Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty Two

In the subway, Quesetti couldn't help laughing, and he wasn't the only one who heard it, so the other passengers in the car took a look at him, and the woman with two small children changed seats.He laughed because he had been living the high-society life for a few weeks: private jets, five-star restaurants, everything was paid for.Now he's back on the subway, and he's just offloaded what he handed to Mishkin for a market value equal to the filming budget of the movie Titanic.But if he can really get 10,000, or even 50,000, it will be quite useful.No problem, Mishkin will pay, he's a shit, but not that kind of shit.The money meant he could take a break to write scripts, which, combined with his savings, was just enough to pay for his tuition at New York University's film school.

So when he walked into his mother's house, it was quite pleasant, but he was surprised by how he was treated.It turned out that Mary Peg really wanted to see the real Shakespeare, but her stupid son passed by Jewel again, she was terribly angry, and she had already told Aunt Fanny that the thing was found, of course Fanny also looked forward to it .Quesetti knew there was no use in explaining, but told her anyway, because at least two different criminal organizations were also hunting for the same thing, which was now as dangerous as a nuclear bomb ready to go off.In any case, Mishkin paid for all searches and provided protection, without which he probably would not have found it, or the thing might have been buried in a shallow grave somewhere in England.

These words made Mary Pegg calm down. Now that there are children in the family, Mary Pegg is much more kind.Then it was dinner time, and the menu was spaghetti and meatballs.He was amazed at how out of nowhere a grandparent vibe had taken over the house and the menu had become kid-friendly.Quesetti knew this sort of thing happened in Dickens' novels, but he didn't expect it to happen in modern New York City.He later thought that maybe all times are the same, people's selfishness may form dross on the surface, but the desire to start a family can still emerge.Mary Pegg apparently has a huge store of grandmotherly energy that she doesn't use because none of her own children have children, and Klimt transforms into a fairy-tale grandpa who tells stories with grimaces He also carved exquisite whistles and toys, played horseback riding, sang nursery rhymes, and teased and tickled together!The two little children, especially the little girl, were as lively and happy as any other children, and they believed in magic so strongly that they believed that they had been rescued from the ogre's castle to the land of the fairies.

Quesetti was happy for them all, but he felt something else now, and events confirmed his instinct that it was time for him to leave his mother's house.Besides, there are no rooms left.Also, it made him uncomfortable to see Lori staring at him as if she was looking through her child's eyes.He packed his things and moved out the next evening, carrying with him a check for ten thousand yuan from Mishkin, which had been delivered by courier that morning.No one insisted that he stay. He was listening to music and unboxing in his new sublet loft, feeling the phone vibrate in his pocket.He unplugged the earphones and held the phone up to his cheek.

To write it down, I only have thirty seconds. Lori? Write it down, oh my god, you must help me!Then followed brief instructions on how to get to his lakeside cabin in New York's Adirodayshank National Park.Quesetti took out his ballpoint pen and scribbled under his left arm. Where are you, Lori?what happened? Just get over it, and don't call this call back, they will kill the rest of the sentence and disappear into the phone noise. It's not good, Quesetti thought, and it's very old-fashioned, especially when the phone was cut off.This movie will end with a low keynote, bittersweet, describing that the protagonist continues to return to his original job; maybe a little hint at his interaction with children, life as usual, or a little hint that Luo Li is still alive, swaying the audience But it shouldn't be so boring. After he actually thought about it for a few minutes in this direction, his face began to sweat, and he felt the need to sit down in the dusty easy chair, which he picked up from the street. Chair.He thought, she is really going to drive me crazy, no, she has already driven me crazy.Well, he continued, it's my turn to play, I'm also an internationally known mysterious figure, what do I need?Hiking boots, yes.Actor style black crew sweater, yes.ball cap?not good.Winter hat for sailors, much better.There are no Swiss Army knives and grenade launchers, just kidding.And the trusty black long raincoat with the dirt of England still on it, the wallet, the keys, oh, and don't forget the binoculars, oh my goodness, well equipped to deal with Russian gangsters who know how well armed

what did you just say? It was Baker, one of his roommates, standing in the hallway watching him with a strange expression on his face.Baker was a pale sound engineer who wrote reviews of movies that no one but him had ever seen, and probably didn't even exist. I did not say anything.Quesetti said. Yes, you are speaking, very loudly, as if very angry.I thought someone was with you, then I remembered, you came in alone. Oh, well, then I was talking to myself, I was going to have a nervous breakdown, that's all. Damn man, welcome to join us, if you need a lobotomy, I can start sharpening my screwdrivers right now.

Because of a woman, Quesetti admitted.The woman who drove me crazy, she dumped me and now wants me to save her.This is the second time the theme of abandonment and rescue has been staged. Whatever you want, I personally tend to follow the author Nelson.Evergreen's Gospel: Never sleep with someone who has more problems than yourself, of course, he is with Simon.pova bed Thank you, I will remember in my next life.At the same time, men should do what men should do.Can I borrow your computer?I need some maps. It took him the usual forty-five minutes to get out of the city, but he made up for the time lag by taking the New York State Thruway quickly over the Tarpen West bridge.It was a well-kept old car with a powerful eight-cylinder engine and a waxed dark blue paint with various badges and stamps that the police used to show other police officers. Immune to any fines, whether parked or driving.Quesetti sped up to ninety miles, and it took just two hours and a little more to get to Albany Township, and seventy minutes later, after ninety miles, he got to Pottersville, where he got gas. , and ate horrible microwaved food, when it was dark and it started snowing.Snowballs the size of golf balls hit the glass, but it wasn't cold enough for snow to pile up on the highway.Instead of slowing down, he's stuck in a blank state of highway dreams, cars on autopilot, his head playing movies, strange events, and trying to keep a coherent memory of life's trivia, especially his own. with Caroline.Lori's tragic brief encounter in a bookstore.

In fifteen minutes turn onto State Highway 2.He seemed to have driven a long distance, unbelievably far, and finally there was a light ahead. Here was the town of New Weimar, two gas stations, some tricks for tourists, and sparse residential buildings.Then he found the sign, the gravel road leading to Lake Henry.He drove in the wrong direction and had to turn around in the snow, backing up all the way until he found the sign, which was crooked and riddled with bullet holes.This is how the armed locals vent their collective rage against the rich man who owns the lake. The car started to wobble on the climb, and time slowed down, and he lost his sense of time.The car radio was blaring country songs full of static, and he turned the stereo off, and now there was only the hiss of the windshield wipers and the powerful hum of the engine.The road ahead ends at a T-junction.He turned on the interior lights to look at a map, then turned right, revealing a pile of letterboxes covered in wet snow, and then a driveway that had condensed white.He drove the car twelve yards, took the flashlight out of the glove box, and headed toward the driveway.It was just after three in the morning.

Then he came to the house. It was a solid country-style wooden house built of logs, with a steep roof and a wide corridor on three sides. There was a faint light from the front window, which cast a pale yellow on the fresh snow. .Quesetti walked around the house, not only seeing, but feeling the presence of the entire lake.The end of the snow is absolute darkness, and in the darkness there is a slender finger pointing to the lake, that is the pier. He climbed the steps cautiously along the cloister, pressed his face to the lighted windows, and saw a large room with rustic cedar furniture, upholstered in red plaid, and a great stone fireplace with blazing fire. Bear, with Indian rugs on the floor and elk heads hanging over the fireplace.On the other wall are custom-made bookshelves, and what looks like a complicated and expensive sound system.There was no movement, nothing was heard.He tried to open the door, turned the brass knob and it opened, and he closed the door behind him.After entering the house, he could hear the sound of the fire burning, and the sound from another room let him know that someone was at home, the sound of kitchen utensils clashing, and a man humming.The place smelled of cedars and fires and a faint smell of fresh coffee.There is a round pine table near the side window, on which is a glowing laptop, and a familiar thick envelope bag next to it.Jack.When Mishkin entered the room with a smoking mug, Quesetti was about to take a peek at the screen.

He stopped suddenly and stared at him, Quesetti?what are you doing here I happened to be passing by so I thought I'd stop by. Mishkin smiled slightly, that's a good line, would you like some coffee?I added whiskey to my coffee. Thank you, that's great. Mishkin started walking back to the kitchen, then suddenly stopped and walked to the laptop, slamming the screen off.Quesetti sat down on the sofa facing the fireplace, feeling very tired, with a strange feeling, as if after a long marathon drive, he was still sitting at the steering wheel.A few minutes later, Mishkin returned with another mug and put it on the pine coffee table in front of the sofa.

After they both had something to drink, Mishkin said: I don't think you came because there was something wrong with the check? No problem, check received, thank you. So how am I honored to see you here? It's because of Caroline.Luo Li, she called me in a panic and told me the address here, so I came here. how?You drove eight hours in a snowstorm because of Carolyn.Lori summoned you? Yes, it's hard to explain. Love. No, not exactly, but something.Basically, just because I'm so stupid. I can understand.Mishkin said, but as you have seen, she is not here.I should also tell you that I am waiting for other visitors and there may be unpleasant scenes. You mean Shavnov. There are others. For example who? For example Mickey.Haas, the famous Shakespeare scholar, is also a close friend of mine.The place we're at is his, and he's coming to authenticate our manuscript. I thought it would take a lot of high-tech equipment, carbon dating, ink analysis, etc. But clever forgers can forge ink and paper, but they can't forge Shakespeare's handwriting, and Mickey is the candidate. And he was with Shafnov? This is probably a long story. Quesetti shrugged. I've got plenty of time, unless you're going to shoot me into a snowstorm. Mishkin stared at him for a while, and Quesetti looked back at him for quite a while.Finally Mishkin sighed and said: We need more coffee. They drank another jug ​​of coffee and whiskey.By the time the drink was almost finished, the two had chatted like strangers who had survived a shipwreck or some catastrophe.Still, the two men were not friends, nor would they ever be; and what brought them together on a snowy night, in this room, was now lying in an envelope on the round table.It made the two of them talk frankly, even a little beyond common sense, and of course the whiskey helped. Mishkin gave a detailed account of his dealings with Buszrow, as well as his sad life, including many descriptions of his sinful life, and then he mentioned that he had a relationship with that Miranda.Kellogg's relationship, when talking about their relationship and desire for her, Quesetti said: According to Rory, she is just an actor hired by Shafnoff to cheat the manuscript out of your hands. Yes, I think it should be something like this.You know if Lori said what happened to her after that? she does not know.Quesetti answered briefly, and then began to talk about his family and movies, movies he liked and movies he wanted to make, and Mishkin seemed very interested, in fact obsessed.He's fascinated by both themes: what it's like growing up in noisy and happy homes, and whether movies really guide one's life judgments. No, Mishkin objected, the fact is that the filmmakers took popular concepts from the world and incorporated them into the plot of the film. No, the popular concept first appeared in the movie.For example, the gun battle in the western town: never before in history have people fought face-to-face duels faster than drawing guns on the dusty streets.It's a quintessentially American trope of redemption through violence, and that's been handed down from the movies.Movies shape everyone's perception of reality to the extent that it affects human behavior, including foreign policy, business activities, sexual relationships, family interactions, all of them.In the past, we relied on the Bible, but now we rely on movies. So the screenwriter set a standard for the human world? You're right, said Quesetti, I mean, we're in a movie right now, why the hell are the two of us in a deserted cabin waiting for a bunch of gangsters?It's crazy.Why are priceless manuscripts placed on tables in isolated huts?It's just weird.I'll tell you why, because both of us made a series of decisions, each of which was bound by the theme of the film. Emmarie is real.Mishkin said after a while. Yes, she's real, Quesetti agrees.But Emma was pulled out of this culture, or she was connected to something else, maybe God.Her exception just proves that the rule exists, and note that she is not in the plot of the movie. Yes, she didn't.But let me tell you one thing, you misread me.I mean not my character played by William.Hurt, but why I'm here, not just about my vague sense of hopelessness, but part of the plot. yeah, that's what i've been saying No, not the plot of the movie, but a plan, a ruse, a manipulation so that the bad guys get their comeuppance. what is that?I mean, what plan? I won't tell you.I'll find out when everyone's here, Mishkin said. Jack, that's the clichéd prevarication.Meaning, will there be redemption through violence later on? I sure hope so. Are you worried? not at all.He gave a huge yawn and said, Shit, man, I think it's a great talk, but I'm going down, it's dawn in a few hours, and I have to get some sleep.In fact, you look tired too. I'm fine, said Mishkin, there's a bunch of rooms up there, beds all made, piles of comfy quilts, call this your home. He chose a room with a view of the lake, kicked off his boots, crawled under the quilt and fell asleep immediately.Presently he was awakened by the roar of the engine of the fast motorboat.He rolled out of bed, rubbed his eyes hard, and then walked to the window. Someone on the lake was very unskillfully manipulating a twenty-eight-foot yacht, trying to dock at the pier.The boat was covered with canvas, and the plastic windshield was erected, but this yacht was designed for summer sailing, and Quesetti estimated that it would be quite cold on board.The snow had stopped and the sky was a dull white with little white foam blown by the wind from the east.The poorly skilled pilot tried to park the boat west of the pier, only to be repeatedly blown off the pier by easterly winds.He stomped on the throttle so hard that the bow hit the pier and bounced off.He should have pulled back and come around the other side, so the wind could easily help him get the boat against the rubber fenders.Quesetti thought this way. When he was a child, he spent every summer vacation in Sheepshead Bay, sharing a rented boat with his parents, sister, and many cousins. The boat was only 22 feet long. A man in a leather jacket and leather shoes came out of the cabin and went on, slipped on the slippery boat, and when the boat hit the pier for the sixth time, he fell down on his stomach.Quesetti figured the clown show was going to be a while, so he washed up, put on his boots, made a call on his cell phone, and went downstairs to the kitchen, where Mishkin drank coffee. Here they come.Quesetti said, pouring himself a cup of coffee, is it sweet pie? Yes, eat a few pieces. Thanks.Quesetti said, picking up a piece and putting it in the oven.Did they make it to the pier? The windows on the kitchen side cannot see the lake, but looking closer, you can see the lower half of the pier.Mishkin peered through the chintz galley curtains and said: Almost there, they're trying to get the stern in position. These gang members don't seem to be very suitable for sailors. Well, that's right.When I was in New York, some second-rate gangsters tried to trouble me, but they were not sent by Shafnoff.I guess on this occasion, he should bring the best team.So do you still think this is a movie? No, since you asked, I'm starting to feel scared now. You can leave, no one expects you to be here. But Lori was there. Also, is there any final advice the movie offers? Yes, Quesetti said, no matter what your project is, there are bound to be flaws. because? First, you can't predict everything; second, a big reversal is needed in the last six minutes to maintain the tension of the plot. Well, at least we won't be fighting in an abandoned warehouse.Let me meet our guests! Mishkin came out of the kitchen and Quesetti went to the window.Then he heard the boat's engine shut off, and he saw that they had tied the boat up now, and that the men disembarked one by one: a tall man in a leather coat, the one who had just stepped on deck; A middle-height guy in a fur hat with BOSS on it; then a linebacker-sized guy, also in black leather, with two small children, a boy and a girl; then a woman in a hoodie , she pulls her hat up over her head; after that comes a man in a checked trench coat and a tweed hat, the lower half of his face wrapped in a striped woolen scarf; and finally another man in black leather, only this one The fur coat reaches down to the calf.Quesetti went into the living room, where Mishkin was lighting the fire he had just lit, which was now ablaze and filled the room with the smell of burning resin.The envelope with their lives at stake was still on the table, but the laptop was gone. The front door slammed open and two thugs stepped in, the big man and the man in the long coat, he had a pale, disfigured face like the face of a white dough monster in the movie Devilbusters, and then someone else came in, Qui Seti knew it must be the famous Shafnov.He said something in Russian to his boys, and they immediately grabbed Mishkin, knocked him to the ground, and began to trample on him, while the boatmen began to enter the door and were pushed in by the sailors.Quesetti noticed a few things right away: First, when he was in London, Quesetti had seen Mishkin throw a big man into the air like a frisbee, but now Mishkin didn't resist at all, letting everyone Then came the two children, Imogen was very angry and started to help her father, if the sailors hadn't caught her, she would have gone to help, and Nicole was a little weird, his head Hanging at an unnatural angle, his hands waving meaninglessly as if humming to himself or talking to himself, he smelled of vomit, and the front of his hooded jacket was stained with vomit.Finally there was the woman, who lifted her hat when she entered the room, revealing her neck-length black hair, which looked dirty, her face showing horror at what had happened to Mishkin.The man in the plaid trench coat also stares at the beating, but not in horror, perhaps morbidly charming, even contented. It all happened so quickly that it felt like a little longer than it actually was, with an interval that, Quesetti knew, should have lasted more than a minute on screen.The woman yelled at Shavnov to stop, and Shavnov yelled at her back, but he told his men to stop.They caught Mishkin and stood, holding his arms.He blinked, wiped the blood and saliva from his mouth, and said to the children: I'm sorry, children, this shouldn't have happened, did they hurt you? The girl said: No, but Nico gets seasick and he's weird. Shavnov strode forward and slapped Mishkin hard. It's all your fault, Mishkin, he said: I've been trying to get back what I'm legally entitled to in a civilized way, but look what I got?respect?No, I have to chase you here, which is a huge inconvenience, and it also forces me to kidnap children, which is ridiculous.Osip.Shavnov does not kidnap children, as I told you before, but you didn't listen, and now we have gotten to this point.So, now that it's over, hand over my property, the Shakespeare manuscript. But Mishkin was looking at the woman and said: Hello, Miranda, why did your hair change?And the eyes have changed? The woman remained silent, Shavnov slapped Mishkin again, and the wall above the fireplace was splattered with blood, no, don't look at her, look at me, you stupid pig-headed lawyer!Where is my property? In an envelope on the table.Quesetti said. Everyone in the room turned to stare at him. Who is this man?Shavnov asked. Albert.Quesetti, Mishkin replied, was the one who found the original Bracegard manuscript and sold it to Professor Bustrow, or so he said. Shavnov went to the table and took out the contents of the envelope. He gestured to the man in the checked trench coat, and he hurried to him. Mishkin said: Quesetti, the one in the windbreaker is Mickey.Professor Haas, the world's top Shakespeare expert, at least that's what he said. Haas took the stack of papers from Shafnoff, sat at the table, put on his reading glasses, and began to read the first page carefully.Quesetti could see his hands shaking, and for almost a full half hour the only sounds in the room were the crackling of the fire, the boy's murmurs, and the rustle of old cardboard. So, professor, what do you think?Shavnov said. It's amazing!Of course some technical testing will have to be done, but I've seen many seventeenth century manuscripts, and as far as I can see, this is genuine.The paper is correct, the ink is correct, and the handwriting is actually not really Shakespeare's handwriting for comparison, except for some of his signatures, and of course the rumored Thomas.Some of the writer's passages from Moore's script manuscript.But sure, I mean, very likely The most important point, big professor, is this valuable property? Mickey's strangely contrived intonation, his use of unnaturally precise words, I think yes, this language, this style, my God, yes, I believe this is really a copy of Shakespeare's as yet unknown The manuscript of the play. Shafnov patted Mickey hard.Haas' back, with such force that it knocked his glasses off, exclaimed, "Okay, great!"All the gangsters smiled. Then Mishkin said: Osip, what do you expect him to say?I tell you, this thing is a hoax, he set up the whole thing with some forger named LeonorBasco, I have proof. Haas jumped out of his chair and yelled at Mishkin, you bastard!What the hell do you know?This is authentic!if you think you can Shavnov poked Haas in the arm hard to tell him to shut up.Then Shavnov approached Mishkin until he stared into his face.What evidence? I'll show it to you and tell them to let me go. He nodded, and Mishkin was let go.He went to the magazine rack next to the sofa by the fireplace, pulled out a FedEx envelope, took out some documents and a CD, he said: First of all, the documentary evidence, this, he took a piece of paper to Shavnov, this is cloth A facsimile of a page of Reese Godou's original manuscript, and this is Leonardo.A piece of paper that Basko imitated Brace Godou's handwriting.Even a novice like yourself, Osip, can see that they are identical.Your good buddy over there, Mitch, finds a seventeenth-century letter from a dying old man, falsifies it with a fake handwriting, inserts a page or two, then makes up the whole cipher thing out of thin air, and then arranges this so-called The play was found at the location recorded in the coded letter. This is crazy!Haas yelled loudly, and Basco was put in prison. It's the country club, said Mishkin, and we'll go find him, the man Shavnov sent to follow us must pay off.Shavnov, don't you wonder why we are going there? Quesetti saw Shafnov exchange a quick look with the sailor. We're going there for this.Mishkin said, and then he picked up the disc, and LeonorBasco is very proud of his business, and it's his biggest con, and he'll have a safe haven waiting for him when he gets out, thanks to Mickey, or should I say Ossip.Gift of Shavnov?Because he's using the money you gave him, or at least some of it.It was a wonderful arrangement for him.By the way, how much does he owe you? Osip, this is insane, what do I do? Shut up, Haas.Mishkin, please play the disc, I very much hope this is not some stupid joke. Mishkin turned on the sound system, then put the CD in the player, and Leona.Buskow's voice filled the room, and everyone was silent as he told how fake letters, fake ciphers, and various characters had helped pull off a major deception.After the broadcast, Mishkin said: The props of this case are of course the mysterious Caroline.Lori, perfectly placed on a precise mission, close to Shavnoff and desperate to get out of his grasp, needs money to save her baby and get out of the country.As expected, she finds a falsified manuscript in an ancient book and tricks our friend Quesetti, we need an innocent victim don't we?And throughout the adventure, she's always in the right place to push things forward, even though it's a little different from Basco's original plan.Luo Li didn't need to steal the money, because she had already received the reward, and the most important purpose of this strategy was to get rid of Shafnov no matter what.So now you have the manuscript in hand, the Israelis who are going to buy from you are in New York, you sell them, with the endorsement of the great Professor Haas, get your ten million dollars, and the old debt of Haas Check it out and everyone is happy until one day your buyer wants to put it on public display, to show off the prestige, and suddenly finds out that the script is not what we expected, not a great writer, but a bad writer , like Mickey.Things written by people like Haas are counterfeits.Because you're a damned illiterate, Osip, and a foreigner, and therefore a perfect dupe, as our friend Pascal told us.Shakespeare can't be faked, but you'll never be able to tell.What do you think will happen to you when your buyers find out what you have? Seeing Shafnov's pale lips and exposed veins on his temples, Quesetti said, "How do you know the price is 10 million?" My dad told me he's the New York representative of that group and his immediate boss would be very, very upset with you. You already told him about it? Of course, so I'm telling you now, that's why now I'm going to arrange for all the relevant people to come here and let's discuss how to solve the problem.Oh, except Caroline.Lori, she's not here, she's gone. Seeing the confused look on Shavnov's face, Quesetti pointed at the woman in the white hoodie and said, "What are you talking about?"That is Caroline.Rollie. Oh, Caroline.Quesetti said, more like talking to himself, no one seemed to hear, everyone looked at Mishkin, he staggered, his face collapsed as if he had been punched, and the previous beating did not let him down. He does.Shavnov saw it, and apparently he was pleased. Shavnov put his hands around Lori's shoulders, Lori, should I trust him?Are you conspiring with this professor to deceive me?I, Osip, picked you up from the street, gave you a place to live, and taught you what a real man is.He said in a falsetto: Fuck my back hard honey, it feels good. He squeezed her chin, hey, you really did this to me, you bitch?Yes, it's like something you would do, maybe you don't love your kids anymore?Or have you forgotten where I know they live in Pennsylvania?But who knows what a bitch can do? He walked over to the table where Haas was standing, and Haas looked at him with his mouth open, like a little white rabbit in front of a cobra.But you, big professor, you're not a bitch, we have a business relationship, we've been together for a while, I have faith in you, man to man, how can you do that?I am very disappointed. He lied.Haas said he spoke very fast and stuttered and from where Quesetti was standing he could tell the man's knees were literally shaking and he made it up to confuse you he was smart he thought he Get away with anything, great Jack.Mishkin, but he's lying now, the script is true, the greatest manuscript discovery of all time, and I'm a goddamn expert, Osip.Besides, how could it be possible for me to conspire with this woman to design you like you said?I hadn't seen her in my life before today, and I hadn't been to Basco to arrange this is so absurd you can't believe it.The paper in your hand, and the password, and everything, is so precious and rare, I never dared to dream that my hands could touch such things Mishkin said: He did know Caroline.Luo Li, she used to be a student of Columbia, Buszjo introduced them to each other, and went to ask Quesetti. Quesetti cleared his throat, which he felt filled with the white paste from the library, and said, Well, yes, she definitely knew Bustrow, and Bustrow knew Haas. Did you hear that, Professor?Shavnoff said it didn't work out, so I think he's right, I think it's all a scam and the papers are trash.He took two quick steps forward as he spoke, and threw the stack of papers into the fireplace. Haas let out a roar, as if coming from the depths of his stomach, a beastly roar, full of hopeless loss, and then rushed across the room to the center of the flames, grabbed a handful of papers from the coal pile, Twist the edge of the flame with bare hands, then throw the paper back into the room like a dog digging dirt out of a hole.Quesetti saw some papers being carried away by the updraft and sticking to the rear wall deep in the fireplace, but Haas arched his whole body through the blazing logs and pulled out the stuck papers.He screamed as he did so, and didn't stop screaming even as he pulled back from the fire, his clothes ablaze in front of him, his scarf turned into a necklace of flames, and he flapped as he walked in small circles In the flames, his face turned into a hideous black-red mask, glasses crooked and partially melting. Mishkin grabbed the burning professor as if he were a hollow man, hoisted him on his shoulders, and walked towards the door. The sailor tried to stop him, but he held him back with his arm.Mishkin rushed to a place where the snow was relatively deep, and held the snow in his hands to extinguish the flames. After the fire hissed and extinguished, he used the snow to cool Haas's face and body. Quesetti saw all this from the open gate, and the sailor got up, stepped over to Mishkin, and kicked him in the ribs as hard as Shavnov would have done if he hadn't told the sailor to stop. You know, this gave me an idea.Shavnov said.Quesetti suddenly realized that the gangster was talking to him, and he immediately understood that this person was trying to explain to him, because the bad guys in the movies treat their victims this way, and he wondered if the earlier gangsters did the same.Maybe, he thought, because in Shakespeare you see self-justifying villains complacently describing the conditions of death to helpless victims.But did Shakespeare invent it?Like movie writers inventing gunfights?maybe.他發明了大部分可被接受的人類行為模式，奎塞提叫自己要專心注意夏夫諾夫對他說的話。 所以，難道你不這麼認為嗎？每個人都願意犧牲，不是那種樣子的犧牲，不是人肉獻祭，也不是為了錢，但可能為了小孩子。說到這兒，他冷冷看著米希金家兩個小孩子，或者是如同我們剛剛看到的，為了這份手稿。所以，當然這是真的。 你冒了大險。Quesetti said. 是的，像我這樣的男子漢必須冒險，這才是實業家精神，現在，我有了報償。他看著他兩個手下，他們正在收集被燒焦的紙張，而且，我想一些小小的燒焦不會減損文件太多價值，反而讓東西看起來更真實，我相信，對老東西而言是如此。但是，如我所說，這次的著火事件給我個主意。哈斯教授邀請他的好朋友米希金帶著小孩到湖邊小屋來，還有他的朋友奎塞提跟他女朋友羅莉，然後他們一起搭哈斯的快艇遊湖，雖然天氣很冷，但雪景是多麼美麗，然後發生了悲劇性的爆炸，油氣漏油，還是什麼的，他們全都燒死沉到湖裡去了。 我不懂，我跟這場騙局一點關係都沒有，羅莉也沒關係。 對，可是你是目擊證人，我想這是俄羅斯風格，史達林教我們要記住，有懷疑的時候，除掉每個人，除了那些哪個詞來的？共啥？ 共犯。 對，共犯，所以現在你們全都要上船。他伸手從外套裡拿出一把手槍，要他們排成一列隊伍走向湖邊。最前方是米希金，手裡拖著呻吟中的哈斯，然後是兩個米希金小孩，再來是羅莉跟奎塞提。俄國人現在把武器全拿出來了，把他們趕進船屋裡，逼他們上快艇，長得像白色麵團的傢伙從幫浦抽出汽油灌到五加侖的油箱裡面，夏夫諾夫則跟第三個謀殺者離開去發動汽艇。 米希金將哈斯放在船尾的座椅角落，然後幫其他人進到船裡。奎塞提爬上船的時候，米希金低聲問他：你會駕駛這東西嗎？ certainly. 那坐到方向盤後面去。奎塞提照做，而米希金坐在他旁邊船頭的位置。 白色麵團人灌完了油帶著油桶上船，把油桶放在船後方座位，他對同伴說了些什麼，然後兩個人都笑起來，再來對伊莫珍說些話，然後抓住她的手臂跟他自己的鼠蹊部，又笑了起來。那水手回了一些話，鬆開船尾的繩，然後走到船頭去解開固定快艇船首跟繫纜枕之間的繩索。他們聽到從外面傳來遊艇引擎啟動的轟隆聲。 白色麵團人還在跟伊莫珍講話，臉靠著她的臉，她尖叫著推開他，他抓住她的頭髮，把她的頭往下壓，然後扯開長褲拉鍊，就在此時，奎塞提對米希金的動作感到萬分訝異，米希金突然伸手從坐墊底下拔出一支手槍，朝麵團人的臉轟一槍，當他倒下去跌落船外時，米希金轉身朝著一個更驚訝的人，就是那個跪著的水手，開了五槍。快啟動！他命令奎塞提，快走！ 奎塞提發動引擎，引擎咳了咳，然後有了生命。他將變速器往前推，快艇就從船屋衝出去。 他們飛越水面時，他的胸口升起一股異樣的感覺，他莫名其妙很想咯咯笑。靠近結局的時候想當然爾會有追逐場面，現在就是了。夏夫諾夫跟他的手下花了一陣子才搞懂怎麼回事，但當他們看到穿著黑外套的人不在船上戒備，他們開始追上來。奎塞提清楚得很，配備古老Ｖ６引擎的木造船，是不可能跑贏現代化的遊艇，後者的馬力大概是前者的三倍。 白色的船以穩定的速度靠近他們，並且開始射擊他們，一顆子彈穿越頭頂，在快艇的桃花心木甲板上擦出一道長長、粉紅色的痕跡。奎塞提可以聽到後方傳來那個男孩驚恐的咆哮聲，甚至蓋過引擎的呼嘯聲。 他們快速接近前方一連串有森林的小島，群島的左邊有一支豎桿，上方安置了一個綠燈。米希金拉起袖子指著方向。 去那座燈柱跟最後一座島的中間！he yelled. 奎塞提猛拉方向盤，輕便的快艇迅速穿過標竿，撞到隱藏的岩石，發出刺耳的轟隆聲，又前進了五十英尺，然後慢慢往下沉進寒冷的深水裡。奎塞提掙扎著從方向盤後離開，抓住一個飄浮的坐墊，然後落到湖裡去。他四處張望，看到倒栽蔥的快艇船尾在水平面上不遠處冒著泡泡，更遠處有樣東西，他剛開始沒有認出來，但是一會兒後，他開始注意到壞人的那艘遊艇船首前四分之三的部分側面倒在水上漂浮，壞人的船吃水比較深，撞到岩石時，衝撞力一定更嚴重。 他看到一個小小的白色物體，是卡洛琳．羅莉的連帽上衣，她臉朝下漂浮在水面上，他跳進水裡，解開靴子的鞋帶，從腳上脫下來，然後用靠墊當作浮筒，朝她踢水過去。當他靠近她時，看見傑克．米希金的手奮力滑水朝他們而來，他們一起把她轉過身來，頭與肩膀倚在靠墊上。 我照顧她。奎塞提大吼，你的小孩呢？ 這一句話讓對方的臉上出現驚愕的表情，他猛然轉身大聲吼叫。大約二十五碼遠處，水花四濺中有個黑色小小的形狀，是那個小男孩，然後他消失了。傑克朝那點衝過去，可是奎塞提很清楚，等到大人趕到的時候，小孩早就沉到撈不到的深度了。之後，靠近快艇的尾部濺出水花，然後出現某個快速移動的形狀，那是伊莫珍．米希金，她划水的動作相當完美，往下潛然後帶著她弟弟重新浮出水面，她將他鎖在胸前，完全符合紅十字會認可的標準動作，然後迅速拖著他往後划向最靠近的小島。 他們五個人很快全部都上了小島，小圓丘的土地，比一個寬敞的廚房大不了多少，奎塞提讓羅莉仰躺著，朝她的嘴巴吹氣，直到她咳嗽，吐出為數不少的水。 妳還好嗎，卡洛琳？he asks. so cold. 他用手臂抱住她，我們可以互相取暖，像這樣。 她全身僵硬，我不明白為什麼你還願意救我。 Why?因為妳跟別人上床？我多多少少已經知道了。只是，如果妳可以不要再逃跑，我會覺得很感激，這才是妳唯一惹到我的一件事。還有撒謊，少一點會更好。 除此之外，我很完美。 You can say that.喔，壞人來了。 她看著夏夫諾夫跟他的黨羽涉水上岸。跟班的人搖搖晃晃，頭上的傷口血流得很嚴重，夏夫諾夫則抓住左手手肘，痛苦得齜牙咧嘴。米希金等到他們走到水深及膝的地方才涉水迎向夏夫諾夫，他擋開夏夫諾夫軟弱的一擊之後，抓住他的皮帶與領口，高舉過頭，朝他的跟班丟去。兩個人都倒地。同樣動作他又做了兩次，直到對方搞懂狀況，才涉水游到另外一座相鄰的小島去。 你不能那樣啦，這又不是喜劇。奎塞提評論說，惡棍跟男配角應該打架打到死，然後兩人都會死掉，或是惡棍殺死男配角，之後男主角會殺了惡棍。不過，或許這真是個喜劇，我原本還以為是恐怖片。現在救兵也來了，如同慣例一樣遲到。 他們眼前出現一架直升機盤旋，遠處有一艘灰色的船穿越水面逐漸靠近。 州警。奎塞提向滿臉困惑的羅莉解釋，今早我打電話給我當警察的姊姊，顯然她安排了救援行動。 你昨天晚上早就該打啦，那警察就可以在我們抵達之前待命。 不行，我得看到歹徒真的出現，要是我早一點叫警察來，夏夫諾夫可能早就殺了小孩或殺了妳，不過妳看，一切都搞定了。 哈斯在哪兒？Lori asked. Oops.奎塞提說，站起身來往水面上觀望，他不見了，他傷得那麼重不可能生還，手稿也一起不見了。 Won't.羅莉說，亞麻紙能在水裡撐很久，而且膽汁墨水也相當強韌，這面湖水也許沒那麼深，如果東西還在信封裡面，直到他們派潛水夫下去之前應該都沒問題。 或許吧，可是如果哈斯死了，這就不是個喜劇了。 你知道，假使你不是習慣把每件事情都當成電影來看待，你也會很完美。如果我不再說謊也不再逃跑，你可以停止這習慣嗎？ make a deal.他說完親吻她冰冷的嘴唇，心裡想著畫面逐漸變黑，音樂響起，播放演職員表。