tc.redrabbit-第13章

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　　　〃Think　they　lost　any　sleep　over　that　incident？　I　do　not；〃　C　assured　him。
　　　〃Looks　bad。　They　don't　do　much　of　this　anymore；　not　that　I've　heard　about。〃
　　　〃Only　at　home；　I　grant　you　that。　But　Poland　is　'home'　for　them；　well　within　their　sphere　of　influence。〃
　　　〃But　the　Pope　lives　in　Rome；　and　that　isn't。　It　es　down　to　how　scared　they　are；　sir。　Father　Tim　Riley　at　Georgetown；　back　when　I　got　my　doctorate；　he　said　never　to　forget　that　wars　are　begun　by　frightened　men。　They　fear　war；　but　more　than　that；　they　fear　what　will　happen　if　they　don't　start　one…or　take　equivalent　action；　I　suppose。　So；　the　real　questions　are；　as　I　said；　how　seriously　they　will　take　the　threat　and　how　serious　it　will　appear　to　them。　On　the　former；　yes；　I　don't　think　this　is　a　bluff。　The　Pope's　character；　background；　and　personal　courage…those　are　not　things　to　be　doubted。　So　the　threat　is　a　real　one。　The　larger　question　is　how　to　evaluate　the　magnitude　of　the　threat　to　them。。。〃
　　　〃Go　on；〃　the　Director　General　ordered　gently。
　　　〃If　they're　smart　enough　to　recognize　it…yes；　sir；　in　their　position；　I'd　be　concerned　about　it。。。　maybe　even　a　little　frightened。　As　much　as　the　Soviets　think　they're　a　superpower…America's　equal　and　all　that…deep　down　they　know　that　their　state　is　not　really　legitimate。　Kissinger　gave　a　lecture　to　us　at　Georgetown。。。　〃Jack　leaned　back　and　closed　his　eyes　for　a　moment　to　recapture　the　performance。　〃It　was　something　he　said　near　the　end；　talking　about　the　character　of　the　Russian　leaders。　Brezhnev　was　showing　him　around　some　official　building　or　other　in　the　Kremlin；　where　Nixon　was　going　to　e　for　his　last　summit　meeting。　He　was　lifting　cloth　covers　off　the　statuary；　showing　how　they'd　taken　the　time　to　clean　everything　up　in　preparation　for　the　visit。　Why　do　that；　I　wondered　at　the　time。　I　mean；　sure；　they　have　maids　and　maintenance　people。　Why　make　a　point　of　showing　it　to　Henry？　It　has　to　be　a　sense　of　inferiority；　fundamental　insecurity。　We　keep　hearing　that　they're　ten　feet　tall；　but　I　don't　think　so；　and　the　more　I　learn　about　them；　the　less　formidable　I　think　they　are。　The　Admiral　and　I　have　argued　this　one　back　and　forth　for　the　last　couple　of　months。　They　have　a　large　military。　Their　intelligence　services　are　first…rate。　They　are　big。　Big　ugly　bear；　like　Muhammad　Ali　used　to　say；　but　you　know；　Ali　beat　the　bear　twice；　didn't　he？
　　　〃That's　a　roundabout　way　of　saying　that；　yes；　sir；　I　think　this　letter　will　scare　them。　Question　is；　scare　them　enough　to　do　something？〃　Ryan　shook　his　head。　〃Possibly　yes；　but　we　have　insufficient　data　at　this　time。　If　they　decide　to　push　that　particular　button；　will　we　know　beforehand？〃
　　　Charleston　had　been　waiting　for　Ryan　to　turn　the　tables　on　him。　〃One　can　hope　so；　but　it's　impossible　to　be　sure。〃
　　　〃In　the　year　I've　been　at　Langley；　the　impression　I　get　is　that　our　knowledge　of　the　target　is　deep　but　narrow　in　some　areas；　shallow　and　broad　in　others。　I've　yet　to　meet　somebody　who　feels　fortable　analyzing　them…well；　that's　not　exactly　true。　Some　are　fortable；　but　their　analyses　are　often…to　me　at　least…unreliable。　Like　the　stuff　we　get　on　their　economy…〃
　　　〃James　lets　you　into　that？〃　Basil　was　surprised。
　　　〃The　Admiral　sent　me　all　around　the　barn　the　first　couple　of　months。　My　first　degree　was　economics　from　Boston　College。　I　passed　my　CPA　exam　before　I　went　away　with　the　Marine　Corps…certified　public　accountant。　You　call　it　something　different　over　here。　Then；　after　I　left　the　Corps；　I　did　okay　in　the　stock…and…bond　business　before　I　finished　up　my　doctorate　and　went　into　teaching。〃
　　　〃Exactly　how　much　did　you　make　on　Wall　Street？〃
　　　〃While　I　was　at　Merrill　Lynch？　Oh；　between　six　and　seven　million。　A　lot　of　that　was　the　Chicago　and　North　Western　Railroad。　My　uncle　Mario…my　mom's　brother…told　me　that　the　employees　were　going　to　buy　out　the　stock　and　try　to　get　the　railroad　profitable　again。　I　took　a　look　at　it　and　liked　what　I　saw。　It　paid　off　a　net　of　twenty…three　to　one　on　my　investment。　I　ought　to　have　dropped　more　into　it；　but　they　taught　me　to　be　conservative　at　Merrill　Lynch。　Never　worked　in　New　York；　by　the　way。　I　was　in　the　Baltimore　office。　Anyway；　the　money's　still　in　stocks；　and　the　market　looks　pretty　healthy　at　the　moment。　I　still　dabble　in　it。　You　never　know　when　you're　going　to　stumble　across　a　winner；　and　it's　still　an　interesting　hobby。〃
　　　〃Indeed。　If　you　see　anything　promising；　do　let　me　know。〃
　　　〃No　fees…but　no　guarantees；　either；〃　Ryan　joked。
　　　〃I'm　not　accustomed　to　those；　Jack；　not　in　this　bloody　business。　I'm　going　to　assign　you　to　our　Russian　working　group　with　Simon　Harding。　Oxford　graduate；　doctorate　in　Russian　literature。　You'll　see　just　about　everything　he　sees…everything　but　source　information…〃　Ryan　stopped　him　with　two　raised　hands。
　　　〃Sir　Basil；　I　do　not　want　to　know　that　stuff。　I　don't　need　it；　and　knowing　it　would　keep　me　awake　at　night。　Just　so　I　see　the　raw。　I　prefer　to　do　my　own　analysis。　This　Harding　guy　is　smart？〃　Ryan　asked　with　deliberate　artlessness。
　　　〃Very　much　so。　You've　probably　seen　his　product　before。　He　did　the　personal　evaluation　on　Yuriy　Andropov　we　turned　out　two　years　ago。〃
　　　〃I　did　read　that。　Yeah；　that　was　good　work。　I　figured　he　was　a　pshrink。〃
　　　〃He's　read　psychology；　but　not　quite　enough　for　a　degree。　Simon's　a　clever　lad。　Wife　is　an　artist；　painter；　lovely　lady。〃
　　　〃Right　now？〃
　　　〃Why　not？　I　must　get　back　to　my　work。　e；　I'll　walk　you　down。〃
　　　It　wasn't　far。　Ryan　immediately　learned　that　he'd　be　sharing　an　office　right　here　on　the　top　floor。　This　came　as　a　surprise。　Getting　to　the　Seventh　Floor　at　Langley　took　years；　and　often　meant　climbing　over　bloody　bodies。　Somebody；　Jack　speculated；　must　have　thought　he　was　smart。
　　　Simon　Harding's　office　was　not　overly　impressive。　The　two　windows　overlooked　the　upriver　side　of　the　building；　mainly　two…　and　three…story　brick　structures　of　indeterminate　occupancy。　Harding　himself　was　crowding　forty；　pale　and　fair…haired　with　china…blue　eyes。　He　wore　an　unbuttoned　vest…waistcoat　locally…and　a　drab　tie。　His　desk　was　covered　with　folders　trimmed　in　striped　tape；　the　universal　coding　for　secret　material。
　　　〃You　must　be　Sir　John；〃　Harding　said；　setting　down　his　briar　pipe。
　　　〃The　name's　Jack；〃　Ryan　corrected　him。　〃I'm　really　not　allowed　to　pretend　I'm　a　knight。　Besides；　I　don't　own　a　horse　or　a　steel　shirt。　〃　Jack　shook　hands　with　his　workmate。　Harding　had　small；　bony　hands；　but　those　blue　eyes　looked　smart。
　　　〃Take　good　care　of　him；　Simon。〃　Sir　Basil　immediately　took　his　leave。
　　　There　was　already　a　swivel　chair　in　place　at　a　suspiciously　clean　desk。　Jack　tried　it　out。　The　room　was　going　to　be　a　little　crowded；　but　not　too　badly　so。　His　desk　phone　had　a　scrambler　under　it　for　making　secure　calls；　Ryan　wondered　if　it　worked　as　well　as　the　STU　he'd　had　at　Langley。　GCHQ　out　at　Cheltenham　worked　closely　with　NSA；　and　maybe　it　was　the　same　innards　with　a　different　plastic　case。　He'd　have　to　keep　reminding　himself　that　he　was　in　a　foreign　country。　That　ought　not　to　be　too　hard；　Ryan　hoped。　People　did　talk　funny　here：　grahss；　rahsberry　and　cahstle；　for　example；　though　the　effect　of　American　movies　and　global　television　was　perverting　the　English　language　to　the　American　version　slowly　but　surely。
　　　〃Did　Bas　talk　to　you　about　the　Pope？〃　Simon　asked。
　　　〃Yeah。　That　letter　could　be　a　bombshell。　He's　wondering　how　Ivan's　going　to　react　to　it。〃
　　　〃We　all　are；　Jack。　You　have　any　ideas？〃
　　　〃I　just　told　your　boss；　if　Stalin　was　sitting　there；　he　might　want　to　shorten　the　Pope's　life；　but　that　would　be　a　hell　of　a　big　gamble。〃
　　　〃The　problem；　I　think；　is　that　although　they　are　rather　collegial　in　their　decision…making；　Andropov　is　in　the　ascendancy；　and　he　might　be　less　reticent　than　the　rest　of　them。〃
　　　Jack　settled　back　in　to　his　chair。　〃You　know；　my　wife's　friends　at　Hopkins　flew　over　there　a　couple　of　years　ago。　Mikhail　Suslov　had　diabetic　retinopathy　of　the　eyes…he　was　also　a　high　myope；　very　nearsighted…and　they　went　over　to　fix　it；　and　to　teach　some　Russian　docs　how　to　do　the　procedure。　Cathy　was　just　a　resident　then。　But　Bernie　Katz　was　on　the　fly　team。　He's　the　director　at　Wilmer。　Super　eye　surgeon；　hell　of　a　good　guy。　The　Agency　interviewed　him　and　t