Chapter 6 Chapter 3 The Manders Farm Incident 2

Eve took two bottles of Utica Club beer from the refrigerator and opened them, putting Andy's on the table and his own on the countertop.He took an apron from a hook by the sink and tied it on.The red and white apron was trimmed with ruffles, but he didn't look ridiculous in it. "Can I help?" Andy asked. "No, I know where everything is," Eve said, "at least most of it. She changes things every week.No woman wants her husband to feel at home in her kitchen.Of course they need help, but she'll be happier if you always have to ask her where the dishes are and where the pots are. "

Andy smiled and nodded in agreement, thinking back to his days as an apprentice in Vicky's kitchen. "I don't approve of meddling in other people's business." Eve said, turning on the faucet to pour water into the sink and adding detergent. "I'm a farmer; as I told you, my wife owns a little tourist supply store at the corner of Bellings Road and the Albany Highway. We've been here nearly twenty years." He glanced at Andy. "I knew something was wrong when I saw you two standing on the side of the road. A grown man and a little girl aren't the kind of people you usually see hitchhiking. See what I mean?"

Andy nodded, sipping his beer in small sips. "Besides, it looks like you've just come out of the Dreamland Motel, but you didn't have a car, not even a suitcase. So I was going to drive straight there. But then I pulled over. Because... anyway, seeing a bad Turning a blind eye to other people's business is two different things." "Do we look like that? Bad?" "It was then, not now," Eve said.He was carefully washing the dishes before putting them in the colander, "Now I don't know what the hell is going on with you two. My first thought was that you must be the two men the police are looking for. He saw Andy suddenly change color. He put down the beer can suddenly. "I guess it's you." He said softly, "I've been hoping it wasn't." "

"What policeman?" Andy asked hoarsely. "They've blocked all the major routes in and out of Albany," Ive said. "If we had walked another six miles along Route 40, we'd have come across a barricade at the intersection of 40 and Ninth Avenue." "Then why don't you go ahead?" Andy said. "That's the end of the matter for you, and it's none of your business." " Eve started washing the pots.Suddenly he stopped and searched the cabinets above the sink. "What did I say? I can't find the wok, oh, here it is. Why don't I drive ahead and hand you over to the police?Even if it was to satisfy my natural curiosity. "

"You want to ask some questions, eh?" "All the questions," Eve said, "a grown man and a little girl want a lift, and the little girl doesn't even have a suitcase, and the cops are after them. So I had an idea, not too outlandish, I thought Maybe the father wanted custody of his daughter and couldn't, so he took her away." "That's bizarre enough for me." "It happens all the time, Frank. So I said to myself, of course the mother doesn't like it, so I call the police and arrest the father. That explains why those roadblocks are set up. Only if there's a major robbery or a... search range."

"She's my daughter, but it wasn't her mother who asked the police to arrest us," Andy said. "Her mother has been dead for a year." "Yeah, I've pretty much given up on that idea," Eve said. "It doesn't take a private detective to see that you two are very close. Whatever it is, it doesn't look like you forced her." Andy was silent. "So I have a problem," Eve said, "I gave you two rides because I thought the little girl might need help. But now I don't know what to do. You don't look like a desperado. But anyway, you and that little girl are using fake names, and you're making up stories that are as thin as Kleenex. And you look sick, Frank. You look like someone who's just barely able to stand. These are my questions. Maybe it would be a good thing for you if you could give me an answer."

"We came to Albany from New York and hitchhiked to Hastings Glen early this morning," Andy said, "Knowing those people are bad here, but I guess I already knew. Charlie probably knew too. "He mentioned Charlie's name, which was a mistake, but it doesn't seem to matter now. "Why are they after you, Frank? Andy thought for a long time, and then he met Eve's honest gray eyes.He said, "You're from town, aren't you? See any stranger? From the big city? Wearing a neat suit off the shelf, but you forget about the people wearing it when they're gone? A new model car without any badges?"

This time it was Eve's turn to think. "There were two of these guys at the A&P store," he said, "talking to Helga the cashier. Like they were showing her something." "Probably a picture of us," Andy said. "They're government agents. They're working with the police, Yves, or rather he said the police are working for them. The police didn't know they were going to catch us." "What kind of government agent are we talking about? The FBI?" "No. It's Ita." "What? That team under the CIA? Eve clearly doesn't believe it.

"They have nothing to do with the CIA at all," Andy said, "Ita's real name is DSI—Scientific Intelligence, and I read an article about three years ago that some sources were based on a book called (Ita Tower Goddess's Weapon Shop) novel, jokingly called Ita in the early sixties, the novel seems to be written by a man named von Wickert, but this is not important, according to their program, Ita's main The business is to manage domestic scientific research projects that affect national security now or in the future. In the eyes of the public, they are most closely related to their funding and management of energy research-electromagnetic and nuclear energy. In fact, they are involved in matters that Much more. Her mother and I were part of an experiment long ago. Charlie wasn't born then. But then her mother was murdered by Ita. Ive was silent for a while, he drained the sink, dried his hands, Then came over and started scrubbing the oilcloth off the table. Andy picked up his own beer can.

"I don't want to say outright that I don't believe you," Yves finally said. "There's a lot of secret stuff going on in this country that comes out. The CIA gave people water mixed with LSD, and some FBI guys were arrested. Allegations of homicide in the civil rights movement, corruption and bribery, and so on. So I can't just say I don't believe you. Let me just say you haven't convinced me." "I don't think they really want me now," Andy said, "Maybe they used to. But they have shifted targets.What they want now is Charlie. "

'You're saying the U.S. government is catching one for national security.A kid in second grade? " "Charlie wasn't your average second grader," Andy said. "Her mother and I were injected with a drug code-named Destiny Six. To this day I don't know exactly what it was. I can only Presumably it was some kind of synthetic glandular secretion. It altered my future wife's chromosomes and mine. We passed those chromosomes on to Charlie and they combined in some totally new way. If she could pass them on to her own child, I think she'd be called a mutant, if for some reason she couldn't, or the change made her infertile, then I guess she's a mesozoite, either way, they both They wanted her. They wanted to study her to see if they could figure out why she was able to do those things. And I think they also wanted to use her as a showpiece to restart the Destiny Six project." "What can she do?" Eve asked. Through the window they saw Norma and Charlie coming out of the barn.The white sweater was swinging loosely over Charlie, its hem hanging down to her calf.Her brown cheeks were happily talking to Norma, who nodded with a smile. Andy said softly, "She can light a fire." "Me too," Eve said.He sat down again, in a strange way.He looked at Andy warily.This is the look you use when you suspect that a person is out of their minds. "She can start a fire just by thinking about it," Andy said, "It's called passive heat splitting. It's a psychic ability, like telekinesis, synaesthesia, or psychic premonition—plus, Charlie has some of those abilities—but passive heat splitting is much less common... And far more dangerous, and Charlie herself was terrified of the ability—and for good reason.Because she doesn't always have control over it.If she allowed herself to think that way, she could burn down your house, your barn, and your front yard.Or she can light your pipe. Andy smiled wearily. "Just while she's lighting your pipe, she'll probably burn your house, your barn, and your front yard down." " Yves finishes his beer.Said, "I think you should call the police and turn yourself in, Frank. You need help." "I suppose that sounds pretty incredible, doesn't it?" "Yes." Eve said seriously, "This is the most incredible thing I've ever heard." He carefully sat on the edge of the chair, a little nervous.He's waiting for me to do something stupid, Andy thought. "I don't think it matters," Andy said. "They'll be here soon anyway. The police might be better off. At least you won't disappear from the world right away when the police catch you." Eve was about to answer when the door opened.Norma and Charlie walked in.Charlie was beaming, her eyes sparkling. "Daddy!" she said, "I fed—" She stopped, her cheeks starting to fade.She looked carefully between Yves Mendes and her father.Joy passed from her face, followed by painful sorrow. Just like she looked last night, thought Andy, just like she looked yesterday when I took her from school.When will things end?When will she be happy? "You said it," she said. "Oh Dad, why did you say it?" Norma stepped forward and put an arm around Charlie's shoulders protectively: "Eve, what's going on here?" "I don't know," he said. "What do you mean 'he did,' Bobby?" "My name isn't Bobby," she said, her eyes watering. "You know that's not my name." "Charlie," said Andy, "Mr. Mendes knew something was wrong. I told him, but he didn't believe me. If you think about it, you'll see why I did it." "I don't understand anything—" said Charlie, her voice shrill.Then she quieted down, tilting her head as if she heard something, although the other people present didn't think there was any sound.They saw that Charlie's face suddenly turned pale, as if all the blood had been drained from it. "What's the matter, dear?" Norma asked. She gave Eve a worried look. "'Here they come, Dad,' whispered Charlie.Her eyes widened with fear. "They're coming for us." They met at the junction of Route 40 and the unmarked road that Ive had taken—in Hastings.On maps of Grand Town the road is called the Old Bellings Highway. Al.Steinowitz finally caught up with his men and took command quickly and decisively.There were sixteen of them, and they drove down the highway toward Yves Mendes' house in five cars, looking like a fast-moving funeral procession. Norwell.With genuine relief, Bates handed over command of the operation — and responsibility — to Al Steinowitz, and asked about local and state trooper involvement. "We haven't told them the truth yet," Al said. "If we catch them, we'll have the police remove the barricades. If we don't, then we'll have them move toward the center of the cordoned off area. But privately, if If sixteen of us can't deal with them, then we're really powerless, Novi." Nowell noticed the slight reproach in the words and didn't speak again.He knew it was best to catch those two without outside interference, because keep holding Andrew McGee and he'd have two accidents, fatal accidents, in no time.So things happen a little more quickly if there are no cops hanging around. Ahead of him and Al, Oja's brake lights flashed, and the car turned: a dirt road.Other vehicles followed in file. "I don't get it at all," said Norma. "Bobby...Charlie, can't you be quiet?" "You don't understand," Charlie said sharply, as if someone had strangled her.Watching her, Eve felt distraught.Her face looked like that of a bunny being leashed.She broke free from Norma's arm and ran to Papa.Andy put his hand on her shoulder. "I think they're going to kill you, Dad," she said. "what?" "Kill you," she repeated, her eyes staring straight ahead in a gleam of panic.She said frantically, "We must get away. We must—" hot.It's too hot in here. He looks to the left.Hang an indoor thermometer, the kind you buy by mail order, on the wall between the stove and the sink.The mercury column in the thermometer is slowly rising, like someone's finger condemning. "Yeah, that's what they're going to do," she said. "Kill you, kill you like you killed your mother, take me, I don't want it. I don't want it to happen, I don't want it to happen. One by one" Her voice became louder and higher like a column of mercury. "Charlie! Watch what you're doing?" Her crazy eyes cleared up a little.Yves leans against his wife. "Eve... what—?" But Eve had seen Andy's glance at the thermometer.Suddenly, he believed it.It's so hot in here now, it's so hot you're sweating.The mercury in the thermometer had risen to ninety degrees. "Then Jesus Christ," he said hoarsely, "did she do it, Frank?" Andy ignored him.His hands were still on Charlie's shoulders.He looked into her eyes. "Charlie—do you think it's too late? What do you think?" "Yes" she said.There was no color in her face. "They're coming up the road. Oh Dad, I'm afraid." "You can stop them, Charlie," he said quietly. She looks at him. "Yes," he said. "But—Papa—it's not good. I know it's not good. I'll kill 'em." "True," Andy said. "Maybe it's kill or be killed now. Maybe it's gotten to this point." "Is this not a bad thing?" Her voice was almost inaudible. "Yes," said Andy, "bad. Never kid yourself that it's not. And don't do it if you can't help it, Charlie. Not even for me." They stared at each other, Andy's weary eyes bloodshot and terrified; Charlie's staring blankly, as if hypnotized. She said, "If I...did something...would you still love me?" This question hangs between the two of them, slowly churning. "Charlie," he said, "I will always love you. No matter what happens, I will always love you." Eve was standing at the window when he walked across the room to the father and daughter. "I guess I should say I'm very sorry," he said. "There's a whole caravan coming down the road. I'll stand with you if you want. I've got a stag gun." But he looked suddenly Scared, like sick. Charlie said, "You don't need a gun." She pulled away from her father and walked toward the screen door.She looks even smaller in Norma Mendes' white sweater. She steps out the door. After a while, Andy also stood up and followed her out.His stomach felt cold, as if he had swallowed a huge ice cream in three bites.The Mendes stayed inside.Andy took one last look at the man, confused.With a frightened face, a random thought suddenly flashed in my mind-this will teach you a lesson, don't just let people give you a ride again. He and Charlie stood on the porch outside the door, watching the first car pull up the long drive.The hens flopped up and down screaming.In the barn, Percy was mooing again for people to come and milk her.Thin November sunlight floods the tree-lined ridges and autumn brown fields of this small upstate New York town.After a year on the run, Andy was surprised to find a strange sense of relief mixed with his fear.He had heard that when a rabbit was chased by hounds, the moment it was about to be torn apart, the raw wildness aroused would make it turn back to face its pursuer. In any case, it's always good to not have to run away anymore.He stood next to Charlie, the sun shining softly on her blond hair. "Oh Dad," she groaned, "I can't stand anymore." He put his arms on her shoulders and held her close to him. The first car stopped in front of the courtyard, and two men came out. "Hi, Andy," said Al Steinowitz, and he smiled. "Hi, Charlie." His hands were empty, but his coat was open.Behind him, the other man stood alertly beside the car, arms akimbo.The second car stopped behind the first car, and four more people got out.Cars stopped one after another, and more and more people came out.Andy stopped counting after he counted twelve. "Go away," Charlie said.Her voice was high-pitched and thin in the cool afternoon air. "You made our hunt interesting," Al said to Andy.He looked at Charlie. "Honey, you don't—" "Go away!" she screamed. Al shrugged and smiled reassuringly. "I'm afraid I can't do that, honey. It's an order. Nobody's going to hurt you, or your dad." "You lied! You are going to kill him! I know!" Andy spoke, and he was a little surprised to find that his voice was very steady: "I suggest you do what my daughter said. You must already know why the higher ups wanted her. You know the soldier at the airport." Oja and Norwell exchanged a quick uneasy glance. "We can talk about it all as long as you get in the car," Al said. "Nothing, to be honest, except—" "We know what's up," Andy said. from the last two.The people getting on and off from the three cars began to fan out and surrounded the corridor almost randomly. "Please," Charlie said to the yellow-faced man, "don't make me do anything." "It's no use, Charlie," said Andy. Yves Mendes stepped out onto the porch. "You people trespassing," he said, "I want you off my property." The three Itha men had come up the porch steps and were standing less than ten yards to the left of Andy and Charlie.Charlie gave them a warning.With a desperate glance, the men froze - momentarily. "We're government agents, sir," Al Steinowitz said to Ive in a low, polite voice. "These two are going to be taken back for questioning. Nothing else." "I don't care if they assassinated the President of the United States or not," Ive said, his voice high and clear. "Show me your arrest warrant or get off my property." "We don't need a warrant," Al said.His voice became harsh. "You need to, unless I woke up this morning and found I was in Russia." Ive said, "I'm telling you to fuck off, you better move fast, gentlemen. I won't say another word"" Eve, come in!" Norma yelled. Andy could feel something gathering, gathering around Charlie like an electric charge.The hair resting on his arm began to dance like seaweed in invisible waves.He looked down at her face - so small, and so strange now. .coming soon.He thought helplessly, it's coming, oh God is really coming! "Get out!" he yelled at Al. "Don't you see what she's up to? Don't you feel it? Don't be stupid, man!" "Listen to me." Al said.He looked at the three men standing on the other side of the porch and nodded imperceptibly.He looked at Andy again. "As long as we can talk about it." "Look out, Frank!" Yves Mendes yelled. Suddenly the three men at the end of the porch rushed towards them, guns drawn as they ran. "Don't move, don't move!" cried one. "Stand where you are! Put your hands on—" Charlie turned to them.At this point, six other men—including John Mayo and Ray Nores—run toward the steps on the other side of the porch with guns in hand. Charlie's eyes widened a little, and Andy felt something go through him in a rush of heat. When the three men on the front porch ran halfway to them, their hair burst into flames with a whoosh. There was a deafening shot, and a six-inch piece of wood flew from one of the porch posts.Norma Mendes screamed, and Andy shuddered. But Charlie didn't seem to notice it at all.Her face seemed to be in a dream, and her expression was tranced; A slight Mona Lisa smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She loves this.Andy thought in horror.Is that why she's so afraid of it?Because she likes this? Charlie turned to Al Steinowitz again.The three men he had sent to rush Andy and Charlie from the front of the corridor had turned them to God.The responsibility of the country and Ita has been thrown out of the blue.They howled and flapped the flames above their heads.The afternoon air was suddenly filled with the pungent smell of burnt hair. There was another shot.A window is broken. "Don't hit that girl!" Al yelled, "Don't hit that girl!" Andy was roughly grabbed.The porch was full of people.In the chaos, he was dragged towards the railing.At this moment someone tried to pull him to the other side.He felt like a tug-of-war rope. "Let him go!" shouted Yves Menders, "Let go—  … There was another shot.Suddenly Norma screamed again, calling her husband's name over and over again. Charlie looked down at Al Steinowitz.Suddenly the coldness on Al's face.Confidence was gone, fear seized him, and his yellow face turned the color of cottage cheese. "No, don't," he said in an almost negotiating tone, "don't—" It is impossible to describe where the flames started.Only suddenly his trousers and jacket were ablaze.His hair turned into a burning bush.He backed away screaming, crashed into the car, and turned to Norwell Bates, arms flailing wildly. Andy felt the heat displacing the air again, as if a hot bullet traveling at rocket speed had just brushed his nose. Al Steinowitz's face darkened. For a moment, he stood there, screaming silently through a transparent fire net, and then his body began to blur and disappear, melting like grease.Norwell backed away from him.Al Steinowitz turned into a flaming scarecrow.He stumbled down the driveway, his arms flailing, before falling face down next to the third car.He was completely out of shape; he looked like a pile of burning rags. The people on the porch were terrified, staring blankly at the unexpected sight before them.The three whose hair Charlie had set alight had managed to put the fire out.They will certainly (though perhaps not for long) look very eccentric in the future: the prescribed short hair now looks like tangled black ash falling on their heads. "Go away," Andy said hoarsely, . . . go away.She's never done anything like this before and I don't know if she can stop! " "I'm fine, Dad," Charlie said.Her voice is steady.Calmly, with a strange indifference, "everything is fine." That's when the cars started exploding. The explosions all started at the end; Andy was sure of that later when he reconnected in his mind what happened at Menders Farm.The explosions all started from the rear fuel tank. Al Green's Plymouth blew up first with a bang.A large cloud of flames rose from the rear of Plymouth, blindingly.The rear window blew out.John's and Ray's Ford exploded immediately, less than two seconds apart.Metal fragments flew all over the sky, and then fell rapidly on the roof. ... Charlie! cried Andy, "Charlie, stop!" " Still in a calm tone, she said, "I can't stop." A third car started exploding. Someone starts running away.Someone followed.The people on the porch started to back away.Someone dragged Andy forward again, and Andy resisted.Suddenly no one was holding him anymore, and they were all running for their lives in an instant, their faces pale, their eyes widened in horror, but they turned a blind eye.One of them, with singed hair, tried to climb over the fence.He got caught on his feet and fell headfirst into a small garden.Norma had planted peas in the garden at the beginning of the year, and there were still many stakes to help the bean seedlings climb up.One of them pierced the man's throat and came out from behind the neck with a "poof".It was a sound Andy would never forget.The man twisted and struggled in the garden like a squatting fish that landed on the shore, and the wooden stake protruding from the back of his neck pinned him to the ground like an arrow shaft.He made a weak gargling sound in pain, and blood gushed down the front of his shirt. The remaining cars exploded one after the other, like a deafening series of firecrackers, and the two fleeing people were thrown to the ground by the blast, one of them was on fire from the waist down, and the other was splashed with shards of safety glass. Black oily smoke rose in the air.Beyond the driveway, seen through the hot steam, distant mountains and fields seemed twisted and deformed in terror.The chickens flew up and down, screaming like crazy.Suddenly three chickens caught fire, fled around like fireballs with legs, and finally fell dead beside the driveway. "Charlie, stop now! Stop!" A tongue of flame pierced obliquely into the vestibule, and the dirt road burned in a straight line, as if a line of gunpowder had been spread on the ground.The tongue of flame climbed to the backing board where Yves chopping wood with the ax inserted, and surrounded it to form a magical circle of fire.Suddenly the ring of fire rushed towards the center. The wood chopping board suddenly fell to the ground. "Charlie, for God's sake!" An Ita agent's gun lay in the grass between the porch and the burning car.Suddenly, the bullets inside exploded sharply and crisply one after another.The pistol rolled and danced strangely on the grass. Andy slapped her as hard as he could. Her head was thrown back suddenly, her blue eyes were empty.Then she was surprised. Staring at him blankly, as if hurt.Suddenly he felt surrounded by a rapidly gathering heat.He took a deep breath of air thick as thick glass; The hair on the nostrils seemed to be brittle. Spontaneous combustion.He thought, I'm about to spontaneously combust— And then it's all over. Charlie staggered and faltered.She covered her face with her hands.Then there was a scream of fear and desperation coming from between her fingers, and Andy worried that her nerves had collapsed. "Father one by one" he grabbed her and hugged her tightly. "Oh," he said, "oh Charlie, dear." The screaming stopped.She collapsed in his arms and passed out. Andy picked her up, her head rolling limply against his chest.The air was hot and smelled of burning gasoline.Flametongue had crawled through the grass and under the ivy, and was beginning to climb, with the quickness of a boy who comes out to play at night.The house is going to catch fire. Yves Mendes was sitting with his legs stretched out against the screen door in the kitchen.Norma knelt beside him.He had been shot in the arm, and the sleeve of his blue overalls was bright red.Norma tore a long strip from the hem of her dress and was trying to roll up his shirt sleeves to bandage his wound.Eve's eyes were wide open and his face was ashen.His lips were slightly blue, and he was panting rapidly. Andy took a step toward them.Norma Mendes flinched, then immediately bent over her husband.She looked at Andy sternly with fiery eyes. "Go away," she hissed, "take your devil and go away." Oja ran away. As he ran for his life, Chasing Wind bounced up and down under his arms.While fleeing, he was in a panic.He ran across the fields—falling down, getting up and running again.He caught his foot in a rut and fell again, with an involuntary scream as he fell.Then he got up and continued to run forward.Sometimes it seemed that he was running alone, and sometimes it seemed that someone was running with him.It doesn't matter, what matters is running away, running away from the burning rags that ten minutes ago was Al Steinowitz, running away from the line of burning cars, running away from the throat lying in the garden escaped from Bruce Cook with a stake in him. Run, run, run. "Chasing Wind" fell out of the holster, smashed hard on his knee, and fell into a pile of weeds.He continued to run forward without stopping. Then Oja ran into a wood.He tripped over a blown tree and fell flat on the ground.He lay there, panting exhaustedly, with one hand on his aching waist.He lay there with tears of shock and terror streaming down his face.He thought: No more New York state missions.never.Even if I live to be two hundred years old, I will never set foot in New York again. After a while, Oja got up with tears on his face and started limping towards the road. "Let's get him off the porch," said Andy, who had put Charlie on the grass outside the driveway.The side of the house had begun to burn, and sparks fell on the porch like giant slow-moving fireflies. "Go away," she snapped. "Don't touch him." "The house is on fire," Andy said, "Let me help you." "Go away! You've done enough!" "Shut up, Norma." Eve looked at her. "Nothing that happened was this man's fault. So keep your mouth shut." She looked at him as if she had something to say, and then she bit her lip hard. "Get me up," Eve said, "my legs are numb. I thought I peed my pants. Nothing to be surprised about.Some bastard hit me, don't know which one.Do me a favor, Frank. " "My name is Andy," he said, putting an arm around Eve's shoulder.Eve stood up little by little. "I don't blame your wife. You should have ignored us this morning." "If I had to do it again, I'd do it again," Eve said. "The bastards came to my house with guns. Those bastards and fucking government bitch gentlemen... Oh Jesus! " "Eve?" Norma called. "Shh, woman. I opened the wound. Come on, Frank, or Andy, whatever your name is. It's getting hotter in here." Indeed.When Andy half-dragged and half-carried Eve down the steps to the courtyard, a gust of wind blew a cloud of sparks down onto the porch.The chopping board was already a blackened stump.Of the chickens that Charlie had set ablaze, all that remained were a few charred bones and a thick pile of strangely shaped feathers that should have been feathers.They weren't roasted; they were cremated. "Put me down in the barn," Eve panted. "I want to talk to you." "You've got to see a doctor," Andy said. "Yes, I will go to the doctor. How is your daughter?" "Passed out." He put Eve down, leaning his back against the barn door.Eve looked up at him.There was already a little color on his face, and the bruise on his lips was fading. He is sweating.Behind them, the large white house that has stood on Bellings Highway since 1868 is being consumed by flames. "A person shouldn't be able to do what she can do," Eve said. "Maybe," Andy said, then turned his gaze from Eve to Norma Mendes stiffly.Unforgiving face, "But one shouldn't have cerebral palsy either. Muscular dystrophy or leukemia. But these exist. And in children." "She can't refuse." Eve nodded, "That's right." Andy still looked at Norma.He went on: "She's like a child with an iron lung, or a child in a home for mentally handicapped children, she's not the devil." "I'm sorry I just said that," replied Norma, her eyes flickering away from Andy's gaze. "I went out with her to feed the chickens. Watch her pet the cows. But sir, my house is on fire. , someone died." "Sorry.". "The house is insured, Norma," Eve said, taking Norma's hand with his good hand. "But it won't save my mother's plates, which were passed down to her from my grandmother." Norma said, "It's not going to save the paintings we bought at the art fair last June.  … A tear slipped out of her eye, and she wiped it away with her sleeve, "And all the letters you wrote to me when you were in the army." "Is nothing wrong with your daughter?" Eve asked. "I have no idea." “那听着。要是愿意你可以这样做。谷仓后面有一辆旧的威立斯吉普——”“伊夫，不！不要再管这件事了！” 他转身看着她。他的脸色灰白，淌满汗水。在他们身后，他们的家烧光了。墙面板燃烧时发出的僻啪声就像圣诞簧火中的七叶树。 “那些人没有逮捕令，没有任何证明，来到这里想把他们从我们的家里带走。”他说，“他们是我在一个有着法律的文明国度里邀请来的客人。其中一个人射中了我，另一个想射中这位安迪。只差不到四分之一英寸没击中他的头。”安迪想起了第一声震耳欲聋地枪声和从门廊支柱上飞起的那片木头。他打了个哆嚏，“他们来做了这些事。你想让我怎么做，诺玛？坐在这里。 如果那些人有胆量回来，就把他们交给那些秘密警察？做个好德国人？ " “不。”她沙哑地说，“不，我想不是。” “你用不着——”安迪开口道。 “我觉得应该。”伊夫说，“等他们回来……他们会回来的，是不是，安迪？” “噢是的，他们会回来的。你刚才惹的这件事他们是不会轻易放过的。” 伊夫发出一声上气不接下气。口哨似的笑声：“那太好了。 等他们在这里出现，我知道的只是你开走了我的威立斯，其余一概不知。good luck. " “谢谢。”安迪轻轻地说。 “我们得快点。”伊夫说，“到镇上有很长一段路，但他们现在应该已经看见烟了。救火车马上会来。你说你和女儿要去弗芒特。这是真的吗？” “是真的。”安迪说。 他们左边传来一声呻吟：“爸爸——” 恰莉正从地上坐起，红裤子和绿衬衫上沾满了尘土。她脸色苍白，困惑地扫视着周围。“爸爸，什么着了？我闻到什么东西着了：是我干的吗？什么着了？” 安迪走近她将她抱起。“一切正常。”他说。很奇怪人为什么要这样跟孩子说话，尽管你知道他们和你一样清楚这并不是事实。“一切正常。你感觉怎么样，亲爱的？” 恰莉越过他的肩膀注视着燃烧的汽车、花园中扭曲的尸体和曼德斯家爬满火舌的房子。门廊也被火焰所包围，风将烟尘和燥热吹开去、但汽油和燃烧的墙板的气味仍然强烈刺鼻。 “是我干的。”恰莉用低得听不见的声音说，她的脸又开始抽搐起来。 “小朋友！”伊夫厉声说。 她望望他，似乎并没看见他，“是我。”她呻吟着。 “放她下来。”伊夫说，“我想和她谈谈。” 安迪抱着恰莉走到靠坐在谷仓大门上的伊夫身边，将她放下。 “你听我说，小朋友。”伊夫说，“那些人想杀死你爸爸。在我之前，也许还在你爸爸之前，你就知道了这一点，尽管我一点不知道你是如何做到的。我说的对吗？” “是的。”恰莉说。她的双眼仍充满了深深的悲哀，“但你不明白。就像上次那个士兵，只是更糟。我不能……我不再能控制它。它跑得哪里都是。我烧了你的鸡……我还差点烧了我的父亲。”泪水涌出那双忧郁的眼睛，她再次开始无助地嚎陶大哭。 “你爸爸没事。”伊夫说。安迪没有说话。他想起了那种突然而令人窒息的感觉一一那种被热流包围着的感觉。 “我再也不这样做了。”她说，“永不。” “好的。”安迪说，将一只手搭在她肩上，“好的，恰莉。” “永不。”她静静地重复强调着。 “你不该这样说，小朋友。”伊夫说着抬头看着她，“你不该这样限制自己。你要做你必须做的事。你要尽力而为。这就是你应该做到的。我相信这个世界的上帝最喜欢做的事就是把事情交给那些说'永不'的人。你明白吗？” “不明白。”恰莉低声道。 “但我想以后你会的。”伊夫带着深切的同情看着恰莉，这使安迪感到自己心头堵满了忧虑和悲哀。接着伊夫看了看他的妻子，“把你脚边的棍子递给我，诺玛。” 诺玛捡起棍子放在他手里，再次对丈夫说他做得过火了；说他需要休息，所以只有安迪听到恰莉用几乎听不到声音再次说“永不”——像一句秘密的誓言。 “瞧这儿，安迪。”伊夫边说边在地上划了条直线，“这是我们来时走的那条土路——贝灵斯公路。向北走四分之一一英里，你会在右侧看见一条树木丛生的小道，汽车走不通那条路，但威立斯应该可以。只要你精力集中，控制好离合器。有时看起来路好像被堵住已经消失，但只要接着开，你会重新找到它．所有地图上都没有标出这条路，你明白吗？所有地图。…… 安迪点点头，看着木棍划出的那条树木丛生的小道。 “你可以沿小路向东走十二英里，如果没被堵在半路或迷路，那你就会在豪格角附近拐上152号公路．向左转——向北一一沿152号公路走大约一英里，你会看到另外一条小路。它是在低地上，泥泞多沼泽。威立斯也许能过去，也许不能。我想我已经五年没走过那条路了。这是我知道的向东到弗芒特而不会碰到路障的惟一一条路了。这第二条小路会把你带到22号高速公路，切里平原以北，弗芒特边境以南。到那时，你们应该已经脱离险境了——不过我想他们会把你们的名字和照片电传过去。但我们祝你们好运。是不是，诺玛？” “是的。”诺玛几乎是叹息地说。她看着恰莉，“你救了爸爸的命，小姑娘。应该记住这一点。” “是吗？”恰莉极其单调地说。这使诺玛·曼德斯很疑惑而且有些害怕。不过恰莉接着努力做出一张勉强的笑脸，诺玛也笑了，舒了口气。 “钥匙在车里，而且——”他把头歪向一侧，“听！” 是警报器的声音，升高而后爬下，声音还很微弱，但越离越发。 “是救火车。”伊夫说，“如果要走；最好现在就走。” “来吧，恰莉。”安迪说。恰莉走到他身边，眼睛红肿着，浅浅的微笑消失了，像被乌云遮住的阳光。但它的曾经出现就给了安迪极大的鼓舞。她充满惊愕与痛苦的脸看上去就像是死里逃生人的脸。在那一瞬间，安迪真希望自己拥有她的力量；他会知道如何使用，而且他知道对谁使用。 他说：“谢谢你，伊夫。” “原谅我。”恰莉低声说，“为你的房子，你的鸡和……和所有这一切。” “这当然不是你的错，小朋友。”伊夫说，“他们罪有应得。 你照顾好爸爸。 " "Okay," she said. 安迪牵着她的手绕过谷库来到停在一座单板披屋下的威立斯吉普车旁。 当安迪把车发动驶过草坪来到大路上时，消防车的报警声已经很近了。房子现在已是一片火海。恰莉执意不去看它一眼。安迪最后一眼看见曼德斯夫妇是从这辆帆布顶棚吉普车的后视镜里：伊夫斜靠着谷仓”伤臂上那条白色衣摆血迹斑斑。他用没受伤的胳膊拥着坐在他身旁的诺玛。安迪挥挥手，伊夫微微抬起伤臂向他告别。诺玛并没有向他挥手道别。也许她还在想着母亲留下的瓷器和那些情书——所有被保险公司忽视而且一直都在被忽视的东西。 他们在伊夫。曼德斯说的地方找到了那条林中小路。安迪将车驶上小路。 “抓好了，恰莉。”他说，“前边路要不平了。” 恰莉在椅中坐好。她的脸色苍启，无精打采；看着她，安迪有些不安。别墅。他想到，麦克吉爷爷在泰士摩池塘旁的别墅。 只要我们能到那儿休息一阵，她会恢复的，然后我们再想下一步怎么办。 我们明天再想这件事。像斯嘉丽（美国小说的女主人公）所说的，那是新的一天。 威立斯轰呜着向前行驶。小路只不过是一条两轮宽的车辙，上面杂草丛生，沿着路拱甚至还长着一些生长不良的松树。这片地可能在十年前被采伐过，安迪怀疑这期间除了一两个猎人外根本没人再走过这条路。走了六英里后，路看上去真的像是“被堵住消失”了，安迪不得不两次下车去挪开路上被风刮倒的树木。 当安迪第二次从他的劳作中抬起头来时，他的心脏和头猛地砰砰跳将起来——只母鹿正若有所思地望着他。她又站了一会儿，然后一甩尾巴向树林深处走去。安迪回头看看恰莉，见她正好奇地注视着那母鹿的一举一动，这使他再次感到倍受鼓舞。再往前走，他们重新发现了车辙。三点钟左右他们来到了一条可并行的沥青路上。这就是152号大道。 在距离曼德斯农场大约半英里的地方，奥威尔：贾明森坐在贝灵斯公路旁向对讲机中哭诉着。他衣衫褴楼，满身泥泞，扭伤的脚踝几乎已不能行走：他的报告被传送到一个临时指挥所里。 指挥所设在一辆停在黑斯廷斯·格兰镇主要大街上的货车里，货车装备有内部秘密电话和一台功率强大的送话器。奥贾的报告通过秘密电话传到纽约，由一个中转站接收后再传给弗吉尼亚的隆芒特。在这里，卡普正坐在他的办公室里听着奥贾的报告。 卡普的脸已不再像那天早上骑车上班时那样神采奕奕。喜气洋洋。奥贾的报告简直令人难以置信：他们早就知道那女孩有些什么东西，但这次突然的屠杀和事情的逆转就像（至少对卡普来说）晴天霹雳。四至六人死亡，其余人忙忙如丧家之犬循入树林，五辆汽车被烧毁，一所房子被烧塌，一个平民受伤，而且还准备向所有愿意听的人喋喋不休地讲述他的遭遇，说一群新纳粹来到他家，没有任何逮捕令就企图绑架受他邀请来吃午饭的一个男人和一个小姑娘。 奥贾结束报告后（他从此再也没真正结束过这场报告；在一种半歇斯底里的状态中他开始对自己一遍遍重复着），卡普挂上电话，坐在深深的转椅里，打算好好思考一下。他绝没料到一次秘密行动会这样引人注目地出现失误——而且还是在美国本土。 太阳已经转到大楼的另一侧，昏暗的办公室里充满浓重的阴影，但他并没有开灯。雷切尔接通了对讲机，但他简单地告诉她： 他不想见任何人。 他感到自己老了。 他听到瓦里斯在说：我在谈论毁灭的潜能。不过，这已不再： 是潜能的问题了，不是吗？但我们会抓住她，他想到，茫然注视着前方，噢是的，我们会抓住她。 他按响对话机。 “奥威尔·贾明森一飞到这里就让他到我这儿来，我要见他。” 他说，“还有，我要和华盛顿的布莱克曼将军通话——特急。我们在纽约州遇到了一件可能会非常棘手的事情。我希望你就这样对他说。” “是，先生。”雷切尔毕恭毕敬地说。 “十九点，我要召集所有六个副指挥官开会。也是特急。还有，我要和纽约州的警察头脑通话。”他们是搜索行动的一部分，卡普希望向他们指出这一点。如果要被舆论泼脏水，他肯定要为他们留下满满一大桶。不过他还并不想彻底撕破脸皮，毕竟，他们仍可能很体面地度过这场危机。 他迟疑了一下接着说：“如果约翰·雨鸟来电话，告诉他我要见他。我另有任务给他。” "Yes, sir." film.卡普放开对讲机按扭。他靠坐在椅子上，端详着室内的明天“没有不能搞定的事。”他对阴影说。这是他一生中的座右铭——并没有用细绒线绣出挂起来，也没有刻在书桌的铜版上，而是作为真理印在他的心头。 没有事不能搞定。直到今晚，直到奥贾的汇报之前，他一直坚信这一点。这条生活哲学已支撑这个宾夕法尼亚矿工的儿子走过了漫长的道路。现在他仍相信这一点，虽然偶尔会产生暂时的动摇。曼德斯和他妻子也许有许多亲戚分布在从新英格兰到加利福尼亚之间的广大地区，每个人都是潜在的威胁。隆芒特的绝密档案已足以使议会对伊塔工作方式的听证会变得有些……有些艰难，汽车、甚至还有那些特工人员只是硬件，不过要接受并适应阿尔·斯但诺维茨已经死了这个事实恐怕还得过一段时间。谁能来接替阿尔呢？如果不为别的，那孩子和她父亲也要为他们对阿尔所做的付出代价。他会处理这件事的。 但那女孩。那女孩能被搞定吗？ 总有办法的。总有办法控制的。 麦克吉档案仍在小椎车上。他站了起来走过去，开始在一堆档案中焦躁不安地翻腾起来。他想：这会儿约翰，雨鸟会在哪儿？