here, and we'll discuss it in more
detail." / " §Ú±N°O±o¨º¡C §Ú¯à¬°§A°µ¤°»ò?"" §Ú»Ýn§A¨ì¹F§Úªº¿ì¤½«Ç¤@¥¹§A¯à²æÂ÷ --§Ú·Qn¦b§Ú¤µ¤Ñ¦¬¨ìªº¤@Ó¶µ¥Ø¤Wªº¤@¨Ç¿é¤J¡C
Äw³Æ³o¸Ì¡A¦Ó¥B§Ú̱N§ó¸Ô²Ó¦a°Q½×¥¦¡C"
"I'll be right there." / " §Ú±N´N¦b¨º¸Ì" ¡C
Julia took an elevator to the 105th floor and walked past five guards
and two administrative assistants to find Mike Oliva, chief administrator
at the ISO building, pacing behind his desk, a panoramic view of the city
behind him. When she closed the door behind her, he stopped and smiled
wearily. / ¯ü²ú¨È±N¤@Ó¹q±è±a¨ì 105 ¼Ó¨Ã¥B¨«¸ô¹L¥hªº¤Ó¦u½Ã©M¤GÓºÞ²zªº§U²zµo²{³Á¥i Oliva, ¥DnªººÞ²z¤H¦b°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´«Ø¿vª«,¦b¥Lªº®Ñ®à«á±¿â¨B,¦b¥L«á±ªº«°¥«¥þ´ºªºµø³¥¡C
·í¦oÃö³¬¤F¦b¦o«á±ªºªù®ÉÔ,¥L¯h¦a°±¤î¦Ó¥B·L¯º¡C
"By the way, thanks for the flowers," Julia said. "Irises
are my favorite." / "¶¶«K¤@´£,¬°ªáÁÂÁÂ",¯ü²ú¨È»¡¡C "i½¤¬O§Úªº³ßÅw¨Æª«"
¡C
He shook his head. "I thought they'd send you back to G-Town right
away," he said, "But I'm glad they haven't." A small tape
player sat on his desk. He pressed a button, popped the lid and took out
a tiny cassette, holding it between thumb and middle finger. "This
arrived in our mailroom an hour ago via Federal Express, addressed to
Dr. Nambu. The return address is bogus, and there were no fingerprints
on the package or the cassette. Listen to this and please tell me I'm
not crazy." He pushed the tape back into the machine and pressed
Play. / ¥L·nÀY¡C "§Ú·Q¡A¥ḺN·|§â§A°e¦^ G- «°Âí¥ß¨è ",¥L»¡ ", ¦ý¬O§Ú«Ü°ª¿³¥L̤£¤w¸g".
¤@Ó¤pªº¿ýµ±a¹B°Êû§¤¦b¥Lªº®Ñ®à¤W¡C ¥L«ö¤F¤@Ó«ö¶s,¨ú¥X»\¤l¦Ó¥B¨ú¥X¤@Ó·¥¤pªº¥d±a, ´¤¦í¦b©æ«ü©M¤¤«ü¤§¶¡ªº¥¦¡C "³o¸g¥ÑÁp¨¹ªº§Ö»¼¦b¤@Ó¤p®É¥H«e©è¹F§Ú̪º
mailroom,¹ï Nambu ³Õ¤hºt»¡¡C ¦^¦æªº¦í§}¬O°²ªº, ¦Ó¥B¨S¦³¦b¥]»q©Î¥d±a¤Wªº«ü¯¾¡C Å¥¨ì³o¦Ó¥B½Ð§i¶D§Ú§Ú¤£¬Oµo¨gªº¡C"¥L¶i¤J¾÷¾¹©M¯Ê¤Öªº¹CÀ¸¤§¤º§â¿ýµ±a±À°Ê¦^¨Ó¡C
Fifteen seconds of silence passed, then Julia's eyes went wide as a deep
male voice began to speak, describing the base the Syndicate had planned
for somewhere in San Frangelis. No static blocked the voice here, and
the familiarity brought rows of goose bumps standing at attention along
her arms. / ¤Q¤¬íªº³Q³q¹Lªº¨HÀq,·í¤@ºØ²`ªº¨k©ÊÁnµ¶}©l»¡ªº®ÉÔ¡AµM«á¯ü²ú¨Èªº²´·ú¼sÁï¦a¥h, ´yz¥ø·~Áp¦X¤w¸gpµeªº°ò¦¬°¬Y³B¦b®áªe
Frangelis ¤¤¡C ¨S¦³ÀR¹qªý¶ë¤FÁnµ³o¸Ì¡A¦Ó¥B³Q±a±ÆªºÃZ¿Ë±KªuµÛ¦oªº¤âÁu¸I¼²¦bª`·N¯¸¥ß¡C
The recording stopped. The button popped up on its own. / ¿ýµ°±¤î¡C ¶s¦©¾a¥¦¦Û¤v¥X²{¡C
"You're not crazy," Julia said. "Or we both are."
/ "§A¤£¬Oµo¨gªº",¯ü²ú¨È»¡¡C "©Î§ÚÌdz£¬O" ¡C
Mike sighed, straightening his sharp grey suit. "I will never forget
that voice, or the day G2 pulled us out of that hostage situation in our
Chicago satellite office. Nasty customer." He shook his head. "But
this can't be him. I'd toss this as a prank, but I don't want to risk
throwing away this information as well." "I agree with you.
It sounds just like him, Julia said. "This isn't the first time.
We have some other recordings we can compare this to. Recent ones,"
she added as he opened his mouth. "We have some theories." /
³Á¥i¼Û®§, ÁBª½¥Lªº¾U§Q¦Ç¦âªº¶D³^¡C "§Ú±NµLªk§Ñ°O¨º¤@ºØÁnµ,©Î¤Ñ G2 ¦b§Ú̪ºªÛ¥[ô¤H³y½Ã¬P¿ì¤½«Ç¤¤§â§Ú̱q¨º¤@ºØ¤H½è±¡§Î©Ô¥X¨Ó¡C
¦Ã©ªº®ø¶OªÌ¡C"¥L·nÀY¡C "¦ý¬O³o¤£¯à¬O¥L¡C §Ú±N·|§ëÂY³o¦p¤@³õ´c§@¼@¡A¦ý¬O§Ú¤£·Qn«_µÛ¤]¥á±ó³o¸ê®Æªº¦MÀI¡C""§Ú¦P·N§A¡C
¥¦Å¥°_¨Ó´N¹³¥L¤@¼Ë,¯ü²ú¨È»¡¡C "³o¤£¬O²Ä¤@¦¸¡C §Ú̦³§Ú̯à¤ñ¸û³o©Mªº¤@¨Ç¨ä¥Lªº¿ýµ¡C ³Ìªñªº¤@¨Ç,"·í¥L¥´¶}¤F¥Lªº¼L®ÉÔ¡A¦o¼W¥[¡C
"§Ú̦³¤@¨Ç²z½×" ¡C
"What theories?" / " ¤°»ò²z½×"?
"That Joe has an admirer or group of admirers trying to carry on
in his stead. That it might be a prank leading us on. I think this tape
should reach Dr. Nambu, and with your permission, I'll deliver it myself."
/ "¨º³ì¦³´Ü¨ØªÌ©Î¸sÅ骺´Ü¨ØªÌ¹Á¸Õ¦b¥Lªº¥N´À¤¤Ä~Äò¡C þ¤@¥¦¥i¯à¬O¤@³õ»â¥ý§ÚÌ ªº´c§@¼@¦b¤§¤W¡C §Ú»{¬°¡A³o¤@±²¿ýµ±aÀ³¸ÓÁpµ¸
Nambu ³Õ¤h¡A¦Ó¥B¥Ñ©ó§Aªº³\¥i¡A§Ú±N»¼°e¥¦§Ú¦Û¤v¡C"
Two hours later, Julia stood beside the door and watched Dr. Nambu pace.
Behind his desk, a large screen showed the frowning face of Chief Anderson.
On the table sat the tape player with the mysterious microtape inside.
/ ¤G¤p®É¤§«á, ¦bªù®ÇÃ䪺¯¸¥ß¯ü²ú¨È¦Ó¥B¬Ý Nambu ³Õ¤h¿â¨B¡C ¦b¥Lªº®Ñ®à«á±¡A¤@Ó¤jªº¿Ã¹õÅã¥Ü¤F¥Dnªº¦w¼w»¹ªº½K¬ÜÀYÁy¡C ¦b®à¤l¤W§¤µÛ¤F¦³¯«¯µªº
microtape ¦b¤ºªº¿ýµ±a¹B°Êû¡C
"You have to admit," Nambu said, "That this isn't much
information to go on, and it could be a trap or a prank. Whoever sent
it wanted to get our attention, badly." / "§A¥²¶·©Ó»{",Nambu
»¡ ",³o¤£¬O«Ü¦hªº¸ê®ÆÄ~Äò¡A¦Ó¥B¥¦¥i¯à¬O¤@Ó°é®M©Î¤@³õ´c§@¼@¡C ¥ô¦ó¤H°e¥¦·Qn±o¨ì§Ú̪ºª`·N,ÄY«¦a¡C"
Anderson spoke. "True, but consider this. The research institutions
in northern San Frangelis are too valuable to lose. You know how much
of the ISO's funding is centered there. If there's even one percent of
truth to this claim, I think it's worth sending some of your operatives
down to investigate. What is the Kagaku Ninjatai doing these days?"
/ ¦w¼w»¹»¡¡C "¯u¹êªº, ¦ý¬O¦Ò¼{³o¡C ¥_¤èªº®áªe Frangelis ªº¬ã¨s¾÷ºc¬O¤Ó¦³»ùȦӵLªk¥¢¥h¡C §Aª¾¹D¦h¤Ö°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´ªº¸êª÷Äw³Æ¦b¨º¸Ì³Q¶°¤¤¡C
¦pªG¨º¸Ì¬Æ¦Ü¦Ê¤À¤§¤@ªº¹ï³o¤@Ón¨Dªº¨Æ¹ê,§Ú»{¬°¥¦¬O¤@¨Ç§AªºÂ¾ûåP¸¨½Õ¬dªºÈ±o°e¡C ³o¨Ç¼Æ¤Ñ°µ ªº Kagaku Ninjatai ¬O¤°»ò?"
Recovering from the last trap they were dumped into, and helping us reassess
our security, Nambu thought, but let none of it show. "They've unearthed
a base on Easton Island." / «ì´_¨º³Ì«á§x¦í¥L̳Q¶É¨ø¶i¤J,¤§¤º¦Ó¥B¨Ï§Ú̦Aµû»ù§Ú̪º¦w¥þ,Nambu
·Q, ¦ý¬OÅý¥¦¨S¦³¤@ÓÅã¥Ü¡C "¥L̤w¸gµo±¸¦b Easton ®q¤Wªº¤@Ó°ò¦" ¡C
"Send them to the city. See what they can find." / "°e¥L̨쫰¥«¡C
¬Ý¨£¥L̯àµo²{ªº¡C"
"Chokan, they're highly visible, and they could be vulnerable. What
if this message is merely a lure?" / "Chokan,¥LÌ°ª«×¬Ý±o¨£¡A¦Ó¥B¥LÌ¥i¯à¬O©ö¨ü¶Ë®`ªº¡C
¤°»ò¦pªG³o¤@Ó°T®§¥u¬O¤@Ó»ç?"
"It's something we can't afford to ignore." Something beeped
offscreen, and Anderson glanced down at his wrist. "Speaking of which,
I have a meeting with the council. Send your team to the city." The
screen fuzzed then switched off. / "¥¦¬O¬Y¨Æ§Ṳ́£¯àt¾á¤£²z¸B" ¡C ¬Y¨Æ¹Í¹ÍÁn¤F
offscreen ¡A¦Ó¥B¦w¼w»¹¦b¥Lªº¤âµÃ¿h°{¤U¨Ó¡C " »¡¨ì ,§Ú¦³¦³·|ijªº¤@Ó·|ij¡C °e§Aªº¤p²Õ¨ì«°¥«¡C"¿Ã¹õµM«á§@µ³¤òª¬¸´²¤ÁÂ_¡C
Nambu might have cursed, Julia thought. He bowed his head and his lips
moved, but she heard nothing. Then he looked at her. "I'm sending
another research team to Easton Island to see if they can find any other
clues in the ruins," he said. "I want you to return to city
headquarters and take charge of that investigation fom there. I want to
know more about our mysterious benefactors. We will crack this."
/ Nambu À³¸Ó¥i¥H¶A©G,¯ü²ú¨È·Q¡C ¥LÅs¸y¤F¥LªºÀY¡A¦Ó¥B¥Lªº®B²¾°Ê¡A¦ý¬O¦o¤°»ò¤]¤£Å¥¨ì¡C µM«á¥L¬Ý¦o¡C "¦pªG¥L̯àµo²{·´·Àªº¥ô¦ó¨ä¥Lªº½u¯Á¡A§Ú¥¿¦b°e¥t¥~¬ã¨s¤p²Õ¨ì
Easton ®q¬Ý¨£",¥L»¡¡C "§Ú·Qn§A¦^¨ì«°¥«Á`³¡¦Ó¥B¦b¨º¸Ì´xºÞ¨º½Õ¬d fom ¡C §Ú·Qnª¾¹D§ó¦h¦³Ãö§Ú̪º¯«¯µ®¦¤H¡C
§Ú̱N§Ë¸H³o¡C"
"Yes sir." / " ¬Oªº¥ý¥Í".
As she turned to leave, Dr. Nambu opened a panel on his desk and pressed
a button, activating the bracelets of the Kagaku Ninjatai. / ·í¦o·Ç³ÆÂ÷¶}ªº®ÉÔ,Nambu
³Õ¤h¥´¶}¤F¦b¥Lªº®Ñ®à¤Wªº»ö¿öªO¦Ó¥B«ö¤F¤@Ó«ö¶s,±Ò°Ê Kagaku Ninjatai ªº¤âÅN¡C
Mere moments after the team's briefing, the New Godphoenix flew toward
the West coast of Ameris, cruising at Mach 3 while Jun formulated a search
method. The recording of Joe's voice hadn't been terribly specific. San
Frangelis had once been two cities on opposite ends of the coastline,
but over the years, a booming economy and high demand for space had linked
a gap of over four hundred miles. The team would not have an easy time
finding any Syndicate installation there until the destruction started.
/ ¤p²ÕªºÂ²³ø«á¤p´ò¤ù¨è¡A·sªº Godphoenix ¹ï©ó Ameris ªº¦è¤è®ü©¤¸, ¦b Mach 3 ¨µ¯è·í¤»¤ë¨î©w¤F¤@Ó·j´M¤èªkªº®ÉÔ¡C
³ìªºÁnµ¿ýµ¤£¤w¸g¥i©È¯S©w¡C ®áªe Frangelis ´¿¸g¤w¸g¬O¦b®ü©¤½uªº¬Û¤Ïµ²§ô¤Wªº¤G®y«°¥«¡A¦ý¬O¦b¼Æ¦~¥H¨Ó¡A«æ³tµo®i¸gÀÙ©M¹ïªÅ¶¡ªº°ªn¨D¤w¸g³s±µ¶W¹L¥|¦Êùªº¤@ÓÁ_»Ø¡C
ª½¨ì¯}Ãa¶}©l¡A¤p²Õ±N·|¨S¦³®e©öªº®É¶¡¦b¨º¸Ìµo²{¥ô¦óªº¥ø·~Áp¦X¦w¸Ë¡C
A warning chimed on the forward console, signaling an incoming call. Ken
hit the release button to find a dispatch scrolled on four of the forward
screens onboard: "A train carrying nuclear materials has been hijacked
in the Cascades area, ninety kilometers south of the town of Stillwater.
Attackers are using sophisticated weaponry and what was described as a
flying tank...." / ¤@Óĵ§i¦b¦V«eªº±±¨îÂi¤W»ï,¶H¼x¤@Ó¦¬¤J©I¥s¡C ªÖ®¦À»¤¤ÄÀ©ñ¶s¦©µo²{¦bªO¤l¤Wªº¦V«e¿Ã¹õ¤¤ªº¥|Ó¤W³Q±²°Êªº¯S¬£:
"Stillwater ªº«°Âí¦V«n¤è¤E¤Q¤½¨½³B¤@¦C·f¸ü®Ö¤lªº§÷®Æ ªº¤õ¨®¤w¸g¦b¤pÂr¥¬°Ï°ì¤¤³Q§T«ù¡C §ðÀ»ªÌ¥¿¦b¨Ï¥Î½ÆÂøªºªZ¾¹©M¤°»ò³Q´yz¬°¤@Ó¸ªº¼Ñ...."
"There," Jinpei said. "That's where Galactor is."
/ "¨º¸Ì" ¡A Jinpei »¡¡C " ¨º¬O¦bþ¸Ì Galactor ¬O".
"We're better off going there than chasing phantoms on the west coast,"
Ryu said. / "§Ú̶W¹L°l¦b¦è¤è®ü©¤¤Wªº¤Û¼v¦b¨º¸Ì¬O¸û¦nªº»·¥h",Ryu »¡¡C
Ken frowned. "Ryu, plot a course for Stillwater, full power. We're
closer to them. We'll deal with them first." / ªÖ®¦½K¬ÜÀY¡C "Ryu,¬°
Stillwater pµe½Ķ½Òµ{,§¹¥þªº¤O¶q¡C §Ṳ́ñ¸û¾aªñ¥LÌ¡C §Ú̱Nº¥ý³B²z¥LÌ¡C"
"Wait." The main screen flickered, and the forward view was
replaced by an image of Dr. Nambu. "The Syndicate has surfaced in
San Frangelis. Just two minutes ago, they commenced several attacks in
the northwest bay area, wiping out a military outpost and a nuclear research
facility. There were no survivors in either installation." The screen
flashed a thankfully blurry image of crumbled buildings and strewn bodies.
"We think they're continuing through the area." / "µ¥Ô".
¥Dnªº¿Ã¹õ°{°Ê¡A¦Ó¥B¦V«eªºµø³¥³Q Nambu ³Õ¤hªº¤@Ó¼v¹³´À´«¤F¡C "¥ø·~Áp¦X¤w¸g¦b®áªe Frangelis ¤É¦Ü¤ô±¡C ¦b¤G¤ÀÄÁ¥H«e¶È¶È¡A¥L̦b®üÆW°Ï°ì¦è¥_³¡¤¤¶}©l¤@¨Ç§ðÀ»,À¿«ø¥X¤@Óx¨Æ«eï©M®Ö¤lªº¬ã¨s³]³Æ¡C
¨S¦³¥ô¤@¦w¸Ëªº¥ÍÁ٪̡C" ¿Ã¹õ°{²{¤F±Y¼ìªº«Ø¿vª«ªº¤@Ó¼y©¯¼Ò½kªº¼v¹³¦Ó¥B¼»º¡¨Åé¡C "§ÚÌ»{¬°¥LÌ¥¿¦bÄ~Äò¹L°Ï°ì"
¡C
"Any ultimatum delivered? Reason for the attacks?" Ken said.
/ "¥ô¦óªº³Ì«á³q·Þ»¼°e? §ðÀ»ªº²z¥Ñ?"ªÖ®¦»¡¡C
"None given, but the pattern could give away their position."
/ "¨S¦³¤H³Qµ¹¡A¦ý¬O¨å«¬¥i¥H¤À°e¥L̪º¦ì¸m" ¡C
"Roger," Ken said, but when the screen blinked back to the forward
view. "Ryu, stay on course for Stillwater." / "ù³Ç",
ªÖ®¦»¡, ¦ý¬O·í¿Ã¹õ¦V«á¦a¯w²´¨ì¦V«eªºµø³¥®ÉÔ¡C "Ryu,¬° Stillwater °±¯d¦b½Òµ{¤W" ¡C
"But, we have orders--" / "¦ý¬O,§Ú̦³©R¥O--"
"We can handle both," Ken said. "Once we pass the site,
we split up. I'll handle the train myself. The rest of you continue to
San Frangelis and see what you can find." / "§Ú̯à³B²z¨âªÌ",ªÖ®¦»¡¡C
" ¤@¥¹§Ú̳q¹L¦ì¸m, §Ṳ́ÀÂ÷¦b¤W±¡C §Ú±N³B²z¤õ¨®§Ú¦Û¤v¡C §Aªº¨ä¾lªÌÄ~Äò¨ì®áªe Frangelis ¦Ó¥B½Õ¬d§A¯àµo²{ªº¡C"
"GelSadora," rumbled the alien, "Where is the intruder?"
/ "GelSadora",µo¶©¶©Án¤F¥~¹´ ",«I¤JªÌ¦bþ¸Ì"?
"My men are pursuing him now, Sosai." GelSadora swallowed hard
at the half-truth. The incompetent fools had lost him after a few minutes.
The captain would pay for that. On the screen, X glowered at her but said
nothing. "We did, ah, find something unusual on one of the casualties."
From the folds of her purple robe, she produced a silver feather and held
it up before the screen. "We found a similar one on our operative
on Easton Island, but--" / "§Úªº¨k¤H¥¿¦b²{¦b°l¨D¥L,Sosai". GelSadora
¦b¤@³¡¬°¨Æ¹êªº»y§V¤O¦a§]¡C µL¯à¤Oªº·M¤H¦b¼Æ¤ÀÄÁ¤§«á¤w¸g¥¢¥h¥L¡C ²îªø±N·|¤ä¥I¨ºªº¶O¥Î¡C ¦b¿Ã¹õ¤W¡A X ¦b¦oÀü²´¦ý¬O¤°»ò¤]¤£»¡¡C "§ÚÌ°µ,°Ú,µo²{¦b·N¥~¨Æ¥ó¤§¤@¤Wªº¤£´M±`ªºªF¦è".
±q¦oªºµµ¦â¼eÃPªø³TªººP¼h¡A¦o¥Í²£¤F¤@®Ú»Èªº¦Ð¤ò¦Ó¥B®³µÛ¥¦¦b¿Ã¹õ¤§«e´£°ª¡C "§Ú̵o²{¦b Easton ®q¤Wªº¦b§Ú̪ºÂ¾û¤Wªº¤@Ó¬Û¦üªº,¦ý¬O--"
X's image brightened, then shuddered violently. "Why wasn't I told
this earlier?" / ÅÜ«Gªº X's ªº¼v¹³, µM«á¾Ô·X²r¯Pªº¡C " ¬°¤°»ò¤£¬O§Ú§i¶D³o¦¨Ç®ÉÔ"?
"Is something wrong, Sosai-sama?" / " ¦³¤ò¯f¬O,Sosai-sama"?
"Do you--do you realize what you are holding?" She had never
heard her leader sputter before. "That weapon belongs to one of the
Kagaku Ninjatai. Specifically, one who is supposed to be dead!" /
"°µ§A--§A¤F¸Ñ§A¥¿¦b´¤¦íªº¶Ü"? ¦o¥H«e±q¥¼Å¥¨ì¦oªº»â³S©B¾º¡C "¨º¤@ÓªZ¾¹ÄÝ©ó Kagaku Ninjatai
¤§¤@¡C ©ú½T¦a, ¤HÀ³¸Ó¦º!"
"But--" / "¦ý¬O--"
The alien's voice rose to a roar. "Find him immediately! Search the
area around this base. I don't care if you have to tear down the entire
city to do it, but find him and kill him!" / ¥~¹´ªºÁnµ¤W¤É¨ì¤@Án§q¡C "¥ß¨èµo²{¥L!
¦b³o¤@Ó°ò¦ªº©P³ò·j´M°Ï°ì¡C ¦pªG§A¥²¶·ªu¾ãÓªº«°¥«¦V¤U¬y²\°µ¥¦, ¦ý¬Oµo²{¥L¦Ó¥B±þ¥L¡A§Ú¤£Ãö¤ß!"
Hastily, GelSadora bowed and fled the chamber. Behind her, the apparition
of Sosai X flickered in agitation. "Impossible... impossible! There
is only one man who can raise the dead, but he should be long dead himself!"
/ ¥^¦£¦a¡A GelSadora Ås¸y¨Ã¥B°k¥X·|ij«Ç¡C ¦b¦o«á±¡A Sosai X ªº°¦b¿E°Ê¤¤°{°Ê¡C "¤£¥i¯àªº¡C¡C¡C ¤£¥i¯àªº!
¥u¦³¤@Ó¯à¤É°_¦º¥hªº¤H¨k¤H¡A¦ý¬O¥LÀ³¸Ó¬Oªøªº¦º¥L¦Û¤v!"
"Another coffee for you?" / "§Aªº¥t¥~©@°Ø"?
"Yeah." Joe didn't look up from the computer screen in the cybercafe.
At his elbow, a fifteen year old waitress with spiky black hair, black
lipstick and a right ear encrusted with silver loops snatched up his bill
to see what he'd ordered. She scowled at the scrawl there. "So what
did you have? Caffe Latte? Espresso, cappucino or mocha?" / "¬Oªº".
³ì¨S¦³¬Ý¦b±q¹q¸£ºôµ¸©@°ØÆUªº¿Ã¹õ¤W±¡C ¦b¥Lªº¤â¨y¡A¦³¹ï»ÈªºÀô·P¨ì»\¦íªº¹D°v¤@¯ëªº¶Â¦âÀY¾v¡A¶Â¦âªº¤f¬õ©M¤@°¦¥k¦Õ¦·ªº¤@Ó¤Q¤·³¤kªA°È¥Í¦b¥Lªº±b³æ¤W±¹Ü¨ú¬Ý¨£¥L¦³©R¥Oªº¡C
¦o½K¬ÜÀY¦b¨º¦b¨º¸Ì¼ã¯ó¦a¼g¡C "¦p¦¹§A¦³¤°»ò? Caffe ®³ÅK? ¿@ÁY©@°Ø¡A cappucino ©Î mocha?"
"Coffee," Joe growled, leaning toward the monitor. "Black."
/ "©@°Ø",³ì«ã§p,°¾¦VºÊµø¾¹¡C "¶Â¦âªº".
"Colombian, Moroccan or Kona Blend?" / "ôÛ¤ñ¨È¤H¡A¼¯¬¥ô¤H©Î Kona
²V¦X"?
"Whatever the house coffee is." / "¥ô¦óªº©Ð¤l©@°Ø¬O" ¡C
"We have three different kinds--" / "§Ú̦³¤TÓ¤£¦PªºÃþ«¬--"
He glanced sharply back at her and the girl backed away. "Okay, I'll
see what I can do." Heaving a dramatic sigh, she stalked back toward
the barrista, who shrugged and refilled the cup from a pot in the corner.
"Not even a biscotti to go with it," she grumbled. "Tourists!"
/ ¥L¾U§Q¦a¦V«á¦a¦b¦o©M¤k«Ä¿h°{°hÁY¡C "¦n¡A§Ú±N¬Ý¨£§Ú¯à°µªº" ¡C ¥Î¤OÁ|°_¤@ÁnÀ¸¼@©Êªº¼Û®§,¦o¦V«á¦a¹ï©ó barrista
®¨®¨¾aªñ,ÁqªÓ¨Ã¥B¦A±N¨¤¸¨ªº¨Ó¦Û¤@Ó³ýªºªM¤lª`º¡¡C " ¤£¬Æ¦Ü biscotti »P¥¦·f°t ",¦o©D§u¡C "Æ[¥ú«È"!
Joe rolled his eyes, but ignored her as she set his coffee on the table.
Returning his attention to the computer screen, he phrased another inquiry.
San Frangelis had incorporated the scientific research center of the nation
with the entertainment center, providing a rich raiding ground for Galactor
as well as the perfect way for them to blend in. Geeks and freaks, Joe
thought with a grimace. As long as he was in limbo, he might as well try
to find out which research resources Galactor was most likely to take
advantage of. Eight defense companies, a laser technology developer and
a radical group who'd taken over the antique linear accelerator near the
San Andreas Reservoir seemed the most likely candidates. The old accelerator
might even be worth investigating, and at the very least would keep him
busy. As long as he backed off if X seemed remotely-- / ³ì±²¤F¥Lªº²´·ú, ¦ý¬O·í¦o³]©w¦b®à¤l¤Wªº¥L©@°Øªº®ÉÔ©¿²¤¤F¦o¡C
ÂkÁÙ¥Lªºª`·Nµ¹¹q¸£¿Ã¹õ,¥L¤ù»y¤F¥t¤@Ó½è¸ß¡C ®áªe Frangelis ¤w¸g¥H¥ð¶¢®T¼Ö¤¤¤ß¦X¨Ö°ê®aªº¬ì¾Ç¬ã¨s¤¤¤ß, ´£¨Ñ¬° Galactor
©M§¹¬üªº¤èªk³Q¿iªº´I¦³¬ðŧÅý¥L̲V¦X¦b¡C ª±®a©M·î§Î¤H , ³ì¥H¤@Ó±³¡ªº¬n§á·Q¡C ¥un¥L¬O¦b¦aº»Ãä¤g¤¤,¥L³Ì¦n¸ÕµÛµo²{¨º¤@Ó¬ã¨s¸ê·½ Galactor
³Ì¦³¥i¯à§Q¥Î¡C ¤K®a¨¾½Ã¤½¥q¡A¤@Ó¹p®g§Þ³N¶}µoªÌ©M³Q±µºÞ¦b®áªe¦w¼w¨½¨È¤ô®wªþªñªºÂ¦¡ª½½u¥[³t¾¹ªº°ò¥»¹ÎÅé who'd ¦ü¥G³Ì¦³¥i¯àªºÔ¿ï¤H¡C
ªº¥[³tªÌ¥i¯à¬Æ¦Ü¬Oȱo½Õ¬d, ¦Ó¥B¦b«D±`³Ì¤ÖªÌ±N·|¨Ï¥L«O«ù¦£¸Lªº¡C ¥un¦pªG X «Ü»·¦a¦ü¥G¡A¥L°h¥X --
The abrupt roar of an explosion sent Joe leaping off his stool, and around
him, the other patrons cried out in surprise. The floor shook beneath
his feet,and as he turned toward the window, a crack flashed across one
of the panes and it shattered. / Ãz¬µªº¬ðµM§q°e¤F¨«¶}¸õÅD¥Lªº¹¹¤l ªº³ì¡A¦Ó¥B¦b¥L©P³ò¡A¨ä¥LÃÙ§U¤H¦b·N¥~¤¤¤j¥s¡C
¦aªO·n°Ê¥Lªº¸}¤§¤U¡A¦Ó¥B·í¥L¹ï©óµ¡¤áÂà¦Vªº®ÉÔ,¤@Ó³Q°{²{¹Lµ¡¬Á¼þ©M¥¦¤§¤@ªºµõÁ_¥´¸H¡C
Patrons fled, screaming, to the back of the cafe. Shouldering his way
through them, Joe rushed outside, trying to track the source of the noise.
To the left of the cybercafe, a steep hill characteristic of this section
of San Frangelis blocked his view, but the sounds seemed to be coming
from that direction. Over the top of the hill a column of black smoke
billowed. Joe ran up the hill toward it, stumbling as the ground shook
from another explosion. At the top, Joe halted, staring down the other
side. / ÃÙ§U¤H°k¥X,¦y¥s,¨ì©@°ØÀ]ªºI±¡C ¸g¹L¥L̪Ót¥Lªº¤èªk,³ì¥~±¶Ê«P, ¹Á¸Õ°lÂܾ¸µªº¨Ó·½¡C ¨ì¥ªÃäºôµ¸©@°ØÆU,¹ï®áªe Frangelis
ªº³o¤@Ó³¡¤À¯S©Êªº¤@ÓÀI®mªº¤p¤sªý¶ë¤F¥Lªºµø³¥¡A¦ý¬OÁnµ¦ü¥G¨Ó¦Û¨º¤@Ó¤è¦V¡C ¶W¹L«×¤p¤s¤@Áa¶¤ªº¶Â·Ï¬¤´é¡C ³ì¹ï©ó¥¦¦b¤p¤s¤W±¶], ²ÌË·í¦a±±q¥t¤@ÓÃz¬µ·n°Ê¡C
¦b³»ºÝ¡A³ì°±¤î,ª`µø¤U¨Ó¥t¤@Ãä¡C
In the tourist shops he'd seen a postcard with what had once been the
view from this hill. A cluster of skyscrapers had once huddled against
the morning fog in the valley below. Now all that remained was a blackened
swatch of smoking, crumbled concrete and jagged metal skeletons. In the
distance, a swarm of small craft scattered into the clouds. / ¦b¹C«Èªº°Ó©±¤¤¥L¤w¸g¥Ñ©ó´¿¸g¤w¸g¬O¨Ó¦Û³o¤@Ó¤p¤sªºµø³¥ªF¦è¬Ý¨ì¤@±i©ú«H¤ù¡C
¼¯¤Ñ¼Óªº¸s´¿¸g¤w¸g¦b¤U±ªº¤s¨¦¤¤±ÀÀ½¹ï§Ü¦±áÃú¡C ²{¦b«O«ùªº¥þ³¡¬O©âµÒªº¤@Ó³Q¤@¤p¤ùÅܶªº,±Y¼ì²V¾®¤g©M¿÷¾¦§Îªºª÷ÄÝ»sªº°©Àf¡C ¦b»»»·¤§³B¡A¤@¸s¤pªº¸¾÷¶i¤J¶³¤§¤º´²§G¡C
What the hell? / ¤°»ò?
Joe half leaped, half ran down the side of that steep hill, and by the
time he reached the edges of the destruction, he could hear the groans
of wounded and the voices calling for help. Joe passed a man who lay dead
in the street, his torso crushed beneath an automobile, his eyes glazing
over. Fifty feet away, two other men, covered in dust and splashed with
blood, were performing CPR on a small child while the mother stood dazed,
clutching an infant to her chest. / ³ì¤@¥b¸õÅD, ¤@¥b¨ºÓÀI®mªº¤p¤sªuÃä¦V¤U¶]¡A¦Ó¥B·í¥L¨ì¹F¤F¯}ÃaªºÃä½t®ÉÔ,
¥L¥i¥HÅ¥¨ì©D§u³Q¶Ë©Mn¨DÀ°¦£ ªºÁnµ¡C ³ìµ²§ô³q¹L¤F¤@Ó¦bµó¹D¡A¥Lªº¦b¤@½ø¨T¨®¤§¤U³QÀ£¯}ªºÂß·F¤¤§¹¥þ¦a©ñ¸mªº¨k¤H , ¥Lªº²´·ú°_¹V¡C ¤¤Q§`¤§»·¡A¨ä¥L¤G¨k¤H,¥H¦å²[»\¦b¦Ç¹Ð¦Ó¥BÂqÀã,
¥¿¦bªíºt¦b¤@Ó¤pªº«Ä¤l¤Wªº CPR ·í³Q¯¸µÛªº¥À¿Ë¯íµM,§ì¨c¤@ÓÀ¦¨à¨ì¦oªº¯Ý®ÉÔ¡C
Joe moved through the wreckage, seeking the epicenter of the attack, some
clue to the cause. Along his way he came across wounded and dying people,
and he helped who he could and steeled himself against the worst. At the
center of the devastation, he expected some sort of clue. A bank, a research
center, an administrative office... He found nothing. The ISO had a branch
office in the area, but it was far to the south. So what had prompted
this attack? That Galactor was responsible Joe knew beyond a doubt. At
this particularly rare point in history, Ameria had no political enemies.
/ ³ì²¾°Ê¹L´Ý¾l,´M¨D§ðÀ»ªº¾_¥¡¡A¦]¯Àªº¤@¨Ç½u¯Á¡C ªuµÛ¥Lªº¤èªk¥L°¸µM¹J¨£¨ü¶Ëªº©M««¦ºªº¤H¡A¦Ó¥B¥LÀ°§U½Ö¥L¥i¥H¦Ó¥B¤Ï¹ï³ÌÃa¨Ï¥L¦Û¤v°í¦p¿û¤F¡C
¦b¯î¼oªº¤¤¤ß¡A¥L´Á±æ¤F½u¯Áªº¤@¨ÇÃþ«¬¡C ¤@ӻȦæ¡A¬ã¨s¤¤¤ß,¤@ÓºÞ²zªº¿ì¤½«Ç¡C¡C¡C ¥L¤°»ò¤]¤£µo²{¡C °ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´¦³¤@Ó¤À¤½¥q¦b°Ï°ì¤¤¡A¦ý¬O¥¦¹ï«n¤è¬O»·ªº¡C
¦p¦¹¤°»ò¤w¸g¿EÀy³o¤@Ó§ðÀ»? ¨º Galactor ¬O¦³³d¥ôªº³ìª¾¹D¶W¹LÃhºÃ¡C ¦b¾ú¥vªº¯S§Oµ}¨uªºÂI¡A Ameria ¨S¦³¬Fªvªº¼Ä¤H¡C
The wail of sirens and the pounding of helicopter rotors grew louder as
the city's rescue forces closed in on the flattened section of town. Moving
more slowly now, Joe walked a small spiral out from the center, searching
for answers. When the rescue crews arrived, he helped them with the wounded
and the dead, working tirelessly as the sun climbed higher in the sky.
/ ·í«°¥«ªº´©±Ïx¶¤Ãö³¬ªº®ÉÔ¡A¤k®ü§¯ªº´d¹Ä©Mª½ª@¾÷Âà¤lªººVÅܱo¤ñ¸û¤jÁn¦b«°Âíªº³Q³¡¤ÀÅÜ¥ªº¤W¡C ²{¦b§óºCºC²¾°Ê,³ì±q¤¤¤ß¦b¥~¨«¸ô¤@Ó¤pªºÁ³±Û§Î¤§ª«,´M§äµª®×¡C
·í´©±Ï²Õû¨ì¹Fªº®ÉÔ, ¥LÀ°§U¥L̨º¨ü¶Ëªº©M¦º¥hªº¤H, ¤£¯h¦a¤u§@·í¤Ó¶§¦b¤ÑªÅ¤¤§ó°ª¦aÃkµn¡C
"Did we get a callback about whatever hit the roof?" / "
§Ú̱o¨ì¤@Ó¦^©I¶ÜÃö©ó¥ô¦óªº¥´«Î³»"?
The green-suit in the copilot's chair turned to the pilot of the tank
mecha and shook his head. "No call yet. We ought to disembark. GelSadora-sama
wanted our payload yesterday." / ºñ¦â-¶D³^¦b°Æ¾r¾pûªº´È¤l¤¤¨D§U©ó¼Ñ mecha ªº¸¦æû¦Ó¥B·nÀY¡C
"¤´µMªº¨S¦³©I¥s¡C §ÚÌÀ³¸Ó°_©¤¡C GelSadora-sama ¬Q¤Ñ·Qn§Ú̪ºt¸ü¶q¡C"
The pilot shook his head and began flipping switches, warming up the engines.
As he added power and the tank mecha slowly pulled away from the ground,
he said to the copilot, "Retract the gear." / ¸¦æû·nÀY¦Ó¥B¶}©l¥Î«üÀY¼u¶}Ãö,¥[·Å¤ÞÀº¡C
·í¥Lªþ±a»¡©ú¡A¤O¶q©M¼Ñ mecha ºCºC¦a±q¦a±¶}¨«ªº®ÉÔ,¥L¹ï°Æ¾r¾pû»¡,"ÁY¦^¤u¨ã".
A sickening thud sounded beside him, and the pilot whirled to see the
other man slumped over the console. The last thing he saw was something
white flash from the corner of his eye. / ¤@Ó¥O¤H§@¹Ãªº¯yÀ»Án¦b¥L®ÇÃäÅ¥¡A¦Ó¥B¸¦æû¨Ï¦b±±¨îÂi¤§¤W¬Ý¨£¥t¤@Ó¬°²rµM±¼¸¨°t³Æ¤H¤â³Q±ÛÂà¡C
¥L¬Ý¨£ªº³Ì«á¤@¥ó¨Æª«¬O¥Õ¦âªºªF¦è¨Ó¦Û¥Lªº²´·ú¨¤¸¨ªº°{¥ú¡C
The cockpit tilted hard to the left. Ken shoved the pilot's body from
its chair and yanked the throttles back, and the huge machine dropped
back to the ground with a grinding crunch. With the mech stationary, he
slipped back out of the cockpit, past the sprawling bodies of the guards,
and raced toward the main hold. / ¾r¾pû®y¿µ§V¤O¦a¶É±×¨ì¥ªÃä¡C ªÖ®¦±ÀÀ½¤F¨Ó¦Û¥¦ªº´È¤l¸¦æûªº¨Åé¦Ó¥B§â¸`¬y»Ö±j©Ô¦^¨Ó¡A¦Ó¥B·¥¤jªº¾÷¾¹¦V«á¦a¹ï©M¿iªº«r¸H¦a±°§C¡C
ÂÇ¥Ñ mech ©T©w¤§ª«Åé¡A¥L¦V«á¦a±q¾r¾pû®y¿µ¡A¹L¥hªº¦u½ÃÂX®i¨Åé·ÆË, ¦Ó¥B¹ï©ó¤j¿µ¤ñÁÉ¡C
Less experienced than the troops of two years ago, these Galactors didn't
have the sense to turn tail when they noticed their efforts to stop this
white suited fury weren't working, and Ken snarled in frustration as he
brawled his way down the corridor. At the end he saw a glass window and
the frightened commander gesturing wildly to two of his men. / ¤ñ¸û¤£´I¦³¸gÅç¶W¹Lx¶¤·í¥L§â¥Lªº¤èªkª§§n¤U¨Ó¨«´Yªº®ÉÔ¡A¦b¤G¦~¥H«e¡A·í¥L̪`·Nnªý¤î³o¤@ӥզ⪺¾A¦X¼««ãªº¥ĻV¤O¤£¬O¤u§@ªº®ÉÔ³o¨Ç
Galactors ¨S¦³·PıÅܦb«á±ªº¡A¦Ó¥BªÖ®¦¦b®À§é¤¤§q¥s¡C ¦b³Ì«á¥L¬Ý¨£¤@®°¬Á¼þµ¡¤á©M¹ï¥Lªº¨k¤H¤¤ªº¤G¦ì³¥©Ê¦a§@¤â¶Õ ªº³QÅåÀ~ªº«ü´§©x¡C
Suddenly, the green-suits scattered. Loud, heavy footfalls sounded against
the metal deck, and Ken found troops in gleaming black armor pouring in
through every accessway he could see. / ¬ðµM,ºñ¦â-¶D³^´²§G¡C ¤jÁnªº, «ªº¸}ÁnÅ¥¹ï§Üª÷ÄÝ»sªº¥ÒªO¡A¦Ó¥BªÖ®¦¦b°{Ã{¤è±µo²{x¶¤ª`¤J¥L¥i¥H¬Ý¨£ªº§¹¦¨¨C
accesswayªº¶Â¦â²¯¥Ò¡C
Great. / ¤j®v¡C
Nothing short of explosives could get through that armor. They converged
on Ken, guns ready, but before they could fire, Ken threaded his way through
them as if they were standing still. Turning he hurled his cutting saucer
through the glass. Over the crash, he heard the commander scream, "Keep
him away from the control center!" / ¯Ê¤Ö¬µÃĪº¨S¨Æ¥i¥H³q¹L¨º²¯¥Ò¡C ¥L̦bªÖ®¦¨¤W»E¶°,ºj¹w³Æ¡A¦ý¬O¥LÌ¥i¥HÂI¿U¤§«e¡AªÖ®¦¸g¹L¥L̬ï½u©ó¤F¥Lªº¤èªk¦n¹³¥L̯¸µÛ¼@·Ó¡C
Âà¥L¸g¹L¬Á¼þ¥Î¤O§ëÂY¤F¥Lªº¾U§Q¯ùºÐ¡C ¦b¼Y·´¤§¤W¡A¥LÅ¥¨ì¤F«ü´§©x¦y¥sÁn¡A "¨Ï¥L»·Â÷±±¨î¶°¤¤"!
Ken grinned wickedly. He popped open one of his belt packs and the spring-loaded
dispenser spat several mini-bombs into his hand. These followed the saucer
into the control room. The entire ship shook with the detonation, and
when Ken came up from his crouch, he found he was the only one conscious.
The men in the control room were dead. The men in the armor thrashed on
the floor, then one by one stilled. / ªÖ®¦Ãa¦aÅS¾¦¦Ó¯º¡C ¥L¨ú¥X¶}©ñªº¥L±a¤l¤§¤@¥]»q©M¬K¤Ñ¸Ë¸üªºÃľ¯®v¨©§Z¤@¨Ç°g§A-¶i¤J¥Lªº¤â¤§¤ºªº¬µ¼u¡C
³o¨Ç¸òÀH¯ùºÐ¶i±±¨î©Ð¶¡¡C ¾ãÓªº²î¥HÃz¬µ·n°Ê¡A¦Ó¥B·íªÖ®¦±q¥LªºÃÛ¥ñµo¥Íªº®ÉÔ,¥Lµo²{¥L¬O°ß¤@ªº¤@Ó¦³·NÃѪº¡C ¨k¤H¦b±±¨î©Ð¶¡¤¤¦º¡C ²¯¥Òªº¨k¤H¦b¦aªO¤W¥´¼³,
µM«á¤@¤@ÂI¤§«e¦wÀR¡C
Scowling, Ken approached the nearest one. After kicking his gun out of
reach, the Gatchaman reached down and pulled the black helmet free. His
eyes widened as he took in the close-cropped hair and the scars... and
the numbers marked on one cheek. / ½K¬ÜÀY,ªÖ®¦±µªñ¤F¤@ӳ̪ñªº¡C ¦b§â¥Lªººj½ð¥X½d³ò¤§«á¡A Gatchaman
¦Û¥Ñ¦ù¤â®³¤U¦Ó¥B©Ô¤F¶Â¦âªº¿û²¯¡C ·í¥L±µ¨üµ²§ô¦¬³ÎªºÀY¾v©M¬Í²ªªº®ÉÔ¡A¥Lªº²´·úÂX¤j¡C¡C¡C ¦Ó¥B¼Æ¦r¦b¤@ÓÀU¤W¼Ð¥Ü¡C
Condemned prisoner, marked for Death Row. The man was alive and breathing,
his eyes open, but completely blank. Ken unmasked another and another,
and found more scars, more numbers, more blank stares. Galactor had often
used convicts to fill their ranks, but not men as dangerous and uncontrollable
as these. / Äþ³d¤F¥}¥Ç, ¬°¦Û±þ¶¤¼Ð¥Ü¡C ¨k¤H¬¡µÛ©M©I§l,¥Lªº²´·ú¥´¶}, ¦ý¬O§¹¥þ¦a¯dªÅ¥Õ¡C ªÖ®¦²æ¥h°²±¨ã¤F¥t¥~¤@©M¥t¥~¤@,
¦Ó¥Bµo²{¤F§ó¦hªº¬Í²ª¡A§ó¦hªº¼Æ¦r¡A§ó¦hªºªÅ¥Õª`µø¡C Galactor ®É±`¤w¸g¨Ï¥Î¥}¥Ç¸Ëº¡¥L̪º±Æ¦W, ¦ý¬O¤£¬O¹³³o¨Ç¤@¼Ëªº¦MÀI©MµLªk±±¨îªº¨k¤H¡C
Moments later, he was back in his new Eagle Sharp (painted, unfortunately,
to match the old one) and climbing, heading due west toward San Frangelis.
The sounds from the New Godphoenix piped into his cockpit. / ¼Æ¤ù¨è¤§«á¡A¥L¦^¨Ó¦b¥Lªº·sÆN¤¤°ª½Õ
(´yµeªº,¤£©¯¦a, »P¤@ӦѪº¬Û°t) ©MÃkµn,´Â¦VÀ³±oªºªF¦è¹ï©ó®áªe Frangelis ªº¦è¤è¡C ¨Ó¦Û·sªº Godphoenix ªºÁnµ¥ÎºÞ¤l¿é°eªº¶i¤J¥Lªº¾r¾pû®y¿µ¤§¤º¡C
"We're still scanning the area--Jinpei and Ryu are out working independently,"
Jun said. "We found more of those men in black armor, the one's they're
calling the Black Knights. Some of them fell in the last attack, but not
many." / "§Ṳ́´µM¥¿¦b±½´y°Ï°ì--Jinpei ©M Ryu ¥~¥X¿W¥ß¦a¤u§@",¤»¤ë»¡¡C "§Ú̵o²{§ó¦hªº¶Â¦â²¯¥Òªº¨º¨Ç¨k¤H,¥LÌ¥¿¦b¥´¹q¸Üµ¹¶Â¦âªºÃM¤h¨º¤@Ó¡C
¥L̨䤤ªº¤@¨Ç¦b¨º³Ì«á§ðÀ»¤¤¶^¸¨, ¦ý¬O¤£¦hªº¡C"
"They're condemned prisoners, and I think they're under some sort
of mind control," Ken said. "When I took out the control center
aboard their mecha, they just collapsed. There has to be some command
center that's controlling them where you are." / "¥L̳QÄþ³d¥}¥Ç¡A¦Ó¥B§Ú»{¬°¡A¥L̬O¦b¤ß±±¨îªº¤@¨ÇÃþ«¬¤§¤U",ªÖ®¦»¡¡C
"·í§Ú¨ú¥X±±¨î¤¤¤ß¦b¸¾÷¤W¥L̪º mecha ªº®ÉÔ,¥LÌèè˶ò¡C ¨º¸Ì¥²¶·¬O¥¿¦b±±¨î¥L̪º¤@¨Ç«ü¥O¤¤¤ß§A¦bþ¸Ì¡C"
"What did the mecha look like, Aniki?" Jinpei called from his
craft. / " mecha ¬Ý°_¨Ó¹³¤°»ò,Aniki"? Jinpei ±q¥Lªº¸¾÷©I¥s¡C
Ken frowned. "No animal design this time. It didn't look like anything
in particular. Just a blocky, armored transport. Even the commander...
he didn't ring any bells. Galactor used to work on some sort of theme,
but not this time." / ªÖ®¦½K¬ÜÀY¡C "¨S¦³°Êª«³o¦¸³]p¡C ¥¦¯S§O¦a¬Ý°_¨Ó¤£¹³¥ô¦ó¨Æ¡C ¥u¬Oµu¦Óµ²¹êªº,
ªZ¸Ëªº¶Ç°e¡C ¨Ï«ü´§©x¬Ûµ¥¡C¡C¡C ¥L¨S¦³»ïÅT¥ô¦óªº¹a¡C Galactor ¹L¥h¤@ª½³B²z¥DÃDªº¤@¨ÇÃþ«¬, ¦ý¬O¤£³o¦¸¡C"
"What about Easton Island?" Jun said. "We didn't see any
kind of theme there." / "Easton ®q«ç»ò¼Ë"? ¤»¤ë»¡¡C "§Ú̦b¨º¸Ì¨S¦³¬Ý¨£¥ô¦óªºÃþ«¬¥DÃD"
¡C
"What about all those religious statues, Oneechan? That sounds like
a theme to me. Hey Aniki, what about the prisoners? Could Galactor be
operating from a prison somewhere--Hey!" The boy's voice cracked.
/ "©Ò¦³ªº¨º¨Ç©v±Ð©ÊªºÀJ¹³«ç»ò¼Ë,Oneechan? ¨º¹ï§ÚÅ¥°_¨Ó¹³¤@Ó¥DÃD¤@¼Ë¡C ¶Ù Aniki,¥}¥Ç«ç»ò¼Ë? Galactor
¥i¥H¥¿¦b¬Y³B±q¤@©ÒºÊº»¾Þ§@¶Ü--¶Ù!"¨k«ÄªºÁnµ§Ë¸H¡C
"What?" / "¤°»ò"?
"Isn't there a famous old prison around here? San Frangelis... yeah!
The Alamo Prison! Wasn't there a news report about a group of tourists
disappearing there?" / " ¨S¦³¤@©Ò¥X¦WªºÂºʺ»¦b³o¸Ì©P³ò? ®áªe Frangelis¡C¡C¡C ¬Oªº!
¥Õ·¨ºÊº»! ¨S¦³Ãö©ó¤@¸sÆ[¥ú«Èªº¤@¶µ·s»D³ø§i¦b¨º¸Ì®ø¥¢¶Ü?"
"Last night. I remember now," Jun said. "They said nobody
could escape from it. It isn't far." / " ¬Q±ß¡C §Ú²{¦b°O±o,"¤»¤ë»¡¡C
"¥LÌ»¡¤F¨S¦³¤H¥i¥H±q¥¦°k²æ¡C ¥¦¤£¬O»·ªº¡C"
"Ryu," Ken said, "You with us?" / "Ryu",ªÖ®¦»¡
", §A¥Ñ©ó§ÚÌ"?
"Yeah, and I'm three miles east of Alamo Island. Heading there now."
/ "¬Oªº,¦Ó¥B§Ú¬O¤Tù¥Õ·¨®qªºªF¤è¡C ²{¦b¦b¨º¸Ìªº¼ÐÃD¡C"
"Good. Keep us posted. I'll join you in twenty minutes." / "¦nªº¡C
¨Ï§Ú̳Q±H¡C §Ú¦b¤G¤Q¤ÀÄÁ¤¤±N°Ñ¥[§A¡C"
Joe heard the familiar roar and discreetly stepped beneath a concrete
overhang to watch the New Godphoenix pass overhead. It was going northeast,
the wrong direction. Maybe they wanted to survey the destruction first.
Did they know about the base? Joe envisioned a big red arrow painted over
the rubble, pointing toward the Alamo Prison, then closed his eyes and
shook his head. At this point, all he could do was wait. / ³ìÅ¥¨ì¤F¼ô±xªº§q¦Ó¥B¤p¤ß¦a¦b½ñ¤F¨ãÅ骺¬ð¥X³¡¥÷¬Ý·sªº
Godphoenix ³~®|ÃB¥~¶}¾P¤§¤U¡C ¥¦¥¿¦b¦VªF¥_¥h,¿ù»~ªº¤è¦V¡C ¤]³\¥LÌ·Qnº¥ý¼fµø¯}Ãa¡C ¥L̪¾¹D°ò¦¶Ü? ³Q·Q¹³¤@¤ä¤jªº¬õ¦â½b³ì¦b²Ê¥Û¤§¤Wµe,¹ï©ó¥Õ·¨ºÊº»«ü¥X,
µM«áÃö³¬¥Lªº²´·ú¦Ó¥B·nÀY¡C ¦¹®É, ¥þ³¡¥L¥i¥H°µ¬Oµ¥Ô¡C
Within the past hour, the rescue crews had spread across the ruins, setting
up tents for triage of the injured. Men and women shouted to each other
over the clatter of debris and the whining of the search dogs. Joe continued
to help search for survivors, lifting away some of the heavier chunks
of debris when he knew no one was looking. / ¦b¹L¥hªº¤@Ó¤p®É¤º¡A³Q¦³ªº´©±Ï²Õû¥]¬A·´·À,¬°¨ü¶ËªÌªº´z¿ï«Ø¥ß±bÁO¡C
¨k¤H©M¤k¤H¹ï¦b¸H¤ùªº¥d·fÁn©M·j´Mª¯ªºµo¥X¶ã¶ãÁn¤Wªº©¼¦¹©I³Û¡C ³ìÄ~ÄòÀ°§U°w¹ï¥ÍÁ٪̪º·j´M, ¤É°ªÂ÷¶}¸H¤ùªº¤@¨Ç¸û¨H«ªº¤j¶ô·í¥Lª¾¹D¤F¨S¦³¤H¥¿¦b¬Ýªº®ÉÔ¡C
He still couldn't figure out why Galactor had chosen this particular section
of city to attack. The district had housed real estate and finance companies,
a theater, a couple of coffee houses and a hotel. Certainly nothing threatening
or important. There had been a bank, but wouldn't the Galactors have stopped
to take the money out? / ¥L¤´µM¤£¥i¥H²z¸Ñ Galactor ¬°¤°»ò¤w¸g¿ï¾Ü«°¥«ªº³oÓ¯S§Oªº³¡¤À§ðÀ»¡C °Ï°ì¤w¸g¦¬®e¤£°Ê²£©M¿Ä¸ê¤½¥q¡A¤@®aÀ¸°|¡A¤@¨Ç©@°Ø©Ð¤l©M¤@¶¡®ÈÀ]¡C
½T©w¦a²@¤£®£À~©Î«nªº¡C ¤w¸g¦³¤@ӻȦæ¡A¦ý¬O Galactors ¤£±N·|¤w¸g¶}©l¨ú¥X¿ú¶Ü?
Then he chilled. He hadn't been far from the site... What if the target
was him? Sosai X had sensed him on the base. If X had been looking for
him.... / µM«á¥L¤w§Nªº¡C ¥L¤£¤w¸gÂ÷¦ì¸m«Ü»·¡C¡C¡C ¤°»ò¦pªG¥Ø¼Ð¬O¥L? Sosai X ¤w¸g¦b°ò¦¤W·Pı¥L¡C °²¦p X ¬O§ä´M¥L....
Looking at the sky, Joe clenched his jaw and folded his arms tightly against
his chest, feeling the muscles shaking. If that was the case, he was to
blame for these deaths. Not that Galactor needed an excuse to destroy,
but if not for him, they would have focused their attentions on less populated
technical sites. / ¬Ý¤ÑªÅ,³ìºòºò¦a¤Ï¹ï¥Lªº¯Ýºò´¤¤F¥LªºÃE¦Ó¥BºPÅ|¤F¥Lªº¤âÁu,·Pı¦Ù¦×·n°Ê¡C ¦pªG¬O¨ººØ±¡§Î¡A¥LÀ³¸Ó¬°³o¨Ç¦º¤`¨ü³d¡C
¤£¨º Galactor »Ýn¤FÂǤf¯}Ãa¡A¦ý¬O¦pªG¤£¬°¥L¡A¥LÌ´N·|±N¥L̪ºª`·N¶°¤¤¦b³Q©~¦í¦b§Þ³N¤Wªº¦ì¸m¤ñ¸û¤Ö¶q¤F¡C
Oh damn it.... / ®@¶A©G¥¦....
The bird-ship vanished over the horizon. As Joe stepped back into the
open, a hand tapped his arm and he turned to see a rescue worker holding
an open canteen to him. "Here. Why don't you rest a minute? You don't
look too good." / ³¾-²î¦b¦a¥½u¤§¤W®ø¥¢¡C ·í³ì«¦^¤½¶}ªº®ÉÔ,¤@°¦¤â»´¥´¤F¥Lªº¤âÁu¡A¦Ó¥B¥L·Ç³Æ¨£¤@Ó¹ï¥L´¤¦í¤@Ó¶}©ñªºx¤¤ºÖ§QªÀ
ªº´©±Ï¤u¤H¡C "¦b³o¸Ì¡C §A¦ó¤£¥ð®§¤ÀÄÁ? §A¨S¬Ý°_¨Ó¤Ó¦n¡C"
He wasn't thirsty, but he took a swallow of water anyway and handed back
the canteen. "Thanks." / ¥L¤£¬O¤f´÷ªº¡A¦ý¬O¥LµL½×¦p¦ó±Ä¨ú¤F¤ôªº¤@Ó«|³ï¦Ó¥B¦V«á¦a¶Ç»¼x¤¤ºÖ§QªÀ¡C
"ÁÂÁÂ".
"Appreciate the help, man. Especially now," the worker said.
"If you're gonna stay with us, put this stuff on." He handed
an orange hard hat emblazoned with a red cross to Joe. "It'll let
us know who's doing the rescuing and who needs to be rescued." /
"·P¿EÀ°¦£¡A¨k¤H¡C ¤×¨ä²{¦b,"¤u¤H»¡¡C " ¦pªG§A±Nn¦b§ÚÌ®a³r¯d, ©ñ³o¤@ºØ¨Æ±¡¦b"¤§¤W. ¥L§â»P¤@Ó¬õ¤Q¦r·|¤@°_¥Î¯¾³¹¸Ë¹¢ªº¤@³»¾ï¦âªº¦w¥þ´U¥æµ¹³ì¡C
"¥¦±NÅý§Ú̪¾¹D½Ö¥¿¦b°µ¨ºÓ±Ï¥X©M½Ö»Ýn³Q±Ï¥X" ¡C
Joe took the hat and the accompanying orange vest and put them on, then
continued on his way. / ³ì±a¤F´U¤l©M¨º³¦ñ¾ï¦âªºI¤ß¦Ó¥B©ñ¤F¥L̦b,¤§¤WµM«á¦b³~¤¤Ä~Äò¡C
"Ryu, what do you see?" / "Ryu, §A¬Ý¨£¤°»ò"?
"Oh hell, there's nothing here," Ryu growled over the radio.
Jinpei could just see him ambling through the grounds, scowling at the
empty towers. "This place is a ghost town." / " ®@¦aº»,¨S¦³ªF¦è³o¸Ì",Ryu
¦b¦¬µ¾÷¤§¤W«ã§p¡C Jinpei ¥i¥H¶È¶È¬Ý¨£¥L½w¦æ¹L²z¥Ñ¡A¦bªÅªº¶ð½K¬ÜÀY¡C " ³o¤@Ó¦a¤è¬O¤@Ó¼o±ó¥«Âí" ¡C
"Well, watch your step," Ken said. / "¶â,¬Ý§Aªº¨BÆJ",ªÖ®¦»¡¡C
"Yeah, yeah." Jinpei grinned at the irritation in the Owl's
voice. / "¬Oªº,¬O". Jinpei ¦b¿ßÀYÆNªºÁnµ¨ë¿EÅS¾¦¦Ó¯º¡C
Ryu's vehicle sat just inside the compound, though Ryu couldn't be seen
from the air. Jinpei pulled the stick back, and the little hovercraft
rose. Through the tinted bubble of the Swallow Helico, Jinpei could see
the bay surrounding the Alamo Prison as well as both San Frangelis city
bridges, which had miraculously survived the recent attack. The ocean
was tinged a weird ochre color, moving in lines away from the prison island,
pushed by the currents. / Ryu's ªº¨®½ø¦b²V¦Xª«¸Ì¶È¶È§¤,ÁöµM Ryu ¤£¥i¥H³Q±qªÅ®ð¬Ý¨ì¡C Jinpei ©Ô¤F¾ðªKI±¡A¦Ó¥B¤p
hovercraft ¤W¤É¡C ¸g¹L«|³ï Helico ªº¦³¦âªwªj¡A Jinpei ¤]¥i¥H¬Ý¨£,©_Âݦa¤w¸g¥¦w´ç¹L³Ìªñªº§ðÀ»¡C ¤j®ü³Q·L¬V¤@ºØ©Ç²§ªº
ochre ÃC¦â,·h¶i½u»·Â÷ºÊº»®q,ÂǥѴé¬y±À°Ê¡C
Wait a minute... / µ¥Ô¤ÀÄÁ¡C¡C¡C
This area was a national preserve, with no industrial sites and no known
volcanic activity. Jinpei hit a few buttons and fed by a link to the main
computer aboard the New Godphoenix, his readouts confirmed that. The attack
which had flattened several square blocks of downtown hadn't extended
this far. So what was fouling up the water? / ³o¤@Ó°Ï°ì¬O°ê®aªº«OÅ@°Ï,ÂǥѨS¦³¤u·~ªº¦ì¸m©M¨S¦³¤wª¾ªº¤õ¤s¬¡°Ê¡C
Jinpei À»¤¤¤@¨Ç¶s¦©¦Ó¥B³Q¹ï¥Dnªº¹q¸£¤@Ó³sµ²Áý·f¼·sªº Godphoenix ¡A¥Lªº¸ê®Æ¸ÑªR½T»{¤F¨º¡C ¤w¸g±N¤@¨Ç¥¿ª½½d³òªº¥«¤¤¤ß°ÏÅÜ¥ªº§ðÀ»¨S¦³»»»·¦a©µ¦ù³o¡C
¦p¦¹¤°»ò¥¿¦b¤ô¤W±§Ëż?
"Aniki, I think I found something!" Jinpei called. "The
bay's all cloudy, like something's being dumped from somewhere--maybe
somebody's digging!" / "Aniki,§Ú»{¬°§Úµo²{¬Y¨Æ"! Jinpei ©I¥s¡C "
®üÆWªº©Ò¦³¦h¶³ªº,¹³¬Y¨Æ¦b±q¬Y³B³Q¶É¨ø-- ¤]³\¬Y¤H«õ"!
"Go take a closer look," Ken said. / " ¥h±a¸û¾aªñªº¯«±¡",ªÖ®¦»¡¡C
"This lead is mine--cool!" Grinning widely, Jinpei chopped the
power and dropped the Swallow Helico into the ocean, switching from air
to ocean modes. / " ³o¤@Ó½u¯Á¬O§Úªº--²D²nªº"! ¼sªx¦aÅS¾¦¦Ó¯º,Jinpei ¨ï¸H¤F¤O¶q¦Ó¥B°§C«|³ï
Helico ¶i¤j®ü¤§¤º,±qªÅ®ð¨ì¤j®ü¼ÒºAÂàÅÜ¡C
Five seconds later, he realized that had been a mistake. The same dirt
that had flagged him to this location now completely blocked his view.
Outside visibility dropped to fifty feet, then ten, then two; and though
the craft's radar told him nothing was around him but water, he began
to feel claustrophobic and disoriented. / ¤¬í¤§«á¡A¥L¤F¸Ñ¤F¨º¤w¸g¬O¤@Ó¿ù»~¡C ¤w¸g²{¦b§¹¥þ¦aºX¤l¥L¨ì³o¤@Ó¦aÂIªº¬Û¦P¦Ã«¯ªý¶ë¤F¥Lªºµø³¥¡C
¥~±¯à¨£«×°§C¨ì¤¤Q§`, µM«á¤Q, µM«á¤G; ¦Ó¥BÁöµM¸¾÷ªº¹p¹F§i¶D¤F¥L¡A¨S¨Æ¦bªþªñ¥L¦ý¬O¤ô,¥L¶}©l·Pı claustrophobic ¦Ó¥B¥¢¥h¤è¦V·P¡C
"Aniki, this is no good. I can't see anything. I'm coming back up."
/ "Aniki,³o¤£¦n¡C §Ú¤£¯à¬Ý¨£¥ô¦ó¨Æ¡C §Ú¥¿¦b¦V¤W¦^¨Ó¡C"
The radio fuzzed. What sounded like a muffled voice came over the channel,
but he couldn't make out the words--probably Ken telling him to pull back.
Jinpei tried to fine-tune the frequency. / ¦¬µ¾÷§@µ³¤òª¬¸´²¡C Å¥°_¨Ó¹³¤@ºØ³Q³ò»qªºÁnµ¤@¼Ëªº¹M¤ÎÀW¹D¨Ó,¦ý¬O¥L¤£¥i¥H¤F¸Ñ¦r--
¥i¯à§i¶D¥L¦V«á¦a©Ô ªºªÖ®¦¡C Jinpei ¸ÕµÛ»@´Ú-½Õ¸`ÀW²v¡C
"What was that?" / "¨º¬O¤°»ò"?
"Stop, Jinpei, stay on course." The voice came a little clearer,
but barely. / "°±¤î¡A Jinpei,°±¯d¦b½Òµ{¤W" ¡C Ánµ¨Óµy·L¤ñ¸û²M·¡, ¦ý¬O´X¥G¡C
"Huh?" / "ó!"?
"I said, stay on course!" / "§Ú»¡,°±¯d¦b½Òµ{¤W"!
"But--" / "¦ý¬O--"
"Do what I tell you!" Jinpei startled. That came through clearly
enough. / "°µ§Ú§i¶D§Aªº"! Jinpei ¾_Åå¡C ¨º²M·¡¦a¨¬°÷«×¹L¡C
"Roger...." / "ù³Ç...."
"Turn right five degrees." / "¦V¥kÂफ×" ¡C
Huh? The boy scanned the console, but the instruments told him nothing.
Maybe Ken had seen something from his vantage point. I hope he knows what
he's doing. / ó!? ¨k«Ä±½´y¤F±±¨îÂi¡A¦ý¬O¤u¨ã§i¶D¤F¥L¨S¨Æ¡C ¤]³\ªÖ®¦¤w¸g±q¥LªºÆ[ÂI¬Ý¨ì¬Y¨Æ¡C §Ú§Æ±æ¥Lª¾¹D¥L¥¿¦b°µªº¡C
"Right five degrees," Jinpei said. / "¥¿½Tªº¤«×",Jinpei
»¡¡C
"Good. Good, you're on it. Now fire." / "¦nªº¡C ¦nªº,§A¦b¥¦¤W¡C ²{¦bÂI¿U¡C"
"What? Are you sure?" / "¤°»ò? §A½T©w¶Ü?"
"Do it now!" / "²{¦b°µ¥¦"!
The command rattled him. Ken hadn't spoken this way for so long.... Jinpei
hastily armed the Swallow Attacker and squeezed the trigger. The little
craft shuddered as the missile fired. Then, shoving the throttle to full,
Jinpei pulled the Swallow Helico frantically toward the surface. / «ü¥O¨Ï¥L¹Ç¹ÇÅT¤F¡C
¦]¬°¦p¦¹´÷±æ¡AªÖ®¦¨S¦³³o¼ËÁ¿.... Jinpei ¥^¦£¦aªZ¸Ë¤F«|³ï§ðÀ»ªÌ¦Ó¥Bºò´¤¤FªO¾÷¡C ·í¸¼uµo®gªº®ÉÔ¡A¤pªº¸¾÷¾Ô·X¡C µM«á, ±À¹ï¥þ³¡ªº¸`¬y»Ö,Jinpei
¹ï©óªí±¨g¼É¦a©Ô¤F«|³ï Helico ¡C
Once out of the ocean, the static cleared from the radio. "Look at
the prison now!" Jun said. "Something exploded there. It's causing
a tremendous fire." / ¤@¥¹±q¤j®ü, ÀR¹q±q¦¬µ¾÷³Q²M°£ªº¡C "²{¦b¬ÝºÊº»"! ¤»¤ë»¡¡C
"¬Y¨Æ¦b¨º¸ÌÃz¬µ¡C ¥¦¥¿¦b¤Þ°_¥¨¤jªº¤õ¡C"
"Jinpei? Do you read?" Ken called. / "Jinpei? §AŪ¶Ü?"ªÖ®¦©I¥s¡C
"Yeah, I'm out of the water. I'm okay." / "¬Oªº,§Ú¶W¥X¤ô¡C §Ú¬O¦n¡C"
"Ryu! Report! Are you all right? What do you see?" / "Ryu!
³ø§i! §AÁÙ¦n§a? §A¬Ý¨£¤°»ò?"
"Aa, ow, dammit. Nothing at the moment. I just fell down a--hold
on." His voice dropped to a whisper. Over the radio, Jinpei heard
rustling, then the distant whine of an alarm. Ryu spoke again, voice tight.
/ "Aa,ªí¥Ü¬ðµM¯kµh©Òµo¥X¤§Án,¸Ó¦º¡C ¦¹¨èªº¨S¨Æ¡C §Ú¶È¶È¶^ˤ@-- §â´¤¦b¤§¤W¡C"¥LªºÁnµ°§C¨ì¦Õ»y¡C ¦b¦¬µ¾÷¤§¤W¡A
Jinpei Å¥¨ìµo¥X¨F¨FÁn, µM«áĵ³øªº»·©ê«è¡C Ryu ¦A¤@¦¸»¡,ºòºò¦a«Åz¡C
"Ken, we have our base." / "ªÖ®¦,§Ú̦³§Ú̪º°ò¦".
"Good. Get out of there. We'll take care of it from above."
/ "¦nªº¡C ¦b¨º¸ÌÂ÷¶}¡C §Ú̱q¦b¤W±±N·ÓÅU¥¦¡C"
Ryu must have left the channel open, for the next thing they all heard
was the rattle of crumbling bricks, the sound of Ryu hitting something,
and then a very familiar sound: the clatter of many rifles being cocked.
/ Ryu ¤@©w´¿¸g¯d¤UÀW¹D¤½¶}¹L, ¦]¬°¥LÌ¥þ³¡Å¥¨ìªº¤U¤@¥ó¨Æª«¬O¨º±Y¼ì¿j¶ô¡A¸I¼²¬Y¨Æ ªº Ryu ªºÁnµÅå·W¥¢±¹, µM«á¤@ºØ«D±`¼ô±xªºÁnµ:
³QÁq¥ß ªº³\¦h¨ÓºÖºjªº¥d·fÁn¡C
"Ryu!" / "Ryu"!
Ken's bracelet beeped, then began to flash steadily: Bird Scramble. "Good
going," Ken muttered. "Jinpei, you take the south beach, Jun,
take the east. Report the moment you see movement. We're going to follow
him." / ªÖ®¦ªº³Q¹Í¹ÍÁnªº¤âÅN,µM«á¶}©léw¦a°{²{: ³¾Ãk½t¡C "¦n³B¥h",ªÖ®¦³ä³ä¦Û»y¡C "Jinpei,§A¦û¾Ú®üÅy«n³¡¡A¤»¤ë,±aªF³¡¡C
³ø§i§A¬Ý¨£¹B°Êªº¤ù¨è¡C §Ú̱Nn¸òÀH¥L¡C"
Ryu had seen this scenario played before, but seldom had he been alone.
Staring down the barrels of at least fifty rifles, he remained perfectly
still. A now familiar hollow laugh sounded above him, and he looked up
to see the new taicho standing on the level above, surrounded by troops.
/ Ryu ¤w¸g¬Ý¨ì³o¤@Ó¦b¥H«e³Qª±ªº±¡¸`¡A¦ý¬O«Ü¤Ö°²¦p¥L¬O©t¿Wªº¡C ª`µø¤U¨Ó¦Ü¤Ö¤¤Q§â¨ÓºÖºjªº±í,¥L«D±`«O«ùÀR¤î¡C ²{¦b¼ô±xªº¬}¯º¦b¥L¤W±Å¥¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¬Ý¦b¤W±¬Ý¨£¯¸¦b¤ô·Ç¤W¤W¤è
ªº·s taicho, ³Qx¶¤¥]³ò¡C
She began to speak, but another voice drowned her out. "Not so fast,
Galactor. Do you really think we'd let you see this operation through?"
/ ¦o¶}©l»¡¡A¦ý¬O¥t¤@ºØÁnµ²T¦º¥X¦o¡C "¤£¦p¦¹ÂN§Ù,Galactor¡C §A¯uªº»{¬°§Ú̱N·|Åý§A¬ï¶V¬Ý¨£³o¤â³N¶Ü?"
The men froze, and three ominous shapes--two white, one blue--swooped
down on them from above. The chamber erupted into chaos; guns firing,
guards screaming over the whistling shriek of the Gatchaman's cutting
saucer. With a whoop, Ryu leaped into the action, mowing down the guards
around him / ¨k¤Háµ², ©M¤T´c¥üªº§Îª¬--¤G¥Õ¦â , ÂŦâ--±q¦b¤W±¦b¥L̨¤W¤U¨Ó§ì¨ú¡C ·|ij«ÇÃzµo¤j²V¶Ã; ºj¯¥À»,¦b Gatchaman's
ªº¾U§Q¯ùºÐªº§j¤fï¦y¾UªºÅTÁn¤§¤W«O½Ã¦y¥s¡C ÂǥѤ@Án¤j¥s¡A Ryu ¶i¤J¦æ°Ê¤§¤º¸õÅD, ¤Â¯óåP¸¨¦u½Ã¦b¥L©P³ò
As the enemy troops fell back, Ken moved back to Ryu so that their shoulders
touched. "Good work, Ryu," he said. / ·í¼Ä¤Hx¶¤ºM°h , ªÖ®¦¦V«á¦a²¾°Ê¨ì Ryu
¡A¥H«K¥L̪ºªÓ±µÄ²¡C "¦n¤u§@,Ryu",¥L»¡¡C
The Owl shook his head. "No, Jinpei deserves the credit for this
one. He's the one who found the weak spot on the installation." /
¿ßÀYÆN·nÀY¡C "¤£¡A Jinpei ¬°³o¤@Ó¸Ó±o¨ì«H¥Î¡C ¥L¬Oµo²{¦b¦w¸Ë¤Wªº®zÂI¨º¤@Ó¡C"
Jinpei moved up beside them. "No, it's thanks to Aniki that I found
it." / Jinpei ²¾°Ê¦b¥LÌ®ÇÃä¤W±¡C "¤£¡A¥¦¹ï Aniki ¬OÁÂÁ¡A§Úµo²{¥¦" ¡C
Ken's brow furrowed beneath the visor. "What are you talking about?"
/ ªÖ®¦ªº¬Ü¤ò¦b±ÀU¤§¤U²p¡C "§A¥¿¦b½Í½×¤°»ò"?
"You told me to fire the missile." / "§A§i¶D¤F§Úµo®g¸¼u" ¡C
"No, I didn't." Ken and Jinpei exchanged puzzled looks. / "¤£,
§Ú¨S¦³". ªÖ®¦©M Jinpei ¥æ´«§x´b®e»ª¡C
"Ken! This way!" Ahead of them, Jun motioned. The Galactors
continued to pull back as the four moved quickly to what appeared to be
the base's central power generator. "It's all here--the power source
and the main broadcasting station!" / "ªÖ®¦! ³o¼Ë!"¦b¥L̤§«e¡A¤»¤ë¹B°Ê¡C
Galactors Ä~Äò¦V«á¦a©Ô·í°µ¨º¥|«Ü§Ö¦a¨ì¦ü¥G¬O°ò¦ªº¤¤¥¡µo¹q¤½¥qªºªF¦è²¾°Ê¡C "¥¦¥þ³¡¦b³o¸Ì--¤O¶q¨Ó·½©M¥Dnªº¼s¼½¦w¸m"!
Ken produced a small but powerful detonator from a compartment in the
heel of his boot; fixed it to the base of the generator, and set the timer
for three minutes. Just as he signed for the rest of the team to clear
out, the gates of the trap slammed into place. There were two low partitions
forming a path from the generator to the exit, and suddenly they crackled
with power. As the four members of the Kagaku Ninjatai stared, a glittering
energy field formed around them, the crackling just audible above GelSadora's
hollow laughter. / ªÖ®¦¥Í²£¤F¥Lªºªø¹u¸}«á¸òªº¨Ó¦Û¤@ӰϹºªº¤p¦ý¬O¦³¤Oªº detonator; ¹ïµo¹q¾÷ªº°ò¦ײz¤F¥¦,
¦Ó¥B³]©w¤F©w®É¾¹¤T¤ÀÄÁ¡C ¥¿¦p¥Lñ¸pÅý¤p²Õªº¨ä¥¦³¡¤À²M°£¥X,°é®Mªºªù²rµM¦a¼²¶i¦a¤è¡C ¦³¤G±qµo¹q¾÷¨ì¥X¤f§Î¦¨¤@±ø¸ô®| ªº§C¤À³Î¡A¦Ó¥B¬ðµM¥LÌ¥H¤O¶qµo¥X°ÔÁn¡C
¨¬°³Qª`µøªº Kagaku Ninjatai ªº¥|Ó¦¨û¡A¤@ÓÀéÄê¯à·½»â°ì¦b¥LÌ©P³ò§Î¦¨,Å¥±o¨£ªº¦b GelSadora's ªºªÅ¯º¤W±ªº¥¿ª½¯Ü¥Ö¡C
Two panicked Galactors were trapped inside with them. One of them turned
to flee and ran into the barrier. A harsh crackling followed, and Jun
quickly turned her face away from the sight and stench of burning flesh.
/ ¥Ñ©ó¥L̤G³Q Galactors ®£·Wªº³Q§x¦í¶i¸Ì±¡C ¥L̤§¤@·Ç³Æ°k¨«¦Ó¥B³´¤J»Ùê¡C ¤@Ó²ÊÁWªº¯Ü¥Ö¸òÀH¡A¦Ó¥B¤»¤ë«Ü§Ö¦a±q¿U¿Nªº¦×µø¤O©M´c¯å©Úµ´¦oªºÁy¡C
From her vantage point above them, the new taicho laughed again. "I
don't mind so much that you decimated our new little task force,"
she said. "They were high maintenance anyway. But it really is too
bad you've found our base--do you have any idea what I went through to
get it constructed? My only consolation is that you'll share its fate."
/ ±q¦b¥L̤W±ªº¦oÆ[ÂI¡A·sªº taicho ¦A¤@¦¸¯º¡C " §Ú¤£¤¶·N¦p¦¹ªº¦h¥HP©ó§A¤Q¤¤¿ï¤@¤F§Ú̪º·s¤p¯S§O¤u§@¤p²Õ",¦o»¡¡C
"µL½×¦p¦ó¥L̬O°ªºûÅ@¡C ¦ý¬O¥¦¯uªº¤ÓÃa§A¤w¸gµo²{§Ú̪º°ò¦--§A¦³¥ô¦óªº·Qªk§Ú¬ï¹LÅý¥¦³Qºc³y¤°»ò¶Ü? §Úªº°ß¤@¦w¼¢¬O§A±N¤À¨É¥¦ªº©R¹B¡C"
Ken stared at the barrier around them, then glanced at the ticking detonator.
This one hadn't been built with a shutoff. In such close quarters, their
mantles wouldn't offer that much protection against the concussion or
against that energy field should they hit it. The remaining Galactor huddled
in a ball at the far end of the enclosure and whimpered. / ªÖ®¦¦b¥LÌ©P³ò¨nµÛ»Ùê¬Ý,µM«áª`µø³Q®M®Æ
detonator¡C ³o¤@Ó¤£¤w¸g»P¤@ӥΥH¾B³¬¤§ª«¤@°_«Ø³y¡C ¦b¦p¦¹±µªñªº¥|¤À¤§¤@¤¤¡A¥L̪º¦a²[±N¤£´£¨Ñ¤Ï¹ï¿E°Ê©Î¨º¤@ӯ෽»â°ìªº«Ü¦h«OÅ@¸U¤@¥LÌÀ»¤¤¥¦¡C
³Ñ¾lªº Galactor ¦bªþ¥óªº»·µ²§ôªº¤@Ó²y¤¤±ÀÀ½¨Ã¥B¶ã«|¡C
Two minutes left. / ¤G¤ÀÄÁÂ÷¶}¡C
With one last laugh, GelSadora turned and disappeared down a corridor.
/ ¥Ñ©ó¤@³Ì«á¯º,GelSadora Âà¦Ó¥B®ø¥¢¤U¨Ó¤@Ó¨«´Y¡C
"You know, I remember it now," Jinpei said suddenly. "That
voice on the radio--if it wasn't Aniki's, then it was Joe's. Only you
guys talk to me that way. It sounded like him, too." / " §Aª¾¹D,
§Ú°O±o¥¦²{¦b",Jinpei ¬ðµM»¡¡C "¦b¦¬µ¾÷¤Wªº¨º¤@ºØÁnµ--¦pªG¥¦¤£¬O Aniki's,µM«á¥¦¬O³ìªº¡C ¥u¦³§A¹ï§Ú¨º¼Ë¥Î¤ä¯Á¼µ¦í½Í¸Ü¡C
¥¦¤]Å¥°_¨Ó¹³¥L¤@¼Ë¡C"
"That's impossible!" Ken snapped. "What can the dead do?"
/ " ¨º¬O¤£¥i¯àªº"! ªÖ®¦«rÂ_¡C "¦º¥hªº¤H¯à°µ¤°»ò"?
"I'd say that if we don't think of something, we're going to find
out," Ryu said. Ken's mouth twisted sourly as he glanced back at
the Owl. / " §Ú±N·|»¡¡A¦pªG§Ṳ́£·Q¨ì¬Y¨Æ,§Ú̱Nnµo²{",Ryu »¡¡C ·í¥L¦V«á¦a¦b¿ßÀYÆN¿h°{ªº®ÉÔ¡AªÖ®¦ªº¼L»Ä»Ä¦aÀ¾¡C
One minute. / ¤ÀÄÁ¡C
They couldn't withstand the blast, but maybe they could circumvent it.
Ken sifted through his memories of dealing with bombs in the past, but
the only method he found needed more space than they had within the field.
Unless.... / ¥L̤£¥i¥H©è§Ü¯e·¡A¦ý¬O¤]³\¥LÌ¥i¥H¶¦æ¥¦¡C ªÖ®¦¿z¼»¹L¥L¹L¥h³B²z¬µ¼uªº°O¾Ð¡A¦ý¬O¥Lµo²{»Ýn¸û¥L̬°¦hªºªÅ¶¡°ß¤@ªº¤èªk¦³¦b»â°ì¸Ì±¡C
°£«D....
Ken straightened, lifted his head and spoke. / ªÖ®¦§Ëª½, Á|°_¤F¥LªºÀY¦Ó¥B»¡¡C
"Tatsumaki Fighter." / "Tatsumaki °«¤h".
Jun drew in her breath quickly. Ryu said, "The new one? But you know
how unstable that is--" / ¤»¤ë«Ü§Ö¦aÅܵu¦oªº©I§l¡C Ryu »¡,"¤@Ó·sªº? ¦ý¬O§Aª¾¹D¦p¦ó¤£Ã©wªº¨º¬O--"
"It's all we've got--now move!" Ken herded the others into a
tight circle, and quickly they fumbled with the tiny switches in their
belts. / " ¥¦¥þ³£¬O§Ṳ́w¸g±o¨ì--²{¦b²¾°Ê"! ªÖ®¦»E¶°¨ä¾lªÌ¶i¤@Óºòªº¶ê°é¤§¤º¡A¦Ó¥B«Ü§Ö¦a¥LÌ¥H¥L̪º±a¤l·¥¤pªº¶}ÃöºN¯Á¡C
In the old days, the Tatsumaki Fighter was a difficult, but awesome maneuver.
The five stood linked in a pyramid formation, and Joe and Ryu initiated
the footwork and spiraling motion. As their speed increased, they switched
places in a delicate and terrifying choreography as the winds from their
passage blasted everything within range. Even without the full team present,
they'd been able to do offshoot maneuvers: the Tatsumaki Fighter with
two people; the Cross Fighter with three... But they needed space. The
new technology Nambu had given them relied on generated fields, not movement,
and while it took up little space, it offered little by way of control.
/ ¦bªº¼Æ¤Ñ¤¤¡A Tatsumaki °«¤h¬O§xÃø , ¦ý¬O¦³«ÂÄYªººt²ß¡C ¨º¤¦bª÷¦r¶ð§Î¦¨¤è±¯¸µÛ³s±µ, ©M³ì©M³Q¶}©l¸}ªº°Ê§@¦Ó¥B¦¨Á³±Ûª¬¤U°¹B°Êªº
Ryu¡C ·í¥L̪º³t«×¼W¥[ªº®ÉÔ, ¥LÌÂàÅܤF¦a¤è¦b¤@²Ó½oÀu¶®ªº¦Ó¥BÅåÀ~»RÁгN¦p¨Ó¦Û¦b½d³ò¸Ì±³QºR´Ý¨C¥ó¨Æª«ªº¥L̳q¹Dªº·¡C ¬Æ¦Ü¨S¦³§¹¾ãªº¤p²Õ§ª«,
¥L̦³¯à°÷°µ¤ÀªKºt²ß: ¥Ñ©ó¤GÓ¤Hªº Tatsumaki °«¤h; ¥æ¤eªº°«¤h¥Ñ©ó¤T¡C¡C¡C ¦ý¬O¥LÌ»Ýn¤FªÅ¶¡¡C ·sªº§Þ³N Nambu ¤w¸gµ¹¥LÌ¥õ¿à²£¥Íªº»â°ì¦Ó¤£¬O¹B°Ê¡A¦Ó¥B·í¥¦µÛ¤â¶i¦æ¤pªºªÅ¶¡®ÉÔ,
¥¦´£¨Ñ±±¨îªº¤è¦¡¤@ÂIÂI¡C
The four braced hands against shoulders and held tightly as the Tatsumaki
Device came on line. The air stirred, gathered its strength, then snapped
into its familiar spiral formation with a terrible roar. Closing their
eyes and clenching their teeth, the four counted down the final seconds
to detonation. / ¨º¥|·í Tatsumaki ¸Ë¸mµo¥Í½u¡Aºòºò¦a¤ä¼µ¤F¹ï§ÜªÓªº¤â¦Ó¥B®³µÛ¡C ¿E°_ªºªÅ®ð,»E¶°¤F¥¦ªº¤O¶q, µM«á¶i¤J©M¤@Án¥i©Èªº§q¥¦¼ô±xªºÁ³±Û§Îªº§Î¦¨¤§¤º«rÂ_¡C
Ãö³¬¥L̪º²´·ú¦Ó¥Bºò´¤¥L̪º¤ú¾¦, ¨º¥|pºâ¤U¨Óµ²§½¹ïÃz¬µªº¬í¡C
Gentle movement. Waves... / ·Å©Mªº¹B°Ê¡C ªi®ö¡C¡C¡C
Ken sensed the gentle sound of water lapping outside his helmet, the heat
of the sun on his face; felt his body rocking rhythmically. Absently he
knew that he had to wake or he would drown, but the motion dragged him
deeper into the darkness, soothing him out of awareness. His arms and
legs felt like lead weights. / ªÖ®¦¦b¥Lªº¿û²¯¤§¥~·Pı¤F¤ôªº·Å©MÁnµ¬ã¿i,¦b¥LªºÁy¤W¤Ó¶§ªº¼ö; ¸`«µ¦a·Pı¥Lªº¨Åé·nÂ\¡C
¤ß¤£¦b²j¦a¥Lª¾¹D¡A¥L¥²¶·¥s¿ô¡A§_«h¥L±N·|²T¦º¡A¦ý¬O¹B°Ê§ó²`¤J¦a¶i¤J¶Â·t¤§¤º©ì©Ô¤F¥L, ¼¾¼¢ªº¥L¥Ñ©óı¹î¡C ¥Lªº¤â©M»L·Pı¹³½u¯Á«¶q¡C
Jun? Jinpei? Ryu? Where were they? Could they help him, or were they in
the same danger? Ken strained to open his eyes, but the lids were heavy
and swollen and refused to obey. / ¤»¤ë? Jinpei? Ryu? ¥L̦bþ¸Ì? ¥i¥H¥LÌÀ°§U¥L, ©Î¥L̦b¬Û¦Pªº¦MÀI¤è±¶Ü?
ºò±i¥´¶}¥Lªº²´·úªÖ®¦,¦ý¬O»\¤l¬O«ªº©M¿±µÈªº¨Ã¥B©Úµ´ªA±q¡C
Water lapped against his chin, running into his helmet. He was floating,
stretched out, facing the sky. How long have I been here? He could breathe,
though the air came in shallow gasps. The skin on his lower face and lips
stung, and his mouth was full of salt. / ¤ô«Å|¹ï§Ü¥Lªº¤U¤Ú,¶i¤J¥Lªº¿û²¯¤§¤º¶]¡C ¥L¬Oº}¯Bªº,¦ù®i¥X,±¹ï¤ÑªÅ¡C
§Ú¤w¸g¦b³o¸Ì¦h¤[? ¥L¥i¥H©I§l,ÁöµMªÅ®ð¶i¨Ó²Lªº³Ý®ð¡C ¦b¥Lªº¸û§CÁy©M®B¤Wªº¥Ö½§¨ë¡A¦Ó¥B¥Lªº¼L¥Rº¡ÆQ¡C
Something droned in the distance; whether from an outside source or from
the ringing in his ears, Ken couldn't tell. / ¬Y¨Æ¦b»»»·¤§³Bªº droned; ¬O§_±q¤@Ó¥~±ªº¨Ó·½©Î±q¥Lªº¦Õ¦·¨ºÓ»ïÅT¡AªÖ®¦¤£¥i¥H§i¶D¡C
"Here. Cut the engine here." / "¦b³o¸Ì¡C ¦b³o¸Ì´î¤Ö¤ÞÀº¡C"
The drone died, leaving the sounds of water striking metal, in countertime
to the water against his helmet. Still too far away, too dreamlike to
Ken, he was content to remain still and wait. A stray wave slapped him.
Purplish light shone through his eyelids, then something blocked the sun.
/ ¶¯¸Á¦º,Â÷¶}¤ôªºÁnµ¿ô¥Øªºª÷ÄÝ, ¦b countertime ¤¤¨ì¹ï§Ü¥Lªº¿û²¯¤ô¡C ¤´µM¦b¤Ó»·³B, ¤Ó¹Ú¤@¯ëªº¹ïªÖ®¦¡A¥Lº¡¨¬«O«ùÀR¤î¦Ó¥Bµ¥Ô¡C
¤@Ó°g³~ªºªi®ö©çÀ»¤F¥L¡C ±aµµ¦âªº¥ú·ÓÄ£¹L¥Lªº²´¥Ö,µM«á¬Y¨Æªý¶ë¤F¤Ó¶§¡C
A hand touched his face, felt along his neck, then grazed his nose and
mouth. A man's voice sounded, low and muffled. "He's still breathing."
/ ±µÄ²¥LªºÁy¤@°¦¤â,¦V«e·Pı¥Lªº²ä¤l, µM«á¨Ï¦Y¯ó¥Lªº»ó¤l©M¼L¡C ¨k¤HªºÁnµÅ¥, §CÂI¦Ó¥B³ò»q¡C "¥L¤´µM¥¿¦b©I§l"
¡C
That voice.... / ¨º¤@ºØÁnµ....
Joe? / ³ì?
I'm dreaming again. / §Ú¥¿¦b¦A¤@¦¸°µ¹Ú¡C
Another voice, more distant, said, "I can't believe this--all four
of them?" / ¥t¤@ºØÁnµ,§ó»·ªº,»¡," §Ú¤£¯à¬Û«H³o--¥LÌ¥|Ó¥þ³¡³£"?
"They're all alive," growled the first voice. "Move in
a little closer." / " ¥LÌ¥þ³¡¬¡µÛ",«ã§p¤F²Ä¤@ºØÁnµ¡C " ·h¶iµy·L¤ñ¸û¾aªñ".
Ken felt the litter being arranged beneath his body, and he struggled
again to open his eyes. The lids spasmed, then parted, letting in blinding
light. He gasped, then tried to turn his head toward the man leaning over
him. He caught the brief glimps of a dark shape that moved quickly away
from him, then suddenly he was pulled from the ocean with an abrupt lurch.
A wave of sickness overwhelmed him before his awareness fell mercifully
away. / ªÖ®¦·Pı¤F©U§£¦b³Q¦w±Æ¤§¤U¥Lªº¨Åé¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¦A¤@¦¸§V¤O¥´¶}¥Lªº²´·ú¡C ³Q©âµ¬ªº»\¤l,µM«á¤À¶},Åý¨Ï¤H¯t¥Øªº¥ú¶i¥h¡C ¥L³Ý®ð,
µM«á¹Á¸ÕÂà¦b¥L¤Wªº¹ï©ó¨k¤Hªº¥LÀY¶É±×¡C ¥L®·®»¤F«Ü§Ö¦a²¾°Ê»·Â÷¥Lªº¶Â·t§Îª¬ªºÂ²µu glimps,µM«á¬ðµM¥L±q©M¤@Ó¬ðµMªººG±Ñ¤j®ü³Q©Ô¡C ¦b¥LªºÄ±¹î¤¯·O¦a¶^¸¨Â÷¶}¤§«e
, ¯e¯fªº®ö¼é²T¨S¤F¥L¡C
Once again he lay in the cockpit of the burning Eagle Sharp. The face
of his friend glared down at him through the shattered canopy, outlined
by the burning trees. "Ken! Give me your hand, dammit!" / ¦A¤@¦¸¥L¦b©ó¿NÆNªº¾r¾pû®y¿µ°ª½Õ¡C
¥LªºªB¤ÍÁy¦b¥L¸g¹L³Q¥´¸Hªº¤ÑÁOµo¯t¥ú¤U¨Ó, ³Q¿U¿Nªº¾ð·§²¤»¡©ú¡C "ªÖ®¦! µ¹§Ú§Aªº¤â,¸Ó¦º!"
"Joe! You're behind all of this, aren't you?" he shouted. "You
rescued me from the water! You made that tape, didn't you? Tell me!"
/ "³ì! ³o§A¦b¥þ³¡«á±, §A¤£¬O?"¥L©I³Û¡C "§A±q¤ô¤¤±Ï°_§Ú! §A»s³y¤F¨º¤@±²¿ýµ±a,¤£¬O¶Ü? §i¶D§Ú!"
The apparition glanced over one shoulder then back at Ken, his teeth bared
in a grimace. "If I say yes, will you do what I tell you?" Ken
moved his head. "Then yes, it was me! Give me your hand!" /
°µM«á¦bªÖ®¦¦V«á¦aÂsÄý¤@ÓªÓ,¥Lªº¤ú¾¦¦b¤@Ó±³¡ªº¬n§á¤¤¨Ï¨ª»r¡C " ¦pªG§Ú»¡¬Oªº, §A±N°µ§Ú§i¶Dªº¶Ü§A"? ªÖ®¦²¾°Ê¤F¥LªºÀY¡C
"µM«á¬Oªº¡A¥¦¬O§Ú! µ¹§Ú§Aªº¤â!"
Ken reached out. Joe grasped his forearm and pulled him free of the cockpit,
throwing him to the ground outside the burning plane, then shielding him
with deep blue wings. / ªÖ®¦¨ì¹F¥X¡C §K©ó¾r¾pû®y¿µªº³Q§ì¦í¥Lªº«eÁu¨Ã¥B©Ô¤F¥Lªº³ì,¹ï¦a±¦b¿U¿Nªº¸¾÷¤§¥~¥á¥L, µM«á«Ì¹j¥L¥Ñ©ó²`ªºÂŦâ¯Í»H¡C
"How..." Ken half-whispered, his breath too shallow. "How
is this possible?" / "¦p¦ó¡C¡C¡C" ªÖ®¦¤@¥b-¦Õ»y,¥Lªº©I§l¤Ó¨ÏÅܲL¡C "³o¦p¦ó¥i¯àªº"?
Joe glared down at him, his face shadowed in the orange light. "You
tell me. You're the expert on what the dead can do." / ³ì¦b¥Lµo¯t¥ú¤U¨Ó,¥LªºÁy¦b¬a¾ï¥ú¤¤¾B½ª¡C
"§A§i¶D§Ú¡C §A¬O±M®a¦º¥hªº¤H¯à°µ¡C"
"Why won't you come forward? Why are you doing this to us?"
/ "§A¬°¤°»ò¤£®¼¨¦Ó¥X ? §A¬°¤°»ò°µ³oµ¹§ÚÌ?"
"Ken..." The Condor's head bowed, his eyes half closed. "You
have to stop taking these risks. The team can't last long this way."
/ "ªÖ®¦¡C¡C¡C"¨rÆNªºÀYÅs¸y,¥Lªº²´·ú¤@¥b¦aÃö³¬¡C "§A¥²¶·°±¤î±Ä¨ú³o¨Ç·ÀI¡C ¤p²Õ¤£¯à³Ì«á¤[³o¼Ë¡C"
Then he vanished. The trees continued to burn high overhead. Ken stared
as they swayed, awash in orange light. His eyes ached, and he felt the
tears trickling from the corners of his eyes, running down into his hair.
/ µM«á¥L®ø¥¢¡C ¾ðÄ~Äò¿U¿N°ªªºÃB¥~¶}¾P¡C ·í¥LÌ·n°Êªº®ÉÔ¡AªÖ®¦ª`µø, »P¤ô±»ô¥ªº¦b¾ï¦âªº¥ú¤¤¡C ¥Lªº²´·úµh¡A¦Ó¥B¥L·Pı¤F±q¥Lªº²´·ú¨¤¸¨²¾°Ê¡A¶i¤J¥LªºÀY¾v¤§¤º¶]¤U¨Ó
ªº²\ºw¡C
"Ken..." / "ªÖ®¦¡C¡C¡C"
The flames faded, brightening to the antiseptic fluorescent white of a
hospital room. The face staring down at him was Dr. Nambu's. / ¤w¿Æ¦âªº¤õµK,¹ïÂå°|©Ð¶¡ªº±þµß¿Ã¥úªº¥Õ¦âÅÜ«G¡C
¦b¥Lª`µø¤U¨Ó ªºÁy¬O Nambu's ³Õ¤h¡C
"Hakase." / "Hakase".
"Ken, do you know where you are?" / "ªÖ®¦,§Aª¾¹D§A¦bþ¸Ì¶Ü"?
"No, but I can hazard a guess. G-Town medical ward?" / "¤£¡A¦ý¬O§Ú¯à«_¤@Ó²q´úªº¦MÀI¡C
G- «°ÂíªºÂå¥Í¦u½Ã?"
"Aniki wins the prize!" Ken looked past Dr. Nambu to see the
rest of the team. Their faces were blotchy with red marks and smears of
salve, and Jun wore a brace on her right wrist. They surrounded the bed,
moving stiffly. / "Aniki űo¼ú"! ªÖ®¦¬Ý¤F¹L¥hªº Nambu ³Õ¤h¬Ý¨£¤p²Õªº¨ä¥¦³¡¤À¡C ¥L̪ºÁy¹ï³n»Iªº¬õ¦â¼Ð»x©M¦Ã¸ñ·P¨ì¨ì³B¦³¦ÃÂI¡A¦Ó¥B¤»¤ë¬ïµÛ¤F¦b¦o¤Wªº¤@Ó¤ä¬W¥¿½Tªº¤âµÃ¡C
¥LÌ¥]³ò¤F§É,§bªO¦a²¾°Ê¡C
Ken strained to sit up. Reaching over, Dr. Nambu pressed a button and
elevated the head of the bed. Ken gave him a halfhearted glare, but settled
back against the pillow. "Everyone... is everyone all right?"
/ ºò±i¼õ©]ªºªÖ®¦¡C ¦ù¹L¤â¥h, Nambu ³Õ¤h«ö¤F¤@Ó«ö¶s©M´£°ªªº§ÉÀY¡C ªÖ®¦µ¹¤©¤F¥L¤£»{¯uªº°{Ä£¥ú, ¦ý¬O©T©wªº¦V«á¦a¤Ï¹ïªEÀY¡C "¨CÓ¤H¡C¡C¡C
¨CÓ¤HÁÙ¦n§a?"
Ryu waved a hand, which also sported a bandage. "Ah, we're fine.
We were worried about you--you took the longest to wake up." / Ryu
´§»R¤F¤@°¦¤â,¤]¹CÀ¸¤F¤@±øÁ^±a¡C "°Ú,§Ú̫ܦn¡C §Ú̬°§A¾á¼~--§A±a¤F³Ìªøªº¿ô¨Ó¡C"
"What happened?" Ken said. "How were we rescued?"
/ " ¤°»òµo¥Í"? ªÖ®¦»¡¡C "§Ú̦p¦ó³Q±Ï¥X"?
"Do you remember anything at all?" Nambu asked. / " §A°O±o¶Ü¥ô¦ó¨Æ¥þµM"?
Nambu °Ý¡C
Ken opened his mouth, then paused and shook his head. "No. Nothing.
We initiated the Tatsumaki Fighter, the bomb detonated, and... that's
all. None of you remember?" Jun, Jinpei and Ryu shook their heads.
/ ¥´¶}¥Lªº¼LªÖ®¦,µM«á¼È°±¦Ó¥B·nÀY¡C "²@¤£ªº¸¹½X¡C §Ú̶}©l¤F Tatsumaki °«¤h,¬µ¼u¤ÞÃz,©M¡C¡C¡C ¨º¬O©Ò¦³ªº¡C §A¨S¦³¤@Ó°O±o?"¤»¤ë,Jinpei
©M Ryu ·nÀY¡C
"Nothing past the explosion," Jun said. / " ¨S¨Æ¹L¥hªºÃz¬µ",¤»¤ë»¡¡C
"You were pulled out of the ocean and taken to an aid station, and
from there, a rescue worker called the ISO," Nambu said. "We
have no details. We still don't know who found you. There were many rescue
crews working in the area, and nobody has come forward." / "§A³Q²æÂ÷¤j®ü¦Ó¥B®³¨ì¤@ÓÀ°§U¯¸¡A¦Ó¥B±q¨º¸Ì¡A¤@Ó´©±Ï¤u¤H©I¥s¤F°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´",Nambu
»¡¡C "§Ų́S¦³²Ó¸`¡C §Ṳ́´µM¤£ª¾¹D½Öµo²{§A¡C ¦³¦b°Ï°ì¤¤¤u§@ ªº³\¦h´©±Ï²Õû¡A¦Ó¥B¨S¦³¤H¤w¸g®¼¨¦Ó¥X¡C"
"You'd think somebody would," Jinpei said. "That must be
a real surprise, to have to go rescue the Kagaku Ninjatai." Ken winced,
and the boy came up to the bed. "I didn't mean it like that, Aniki."
/ " §A±N·|»{¬°¬Y¤H±N·|",Jinpei »¡¡C "¨º¤@©w¬O¯u¥¿ªº·N¥~, ¥²¶·¥h´©±Ï Kagaku Ninjatai".
ªÖ®¦¬ÈÁY¡A¦Ó¥B¨k«Ä¨ì§É¡C "§Ú¹³¨º¤@¼Ë¤£¬O¬G·Nªº,Aniki".
"I know," he said quietly, then reached out and patted the boy
on the arm. "At least the base is gone." / "§Úª¾¹D",¥L¦wÀR¦a»¡,µM«á¨ì¹F¥X¨Ã¥B»´©ç¦b¤âÁu¤Wªº¨k«Ä¡C
"¦Ü¤Ö°ò¦¤£¨£¤F" ¡C
"We've finished analysis on the tape," Nambu said, and four
sets of eyes fastened on the doctor, frightening in their intensity. /
"§Ṳ́w¸g§¹¦¨°w¹ï¿ýµ±aªº¤ÀªR",Nambu »¡¡A¦Ó¥B²´·úªº¥|²Õ¦bÂå¥Í¨¤W¬Cºò,¦b¥L̪º±j¯P¤¤ÅåÀ~¡C
"Well?" / "´é¥X"?
"Was it Joe?" Jun asked, trying to soften Ken's abruptness.
/ " ¥¦¬O³ì"? ¤»¤ë°Ý, ¹Á¸Õ¨ÏªÖ®¦ªº¬ðµMÅܬX³n¡C
"No." Nambu clasped his hands behind his back and regarded the
floor. "It wasn't Joe. It was generated mechanically. A skillful
reproduction... but it wasn't Joe. I'm sorry." / "¸¹½X" Nambu
¦©ºò¤F¦b¥LªºI³¡«á±ªº¥L¤â¦Ó¥Bµø¬°¤F¦aªO¡C "¥¦¤£¬O³ì¡C ¥¦³Q¾÷±ñ¦a²£¥Í¡C ¼ô½mªº¦A²{¡C¡C¡C ¦ý¬O¥¦¤£¬O³ì¡C ¹ï¤£°_¡C"
Of course. Of course it wasn't Joe. Ken suddenly hated himself. What was
he thinking? Joe was dead. / ·íµM¡C ·íµM¥¦¤£¬O³ì¡C ªÖ®¦¬ðµM¼¨«ë¥L¦Û¤v¡C ¥L¥¿¦b·Q¤°»ò? ³ì¦º¡C
Ken sat up, threw his legs over the side and slid out of bed. He was clothed
in boxers and a t-shirt, and his right arm was back in its sling. Awkwardly
he walked toward the nearest window and stared out at the ocean. / ¼õ©]ªºªÖ®¦,§É§â¦bÃä©M
slid ¤Wªº¥L»L¥á¥X¥h¡C ¥L¦b®±À»®a©M¤@Ó T«ò¤¤³Q¥¬®Æ¡A¦Ó¥B¥Lªº¥k¤âÁu¬O¥¦ªº§ë¥Û¾¹ªºI±¡C ²Â©å¦a¥L¹ï©ó³Ìªñªºµ¡¤á¨«¸ô¦Ó¥B¦b¤j®üªº¥~ª`µø¡C
"Ken?" Jun's voice. / "ªÖ®¦"? ¤»¤ëªºÁnµ¡C
"It's all right. I'm all right. Thank you, everyone. You need to
rest." / "¥¦¬O¨SÃö«Y¡C §Ú¬O¨SÃö«Y¡C ÁÂÁ§A,¨CÓ¤H¡C §A»Ýn¥ð®§¡C"
Ken didn't turn away from the window until they had gone. / ª½¨ì¥L̤w¸g¥h¡AªÖ®¦¨S¦³»·Â÷µ¡¤áÂà¡C
Joe sat hunched in a seat by the window, duffel bag at his feet. Outside
an airliner taxied by and line crews bustled around the jets, loading
and unloading luggage. Other travelers shuffled through the waiting area,
absorbed in their own affairs. Over the intercom, an attendant announced
final boarding call for Flight 2457 at Gate 10A. Now six hundred miles
from San Frangelis, he had one more connection before he took a private
plane, then a boat back to Rafael. / ³ì¦bµ¡¤á®ÇÃ䪺¤@Ó®y¦ì¤¤§¤µÛÅs¸y¾mI,²Ê©O¤j¦ç¦b¥Lªº¸}¸Ë¤J³U¤¤¡C
¥~±ªº¤@¬[³Q¼pµ{¨®ªº«È¾÷³Q¦Ó¥B½u²Õû¦b¼Q®g¾÷ªº©P³ò©b¦£,t¸ü©M¨ø³f¦æ§õ¡C ¨ä¥Lªº®È«È©ì¦²¹Lµ¥Ô°Ï°ì,¦b¥L̦ۤvªº¨Æ¥ó¤¤§l¦¬¡C ¦b¹ïÁ¿¾¹¤§¤W¡A¤@¦ìÀH±q¦b²Ä
10 ªù¤@¬°¯Z¾÷ 2457 «Å§G¤F³Ì«áªºµn¾÷©I¥s¡C ²{¦b¦b¶ZÂ÷®áªe Frangelis ¤»¦Êù³B¡A¦b¥L±a¤F¤@¬[¨p¤H¸¾÷¤§«e , ¥L¦³¤F¥t¥~¤@Ó³s±µ,
µM«á¦V«á¦a¨ì Rafael ªº¤@¿´²î¡C
Another failure. Another near miss. / ¥t¤@Ó¥¢±Ñ¡C ¥t¥~¦b¹L¿ùªºªþªñ¡C
As he worked with the rescuers, the explosion at the Alamo Prison had
dropped the ground from beneath his feet, sending more debris tumbling
over the attack site. Thinking it a renewed attack, Joe had gone toward
the sound, racing toward the bay on foot. The previous attack had stopped
traffic dead, jamming cars tightly in the streets, and Joe dodged both
around and over vehicles, then finally took to the rooftops. From his
new vantage point, he could see the huge plume of smoke rising from what
had once been the Alamo Prison. Most of the island was gone, the smoke
and flames seeming to rise directly from a hole in the ocean. On the highest
point of nearby Angel Island, the New Godphoenix sat quietly, streaked
with soot. Joe stopped, staring. That wasn't right. Where was the team?
/ ·í¥L»P±Ï§UªÌ¦X§@ªº®ÉÔ,Ãz¬µ±q¦b¥Lªº¸}¤§¤U¦b¥Õ·¨ºÊº»¤w¸g©ñ±ó¦a±,°e¹M¤Î§ðÀ»¦ì¸m¶^¸¨ ªº§ó¦h¸H¤ù¡C ·Q¥¦¤@Ó³Q§ó·sªº§ðÀ», ³ì¤w¸g¹ï©óÁnµ¥h,
¨«¸ô¹ï©ó®üÆWÁɶ]¡C ¥ý«eªº§ðÀ»¤w¸g°±¤î¥æ³q¦º,¦bµó¹D¤¤ºòºò¦aÀ½¨T¨®,¦Ó¥B³ì¦bªþªñ¦Ó¥B¦b¨®½ø¤§¤WÁ׶},µM«á³Ì«á³ß·R«Î³»¡C ±q¥Lªº·sÆ[ÂI¡A¥L¥i¥H¬Ý¨£±q´¿¸g¤w¸g¬O¥Õ·¨ºÊº»ªºªF¦è¤É°_
ªº·Ï·¥¤jªº¦Ð¤ò¡C ¤j³¡¥÷ªº®q¤£¨£¤F,·Ï©M¤õµK¦ü¥Gª½±µ¦a±q¤j®üªº¤@Ó¬}¤W¤É¡C ¦bªþªñªº¤Ñ¨Ï®qªº³Ì°ªÂI¤W¡A·sªº Godphoenix ¦wÀR¦a§¤,¥H·Ñ·Ï¥[±ø¯¾¡C
³ì°±¤î,ª`µø¡C ¨º¤£¬O¥¿½Tªº¡C ¤p²Õ¦bþ¸Ì?
He scanned the bay from left to right. The concussion had churned the
ocean into chaotic white peaks, but there, near the prison ruins, Joe
caught a flash of orange metal. Wishing for binoculars, he squinted. A
sharp, angled wing bobbed in the ocean, and he focused on that as best
he could. Slapped by a wave, the craft moved. Joe caught sight of a curved
yellow canopy and the stylized beak painted on the nose, and he sucked
in his breath. / ¥L±q¥ªÃä¨ì¥kÃä±½´y¤F®üÆW¡C ¿E°Ê¤w¸gÅÍ©Õ¤j®ü¶i²V¶Ãªº¥Õ¦â®pÅq¤§¤º¡A¦ý¬O¦b¨º¸Ì¡A¦bºÊº»·´·Àªºªþªñ¡A³ì¤Þ°_¤F¾ï¦âªºª÷ÄÝ°{¥ú¡C
´Á±æÂù²´±æ»·Ãè,¥L¨ÏÅܱ׵ø²´¡C ¤@Ó°ª½Õ,«ö¬Y¤@¨¤«×Âà°Ê¤F¦b¤j®ü¤¤³Q®¶°Êªº¯Í»H¡A¦Ó¥B¥L§â«¤ß¶°¤¤¦b¨º¦p³Ì¦n¥L¥i¥H¡C Âǵۤ@Óªi®ö©çÀ»,¸¾÷²¾°Ê¡C
³ì¿h¨£¤@Ås¶À¦âªº¤ÑÁO¦Ó¥B³Q³¾¼Lөʤƪº¦b»ó¤l¤Wµe¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¦b¥Lªº©I§l¤è±§l¡C
The memory blurred, the details unimportant. Somehow he'd gotten back
to the rescue crews, grabbed two of the volunteers and commandeered a
motorboat from the pier. The search, though it seemed to take forever,
was brief. / °O¾Ð¼Ò½k, ¤£«nªº²Ó¸`¡C ¤£ª¾¦ó¬G¥L¤w¸g¦^¨ì´©±Ï²Õû, §ì¨ú§ÓÄ@ªÌ¤¤ªº¤GÓ¦Ó¥B¼x¶Ò¨Ó¦Û½XÀYªº¤@¿´¨T²î¡C ·j´M,ÁöµM¥¦¦ü¥G¥Ã»·¦a®³,¬OºKn¡C
Joe found Jun first, thanks to the pink and red of her uniform. She'd
been floating face-up, unconscious. Jinpei and Ryu were in worse shape,
floating face down, their mantles blending in with the sea. The boy had
stopped breathing, but still had a pulse, and the two men in the boat
began CPR on him as Joe dragged Ryu's awkward bulk aboard the boat by
himself. Ryu had inhaled some ocean as well, but Joe was able to force
the water from the Owl's lungs; after a moment, Ryu gasped and began breathing
on his own. / µo²{¤»¤ëªº³ì²Ä¤@,¹ï¦oªº¨îªA¯»¬õ¦â©M¬õ¦âÁÂÁ¡C ¦o¤w¸g¬Oº}¯BªºÁy-´£°ª,µL·NÃѪº¡C Jinpei ©M Ryu ¬O¦b¸ûÁVªº§Îª¬¤¤,
º}¯BªºÁy¤U¨Ó, ¥L̪º²V¦X ªº¦a²[¦b¥Ñ©ó®ü¬v¡C ·í³ì¿W¦Û·f¼²î©ì©Ô¤F Ryu's ªº²Â©å¤j¦h¼Æªº®ÉÔ¡A¨k«Ä¤w¸g°±¤î©I§l, ¦ý¬O¤´µM¦³¤F¯ß»K¡A¦Ó¥B²îªº¤G¦ì¨k¤H¶}©l¤F¦b¥L¤Wªº
CPR ¡C Ryu ¤]¤w¸g§l¤J¤@¨Ç¤j®ü¡A¦ý¬O³ì¯à°÷À£¢¨Ó¦Û¿ßÀYÆNªºªÍ¤ô; ¦b¤ù¨è¤§«á¡A Ryu ³Ý®ð¦Ó¥B¶}©l¾a¥L¦Û¤v©I§l¡C
And then Ken, his face burned and battered, struggled to wake up as Joe
secured the litter around him. As the Gatchaman's eyes opened, Joe pushed
away from him, surprised at the suddenness of the move. I don't... I don't
want.... / µM«áªÖ®¦ , ¥LªºÁy¿U¿N¦Ó¥BºV¥´,·í³ì¦b¥L©P³ò«OÅ@¤F©U§£¡A§V¤O¿ô¨Ó¡C ·í Gatchaman's ªº²´·ú¥´¶}ªº®ÉÔ,³ì±À°Ê»·Â÷¥L,¦b²¾°Êªº¬ðµM¦YÅå¡C
§Ú¤£¡C¡C¡C §Ú¤£·Qn....
Either rejoin them or stay away from them. Don't hover between. / ©Î±q¥L̦A¥[¤J¥LÌ©ÎÂ÷¶}¡C
¤£n½L±Û¦b¤§¶¡¡C
It's not fair--I wasn't even involved! / ¥¦¤£¬O¤½¥ªº--§Ú¤£¬O¬Æ¦Ü¦³Ãö!
He could just hear Ken's voice: "You weren't there. We needed a team
of five. We needed you." / ¥L¥i¥H¶È¶ÈÅ¥¨ìªÖ®¦ªºÁnµ: "§A¤£¦b¨º¸Ì¡C §ÚÌ»Ýn¤@¶¤¤¡C §ÚÌ»Ýn¤F§A¡C"
The team of five. The fifth member should have been Getz. / ¤ªº¤p²Õ¡C ²Ä¤Ó¦¨ûÀ³¸Ón¬O
Getz ªº¡C
"Getz is dead. You deserted us." / "Getz ¦º¡C §A¿ò±ó¤F§ÚÌ¡C"
He would only hurt them by returning, but here... they were being hurt
without him. Jun's face had been burned and bruised, pale in the cold
ocean, her lips white. The kid had almost drowned again. If he had been
with them, would he have been able to prevent this? Could he have tipped
the scales in their favor? / ¥L¥u±N·|ÂÇ¥ÑÂkÁٶˮ`¥LÌ, ¦ý¬O¦b³o¸Ì¡C¡C¡C ¥LÌ¥¿¦b¨S¦³¥L³Q¶Ë®`¡C ¤»¤ëªºÁy¤w¸g³Q¿U¿N¦Ó¥B¥´¶Ë,¦b´H§Nªº¤j®ü¤¤ÅÜ»a¥Õ,
¥Õ¦âªº¦o®B¡C ¤p«Ä´X¥G¤w¸g¦A¤@¦¸²T¦º¡C °²¦p¥L¬O©M¥L̦b¤@°_¡A¤£¬O¶Ü¤w¸g¯à°÷ÁקK³o? ¥L¥i¥H¤w¸g´£¥Ü¥L̪º¦n·N¨è«×¶Ü?
Joe leaned back in his seat, rubbing his eyes with one hand. Taking a
deep breath, he forced himself to look out the window and at the people
around him. To see the everyday bustle of travelers instead of the wounded
and dying. / ³ì¦b¥Lªº®y¦ì¤¤¦V«á¦aʾa,¥Î¤@°¦¤âÀ¿¥Lªº²´·ú¡C §@²`ªº©I§l, ¥L±j¢¤F¥L¦Û¤v¤p¤ßµ¡¤á©M¦b¤H¦b¥L©P³ò¡C ¬Ý¨£®È«Èªº¨C¤ÑÂZÄW¥N´À¨º¨ü¶Ëªº©M««¦ºªº¡C
Nambu left the team with orders to rest and heal. Though he didn't restrict
them to base, none of them had the energy to leave G-Town and instead
stayed at their quarters on base. Now Ryu sprawled on a large recliner
in the open lounge near their quarters and watched football on the wall-sized
television. / Nambu ¥Î©R¥OÂ÷¶}¤p²Õ¥ð®§¦Ó¥Bªv¡¡C ÁöµM¥L¨S¦³¨î¥Ļ@°ò¦¡A¦ý¬O¥L̨S¦³¤@Ó¦³¤F¯à·½¦b°ò¦¤W¯d¤U G-
«°Âí©M§ï¬°³Q°±¯d¦b¥L̪º¥|¤À¤§¤@¡C ²{¦b Ryu ¦b¥L̪º¥|¤À¤§¤@ªþªñªº¶}©ñ¶¢³}ªº¤@Ó¤jªºª×´È¤WÂX®i¨Ã¥B¬Ý¤F¦bÀð¾À³W¼Ò¹qµø¤Wªº¨¬²y¡C
At this hour of the night, that particular wing was deserted, so Ryu glanced
over briefly at the sound of footsteps and saw Jinpei coming down the
hall. / ¦b©]±ßªº³o¤p®É, ¨º¯S§Oªº¯Í»H³Q¿ò±ó¡A¦]¦¹¡A Ryu ²µu¦a¦b¸}¨B©M¿÷¤lªºÁnµÂsÄý Jinpei ¤U¨ÓªùÆU¡C
"Hey, kid, what's up?" / "¶Ù¡A¤p«Ä, ¤°»ò¦V¤W"?
"Nothing, really. Oneechan is reading and I think Aniki's sleeping.
I can't sleep" Ducking past the television, Jinpei took off his shoes
and curled up on the far end of the couch by the window. His bruises were
more vivid now, and Ryu looked him over for a long moment before they
both turned to watch the game. / "¨S¨Æ,¯uªº¡C Oneechan ¥¿¦bŪ¡A¦Ó¥B§Ú·Q Aniki's
ªººÎ¯v¡C §Ú¤£¯àºÎı" Æp¤J¤ô¤¤¶V¹L¹qµø¡A Jinpei ¦bµ¡¤áªºªø´È»·µ²§ô¤W²æ±¼¥Lªº¾c¤l¦Ó¥B»lÁY¦Óª×¡C ¥Lªº·ï¶Ë²{¦b¬O§ó¥Í°Êªº¡A¦Ó¥B
Ryu ¬Ý¥Lµ²§ô¬°ªøªº¤ù¨è¥H«e¥LÌdz£³Q·Ç³Æ¬Ý¤ñÁÉ¡C
"Neh, Ryu." / "Neh,Ryu".
"Hm?" / "Hm"?
"Do you believe in ghosts?" / "§A¬Û«H°¶Ü"?
Ryu let the back up on the recliner and put the footrest down so that
both feet rested flat on the floor. He regarded Jinpei with a frown. "What
brought this on?" / Ryu ¦bª×´È¤W¦V¤WÅýI±¨Ã¥B©ñ¤U¸}¹¹¡A¥H«K¨â¸}¦b¦aªO¤W¥ð®§¥©Z¡C ¥L¥Î½K¬Üµø¬° Jinpei
¡C " ¤°»ò¾ÉP³o"?
The boy shrugged, not looking at him. "Do you?" / ¨k«ÄÁqªÓ, ¤£¬Ý¥L¡C
"°µ§A"?
"I guess. My folks always did. Nobody in my village laughed at you
if you said you saw one." Ryu spoke slowly, measuring the words as
he watched the kid. "Why?" / "§Ú²q´ú¡C §Úªº¤HÌÁ`¬O°µ¡C ¦pªG§A»¡¤F§A¬Ý¨£¤@¡A¨S¦³¤H¦b§Úªº§ø²ø¤¤¯º§A¡C"Ryu
»¡±oºCºC, ´ú¶q¦r·í¥L¬Ý¤F¤p«Ä¡C "¬°¤°»ò"?
"Yesterday... all the stuff that went on yesterday. I'm thinking
that maybe it really was Joe." / "¬Q¤Ñ¡C¡C¡C ©Ò¦³ªºÄ~Äò¶i¦æ¬Q¤Ñªº¨Æ±¡¡C §Ú¬O«ä¦Òªº¨º¤]³\¥¦¯uªº¬O³ì¡C"
"Yeah?" The big man didn't even smile, and taking a deep breath,
Jinpei plunged on. / "¬Oªº"? ¤jªº¨k¤H¤£¬Æ¦Ü·L¯º, ¦Ó¥B§@²`ªº©I§l, Jinpei ˤU¦b¤§¤W¡C
"Yeah. That was pretty weird. I thought that was Aniki calling me
on the radio. Nobody else talks to me that way, so it had to be either
Ken or Joe. But Aniki said he never called me. And Oneechan... she thought
it was Joe at Easton Island." Jinpei turned his face toward the window,
and hugged his knees to his chest. "I mean, right after he died,
I found myself talking to him a lot. I'd tell him about the day I'd had.
I'd imagine hearing him talking to me, joking or giving me a hard time
like he always did." / "¬Oªº¡C ¨º¬O¬Û·í©Ç²§¡C §Ú·Q¤F¨º¬O¦b¦¬µ¾÷¤W¥´¹q¸Üµ¹§Ú ªº Aniki
¡C ¨S¦³¤H§Oªº¨º¼Ë©M§Ú»¡¸Ü¡A¦]¦¹¡A¥¦¥²¶·¬OªÖ®¦©Î³ì¡C ¦ý¬O Aniki »¡¤F¥L±q¤£¥´¹q¸Üµ¹¤F§Ú¡C ¦Ó¥B Oneechan¡C¡C¡C ¦o·Q¤F¥¦¦b
Easton ®q¬O³ì¡C"Jinpei Âà¤F¹ï©óµ¡¤áªº¥LÁy, ¦Ó¥B¾Ö©ê¤F¹ï¥Lªº¯Ý¥L½¥¡C "§Ú·N¿×,´N¦b¥L¤§«á¦º,§Úµo²{§Ú¦Û¤v©M¥L»¡¸Ü«Ü¦h¡C
§Ú±N·|§i¶D¥LÃö©ó§Ú¦³¦³ªº¨º¤Ñ¡C §Ú±N·|·Q¹³Å¥¥L©M§Ú»¡¸Ü,Á`¬O¶}ª±¯º©Îµ¹§Ú¹³¥L¤@¼Ëªº¤@ÓWÀY°µ¡C"
"What reality were you in?" Ryu snorted. "Joe never joked
around. He just drank his coffee, read the paper and glared at people."
/ "§A¬O¦b¤°»ò¨Æ¹ê"? Ryu ¼QµÛ®ð§ËÅT»ó¤l¡C "³ì±q¤£¦bªþªñ¶}ª±¯º¡C ¥Lèè¦b¤H³Ü¤F¥Lªº©@°Ø, Ū¤F³ø¯È¦Ó¥Bµo¯t¥ú¡C"
"That's because you were always being antisocial back in the booths.
He used to rag me all the time about the All-Blacks in soccer and the
Jaybees in baseball. I used to rag him about his racing record and the
driver who looks like Tom Cruise--he hated that guy." The boy dropped
his head. "Anyway, I wrote letters, too. Right after he died, then
when I started going to school, and then just now. I thought maybe that
the letters might be keeping him here, like I was holding him here by
keeping him in my mind." / " ¨º¬O¦]¬°§AÁ`¬O¦b«F¤¤§@¬°«DªÀ¥æªºI±¡C ¥L¹L¥h¤@ª½©l²×Ãö©ó©Ò¦³ªÌÙ^Ùg§Ú-´Î²yªº¨¬²y©M
Jaybees ªº¶Â¦â¡C §Ú¹L¥h¤@ª½Ù^Ùg¥LÃö©ó¥LªºÄvÁɨƬö¿ý©M¬Ý°_¨Ó¹³´ö©i¤@¼Ë¨µ¯èªº¾r¾pû--¥L¼¨«ë¨ºÓ³Ã¥ë¡C"¨k«Ä°§C¤F¥LªºÀY¡C
"µL½×¦p¦ó¡A§Ú¤]¼g¤F«H¡C ´N¦b¥L¤§«á¦º, µM«á·í§Ú¶}©l¥h¤W¾Çªº®ÉÔ, µM«áèè¡C §Ú¤]³\·Q¡A«H¥i¯à«O¦s¥L³o¸Ì, ¹³§Ú¥¿¦bÂǥѧâ¥L¯d¦b§Úªº¤ß¤¤®»¦í¥L³o¸Ì¡C"
"Hmm. I guess I did that too," Ryu said, and Jinpei turned away
from the window to look at him. "Remember, right before we left him
in the mountains, he tried to apologize to me for being a jerk, and I
told him I wouldn't forgive him unless he was well again and he let me
hit him in return." Ryu looked at the floor. "I'd been kidding,
actually, though I kinda liked the thought of clocking him one."
He smiled slightly. "I didn't think at the time that he didn't have
a choice; that he couldn't do anything other than die. Well, maybe I knew,
but I didn't want to admit it. I wish I could have stayed there with him--Ken
and Jun didn't need me." / "Hmm¡C §Ú²q´ú§Ú°µ¨º¤],"Ryu »¡¡A¦Ó¥B Jinpei
Âà»·Â÷µ¡¤á¬Ý¥L¡C "°O±o,¥¿½T¦a§Ú̦b¤s¤¤¯d¤U¥L¤§«e¡A¥L¸ÕµÛ¬°§@¬°¤@өʱ¡¥j©Çªº¤H¦V§Ú¹Dºp¡A¦Ó¥B§Ú§i¶D¤F¥L¡A°£«D¥L¦A¤@¦¸«Ü¦n¡A¦Ó¥B¥LÅý§Ú¸I¼²¥L§@¬°¦^³ø¡A§_«h§Ú±N¤£ì½Ì¥L"
¡C Ryu ¬Ý¦aªO¡C "§Ú¤w¸g¦b¶}ª±¯º,¹ê»Ú¤W, ÁöµM§Ú¦³¤@ÂI³ßÅw®ÉÄÁ¥L¤@ªº·Qªk". ¥L¨Ç·L¦a·L¯º¡C "§Ú¦b¨º®É¨S¦³·Q¥L¨S¦³¿ï¾Ü;
þ¤@¥L°£¤F»ë¤l¤§¥~¤£¥i¥H°µ¥ô¦ó¨Æ¡C ¦n§a¡A¤]³\§Úª¾¹D¡A¦ý¬O§Ú¨S¦³·Qn©Ó»{¥¦¡C §ÚÄ@§ÚÀ³¸Ó¥i¥H¦b¨º¸Ì³Q¥L°±¯d--ªÖ®¦©M¤»¤ë¨S¦³»Ýn§Ú¡C"
"But we didn't know that." / " ¦ý¬O§Ų́S¦³ª¾¹D¨º".
"I should have fought for it. When I saw that shadow in the temple,
I thought that maybe it was my fault that Joe could be haunting us, but
then again, why the hell would he care whether I forgave him or not? He
didn't like me all that much." / "§ÚÀ³¸Ó¬°¥¦¦³¥´¥M¡C ·í§Ú¬Ý¨£ªº®ÉÔ¼v¹³¦b¦x¼q¤¤¡A§Ú·Q¡A¤]³\¥¦¬O§Úªº³ì¥i¯à¬O¤£©ö§ÑÃhªº§Ú̹L¥¢,
¦ý¬O¦A¤@¦¸µM«á, ¦aº»¬°¤°»ò±N·|¥LÃö¤ß§Ú¬O§_ì½Ì¥L? ¥L¨S¦³³ßÅw§Ú©Ò¦³ªº¨º»ò¦h¡C"
"That's total bullshit, Ryu." / "¨º¬OÁ`J»¡¡A Ryu" ¡C
"You think so?" Ryu raised his head and looked at him. / "§A³o»ò»{¬°"?
Ryu ©ï°_¤F¥LªºÀY¦Ó¥B¬Ý¥L¡C
"Yeah! I know that he didn't act like he liked any of us all that
much, but it was just an act. You guys used to go to the games all the
time. And the races, right?" / "¬Oªº! §Úª¾¹D¡A¥L¨S¦³¥þ³¡ªí²{°_¨Ó¹³¥L¤@¼Ë°_¨Ó¹³§Ṳ́§¤¤ªº¥ô¦ó¤@Ó¤@¼Ë¨º¦h¡A¦ý¬O¥¦¥u¬O¤@Ӧ欰¡C
§A¥Î¤ä¯Á¼µ¦í¹L¥h¤@ª½©l²×¥h¤ñÁÉ¡C ¦Ó¥B¤ñÁÉ,Åv§Q?"
"Yeah...." / "¬Oªº...."
"You remember the time that we lost Crescent Base?" / "§A°O±o§ÚÌ¥¢¥h¤F·s¤ë°ò¦ªº®É¶¡"?
"I'd rather not," Ryu mumbled. / " §Ú±N·|¹ç¥i¤£",Ryu ³ä³ä¦Ó»y¡C
"It was the time you pulled the Godphoenix out of the airlock after
it got flipped back over. Me and Joe started swimming through the base
to meet Hakase, but it was farther than I could go, and I ran out of air."
Jinpei stared into space. "After it was all over and I woke up, Joe
waited until everyone had gone, and then he grabbed me by the front of
the shirt and shook me. He said, 'I would rather take a bullet through
the heart than watch anybody on this team die. Don't you ever pull something
so stupid again.' I didn't find out til later that he nearly drowned trying
to rescue me." / "¦b¥¦µ²§ô±o¨ì¥Î«üÀY¼uI±¤§«á¡A¥¦¬O§A§â Godphoenix ±q airlock ©Ô¥X¨Óªº®ÉÔ¡C
§Ú©M³ì¶}©l´åªa¹L°ò¦¹J¨£ Hakase ¡A¦ý¬O¥¦§ó»·³Ó©ó§Ú¥i¥H¥h¡A¦Ó¥B§Ú¥ÎºÉªÅ®ð¡C"Jinpei ¶i¤JªÅ¶¡¤§¤ºª`µø¡C "¦b¥¦¨ì³B¡A¦Ó¥B§Ú¿ô¨Ó¤§«á¡A³ìµ¥Ôª½¨ì¨CÓ¤H¤w¸g¥h,µM«á¥LÂǵÛŨmªº«e±§ì¨ú¤F§Ú¦Ó¥B·n°Ê¤F§Ú¡C
¥L»¡,' §Ú¹çÄ@¸g¹L¤ß®³¤@Ó¤l¼u³Ó©ó¤â¿ö¥ô¦ó¤H¦b³o¤@Ó¤p²Õ¨¤W¦º¡C ¤£¦A§A´¿¸g©Ô¦p¦¹·MÄøªF¦è¡C'§Ú¨S¦³µo²{J³Â¸û¿ðªº¥L´X¥G²T¦º¹Á¸Õ±Ï¥X§Ú¡C"
"He did? Nobody ever mentioned it." / "¥L°µ? ¨S¦³¤H´¿¸g´£¨ì¤F¥¦¡C"
Jinpei nodded. / Jinpei ÂIÀY¡C
"All those years, I never could figure him out." Ryu rubbed
his forehead and closed his eyes. "Damn, I should have stayed with
him." / "¾ã¨º¨Ç¼Æ¦~¡A§Ú±q¤£¥i¥H²z¸Ñ¥L" ¡C Ryu À¿¤F¥Lªº«eÃB¦Ó¥BÃö³¬¤F¥Lªº²´·ú¡C "¶A©G,§ÚÀ³¸Ón¦b¥L®a³r¯dªº"
¡C
"If he really is a ghost, I think he's watching out for us. It's
not fair to him to be stuck here, though. I think it would drive me crazy
if I were him, but I'd probably do all the same things." / "¦pªG¥L¯uªº¬O¤@Ó°,§Ú»{¬°¥L¥¿¦b¯d·N§ÚÌ¡C
¥¦¹ï¥L¤£¬O¤½¥ªº¦b³o¸Ì³Q´ÛÄF,ÁöµM¡C §Ú»{¬°¡A¥¦±N·|§â§Ú¹GºÆ¡A¦pªG§Ú¬O¥L¡A¦ý¬O§Ú±N·|¥i¯à¤´µM°µ¨Æª«¡C"
Ryu's voice softened. "Do you still talk to him?" / Ryu's ªºÁnµÅܬX³n¡C
"§A¤´µM©M¥L»¡¸Ü¶Ü"?
Jinpei looked away. "Yeah, but I don't get any answer. Right before
the fighting started again, it got to where I couldn't feel him around
any longer. Like he was trying to fade away and move on. And then the
war began again and we went to Easton Island and started seeing shadows
and hearing voices." / Jinpei ¬ÝÂ÷¶}¡C "¬Oªº,¦ý¬O§Ú¤£±o¨ì¥ô¦óªºµª®×¡C ¥¿½T¦a¾Ô°«¦A¤@¦¸¶}©l¤§«e¡A¥¦¨ì¹F§Ú¤£¥i¥H·Pı¥Lþ¸Ì¦b¦A©P³ò¡C
¬Û¦üªº¥L¥¿¦b¹Á¸Õ¿Æ¦âÂ÷¶}¦Ó¥BÄ~Äò¡C µM«á¾Ôª§«°µ¡A¦Ó¥B§ÚÌ¥h Easton ®q¦Ó¥B¶}©l¬Ý¨£¼v¹³©MÅ¥ÃÒ·|Ánµ¡C"
Ryu twisted around in his chair, looking around the corner and down the
corridor where Jinpei had come in. "Did you hear something?"
he asked, voice low. / Ryu ¦b¥Lªº´È¤l¤¤ªºªþªñÀ¾, ¬Ý°_¨Ó§Y±N¨ÓÁ{©M¤U¨Ó Jinpei ¤w¸g¶i¨Óªº¨«´Y¡C "§AÅ¥¨ì¬Y¨Æ¶Ü"?
¥L°Ý,§C¤U¦a«Åz¡C
"No," Jinpei whispered back. "What was it?" / "¤£"
¡A Jinpei ¦V«á¦a¦Õ»y¡C "¥¦¬O¤°»ò"?
"Footsteps. I thought. There's nobody back there now." / "¸}¨B¡C
§Ú·Q¡C ²{¦b¦b¨º¸Ì¨S¦³¤HI±¡C"
The boy glared at him. "You're messing with me, aren't you?"
/ ¨k«Ä¦b¥Lµo¯t¥ú¡C "§A¥¿¦b©M§Ú§ËÁV, §A¤£¬O"?
"No, I swear I heard something!" / "¤£¡A§Úµo»}§ÚÅ¥¨ì¤F¬Y¨Æ"!
"You're gonna tell me it's Joe, I bet." Jinpei raised his voice.
"Hey, Joe n'aniki! Come on in here and watch the game!" / "§A±Nn§i¶D§Ú¡A¥¦¬O³ì,§Ú¥´½ä"
¡C Jinpei ¤É°_¤F¥LªºÁnµ¡C "¶Ù¡A³ì n'aniki! ¦b³o¸Ì¤¤µo¥Í¨Ã¥B¬Ý¤ñÁÉ!"
"Jinpei!" Ryu grinned uneasily. "It's not smart to make
fun of the dead." / "Jinpei"! Ryu ¤£¦w¦aÅS¾¦¦Ó¯º¡C "¼J§Ë¦º¥hªº¤H¬O¤£Áo©úªº".
"I'm not making fun. Besides, if he didn't show at Easton Island,
why would he show now? C'mon, Joe, put up or shut up!" / "§Ú¨S¦³¦b§@¼Ö½ì¡C
¦¹¥~¡A¦pªG¥L¦b Easton ®q¨S¦³Åã¥Ü,²{¦b¥L¬°¤°»ò±N·|Åã¥Ü? C'mon ¡A³ì, §ë±J©ÎÃö³¬ªº¼W¥[!"
They waited for a moment, but heard only silence. / ¥L̵¥Ô¤@·|¨à, ¦ý¬O¥uÅ¥¨ì¤F¨HÀq¡C
"It'd be wild if he really could," Ryu said. "Seems like
he's saying more now than he did when he was breathing." / "
¥¦±N·|¬O¯î³¥¦pªG¥L¯uªº¥i¥H",Ryu »¡¡C " ¹³¥L¥¿¦b»¡¤ñ¥L§ó²{¦b·í¥L¥¿¦b©I§lªº®ÉÔ°µ".
"Ooh, that's cold." But Jinpei giggled. "Maybe being dead
makes you more talkative." / "Ooh, ¨º«Ü´H§N". ¦ý¬O Jinpei ¦Y¦Y¦a¯º¡C
"¤]³\¦º¨Ï§A§ó³ßÅw»¡¸Ü".
"Yeah, and heaven help us all when you pass away, loudmouth."
/ "¬Oªº,¦Ó¥B·í§A¹L¥@ªº®ÉÔ¡A¤Ñ°óÀ°§U§ÚÌ©Ò¦³,loudmouth".
Jinpei grabbed a pillow from the couch and lobbed it at him, and Ryu fended
it off with a laugh. "Who's loud?" / Jinpei ¦b¥L§ì¨ú¤F¨Ó¦Ûªø´Èªº¤@ÓªEÀY¦Ó¥B¥´°ª¦ÓºCªº²y¤F¥¦¡A¦Ó¥B
Ryu ¥H¤@Án¯ºÁ׶}¥¦¡C " ½Ö¬O¤jÁnªº"?
"Shh!" / "Shh"!
"Shhhh!" / "Shhhh"!
Jinpei threw a pillow at him, which he threw back. They lobbed cushions
back and forth until Jinpei ran out of extras. Their giggles subsided,
and the two turned back to the television. / Jinpei ¥á¦b¥Lªº¤@ÓªEÀY, ¥L¦V«á¦a¥á¡C ª½¨ì
Jinpei ¥ÎºÉÃB¥~¤§ª«¡A¥L̨Ӧ^¦a¥´°ª¦ÓºCªº²y¤F¹Ô¤l¡C ¥L̪º¦Y¦Y¦a¯º¥®§, ©M¨º¤G§é¦^¨ì¹qµø¡C
Ken leaned against the wall beside the entrance to his room, his head
bowed. He'd heard the low voices and laughter and was about to ask why,
but when Jinpei called Joe's name, it stopped him in his tracks. Before
anyone could notice, he moved silently out of the corridor and back to
the elevator. / ªÖ®¦Ê¾a¦b³q©¹¥Lªº©Ð¶¡¤J¤f®ÇÃ䪺Àð¾À,¥LªºÀYÅs¸y¡C ¥L¦³Å¥¨ì¤F§CªºÁnµ©M¯º¦Ó¥B¥¿n°Ý¬°¤°»ò,¦ý¬O·í Jinpei
¥´¹q¸Üµ¹¤F³ìªº¦W¦r®ÉÔ,¥¦¦b¥Lªºy¹D¤¤ªý¤î¥L¡C ¥ô¦ó¤H¥i¥Hª`·N¤§«e¡A¥LÀqÀq¦a²¾°ÊÂ÷¨«´Y©M¦V«á¦a¨ì¹q±è¡C
The air was warmer now, but the brisk sea breeze still assaulted Ken as
he walked among the markers. He hadn't been here since Joe's funeral,
not even to visit his father's monument. Instead of the sickening sweetness
of incense and flowers, the smell of the ocean and of freshly cut grass
filled his nostrils, but otherwise, not much had changed here. Someone,
probably Jun, had put a small bouquet of flowers at the base of each of
the four stones. From the wilted look of the blooms, they'd been left
a few days ago. / ·í¥L¦b§@°O¸¹ªº¤H¤§¤¤¨«¸ôªº®ÉÔ¡AªÅ®ð²{¦b¬O¤ñ¸û¼öªº¡A¦ý¬O²n§Öªº®ü¬v·L·¤´µMŧÀ»¤FªÖ®¦¡C ¥L¦Û±q³ìªº¸®Â§¥H«á¨S¦³¦b³o¸Ì,
¤£¬Æ¦Ü«ô³X¥Lªº¤÷¿Ë¬ö©À¸O¡C ¥N´À»©Mªáªº¥O¤H§@¹Ãªº²¢¹, ¤j®üªº¨ý¹D¦Ó¥B·s´î§Cªº¯ó¸Ëº¡¤F¥Lªº»ó¤Õ, ¦ý¬O§_«h,¤£¤w¸g¦h¦b³o¸Ì§ïÅÜ¡C ¬Y¤H,¥i¯à¤»¤ë,¤w¸g¦ôpªáªº¤@§â¤pªºªá§ô¦³¨C¤@¶ô¥|¶ô¥ÛÀYªº°ò¦¡C
±qªáªº³Q¬\µäªº¯«±¡¡A¥L̤w¸g¦b¤Ñ¥H«e³Q¯d¤U¡C
His father's stone seemed to loom a little taller than the others, dark
and reproachful. Ken approached it and touched the front, tracing the
carvings with his fingers the way he always did. Father, I'm sorry I haven't
been by, he thought. But then, it doesn't really matter, does it? I couldn't
handle the memories of last time I was here. I know you can't help me.
You're not here anyway. Just carved marble and flowers and pretty words.
What's left of you is probably up circling the earth with the Van Allen
Belt. I wonder if you've been watching me from there? Wondering at what
a fool your son has become? / ¥Lªº¤÷¿Ë¥ÛÀY¦ü¥GÁô¬ù¥i¨£¤ñ¨ä¾lªÌµy·L°ª¡M¶Â·tªº©M¥Ó¥¸ªº¡C ªÖ®¦±µªñ¤F¥¦¦Ó¥B¸IIJ¤F«e±,¥Î¥Lªº¤â«ü¥LÁ`¬O°µªº¤è¦¡°lÂÜÀJ¨è«~¡C
¤÷¿Ë, ¹ï¤£°_§Ú¤w¸g¨S¦³¬O³Q,¥L·Q¡C ¦ý¬OµM«á¡A¥¦¨S¯uªº¦³«¤jÃö«Y¶Ü,¬O¶Ü? §Ú¤£¥i¥H³B²z§Ú¦b³o¸Ìªº¤W¦¸°O¾Ð¡C §Úª¾¹D§A¤£¯àÀ°§U§Ú¡C §AµL½×¦p¦ó¤£¦b³o¸Ì¡C
¥¿ª½ªº¦³ÀJ¨èªº¤j²z¥Û©Mªá©Mº}«Gªº¦r¡C §A³Q¯d¤Uªº¥¿¦b¥i¯à¦V¤W¥Î³f¨®¦ãÛ±a¤l¥]³ò¦a²y¡C ¬O§_§A¤w¸g±q¦b¨º¸Ì¬Ý§Ú¡A§ÚÃhºÃ? ı±o©_©Ç¦b§Aªº¨à¤l¤w¸gÅܱo¤°»ò¤@Ó·M¤H?
With a sigh, he turned away and walked past the monuments to Oniishi and
Masaki to the last stone, the one that stood closest to the sea. With
eyes narrowed and blinking, he glared at the name inscribed in the marble,
the dates. / ÂǥѤ@Án¼Û®§¡A¥LÂà¦VÂ÷¶}¦Ó¥B¨«¸ô¹L¥h¹ï³Ì«á¤@¶ô¥ÛÀYªº¹ï Oniishi ©M Masaki ªº¬ö©À¸O, ¨º¤@Ó¯¸µÛ³Ì¾aªñ¨ì®ü¬v¡C
ÂǥѳQÁY¤p¦Ó¥B¯w²´ªº²´·ú¡A¥L¦b¤j²z¥Û³Qµn°Oªº¦W¦r¡A¤é´Áµo¯t¥ú¡C
Pulling the microtape player out of the pocket of his jacket, Ken shook
it at the stone. "Talk to me, damn you," he growled. "Tell
me what the hell this means. These shadows, these voices, these rescues.
Stop the games. If you can do anything, then prove me wrong and talk to
me!" / §â microtape ¹B°Êû±q¥Lªº§¨§J¤f³U©Ô¥X¨Ó,ªÖ®¦¦b¥ÛÀY·n°Ê¥¦¡C "©M§Ú»¡¸Ü,¶A©G§A",¥L«ã§p¡C
" §i¶D§Ú³o·N¿×¤°»ò¡C ³o¨Ç¼v¹³¡A³o¨ÇÁnµ¡A³o¨Ç´©±Ï¡C °±¤î¤ñÁÉ¡C ¦pªG§A¯à°µ¥ô¦ó¨Æ,µM«á¿ù»~ÃÒ©ú§Ú©M¹ï§Ú½Í¸Ü!"
Nothing changed. The wind continued to eddy around the stones and pull
at Ken's hair and clothing. The waves crashed against the rocks below.
The dying flowers fluttered and swayed in their cut stone vase. And Ken
stood alone. / ¨S¨Æ§ïÅÜ¡C ·Ä~Äò¦b¥ÛÀYªº©P³ò°_ºx´õ¦Ó¥B¦bªÖ®¦ªºÀY¾v©M¦çªA©Ô¡C ªi®ö¦b¤U±¼Y·´¹ï§Ü©¥¥Û¡C ««¦ºªºªáÂ\°Ê¦Ó¥B·n°Ê¦b¥L̪º¤Á¤¤¥ÛÀYªá²~¡C
¦Ó¥BªÖ®¦¿W¦Û¦a¯¸¥ß¡C
He'd listened to the tape in his hospital bed all through the night, even
after Dr. Nambu had dashed all of their hopes. The voice on the recording
still gave him chills. Yet the analysts had said that a machine had generated
this recording. It didn't sound mechanical to Ken. He could almost see
the expression on Joe's face as he spoke into the microphone: solemn,
tense. The expression Ken had most hated to see in his second because
it meant they were in a great deal of trouble. / ¥L¾ãÓ©]±ß¤w¸gÅ¥¨ì¥LªºÂå°|§Éªº¿ýµ±a, ¬Æ¦Ü¦b
Nambu ³Õ¤h¤w¸g²rÂY¥L̪º¥þ³¡§Æ±æ¤§«á¡C ¦b¿ýµ¤WªºÁnµ¤´µMµ¹¤©¤F¥L´H§N¡C ¤´µM¤ÀªR®a¤w¸g»¡¤@³¡¾÷¾¹¤w¸g²£¥Í³o¿ýµ¡C ¥¦¨S¦³Å¥°_¨Ó¹ïªÖ®¦¬O¾÷±ñªº¡C
·í¥L¶i¤J³Á§J·¤§¤º»¡ªº®ÉÔ¡A¥L¥i¥H´X¥G¬Ý¨£¦b³ìªºÁy¤Wªí¹F: ÄYµÂªº,®ÉºA¡C ¦]¬°¥¦·N¿×¡A©Ò¥Hªí¹FªÖ®¦¦³³Ì¼¨«ë¦b¥Lªº¬í¤¤¬Ý¨£ , ¥L̦³«Ü¦hªº³Â·Ð¡C
Ken left the stone and sat on the edge of the grounds, staring out at
the ocean. He pulled a tiny set of earphones from his pocket, plugged
them in, and turned on the tape. / ªÖ®¦¯d¤U¤F¥ÛÀY¦Ó¥B§¤¦b²z¥ÑªºÃä½t¤W,¦b¤j®üªºª`µø¡C ¥L©Ô¤F¨Ó¦Û¥Lªº¤f³U¤@·¥¤p²Õªº¦Õ¾÷,
´¡¤J¤F¥L̦b, ¦Ó¥B¥´¶}¿ýµ±a¡C
"Hakase: The Syndicate's next operation will target San Frangelis.
They're in the process of constructing a huge base within city limits,
and if allowed to continue...." / "Hakase: ¥ø·~Áp¦Xªº¤UÓ¤â³N±NºË·Ç®áªe Frangelis
¡C ¥L̬O¦b«°¥«¨î¸Ì±ºc³y¤@Ó·¥¤jªº°ò¦µ{§Ç¤¤, ¦Ó¥B¦pªG¤¹³\Ä~Äò...."
Tell me--what can the dead do? / §i¶D§Ú--¦º¥hªº¤H¯à°µ¤°»ò?
Ken returned to Nambu's summer house at sunset. Before he departed the
graveyard, he sprung the microtape cassette from its player and left it
at the base of Joe's stone, beside the flowers. / ªÖ®¦¦b¤é¸¨¦^¨ì Nambu's ®L¤Ñ©Ð¤l¡C
¥H«e¥L¹L¥hªº¹Ó¦a, ¥L¸õ¨Ó¦Û¥¦ªº¹B°Êûªº microtape ¥d±a¦Ó¥B¦b³ìªº¥ÛÀY°ò¦¯d¤U¥¦,¦bªá®ÇÃä¡C
To Be Continued / ¬OÄ~Äòªº
To Part 11 / ¨ì²Ä 11 ³¡¥÷
Back to Wendy's Fanfiction / ¨ì·Å¸¦ªº Fanfiction ªºI±
¡m¦^¤W¤@¶¡n
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