Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 Alistair Oh had nothing against brass wristwear, but handcuffs created unsightly marks on one's skin. As the police van jounced along a road west of Jakarta, he carefully adjusted the metal shackle so it was over the cuff of his Egyptian-cotton shirt. This sort of thing was a good distraction from the chaos in his brain. Nothing made sense anymore— how could Irina Spasky be dead? Why had she saved him and the children? He had only been able to stare in disbelief. He had been a coward, just as he'd been seven years ago… Don't think of that now. He had to keep his head clear. There were more immediate problems.

阿利斯泰尔·吴并不反对黄铜腕带，但手铐会在皮肤上留下难看的痕迹。 当警车在雅加达以西的一条路上颠簸时，他小心地调整了金属脚镣，把它套在埃及棉衬衫的袖口上。 这类事情可以很好地分散他头脑中混乱的注意力。 一切都说不通了——伊琳娜·斯帕斯基怎么会死了？ 她为什么要救他和孩子们呢？ 他只能难以置信地盯着看。 他是个懦夫，就像七年前一样……现在别想这些了。 他必须保持头脑清醒。 还有更紧迫的问题。

The car bounced over a pothole, and Alistair heard a grunt of complaint from the front. From the person who had framed him. The person he had stupidly assumed would be Isabel Kabra. From the front passenger seat, a familiar gaunt old man turned stiffly. "Are you experiencing discomfort, Alistair? You are certainly looking well for someone who died in Pukhansan Park." Bae Oh's words cut through Alistair like a rusty blade. He stared at his uncle, trying to detect a shred of feeling in the steel-gray eyes. As a child, Alistair had been afraid of Bae, from the day the old man took custody of him. Which was immediately after the mysterious murder of Gordon Oh, Alistair's father. Bae had been second in line to the leadership of the Ekaterina branch. All that lay in his way was his brother Gordon. At Gordon's funeral, Bae appeared to be sobbing. Alistair was only five, but he never forgot staring at his uncle's cheeks and seeing they were bone dry. The innocent wept. The guilty pretended. "I commend you, Uncle, on your acting

汽车在一个坑洼上颠簸着，阿利斯泰尔听到前面传来抱怨的声音。 从陷害他的人那里。 他愚蠢地以为这个人是伊莎贝尔·卡布拉。 在副驾驶座位上，一位熟悉的憔悴老人僵硬地转过身来。 “你感到不舒服吗，阿利斯泰尔？” 你看上去很像一个死在普坎山公园的人。” 裴欧的话像生锈的刀刃一样刺穿了阿利斯泰尔。 他盯着叔叔，试图从他钢灰色的眼睛里发现一丝感情。 从小，阿利斯泰尔就很害怕裴，从他被老人监护的那天起。 就在阿利斯泰尔的父亲戈登被神秘谋杀之后。 裴是叶卡捷琳娜支部的第二顺位领导人。 唯一阻碍他的是他的哥哥戈登。 在戈登的葬礼上，裴似乎在抽泣。 阿利斯泰尔只有五岁，但他永远不会忘记盯着叔叔的脸颊，看到它们干巴巴的。 无辜者哭泣。罪犯假装。 “舅舅，我赞赏你的演技

abilities," Alistair said. "They have improved since I was a boy. Did you convince the police that I set the fire?" "I fail to understand your hostility toward me, Alistair," Bae said. "I do have a heart, you know. Your obituaries in the Seoul newspapers moved me, and I rejoiced when I learned you were alive. Even after that bit of drama in my office, which I must add was rather baffling. Has it occurred to you that you are being unfair to me?" "An interesting claim, with me here in the back of a police car," Alistair said. "First things first," Bae said. "Perhaps you would like to tell me how you survived the cave-in." "Life must retain some of its mysteries, don't you think?" Alistair said. "You certainly have your own." Bae sighed. "I tried my whole life to groom you, Alistair. You had so much potential. I thought we could share the duties of Ekat leadership— I as branch head, you as my successor. Why did you never take responsibility? Spending time with those wretched American children. Did I teach

阿利斯泰尔说。 “和我小时候相比，他们已经进步了。 你让警察相信是我放的火吗？”“我不明白你对我的敌意，阿利斯泰尔，”裴说。 “你知道，我是有心的。 首尔报纸上你的讣告让我感动，当我知道你还活着的时候，我很高兴。 即使是在我办公室发生的那件事之后，我必须补充一句，那件事相当令人费解。 你有没有想过你对我不公平？”阿利斯泰尔说：“这是一个有趣的说法，而我却坐在一辆警车的后面。” “重要的事情先做，”裴说。 “也许你愿意告诉我你是如何在塌方中幸存下来的。” “生活总有一些神秘的地方，你不觉得吗？”阿利斯泰尔说。 “你当然有你自己的。” Bae叹了口气。“我一生都在努力培养你，阿利斯泰尔。 你有这么大的潜力。 我想我们可以共同承担Ekat的领导职责——我做分部负责人，你做我的继任者。 你为什么从不承担责任？ 和那些可怜的美国孩子在一起。 我教过吗?

you nothing, my son?" "I am not your son," Alistair said through tightly clenched teeth. "I am the son of Gordon Oh." Bae bowed his head. "Dear, dear Gordon…" Tell him, Alistair thought. Confront him now. Why was it so hard to face up to Bae? Alistair had had the opportunity after the cave-in. He'd sneaked into Bae's office, scared away his secretary. I had him all alone, but I walked away. I didn't do a thing. He. Must. Not. Scare. Me. Any. Longer. Alistair took a deep breath. "I found the letter," he said calmly. "You wrote it on Oh stationery in 1948. A letter concerning a payment for the murder of Father." Bae's eyes widened. "It was a payment for driving!" "Five thousand dollars to drive across town— the exact day Father was murdered?" Alistair said. "With the command to 'destroy letter immediately'?"

你没事吧，我的孩子？”“我不是你的儿子，”阿利斯泰尔咬紧牙关说。 “我是Gordon Oh的儿子。” 裴低下了头。“亲爱的，亲爱的戈登……”告诉他，阿利斯泰尔想。 现在就跟他对质。为什么面对裴俊浩这么难？ 塌方后，阿利斯泰尔曾有过这样的机会。 他溜进了裴的办公室，吓跑了他的秘书。 我一个人抓了他，但我走开了。 我什么都没做。他。必须的。 不是。恐慌。我。任何。更长时间。 阿利斯泰尔深吸了一口气。 “我找到了那封信，”他平静地说。 “你是1948年在信纸上写的。 一封关于谋杀父亲的报酬的信。” 裴的眼睛睁大了。“这是开车的报酬！”“五千美元开着车穿过镇子——就在父亲被谋杀的那天？”阿利斯泰尔说。 “带着‘立即销毁信件’的命令？”

"It was a lump payment to the limo company for several months' business. And for your information, we routinely destroyed all our correspondence!" Bae stared at his nephew in shock, slowly shaking his head. "Honestly, Alistair, you surprise me." Alistair, you surprise me… Alistair, you disappoint me… Alistair, how could you have been expelled from college… AGAIN? Alistair shook off memories that never seemed to fade, no matter how old he was. He was letting Bae into his soul again. He will lie to your face because he knows you will lose your cool, Alistair told himself. And then, once again, he will own you. Alistair met his uncle's glance. "How am I to trust someone who lies to the police about his own nephew?" he said. "You know I didn't set the fire, and you will never make that charge stick." Opening his overcoat, Bae patted a thick leather wallet that jutted from an inner pocket. "I have ways of influencing what sticks and what does not.

“这是给豪华轿车公司几个月业务的一次性付款。 告诉你一声，我们照例销毁了所有的信件！”裴震惊地盯着他的侄子，慢慢地摇了摇头。 “老实说，阿利斯泰尔，你让我大吃一惊。” 阿利斯泰尔，你让我吃惊……阿利斯泰尔，你让我失望……阿利斯泰尔，你怎么又被学校开除了？ 阿利斯泰尔摆脱了那些似乎永远不会褪色的记忆，不管他有多老。 他又让小贝进入了他的灵魂。 他会当着你的面撒谎，因为他知道你会失去冷静，阿利斯泰尔对自己说。 然后，他会再一次拥有你。 阿利斯泰尔碰到了他叔叔的目光。 “我怎么能相信一个在自己侄子的事上向警方撒谎的人？”他说。 “你知道不是我放的火，你的指控是站不住脚的。” 裴打开大衣，拍了拍里面口袋里伸出来的一个厚厚的皮钱包。 “我有办法影响什么行得通，什么行不通。

And I can be persuaded to use that influence to your benefit." Alistair laughed. "Lies and bribes, as always—" "Unlike you, Alistair, I value the truth," Bae said. "You are an Ekaterina. And yet you withhold the truth from me, your erstwhile guardian and branch leader. All you need do is give what you owe me— the truth about what happened on that island, and all you have learned about Robert Cahill Henderson's discoveries." "I… will… never…" "Watch that blood pressure, my son," Bae said. "Your years as a failed junk-food magnate have taken their toll. Too many cheese burritos weaken the heart." Alistair closed his eyes briefly and remembered something his father told him, a phrase he had never understood as a child: Silence is strength. He breathed deep and then stared calmly at Bae Oh. "Well?" Bae asked. Alistair suddenly lurched back in the seat. His body convulsed once, twice. He gasped for air,

你可以说服我利用这种影响力为你服务。” Alistair笑了。“谎言和贿赂，一如既往——”“不像你，阿利斯泰尔，我看重真相，”裴说。 “你姓叶卡捷琳娜。但你却对我隐瞒真相，我是你以前的守护者和支部领袖。 你所需要做的就是把你欠我的东西给我——告诉我在那个岛上发生的事情的真相，以及你所知道的关于罗伯特·卡希尔·亨德森发现的一切。” “我……永远……不会……”“注意血压，我的儿子，”裴说。 "你当了这么多年垃圾食品巨头的失败经历让你付出了代价。 太多的奶酪卷饼会削弱心脏。” 阿利斯泰尔短暂地闭上眼睛，想起了父亲对他说过的话，这是他小时候从未理解过的一句话：沉默就是力量。 他深深地吸了一口气，然后平静地盯着裴欧。 “嗯?”Bae问道。阿利斯泰尔突然向后一靠。 他的身体抽搐了一次，两次。 他喘着气，