谎言书：07

Those are new.

“Don’t panic just yet,” he says.

I hop¹ in, he hits the gas, and we head straight for my latest federal crime.

11

It was nearly four in the morning as Lloyd Harper flashed his ID and pulled

the tractor truck with the long empty trailer through the main gate at the Port

of Miami. Sure, he was tired — his side ached as the anesthetic² wore off —

but he knew what was at stake. When he got the e-mail notification that the

hold was off, well, some rewards were better than cash.

He’d been at this long enough to know that juicy worms usually had a hidden

hook. And he’d lived in Miami long enough to know that if he got caught, the

payback would be unforgiving. But what the doctor said tonight: the pains

he’d been having in his shoulders and chest, plus the way his hands started

shaking over the past few years . . . He’d lost his wife, lost his family, in

prison they took his dignity — life had already taken so much from him. Was

it really so bad to try to get something back?

With a tap of the gas and a sharp right turn, Lloyd headed for the open metal

fence of the shipping³ yard, where dozens of forty-foot metal containers were

piled up on top of one another — rusted⁵ rectangular monoliths, each one as

long as a train car.

But as Lloyd tugged⁶ the wide steering⁷ wheel, a lightning bolt of pain knifed

his side. He told himself it was the bullet wound, but he knew the truth: just

seeing Cal tonight — seeing the white hair and the heartbroken eyes — just

like the ones that burned through him nineteen years ago. Tonight’s bullet

wound was nothing. The sharpest pains in life come from our own swords.

Lloyd had spent the past two decades building his shield, but this was one

blade he couldn’t stop.

“I’m here for GATH 601174-7,” Lloyd called out his window as he read the

container number from the yellow sheet.

Across the open lot, an older black man was sitting on a pyramid of three

boxes as he read yesterday’s newspaper. He didn’t bother looking up.

“Excuse me . . . sir . . .” Lloyd began.

“I ain’t deaf. My shift don’t start till four.”

Lloyd glanced at the digital clock on his dash: 3:58. Typical union.

“Okay, whatcha need?” the black man called out two minutes later,

approaching Lloyd’s truck and reaching up for the paperwork. “Lemme guess:

Startin’ this early — y’r trynna make Virginia by nightfall.”

“Something like that,” Lloyd replied.

From there, it didn’t take long for the man to find the rust⁴-colored forty-foot

container with 601174-7 painted on the outside or to climb on his forklift and

load it onto the back of Lloyd’s tractor trailer. To be safe, Lloyd came out to

check the numbers for himself. And the seal they put on the back to make

sure the container hadn’t been opened during transit⁸.

As he was about to climb back in his cab, he took a quick glance around the

metal towers of the container yard. No one in sight. Back in the driver’s seat,

he checked again, peering in his rearview as he shifted the truck through the

first few gears and headed for the exit. And he checked again as he drove

toward the final security checkpoint — a three-story-tall radiation portal

monitor that looked like an enormous upside-down letter U. The detector⁹ was

new, designed to catch smuggled¹⁰ nuclear devices. Everyone who left the port

had to drive through it. For a moment, Lloyd edged his foot toward the

brakes.

He held his breath as he approached the detector. The truck bounced slightly.

Slowly rolling forward, he kept his eye on the red and green bulbs that were

embedded¹¹ in the roof of the detector. Once again, a bolt of pain burned at his

side. But when the green light blinked, he smiled, slammed the gas, and

never looked back.

And that’s why, as the eighteen-wheeler climbed and lumbered¹² over the

bridge toward Miami . . . and as he stared into the darkness, searching for

the coming sunrise . . . Lloyd Harper didn’t notice the white, unmarked Crown

Vic that was trailing a few hundred feet behind him.

“Think he knows what he’s hauling in back?” Timothy asked.

“I don’t really care,” Cal replied from the passenger seat, never taking his

eyes off his father’s truck. “But we’re about to find out.”

12

“Guns or drugs — gotta be,” Timothy says as my dad’s eighteen-wheeler

makes a slow, sharp left toward the entrance for I-95. We’re at least three

football fields behind him, with our lights still off. But at four-thirty in the

morning, with only a few cars between us, he’s impossible to miss.

“Maybe your dad’s container—”

“Maybe it’s not my dad’s. For all I know, he’s just another feeb doing a

pickup¹³.”

“But if you thought that, would you really have shown up at three in the

morning? Or would he have shown up at four, fresh from his new bullet

wound? I know you can’t bring yourself to say it — and I know it was just a

random¹⁴ hold — but you should be worried about him,” Timothy says. “Don’t

apologize, Cal. I got twin teenage girls — and no matter how much they hate

me, only monsters would let their father take a beating. In fact, it’s not that

different from Deirdre—”

“Can we just focus on what’s in the shipment? Please.”

To his credit, Timothy lets it go. And I try my best to ignore my crooked¹⁵

pinkies.

According to the bill of lading, GATH 601174-7 is a refrigerated container

that’s (supposedly) carrying 3,850 pounds of frozen shrimp¹⁶ coming

(supposedly) from Panama. My dad definitely gets credit for that. In the world

of smuggling¹⁷ — drugs or anything else — you never know when you’ll be

inspected. But if you want to improve your odds¹⁸, pick a quiet, seafood¹⁹ producing

country (like Panama), fill the container with one of its top exports

(like shrimp), and make sure it’s refrigerated (because once it’s listed as

“perishable,” it’ll move twice as fast through inspection).

This isn’t just about some really good shrimp.

“Turn for the worse,” Timothy says, motioning to the truck.

The shipment was scheduled to be delivered to a warehouse²⁰ in Coral Gables.

That’s south of here. Which is why I’m surprised to see him heading for the

on-ramp of I-95 North.

“Maybe he’s smuggling people,” Timothy says.

“It’s not people,” I tell him, surprised by my own defensiveness²¹. “You said

the shipment checked out fine. No buzzers²² ringing; no dogs barking. If he

were smuggling people, audio would’ve picked up the heartbeats.”

“Then what? Plastic nuclear triggers? F-14 parts? Stolen Picassos? What can

you possibly hide amidst four thousand pounds of frozen shrimp?”

I don’t bother answering. During our first year as agents, Timothy and I

ripped open a suspicious crate²³ and found two hundred snakes with their

anuses sewed shut, their stomachs filled with diamonds they’d been forced to

swallow. There’s no end to what people will try to hide.

Next to us on the highway, an orange taxi blows by us, then races past my

dad and disappears in the horizon of night. “So you never looked him up?”

Timothy asks.

“Pardon?”

“Your dad. All those years at ICE — you had access to computers that could

find the addresses, phone numbers, and birthmarks of every known felon²⁴ in

the country. You never took a glance to see where your missing dad was

living or what he was up to?”

I stare at the outline of my father’s truck in the distance and can’t help but

picture our client Alberto whispering to his father’s ashes in that rusted old RC

Cola can. “No,” I say. “Never did.”

Timothy turns my way and studies me as I fidget with the stray wires that run

down from the blue lights on his dash. There’s no end to what people will try

to hide.

Twenty minutes later, the sky’s still black, my dad’s still ahead, and the

highway — as we blow past the exits of Fort Lauderdale — is dotted with the

first batch²⁵ of early risers.

“You think he sees us?” Timothy asks as my dad veers²⁶ toward the exit that

sends us west on I-595.

“If he saw us, he’d try to lose us. Or at least slow down to get a better look.”

It’s a fair point. But as my dad once again clicks his blinker, I realize we’ve

got a brand-new problem. The exit and highway signs say I-75, but every

local knows the thin stretch of road known as Alligator²⁷ Alley²⁸.

“Why am I not surprised?” Timothy asks as we follow the exit and no other

cars follow behind us. “Cal, I need to call for backup.”

“And where do you plan on hiding me?” I ask as the grass and trees on the

side of the road give way to miles of muddy swampland.

Connecting Florida’s east and west coasts, the narrow and mostly abandoned

lanes of Alligator Alley plow²⁹ straight through the mosquito marshes³⁰ known as

the Everglades. To protect the land, the road has no gas stations, though it is

lined with metal fences to keep the ample alligator population from getting hit

by cars and . . . well . . . eating people.

“There’s no way you’re leaving me out here,” I tell Timothy.

He doesn’t argue. He’s too busy realizing that at barely five a.m., with the

December sky as black as the road in front of us, there’s no one on Alligator

Alley but us. It’s like driving full speed through a cave.

“Cal, I have to put the lights on.”

“Don’t!” I shout as he reaches for the switch. My dad’s truck is still a good

half mile in front of us — two faint red dragon’s eyes staring back from the

depths of the cave. But with no other cars to hide behind . . . “He’ll see us.”

“Then he’ll see us. But I can’t drive like this. I wouldn’t worry, though —

we’re so far, he’ll never make us out.”

With a twist, Timothy flicks³¹ on the lights, and the gray road appears in front

of us. I wait for the dragon’s eyes to glow brighter . . . for my dad to panic

and hit the brakes . . . but he just keeps moving. It doesn’t make me feel any

better. I pull out my cell phone to check the time. The bars for my signal fade

from four . . . three . . . two . . . just a tiny X. No signal.

“If you want, we can turn back,” Timothy offers. “Have them call in the

helicopters and—”

“No,” I insist. I lost my father once. Now that he’s back, I need to know why.

“I’m fine,” I tell him.

“I didn’t ask that, Cal.”

“Just stay with him,” I add, squinting³² into the night and never losing sight of

the dragon’s eyes.

For the next few miles, we chase him deeper down the desolate³³ road, which I

swear narrows with each mile marker. By the time we hit mile marker twenty two,

we’re so deep in the Everglades, the black sky presses down like a circus

tent after they’ve yanked the main pole.

“This was stupid of us,” Timothy says. “What if this was the whole point: to

lead us out where there’re no witnesses, no one to protect us, and only one

way to get in or out?”

I’ve known Timothy a long time. He rarely lets a hair get out of place. But as

he grips the steering wheel, I see a clump³⁴ of them matted by sweat on his

forehead. “Listen, Timothy, if this were an ambush—”

Out in the darkness, halfway³⁵ between us and my dad, two other red dragon’s

eyes pop open.

“Cal—”

“I see it.”

We both lean forward, tightening³⁶ our squints³⁷. It’s another car. Parked on the

side of the road from the looks of it.

Without a word, Timothy pumps the brakes and shuts the lights. I assume

he’s trying to use the darkness to hide us — but in the distance, the new

dragon’s eyes shake and rumble³⁸ . . . then shrink away from us. This new car

— it’s got no interest in us. It takes off, chasing my dad.

“Maybe that’s his buyer. Or his girlfriend.”

A burst of blue light explodes from the new car. I blink once, then again,

making sure I see it right. Damn.

“Cops,” Timothy agrees. “State troopers, I bet. They love Alligator Alley as a

speed trap.”

Sure enough, the new car zips forward, a blazing blue firefly zigzagging³⁹

toward my dad’s truck. The dragon’s eyes on the eighteen-wheeler go bright

red as my dad hits the brakes. But it’s not until they both slow down and pull

off onto the shoulder of the road that we finally get our first good look.

“You sure that’s a cop car?” Timothy asks.

I lean forward in the passenger seat, my fingertips touching⁴⁰ the dash and my

forehead almost touching the front windshield. That’s not a car. It’s a van.

And not a police van. No, the siren’s not on top. The blue light pulses from

within, lighting⁴¹ up the two back windows where the tint⁴² is peeling.

I lean in closer. My forehead taps the windshield.

There’s a swarm⁴³ of rust along the back.

My tongue swells⁴⁴ in my mouth, and I can barely breathe.

What the hell’s my van doing out here?

1 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

2 anesthetic   

n.麻醉剂，麻药；adj.麻醉的，失去知觉的

参考例句：

• He was given a general anesthetic.他被全身麻醉。
• He was still under the influence of the anesthetic.他仍处在麻醉状态。

3 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

4 rust   

n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退

参考例句：

• She scraped the rust off the kitchen knife.她擦掉了菜刀上的锈。
• The rain will rust the iron roof.雨水会使铁皮屋顶生锈。

5 rusted   

v.（使）生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I can't get these screws out; they've rusted in. 我无法取出这些螺丝，它们都锈住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My bike has rusted and needs oil. 我的自行车生锈了，需要上油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

8 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

9 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。

10 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

11 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

12 lumbered   

砍伐（lumber的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• A rhinoceros lumbered towards them. 一头犀牛笨重地向他们走来。
• A heavy truck lumbered by. 一辆重型卡车隆隆驶过。

13 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

14 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

15 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

16 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

17 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

18 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

19 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

20 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

21 defensiveness   

防御性

参考例句：

• The fear of being sued for malpractice has magnified physicians' defensiveness. 担心因医疗事故而被起诉的恐惧加剧了医生们的防卫心理。
• This outbreak of defensiveness embodies one paradox and several myths. 排外行动的爆发，体现了一个矛盾和几个“神话”。

22 buzzers   

n.门铃( buzzer的名词复数 )；蜂音器（的声音）；发嗡嗡声的东西或人；汽笛

参考例句：

• Scout in with Buzzers(Via The Swarm) or whatever fast unit you have. 用技能召唤的蜂群（或者任何你拥有的快速单位）探路。 来自互联网
• Buzzers have the ability to clear garrisoned structures. 蜂群拥有清除驻军建筑得能力。 来自互联网

23 crate   

vt.(up)把…装入箱中；n.板条箱，装货箱

参考例句：

• We broke open the crate with a blow from the chopper.我们用斧头一敲就打开了板条箱。
• The workers tightly packed the goods in the crate.工人们把货物严紧地包装在箱子里。

24 felon   

n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的

参考例句：

• He's a convicted felon.他是个已定罪的重犯。
• Hitler's early "successes" were only the startling depredations of a resolute felon.希特勒的早期“胜利 ”，只不过是一个死心塌地的恶棍出人意料地抢掠得手而已。

25 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

26 veers   

v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的第三人称单数 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转

参考例句：

• The car veers out of control. 这辆车失去了控制。 来自辞典例句
• His fondness for his characters sometimes veers towards the sentimental. 他对那位主人公的偏爱有时也稍显矫情。 来自互联网

27 alligator   

n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)

参考例句：

• She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。

28 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

29 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

30 marshes   

n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
• We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 flicks   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的第三人称单数 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• 'I shall see it on the flicks, I suppose.' “电影上总归看得见。” 来自英汉文学
• Last night to the flicks. 昨晚看了场电影。 来自英汉文学

32 squinting   

斜视( squint的现在分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看

参考例句：

• "More company," he said, squinting in the sun. "那边来人了，"他在阳光中眨巴着眼睛说。
• Squinting against the morning sun, Faulcon examined the boy carefully. 对着早晨的太阳斜起眼睛，富尔康仔细地打量着那个年轻人。

33 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

34 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

35 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

36 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

37 squints   

斜视症( squint的名词复数 )； 瞥

参考例句：

• The new cashier squints, has a crooked nose and very large ears. 新来的出纳斜眼、鹰钩鼻子，还有两只大耳朵。
• They both have squints. 他俩都是斜视。

38 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。

39 zigzagging   

v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 )；盘陀

参考例句：

• She walked along, zigzagging with her head back. 她回头看着，弯弯扭扭地向前走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We followed the path zigzagging up the steep slope. 我们沿着小径曲曲折折地爬上陡坡。 来自互联网

40 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

41 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

42 tint   

n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色

参考例句：

• You can't get up that naturalness and artless rosy tint in after days.你今后不再会有这种自然和朴实无华的红润脸色。
• She gave me instructions on how to apply the tint.她告诉我如何使用染发剂。

43 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

44 swells   

增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The waters were heaving up in great swells. 河水正在急剧上升。
• A barrel swells in the middle. 水桶中部隆起。