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在马里兰与弗吉尼亚边界附近零星散布的陈旧烟草仓库中，这一座算不得有什么特别。在适合修缮房顶的好天气里，若在工作间隙用望远镜指向东北方向，可以挺清楚地将位于米德堡的国家安全局大楼较陈旧的那一面看个大概。不过转到反方向，通向兰利的视线就被一栋灰色的普通写字楼挡住了。那是这一线上唯一高于两层的建筑——就地表上露出的部分来说。
　
　　仓库地面以下13层，James Black正在自己的办公室里翻看有关东亚地区的剪报，不时抬头瞧一眼墙上的挂钟。地面上正是炎热的下午，但这周围的空间24小时都只有靠人造冷光源照明，其中的工作人员对外界天气乃至昼夜更替都普遍地缺乏直观感受。“Sir? Agent Akai on Line One.”Black桌上的扬声器传来秘书的声音，他伸手抓起面前的一个听筒。
　
　　“Shuichi, finally arrived?”
　
　　“Yes sir. Terrible weather, despairing delay... Landed 10 minutes before, now on the way to the Spectacle relic.”
　
　　“So you are going to have some rest, or feel ready to visit the cool guy soon?”
　
　　“Hum... I had enough in the air. But... you suggest today, sir? Have you noticed the date is somehow... irritating?”
　
　　“And it's the high time to activate his emotion. Once you provide that intel, it'll haunt him forever--if he didn't give in immediately...”
　
　　“Well... Haw... I'll try to...”
　
　　“Feel easy, Shuichi, but no hesitate... You are going to make him an offer he can't refuse.”