三天站街的活儿本该是煎熬，可因为艾琳，我竟觉得时间过得飞快。每天傍晚，她都会出现在街区最繁华的那家咖啡馆，坐在靠窗的位子，手里捧着一杯拿铁，低头翻着书或者笔记本。她看见我时，总会抬头笑一下，那笑容像春天的海风，吹得我心头一暖。我找各种借口过去跟她搭话，聊天的内容从天气到大学生活，再到她实习时遇到的奇葩同事，越聊越投机，像认识了半辈子。
The three days of street patrol should have been torturous, but because of Erin, I found the time flying by. Every evening, she would appear at the most bustling cafe in the district, sitting by the window, holding a latte, head down reading a book or notebook. When she saw me, she would always look up and smile, that smile like a spring sea breeze, warming my heart. I found all sorts of excuses to go over and talk to her, conversations ranging from the weather to university life, to the bizarre colleagues she met during her internship, becoming increasingly engaging, as if we had known each other for half a lifetime.
有天我忍不住跟她说："你在这儿，我都舍不得换岗了。"她愣了下，脸颊微红，低头笑了："那你多来几次呗，反正我常在这儿。"那笑脸常在的样子让我沉醉，我甚至忘了安德利的死，忘了警局的烂摊子，忘了自己还挂着伤。世界好像突然变美好了，我厚着脸皮找莱门斯请求："警长，这片区我熟，能不能多巡几天？"莱门斯瞥了我一眼，哼笑一声："行吧，别给我惹麻烦。保持谨慎，眼观六路，耳听八方，孩子。"上面居然同意了，我乐得像个傻子。
One day I couldn't help but tell her: "With you here, I hate to change shifts." She was startled, her cheeks slightly reddened, lowering her head with a smile: "Then come more often, I'm usually here anyway." That constantly smiling face intoxicated me, I even forgot about Andrey's death, forgot about the mess at the police station, forgot that I was still injured. The world suddenly seemed more beautiful, and I shamelessly requested from Lemons: "Chief, I'm familiar with this area, can I patrol here for a few more days?" Lemons glanced at me, snorted with a laugh: "Fine, don't cause me trouble. Stay cautious, keep your eyes and ears open, kid." To my surprise, he agreed, and I was as happy as a fool.
与此同时，科尔那边没闲着。他熬了好几个通宵，把卡尔·罗森的档案翻了个底朝天。这家伙的身份像拼图，表面上是富商，可背后牵扯的线太多——码头仓库的产权、进出口公司的股东名单，甚至还有几笔模糊的海外转账。科尔怀疑这些可能是伪造的，决定找个硬茬帮忙。他联系了特勤局的欧文·华盛顿，约在一家偏僻的酒吧见面。
Meanwhile, Cole wasn't idle. He stayed up for several nights, turning Karl Rosen's file inside out. This guy's identity was like a puzzle; on the surface, he was a wealthy businessman, but behind him, there were too many threads—the property rights of harbor warehouses, the shareholder lists of import and export companies, and even several vague overseas transfers. Cole suspected these might be forged and decided to find a tough guy to help. He contacted Owen Washington from the Special Service Bureau and arranged to meet at a secluded bar.
见面时，气氛还是老样子，火药味儿浓得呛人。欧文端着杯啤酒，冷冷地说："小子，找我有何贵干？我忙着呢。"科尔没废话，把一叠文件拍在桌上："卡尔·罗森，枪战嫌疑人的海鲜面可能出自他的店。这家伙背景不干净，我需要你的资源查清楚。"欧文翻了翻文件，笑了一声："你自己查不下去？据我所知，你官运亨通，无所不能。"科尔没多解释，反而可劲地分析。欧文听着科尔的分析——饭店的地理位置、纸条上的缩写、卡尔的表现——欧文的眼神慢慢变了，像在镜子里看到了当年的自己。
When they met, the atmosphere was the same as usual, the tension so thick it was suffocating. Owen held a beer, coldly saying: "Kid, what do you want from me? I'm busy." Cole didn't waste words, slapping a pile of documents on the table: "Karl Rosen, the seafood noodles eaten by the shooting suspects might be from his shop. This guy's background isn't clean, I need your resources to find out more." Owen flipped through the documents, laughing: "Can't you investigate yourself? As far as I know, you're on a smooth career path, capable of anything." Cole didn't explain much, instead analyzing intensely. As Owen listened to Cole's analysis—the restaurant's location, the abbreviations on the note, Karl's behavior—Owen's eyes gradually changed, as if seeing his younger self in a mirror.
"你为什么当警察？"欧文突然问，声音很严肃，他感觉科尔不想是一个一味追求向上爬的混蛋，他渴望得到他想要的答案。科尔愣了下，放下手里的笔，眼底闪过一丝沉重："文森·比尔，我的父亲，以前也是警察，是局里有名的神探，一级警长，死在一场意外的枪战里。他救了个孕妇和一个五岁的小男孩，自己中了黑枪，到现在，都没查出是谁干的。"他顿了顿，声音坚定起来，"他带给我的教育和智慧，我终生不忘，我想继承他的果敢、正直，还有正义。我不想成为那个冷眼世界，毫不在乎的旁观者，我想追随我的父亲，成为一个真正的警察，一个好警察。你打算帮我吗？"
"Why did you become a police officer?" Owen suddenly asked, his voice serious, feeling that Cole wasn't just a bastard solely pursuing advancement; he yearned for the answer he wanted. Cole was stunned, putting down his pen, a hint of heaviness flashing in his eyes: "Vincent Bill, my father, was also a police officer, a famous detective in the department, a first-class police chief, who died in an accidental gunfight. He saved a pregnant woman and a five-year-old boy, but was shot by a hidden gun, and to this day, they haven't found out who did it." He paused, his voice becoming firm, "The education and wisdom he gave me, I will never forget. I want to inherit his courage, integrity, and justice. I don't want to be the cold-eyed world, an indifferent bystander; I want to follow my father, to become a real police officer, a good police officer. Are you going to help me?"
欧文盯着他看了半天，嘴角微微一抽，像是被戳中了什么。他放下酒杯，眼神有些恍惚，说："我听说过他。"他叹了口气，"行吧，情报共享。武器来源我查到了，南美洲的枪贩子，装备是土耳斯坦的民间货，绝版的好东西；轮船是巴拿码国籍，停靠港口之前更换过六次船只身份，我们短时间无从查起；一部分死者确信是周围帮派组织，我们端了三个族裔帮派，他们承认有人联系他们在港口一艘轮船上批发毒品，量大管饱，给钱拿货，但是中途有人吃黑，多方混战起来，有人说子弹摩擦点燃了船上的油罐，五百吨的橡胶跟着被点燃了。而且其中一方趁乱袭击了值班室，删除了有关船只的数据库，一把火点燃了三区附近的棉花仓库，火势殃及了那里的警局，于是就发生了交火。"他顿了顿，"雇佣兵的尸体得送首都实验室做进一步深度理化分析，三方检验加备份，我和鲍里斯警长决定明天天一亮就出发。我跟你保证，这伙人不是一般人，装备齐全，身材魁梧，又摸枪的茧子，像是退伍军人或者是现役军人。这案子没那么简单，科尔，随时做好准备，这是一场大战。"
Owen stared at him for a long time, his mouth twitching slightly, as if something had struck a chord. He put down his glass, his eyes a bit dazed, saying: "I've heard of him." He sighed, "Fine, intelligence sharing. I've traced the weapons source, gun dealers from South America, the equipment is civilian goods from Turistan, rare good stuff; the ship has Panama nationality, changed its identity six times before docking, we can't trace it in a short time; some of the deceased are confirmed to be from surrounding gang organizations, we've taken down three ethnic gangs, they admitted someone contacted them to wholesale drugs on a ship at the port, large quantities, pay and take, but someone double-crossed them midway, multiple parties started fighting, someone said bullets ignited the oil tanks on the ship, and 500 tons of rubber caught fire. And one party took advantage of the chaos to attack the duty room, deleted the database about the ship, set fire to the cotton warehouse near District Three, the fire affected the police station there, and thus the gunfight occurred." He paused, "The mercenaries' bodies need to be sent to the capital laboratory for further in-depth physicochemical analysis, with triple verification and backup. Chief Boris and I decided to set off at dawn tomorrow. I guarantee you, these people are not ordinary, fully equipped, robust in build, with calluses from handling guns, like veterans or active military personnel. This case isn't so simple, Cole, be prepared at any time, this is a big battle."
科尔点点头，眼里燃起股斗志。两人碰了下杯，算是达成了某种默契。欧文起身前扔下一句："别让我失望，小子。"科尔没回话，低头整理文件，心里却像点了一把火。
Cole nodded, a fighting spirit ignited in his eyes. The two clinked glasses, reaching a kind of tacit understanding. Before standing up, Owen threw out a sentence: "Don't disappoint me, kid." Cole didn't respond, lowering his head to organize the documents, but inside, it was as if a fire had been lit.
我这边，坐在咖啡馆外，看着艾琳在窗边写东西，嘴角不自觉上扬。她抬头冲我挥了挥手，我心跳又漏了一拍。
On my side, sitting outside the cafe, watching Erin writing by the window, the corners of my mouth unconsciously turned up. She looked up and waved at me, and my heart skipped a beat again.