After an explosion near East Bridge, a countdown（倒计数）/'kauntdaun/ siren sent residents to the shelter. Ravi opened his briefcase（公文包）/'bri:fkeis/ and checked the list（核对名单）/ʧɛkt ðə lɪst/ while Officer Dora enforced（执行）/in'fɒ:s/ the safety line. A bystander（旁观者）/'baistændә(r)/ claimed that a gang（帮派）/gæŋ/ had tried to hijack（劫持）/'haidʒæk/ a truck, and another said a rebel（叛军）/'rebl/ battalion（营）/bә'tæljәn/ had begun an invasion. The reports described warfare（战事）/'wɒ:fєә/, a siege（围攻）/si:dʒ/, and even a rifle（步枪）/'raifl/ clash（交火）/klæʃ/, but none had a sole（唯一的）/sәul/ reliable witness（可靠的证人）/rɪˈlaɪəbəl ˈwɪtnəs/. “Do not spread a mere（仅仅的）/miә/ suspicion（怀疑）/sә'spiʃәn/. We need facts before we confront（质问）/kәn'frʌnt/ anyone.”

“One vulnerable（脆弱的）/'vʌlnәrәbl/ resident is missing, and medical water is scarce（医疗用水短缺）/ˈmɛdɪkəl ˈwɔtər ɪz skɛrs/. Which peril（危险）/'peril/ comes first?” Ravi made a bold（大胆的）/bәuld/ choice: send one search team, keep the rest at the shelter, and request a police corps（队伍）/kɒ:/ unit. They would not compel（强迫）/kәm'pel/ a volunteer to enter smoke. Firefighters moved to extinguish（熄灭）/ik'stiŋgwiʃ/ a wreck（残骸）/rek/, while a veteran（资深的）/'vetәrәn/ medic treated a head wound. In the meantime（与此同时）/ɪn ðə ˈminˌtaɪm/, Dora asked each witness for an exact location.

“Our first precaution（预防）/pri'kɒ:ʃәn/ is to separate a confirmed danger（区分已确认的危险）/ˈsɛpərˌeɪt ə kənˈfərmd ˈdeɪnʤər/ from an intangible rumor.” A fingerprint（指纹）/'fiŋgәprint/ on an abandoned pistol（手枪）/'pistl/ led to its lawful owner, who had reported it stolen months earlier. No bullet（子弹）/'bulit/ had been fired that night. The supposed combat（战斗）/'kɒmbæt/ scene was actually a film set, and the armed “warrior（战士）/'wɒ:riә/” was an actor. Police did capture（抓获）/'kæptʃә/ a thief nearby, but there was no raid（突袭）/reid/, riot（暴动）/'raiәt/, or gang attack. The evidence overturned the frightening story.

Dora still had to enforce the law（执法）/ɛnˈfɔrs ðə lɔ/. The thief agreed to confess（供认）/kәn'fes/ in writing that he had offered a bribe（贿赂）/braib/ after trying to conceal（隐藏）/kәn'si:l/ stolen medicine. An attorney（律师）/əˈtərni/ explained bail（保释）/beil/, a jury（陪审团）/'dʒuәri/ trial, and the difference between jail（监牢）/dʒeil/ and the old word gaol（监牢）/dʒeil/. The court, not a cop（警官）/kɒp/ at the shelter, would decide whether to expel（驱逐）/ik'spel/ or exile（流放）/'eksail/ anyone. No officer could use torture（酷刑）/'tɒ:tʃә/ or force a surrender（投降）/sә'rendә/. “Upright（正直的）/'ʌprait/ policing means that we protect rights（保护权利）/prəˈtɛkt raɪts/ even when impulse（冲动）/'impʌls/ tells us to act fast.”

Searchers found the missing resident beneath a billboard, in distress（痛苦处境）/di'stres/ but alive. They had to strip（脱去）/strip/ wet cloth from his arm before doctors took a blood specimen（样本）/'spesimәn/ and treated him. Ravi updated the shelter list and explained the paradox（悖论）/'pærәdɒks/: alarming stories had multiplied while the real emergency was smaller and manageable. A regional treaty（条约）/'tri:ti/ offered mutual aid（互助支援）/mˈjuʧuəl eɪd/, but no outside force needed to invade（进入）/in'veid/. By checking each claim, the team prevented fear from becoming a second disaster.