Chapter 12 Chapter two
After Julia drove the car into the temporary parking lot at Westchester Airport, she picked up the leather bag on the seat and hurried to the terminal building.A sudden conference call of more than forty-five minutes had delayed her schedule, and she feared she would miss her flight.
She made an appointment with Dr. Kofer on Monday, and canceled all her trips on Friday afternoon in order to enjoy the joy of being a mother.
There are three photo frames of different sizes and styles on the chairs in the car.She bought it at a stationery and gift shop on the way to the airport this morning.Not sure how big the ultrasound was, she bought three sizes.She was going to surprise Nick with the ultrasound tonight, and she was thrilled at the thought of it.She also prepared teddy bear wrappers and wrote Fox in Socks.When she was a child, she loved hearing her father read this book to her, and she hopes that Nick will continue this tradition and read it to their children.
Although the photo of their baby in the womb was still small, it was the first photo of them as a real family and they would keep it on a shelf in their study, alongside the pictures they took on holidays everywhere .
She checked her watch: eleven past one.The plane took off at 11:16, maybe she could catch it.After all, this is a small local airport, the queues are always very short, and the customs clearance is rarely crowded.
She got her boarding pass, went through security quickly, and when she arrived at the boarding gate, she felt much more relieved and excited when she saw that everyone had just started boarding.She wanted to call Nick right away and tell him what she was doing, she wanted to tell him about the baby, but in the end her patience won out and she wanted to see the surprise on his face.When he learned that there was a little life conceived in her body, he would be as happy as she was, and she liked the feeling of him happily holding her in his arms.
Nick didn't know about her itinerary, that she was flying to Boston today, which made her a little guilty.He didn't like air travel at all, and insisted that she notify him of every flight and always call him when she landed.But she worried that if she lied in front of a man who knew her well, she would definitely be found out.
A few hours ago, he was angry because he was going to eat with a friend he didn't like, and it wasn't very pleasant. She also responded by pretending to be angry, but inside she was laughing, because it was just a little trick to make this surprise sweeter .
Her heart still beats when she thinks of Nick, the sight of him standing by the pool when they first met sixteen years ago, and she still feels it.Nick didn't know where she was, but she knew his daily schedule as well as her own.He will work at home today, probably sitting on the leather chair in the study, busy for eight hours, even forgetting to eat, without looking up, completely forgetting the time.
Nick sat in the Audi, holding a pistol, and after checking the safety, he tucked the gun into his belt behind him.He drives through busy downtown Barra Hills, which is still the same place—moms pushing strollers to the County Kitchen for lunch; workers at Broadway Pizzeria for their first slice of the day; Marion Garden Center is filled with a truckload of flowers and greenery; real estate agents are sipping coffee at the door of the company and chatting about the latest data; fathers want to go to the bank in town to withdraw cash before going to the beach with their children for a weekend vacation . There are countless intersections in people's lives, waving goodbye, smiling and hugging, small town life is closely related to these ordinary things, but such a peaceful life will be completely changed in less than an hour. Nick turned and drove to the police station. After careful consideration, he decided to adopt the simplest solution.Nick is not a superhero, has never been a soldier, and is not an expert in fighting crime.He couldn't go to a crime scene and shoot indiscriminately, thinking he'd survive after killing everyone involved in the robbery.And, who knows what the consequences of doing so would be?He was just a man trying to save his wife's life. He now understands that there is only one person he can trust, and this person has enough ability and power. He has seen his loyalty to the law, seen how he resisted the corrupt cousin, and seen him at the scene of the air crash The sentiment and concept of right and wrong displayed in the face of disaster.Nick knew he could trust this man to do the right thing.
Sam Travers stretched out a small tripod, planted the six-inch microlaser firmly on the ground, and pointed it at the camera monitoring the parking lot to the east.These lasers cause hyperspectral noise in the camera image.Although the camera cannot be destroyed, it can interfere with the camera function for a full fifteen minutes. After this time, the alarm bell will sound, indicating that the system has been disturbed, and someone will come to investigate.He repeated the above actions for the west and north cameras, which solved the camera problem.During these fifteen minutes, no movement in the parking lot will be photographed.Then he took the walkie-talkie out of his pocket and pressed the talk button three times. Sam is thin, but has a beer belly hanging from his waist.He was wearing tan chinos, a white cotton shirt with rolled up sleeves, and Carlos loafers.He was dressed not at all like most burglars, his brunette hair was parted on the side, already showing signs of turning gray, and his tired, bloodshot eyes were hidden behind Ray-Ban sunglasses. At forty-nine, Sam was both young and old.He never cared what other people thought, he always did what he wanted, he had been like this since he was a boy, but his reputation didn't match what he felt. Under the shadow of his brother Paul, most people don't remember Sam's name, only that he is Paul's younger brother.If anyone dared to say, "Oh? I didn't know there were two brothers in the Travers family?" he would be very angry. From a young age, Sam got bad reviews.Whether it is in the eyes of parents or in the eyes of others.So he chose to go in the opposite direction from his brother. Sam hangs out with some bad friends and thinks drugs, alcohol, fighting and rioting suit his personality better.He relishes the high and rebellious pleasures of drug use. Sam fled to Canada when he was seventeen, not because he was afraid of going to war, but because he knew it would make his father angry.Later he became an outlier in the eyes of everyone, but at least this gave him a little recognizable identity. Over the years, he has worked in a variety of careers, including real estate, finance and marketing.He always wants to be the best in that field, but he can't stay at the grassroots level for a year; he knows he is very smart, but he suffers from no chance to show his strengths. However, although he always failed, Paul still took care of him.When he needs a job, Paul will give him a job, let him have a salary forever, and even give him company shares, so that he can leave something to his children; Paul never criticizes his mistakes, and his father is very disappointed in him. He often said something that hurt him, but Paul never commented on him. About a year ago, Sam finally grasped the reality that his house and comforts were all a gift from his brother.He was finally willing to admit the fact that he had known for a long time: he was just a person who relied on charity from his brother. Paul sympathized with him and took pity on him, so he took care of him. Sam was pissed off, pissed off, so he wanted to push himself even more. He called Paul one day and said he wanted to work for his company—he wanted a real job.He was on duty for eight hours a day, helping to solicit business, and for the first time in his life, he accomplished something.He felt very tired, never so tired, but very fulfilled. His drive lasted more than six months, and Paul gave him a little reward.It's not sympathy, it's gratitude, and Paul is proud of what he's accomplished.Sam has more interactions with people in the company, and Paul also regards him as a real partner, allowing him to obtain all the company's security planning and technical information. It was a gloomy winter's day one Wednesday night in January.After seven o'clock in the evening, he stayed alone in the office for further study, reading some security materials, but happened to see the name Shams Hanico.He is a well-known rich man who is enthusiastic about public welfare and has a lot of property. Paul handles his business himself, not just for PR and laying the groundwork for the business.He also personally designed and installed those high-tech security systems, and usually these things would be handed over to his subordinates.This aroused Sam's curiosity, so he delved into Paul's files to learn about the design of this special security system, siren and monitor, and wanted to see how this system worked for Hannik's collection of art Create a vault-like environment. Sam discovers the small museum in Hannikol, filled with antique weapons, jewelry, paintings, and statues, each with estimates ranging from hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions.Paul designed a display case for the antique weapons, a moisture-proof chamber for the artwork, pressure sensors for the statues, and special octagonal keys for the vault doors. But what makes Sam unforgettable is the special safe that Paul personally made at home.This thing, unlike the other items in the vault, has no blueprints, no spec sheets.It simply read "Mahogany Box. Dimensions: 2 feet by 2 feet by 1 foot. Contents: Personal Items, Highly Confidential."Paul also bought a special safe for it, and specially ordered a hidden room without marking what was inside. So Sam's curiosity was at its peak.He searched every file, every cabinet, every drawer in his brother's office, and finally found a handwritten note in Paul's private studio.This five-by-seven piece of crumpled yellow lined paper was in his toolbox, and it wasn't very detailed. Those who didn't know the details would only find the content cryptic. When Sam read this paper, he suddenly found that this thing could change his life, give him the wealth and power he wanted, but most importantly, let him get out of Paul's shadow, and let him gain the respect he longed for .This red box was designed for Hannickle's family secret, a treasure passed down from generation to generation in their family. Sam laughed, finally realizing what was in the box. In the next four months, Sam found the floor plan of the basement and the location of the monitor, as well as the password of the key and pass, and obtained the corresponding number and password to enter the basement. Most of these materials are in Paul's private in the file.Paul gave him the password to the file and told him that only brothers or true partners were eligible to have it. After observing the situation in that place, Sam found the perfect insider in the local Barry Hill Police Department.This man is a greedy, corrupt cop; and is willing to provide manpower and enough information to ensure that his colleagues in the police department will not find out.If all things go well, it will be his greatest achievement. Sam thinks this is a small case where no one was injured, and the Hannik family only lost 0.5% of their huge wealth. Even if the insurance company ignores it, it only takes a few weeks of interest to help him earn it back .As for what's in that box... Sam thought, there's no price for that stuff anyway.Human creativity is not guaranteed not to be stolen, neither is secret.With no heirs to the Shams family and no one to inherit the box, why not give it to someone else, someone who wants it more than the family trust and the security company? Sam was finally able to succeed on his own, and finally he was able to walk out of the shadow that had covered him all his life.Ten seconds after he pressed the intercom, a green Ford drove in and parked in the lot behind the Washington mansion, followed by a white Chrysler.Dance got out of the Ford's driver's seat, and Randall and Elio got out of the Chrysler. Elio is a veteran with ten years of experience, always smiling.He thought he was the most popular guy in the bureau, but he never knew he was a nuisance; he was thirty-two years old, and his long dark hair made him look like a grown-up who couldn't forget his childhood. There are women, but I want to find someone to settle down with.Unfortunately, despite his superb taste in champagne, his pockets could only afford cheap beer, and his income could not afford the women who attracted him. Elio tucked his blue shirt into brown khakis, and Randall paced around the back of the house, pretending to be visiting on business; Burnahart came in in his plainclothes police car, pulled up next to Dance, got out There was an excited expression on his face. Dance took two half-full bags from the car and put them by the back door of the house. Sam ran down the ramp where the laser machine had just been set up, and took out his keys and security access card as he approached the house. "We have fourteen minutes."
Julia walks down the aisle of the jet, glad she doesn't have to carry anything but her purse, since she's used to flying with briefcases and heavy handbags, she feels like she's forgotten something . She found her seat in business class, and when she took her seat, the wide leather chairs surrounded her.Not only did she catch the flight, she even had a little extra.Beside her sat an older woman, her silver hair tied in a bun, intently reading an in-flight magazine in the pocket in front of her seat. Passengers are still boarding the plane. The passengers on Friday are different from other days. Usually there are only businessmen on business trips. Now there are several families taking the morning flight to the villa for the weekend.Julia saw the boisterous children with new eyes, two sisters under five who played a game of singing and clapping and started giggling every time they said "Miss Mary Mac." The noise used to be a test of patience when she had to concentrate on her work, but now she smiled at the excited children. "That's great," said a young blond businessman sitting across the aisle. "Yeah! I almost forgot how innocent a child's laughter is." Julia nodded in agreement. "My kids are a little younger than them, but they laugh the same way." "Want to go home and see them?" "Going to Boston on business, hoping to catch an evening flight so I can get home in time to say good night to them." "A temporary business trip?" Julia asked.She herself often goes back and forth in this way for short trips. "Go and see a new case." The man patted the report on his lap, "My name is Jason Celita." "I'm Julia." Julia smiled. "How many children do you have?" "There's one in nine months." Julia patted her stomach, the first time she'd spoken publicly about her pregnancy. "Then you must be very excited." The old lady by the window looked up at Julia from the edge of the magazine. "Are you going on a business trip or to play?" the old lady asked. "Actually, I'm going to have an ultrasound." "Then it's time to play." The old lady said as she took off her coat and folded it on her lap. "But it's still quite far to go there for ultrasound." "I know, but I love this doctor and I want to surprise my husband with the first picture of the baby." "Does he know?" "I don't know yet. I kept holding back." "My name is Catherine," said the old lady.Her green eyes sparkle with life, and her smile and demeanor make it impossible to guess her actual age. "My name is Julia," she replied.She didn't feel that she needed to give her last name. Anyway, exchanging names was just to facilitate chatting and pass the time on the plane, and they would disappear from each other's lives in the future. "We don't have children," Catherine continued, "however, my husband and I have always loved children. I have many grandnephews and grandnieces. Children can give us a different perspective and remind us what is the most important thing in life , right?" Catherine leaned forward, looking at Jason. "The kids are the only reason I work," Jason said with a smile. "Believe me, if it wasn't for them, I would never work so hard." "Where are you going?" Julia asked Catherine. "Back to Chimac, I was going to Larchmont to see my sister. But my husband is ill." "I regret that." "It's okay, as you know, even a man will inevitably have a stuffy nose and fever, and he will be fine." However, her eyes were not as confident as what she said, "We two will inevitably have a few times Health issues, it's just his turn now." There was a chirp from Julia's purse. "Sorry." After she finished speaking, she reached into her purse for her phone. She turned on the phone and read the concise and powerful content. Julia liked the secretary very much.She is the well-organized "Yin", which is just right for Julia, the messy and crazy "Yang". She wanted to call Nick to tell her about her itinerary, but she decided not to bother him for now, as he was probably busy with work. She settled down, sat down in her seat, took out a magazine, let herself enjoy a period of time that belonged to her, and waited for the plane to take off.
Detective Shanor drove the black Ford Mustang, the only luxury in his life, into the driveway of the Washington mansion.He doesn't play golf, doesn't fish, and rarely plays cards, but he likes high-performance cars since he was a child, and he doesn't have a wife who will stop him anyway, so he bought a 1999 car for 38,000 Used Ford Mustang.He scrubs and waxes diligently every week to keep the black paint looking as good as it came from the factory. And Dance, Burnahart, Randall, Elio, and Sam were all taken aback when they saw him get out of the car. "Hi everyone." Xia Nuo nodded to them and walked towards them. "Hi, Shano." Burnahart greeted him pretending to be a good friend. Shano ignored him and just focused on Dan Si. "I thought you were at the bureau," Dance said, "on the trail of the teens who got caught stealing cars on Wampus Lake Avenue." "That's right! But I got a call." Everyone turned to look at Nick as he got out of the passenger seat, and he looked back at them. "Did you also come here after receiving a report?" Xia Nuo continued. But Dance just looked at him without answering. "There's been a robbery, right?" Shano said, adding that's why he's here. "Yes." Burnahart didn't think about it, but Dance was surprised. "This person," Xia Nuo pointed to Nick behind him, and his eyes fell on the young Burnahart, "did he also call you?" Burnahart knew he better not make the same mistake twice. "...there was no mention of the robbery on the intercom." The situation suddenly became tense, and everyone's eyes turned to Danse, but he just stood there with no emotion on his face. "I want to know what's going on." Xia Nuo's tone became sharp, and when he tried his best to suppress his anger, the veins in his neck swelled up. "Who is this person?" Burnahart pointed at Nick. "Don't worry about it," Shano scolded Burnahart angrily, looking at Danse, "Answer my question, Ethan, what are you doing here?" Dance watched Burnahart and Randall, both calm, and Sam adjusted his sunglasses, stepped back, and leaned against the wall, trying to sneak away. "Who are you?" Shano glared at Sam. "I am..." Sam stammered, his hands shaking. Burnahart walked over and stood behind Nick. "Who are you?" He reached out and pulled a gun from Nick's belt behind him. "What is this? Are you a policeman?" Shano looked at the gun, then at Nick. "You didn't tell me you were armed." "If you take into account everything I've encountered today, I think it makes perfect sense to have a gun." "Dance," Shano said, returning the focus to his partner, "this man said you came here to steal things, let me think about what he said: there are four golden swords, two short swords, three A saber, five knives, three guns, a bag of diamonds, and—" He paused, "a box." Everyone is silent. "Listen," Shano's tone softened, "Why don't you get in the car and get out of here before you do anything stupid. Let's forget about it." "Are you the type to expose your colleagues?" Burnahart interrupted him. "How long have you been a police officer? One year? Please, stop bluffing me with your peer-to-peer nonsense." He turned to Danse, "Ethan, what the hell are you doing?" Dan Si stared at him for a moment, and everyone pricked up their ears waiting for his reply. "You might like to forget, but he won't." Dance pointed at Nick.He suddenly drew his pistol and pointed it at Shano. "What are you kidding?" Xia Nuo lost his temper and didn't even look at the gun. "Put the weapon away before I point it at you. Damn it, I'm your cousin!" Dance looked into his eyes without blinking, and pulled the trigger without hesitation. The bullet hit Shano's stomach, and he stepped back, but he didn't fall. He took three steps forward, grabbed Dans by the neck, and pressed him against the wall to strangle him. Dance shot him in the stomach again. This time, Xia Nuo staggered, took a few steps back, and finally fell down. Dance's accomplices turned their heads and looked around to see if anyone noticed. Nick was frightened and stood there, watching Xia Nuo lying there bleeding all over the ground. "That's it," Burnahart said hoarsely, "you killed a policeman and left a witness." "Cuff him." Dance pointed the gun at Nick. "Are you going to kill him too?" Sam finally said, his voice flustered. Dance walked up to Nick and took out his wallet to see his driver's license. "Mr. Quinn, how do you know what's going on here?" "Quinn?" Sam said. "That lady lawyer in Hannik's name is also Quinn. Are you going to kill him?" "Why should I kill the suspect? We've found the person involved in this case now. Killing a policeman is a felony." Dance looked at Nick and patted his cheek mockingly, "You're out of luck."
Julia watched as the stewardess closed the door, turned the handle, and locked the door. "Ladies and gentlemen, the hatch is closed now. Please turn off your mobile phone and pager when you take off. Please be sure to turn off all electronic products until the radio can be used." Julia quickly dials Nick's number, but it goes to voicemail.Immediately she said, "Hi darling, I love you, and I'm sorry to fight you this morning about having dinner with Moles. Don't worry, I'll cancel if you really don't want to go. I have better It's just the two of us. I'm off to Boston for a meeting, I'm sorry I didn't tell you..." "Sorry, miss." The stewardess leaned over to interrupt her, "The cabin door is closed, all mobile phones must be turned off." "I'm sorry." Julia said to the stewardess with lip language. "Honey, I have to hang up, I love you, I'll call you when I land." Julia ends the call. "terribly sorry." "I will call my husband for the last time before I take off." The stewardess smiled and walked towards the galley on the plane. Julia couldn't wait to tell Nick about the baby, and she couldn't wait to see the look of surprise on Nick's face. She turned off her mobile phone and put it back into her purse, leaned her head on the soft leather chair, closed her eyes and took a nap, still thinking about her dear husband.
"Take them both to the back of my car," Dance said.Burnahart and Elliot opened Danse's car door and threw Shano's body into the back seat.Burnahart turned to Nick, handcuffed his hands behind his back, and he grabbed Nick's arm. "Bernahart, you'd better stay here and stay on the alert." Dance grabbed Nick's arm tightly, "You come in with us and smile for the camera." Sam turned to the door and inserted the key. "We were four minutes behind schedule." "We'll be five minutes late if you don't stop babbling. I don't care about those minutes, as long as everyone moves faster." Everyone wore plastic gloves. "Don't forget our new partner," Dance said, handing Nick to Sam. "Oh, yes." Sam pushed Nick to the door, "for the whole world to see you." Sam picked up the two large bags, swiped his pass on the scanner, turned the key, and opened the door.He took out a small red half-dome box from the bag, flipped on the switch on the side of the box, fixed it on the wall and walked in quickly.He went to the whitewashed wooden door, put the other box on the kitchen counter, flicked the switch, and whistled low. Everyone came in after him. Sam swiped the access card again on the scanner by the door, unlocked the Magna lock, and pulled open the three-inch-thick steel door, up a bright carpeted staircase with irises on either side of the wall. Light green wallpaper. Sam took Nick by the arm and led him forward, making sure his face was caught by a camera hidden in the stairwell wall. "Come in after I open the door and interfere with the monitor." Sam made Danse, Randall, and Elio stand on the stairs and wait. Sam and Nick came to the basement door, a stainless steel door with neither handle nor hinges.Nick is well aware of these contraptions.He had been here hours before, though it was hours later for the others. Sam took the octagonal key from his pocket and checked it three times to make sure the D was up. "Make sure that the word D is upward, otherwise we will not only be unable to enter, but will also be locked here." Nick said with a smile. "How do you know?" Sam asked.His voice betrayed the fear in his heart. "Good luck," Nick said, "but before your friend Dance comes over, you should know that he's going to kill you, and that he's going to throw Burnahart and Elio's bodies in the reservoir." "Do you think I trust someone like Dance? Do you think I didn't take precautions to protect myself?" "Then how do you protect yourself from being caught by your brother Paul? He already knows what's going on here." "That's why you know everything! You work for him, don't you?" Sam exasperated, "Didn't you?" "In fact, he has never seen me, even if I stood in front of him, he would not recognize my name or my face." "What the hell are you two talking about?" Dance yelled from the landing above. "Time is precious, we only have ten minutes!" Sam put the key into the octagonal lock, with the D on top, as Nick said.He entered his brother's Social Security number on the keypad on the wall, swiped it three times on the card reader, turned the key, and finally pushed through the two-ton gate. Sam knew very well that opening the door at an unscheduled time would set off the alarm on the stainless steel door; he also knew that the alarm would not notify the police like a normal alarm bell, but Paul's company and Hannikel's lawyer.But by the time they were notified and responded, he was already far away. Sam had read all about the design of the alarm and knew how to disable it.It's easy to disable it, but this alarm doesn't just have a notification function, it also launches a second program.Not only will the video data be sent to the office of lawyer Hanneko, but a second alarm system that is not on any system network or blueprints will also be activated, and their video will be sent out as an encrypted file.He knows where the cameras are so he can avoid them, but Danse will be caught as he descends the stairs. This is his self-preservation plan, if Danse betrays him, this is his bargaining chip.He knew that thieves had no honor, and it wasn't surprising that Nick had just warned him that Danse would kill everyone.It just confirmed his fears for the past month.Dan Si's betrayal was within his expectation, and he had already prepared for it.But in order to get the box in Hannickle's safe, he could endure this fear and was willing to take such a risk. "All right, Dance." Then Dance, Randall, and Elio went downstairs and stood in the small hall next to Nick. After the stainless steel door of the vault was opened, Nick saw a large glass display table, the glass was exceptionally clean without any stains.Not at all as he had seen it five hours later, the table was now undamaged; the glass case displayed all kinds of swords and knives, bayonets and sabers, the Cole with which Julia had been killed. Special gold pistols are there too. Sam's gloved hand drew from the bag four more small boxes, each topped with a half-moon of red glass.He turned Nick's body around. "Here." He placed one of the boxes in Nick's immobilized hand. "This will leave fingerprints." "Thoughtful." Dance smiled. "Stand here and wait," Sam continued, as if Nick was still running around in handcuffs, guarded by three men with guns. Sam took the box back from Nick, flipped the switch on the side of the box, walked into the room, fixed the box to the wall by the door, and ran around the basement. Thirty seconds later, he ran back and said, "Do it! All the monitors have been jammed." Dance went in with his men grabbing Nick. Sam put the two bags on the floor, took out an iron rod with a suction cup and fixed it in the center of the glass display case where the weapon was placed, and placed a box about the size of a matchbox in the right corner of the display case. May generate electromagnetic interference which may interfere with the alarm system. Dance and his men gathered around the display case, watching Sam draw circles on the glass.He moved the sharp diamond on the stick in a wide arc. Nick couldn't help laughing when he saw the famous Monet painting worth 80 million hanging behind Dans.Even if it is sold on the black market, this painting of water lilies alone can give them unimaginable wealth, which is much more valuable than the things in this display case. Sam continued cutting the glass, then held the suction cup against the cut area and picked up the round piece of glass. "Dance, you fill up these two bags and wrap these things in a towel so they don't get scratched." "What? Isn't there a pressure device on this thing?" Dance asked. "Don't be such an idiot, okay?" Sam looked at him with the eyes of a child, "What do you think the little box I just stuffed in is for? Its function is to stop the pressure device!" He grabbed Nick's The arm moves toward the hallway. "Where are you going?" Dance called. "Go and get the diamonds," Sam replied. Sam rushed into Shams' office, and although it was the first time, he acted as if he had been here a thousand times.He pushed Nick into a corner, fixed the red top box in the center of the desk, and turned on the desk lamp.He picked up the Tiffany lamp, turned Nick over to his handcuffed hands behind him, put the lamp back on the desk, and turned Nick back to face him. "That way they have more evidence when they try you in court." "Thank you so much," Nick said, "it's a pity you didn't live to see that." Sam ignored his provocation, turned to face the dark walnut wall, and swiped his access card in the left corner of the desk.The tiny click is barely audible.He walked to the wall and groped with his hands, then pushed lightly, and the hidden secret door opened inward, making a slight chirping sound. "You wait here." Sam picked up the last dome box with a smile, "Anyway, you won't be able to pass Danse's level." "Let me know if you need my help opening the safe." Nick leaned on the desk. Sam ignored him, stepped across the threshold, and fastened the last box to the wall.The small, plain room was made of concrete, and three lamps hung from the ceiling to illuminate the two safes. Sam checked his watch. With less than five minutes to go, the monitors in the parking lot would activate the alarm. He took off his sunglasses and put them in his pocket. He squatted in front of the four-foot-square safe on the right. He grabbed the turntable and turned right three times to unlock the code. On the fourth turn, he slowed down and stopped at sixty-four. position, then turn back a full circle, stop at the number eighty-eight, then turn right to zero, and finally stop at ninety. Sam had done it a hundred times with proficiency, and he grabbed the bronze handle, turned it confidently, and pulled open the steel door. When the light shone into the sealed safe, he saw the simple box lying there as if glowing.This crimson wooden box was made of Hanneko's favorite wood, and it looked like gold and shone with golden luster; There's barely a gap to be seen; the inside of the box is hinged at the rear to prevent vandalism, and there's a keyhole on the other three sides.Not ordinary locks, but three octagonal steel locks, similar to the steel door locks opened two minutes ago. He took out the octagonal key in his pocket and tried to insert it, but it was too big.He stuffed the key back into his pocket, deciding to try and find a way to open it later.He opened the upper left drawer of the safe, took out a velvet bag, and hurriedly untied the rope to check the contents. When the light hit the surface of hundreds of large diamonds, it reflected rainbow-colored light.He tightened the string on the fleece bag and stuffed it into his pocket. Only then did he see the note pasted inside the safe door.He didn't understand how he didn't see it just now, if this five-by-seven-inch white paper was a time bomb, he would die. 山姆想不通这字条是怎么放进去的，也想不通保罗怎么会知道。山姆刚进来时似乎便感觉到了他的存在，但他努力甩掉这感觉，可能只是他神经过敏。 山姆把盒子拿出保险箱，惊讶地发现它的重量至少有二十五磅。他把贴在门上的字条拿下来，再读一遍上面的那行字：请仔细考虑你现在所做的事，你知道我会在哪里等你。他气愤地把纸捏成一团。 丹斯拿起每一把长剑、每一把短刀、每一把刺剑，仔细检查后交给艾利欧，艾利欧把这些东西分别用毛巾包起来塞进大袋子里。每把剑柄都是纯金打造，还镶着蓝宝石、红宝石和翡翠。 这批货的买主是一名中日混血儿，听说是一位身价数亿的收藏家，他的经纪人今晚九点会来取货，他们付两千万买这批珍品，比丹斯告诉同伙的价钱多四倍，连山姆都不知道真相。每个人都认为自己可以拿到一百万现金，他们对这个数目也很满意。但只有兰道尔和山姆能活着领到这笔钱。而加上山姆拿的那些钻石，丹斯拿到手的会超过两千万。一百万还给鲁凯，剩下的一千九百万够他永远离开拜瑞丘。 他拿出三把手枪。一把是1840年的史密斯威森，一把是1872年的柯尔特，还有一把是1789年的贝拉托鲁。它们都是特别订制，功能齐全，枪身镶金饰银，枪柄雕有花纹，枪管上刻着宗教文字和经文。丹斯抓了一把银子弹，订制手枪的人要求在子弹上刻上对受害者及其神祇不利的亵渎文字，并且在每颗子弹上都刻上目标人物的姓名，而那些子弹将会射穿该人的心脏。 丹斯将最后一把手枪交给艾利欧时，突然想到，夏诺形容过他袋子里装的东西，刀剑和枪的数目丝毫不差，甚至还提到了钻石。简直就像他找到了购物单并把内容背出来一样。 山姆和尼克走出来，进入放展示柜的开放区域，尼克的手被铐在身后，山姆推着他前进，腋下还奇怪地夹了一个盒子。 “把袋子放到我后备厢，赶紧回来。”丹斯对艾利欧和兰道尔说。 丹斯看着山姆和他腋下的红木盒，停顿了一下。“我说，”丹斯转身看着尼克，“干脆把这家伙也带出去好了，将他和夏诺一起锁在我的后座，叫布纳哈特看着他。” 艾利欧背着两袋赃货，兰道尔抓着尼克的手臂消失在不锈钢门外。 最后，只剩下丹斯一个人时，他走向山姆。“那盒子是什么？” “这个给你。”山姆把一大袋钻石交给他。 丹斯打开黑色绒布袋，里面装了一大堆钻石，比他这些年来见过的总数还多。他倒了一小堆到手上，用拇指拨弄它们。这些比他想象的还大，有二、三、四和五克拉大的；净度相当完美，他和山姆似乎低估了保险箱内物品的价值。里面应该有超过两百颗的钻石，他想，这些东西的价值一定比他预估的两千两百万多了一倍以上。 “我想我们的收入会比你想象的还多。”丹斯惊奇地说。 “其实我也没想到。”山姆说。 “你也没提过那个盒子。”丹斯看着山姆笑，但他的笑容却隐藏着别的含义，“我现在才想起来，夏诺的确提过盒子的事。” “这个盒子是我的。”山姆说。 “里面是什么？”丹斯问。同时把钻石倒回紧握在左手上的袋子，“你该不会是想多拿一点吧？” 山姆紧张地看着他。 “山姆？” “这是汉尼寇的……” “这里的东西全都是汉尼寇的。”丹斯打断他，比画着四周。 “放在保险箱里的这个是商业秘密之类的东西。” “你介意给我看一下吗？”丹斯指着那个盒子。 山姆感到一种威胁，他从一开始见到丹斯时就有这种感觉。尤其是在看到他冷血地枪杀了自己的搭档后，就更怕他。山姆不太情愿地把盒子交给丹斯。 “挺重的。”丹斯感到惊讶。这东西重到要用两手托住。“如果只是几张纸也未免太重了，里面到底是什么？金子吗？还是更多的钻石？” “不，不是那种东西。” “不管里面是什么，我都要分一半。”丹斯举起盒子，“我们不用分给其他人，但我要一半。” “我们得走了。”山姆看看手表，“我们只剩下四分钟。” “你得先告诉我盒子里面是什么东西才能走。”丹斯挡在山姆和出口中间。 山姆保持沉默，觉得自己被逼到了墙角。他的眼神到处游移，额头开始冒汗。“听着，我愿意把我那份全部给你，包括钻石和古董，都给你。” 山姆选择的是最糟糕的说法。他这样说，等于是确认了他手中那个盒子的价值。 “你宁愿选择这个盒子也不要我们刚刚拿到的一切？”丹斯十分震惊。 山姆点点头。 “我不要你那一份，”丹斯说，“那是你应得的，我只是想确定我没有被多坑几块钱。” “我不是想坑你。” “你跟你哥哥在计划什么吗？” “你说什么？”山姆惊骇地说。 “他会来接你吗？你想偷偷溜走吗？” “噢，原来如此，在我从他那里偷走这里的所有资料后，还敢打电话叫他来接我。” “让我看你的手机。”丹斯伸出手。 “你实在是太疑神疑鬼了。”山姆从口袋里拿出手机交给他。 “不是疑神疑鬼，这叫小心谨慎。我不希望你打电话叫他到某个地方接你。” “这实在是太荒谬了。” “你为什么不打开那个盒子让我看看里面是什么？这样就可以知道我有没有太荒谬。” "I can't do it." "why?" “因为我没有钥匙。听好，”山姆用恳求的语气说，“这东西其实没什么价值。” “对你和汉尼寇或许是如此，对其他人可不是这样。”丹斯把盒子放到一旁的桌子上翻来翻去，看着上面的三个钥匙孔，“这种一点价值都没有的东西却有这么多奇怪的锁。” 山姆站在那里，跟丹斯进行心理战。 “你为什么不告诉我真相？”丹斯把枪放在身侧。 “假如我死了，你永远都别想打开这个盒子。”山姆的信心渐增，“如果我死了，你永远都不会知道要怎样消除录到你脸孔的备份监视影像。” 丹斯立刻举起枪。“你到底干了什么好事？” “给你看样东西。”山姆领丹斯走到不锈钢金库的门口，示意他走到底层阶梯的小区域。 “往上看。”山姆在丹斯踏进小门厅时说。 丹斯仰头望着贴着鸢尾花纹壁纸的墙壁。天花板角落有一个微突的装饰物，他的心脏不由得惊跳了一下，他看到了。那东西虽然很小，看起来像壁纸跟条状饰品的接缝，但无疑是个迷你摄像机。 “那台摄像机瞄准楼梯顶端，不在任何平面图里。这份监视器资料会传到汉尼寇律师的办公室，不过这个摄像机的录像文件是加密的。不管是要看资料还是想毁掉资料都需要密码，密码只有汉尼寇、我哥哥和我知道。这是个好点子，是一种防内贼的保护方式。汉尼寇的律师只要把资料传给汉尼寇、保罗或我，我们就可以打开文件，公之于世。他们会看到你、艾利欧和兰道尔的脸。” “还有你的。”丹斯隐藏自己的情绪，用枪指着山姆。 “事实上，是昆恩的脸，我知道有摄像机在那里，所以它启动时，我只要不让它照到我的脸就行了。” 丹斯瞪着站在门口的山姆。 “你要记住，”山姆说，“我是唯一一个能销毁文件，确保没有人看到它的人，不过，如果我们之间出了问题……” 丹斯退回强化结构的地下室。 “好好享受这次的工作成果吧，”山姆说，“也好好享受我那一份，但这个盒子是我的。” 兰道尔和艾利欧下楼走回这里。 “现在是怎么回事？”兰道尔问。 丹斯和山姆都不理会他。 “把割玻璃的工具和那块玻璃一起带走。”丹斯指着地上的工具说，“还有，在丢掉那些东西之前不要摘掉手套。” “我们快来不及了，只剩不到两分钟警报就会因为监视器失灵响起来。”山姆看着丹斯，“我还要去处理录像机的服务器。” “好，我们走！”丹斯说，“不过我想还是由你带路吧！” 艾利欧和兰道尔轮流看着他们两人，不了解到底是怎么回事。 “你进门时脸被昆恩遮住，但出门时就遮不到了。”丹斯拿枪指着山姆，“别忘了我们的盒子。” 山姆看看那把枪，用颤抖的双手拿起盒子走出门。艾利欧和兰道尔跟在他身后。 “你们两个等一下，”丹斯说，“让他先走。” 山姆跨过不锈钢门的门槛。 “山姆，我要你知道，我根本不在乎你的威胁。我只要从背后射你一枪，把你留在这里背黑锅，让你成为这个劫案的主谋，而我只是当场逮到你偷东西的警察，这样就没问题。”丹斯挥着手枪，示意山姆往上走。 山姆走了十五阶，停在最上层。 “现在，”丹斯用手枪指着他说，“请转身，面带微笑。” 山姆乖乖听话，直视隐藏式摄像机。 “我们真是一对好搭档，不是吗？”丹斯说。 山姆对丹斯微笑。 过了好一会儿，丹斯才明白山姆的微笑不是装出来的，而是真心的。但他才爬了不到两阶，山姆就跨出楼梯顶端的门口，砰的一声关上三寸厚的铁门，连地板也震动起来。磁锁立刻启动，把他们全锁在里面。 山姆跑向厨房餐具室，打开门，插进八角形钥匙，推开隐藏门板，露出那间有空调的电脑室。服务器有四个独立硬盘，每个硬盘都有500G的存储容量，足够录上五天份的监视录像。 他把一条缆线插进电脑插槽里，拿刀子割开另一头，把去除绝缘体的缆线细丝直接塞进墙上的插座。它虽有防电磁干扰和防闪电的保险装置，主电流和通讯缆线也都有安全系统保护，但在110伏特的电流涌进电脑缆线、直接引入电路板时，就没办法阻止它遭到破坏了。 不到几秒钟，电脑就开始冒出火花，烟从主机里冒出来。在系统烧掉后，他趁着尚未起火拔掉插在墙上的缆线。他或许会被逮到偷东西，但他能找到正当的理由掩护自己。从另一方面来说，杀人放火不是他会干的勾当。 他用自己的刀子弄下四个烧坏的硬盘放到红木盒上，然后把它拿起来，合上餐具室的隐藏式门板，穿过厨房，冲出后门，跑到停车场。 “都好了吗？”布纳哈特问。 “很成功。”山姆看着这名年轻警察，努力掩饰自己的紧张。 “哇！”布纳哈特露出灿烂的笑容，“真是超简单。” 山姆直接走向夏诺的车，发现驾驶座的门仍然开着，钥匙也如他所期望的挂在启动器上。他把盒子丢到乘客座。 “嘿，”布纳哈特叫，“丹斯已经决定要把夏诺的车开到哪里了吗？” 山姆看到布纳哈特靠在丹斯破旧的车上，尼克从后车窗里注视他。 “你得承认，夏诺对车子还挺有品位的。”布纳哈特走向山姆。 “是啊！”山姆回答。山姆检查椅子底下和门上的袋子，最后终于在置物箱里找到他想找的东西。他知道丹斯会带两把枪，也很高兴他的搭档夏诺有同样的作风。置物箱里也放了一把备用的九毫米手枪。 “所以现在一切都结束了？”布纳哈特继续朝这边走来。 山姆转动车钥匙，引擎轰隆作响，仿佛刚从沉睡中醒来一般。他紧抓着手枪塞进腰带，心中充满安全感。山姆踩下油门，调到一档，再踩离合器。引擎立刻发出巨大的声响，四轮猛转，车子开出了停车场。 “对，一切都结束了。”山姆自言自语。
丹斯冲上楼梯，以肩膀撞向三寸厚的防火铁门。他的身体撞到表面时，门不但动都没动，甚至连一点声音都没有。 “狗娘养的。”丹斯大骂，拿枪瞄准那道门。 “喂！喂！”兰道尔大叫，“如果子弹弹回来的话你就死定了。” 丹斯挫败地颤抖着，冲下楼梯，跑过金库的门，穿过储物室、会议室和汉尼寇那间优雅的办公室，一间一间拼命地寻找紧急出口。 在他正要走出办公室时，突然看到地上有一张捏成一团的纸。这里是他见过的最干净的地方，在这种地方竟然会出现垃圾，实在很不可思议。他把纸捡起来，迅速读一遍后塞进口袋，再跑回前面。 “要是我们启动洒水系统不知道会怎么样，”艾利欧拿出打火机，“我打赌门一定会开，汉尼寇一定不会愿意让自己的员工在这里被烧死。” “把那东西拿开。”丹斯指着散置在天花板各处的平面金属圆盘，“这是专门保护重要物品的。他们不会希望让水洒到任何东西上。如果放火只会害我们闷死在这里，而且还会把消防队叫来，你这个笨蛋还有什么聪明点子吗？” “这个嘛，”兰道尔说，“这道门是磁锁，有备用电池，我想就算切掉电源也没有用。” “谢谢你指出这么明显的事实，白痴。”丹斯说。 “啊！”兰道尔似乎突然想到了什么。 “怎么了？”丹斯看到兰道尔眼中冒出希望的光芒。 “我们只要关掉磁能，阻断电流就好。”他边说边走到展示柜旁，从柜子里拿走那个小盒子冲向楼梯口，三步并作两步地跑过去。丹斯和艾利欧也紧跟在后面。 他把小盒子固定在门上方靠近磁盘的地方，随后，在没有发出半点响声的情况下，门打开了。
喷气式客机停在跑道上等待起飞，行程已经延误十五分钟了。广播只说会短暂延误，并未说明原因。有人谣传说因为机械故障才无法起飞，他们可能得换飞机。那些准备去度假，赶着回家，即将错过会议或医生会诊的人失望地窃窃私语。但这些谣传似乎不太可信，因为他们前面已经排了好几架飞机等着升空，后面的队伍也不断加长。 茱莉亚虽想偷偷检查手机是否有留言或短信，但又不想违背飞行规则，否则到时还得想办法解释。 “各位先生女士，早安。我叫奇普·乌尔瑞奇。我是这趟飞往波士顿的短程航班的机长。你们可能已经发现我们的行程有点延误，但我向你们保证，绝不是因为机械故障或天气不佳，今天延误的原因是一只可爱的四脚动物，如果你坐在左侧就会看到它，或许还可以跟它挥挥手。” 茱莉亚和凯瑟琳从窗口看到一只拉布拉多犬在跑道上跑来跑去，四个地勤人员在后面疯狂追赶。 “各位先生女士，我向您保证，这场追逐战已经接近尾声，因为有位技师正带着一块鲜美多汁的牛排过来，我们很快就可以上路。” 茱莉亚对凯瑟琳微微一笑，两人看了跑道最后一眼，便闭上眼睛等待飞机起飞。
尼克坐在丹斯车子后座，身旁躺着夏诺的尸体，沾满鲜血的尸体绑着安全带靠在车窗上，看起来像某种低级的恶作剧。尼克想挣脱手铐，但只要稍有动作布纳哈特就会敲打车窗给他警告。那家伙实在是个自以为是的笨蛋，完全不知道自己将会被他师父丢到桥下去。 在丹斯枪杀自己的表弟时，尼克感到无法置信。他眼中没有一点感情，亦无半点犹豫。就算没亲眼见过，尼克也知道，丹斯杀害茱莉亚时必定是以同样冷酷的眼神看着她。 突然间，丹斯从屋里冲出来，像个疯子般大吼。他跑到停车场时兰道尔和艾利欧也跟在后面跑了出来。丹斯抓起布纳哈特的衣领，把他撞向车子，然后扔到一旁。他像只暴怒的野兽般拉开车门，跳进驾驶座。 他启动车子，猛踩油门，火速冲出华盛顿大宅的车道，开上枫树街。车子转弯时，尼克被离心力推得紧靠上夏诺的尸体，丹斯左转开上22号公路时他又被抛到另一边。 丹斯拿起警用对讲机时，尼克看到他的太阳穴冒出一串汗珠。 “嗨，是莉娜吗？”丹斯的声音满是虚假，脸上也露出假笑配合他的骗术。 “嗨，丹斯。”一个被静电干扰的声音回答。 “夏诺的对讲机坏了，我又打不通他的手机，我们本来约好今天早上要见面，可是我没有地址。” “等一下，”莉娜笑着说，“他在684号公路上。” “我真是爱死卫星导航了。” “这东西是为了在你们遇到麻烦时方便派人去支援，不是为了在你们忘记抄地址时用的。” “他走哪个方向？” “往南……喔，等一下，他刚下公路往机场去了。你们两个要私奔去度浪漫周末啊？” “唉，糟糕，被你发现了。”丹斯随意地撒谎。 “哈哈。”她开玩笑，“他正开往私人飞机航站楼。我得去办正事了，还有，丹斯，下次要记得把地址写下来。” “谢啦！莉娜。” 丹斯把车子油门踩到极限，以超过一百一十英里的时速冲上684号公路，在往来车辆中穿行。尼克在后座被抛来抛去，听着警笛呜呜作响，车子急奔了两英里来到州界，从出口下高速公路开往机场。丹斯左转，在双向车道上进进出出，仿佛全世界都会因他的到来而分出一条路。 丹斯的手机响起，他接起手机。 "Hey?" “警探。”浓浓的阿尔巴尼亚腔从丹斯的听筒传出，充满了整辆车。那声音让尼克起了鸡皮疙瘩。 “你一天到底要打几次？”丹斯大吼，但尼克听得出来，丹斯愤怒的口气里带着恐惧，并因强烈的恐惧而产生慌张。 “我是个大方的人。”那个外国腔调的声音说，“你现在还活着就应该偷笑，你已经延期过两次，不能再延了。或许你该考虑拿身体的某一部分来付款。” “我说过周五会给你。” “对，我知道，”阿尔巴尼亚人说，“今天就是周五。” 丹斯啪的一声挂上电话，把手机塞进口袋。他气疯了，再次猛踩油门朝私人飞机航站楼疾驶而去。
山姆开进停了三十架飞机的开放跑道，这里是喷气式飞机的停机坪。他直接开向塞斯纳喷气式飞机，他哥哥保罗就站在飞机旁，于是他紧急刹车，气呼呼地从车内跳出来。 “到底是怎么回事？”山姆吼着。 “这应该是我说的话才对，”保罗摇着头，“我为你做了这么多事，去年你也说了那么多好听话，我还以为你开始有点人性了。” “你以为自己是上帝吗？”山姆虽然语带嘲讽，但语气却痛苦万分。 “你老是想找架吵。” “你知道这里面的东西有多值钱吗？”山姆从前座拿出红木盒。“你知道有了这东西我们可以做什么吗？” “你为什么要说我们？你的字典里从来都没有这个字眼。你老是想挑简单又懒惰的路走，若事情不能如你意就怨天怨地。” “你留了一张字条说：'请仔细考虑你现在所做的事，你知道我会在哪里等你。'你是想害我还是想跟我分赃？”山姆拿着盒子说。 “我只是要你知道抓你有多容易。” “你很清楚我做了什么，你大可以打电话给警察……” “你果然做了。” “你明知道我会拿走那东西，为什么还把盒子留在那里？你以为一张小字条就能改变我的心意吗？” “山姆，”保罗失望地看着弟弟，“你以前从不曾做过这种事。现在把盒子给我，我来想办法弥补。” “什么？你疯了吗？”山姆大为光火，“你不能从我这里把东西拿走。” “我们不需要让别人知道你涉了案，现在还有时间。” “还有时间做什么？”山姆反驳，“你以为你能抹去这一切吗？你以为你可以掩饰抢劫的事吗？你要叫其他人把所有的金银和刀剑都放回去吗？我不认为他们会乐意归还那些钻石。”山姆大笑，“你就是那种社会精英，一生都抱持着非黑即白的想法。但保罗，这世界是个乱七八糟的烂地方。你说得没错，我一辈子都认为这个世界亏欠我，我应该得到我想要的东西，是你教会我这个真理，所以我们得趁别人拿走之前先拿自己想要的东西。” 突然间，不知从哪里射来几发子弹，在飞机和车子间弹来弹去。他们转身看到丹斯朝这里冲过来，他的警用九毫米手枪正瞄准山姆。 山姆和保罗弯腰逃离火线，躲到飞机后方寻求掩护。改装后的货机低矮的腹部和宽厚的机身正好提供了完美的屏障。 “把飞机的钥匙给我。”山姆蹲在地上喊。 “什么？你已经二十年没开过飞机了。现在的飞机已经不单是机械器具和仪表板，甚至已经改成了玻璃驾驶舱。这比你碰过的小型飞机和电脑复杂多了。” “只要会控制上下左右就行。”山姆掏出夏诺的备用手枪瞄准他哥哥，“给我钥匙。” “你会害死自己的。”保罗不理会他的枪。 “或许吧。”山姆看看机首四周，丹斯在六十码外，而且正在不断接近。“但我不想让别人享有这个权力。”山姆用枪抵着保罗的胸口，保罗眼中没有惧怕，没有慌乱或震惊，只有沉痛和失望。他以为能听进一些道理的弟弟、他始终爱护的弟弟，竟然想杀他。 “你想让苏珊成为寡妇吗？”山姆说，“那你女儿呢？你愿意拿一串钥匙交换生命，好让你能多陪她们二十年吗？” 虽然保罗认为自己的判断无误，但他还是把手伸进口袋，拿出钥匙交给弟弟。 山姆把盒子夹在腋下，检查轮盘内的子弹，然后快步离开。塞斯纳喷气式飞机就在三十码外，面朝出口，准备起飞。他使尽所有体力拔腿狂奔，吸了一辈子香烟的肺令他气喘如牛。 丹斯已经追上大半的距离，子弹开始如钟表般每秒一发地射过来。 山姆使尽全力，深信自己一定能逃掉。他一定能逃出这座城镇，逃离这名可怕的警察，只要升空之后他就自由了。打开红木盒上的三道锁可能得花点时间，可能要几个月，不过他有保罗的基本架构图。他深信自己一定能打开这个红木盒，一旦打开之后…… 当子弹打中他身体侧面时，他离飞机只有五码远，一股撕裂般的痛楚袭来，使他往前倒下。他的前额撞到黑色柏油跑道，红木盒从手中掉落，从飞机底下弹到另一头。 看到腋下夹着红木盒的山姆穿过空地，跑向站在一堆飞机旁的保罗时，丹斯快气炸了。他从车内夺门而出，瞬间拔出手枪，射向那个背叛他的人。 但他在盛怒之下竟把尼克独自留
Nick sat in the Audi, holding a pistol, and after checking the safety, he tucked the gun into his belt behind him.He drives through busy downtown Barra Hills, which is still the same place—moms pushing strollers to the County Kitchen for lunch; workers at Broadway Pizzeria for their first slice of the day; Marion Garden Center is filled with a truckload of flowers and greenery; real estate agents are sipping coffee at the door of the company and chatting about the latest data; fathers want to go to the bank in town to withdraw cash before going to the beach with their children for a weekend vacation . There are countless intersections in people's lives, waving goodbye, smiling and hugging, small town life is closely related to these ordinary things, but such a peaceful life will be completely changed in less than an hour. Nick turned and drove to the police station. After careful consideration, he decided to adopt the simplest solution.Nick is not a superhero, has never been a soldier, and is not an expert in fighting crime.He couldn't go to a crime scene and shoot indiscriminately, thinking he'd survive after killing everyone involved in the robbery.And, who knows what the consequences of doing so would be?He was just a man trying to save his wife's life. He now understands that there is only one person he can trust, and this person has enough ability and power. He has seen his loyalty to the law, seen how he resisted the corrupt cousin, and seen him at the scene of the air crash The sentiment and concept of right and wrong displayed in the face of disaster.Nick knew he could trust this man to do the right thing.
Sam Travers stretched out a small tripod, planted the six-inch microlaser firmly on the ground, and pointed it at the camera monitoring the parking lot to the east.These lasers cause hyperspectral noise in the camera image.Although the camera cannot be destroyed, it can interfere with the camera function for a full fifteen minutes. After this time, the alarm bell will sound, indicating that the system has been disturbed, and someone will come to investigate.He repeated the above actions for the west and north cameras, which solved the camera problem.During these fifteen minutes, no movement in the parking lot will be photographed.Then he took the walkie-talkie out of his pocket and pressed the talk button three times. Sam is thin, but has a beer belly hanging from his waist.He was wearing tan chinos, a white cotton shirt with rolled up sleeves, and Carlos loafers.He was dressed not at all like most burglars, his brunette hair was parted on the side, already showing signs of turning gray, and his tired, bloodshot eyes were hidden behind Ray-Ban sunglasses. At forty-nine, Sam was both young and old.He never cared what other people thought, he always did what he wanted, he had been like this since he was a boy, but his reputation didn't match what he felt. Under the shadow of his brother Paul, most people don't remember Sam's name, only that he is Paul's younger brother.If anyone dared to say, "Oh? I didn't know there were two brothers in the Travers family?" he would be very angry. From a young age, Sam got bad reviews.Whether it is in the eyes of parents or in the eyes of others.So he chose to go in the opposite direction from his brother. Sam hangs out with some bad friends and thinks drugs, alcohol, fighting and rioting suit his personality better.He relishes the high and rebellious pleasures of drug use. Sam fled to Canada when he was seventeen, not because he was afraid of going to war, but because he knew it would make his father angry.Later he became an outlier in the eyes of everyone, but at least this gave him a little recognizable identity. Over the years, he has worked in a variety of careers, including real estate, finance and marketing.He always wants to be the best in that field, but he can't stay at the grassroots level for a year; he knows he is very smart, but he suffers from no chance to show his strengths. However, although he always failed, Paul still took care of him.When he needs a job, Paul will give him a job, let him have a salary forever, and even give him company shares, so that he can leave something to his children; Paul never criticizes his mistakes, and his father is very disappointed in him. He often said something that hurt him, but Paul never commented on him. About a year ago, Sam finally grasped the reality that his house and comforts were all a gift from his brother.He was finally willing to admit the fact that he had known for a long time: he was just a person who relied on charity from his brother. Paul sympathized with him and took pity on him, so he took care of him. Sam was pissed off, pissed off, so he wanted to push himself even more. He called Paul one day and said he wanted to work for his company—he wanted a real job.He was on duty for eight hours a day, helping to solicit business, and for the first time in his life, he accomplished something.He felt very tired, never so tired, but very fulfilled. His drive lasted more than six months, and Paul gave him a little reward.It's not sympathy, it's gratitude, and Paul is proud of what he's accomplished.Sam has more interactions with people in the company, and Paul also regards him as a real partner, allowing him to obtain all the company's security planning and technical information. It was a gloomy winter's day one Wednesday night in January.After seven o'clock in the evening, he stayed alone in the office for further study, reading some security materials, but happened to see the name Shams Hanico.He is a well-known rich man who is enthusiastic about public welfare and has a lot of property. Paul handles his business himself, not just for PR and laying the groundwork for the business.He also personally designed and installed those high-tech security systems, and usually these things would be handed over to his subordinates.This aroused Sam's curiosity, so he delved into Paul's files to learn about the design of this special security system, siren and monitor, and wanted to see how this system worked for Hannik's collection of art Create a vault-like environment. Sam discovers the small museum in Hannikol, filled with antique weapons, jewelry, paintings, and statues, each with estimates ranging from hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions.Paul designed a display case for the antique weapons, a moisture-proof chamber for the artwork, pressure sensors for the statues, and special octagonal keys for the vault doors. But what makes Sam unforgettable is the special safe that Paul personally made at home.This thing, unlike the other items in the vault, has no blueprints, no spec sheets.It simply read "Mahogany Box. Dimensions: 2 feet by 2 feet by 1 foot. Contents: Personal Items, Highly Confidential."Paul also bought a special safe for it, and specially ordered a hidden room without marking what was inside. So Sam's curiosity was at its peak.He searched every file, every cabinet, every drawer in his brother's office, and finally found a handwritten note in Paul's private studio.This five-by-seven piece of crumpled yellow lined paper was in his toolbox, and it wasn't very detailed. Those who didn't know the details would only find the content cryptic. When Sam read this paper, he suddenly found that this thing could change his life, give him the wealth and power he wanted, but most importantly, let him get out of Paul's shadow, and let him gain the respect he longed for .This red box was designed for Hannickle's family secret, a treasure passed down from generation to generation in their family. Sam laughed, finally realizing what was in the box. In the next four months, Sam found the floor plan of the basement and the location of the monitor, as well as the password of the key and pass, and obtained the corresponding number and password to enter the basement. Most of these materials are in Paul's private in the file.Paul gave him the password to the file and told him that only brothers or true partners were eligible to have it. After observing the situation in that place, Sam found the perfect insider in the local Barry Hill Police Department.This man is a greedy, corrupt cop; and is willing to provide manpower and enough information to ensure that his colleagues in the police department will not find out.If all things go well, it will be his greatest achievement. Sam thinks this is a small case where no one was injured, and the Hannik family only lost 0.5% of their huge wealth. Even if the insurance company ignores it, it only takes a few weeks of interest to help him earn it back .As for what's in that box... Sam thought, there's no price for that stuff anyway.Human creativity is not guaranteed not to be stolen, neither is secret.With no heirs to the Shams family and no one to inherit the box, why not give it to someone else, someone who wants it more than the family trust and the security company? Sam was finally able to succeed on his own, and finally he was able to walk out of the shadow that had covered him all his life.Ten seconds after he pressed the intercom, a green Ford drove in and parked in the lot behind the Washington mansion, followed by a white Chrysler.Dance got out of the Ford's driver's seat, and Randall and Elio got out of the Chrysler. Elio is a veteran with ten years of experience, always smiling.He thought he was the most popular guy in the bureau, but he never knew he was a nuisance; he was thirty-two years old, and his long dark hair made him look like a grown-up who couldn't forget his childhood. There are women, but I want to find someone to settle down with.Unfortunately, despite his superb taste in champagne, his pockets could only afford cheap beer, and his income could not afford the women who attracted him. Elio tucked his blue shirt into brown khakis, and Randall paced around the back of the house, pretending to be visiting on business; Burnahart came in in his plainclothes police car, pulled up next to Dance, got out There was an excited expression on his face. Dance took two half-full bags from the car and put them by the back door of the house. Sam ran down the ramp where the laser machine had just been set up, and took out his keys and security access card as he approached the house. "We have fourteen minutes."
Julia walks down the aisle of the jet, glad she doesn't have to carry anything but her purse, since she's used to flying with briefcases and heavy handbags, she feels like she's forgotten something . She found her seat in business class, and when she took her seat, the wide leather chairs surrounded her.Not only did she catch the flight, she even had a little extra.Beside her sat an older woman, her silver hair tied in a bun, intently reading an in-flight magazine in the pocket in front of her seat. Passengers are still boarding the plane. The passengers on Friday are different from other days. Usually there are only businessmen on business trips. Now there are several families taking the morning flight to the villa for the weekend.Julia saw the boisterous children with new eyes, two sisters under five who played a game of singing and clapping and started giggling every time they said "Miss Mary Mac." The noise used to be a test of patience when she had to concentrate on her work, but now she smiled at the excited children. "That's great," said a young blond businessman sitting across the aisle. "Yeah! I almost forgot how innocent a child's laughter is." Julia nodded in agreement. "My kids are a little younger than them, but they laugh the same way." "Want to go home and see them?" "Going to Boston on business, hoping to catch an evening flight so I can get home in time to say good night to them." "A temporary business trip?" Julia asked.She herself often goes back and forth in this way for short trips. "Go and see a new case." The man patted the report on his lap, "My name is Jason Celita." "I'm Julia." Julia smiled. "How many children do you have?" "There's one in nine months." Julia patted her stomach, the first time she'd spoken publicly about her pregnancy. "Then you must be very excited." The old lady by the window looked up at Julia from the edge of the magazine. "Are you going on a business trip or to play?" the old lady asked. "Actually, I'm going to have an ultrasound." "Then it's time to play." The old lady said as she took off her coat and folded it on her lap. "But it's still quite far to go there for ultrasound." "I know, but I love this doctor and I want to surprise my husband with the first picture of the baby." "Does he know?" "I don't know yet. I kept holding back." "My name is Catherine," said the old lady.Her green eyes sparkle with life, and her smile and demeanor make it impossible to guess her actual age. "My name is Julia," she replied.She didn't feel that she needed to give her last name. Anyway, exchanging names was just to facilitate chatting and pass the time on the plane, and they would disappear from each other's lives in the future. "We don't have children," Catherine continued, "however, my husband and I have always loved children. I have many grandnephews and grandnieces. Children can give us a different perspective and remind us what is the most important thing in life , right?" Catherine leaned forward, looking at Jason. "The kids are the only reason I work," Jason said with a smile. "Believe me, if it wasn't for them, I would never work so hard." "Where are you going?" Julia asked Catherine. "Back to Chimac, I was going to Larchmont to see my sister. But my husband is ill." "I regret that." "It's okay, as you know, even a man will inevitably have a stuffy nose and fever, and he will be fine." However, her eyes were not as confident as what she said, "We two will inevitably have a few times Health issues, it's just his turn now." There was a chirp from Julia's purse. "Sorry." After she finished speaking, she reached into her purse for her phone. She turned on the phone and read the concise and powerful content. Julia liked the secretary very much.She is the well-organized "Yin", which is just right for Julia, the messy and crazy "Yang". She wanted to call Nick to tell her about her itinerary, but she decided not to bother him for now, as he was probably busy with work. She settled down, sat down in her seat, took out a magazine, let herself enjoy a period of time that belonged to her, and waited for the plane to take off.
Detective Shanor drove the black Ford Mustang, the only luxury in his life, into the driveway of the Washington mansion.He doesn't play golf, doesn't fish, and rarely plays cards, but he likes high-performance cars since he was a child, and he doesn't have a wife who will stop him anyway, so he bought a 1999 car for 38,000 Used Ford Mustang.He scrubs and waxes diligently every week to keep the black paint looking as good as it came from the factory. And Dance, Burnahart, Randall, Elio, and Sam were all taken aback when they saw him get out of the car. "Hi everyone." Xia Nuo nodded to them and walked towards them. "Hi, Shano." Burnahart greeted him pretending to be a good friend. Shano ignored him and just focused on Dan Si. "I thought you were at the bureau," Dance said, "on the trail of the teens who got caught stealing cars on Wampus Lake Avenue." "That's right! But I got a call." Everyone turned to look at Nick as he got out of the passenger seat, and he looked back at them. "Did you also come here after receiving a report?" Xia Nuo continued. But Dance just looked at him without answering. "There's been a robbery, right?" Shano said, adding that's why he's here. "Yes." Burnahart didn't think about it, but Dance was surprised. "This person," Xia Nuo pointed to Nick behind him, and his eyes fell on the young Burnahart, "did he also call you?" Burnahart knew he better not make the same mistake twice. "...there was no mention of the robbery on the intercom." The situation suddenly became tense, and everyone's eyes turned to Danse, but he just stood there with no emotion on his face. "I want to know what's going on." Xia Nuo's tone became sharp, and when he tried his best to suppress his anger, the veins in his neck swelled up. "Who is this person?" Burnahart pointed at Nick. "Don't worry about it," Shano scolded Burnahart angrily, looking at Danse, "Answer my question, Ethan, what are you doing here?" Dance watched Burnahart and Randall, both calm, and Sam adjusted his sunglasses, stepped back, and leaned against the wall, trying to sneak away. "Who are you?" Shano glared at Sam. "I am..." Sam stammered, his hands shaking. Burnahart walked over and stood behind Nick. "Who are you?" He reached out and pulled a gun from Nick's belt behind him. "What is this? Are you a policeman?" Shano looked at the gun, then at Nick. "You didn't tell me you were armed." "If you take into account everything I've encountered today, I think it makes perfect sense to have a gun." "Dance," Shano said, returning the focus to his partner, "this man said you came here to steal things, let me think about what he said: there are four golden swords, two short swords, three A saber, five knives, three guns, a bag of diamonds, and—" He paused, "a box." Everyone is silent. "Listen," Shano's tone softened, "Why don't you get in the car and get out of here before you do anything stupid. Let's forget about it." "Are you the type to expose your colleagues?" Burnahart interrupted him. "How long have you been a police officer? One year? Please, stop bluffing me with your peer-to-peer nonsense." He turned to Danse, "Ethan, what the hell are you doing?" Dan Si stared at him for a moment, and everyone pricked up their ears waiting for his reply. "You might like to forget, but he won't." Dance pointed at Nick.He suddenly drew his pistol and pointed it at Shano. "What are you kidding?" Xia Nuo lost his temper and didn't even look at the gun. "Put the weapon away before I point it at you. Damn it, I'm your cousin!" Dance looked into his eyes without blinking, and pulled the trigger without hesitation. The bullet hit Shano's stomach, and he stepped back, but he didn't fall. He took three steps forward, grabbed Dans by the neck, and pressed him against the wall to strangle him. Dance shot him in the stomach again. This time, Xia Nuo staggered, took a few steps back, and finally fell down. Dance's accomplices turned their heads and looked around to see if anyone noticed. Nick was frightened and stood there, watching Xia Nuo lying there bleeding all over the ground. "That's it," Burnahart said hoarsely, "you killed a policeman and left a witness." "Cuff him." Dance pointed the gun at Nick. "Are you going to kill him too?" Sam finally said, his voice flustered. Dance walked up to Nick and took out his wallet to see his driver's license. "Mr. Quinn, how do you know what's going on here?" "Quinn?" Sam said. "That lady lawyer in Hannik's name is also Quinn. Are you going to kill him?" "Why should I kill the suspect? We've found the person involved in this case now. Killing a policeman is a felony." Dance looked at Nick and patted his cheek mockingly, "You're out of luck."
Julia watched as the stewardess closed the door, turned the handle, and locked the door. "Ladies and gentlemen, the hatch is closed now. Please turn off your mobile phone and pager when you take off. Please be sure to turn off all electronic products until the radio can be used." Julia quickly dials Nick's number, but it goes to voicemail.Immediately she said, "Hi darling, I love you, and I'm sorry to fight you this morning about having dinner with Moles. Don't worry, I'll cancel if you really don't want to go. I have better It's just the two of us. I'm off to Boston for a meeting, I'm sorry I didn't tell you..." "Sorry, miss." The stewardess leaned over to interrupt her, "The cabin door is closed, all mobile phones must be turned off." "I'm sorry." Julia said to the stewardess with lip language. "Honey, I have to hang up, I love you, I'll call you when I land." Julia ends the call. "terribly sorry." "I will call my husband for the last time before I take off." The stewardess smiled and walked towards the galley on the plane. Julia couldn't wait to tell Nick about the baby, and she couldn't wait to see the look of surprise on Nick's face. She turned off her mobile phone and put it back into her purse, leaned her head on the soft leather chair, closed her eyes and took a nap, still thinking about her dear husband.
"Take them both to the back of my car," Dance said.Burnahart and Elliot opened Danse's car door and threw Shano's body into the back seat.Burnahart turned to Nick, handcuffed his hands behind his back, and he grabbed Nick's arm. "Bernahart, you'd better stay here and stay on the alert." Dance grabbed Nick's arm tightly, "You come in with us and smile for the camera." Sam turned to the door and inserted the key. "We were four minutes behind schedule." "We'll be five minutes late if you don't stop babbling. I don't care about those minutes, as long as everyone moves faster." Everyone wore plastic gloves. "Don't forget our new partner," Dance said, handing Nick to Sam. "Oh, yes." Sam pushed Nick to the door, "for the whole world to see you." Sam picked up the two large bags, swiped his pass on the scanner, turned the key, and opened the door.He took out a small red half-dome box from the bag, flipped on the switch on the side of the box, fixed it on the wall and walked in quickly.He went to the whitewashed wooden door, put the other box on the kitchen counter, flicked the switch, and whistled low. Everyone came in after him. Sam swiped the access card again on the scanner by the door, unlocked the Magna lock, and pulled open the three-inch-thick steel door, up a bright carpeted staircase with irises on either side of the wall. Light green wallpaper. Sam took Nick by the arm and led him forward, making sure his face was caught by a camera hidden in the stairwell wall. "Come in after I open the door and interfere with the monitor." Sam made Danse, Randall, and Elio stand on the stairs and wait. Sam and Nick came to the basement door, a stainless steel door with neither handle nor hinges.Nick is well aware of these contraptions.He had been here hours before, though it was hours later for the others. Sam took the octagonal key from his pocket and checked it three times to make sure the D was up. "Make sure that the word D is upward, otherwise we will not only be unable to enter, but will also be locked here." Nick said with a smile. "How do you know?" Sam asked.His voice betrayed the fear in his heart. "Good luck," Nick said, "but before your friend Dance comes over, you should know that he's going to kill you, and that he's going to throw Burnahart and Elio's bodies in the reservoir." "Do you think I trust someone like Dance? Do you think I didn't take precautions to protect myself?" "Then how do you protect yourself from being caught by your brother Paul? He already knows what's going on here." "That's why you know everything! You work for him, don't you?" Sam exasperated, "Didn't you?" "In fact, he has never seen me, even if I stood in front of him, he would not recognize my name or my face." "What the hell are you two talking about?" Dance yelled from the landing above. "Time is precious, we only have ten minutes!" Sam put the key into the octagonal lock, with the D on top, as Nick said.He entered his brother's Social Security number on the keypad on the wall, swiped it three times on the card reader, turned the key, and finally pushed through the two-ton gate. Sam knew very well that opening the door at an unscheduled time would set off the alarm on the stainless steel door; he also knew that the alarm would not notify the police like a normal alarm bell, but Paul's company and Hannikel's lawyer.But by the time they were notified and responded, he was already far away. Sam had read all about the design of the alarm and knew how to disable it.It's easy to disable it, but this alarm doesn't just have a notification function, it also launches a second program.Not only will the video data be sent to the office of lawyer Hanneko, but a second alarm system that is not on any system network or blueprints will also be activated, and their video will be sent out as an encrypted file.He knows where the cameras are so he can avoid them, but Danse will be caught as he descends the stairs. This is his self-preservation plan, if Danse betrays him, this is his bargaining chip.He knew that thieves had no honor, and it wasn't surprising that Nick had just warned him that Danse would kill everyone.It just confirmed his fears for the past month.Dan Si's betrayal was within his expectation, and he had already prepared for it.But in order to get the box in Hannickle's safe, he could endure this fear and was willing to take such a risk. "All right, Dance." Then Dance, Randall, and Elio went downstairs and stood in the small hall next to Nick. After the stainless steel door of the vault was opened, Nick saw a large glass display table, the glass was exceptionally clean without any stains.Not at all as he had seen it five hours later, the table was now undamaged; the glass case displayed all kinds of swords and knives, bayonets and sabers, the Cole with which Julia had been killed. Special gold pistols are there too. Sam's gloved hand drew from the bag four more small boxes, each topped with a half-moon of red glass.He turned Nick's body around. "Here." He placed one of the boxes in Nick's immobilized hand. "This will leave fingerprints." "Thoughtful." Dance smiled. "Stand here and wait," Sam continued, as if Nick was still running around in handcuffs, guarded by three men with guns. Sam took the box back from Nick, flipped the switch on the side of the box, walked into the room, fixed the box to the wall by the door, and ran around the basement. Thirty seconds later, he ran back and said, "Do it! All the monitors have been jammed." Dance went in with his men grabbing Nick. Sam put the two bags on the floor, took out an iron rod with a suction cup and fixed it in the center of the glass display case where the weapon was placed, and placed a box about the size of a matchbox in the right corner of the display case. May generate electromagnetic interference which may interfere with the alarm system. Dance and his men gathered around the display case, watching Sam draw circles on the glass.He moved the sharp diamond on the stick in a wide arc. Nick couldn't help laughing when he saw the famous Monet painting worth 80 million hanging behind Dans.Even if it is sold on the black market, this painting of water lilies alone can give them unimaginable wealth, which is much more valuable than the things in this display case. Sam continued cutting the glass, then held the suction cup against the cut area and picked up the round piece of glass. "Dance, you fill up these two bags and wrap these things in a towel so they don't get scratched." "What? Isn't there a pressure device on this thing?" Dance asked. "Don't be such an idiot, okay?" Sam looked at him with the eyes of a child, "What do you think the little box I just stuffed in is for? Its function is to stop the pressure device!" He grabbed Nick's The arm moves toward the hallway. "Where are you going?" Dance called. "Go and get the diamonds," Sam replied. Sam rushed into Shams' office, and although it was the first time, he acted as if he had been here a thousand times.He pushed Nick into a corner, fixed the red top box in the center of the desk, and turned on the desk lamp.He picked up the Tiffany lamp, turned Nick over to his handcuffed hands behind him, put the lamp back on the desk, and turned Nick back to face him. "That way they have more evidence when they try you in court." "Thank you so much," Nick said, "it's a pity you didn't live to see that." Sam ignored his provocation, turned to face the dark walnut wall, and swiped his access card in the left corner of the desk.The tiny click is barely audible.He walked to the wall and groped with his hands, then pushed lightly, and the hidden secret door opened inward, making a slight chirping sound. "You wait here." Sam picked up the last dome box with a smile, "Anyway, you won't be able to pass Danse's level." "Let me know if you need my help opening the safe." Nick leaned on the desk. Sam ignored him, stepped across the threshold, and fastened the last box to the wall.The small, plain room was made of concrete, and three lamps hung from the ceiling to illuminate the two safes. Sam checked his watch. With less than five minutes to go, the monitors in the parking lot would activate the alarm. He took off his sunglasses and put them in his pocket. He squatted in front of the four-foot-square safe on the right. He grabbed the turntable and turned right three times to unlock the code. On the fourth turn, he slowed down and stopped at sixty-four. position, then turn back a full circle, stop at the number eighty-eight, then turn right to zero, and finally stop at ninety. Sam had done it a hundred times with proficiency, and he grabbed the bronze handle, turned it confidently, and pulled open the steel door. When the light shone into the sealed safe, he saw the simple box lying there as if glowing.This crimson wooden box was made of Hanneko's favorite wood, and it looked like gold and shone with golden luster; There's barely a gap to be seen; the inside of the box is hinged at the rear to prevent vandalism, and there's a keyhole on the other three sides.Not ordinary locks, but three octagonal steel locks, similar to the steel door locks opened two minutes ago. He took out the octagonal key in his pocket and tried to insert it, but it was too big.He stuffed the key back into his pocket, deciding to try and find a way to open it later.He opened the upper left drawer of the safe, took out a velvet bag, and hurriedly untied the rope to check the contents. When the light hit the surface of hundreds of large diamonds, it reflected rainbow-colored light.He tightened the string on the fleece bag and stuffed it into his pocket. Only then did he see the note pasted inside the safe door.He didn't understand how he didn't see it just now, if this five-by-seven-inch white paper was a time bomb, he would die. 山姆想不通这字条是怎么放进去的，也想不通保罗怎么会知道。山姆刚进来时似乎便感觉到了他的存在，但他努力甩掉这感觉，可能只是他神经过敏。 山姆把盒子拿出保险箱，惊讶地发现它的重量至少有二十五磅。他把贴在门上的字条拿下来，再读一遍上面的那行字：请仔细考虑你现在所做的事，你知道我会在哪里等你。他气愤地把纸捏成一团。 丹斯拿起每一把长剑、每一把短刀、每一把刺剑，仔细检查后交给艾利欧，艾利欧把这些东西分别用毛巾包起来塞进大袋子里。每把剑柄都是纯金打造，还镶着蓝宝石、红宝石和翡翠。 这批货的买主是一名中日混血儿，听说是一位身价数亿的收藏家，他的经纪人今晚九点会来取货，他们付两千万买这批珍品，比丹斯告诉同伙的价钱多四倍，连山姆都不知道真相。每个人都认为自己可以拿到一百万现金，他们对这个数目也很满意。但只有兰道尔和山姆能活着领到这笔钱。而加上山姆拿的那些钻石，丹斯拿到手的会超过两千万。一百万还给鲁凯，剩下的一千九百万够他永远离开拜瑞丘。 他拿出三把手枪。一把是1840年的史密斯威森，一把是1872年的柯尔特，还有一把是1789年的贝拉托鲁。它们都是特别订制，功能齐全，枪身镶金饰银，枪柄雕有花纹，枪管上刻着宗教文字和经文。丹斯抓了一把银子弹，订制手枪的人要求在子弹上刻上对受害者及其神祇不利的亵渎文字，并且在每颗子弹上都刻上目标人物的姓名，而那些子弹将会射穿该人的心脏。 丹斯将最后一把手枪交给艾利欧时，突然想到，夏诺形容过他袋子里装的东西，刀剑和枪的数目丝毫不差，甚至还提到了钻石。简直就像他找到了购物单并把内容背出来一样。 山姆和尼克走出来，进入放展示柜的开放区域，尼克的手被铐在身后，山姆推着他前进，腋下还奇怪地夹了一个盒子。 “把袋子放到我后备厢，赶紧回来。”丹斯对艾利欧和兰道尔说。 丹斯看着山姆和他腋下的红木盒，停顿了一下。“我说，”丹斯转身看着尼克，“干脆把这家伙也带出去好了，将他和夏诺一起锁在我的后座，叫布纳哈特看着他。” 艾利欧背着两袋赃货，兰道尔抓着尼克的手臂消失在不锈钢门外。 最后，只剩下丹斯一个人时，他走向山姆。“那盒子是什么？” “这个给你。”山姆把一大袋钻石交给他。 丹斯打开黑色绒布袋，里面装了一大堆钻石，比他这些年来见过的总数还多。他倒了一小堆到手上，用拇指拨弄它们。这些比他想象的还大，有二、三、四和五克拉大的；净度相当完美，他和山姆似乎低估了保险箱内物品的价值。里面应该有超过两百颗的钻石，他想，这些东西的价值一定比他预估的两千两百万多了一倍以上。 “我想我们的收入会比你想象的还多。”丹斯惊奇地说。 “其实我也没想到。”山姆说。 “你也没提过那个盒子。”丹斯看着山姆笑，但他的笑容却隐藏着别的含义，“我现在才想起来，夏诺的确提过盒子的事。” “这个盒子是我的。”山姆说。 “里面是什么？”丹斯问。同时把钻石倒回紧握在左手上的袋子，“你该不会是想多拿一点吧？” 山姆紧张地看着他。 “山姆？” “这是汉尼寇的……” “这里的东西全都是汉尼寇的。”丹斯打断他，比画着四周。 “放在保险箱里的这个是商业秘密之类的东西。” “你介意给我看一下吗？”丹斯指着那个盒子。 山姆感到一种威胁，他从一开始见到丹斯时就有这种感觉。尤其是在看到他冷血地枪杀了自己的搭档后，就更怕他。山姆不太情愿地把盒子交给丹斯。 “挺重的。”丹斯感到惊讶。这东西重到要用两手托住。“如果只是几张纸也未免太重了，里面到底是什么？金子吗？还是更多的钻石？” “不，不是那种东西。” “不管里面是什么，我都要分一半。”丹斯举起盒子，“我们不用分给其他人，但我要一半。” “我们得走了。”山姆看看手表，“我们只剩下四分钟。” “你得先告诉我盒子里面是什么东西才能走。”丹斯挡在山姆和出口中间。 山姆保持沉默，觉得自己被逼到了墙角。他的眼神到处游移，额头开始冒汗。“听着，我愿意把我那份全部给你，包括钻石和古董，都给你。” 山姆选择的是最糟糕的说法。他这样说，等于是确认了他手中那个盒子的价值。 “你宁愿选择这个盒子也不要我们刚刚拿到的一切？”丹斯十分震惊。 山姆点点头。 “我不要你那一份，”丹斯说，“那是你应得的，我只是想确定我没有被多坑几块钱。” “我不是想坑你。” “你跟你哥哥在计划什么吗？” “你说什么？”山姆惊骇地说。 “他会来接你吗？你想偷偷溜走吗？” “噢，原来如此，在我从他那里偷走这里的所有资料后，还敢打电话叫他来接我。” “让我看你的手机。”丹斯伸出手。 “你实在是太疑神疑鬼了。”山姆从口袋里拿出手机交给他。 “不是疑神疑鬼，这叫小心谨慎。我不希望你打电话叫他到某个地方接你。” “这实在是太荒谬了。” “你为什么不打开那个盒子让我看看里面是什么？这样就可以知道我有没有太荒谬。” "I can't do it." "why?" “因为我没有钥匙。听好，”山姆用恳求的语气说，“这东西其实没什么价值。” “对你和汉尼寇或许是如此，对其他人可不是这样。”丹斯把盒子放到一旁的桌子上翻来翻去，看着上面的三个钥匙孔，“这种一点价值都没有的东西却有这么多奇怪的锁。” 山姆站在那里，跟丹斯进行心理战。 “你为什么不告诉我真相？”丹斯把枪放在身侧。 “假如我死了，你永远都别想打开这个盒子。”山姆的信心渐增，“如果我死了，你永远都不会知道要怎样消除录到你脸孔的备份监视影像。” 丹斯立刻举起枪。“你到底干了什么好事？” “给你看样东西。”山姆领丹斯走到不锈钢金库的门口，示意他走到底层阶梯的小区域。 “往上看。”山姆在丹斯踏进小门厅时说。 丹斯仰头望着贴着鸢尾花纹壁纸的墙壁。天花板角落有一个微突的装饰物，他的心脏不由得惊跳了一下，他看到了。那东西虽然很小，看起来像壁纸跟条状饰品的接缝，但无疑是个迷你摄像机。 “那台摄像机瞄准楼梯顶端，不在任何平面图里。这份监视器资料会传到汉尼寇律师的办公室，不过这个摄像机的录像文件是加密的。不管是要看资料还是想毁掉资料都需要密码，密码只有汉尼寇、我哥哥和我知道。这是个好点子，是一种防内贼的保护方式。汉尼寇的律师只要把资料传给汉尼寇、保罗或我，我们就可以打开文件，公之于世。他们会看到你、艾利欧和兰道尔的脸。” “还有你的。”丹斯隐藏自己的情绪，用枪指着山姆。 “事实上，是昆恩的脸，我知道有摄像机在那里，所以它启动时，我只要不让它照到我的脸就行了。” 丹斯瞪着站在门口的山姆。 “你要记住，”山姆说，“我是唯一一个能销毁文件，确保没有人看到它的人，不过，如果我们之间出了问题……” 丹斯退回强化结构的地下室。 “好好享受这次的工作成果吧，”山姆说，“也好好享受我那一份，但这个盒子是我的。” 兰道尔和艾利欧下楼走回这里。 “现在是怎么回事？”兰道尔问。 丹斯和山姆都不理会他。 “把割玻璃的工具和那块玻璃一起带走。”丹斯指着地上的工具说，“还有，在丢掉那些东西之前不要摘掉手套。” “我们快来不及了，只剩不到两分钟警报就会因为监视器失灵响起来。”山姆看着丹斯，“我还要去处理录像机的服务器。” “好，我们走！”丹斯说，“不过我想还是由你带路吧！” 艾利欧和兰道尔轮流看着他们两人，不了解到底是怎么回事。 “你进门时脸被昆恩遮住，但出门时就遮不到了。”丹斯拿枪指着山姆，“别忘了我们的盒子。” 山姆看看那把枪，用颤抖的双手拿起盒子走出门。艾利欧和兰道尔跟在他身后。 “你们两个等一下，”丹斯说，“让他先走。” 山姆跨过不锈钢门的门槛。 “山姆，我要你知道，我根本不在乎你的威胁。我只要从背后射你一枪，把你留在这里背黑锅，让你成为这个劫案的主谋，而我只是当场逮到你偷东西的警察，这样就没问题。”丹斯挥着手枪，示意山姆往上走。 山姆走了十五阶，停在最上层。 “现在，”丹斯用手枪指着他说，“请转身，面带微笑。” 山姆乖乖听话，直视隐藏式摄像机。 “我们真是一对好搭档，不是吗？”丹斯说。 山姆对丹斯微笑。 过了好一会儿，丹斯才明白山姆的微笑不是装出来的，而是真心的。但他才爬了不到两阶，山姆就跨出楼梯顶端的门口，砰的一声关上三寸厚的铁门，连地板也震动起来。磁锁立刻启动，把他们全锁在里面。 山姆跑向厨房餐具室，打开门，插进八角形钥匙，推开隐藏门板，露出那间有空调的电脑室。服务器有四个独立硬盘，每个硬盘都有500G的存储容量，足够录上五天份的监视录像。 他把一条缆线插进电脑插槽里，拿刀子割开另一头，把去除绝缘体的缆线细丝直接塞进墙上的插座。它虽有防电磁干扰和防闪电的保险装置，主电流和通讯缆线也都有安全系统保护，但在110伏特的电流涌进电脑缆线、直接引入电路板时，就没办法阻止它遭到破坏了。 不到几秒钟，电脑就开始冒出火花，烟从主机里冒出来。在系统烧掉后，他趁着尚未起火拔掉插在墙上的缆线。他或许会被逮到偷东西，但他能找到正当的理由掩护自己。从另一方面来说，杀人放火不是他会干的勾当。 他用自己的刀子弄下四个烧坏的硬盘放到红木盒上，然后把它拿起来，合上餐具室的隐藏式门板，穿过厨房，冲出后门，跑到停车场。 “都好了吗？”布纳哈特问。 “很成功。”山姆看着这名年轻警察，努力掩饰自己的紧张。 “哇！”布纳哈特露出灿烂的笑容，“真是超简单。” 山姆直接走向夏诺的车，发现驾驶座的门仍然开着，钥匙也如他所期望的挂在启动器上。他把盒子丢到乘客座。 “嘿，”布纳哈特叫，“丹斯已经决定要把夏诺的车开到哪里了吗？” 山姆看到布纳哈特靠在丹斯破旧的车上，尼克从后车窗里注视他。 “你得承认，夏诺对车子还挺有品位的。”布纳哈特走向山姆。 “是啊！”山姆回答。山姆检查椅子底下和门上的袋子，最后终于在置物箱里找到他想找的东西。他知道丹斯会带两把枪，也很高兴他的搭档夏诺有同样的作风。置物箱里也放了一把备用的九毫米手枪。 “所以现在一切都结束了？”布纳哈特继续朝这边走来。 山姆转动车钥匙，引擎轰隆作响，仿佛刚从沉睡中醒来一般。他紧抓着手枪塞进腰带，心中充满安全感。山姆踩下油门，调到一档，再踩离合器。引擎立刻发出巨大的声响，四轮猛转，车子开出了停车场。 “对，一切都结束了。”山姆自言自语。
丹斯冲上楼梯，以肩膀撞向三寸厚的防火铁门。他的身体撞到表面时，门不但动都没动，甚至连一点声音都没有。 “狗娘养的。”丹斯大骂，拿枪瞄准那道门。 “喂！喂！”兰道尔大叫，“如果子弹弹回来的话你就死定了。” 丹斯挫败地颤抖着，冲下楼梯，跑过金库的门，穿过储物室、会议室和汉尼寇那间优雅的办公室，一间一间拼命地寻找紧急出口。 在他正要走出办公室时，突然看到地上有一张捏成一团的纸。这里是他见过的最干净的地方，在这种地方竟然会出现垃圾，实在很不可思议。他把纸捡起来，迅速读一遍后塞进口袋，再跑回前面。 “要是我们启动洒水系统不知道会怎么样，”艾利欧拿出打火机，“我打赌门一定会开，汉尼寇一定不会愿意让自己的员工在这里被烧死。” “把那东西拿开。”丹斯指着散置在天花板各处的平面金属圆盘，“这是专门保护重要物品的。他们不会希望让水洒到任何东西上。如果放火只会害我们闷死在这里，而且还会把消防队叫来，你这个笨蛋还有什么聪明点子吗？” “这个嘛，”兰道尔说，“这道门是磁锁，有备用电池，我想就算切掉电源也没有用。” “谢谢你指出这么明显的事实，白痴。”丹斯说。 “啊！”兰道尔似乎突然想到了什么。 “怎么了？”丹斯看到兰道尔眼中冒出希望的光芒。 “我们只要关掉磁能，阻断电流就好。”他边说边走到展示柜旁，从柜子里拿走那个小盒子冲向楼梯口，三步并作两步地跑过去。丹斯和艾利欧也紧跟在后面。 他把小盒子固定在门上方靠近磁盘的地方，随后，在没有发出半点响声的情况下，门打开了。
喷气式客机停在跑道上等待起飞，行程已经延误十五分钟了。广播只说会短暂延误，并未说明原因。有人谣传说因为机械故障才无法起飞，他们可能得换飞机。那些准备去度假，赶着回家，即将错过会议或医生会诊的人失望地窃窃私语。但这些谣传似乎不太可信，因为他们前面已经排了好几架飞机等着升空，后面的队伍也不断加长。 茱莉亚虽想偷偷检查手机是否有留言或短信，但又不想违背飞行规则，否则到时还得想办法解释。 “各位先生女士，早安。我叫奇普·乌尔瑞奇。我是这趟飞往波士顿的短程航班的机长。你们可能已经发现我们的行程有点延误，但我向你们保证，绝不是因为机械故障或天气不佳，今天延误的原因是一只可爱的四脚动物，如果你坐在左侧就会看到它，或许还可以跟它挥挥手。” 茱莉亚和凯瑟琳从窗口看到一只拉布拉多犬在跑道上跑来跑去，四个地勤人员在后面疯狂追赶。 “各位先生女士，我向您保证，这场追逐战已经接近尾声，因为有位技师正带着一块鲜美多汁的牛排过来，我们很快就可以上路。” 茱莉亚对凯瑟琳微微一笑，两人看了跑道最后一眼，便闭上眼睛等待飞机起飞。
尼克坐在丹斯车子后座，身旁躺着夏诺的尸体，沾满鲜血的尸体绑着安全带靠在车窗上，看起来像某种低级的恶作剧。尼克想挣脱手铐，但只要稍有动作布纳哈特就会敲打车窗给他警告。那家伙实在是个自以为是的笨蛋，完全不知道自己将会被他师父丢到桥下去。 在丹斯枪杀自己的表弟时，尼克感到无法置信。他眼中没有一点感情，亦无半点犹豫。就算没亲眼见过，尼克也知道，丹斯杀害茱莉亚时必定是以同样冷酷的眼神看着她。 突然间，丹斯从屋里冲出来，像个疯子般大吼。他跑到停车场时兰道尔和艾利欧也跟在后面跑了出来。丹斯抓起布纳哈特的衣领，把他撞向车子，然后扔到一旁。他像只暴怒的野兽般拉开车门，跳进驾驶座。 他启动车子，猛踩油门，火速冲出华盛顿大宅的车道，开上枫树街。车子转弯时，尼克被离心力推得紧靠上夏诺的尸体，丹斯左转开上22号公路时他又被抛到另一边。 丹斯拿起警用对讲机时，尼克看到他的太阳穴冒出一串汗珠。 “嗨，是莉娜吗？”丹斯的声音满是虚假，脸上也露出假笑配合他的骗术。 “嗨，丹斯。”一个被静电干扰的声音回答。 “夏诺的对讲机坏了，我又打不通他的手机，我们本来约好今天早上要见面，可是我没有地址。” “等一下，”莉娜笑着说，“他在684号公路上。” “我真是爱死卫星导航了。” “这东西是为了在你们遇到麻烦时方便派人去支援，不是为了在你们忘记抄地址时用的。” “他走哪个方向？” “往南……喔，等一下，他刚下公路往机场去了。你们两个要私奔去度浪漫周末啊？” “唉，糟糕，被你发现了。”丹斯随意地撒谎。 “哈哈。”她开玩笑，“他正开往私人飞机航站楼。我得去办正事了，还有，丹斯，下次要记得把地址写下来。” “谢啦！莉娜。” 丹斯把车子油门踩到极限，以超过一百一十英里的时速冲上684号公路，在往来车辆中穿行。尼克在后座被抛来抛去，听着警笛呜呜作响，车子急奔了两英里来到州界，从出口下高速公路开往机场。丹斯左转，在双向车道上进进出出，仿佛全世界都会因他的到来而分出一条路。 丹斯的手机响起，他接起手机。 "Hey?" “警探。”浓浓的阿尔巴尼亚腔从丹斯的听筒传出，充满了整辆车。那声音让尼克起了鸡皮疙瘩。 “你一天到底要打几次？”丹斯大吼，但尼克听得出来，丹斯愤怒的口气里带着恐惧，并因强烈的恐惧而产生慌张。 “我是个大方的人。”那个外国腔调的声音说，“你现在还活着就应该偷笑，你已经延期过两次，不能再延了。或许你该考虑拿身体的某一部分来付款。” “我说过周五会给你。” “对，我知道，”阿尔巴尼亚人说，“今天就是周五。” 丹斯啪的一声挂上电话，把手机塞进口袋。他气疯了，再次猛踩油门朝私人飞机航站楼疾驶而去。
山姆开进停了三十架飞机的开放跑道，这里是喷气式飞机的停机坪。他直接开向塞斯纳喷气式飞机，他哥哥保罗就站在飞机旁，于是他紧急刹车，气呼呼地从车内跳出来。 “到底是怎么回事？”山姆吼着。 “这应该是我说的话才对，”保罗摇着头，“我为你做了这么多事，去年你也说了那么多好听话，我还以为你开始有点人性了。” “你以为自己是上帝吗？”山姆虽然语带嘲讽，但语气却痛苦万分。 “你老是想找架吵。” “你知道这里面的东西有多值钱吗？”山姆从前座拿出红木盒。“你知道有了这东西我们可以做什么吗？” “你为什么要说我们？你的字典里从来都没有这个字眼。你老是想挑简单又懒惰的路走，若事情不能如你意就怨天怨地。” “你留了一张字条说：'请仔细考虑你现在所做的事，你知道我会在哪里等你。'你是想害我还是想跟我分赃？”山姆拿着盒子说。 “我只是要你知道抓你有多容易。” “你很清楚我做了什么，你大可以打电话给警察……” “你果然做了。” “你明知道我会拿走那东西，为什么还把盒子留在那里？你以为一张小字条就能改变我的心意吗？” “山姆，”保罗失望地看着弟弟，“你以前从不曾做过这种事。现在把盒子给我，我来想办法弥补。” “什么？你疯了吗？”山姆大为光火，“你不能从我这里把东西拿走。” “我们不需要让别人知道你涉了案，现在还有时间。” “还有时间做什么？”山姆反驳，“你以为你能抹去这一切吗？你以为你可以掩饰抢劫的事吗？你要叫其他人把所有的金银和刀剑都放回去吗？我不认为他们会乐意归还那些钻石。”山姆大笑，“你就是那种社会精英，一生都抱持着非黑即白的想法。但保罗，这世界是个乱七八糟的烂地方。你说得没错，我一辈子都认为这个世界亏欠我，我应该得到我想要的东西，是你教会我这个真理，所以我们得趁别人拿走之前先拿自己想要的东西。” 突然间，不知从哪里射来几发子弹，在飞机和车子间弹来弹去。他们转身看到丹斯朝这里冲过来，他的警用九毫米手枪正瞄准山姆。 山姆和保罗弯腰逃离火线，躲到飞机后方寻求掩护。改装后的货机低矮的腹部和宽厚的机身正好提供了完美的屏障。 “把飞机的钥匙给我。”山姆蹲在地上喊。 “什么？你已经二十年没开过飞机了。现在的飞机已经不单是机械器具和仪表板，甚至已经改成了玻璃驾驶舱。这比你碰过的小型飞机和电脑复杂多了。” “只要会控制上下左右就行。”山姆掏出夏诺的备用手枪瞄准他哥哥，“给我钥匙。” “你会害死自己的。”保罗不理会他的枪。 “或许吧。”山姆看看机首四周，丹斯在六十码外，而且正在不断接近。“但我不想让别人享有这个权力。”山姆用枪抵着保罗的胸口，保罗眼中没有惧怕，没有慌乱或震惊，只有沉痛和失望。他以为能听进一些道理的弟弟、他始终爱护的弟弟，竟然想杀他。 “你想让苏珊成为寡妇吗？”山姆说，“那你女儿呢？你愿意拿一串钥匙交换生命，好让你能多陪她们二十年吗？” 虽然保罗认为自己的判断无误，但他还是把手伸进口袋，拿出钥匙交给弟弟。 山姆把盒子夹在腋下，检查轮盘内的子弹，然后快步离开。塞斯纳喷气式飞机就在三十码外，面朝出口，准备起飞。他使尽所有体力拔腿狂奔，吸了一辈子香烟的肺令他气喘如牛。 丹斯已经追上大半的距离，子弹开始如钟表般每秒一发地射过来。 山姆使尽全力，深信自己一定能逃掉。他一定能逃出这座城镇，逃离这名可怕的警察，只要升空之后他就自由了。打开红木盒上的三道锁可能得花点时间，可能要几个月，不过他有保罗的基本架构图。他深信自己一定能打开这个红木盒，一旦打开之后…… 当子弹打中他身体侧面时，他离飞机只有五码远，一股撕裂般的痛楚袭来，使他往前倒下。他的前额撞到黑色柏油跑道，红木盒从手中掉落，从飞机底下弹到另一头。 看到腋下夹着红木盒的山姆穿过空地，跑向站在一堆飞机旁的保罗时，丹斯快气炸了。他从车内夺门而出，瞬间拔出手枪，射向那个背叛他的人。 但他在盛怒之下竟把尼克独自留