9:30 AM
KIT1 OXENFORD waited more than an hour for Harry2 McGarry.
McGarry, known as Harry Mac, had been born in Govan, a working-class district of Glasgow. He was raised in a tenement3 near Ibrox Park, the home of the city's Protestant football team, Rangers4. With his profits from drugs, illegal gambling5, theft, and prostitution, he had moved— only a mile geographically6, but a long way socially—across the Paisley Road to Dumbreck. Now he lived in a large new-built house with a pool.
The place was decorated like an expensive hotel, with reproduction furniture and framed prints on the wall, but no personal touches: no family photographs, no ornaments7, no flowers, no pets. Kit waited nervously8 in the spacious9 hall, staring at the striped yellow wallpaper and the spindly legs of the occasional tables, watched by a fat bodyguard10 in a cheap black suit.
Harry Mac's empire covered Scotland and the north of England. He worked with his daughter, Diana, always called Daisy. The nickname was ironic11: she was a violent, sadistic12 thug.
Harry owned the illegal casino where Kit played. Licensed13 casinos in Britain suffered under all kinds of petty laws that limited their profits: no house percentage, no table fee, no tipping, no drinking at the tables, and you had to be a member for twenty-four hours before you could play. Harry ignored the laws. Kit liked the louche atmosphere of an illegitimate game.
Most gamblers were stupid, Kit believed; and the people who ran casinos were not much brighter. An intelligent player should always win. In blackjack there was a correct way to play every possible hand—a system called Basic—and he knew it backwards14. Then, he improved his chances by keeping track of the cards that were dealt from the six-pack deck. Starting with zero, he added one point for every low card—twos, threes, fours, fives, and sixes—and took away one point for every high card—tens, jacks15, queens, kings, and aces16. (He ignored sevens, eights, and nines.) When the number in his head was positive, the remaining deck contained more high cards than low, so he had a better-than-average chance of drawing a ten. A negative number gave a high probability of drawing a low card. Knowing the odds17 told him when to bet heavily.
But Kit had suffered a run of bad luck and, when the debt reached fifty thousand pounds, Harry asked for his money.
Kit had gone to his father and begged to be rescued. It was humiliating, of course. When Stanley had fired him, Kit had accused his father bitterly of not caring about him. Now he was admitting the truth: his father did love him, and would do almost anything for him, and Kit knew that perfectly18 well. His pretense19 had collapsed20 ignominiously21. But it was worth it. Stanley had paid.
Kit had promised he would never gamble again, and meant it, but the temptation had been too strong. It was madness; it was a disease; it was shameful22 and humiliating; but it was the most exciting thing in the world, and he could not resist.
Next time his debt reached fifty thousand, he went back to his father, but this time Stanley put his foot down. "I haven't got the money," he said. "I could borrow it, perhaps, but what's the point? You'd lose it and come back for more until we both were broke." Kit had accused him of heartlessness and greed, called him Shylock and Scrooge and fucking Fagin, and sworn never to speak to him again. The words had hurt—he could always hurt his father, he knew that—but Stanley had not changed his mind.
At that point, Kit should have left the country.
He dreamed of going to Italy to live in his mother's hometown of Lucca. The family had visited several times during his childhood, before the grandparents died. It was a pretty walled town, ancient and peaceful, with little squares where you could drink espresso in the shade. He knew some Italian—Mamma Marta had spoken her native tongue to all of them when they were small. He could rent a room in one of the tall old houses and get a job helping25 people with their computer problems, easy work. He thought he could be happy, living like that.
But, instead, he had tried to win back what he owed.
His debt went up to a quarter of a million.
For that much money, Harry Mac would pursue him to the North Pole. He thought about killing26 himself, and eyed tall buildings in central Glasgow, wondering if he could get up on the roofs in order to throw himself to his death.
Three weeks ago, he had been summoned to this house. He had felt sick with fear. He was sure they were going to beat him up. When he was shown into the drawing room, with its yellow silk couches, he wondered how they would prevent the blood spoiling the upholstery. "There's a gentleman here wants to ask you a question," Harry had said. Kit could not imagine what question any of Harry's friends would want to ask him, unless it was Where's the fucking money?
The gentleman was Nigel Buchanan, a quiet type in his forties wearing expensive casual clothes: a cashmere jacket, dark slacks, and an open-necked shirt. Speaking in a soft London accent, he said, "Can you get me inside the Level Four laboratory at Oxenford Medical?"
There were two other people in the yellow drawing room at the time. One was Daisy, a muscular girl of about twenty-five with a broken nose, bad skin, and a ring through her lower lip. She was wearing leather gloves. The other was Elton, a handsome black man about the same age as Daisy, apparently27 a sidekick of Nigel's.
Kit was so relieved at not being beaten up that he would have agreed to anything.
Nigel offered him a fee of three hundred thousand pounds for the night's work.
Kit could hardly believe his luck. It would be enough to pay his debts and more. He could leave the country. He could go to Lucca and realize his dream. He felt overjoyed. His problems were solved at a stroke.
Later, Harry had talked about Nigel in reverent28 tones. A professional thief, Nigel stole only to order, for a prearranged price. "He's the greatest," Harry said. "You're after a painting by Michelangelo? No problem. A nuclear warhead? He'll get it for you—if you can afford it. Remember Shergar, the racehorse that was kidnapped? That was Nigel." He added: "He lives in Liechtenstein," as if Liechtenstein were a more exotic place of residence than Mars.
Kit had spent the next three weeks planning the theft of the antiviral drug. He felt the occasional twinge of remorse29 as he refined the scheme to rob his father, but mostly he felt a delirious30 glee at the thought of revenge on the daddy who had fired him then refused to rescue him from gangsters31. It would be a nasty poke24 in the eye for Toni Gallo, too.
Nigel had gone over the details with him meticulously32, questioning everything. Occasionally he would consult with Elton, who was in charge of equipment, especially cars. Kit got the impression that Elton was a valued technical expert who had worked with Nigel before. Daisy was to join them on the raid, ostensibly to provide extra muscle if necessary— though Kit suspected her real purpose was to take ￡250,000 from him as soon as the fee was in his hands.
Kit suggested they rendezvous33 at a disused airfield34 near the Kremlin. Nigel looked at Elton. "That's cool," Elton said. He spoke23 with a broad London accent: "We could meet the buyer there after—he might want to fly in."
In the end, Nigel had pronounced the plan brilliant, and Kit had glowed with pleasure.
Now, today, Kit had to tell Harry the whole deal was off. He felt wretched: disappointed, depressed35, and scared.
At last he was summoned to Harry's presence. Nervous, he followed the bodyguard through the laundry at the back of the house to the pool pavilion. It was built to look like an Edwardian orangery, with glazed36 tiles in somber37 colors, the pool itself an unpleasant shade of dark green. Some interior decorator had proposed this, Kit guessed, and Harry had said yes without looking at the plans.
Harry was a stocky man of fifty with the gray skin of a lifelong smoker38. He sat at a wrought-iron table, dressed in a purple toweling robe, drinking dark coffee from a small china cup and reading the Sun. The newspaper was open at the horoscope. Daisy was in the water, swimming laps tirelessly. Kit was startled to see that she seemed to be naked except for diver's gloves. She always wore gloves.
"I don't need to see you, laddie," Harry said. "I don't want to see you. I don't know anything about you or what you're doing tonight. And I've never met anyone called Nigel Buchanan. Are you catching39 my drift?" He did not offer Kit a cup of coffee.
The air was hot and humid. Kit was wearing his best suit, a midnight-blue mohair, with a white shirt open at the neck. It seemed an effort to breathe, and his skin felt uncomfortably damp under his clothes. He realized he had broken some rule of criminal etiquette40 by contacting Harry on the day of the robbery, but he had no alternative. "I had to talk to you," Kit said. "Haven't you seen the news?"
"What if I have?"
Kit suppressed a surge of irritation41. Men such as Harry could never bring themselves to admit to not knowing something, however trivial. "There's a big flap on at Oxenford Medical," Kit said. "A technician died of a virus."
"What do you want me to do, send flowers?"
"They'll be tightening42 security. This is the worst possible time to rob rhe place. It's difficult enough anyway. They have a state-of-the-art alarm system. And the woman in charge is as tough as a rubber steak."
Kit had not been asked to sit down, so he leaned on the back of a chair, feeling awkward. "We have to call it off."
"Let me explain something to you." Harry took a cigarette from a packet on the table and lit it with a gold lighter44. Then he coughed, an old smoker's cough from the depths of his lungs. When the spasm45 had passed, he spat46 into the pool and drank some coffee. Then he resumed. "For one thing, I've said it's going to happen. Now you may not realize this, being so well brought up, but when a man says something's going to happen, and then it doesn't, people think he's a wanker."
"Yes, but—"
"Don't even dream of interrupting me."
Kit shut up.
"For another thing, Nigel Buchanan's no drugged-up schoolboy wanting to rob Woolworth's in Govan Cross. He's a legend and, more important than that, he's connected with some highly respected people in London. When you're dealing47 with folk like that, even more you don't want to look like a wanker."
He paused, as if daring Kit to argue. Kit said nothing. How had he got himself involved with these people? He had walked into the wolves' cave, and now he stood paralyzed, waiting to be torn to pieces.
"And for a third thing, you owe me a quarter of a million pounds. No one has ever owed me that much money for so long and still been able to walk without crutches48. I trust I'm making myself clear."
Kit nodded silently. He was so scared he felt he might throw up.
"So don't tell me we have to call it off." Harry picked up the Sun as if the conversation were over.
Kit forced himself to speak. "I meant postpone49 it, not call it off," he managed. "We can do it another day, when the fuss has died down."
Harry did not look up. "Ten a.m. on Christmas Day, Nigel said. And I want my money."
"There's no point in doing it if we're going to get caught!" Kit said desperately50. Harry did not respond. "Everyone can wait a little longer, can't they?" It was like talking to the wall. "Better late than never."
Harry glanced toward the pool and made a beckoning51 gesture. Daisy must have been keeping an eye on him, for she immediately climbed out of the pool. She did not take off the gloves. She had powerful shoulders and arms. Her shallow breasts hardly moved as she walked. Kit saw that she had a tattoo52 over one breast and a nipple ring in the other. When she came closer, he realized she was shaved all over. She had a flat belly53 and lean thighs54, and her pubic mound55 was prominent. Every detail was visible, not just to Kit but to her father, if he cared to look. Kit felt weird56.
Harry did not seem to notice. "Kit wants us to wait for our money, Daisy." He stood up and tightened57 the belt of his robe. "Explain to him how we feel about that—I'm too tired." He put the newspaper under his arm and walked away.
Daisy grabbed Kit by the lapels of his best suit. "Look," he pleaded. "I just want to make sure this doesn't end in disaster for all of us." Then Daisy jerked him sideways. He lost his balance and would have fallen to the ground, but she took his weight; then she threw him into the pool.
It was a shock but, if the worst thing she did was ruin his suit, he would count himself lucky. Then, as he got his head above the surface, she jumped on him, her knees smashing into his back painfully, so that he cried out and swallowed water as his head went under.
They were at the shallow end. When his feet touched the bottom he struggled to stand upright, but his head was clamped by Daisy's arm, and he was pulled off balance again. She held him face down under the water.
He held his breath, expecting her to punch him, or something, but she remained still. Needing to breathe, he began to struggle, trying to break her hold, but she was too strong. He became angry, and lashed58 out feebly with his arms and legs. He felt like a child in a tantrum, flailing59 helplessly in the grip of its mother.
His need for air became desperate, and he fought down panic as he resisted the urge to open his mouth and gasp60. He realized that Daisy had Ins head under her left arm and was down on one knee with her own head just above the surface. He made himself still, so that his feet floated down. Perhaps she would think he had lost consciousness. His feet touched the bottom. Her grip did not slacken. He got a firm footing then put all his strength into a sudden upward jerk of his body, to dislodge Daisy's hold. She hardly moved, just tightening her grip on his head. It was like having his skull61 squeezed by steel pincers.
He opened his eyes underwater. His cheek was pressed against her bony ribs62. He twisted his head an inch, opened his mouth, and bit her. He felt her flinch63, and her grip weakened a little. He clamped his jaws64 together, trying to bite all the way through the fold of skin. Then he felt her gloved hand on his face and her fingers pushing into his eyes. Rcflcxively, he tried to pull away, and involuntarily relaxed his jaws and let her flesh slip from his bite.
Panic overcame him. He could not hold his breath any longer. His body, starved of oxygen, forced him to gasp for air, and water rushed into his lungs. He found himself coughing and vomiting65 at the same time. After each spasm more water poured down his throat. He realized he would soon die if this went on.
Then she seemed to relent. She jerked his head out of the water. He opened his mouth wide and sucked in blessed pure air. He coughed a jet of water out of his lungs. Then, before he could take a second breath, she shoved his head under again, and instead of air he inhaled66 water.
Panic turned to something worse. Mad with fear, he thrashed about. Terror gave him strength, and Daisy struggled to hold him, but he could not get his head up. He no longer tried to keep his mouth shut, but let the water flood into him. The sooner he drowned, the sooner the agony would be over.
Daisy pulled his head out again.
He spewed water and drew in a precious gasp of air. Then his head was submerged yet again.
He screamed, but no sound came out. His struggles weakened. He knew Harry had not intended for Daisy to kill him, for then there would be no robbery—but Daisy was not very sane67, and it seemed she was going to go too far. Kit decided68 he was going to die. His eyes were open, showing him only a green blur69; then his vision began to darken, as if night were falling.
At last he passed out.
收听单词发音 |
1
kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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tenement
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| n.公寓；房屋 | |
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rangers
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| 护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员 | |
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gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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geographically
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| adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面 | |
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ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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bodyguard
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| n.护卫，保镖 | |
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ironic
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| adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的 | |
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sadistic
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| adj.虐待狂的 | |
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licensed
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| adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词) | |
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backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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jacks
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| n.抓子游戏；千斤顶( jack的名词复数 )；（电）插孔；[电子学]插座；放弃 | |
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aces
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| abbr.adjustable convertible-rate equity security (units) 可调节的股本证券兑换率；aircraft ejection seat 飞机弹射座椅；automatic control evaluation simulator 自动控制评估模拟器n.擅长…的人( ace的名词复数 )；精于…的人；（ 网球 ）（对手接不到发球的）发球得分；爱司球 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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pretense
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| n.矫饰，做作，借口 | |
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collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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ignominiously
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| adv.耻辱地，屈辱地，丢脸地 | |
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shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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poke
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| n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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reverent
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| adj.恭敬的，虔诚的 | |
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remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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delirious
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| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 | |
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gangsters
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| 匪徒，歹徒( gangster的名词复数 ) | |
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meticulously
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| adv.过细地，异常细致地；无微不至；精心 | |
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rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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airfield
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| n.飞机场 | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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somber
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| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
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smoker
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| n.吸烟者，吸烟车厢，吸烟室 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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tightening
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| 上紧，固定，紧密 | |
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whiner
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| n.哀鸣者，啜泣者，悲嗥者，哀诉者 | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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spasm
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| n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作 | |
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spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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crutches
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| n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑 | |
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postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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51
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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52
tattoo
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| n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于 | |
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belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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thighs
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| n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿 | |
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mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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59
flailing
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| v.鞭打( flail的现在分词 )；用连枷脱粒；（臂或腿）无法控制地乱动；扫雷坦克 | |
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60
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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flinch
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| v.畏缩，退缩 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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65
vomiting
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| 吐 | |
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66
inhaled
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| v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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67
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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68
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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69
blur
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| n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚 | |
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