Convicted murderer Seth Baxter awakens chained to a table beneath a pendulum blade . A videotape informs him that crushing his hands between the presses will release him ; he does so , but the blade still swings down and violently cuts him in half , while someone watches through a hole in the wall . The scene cuts to Agent Peter Strahm , who kills Jeff Denlon in self-defense and is sealed in the sickroom . He finds a hidden passage with a tape recorder that warns him to stay in the sickroom , but ignores it . He is attacked by a pig-masked figure in the passage and awakens with his head sealed in a box slowly filling with water , Which he survives by performing a tracheotomy using a pen . Outside the plant , Detective Mark Hoffman delivers Corbett Denlon to the police and claims they are the only survivors , and is shocked when Strahm is brought out alive as well . Jill Tuck is met by John Kramer's attorney , who is administering his will . She is left a box and a videotape , in Which John stresses the importance of the box's contents . She opens it with a key hung around her neck and then leaves without disclosing its contents . In a memorial service held for David Tapp , Steven Sing , Allison Kerry , Eric Matthews , and Daniel Rigg , the five officers killed in action , Hoffman is promoted to detective lieutenant . He is informed of the death of Agent Lindsey Perez while taking Strahm's phone and goes to the hospital to meet Strahm , who says that Hoffman's name was Perez's last words .

Question: "What did Strahm say were Perez's last words?"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

Answer: "Talk to me"

Response: no

(CNN) -- Horror-meister, Stephen King calls George Pelecanos "perhaps the greatest living American crime writer." His stories are set in Pelecanos' hometown of Washington, D.C., but this is not the side of the U.S. capitol that you see portrayed on TV with white marble monuments, lawyers and lobbyists. Pelecanos is more interested in working families struggling to get by, the racial tensions in its ethnic neighborhoods and the low-lifes on the edges. His crime-writing peers call Pelecanos the "undisputed poet" of Washington's gritty side. The best-selling and award-winning author is out this week with his 17th and latest novel, "The Cut." It's the first in a new series featuring Iraq war veteran and private investigator Spero Lucas. When he's not working for a Washington defense attorney, Lucas recovers stolen property for a 40% cut. Now, a high-profile crime boss hires Lucas to find out who's been stealing from him, and it could turn out to be Lucas' biggest payday or an untimely end. While Pelecanos made his bones in the noir tradition, there's a definite "Western" feel to "The Cut." The new novel takes place in a morally gray and often violent world. It's peppered with pitch-perfect dialogue and captures the sights, sounds and taste of Washington in rich detail. In short, Pelecanos reads like the real deal. Pelecanos knows a thing or two about capturing the authenticity of urban America with an ethnically and socially diverse cast. In addition to his success as a novelist, Pelecanos is a producer and writer for HBO's New Orleans-set, "Treme." He was previously a producer and Emmy-nominated writer on the hit series "The Wire" and the miniseries "The Pacific." Read an excerpt from "The Cut" CNN recently spoke to Pelecanos about his new novel. The following is an edited transcript. CNN: Tell me more about your new character, Spero Lucas.

Question: "What three shows has Pelecanos been a writer for?"

Response: "Downton Abbey, Rugrats, Unsolved Mysteries"
OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

A: no

In the popular mind, the history of Hong Kong, long the entryway to China for Westerners, begins in 1841 with the British occupation of the territory. However, it would be wrong to dismiss the long history of the region itself. Archaeologists today are working to uncover Hong Kong's past, which stretches back thousands of years. You can get a glimpse into that past at Lei Cheng Uk Museum's 1,600-year-old burial vault on the mainland just north of Kowloon. In 1992, when construction of the airport on Chek Lap Kok was begun, a 2,000-year-old village, Pak Mong, was discovered, complete with artifacts that indicated a sophisticated rural society. An even older Stone Age site was discovered on Lamma Island in 1996. While Hong Kong remained a relative backwater in early days, nearby Guangzhou (Canton) was developing into a great trading city with connections in India and the Middle East. By a.d. 900, the Hong Kong islands had become a lair for pirates preying on the shipping in the Pearl River Delta and causing a major headache for burgeoning Guangzhou; small bands of pirates were still operating into the early years of the 20th century. In the meantime, the mainland area was being settled by incomers, the "Five Great Clans": Tang, Hau, Pang, Liu, and Man. First to arrive was the Tang clan, which established a number of walled villages in the New Territories that still exist today. You can visit Kat Hing Wai and Lo Wai, villages with their walls still intact. Adjacent to Lo Wai is the Tang Chung Ling Ancestral Hall, built in the 16th century, which is still the center of clan activities. The first Europeans to arrive in the Pearl River Delta were the Portuguese, who settled in Macau in 1557 and for several centuries had a monopoly on trade between Asia, Europe, and South America. As Macau developed into the greatest port in the East, it also became a base for Jesuit missionaries; it was later a haven for persecuted Japanese Christians. While Christianity was not a great success in China, it made local headway, evidenced today by the numerous Catholic churches in Macau's historic center. Intermarriage with the local Chinese created a community of Macanese, whose culture can still be seen in Macau's architecture and cuisine.

Question: "Where the British the first Europeans to settle Pearl River Delta and Hong Kong?"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

Answer: "No"

Response:
yes