Chapter 2 Chapter One

The mouth is bitter, and the throat is dry like a fire. Asakura got out of bed in his crumpled nightgown, raised the curtains, and opened the blinds.The cloudy sky was leaden gray, and a black cloud in the shape of a sailboat floated lazily in the sky.The honking sound of the tram seemed to bring sleepiness, making one want to go back to bed again. Asakura walked to the extremely simple kitchen on the left corner of the house, and drank the tap water greedily, but he still couldn't quench his thirst.His stomach was full of tap water, and he stuck his fingers down his throat and spat out the water.The bitter and sour liquid came up, and even the roots of the teeth seemed to be loose.

This rented house does not have a sink, and this small sink is used for washing dishes, washing face and brushing teeth. After washing his face, Asakura took a large glass teacup and poured it into boiling water, removed the instant coffee powder without adding milk, and drank it all in one gulp, only then did he feel that his thirst was somewhat quenched.He took another five eggs from the pantry and ate them raw, then hurriedly dressed, grabbed a leather bag, and walked out of the room. When he came to the first floor, the corridor was still dark.At this time, Asakura returned to the usual expression of the employees who went to work in the company, and his body, which was stretched out without any scruples in his own room, bowed again, looking as if he was ashamed to attract attention, Even if it is taller than a human being.

The working time of Donghe Oil Company is 9:00 in the morning. He walked along a downhill road to the small tram line of Radiation No. 4. Go, and meet several people who die in the morning head-on. On the tram line, he walked to the bridge stop.A few minutes before seven o'clock, the number of cars has begun to increase, and there is still a while before the rush hour. An empty taxi arrived, and as soon as Asakura greeted it, the taxi stopped.Asakura took this taxi to Shibuya.He didn't want to take care of his health, but because it was much faster to take a taxi than a tram or bus during this time.

He took the subway in Shibuya.It's just that this time he took the Ginza Line tram bound for Kyobashi and got off at Akasaka Onjo Station, and changed to the Marunouchi Line, and the car was not too crowded.Asakura found a seat and sat down, took out a sports newspaper bought at the station kiosk and read it, his face full of boredom for the tedious day that was about to begin. Asakura got off the train at Nishi Ginza Station, walked around to the department store on the platform and walked out of the subway crossing.The area around Sukiyabashi is just after the long night. Walking under the Guodian overpass, Asakura came to the vicinity of Hibiya.He turned right when he was approaching the Rihuo Clubhouse. There were metered parking meters at the intersection and on both sides of the street, nearby shops, and the company’s cars were still parked under the meters, because there was no traffic before 8:00 a.m. Charges.

Asakura walked forward for a while and then turned left. This is a street near the Imperial Theater and the Tokyo Kaikan.This road is a one-way car lane heading towards Hibiya Migou, and the street sandwiched between high-rise buildings is quite like a mountain road.There are also cars parked on both sides.On the left side of the road, there are still several public telephone booths that are hard to see now. Asakura walked into the phone booth, took off the receiver, and dialed 223.Immediately, the female communicator's delicate voice recorded on the tape "It's 7:31:20..."

Asakura held the receiver and pretended to be listening to the constant chime, and at the same time shifted his gaze to a place other than the phone booth. Across the street, you can look around the Kyoritsu Bank head office building from the front.In this neighborhood, this is not a particularly noteworthy building just from its appearance.Compared with the surrounding buildings, the five-story building inevitably looks a bit dwarfed.But it had the grandeur and gravitas of a bank building. In front of the stone steps at the main entrance of Kyoritsu Bank, there is an open space for customers to park their cars.On the left is the parking lot for bank personnel.Although Kyoritsu Bank may only rank among the top few second-tier banks, it has forty branches in Kyoto alone.The metal shutter door on the front of the bank building was still tightly closed, and the iron gate on the left had been opened.This is the entrance and exit of the internal parking lot exclusively for the staff of the bank and its affiliated institutions. Cars have been driving in and out, and the cars that cannot get in are parked in the open space in front of the main entrance or under the metered parking device.

In all the cars sat two well-mannered men in tie knots.One person is driving, and the other person is sitting in the passenger seat.They all had the demeanor of bank clerks.After the car stopped, the men sitting in the passenger seat got out of the car one after another, passed through the convenient door, and entered the bank from the entrance and exit on the side of the building.They all carried a large black suitcase in their left hands. Asakura hung up the phone.Wait a moment.He took off the microphone again, and said something serious to Jian, who only made a long tone.To outsiders, he seemed to be answering someone, but he was actually observing the movement around the bank.

After a while, three bank employees walking on foot came from the corner of the street. They gradually approached Kyoritsu Bank. The three came from different directions, but they all carried a huge black suitcase. Just disappeared into the bank building. These men carrying suitcases are all employees who come from various branches to the head office to withdraw cash.Kyoritsu Bank uses this method because it is much more efficient than sending money from branch to branch in heavily guarded cash vans.The three men who came to the head office on foot were employees of three branches in Marunouchi, Hibiya, and Oteba.These three branches are all less than 500 meters away from the Bank.Especially the Marunouchi branch.It is located on Marunouchi No. 3 Street, and the head office of Kyoritsu Bank is on Marunouchi No. 2 Street. It takes less time to walk than to warm up the engine of a car.

Of course, Kyoritsu Bank, like other banks, uses cash convoys when collecting cash from each branch in the afternoon.Because it was the peak traffic time, it took more time for each branch to send their own cars, and it took more time to transport them to the head office, and it was difficult to park. At eight o'clock in the morning, nearby buildings began to open their metal shutter doors or main entrances.At this moment, the branch cash escorts who had previously entered scatteredly poured out from the entrance and exit on the left side of the Kyoritsu Bank building. They are still carrying the black suitcase in their left hand, which gives people a heavy feeling that it is full of things. On the handle of the suitcase is a small but strong chain lock. The chain is wrapped around the wrist and hidden in the cuff of the long-sleeved shirt. This is to deal with theft by thieves or robbery by thugs.

They all got into cars waiting at their respective branches.Asakura left the phone booth and walked nonchalantly. Only the escorts of the three nearby branches did not take the car, and they also left the bank with their suitcases.Chao Cang crossed the street, keeping a distance of about 30 meters from the man who was going back to the Ta Ting Ding branch, and followed him. In the past two months, Asakura has observed the target of Kyoritsu Bank every few days. He has already figured out the travel routes taken by the escorts of Marunouchi and Hibiya from the head office to the branch.But he felt a little tricky. The most important point was that the two routes were too short.

Asakura knew that if he wanted to break into the management class of Donghe Oil Company, he must have a material fund, and he would do it with bare hands. Although it was brave, what he planned to do today was not for a game after all. The cash escort at the Dasting branch was about thirty-five or six years old. He was tall and tall, his legs were slightly bent, and there was a layer of idiots on his earlobes. He seemed to have learned judo.His bandy legs walked quite fast. Kyoritsu Bank Teding Branch is located in front of the Metropolitan Tram's Ted Ting stop.Actually.This branch rented a part of the room on the first floor of the Sumitomo Building as a business office. The man was carrying a heavy suitcase.Asakura's stalking seems to go unnoticed.Without looking back, he walked back quickly in an orderly manner. Asakura has investigated this route clearly: walk between the two rows of long-standing symmetrical buildings to the back of the Maru Building, cross the main road in front of Tokyo Station, and enter the Bank of Tokyo and Quanye from behind the Shinmaru Building. The bank separates the streets on both sides, and then turn left, and you will arrive at the Sumitomo Building. Seeing the escort walk into Sutomo Building, Asakura walked back along this route.On the Toei Tramway, there were already many people who looked like employees rushing to work.And as soon as you walk into the street sandwiched between symmetrical buildings, there are very few pedestrians there. Asakura did not go back to the Kyoritsu Bank head office, he turned from the left onto another road, crossed the Youleding Overpass, and walked slowly towards Qinqiao No. 2 Street. It was still early before the company went to work. He walked into a western breakfast snack bar next to the Leding overpass.There are no tables in the narrow shop.There is only one slender bar counter table.A balding man sat at the end of the counter.He is the owner and chef of this small shop.When Asakura ordered a piece of roasted ham, he immediately started cooking it. The oil on the shallow pan splashed onto the stove, and several flames sprang up immediately. In the corner of the counter table sat a young man and woman.It could be seen that these two people came here directly from the hot spring hotel where they stayed last night.At this moment they were pale.Eating bacon and fried eggs with chopsticks.The woman among them seemed to be the operator of the I·B·M piercing machine of Shintoyo Kogyo Co., but Asakura had always been indifferent to other people's affairs.certainly.If something can make a lot of money out of it, that's another matter. "I kept you waiting for a long time." The boss put a piece of bread on the barbecue and brought it to Asakura.Asakura had a good appetite, and while eating, he thought about the suitcase stuffed with banknotes. At 8:45, Asakura left the shop and walked to the company.At this time, the fast lane is already full of car horns and exhaust fumes, and dust is raised on the bustling sidewalks. Asakura arrived at the fifth floor of the Shintoyo Industrial Building at five minutes to nine.He put his time card in the punch machine next to the locker room entrance, then went inside to put his purse in the coat box.With a timid smile, he walked into the office of the Finance Department of Donghe Oil.Say good morning and the like to your boss and co-workers.Director Koizumi is not here.His working hours are after ten o'clock, every day. Asakura sat down at his desk in the corner, and a female civil servant brought low-quality tea.He drank tea the color of horse urine, thinking that from now until five o'clock in the afternoon, time and freedom would have to be sold to the company in exchange for a meager salary. Asakura's monthly salary is 31,700 yen. Before the announcement, the company has deducted various expenses including taxes, and the money he got is only about 25,000 yuan. The monthly salary of five months plus bonuses per year , barely able to maintain a normal standard of living. "I was rude last night." "Asakura-kun, do you always eat that kind of thing?" Ishida and Yuzawa said with a smile on their faces.They were talking about last night's sweetbreads.It seemed that the two had already told their partners before Asakura arrived at the office, so just as the words fell, there was a burst of laughter in the office. "Often? That's out of the question, it's just..." Asakura said with a shy smile. The bell to start work rang.Asakura bent down.Buried in the books and bookkeeping, everyone else also got to work.Deputy Director Jin Jin polished his golf racket and sometimes answered a few phone calls. It was after eleven o'clock when Director Koizumi appeared in the office.Under the wide-rimmed glasses, there is a dark circle on the eyelid. "Ah, you worked hard. I went to the bank." After Koizumi said that to Kaneko, he sat down on the easy chair behind his desk and Kaneko lowered his voice and reported to him the content of the phone calls he had received before.Koizumi nodded while listening, from his expression, it could be seen that he was quite tired. Asakura stood a large lighter on top of the folders stacked on the desk.The surface of this lighter bought near the US military base was very smooth. Asakura adjusted the angle and stood upright, like a car rear mirror, reflecting the image of the director. Although it is not sure what day of the week it is, but there are always two days a week, the time when the director comes to work in the company is after eleven o'clock, sometimes even in the afternoon.This phenomenon started to appear half a year ago.His exhausted appearance may have been caused by too many feasts.But whenever he was late, he always smelled like an aphrodisiac.From here, Asakura sniffed out traces of Director's having an affair. It is a fact that director Koizumi is the cousin of the general manager.But they are relatives, but the blood relationship is actually very far away.The opportunity for Koizumido to seize the real power inside the company was to marry Manager Shimizu's sister-in-law as his step-wife. This is known to everyone in the company.Seven years ago, Koizumi lost his wife in a traffic accident. At that time, Koizumi, who was living a life as a gill worker, was actually just a small employee even though he was treated at the stock level. However, since the general manager arranged to marry the current woman, Koizumi has skyrocketed to the top.It is said that this woman was crippled, so she developed extreme self-esteem and became an arrogant woman, so the handsome suitor aroused her resentment towards men, and her son finally delayed the age of marriage. Now Koizumi and his second wife have two children, and the child born to his ex-wife is in the care of relatives. There are jokes circulating in the company that Koizumi often dare not even speak out in front of his arrogant wife. A person like Koizumi would not have kept secrets from his wife. If it wasn't for this, it would be impossible to explain why he used his position as chief financial officer to enrich himself. Extra income of millions of dollars per month.There is no need for him to make money from the company behind the back of the general manager. Asakura had followed Koizumi to find out what kind of woman his mistress was, just to hold a trump card against Koizumi in the future. But Koizumi is a self-sufficient person. He has to take several taxis along the way, and often enters through the front entrance of a department store or grocery store, and slips out through the back door, so as not to let others easily see his whereabouts.He did this not because he realized that Asakura was following him, but probably because of a habit.Besides.Asakura's "operation funds" were no longer available, so the search for Koizumi's mistress was interrupted for a while. When the bell rang at twelve o'clock, the colleagues in the financial office put down their work and stretched their waists and smoked incense. Went to the restaurant for lunch.There are only five or six people left in the power office.Asakura was among those left behind.The chief of Kasuya, who was caught in this group of people, began to concentrate on the food items that everyone wanted to order.Recently, there are not enough people in the restaurant to deliver food and run errands.So get together and go to the restaurant to order. "Are you still old-fashioned?" Kasutani asked Asakura. "Well, let's just eat Chinese noodle soup." Asakura replied, he made it a rule for himself to eat cheap Chinese noodle soup for lunch at the company.This kind of thing can be eaten in any restaurant, and other meals may not have much nutrition. "I eat noodle soup and grilled offal every day. I must have saved a lot of money. If you want to find it, you have to come to the door to borrow money." Shi Ye said mockingly. Asakura just responded with a wry smile, neither denying nor affirming.He even kept his colleagues from going to the boxing gym, and he didn't tell his work unit in the boxing gym. After lunch, Asakura came to the roof of the building.It was originally used as a sports field.Now two-thirds of the place is covered with a huge metal net, which has become a golf driving range. In the net cage, those directors with big bellies and those flattering guys—these are so thin that if they punched Asakura on the stomach, they would surely break their spines, they were staring at the little boy. One likes the other, and a few BGs dressed up like prostitutes clap their hands and flatter them as if they are someone's mistress. Asakura turned his back to them, and grabbed the iron railing around the edge of the house.Looking at the chaotic roads extending towards the front of Building Street with evil and mocking eyes.Eyes wide open, like a burning fire.In the gloomy sky, the dark clouds rolled rapidly.The wind messed up Asakura's black hair, which had only a thin layer of wax on it, followed by icy raindrops.Big drops hit him in the face. The golf course was full of laughter, cursing and coquetry, and the disheveled guys went downstairs and entered the house.But Chao Cang was still standing against the wind and rain, the smoldering resentment in his heart boiled in his veins, and he felt a kind of commotion that he would not hesitate to kill even if he wanted to achieve his goal. If there is such a god.He can bless the wishes of destruction and evil to come true, so God, please attach to my body, and please give me strength.Asakura let the rain drip down his hair, he prayed with his eyes burning with fire. The rain didn't stop until the next morning, and the cold wind mixed with the cold rainwater rushed towards the foggy street entrance of the building. In Kyuunouchi, there is a building that still has the style of the Meiji era, and it is a leased building belonging to Mitsubishi Real Estate.In these masonry buildings that have been eroded by wind, rain and war.There are more than a dozen buildings symmetrically arranged in two rows.The side near Hibiya Street has odd numbers, and the side near Tokyo Station has even numbers. The street sandwiched between these two rows of buildings is not too wide, it is a one-way street from Hibiya to Ottawa.Along the sidewalk on the right is a row of metered parking meters, and it's just before eight o'clock.The darkened streets are still shrouded in wind and rain.Huge raindrops fell on the ground, splashing stagnant water.In another half an hour, here will be the world of umbrellas, and there are almost no pedestrians at this time. Cars are parked under about two-thirds of the parking meters.Since there is no charge from 8:00 pm to 8:00 am the next day, many cars were parked here last night. The roof and windshield were constantly stained with fallen leaves and washed away by the rain.In front of Building No. 12, there were three cars parked: an American car "Shepherd" in front, a German "Opera" in the back, and a 1961 Crown sedan sandwiched between them. This is an inconspicuous car with a black body. It may be that the interior of the car is full of water vapor, so the windows are foggy, and the movement inside cannot be seen clearly from the outside. The car's tires, hinges, and the lower half of the door were all covered with mud, and the license plate was also covered with a thick layer of mud. The non-stop rain did not affect it, and there were cars blocking it at the front and rear. road.People passing by here can't see the number of this crown. The car's engine was running all the time.Asakura was sitting on the front seat of the car, wearing a brown raincoat with a raincoat hood on his head, and a pair of rubber boots under his feet.He wore a pair of thin rubber gloves on his hands, and a pair of brown sunglasses hung on his face, which was obscured by the hood.He kept turning on the heater in the car to keep the fog on the windows. On the rear seat, there is a travel bag.Although the engine was running slowly at this time, the key was not inserted into the ignition switch hole on the instrument panel. It turned out that Asakura used an insulated wire to connect the battery and the ignition device. These show that this Crown car is stolen.Before Asakura got his hands on it, it was in the middle of Radiant Route 22 near Higashi Headquarters in Shibuya.It's now an open-air parking lot—drenched in the rain. Asakura opened the car door with two iron wires that were flattened on the head at around 5:30 this morning. In order to master the technique of unlocking without a key, he tried to open more than 100 locks in the past two years. It is some simple tumbler locks, and then gradually try various door locks with complex structures.To him, this car door lock with multiple springs is actually just a type of round lock. Asakura glanced at his watch, it was eight o'clock.He wiped the car window facing the sidewalk with his gloved hand, and through the fog that remained on the glass, he could just see the faces of the people passing by the sidewalk. He reclined in his seat, staring at the sidewalk and waiting.There is an unpleasant thirst in the mouth, and I really want to smoke a cigarette. Asakura pulled out the pistol stuck in the belt of his outer pants, that is, the 38-caliber Colt automatic pistol, and put the gun into the raincoat pocket. Through the window of the car, which still had a layer of not very thick fog, he noticed someone coming from the direction of the Maru Building next to Da Tingding.The man was wearing a raincoat.Wears a hat with a plastic hood.Judging from his dress and walking posture, this is a policeman. This is a patrolling policeman from a nearby police station. The appearance of the policeman was largely unexpected by Asakura, according to his observations.The time for the police to patrol here is half past seven.It must have been delayed this morning because of the rain, or it was delayed because of some business. Asakura pulled off the insulated wire with his left hand to turn off the engine, and his body suddenly became useless. However, Asakura only subconsciously felt his hands and feet go weak for a moment, and when he realized it, he immediately tensed up all his muscles to prepare for what might happen.The right hand in the raincoat pocket tightly grasped the handle of the gun, with the thumb on the safety.The index finger went into the trigger ring. If he had been ordered to search for a stolen Crown car, the cop would be in for a slap in the face.Asakura muttered to himself inwardly.This Colt magazine will be happy to spit out bullets before the police pull their batons and service pistols from under their raincoats.It doesn't matter if you don't make it so outrageous, just land a right uppercut to the policeman's forehead, and you can buy time to escape safely. It seemed that this forty-something policeman was just performing his morning routine. With the collar of his raincoat turned up, he arched his back in the wind and rain of Hengyuan, and walked quickly past the Crown car with Asakura hidden. Asakura found himself breathing fast like gasping, and couldn't help but let out a soft laugh from the depths of his throat. He wiped the glass of the side triangular window, and saw the back of the policeman crookedly reflected in the reflector above the fender with streams of rainwater flowing.Asakura watched his back in the mirror disappear on the Toei Tramway leading to the Baba Gate and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government respectively.Asakura looked at his watch again.There was an electric clock on the instrument panel in the car, and it was not accurate. The time on the watch was 8:03. He reconnected the battery to the igniter, and then connected the lead wire protruding from the engine to the connecting wire. The engine roared, the gears sounded like the sound of an old-fashioned machine gun, and the engine started running immediately.Asakura moved the connection wire away from the lead wire. The mirror on the right finally reflected what he was waiting for, and the figure of the man in the mirror shook slightly.A gentle smile appeared on Asakura's mouth. The man was wearing a rubberized raincoat with a hood that shone like sealskin in the running rain.He was carrying a leather suitcase, also gleaming from the rain, and he was not yet forty.Due to the cover of the raincoat, hood, and wind and rain, his face cannot be seen clearly, but from his brisk walking posture with bow-legged features and black suitcase, it is not difficult to conclude that he is the cash escort of the Kyoritsu Bank Ted Ting Ding Branch . When he walked past the Crown car in an orderly manner, Asakura quietly opened the door and stood on the sidewalk. He left the door open, put a ten-yuan coin into the fare collector, and chased after him.His hand was holding the pistol in the pocket of his raincoat. When Asakura's footsteps approached, the bank clerk stopped and was about to turn around quickly. "Don't move! Just stand there!" Asakura ordered in a low but harsh voice.The case in the left hand of the cash courier slipped down, and because the chain was connected to the belt on the wrist, the suitcase hung in the air, splashing the rainwater dripping from the raincoat. "Don't do stupid things!" He said and wanted to turn around to face Asakura. "Do as I say, I don't want to shoot, but the guy in my hand is not easy to control, and it will go off at any time." Asakura pressed the muzzle of the pistol against the man's back through the raincoat pocket. The back of the cash escort stiffly straightened. "Now, turn left and turn slowly." Asakura ordered. "After doing such a thing, do you still want to escape?" the escort said.His voice sounded excited.But still stable. "That's not what you should know. Hey, do as I say!" "Bastard, you're going to be caught in no time." The cashier mumbled.A mech like a Taito, he turned from the right, and the man approached Asakura. The safety of the pistol in the pocket of the raincoat has been turned on, and the problem can be solved with the movement of the index finger.But Asakura didn't want people to hear the gunfire.He drew out his right hand, and with the rubber glove on, he used his weight to punch the man in the upper abdomen with lightning speed. This right uppercut was so powerful that Chaokura later felt that his forearm was also inserted into the opponent's abdomen, and only heard a few "clucks", which was the sound of breaking the spine.The man bent over like a jackknife and slumped down, his head on the pole of the parking meter, and he was about to fall to the ground. The glove on Asakura's right hand has been shattered.He turned his fist into a palm, aimed at the neck of the escort who fell out and slashed down. The escort's head rushed to the stone floor, and his body remained motionless. A large amount of blood clots sprayed out from his mouth and nose, and dissolved in the stagnant water.Disappeared in the crevices of the stone slabs along with the rain. Asakura moved the escort into the rear seat of the car, closed the rear door, picked up the sunglasses, and got into the driver's seat of the car. Since the door was open for a while.The fog on the inside of the windows has thinned.Asakura turned on the heater in the car to the highest gear, and then turned around, trying to open the suitcase attached to the escort's wrist. As expected, the lock on the suitcase made of thick leather is quite strong.The keys are usually placed in the head office and branches, and the escorts don't carry them with them. After searching the clothes, they are sure that they don't have the keys.The man's breathing had become intermittent, and his pulse was very slow and weak. Asakura took out a long jumping knife from the inside pocket of his suit, pressed the button, and the blade appeared with a blade of twenty centimeters long.This slender knife is very sharp, and it doesn't take much effort to stab it into the chest.Just put a hole in his back.Steel is also superior.There was a biting cold light. Asakura swung his knife and cut a big hole in the suitcase. No matter how strong the leather was, it was like a thin piece of paper to this knife.He cut open one side of the suitcase and saw bundles of banknotes inside, 10,000 yuan, 5,000 yuan, and 1,000 yuan, and Asakura pursed his lips.As if he was about to whistle, the depths of his eyes sparkled blue with excitement. He put the banknotes into the travel bag he had prepared in advance, and the hand holding the money couldn't help trembling. He took off the hood from the raincoat he was wearing, took off his boots, and stuffed them, along with the pistol and rubber gloves, into the travel bag. On the passenger seat was a small bag wrapped in a large furoshiki containing an umbrella and booties.Asakura put on short rain boots, folded the furoshiki, and put it in the travel bag; he felt the pulse of the escort who fell behind, and found that he had stopped beating and was not breathing.It seemed that the knife would not be needed, so he put it back in his inside pocket.Wrapping your hands with the cuffs of your raincoat, you opened the car door on the side of the fast lane, carried your bag in your left hand, and went down to the road with an umbrella in your right hand, then wiped your buttocks, and closed the car door. Crossing the express lane and crossing a street, he came to the edge of the inner and outer buildings.Take out the furoshiki from the travel bag and wrap it up for the trip.Cover your face with an umbrella and continue walking. He came to Hibiya Street along the Yugou. The Yugou in the rain, with small water droplets jumping on the water, was so calm that there was not even a wild duck.The jungle next to the palace looked smoky and confused in the rain. There were already many vehicles passing by on Hibiya Street, Asakura took off his sunglasses and stopped a taxi. This is a light yellow Japanese car of the "Saijilik" brand, probably caused by the fatigue of a sleepless night. The young driver looked unhappy, and drove without even asking where he was going. hit the road. "Go to Humen, just go to the tram stop." Asakura sat in the back and said.By this time his excitement had all but vanished. On the side of the rear mirror of the car, there is a small plate with the name of the rental company and the driver, and Asakura has printed these two names in his mind. Humen is almost here.The driver, who was sweating profusely, drove the car at a high speed, ignoring the side slip caused by the Toei tram track. Chao Cang got off the car at the Humen bus stop, walked a few steps, and called a taxi again.When he came to the Shibuya subway station, it was exactly half past eight. Once Asakura arrived at the station, he left the package at the luggage storage, walked up the steps of the Toyoko Department Store to the platform, and boarded the subway train full of passengers. When he put the time card into the punching machine and punched it, it was only a little before the scheduled work time of nine o'clock.Asakura entered the Finance Department's office, his face was still as shy as usual.Many people were late because of the rain, and the house was half empty.This Xiang.Asakura could sit at his desk undisturbed. He opened the account book and checked the numbers on it, but his mind was on the banknotes in the travel bag, "It should be more than ten million. How many will there be?" In the company's daily business, handling checks or cash worth tens of millions of yen is commonplace for Asakura, a member of the finance department.However, the money in that bag has nothing to do with the company, but only my banknotes. If I use it for future operations, I can succeed without asking anyone for help. After lunch, Asakura still ordered Chinese noodle soup.The eagerness to squander the money as soon as it was available, he thought, was undoubtedly tantamount to a confession of what he had done. Colleague Tanaka had placed a transistor radio on his desk, and it was broadcasting the midday news. After the news of the stock market price measures announced by the Minister of Finance was broadcast, another news was broadcast: "At about eight o'clock in the morning, a bank employee was brutally murdered and 18 million yen was robbed in the rainy Marunouchi Building Street. The victim was Mr. Yoshio Hara, 37 years old, from the Oteba Branch of Kyoritsu Bank. The accident happened on the way back from the head office when he was withdrawing cash. According to the investigation, the cause of death was a ruptured internal organ and a fractured spine. A comminuted fracture of the clavicle and a depressed scar on the back of the skull were also found on the body. Except for the head wound, other traumas may have been It was caused by a blow with the bare hands, generally speaking. The murderer was a powerful man." ... "It means that the numbers of the stolen banknotes are all recorded in the records. These papers are the numbers of the banknotes. You can see that the numbers of most of the cash are connected." Hyogo Then he said.He handed those pamphlets to Chief Financial Officer Koizumi.Koizumi handed it over to Jin Zi and said in a low voice, "We'll share it with everyone." "Do it right away." Kaneko stood up, went to the desks of each subordinate to put down a copy, and Asakura also took a copy, and he smiled at Kaneko with a very natural look. Hyogo continued: "We have separately sent requests to various banks, securities companies, large shopping malls, department stores, and ticket offices at train stations, etc., hoping that they will immediately notify the banknotes once they find banknotes that match those numbers." "Isn't the number kept secret from Yin people?" Deputy Director Jin Zi interjected. "Ah, in fact, publicly reporting the number of the stolen banknotes on newspapers or on TV is tantamount to reminding criminals that they may wait until a safe period to take out the banknotes. Banknotes cause difficulties, so we specifically ask the press to take care not to mention the despicable possession of banknote numbers. This is a countermeasure to lull criminals. In short, please cooperate." Hyogo kept lowering his hairless head.He spoke for another three minutes before leaving the finance office.Koizumi sent Hyogo out. Suddenly, there were whispers in the office: "For Kyoritsu Bank, 18 million is not a big deal, but it still caused a lot of trouble in the city." "Yeah, anyway, the bank is profiting from other people's property, so this amount of money is not considered a big loss." "In my opinion, what these people are most worried about is that the criminal has used the same method several times before. If this is the case, the bank's losses will not be small. So this time, they are trying to catch the criminal. " The staff's private conversation continued until Director Koizumi returned to the office. After Koizumi sat down at his innermost desk, he said to his subordinates, "Just do what Mr. Kyoritsu Bank said. If you find a problematic banknote while collecting money, try to find out its ins and outs as much as possible. Of course, as a company, there will be rewards for this, and I hope everyone will not forget that our company also often borrows money from Kyoritsu Bank.” He spoke with a tone of confidence. Asakura spread out the booklet on the desk, on which there were densely packed numbers in ascending order.He cursed fiercely in his heart. At five o'clock in the afternoon, when the company got off work, the rain stopped.朝仓在京桥乘上地铁去沙谷。他左手拉住车内的皮吊带，一面把在车站小卖部买的几种报纸翻到社会新闻栏目，粗粗地浏览了一遍。 到了沙谷车站他与两位同乘一班地铁的同事道了别。为了消磨时间，他走进了东横百货商店，在卖烟具和钟表的商场里一直转悠到商店打佯。 他早就渴望有一只瑞士“阿恩特斯”或带日历的“劳伦克斯”手表，见到它们静静地躺在小盒子里，不由得心扉震荡。那些价值超过了三十万日元的“那鲁唐”或价值为六十万日元的“飞利蒲”等豪华表，倒不合他的胃口。现在只要伸伸手，就可以让营业员将要买的手表包装起来。然而眼前横亘着共立银行控制了钞票号码，这个障碍，朝仓的愿望是一个也实现不了。他心想，目前第一步行动的目标，就是主动去粉碎这个障碍。 宣布关门的广播响了起来，他离开商店。到国营地铁车站的行李寄存处，取出早上寄放着的那个包。 朝仓改乘至川线电车回上目黑的寓所。那些同坐在一班车里的人们，要是知道这个包中藏着一千八百万日元的现金，该会有何反应？朝仓想到这个，不由得苦笑起来。 他在大桥停靠站下了车，把放射四号公路改为奥林匹克路的扩建工程。弄得车站周围的路面高低不平。他拎着那个包，走回“清风庄”公寓。从生了锈的铁制备用楼梯上到二楼，进了在二楼尽头的屋子。 朝仓将手里的包塞到床下，然后上街买食品。这回他是从公寓正门走的，顺便取回了报箱里的报纸。当他在这间住了多年的陋室里躲到床上时，因持续紧张而绷到极限的神经，顿时松弛下来了。朝仓把镶头汤料放在炉子上加热，啃着橄榄形夹合面包和苹果，搬出电视机，把音量放低，就开始仔细阅读晚报。有关袭击银行职员一事的报道，还没有什么出乎意料的新内容。 七点钟电视播送新闻，朝仓开大音量，点燃一支烟，凝视曾电视画面。 政治方面的新闻播完后。电视屏幕上出现了一辆“皇冠”牌轿车的大特写，正是朝仓在行动时偷来的那辆，背景是丸之内的作案现场还加上了节目主待人的解说。 画面换成了作案现场的示意图，接着映出一张男子的照片；朝仓觉得有点眼熟，仔细一瞧，他不由自主地轻轻惊叫了一声，这不就是离开现场后坐的第一辆出租汽车司机的照片吗？ 会不会在车上留下指纹？朝仓飞快地回忆着：那辆“赛得利克”牌出租车采用由司机控制开关的自动车门，在门把手上不至于留下自己的指纹。 “到目前为止，搜查案犯的侦破工作无任何进展。但是，已有了一位很能说明问题的证人。” 电视节目主待人说： “他就是'密里奥出租汽车公司'滨松叮营业所的驾驶员冬木悟郎先生。冬木先生在警方推定的作案时间稍后一点的时候，曾于离现场不远的日比谷大街明治生命大厦前搭了一个青年男子。由干当时下着大雨，该青年撑着一把雨伞，手中挟着一个大包裹，他的下车地点是虎门。冬木先生上的是通夜班，所以他此后不久就回营业所宿舍休息，午后听到新闻即向警察报了案。对搜查当局来说，尚无法断定这个乘出租车的男青年是嫌疑犯，但不排除其可能性。警方目前正在继续听取冬术先生的讲述。据冬木先生说他只记得该青年是个大高个职员模样，不过如果再次遇见是可以马上讲认出来的。此外，该青年付的车钱，是枚百日元的硬币。由于营业所收回的现金有些送往银行，有些给日班的司机用作找换的零钱，因此要从硬币上提取指纹，一般说来是很困难的。” 主持人说完这些后，又转到别的新闻上去了。 “畜生：真是姨子养的。”朝仓狠狠地骂着那个司机，这家伙定是为了避免因违反交通规则而受到惩罚才去投靠警察的。他日的，无非就是为了得到能起护身符作用的害视总监奖，这在被交通警察扣住车子时是很有用的。这与那些驾驶执照上有违规纪录的出租司机，往往期待能有追截交通肇事车辆机会的心理是一样的，都是想得到相同的报酬。 但是这次那个家伙的报酬，只能是一张去西方极乐世界的单程车票。朝仓暗暗发誓，一定要将那个可能记住了白己容貌的司机―冬木―除掉。 然而一阵不安的恐怖感又袭上心头。也许，仅仅让冬木永久闭上嘴还是无法将痕迹全部抹掉的，还有那个第二部出租汽车的司机，涉谷车站寄存处的工作人员，这些人的面容在朝仓眼前逐一晃过。 他好像是为了摆脱这种不安，从床下拖出那只包裹，解开包袱布、撕碎后放到煤气炉上烧掉。这是一块廉价棉布，所以不会冒出恶臭；没过多久，那块布就变成了一堆灰烬。 他打开旅行提包，先取出曲伞、长靴、手套等物，然后将里面的东西全部倾倒在床上。纸币夹着那支闪着黑色乌光的手枪在床上形成了一座小山。 朝仓眼中蒙上了一层阴霾，他一动不动地久久俯视着那座仿佛是碰一碰也会把手烫坏的钱山，心中盘算着如何把它换成可以放心地使用的钞票。 三个小时之后，朝仓把钞票放回提包，将手枪塞在枕头下面，他眼中的阴影已经消失了。 十一点四十分，电视播送了最后新闻，不过与七点的内容没有什么变化。 他关掉电视机、脱去衣服、仰身躺在床上，盖好被子，关掉大灯，换上一盏小台灯闭起眼睛。可他无法入睡，于是就点了一支烟。心里说这是最后一支，却连着吸了五支。 已是凌晨两点了，他刚想索性起床不睡了，这时一个念头突然涌上脑海，不禁浑身为之一震。 电视新闻节目如此郑重其事地介绍司机的证词，难道不正是搜查当局寄希望于侥幸而设下一个圈套吗？在目前这种阶段，冬木的证词在警方眼中，其实只是个不伦不类的东西，未必有多少实际价值。然而有意播出这条新闻，其用心多半在于引诱案犯去袭击冬木。这对搜查当局来说，虽是个概率极小的机会。但就目前的情况而言，大概舍此亦无他途的。 当然，搜查当局也会考虑案犯与冬木的乘客毫不相干。不过即使是警察，急了也可能孤注一掷去碰运气的……朝仓叮着天花板，继续思考着。 他大概只睡着了三个小时，早上七点钟就醒了。刚跳下床，他就冷得浑身起了鸡皮疙瘩。 他用自来水抹了把脸，套了件毛线衣。他就来到门外走廊上。从邻居的房间里飘出了豆酱烧圆葱的香味，下了一楼，从门边上的报箱中取回了晨报，看了看杜会方面的新闻报道。版面倒不小。除去广告，社会版上四分之一是此案的报道，而且还是头条新闻。报道中没有出现他提心吊胆的关于另一辆出租车司机以及车站寄存处工作人员的消息，报纸上也大肆宣染了冬木的证词，这正证实了他的推断：是警察设下的圈套。 此时他看着报纸，心中已没有不安或害怕的感觉了，但这并没有动摇他除掉冬木的念头，只是在行动时要谨慎行事，他揉了揉微有充血的眼睛，胡乱吃了罐头和陈面包。九点准时赶到公司上班，今天是星期六。 半天是在办公室里度过的，十分平淡。只是那件将共立银行送来的号码表与从公司营业中回收的现金加以一般性比照的工作。同平常的业务有些差异而已。回收的款项几乎都是支票或期票，所以也费不了多少功夫。办公室的同事门也像朝仓那样，盼望着时间过去，生怕误了约会或旅游而坐卧不安地等着下班。 处长在十点左右才到力公室，他与副处长打了个招呼就让公务员替他从更衣箱中取来高尔失球拍。他的球拍总是放在那儿的。小泉拿着球拍，马上又出去了。 十二点的铃声响了，朝仓从计算器和帐册中解脱了出来，他先去有乐叮的荞麦面馆吃了碗清汤荞麦面，抢来的钞票一时还无法使用，所以必须节衣缩食。不然，就难免进当铺的厄运了。 离开面馆，他乘上国营电车到了滨松街，“密里奥出租汽车公司”滨松营业所就在金衫桥附近。那里距港口不远，周围是一片交错杂乱的街道小工厂和商店。从港口刮过来的风夹着焦油和甲烷的臭气了，毫无清新可言。 营业所的对面有一家酒吧兼茶馆的店子，名叫“阿摩鲁”，朝仓走进去一看，只见光线黑暗的店内已有两对情侣，隔着咖啡杯相对而坐。他无法断定这是否是邢警与女警察装扮的。但是，畏首畏尾，是一事无成的。于是他走到靠窗的位子跟前坐下，要了杯柠檬茶，透过薄纱窗帘，可以环视对面的营业所。 营业所的规摸不算大，现在几乎所有的汽车都出动了，占了院子正中一块空地的停车场，看上去只有停得下十五辆车子的面积。冬木现在是留在营业所呢？还是仍在街上开着车子到处兜生意呢？朝仓观察了一阵仍看不出个眉目来。 他念大学时曾在一家出租汽车公司兼过司机，那家公司的作息制度是开一整天车，可以休息一天半，早班与晚班轮流交替，一个月有三天休假。具体地说，从今天上午八点工作到第二天上午八点，其中有三个小时的休息时间，那么第二个班就是后天下午的八点到次日下午八点。 然而“密里奥”公司究竟如何安排作息时间，他就不得而知了。当然，如果假冒报刊杂志记者或冬木友人的名义，打电话给营业所。就可立即查明冬木的行踪。但他担心警察可能把打进营业所的电话全部加以录音。 朝仓在店里坐了半个小时左右，觉得那两对还在那里的情侣已经开始注意自己了，心里不免有点忐忑不安，于是就离开了这个地方。 他来到不远的第一京滨线高速公路。这里是车水马龙，市立电车和开往郊外的汽车把道路挤得满满的。 他漫步在人行道上，思考着怎样去寻找冬木的车子。就在这时，一辆亮出空车标志的营业出租车迎面开来，他一眼就看出是辆属于“密里奥”公司的国产“蓝鸟”牌汽车。 朝仓条件反射似地举手招了招，车子停了下来，司机的年龄三十出头，与冬木不一样，他对顾客很殷勤。 “屡蒙关照。” 司机满脸堆笑地开了车门。像私营出租司机似地搭着话。看来是个很健谈的人。朝仓打定在他身上碰碰运气的主意，又估计了一下自己钱包里的钞票，就低声盼咐道：“去横滨。” “明白！”司机的声音愈发显得近乎了。 待车子上路有一会儿后，朝仓像是突然发现了什么似地说道： “是'密里奥'公司吗？昨天上了头条新闻的那司机不就是你们公司的吧？” “您是说冬木吗？哎哟，大众传播媒介可真厉害！打听那位老兄的从今天早上……”