后厨的血迹还没看清，门外突然"砰"的一声枪响，震得我耳朵嗡嗡作响。我和托马斯、迈克对视一眼，立马冲了出去。巷子里，五个混混堵在门口，手里攥着枪，离我们不到四米。那股火药味儿扑鼻而来，我心跳快得像要炸开。还没来得及喊话，他们一枪放倒了个家伙——卡尔的保镖，高大的身躯轰然倒地，血淌了一地。
Before we could make out the bloodstains in the kitchen, suddenly there was a "bang" of gunfire outside the door, making my ears ring. Thomas, Mike, and I exchanged glances before rushing out. In the alley, five thugs blocked the exit, guns clutched in their hands, less than four meters away from us. The smell of gunpowder hit us, my heart beating so fast it felt like it would explode. Before we could shout anything, they shot down a guy—Karl's bodyguard, his large frame crashing to the ground, blood spreading everywhere.
"操！"迈克低骂一声，我们仨来不及找掩体，掏枪对峙，"警察！放下你们的枪，我他妈重复一次，放下你们的枪"。混混里有个瘦子，腿抖得厉害，不小心撞翻了旁边的帐篷，哗啦一声，布条砸在地上。迈克一紧张，枪走了火，子弹擦着瘦子的胳膊飞过去。对方愣了半秒，立马还击，枪声密集得像暴雨。一切都来不及了，我朝着一堆木箱后扑去，托马斯跳躲在墙角，迈克打算靠着门框开枪，可他刚移步，身上就连中四枪，胸口和肚子血花四溅，当场倒下没动静了。
"Fuck!" Mike cursed under his breath. The three of us had no time to find cover, drawing our guns to face off. "Police! Drop your weapons. I fucking repeat, drop your weapons!" Among the thugs was a skinny guy whose legs were shaking badly. He accidentally knocked over a nearby tent, with a swoosh, the fabric crashed to the ground. Mike got nervous, his gun misfired, the bullet grazing the skinny guy's arm. The other side hesitated for half a second before immediately returning fire, gunshots as dense as a downpour. There was no time for anything else. I dove behind a pile of wooden crates, Thomas jumped to hide in a corner, and Mike planned to shoot from the doorframe, but as soon as he moved, he was hit by four bullets in his chest and stomach, blood spattering everywhere as he fell to the ground with no movement.
"迈克！"我吼了一声，脑子一片空白。托马斯咬牙还击，一发子弹打中他肚子，他闷哼一声摔在地上，手捂着伤口，血从指缝里渗出来。可他硬撑着开了两枪，干掉两个混混，然后没了反应。我红着眼，端枪连射，子弹精准地崩了两个家伙的脑袋，血溅得满墙都是。剩下一个混混转身就跑，我咬牙追出去，巷子窄得像肠子。
"Mike!" I shouted, my mind blank. Thomas gritted his teeth and returned fire, but a bullet hit his stomach. He grunted and fell to the ground, hands covering his wound, blood seeping through his fingers. Still, he managed to fire two shots, taking down two thugs, before he stopped responding. Red-eyed, I held my gun and fired continuously, bullets precisely blowing two guys' heads off, blood splattering all over the wall. The remaining thug turned and ran, and I pursued him, gritting my teeth, the alley as narrow as an intestine.
刚追到拐角，一声枪响，那混混应声倒地，脑门上多了个洞。我猛地停下，转头一看，莱门斯站在巷口，手里的枪还冒着烟。他西装上沾了点血，眼神冷得像冰，低声说："年轻人，别愣着，过来。"我喘着粗气走过去，心跳快得像加特林，肾上腺素狂飙，胸口闷得喘不过气。我低头瞅了眼自己，衣服破了，脸上擦破了皮，血混着汗淌下来，可我感觉不到疼，整个人像麻了。
Just as I reached the corner, there was a gunshot, and the thug fell to the ground with a hole in his forehead. I stopped abruptly, turned my head to see Lemons standing at the alley entrance, his gun still smoking. There was some blood on his suit, his eyes as cold as ice, as he said quietly: "Young man, don't just stand there, come here." I walked over, breathing heavily, my heart racing like a Gatling gun, adrenaline surging, my chest so tight I could hardly breathe. I looked down at myself—my clothes were torn, my face was scraped, blood mixed with sweat flowing down, but I couldn't feel the pain, my whole body seemed numb.
莱门斯走过来，拍拍我肩膀："深呼吸，卢卡斯，你没事。"他检查了下我身上，没弹孔，才松了口气。我靠着墙，大口喘气，脑子里全是迈克倒下的画面和托马斯的血。救护车尖叫着赶到，托马斯被抬走，脸色白得像纸，伤势重得吓人。迈克的尸体盖上白布，被抬上另一辆车。我站在那儿，腿软得像棉花，盯着地上的血迹发呆。
Lemons walked over, patted my shoulder: "Deep breaths, Lucas, you're okay." He checked my body for bullet holes, finding none, and sighed with relief. I leaned against the wall, gasping for air, my mind filled with images of Mike falling and Thomas's blood. Ambulances arrived with wailing sirens. Thomas was carried away, his face as white as paper, his injuries frighteningly severe. Mike's body was covered with a white sheet and loaded into another vehicle. I stood there, my legs as weak as cotton, staring blankly at the bloodstains on the ground.
"卢卡斯，"莱门斯声音低沉，把我拉回现实，"从头说，到底怎么回事？"我脑子乱得像浆糊，可还是一股脑全倒了出来：艾琳被家暴，我找科尔帮忙，他让我带托马斯和迈克来金港烧烤，店里冷清得不对劲，后厨的血迹，巷子里的枪战，全说了。莱门斯听完，眯着眼点了根雪茄，吐了口烟："卡尔这家伙，水比我想的还深。没想到他这样的人渣还有个女儿！"
"Lucas," Lemons' deep voice pulled me back to reality, "start from the beginning, what exactly happened?" My mind was a mess, but I spilled everything out at once: Erin being abused, me asking Cole for help, him telling me to bring Thomas and Mike to Golden Harbor BBQ, the eerily quiet restaurant, the bloodstains in the kitchen, the gunfight in the alley—I told him everything. After listening, Lemons narrowed his eyes, lit a cigar, and exhaled smoke: "This Karl guy, the waters are deeper than I thought. I didn't expect a scum like him to have a daughter!"
他顿了顿，看了我一眼："你干得不错，卢卡斯。这次你立了大功，我担保你几天内升二级警员。"我愣住了，脑子里一片空白。高兴？悲伤？还是吓傻了？我分不清。这是离死神最近的一次，迈克死了，托马斯半死不活，我却升职。莱门斯拍拍我肩膀："回去休息，这事儿我来收拾。"
He paused, glancing at me: "You did well, Lucas. You've made a significant contribution this time, I guarantee you'll be promoted to second-class officer within days." I was stunned, my mind blank. Happy? Sad? Or just scared witless? I couldn't tell. This was the closest I'd ever been to death—Mike was dead, Thomas was barely alive, yet I was getting promoted. Lemons patted my shoulder: "Go home and rest, I'll clean this up."
我点点头，机械地转身离开。脸上擦破的皮开始刺痛，可我还是麻木得像个木偶。巷子里的血腥味儿散不去，耳边全是枪声和迈克的喊声。这该死的世界，又吞了一个兄弟，而我，还得接着走。
I nodded, mechanically turning to leave. The scraped skin on my face began to sting, but I still felt numb like a puppet. The smell of blood in the alley wouldn't dissipate, and my ears were filled with gunshots and Mike's shouts. This damned world had swallowed another brother, and I still had to keep going.