The Hostage人質

Nobody knew what to do at first. Deposit slips fluttered to the floor. A man touched the rim of his baseball cap to make sure it was still there.

一開始沒人知道該怎么辦。存款單飄落到地上，一個男人摸了摸自己棒球帽的帽檐，確認它還在那兒。

The bank robber seemed just as shocked. There were too many people. He realized that， despite all his preparation， he hadn’t considered the afternoon rush.

銀行劫匪似乎同樣驚詫。人也太多了。他意識到，盡管自己做足準備，但還是沒考慮到午后的高峰期。

“Put your hands up，” he said， and people more or less did that. “You’re all hostages now.”

“把手都舉起來。”他說。大家基本都照做了。“你們現在都是人質了。”

“We don’t want to be hostages，” someone said.

“我們不想當人質。”有人說。

“That’s not how this works，” the bank robber said. “I come in， you all become hostages， I get some money and leave， and then you’re free again.”

“這事兒可由不得你。”劫匪說，“我一進來，你們就都變成人質了，我拿了錢走人，你們就又自由了。”

“We’re afraid，” someone else said.

“我們害怕。”另一個人說。

The bank robber got it—he was also afraid.

劫匪心里懂——他也害怕。

A bank teller waved her hand， which was still raised above her head. “I’ll be the hostage，” she said.

一位銀行柜員揮了揮舉在頭頂的手。“讓我當人質吧。”她說。

“You are already one of many hostages，” the bank robber said.

“你已經是眾多人質之一了。”劫匪說。

“Then everyone can go and sit in the old vault，” she said. “There’s no way to call for help in there， and it has a heavy iron door. That means fewer people to mess things up. And I can access everything up front.”

“那就讓所有人都到舊金庫里待著去。”她說，“那里面沒法求救，還有個沉重的鐵門。這樣一來就沒幾個人能添亂了。前臺的所有東西我都能拿到。”

It was a good plan and made the bank robber feel less like he had screwed up by coming in during the rush. “You’re sure there are no alert switches or emergency phones in there？”

這是個好主意，也讓劫匪覺得自己選在高峰期行動也不太至于搞砸一切。“你確定那里面沒有報警器或者緊急電話嗎？”

“It’s a hundred years old，” she said. “You couldn’t get a call out of there if you tried.”

“那地方有好些年頭了。”她說，“就算你想打電話，里面也撥不出去。”

The hostages all turned to see what he would say. He shifted his gun from one hand to the other.

人質們都轉頭看他會怎么說。他把槍從一只手換到另一只手上。

“Fine，” he said.

“行吧。”他說。

They all went to the old vault and the hostages filed in silently. There was plenty of room for them to sit or stand; they would be comfortable there. The teller turned an iron wheel to lock them in. “All right，” she said. “Let’s get to work.”

眾人都去了舊金庫，人質們安靜地魚貫而入。里面有足夠的空間供他們或站或坐，人人都呆得舒坦。柜員轉動鐵轉盤，把眾人鎖在里面。“好了。”她說，“開始做事吧。”

She opened every teller station using keys on a ring she kept at her waist. He watched her stack the money in a duffel bag1， one of two he had brought for the purpose. He was grateful for her knowledge and assistance， if a little unsettled that she was offering it all so freely.

她用腰間鑰匙環上的鑰匙，打開所有出納柜臺。他看著她把錢碼放進一個圓筒包里——那是他帶來的兩個包之一。他感激柜員的熟練與協助，不過也因為她如此痛快地主動幫忙而略感不安。

“You’re not putting a dye pack2 in there， are you？” he asked.

“你該不會往里面放染料包吧？”他問。

The woman turned to look at him， and he was surprised to see that his question seemed to have wounded her. “I would never，” she said. “What would make you say that？”

女人轉頭看向他，他驚訝地發現這個問題似乎傷了她的心。“我絕對不會。”她說，“你怎么會這么說？”

“I’m sorry.” He tried to think about what would make him say it; he had seen a dye pack in a movie once and knew that it could explode and make a terrible mess. There was a lot that he didn’t know about robbing banks， and every moment was another opportunity to reveal his ignorance.

“對不起。”他試圖思考是什么讓自己說出這種話來。他曾在一部電影里見過染料包，知道它會爆炸，弄個一塌糊涂。關于搶銀行，他不知道的東西太多了，每時每刻都有可能暴露自己的無知。

She seemed to sense his hesitation and plucked a pen from one of the teller stations， rolling it across the counter toward him. “Why don’t you go sit down over there and draft a taunting letter to the police，” she said. She pointed to the mortgage officers’ desks， which ringed3 the lobby.

她似乎發覺了他的猶豫，并從柜臺上抽出一支筆，沿著臺面上滾給他。“要不你去那邊坐下來，擬封信嘲諷警察吧。”她說著，指了指大廳外圍的按揭專員辦公桌。

He pulled back the leather chair behind one of the desks and sat. It felt funny to be behind a desk， dressed as he was in black fatigues4. The bank robber couldn’t remember the last time he’d sat behind any desk， and he’d certainly never been near one this nice. He stared at the empty page. Writing had never interested him in school; though he knew he had something to say， it gave him an uneasy feeling. He put his gun in the outgoing-mail tray and dumped a box of paper clips onto the desk.

他拉開其中一張桌子后的皮椅，坐了下來。像他這么穿著黑色作戰服坐在辦公桌后，感覺挺滑稽的。劫匪記不得他上次坐在辦公桌后是什么時候了，而且像這樣好的桌子，他肯定碰都沒碰過。他盯著空白的紙張。在學校時他就從未對寫作有過興趣；盡管他知道自己想說點什么，但這會讓他感到不安。他把槍放進盛著待發信件的托盤里，把一盒回形針倒在了辦公桌上。

The woman noticed him stringing paper clips together. “You could start with， ‘Fuck you， pigs， dumb motherfuckers，’” she said. “Or， if you want it to be more personal， you could try， like， ‘I’m the motherfucking heist5 king and you know it.’ It depends on the tone you want.”

女人注意到他在把回形針串成串。“你可以這么開頭，‘去死吧，豬玀們，蠢貨王八蛋。’”她說，“或者，你要是想更個人化點，可以試試‘我是他媽的搶王之王，你們都知道’。這取決于你想用什么語氣。”

“Motherfucking heist king，” he repeated， writing it down.

“他媽的搶王之王。”他重復了一遍，寫了下來。

“You’re welcome.”

“不用客氣。”

“Yes，” he said， a little annoyed. “Thank you.”

“好吧。”他有點不耐煩地說，“謝了。”

He printed “Motherfucking Heist King” at the top of the page， then wrote it again and again， trying out different handwriting styles and lining the paper with a chain-link pattern. “Motherfucking Heist King”—it really was a nice phrase. Maybe if he could make a design with it， they would get the point of what he was trying to say. What was he trying to say， anyway？ He realized that he hadn’t actually considered writing a letter until it was suggested to him.

他在紙的頂端工整地寫下“他媽的搶王之王”，然后把這話寫了一遍又一遍，他試著用不同風格的字跡，在紙上畫出鏈條形狀的圖案。“他媽的搶王之王”——這聽來可真不賴。或許，他要是能把它設計成什么圖案，人們就能明白他想表達的意思了。不過，他想說的是什么來著？他意識到，要不是有人建議，他本來甚至沒打算寫信的。

After a while， the teller came out from behind the counter to get his other bag. She looked over his shoulder at the page， which by then was covered in designs of his own creation. “Want me to write it？” she asked.

過了一會兒，柜員從柜臺里走出來取他的另一個包。她從劫匪背后看了看那頁紙，上面畫滿了他自己創作的圖案。“想讓我給你寫嗎？”她問道。

He handed her the paper and stood， surprised to find himself so irritated at someone who seemed only to want to help him. Walking to one of the high windows， he saw that a few police cars had begun to gather. “Maybe I should go，” he said.

他把紙遞給她，站了起來，驚訝地發現自己對這個似乎只想施以援手的人火冒三丈。他走到一個高窗旁邊，看到幾輛警車陸續開過來。“也許我該走了。”他說。

She went back behind the counter with a pointed sigh and started to fill the second bag. He watched her poking around the cabinets. Outside， the police were setting up a barricade.

她回到柜臺后面，聲音尖銳地嘆了口氣，開始裝第二個包。劫匪看著她翻箱倒柜。外面，警察正在架設路障。

“I’m going as fast as I can，” the teller said. She sounded angry. “I have to write your stupid letter and pack up this cash and get everything organized. I’m only one person.”

“我已經盡量抓緊了。”柜員的話里帶著怒氣，“我又要寫你那蠢信，又要裝錢，還得把一切都收拾好。我只有一個人啊。”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“我可什么都沒說。”

“This obviously isn’t about me，” she said. “I’ve seen this a million times before. You come in here for a little quick cash， you want to make a getaway. Am I wrong？”

“這顯然跟我沒有關系。”她說，“這種事兒我以前見過無數次了。你進來就是為了整點兒快錢，你想趕緊跑路。我說的不對嗎？”

“You’re the bitch who volunteered.”

“是你他媽自告奮勇的啊。”

“Wow，” she said. “I guess I must have said something to deserve that.”

“哇哦，”她說，“我猜我肯定說了什么才這樣自討苦吃。”

She sounded exactly like his mother， which the bank robber realized was just typical.

她說的話聽來完全就像他老媽一樣，劫匪意識到，這可太典型了。

“Maybe you should go and get in the vault now，” he said. “You’ve helped me out. I appreciate you. I can take it from here.”

“也許你現在該去金庫了。”他說，“你已經幫過我了，我很感激。剩下的我來干就行。”

“Yeah， right，” she said. “You think I’d let you finish this alone？ I’ve done too much for you already to just walk away. I’m in it for the long haul.” She threw the last stacks of cash into the duffel so hard that it slid off the counter， sending its contents spilling across the floor.

“好啊，沒錯。”她說，“你覺得我會讓你一個人收尾嗎？我已經為你做這么多了，不能就一走了之。我要干到底。”她把最后一沓鈔票狠狠扔進圓筒包里，包從柜臺上滑落下來，里面的東西散落一地。

He turned back to the window. If he just stayed out of her way， it would be over soon enough.

他扭過頭看向窗子。如果他不去招惹她，這事兒很快就能過去了。

Grumbling， she crouched down to clean it all up. At the very least， she figured， he could have helped when the bag fell. Thinking of others clearly wasn’t in his nature. She was actually getting pretty tired of his attitude： his inability to speak up， his dismal lack of self-confidence， his unwillingness to take a stand with either the hostages or the police. He didn’t have a point of view or an exit strategy， was content to remain in limbo6. It was pathetic， really.

她喃喃抱怨著蹲下去撿東西，心想：最起碼，他也應該在包掉了的時候幫個忙吧。顯然，他骨子里就不會考慮別人。她實在厭倦了他的態度：不敢大聲講話，自信心少得可憐，無論面對人質還是警察都不愿表明立場。他沒有自己的觀點，也沒有逃跑的策略，心甘情愿地聽天由命。太可悲了，真的。

When he approached the counter， the blank look on his face sickened her; it was the look of a man completely unable to understand the future or to confront it.

他朝柜臺走來時，那副茫然的面孔讓她感到惡心。只有對未來完全懵懂無知且無力面對的人才會帶著這樣的神情。

“What？” he asked.

“怎么了？”他問。

She slid the bag across the counter and spread her arms wide， levelling upon him the full power of her scorn. “You might as well just fucking shoot me，” she said.

她把包推過柜臺，張開雙臂，向他投盡滿腔的輕蔑。“你他媽一槍打死我算了。”她說。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）

1 duffel bag圓筒狀行李包，常用粗呢、帆布等耐磨的材料制成。

2 dye pack染料包，銀行安保用具，形似鈔票，內含染料。可由無線電遙控引爆，釋放的染料會令劫款受到染色和破壞，劫匪身上也會染色，繼而暴露蹤跡。" 3 ring環繞，包圍。

4 fatigues（士兵穿的）作訓服，作戰服。" 5 heist搶劫。

6 limbo懸而未決的待定狀態。