******************
Between II: The Long Walk  / ¦b 2¤§¶¡: ªøªº´²¨B
Author: Ebonbird (ebonbird@hotmail.com)  / §@®a: Ebonbird(ebonbird@hotmail.com)
Summary: Joe's last days on earth. / ºK­n: ³ì¨C¤Ñ³Ì«á¦b¦a²y¤W¡C
Rating: PG. If you are not of legal age in your country  (or home) to read about sex and violence and breaking  
the law, don't read this. / 
µû¤Àµ¥¯Å: »²¾É¯Å¹q¼v¡C ¦pªG§A¤£¬O¦b§Aªº°ê®a (©ÎªÌ®a) ¤¤ªº¦Xªk¦~ÄÖŪÃö©ó©Ê§O©M¼É¤Oªº¨Æ¦Ó¥B¥´¯}ªk«ß, ¤£Åª³o¡C
Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me. They  are used without permission. Tatsunuko, 
Co. Leave me  be, this is flattery. /
 ³d¥ô³W½dÁn©ú: ­Ó©Ê¤£ÄÝ©ó§Ú¡C ¥L­Ì³Q¨S¦³³\¥i¨Ï¥Î¡C Tatsunuko, ¤½¥qÂ÷¶}§Ú¬O,³o¬O½Ô´A¡C
Notes: Took me long enough. Hope it's good for you, too.  / ª`·N: ±a¤F§Úªøªº¥R¨¬¡C §Æ±æ¥¦¤]¹ï§A¬O¦nªº¡C
Though based upon episodes 89-104 of Gatchaman this  story only loosely follows those events. / 
ÁöµM°ß¤@ªºÃP¦¢¦a°ò©ó Gatchaman ³o¤@­Ó¬G¨Æªº´¡¦± 89-104 ¸òÀH¨º¨Ç¨Æ¥ó¡C
Tunes that fed this: Time Has Come Today - The Chambers / Áý¤F³oªººq¦±: ®É¶¡¤µ¤Ñ¤w¸g¨Ó - ·|ij«Ç
Brothers, Pusher Man - Curtis Mayfield, Spanish Eyes - Back  / 
¥S§Ì, ±ÀªÌ¨k¤H - ¬_¸¦´µªº Mayfield, ¦è¯Z¤úªº²´·ú - ­I­±
Street Boys, Never Can Say Goodbye - Jackson Five, / µó¹D¨k«Ä, ±q¤£¯à»¡¦A¨£ - ³Ç§J´Ë¤­,
All I Want - Angel Moon, Plenty - Sarah McLachlan, Mighty / ¥þ³¡§Ú·Q­n - ¤Ñ¨Ï¤ë«G¡A¥R¤À - ²ï©Ô McLachlan, ¦³¶Õ¤Oªº¤H
Love - The Spinners, Gymnopedie 1-3 - Eric Satie, Could I Be  / ·R - ¦ÛÂྐྵ, Gymnopedie 1-3- ¦ã¤O§J Satie, ¥i¥H§Ú¬O
Your Girl - Jann Arden</a>, Ooh Child - The 5 Stairsteps, Paint it / 
§Aªº¤k«Ä - Jann ªº©õ®Éªüº¸¤Bªº´ËªL¦a±a</¤@>, Ooh «Ä¤l -5 Stairsteps,ªoº£¥¦
Black - The Rolling Stones / ¶Â¦âªº - ±ÛÂ઺¥ÛÀY
 
 
 
 
1st posted: 31 May 2000 re-edit: 19 Aug 2000 / ²Ä¤@±H: 31 2000 ¦~¤­¤ë­«·s½s¿è: 19 2000 ¦~¤K¤ë
 
******************
 
 
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,  / ´ËªL¬O¥i·Rªº, ¶Â·tªº©M²`³B,
But I have miles to go before I sleep.  / ¦ý¬O¦b§ÚºÎı¤§«e , §Ú¦³­ù¥h¡C
And miles to go before I sleep.  / ¦Ó¥B­ù¥h¦b§ÚºÎı¡C¤§«e
-Robert Frost, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"  / -ù«k¯SÁ÷­á, ¦b¤@­Ó¦h³·ªº±ß¤W¥Ñ´ËªL°±¤î
 
 
1.
 
The night was the color of insurmountable distances and  he'd walked home cruel, 
making her take two steps for  each of his one,
and it was cold in the shadow strewn  cabin, the couch cheap and lumpy, but Joe didn't mind.  /
 ©]±ß¬O¤£¯à§JªA¶ZÂ÷ªºÃC¦â¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¦³¨«¦^®a´Ý»Åªº, »s³y¦oªº¬°¨C­Ó±Ä¨ú¤G­Ó¨BÆJ¥Lªº¤@, ©M¥¦¬O´H§Nªº¦b¼»º¡¤p«Îªº¼v¹³¤¤, 
ªø´È«K©yªº©M¦h½Fªº, ¦ý¬O³ì¨S¦³¤¶·N¡C
The girl in his lap held him close. Her name was Jun. He  had known her for most of his life and she smelled  
wonderful; the warmth and weight of her against his  chest and arms and pelvis unexpectedly right.  / 
¥Lªº½¥»\¤k«Ä±µªñ¦a®»¦í¤F¥L¡C ¦oªº¦W¦r¬O¤»¤ë¡C ¥L¤w¸g¬°¥Lªº¥Í¬¡¤j³¡¤À»{ÃѦo¡A¦Ó¥B¦o»D°_¨Ó¥O¤HÅå©_; 
·Å·x©M­«¶q¦o¤Ï¹ï¥Lªº¯Ý©M¤âÁu©M°©½L¥X¨ä¤£·N¦a¥¿½T¡C
 
She'd found him at the crossroads of the Catalina  / ¦o±N·|¦b¥d¶ð§Q®R®qªº¥æ¤e¸ôµo²{¥L
Highway and one of the state roads.  / ¤½¸ô©M¦{¹D¸ô¤§¤@¡C
 
He'd tried to ignore her. She'd put her palm to his face,  questioning him with a breath-thin touch. 
He'd had to  close his eyes and for the first time in hours his mind had  not shown him his parents broken and 
bleeding on the  sand. Their assassin looming over them, lower lip  gleaming and perverse as she laughed and 
laughed;lipstick smudge on one side twisted front tooth; yellow  hair thick and tattered in the wind; a rose, 
too red, too  large and too still to be natural, cupped in her hand.   / 
¥L¦³¸ÕµÛ¤£²z¸B¦o¡C ¦o±N·|¹ïµÛ©ñ¦oªº¤â´x, ¥Î©I§l¸ß°Ý¥L-½GªºÄ²Ä±¡C 
¥L¥²¶·Ãö¥Lªº²´·ú¡A¦Ó¥B¦b¼Æ¤p®É¤º²Ä¤@¦¸¥Lªº¤ß¨S¦³µ¹¥L¬Ý¥Lªº¤÷¥À¦b¨F¤l¤W¥´¯}¦Ó¥B¥X¦å¡C 
¦b¥L­Ì¡A§ó§Cªº®B°{Ã{¤§¤WÁô¬ù¥i¨£ªº¥L­Ì·t±þªÌ©M¨Ä±iªº·í¦o¯º¤F¤S¯º;  ¤f¬õ¦b®Çªº¤Ï±`«e­±¤ú¾¦¤W§Ëż; 
¶À¦âªºÀY¾v«pªº©M¯}Äꪺ¦b­·¤¤; ¤@¦·ª´ºÀ, ¤Ó¬õ¦âªº, ¤Ó¤jªº©M¤Ó¤´µM¬O¦ÛµM, ¦b¦oªº¤â¤¤¸m©óªM¤º¡C
 
He kissed Jun harder. She curled around him like a  flower, wrapping him in softness and the satin rustling of  her hair. 
He heard the rasp of her tongue over the  stubble on his chin, remembered the caw of a dozen  seagulls on a beach thousands 
of miles away.  / 
¥L§ó§V¤O¦a§k¤F¤»¤ë¡C ¦o¹³¤@¦·ªá¦bªþªñ§Ë±²¥L,¦b¬X©M©M½v¤l¦oªºÀY¾vµo¥X¨F¨FÁn¤¤¥]³òk down on ¥L¡C 
¥LÅ¥¨ì¤F¦oªº¦Þ²Ê¾V¤MÃö©óÂ_®è¦b¥Lªº¤U¤Ú¤W, °O±o¦b­ùªº®üÅy¼Æ¤d¤Wªº¤Q¤G­Ó®üÅ꺯Q¾~¥sÁn¤§»·¡C
 
"Joe," she breathed.  / " ³ì ",¦o©I§l¡C
 
He answered to 'Joe.' Signed official documents 'Joe'.  / ¥L¦^µª '³ì¡C' ñ¸p¤F©x¤èªº¤å¥ó '³ì' ¡C
But the name, said that way, by her mouth, in those  circumstances reminded him that when he was eight  years old he'd had 
a different name and lived in  another country.   / 
¦ý¬O¦W¦r, »¡¡A¤èªk¡AÂǵۦoªº¼L¡A¦b¨º¨ÇÀô¹Ò¤¤´£¿ô¤F¥L¡A·í¥L¤K·³ªº®É­Ô¥L¦³¦³¤F¤@­Ó¤£¦Pªº¦W¦r¦Ó¥B¦í¦b¥t¤@­Ó°ê®a¡C
 
Jun thought it a game. But then he said, "I'm dying."   / ¤»¤ë·Q¥¦¤@³õ¤ñÁÉ¡C ¦ý¬OµM«á¥L»¡," §Ú¦º¤` " ¡C
And goosepimples bloomed under his touch.  / ¦Ó¥B goosepimples ¦b¥LªºÄ²Ä±¤§¤U¶}ªá¡C
 
He added, "I don't have much time."  / ¥L¼W¥[," §Ú¨S¦³«Ü¦hªº®É¶¡ " ¡C
 
Jun was stroking him. Her fingers went down his arm,  lifted off his wrist. She clasped her hands together,  
rested them between her thighs.  / 
¤»¤ë¥¿¦b¦E§À¼Õ¥L¡C ¦oªº¤â«ü¤U¥h¥Lªº¤âÁu,Â÷¶}¥Lªº¤âµÃ¤É°ª¡C ¦o¤@°_¦©ºò¤F¦oªº¤â, Åý¦b¦oªº¤j»L¤§¶¡ªº¥L­Ì¥ð®§¤F¡C
 
She said, "I know."  / ¦o»¡," §Úª¾¹D " ¡C
 
For a moment he thought he heard her wrong, but Jun  said it again, "I know."  / 
¤@·|¨à¥L»{¬°¥LÅ¥¨ì¦o¿ù»~ªº¡A¦ý¬O¤»¤ë¦A¤@¦¸»¡¤F¥¦," §Úª¾¹D " ¡C
 
He felt his center of gravity fall away. His intestines  contracted into cool nothingness. He could see inside of  himself. 
Envisioned it as a deep and darkly glittering sea,  wide as the sky in Arizona was wide, and something  pale, and long, 
and curved and monstrous rolled within it,  scaled body breaking the waves. The edges of things,  like the breast in his hand, 
and his fingers around it,  blurred. And the worst of all possible things happened:  / 
¥L·Pı¤F¦a¤ß¤Þ¤Oªº¥L¤¤¤ß¬î¤Ñ¤§¤[¡C ¥Lªº¸z¶i¤J²D²nªº¨S¨Æ¤§¤º·P¬V¡C ¥L¦Û¤v¥L¥i¥H¨£¨ì¶i¸Ì­±¡C ·Q¹³¤F¥¦·í¤@­Ó²`³B¦Ó¥B·tÀéÄê®ü¬v, 
¼eªº·í¤ÑªÅ¦b¨È¾ú®á¨º¦{¤¤¬O¼eªº¡A¦Ó¥B¬Y¨ÆÅÜ»a¥Õ, ¦Ó¥B´÷±æ, ¦Ó¥BÅs¤§®É©M¥¨¤jªº¦b¥¦¸Ì­±±², ¨Ì¤ñ¨Ò¨M©w¤F¥´¯}ªi®öªº¨­Åé¡C 
¨Æª«ªºÃä½t, ¹³¥Lªº¤â¯Ý³¡, ©M¥Lªº¤â«ü¦b¥¦©P³ò, ¨Ï¡C¼Ò½k ¦Ó¥B©Ò¦³¥i¯àªº¨Æª«³ÌÃaµo¥Í:
she started to cry.  / ¦o¶}©l­ú¡C
 
He tasted metal. Thought of hurting her, really giving her  a reason to cry, but a quiet rushing filled his head,  
blanketing his thoughts with a physical awareness so  acute that every sensory perception was a sacrament.  / 
¥LÀ|°_¨Óª÷ÄÝ»s¡C ¶Ë®`¦oªº·Qªk, ¯uªºµ¹¦o¤@­Ó²z¥Ñ¨ì­úÁn, ¦ý¬O¦wÀR¶Ê«P±N¥LªºÀY¡A
¤ò´à©³¤l¥Lªº·Qªk¸Ëº¡¤@­Ó¹ê»ÚªºÄ±¹î¦p¦¹ªº±Ó¾U¥H­P©ó¨C¤@ª¾Ä±ªºª¾Ä±¬O¤@­Ó¸t§¡C
The blood salt in his mouth. The smell and texture of her  tears, the stick of cheap fabric upholstery against his  skin, 
the gentle rattle of the dull plastic blinds, moved by  a stray gust of wind, and the accompanying smell of rain.  / 
¦å¦b¥Lªº¼L¤¤¥[ÆQ©ó¡C ¨ý¹D©M¦oªº²\ºw½è¦a, «K©y´ª««Ç¤º¸ËæC«~ªº¾ðªK¤Ï¹ï¥Lªº¥Ö½§¡A·Å©MªÌ¤£¬¡¼âªº¶ì½¦ª¼¤HÅå·W¥¢±¹,³Q°g³~¬ðµM¤@°}­· , 
©M«Bªº³­¦ñ¨ý¹D²¾°Ê¡C
He took in everything long enough for his legs to go  numb beneath her, and for the draft in the room to make  him very cold.  /
¥L±µ¨ü¨C¥ó¨Æª«¬°¥Lªº»Lªø¥R¨¬¦bÅܳ¤줧¤U¦o, ¦Ó¥BÅý¦b©Ð¶¡¤¤ªº¯ó½Z¨Ï¥L«D±`´H§N¡C
 
Still Jun wept, hiding her face behind her hands like a  little girl.  / 
ÀR¤îªº¤»¤ë­úª_,Âæb¦oªº¹³¤@­Ó¤p¤k«Äªº¤â«á­±ªº¦oÁy¡C
 
He concentrated. Formed the word with precision. Said,  / ¥L¶°¤¤¡C ¥Îºë±K§Î¦¨¦r¡C »¡,
"Jun," his voice a little hoarse.  / " ¤»¤ë ",¥LªºÁn­µµy·L¨F°×¡C
 
Jun's weeping surged into a wail, diminished. The mask  of her hands tightened, drawing his attention to the path  
of her tears. Silver scar over gray velvet cheeks  vanished behind the tender point of her chin, reappeared  as stray 
drops slicking her belly, 
starring the fly of  her jeans and his.  / 
¤»¤ë­úª_¨º¶i¤J´d¹Ä¤§¤º¼Éº¦,´î¤Ö¡C ¦oªº¤â­±¨ã°Çºò,¤Þ°_¹ï¦oªº²\ºw¸ô®|ªº¥Lª`·N¡C 
¦b¦Ç¦âªº¤ÑÃZµ³ªºÀU¤W»È¬Í²ª¦b¦oªº¤U¤Ú·Å©MÂI«á­±®ø¥¢,
·í¨«¥¢ªº®a¯b­°§C¥ú·Æªº¦o¸¡¡A¦A¥X²{, ¥Ñ¦oªº¤û¥J¿Çªº»aÃÇ¥Dºt©M¥Lªº¡C
 
Heat gathered in his chest.  / ¼ö¦b¥Lªº¯Ý¤¤»E¶°¡C
 
Joe put his hand to his jaw. Rubbed his face. Inhaled.  / ³ì©ñ¹ï¥LªºÃE¥L¤â¡C À¿¤F¥LªºÁy¡C §l¤J¡C
There was a smell. It was on his fingers, in his hair. He  inhaled softly and found that it was in his mouth. 
He lifted  his hand and settled it on the inner bend of her elbow, left  it there for a moment before sliding it up the 
length of her  upper arm. Joe closed his hand around her shoulder, cleared  his throat, and said with more insistence, "Jun."/
 ¦³¤@ºØ¨ý¹D¡C ¦b¥LªºÀY¾v¤¤¥¦¦b¥Lªº¤â«ü¤W¡C ¥L¬X©M¦a§l¤J¦Ó¥Bµo²{¥¦¬O¦b¥Lªº¼L¤¤¡C ¥L¦b¦oªº¤â¨y¤º³¡Ås¦±¤WÁ|°_¤F¥Lªº¤â¦Ó¥B¦w¹y¥¦, 
¦b·Æ¤§«e¦b¨º¸Ì¯d¤U¥¦¤@·|¨à¥¦´£°ª¦oªº¤WÁuªø«×¡C ³ì¦b¦oªºªÓ©P³òÃö³¬¥Lªº¤â, ³Q²M°£ªº¥L«|³ï, ¦Ó¥B¥H§ó¦hªº°í«ù¡A " ¤»¤ë " »¡.
 
Behind her straggling hair her lips thinned. "When were  you and Nambu going to tell us?"  / 
¦b¦o«á­±±¼¶¤¦oªº®BÅÜÁ¡ªºÀY¾v¡C " §A©M Nambu ¦ó®É¥h§i¶D§Ú­Ì "?
 
"We weren't."   / "§Ú­Ì¬O¤£".
 
"Oh." A short harsh sound crumbled from her throat. "You  had a plan."  / 
" ®@ ". ¤@ºØµu²ÊÁWªºÁn­µ±q¦oªº«|³ï±Y¼ì¡C " §A¦³¤F¤@­Ó­p¹º " ¡C
 
Yep. Less than a day ago Joe had had a plan. Aside from  the unmasking Berg Katse part, the plan went to shit.  / 
Yep¡C ¤Ö©ó¤@¤Ñ¥H«e³ì¤w¸g¦³¤@­Ó­p¹º¡C °£¤F²æ¥h°²­±¨ã¦B¤s Katse ³¡¥÷¤§¥~¡A­p¹º¥h©Ô«Ë¡C
Nambu got captured by Galactor. Joe got his cover  blown. Ken had to save the day and Katse got away. / 
Nambu ±o¨ì³Q Galactor ®·Àò¡C ³ì¨Ï¥Lªº±»Å@§j¡C ªÖ®¦¥²¶·¸`¬Ù¨º¤Ñ¡A¦Ó¥B Katse °kÂ÷¡C
 
"Nambu's a great one for secret plans."  / " ¯µ±Kªº Nambu's ªº¤@­Ó¤j®v¤@­p¹º " ¡C
 
Another short harsh sound, a nasty almost laugh followed  by words in a minuscule whisper, "Jokes." She inhaled,  
her breath rotten with incipient tears. / 
¥t¥~µu²ÊÁWªºÁn­µ, ¤@¦Ã©ªº´X¥G³Q¤@­Ó¯ó¼g¤p¦rªº¦r¸òÀHªº¯º¦Õ»y," ¯º¸Ü ". ¦o§l¤J, ¦oªº©I§l»GÄꪺ¥Ñ©ó°_ªìªº²\ºw¡C
 
Joe watched as his fingers touched themselves to her  cheek, smoothed back her hair. The thumb, the thumb of  his left hand, 
smoothed itself onto the divot in her chin.  / ³ì¬Ý·í°µ¥Lªº¤â«ü³Q±µÄ²¥L­Ì¦Û¤v¨ì¦oªºÀU,¦V«á¦a¥ú·Æ¦oªºÀY¾v¡C ©æ«ü¡A¥Lªº¥ª¤â©æ«ü,
¦b¦oªº¤U¤Ú¯ó¥Ö¤§¤W¨Ï¥¦¥»¨­¥ú·Æ¤F¡C
Their eyes met over his uncertain touch.  / ¥L­Ìªº²´·ú¦b¥Lªº¤£½T©wªºÄ²Ä±¤§¤W¸I¨ì¡C
 
"There isn't anything we can do, is there?" she said, her  eyes huge and wet and pleading, but wasn't a question. / 
"¨S¦³§Ú­Ì¯à°µªº¥ô¦ó¨Æ, ¦³"? ¦o»¡, ¦oªº²´·ú·¥¤jªº©MÀã®ð©MÅG½×, ¦ý¬O¤@­Ó°ÝÃD¤£¬O¡C
 
"Fuck it," he whispered. Moisture dampened the corners  of his eyes. He shut them tight.  / 
" ©Ê¥æ¥¦ ",¥L¦Õ»y¡C ·Ã®ð§í¨î¤F¥Lªº²´·ú¨¤¸¨¡C ¥Lºòºò¦aÃö¤W¥L­Ì¡C
 
The couch creaked. Felt Jun's weight shift, her arms  brush his shoulders, she seized the cushion behind his  back. 
She hauled herself tight against him, plowing over  the worst of the deep tissue bruises on his thigh.  / 
ªø´È§@ÁÓªîÁn¡C ·Pı¤F¤»¤ëªº­«¶qÅܤÆ,¦oªº¤âÁu²¨¨ê¥LªºªÓ,¦o§ì¦í¤F¦b¥Lªº­I³¡«á­±ªº¹Ô¤l¡C ¦oºòºò¦a¤Ï¹ï¥L©ì¤F¦o¦Û¤v,
¦b²`ªºÁ¡¯½Â´«~ªº³ÌÃa¦b¥Lªº¤j»L¤Wªº·ï¶Ë¤§¤W¥Î²p¯Ñ¥Ð¡C
Sensation, delicious and harsh shattered across his  senses. His mouth opened on a gasp. He forced his hand  into it.  / 
·Pı, ¥i¤fªº©M²ÊÁWªº¶V¹L¥Lªº·Pı¥´¸H¡C ¥Lªº¼L¦b³Ý®ð¤W¥´¶}¡C ¥L±j­¢¥Lªº¤â¶i¤J¥¦¡C
 
In silence Jun wrapped herself around him, arms and  legs and hands. Jun pulled cushions from the couch and  onto the floor. 
In silence, she lowered herself and Joe  onto them. In silence, Joe made it difficult, holding her  too close, avoiding the 
lips and thumbs with which she  tried to wipe the wetness from his face. She put her hand  to his chest. Blunt and smooth, 
his nose grazed her ear,  his breath an artless whispering.  / 
¦b¨HÀq¤è­±¤»¤ë¦b¥L¡A¤â©M»Lªº©P³ò¥]¸Ë¦o¦Û¤v¨Ã¥B¶Ç»¼¡C ¤»¤ë©Ô¤F¨Ó¦Ûªø´Èªº¹Ô¤l©M¦b¦aªO¤§¤W¡C 
¦b¨HÀq¤è­±¡A¦o­°§C¤F¦o¦Û¤v©M¦b¥L­Ì¤§¤W³ì¡C ¦b¨HÀq¤è­±¡A³ì¨Ï¥¦§xÃø, ±µªñ¦a¤Ó®»¦í¦o¡AÁקK¦o¸ÕµÛÀ¿«ø¨Ó¦Û¥LªºÁyÀã¼íªº®B©M©æ«ü¡C 
¦o©ñ¹ï¥Lªº¯Ý¦o¤â¡C ¶wªº©M¥­·Æªº, ¥Lªº»ó¤lÀ¿¶Ë¤F¦oªº¦Õ¦·, ¥Lªº©I§lµL¯»¹¢ªº¦Õ»y¡C
 
His hand reached between them, found the zip of her fly,  tugged down; separated loosened cloth from skin by  
slipping his hand between. She helped him, with her  jeans and his. Bit her lip at the clank of her belt buckle,  
the very loud sound of worn denim and stiff being drawn  along tight skin. He pushed her legs apart. Her eyes were  open. 
He stopped, turned his face to the cushion they  were lying on and sighed.  / 
¥Lªº¤â¦b¥L­Ì¤§¶¡¨ì¹F,µo²{¦oªº»aÃÇ©ÔÁå,¥Î¤O©Ô¤U¨Ó; Âǥѷƭ˥Lªº¤â¤À¶}©ñÃP¨Ó¦Û¥Ö½§ªº¥¬®Æ¦b¡C
¤§¶¡ ¦oÀ°§U¤F¥L, ÂǥѦoªº¤û¥J¿Ç©M¥Lªº¡C ¦b¦oªº±a¤l¥Ö±a¦©ªºÃôµM¤§Án¡A
¿i·l²Ê±×¯¾´Ö¥¬ªº«D±`¤jÁnÁn­µ«r¦oªº®B¦Ó¥BªuµÛºòªº¥Ö½§¶BÄF³Qµe¡C 
¥L¤À§O¦a±À°Ê¤F¦oªº»L¡C ¦oªº²´·ú¬O¤½¶}¡C ¥L°±¤î,±N¥LªºÁyÂà¦V¥L­Ì¥¿¦b½ö¦b¤W¨Ã¥B¼Û®§ªº¹Ô¤l¡C
 
Stroking his head, Jun whispered. "It's okay."   / ¦E§À¼Õ¥LªºÀY,¤»¤ë¦Õ»y¡C " ¥¦¬O¦n " ¡C
 
Joe looked up at her through the shaggy ruff of his hair  and with immense tenderness kissed her over her heart. / 
³ì¬Ý¦b¦oªº§¹¦¨¥LÀY¾vªº¤ò¾v½´ÃP³Ý®§¤W­±¦Ó¥B»P·¥¤jªº¬X³n¦b¦oªº¤ß¤§¤W§k¤F¦o¡C
 
 
 
******************
2.
 
 
Jun considered what Joe had said, and how he'd said it.   / ¤»¤ë¦Ò¼{¤F³ì¤w¸g»¡ªº¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¦³¦p¦ó»¡¤F¥¦¡C
 
Sprawled on his back, Joe lay in the same uncomfortable  position he'd assumed when he'd settled down for the flight,  
his left hand dangling off the edge of the flight couch.  / 
¦b¥Lªº­I³¡¤WÂX®i,³ì½ö¦b·í¥L¦³¬°­¸¦æ¦w©w¤U¨Óªº®É­Ô¡A¥L¤w¸g°²©wªº¬Û¦P¤£µÎªAªº¦ì¸m¤¤, ¥LªºÂ÷¶}ªø´È¯Z¾÷ªºÃä½t¦Q°Êªº¥ª¤â¡C
 
She touched him, folding all her fingers around two of his.  / ¦o¸I¤F¥L, §éÅ|ªº¦o©Ò¦³ªº¤â«ü¤j¬ù¤G¥Lªº¡C
Involuntarily his eyes narrowed. Her teeth met behind her  suddenly tight closed lips. He pulled his hand away,  
rolled to a sitting position. Scrutinized her with those  eyes of his; intense, penetrating eyes. Wicked blue.   / 
¤£ª¾¤£Ä±¦a¥Lªº²´·úÁY¤p¡C ¦oªº¤ú¾¦¬ðµM¦b¦o«á­±¨£­±ºòªºÃö³¬®B¡C ¥L©Ô¥Lªº¤â¤§»·, ±²¨ì¤@­Ó®y¦ì¦w±Æ¦ì¸m¡C 
¥Î¥Lªº¨º¨Ç²´·ú¥J²ÓÀˬd¦o; ±j¯P¤S±Ó¾Uªº²´·ú¡C ÃaªºÂŦâ¡C
Wordlessly, he took her hand between his, chafed it a  little, and sadly, smiled. It was small, hardly moved the  
lines of his face out of their default 'back-off'  expression, but it was there. / 
¨HÀq¦a¡A¥L±a¤F¦oªº¤â¦b¥Lªº¤§¶¡, µy·L¼¯À¿¤F¥¦, ©M´d¶Ë¦a, ·L¯º¡C 
¥¦«Ü¤p, ­è­è§â¥LªºÁy½u¾E¥X¥L­Ìªº°²³]­È '­I­±-¨«¶}' ªí¹F, ¦ý¬O¥¦¦b¨º¸Ì¡C
 
It amazed her. Jun swung her legs off the couch and  searched his face, swallowing rapidly and making herself  sit and 
be silent because she wanted to scream and jump  up and down and hold him and rock him in her arms. He  was happy, 
oh, a part of him was happy and she would  be content with that. She would hold onto that and not  be unhappy. / 
¥¦¨Ï¦o¦YÅå¤F¡C ¤»¤ë¦bªø´È¥~·nÂ\¦oªº»L¨Ã¥B·j´M¤F¥LªºÁy, §Ö³t¦a§]¦Ó¥B¨Ï¦o¦Û¤v§¤µÛ¦Ó¥B¨HÀq¦]¬°¦o·Q­n¦b¦oªº¤â¤¤¤W¤U¦a¦y¥s
¦Ó¥B¸õÅD¦Ó¥B®»¦í¥L¦Ó¥B·n°Ê¥L¡C ¥L«Ü§Ö¼Ö, ªí¥ÜÅå³Y, ¤@­Ó¥Lªº³¡¥÷«Ü§Ö¼Ö¡A¦Ó¥B¦o±N·|¬O¥Ñ©ó¨º¤º®e¡C ¦o±N·|«O¦í¦Ó¥B¤£¬O¤£§Ö¼Öªº¡C
 
She would. / ¦o±N·|¡C
 
She was going to say something, something important  when Ken spoke drawing her attention away from Joe. / 
·íªÖ®¦»¡±q³ì¤Þ°_¦oªºª`·N®É­Ô¡A¦o±N­n»¡¬Y¨Æ¡A­«­nªºªF¦è¡C
 
"Is this it?" Ken asked Ryu of the empty expanse of  ocean below them.  / 
" ³o¬O¥¦"? ªÖ®¦¦b¥L­Ì¤U­±°Ý¤F¤j®üªºªÅ¼eÁ諸°Ï°ì Ryu ¡C
 
Jun released Joe's hand, and went to look. The sky was  overcast. The water rising up in jagged little waves,  
thrown into one another from the wind and the blast of  the God Phoenix's engines. / 
¤»¤ëµoªí¤F³ìªº¤â, ¦Ó¥B¥h¬Ý¡C ¤ÑªÅ³QÅܳ±·t¡C ¦b¿÷¾¦§Îªº¤pªi®ö¤¤Å÷¥ßªº¤ô, ¥á¤J¨Ó¦Û­·©M¤W«Ò»ñ°Ä«°ªº¤ÞÀºÃz¬µªº©¼¦¹¡C
 
Ryu nodded and said, "Yep," flying the God Phoenix into  the Sea of Japan. He was an excellent pilot but sweat  beaded 
his upper lip as he maneuvered down into the  darkening depths, through the gap in the crevasse and  into the utter 
darkness of the artificial trench of the former  / 
³QÂIÀY¦Ó¥B»¡ªº Ryu ¡A " Yep",­¸¤W«Ò»ñ°Ä«°¶i¤J¤é¥»ªº®ü¬v¡C ¥L¬O¤@¦ìÀu¨}ªº­¸¦æ­û¡A¦ý¬O¦½¶i¤J§Ë·t²`«×¤§¤º·í°µ¥L¥H¯]¤l¸Ë¹¢¥Lªº¤W
¼L®B maneuvered ¤U¨Ó, ¸g¹LµõÁ_ªºÁ_»Ø©M¶i¤J¥ý«e¤Hªº¤H³y´ëªº¥þµM¶Â·t¤§¤º
Galactor outpost. / Galactor «e­ï¡C
 
Nambu's staticky message was brief. They were to rest  until further notice. / 
Nambu's ªº staticky °T®§¬OºK­n¡C ¥L­Ì¬OÅý¤ñ¸û¶i¤@¨Bªºª`·N¥ð®§¨ì¡C
 
"I'm on the clock." Joe told Jun when she followed him  after their debriefing and retired to his cramped, dank  quarters, 
with the station's current surveillance reports.  / 
" §Ú¦b®ÉÄÁ¤W " ¡C ³ì§i¶D¤F¦o¸òÀH¤F¥Lªº¤»¤ë¦b¥L­Ìªº¥ô°È³ø§i¤§«á¦Ó¥B°h¥ð¨ì¥Lªº¯U«P¤S³z¤ôªº¥|¤À¤§¤@, ÂǥѨ®¯¸ªº²{¦bºÊµø³ø§i¡C
 
Joe's sleep was bad. Blindsiding him as soon as he rested  his head against the bolster and pulled the flat screen  terminal 
atop his chest. His body loosened beneath  accumulated injuries and too little rest. His thoughts  fractured as he drifted 
in and out of consciousness. In all  his life he had never been so physically miserable. 
The  worry mark between his eyes lifted for the brief moment  when true sleep took him beyond his physical aches. / 
³ìªººÎ¯v«ÜÃa¡C Blindsiding ¥L¤@¥¹¥L¦b¥Lªº¯Ý³»¤WÅý¹ï§Ü¤ä«ùªº¥LÀY¥ð®§¤F¦Ó¥B©Ô¤F¥­©Zªº¿Ã¹õ²×ÂI´N¡C 
¥Lªº¨­Åé¦b©ñÃP¤§¤U²Ö¿n¨ü¶Ë¦Ó¥B¤Ó¤Ö¥ð®§¡C 
·í¥Lº}¬yªº®É­Ô¡A¥Lªº·Qªk¯}¸H¦b©M±q·NÃÑ¡C ¦b¤@¥Í¥L±q¤£¬O¦p¦¹ªº¨­Åé¤W´dºG¡C 
¦b¥Lªº²´·ú¤§¶¡ªº·Ð´o¼Ð»x¤É°ª¯u¹êªººÎ¯v±a¤F¥L¶W¹L¥Lªº¹ê»Úµh²µuªº¤ù¨è¡C
 
Biting back a moan, Joe dreamed. / ¦V«á¦a«r¤@Án©D§u,³ì°µ¹Ú¡C
 
Rose water, jasmine, vetiver, of Maria Brunelli, his  mother's perfume, scenting her hair, down for once and  over her shoulder, 
tickling his face as she tucked the  sheets around him. Her fingers were cool on his eyes as  she kissed his cheek and said, 
"sleep." / 
º¿ÄR¨È Brunelli ¡A¥Lªº¥À¿Ë­»¤ôªºÅÚµ·¤ô¡A­[²úÄÝ´Óª«¡A­»®Ú¯ó, »D¥X¦oªºÀY¾v, ¶È¦¹¤@¦¸åP¸¨©M¦b¦oªºªÓ¤§¤W , 
¯ÞªÏ¥LªºÁy·í¦o¦b¥L©P³ò¥´¾îÁ·¤F±i¤§®É¡C ·í¦o§k¤F¥LªºÀU¦Ó¥B»¡ªº®É­Ô¡A¦oªº¤â«ü¬O²D²nªº¦b¥L²´·ú¤W," ºÎ¯v ".
 
Waiting until he was sure his parents had settled in for  the night, he got up to walk the house, checking doorhandles and
window latches, peering through gaps in the  drapes, and counting cars, familiar and strange as they  drove by the gate at 
the long end of the drive. He walked  and walked until his feet stumbled over each other and  he had to sit. Stationing 
himself beside the master  bedroom door, and needing to pray. / 
µ¥­Ôª½¨ì¥L½T©w¥Lªº¤÷¥À¤w¸g¦w¹y¦b¹L©], ¥L»°¤W¨«©Ð¤l, Àˬd doorhandles ©Mµ¡¤áªù­¬,¾®µø¹L¥¬Ã®ªºÁ_»Ø, ¦Ó¥B­pºâ¨T¨®, 
¼ô±xªº©M©_©Çªº·í³Q¦b¾r¨®ªºªøµ²§ôªºªù¥L­Ì¶}¨®¡C ¥L¨«¤F¤S¨«¡Aª½¨ì¥Lªº¸}¦b©¼¦¹¤§¤W²Ì­Ë¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¥²¶·§¤µÛ¡C 
¦b¥D¤Hªºª×«Çªù®ÇÃä¦w¸m¥L¦Û¤v, ¦Ó¥B»Ý­n¬èë¡C
 
"Our father," he murmured. "Our father," and there were  tears in his eyes. He couldn't remember the words. 
If he  could remember the words then the bad thing would go  away. "Hail Mary," he whispered. "Our Father full of -
" He  came awake with his calf bumping along Papa's thigh,  his face on Papa's shoulder, Papa carrying him back to his room. / " 
§Ú­Ìªº¤÷¿Ë ",¥L§C»y¡C " §Ú­Ìªº¤÷¿Ë ",¦Ó¥B¦³¥Lªº²´·ú²\ºw¡C ¥LµLªk°O±o¦r¡C ¦pªG¥L¥i¥H°O±o¦r , ¨º»òÃaªº¨Æª«±N·|¨«¶}¡C
 " ¦Vº¿ÄRÅw©I ",¥L¦Õ»y¡C "§Ú­Ìªº¤÷¿Ë¥Rº¡ªº -" ¥L¨Ó©M¥LªºªuµÛª¨ª¨ªº¤j»L¸I¼²ªº¤p¤û³ê¿ô, ¦bª¨ª¨ªºªÓ¤W¥LÁy¡A§â¥LÄâ±a¦^¥Lªº©Ð¶¡ª¨ª¨¡C
 
Joe needed to lift his arm and scream at the blindness  coming over him, taking away the house behind them, but he was so tired, 
he couldn't breathe enough to say  `look out!'  / 
³ì»Ý­nÂǥѹL¨Ó¦bª¼¥ØÁ|°_¥Lªº¤âÁu©M¦y¥sÁn¥L, ¨ú¨«¦b¥L­Ì«á­±ªº©Ð¤l, ¦ý¬O¥L¬O¦p¦¹¯h²Ö, ¥LµLªk¨¬°÷©I§l»¡¤p¤ß!'
 
Holding Joe to his chest with one arm, Papa flipped the  blanket and sheets aside. Slid Joe onto the mattress,  
smoothed the sheets over Joe's body up to his chin. A  long kiss on the forehead and one between the eyes 
and  then Papa left him, shivering, under heavy bedding.  / 
§â«ù³ì¨ì©M¤@°¦¤âÁuªº¥L¯Ý¡Aª¨ª¨¦b¤@Ãä¥Î«üÀY¼u¤ò´à©M±i¡C ¦b©³¹Ô¤§¤W·Æ°Ê¤F³ì,ª½¨ì¥Lªº¤U¤Ú¨Ï¦b³ìªº¨­Åé¤Wªº±i¥ú·Æ¡C 
¦b«eÃB¤Wªº¤@­Óªøªº§k©M¤@¦b²´·ú¤§¶¡µM«áª¨ª¨¯d¤U¤F¥L, Ÿ§Ýªº, ¦b­«ªº³Q¿È¤§¤U¡C
 
Sounds of smashing glass in the hallway. Mama shrieking, heavy hair sticking to her face and her mouth wet, angry, 
liquour smell on the wall where she'd thrown her glass. / 
¨«´Yªº«D±`¥X¦â¬Á¼þªºÁn­µ¡C ¶ý¶ý¦y¥s, ­«ªºÀY¾v«O¯d¥¿¹ïµÛ©M¦oªº¼LÀã®ð, ¥Í®ðªº, liquour ¦b¦o¤w¸g¥á¦oªº¬Á¼þÀð¾À¤W»D¡C
 
"-too young, Giuseppe! He's a baby! A baby! No guns!" / "-¤Ó¦~»´ªº, Giuseppe! ¥L¬OÀ¦¨à! ¤@­ÓÀ¦¨à! ¨S¦³ºj!"
 
Papa coming home from work, his gray jacket folded over his red and white striped sleeve. Papa's long slender fingers 
sliding his gold lighter, once Granpapa's lighter, out of his breast pocket. Papa saying, "See this? You can  throw anything, 
hit anything, anyway you want, any time at  all." / 
±q¤u§@¦^®aªºª¨ª¨ , ¥Lªº¦Ç¦â§¨§J¦b¥Lªº¬õ¦â©M¥Õ¦âªº¦³´³¯¾ªº³S¤§¤WºPÅ|¡C ª¨ª¨ªøªº­]±ø¤â«ü·Æ¥Lªºª÷¦âÂI¤õªÌ, 
¤@¥¹ Granpapa's ªºÂI¤õªÌ,±q¥Lªº¯Ý³¡¦b¤f³U¸Ì¡C ª¨ª¨±Ô­z,"¨£¨ì³o? §A¯à¥á¥ô¦ó¨Æ,À»¤¤¥ô¦ó¨Æ,µL½×¦p¦ó§A·Q­n, ÀH®É¥þµM¡C"
 
Papa's arm along the back of his as they skipped stones across the water. And one day the lighter, Joe skipped it clear across, 
seven times two it sparked off the surface and Papa graduated him to knives. / 
ªuµÛ¥Lªº­I­±ª¨ª¨ªº¤âÁu·í¥L­Ì¸õ¶V¤F¾î¹L¤ôªº¥ÛÀY¤§®É¡C ¦Ó¥B¤@¤ÑÂI¤õªÌ, ³ì¾î¹L§¹¥þ¸õ¶V¤F¥¦, ¤C­¼¤G¥¦µo°Ê¦bªí­±¥~¡A
¦Ó¥Bª¨ª¨²¦·~¤F¥L¨ì¤M¤l¡C
 
Mama had one hand over his mouth, and one over his  hands on his stomach when he opened his eyes in the  dark. 
He got out of bed and took the clothes she gave  him, his legs trembling as he forced them into his pants.  / 
¶ý¶ý¦³¤@²¾¥æ¥Lªº¼L, ¦Ó¥B¦³¤@¦b¥Lªº­G¤W¥L¤â¤§¤W·í¥L¦b¶Â·t¤¤¥´¶}¥Lªº²´·ú®É­Ô¡C ¥LÂ÷¶}§É¦Ó¥B±a¤F¦oµ¹¤©¤F¥Lªº¦çªA¡A
¥Lªº»Lµo§Ýªº·í¥L±j­¢¥L­Ì¶i¤J¥Lªº¿Ç¤l¤§®É¡C
They were, Mama muttered, going to see the sea. She  took his hand and led him through the dark hall, through  
the tiny kitchen (all windows, like a greenhouse, the  gleaming clean of the counters, cabinets and fixtures  
drowning in weakly starred night), out the door, down the  deck and into the woods behind the house. Thyme. Dust.  / 
¥L­Ì¬O,¶ý¶ý³ä³ä¦Û»y, ¥h¨£¨ì®ü¬v¡C ¦o¸g¹L¶Â·tªºªùÆU®³¤F¥Lªº¤â¦Ó¥B¤Þ¾É¥L, ¸g¹L·¥¤pªº¼p©Ð (©Ò¦³ªºµ¡¤á, ¹³¤@­Ó·Å«Ç, 
¨º°{Ã{°®²bªº¥¿¦b®zªº©]±ß¥Dºt¤º²T¦ºªºÂd¥x¡A¤º»Õ©M©T©wª«) ¡A¦b¥~ªù, åP¸¨¥ÒªO©M¶i¤J¦b©Ð¤l«á­±ªº´ËªL¤§¤º¡C Åe­»¯óÄݪº´Óª«¡C 
©Ø¥h¦Ç¹Ð¡C
Ocean. Rust. She would not let go of his hand. He could  not let go of hers. Her glossy nails dug sharp into his  flesh and 
her rings were cold. He didn't mind. When he  stuck his thumb in his mouth she was so busy feeling  their way down the leaf 
strewn, rooty hill, that she didn't  mind either.  / 
¤j®ü¡C ¥ÍùסC ¦o¤£±N·|Åý¥Lªº¤â¥h¡C ¥LµLªkÅý¥h¦oªº¡C ¦oªº³Q«õ°ª½Õ¶i¤J¥Lªº¦×©M¦oªº§Ù«ü¥­·Æªº°v¤l«Ü´H§N¡C ¥L¨S¦³¤¶·N¡C 
·í¥LªþµÛ¥Lªº¼L¥L©æ«üªº®É­Ô¡A¦o¬O¦p¦¹¦£¸L§â¥L­Ìªº¤èªk·Pı¤U¨Ó³Q¼»º¡ªº¸­¡A¦h®Úªº¤p¤s¡A¦o¨S¦³¤]¤¶·N¡C
 
They waited in the woods besides the cliff. Mama  squatted and put her back to the biggest rock in the  world, and then she 
pulled a gun out of the air and rested  it on her thigh. She bit her lip, staring all around her, then  looked up at Joe and 
smiled. Her teeth flashed white.  / 
¥L­Ì¦b°£¤FÄa±V¥H¥~ªº´ËªL¤¤µ¥­Ô¡C ¶ý¶ýÃÛ¤U¦Ó¥B©ñ¤F¹ï¥þ²yªº³Ì¤j©¥¥Ûªº¦o­I³¡,µM«á¦o¦b¦oªº¤j»L¤W§â¤@°¦ºj±qªÅ®ð©Ô¥X¨Ó¦Ó¥BÅý¥¦¥ð®§¡C 
¦o«r¤F¦oªº®B, ¦bªþªñª`µø¥þ³¡¦oªº, µM«á¬Ý¦b³ì¤W­±¦Ó¥B·L¯º¡C ¦oªº¤ú¾¦°{²{¤F¥Õ¦â¡C
She opened her arms to him. His body humming with  tension, he sat on the ground between her legs. He  backed up close. 
Smelled jasmine oil, vetiver, oil of  roses, the stink of raw silk and fear. Hugging herself and  him she made him look up 
at the sky.  Smooth fingers  stroked through his hair while she told him stories he  already knew about constellations he'd 
already  memorized. She was making fun of vain Cassiopeia  when Papa came, getting up so quick that Joe's head  smacked against 
stone, she beat Joe to his arms.  /
¦o¹ï¥L¶}©ñ¦oªº¤âÁu¡C ¥Lªº¥Hºò±i¶ä¶ä¥sªº¨­Åé, ¥L¦b¦oªº»L¤§¶¡§¤¦b¦a­±¤W¡C ¥L³Æ¦sµ²§ô¡C »D¤F­[²úÄÝ´Óª«ªo¡A­»®Ú¯ó¡A
ª´ºÀªºªo¡A¥Íµ·©M®£Äߪº¯ä¨ý¡C ¾Ö©ê¦o¦Û¤v©M¥L¦o¨Ï¥L¬Ý¦b¤ÑªÅ¤W­±¡C  ·í¦o§i¶D¤F¥L¬G¨Æªº®É­Ô¡A¥­·Æªº¤â«ü¦E§À¼Õ¹L¥LªºÀY¾v , 
¥L¤w¸gª¾¹D¥L¦³¤w¸g°O¦íªº¬P®y¡C ·íª¨ª¨¨Óªº®É­Ô¡A¦o¥¿¦b¼J§Ë®{µMªº¥P¦Z®y, °_§É¦p¦¹ªº§Ö¥H­P©ó³ìªºÀY¦³¨ý¹D¹ï§Ü¥ÛÀY,
¦oÃø­Ë³ì¨ì¥Lªº¤âÁu¡C
¡@
Wrapped her hands in the collar of Papa's jacket and  moaned, "Giu-." For the first time in almost forever Joe  saw 
Papa kiss Mama, and for the first time in longer  than that, he saw Mama kiss him back.   / 
¥]¸Ë¤Fª¨ª¨ªº§¨§J¦ç»âªº¦o¤â¦Ó¥B©D§u,"Giu-". ²Ä¤@¦¸¦b´X¥G¥Ã»·¦a³ì¨£¨ìª¨ª¨§k¶ý¶ý, ©M²Ä¤@¦¸¦b¤ñ¸ûªøªº¤ñ¸û¨º, ¥L¨£¨ì¶ý¶ý§â¥L§k¦^¨Ó¡C
 
Jun, cross-legged on the floor of Joe's cell, wreathed in  intent and relaxation, breathed. Her clothes folded neatly  
on the floor beside her, a lit brazier on the tiny desk.  / 
¤»¤ë, ½LµÛ»Lªº¦b³ì²Ó­Mªº¦aªO¤W, ¦b·N¹Ï©MÃP¦¢¤¤ªá°é, µLÁnªº¡C ¦oªº¦çªA¾ã¼ä¦a¦b¦o®ÇÃ䪺¦aªO¤WºPÅ|, 
¦b·¥¤pªº®Ñ®à¤Wªº¤@­Ó³Qµo«Gªº¤õ¬Ö¡C
Though no qi-gong master it was clear to her, now that  she bothered to look, that Joe was hemorrhaging qi, life  e
nergy leaking out of him.  / 
ÁöµM¨S¦³ qi-»ÉÆr©ºªA¹ï¦o¥¦«Ü²M·¡, ²{¦b¦o·ÐÂZ¬Ý, ¨º³ì¥¿¦b¥X¦å qi ¡Aº|Â÷¥Lªº¥Í¬¡¯à·½¡C
 
Sensing Joe's waking, Jun went to the alarm clock and  turned it off before it could sound. / 
´úª¾³ì¥s¿ô, ¦b¥¦¥i¥HÅ¥¤§«e , ¤»¤ë¥h¾xÄÁ¦Ó¥B§â¥¦Ãö±¼¡C
 
Through opaque eyes, Joe watched her. / ¸g¹L¤£³z©úªº²´·ú¡A³ì¬Ý¤F¦o¡C
 
She took his hand in hers, manipulating pressure points.  / ¦o±a¤F¥Lªº¤â¦b¦oªº, ¾ÞÁaÀ£¤OÂI¡C
He resisted her, but was too tired to keep the energy  from flowing out of her and into him. "Is your head bad,  still?" 
she asked after a few moments. / 
¥L©è§Ü¤F¦o, ¦ý¬O¤Ó¯h²Ö¦ÓµLªk¨Ï¯à·½¤£¬y°ÊÂ÷¦o©M¶i¤J¥L¤§¤º¡C " §AªºÀY«ÜÃa, µM¦Ó"? ¦o¦V¼Æ¤ù¨è°Ý¦n¡C
 
"Better. Thanks." Then, "I smell incense." / "¤ñ¸û¦nªº¡C ÁÂÁ¡C" µM«á " ¡A§Ú»D­»¡C"
 
She sat on the edge of his bunk, gently grasping his right  hand by her thumb and crooked middle finger, 
leaned  forward and poured herself into him as if she were water. / 
¦o§¤¦b¥Lªº§É¾QÃä½t¤W,¦oªº©æ«ü©MÅs¦±ªº¤¤«ü³vº¥§ì¥Lªº¥k¤â,¦V«e¦a­Ê¾a¦Ó¥B­Ë¦o¦Û¤v¶i¤J¥L¦n¹³¦o¬O¤ô¡C
 
He was so thirsty, his reserves so depleted that the  giving was endless, eternal. Pleasure on top of pleasure,  
hurt on top of hurt. She saw the truth of it in the way he  latched onto her and her gift, felt it through his sweat,  
tasted it on his skin. She knew him.  / 
¥L¬O¦p¦¹¤f´÷, ¥Lªº«O¯d¦p¦¹ªº¯Ó·l¥H­P©ó¨ºµ¹¬O¥ÃµL¤î¹Òªº,¥Ã«íªº¡C ¦b§Ö¼Öªº³»ºÝ¤Wªº§Ö¼Ö,¦b¶Ë®`ªº³»ºÝ¤W¶Ë®`¡C 
¦o¦b¤è¦¡¤¤¨£¨ì¥¦ªº¨Æ¹ê¥L¦b¦o©M¦oªºÂ§ª«¤§¤W¥H­¬®ê¦í,·Pı¥¦¬ï¶V¥Lªº¦½, ¦b¥Lªº¥Ö½§¤WÀ|¥¦¡C ¦o»{ÃÑ¥L¡C
 
When Joe could make her stop, when he could make  her release him, body, soul and mind, she finally came.  / 
·í³ì¥i¥H»s³y¦oªº°±¤î®É­Ô¡A·í¥L¥i¥H¨Ï¦oªºÄÀ©ñ¦¨¬°¥L¡A¨­Åé¡AÆF»î©M¤ßªº®É­Ô¡A¦o³Ì«á¨Ó¡C
Slumping without a sound, shaking in his grip, warmth and cold spreading from every part of her body, colors flooding her mind, 
a sweetness so sharp it made her  ache with its loss. She'd never known it could be like  this, 
that she could be so aware of a man inside and  out. Never known that she could spend herself like  this on anyone's behalf. /
¨S¦³¤@ºØÁn­µ²rµM±¼¸¨, ¦b¥Lªººò´¤¡A·Å·x©M±q¦oªº¨­Åé¨C­Ó³¡¥÷¶Ç§Gªº´H§N¡A±m¦â¬x¤ô¥ÆÀݦoªº¤ß¤¤·n°Ê, 
²¢­¹¦p¦¹ªº¾ã¥¦¥Î¥¦ªº·l¥¢¨Ó»s³y¦oªºµh¡C ¦o±q¥¼ª¾¹D¥¦¥i¯à¹³³o, ¦o¥i¯à¤@­Ó¨k¤H¦p¦¹¤F¸Ñ¶i¸Ì­±©M¦b¥~¡C 
±q¤£ª¾¹D¦o¥i¥H¹³¦b¥ô¦ó¤H¤Wªº³o§Q¯q¤@¼Ëªá¶O¦o¦Û¤v¡C
 
Truth caught up with her and she said, "You've been  lying to me." / 
³Q»°¤W¦o©M¦oªº¨Æ¹ê»¡," §A¤w¸g¹ï§Ú»¡ÁÀ " ¡C
 
Joe spoke when he was dressed. The terminalpulled onto hislap as he sat cross-legged on the moist floor of his cell. "About?"/
 ·í¥L³Q¬ïµÛªº®É­Ô¡A³ì»¡¡C ·í¥L§¤µÛªº®É­Ô¡A²×ÂI¦b¥Lªº½¥»\¤§¤W©Ô½LµÛ»Lªº¦b¥L²Ó­Mªº¼é·Ã¦aªO¤W¡C " ¤j¬ù "?
 
"You and Nambu don't have a plan." The keys of the pad  stuck together as Joe typed, and light thrown up on his  face by the 
liquid crystal display was unkind. Jun knew  / " §A©M Nambu ¨S¦³¤@­Ó­p¹º " ¡C 
¶ñ¸ÉªºÆ_°Í¤@°_ªþµÛ·í³ì¦¡ªº, ©M¥ú¦b²GÅ骺¤ô´¹¥LÁy¤W¹Ã¦R®iÄý¬OµL±¡ªº¡C ¤»¤ëª¾¹D
Joe's face. Knew his many frowns and scowl-eyed  glances, but the liar in front of her made no sense to her  tired eyes.  / 
³ìªºÁy¡C ª¾¹D¥Lªº³\¦h½K¬Ü©M·T®e-²´ªº¤@¿h¡A¦ý¬O»¡ÁÀªÌ¦b¦o¤§«e¨S¦³¹D²z¨ì¦oªº¯h²Ö²´·ú¡C
 
When Joe finally answered his voice was as unfamiliar as  his expression. "All I want to do is go back to Sicily and  nail 
the bastards who killed my mother and father. It's  nothing he hadn't authorized me to do before. It's nothing  he'd allow 
anyone else to do. / 
·í³ì³Ì«á¦^µª¤F¥LªºÁn­µ¬O¹³¥Lªºªí¹F¤@¼Ëªº¤£¼ô±xªº®É­Ô¡C "¥þ³¡§Ú·Q­n°µ¬O¦^¥h Sicily ¦Ó¥B¥Î°v°v¨c±þ¤F§Úªº¥À¿Ë©M¤÷¿Ëªº¨p¥Í¤l¡C 
¥¦¬O¥L¨S¦³±ÂÅv§Ú°µ¨S¨Æ¤§«e¡C ¥¦¬O¥L±N·|Åý¨ä¥L¥ô¦ó¤H°µªº¨S¨Æ¡C
 
"Do you remember what you said to me when we first  met? You were standing with Jinpei hiding behind you  and you asked me 
if Nambu was my father. I said my  parents were dead. And you said, 'then who loves you,  then?' and when I didn't answer,
you took my hand and  you said, `would you like me to?'"  / 
"§A°O±o§A·í³Ìªì¹J¨£¹ï§Ú»¡ªº¶Ü? ¦pªG Nambu ¬O§Úªº¤÷¿Ë¡A§A¯¸¥ß¥H Jinpei ÂçA©M§A°Ý¤F§Úªº«á­±³¡¤À¡C §Ú»¡¤F§Úªº¤÷¥À¦º¡C 
¦Ó¥B§A»¡,'µM«á½Ö·R§A, µM«á?' ¦Ó¥B·í§Ú¨S¦³¦^µªªº®É­Ô¡A§A±a¤F§Úªº¤â¡A¦Ó¥B§A»¡, §A·Q­n§Ú¨ì?'"
 
Jun remembered, the boy with the small, angry eyes and  the jealous mouth.  / 
¤»¤ë°O±o, ¦³¤p¤S¥Í®ðªº²´·ú©M¶ú§ªªº¼L¨k«Ä¡C
 
"I wouldn't lie to you," he said. "Not with everything  you've done for me." / " 
§Ú±N¤£¹ï§A»¡ÁÀ ",¥L»¡¡C "¤£¥H¨C¥ó¨Æª«§A§¹³J¤F§Ú".
 
The intercom came on, instructing the science ninja team  to return to the God Phoenix. Joe slapped the terminal  shut 
with a curse. / 
¹ïÁ¿¾¹µo¥Í ,±Ð¬ì¾Ç§ÔªÌÁp¦¨¤@²Õ¦^¨ì¤W«Ò»ñ°Ä«°¡C ³ì©çÀ»¤F»P¶A©G¤@°_Ãö¤Wªº²×ÂI¡C
 
 
 
******************
3.
 
They were crushed. Having stumbled out of Joe's cell and  into the God Phoenix after too little sleep. Now, 
they  lay stretched out on the flight couches in the rear of  the cabin where the high-pitched whine of the engines 
 was most soothing.  / 
¥L­Ì³Q¯»¸H¡C ¦³²Ì­ËÂ÷³ìªº²Ó­M©M¶i¤J¤W«Ò»ñ°Ä«°¤§¤º¦b¤Ó¤ÖºÎı¤§«á¡C 
²{¦b¡A¥L­Ì¦b­¸¦æ¤ÞÀºªº¦y¾U©ê«è¬O³Ì¼¾¼¢ªº¤p«Î«á­±ªºªø´È¤Wªº¥~©ñ¸m¦ù®i¡C
 
Jun lay on her back, her nose curved towards the ceiling,  her cape draping her legs. Her hand hung long and white  
from her sleep-limp wrist, scant centimeters from his  own. Her fingertips rose-tipped, he imagined, from her  warm blood's
 flow, were a marvel. In the chill darkness,  she looked no different from the girl he'd fought beside  and for over the last 
two years. Yet there was something  about the minute brush of her lashes on her cheek, the  dark swirl of her baby hair at the 
shallow dip of her  temple, and the soft part of her lips drew his hand to her  face. / 
¤»¤ë½ö¦b¦oªº­I³¡¤W,¦oªº»ó¤l¦V¤ÑªáªOÅs, ¦oªºÂл\¦oªº»LÌa¡C ¦oªº¤â¤[¦Q¡A¦Ó¥B¨Ó¦Û¦oªººÎ¯v-¶_¦æªº¤âµÃ¥Õ¦â, ´îÁY¤½¤À±q¥L¦Û¤vªº¡C 
¦oªº«ü¦yª´ºÀ-´£¥Ü, ¥L·Q¹³,±q¦o·Å·xªº¦å¬yµ{,¬O¤@­Ó©_²§ªº¨Æª«¡C 
¦b´H§Nªº¶Â·t¤è­±¡A¦o¤k«Ä¬Ý°_¨Ó¨S¦³¤£¦P¥L¦³¥´¥M¦b©M®ÇÃ䬰¦b¹L¥h¤G¦~¥H¨Ó¡C
 µM¦Ó¦³¦b¦oªºÀU¤WÃö©ó¦oªºÃ@¤l·L¤p¨ê¤lªº¬Y¨Æ, ¦oªºÀ¦¨àÀY¾vªº¶Â·tºx´õ¦b¦oªº¦x¼q²LºÏ¶É¨¤¡A©M¦oªº®B³n³¡¥÷¥¿¹ïµÛ©Ô¥Lªº¤â¡C
 
"Jun," he whispered.  / " ¤»¤ë ",¥L¦Õ»y¡C
 
Her eyes darted beneath her closed eyelids.  / 
¦oªº²´·ú§ë®g¦oªºÃö³¬²´¥Ö¤§¤U¡C
 
Joe slid off the couch and made way to the fore-cabin.  / 
³ì¨«¶}·Æ°Êªø´È¦Ó¥B»s³y¤Fªº¸ô¨º¦b«e-¤p«Î¡C
Jinpei sat in his usual place, engrossed in a hand-held.  / 
Jinpei ¦b¥Lªº¥­±`¦a¤è¤¤§¤, ¦b¤â¤W«¬¤¤§¹¥þ§l¤Þ¡C
Joe slung himself over Jinpei's chair, getting a good look  at the graphics. / 
³ì¹M¤Î Jinpei's ªº´È¤l§ëÂY¤F¥L¦Û¤v,¦³¹Ï§Îªº¦n­±»ª¡C
 
"Onechan awake yet?" Jinpei asked without looking up  from the 4-color screen.  / 
" Onechan ³ê¿ô "? Jinpei ¨S¦³¬Ý°Ý¦b±q 4 ±m¦â¿Ã¹õªÌ¤W­±¡C
 
"Nope. Sleepin' like a baby."  / "¤£¡C Sleepin' ³ßÅw¤@­ÓÀ¦¨à¡C"
 
"Unh," Jinpei grunted, his eyes on his game. "Whatcha  do last night?"  / 
" Unh",Jinpei ­ó, ¦b¥Lªº¤ñÁɤWªº¥L²´·ú¡C " Whatcha ¬Q±ß°µ "?
 
"Talked."  / " »¡¸Ü " ¡C
 
"About you falling out of formation the other day?" Jinpei  queried. / 
"Ãö©ó§A§Î¦¨ªºª§§n«e´X¤Ñ"? Jinpei ½èºÃ¡C
 
Joe resisted the urge to thump Jinpei on top of the head.  / 
³ì©è§Ü¤F©IÆ~­«¥´¦bÀYªº³»ºÝ¤Wªº Jinpei ¡C
"Yeah."  / " ¬Oªº ".
 
Jinpei, nodded, sucked on a tooth and fired at pencil  shaped bogies with what looked like flower bombs.  / 
Jinpei, ÂIÀY, ¦b¤@Áû¤ú¾¦¤W§l¨Ã¥B¦V¹]µ§¶}ºj¥Ñ©ó¬Ý°_¨Ó¹³ªá¬µ¼u¤@¼ËªºªF¦è§@§Î¤F§¯©Ç¡C
"What else you do?"  / "¤°»ò§Oªº§A°µ"?
 
"Race."   / " ¤ñÁÉ ".
 
"You win?"  / " §Aűo "?
 
"Not really."  / "¤£¬O¯uªº".
 
Thumbs pressing repeatedly into the control-pad Jinpei  laughed aloud, "The great Asakura wiped out by a girl ---  / 
¶i¤J±±¨î-¶ñ¸Éªº Jinpei ¤§¤º­«½Æ¦aÀ£­¢ªº©æ«ü¤jÁn¦a¯º,"³Q¤@­Ó¤k«Ä®ø°£ªº´Î Asakura---
Again!"  / ¦A¤@¦¸!"
 
Grinning, Joe scratched his side. "What can I say,  shrimp. If it's not one way, it's another."  / 
ÅS¾¦¦Ó¯º,³ìÀ¿¤F¥Lªº¨­Ãä¡C "§Ú¯à»¡¤°»ò, ½¼¡C ¦pªG¥¦¤£¬O¤@­Ó¤èªk,¥¦¬O¥t¥~ªº¡C"
 
Jinpei made a face.   / Jinpei »s³y¤F¤@­ÓÁy¡C
 
Joe grunted, bopped the kid on the head then ruffled his hair."Kid," he said,turning back to his seat, "if you only knew." /
³ì­ó, bopped ¦bÀY¤Wªº¤p«ÄµM«á§Ë¿¨¤F¥LªºÀY¾v¡C " «¡ÄF ",¥L»¡, §é¦^¨ì¥Lªº®y¦ì," ¦pªG§A¥uª¾¹D " ¡C
 
Jinpei's soft voice traveled back to him. "Aniki," said the  lethal child known as the Great Swallow, "if you mess up  / 
Jinpei's ªº³nÁn­µ¦V«á¦a¹ï¥L®È¦æ¡C "Aniki," ­P©Rªº«Ä¤l¤wª¾ªº·í°µ´Îªº«|³ï " »¡, ¦pªG§A§ËÁV
Onechan it's going to be real bad between us."  / ¦b§Ú­Ì¤§¶¡¥¦¥¿¦b¥h¬O¯u¥¿ªºÃa Onechan¡C"
 
Joe spun. Grabbed the back of Jinpei's seat, he yanked it  around hard and snatching up the video game. "What did  you say?!"
 he breathed into Jinpei's face.  / 
³ì§Ö³t±ÛÂà¡C §ì¨ú¤F Jinpei's ªº®y¦ì­I­±, ¥L±j©Ô¤F¥¦¦bÃøªº©P³ò¦Ó¥B¹Ü¨ú¦b¹qµø¹C¼Ö¾¹¤W­±¡C
 "§A»¡¤°»ò?!" ¥L¶i¤J Jinpei's ªºÁy¤§¤º©I§l¡C
 
"Nothing!"  / " ¨S¨Æ "!
 
"You wanna reconsider that, midget?"  / "§A·Q­n¦A¦Ò¼{¨º, ¨Ü¾§"?
 
Jinpei stared up at him, trying not to look either pissed or  insubordinate. Joe released him, and went to speak to  / 
Jinpei ª`µø¦b¥L¡A¹Á¸Õ¤£­n¦A¬Ý°_¨Ó¤]©Á«ã©Î¤£¶¶±q¡C¤W­± ³ìµoªí¤F¥L, ¦Ó¥B¥h»¡¸Ü
Ken and Ryu.  / ªÖ®¦©M Ryu¡C
 
The rest of the flight passed in a blur: the debriefing at  the new headquarters moreso. Joe overheard Jinpei tell  / 
­¸¦æªº¨ä¥¦³¡¤ÀÀò­ã¶i¤J¤@¨Ï:¼Ò½k ¦b·sªºÁ`³¡ moreso ªº¥ô°È³ø§i¡C µL·N¤¤Å¥¨ì Jinpei ªº³ì§i¶D
Jun that he was going off with Ryu to visit Ryu's family,  and vowed inwardly to leave the little shit's sister alone.  /
 ¥L¥¿¦b¥H Ryu Ãz¬µ°ÑÆ[ Ryu's ªº®a®x, ¦Ó¥B¦V¤ºªºµo»}Â÷¶}¤pÁTªº¤»¤ë¿W¦Û¦a¬O©n©f¡C
She hadn't looked at him once since stepping off the God  / ¦o¨S¦³¦Û±qÂ÷¶}¤W«Ò¨«¥H«á¬Ý¥L¤@¦¸
Phoenix  / »ñ°Ä«°
 
Joe found himself at Jun and Jinpei's anyway,  apologizing but not, addressing naked bare feet and legs  and the ghostly 
whiteness of a neck glimpsed through a  familiar gauzing of dark hair.  / 
³ì¦b¤»¤ëµo²{¥L¦Û¤v©MµL½×¦p¦ó Jinpei's, ¹Dºp¦ý¬O¤£, 
¦V¨ª»rªº¨ª»r¸}©M»Lºt»¡©M²ä¤lªº«ÕÆF¥Õ§ë¥H¤@¿h¹L¶Â·tÀY¾vªº¼ô±x gauzing ¡C
 
Voice in his throat, jaw locked like only in his worst  nightmares, he was speaking, "In a world that made  sense 
I would never have met you. Galactor assassins  murdered Giorgio Asakura and his parents. Ten years  after the fact, 
by some blessing, the chance to avenge  them finally comes. I have to take it."  Standing on the  second floor landing 
of the tiny apartment, starring at the  girl, holding onto the banister for support, waiting for her  to say anything, 
even 'stay'. When she didn't rip off her  face with a shriek to reveal sheets of blond hair, and  jeering lips, when she 
stepped forward and cleared the  dark with her face, Joe rushed her.  / 
¦b¥Lªº«|³ï¤¤«Å­z,ÃE¥u¦³¦b¥L³ÌÃaªº¹ÚÆL¤¤Âê¦PÃþ,¥L¥¿¦b»¡,"¦b¤@­Ó¦³¹D²z§Úªº¥@¬É¤¤±N·|µLªk¤w¸g¹J¨£§A¡C 
Galactor ·t±þªÌ¿Ñ±þ¤F Giorgio Asakura ©M¥Lªº¤÷¥À¡C ¦b¨Æ¹ê«á¤Q¦~¡AÂǵۤ@¨Ç¯¬ºÖ¡A³Ì«á¬°¥L­Ì³ø¤³ªº¾÷·|³Q´£¥X¡C §Ú¥²¶·±a¥¦¡C
" ¯¸¦b·¥¤pªº¤½´J²Ä¤G¼Óµn³°¤W, ¦b¤k«Ä¥Dºt,¬°¤ä«ù«O¦íÄæ§ýªº¤ä¬W, µ¥­Ô¦o»¡¥ô¦ó¨Æ, ¨Ï '°±¯d' ¬Ûµ¥. 
·í¦o¨S¦³°½¦³¤@Án¦y¾UªºÅTÁn¦oÁyÅã¥Ü±iªºª÷¾vÀY¾vªº®É­Ô, ¦Ó¥B¼J§Ë®B, ·í¦o³Q¦V«e¦a½ñ¦Ó¥B¥Î¦oªºÁy²M°£ªº¶Â·t®É­Ô¡A³ì¶Ê«P¤F¦o¡C
 
He moved with perfect haste, his arms wrapping strong  around her middle, his hands settling high on her ribs. His  lips 
found hers. / 
¥L¥H§¹¬üªº¥^¦£¡A¥Lªº¦b¦o¤¤¥¡ªº©P³ò±j«l¦a¥]³òk down on ªº¤âÁu²¾°Ê, ¥Lªº¸Ñ¨M¦b¦oªº¦Ø°©¤Wªº°ª«×¤â¡C ¥Lªº®Bµo²{¦oªº¡C
 
Despite their tight embrace, he could not get close  enough. That she did not cry out made him seize her  tighter. 
Legs tangling, they crossed her bedroom's  threshold. She tripped him, or her leg did, and they went  tumbling onto 
her bed in a long controlled fall and it was  her turn to move with perfect haste because he was  trembling, his hands 
useless, he shook so. She made  silent promises, Jun did, and between them peeled him  out of his clothes. He laughed 
because he was so stupid,  he couldn't stop shaking and he was sorry, and she  laughed because he wouldn't shut up. 
The shaking was a  good thing, the best thing. Jun was near him. She was  real. This was real. No matter where he put 
them, no  matter how he held her, his hands shook. But in the wake  of a reverent kiss they found clarity. Her hand was  
touching him. He bit his lip, going up in flames for real,  and her lips were at his throat, at his mouth, at his cheek,  
and her hair obliterated the darkness and she was his  angel of fire, incandescent, so bright she hurt his eyes,  
hurt his brain. 
He shut his eyes, seeing red through the  closed lids, seeing Jun, afterimage bright, in his mind. 
 / ¤£¦b¥G¥L­Ìªººò¾Ö©ê¡A¥LµLªk±o¨ì±µªñªº¥R¨¬¡C 
¦o¨S¦³¤j¥s¨º§óºòºò¦a¨Ï¥L§ì¦í¦o¡C »L¨ÏÄñµ², ¥L­Ì¥æ¤e¤F¦oªºª×«Ç¤J¤f¡C ¦o¶^­Ë¤F¥L,©Î¦oªº»L°µ¡A
¦Ó¥B¥L­Ì¥h¦bªøªº¨ü¬ù§ôªº¬î¤Ñ¦b¦oªº§É¤§¤W¶^¸¨¦Ó¥B½ü¨ì¦o¥H§¹¬üªº¥^¦£²¾°Ê¡A¦]¬°¥L¬Oµo§Ý, ¥Lªº¤â¨S¦³¥Îªº, ¥L³o»ò·n°Ê¡C 
¦o»s³y¤F¨HÀqªº©Ó¿Õ,¤»¤ë°µ, ¦Ó¥B¦b¥L­Ì¤§¶¡±q¥Lªº¦çªA«d¥L¥Ö¤F¡C 
¦]¬°¥L¬O¦p¦¹·MÄø¡A©Ò¥H¥L¯º,¦]¬°¥L±N¤£³¬¼L¡A©Ò¥H¥LµLªk°±¤î·n°Ê¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¬OÃø¹Lªº¡A¦Ó¥B¦o¯º¡C 
¨º·n°Ê¬O¤@¥ó¦n¨Æª«¡A³Ì¦nªº¨Æª«¡C ¤»¤ë¦b¥Lªºªþªñ¡C ¦o¬O¯u¥¿ªº¡C ³o¬O¯u¥¿ªº¡C 
µL½×¥L©ñ¥L­Ì­þ¸Ì,µL½×¥L¦p¦ó®»¦í¤F¦o,¥Lªº¤â·n°Ê¡C 
¦ý¬OÀHµÛ¤@­Ó´L·qªº§k¤§«á¥L­Ìµo²{²M·¡¡C 
¦oªº¤â¥¿¦b¸IIJ¥L¡C ¥L«r¤F¥Lªº®B, ¦b¤õµK¤¤¤W¤É¬°¯u¥¿ªº, ©M¦oªº®B¦b¥Lªº«|³ï,¦b¥Lªº¼L¡A¦b¥LªºÀU¡A
¦Ó¥B¦oªºÀY¾v¶î¥h¤F¶Â·t¡A¦Ó¥B¦o¬O¦p¦¹©ú«Gªº¬O¥Õ¼öªº¥L¤õ¤Ñ¨Ï , ¦o³Q¶Ë®`¥Lªº²´·ú, ¶Ë®`¥Lªº¸£¡C ¥LÃö¤W¥Lªº²´·ú, 
¸g¹LÃö³¬»\¤l¨£¨ì¬õ¦â, ¨£¨ì¤»¤ë¡A¾l¹³©ú«Gªº, ¦b¥Lªº¤ß¤¤¡C
Dark pain bloomed in his left eye. He winced. His eye  hurt. Oh, God it hurt. His left eye caught fire. Fire boiled  
the tissue in his socket and he banged his head against  the wall to get away, banged his head against the wall,  
his heels digging into the sheet a steady tattoo of  stopthepainstopthehurtstopthepain. His arms clenched  around 
Jun convulsively. He felt the snap of her ribs,  heard the shrill of her scream. He screamed through the  froth in his mouth, 
through the blood, through the bile,  through the pain. The shaking was a bad thing, a bad  thing and it hurtsohgodithurts, 
ohgodithurts. There was a  thin drilling noise, him screaming, and everything went  dark. / 
¶Â·tªºµh­W¦b¥Lªº¥ªÃä²´·ú¤¤¶}ªá¡C ¥L¬ÈÁY¡C ¥Lªº²´·ú¶Ë®`¡C ®@, ¤W«Ò¥¦¶Ë®`¡C ¥Lªº¥ªÃä²´·úµÛ¤õ¡C 
¤õµNªm¤F¥Lªº´¡®yÁ¡¯½Â´«~¡A¦Ó¥B¥L§â¥LªºÀY¥Î¤O©¹°kÂ÷,§â¥LªºÀY¥Î¤O©¹, ¥Lªº²`¤J±i¤@­Ó stop the pains top the hurts top the pain 
ªºÃ­©w¯¾¨­ªº¸}«á¸ò¡C ¥Lªº¤âÁu·n¾Ù¦aºò´¤¤F¤»¤ë¥ª¥k¡C
¥L·Pı¤F¦oªº¦Ø°©¤jÁn¥w½|,Å¥¨ì¦oªº¦y¥sÁnªº¦y¾UÁn­µ¡C ¸g¹Lµh­W¸g¹LÁx¥Ä¸g¹L¦å¥L¦y¥s¹L¥Lªº¼Lªw¡C 
¨º·n°Ê¬O¤@¥óÃaªº¨Æª«¡A¤@¥óÃaªº¨Æª«©M¥¦ hurtsohgodithurts ¡A ohgodithurts ¡C ¦³½Gªººt½m¾¸­µ, ¥L¦y¥s, ©M¨C¥ó¨Æª«Åܶ·t¡C
 
Joe came to with his head between Jun's legs, her breasts  within mouth reach. Jinpei was sitting on his legs. 
Ken  squashed between him and his flight couch to his left.  / 
³ì¥H¦b¤»¤ëªº»L¤§¶¡ªº¥LÀYµd¿ô, ¦oªº¼L½d³ò¸Ì­±ªº¯Ý³¡¡C Jinpei §¤¦b¥Lªº»L¤W¡C ªÖ®¦¦b¥L©M¥Lªº­¸¦æ¤§¶¡À£«ó¹ï¥Lªº¥ªÃäªø´È¡C
 
From the sound of the engines the ship was decelerating  and everyone Joe could see looked concerned. / 
±q¤ÞÀºªºÁn­µ²î¥¿¦b´î³t©M¨C­Ó¤H³ì¥i¥H¨£¨ì¬Ý°_¨ÓÃö¤ß¡C
 
Joe tried to speak, only to encounter a nasty tasting  towel. His mouth felt like he'd cracked a molar and his  
tongue thick and numb, like he'd bitten it. And his face  hurt. Specifically his eye hurt. A whole fucking lot.  / 
³ì¸ÕµÛ»¡, ¤£®Æ³º·|¹J¨ì¤@±ø¦Ã©ªºÀ|¤â¤y¡C ¥Lªº¼L·Pı¹³¥L¤w¸g«p¦a§Ë¸H¦Ý¾¦©M¥Lªº¦Þ©M³Â¤ìªº, ¹³¥L¤w¸g«r¥¦¡C 
¦Ó¥B¥LªºÁy¶Ë®`¡C ©ú½T¦a¥Lªº²´·ú¶Ë®`¡C ©Ê¥æ¹B®ðªº¥þ³¡¡C
 
He looked to Jun, whose face was oddly skewed. She  kept her face very still. Her eyes were obscured by the  yellow visor 
of her helmet but when he thought they met  his, she smiled. Joe didn't smile back. Her fingers  stopped stroking through 
his hair and Joe wondered how  long had she been doing that. / 
¥L´ÂµÛ¤»¤ë,, Áy©_§®¦a³Q¬n±×¡C ¦o«O«ù¦oªºÁy«D±`ÀR¤î¡C ¦oªº²´·ú³Q¦oªº¿û²¯¶À¦â­±ÀU³±·t¤F¦ý¬O·í¥L»{¬°¥L­Ì¹J¨£ªº®É­Ô¥Lªº, ¦o·L¯º¡C 
³ì¨S¦³¦V«á¦a·L¯º¡C ¦oªº¤â«ü°±¤î¦E§À¼Õ¹L¥LªºÀY¾v¡A¦Ó¥B³ìÃhºÃ , ¦o¤w¸g°µ¨º¦h¤[¡C
 
"You had a seizure," Jun said, as her thumbs, soothing  against his clammy skin, rubbed at the bunched muscles  of his jaw. 
"Ease up on the bite-stick." / " 
§A¦³¤F¤@­Ó®·Àò ",¤»¤ë»¡, ¦p¦oªº©æ«ü, ¼¾¼¢ªº¤Ï¹ï¥Lªº·ÃÂH¥Ö½§, ¦b¥LªºÃE³Q¦êªº¦Ù¦×À¿¡C "¦b«r¤WÅܵκZ -¾ðªK".
 
Joe did so, with difficulty. Ken pulled it free and it trailed a  long line of red-threaded saliva.  / 
³ì³o»ò°µ, ¤£®e©ö¡C ªÖ®¦¦Û¥Ñ©Ô¤F¥¦¡A¦Ó¥B¥¦°lÂܤF¤@±ø¬õ¦â¬ï½u©ó³è²Gªºªø½u¡C
 
"Can I have my hand back?" Joe croaked.  / " §Ú¯à§â§Úªº¤â¦³¦^¨Ó¶Ü "? ³ìÜÓÜÓ¥s¡C
 
Dropping it, Ken sat back on his heels. Joe reached up to  the source of the pain and encountered a bandage. / 
­°§C¥¦,ªÖ®¦¦b¥Lªº¸}«á¸ò¤W³S¤â®ÇÆ[¡C ³ìª½¨ìµh­Wªº¨Ó·½¨ì¹F¦Ó¥B¹J¨ì¤F¤@±øÁ^±a¡C
 
"You tried to gouge your eye out," Ken supplied, his blue  eyes bleak. / 
"§A¸ÕµÛ¦b¥~¥Î¶êÆw¤l«d°£§Aªº²´·ú ",ªÖ®¦¨ÑÀ³, ¥LªºÂŦⲴ·ú¿½·æªº¡C
 
"Can you move your legs?" Jun asked, her lips barely  moving, and Joe wondered how much she really knew. / 
" §A¯à²¾°Ê§Aªº»L¶Ü "? ¤»¤ë°Ý, ¦oªº®B´X¥G²¾°Ê, ©M³ìÃhºÃ¦o¯uªºª¾¹D¡C¦h¤Ö
 
He tried to pull his legs towards him. For one horrible  moment, they didn't respond before he realized that  / 
¥L¸ÕµÛ¦V¥L©Ô¥Lªº»L¡C ¥i©Èªº¤ù¨è¡A¦b¥L¤F¸Ñ¨º¤§«e , ¥L­Ì¨S¦³¦^À³
Jinpei's weight had numbed his legs. Joe shifted his leg,  jostling the younger boy. /
 Jinpei's ªº­«¶q¤w¸g¨Ï¥Lªº»L³Â¤ì¡C ³ì§ïÅܤF¥Lªº»L,±ÀÀ½§ó¦~»´ªº¨k«Ä¡C
 
"Aniki," said the boy. / " Aniki",¨k«Ä»¡¡C
 
Joe would not look at Jinpei.  / ³ì±N¤£¬Ý Jinpei ¡C
 
"Aniki," pleaded the kid. Joe ran his hands over his arms  and chest, checking for further injury. "Joe?"  / 
" Aniki",ÅGÅ@¤F¤p«Ä¡C ³ìÁÓ¹L¥Lªº¤â¥L¤âÁu©M¯Ý,¬°§ó¶i¤@¨Bªº¨ü¶ËÀˬd¡C " ³ì "?
 
Jun leaned forward, and for what seemed like the first  time Joe got a completely unobstructed view of the  tender 
skin between her neck and her chin. Joe felt her  hands tighten on his skull. Heard the kid swallow so hard  
he sympathetically felt the lump. / 
¤»¤ë¦V«e¦a­Ê¾a, ¦Ó¥B¬°¹³²Ä¤@¦¸³ìªºªF¦è±o¨ì¤F¦b¦oªº²ä¤l©M¦oªº¤U¤Ú¤§¶¡ªº§¹¥þ¦a¤£ªý¹jªº·Å©M¥Ö½§ªºµø³¥¡C 
·Pı¦oªº¤â³ì¦b¥LªºÀY»\°©¨­¤W°Çºò¡C ¦p¦¹§V¤O¦aÅ¥¨ì¤p«Ä«|³ï¥L¼¦¼§¦a·Pı¤F¸~¶ô¡C
 
"I'll go help Ryu," Jinpei said. / " §Ú±N¥hÀ°¦£ Ryu",Jinpei »¡¡C
 
Jun's hand slid down Joe's neck, kneading his flesh. The  muscles and tendons were so tight the considerable  strength 
she used made no difference. / ¤»¤ëªº¤â·Æ°Ê¤U¨Ó³ìªº²ä¤l,´|¥Lªº¦×¡C ¦Ù¦×©M¸x¬O¦p¦¹ªººòºò¦o¨Ï¥Îªº¬Û·í¦hªº¤O¶q¨S¦³®t§O¡C
 
"Jun," Ken said.  / " ¤»¤ë ",ªÖ®¦»¡¡C
 
Her hands stopped what they were doing. / ¦oªº¤â°±¤î¤F¥L­Ì¥¿¦b°µªº¡C
 
"Keep Jinpei and Ryu out of trouble." / " ¤£Åý Jinpei ©M Ryu ¾aªñ³Â·Ð " ¡C
 
She went.  / ¦o¥h¡C
 
Kneeling on one flexed leg, Ken fixed Joe with a glare.  / ¦b¤@°¦³QÅs¦±ªº»L¤W¸÷,ªÖ®¦¥Î°{Ä£¥ú­×²z³ì¡C
 
"You wanna tell me why you fell out of formation  yesterday?" / " §A·Q­n§i¶D§Ú , §A¬°¤°»ò¬Q¤Ñ§Î¦¨ª§§n "?
 
"Lookin' up Jun's skirt?" / "Lookin' ´£°ª¤»¤ëªº¸È¤l"?
 
Ken's knuckles whitened on his knee, muscles tensing in  his back and shoulders. His eyes shimmered with fury. / 
ªÖ®¦ªº«ü¸`¦b¥Lªº½¥¤W¥Õ, ¦b¥Lªº­I³¡©MªÓ¤¤©Ôºòªº¦Ù¦×¡C ¥Lªº²´·ú©M¼««ãµo°{Ã{¤§¥ú¡C
 
"I. Don't. Know." Joe bit out. Sat up without making any  noise. / "§Ú. ¤£¡C ª¾¹D¡C" ³ì«r¥X¡C ¨S¦³»s³y¥ô¦óªº¾¸­µ¼õ©]¡C
 
"You're going in for a full diagnostic," Ken said through  his teeth. "Right after the debriefing."  / 
" §A¥¿¦b°Ñ¥[§¹¾ãªº¶EÂ_ ",ªÖ®¦»¡¹L¥Lªº¤ú¾¦¡C " ´N¦b¥ô°È³ø§i¤§«á ".
 
"I've already had a full diagnostic." / " §Ú¤w¸g¦³§¹¾ãªº¶EÂ_¤F " ¡C
 
"Oh, yeah?" / "®@, ¬Oªº"?
 
"Two!" / " ¤G "!
 
"When?" / " ¦ó®É "?
 
"Recently,"Joe gave his neck an experimental crack. He flexed his legs, got to his feet. His balance was fine, more than fine./
 " ³Ìªñ " ¡A³ìµ¹¤©¤F¥Lªº²ä¤l¤@­Ó¹êÅ窺µõÁ_¡C ¥LÅs¦±¤F¥Lªº»L,¨ì¹F¥Lªº¸}¡C ¥Lªº¥­¿Å¬O¦n¤S¶W¹L»@´Ú¡C
 
Sitting on the ground, Ken mildly inquired, "Why wasn't I  informed?" / 
§¤¦b¦a­±¤W,ªÖ®¦¬X©M¦a¸ß°Ý,"¬°¤°»ò¤£¬O§Ú§iª¾"?
 
"Results are pending." Which wasn't a total lie.  / "µ²ªG¬O·í"ªº®É­Ô. ¨º¤@­Ó¤£¬O¤@«hÁ`ÁÀ¨¥¡C
 
The God Phoenix passed through a pocket of turbulence; Joe  barely swayed on his feet. He smirked at Ken. Something odd  
gleamed in Ken's eyes. Joe realized there hadn't been any  turbulence. / 
¤W«Ò»ñ°Ä«°³q¹L¹L¤@­Ó³ÙÄÛªº¤f³U; ³ì´X¥G¦b¥Lªº¸}¤W·n°Ê¡C ¥L¦bªÖ®¦¼H¼H°µ¯º¡C ©_¼ÆªºªF¦è¦bªÖ®¦ªº²´·ú¤¤°{Ã{¡C 
¦b¨º¸Ì³Q¤F¸Ñªº³ì¨S¦³¬O¥ô¦óªº³ÙÄÛ¡C
 
"You're going back to the clinic." / " §A¥¿¦b¦^¥h¶E©Ò " ¡C
 
"Not after the debriefing." / "¤£¦b¥ô°È³ø§i¤§«á".
 
"Right after the debriefing."  / " ´N¦b¥ô°È³ø§i¤§«á ".
 
"My time is my own." / " §Úªº®É¶¡¬O§Ú¦Û¤vªº " ¡C
 
Ken stood, hand curled into a fist. "I'll put you down  myself, Joe." / 
ªÖ®¦¯¸µÛ,¤â¶i¤J¤@­Ó®±ÀY¤§¤º§Ë±²¡C "§Ú±N²Û°d§A§Ú¦Û¤v, ³ì".
 
Joe grunted at the unfortunate choice of words.  / ³ì¦b¦rªº¤£©¯¿ï¾Ü­ó¡C
 
"Fuck it," he said. "Fine," and settled himself on his couch. / 
" ©Ê¥æ¥¦ ",¥L»¡¡C " «Ü¦n ",¦Ó¥B¦b¥Lªºªø´È¤W¦w¹y¥L¦Û¤v¡C
 
"Good," Ken said, and looked at his relaxing fist as if  surprised. For a moment Ken looked a little sheepish. 
He  stowed the bite stick in a biohazard compartment.  /
 " ¦nªº ",¦n¹³ªÖ®¦»¡, ¦Ó¥B¬Ý¥L©ñÃP®±ÀY¦YÅå¡A¡C ¤@·|¨àªÖ®¦¬Ý°_¨Óµy·LÀ¶®z¡C ¥L¦¬Âð_¨Ó¤F¤@­Ó¥Íª«¦M®`°Ï¹ºªº«r¾ðªK¡C
 
"Fuck you," Joe said. / " ©Ê¥æ§A ",³ì»¡¡C
 
"Joe," Ken whispered, but everyone in the cabin could hear  him, "You haven't been a hundred percent in a while." / 
" ³ì ", ªÖ®¦¦Õ»y¡A¦ý¬O¨C­Ó¤H¦b¤p«Î¤¤¥i¥HÅ¥¨ì¥L," §A¦b¤@·|¨à¤¤¨S¦³¬O¦Ê¦Ê¤À¤ñ " ¡C
 
"After seventeen months combat, none of us are." / " ¦b¤Q¤C¤ë¾Ô°«¤§«á¡A§Ú­Ì¨S¦³¤@­Ó¬O " ¡C
 
"That's enough!" Ken's pretty face was hard, his hand  fisted at his heart level. "You are out of line, G2!"  / 
" ¨º¬O¥R¨¬ "! ªÖ®¦ªºº}«GÁy«ÜÃø,¥Lªº¤â¦b¥Lªº¤ß¤ô·Ç®±ÀY¡C "§A¶W¥X½u, G2"!
 
"We're cleared to land, Commander," said Ryu.  / "§Ú­Ì³Q²M°£ªºµn³°, «ü´§©x",Ryu »¡¡C
 
Ken took a deep breath, "If you don't watch . . .. I'll walk  you over myself." / 
ªÖ®¦§@¤F²`ªº©I§l,"¦pªG§A¨S¬Ý¡C ¡C ¡C¡C §Ú±N¦b§Ú¦Û¤v¤§¤W¨«§A¡C"
 
Not if I'm mobile, Joe thought, securing himself for  landing. / ¤£¦pªG§Ú¬O¦æ°Ê¹q¸Ü,³ì·Q,¬°µn³°©T©w¥L¦Û¤v¡C
 
 
 
******************
4.
 
 
Joe skipped the debriefing.  / ³ì¸õ¶V¤F¥ô°È³ø§i¡C
 
His teammates surrounded him in a staggered diamond  formation as they descended God Phoenix's ramp. Jun  leading, 
Ryu bringing up the rear, wing capes swaying in  unison over legs walking in unison, breathing in unison.  / 
·í¥L­Ì­°¤F¤W«Ò»ñ°Ä«°ªº±×©Y®É­Ô¡A¥Lªº¶¤¤Í¦b³QÂÚ¶\ªºÆp¥Û§Î¦¨¤è­±¥]³ò¤F¥L¡C ¤»¤ë»â¥ý¡A´£¥X«á­±ªº Ryu,
¸Ë¥HÁl¦b½Õ©Mªº¦b»L¨B¦æ¤Wªº½Õ©M¤¤·n°Ê¡A¦b½Õ©M¤¤©I§lªºÌa¡C
They were the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, five  acting as one, but when Jun and Jinpei turned to the right, Joe went left./
 ¥L­Ì¬O¬ì¾Ç§ÔªÌ¤p²Õ Gatchaman, ¤­¦æ°Ê·í°µ¤@, ¦ý¬O·í¤»¤ë©M Jinpei Âà¦V¥kÃ䪺®É­Ô¡A³ì¦V¥ª¥h¡C
 
Ken grabbed his shoulder. "What are you doing?"  / ªÖ®¦§ì¨ú¤F¥LªºªÓ¡C " §A¥¿¦b°µ¤°»ò "?
 
Jun and Jinpei were already twisting around, slick as  chorus line girls, their wings sweeping out behind them.  / 
¤»¤ë©M Jinpei ¤w¸g¥¿¦bªþªñ§áÂà, ¥ú·Æªº·í¦X°Û±Æ¦¨¤@¦æ¤k«Ä¡A¥L­Ìªº¦b¥L­Ì«á­±ªº±½°£¯Í»H¤§®É¡C
Jun had her mouth to her wristband, ready to speak. As  did Jinpei. Jun bit her lip, lowered her hand to waist,  
thumb and forefinger touching at the tip, the rest of her  fingers curled. Joe looked away first, then shrugged Ken off.
 Ryu caught Joe's arm in one huge hand before he  went completely off balance. / 
³Q¦³¹ï¦oªº³S¤f¦o¼Lªº¤»¤ë,¹w³Æ»¡¡C ¨Ì·Ó°µ¤F Jinpei¡C ¤»¤ë«r¤F¦oªº®B,­°§C¤F¹ï¸y³¡¡A©æ«ü©M­¹«üªº¦o¤â¦b³»ºÝªº¸IIJ,
¦oªº¤â«ü¨ä¾lªÌ§Ë±²¡C
 ³ì­º¥ý¬ÝÂ÷¶}, µM«á¨«¶}ÁqªÓ¤FªÖ®¦¡C ¦b¥L¦b¥­¿Å¥~§¹¥þ¦a¥h¤§«e , Ryu ®·®»¤F¤@°¦·¥¤jªº¤â³ì¤âÁu¡C
 
"The infirmary," Joe said. / " µê®z ",³ì»¡¡C
 
"Infirmary?" Ken echoed.  / " µê®z "? ªÖ®¦ÀHÁnªþ©M¡C
 
"He means the clinic, maybe," said Ryu.  / "¥L·N¿×¶E©Ò, ¤]³\",Ryu »¡¡C
 
"Following your orders, Commander," Joe said and  patted Ryu's hand. Ryu let go. Joe walked towards the  infirmary without
 a backward glance. /
 "¦b§Aªº©R¥O¤§«á, «ü´§©x",³ì»¡¦Ó¥B»´©ç¤F Ryu's ªº¤â¡C ³QÅýªº Ryu ¥h¡C ³ì¦V¨S¦³¦V«áªº¤@¿hµê®z¨«¡C
 
Joe was too far away to hear what Ken said into his  wristband, but Joe knew that he was under at least two  types of 
surveillance as he cleared the hangar.  / 
¦b¤Ó»·³Bªº³ì·Ç³ÆÅ¥¨ìªÖ®¦¶i¤J¥Lªº³S¤f¤§¤º»¡ªº, ¦ý¬O³ìª¾¹D¡A¥L¬O¦b¦Ü¤Ö¤GÃþ«¬ªººÊµø¤§¤U·í°µ¥L²M°£ªº­¸¾÷®w¡C
 
In the infirmary he signed in and Told Lu (Xiao-Chen, not  / ¦bµê®z¤¤¥Lµn¤J¨Ã¥B§i¶D Lu(Xiao-³¯, ¤£
Kelly O'Shane-) that he needed to see Dr. Saavedra, or  whoever was around, now. Out of perversity, he filled in  the sheet 
for walk-in and wrote 'full diagnostic' in the  reason space and 'worried commander' in the complaint.  / 
³Í§Q O'Shane-) ­þ¤@¥L»Ý­n¨£ Saavedra ³Õ¤h, ©Î¥ô¦ó¤H¦bªþªñ, ²{¦b¡C ±q¨Ä»÷¡A¥L¹ï©ó¥¼¸g¹w¬ù¦Ó¨Óªº¤H¶ñ¼g±i¨Ã¥B¼g¤F²z¥Ñªº 
'¥Rº¡ªº¶EÂ_' ªÅ¶¡©M 'µJ¼{ªº«ü´§©x' ¦b©ê«è¤¤¡C
For a moment Joe couldn't see where to sign his name,  his uncovered eye going milky cotton sight on him. 
He  squinted, blinked and glimpsed a hail of broken masonry.  / 
¤@·|¨à³ìµLªk¨£¨ì¸Ó¦b­þ¸Ìñ¸p¥Lªº¦W¦r¡A¥Lªº¥h¦b¥L¤Wªº¨Åª¬´Öªáµø¤OªºµL¾B»\ªº²´·ú¡C ¥L¨ÏÅܱ׵ø²´, 
¯w²´¦Ó¥B§ë¥H¤@¿h¤FÃa±¼¥Û¤uªº¦B¹r¡C
 
He'd been seeing things off and on since the night before last. Joe wondered how much that had to do with lack of  
sleep and his head injuries. / ¥L¤w¸g¨«¶}©M¦b¦Û³Ì«áªº¦b¨º­Ó©]±ß¥H«e¤§«á¨£¨ì¨Æª«¡C ³ìÃhºÃ¨º¥²¶·¥HºÎ¯v©M¥LªºÀY¨ü¶Ëªº¯Ê¥F°µ¡C
 
Lu smiled at Joe when she took the clipboard and put it  atop her desk. At the end of the day she would enter all  that 
information into the clinic dataset and compare it  with the day's encounter forms.  / 
·í¦o¦b¦oªº®Ñ®à³»¤W±a¤F¥I¦³¯È§¨ªºµ§°OªO¦Ó¥B©ñ¤F¥¦ªº®É­Ô¡A Lu ¦b³ì·L¯º¡C ¦b¤Ñµ²§ôªº®É­Ô¦o±N·|¶i¤J©Ò¦³ªº¨º¸ê®Æ¶i¤J¶E©Ò
¸ê®Æ²Õ¤§¤º¦Ó¥B§â¥¦»P¤Ñªº¬Û·|ªí®æ§@¤ñ¸û¡C
 
Joe went to the bathroom, pissed and shit into the  appropriate containers. Placed the containers in the metal  cabinet 
built into the wall. Returned to the waiting room.  / 
³ì¥h¯D«Ç, ©Á«ãªº©M¶i¤J¾A·íªº®e¾¹¤§¤ºªºÁT¡C §â®e¾¹©ñ¦b¶i¤JÀð¾À¤§¤º³Q«Ø³yªºª÷ÄÝ»sªº¤º»Õ¡C ¦^¨ì­Ô¨®«Ç¡C
Joe sat facing Lu. Leaned his head against the wall,  crossed his arms, and shut his eye. He must have fallen  asleep 
because the ringing phone startled him awake.  / 
³ì§¤µÛ­±¹ï Lu ¡C ­Ê¾a¤F¹ï§ÜÀð¾Àªº¥LÀY,¥æ¤e¤F¥Lªº¤âÁu, ¦Ó¥BÃö¤W¤F¥Lªº²´·ú¡C 
¦]¬°¥Rº¡ªº¹q¸Ü¾_Åå¤F¥L¡A©Ò¥H¥L¤@©w´¿¸gºÎµÛ¹L¿ôªº¡C
His eye slit open before he remembered that he was  waiting to see a doctor. Lu wasn't at the desk. The  phone rang again. 
The door behind the desk opened,  revealing Lu. She grinned at Joe, removed her earring  and picked up the phone with her 
neat square hand. Lu  had very plain hands, but she loved red polish. Cardinal  red, to match her lips and the streaks in her
 light hair.  / 
¦b¥L°O±o¥L¥¿¦bµ¥­Ô¬ÝÂå¥Í¤§«e , ¥Lªº²´·úÁa¤Á¤½¶}¡C Lu ¤£¦b®Ñ®à¡C ¹q¸Ü¦A¤@¦¸»ïÅT¡C ¦b³Q¥´¶},Åã¥Ü Lu ªº®Ñ®à«á­±ªºªù¡C 
¦o³Q¦b³ìÅS¾¦¦Ó¯º,¥H¦oªº¾ã¼ä¥¿ª½ªº¤â²¾°Ê¦oªº¦ÕÀô¦Ó¥B¬B°_¹q¸Ü¡C Lu ¦³¤F«D±`²³æªº¤â¡A¦ý¬O¦o·R¬õ¦âªº¥ú¿A¡C ¥D­nªº¬õ¦â,
 »P¦oªº»´ÀY¾vªº¦o®B©M±ø²z¬Û°t¡C
He'd painted her toenails once, on their first of three dates. / ¦b¥L­Ìªº¤T­Ó¤é´Áªº²Ä¤@¤W¥L¦³µe¤F¦oªº¸}³k¥Ò¤@¦¸¡C
 
Yes, Dr. Nambu, Joe lip-read. Yes, Dr. Nambu, he's right  here. Would you like to speak to him? No? Any messages?  / 
¬Oªº¡A Nambu ³Õ¤h , ³ìµø¸Ü¡C ¬Oªº, Nambu ³Õ¤h, ¥L´N¦b³o¸Ì¡C §AÄ@·N¸ò¥L»¡¸Ü¶Ü? ¤£? ¥ô¦óªº°T®§?
No? Have a nice day, Dr. Nambu.  / ¤£? ¦³¤@­Ó¬ü¦nªº¤é¤l¡A Nambu ³Õ¤h¡C
 
Joe went in and spoke to Dr. Ruriko Saavedra, just  pleasantries. They'd dated a little bit when she was an  ISO 
sponsored resident and he was still training. He  asked her out (again). Saavedra declined. He spent five  minutes 
being funny and charming enough that she  laughed herself silent.  / 
³ì¶i¤J¨Ã¥B Ruriko ³Õ¤h Saavedra »¡¸Ü, ¥¿ª½ªº¸Ù¿Ó¡C ·í¦o¬O¤@­Ó³QÃÙ§Uªº°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´ªº®É­Ô¡A
¥L­Ì¤w¸g¬ù·|¤p¤@ÂIÂI©~¯dªº©M¥L¤´µM¥¿¦b±Ð¨|¡C ¥LÁܦo¥X¥h¡C (¦A¤@¦¸) Saavedra °I°h¡C 
¥L«×¹L¤­¤ÀÄÁ°÷¦n¯ºªº©M°g¤Hªº¦o¯º¤F¦o¦Û¤v¨HÀqªº¡C
 
Lifting her clipboard in her hands, Dr. Saavedra gave Joe  a meaningful look. He removed his helmet. 
She was in  his space so fast his hands were up, warding her away.  / 
Á|°_¦oªº¤â¦o¥I¦³¯È§¨ªºµ§°OªO,Saavedra ³Õ¤hµ¹¤©¤F³ì¦³·N¸qªº¯«±¡¡C ¥L²¾¨«¤F¥Lªº¿û²¯¡C 
¦o¬O¦b¥LªºªÅ¶¡¤¤¦p¦¹ªº§Ö³t¥Lªº¤â¬O¦V¤Wªº, ¦uÅ@¦oÂ÷¶}¡C
Saavedra pushed his head up, and tsked. / 
Saavedra ±j­¢¥LªºÀY¤W¤É, ©M tsked¡C
 
Rolling his uncovered eye, Joe complained about savage  headaches and nightmares and falling off of the flight  couch 
while not wearing his helmet. The good doctor's  chin dimpled. Joe couldn't remember if she did that when  she concentrated 
or when she was angry. She examined  it with her little opthalmascope. The intense light caused  him no discomfort./ 
ºu°Ê¥LªºµL¾B»\ªº²´·ú,³ì©ê«è¤ÑµMªºÀYµh©M¹ÚÆL¡A¦Ó¥B­¸¦æªº¤U¶^¾î½ö¤@·|¨à¤£¬ïµÛ¥Lªº¿û²¯¡C ¦nÂå¥Íªº¤U¤Ú¥W³´¡C ¦pªG¦o°µ¡A
³ìµLªk°O±o·í¦o¶°¤¤ªº®É­Ô©ÎªÌ·í¦o«Ü¥Í®ðªº®É­Ô¡C ¦o¥Î¦oªº¤p opthalmascope ½Õ¬d¥¦¡C ±j¯Pªº¥ú¤Þ°_¤F¥L¨S¦³¤£¾A¡C
 
"You're lucky you didn't scratch your cornea. Your gloves  are filthy, the skin around your eye is severely abraded,  
and you're concussed." / 
"§A¬O©¯¹Bªº§A¨S¦³À¿§Aªº¨¤½¤¡C §Aªº¤â®M¬O¦Ã©ªº,¥Ö½§¦b§Aªº²´·ú©P³òÄY­«¦a³QÀ¿¶Ë¡A¦Ó¥B§A³Q¼@¯P¦a¾_°Ê¡C"
 
"How bad?" / "¦p¦óÃaªº"?
 
"No worse than usual. I have to cleanse the skin you  irritated. Your eye's going to water a little from the fumes./ 
"¨S¦³§óÃaªº¨Æ¶W¹L¥­±`ªº¡C §Ú¥²¶·¨Ï§A¿E«ãªº¥Ö½§²M¼ä¡C §Aªº²´·ú¥h±q¯ä®ðµy·L¼å¤ô¡C
Don't blink." / ¤£­n¯w²´¡C"
 
It burned like hell, and his eye started itching like crazy.  / 
¥¦¹³¦aº»¿U¿N¡A¦Ó¥B¥Lªº²´·ú¶}©l·kÄo¬Û¦üªºµo¨g¡C
Saavedra slapped a cool patch on it. It felt good.  / Saavedra 
©çÀ»¤F¦b¥¦¤Wªº«Ü´Î¸H®h¡C ¥¦Ä±±oµÎªA¡C
 
Joe peeled out of the top of his suit, slooked off one  sweaty sleeve cocked his arm at the elbow. 
She got out a  couple of vacuum tubes found a decent vein,and drew blood. When she was finished, she made a face at him./ 
³ì«d¥Lªº¶D³^³»ºÝ¥ÖÂ÷,slooked ¦b¤@­Ó¥X¦½ªº³S¥~¦b¤â¨yÁq¥ß¥Lªº¤âÁu¡C 
¦oÂ÷¶}¤@¨Ç¯uªÅºÞµo²{¤@±ø¬Û·í¦nªºÀR¯ß, ¦Ó¥B©â¦å¡C ·í¦o³Q§¹¦¨ªº®É­Ô¡A¦o»s³y¤F¦b¥Lªº¤@­ÓÁy¡C
And he snorted, picking up a cotton ball and slapping it to  the puncture. / 
¦Ó¥B¥L¼QµÛ®ð§ËÅT»ó¤l, ¬B°_¤@­Ó´Öªá²y©M¥X©_¦a§Ö¥¦¨ì¯}Ãa¡C
 
Dr. Saavedra, Ruri to him once, stepped away from him.  / 
Saavedra ³Õ¤h , Ruri ¹ï¥L¤@¦¸,½ñ»·Â÷¥L¡C
"Go ahead and change," she said. "I'll be back in a  minute." But was back in eleven. Sat down by the sink  and asked what 
had prompted him to come in, pen  ticking off all the symptoms and complaints to which he  lied 'no'. Of course he said 'yes' 
to headaches and dizzy  spells and let her think that they were stress-related.  / 
" «e¶i¦Ó¥B§ïÅÜ ",¦o»¡¡C " §Ú¦b¤ÀÄÁ¤¤±N¦^¨Ó " ¡C ¦ý¬O¦^¨Ó¦b¤Q¤@¡C ³Q¬~º°¼Ñ§¤¤U¦Ó¥B°Ý¤w¸g«P¨Ï¥L¶i¨Ó, 
¦b¥L»¡ÁÀ¤F '¤£' ªº©Ò¦³Äpª¬©M©ê«è¥~ªº¿ûµ§³Q®M®Æ. ·íµM¥L¹ïÀYµh©M·w¯tªº²Å©G»¡ '¬Oªº' ¦Ó¥BÅý¦o»{¬°¥L­Ì¬OÀ£¤O - ³QÁ¿¡C
Which they were, and he did have a record of those.  / 
¥L­Ì¬O¨º¤@­Ó¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¦³¨º¨Çªº¤@¬ö¿ý¡C
 
Chuckling when she reached his scrawled 'worried  commander' Saavedra looked at him seriously. 
"Your urine checks out. So does the stool. Soonest we could get results on anything besides your blood work would be tomorrow.
 Scans and X-rays, all that can wait until  tomorrow." / 
·í¦o¨ì¹Fªº®É­Ô¦Y¦Yªº¯º¥L¼ã¯ó¦a¼g 'µJ¼{ªº«ü´§©x' ³QÄY­«¦a¬Ý¥Lªº Saavedra¡C "§Aªº¤p«K°h©Ð¡C ¹¹¤l¤]¬O¡C
 ³Ì«Ü§Ö§Ú­Ì¥i¥H¦¹¥~§Aªº¦å¤u§@±o¨ì¦b¥ô¦ó¨Æ¤Wªºµ²ªG±N·|¬O©ú¤Ñ¡C ±½´y©M X¥ú¡A¯àµ¥­Ô¨ì©ú¤Ñªº¥þ³¡¡C"
 
"S' great." Joe tore off his robe.  / " S' ¤j®v ". ³ì¨³³t¼g¦n¥Lªº¼eÃPªø³T¡C
 
"We'll start at five, which gives you time to rest."  / "§Ú­Ì¦b¤­ÂI±N¶}©l, ¨º¤@­Óµ¹§A®É¶¡¥ð®§".
 
Joe reached for his civvies. "Five tomorrow morning?"  / ³ì¤Î©ó¥Lªº¥­¥Á¡C "¤­©ú¤Ñ¦­±á"?
 
"Yes. You'll sleep here. We'll start by monitoring your  sleep patterns, today."  /
 "¬Oªº¡C §A±N¦b³o¸ÌºÎı¡C ¤µ¤Ñ§Ú­Ì±NÂǵۺÊÅ¥¶}©l§AªººÎ¯v¨å«¬¡C"
 
"Sleep patterns?"  / " ºÎ¯v¼Ò¥é "?
 
"You had a seizure, Joe. You're going to have to stay in  for observation."  / 
"§A¦³¤F¤@­Ó®·Àò¡A³ì¡C §A¥¿¦b¥h¥²¶·°±¯d¦b¹ï©óÆ[¹î¡C"
 
"Can I at least get something to eat?"  / " §Ú¯à¦Ü¤Ö±o¨ìªF¦è¦Y¶Ü "?
 
"Of course. Tell me what you want and I'll send  someone." / "·íµM¡C §i¶D§Ú§A·Q­nªº©M§Ú±N¬£»º¬Y¤H¡C"
 
Joe put his hands behind him on the examining table  and, leaned against the edge, he let his shoulders slump, 
 put all his weariness in his voice.  "Ruri, I wanna stretch  my legs. You're gonna have me in here for the next two  days, 
right?" / 
³ì§â¦b¥L«á­±ªº¥L¤â©ñ¦bÀˬd®à¤l©M, ­Ê¾aÃä½t, ¥LÅý¥LªºªÓ²rµM±¼¸¨,§â¥L©Ò¦³ªº¯h­Â©ñ¤J¥LªºÁn­µ¡C   
"Ruri, §Ú·Q­n¦ù®i§Úªº»L¡C §A¥¿¦b¥h¦b³o¸Ì¸Ì­±¦³§Ú¥¼¨Óªº¤G¤Ñ, ¹ï¤£¹ï?"
 
Ruriko Saavedra let him go.  / Ruriko Saavedra Åý¥L¥h¡C
 
He left the clinic, just one more ISO employee coming out  of the medical offices.  / 
¥LÂ÷¶}¤F¶E©Ò, ¥u¬O¥t¥~¤@­Ó°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´¾­û§Y±N¨ÓªºÂ÷¶}Âå¾Çªº¿ì¤½«Ç¡C
 
Jinpei resumed surveillance.  / Jinpei ­«·s¶}©l¤FºÊµø¡C
 
Joe let the kid follow for a while. Got some coffee from  the commissary and a pack of cigarettes. Camels  unfiltered. 
He headed out for the loading bay, flashing his  security clearance, sat on the landing, legs dangling over  the edge. 
Broke two matches before managing to light  the cigarette.  / 
³ìÅý¤p«Ä¸òÀH¤@°}¤l¡C ¥Ñ¥Nªí©M¤@¸s­»·Ï®³¤@¨Ç©@°Ø¡C Àd¾m¨S¹LÂoªº¡C ¥L¬°­t¸ü®üÆW¥Xµo, °{²{¥Lªº¦w¥þ²M°£, §¤¦bµn³°¤W, 
¦bÃä½t¤§¤W¦Q°Êªº»L¡C ¦b³]ªkÂI¿U­»·Ï¤§«eÂ_±¼¤F¤G­Ó¤ñÁÉ¡C
 
Joe only smoked half. Re-entered the building. Started  walking, head down, hands in his pockets, 
until he  reached a spot where it was only he and Jinpei in the  corridors. / 
³ì¥u¤@¥b¦a§l·Ï¡C ¦A¶i¤J¤F«Ø¿vª«¡C ¶}©l¤F¨B¦æ,«e¶i¤U¨Ó,ú¥æ¥Lªº¤f³U,ª½¨ì¥L¨ì¹F¤F¤@­Ó¥¦¬O¨«´Yªº°ß¤@¥L©M Jinpei ªº¦aÂI¡C
 
Joe turned a corner, stayed.  / ³ìÂà¦V¤F¤@­Ó¨¤¸¨,°±¯d¡C
 
Jinpei came around at the same speed, and was  prepared, aiming for Joe's solar plexus with a single boloball, 
and following through with a foot to Joe's kidneys.  /
Jinpei ¥H¬Û¦Pªº³t«×¨Ó¦bªþªñ, ¦Ó¥B³Q·Ç³Æ,¥H boloball °l¨D³ìªº¤Ó¶§ plexus  , ¦Ó¥B¥H¹ï³ìªºµÇ¸}¸òÀH¹L¡C
 
Joe pushed Jinpei through the motion, had him up  against the wall before Jinpei knew it, upside down and  
screaming against Joe's hand. "I don't have time for this  shit. And I'm sorry." Joe growled, and hugged the kid,  
hard. Then knocked him out. He lay Jinpei on the ground,  arranging his short limbs so he wouldn't be stiff when he  woke. / 
¦b Jinpei ª¾¹D¥¦¤§«e , ³Q§V¤O§¹¦¨ Jinpei ¹B°Êªº³ì, ¤Ï¹ïÀð¾À¦V¤W¦³¤F¥L, ÄA­Ë¦Ó¥B¦y¥s¹ï§Ü³ìªº¤â¡C "§Ú¨S¦³³oÁTªº®É¶¡¡C
 ¦Ó¥B¹ï¤£°_¡C" ³ì«ã§p, ¦Ó¥B¾Ö©ê¤F¤p«Ä, Ãøªº¡C µM«áºVÀ»¥X¥L¡C ¥L©ñ¸m¦b¦a­±¤Wªº Jinpei,¦w±Æ¥Lªºµu¤ÁÂ_¤§¤â¨¬¡A¦p¦¹·í¥L³ê¿ôªº®É­Ô¡A
¥L±N¤£¬O±j¯Pªº¡C
 
"You didn't have to do that."  / " §A¤£¤@©w­n°µ¨º " ¡C
 
Joe whirled, shuriken in his hand. Jun stood in her whites  and pinks, the avenging Swan. "Give him to me."  / 
³ì±ÛÂà, ¥Lªº¤â shuriken¡C ¤»¤ë¦b¦oªº¥Õ¦â©M¯»¬õ¦â¤¤¯¸¥ß, ¬°¤ÑÃZ³ø¤³¡C " §â¥Lµ¹§Ú " ¡C
 
Joe backed away.  / ³ì°hÁY¡C
 
"Give him to me!"  / " §â¥Lµ¹§Ú "!
 
There was an ultra bright flash and Joe stood before her  as the condor, feather shuriken in his hand.  / 
¦³¹L«×ªº©ú«G°{¥ú¡A¦Ó¥B³ì¦b¦o¤§«e¯¸¥ß¦p¨rÆN, ¥Î¦Ð¤òÂл\¥Lªº¤â shuriken¡C
 
"Why are you doing this?" Jun asked. / " §A¬°¤°»ò°µ³o "? ¤»¤ë°Ý¡C
 
Joe made no move, no answer.  / ³ì¨S»s³y²¾°Ê, ¨S¦³µª®×¡C
 
Kneeling next to Jinpei, checking him over, Jun spoke,  / µM«á¸÷¨ì Jinpei, µ²§ôÀˬd¥L, ¤»¤ë»¡,
"You never went for a single diagnostic, let alone two."   / "§A±q¤£¥h®³¶EÂ_, ¿W¦Û¦aÅý¤G".
 
"The first time they checked me out they said it was all in  my head."  / "²Ä¤@¦¸¥L­ÌÀˬd¥X§Ú¥L­Ì»¡¤F¥¦¥þ³¡¬O¦b§ÚªºÀY¤¤".
 
Jun was cradling her adopted brother, pressing her cheek  against his little face. "You didn't have to hurt him."  / 
¤»¤ë¥¿¦b©ñ¦b·nÄx¤º¦o³Q¦¬¾iªº¥S§Ì,À£­¢¹ï§Ü¥Lªº¤pÁy¦oÀU¡C " §A¤£¤@©w­n¶Ë®`¥L " ¡C
 
"It's only a nerve pinch. I didn't want to."  / "¥¦¥u¬O¯«¸g®º¡C §Ú¨S¦³·Q­n¨ì¡C"
 
Her expression turned ugly. She hugged the kid tighter.  / ¦oªºªí¹FÅÜÁà­®ªº¡C ¦o§óºòºò¦a¾Ö©ê¤F¤p«Ä¡C
"Just go."  / " ¶È¶È¥h " ¡C
 
"If I go in for observation, I'm never coming out. I can't die  in a hospital."  / 
"¦pªG§Ú°Ñ¥[Æ[¹î,§Ú±q¤£¥¿¦b¥X¨Ó¡C §Ú¯à¤£¦b¤@©ÒÂå°|¤¤¦º¡C"
 
"You didn't even try, Joe."  / "§A¬Æ¦Ü¨S¦³¸Õ, ³ì".
 
"Go to my trailer-" / "§ä§Úªº°lÂܪÌ-"
 
"I hacked your records." / " §Ú¬å¼A¤F§Aªº¬ö¿ý " ¡C
 
"--under the sink, on a hook, is a safety deposit box key.  / "--¦b¬~º°¼Ñ¤§¤U, ¦b¤@­Ó¹_¤W, ¬O¤@¤ä¦w¥þ¦s´Ú²°¤lÆ_°Í¡C
First Integrated Island Bank. It's all there. I'm not dying in  a hospital. And I'm not going out without taking a piece of  / 
­º¥ý¾ã¦Xªº®q»È¦æ¡C ¥¦¥þ³¡¦b¨º¸Ì¡C §Ú¨S¦³¦b¤@©ÒÂå°|¤¤¦º¤`¡C ¦Ó¥B§Ú¨S¦³¦b¨S¦³®³¥X¥h¤@¶ô
Galactor with me."  / ¥Ñ©ó§Úªº Galactor¡C"
 
"You didn't even try!" / " §A¬Æ¦Ü¨S¦³¸Õ "!
 
"My parents ---"  / "§Úªº¤÷¥À ---"
 
She screamed. Joe had put Jinpei so far under that the  kid didn't even twitch. / 
¦o¦y¥s¡C ³ì¤w¸g©ñ Jinpei ¦p¦¹ªº»·¦b¤p«Ä¬Æ¦Ü¨S¦³²r©Ô¡C¤§¤U¥H­P©ó
 
"They have to be avenged! I have to be avenged!" / "¥L­Ì¥²¶·³Q³ø¤³! §Ú¥²¶·³Q³ø¤³!"
 
Jun lurched to her feet, struggling with Jinpei's dead  weight, "Go, already! I fixed it so the alarm won't sound  for 
eight minutes after you leave! Get out of my face. Do  what you have to do -- go die!"  / 
¤»¤ë¬ðµM¦V¤@Ãä¶É±×¨ì¦oªº¸}, »P Jinpei's ªºÀR¤î­«¶q°_ª§°õ,"¥h, ¤w¸g! §Ú­×²z¤F¥¦¡A
¦p¦¹Äµ³ø±N¤£Å¥¬°¦b§AÂ÷¶}¤K¤ÀÄÁ¤§«á! Â÷¶}§ÚªºÁy¡C 
°µ§A¥²¶·°µªº -- ¥h»ë¤l!"
 
Reeling, turning on his heel, Joe fled.  / ±²,©ó¶b¤W¥´¶}¥Lªº¸}«á¸ò, ³ì°k¥X¡C
 
 
 
******************
5.
 
In Nambu's offices Jun worked fast, kneeling on the floor  in front of his desk. Her tapered fingers, stained and  scarred, 
their short nails buffed to a high shine, tapping  command codes into the terminal via the alpha numeric  spider designed to 
bypass the touch identification  function of the keypad while the other hand, writing so  fast it was cramping, took notes./ 
¦b Nambu's ªº¿ì¤½«Ç³Q¤u§@ÂN§Ù,¦b¥Lªº®Ñ®à¤§«e¦b¦aªO¤W¸÷ªº¤»¤ë¡C ¦o³vº¥Åܤp¤F¤â«ü, ªg¬V¦Ó¥Bµ²¬Í,¥L­Ìªºµu°v¤l¹ï°ªªº¥ú¿AÀ¿¥ú½ü, 
¸g¥Ñªüº¸µo»´¥´«ü¥O±K½X¶i¤J²×ÂI¼Æ­Èªº»jµï³]­p¬Ù²¤«öÁä°ÏªºÄ²Ä±½T»{¥\¯à·í¥t¤@­Ó¤âªº®É­Ô, ¼g§@¦p¦¹ªº§Ö³t¥¦¥¿¦b©âµ¬, °µµ§°O¡C
 
Nambu gave Jun free run of his offices, the picture in the  lowest left hand drawer of his desk the reason why. 
The  frame was oval, badly spot-welded metal, not quite hiding  the ragged edges of the photo. The child was filthy, 
three  but looking eighteen months because of malnutrition.  / 
Nambu ¦Û¥Ñµ¹¤©¤F¤»¤ë¥Lªº¿ì¤½«Çªº©b¶], ¥Lªº®Ñ®à³Ì§C¥ª¤â©â±Pªº·Ó¤ù²z¥Ñ¬°¤°»ò¡C Åé®æ¬O¾ò¶ê§Î¡AÄY­«¦aÂI²k±µªºª÷ÄÝ, 
¤£¬Û·íÂìۤùªº¦ç­mÄ°Á¹Ãä½t¡C «Ä¤l¬O¦Ã©ªº, ¤T¦ý¬O¬Ý¤Q¤K­Ó¤ë¦]¬°Àç¾i¥¢½Õ¡C
She'd been tied to a rusted out highchair, waste running  down her legs and pooling on the ground. She had  enormous eyes and 
her smile, despite the squalor, was  sweet.  / 
¦o¤w¸g³Qô¨ì¤@¥Íù×¥X highchair, ®ö¶O¶]¤U¨Ó¦oªº»L¦Ó¥B¦b¦a­±¤W§iµo¡C ¦o¦³¤F¥¨¤jªº²´·ú©M¦oªº·L¯º, ¤£¦b¥G»êż, ¬O²¢»e¡C
 
Jun knew the story behind the picture well, having  overheard it enough times when Nambu was assuring an  associate of her 
loyalty and discretion.  / ¤»¤ë§â¦b·Ó¤ù«á­±ªº¬G¨Æª¾¹D±o«Ü¦n,¦³µL·N¤¤Å¥¨ì¥¦ Nambu ¬O«OÃÒ¦oªº©¾¸Û©M·V­«ªº¦P¦ñ¥R¨¬ªº®É¥N¡C
 
The picture had been torn out of a group shot of girl  children left to die in a state run orphanage.  / 
·Ó¤ù¤w¸g³Q¼¹¶}Â÷³Q¯d¤Uªº¤k«Ä«Ä¤lªº¹ÎÅéª`®g¦b¤@©Ò¦{©b¶]©t¨à°|¤¤¦º¡C
 
She'd been his cappuccino-a-day baby. A little girl he'd  sponsored after seeing an advert that featured hundreds  of 
abandoned children who could be clothed and fed for  the price of a cup of coffee each day.  / 
¦o¤w¸g¬O¥Lªº¥d¥¬©_¿Õ©@°Ø-¤@-¤é¤lÀ¦¨à¡C ¥L¤w¸g¦b¨£¨ì¤§«áÃÙ§Uªº¤@­Ó¤p¤k«Ä¤@ª`·N¨º¥Ñ¼Æ¥H¦Ê­p¥i¯à³Q¨C¤Ñ¬°¤@ªM©@°Øªº»ù®æ¥¬®Æ
¦Ó¥BÁýªº¼Z¸¨«Ä¤l¥Dºt¡C
 
Not many people traveled far from home in that part of  the world in those days. Gangs, unexploded mines, skyrocketing fuel 
costs and dead roads and bridges that  were not going to be rebuilt by any two-year plan made  travel untenable for most.
 Only armed forces engineers,  relief workers, and non-governmental organization  visionaries like Kozaburo Nambu, went on 
impromptu  road trips.  / 
¤£¦hªº¤H¦b¨º¨Ç¼Æ¤Ñ¤¤¦b¥@¬Éªº¨º¤@­Ó³¡¥÷¤¤Â÷®a«Ü»·®È¦æ¡C ²Õ´, ¥¼Ãz¬µªº«õ±¸, ötº¦¿U®Æ¶O¥Î©M¦ºªº¹D¸ô©M¨S¦³¦b¥h³Q¥ô¦ó¤G¦~­p¹º
¦A«Ø³yªº¾ô¨Ï¤j³¡¤Àªº®È¦æ¤£¯à¨¾¦u¡C ¥u¦³¤T­x³]­p,¦w¤ß¤u¤H , ©M¹³ Kozaburo Nambu ªº«D¬F©²²Õ´ªÅ·Q®a,Ä~Äò¶i¦æ§Y®uªº¹D¸ô®È¦æ¡C
 
Nambu had been hard at work on a damn in the lower / Nambu ¦b¤ñ¸û§C¤Hªº¤@ÂI¤W¦b¤u§@¤¤¤w¸g¬OÃøªº
Jupiter valley when he realized that he wasn't more than  a hundred klicks away from the Small World facility where his little 
girl lived.  / ¤ì¬P¤s¨¦·í¥L¤F¸Ñªº®É­Ô¥L¬O¦Ü¦h¦Ê klicks »·Â÷¤pªº¥@¬É³]³Æ¥Lªº¤p¤k«Ä¦í¡C
 
Nambu was unexpected, and he wandered the grounds  before stumbling on the room where girls had been left to  die. 
The smell had hit him first, and the silence. Little  children shouldn't have ever been so quiet. Nambu told  people it 
was fate that he found her when he did. That  he'd fallen in love with the purity of her smile. That even if  she hadn't 
been the girl in the photograph back in his  home in Utoland, he'd have still rigged a baby-sack out of  his shirt and put 
her in it.  / 
Nambu ¬O·N·Q¤£¨ìªº¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¦b°¸µMµo²{¤§«e¹C¿º²z¥Ñ¤k«Ä¤w¸g³Q¯d¤U¦ºªº©Ð¶¡¡C ¨ý¹D¤w¸g¥´¥L²Ä¤@ , ©M¨HÀq¡C 
¤p«Ä¤l¤£À³¸Ó¤w¸g´¿¸g¬O¦p¦¹¦wÀR¡C Nambu §i¶D¤F¤H©R¹B¬O·í¥L°µªº®É­Ô¡A¥Lµo²{¦o¡C ­þ¤@¥L¤w¸g·R¤W¦oªº·L¯º¯Â²b¡C 
­þ¤@§Y¨Ï¦o¨S¦³¦b Utoland ªº¥L®a¤¤¬O¬Û¤ùªº¤k«Ä­I­±,¥L¦³¤w¸g¤´µM§@¤â¸}¤@­ÓÀ¦¨à-³Â¥¬³U±q¥LªºÅ¨­m¦Ó¥B§â¦o©ñ¤J¥¦¡C
 
Via satellite uplink, Nambu called in many favors and  shut that orphanage down. The scandal was in the  papers and on the net 
for weeks, and in the end, Jun was  a ward of Kozaburo Nambu, and Nambu was a key  investor in a new children's relief 
organization with offices  and facilities all over southeast Asia and Utoland.  / 
¸g¥Ñ¤H³y½Ã¬P uplink ¡A³Q¦¬¦^³\¦h¦n·N©MÃö³¬ªº¨º¤@©Ò©t¨à°|ªº Nambu åP¸¨¡C 
Áà»D¬O¦b¤å¥ó¤¤¦Ó¥B¦bºô¤Wªø¹F¼Æ­Ó¬P´Á¤§¤[¡A©M¦bµ²§ô¤¤¡A¤»¤ë¬O Kozaburo Nambu ªº¦u½Ã¡A
¦Ó¥B Nambu ¹M¤ÎªF«n¨È¬O©M¿ì¤½«Ç©M³]³Æªº¤@­Ó·sªº«Ä¤l¦w¤ß²Õ´ªºÃöÁä§ë¸êªÌ©M Utoland¡C
 
Jun, no last name, none was recorded and Nambu never  gave her one, was an arrow in his quiver, a living weapon  
forged to act on his command. Her education, her skills,  her experience were a reflection of his values and needs.  / 
¤»¤ë , ¨S¦³©m, ¨S¦³¤H³Q°O¿ý¡A¦Ó¥B Nambu ±q¤£µ¹¤©¤F¦o¤@,¬O¥Lªº¾_°Ê¤@¤ä½b,¤@­Ó¬¡ªºªZ¾¹°°³y¹ï¥Lªº«ü¥O¦³©Ò¤ÏÀ³¡C ¦oªº±Ð¨|¡A
¦oªº§Þ³N, ¦oªº¸gÅç¬O¥Lªº»ù­È©M»Ý­nªº¤Ï¬M¡C
Jun did not begrudge him this. She had only to look at  that picture in his desk and imagine her life without him.  / 
¤»¤ë¨S¦³¶ú§ª¥L³o¡C ¦o¨S¦³¥L¤~¥²¶·¬Ý¥Lªº®Ñ®à¨º¤@±i·Ó¤ù¦Ó¥B·Q¹³¦oªº¥Í¬¡¡C
But in the course of 36 hours Jun had discovered that  she could deny Joe nothing. Even if, especially if, he did  not ask. 
And so, hastily, heart in her throat, stomach  churning with what she knew to be betrayal, she excised  all digital evidence
 of Joe's flight from headquarters.  / 
¦ý¬O¦b 36 ¤p®É¤»¤ë´Á¶¡¤w¸gµo²{¦o¥i¥H§_»{³ì¨S¨Æ¡C §Y¨Ï, ¤×¨ä¦pªG, ¥L¨S¦³°Ý¡C 
¦Ó¥B¦p¦¹¡A¥^¦£¦a¡A¦oªº«|³ï¤ß,¥Î¦oª¾¹D¬O­I«qªº§Ô¨üÅͨÅ,¦o³fª«µ|¤F¨Ó¦ÛÁ`³¡ªº©Ò¦³¼Æ¦ì¹ï©ó³ìªºÃÒ¾Ú­¸¦æ¡C
 
 
 
******************
6.
 
In the envelope on the front passenger seat of the G2  were five blank credit cards. 
Taped to the back of each  was scrawled a pin number and on a separate piece of  paper was a name: Sara Holliday, MD. / 
¦b G2 ªº«e­±­¼«È®y¦ì¤Wªº«H«Ê¤¤¬O¤­ªÅ¥Õªº«H¥Î¥d¤ù¡C ¿ý­µ¨ì¨C­Óªº­I­±³Q¼ã¯ó¦a¼g¤@­Ó±K½X¦Ó¥B¦b¤@±i³æ¿W¯È¤W¬O¤@­Ó¦W¦r: 
²ï­Y Holliday ¡A MD¡C
 
Joe smiled, a simple, tiny twist of his lips.  / ³ì·L¯º, ¥Lªº®B²³æ¤S·¥¤p¤@§á¡C
 
Headaches, light sensitivity, vertigo, and the occasional  blackout, those were Joe's first indications that his health  was 
going to shit.  / ÀYµh¡A¥ú±Ó·P¡A¯t·w , ©M°¸µMªº°±¹q, ¨º¨Ç¬O¥Lªº°·±d¥¿¦b¥hÁTªº³ì²Ä¤@«ü¥Ü¡C
 
Headaches, he could excuse by skipping meals. Light  sensitivity could be attributed to increasingly long nights.  / 
ÀYµh, ¥L¥i¥HÂǥѸõ¶V¤@À\­ì½Ì¡C »´ªº±Ó·P¥i¯à³QÂk¦]©ó³vº¥¦aªøªº©]±ß¡C
Vertigo lost cause for alarm when he'd been drinking  hard and was chatting up some girl under dubious  lighting; 
and it helped that during the course of the war  every one of Joe's teammates had begun to manifest  signs of prolonged 
stress and strain. Joe wasn't the only  science ninja who avoided all but the most cursory  physical examinations, 
his mistrust of ISO medical care  profound since the time Nambu had strapped him into a  centrifuge for the purpose of 
dislodging shrapnel from  / 
·í¥L§V¤O¦a¤w¸g³Ü¨Ã¥B¥¿¦b¥iºÃªº·Ó©ú¤§¤U¦b¤@¨Ç¤k«Ä¤W­±¶¢½Íªº®É­Ô¡A¯t·w¬°Äµ³ø¥¢¥h¤F¦]¯À; 
¦Ó¥B¥¦¦b¾Ôª§ªº½Òµ{¶¤¤Í¤w¸g¶}©lÅã¥Ü©µªøªºÀ£¤O©Mºò±iªº²Å¸¹³ì¤§¤¤ªº¨C¤@­Ó´Á¶¡À°§U¤F¨º¡C 
³ì¤£¬OÁקK¤F´X¥G³Ì¥^¥^¦£¦£ªº¨­ÅéÀˬdªº°ß¤@¬ì¾Ç§ÔªÌ , ¥Lªº°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´ÂåÀø«O°·¤Hªº¤£«H¥ô·¥²`ªº¦Û®É¶¡ 
Nambu ¤w¸g¸i¸j¥L¶i¤J¬°¤F³v¥X¶}ªá¼uªº¤@­ÓÂ÷¤ß¤ÀÂ÷¾÷¥H«á±q
Joe's brain.  / ³ìªº¸£¡C
 
Shrapnel from his brain. / ¨Ó¦Û¥Lªº¸£¶}ªá¼u¡C
 
Afterwards, Joe had filched Nambu's notes, seen that  / µM«á¡A³ì¤w¸g°½ÅÑ Nambu's ªºªþµù,¨£¨ì¨º
Nambu had scrawled in his horrible, over-educated  handwriting, "Permeability Stability Experiment #22" and  decided that the 
next person he let touch him in a  medical way would be more than just some guy with a  /
 Nambu ¤w¸g¦b¥Lªº¥i©È¤S¤W­±-¨ü¹L±Ð¨|ªºµ§¸ñ¤¤¼ã¯ó¦a¼g," ®û³z©Ê¦w©w¹êÅç #22" ©M½T©wªº­þ¤@¥LÅýªº¤U¤@­Ó¤H¥H
¤@Âå¾Çªº¤è¦¡¸I¥L±N·|¶W¹L¥u¬O¤@¨Ç³Ã¥ë¥Ñ©ó¤@
Ph.D.  / ³Õ¤h
 
Joe may have gone from mission to mission without  stopping until his heart failed if it hadn't been for the  blackouts. 
Those were much harder to ignore. Tapping  his steering wheel with his hand he spoke, "I did go to the  ISO meds one more 
time after Nambu and the stupid  centrifuge thing. You know what they told me? They told  me I had migraines. Everyone told me 
I had migraines." / 
³ì¥i¯à±q¥ô°È¨ì¥ô°È¤w¸g¨S¦³°±¤î¥h¡Aª½¨ì°²¦p¥¦¤£¬O¡A¥Lªº¤ß¥¢±Ñ¬°°±¹q¡C ¨º¨Ç¬O«D±`Ãø¤£²z¸B¡C ¥Î¥Lªº¤â»´¥´¥Lªº¤è¦V½L¥L»¡,
"§Ú¦b Nambu ©M·MÄøªºÂ÷¤ß¤ÀÂ÷¾÷¨Æª«¤§«á½T¹ê¥h°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´ÂåÃĪº¥t¥~¤@­Ó®É¶¡¡C §Aª¾¹D¥L­Ì§i¶D¤F§Úªº? ¥L­Ì§i¶D¤F§Ú§Ú¦³¤F°¾ÀYµh¡C 
¨C­Ó¤H§i¶D¤F§Ú§Ú¦³¤F°¾ÀYµh¡C"
 
He reached under the bandage that covered his eye, and  ripped it off. / ¥L¦b²[»\¤F¥Lªº²´·ú, ¦Ó¥B¨«¶}¼¹¶}¤F¥¦ªºÁ^±a¤§¤U¨ì¹F¡C
 
"So I took my ass to doctors."  / " ¦]¦¹§Ú±a§ÚªºÆjµ¹Âå¥Í " ¡C
 
To a second floor walk-up in Utoland's Chinatown that  / ¨ì Utoland's ªº­ð¤Hµóªº¤@­Ó¤G¼ÓµL¹q±èªº¤½´J¨º
Mr. Kim across the street from the Snack J swore by. Dr.  / ¾î¹L¨Ó¦Û¤p¦Y J ªºµó¹D¦N©i¥ý¥Í©G½|³Q¡C ³Õ¤h
Gao took Joe's money, checked his tongue, his eyes, his  sputum and told Joe that he had too much anger in him  and needed to 
see a therapist. The second took his  money, made him shit in a pot, stuck him full of needles  and asked if he'd been in any 
car accidents lately. The  third had a practice off an alley off an unnamed street in  the one of the worst quadrants of Utoland
 City. The brick  walls, once red, had faded to the color of thinnest sliced  rare roast beef and the ground surrounding it was  
covered by hundreds of abandoned sneakers. Dingy  whites and grays and palest browns, wrinkled cotton,  plastic, and leather, 
tumbled atop one another,  compressed by age, compacted like a surreal stretch of  well traveled beach. Faded fliers continued 
the washedout motif up the leaning walls, 
stippled the bloody pink  brick weak gray and weaker yellow. The sky, high above,  was a narrow splice of white.  / 
Gao ±a¤F³ìªº¿ú, Àˬd¤F¥Lªº¦Þ¡A¥Lªº²´·ú¡A¥Lªº·ð¦Ó¥B§i¶D¤F³ì¥L¦³¤F¦b¥L¸Ì­±ªº¤Ó¦h©Á«ã¦Ó¥B»Ý­n¨£¤@¦ìªvÀø®v¡C
 ¬íªá¤F¥Lªº¿ú, ¦b¤@­Ó³ý¤¤¨Ï¥L©Ô«Ë, ªþµÛ¥L¥Rº¡ªº°w¦Ó¥B°Ýªñ¨Ó¦b¥ô¦óªº¨®º×¤¤°²¦p¥L¬O¡C
 ²Ä¤T­Ó¦b Utoland «°¥«ªº³ÌÃa¥|¤À¶ê¤§¤@¤¤ªº¤@±ø¨S³zÅS¦W¦rªºµó¹D¥~ªº¤@±ø¤p¸ô¥~¦³¤@­Ó½m²ß¡C 
¿j¶ôÀð¾À, ¤@¥¹¬õ¦â, ¦³¤w¿Æ¦âªº¨ìÃC¦â³ÌÁ¡ªº¤Á¦¨Á¡¤ùµ}¨uªº¯N¦×¤û¦×©M¥¦³Q¼Æ¥H¦Ê­p¼Z¸¨ªº¹B°Ê¾c²[»\¤Fªº¤g¦aÀô¹Ò¡C 
·L¶Âªº¥Õ¦â©M¦Ç¦â¦Ó¥Bµ²¬°¤Í½Å¦â,°_½K¤F´Öªá¡A¶ì½¦©M¥Ö­², ¦b©¼¦¹ªº³»¤W¶^¸¨,³Q¦~ÄÖÀ£ÁY,¹³®È¦æ¨}¦n®üÅyªº¹Ú¤Û¯ë¦ù®i¨Ï¸Ëº¡¡C
 ¤w¿Æ¦âªº­¸¦æ­û¦b¶É±×Àð¾À¤W­±Ä~Äò¤F washedout ¥DÃD,ÂI¨è¦å¸{ªº¯»¬õ¿j¶ô®zªº¦Ç¦â©M§ó®zªº¶À¦â¡C ¤ÑªÅ¡A°ªªº¤W¤è,¬O¥Õ¦âªº¯U¯¶±µ¦X¡C
 
He'd breathed easily, and not stumbling over the  graveyard of tennis shoes at all, made his way to the  doctor's front door. 
Knocked. Was let into a dark, very  clean, very cold, and very empty sitting room by a short  woman in a doctor's coat. Flashed 
his roll of soiled cash  and demanded a catscan.  /
 ¥L¦³®e©ö¦a©I§l, ©M¤£¦bºô²y¾c¤lªº¹Ó¦a¤§¤W¥þµM²Ì­Ë, »s³y¤F¨ìÂå¥Íªº«eªù¥L¸ô¡C ºVÀ»¡C ³QÅý¶Â·t¶i¥h, «D±`°®²bªº¡M«D±`´H§Nªº¡M
©M«D±`ªÅ®y¦ì¦w±Æ©Ð¶¡¦bÂå¥Íªº¥~®M¤@­Ó¸G¤k¤H¤âÃä¡C °{²{¤F§Ëżªº²{ª÷¥L±²ª«¦Ó¥B­n¨D¤F catscan ¡C
 
Joe hadn't recognized dark little Doc Holliday. He didn't  think she had recognized him. He undressed in front of her,  
wincing at the band of pale flesh where his wristcom  should have been, and allowed himself to be tested by a  woman who 
once was ISO, but had left for a shadier, more  lucrative way of life. He stripped, stepped up, looked to  the side and 
coughed. He held out his arms for needles,  and bent his head for a band of semi-insulated  conducting material. She listened 
to him recite a list of his  symptoms with a dry expression, and gave him a series  of pills: Dilatin for the seizures, 
Osoparine for the  migraines and little pink pills that tasted a lot like baby  powder and hit like really good bourbon. 
Those gave him  back his reflexes and his coordination. After taking that,  he saw clearer than he had in days. 
When Joe asked Dr.  / ³ì¨S¦³¿ë»{¥X¶Â·tªº¤p¤å¥ó Holliday ¡C 
¥L¨S¦³»{¬°¦o¤w¸g¿ë»{¥X¥L¡C ¥L¦b¦o¤§«e²æ¥h¦çªA, ¦b»a¥Õ¦×ªº¼Ö¹Î¬ÈÁY¦b­þ¸Ì¥Lªº wristcom À³¸Ó¬O, 
¦Ó¥BÅý¥L¦Û¤v³Q¤@­Ó¤@¦¸¬O°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´, ¦ý¬O¤w¸g«e©¹¤ñ¸û·tªº¤k¤H,§ó¦hªº¥Í¬¡¦³§Q¯q¤è¦¡´ú¸Õ¡C 
¥L°£¥h, «P¶i ] , ´ÂµÛÃä¦Ó¥B«y¹Â¡C ¥L¬°°w´£¨Ñ¥Lªº¤âÁu, ¦Ó¥B¬°¤@±ø¥bªº¼Ö¹ÎÅs¦±¤F¥LªºÀY-µ´½t¤Þ¾É§÷®Æ¡C 
¦oÅ¥¥Lªº¸Ü¥Î°®ªºªí¹F­I»w¤@³s¦êªº¥LÄpª¬, ¦Ó¥Bµ¹¤©¤F¥L¤@¨t¦CªºÃĤY: ¬°®·Àòªº Dilatin, ¹ï©ó°¾ÀYµh©MÀ|°_¨Ó©MÀ¦¨à¯»«Ü¦h¹³¡A
¦Ó¥BÀ»¤¤¤F¦PÃþ¯uªº¦n bourbon ªº¤p¯»¬õªºÃĤY Osoparine¡C ¨º¨Ç§â¥Lµ¹¤©¦^¨Ó¥Lªº¤Ï®g©M¥Lªº¨ó½Õ¡C 
¦b±a¨º¤§«á¡A¥L¨£¨ì¤ñ¸û²M·¡ªº¶W¹L¦b¼Æ¤Ñ¤º³Q¦³ªº¥L¡C ·í³ì°Ý¤F³Õ¤hªº®É­Ô
Holliday what they were, she ignored him. / Holliday ¥L­Ì¬O¤°»ò,¦o©¿²¤¤F¥L¡C
 
Wiping at his weeping eye Joe frowned. "I didn't go back  for my results until I fell down during a mission."  / 
¦b¥L­úª_²´·ú³ìÀ¿«ø½K¬ÜÀY¡C "§Ú¨S¦³¬°§Úªºµ²ªG¦^¥hª½¨ì§Ú¦b¤@­Ó¥ô°Èªº®É­Ô¶^­Ë".
 
He sat through debriefing, didn't say a word, and after  that went out and got very very sober. Went on an all  night
walk-about that took him everywhere. Went to the race track. Considered how badly he wanted to win the  upcoming race 
and instead visited his parents' grave. He could have stuck a stick in a wasp nest and shook it around with less consequence./
 ¥L­@µÛ©Ê¤l¬Ý§¹¥ô°È³ø§i,¨S¦³»¡¤@­Ó¦r, ©M¦b­þ¤@¤§«á¥~¥X¦Ó¥B«Ü«Ü²M¿ô¤F¡C Ä~Äò¶i¦æ¤@¾ã©]±ß´²¨B-¤j¬ù¨º¦U³B±a¥L¡C ¥h¤ñÁÉ­y¹D¡C
 ¦Ò¼{¥L·Q­nűo§Y±N¨ÓÁ{ªº¤ñÁɨåB§ï¬°«ô³X¤F¥Lªº¤÷¥À¹Ó¥Þ¦a¦hÄY­«¡C 
¥L¥i¯à¦b¤@­Ó¶À¸Á±_¤¤ªþµÛ¤@®Ú¾ðªK¦Ó¥B¥H¤ñ¸û¤Öªºµ²ªG¦bªþªñ·n°Ê¥¦¡C
 
"When I went back to Sicily. I found out my parents were  / "·í§Ú¦^¥h Sicily ªº®É­Ô¡C §Úµo²{¡A§Úªº¤÷¥À¬O
Galactor. You think straight under those circumstances.  / Galactor¡C §A¦b¨º¨ÇÀô¹Ò¤§¤Uµ§ª½¦a·Q¡C
But I did go back to Dr. Holliday."  / ¦ý¬O§Ú½T¹ê¦^¥h Holliday ³Õ¤h¡C"
 
It took him two months to run out of the little pink pills  with the nasty sick sweet taste that sharpened him better  
than pharmaceutical grade cocaine. / 
¥Lªá¤G­Ó¤ë¥Î¥ú¦³¨Ï¤ñÃľǪºµ¥¯Å¥j¬_ÆP¦nªº¥L¦y¾U¤Fªº¦Ã©¤£µÎªA²¢ªº«~À|¤p¯»¬õªºÃĤY¡C
 
Holliday insisted on another examination.  / Holliday °í«ù¥t¦Ò¸Õ¡C
 
"This was the first angiopathy you've had done?" Dr.  / " ³o¬O§A¤w¸g¦³§¹¦¨¤Fªº²Ä¤@ angiopathy"? ³Õ¤h
Holliday had asked.  / Holliday ¤w¸g°Ý¡C
 
He'd nodded.  / ¥L¦³ÂIÀY¡C
 
"I'm not surprised, considering..." she'd begun, taking in  his appearance carefully, then shook her head.  / 
"§Ú¤£³Q¦YÅå, ±q¦U¤è­±¨Ó¬Ý¡C¡C¡C" ¦o¤w¸g¶}©l, ¤p¤ß¦a±µ¨ü¥Lªº¥~ªí, µM«á·nÀY¡C
 
She was former ISO, after all, Joe surmised. She knew  what it was like. Had Joe not been so worried he would  have noticed 
the darkness of her poreless skin, her  mouth, her nose, how everything was the same even tone as the curve of her inner nostril.
 Sometimes when  she spoke her lips curved to reveal small even teeth,  charmingly gapped in the middle in which her tongue, 
 violet rose, bloomed like something chaste and at other times obscene. He only saw these things when he replayed the encounters
 in his mind and engraved them  in his memory.  /
 ¦o¬O«e°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´,²¦³º¡A³ì±À´ú¡C ¦oª¾¹D , ¥¦¹³¬Æ»ò¡C ¦³¤F³ì¤£¦p¦¹¾á¼~¥L·|ª`·N¦oªºµL¤ò¤Õªº¥Ö½§¶Â·t¡A¦oªº¼L¡A¦oªº»ó¤l, 
¨C¥ó¨Æª«¬O¬Û¦Pªº¤è¦¡¬Æ¦Ü½Õ©M¦p¦oªº¤º³¡»ó¤Õªº¦±½u¡C ¦³®É·í¦o»¡¤F¦oªº®BÅsÅã¥Ü¤pªº¥­©Z¤ú¾¦ªº®É­Ô, °g¤H¦a¦b¤¤¥¡Á_»Ø¦b¨º¤@­Ó¦oªº¦Þ¡A
µµÃ¹Äõ¦âªºª´ºÀ, ¹³­s¼äªºªF¦è¤@¼Ë¶}ªá©M¦b¨ä¥Lªº®É¥NµTÁ¶¡C 
·í¥L¦b¥Lªº°O¾Ð¤¤­«·s¤ñÁɤF¥Lªº¤ß¬Û·|¦Ó¥B¨è¥L­Ìªº®É­Ô¡A¥L¥u¨£¨ì¤F³o¨Ç¨Æª«¡C
 
"This might kill you," she'd said. "Your injuries."  / 
" ³o¥i¯à±þ§A ",¦o¦³»¡¡C " §Aªº¨ü¶Ë ".
 
"I have money."  / " §Ú¦³¿ú " ¡C
 
The doctor shook her head.  / Âå¥Í·nÀY¡C
 
"Lots of money. Insurance, too."  / "³\¦h¿ú¡C «OÀI, ¤]¡C"
 
"It's operable, but the procedure might result in some  impairment of your fine motor skills. I'm sorry, Mr.  / 
"¥¦¬O¥i¹ê¬Iªº¡A¦ý¬Oµ{§Ç¥i¯à³y¦¨¤@¨Ç§Aªº¦n°¨¹Fªº§Þ³N·l®`¡C ¹ï¤£°_, ¥ý¥Í
Asakura," 
 
Joe'd thought about killing her, knowing his cover blown.  / Joe'd ·Q±þ®`¦o¡Aª¾¹D¥Lªº³Q§j±»Å@¡C
Realizing that he was much worse off if he was thinking  about killing her, and her not already dead.  /
 ¦pªG¥L¥¿¦b·Q±þ®`ªº¤£¤w¸g¦ºªº¦o , ©M¦o¡A¤F¸Ñ¨«¶}¥L¬O«D±`ÁVªº¡C
 
"The procedure could cripple you."  / " µ{§Ç¥i¥H·l¶Ë§A " ¡C
 
Joe'd looked at his wrist, at the pale band where his  wristcom should be.  / 
¦b¥Lªº wristcom À³¸Ó¬Oªº»a¥Õ¼Ö¹Î Joe'd ¬Ý¥Lªº¤âµÃ¡C
 
"My daughter is a fan."  / " §Úªº¤k¨à¬O¨g¼öªÌ " ¡C
 
Joe had understood. Chuckling a little because in those moments he'd forgotten he was a race car driver. "One of  the few." /
³ì¤w¸g¤F¸Ñ¡C ¦]¬°¦b¨º¨Ç¤ù¨è¥L¤w¸g§Ñ°O¡A©Ò¥Hµy·L¦Y¦Yªº¯º¥L¬O¤ñÁɨT¨®¥q¾÷¡C " ¤Ö¼Æªº¤¤¤@ ".
 
The doctor's smile had been understanding. "Your face is  all over her room. You might not race again."  / 
Âå¥Íªº·L¯º¤w¸g¤F¸Ñ¡C "§AªºÁy¹M¤Î¦oªº©Ð¶¡¡C §A¥i¯à¤£¦A¤ñÁÉ¡C"
 
"Worst case?"  / " ³ÌÃaªº±¡§Î "?
 
"Physical therapy. You might have to relearn how to  walk."  / 
"ª«²zÀøªk¡C §A¥i¯à¥²¶·¦A¾Ç²ß¸Ó¦p¦ó¨«¡C"
 
He'd done that before.  / ¥L¥H«e¤w¸g°µ¨º¡C
 
Foot on the peddle, gritting his teeth, Joe heard Jun's  voice in real-time: "So you can't race cars anymore, 
at  least you'll be alive!"  /
 ¸}¦b¨º¤§¤W¬D½æ, ÂÐ¥H¬âÄt¥Lªº¤ú¾¦³QÅ¥¨ì¤»¤ëªºÁn­µ³ì¦b§Y®Éªº: " ¦]¦¹§A¯à¤£¦A¤ñÁɨT¨®,¦Ü¤Ö§A±N¬¡µÛ "!
 
"A cripple?" Joe yelled back. "Blind?" And wiped at the  itchy moisture leaking out of his weak eye. / 
" ¤@­Ó¶_¤l "? ³ì¦V«á¦a¤j¥s¡C " ª¼¤H "? ¦Ó¥B¦bº|Â÷¥Lªº®z²´·úªºÄo·Ã®ðÀ¿¡C
 
He was talking to himself. / ¥L¥¿¦b©M¥L¦Û¤v»¡¸Ü¡C
 
Not good. / ¤£¬O¦n¡C
 
Joe's molars clicked together and his mouth closed into a  frown. / ³ìªº¦Ý¾¦¤@°_«ö¡A¦Ó¥B¥Lªº¼L¶i¤J½K¬Ü¤§¤ºÃö³¬¡C
 
It wasn't for nothing that he was entertaining imaginary Juns  trying to talk him out of he was about to do. It wasn't 
for nothing  he hadn't pitched his wristcom out the window while going over  the causeway and let the wind carry it out
 into the bay. But he'd  strong-armed too many goons and undercover ISO agents in  goon's-clothing, broken into too many 
classified files, and  shaken-down too many corrupt officers of the law till he knew  more places of Galactor business and
interest in Utoland City  than maybe Berg Katse, glam-rock leader of the organization,  his-or-her-freak-ass self to go back 
to Crescent Coral and let the  ISO quacks take a crack at fixing what was wrong with him. / 
¥¦¤£§K¶O¥L¬O¹Á¸Õ±q¥L»¡¸Ü¥Lªº´r§Ö·Q¹³ªº¤»¤ë¥¿­n°µ¡C ¥¦¤£§K¶O·í¸Ô²Ó¹î¬Ý³ö¹D¦Ó¥BÅý­·¶i¤J®üÆW¤§¤º¹ê¦æ¥¦ªº®É­Ô¡A
¥L¨S¦³¥X¦Ûµ¡¤á²Ï¨c¥Lªº wristcom ¡C
 ¦ý¬O¥L¦³±jªº-§b¤lªºªZ¸Ë¤Ó¦h§b¤l©M¯µ±Kªº°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´±´­û-¦çªA, ³QÂô¤Jªº¤Ó¦h¾÷±KªºÀÉ®×, 
¦Ó¥B·n°Ê-¤U¨Ó¤Ó¦hªk«ßªº»G±Ñ©x­ûª½¨ì¥L¶W¹L¤]³\¦B¤s Katse ¡A²Õ´ªº glam-©¥¥Û»â³S¦b Utoland «°¥«¤¤ª¾¹D§ó¦h 
Galactor ¥Í·N©M¿³½ìªº¦a¤è, 
¥Lªº-©ÎªÌ-¦o-·î§Î¤H-Æj¦Û¤vªº¦^¥h·s¤ë§Îªº¬À·ä¦Ó¥BÅý¤FÀn¥sÁn¦b©T©w¤°»ò¹ï¥L·P¨ì¿ù»~±a¤@­ÓµõÁ_ªº°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´¡C
 
Not that it'd make a difference.  / ¤£¬O¥¦±N·|¦³®t§O¡C
 
Joe reached into his pocket, dug out a flat pillcase, flicked it open  with his thumb. There were eight pills there. Pink. 
Precious. He  choked two down. Dry swallowed them. The pressure behind his  eyes began to lessen and the colors of the world 
shifted back  towards normal. / 
³ì¶i¤J¥Lªº¤f³U¤§¤º¨ì¹F,«õ¥X¥­©Zªº pillcase, »´¼u¤F¥¦¶}©ñªº¥Ñ©ó¥Lªº©æ«ü¡C ¦b¨º¸Ì¦³¤K²ÉÃĤY¡C ¯»¬õªº¡C Ä_¶Qªº¡C 
¥L²¿®§¤G¤U¨Ó¡C °®§]¤F¥L­Ì¡C ¦b¥Lªº²´·ú«á­±ªºÀ£¤O¶}©l´î¤Ö¡A¦Ó¥B¥@¬ÉªºÃC¦â¦V±`ºA¦V«á¦a§ïÅÜ¡C
 
Hearing the far-off wail of sirens Joe hitched forward and peered  into the rear-view mirror. 
Trucks and cars sped along behind him  but no patrol cars, no motorbikes. He tilted the rearview mirror  
and hunched down, squinting. There were no planes in the sky. / 
Å¥¤k®ü§¯³ìªº»»»·´d¹Ä¦V«e¦a²r©Ô¦Ó¥B¶i¤J«á­±-µø³¥Ãè¤l¤§¤º¾®µø¡C ¥d¨®©M¨T¨®¥[³tªuµÛ¦b¥L«á­±°£¤F¨S¦³¨µÅÞ¨T¨®¤§¥~, 
¨S¦³¾÷¾¹¸}½ñ¨â¥Î¨®¡C ¥L¶É±×¤F rearview Ãè¤l¨Ã¥BÅs¸y¾m­I¤U¨Ó,¨ÏÅܱ׵ø²´¡C ¨S¦³¤ÑªÅªº­¸¾÷¡C
 
A tinkling staticky noise sounded. Joe flipped the catch on the  glove compartment. The sound became louder. / 
µo¥X tinkle ªºÁnÅT staticky ¾¸­µÅ¥¡C ³ì¥Î«üÀY¼u¤F¦b¤â®M°Ï¹º¤Wªº®·®»¡C Án­µÅܱo¤ñ¸û¤jÁnªº¡C
 
Joe fished out his wristcom. Turned it over, again. It emitted the  thin sound he was used to: the bird scramble. / 
³ì³¨¥X¥Lªº wristcom ¡C ¦A¤@¦¸Â½­Ë¥¦¡C ¥¦µo¥X¥L²ßºD©óªº½GÁn­µ: ³¾Ãk½t¡C
 
"Le' me alone, Jun." he said. / "Le' §Ú©t¿Wªº, ¤»¤ë". ¥L»¡¡C
 
The wristcom grew warm in his palm, its bright primary colors  beginning to glow. An electric tingle ran through his skin,  
quicksilver, like Jun's first kiss before searing his palm. /
 wristcom ¦b¥Lªº¤â´x¤¤ÅÜ«Ü·Å·x,¥¦ªºÁo©ú´£¦W­Ô¿ï¤Hªº¹w¿ï·|§â¶}©l¤W¦âµo¬õ¥ú¡C ¤@­Ó¹q°Êªº¿³¾Ä¶]¹L¥Lªº¥Ö½§¡A¤ô»È, 
¹³¤»¤ë¤@ªº¤é§k¦b¯NµJ¥Lªº¤â´x¤§«e¡C
 
"SHIT!" Joe shouted, flinging the wristcom to the mat and  flattening his tongue against his hand. /
 " ©Ô«Ë "! ³ì©I³Û,§ë¹ï¹Ôªº wristcom ¦Ó¥B±N¹ï§Ü¥Lªº¤â¥L¦ÞÅÜ¥­¡C
 
Joe snorted, slammed his foot harder on the gas. / ³ì¼QµÛ®ð§ËÅT»ó¤l,²rµMÃö¤W¤ñ¸ûÃøªº¦b¥Ë´µ¤Wªº¥L¸}¡C
 
If Nambu hadn't caught up to him by the end of the afternoon the  ISO wouldn't have anyone to blame but itself. / 
°²¦p Nambu ¤£®·®»¥Ñ¥L¨M©w¦b¤È«á©³¤§«e°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´±N·|¨S¦³¥ô¦ó¤H°£¤F¥¦¥»¨­¤§¥~³d³Æ¡C
 
* * * / ***
 
The tires of the car rolled over a coffee can as Joe pulled into the  driveway of the gas station/carwash. / 
·í³ì·Æ¶i¥[ªo¯¸/carwash ªº¨®¹D®É­Ô¡A¨T¨®ªº½ü­L¦b¤@­Ó©@°ØÅø¤l¤§¤W±²¡C
 
Joe popped the trunk, leaned back as he opened it so the hot air  rising out of it didn't add to his haze. Joe had to 
rub his temples  anyway. Slammed the trunk shut. Slung the bag over his  shoulder and started to walk. The band around 
Joe's head, the  invisible one that had been there since Jun had screamed at  him, loosened a little. He looked around, 
really looked around.  / 
³ì¨ú¥X¾ð·F,·í¥L¥´¶}¤F¥¦¡A¦V«á¦a­Ê¾a¡A¦p¦¹¤É°_Â÷¥¦ªº¼ö®ð¨S¦³¼W¥[¥LªºÁ¡Ãú¡C ³ì¥²¶·µL½×¦p¦óÀ¿¥Lªº¦x¼q¡C ²rµMÃö¤W¤F³QÃö¤Wªº¾ð·F¡C
 §ëÂY¤F¦b¥LªºªÓ¤W³U¤l¦Ó¥B¶}©l¨«¡C ¦b³ìªºÀY¡A´¿¸g¨ì¹L¦b¨º¸Ìªº¬Ý¤£¨£ªº©P³ò¼Ö¹Î¦Û±q¤»¤ë¤w¸g¦b¥L¦y¥s¤§«á, µy·L©ñÃP¡C
 ¥L¥|³B¬Ý¬Ý, ¯uªº¥|³B¬Ý¬Ý¡C
He'd never been there during the day. / ¥L¦³±q¤£¬O¦b¨º¤Ñ´Á¶¡¦b¨º¸Ì¡C
 
Daytime, Hana Drive was ghetto. Nine out of ten storefronts  were boarded up windows, if they had them, painted over,  
papered or soaped. It was discount auto part stores and pawn  shops. Empty was the word. Quiet, and a little too clean. / 
¥Õ¤Ñ, Hana ¾r¨®¬OµS¤Ó¤Hµó¡C ¤Q¤¤¦³¤E­Ó©±ÀY¦bµ¡¤á¤W­±³Q·f­¼,¦pªG¥L­Ì¦³¤F¥L­Ì,µ²§ôµe, ¥Î¯È½k©ÎªÌ¥HªÎ¨m¬~¡C 
¥¦¬OÀu´f¨T¨®³¡¥÷°Ó©±©M¨å·í°Ó©±¡C ªÅªº¬O¦r¡C ÀR¤î, ¦Ó¥B¦³ÂI¨à²M²z¡C
 
Nighttime, it was valet parking only up and down both sides of  the road. Taxis and limos depositing already lit partiers 
on the  sidewalks in front of the clubs, public and private. The painted  buildings didn't look shabby by the light of the 
neons and the  spotlights pointed up at the semi-tropical sky, not at the wellpainted, badly-built buildings. 
Inside sheet-rock and concrete  block buildings and warehouses that had gone from mid-range  office space to low rent public 
housing, to squats then crackhouses and back again, people partied, and Galactor had its  way. / 
©]¶¡, ¥¦¬O°±¨®¹D¸ôªº¥u¦³¤W¤U¨âªÌÃ䪺¨Í¹²¡C ²æ¸zÁٯdzN©M limos ¦s©ñ¤w¸g¦b­Ñ¼Ö³¡¡A¥Á²³©M¤Gµ¥§L¤§«eµo«G¤F¦b¤H¦æ¹D¤Wªº partiers ¡C 
´yµeªº«Ø¿vª«¨S¦³¬Ý°_¨Ó¯}Äê³Q¦»ªº¥ú©MµJÂI³Q«ü¥X¦b¨È¼ö±aªº¤ÑªÅ¤W­±, ¤£¦b wellpainted, ÄY­«¦a-«Ø³y«Ø¿vª«¡C 
¤º³¡ªº±i-©¥¥Û©M²V¾®¤gªý¶ë«Ø¿vª«¡A¦Ó¥B±q¤¤¶¡-½d³ò¿ì¤½«ÇªÅ¶¡¨ì§CÂI¤w¸g¥hªº­Ü®w¯²¥Î°s§a, 
µM«á¹ïÃÛ crackhouses ©M¦V«á¦a¦A¤@¦¸¡A¤HÄÒ¡A¦Ó¥B Galactor ¦³¤F¥¦ªº¤èªk¡C
 
Commercial Hana drive was only one of several places in  / °Ó·~ªº Hana ¾r¨®¥u¬O¤@¨Ç¦a¤è¤§¤@¦b
Utoland City where Galactor had its way. / Galactor ÀH¤ß©Ò±ýªº Utoland «°¥«¡C
 
There was a rock, sitting on the sidewalk and minding its own  business. Joe kicked it forward and strolled after it, 
towards P/
 ¦³¤@¶ô©¥¥Û,§¤¦b¤H¦æ¹D¤W©M¤¶·N¥¦¦Û¤vªº¥Í·N¡C ³ì¦V«e¦a½ð¤F¥¦¦Ó¥B¶¢³}¦b¥¦¤§«á, ¦V P
Infinity. / µL­­¤j¡C
 
Seven levels of dance floor on half a city-block. / ¤C¼h¸õ»R¦b¤@¥bªº«°¥«¤W¾Q¦aªO-°Ï¬q¡C
 
It wasn't that every other girl that picked him up at P Infinity turned out to be a Galactor spy or Devilstar assassin 
trying to find out if his having the same build as Condor Joe made him  / 
¦pªG·í¨rÆN³ì»s³y¤F¥Lªº®É­Ô¡A¥LªºÅý¤@¼Ëªº«Ø¥ß¡A
¥¦¤£¬O¨º¤@­Ó¦b³QÅܦ¨¹Á¸Õµo²{ªº Galactor ¶¡¿Ò©ÎªÌ Devilstar ·t±þªÌªº P µL­­¤j±µ¸ü¥Lªº¨C¹j¤@¤k«Ä
Condor Joe that brought the place under his suspicion; it was  how damn busy the loading dock was, all fucking night long, 
and  how P Infinity never served food. / ¦b¥Lªº²qºÃ¤§¤U±a¤F¦a¤èªº¨rÆN³ì; ¥¦¬O , ¤@ÂI¦£µÛ½XÀY¬Oªº­t¸ü¡A©Ò¦³ªº©Ê¥æ©]±ßªº¤è¦¡ªøªº, 
©M P µL­­¤j¦p¦ó±q¤£¨ÑÀ³­¹ª«¡C
 
Joe heard truck backfires, running engines, the sounds of people  moving heavy things into a warehouse. / 
³QÅ¥¨ìªº³ì¥æ©ö°f¤õ,¶]¤ÞÀº¡A²¾°Ê­«ªº¨Æª«¶i¤J¤@¶¡­Ü®w¤§¤ºªº¤HÁn­µ¡C
 
The big guy out back in the black shirt and pants was sweating  and angry looking. He saw Joe coming from a ways away. Joe  
sauntering; step-step-step, kick. Step-step-step, kick. The rock  never going too far to his left or to his right / 
¥X¦Û¶Â¦âªºÅ¨­m©M¿Ç¤lªº­I­±¤j³Ã¥ë¥¿¦b¥X¦½©M¥Í®ðªº¬Ý¡C ¥L¨£¨ì¨Ó¦Û¤@­Ó¤èªkªº³ì¨Ó¤§»·¡C
 ³ì¶¢³}; ¨BÆJ-¨BÆJ-¨BÆJ,½ð¡C ¨BÆJ-¨BÆJ-¨BÆJ,½ð¡C
 ©¥¥Û±q¤£¹ï¥Lªº¥ªÃä©Î¥Lªº¥kÃä¤Ó¹L¤õ
 
The bouncer narrowed his eyes, "No soliciting." /
 §j¤ûªÌÁY¤p¤F¥Lªº²´·ú¡A " ¨S¦³Àµ¨D " ¡C
 
Joe smiled at him, rubbed his hand over his mouth. "Nothin's for  sale," he whispered. / 
³ì¦b¥L·L¯º,À¿¦b¥Lªº¼L¤W¥L¤â¡C " °â½æªº Nothin's",¥L¦Õ»y¡C
 
"What?" said the bouncer. / " ¤°»ò "? §j¤ûªÌ»¡¡C
 
The rock shattered to the right of his head and he covered his  face with his hand, crying out in surprise, 
failing to block the  feather shuriken that took him through the left eye. / ¥H¥Lªº¤â²[»\¥LªºÁy,¦b·N¥~¤¤¤j¥s,
 ¥¢±Ñªº¹ï¥LÀY¥kÃä³Q¥´¸Hªº©¥¥Û©M¥Lªý¶ë¸g¹L¥ªÃ䪺²´·ú±a¥Lªº¦Ð¤ò shuriken¡C
 
It was the last clean kill of Joe's day. / ¥¦¬O³ìªº¤é¤l¨º³Ì«á°®²b±þ¡C
 
 
 
******************
7.
 
 
Temporary HQ's off-tempo red alert rang a little louder than it  should have on the fourth count. Her fault. 
The changes she'd  made so Joe could get out were having effects she hadn't  anticipated. The changes were distracting 
her from her assigned  task. That and Ken's stare. He leaned against the railing of the  first tier of the command center, 
arms bent back, his hands  hooked over the top rail. Over his shoulder she could just see the  viewscreen playing images 
of destruction. /
 ¼È®Éªº HQ's ¨«¶}-©ç¤l¤ñ¸û¥¦¦b²Ä¥|­p¼Æ¤WÀ³¸Ó¦³¡A¬õ¦âªºÄµ§Ùµy·L°ªÁn¦a»ïÅT¡C ¦oªº¹L¥¢¡C 
§ïÅܦo¤w¸g°µ¡A¦p¦¹³ì¥i¥H°k¶]¥¿¦b¦³¦o¨S¦³¹w´Áªº®ÄªG¡C §ïÅÜ¥¿¦bÂಾ±q¦o¦o¤À°t¤u§@¡C ¨º©MªÖ®¦ªºª`µø¡C 
¥L­Ê¾a«ü¥O¤¤¤ßªº²Ä¤@¦Cªº§ß¤â,¤âÁu¦V«á¦aÅs¦±,¥Lªº¤â¹_¦í¤F¶W¹L­­«×ÅK¸ô¡C ¦b¥LªºªÓ¤§¤W¦o¥i¥H¶È¶È¨£¨ìª±¯}Ãaªº¼v¹³ viewscreen ¡C
 
Joe had been busy. / ³ì¤w¸g¬O¦£¸Lªº¡C
 
She typed a series of commands. Her wristcom vibrated in  sympathy, numbing her arm from wrist to elbow. / 
¦oÁä¤J¤@¨t¦Cªº«ü¥O¡C ¦oªº wristcom ¦b¦P±¡¤è­±®¶°Ê,¨Ï¦oªº±q¤âµÃ¨ì¤â¨yªº¤âÁu³Â¤ì¡C
 
<Whatever you just did,> Ken's fingers signed, the blamp-blampblamp-blamp of the alarms making all but shouted 
 communication impossible in the command center, <Don't do it  again.> /
 <µL½×§A­è­è°µ¤°»ò,> ªÖ®¦ªº¤â«üñ¸p, blamp-blampblamp-´X¥G»s³yªºÄµ³ø blamp ©I³Û¤F¤£¥i¯àªº¦b«ü¥O¤¤¤ß¤¤ªº·¾³q,<¤£¦A°µ¥¦¡C>
 
With the first images of the remains of the Circle X discount  CD/DVD warehouse and the largest nightclub on Hana Drive the  
command center had gone quiet except for the rapid tak of  fingers on keypads, and Nambu's voice issuing commands. / 
ÂǥѲĤ@­Ó¼v¹³¨º¶ê°é X «O«ùÀu´f CD/¼Æ¦ì¼v¹³¥úºÐ¦b«ü¥O¤¤¤ß°£¤F¦b«öÁä°Ï¤Wªº¤â«ü¨³³t tak 
¥H¥~¤w¸gÅܦwÀRªº Hana ¾r¨®¤Wªº­Ü®w©M³Ì¤jªº©]Á`·| , ©Mµo¦æ«ü¥Oªº Nambu's ªºÁn­µ¡C
 
The first cheers had died down when people realized that the  places AWOL Condor Joe, G2, had flattened were Galactor  
operations that no one in the command center, except Nambu,  had known about - and all of them deep in Utoland City, 
territory  thought inviolate by the ISO. / 
·í¤H¤F¸Ñ¦a¤è AWOL ¨rÆN³ì¡A G2, ¤w¸gÅÜ¥­ªº®É­Ô¡A²Ä¤@´r§Ö¤w¸gº¥®§¬O¨S¦³¤H¦b«ü¥O¤¤¤ß¤¤¡A°£¤F Nambu ¥H¥~¡A
¤w¸gª¾¹Dªº Galactor ¤â³N - ©M¥L­Ì¥þ³¡²`¤J¦b Utoland «°¥«¤¤¡A»â¤g·Q¥¼Á¶Âpªº³Q°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´¡C
 
And only Nambu had known about them. / ¦Ó¥B¥u¦³ Nambu ¤w¸gª¾¹D¥L­Ì¡C
 
The messengers and couriers had been coming fast and swift  through the double doors, trailing behind Nambu's flapping 
white  coattails as he dashed from station to station with uncanny  aplomb. / 
³ø«HªÌ©M«æ¥ó»¼°e¤H¸g¹L¨âÃä¶}ªºªù¤w¸g¨ÓÂN§Ù©M½Å«B¿P, ¦b Nambu's ©ç¥´¥Õ¦âªº¦ç§À®ÄÀ³«á­±°lÂÜ·í¥L±q¨®¯¸²rÂY¥H©Ç½Ïªº¨IµÛ¦w¸m¤§®É¡C
 
If it hadn't been for the gray circles of sweat beneath his arms,  the cloth wet enough for her to make out the patterns of
 his  madras shirt, Jun would have thought that the scorched sky over  / 
¦b¥Lªº¤âÁu¤§¤U¬°¦½ªº¦Ç¦â¶ê°é°²¦p¥¦¤£¬O, ¥¬®Æ°÷À㪺Åý¦o¤F¸Ñ¥Lªº°¨¼w©Ô´µ¥¬Å¨­mªº¨å«¬, ¤»¤ë´N·|»{¬°¤F³Q¨Ï¿NµJªº¤ÑªÅµ²§ô
Hana Drive as shown by the view screen, greasy smoke sporing  over shattered walls and pilons of the three story converted  
warehouse that only hours earlier had been P Infinity, its loading  dock littered with bodies, fused asphalt and glass, 
and flames  spiking over dark rainbow oil slicks were something Nambu  expected. / 
¦pµø³¥¿Ã¹õ©ÒÅã¥Üªº Hana ¾r¨®, ¦b¥´¸HªºÀð¾À©M¤T­Ó¬G¨Æªº pilons ¤Wªºªo¿°·Ï sporing Âà´«¤F°ß¤@ªº¤p®É¦­¨Ç®É­Ô¤w¸g¬O P µL­­¤j¡A
¥¦ªº³Q´²¶ÃµÛ¨­Åé¡A¿Ä¦Xªº¬fªo©M¬Á¼þªº­t¸ü½XÀY¡A¦Ó¥B¦b¶Â·tªº±m­iªo½¤¤Wªº¤õµK°{Àé¬O¬Y¨Æ³Q´Á±æªº Nambu ªº­Ü®w¡C
 
Nambu being a great one for secret plans. / §@¬°¤@­Ó¤j®v¤@ªº Nambu ¹ï©ó¯µ±K­p¹º¡C
 
Joe had been busy since he'd gone AWOL, and she'd thought  him on the way to BC Island, Sicily where his parents had been  
assassinated. She'd panicked when Nambu hailed her via the  wristcom, demanding that she present herself to the command  
center and track down Joe's whereabouts, locking her jaw  against the urge to wail out loud so hard that minutes later, her 
 jaw was still clicking. / 
³ì¦Û±q¥L¤w¸g¥h AWOL ¡A¦Ó¥B¦o¦³¦b«e©¹¦è¤¸«e®q¡A¥Lªº¤÷¥À¤w¸g³Q·t±þªº Sicily ªº³~¤¤·Q¥L¥H«á¤w¸g¬O¦£¸Lªº¡C 
·í Nambu ¸g¥Ñ wristcom ¦V¦oÅw©I¤Fªº®É­Ô¡A¦o¦³®£·W, ­n¨D¦hªº¦o¹ï«ü¥O¤¤¤ß§e²{¦o¦Û¤v¦Ó¥B°lÂܧä¨ì³ìªº¦æÂÜ, 
Âê©w¹ï§Ü©IÆ~ªº¦oÃE´d¹Ä¥X°ªÁn¦p¦¹ªºÃø¥H­P©ó¼Æ¤ÀÄÁ¤§«á¡A¦oªºÃE¤´µM¥¿¦b«ö¡C
 
They'd found Joe's car soon after and Ryu had gone to pick it up  and take back any Galactor survivors for questioning,
 not that  / ¥L­Ì¤w¸g«Ü§Öµo²{³ìªº¨T¨®¦b©M Ryu ¤w¸g¶]¬B°_¥¦¦Ó¥B»{¬°¦V«á¥ô¦óªº Galactor ¥ÍÁ٪̬O¸ß°Ý¤§«á, ¤£¨º
Jun expected there to be any. / ³Q´Á±æ¨º¸Ì¬O¥ô¦óªº¤»¤ë¡C
 
Joe was nothing if not thorough. / ³ì¤°»ò¤]¤£¬O¦pªG¤£¬O§¹¥þ¡C
 
Part of Jun admired Joe's efficiency. She may not have been  able to do a better job of bringing down that club herself; 
but  when Nambu had begun rattling off locations where Joe might  turn up, and each of those turned out to be Galactor 
franchises,part of her was appalled that Joe had managed to discover that  she, with all her training and access to
 Nambu's files, had not.
 / 
¤»¤ëªº³¡¥÷Æg¬ü¤F³ìªº®Ä²v¡C ¦o¥i¯à¨S¦³¯à°÷°µ¥´­Ë¨º­Ñ¼Ö³¡¦o¦Û¤vªº§ó¦n¤u§@; ¦ý¬O·í Nambu ¤w¸g¶}©l¨«¶}Åå·W¥¢±¹³ì¥i¯à¥X²{ªº¦aÂI , 
©M¨C³QÅܦ¨ Galactor ³\¥iªº¨º¨Ç®É­Ô¡A¦oªº³¡¥÷³QÅåÀ~¡A³ì¤w¸g³]ªkµo²{¦o, ÂǥѦo©Ò¦³ªº°V½m©M Nambu's ªºÀɮ׳q¸ô, ¤£¦³¡C
 
Jun had never seen Nambu move, nor heard him talk, so fast. / 
¤»¤ë±q¥¼¨£¨ì Nambu ²¾°Ê, ¤]¤£Å¥¨ì¥L»¡¸Ü, ¦p¦¹ªº§Ö³t¡C
 
Ken was still staring at her. / ªÖ®¦¤´µM¥¿¦b¨nµÛ¦o¬Ý¡C
 
The image on the screen changed, showing the record shop  where it was assumed that Joe had begun his rampage. 
The  windows were cracked, starred really, and body matter opaqued  the glass. / 
¦b³Q§ïÅÜ,Åã¥Ü¬ö¿ý¥¦¬O°²¸Ëªº°Ó©±³ì¤w¸g¶}©l¥Lªº¶Ã¾x­þ¸Ìªº¿Ã¹õ¤Wªº¼v¹³¡C µ¡¤á³Q§Ë¸H,¯uªº¥Dºt¡A¦Ó¥B¨­Åé¨Æ¥ó¨Ï¬Á¼þ¤£³z©ú¤F¡C
 
"Report!" Nambu snapped. Then muttered, "There's no telling  what Galactor will do in retaliation." / " ³ø§i "! Nambu «rÂ_¡C
 µM«á³ä³ä¦Û»y,"¤£­ã§i¶D¤°»ò Galactor ±N¦b³ø´_¤¤°µ".
 
Jun shivered. Tried another command. / ¤»¤ë¥´Å¸¡C ¹Á¸Õ¤F¥t¤@­Ó«ü¥O¡C
 
Joe was probably dead, if not completely crazy. / ³ì¥i¯à¦º, ¦pªG¤£¬O§¹¥þµo¨g¡C
 
The tech at Nambu's elbow swallowed audibly. Ken ran down  the stairs and snatched the printout from the frozen tech's hands./ 
¬ì§Þ¦b Nambu's ªº¤â¨y¥iÅ¥¨£¦a§]¡C ªÖ®¦¶]¤U¨Ó¼Ó±è¦Ó¥B¹Ü¨ú¤F¨Ó¦Û§N­á¬ì§Þªº¤â¦L¥X¡C
 
"No survivors." Ken answered. "Twenty dead." / ¨S¦³¥ÍÁÙªÌ. ªÖ®¦¦^µª¡C "¤G¤Q¦ºªº".
 
"Civilian fatalities?" / " ¥­¥Áªº¶Ë¤` "?
 
"None." / " ¨S¦³¤H ".
 
"Oh, thank the Lord." / "®@, ÁÂÁ¤½Àï".
 
Ken grabbed the tech by the arm, shoved the printout into his  hand. Said something to him that was lost in the upswell of  
noise. / ªÖ®¦§ì¨ú¤F¤âÁuªº¬ì§Þ,±ÀÀ½¦L¥X¶i¤J¥Lªº¤â¡C ¹ï¥L»¡ªF¦è¥H¦b¾¸­µªº upswell ³Q¥¢¥h¡C
 
Nambu tore his eyes from the carnage on the screen and pinned  / 
Nambu ¼¹¯}¤F¨Ó¦Û¦b¿Ã¹õ¤Wªº¤j±O±þªº¥L²´·ú¦Ó¥B¥Î°w§O¦í
Jun with his gaze. / ©M¥Lªºª`µø¤»¤ë¡C
 
She shook her head, no. Typed commands faster. / ¦o·nÀY, ¸¹½XÁä¤J«ü¥O§ó§Ö³t¦a¡C
 
Ken ran up the stairs, put a hand on the back of her chair and  another on her desk.  "Report?" he murmured. /
 ªÖ®¦¦b¼Ó±è¤W­±¶],§â¤@°¦¤â©ñ¦b¦oªº®Ñ®à¤Wªº¦o´È¤l©M¥t¥~¤@ªº­I­±¡C   " ³ø§i "? ¥L§C»y¡C
 
"He's not responding." / " ¥L¨S¦³¦b¦^À³ " ¡C
 
"If he's still there," Ken's chin jerked towards the screen. Grainy  images of the parking lot behind the CD/DVD warehouse ripe 
 with dying flame (and bodies, more bodies) more bodies than  should have fit into the 120 sq. foot shop. Subterranean levels  
then, and a two fifths of them dressed in Galactor infantry green. / 
" ¦pªG¥L¤´µM¦b¨º¸Ì ",ªÖ®¦ªº¤U¤Ú¦V¿Ã¹õµjÅË¡C ¦b CD/¼Æ¦ì¼v¹³¥úºÐ«á­±ªº°±¨®³õªº²Éª¬¼v¹³Àx¤J­Ü®w¦¨¼ôªº¥Ñ©ó««¦ºªº¤õµK 
(©M¨­Åé, §ó¦hªº¨­Åé) §ó¦hªº¨­Åé¤ñ¸ûÀ³¸Ó¦³¾A©y¶i¤J 120 sq¡C ¸}ÁʶR¡C ¦a¤Uªº¤ô·ÇµM«á¡A©M¥L­Ì¤§¤¤ªº¤­¤À¤§¤G¬ï Galactor ¨B§Lºñ¦â¡C
 
"Concentrate on the task. You're thinking too much," Ken said. / "±Mª`©ó¤u§@¡C §A¥¿¦b·Q¤Ó¦h," ªÖ®¦»¡¡C
 
"Some of those people are probably ours." Jun said.  / "¤@¨Ç¤H¥i¯à§Ú­Ìªº". ¤»¤ë»¡¡C
"Undercover for the ISO. That's probably how Joe--" / "¹ï©ó°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´¬O¯µ±Kªº¡C ¨º¥i¯à¦p¦ó³ì--"
 
"Keep it together," snapped Ken. / " ¤@°_«O¦s¥¦ ",«rÂ_¤FªÖ®¦¡C
 
Jun bit her lip. / ¤»¤ë«r¤F¦oªº®B¡C
 
"Do you have a signal yet for me?" demanded Nambu. / " §A¦³«H¸¹¤´µM¬°§Ú¶Ü "? ­n¨D¤F Nambu ¡C
 
"No," she whispered. / " ¤£ " ¡A¦o¦Õ»y¡C
 
"Hakase," a tech shrilled, "Director Kane is requesting your  presence in conference room B." / 
" Hakase",¤@­Ó¬ì§Þ¥Î¦y¾UªºÁn­µ»¡," ³Í®¦«ü¾ÉªÌ¥¿¦b½Ð¨D·|ij©Ð¶¡ B ªº§A¥X²{ " ¡C
 
Nambu pushed the tech out of his way, stalked to Jun's station.  / Nambu ±q¥Lªº¤èªk±À°Ê¤F¬ì§Þ,®¨®¨¾aªñ¨ì¤»¤ëªº¨®¯¸¡C
"Jun?" he snapped grabbing the railing beneath her station and  glaring up at her. "I need that information." / 
" ¤»¤ë "? ¥L«rÂ_¦b¦oªº¨®¯¸¤§¤U§ì§ß¤â©M°{Ä£ªº¦V¤W¦b¦o¡C " §Ú»Ý­n¨º¸ê®Æ " ¡C
 
"Give her time, Hakase," Ken said. "She's working as fast as she  can." He put a hand on Jun's shoulder, his fingers tight./ 
"´£¨Ñ¦oªº®É¶¡, Hakase",ªÖ®¦»¡¡C " ¦o¥¿¦b¾¨¥i¯à§Ö³t¦a¤u§@ " ¡C ¥L§â¤@°¦¤â©ñ¦b¤»¤ëªºªÓ, ºòºò¦aªº¥L¤â«ü¡C
 
Jun swallowed. / ¤»¤ë§]¡C
 
Another courier approached Nambu. This one looked shocky. / ¥t¤@­Ó«æ¥ó»¼°e¤H±µªñ¤F Nambu ¡C ³o¤@­Ó¬Ý¤F shocky ¡C
 
"What is it?" from Nambu. / " ¥¦¬O¤°»ò "? ±q Nambu¡C
 
"We're getting more reports from Pier Infinity. Indications of  nerve toxin use." / 
"§Ú­Ì¥¿¦b±q½XÀYµL­­¤j±o¨ì§ó¦hªº³ø§i¡C ¯«¸g¬r¯Àªº«ü¥Ü¨Ï¥Î¡C"
 
Nambu's face, stoic at the best of the times, went even calmer,  but again, it was his voice that gave him away. 
Water was never  as airless unless at the very bottom of the ocean. "This city may  never recover from what the 
Condor's set in motion." / 
Nambu's ªºÁy, ´µ¦h¸¯¾Ç¬£­õ¾Ç®a¦b®É¥Nªº³Ì¦n, ÅܬƦܤñ¸û¥­ÀR, ¦ý¬O¦A¤@¦¸¡A¥¦¬O¥LªºÃØ°e¥LªºÁn­µ¡C 
¤ô±q¤£¬O·í°µ¨S¦³­·ªº°£«D¦b¤j®üªº³Ì©³³¡¡C "³o¤@­Ó«°¥«¥i¯àµLªk«ì´_¤°»ò¹B°Êªº¨rÆN²Õ".
 
"Hakase?" asked Ken. / " Hakase"? ªÖ®¦°Ý¡C
 
"Continue your search from the God Phoenix. You've  accomplished nothing here." / 
"Ä~Äò¨Ó¦Û¤W«Ò»ñ°Ä«°ªº§A·j´M¡C §A¦b³o¸Ì¦³§¹¦¨ªº¨S¨Æ¡C"
 
They watched Nambu exit the door, be accosted by aides and  military men before the door swung shut behind him. 
More  images on the screen from Pier 23, where a massage parlor,  against all zoning laws of Utoland City, had once stood./ 
¥L­Ì³Q¬Ý Nambu ¥X¤fªù, ¦bªù¤§«e³Q§U¤â©M­x¨Æ¨k¤H©Û©I·nÂ\¦b¥L«á­±Ãö¤W¡C ¨Ó¦Û½XÀY 23 ªº¦b¿Ã¹õ¤Wªº§ó¦h¼v¹³, 
¦b¤@­Ó«ö¼¯«ÈÆU¡A¤Ï¹ï©Ò¦³ Utoland «°¥«ªº¤g¦a¹º¤Àªk«ß¡A¯¸µÛ¤@¦¸ªº¦a¤è¡C
 
"How did he?" Jun murmured, her eyes screwed open. "How did  he?" / "¦p¦ó¥L"? ¤»¤ë§C»y,¦oªº²´·ú§áºò¤F¤½¶}¡C "¦p¦ó¥L"?
 
Ken's hand was on the back of her neck. "Relax," he instructed.  / ªÖ®¦ªº¤â¦b¦oªº²ä¤l­I­±¤W¡C " ©ñÃP ",¥L±Ð¡C
"Focus." / " µJÂI ".
 
"How di- how did .?" / "¦p¦ó di- ¦p¦ó°µ¡C?"
 
"How did Joe find out what Galactor was up to right in our  backyard?" Ken asked. / 
"³ì¦p¦óµo²{ Galactor °µ¤°»ò§Ú­Ìªº«á°|Åv§Q"? ªÖ®¦°Ý¡C
 
Jun nodded, sucking her lower lip into her mouth. / ¤»¤ëÂIÀY,§l¦o¤ñ¸û§Cªº®B¶i¤J¦oªº¼L¡C
 
"Anyone should know, it would be you." / " ¥ô¦ó¤HÀ³¸Óª¾¹D,¥¦±N·|¬O§A " ¡C
 
"I would never -" / "§Ú±N·|µLªk -"
 
"Why can't you find him?" / " §A¬°¤°»ò¤£µo²{¥L "?
 
"I'm trying. I've been trying. The wristcoms aren't designed --- he  hasn't used it-" / 
"§Ú¥¿¦b¹Á¸Õ¡C §Ú¤w¸g¹Á¸Õ¡C wristcoms ¤£³Q³]­p --- ¥L¨S¦³¨Ï¥Î¥¦-"
 
Ken softened his voice. "We will find him. We will bring him back and we will put him
in the hospital and he will get better." / 
ªÖ®¦¨Ï¥LªºÁn­µÅܬX³n¤F¡C "§Ú­Ì±Nµo²{¥L¡C §Ú­Ì±N§â¥L±a¦^¨Ó¡A¦Ó¥B§Ú­Ì±N§â¥L©ñ¤JÂå°|¡A¦Ó¥B¥L±N³vº¥¦nÂà¡C"
 
Jun was shaking her head, tears standing in her eyes even as  she tried another set of commands. Both their wristcoms began 
 to vibrate. / ¤»¤ë¥¿¦b·nÀY,·í¦o¹Á¸Õ¤F«ü¥Oªº¥t²Õ¡A¬Æ¦Ü¬y²\¦b¦oªº²´·ú¤¤¯¸¥ß¡C ¨âªÌªº¥L­Ì wristcoms ¶}©l®¶°Ê¡C
 
"We'll try again from the God Phoenix. We will find him." / "§Ú­Ì¦A¤@¦¸±N±q¤W«Ò»ñ°Ä«°¸Õ¡C §Ú­Ì±Nµo²{¥L¡C"
 
"No we won't. No we won't. He's gone out there to die." / "¨S¦³§Ú­Ì±N¤£·|¡C ¨S¦³§Ú­Ì±N¤£·|¡C ¥L¤w¸g¦b¨º¸Ì¥~¥X¦º¡C"
 
"Shut up! Don't say that! He wouldn't do that!" / "³¬¼L! ¤£­n»¡¨º! ¥L±N¤£°µ¨º!"
 
"Like he wouldn't hurt Jinpei?" / "³ßÅw¥L±N¤£¶Ë®` Jinpei"?
 
Grabbing her by the arm, Ken pulled her out of her seat. "Get up.  / ÂǵۤâÁu§ì¦o,ªÖ®¦§â¦o±q¦oªº®y¦ì©Ô¥X¨Ó¡C "°_§É¡C
And quit crying. Might as well kill him yourself." / ¦Ó¥BÂ÷¶}­úª_¡C ³Ì¦n±þ¥L§A¦Û¤v¡C"
 
Ken's hand was so strong, wrapped around her wrist. Her trying  to shake it loose only made him strengthen his hold as they 
ran  down the corridor to the God Phoenix's bay. / 
ªÖ®¦ªº¤â¬O¦p¦¹±j, ¦b¦oªº¤âµÃ©P³ò¥]¸Ë¡C ¦o¹Á¸Õ·n°Ê¥¦¼eÃPªº·í¥L­Ì¶]¤U¨Ó¨ì¤W«Ò»ñ°Ä«°ªº®üÆW¨«´Y¡A¥u¨Ï¥L¥[±j¥Lªº§â´¤¡C
 
 
 
******************
8.
 
Bleeding from wounds he hadn't noticed, Joe walked through  drifts of yellow green gas, thick in color like spoiled urine, 
 seeping out of the vents and trickling down the deep gray walls of the subterranean 
motor poolto cling to the cast-metal floor./
 ±q¥L¨S¦³ª`·Nªº³Ð¶Ë¥X¦å,³ì¨«¹L¶À¦âºñ¦âªº¥Ë´µº}¬yª«,«p¦a¦b±m¦â¦PÃþ¤¤¨ü¯}Ãaªº¤p«K , 
º¯¥XÂ÷±Æ®ð¤f¦Ó¥B²¾°Ê¤U¨Ó¦a¤Uªº°¨¹F²`¦Ç¦âÀð¾À§iµoÂHªþ©óºt­û°}®e-ª÷Äݪº¦aªO¡C
 
Joe's joints popped as he ghosted from pillar to pillar, and he  held his hand to the mask's nose guard, needlessly. 
The  sensation of his skull expanding and contracting in short arcs  was an illusion, compounded by the flapping of the
loose end of  the plastic strap beside his ear. The pills he'd taken hours earlier  were wearing off, 
his reflexes slowing down. The popping of his joints, the transcendent ache in his lower back, the irritation of his
skin exacerbated by the toxins he'd dumped into the vents and the dust and chemicals raised by the explosives he'd detonated./
·í¥L±q¬W¤l¨ì¬W¤l°­¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¹ï­±¨ãªº»ó¤l¦u½Ã®³µÛ¤F¥Lªº¤â®É­Ô¡A³ìªº±µ¦X¨ú¥X, ¤£»Ý­n¦a¡C ¥LªºÀY»\°©ÂX±iªº·Pı¦Ó¥B¦bµu©·
¤¤ÁYµu¬O¤@­Ó¤Û¼v,³Q¦b¥Lªº¦Õ¦·®ÇÃ䪺¶ì½¦Ã·ÃP´²¨Æª«ªº©ç¥´¤H²V¦X¡C ¥L¤w¸gªá¼Æ¤p®É¤ñ¸û¦­ªºÃĤY¥¿¦b¨«¶}À¹, ¥Lªº´îºC¤Ï®g¡C
 ¥Lªº±µ¦X¨ú¥X¤H, ¥Lªº§ó§C­I­±ªº¨ô¶Vµh, ¥Lªº³Q¥L¤w¸g¶i¤J±Æ®ð¤f©M¦Ç¹Ð©M³Q¥L¦³¤ÞÃzªº¬µÃĤɰ_ªº¤Æ¾ÇÃÄ«~
¤§¤º¶É¨øªº¬r¯À´c¤Æªº¥Ö½§¨ë¿E¡C
 
Not his tools of choice. Give him his hands, his feet, his other  hands, the shuriken and the gun, and when the prey was 
the  right sort, his knife. / 
¤£¬O¥Lªº¿ï¾Ü¤u¨ã¡C µ¹¥L¥Lªº¤â¡A¥Lªº¸}¡A¥Lªº¨ä¥L¤â¡A shuriken ©Mºj, ¦Ó¥B·íÂyª«¬O¥¿½TªºÃþ«¬¡A¥Lªº¤M®É­Ô¡C
 
Reaching the stairwell Joe turned to the surveillance camera he  knew was concealed behind the bulletproof green globe, 
took a  deep breath and took off the mask. Let Galactor see him. Let  / 
Ápµ¸³QÂà¦V¥Lª¾¹DªººÊµø¬Û¾÷ªº¼Ó±è¤«³ì¦b¨¾¼uªººñ¦â¦a²y«á­±³QÁôÂÃ, §@¤F²`ªº©I§l¦Ó¥B²æ±¼­±¨ã¡C Åý Galactor ¨£¨ì¥L¡C Åý
Berg Katse know for sure that the man who'd taken down P  / 
¦B¤s Katse ª¾¹D¬°½T«H³Q®³¤U¨Ó P ªº¨k¤H who'd
Infinity and the record store was Condor Joe. Let Katse see his  real face. Let him recognize the wristcom, 
cleaner than it ever  was in combat, and note the feather shuriken stuck in Galactor  grunts. / 
µL­­¤j©M¬ö¿ý°Ó©±¬O¨rÆN³ì¡C Åý Katse ¨£¨ì¥Lªº¯u¥¿Áy¡C Åý¥L»{ÃÑ wristcom, ¤ñ¸û°®²b¤ñ¸û¥¦´¿¸g¬O¦b¾Ô°«¤¤, 
¦Ó¥Bª`·N¦Ð¤ò shuriken ¦b Galactor ©BÂP©BÂPÁn¤¤ªþµÛ¡C
 
Joe pulled the borrowed mask over his head coughed as filtered  air came back into his lungs. It tasted wrong and his 
shoulders  felt light. He missed the flap of his cape behind him; the familiar  weight of all those shurikens caught 
up in the material; the cinch  of his utility belt around his waist. / 
³ì©Ô¤F³Q«y¹Âªº¦b¥LÀY¤Wªº­É¨Ó­±¨ã·í°µ¹LÂoªÅ®ð¦^¨Ó¶i¥LªºªÍ¡C ¥¦À|°_¨Ó¿ù»~¡A¦Ó¥B¥LªºªÓı±o»´¡C ¥L¿ù¹L¤F¦b¥L«á­±ªº¥LÌa©ç¥´; 
¨º¨Ç shurikens ªº¼ô±x­«¶q¦b§÷®Æ°l»°; ¥Lªº¹ê®Ä¨{±a¦b¥Lªº¸y³¡©P³òô¦í¡C
 
It was too quite. His feet were sticking to the ground from the fire  burning in the lower levels, not from spilled blood. 
Joe preferred  his violence up close and personal.  Blood was cleaner. So much  cleaner than walking into an enemy facility 
and picking off grunt  after grunt after blasting apart most and poisoning all.  / 
¥¦¤Ó¬Û·í¡C ¥Lªº¸}¥¿¦b°í«ù¨Ó¦Û¤õªº¦a­±§ó§Cªº¤ô·Ç¿N, ¤£±q·¸¥Xªº¦å¡C ³ì°¾·R¤F¥Lªº¼É¤O¦V¤W±µªñªº©M­Ó¤H¡C  ¦å¤ñ¸û°®²b¡C 
¦p¦¹¥[¤ñ¸û°®²b¶W¹LÂ÷¶}¦b©BÂP©BÂPÁn«áªº©BÂP©BÂPÁn¦b¤À§O¦a³ÌºR´Ý¦Ó¥B¬r®`¥þ³¡¤§«á¨«¤J¼Ä¤H³]³Æ¦Ó¥BºK¡C
 
The fire didn't satisfy, though. And he knew that lots of blood  didn't satisfy either, but when given a choice Joe'd 
rather a knife.  / 
¤õ¨S¦³º¡¨¬, ÁöµM¡C ¦Ó¥B¥Lª¾¹D³\¦h¦å¨S¦³¤]º¡¨¬, ¦ý¬O·í¹ç¥iµ¹ºë¿ïªº Joe'd ¤@¤ä¤M¡C
Or the other four members of his team at his back and his cable  gun gripped in his hand. / 
©Î¥Lªº¤p²Õ¥t¥~¥|­Ó¦¨­û¦b¥Lªº­I³¡©M¥Lªº¹qÆlºj¦b¥Lªº¤â¤¤§ìºò¡C
 
He stepped over a fallen body. It squirmed. A hand, a  mechanic's, grotty with grease and brightened by blood, 
reached  out for him, its owner coughing up all kinds of its insides. The  gas had done it. The gas had incapacitated 
every person  unlucky enough to inhale its fumes, and for those who worked in  the garage, with its already toxic air, 
the effects had been  illuminating. / 
¥L¦b¤@­Ó¼Z¸¨ªº¨­Å餧¤W½ñ¡C ¥¦Ä¯°Ê¡C ¤@°¦¤â¡A¾÷±ñ¤uªº, ©Mªo¯×ªº grotty ¦Ó¥B³Q¦åÅÜ«G, ¬°¥L¨ì¹F¥X, ¥¦ªº¥æ¥X¦UºØªº¥¦¤º³¡ªº¾Ö¦³ªÌ¡C
 ¥Ë´µ¤w¸g°µ¥¦¡C ¥Ë´µ¤w¸g¨Ï¨C­Ó¤H¤£¦N§Qªº¥R¨¬µL¤O§l¤J¥¦ªº¯ä®ð¡A¦Ó¥B¬°¨º¨Ç¦b¨®®w¤¤¤u§@ªº¤H¡AÂǥѥ¦ªº¤w¸g¦³¬rªºªÅ®ð¡A®ÄªG¤w¸g·Ó©ú¡C
 
They saw his sneakers, his jeans, assumed the worst. / ¥L­Ì¨£¨ì¥Lªº¹B°Ê¾c¡A¥Lªº¤û¥J¿Ç,°²©w³ÌÃa¡C
 
"Help me," Joe heard the terrorist crawling towards him say. / " À°§U§Ú ", ³ìÅ¥¨ì¦V¥Lª¦¦æªº®£©Æ¥÷¤l»¡¡C
 
Joe broke his neck. / ³ìÂ_±¼¤F¥Lªº²ä¤l¡C
 
Oh, for his gun; or Ken's birdrang; or more enemy casualties.  / ®@, ¹ï©ó¥Lªººj; ©ÎªÖ®¦ªº birdrang; ©Î§ó¦hªº¼Ä¤H·N¥~¨Æ¥ó¡C
Not this weird silence in the motorpool and the stranger one in  his heart. / 
¤£¬O motorpool ©M­¯¥Í¤Hªº³o°}©Ç²§ªº¨HÀq¤@¦b¥Lªº¤ß¤¤¡C
 
Blood was honest. It was personal. Only came when he looked  into his enemies' faces when they died. The stickiness of it  
beneath his feet, the rapidly spoiling bad fish sauce stink of it,  better than the choking coughing cries of the fallen as 
he walked  over them, them reaching out for help, to him, the one who made  them die. / 
¦å¬O¸Û¹êªº¡C ¯u¬O­Ó¤H¡C ·í·í¥L­Ì¦ºªº®É­Ô¡A¥L½Õ¬d¥Lªº¼Ä¤HÁy®É­Ô¡A¥u¨Ó¡C 
¦b¥¦ªºÂH©Ê¤§¤Uªº¥L¸}, ¨º§Ö³t¦a¯}ÃaÃaªº³½·í¥L¦b¥L­Ì¤§¤W¨«¡A½Õ¨ý¥¦¡A¤ñ¹h³ï§@¥Î¦nªº«y¹Â¼Z¸¨ªº­úÁn¯ä¨ý, ¥L­Ì¬°À°¦£¨ì¹F¥X, 
¹ï¥L, ½Ö¨º¤@­Ó¨Ï¥L­Ì¦º¡C
 
A goon blocked the way to the stairwell, cheek ground into the floor. Joe stepped over it. 
Weak fingers closed around his ankle.  / 
¤@­Ó§b¤lªý¶ë¤F¨ì¼Ó±è¤«ªº¸ô,ÀU¶i¤J¦aªO¤§¤º¸m©ó¦a­±¡C ³ì¦b¥¦¤§¤W½ñ¡C ®zªº¤â«üÃö³¬¦b¥Lªº¸}½ï©P³ò¡C
With his toe, Joe pushed her hand away. The skin around her eye was caked with blood, and twitching. He pulled a knife from 
 his belt and fell to his knees beside her, pushed the knife in and twisted. Her body tensed beneath him. "Condor Joe," Joe 
 whispered into her ear so she would know. Blood pop surprise from her chapped lips and an answering tightness in his already 
 seizing chest. He pulled on his knife. It stayed stuck. He put his knee to the corpse's back and yanked. The metal caught on
 bone. He twisted the knife the direction opposite to the one he'd  put it in at, braced his knee over her waist, pulled.
 The knife jerked free. Joe held it up in his hand, let it drop to the ground  with a clatter. He wouldn't be needing it.
 Bowing his back, Joe  placed his palms on the ground and stood, blowing on his hands. / 
ÂǥѥLªº¸}³k¡A³ì±À°Ê¦oªº¤â¤§»·¡C ¥Ö½§¦b¦oªº²´·ú©P³ò»P¦å¤@°_³J¿|, ¦Ó¥B²r©Ô¡C 
¥L©Ô¤F¨Ó¦Û¥Lªº±a¤l¤@¤ä¤M¦Ó¥B¸¨¨ì¦b¦o®ÇÃ䪺¥L½¥, ±À°Ê¤F¤M¦b©M¤Ï±`ªº¡C ¦oªº¨­Åé¦b¥L¤§¤U©Ôºò¡C
 " ¨rÆN³ì ", ³ì¶i¤J¦oªº¦Õ¦·¤§¤º¦Õ»y¡A¦p¦¹¦o±N·|ª¾¹D¡C ¦å¬y¦æ¼Ö¦±±q¦b¥L¤w¸g§ì¦í¯Ý¤¤³Qâáµõ®B©M¤@­Ó¦^µª°í©Tªº¦o¦YÅå¡C
 ¥L¦b¥Lªº¤M¤W©Ô¡C ¥¦³Q´ÛÄF¡C ¥L©ñ¤F¹ï«ÍÅ骺­I­±¥L½¥¦Ó¥B±j©Ô¡C ª÷ÄÝ©ú¥Õ°©ÀY¡C 
¥LÀ¾¤F¹ï¥L±N·|§â¥¦©ñ¤Jªº¨º¤@­Óªº¤M¤è¦V¬Û¹ï¨Æª«¦b, ¤ä¼µ¤F¦b¦oªº¸y³¡¤Wªº¥L½¥, ©Ô¡C ¤M¦Û¥ÑµjÅË¡C ³ì¦b¥Lªº¤â¤¤¦V¤W®³µÛ¤F¥¦,
¹ï©M¤@­Ó¥d·fÁnªº¦a­±¨Ï¥¦­°§C¡C
 ¥L±N·|¤£»Ý­n¥¦¡C Áù°`¥Lªº­I³¡, ³ì©ñ¥Lªº¤â´x¦b¦a­±¤W¦Ó¥B¯¸µÛ, ¦b¥Lªº¤â¤W§j¡C
 
Joe made his way up the stairs and rather than watch the building burn and pick off any people that may have escaped from it, 
and stole a modified Integra from the employee parking lot. / 
³ì¦b¼Ó±è¤W­±»s³y¤F¥Lªº¤èªk©M¨Ã«D¤â¿ö«Ø¿vª«¿U¿N¦Ó¥B¬D¿ï¥i¯à¤w¸g±q¥¦°k²æ, ¦Ó¥B°½¤F¨Ó¦Û¾­û°±¨®³õªº³Q­×¥¿ªºIntegra ªº¨«¶}¥ô¦óªº¤H¡C
 
His hands shook a little against the steering wheel, so he fixed  his gaze above the dashboard. He could hear sirens as he  
crossed the causeway into Utoland City. Passed a white  aluminum-sided building with hunter green shutters on the  windows
 on the right. A church. Catholic, by the looks of it. The  sign on the message board - and Joe was relieved that at that 
 moment he could see that far - announced confession between  1-3 in the afternoons. Resting his head on his cheek, one hand 
 on the steering wheel he passed the exit to the church's small  parking lot and its palm lined driveway. / 
¥Lªº¤â¤Ï¹ï¤è¦V½Lµy·L·n°Ê¡A¦]¦¹¡A¥L­×²z¤F¦b»öªíªO¤W­±ªº¥Lª`µø¡C ·í¥L¥æ¤e³ö¹D¶i¤J Utoland «°¥«ªº®É­Ô¡A¥L¥i¥HÅ¥¨ì¤k®ü§¯¡C 
¥ÎÂy¤H¦bÅv§Q¤Wªº¦bµ¡¤á¤Wªººñ¦â¦Ê¸­µ¡³q¹L¤@´É¥Õ¦âªº¾T³RÅ@ªº«Ø¿vª«¡C ±Ð°ó¡C ¤Ñ¥D±Ð®{, Âǵۥ¦ªº®e»ª¡C ¦b¯d¨¥ªO¤Wªº²Å¸¹ - 
¦Ó¥B³ì¬O¦pÄÀ­«­t¨º , ¦¹¨è¥L¥i¥H¨£¨ì¨º»·ªº - ³Q«Å§G¦Û»{¦b 1-3¤§¶¡¤È«á¡C 
Åý¦b¥LªºÀU¤W¥LÀY¥ð®§, ¤@¶Ç»¼¤è¦V½L¥L¶Ç°e¥X¤f¨ì±Ð°óªº¤p°±¨®³õ¡A¦Ó¥B¥¦ªº¤â´x±Æ¦¨¤@¦æ¤F¨®¹D¡C
 
 
* * * / ***
 
The God Phoenix completed another pass over Utoland City still  with no sign of Joe. / 
¤W«Ò»ñ°Ä«°¥Î¨S¦³³ìªº¸ñ¶H§¹¦¨¦b Utoland «°¥«¼@·Ó¤Wªº¥t¥~³~®|¡C
 
Ken pressed his hand to his ear in disbelief. / ªÖ®¦À£¶i¥Lªº¤â¹ï¤£«H¥õªº¥L¦Õ¦·¡C
 
"What is it, commander?" Jun asked from her station. / "¥¦¬O¤°»ò, «ü´§©x"? ¤»¤ë±q¦oªº¨®¯¸°Ý¡C
 
"They've found the G-2." He said feeding the coordinates. "Ryu,  set a course for the race-track." /
 " ¥L­Ì¤w¸gµo²{ G-2" ¡C ¥L»¡¤F¹}¾i§¤¼Ð¡C "Ryu,¬°¤ñÁɳ]©w½Òµ{-­y¹D".
 
"What happens after we pick it up?" asked Jinpei. "We can't go  back without Joe." / 
" ¦b§Ú­Ì¬B°_¥¦¤§«á¡Aµo¥Íªº "? Jinpei °Ý¡C " §Ú­Ì¨S¦³³ì¤£¯à¦^¥h " ¡C
 
"Yes, Jinpei, those are exactly our orders." Ken's grin came out,  sincere and wild, 
"But you better not run off `cause you think  you see Joe, because if Jun goes after you," more teeth, 
"Ryu  and I will have to get the vehicle aboard our selves." /
 "¬Oªº, Jinpei, ¨º¨Ç§¹¥þ¬O§Ú­Ìªº©R¥O". ªÖ®¦ªºÅS¾¦¯º¥X¨Ó, ¸ÛÀµªº©M³¥©Êªº,"¦ý¬O§A§ó¤£¨«¶}¶]¤Þ°_¦]¬°¦pªG¤»¤ë°l¨D§A¡A
©Ò¥H§A»{¬°§A¨£¨ì³ì," §ó¦hªº¤ú¾¦,"Ryu ©M§Ú±N¥²¶·¦³¨®½ø·f­¼§Ú­Ìªº¦Û¤v".
 
Jinpei started to laugh. / Jinpei ¶}©l¯º¡C
 
* * *  / ***
 
Looking west, Joe shaded his eyes. The sun was setting, dyeing the  horizon glowing orange and white. 
Purple night spreading behind the  jagged colors. Tie-dye and kodachrome, Joe thought, almost surprised 
 by the poetic turn of his thoughts. / 
¬Ý°_¨Ó¦è¤è,³ì¾B½ª¤F¥Lªº²´·ú¡C ¤Ó¶§¥¿¦b³]©w¡A¬V¦a¥­½u¥Õ¼öªº¬a¾ï©M¥Õ¦â¡C µµ¦âªº©]±ß¦b¿÷¾¦§ÎªºÃC¦â«á­±¶Ç§G¡C 
»â±a-ÃC®Æ©M kodachrome, ³ì·Q,´X¥G³Q¥Lªº·Qªk¸Ö±ÛÂà¦YÅå¡C
 
Bracing his arm and elbow against the wall, Joe pushed himself to his  feet. Thumb snagging in the nylon, 
Joe pulled a stocking leg over his  head, immediately compromising his vision, but it was okay. Only  needed 
to go through a place once and it was in his nerves, for-frickinever. He could navigate it blind. Cable-gun in hand, 
memory and  balance guiding him, Joe skimmed over the graveyard of shoes,  missing a bad ankle turn by a fraction before 
he reached up and jumped  for the fire-escape. Latching on and hanging loose long enough to draw  the right bead and snag 
the roof top opposite white shadow to the top of  / 
¤ä¼µ¹ï§ÜÀð¾Àªº¥L¤âÁu©M¤â¨y,³ì¹G­¢¤F¥L¦Û¤v¨ì¥Lªº¸}¡C ¥H©æ«ü¼·§Ë¦b¥§Às²Ê¿i,³ì©Ô¤F¦b¥LªºÀY¤W¤@°¦ªøÄû»L, ¥ß¨è§´¨ó³B²z¥Lªºµø³¥, 
¦ý¬O¥¦¬O¦n¡C ¥u»Ý­n¸g¹L¤@­Ó¦a¤è¥h¤@¦¸¡A¦Ó¥B¥¦¬O¦b¥Lªº¯«¸g¤¤, ¬°-frickinever¡C ¥L¥i¥H¯è¦æ¥¦ª¼¤H¡C ¹qÆl-¤â¡A°O¾Ð©M«ü¾É¥L¡A
¦b¾c¤lªº¹Ó¦a¤§¤W³Q²¤Åªªº³ì¥­¿Åªººj, ¥¢¥h¦b¥L«eªº¤@­Ó¤À¼Æªº¤@­ÓÃa¸}½ï±ÛÂà¨ì¹F¦b¦Ó¥B¤W­±¬°¤Ó¥­ªù¸õÅD¡C 
¥H­¬®ê¦í¦b¦Ó¥BÄa±¾¸Ñ©ñ¨¬°÷´÷±æ©Ô«Î³»¶W¶V¹ï³»ºÝªº¬Û¤Ï¥Õ¦âªº¼v¹³¥¿½Tªº¯]¤l©M²Ê¿i¤§¤W
Doc Holliday's building. / ¤å¥ó Holliday's ªº«Ø¿vª«¡C
 
Inside it was cool and dark, different dark from outdoors without  saying. Fingers feeling clumsy tore holes in the cool 
clinginess over his  mouth and eyes. He saw better. Looked at his hand, letting his eyes  adjust to the dark. Looked down 
at the moist scraps of panty-hose in his  hand and murmured, "What am I doing?" and pushed himself off the  wall. / 
¨S¦³»¡¦b¥¦¤§¤º¬O¨Ó¦Û¤á¥~ªº²D²n©M¶Â·t¤S¤£¦Pªº¶Â·t¡C ¤â«üı±o²Â©å¼¹¯}¤F¦b¥Lªº¼L©M²´·ú¤Wªº«Ü´Î clinginess ªº¬}¡C ¥L¨£¨ì§ó¦h¡C
 ¬Ý¥Lªº¤â,Åý¥Lªº²´·ú¹ï¶Â·t½Õ¾ã¡C ©¹¤U¬Ý¿ÇÄûªº¼é·Ã¤p¤ù-¥Lªº¤â¤ôºÞ¦Ó¥B§C»y," §Ú¥¿¦b°µ¤°»ò "? ¦Ó¥B¦bÀð¾À¥~±À°Ê¥L¦Û¤v¡C
 
Joe was standing behind the door to the Dr. Holliday's office, his file  in his hand when Dr. Holliday poked her head in. 
He stunned her with one  blow. Tied her hands with her bathrobe belt. Picked her up and put her  over his shoulder. 
She was round and light, but his knees buckled and he knocked the wall with her head. /
 ³ì¦bªù«á­±¯¸¥ß¨ì Holliday's ³Õ¤h¿ì¤½«Ç, ¥Lªº¤â¥LÀÉ®×·í Holliday ³Õ¤h¼·¶}¦oªºÀY¶i¤Jªº®É­Ô¡C ¥L¥Î¥´À»¨Ï·w­Ë¦o¡C
 ¥Î¦oªº¯D³T±a¤lô¦oªº¤â¡C ±µ¸ü¦o¦Ó¥B§â¦o©ñ¦b¥LªºªÓ¤W¡C ¦o¬O¦^¦X¨Ã¥BÂI¿U¡A¦ý¬O¥Lªº½¥¦©ºò¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¥Î¦oªºÀYºVÀ»Àð¾À¡C
 
He'd tied her to her comfy doctor chair and slapped her twice before  she regained consciousness. / ¦b¦o¨ú¦^¤F·NÃѤ§«e , 
¥L¦³¹ï¦oªºµÎ¾AÂå¥Íô¤F¦o´È¤l¨Ã¥B©çÀ»¤F¦o¨â¦¸¡C
 
"You remember me?" Joe asked, his hand spread on the chart in front  of her. The doctor had her face turned to the side, 
her eye rolling a  little. She looked panicky, like she was gonna puke. /
 " §A°O±o§Ú "? ³ì°Ý,¥Lªº¤â¦b¦o¤§«e¦b¹Ï¸Ñ¤W¶Ç§G¡C Âå¥Í¦³¦oªº³QÂà¦VÃ䪺Áy¡A¦oªºµy·Lºu°Êªº²´·ú¡C ¦o¬Ý°_¨Ó®£·W,¹³¦o¥¿¦b¥h¹Ã¦R¡C
 
Joe pulled the charts out of her way. "Do you remember me?" he asked  again. / 
³ì§â¹Ï¸Ñ±q¦oªº¤èªk©Ô¥X¨Ó¡C " §A°O±o§Ú¶Ü "? ¥L¦A¤@¦¸°Ý¡C
 
Dr. Holliday shook her head. / Holliday ³Õ¤h·nÀY¡C
 
He moved his hand from the chart with a curse. Flipped it around so  she could read the alias he'd put down as his name. /
 ¥L¥Î¶A©G²¾°Ê¨Ó¦Û¹Ï¸Ñªº¥L¤â¡C ¦bªþªñ¥Î«üÀY¼u¥¦¡A¦p¦¹¦o¥i¥HŪ¥L±N·|©ñ¤U¦p¥Lªº¦W¦r§O¦W¡C
 
She nodded. / ¦oÂIÀY¡C
 
He cocked his gun. Reached for the gag knot at the back of her head. / ¥LÁq¥ß¤F¥Lªººj¡C ¦b¦oªºÀY­I­±¤Î©óºã¤fª«µ²¡C
 
"Quiet." Joe instructed and untied her. She pulled the gag away from  her mouth. Stared up at him, her gaze penetrating. 
She bent to the chart.  / " ¦wÀR ". ³ì±Ð¨Ã¥B¤£Ã´¦o¡C ¦o©Ô¤Fºã¤fª«»·Â÷¦oªº¼L¡C ª`µø¦b¥L¤W­±, ¦oªºª`µø±Ó¾Uªº¡C ¦oÅs¦±¨ì¹Ï¸Ñ¡C
Read. / Ū¡C
 
"You're the race car driver. We should have operated on you months  ago." / 
"§A¬O¤ñÁɨT¨®¥q¾÷¡C §Ú­ÌÀ³¸Ó­n¬°§A°Ê¤â³N¼Æ­Ó¤ë¥H«eªº¡C"
 
Joe held up his wrist, the one with his wristcom. / ³ì¤ä¼µ¥Lªº¤âµÃ, ©M¥Lªº wristcom ªº¨º¤@­Ó¡C
 
Round little Doc Holliday sat up straighter. Her curvy little chin didn't  tremble a bit but he did see that she swallowed 
really fast. / §â³Q§¤ª½ªº¤p¤å¥ó Holliday §Ë¶ê¡C ¦oªºÅs¦±¤p¤U¤Ú¨S¦³¤@ÂI¾Ô·X¡A¦ý¬O¥L½T¹ê¨£¨ì¦o§]¯uªº§Ö³t¡C
 
"You worked for the ISO-" / "§A¬°°ê»Ú¼Ð·Ç²Õ´¤u§@-"
 
"I already told you people, I don't know who the kagaku ninja tai are.  / "§Ú¤w¸g§i¶D¤F§A¤H,§Ú¤£ª¾¹D kagaku §ÔªÌ tai ¬O¡C
I've never saw the science ninja's up close." / §Ú¤w¸g±q¤£¨£¨ì¬ì¾Ç§ÔªÌªº¦V¤Wµ²§ô¡C"
 
Joe spoke the command, but bitter mucous erupted up his throat and  coated the back of his mouth. "Transmute," Joe hissed. / 
³ì»¡¤F«ü¥O, ¦ý¬O«D±`ÂH²Gªº¦b¥L«|³ï¤W­±Ãzµo¦Ó¥B¥~­±Âл\¤F¥Lªº¼L­I­±¡C ", ÅܧΠ"³ìµo¥X¼NÁn¡C
 
The change sounded like a windtunnel on fire for a moment. His eyes  rolled up into the back of his head. He slapped his palms 
on Dr. Day's  desk. Locked his arms, his finger clenching on the trigger of the gun. / 
§ïÅÜÅ¥°_¨Ó¹³¦b¤õ¤Wªº windtunnel ¤@¼Ë¤@·|¨à¡C ¥Lªº²´·ú¶i¤J¥LªºÀY­I­±¤§¤º±²°_¡C ¥L©çÀ»¤F¦b¤é¤l³Õ¤h®Ñ®à¤Wªº¥L¤â´x¡C 
Âê¤F¥Lªº¤âÁu¡A¥Lªº¦bºjªO¾÷¤Wºò´¤ªº¤â«ü¡C
 
Dr. Holliday threw herself out of her chair, falling with a clatter.  / Holliday ³Õ¤h¦oªº´È¤l§â¦o¦Û¤v»°¥X¥h,¥H¤@­Ó¥d·fÁn¸¨¤U¡C
Making a sharp noise as she landed on her shoulder and hands. / ·í¦o¦b¦oªºªÓ©M¤â¤Wµn³°ªº®É­Ô¡A»s³y¾U§Qªº¾¸­µ¡C
 
Joe groaned, his legs flowing like water beneath him. / ³ì©D§u, ¦b¥L¤§¤Uªº¥L»L¬y°Ê¬Û¦üªº¤ô¡C
 
"Untie me!" Dr. Holliday commanded from the ground, trying to kick  herself upright. / 
" ¸Ñ¶}§Ú "! Holliday ³Õ¤h±q¦a­±©R¥O, ¹Á¸Õª½¥ß¦a¦Û³d¡C
 
Costumed in his colors, Joe's hands slipped off the desk. His helmet  cushioned his head as it clipped the edge of the desk, 
but Joe was  unconscious before he reached the floor. / 
¥LªºÃC¦â Costumed, ³ìªº¤âÂ÷¶}®Ñ®à·Æ­Ë¡C ·í¥¦­×°Å¤F®Ñ®àªºÃä½t®É­Ô¡A¥Lªº¿û²¯¥[¹Ô¿È¤F¥LªºÀY¡A¦ý¬O¦b¥L¨ì¹F¤F¦aªO¤§«e , 
³ì¬OµL·NÃѪº¡C
 
 
 
****************
9.
 
"Joji," Jun's voice, ridiculously high and soft. "Baby,  please. Joji, wake up, they're coming." / 
" Joji" ¡A¤»¤ëªºÁn­µ, ¯îÂÕ°ª©M³nªº¡C "À¦¨à, ÁÂÁ¡C Joji,¿ô¨Ó,¥L­Ì§Y±N¨ì¨Ó¡C"
 
Small, ungloved hands on his face. His cheeks tingling, hot.  / ¤pªº, ¤£¤â®M¤F¦b¥LªºÁy¤W¤â¡C ¥LªºÀU¿³¾Ä, ¼öªº¡C
Heavy muggy taste on his mouth. He was lying on the floor and  the room was very cold. / 
¦b¥Lªº¼L¤W­«´e¼öªº«~À|¡C ¥L¥¿¦b½ö¦b¦aªO©M©Ð¶¡¤W«D±`´H§N¡C
 
"Joji, please, you don't have much time." / " Joji, ÁÂÁÂ,§A¨S¦³«Ü¦hªº®É¶¡ " ¡C
 
He whimpered, dropped his arm over his face, hitting the  linoleum-covered floor. / 
¥L¶ã«|,­°§C¤F¦b¥LªºÁy¤W¥L¤âÁu,¥´À»ªo¥¬²[»\ªº¦aªO¡C
 
"Joe," two light slaps on his face, "Joji, please, get up." /
 "³ì," ¤G­Ó¥ú©ç¥´¥LªºÁy,"Joji, ÁÂÁÂ, °_§É".
 
He opened his eyes. Jun knelt before him. She wore her street  clothes; white jacket, #3 T-shirt and striped jeans. 
Her eyes were  shining, her face flushed. He sat up a little, her hands on his  shoulders steadied him. / 
¥L¥´¶}¤F¥Lªº²´·ú¡C ¤»¤ë¦b¥L¤§«e¸÷¤U¡C ¦o¬ïµÛ¤F¦oªºµó¹D¦çªA; ¥Õ¦âªº§¨§J¡A #3­Ó T«ò©M¦³´³¯¾ªº¤û¥J¿Ç¡C 
¦oªº²´·ú¥¿¦b°{Ã{,¦oªºÁyÁyµo¬õ¡C ¥Lµy·L¼õ©],¦b¥LªºªÓ¤W¦o¤â¨Ï¥Lí©w¤F¡C
 
"Juni," he reached for her face, "My head doesn't hurt?" / " Juni",¥L¤Î©ó¦oªºÁy," §ÚªºÀY¤£¶Ë®` "?
 
Nodding, Jun brushed her hair out of her face. He reached for a stray strand and caught sight of the bulky bandage on his arm.
 ÂIÀYªº, ¤»¤ë±q¦oªºÁy²¨¨ê¤F¦oªºÀY¾v¡C ¥L¤Î©ó¤@­Ó¨«¥¢ªº®a¯bÀÁ²L¦Ó¥B¿h¨£¦b¥Lªº¤âÁu¤WªºÃe¤jÁ^±a¡C
 
"It's a shunt." Jun said. "Pain killers, euphorics, stimulants. It's  supposed to help." /
 " ¥¦¬O¤@­Ó¤À¸ô " ¡C ¤»¤ë»¡¡C "¤îµhÃÄ, ªY§Ö¯gªº, ¨ë¿Eª«¡C ¥¦¬O±À·QÀ°§U¡C"
 
He pulled his legs under him, his legs light as he tried to stand.  / 
¥L©Ô¤F¦b¥L¤U­±ªº¥L»L,·í¥L¸ÕµÛ¯¸µÛªº®É­Ô¡A¥Lªº»LÂI¿U¡C
Getting on her knees Jun slung his arm over her shoulder and  stood, just managing his length. / 
¤W¦oªº½¥¤»¤ë§ëÂY¤F¦b¦oªºªÓ¤W¥L¤âÁu¦Ó¥B¯¸µÛ,¶È¶ÈºÞ²z¥Lªºªø«×¡C
 
Pushing her hand against his side, Jun held him steady as they  made their way out of the room and down the back stairs. 
His  night sight was back. He'd not noticed it'd been impaired. He'd  been worse off than he'd thought. / 
±À°Ê¹ï§Ü¥Lªº¨­Ãä¦o¤â, ¤»¤ë®»¦í¤F¥Lí©wªº·í¥L­Ì©Ð¶¡¤F¸Ñ¥L­Ìªº¤èªk©M¤U¨Ó«á­±ªº¼Ó±è¡C ¥Lªº©]±ßµø¤O¦^¨Ó¡C ¥L¨S¦³ª`·N¥¦¤w¸g³Q·l®`¡C
 ¥L¦³¬O±¡ªp§óÁV¤ñ¸û¥L¦³·Q¡C
 
At the bottom of the stairs, they moved apart. Joe tried not to  look as if he were propping his back against the wall. 
His fingers  sought out her face. Traced her eyebrows, her cheeks, her chin. / 
¦b¼Ó±èªº©³³¡¡A¥L­Ì²¾°Ê´²¶}¡C ³ì¹Á¸Õ¤£­n¦A¬Ý°_¨Ó¦n¹³¥L¥¿¦b¤Ï¹ïÀð¾À¦V«á¦a¤ä¼µ¥Lªº¡C 
¥Lªº¤â«ü´M§ä¦oªºÁy¡C °lÂܤF¦oªº¬Ü¤ò¡A¦oªºÀU¡A¦oªº¤U¤Ú¡C
 
"I've been hallucinating a lot," he said. / " §Ú¤w¸g¨Ï²£¥Í¤Ûı«Ü¦h ",¥L»¡¡C
 
Nodding, Jun stroked his arm. "I'm here." She sighed. "I'm right  here. We're at Dr. Holliday's." / 
ÂIÀYªº, ¤»¤ë¦E§À¼Õ¤F¥Lªº¤âÁu¡C " §Ú¦b³o¸Ì " ¡C ¦o¼Û®§¡C "§Ú´N¦b³o¸Ì¡C §Ú­Ì¦b Holliday's ³Õ¤h¡C"
 
"I followed Katse from here." / "§Ú¸òÀH¤F Katse ±q¦b³o¸Ì".
 
"You did." / " §A°µ " ¡C
 
"Holliday's a double-agent?" / " Holliday's ªº¤@­ÓÂù­«¶¡¿Ò "?
 
Lifting her shoulder Jun said, "A pawn?" / Á|°_¤»¤ë»¡ªº¦oªÓ¡A " ¤@­Ó¨å·í "?
 
"Huh." Joe circled her shoulders with his arm and chuckled. "Like  me." / 
" ­ó!". ³ì¥Î¥Lªº¤âÁu¥]³ò¦oªºªÓ¦Ó¥B¦Y¦Yªº¯º¡C "¬Û¦üªº§Ú".
 
"Don't take it that way," Jun said into his chest, her fingers clenched on his waistband. "Please don't take it that way." /
 " ¤£­n¨º¼Ë®³¥¦ ",¤»¤ë¶i¤J¥Lªº¯Ý¤§¤º»¡,¦oªº¤â«ü¦b¥Lªº¸y±a¤Wºò´¤¡C " ½Ð¨º¼Ë¤£­n±a¥¦ " ¡C
 
"The shunt, you letting me out of the headquarters, you meeting  me here. It's all-" /
 "¤À¸ô, §AÁ`³¡ªº©ñ¥X§Ú, §A¦b³o¸Ì¹J¨£§Ú¡C ¥¦¥þ³£¬O-"
 
"I couldn't set you up," Jun said. She took his face between her  hands. "Let me call Ryu." / 
" §ÚµLªk«Ø¥ß§A ",¤»¤ë»¡¡C ¦o±a¤F¦b¦oªº¤â¤§¶¡ªº¥LÁy¡C " Åý§Ú©I¥s Ryu" ¡C
 
And then he woke up. / µM«á¥L¿ô¨Ó¡C
 
Dr. Holliday stood over him in her bathrobe and a doctor's coat,  a surgical mask dangling from her neck. His night vision had
  been corrected, allowing him to make out the sympathy on Dr.  / 
Holliday ³Õ¤h¦b¦oªº¯D³T©MÂå¥Íªº¥~®M¤¤¦b¥L¤§¤W¯¸¥ß, ±q¦oªº²ä¤l¦Q°Êªº¥~¬ì­±¨ã¡C ¥Lªº©]±ßµø³¥¤w¸g³Q§ï¥¿, Åý¥L¤F¸Ñ¦b³Õ¤h¤Wªº¦P±¡
Holliday's soft-featured face. / Holliday's ªº¬X³n-¥HÁy¬°¯S¦â¡C
 
His pain was gone and his arm bandaged. He could feel the hard  curve of the shunt in his forearm. / 
¥Lªºµh­W¤£¨£¤F¡A¦Ó¥B¥Lªº¤âÁuÁ^±a¡C ¥L¥i¥H·Pı¥Lªº«eÁu¤À¸ôªºÃø¦±½u¡C
 
Dr. Holliday explained with a cooly guileless expression that a  petite tech had delivered the shunt and the drugs that 
went in it.  / Holliday ³Õ¤h¥H cooly ¤@­Ó¼b¤p¬ì§Þ¤w¸g»¼°e¤À¸ô©M¶i¤J¥¦ªºÃĤ£¬¾·âªºªí¹F¸ÑÄÀ¡C
Gave him a refill and ushered him down the back stairs and out  of her office. / 
µ¹¤©¤F¥L¤@­Ó²Ä¤GªM¦Ó¥B§â¥L¤Þ¾É¤U¨Ó«á­±ªº¼Ó±è©MÂ÷¶}¦oªº¿ì¤½«Ç¡C
 
His wristcom burdened him with its silence. He stood in the  shadows, watching his car and the street it was on, waiting.  / 
¥Lªº wristcom ¥Î¥¦ªº¨HÀq­t¾á¥L¡C ¥L¦b¼v¹³¤¤¯¸¥ß, ¬Ý¥¦¬Oªº¥L¨T¨®©Mµó¹D¶}ªº, ­Ô¸É¡C
Shattered glass covered his car. The streetlamp above it had  been broken. He let himself fade into view, broke into a  run, 
dropped to the ground and rolled. / 
¥´¸H¤F³Q²[»\¥Lªº¨T¨®¬Á¼þ¡C ¦b¥¦¤W­±ªºµó¿O¤w¸g³Q¥´¯}¡C ¥L¶i¤Jµø³¥¤§¤ºÅý¥L¦Û¤v¿Æ¦â,Âô¤J©b¶],¹ï¦a­±­°§C¦Ó¥B±²¡C
 
The assassins were good. He wasn't bullet proof, and he  couldn't tell from where they were coming, but he knocked one  
off her feet and into another and for once was screaming as he  fought, in the zone where will, action and flow became one. /
 ·t±þªÌ«Ü¦n¡C ¥L¤£¬O¤l¼uÃÒ©ú¡A¦Ó¥B¥LµLªk§i¶D±q¥L­Ì¥¿¦b¨Ó­þ¸Ì¡A¦ý¬O¥LºVÀ»¤@¦b¦oªº¸}¥~¦Ó¥B¶i¤J¥t¥~¤@¤§¤º¦Ó¥B·í¥L¥´¥M¡A
¶È¦¹¤@¦¸¥¿¦b¦y¥s, ¦b¦a°ì¤¤¦b­þ¸Ì±N, ¦æ°Ê©M¬yµ{Åܦ¨¤@¡C
 
They went down faster than anticipated, folding in upon  themselves at the places of impact, saliva, sweat and blood  
arcing through the air, sliding off the slick waxed car and staining  the dusty ground. / 
¥L­Ì¤U¥h§ó§Ö³t¦a¶W¹L¹w´Á, §éÅ|ªº¦b¥L­Ì¦Û¤v¤§¤W¸g¹LªÅ®ð¦b½ÄÀ»¡A³è²G¡A¦½©M¦å arcing ªº¦a¤è,
 Â÷¶}¥ú·ÆªºÅܤj¨T¨®·Æ¦Ó¥Bªg¬V¦Ç¹Ð¦hªº¦a­±¡C
 
Looking down at all the bodies Joe grabbed his hair.  "Fuck," he  growled. "Fuck, fuck, good for nothing piece of -" /
 ©¹¤U¬Ý©Ò¦³ªº¨­Åé³ì§ì¨ú¤F¥LªºÀY¾v¡C   " ©Ê¥æ ",¥L«ã§p¡C "©Ê¥æ,©Ê¥æ, ²@µL»ù­È¶ô -"
 
How the hell was he going to be taken captive by Galactor if he  kept killing their agents? /
 ¥L¦p¦ó¥h³Q Galactor ±a«R¸¸¦pªG¥LÄ~Äò±þ®`¥L­Ìªº¥N²z¤H?
 
Hearing rumbling from the southwest, Joe looked up in time to  see the God Phoenix pierce the sky like the needle, racing  
ahead of the sound. / ±q¦è«nªºÅ¥ÃÒ·|¶©¶©Án, ³ì¬Ý¦b¤Î®É¤W­±¨£¨ì¤W«Ò»ñ°Ä«°¹³°w¤@¼Ë¨ë¬ï¤ÑªÅ, ¦bÁn­µ¤§«eÁɶ]¡C
 
Joe jumped into the car to drive to the race track. Even for that time of night it was quiet.
None of the familiar night noises,and  his trailer was gone from its spot, a rectangle of flattened  
withered grass where it used to be. /
 ³ì¶i¤J¨T¨®¤§¤º¸õÅD¶}¨®¥h¤ñÁÉ­y¹D¡C ¬Æ¦Ü©]±ßªº¨º¦¸¥¦¬O¦wÀR¡C ¨S¦³¤@ºØ¼ô±xªº©]±ß¾¸­µ, ©M¥Lªº°lÂܪ̱q¥¦ªº¦aÂI¤£¨£¤F,
±N¤@­Óªø¤è§ÎÅÜ¥­ªº¨Ï¥¦¹L¥h¤@ª½ªº¯ó¬O­äÁ¤F¡C
 
One last time, Joe told himself, as he drove onto the track. One  last time, and he started his engine and raced himself 
around the  track until Galactor came to take him away. /
 ¤@¤W¦¸¡A³ì§i¶D¤F¥L¦Û¤v, ¦]¬°¥L¦b­y¹D¤§¤W¶}¨®¡C ¤@¤W¦¸¡A©M¥L¦b­y¹Dªº©P³ò±Ò°Ê¤F¥Lªº¤ÞÀº¦Ó¥B¤ñÁÉ¥L¦Û¤v¡Aª½¨ì Galactor ¨Ó¨ú¨«¥L¡C
 
Explosions to the left and right of him he took as applause and  the illusion held as the green-garbed ruffians dragged him 
out of  the ruins of his borrowed car. He intended to let them capture  him quietly, but with their fearful expressions and 
hesitant  approach, he couldn't take it and before he knew it he was hitting  someone in the chin with his heel. Ramming the 
side of his hand  into throats. Killing his enemies with a joy so grim it was lust. / 
¹ï¥ªÃä©M¥Lªº¥kÃäÃz¬µ·í·íºñ¦â¥´§êªº´c´Ò¥Ñ©ó¥Lªº­É¨Ó¨T¨®ªº·´·À©ì©Ô¤F¥Lªº®É­Ô¡A¹ª´x©M¤Û¼v®³µÛªº®É­Ô¡A¥L®³¡C 
¥L·Q­nÅý¥L­Ì¦wÀR¦a®·Àò¥L, ¦ý¬O¥Ñ©ó¥L­Ìªº®£©Èªí¹F©M¿ðºÃªº¤è¦¡¡A¥LµLªk±a¥¦¦Ó¥B¦b¥Lª¾¹D¤§«e¥¦¥L¥¿¦b©M¥Lªº¸}«á¸òªº¤U¤Ú¤¤¥´À»¬Y¤H¡C
 ÀH¾÷¦s¨ú°O¾ÐÅé¥Lªº¤âÃä¶i¤J«|³ï¡C ¥ÎÅw³ß±þ®`¥Lªº¼Ä¤H¦p¦¹§N»Å¥¦¬O³g¼¤¡C
 
 
 
****************
10.
 
"Where'd you get that?" Ken asked, eyeing the unfamiliar key  / "Where'd §A±o¨ì¨º"? ªÖ®¦°Ý,ª`·N¤£¼ô±xªºÆ_°Í
Jun held between her fingers. / ¤»¤ë¦b¦oªº¤â«ü¤§¶¡®³µÛ¡C
 
Jun closed her fist around it. Moved her hand and held it point  out between her knuckles. "Joe's trailer." /
 ¤»¤ë¦b¥¦©P³òÃö³¬¤F¦oªº®±ÀY¡C ²¾°Ê¤F¦oªº¤â¦Ó¥B®³µÛ¥¦¦b¦oªº«ü¸`¤§¶¡«ü¥X¡C " ³ìªº°lÂÜªÌ ".
 
At his questioning look she continued, "Nambu had it brought in  from the race track. Galactor'd already got to it, 
but this key was  in there. I thought I should hold onto it." / 
¦b¥L¸ß°Ý¦oÄ~Äòªº¯«±¡,"Nambu ¥¦±q¤ñÁÉ­y¹D¤Þ¶i¤F¡C Galactor'd ¤w¸g¨ì¹F¥¦¡A¦ý¬O³o¤@¤äÆ_°Í¬O¦b¨º¸Ì¡C §Ú»{¬°§ÚÀ³¸Ó«O¦í¥¦¡C"
 
It looked like a safety deposit box key. / ¥¦¬Ý°_¨Ó¹³¤@¤ä¦w¥þ¦s´Ú²°¤lÆ_°Í¤@¼Ë¡C
 
"Nambu know?" / " Nambu ª¾¹D "?
 
Jun nodded. / ¤»¤ëÂIÀY¡C
 
"Nambu's calling us off the search for Joe." / " Nambu's ¦b¹ï³ìªº·j´M¥~¥´¹q¸Üµ¹§Ú­Ì ".
 
Her eyes closed. When she opened them they looked black. / ¦oªº²´·úÃö³¬¡C ·í¦o¥´¶}ªº®É­Ô¥L­Ì¬Ý°_¨Ó¶Â¦âªº¥L­Ì¡C
 
"We're are we going?" / "§Ú­Ì¬O§Ú­Ì¬y¦æªº"?
 
"The Himalayas. Cross Karacorum." / "³ß°¨©Ô¶®¤s¡C ¥æ¤e Karacorum ¡C"
 
"What's in In -- Galactor Headquarters?" / "¤°»ò¬O¦b -- Galactor Á`³¡?"
 
Involuntarily, a small smile came to Ken's face. "We got a  bird scramble." / 
¤£ª¾¤£Ä±¦a¡A¤@­Ó¤pªº·L¯º¨ì¹FªÖ®¦ªºÁy¡C " §Ú­Ì±o¨ì¤F¤@°¦³¾Ãk½t " ¡C
 
Jun clasped her hands together in pained excitement. Joe did it.  / ¤»¤ë¦bµhªº¨ë¿E¤è­±¤@°_¦©ºò¤F¦oªº¤â¡C ³ì°µ¤F¥¦¡C
He succeeded. / ¥L¦¨¥\¡C
 
"That big plot Dr. Nambu thought the monster mech in R-city  was a cover-up for? Katse's been dropping bombs into the  
earth's core. He wants to collapse the planet." /
 "¤jªº±¡¸` Nambu ³Õ¤h·Q R ªº©Çª« mech-«°¥«¬O¤@­Ó±»¹¢? ­°§C¬µ¼u¶i¤J¦a²yªº®Ö¤ß Katse's¡C ¥L·Q­n±Y¼ì¦æ¬P¡C"
 
One of Jun's eyes closed and she winced, touching her index  and middle fingers to her temple. /
 ¤»¤ëªº²´·ú¤§¤@Ãö³¬¡A¦Ó¥B¦o¬ÈÁY,¸IIJ¨ì¦oªº¦x¼q¦o¯Á¤Þ©M¤¤«ü¡C
 
"Katse won't succeed." Ken assured her. / " Katse ±N¤£¦¨¥\ " ¡C ªÖ®¦«Oµý¤F¦o¡C
 
"Galactor scientists have accomplished some amazing,  frightening things." /
 "Galactor ¬ì¾Ç®a¦³§¹¦¨ªº¤@¨Ç¥O¤HÅ岧ªº, ÅåÀ~¨Æª«".
 
"We will stop Katse once and for all." Ken crossed his arms over  his chest, /
 " §Ú­Ì±N¶È¦¹¤@¦¸°±¤î Katse" ¡C ªÖ®¦¥æ¤e¤F¦b¥Lªº¯Ý¤W¥L¤âÁu,
 
Jun made a few quick mental calculations. "...thousands." She  cocked her head, "tens of thousands could die from the  
earthquakes, tsunamis." / ¤»¤ë§@¤F¤@¨Ç§Öªº¤ß´¼­pºâ¡C ".¡C¡C¼Æ¤d¡C" ¦oÁq¥ß¤F¦oªºÀY ",¦n´X¸U¥i¥H¦º©ó¦a¾_¡A®ü¼S¡C"
 
"We'll save them." / " §Ú­Ì±N¸Ñ±Ï¥L­Ì " ¡C
 
"All of them?" she asked. / " ¥L­Ì¥þ³¡ "? ¦o°Ý¡C
 
Ken looked so disappointed she added hastily, "I know, I know,  we do our best. And Joe?" she had to ask. /
 ªÖ®¦¬Ý°_¨Ó¦p¦¹¥¢±æ¦o¥^¦£¦a¼W¥[,"§Úª¾¹D,§Úª¾¹D,§Ú­ÌºÉ¥þ¤O¡C ¦Ó¥B³ì?" ¦o¥²¶·°Ý¡C
 
At that Ken looked away. / ¦b¨º¤@­ÓªÖ®¦¬ÝÂ÷¶}¡C
 
 
* * * / ***
 
The ground was shaking. His fingers burned numbly. His jaw  hurt. His neck, too. His forehead felt mushy and a spiky 
spiderweb shaped lattice of pain radiated from the back of his skull  across his face and below. His eyes were caked 
shut. He didn't  have to look at the wrist of his pulped hand to know that some of  the ceramics of the shattered wristband 
had fused to his skin. / 
¦a­±¥¿¦b·n°Ê¡C ¥Lªº¤â«ü¥¢¥hª¾Ä±¿U¿N¡C ¥LªºÃE¶Ë®`¡C ¥Lªº²ä¤l, ¤]¡C ¥Lªº«eÃBı±o¿@µ°ª¬¡A
¦Ó¥B¦¨§Îµh­Wªº®æ¤l¹D°v¤@¯ëªº spiderweb ¶V¹L¥LªºÁy©M¦b¤U­±±q¥LªºÀY»\°©ªº­I­±´T®g¡C ¥Lªº²´·ú³Q³J¿|Ãö³¬ªº¡C 
¥L¤£¤@©w­n¬Ý¥Lªº¤Æ¦¨¯È¼ß¤âªº¤âµÃª¾¹D³Q¥´¸Hªº³S¤f¤@¨Ç½`·~¤w¸g¿Ä¤Æ¨ì¥Lªº¥Ö½§¡C
 
The mattress beneath him shook. It wasn't his mattress. It was a floor. A stone floor. A stone floor that smelled like Nepal./
 ©³¹Ô¦b¥L¤§¤U·n°Ê¡C ¥¦¤£¬O¥Lªº©³¹Ô¡C ¥¦¬O¦aªO¡C ¥ÛÀY¦aªO¡C »D°_¨Ó¹³¥§ªyº¸¤@¼Ëªº¥ÛÀY¦aªO¡C
 
He groaned. Tasted vomit in the back of his throat and rolled to  the edge of his bed, so he could spit on the floor. 
The bed  wobbled so hard he couldn't peer over. He flopped his hand on  the mattress to steady himself, screamed as 
the fractured bones  of his left hand pinched his flesh and remembered. / 
¥L©D§u¡C À|¦b¥Lªº«|³ï«á­±¦R¥X¨Ã¥B±²¨ì¥Lªº§ÉÃä½t, ¦]¦¹¥L¥i¥H«V°d¦aªO¡C §É§V¤O¦a³o»ò·n°Ê¥LµLªkµ²§ô¾®µø¡C 
¥L²Â­«ªººL¤F¦b©³¹Ô¤Wªº¥L¤â¨Ï¥L¦Û¤ví©w,·í¥Lªº¥ª¤â³Q¯}¸Hªº°©ÀYÕt¤F¥Lªº¦×¦Ó¥B°O±o¡A¦y¥s¡C
 
He wasn't in bed. He was on Everest. Cross Karacorum. Katse's  lair. Galactor headquarters. Joe spat in his hand and slimed 
the  blood sealing his eye shut away and he knew he wasn't  dreaming anymore. He'd been beaten up too badly. Was  shivering 
so hard, had been shot too many times for this to be  anything but his life. / 
¥L¤£¦bºÎı¡C ¥L¦b®J¥±°Ç´µ®p¤W¡C ¥æ¤e Karacorum ¡C Katse's ªºÃ~¥Þ¡C Galactor Á`³¡¡C 
¦b¥Lªº¤â¤¤³Q¦R¤fªj¨Ã¥B¶î¤Wªd«Ê³¬¥Lªº²´·ú¦å³ìÃö¤WÂ÷¶}¡A¦Ó¥B¥L»{ÃÑ¥L¨S¦³¦b¤£¦A°µ¹Ú¡C ¥L¤w¸g³Q¥´¦b¤ÓÄY­«¤W­±¡C 
¥¿¦bŸ§Ý¦p¦¹ªº§V¤O, ¤w¸g³Q®gÀ»¤Ó³\¦h¦¸Åý³o¨M¤£¬O¥Lªº¥Í¬¡¡C
 
He remembered now. He'd been captured, beaten, brought  before Katse and shot, and the stupid assholes had still  managed 
to let him get away. / ¥L²{¦b°O±o¡C ¥L¤w¸g³Q®·Àò, ¥´, ¦b Katse ©Mª`®g¤§«e±a, ©M·MÄøªº§¾²´¤w¸g¤´µM³]ªkÅý¥L°kÂ÷¡C
 
He was missing time, though. / ¥L¥¿¦b¥¢¥h®É¶¡, ÁöµM¡C
 
From the ache in his face and shoulders the goons must have  pounded on him after he lost consciousness. 
His chest felt like  it'd been catching riflebutts and his ribs were numb. The  wobbling thing beneath him was the ground, 
not his mattress. He  heard the crump of explosives. It sounded like it was two  chambers away. The floor sank beneath him 
and the room tilted.  / 
±qµh¥¿¹ïµÛ©MªÓ¦b¥L¥¢¥h¤F·NÃѤ§«á¡A§b¤l¤@©w´¿¸g¦b¥L¤§¤W±j¯P¥´À»¹L¡C ¥Lªº¯Ý·Pı¹³¥¦¤w¸g®·®» riflebutts ¦Ó¥B¥Lªº¦Ø°©¬O³Â¤ìªº¡C 
·n°Ê¨Æª«¦b¥L¤§¤U¬O¦a­±¦Ó¤£¬O¥Lªº©³¹Ô¡C ¥LÅ¥¨ì¤F¬µÃĪº crump ¡C ¥¦Å¥°_¨Ó¹³¥¦¤@¼Ë¬O¤G¶¡·|ij«Ç¤§»·¡C 
¦aªO¦b¨I¸¨¤F¥L¤§¤U¡A¦Ó¥B©Ð¶¡¶É±×¡C
He slid fast and hard toward an open door. He was going to hit  the door, probably catch one of his broken ribs on it. 
He  prepared for the impact, his body sluggish. There was another  crump, closer now, and the chamber tilted level, stopping 
his  momentum. Everything went quiet. Joe couldn't even hear his  heart. / 
¥L·Æ°Ê§Ö³t¦a©MÃøªº¹ï©ó¤@­Óªù¤á¶}©ñ¡C ¥L±N­nÀ»¤¤ªù, ¥i¯à®·®»¦b¥¦¤Wªº¥LÃa±¼ªº¦Ø°©¤§¤@¡C 
¥L·Ç³Æ½ÄÀ», ¥Lªº¨­Åé°½Ãiªº¡C ¦³¥t¥~ crump, ¤ñ¸û¾aªñªº²{¦b¡A©M·|ij«Ç¶É±×¤F¤ô·Ç, °±¤î¥Lªº°Ê¤O¡C ¨C¥ó¨Æª«ÅܦwÀR¡C 
³ìµLªk¬Æ¦ÜÅ¥¨ì¥Lªº¤ß¡C
 
Joe lay his cheek against the cool floor and started counting. He reached ten and nothing had happened. 
His clear eye narrowed./
 ³ì©ñ¸m¤F¹ï§Ü«Ü´Îªº¦aªO¥LÀU¦Ó¥B¶}©l­pºâ¡C ¥L¨ì¹F¤Q©M¨S¨Æ¤w¸gµo¥Í¡C  ¥Lªº²M·¡²´·úÁY¤p¡C
He started counting again, marking time with his thumb. / ¥L¦A¤@¦¸¶}©l­pºâ,§â®É¶¡°µ°O¸¹©ó¥Lªº©æ«ü¡C
 
Like a sudden cramp, voices sounded in the hall.  Low and  tense, they belonged to Galactor. Joe reached around him,  
feeling for feather shuriken on his person. They were always on  his person. It was slightly bent. His only one just in time, 
because  it was in his gut that a teammate was nearby. Being so close to  death, he knew it hadn't taken him because it was 
also waiting  for her. /
 ¹³¬ðµMªº©âµ¬¡AÁn­µ¦bªùÆU¤¤Å¥¡C  §CÂI©M®ÉºA, ¥L­ÌÄÝ©ó Galactor ¡C ³ì¦b¥L©P³ò¨ì¹F, ºN¯Á¦Ð¤ò shuriken ÀH¨­Äâ±aµÛ¡C
 ¥L­ÌÁ`¬OÀH¨­Äâ±aµÛ¡C ¥¦¨Ç·L¦a³QÅs¦±¡C ¥Lªº¥u¦³¤Î®É¦a¡A¦]¬°¥¦¬O¦b¥Lªº¤@­Ó¶¤¤Í¬Oªþªñªº«i®ð¤¤¡C ¦p¦¹±µªñ±o­n©R,¥Lª¾¹D¡A
¦]¬°¥¦¤]¥¿¦bµ¥­Ô¦o¡A¥¦¨S¦³±a¥L¡C
 
His limbs wouldn't move. / ¥Lªº¥|ªÏ±N¤£²¾°Ê¡C
 
"No, no, no." / "¤£, ¤£, ¸¹½X"
 
Joe wished his thigh up. It only twitched. He took a deep breath.   / ³ì¦V¤WÄ@¥Lªº¤j»L¡C ¥¦¥u²r©Ô¡C ¥L§@¤F²`ªº©I§l¡C
The pain sprang deep and evil within him.  His mouth jerked  open.  Bright blood and mucous spattered the ground in 
front of  him. His vision grayed. /
 µh­W²`¤J¦a¸õ©M¥L¸Ì­±ªº¨¸´c¡C  ¥Lªº¼LµjÅ˶}©ñªº¡C  ©ú«Gªº¦å©MÂH²Gªº¦b¥L¤§«e²kÂqª«¤F¦a­±¡C ¥Lªºµø³¥ÅܦǦâ¡C
 
The goons outside were very quiet, expectation perked in the air.  / §b¤l¥~­±«D±`¦wÀR,´Á«Ý¦bªÅ®ð¤¤®¶§@¡C
He could smell them, excitement and satisfaction. His bowels  turned to water, his tensed thigh jittered.  
Jun was gonna die if  he didn't do something. She was gonna be as bad as him if he  didn't do something. Anything. 
"Please, God," Joe breathed.   / 
¥L¥i¥H»D¥L­Ì¡A¨ë¿E©Mº¡¨¬¡C ¥Lªº¸z·Ç³Æ¼å¤ô, ¥Lªº©Ôºò³Q¸õ°Êªº¤j»L¡C  ¦pªG¥L¨S¦³°µ¬Y¨Æ¡A¤»¤ë±N­n¦º¡C ¦pªG¥L¨S¦³°µ¬Y¨Æ¡A
¦o¥¿¦b¥h¬O¹³¥L¤@¼ËªºÃa¡C ¥ô¦ó¨Æ¡C "½Ð, ¤W«Ò",³ì©I§l¡C
"Our Mary," he gasped. "Mama, Papa, please." / " §Ú­Ìªºº¿ÄR ",¥L³Ý®ð¡C " ¶ý¶ý,ª¨ª¨, ½Ð " ¡C
 
Nothing worked, and his eyes were sliding shut. That wicked  pain in gut, the trickle of, ohgod itwaspiss, down his leg and  
nothing worked. / ¨S¨Æ¤u§@¡A¦Ó¥B¥Lªº²´·ú¬O·Æ¸¨ªºÃö³¬¡C «i®ðªº¨ººØÃaªºµh­W, ºw, ohgod itwaspiss,åP¸¨³Q¤u§@ªº¥L»L©M¨S¨Æ¡C
 
"Fucking help me, please," he wheezed and wedged his  shattered hand beneath him and lifted, light as a feather, 
out  of his brokeness.  There was something warm on his lip.  He  brushed it off, blood, with the back of his bad hand. /
 "©Ê¥æÀ°§U§Ú, ½Ð",¥L¦b®ð³Ý¦Ó¥B·¤¦í¥Lªº¥´¸H¤â¤§¤U¥L¦Ó¥B¤É°ª,ÂI¿U¦p¤@®Ú¦Ð¤ò, ¥Ñ©ó¥Lªº¤@¤å¤£©ú¡C  ¦b¥Lªº®B¤W·Å·xªºªF¦è¡C 
 ¥L¨«¶}²¨¨ê¤F¥¦, ¦å, ÂǥѥLªºÃa¤â­I­±¡C
 
"Get up," Joe told himself. / " °_§É ",³ì§i¶D¤F¥L¦Û¤v¡C
 
Alarmsrang. He heard the useless running of useless Galactors as they tried to make sense of the mayhem his people, his team, 
 was making in their headquarters. Joe smiled through his broken  jaw. Spit into his good hand, and rubbed at the blood and 
 vitreous humour sealing his other eye shut. He could not have  smiled wider if he was pissing on Berg Katse's grave. /
 ĵ³ø»ïÅT¡C ·í¥L­Ì¸ÕµÛ¤F¸Ñ¥Lªº¥Á±Ú,¥Lªº¤p²Õ, ¥¿¦b¥L­ÌªºÁ`³¡¤¤»s³yªº¶Ë®`¸oªº®É­Ô¡A¥LÅ¥¨ì¤F¨S¦³¥Î Galactors ªº¨S¦³¥ÎÁɶ]¡C
 ³ì·L¯º¹L¥LªºÃa±¼ÃE¡C ¶i¤J¥Lªº¦n¤â¤§¤º³è¦R, ¦Ó¥B¦b¦å©M«Ê³¬¥Lªº³QÃö¤Wªº¨ä¥L²´·úªº¬Á¼þ«ÕÀqÀ¿¡C
 ¥LµLªk¤w¸g·L¯º¤ñ¸û¼eªº¦pªG¥L¥¿¦b¦B¤s Katse's ªº¹Ó¥Þ¤W¤p«K¡C
 
He flitted to the doorway, through the doorway, trailing piss and  shit and blood as he sprinted to join Jun. / 
¥L°¿¦a­¸¨ìªù¤f, ¸g¹Lªù¤f, °lÂܤp«K©MÁT©M¦å·í¥L¾Ä¤O¦Ó¶]°Ñ¥[¤»¤ë¡C
 
His angel, the Swan, bodies to the left of her, bodies to the right,  her chin high and imperious as she waited for the 
knife to fall and  for her life to end among the mainframes of the cavern floor. /
 ¥Lªº¤Ñ¨Ï¡A¤ÑÃZ , ¦o¡A¥kÃ䪺¨­Å饪Ã䪺¨­Åé , ¦oªº¤U¤Ú°ªªº©M±M¾îªº·í°µ¦oµ¥­Ô¤M¸¨¤U©M¬°¦oªº¥Í¬¡¦b¥¨¥Þ¦aªOªº¹q¸£¥D¾÷¤§¤¤¦¬½L¡C
 
The shuriken caught the goon cleanly and it hit the ground  quickly, right after Joe did. / 
shuriken °®²b®·®»¤F§b¤l¡A¦Ó¥B¥¦«Ü§Ö¦a¥´À»¦a­±, ¥¿½T¦a¦b³ì°µ¤§«á¡C
 
"Joji!" Jun screamed, her small gloved hands slapping his  cheeks. "Joji, please, wake up. Please don't do this." / 
" Joji"! ¤»¤ë¦y¥s, ¦oªº¤p·¥§Ö¦a¤â®M¤â¥LªºÀU¡C "Joji,½Ð, ¿ô¨Ó¡C ½Ð¤£­n°µ³o¡C"
 
It was warm and he was dry and he was tired. / ¥¦«Ü·Å·x¡A¦Ó¥B¥L¬O°®¡A¦Ó¥B¥L«Ü¯h²Ö¡C
 
"Joji, please. Joji, open your eyes." / "Joji,½Ð¡C Joji,¥´¶}§Aªº²´·ú¡C"
 
His eyes weren't working anymore, but he heard Jun speak into  her wristcom, telling Ken and the others to quick come 
join them,  and he wanted to wait, he did. But he smelled vetiver, rose water  and jasmine, and felt his father's
 shoulder under his chin. / 
¥Lªº²´·ú¨S¦³¦b¤£¦A¤u§@¡A¦ý¬O¥LÅ¥¨ì¤»¤ë¶i¤J¦oªº wristcom ¤§¤º»¡, §i¶DªÖ®¦©M¨ä¾lªÌ¨ì§Öªº¨Ó°Ñ¥[¥L­Ì, ©M¥L·Q­nµ¥­Ô,¥L°µ¡C 
¦ý¬O¥L»D¤F­»®Ú¯ó¡Aª´ºÀ¦âªº¤ô©M­[²úÄÝ´Óª«, ¦Ó¥B·Pı¤F¦b¥Lªº¤U¤Ú¤U­±ªº¥L¤÷¿ËªºªÓ¡C
 
 
End / µ²§ô
 
******************
******************
 
Notes: / ª`·N:
 
Thanks to BeckyD, Lori McDonald, Naa Dei-Nikoi (Stella's was mad helpful), John Duffin, Sal, Stephanie Wilson, Wildcat & Kim /
¥Ñ©ó BeckyD ¡A Lori ³Á·í³Ò¡A Naa Dei-Nikoi(¥vÂL©Ô¬OºÆ¨gªº¦³À°§Uªº) ¡A¬ù¿« Duffin ¡A±CùÂù¾ð¡A´µ¸¦ªâ©g«Âº¸»¹, ¤p¿ß &¦N©i
Wylie for beta-reading and encouragement. / ¬°¨©¥¦ªº Wylie-¾\Ū©M¹ªÀy¡C
 
E-me and let me know what you think, ebonbird@hotmail.com. / ¹q¤l§Ú¦Ó¥B¨Ï§Úª¾¹D§A·Qªº¡A ebonbird@hotmail.com¡C
 
  

¡m¦^¤W¤@­¶¡n