我倒在地板上，意识彻底沉入黑暗，耳边只剩模糊的枪声和脚步，我感觉我快死了。科尔拖着伤腿，和莱门斯走出屋子，夜风吹得人发冷。远处警笛声越来越近，数十辆警车呼啸而来，红蓝灯光晃得像血与泪交织。莱门斯喘着气，捂着小腿的伤口，挤出个笑："拿出你的警员证，告诉他们我们是自己人。"他语气里带着股胜券在握的得意，像一切尽在掌控。
I lay on the floor, my consciousness sinking completely into darkness, with only muffled gunshots and footsteps in my ears. I felt like I was dying. Cole dragged his injured leg as he walked out of the house with Lemons, the night wind blowing cold. In the distance, the sound of police sirens grew louder, and dozens of police cars came wailing, their red and blue lights flashing like an interweaving of blood and tears. Lemons panted, clutching the wound on his calf, forcing a smile: "Take out your police badge, tell them we're on the same side." His tone carried a smugness of assured victory, as if everything was under his control.
科尔低头看了他一眼，嘴角微微上扬，露出一丝冷笑。他没说话，猛地举起霰弹枪，对着莱门斯胸口就是一枪。"砰"的一声，莱门斯瞪大眼睛，血从嘴里喷出来，痛苦地倒在地上，抽了两下就不动了。科尔喘着粗气，扔掉枪，举起警员证，对着冲过来的警员喊："我是自己人！"警车围上来，他被带回警局，手铐咔哒一声锁上……
Cole looked down at him, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly in a cold smile. Without a word, he suddenly raised the shotgun and fired a shot directly at Lemons' chest. With a "bang," Lemons' eyes widened, blood spurting from his mouth as he fell to the ground in agony, twitched a couple of times, and then lay still. Cole gasped for breath, threw down the gun, raised his police badge, and shouted to the officers rushing over: "I'm one of you!" Police cars surrounded them, and he was taken back to the station, handcuffs clicking shut...
我没死，算命大。子弹穿透了我的脸颊，绞断了舌头，半个脸被打得稀烂，血肉模糊。胸口和肩上的两个枪眼倒是没伤到要害，防弹衣救了我一命。救护车把我拖走时，我已经昏死过去。一个月后，我躺在医院的病床上，脸裹着纱布，勉强能挤出几个含糊的字。科尔来看我时，肩膀还吊着绷带，可眼神比以前更硬了。
I didn't die—chalk it up to good fortune. The bullet had pierced my cheek, severing my tongue, with half my face shot to pieces, a bloody mess. The two bullet holes in my chest and shoulder hadn't hit any vital organs; the bulletproof vest had saved my life. By the time the ambulance took me away, I had already passed out. A month later, I lay in a hospital bed, my face wrapped in bandages, barely able to squeeze out a few indistinct words. When Cole came to see me, his shoulder was still in a sling, but his eyes were harder than before.
他接受了司法委员会、波尔和勃利德的调查。莱门斯和马丁死去的消息一传开，勃利德像是打了鸡血，神气得不行，挺着啤酒肚在办公室里踱步。科尔坐在审讯室里，点了根烟，一五一十复盘了整件事："莱门斯是背后大人物的红人，黑白通吃，手段高明又残忍。他手下有支退伍军人和警察组成的组织，靠警局背书，在梅罗德合法扎根。爆炸案、枪战，都是他一手策划。卡尔是个富商，港口那批货是莱门斯背后的人想要的，卡尔却找了别的买家为了阻止莱门斯谎称毒品批发引来帮派斗争。交易当天，莱门斯于是搞了场'帮派战争'来声东击西，最后逼卡尔归顺……他一步步销毁证据，杀知情者，可还是漏了马脚。"
He underwent investigation by the Judicial Committee, Pol, and Breed. When news of Lemons' and Martin's deaths spread, Breed seemed energized, strutting around the office with his beer belly. Cole sat in the interrogation room, lit a cigarette, and recounted the entire affair in detail: "Lemons was a favorite of the big shots behind the scenes, operating in both legal and illegal circles, with sophisticated and cruel methods. He had an organization of veterans and police officers under him, backed by the police department, legally established in Melrod. The explosion, the gunfights—all were orchestrated by him. Carl was a wealthy businessman; the shipment at the port was wanted by the people behind Lemons, but Carl had found other buyers. To stop Lemons from falsely claiming drug wholesale that would lead to gang conflicts. On the day of the transaction, Lemons created a 'gang war' as a diversion, ultimately forcing Carl to submit... He systematically destroyed evidence and killed witnesses, but still left traces."
科尔顿了顿，吐了口烟圈："欧文死于特勤局，是鲍里斯干的。鲍里斯从莱门斯那儿升上去，手下的兵只听命令，不问对错。维克托查到鲍里斯，被莱门斯灭口。蠢货马丁因为深度参与，在旅馆上演苦肉计打算陷害卢卡斯，但是不曾想，欧文除了找到他想给我们看的还找到了更劲爆的资料"，科尔顿了一下，"资料被烧毁了"，众人长舒一口气，"我和卢卡斯撞上了最后一环，他想清场，可没清干净。"他瞥了眼波尔和勃利德，嘴角一撇，"操她妈的，这件事要是爆出去就是惊天的丑闻，警察局和安全局甚至是检察院数十年的声誉就完了！"一位主管安全局预算的议员说道。"消除影响需要多久？"波尔问司法委员会的法官，"至少十年。""去他妈的，我看要五十年。这里牵连了太多人。"科尔笑了笑，补充道："这案子爆出去，媒体和政府得翻天，你们都得完蛋。这官司打三十年都打不完。"
Cole paused, blowing a smoke ring: "Owen died at the Special Services Bureau—Boris did it. Boris got promoted through Lemons, and his men only follow orders, no questions asked. Victor traced it back to Boris and was silenced by Lemons. That idiot Martin, deeply involved, staged a self-harm ploy at the hotel, planning to frame Lucas, but little did he know, Owen had found more explosive material beyond what he wanted to show us." Cole paused, "The documents were burned," everyone breathed a sigh of relief, "Lucas and I hit the final piece of the puzzle; he tried to clean house but didn't do a thorough job." He glanced at Pol and Breed, his mouth twisting, "Fuck, if this gets out, it'll be a colossal scandal. The reputation of the police department, security bureau, and even the prosecutor's office built over decades will be ruined!" said a senator overseeing the security bureau's budget. "How long would it take to mitigate the impact?" Pol asked the judge from the Judicial Committee. "At least ten years." "Damn it, I'd say fifty years. Too many people are implicated here." Cole smiled and added: "If this case goes public, the media and government will flip. You'll all be finished. This lawsuit won't be settled even after thirty years."
波尔揉着太阳穴，脸色铁青，低声骂："这烂摊子……"勃利德推了推眼镜，干笑两声："科尔，你想怎么样？"科尔靠在椅背上，笑了："我理解领导们的难处。我可以做假证，说这就是一起境外恐怖组织策划的人口袭击事件，保你们平安。但前提是，准我继续调查，把这摊烂泥挖到底。""驳回！科尔你知道，有人不希望你继续查下去了。"波尔回答道。"是首都那边的人吗？无所谓，但我可以保证在你退休之前不会调查。"科尔眼神深邃，一脸笑意，似乎掌控了全局。波尔没再说话，陷入了深思。
Pol rubbed his temples, his face ashen, cursing under his breath: "What a mess..." Breed pushed up his glasses and gave a dry laugh: "Cole, what do you want?" Cole leaned back in his chair and smiled: "I understand the leaders' predicament. I can give false testimony, saying this was an attack on the population planned by a foreign terrorist organization, keeping you all safe. But on one condition: allow me to continue investigating, to dig to the bottom of this mess." "Denied! Cole, you know, some people don't want you to investigate further," Pol replied. "Is it people from the capital? Doesn't matter, but I can guarantee I won't investigate until after you retire." Cole's gaze was profound, his face full of smiles, seeming to control the entire situation. Pol said no more, sinking into deep thought.
我躺在病床上，脸上的纱布拆了一半，能勉强发音了。艾琳被调查h释放后就直接来到医院看我，坐在旁边，握着我的手，眼里满是担心。她低声说："你吓死我了。"我挤出个笑，声音含糊。她靠过来，额头贴着我的肩膀，轻声说："以后别再冒险了。"我没吭声，因为我一笑就全身疼。她能安然无恙的过来，我的感激梅森，那个臭小子，他赶到我家里的时候正好有两个黑警打算灭口，梅森干掉了他们，但是我一直没见到梅森来看我，艾琳也没多说什么，我有点失望。
I lay in the hospital bed, half the bandages removed from my face, barely able to pronounce words. After Erin was investigated and released, she came directly to the hospital to see me, sitting beside me, holding my hand, her eyes full of concern. She said softly: "You scared me to death." I forced a smile, my voice indistinct. She leaned over, her forehead against my shoulder, whispering: "Don't take risks like that again." I didn't make a sound, because it hurt all over when I smiled. I was grateful to Mason for her safe arrival, that stinky kid. When he arrived at my house, there were two corrupt cops planning to silence me, and Mason took them out, but I hadn't seen Mason come to visit me, and Erin didn't say much about it, which disappointed me a bit.