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Meanwhile, the government representatives explained that Britain did not pay ransom,
同時，政府代表解釋說，英國不會支付贖金，
and would not countenance any arrangement that put money in the hands of terrorists.
而且不會支持任何將錢送到恐怖分子手里的安排。
While the identity of the kidnappers was murky, the line between al-Shabaab militants, pirates and criminals in Somalia was a fluid one.
雖然綁架者的身份尚不清楚，但索馬里的青年黨武裝分子、海盜和罪犯之間的界限是不確定的。
The best that British officials could offer the family was to essentially walk away –
英國官員能給這個家庭的最好的選擇就是離開——
to put what they called “clear water” between the government and any negotiations.
政府將不會參與任何談判。
Their rather charitable interpretation was that since the kidnappers were demanding money they had to be criminals.
他們更仁慈的表達是，既然綁架者要求付錢，那他們肯定是罪犯。
As an only child, Ollie was the family’s point person in the negotiations.
奧利是家里唯一的孩子，他是談判的重要人物。
He moved into his parents’ home, and over the next six months negotiations were carried out around the kitchen table.
他搬到了父母的房子里，接下來六個月的談判都是在廚房的桌前完成的。
They were surprisingly orderly. After each phone call, the kidnappers would arrange a follow-up conversation.
令人驚訝的是，談判非常有序。每次通話之后，綁架者會安排一次后續(xù)談話。
Generally, they kept their appointments.
通常，他們會按時赴約。
A Control Risks consultant would brief him on what to say, and sit by his side.
控制風(fēng)險顧問會向奧利簡要介紹該說些什么，然后坐在他身邊。
A representative from the Metropolitan police monitored the discussions, but did not participate or interfere.
倫敦警察廳的一名代表監(jiān)督了討論，但沒有參與或干預(yù)。
The Tebbutts were a comfortable middle-class family, but did not have millions.
特巴特家是一個舒適的中產(chǎn)階級家庭，但他們沒有幾百萬。
Ollie found the kidnappers had a pretty good sense of the value of their hostage,
奧利發(fā)現(xiàn)綁匪很清楚這個人質(zhì)的價值，
and over the next few months, under the guidance of the Control Risks negotiator, their demands steadily dropped.
在接下來的幾個月里，在控制風(fēng)險談判代表的指導(dǎo)下，他們的要求穩(wěn)步下降。
They finally agreed to accept a ransom of around 600,000 pounds.
他們最終同意接受約60萬英鎊的贖金。
The only way Ollie was able to come up with that sum was to use the death benefits he received following his father’s murder.
奧利能拿出這筆錢的唯一辦法是使用他父親被謀殺后得到的撫恤金。
