指挥大厅的会刚散，空气里还弥漫着紧张和烟草味儿，外头突然传来一阵低沉的引擎声。几辆黑色SUV停在警局门口，车门一开，走下来一群穿黑制服的家伙，个个腰板笔直，眼神冷得像刀子。为首的是个四十岁的男人，身材挺拔，短发夹杂几根银丝，脸上棱角分明，嘴角挂着点桀骜不驯的笑。他穿着联邦安全局的战术制服，胸前别着少校徽章，肩上扛着实权——欧文·华盛顿，特勤警督，警衔跟科尔平级，但恐怕可手里的权力比莱门斯还大几分。
The meeting in the command hall had just dispersed, tension and tobacco smell still lingering in the air, when a low engine sound suddenly came from outside. Several black SUVs stopped at the entrance of the police station. As the doors opened, a group of men in black uniforms stepped out, each with straight posture and eyes cold as knives. Leading them was a forty-year-old man, tall and upright, with short hair interspersed with a few silver strands, distinct facial features, and a hint of defiant smile at the corner of his mouth. He wore a tactical uniform of the Federal Security Bureau, with a major's badge on his chest, carrying real authority on his shoulders—Owen Washington, Special Police Superintendent, equal in rank to Cole, but perhaps with even more power in his hands than Lemons.
欧文一进大厅，靴子踩得地板咚咚响，身后跟着几个手下，气势像要把这地方掀翻。他扫了眼屋里的人，声音硬邦邦地开了口："我是联邦安全局特勤警督欧文·华盛顿。从现在起，港口爆炸案和雇佣兵事件已经达到恐怖袭击登记，将由我们接管。尸体、证据，所有相关材料，马上移交反恐特勤中心。"他顿了顿，眼神扫过我和安德利一伙人，最后停在莱门斯身上，"市政警察局配合，别给我添乱。"
As Owen entered the hall, his boots thudded loudly on the floor, followed by several subordinates, with an imposing presence as if about to turn the place upside down. He swept his eyes over the people in the room and spoke in a hard voice: "I am Owen Washington, Special Police Superintendent of the Federal Security Bureau. From now on, the port explosion case and the mercenary incident have reached terrorism registration and will be taken over by us. Bodies, evidence, all related materials are to be immediately transferred to the Counter-Terrorism Special Service Center." He paused, his gaze sweeping over me, Andrey, and our group, finally resting on Lemons, "The Municipal Police Department is to cooperate, don't give me trouble."
这话一出，屋里安静得掉根针都能听见。莱门斯抽了口雪茄，慢悠悠吐了个烟圈，脸上还是那副从容的笑，可眼底闪过一丝不爽："华盛顿警督，这么大阵仗，联邦是打算把我们当摆设？我们还没发光发热呢。总不能让我和兄弟们白忙活一晚上。"欧文冷笑一声，回道："摆设？你们这儿烟味儿熏得我头晕，我要不接手，怕是这案子得被你们点着了。"他语气里满是对警局的不屑，带着股火药味儿。
With these words, the room fell so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Lemons took a puff of his cigar, lazily blowing a smoke ring, his face still wearing that composed smile, but a flash of displeasure crossed his eyes: "Superintendent Washington, with such a grand show, is the Federal intending to treat us as mere decoration? We haven't even had a chance to shine. Surely you can't let me and my brothers work all night for nothing." Owen gave a cold laugh and replied: "Decoration? The smoke in here is making me dizzy. If I don't take over, I'm afraid this case will get burned by you lot." His tone was full of disdain for the police station, carrying a hint of gunpowder.
科尔皱着眉走上前，手里还攥着那叠文件，低声说："华盛顿警督，这案子我们已经有了初步推断，的确等级很高，但这里属于我们的辖区，依法调查是我们的职责。移交之前，至少得有个正式手续吧？最次也应该警情共享合作侦办。"欧文瞥了他一眼，哼了一声："手续？小伙子，别跟我玩政府那一套。船只爆炸加上雇佣兵，这已经是反恐级别的事儿，你们人员短缺武器困乏，有这能耐？"他顿了顿，语气软了点，"当然我们来晚了，但是我不是抢功，可这摊子烂事，你们兜不住。"
Cole stepped forward with a frown, still clutching that stack of documents, and said in a low voice: "Superintendent Washington, we already have preliminary deductions on this case. Indeed, it's high-level, but this is our jurisdiction, and it's our responsibility to investigate according to law. Before the transfer, shouldn't there at least be formal procedures? At the very least, we should share police information and cooperate in the investigation." Owen glanced at him and snorted: "Procedures? Young man, don't play government games with me. Ship explosion plus mercenaries, this is already a counter-terrorism level matter. With your shortage of personnel and weapons, do you have what it takes?" He paused, his tone softening a bit, "Of course, we arrived late, but I'm not here to steal credit. However, this mess is too big for you to handle."
气氛有点僵。安德利靠在我旁边，低声嘀咕："联邦安全局本来就喜欢强功，你看他脸红脖子粗的样子，指定被骂惨了。"我没吭声，盯着欧文那张麻木又恼怒的脸。这家伙不是坏人，据说在上面总觉得他有点扎眼，于是现实磨得他没了脾气。听说爆炸案发生后，上级差点把他解职，他憋了一肚子火，今天估计碰到硬茬了。
The atmosphere was a bit tense. Andrey leaned next to me, muttering: "The Federal Security Bureau always likes to claim credit. Look at his red face and neck; he must have been severely scolded." I remained silent, staring at Owen's numb yet irritated face. This guy wasn't a bad person; it was said that higher-ups always found him a bit conspicuous, so reality had worn down his temper. I heard that after the explosion, his superiors almost dismissed him. He had bottled up a lot of anger, and today he probably met his match.
莱门斯没急着回话，点了点雪茄灰，转身对一个警员说："去，把检察官勃利德请来，这事儿得有人评评理。并且我还得和我的老搭档鲍里斯通个气，告诉他他的手下为什么这么没礼数。"说完他瞥了欧文一眼，像在说：你有联邦，我有人脉。没多久，门开了，进来个穿灰西装的男人，四十多岁，挺着个啤酒肚，头发梳得油光发亮，满脸高傲——检察官勃利德，莱门斯的老朋友，原市长秘书，检察院派系的红人。这家伙爱显摆，有辆GT15奔驰跑车就开着去睡小姐，这事马丁和我说的，说他怕事又不敢得罪人，手里的检查案件都是听厉害的一方的。马丁一次喝醉酒告诉我，他怕莱门斯怕的要死，警局每次开会，勃利德总看莱门斯的眼色行事，纳闷为什么偏偏被莱门斯拿捏得死死的。因此我猜的出来，他表面上硬气，心里虚得要命。
Lemons didn't rush to respond, tapping the ash off his cigar, and turned to tell an officer: "Go, invite Prosecutor Breed here, this matter needs someone to judge. And I need to touch base with my old partner Boris, to tell him why his subordinate is so discourteous." After saying this, he glanced at Owen, as if saying: you have the Federal, I have connections. Soon, the door opened, and in came a man in a gray suit, in his forties, sporting a beer belly, with slick, shiny hair, and a face full of arrogance—Prosecutor Breed, an old friend of Lemons, former secretary to the mayor, and a prominent figure in the prosecutor's office circles. This guy loved to show off, driving his GT15 Mercedes sports car to sleep with women, as Martin had told me. He was said to be fearful and unwilling to offend anyone, handling cases according to whoever was more powerful. Martin once told me when drunk that Breed was terrified of Lemons; at every police station meeting, Breed would act according to Lemons' cues, puzzled as to why he was so firmly in Lemons' grip. So I could guess that despite his outward toughness, he was extremely insecure inside.
勃利德一进来就清了清嗓子，摆出一副官腔："各位，这是什么情况？我听说有争议？"欧文翻了个白眼，"例行公事。" 莱门斯笑着上前，拍拍勃利德肩膀："老朋友，特勤要接管案子，我们这边正查得起劲呢。你是法律专家，评评理，这合不合规矩？至少现在连个书面文件都没有。"勃利德推了推眼镜，瞅了眼欧文，又看看莱门斯，慢吞吞地说："按法律程序，未经正式授权，案件移交确实需要协商。不过，反恐级别的事，联邦有优先权也毋庸置疑，但是事情还是有待斟酌……"他话没说完，莱门斯眼神一冷，他赶紧接着说，"三区港口明确是地方警局的管辖地，最多公管，但按照宪法第四章国家安全第六条的解释，只有在地方无法解决时，安全局才能在未经同级单位授权的条件下接手，此事在十三年前的邻省有先例，而且我对地方警局行事职责有监督权和知情权，我认为不能随便撒手不管，毕竟莱门斯警官也一定有所发现，何必中断思路，让正义不能迅速得到伸张呢？"
As soon as Breed entered, he cleared his throat, putting on an official tone: "Gentlemen, what's the situation here? I heard there's a dispute?" Owen rolled his eyes, "Just routine business." Lemons stepped forward with a smile, patting Breed's shoulder: "Old friend, the Special Service wants to take over the case, but we're right in the middle of our investigation. You're the legal expert, judge whether this follows protocol. At the very least, there isn't even a written document yet." Breed pushed up his glasses, glanced at Owen, then at Lemons, and said slowly: "According to legal procedures, without formal authorization, case transfers indeed require consultation. However, for counter-terrorism level matters, the Federal undoubtedly has priority, but the matter still needs careful consideration..." He hadn't finished when Lemons' eyes turned cold, prompting him to quickly continue, "District Three port is clearly under the jurisdiction of the local police station, at most public management, but according to the interpretation of Article 6, Chapter 4 of the Constitution on National Security, only when local authorities cannot resolve the issue can the Security Bureau take over without authorization from an equivalent unit. There was a precedent for this in a neighboring province thirteen years ago, and I have supervisory and information rights over the local police station's duties. I believe we shouldn't casually abandon the case, after all, Officer Lemons must have made some discoveries. Why interrupt the train of thought and prevent justice from being swiftly served?"
欧文听不下去了，往前一步，声音压得低："检察官，别跟我扯这些弯弯绕。这案子不移交，一夜之间，三十九条人命，五个警察，死了人算谁的？"与此同时，科尔掏出手机，低声跟谁通话，估计在告状。欧文也摸出对讲机，冷着脸说了几句，语气里全是火气。两人一边打电话一边瞪着对方，像两头斗红眼的公牛。
Owen couldn't listen anymore and stepped forward, lowering his voice: "Prosecutor, don't give me all these roundabout arguments. If this case isn't transferred, with thirty-nine lives and five police officers lost in one night, who takes the blame?" Meanwhile, Cole pulled out his phone and spoke quietly to someone, probably reporting the situation. Owen also took out his intercom, saying a few words with a cold face, his tone full of anger. The two of them made calls while glaring at each other, like two red-eyed bulls ready to fight.
勃利德夹在中间，额头冒汗，硬挤出个笑："都冷静点，这事儿得从长计议……"莱门斯哼笑一声，靠在墙上抽雪茄，像个看戏的。
Breed, caught in the middle, sweated on his forehead, forcing out a smile: "Everyone calm down, this matter requires careful consideration..." Lemons snorted with laughter, leaning against the wall smoking his cigar, like a spectator watching a show.