第十一节：局长
Section 11: The Chief
指挥大厅的僵局还没散，门外又传来一阵急促的脚步声，夹杂着低沉的喘息。门猛地被推开，警局局长波尔·蔡司走了进来，满脸通红，额头上青筋直跳，像是刚跑完一场马拉松。他穿着一件皱巴巴的西装，领带歪到一边，显然是从市政厅里急匆匆赶来的。他一进门，目光扫过屋里的人，停在欧文和莱门斯身上，眼神里带着股压不住的火气。
The standoff in the command hall hadn't dissipated when a series of hurried footsteps, interspersed with deep breaths, came from outside the door. The door was suddenly pushed open, and Police Chief Paul Zeiss walked in, his face red, veins throbbing on his forehead, as if he'd just run a marathon. He wore a wrinkled suit with his tie askew, clearly having rushed over from City Hall. As soon as he entered, his gaze swept across the people in the room, settling on Owen and Lemons, with an anger he could barely contain in his eyes.
"我操你们妈，你们在这儿闹什么？！"波尔声音不高，可那股子怒意像炸雷似的砸下来，"马歇尔议员和马速议员给我的电话轮番轰炸，市长还在电话了说要操我的老母，我刚在路上还被上级骂得狗血淋头，行省政府已经下了令，反恐和联邦安全局接管案子，你们还在这儿给我扯皮？"他喘了口气，走到桌子旁，一巴掌拍在桌面上，震得咖啡杯都跳了一下，"我他妈快退休了，就想平稳落地，你们非得给我惹一堆麻烦！"
"What the fuck are you all doing here?!" Paul's voice wasn't loud, but his anger crashed down like a thunderbolt. "Councilman Marshall and Councilman Massu have been bombarding me with calls, the Mayor just said on the phone he wants to fuck my mother, and I was just chewed out by my superiors on the way here. The provincial government has already issued the order: counter-terrorism and the Federal Security Bureau will take over the case. Why are you still arguing about this?" He took a breath, walked to the table, and slammed it with his palm, making the coffee cups jump. "I'm about to retire, for fuck's sake! All I want is a smooth landing, and you people have to cause me a pile of trouble!"
屋里没人敢吭声，连欧文都皱了下眉，没顶嘴。波尔揉了揉太阳穴，声音低下去："爆炸案，雇佣兵，三区枪战，桥车爆炸……媒体盯着，上级盯着，检察院盯着，一个个等着抓我的把柄。你们倒好，还在这儿争地盘！"他瞪了眼科尔，又扫了眼莱门斯，最后落在欧文身上，"华盛顿警督，贵部的鲍里斯先生已经和我说明了情况，尸体和证据需要马上移交，别在这儿浪费时间，但是鲍里斯给了我们很高的情报共享权、知情权和公管权力。"
No one in the room dared to speak; even Owen frowned without talking back. Paul rubbed his temples, his voice lowering: "The explosion, mercenaries, District Three shootout, bridge car bombing... The media is watching, superiors are watching, the prosecutor's office is watching, everyone waiting to catch me slipping. And you lot are here fighting over territory!" He glared at Cole, swept his eyes over Lemons, and finally rested his gaze on Owen. "Superintendent Washington, Mr. Boris from your department has already explained the situation to me. The bodies and evidence need to be transferred immediately—don't waste time here—but Boris has granted us substantial rights to intelligence sharing, information access, and joint management."
欧文冷哼一声，叹气道："我早说了要接管，是你们这儿拖拖拉拉。"他瞥了眼莱门斯，语气里带着点挑衅。莱门斯抽了口雪茄，笑了笑，没接话，只是静静地看着波尔，像在等他发完火。"我需要我们的警员随时可以和你们的人联系到，"波尔指了指科尔，"这位是科尔警监，我需要你们保持联系。"
Owen gave a cold snort and sighed, "I said we needed to take over early on, but you people were dragging your feet." He glanced at Lemons, his tone carrying a hint of provocation. Lemons took a drag from his cigar, smiled slightly, but didn't respond, just quietly watching Paul as if waiting for him to finish venting. "I need our officers to be able to contact your people at any time," Paul pointed at Cole, "This is Inspector Cole; I need you to maintain contact with him."
波尔转过身，指着科尔说道："你，小子！听到了没有！"科尔抿了抿嘴，点了点头，敬了个礼，"收到长官！"，手里那叠文件攥得更紧了。波尔喘了口气，声音缓下来，转向莱门斯："这事儿你怎么看？"
Paul turned around, pointing at Cole, "You, boy! Did you hear that?" Cole pressed his lips together, nodded, and saluted, "Yes, sir!" clutching the stack of documents in his hand even tighter. Paul took a breath, his voice softening as he turned to Lemons: "What do you think about this?"
莱门斯吐了个烟圈，慢悠悠地说："我无话可说，咱们配合就是，不定就是赢了无功，输了背锅。不过，我认为这案子水深，全部都交出去，我们的线索可别断了。"他语气平静，可那股子底气谁都听得出。波尔皱了皱眉，没接茬，眼神扫过勃利德，低声说："检察官在场，我就不多说了。莱门斯，你带队一定把东西收拾好，交给特勤队。"
Lemons blew a smoke ring and said languidly, "I have nothing to say. We'll cooperate, of course. Maybe we'll get no credit if we win, and take the blame if we lose. However, I believe this case runs deep; if we hand over everything, let's make sure our leads aren't cut off." His tone was calm, but everyone could hear the confidence behind it. Paul frowned but didn't respond directly. His eyes swept over Breed as he said quietly, "With the prosecutor present, I won't say more. Lemons, you lead the team to prepare everything properly and hand it over to the Special Service team."
勃利德站在一边，推了推眼镜，干笑两声："对对，配合为主，大家依法办事……"他话没说完，波尔冷冷地瞥了他一眼，他立马闭了嘴，缩到角落去了。屋里的人都清楚，莱门斯在警局的影响力大得吓人，刑警队几乎是他的"私人卫队"，别的部门也对他客气得过头。波尔骂归骂，可对着莱门斯还是留了几分面子。
Breed stood to the side, pushed his glasses up, and gave a dry laugh: "Yes, yes, cooperation is key, everyone working according to the law..." He hadn't finished when Paul gave him a cold glance, immediately shutting him up and making him shrink into a corner. Everyone in the room knew that Lemons' influence in the police station was frighteningly substantial; the criminal investigation team was almost his "personal guard," and other departments were overly polite to him. Paul might curse, but he still gave Lemons a certain amount of face.
我靠在墙边，和安德利对视一眼，低声嘀咕："这老家伙急得要跳脚了。"安德利哼笑一声："上面一压，他就拿咱们撒气。"波尔耳朵尖，猛地转头瞪过来："卢卡斯，安德利，你们俩嘀咕什么？站直了！"我俩赶紧闭嘴，站得像根木桩。
I leaned against the wall, exchanged a glance with Andrey, and muttered under my breath, "This old guy is so anxious he's about to jump out of his skin." Andrey gave a snorting laugh, "As soon as pressure comes from above, he takes it out on us." Paul had sharp ears and suddenly turned his head to glare at us: "Lucas, Andrey, what are you two muttering about? Stand straight!" We both quickly shut up, standing like wooden posts.
最后，波尔叹了口气，揉了揉脸，低声对欧文说："华盛顿警督，人都交给你了。特勤队的事儿，别再让我擦屁股。"欧文点点头，没多说，招呼手下转身往外走。莱门斯拍拍手，对迈克和托马斯几个人使了个眼色："去，把尸体和材料收拾好，送到门口。"几个人应声去了。
Finally, Paul sighed, rubbed his face, and said quietly to Owen: "Superintendent Washington, the people are all handed over to you. Don't make me clean up after the Special Service team again." Owen nodded without saying much, signaled to his subordinates, and turned to leave. Lemons clapped his hands and gave Mike, Thomas, and a few others a meaningful look: "Go, prepare the bodies and materials and take them to the entrance." They responded and left immediately.
大厅里安静下来，波尔靠在椅子上，点了根烟，盯着天花板发呆。莱门斯走到他旁边，低声说了几句，波尔摆摆手，没吭声。科尔站在一边，低头整理文件。
The hall quieted down. Paul leaned back in his chair, lit a cigarette, and stared at the ceiling in a daze. Lemons walked up beside him and said something in a low voice. Paul waved his hand dismissively without speaking. Cole stood to the side, head down, organizing his documents.