The chartered turboprop was just passing over the twinkling lights of Monaco when Aringarosahung up on Fache for the second time. He reached for the airsickness bag again but felt too drainedeven to be sick.

　　Just let it be over!

　　Fache's newest update seemed unfathomable, and yet almost nothing tonight made sense anymore.

　　What is going on? Everything had spiraled wildly out of control. What have I gotten Silas into?

　　What have I gotten myself into!

　　On shaky legs, Aringarosa walked to the cockpit. "I need to change destinations."The pilot glanced over his shoulder and laughed. "You're joking, right?""No. I have to get to London immediately.""Father, this is a charter flight, not a taxi.""I will pay you extra, of course. How much? London is only one hour farther north and requiresalmost no change of direction, so—""It's not a question of money, Father, there are other issues.""Ten thousand euro. Right now."The pilot turned, his eyes wide with shock. "How much? What kind of priest carries that kind ofcash?"Aringarosa walked back to his black briefcase¹, opened it, and removed one of the bearer bonds. Hehanded it to the pilot.

　　"What is this?" the pilot demanded.

　　"A ten-thousand-euro bearer bond drawn² on the Vatican Bank."The pilot looked dubious³.

　　"It's the same as cash.""Only cash is cash," the pilot said, handing the bond back.

　　Aringarosa felt weak as he steadied himself against the cockpit door. "This is a matter of life ordeath. You must help me. I need to get to London."The pilot eyed the bishop⁴'s gold ring. "Real diamonds?"Aringarosa looked at the ring. "I could not possibly part with this."The pilot shrugged⁵, turning and focusing back out the windshield.

　　Aringarosa felt a deepening sadness. He looked at the ring. Everything it represented was about tobe lost to the bishop anyway. After a long moment, he slid the ring from his finger and placed itgently on the instrument panel.

　　Aringarosa slunk out of the cockpit and sat back down. Fifteen seconds later, he could feel the pilotbanking a few more degrees to the north.

点击收听单词发音  

1 briefcase
n.手提箱，公事皮包
参考例句：
He packed a briefcase with what might be required.他把所有可能需要的东西都装进公文包。 He requested the old man to look after the briefcase.他请求那位老人照看这个公事包。

2 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 dubious
adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的
参考例句：
What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。 He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

4 bishop
n.主教，（国际象棋）象
参考例句：
He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。 Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

5 shrugged
vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。 She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 shambles
n.混乱之处；废墟
参考例句：
My room is a shambles.我房间里乱七八糟。 The fighting reduced the city to a shambles.这场战斗使这座城市成了一片废墟。