Chapter 43 Section 42

Near seven o'clock, taxis and limousines crowded into a mess in front of the west gate of the museum.Elegantly dressed passengers carefully got out of the car door, the men wore almost identical dresses, and the women wore real fur.As guests flocked to the museum's canopy on the red carpet, umbrellas bumped and everyone tried to avoid the torrential rain, the sidewalks had become streams and the sewers were rushing rivers. Entering the museum, thousands of pairs of expensive leather shoes step on the marble floor between two rows of palm trees to the sky hall, and the sound of footsteps echoes in the usually dead rotunda.The huge flower pots hold bamboos that go straight to the roof, and are also decorated with violet decorative lights.The bamboo is carefully decorated with clusters of drooping orchids, reminiscent of hanging gardens in the tropics.

In the depths of the museum, an unseen band played brisk "New York, New York."An army of waiters in white ties shuttled through the crowd, holding champagne flutes and hors d'oeuvres on large silver trays.Guests streamed into the museum's scientists and staff, and began enjoying free food.Sequins, diamond necklaces, polished gold cufflinks and tiaras gleamed from evening gown dresses in soft blue spotlights. Almost overnight, the opening ceremony of the Global Indigenous Culture Exhibition became the most wanted event for New York's fashion crowd.Standing aside for now are the coming-of-age balls and fundraising galas, and seeing for yourself what the museum is up to when you get the chance.Three thousand invitation letters were sent out, but five thousand confirmation letters were received.

Doubly guilty in his ill-fitting tux, wide-brimmed wide collar and pleated shirt, Smithback looked out into the Sky Hall for familiar faces.A huge podium was erected at the end of the hall.Next to it is the richly decorated exhibition entrance, which is still locked and guarded by guards.The dance floor in the center of the hall was quickly filled with couples of men and women.Stepping into the hall, Smithback immediately finds himself in the midst of countless conversations, each speaking in a raspy high-pitched voice. "... the new psychohistorian, Grant, you know? Well, she finally confessed to me yesterday what the hell she was working on. Listen up: she wants to prove that Henry IV survived the Second Crusade Her insanity was actually a fugue state caused by an acute stress reaction. It took a lot of effort not to tell her..."

"... came up with the ridiculous idea that the Stubbins Baths are actually stables! This fellow has never been to Pompeii, can't tell the difference between a Pizza Hut and a Villa of Mystery, and has the audacity to call himself a Papyrus Home……" "...my new research assistant? The one with the big boobs? Alas, yesterday she was standing next to the autoclave, accidentally dropped the test tube, and the test tube was full..." Smithback took a deep breath, boldly separated from the crowd, and walked to the table where the meals were placed.He thought to himself: There must be something to see.

Outside the main entrance of the rotunda, D'Agosta saw flashing lights flashing one after another in the line of cameramen, and another prominent figure walked in: a handsome white face with a haggard lady on his arm. From his position, he could see the metal detection gate and the people coming in and out, and he could also see the bustling guests through the single door of the Sky Hall.The floor of the rotunda was slick with rain, and the coat lockers were piled high with umbrellas.The FBI had set up a forward command post in the opposite corner: Coffey was to monitor all activities tonight at close range.D'Agosta couldn't help but want to laugh.The Bureau wanted to go as unnoticed as possible, but wires, phone lines, fiber optics, and ribbon cables stretched out like octopus tentacles from the front station, as hard to miss as a bad hangover.

Thunder rumbled.Along the promenade along the Hudson River, the branches with newly sprouted leaves dance wildly in the wind.D'Agosta's walkie-talkie hissed. "Vice-captain, there is another dispute at the metal detection gate." D'Agosta heard a voice scream, "How could you not recognize me!" "Pull her away. The team can't be stopped. Anyone who refuses to go through the detection gate, just pull her out of the team. They will slow down the progress." As soon as D'Agosta put away the walkie-talkie, Coffey led the museum's security director up. "Report." Coffey ordered roughly.

"Everyone is in place." D'Agosta took out his cigar and looked at the end wet with saliva. "There are four plainclothes policemen walking around the reception. Four patrolmen patrol the security circle with your men. Five One guy outside directing traffic, five guys guarding metal detectors and entrances. My patrolmen in the lobby. After the ribbon cutting, two of them came into the lobby with me. One guy in the computer room, one in the security control room..." Coffey narrowed his eyes: "The uniformed policeman will move into the hall with the crowd. There is no such thing in the plan." "It's not a formal arrangement. I just want to walk in the front when the crowd passes through the restaurant, at least not too far away. You didn't Allow us to search it thoroughly, forget?"

Coffey sighed, "You can do whatever you like, just don't make me a group of personal bodyguards. They can't be too conspicuous, and they can't block the exhibits. Got it?" D'Agosta nodded. Coffey turned to Ippolito. "What about you?" "Well, sir, my people are also in place. Exactly according to your arrangement." "Very well. During the ceremony, my command base is here in the rotunda. After the ceremony, I will reschedule. Ippolito, you stay with D'Agosta, guarding the curator and the mayor. D'Agosta, you know the rules, don't you? Be obedient to me in the background, don't poke around and screw up your last day here. Do you understand?"

Waters stood in the cool computer room, bathed in the glow of neon lights, shoulders aching from the heavy weight of the shotgun.This was probably the most boring task he had ever encountered.He glanced at the nerd typing on the keyboard in front of the computer - he thought that guy was a complete nerd.Crackling, crackling, the guy was crackling on the keyboard for hours.Listening to music while wearing a headset, drinking diet Coke while knocking.Waters shook his head, early tomorrow morning he would apply to D'Agosta for a changing of the guard.If he stayed in the computer room any longer, he would have to go crazy.

The nerd scratched the back of his neck and stretched. "Tired enough today," he said to Waters. "Yeah," Waters replied. "I'm almost done. Tell you what this program can do. Guaranteed to scare you." "Well said," Waters said without any enthusiasm.He looked at his watch. There were three hours until the shift change. "Look." The nerd hit a button.Waters steps up to the screen to watch.There is nothing but a bunch of messy characters, probably the so-called program. Just then, a bug appeared on the screen.He didn't move at first, but then he took his green legs and crawled over the characters on the screen.A second bug appeared on the screen.The two bugs notice each other, get closer, and start mating.

Waters looked at the nerd and asked, "What's this?" "Keep reading." The nerd replied. Before long, four worms were born, and they also began to mate.The screen is quickly filled with bugs.The bugs then start eating the characters on the screen.After a few minutes, all the characters on the screen disappeared, leaving only bugs crawling around.Eventually, the bugs start eating each other.Soon, there was only a black hole left on the screen. "Cool, isn't it?" said the nerd. "Yes," Waters replied, and he paused. "What does this program do?" "It's just..." the nerd seemed confused, "just a cool program. Just talking." "How long did it take you to write this program?" Waters asked. "Two weeks," the nerd replied proudly, gritting his teeth, "Of course, it was spent in spare time." The nerd turned to face the computer terminal, and continued to clatter on the keyboard.Waters relaxed and leaned against the wall closest to the door.He could hear the faint music of the band overhead, the low-frequency vibrations of the bass, the boom of the drums, the whine of the saxophone.He thought he could even hear the stamping of thousands of feet as they slid forward.And he's stuck in this madhouse with only a keyboard nerd for company.The most exciting thing ever is when the nerd gets up to get another Diet Coke. He suddenly heard a strange sound coming from the electronic system room. "Did you hear that?" he asked. "No." The nerd replied. There was a long silence, followed by another bang—clearly. "What's that sound?" Waters said. "I don't know." The nerd replied.He stopped typing and looked around, "Shouldn't you check it out?" Waters reached for the smooth holster of the shotgun and stared at the electronics room door.Maybe nothing.The last time I went in with D'Agosta, I found nothing.He should burst out to see what happened.Of course, he could also call the command post and ask for support.Not far along the corridor is the command post.His buddy Garcia should be on duty... right?Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.Waters instinctively raised his arm to wipe the sweat, but he didn't take a step toward the electronics room.

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