作者 主题: 【6E】一路向上 The Way Up P.100-103  (阅读 7588 次)

副标题:

离线 Ace

  • Adventurer
  • *
  • 帖子数: 40
  • 苹果币: 0
【6E】一路向上 The Way Up P.100-103
« 于: 2019-10-19, 周六 23:04:06 »
一路向上
The Way Up

Kevin Czarnecki


八十六层。终于。
宏树踏出电梯,便看到他只在梦中见过的新东京景色。从这上面,幸福的行政主管目睹超级蔓城区如一张珠宝地毯般在他们眼前展开,一片成熟发展的无限疆土。他想象这座城市在AR中被划分,想象人口的涨落、市场、待制造的利润,以及随之而来的就业机会。
剧透 -   :
The eighty-sixth floor. At last.
Hiroki stepped out from the lift to a view of Neo-Tokyo he had only dreamed of. Up here, a Shiawase executive saw the megasprawl like a carpet of jewels spread out before them, a limitless territory ripe for development. He imagined the city divided up in AR, the ebb and flow of populations, markets, profits waiting to be made, and careers with them.
在他坐立不安的时候,秘书通过头戴耳机说着完美的南非语,没有瞥他哪怕一眼。他自己那间朴素的办公室,位于三十层之下,与这间一点也不像。他是踏入了神的世界,而仅身为区区凡人。他想象她的收入——他自己的薪资,多一个零——同时看着她Vector的赛博眼和Vasocon的四色指甲。那天使般的、冰冷的脸庞里做了多少整形?她西装翻领里的那些是真正的钻石吗?
剧透 -   :
The secretary didn’t spare him a glance, speaking in flawless Afrikaans through a headset while he fidgeted. His own modest office, thirty stories below, was nothing like this. He had stepped into the world of gods and was only a mere mortal. He imagined her income—his own salary, with an extra zero—as he took in her Vector cybereyes and Vasocon tetrachrome nails. How much bodysculpting went into that cold, angelic visage? Were those real diamonds in her lapel?
“宏树先生!我的朋友!”他弹了一下,又迅速让自己冷静,汗津津的手掌与斋藤相握时,他的心脏无法平复。高级行政主管的皮肤光滑、温润、自信、笃定。干燥。斋藤亮出他价值百万新円的笑容,把另一只手拍到宏树的肩膀上,引导他走向主管式奢华的更深处。
剧透 -   :
“Hiroki-san! My friend!” He jumped and quickly composed himself, his heart failing to calm as his sweaty palm met Sato’s in a shake. The superior executive’s skin was silky, moisturized, confident, and sure. Dry. Sato flashed his million-nuyen smile and clapped the other hand on Hiroki’s shoulder, guiding him further into the executive opulence.
“斋——斋藤大人,我——”
“真高兴你到这里来。还那么准时!我们要找的就是这样的人,宏树。能注意到细节的人。”
“先生?”
他们已经走过会议室的磨砂玻璃,来到一间用真橡木做镶板的办公室,橡木染色厚重,散发着来自雪茄和清酒的香味。斋藤打手势让宏树在其中一张塞得鼓鼓囊囊的真皮椅子上落座,而他则倚在那张巨大桌子的一角,平衡如一位久经锻炼的贝里克(Berwick)模特。
剧透 -   :
“S-Sato-sama, I—”
“I’m so glad you’re here. And so punctual! That’s what we’re looking for, Hiroki. Someone with attention to detail.”
“Sir?”
They had shifted past the frosted glass of a meeting room to an office paneled in real oak, stained rich and fragrant from cigars and sake. Sato gestured for Hiroki to take a seat in one of the overstuffed, real-leather chairs while he leaned on the massive desk’s corner with the poise of a practiced Berwick model.
“宏树,你升职了。”
初级行政主管的心跳加快了,但他尽自己所能地保持平静。无视自己衣领处聚集的汗珠,他弯起眉毛,努力维持那副超然的姿态。“太好了,先生。”
剧透 -   :
“Hiroki, you’re being promoted.”
The junior executive’s heart raced, but he did his best to remain calm. Ignoring the perspiration gathering at his collar, he quirked his brows and struggled to maintain a detached air. “Excellent, sir.”
“我就说嘛!”斋藤大笑,站起来走到餐具柜旁边,往一对水晶杯里分别倒了两指高的三得利03(Suntori ’03)。他把其中一杯递给宏树,又歇回原位。“你在公司已经有十年了,而且记录堪称模范。”随着AR复盖层(AR overlays)眨动,他两眼闪亮。自己的整个人生在另一人眼中飞掠,宏树对此感到惊奇。
剧透 -   :
“I should say so!” Sato laughed, standing to walk over to a sideboard and pour two fingers of Suntori’03 into a pair of crystal glasses. He handed one to Hiroki as he resumed his perch. “You’ve been with the company for a decade now, and your record is exemplary.” His gaze flashed with the twinkle of AR overlays. Hiroki wondered at his entire life flashing in another man’s eyes.
“你被调到了市场预测及信息部门(Marketing Forecasting and Information Department,见规则书24页)。”
宏树的心跳停止了。“那个……可否认人员(deniable assets)?”
剧透 -   :
“You’re being transferred to the Marketing Forecasting and Information Department.”
Now Hiroki’s heart stopped. “The … the deniable assets?”
斋藤大笑。“行了,行了,宏树,这说法还真够时髦的,这是褒义。我们倾向于把他们视为临时的外来雇员。自由顾问。”他把他的杯子放到一边,将胳膊肘歇到膝盖上,手指交叉在一起,一个完美的大哥哥oniisan)。
剧透 -   :
Sato laughed. “Now, now, Hiroki, what a positively pop culture way of putting it. We prefer to think of them as temporary outside hires. Freelance consultants.” He set his drink aside and rested his elbows on his knees, fingers laced together, a perfect oniisan.
“考虑一下我们说的独立分析师。他们能得到的数据和动向,我们自己的专家都没法纳入预测因素之中。本质上,我们并没有否认雇佣他们。单纯是大家都懂。而且不管怎么说,我们的竞争者肯定也在做同样的事。幸福完全有权保持竞争力,而这就意味着参与到这场游戏中。”
“我,呃……我还没从这个角度想过,先生。”
剧透 -   :
“Consider for a moment the independent analysts we bring in. They have access to data and trends even our own experts can’t factor into projections. We aren’t denying that we hire them, per se. It’s simply understood. And anyway, our competitors are certainly doing the same thing. Shiawase has every right to remain competitive, and that means playing the game.”
“当然没有!对你来说这是个全新的世界。”斋藤把两根手指划过空气,一份AR文档在宏树面前显形。“我想你会觉得这个职责比人力资源要刺激多了。还有,当然了,关键的薪酬待遇在这里……”
宏树的眼睛在电子文档上来来回回地扫视,然后他看到了比他当前薪资多两个零的薪水。斋藤露出明了的微笑,啜了一口三得利。
剧透 -   :
“I, ah … I hadn’t thought about it that way, sir.”
“Of course not! This is a whole new world for you.”
Sato drew two fingers through the air, and an AR document became visible to Hiroki. “I think you’ll find the duties far more stimulating than Human Resources. And, of course, there is the significant remuneration package …”
Hiroki’s eyes danced back and forth on the e-doc before reaching a salary two zeroes greater than his current salary. Sato smiled knowingly at his sipped the Suntori.

***

“都很简单。”他重复斋藤的话,缓慢地反复吟诵着,翻动MFID的虚拟通讯簿。面容、统计数字、观察记录。杀手和疯子,叛徒和反公司恐怖分子的眼睛,他被指望要从中挑拣,选出人来把工作搞定。他们本是他会花钱去避开的那类人。他极少离开幸福领地的安全和保障;没有这个需求。他能想到的每一项需要和欲求尽在此处,而且用公司券更容易付得起,他以之代替全宇宙都承认的新円。
剧透 -   :
“It’s all simple.” He repeated Sato’s words, a slow mantra and he flipped through the MFID virtual rolodex. Faces, statistics, observations. The eyes of killers and maniacs, traitors and anti-corporate terrorists he was expected to pick and choose from to get a job done right. They were the types of people he’d invested nuyen into avoiding. He’d rarely left the safety and surety of Shiawase territory; there was no call for it. His every conceivable need or desire was right here, and more affordable with the corpscrip options he took in lieu of universally recognized nuyen.
他做了个深呼吸,从桌前站起来,转了转肩膀,看见视野角落的钟。凌晨两点,他工作超时了,即便有睡眠调节器,靠升职的津贴他终于把它偿清了。他转身览看这间新办公室。不像斋藤那间那样大,当然,而且有些贫瘠。它缺乏居住和经历的痕迹。他想象相框和奖杯,作为一段职业生涯黄金时期的纪念品和标准象征。眼下,这里只有望远镜和他从旧办公室带来的一幅复印的纸质海报,人的剪影被橘色的夕阳勾勒出来,在一座陡坡上向上攀登,下面有句话:“拼搏带来高度(The Struggle Proves Elevation)。”他转向窗户,饱览七十七层的风景,想象着自己十八岁生日时送他这张海报的父亲,想象他若能活着看到这景色,现在又会如何称许。
剧透 -   :
He took a deep breath and stood up from his desk, rolled his shoulders and signaled the clock in the corner of his vision. At 2 a.m., he was working overtime, even with the sleep regulator his promotion bonus had finally paid off. He turned to take in the new office. Not quite as big as Sato’s, of course, and somewhat sterile. It lacked the touches of habitation and experience. He imagined the holopics and trophies, keepsakes and touchstones of a career in its prime. For now, there was only the focus and the hardcopy poster he had brought from his old office, a silhouette of a man set against a broad orange sun, hiking up a steep incline, with the words below:“The Struggle Proves Elevation.” He turned to the window and took in the view from the seventy-seventh floor, imagining his father the day he had given him the poster for his eighth birthday, imagining his approval now if he had lived to see this vista.
“如果你能看到我现在爬了有多高就好了,爸爸Otousan)。”
他的眼睛回到桌上陈列的东西,柔声低喃,“以及我将来还能到多高。”
剧透 -   :
“If only you could see how high I have climbed, Otousan.”
His eyes returned to the display before his desk, and he softly muttered, “And how much higher still I shall come.”
他在建立模式。斋藤的建议零零碎碎,而他的第一个任务来得太快,他还没有时间去见别的“田中先生”,那些与他从事相同的事业,使用相同的假名来确保匿名的人。他感到怀疑:任何一位值得那个报酬的所谓狂奔者都应该有能力简单快捷地找出一个在公司注册的身份,对吧?但这给了他一个启发。
剧透 -   :
He was establishing patterns. Sato’s advice had been sparse, and his first assignment had come so quickly he did not have time to meet any of the other “Tanaka-sans,” the men who shared his vocation and used the pseudonym to maintain their anonymity. He wondered at that: Any so-called shadowrunner worth the pay should be able to discover a corporate-registered identity in short order, yes? But that had given him inspiration.
档案要多详细就有多详细。确实,尽管理想人员应当是无SIN的,但在这个监控无处不在的时代,没有人能彻底不留痕迹。然而这给他提供了他需要的石蕊试纸。过去为幸福工作过的人是显而易见的选项。即使他新近清理过,以前的行动内容还是被删减了许多,然而工作的总体性质、预期,以及如何见面,这些内容被前任田中们留了档,通常用的是一套不正式的评分标准。在对这些人员的观察中,有人甚至允许自己的创作自由茁壮生长。同样,这里面也隐藏着价值。可相对于斋藤对他的预期来说,这太明显了。
剧透 -   :
The files were as thorough as they could be. True, the ideal assets were SINless, but no one could entirely avoid leaving a trail in this age of ubiquitous monitoring. But that provided him with the litmus he needed. The obvious choices were those who had worked for Shiawase before. Previous operations were largely redacted, even with his new clearances, but the general nature of the job, the expectations, and how they were met were documented by previous Tanakas, often with an informal grading system. Some even permitted themselves a flourish of creative liberty in their observations of the assets. There was hidden value there, as well. But it was too obvious for what Sato expected of him.
“降低底线是你的最优先事项,宏树,”他说过的。“结果必须放在第一和主要的位置,但我们需要投资额度更低。这就是你的目标。并且作为激励,你能从预算里省下的越多,你就会得到越多的奖金奖励你的辛劳。”
剧透 -   :
“Your first priority is to reduce the bottom line, Hiroki,” he had said. “Results must come first and foremost, but we require lower investment points. This is your objective. And to incentivize it, while we have a pay range for any given operation, the more you are able to shave from your budget, the more you will be rewarded with a bonus for your hard work.”
宏树的动机比起金钱更多在于发展,而这就意味着他需要成功。钱的问题时候到了自己就会解决。他的职责是精简体系。那么,他要找别的田中不会看的,或至少成功的田中不会看的东西,他要从何找起呢?
剧透 -   :
Hiroki was less motivated by money than advancement, and that meant he needed success. Money would take care of itself in due course. His job was to refine the system. So what was he looking for that no other Tanaka, or at least a successful Tanaka, would see?
关键就在这里。一名狂奔者行动时必须无影无踪。在成功和注目、完成任务和书面记录稀少之间有一个平衡。越不为人知,越富有潜力。这是一场赌博,但他有自信能得到回报。
剧透 -   :
That was the key. A shadowrunner must go unseen. There was a balance of success and surveillance, completed ops and a lack of documentation. The less known, the more potential. It was a gamble, but one he felt confident would pay off.
他把手扫过书桌,丢开有面部照片的那些个人资料。不怎么好。他同样筛掉了所有长期人员。可靠,是的,但他们已经与别的田中共事过了,而他的经验表明他需要自己的佣兵小家庭,他能与之建立属于自己的关系。更何况,经验越少就意味着他越能掌控给付报酬的条款。他交叉比对了几组掮客,这是斋藤友善地“贷”给他的。他受期望要如时建立自己的人脉,但他可以以之入手。他拥有的基本资料包括技能、天赋、提示便签,甚至有掮客礼貌提供的警告,能让会面更加容易。他将其与手头的目标对比。缩小范围。汇聚焦点。选中目标。
他的手抖了起来,他做了个深呼吸。拨打掮客的电话。
剧透 -   :
He swept his hand across the desk, discarding the profiles that had mugshots. No good. He also filtered out any long-term assets. Reliable, yes, but they had worked with other Tanakas, and his experience said he needed his own small family of mercenaries with whom he could build his own relationship. Moreover, less experience meant he could better dictate the terms of payment. He cross-referenced the stables of fixers, which Sato had kindly “loaned” him. He would be expected to make his own connections in time, but these would get him started. He had basic profiles of skill sets, aptitudes, small notes and even warnings politely proffered by the fixer to make meeting them easier. He compared them to the objective at hand. Narrowed. Focused. Selected.
His hand shaking, he took a deep breath. Dialed the fixer.

***

宏树(译注:原文此处写作Hiroshi而非前文的Hiroki,联系上下文推测是打错了)在“樱花”角落的包厢里等待着,坐立不安。从他的视角,东京迪士尼的人造纽约天际线被遮住了,但这个地方摄像头更少,而且他能直接看到吧台。他尽力去忽视斋藤指派给他的两名安保人员,他们若无其事地靠在吧台上,啜饮着苏打水,仿佛他们的身体不是由尖端赛博和生化改造组成的,他们自己也并非肉搏战的好手。
剧透 -   :
Hiroshi fidgeted as he waited in the corner booth of the Sakura. He was denied the view of Tokyo Disney’s faux New York skyline, but there were fewer cameras here, and he had a straight view from the bar. He did his best to ignore the pair of security personnel Sato had assigned him, leaning nonchalantly and sipping their sodas as though they weren’t made of cutting-edge cyber and bioware and were masters of hand-to-hand combat.
两名旅客接近店主,他们扫视房间,看到了他,挥挥手,走了过来。领头的那位,一名女性,他猜是欧裔,她穿着青绿色的无袖连衣裙和拖鞋。她开口唤他。“田中君!”她的同伴,一名矮小的日本男性,跟了过来,他默不作声,这与他身上刺目的LiveThread保龄球衫一样突兀。
剧透 -   :
Two tourists approached the host, and, glancing around the room, they spotted him and waved, making their way over. The lead, a woman he guessed was of European descent, wore a turquoise sundress and sandals. She called to him. “Tanaka-kun!” Her partner, a short Japanese man, followed, his glaring LiveThread bowling shirt as bold as he was quiet.
她伸展双手,反复抓握了几下,让她与裙子搭配的长指甲发出响亮的噼啪声。她开心地尖叫一声,在宏树还坐在椅子上的时候倾身靠过来抱住了他。她在他耳边低语,“配合一下。帮我们在人们眼皮底下藏起来。”
剧透 -   :
She outstretched her hands, grasping repeatedly so that her long nails, matching her dress, clacked loudly. She squealed in delight, leaning over Hiroki to embrace him as he sat. She whispered in his ear, “Just play along. Helps us hide in plain sight.”
那个男人,可能是掮客称之为Suzembachi的人,先移了进来,显得很生硬,又短又硬的小胡子和鼓胀的肌肉分布在他脸上,这张脸除此以外平凡得彻底。他看起来并不像一名机师;他看着像一个路人,一个看大门的。女人肯定做了伪装,因为她和他看过的那份被篡改的安保录像并不相似。那个人影留着莫西干头,有几处穿孔。这一位有着深色长发与晒得很好的褐肤,身穿比基尼时在日光甲板上消磨时间获得的晒痕鲜明地展示了出来。这是Draht吗?
剧透 -   :
The man, who might be the one the fixer called Suzumebachi, slid in first, stiff, a short, bristly mustache and bulging muscles decorating an otherwise utterly generic face. He didn’t look like a rigger; he looked pedestrian, like a janitor. The woman must have been wearing a disguise, as she didn’t look like the distorted security footage he had seen. That figure had a mohawk and numerous piercings. This one had long brunette hair and an excellent tan, the lines from time spent on a sundeck in a bikini showing boldly. Was this Draht?
“碰头地点很公开啊,田中先生。聪明,但我们没有太多时间用于补偿。”
他已经联系过如何回应。他们会试着测试他,甩开他。他必须单纯把他们看作雇员。与书桌对面的任何一名会计或者数据处理员没有不同。这一次他确实有喝威士忌,而他们是受过训练的杀手,他们身处迪士尼乐园,但除此以外都一样。
剧透 -   :
“Very public place for a meet, Tanaka-san. Clever, but we didn’t have much time to compensate.”
He had practiced his responses. They would try to test him, throw him off. He had to see them purely as employees. This was no different from any accountant or data processor across the desk. He did have whiskey this time, and they were trained killers, and they were in a Disney funpark, but otherwise it was the same.
“我们共同的朋——”侍者前来点单,他中断了自己。“记我账上,”他说。她点了一杯鲜榨橙汁。男子选了相较而言非常不贵的山崎十二年。
“你的顾问说你们有能力做资料撤出?”
剧透 -   :
“Our mutual fri—” He cut himself short as the waiter came for the order. “My tab,” he said. She ordered fresh orange juice. The man went for the much less expensive Yamazaki twelve-year.
“Your handler says you are capable of a data extraction?”
她点点头——过分热情了——越过桌子温柔地触碰他的手。语调则完全不相衬,冷静而专业。“当然。”
“取决于报酬,”Suzembachi平直地说,他的声音和表情一样单调。“以及相应的风险。”
剧透 -   :
She nodded—too enthusiastically—reaching across the table to touch his hand gently. The tone didn’t match at all, cool and professional. “Absolutely.”
“Depending on the remuneration,” Suzembachi intoned, his voice as bland as his expression. “And the commensurate risk.”
“好。”他把手伸到西装外套的口袋里,Rhine-Gold(译注:含义未明)用天演的袖口链扣巧妙地伪装了他的来历。他把芯片滑过桌面。Draht好玩地看着。她和他的同伴用手指触碰芯片,保密的细节滚入他们的PAN中。他看着他们的眼睛浏览他看不见的文档;他呼出自己的那份联系拷贝。
剧透 -   :
“Yes.” He reached into his suit jacket pocket, a Rhine-Gold subtly disguising his origins with Evo cufflinks. He slid a chip across the table. Draht watched with amusement. She and her partner touched their fingers to the chip, the details on closed loop to their PAN. He watched their eyes scan the document he could not see; he called up his own copy for his contacts.
“数据在一个偏远的服务器上,所以你们需要找回物理的存储器。此外,我们需要这份工作在48小时内完成。”
“不能是这个价钱,”她礼貌地回应。
“为什么不行?”
剧透 -   :
“The data is on a remote server, so you’ll need to retrieve the physical storage drive. Moreover, we require the job to be done within forty-eight hours.”
“Not at this price,” she responded politely.
“Why not?”
她笑了,而Suzembachi嘟囔,“时间减少导致风险增加。风险增加价钱也就会增加。”
“那是竞争费率。”
“你是在告诉我们要看看竞争者能不能做得更好?”
剧透 -   :
She smirked, and Suzembachi muttered, “Decreased time frame increases risk. Increased risk increases pay.”
“Those are competitive rates.”
“Are you telling us to see if the competition can do better?”
他慌乱了,而Suzembachi肉感的拳头紧紧握了起来。侍者带着他们的饮品回来了。
她向前倾。“你做这事是个新手,对吧,田中先生?”
“什么?”
“你不需要护卫。我们不打算伤害你。”
宏树努力显得冷静。“护卫?”
剧透 -   :
He flustered, and Suzembachi’s meaty fist closed sightly. The waiter returned with their drinks.
She leaned forward. “You’re new at this, aren’t you, Tanaka-san?”
“What?”
“You don’t need your guards. We’re not going to hurt you.”
Hiroki tried to appear cool. “Guards?”
她大笑。“你觉得我为什么要拥抱你呢?你的男孩们紧绷了起来,我们的人就把他们找到了。”宏树看到他们的侍者隔着房间给他抛了一个小小的wink。那是Kage吗?“而且你看来还不是很了解这支舞的步伐,虽然你干得还OK。”
Suzembachi站起身。“走吧,D。”
剧透 -   :
She laughed. “Why do you think I hugged you? Your boys tensed up, and our guy spotted them.” Hiroki saw their waiter across the room shoot him a small wink. Was that Kage? “And you don’t seem to know the steps to this dance quite yet, though you’re doing an okay job.”
Suzembachi made to rise. “Let’s go, D.”
她制止了他。“不,不,我们这的田中先生正在尽其所能,而我们都是专业的。他想要留下个好印象,而且我觉得他不会出去坑害我们。所以我们给他个机会吧。”她向宏树转回身。“要不这样?我们会接受前面提到的费用,定金拿一半,以示良好的信赖关系。我们干活,你让你的老板开心,而在食物链中稍微往上爬了点之后,你可以给我们一些更带劲的活。也许悄悄给些额外的好处。”
剧透 -   :
She stopped him. “No, no, our Tanaka-san here is doing his best, and we’re all professionals here. He wants to make a good impression, and I don’t think he’s out to screw us over. So let’s give him a chance.” She turned back to Hiroki. “How about this? We’ll take it at the indicated rate, half up front, as a show of good faith. We do the job, you make your bosses happy, and when you’ve moved up the food chain a little bit, you can offer us juicier work. Maybe slip in a few bonuses.”
他不该让任何感情流露的,但他身体里的张力被冲刷了出去。她就是梦,与他曾恐惧过的事物一点也不相像。跟这种思维的人共事,他可以上手的。“太好了。你可以用附带的号码联系我,然后我们会安排你的报酬。”
一切都比他能想象的还要好。
剧透 -   :
He shouldn’t have let any emotion slip out, but the tension washed out of him. She was a dream, nothing at all like he had feared. He could get to like working with someone with this mindset.
”Excellent. You can contact me at the attached number, and we’ll arrange for your payment.”
Everything was going better than he could have thought.

***

五十个小时之后,垂眼盯着幸福安保部队的突击步枪枪管,宏树想搞明白哪里出错了。
“我——我真的没——”
“没事的,宏树。真的。”
剧透 -   :
Fifty hours later, staring down the barrels of Shiawase security forces assault rifles, Hiroki wondered where he had gone wrong.
“I—I really don’t—”
“It’s fine, Hiroki. Really.”
斋藤调整着自己的袖扣,他站在宏树对面,在曾是他新办公室的地方,他的魅力一如既往。书桌已经被移走了,植物也是。只有海报还留着。
剧透 -   :
Sato’s charm was as present as ever as he adjusted his cuffs, standing over Hiroki in what had once been his new office. The desk had been removed, along with the plant. Only the poster remained.
“我们都会贪心,有时候。可是,你……升职太早了。我知道你有野心,但说真的,串通三津滨?”
“可我从来——”
“你很粗心,宏树。这是最让我失望的地方。如果叛徒是个聪明的对手,我至少会尊敬他的不忠,但你就只……”他发出啧啧声,看着手中自己向宏树开了火的EMP枪,想必是为了关掉他的通讯链或者可能藏着的别的什么设备。
剧透 -   :
“We all get greedy, sometimes. You, though … so early into your promotion. I knew you were ambitious, but really, colluding with Mitsuhama?”
“But I never—”
“You were sloppy, Hiroki. That’s what disappoints me the most. I could at least admire disloyalty if the traitor was a clever opponent, but you just …” He tutted, looking again at the EMP gun in his hands he had fired at Hiroki, presumably to deactivate his commlink or any other gadgets he might have concealed.
宏树忍住眼泪,他的声音抬高了。“我绝对不会背叛——”
卫兵抬起枪以便更好地瞄准。宏树缩回他的座位上,斋藤笑了。“你是我的失败,你知道的。我应该看得更仔细才对。对我来说这会很难堪,宏树。我就是有点……失望。”
他感到自己的意志力流干了,渗入皮革之中。他们究竟要——
斋藤的眼睛抬起,在宏树身后眯了起来,然后他抬起他的HERF(译注:含义未明)大喊,“开火!”
剧透 -   :
Hiroki stifled tears, his voice rising. “I would never
betray—”
The guards raised their rifles to take better aim. Hiroki shrank back in his seat, and Sato smiled. “You’re my failure, you know. I should have looked closer. This will look very bad for me, Hiroki. I’m just some… disappointed.”
He felt the will drain from him, sank into the leather.
What were they—
Sato’s eyes rose, narrowing behind Hiroki before he raised his HERF and shouted, “Open fire!”
宏树只有一瞬得以瞟向肩膀后面,然后子弹就飞了起来。时间仿佛变慢了,他纵览细节,仿佛那是拟感:一台市政警用无人机就在窗外悬停,它和警卫的持续火力击碎了玻璃,斋藤冲它狂轰滥炸,它吸收伤害时有火星飞出。一个形体从街道对面矛一般贯穿过来,一个莫西干头的女人拉着它搭载的滑索溜进室内,同时开火。子弹轰击卫兵,另一台无人机从邻近建筑的破碎视野上空到来。斋藤倒下后Draht转向他,他无可挑剔的西装已浸染了凝胶弹的蓝色。她向他伸出手,他爬向那张海报,然后世界旋转,变黑。
剧透 -   :
before the bullets began flying. Time seemed to slow, and he took in the details as though it were simsense: the municipal police drone hovering just outside the window, the glass shattering from sustained fire from both it and the guards, Sato blasting at it, the sparks flying from it as it absorbed the assault. A shape spearing from across the street, a woman with a mohawk sliding into the room on the zipline it carried, firing as she went. The rounds slammed the guards, another drone coming from above the broken view of the neighboring building. Draht turning to him after Sato had fallen, his impeccable suit soiled by the blue of the gel rounds. She reached out to him, he scrambled for the poster, and the world spun and went dark.

***

他躺着,身下是粗糙的纤维。房间很简陋,混凝土制,被墙边成捆的荧光棒和空间里的碎屑照亮,在这奇怪的世界投下奇怪的阴影。Kage现在穿着背心和工装裤,他向门的另一侧朝同伴喊话。“他醒了。”
剧透 -   :
He was lying down, rough fabric under him. The room was spare, concrete and lit with spools of lumicord along the walls and detritus of the space, casting strange shadows in the strange world. Kage, now in a tank and fatigue pants, called through the door to his companions.
“He’s up.”
宏树坐起来,脑袋天旋地转,同时Draht走了进来。她是那个新东京朋克的形象,光穿着网眼袜踩在混凝土上。她挂着悲伤的笑容,而当他把自己作为幸福雇员吃的最后一顿饭吐出来的时候,她跑上前来,从旁拉过一只桶给他。
剧透 -   :
Hiroki sat up, his head spinning, as Draht walked in. She was the picture of Neo-Tokyo punk, her fishnets padding bare on the concrete. She wore a sad smile and rushed forward to pull a bucket from the bedside for him as he vomited the last meal he’d had as a Shiawase employee.
Kage笑起来,同时Suzembachi倚到门框上。“他没用。这是个错误。”
Draht瞪了他一眼,拍着宏树的背。“没事了,田中先生。第一次经历交火,对吗?这只是自然反应。我也这样过。没关系。肾上腺素和惊吓。你会没事的。”她向他低语着,直到世界不再旋转。当他坐回折叠床上时,Kage丢给他一包电解液。他感激地点点头,打开它,大口吞下里头的东西。
剧透 -   :
Kage laughed while Suzembachi leaned against the doorframe. “He’s worthless. This was a mistake.”
Draht glared at him as she patted Hiroshi’s back. “It’s okay, Tanaka-san. Your first firefight, right? It’s only natural. I did the same thing. It’s fine. Adrenaline and shock. You’ll be fine.” She whispered to him until the world stopped spinning. When he sat back on the cot, Kage tossed him an electrolyte pouch. He nodded gratefully as he uncapped it and swigged its contents.
“怎么……为什么……”
“我们怎么知道你被算计了?”
宏树点头。
“你是新手。你真的有很努力隐藏自己是从哪来的。”Suzembachi加入,掰着手指一一列出名目。“赛达尔-克虏伯?不可能。天演链扣?不。还有迪士尼?联络的兴趣现在不在于三津滨,他们正忙着防止索尼扩张到自己的托管合同里。”
剧透 -   :
uncapped it and swigged its contents.
“How … why …”
“How did we know you were set up?”
Hiroshi nodded.
“You’re new. You tried really hard to hide where you were from.” Suzembachi joined in, listing items on his fingers. “Saeder-Krupp? No way. Evo cufflinks? Nope. And Disney? Renraku’s interests aren’t with Mitsuhama, they’re busy keeping Sony from expanding into their hosting contracts.”
Kage向他咧嘴一笑。“也或许是因为我们拿到的资料和斋藤有关?”Suzembachi瞪了回去。
“斋藤?”
Draht支起一把椅子,把手绕过椅背。“斋藤在卖情报给三津滨。那个存储器不仅仅是他们的狂奔者人员名录,还是他们的公司泄露情报。斋藤想要清理掉自己的踪迹,但他需要有人来当替罪羊。”
剧透 -   :
Kage grinned at him. “Or maybe it’s because the data we took was about Sato?” Suzembachi glared back.
“Sato?”
Draht pulled up a chair, crossing her arms over it’s back. “Sato was selling information to Mitsuhama. That drive wasn’t just their shadowrunner asset index, it was their corporate leaks. Sato wanted to clean up his trail, but he needed someone to pin it on.”
“要说的话,看到田中们互相背后捅刀而不是来捅我们,这么换换口味还挺神清气爽的。”Draht挥手让Kage走开,Kage耸耸肩,离开前在Suzembachi的额头上留下了一个调皮的亲吻。矮个子的男人略有些脸红,但他对宏树的凝视仍然冰冷。
剧透 -   :
“Gotta say, it’s refreshing to watch the Tanakas stab each other in the back instead of us for a change.” Draht waved off Kage, who shrugged and gave Suzembachi a playful kiss on the forehead as he left. The short man blushed slightly but kept his stony gaze at Hiroki.
“他……他利用了我……”
“对。”
“我要举报到——”
“没意义。”
剧透 -   :
“He … he used me …”
“Yeah.”
“I have to report this to—”
“No point.”
宏树看向Suzembachi。“什么?”
“你是个田中。可能已经抹除了你的SIN。最好希望如此。不然,它现在就是犯罪者SIN了。”
Draht把手伸向身后的书桌,递过来一团揉皱的纸。宏树打开来,发现那是他父亲的海报。
剧透 -   :
Hiroki looked to Suzembachi. “What?”
“You’re a Tanaka. Probably erased your SIN. Better
hope that’s the case. Otherwise, it’s criminal now.”
Draht reached on the desk behind her and offered a crumpled piece of paper. Hiroki opened it to find his father’s poster.
“要不要稍微报复一下,田中先生?”
“宏树。”他从海报上抬起目光。“我的名字是宏树。”
向上坡攀登的拼搏才刚要开始。
剧透 -   :
“How about a little payback, Tanaka-san?”
“Hiroki.” He looked up from the poster. “My name is Hiroki.”
The struggle uphill had only just begun.
« 上次编辑: 2019-10-20, 周日 15:45:10 由 Ace »