tc.redrabbit-第141章

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his　life；　often　consulting　quietly　with　the　Security　Service　and　the　Foreign　Office。　He　had　a　〃Most　Secret〃　clearance；　plus　one　into　partmented　information。　He'd　been　a　confidant　of　several　prime　ministers　over　the　years；　and　was　considered　as　reliable　as　the　Queen　herself。　He　thought　it　just　came　along　with　the　Winchester　school　tie。
　　　〃The　Pope；　eh？〃
　　　〃Yes；　George；〃　Charleston　confirmed。　〃The　PM　wants　us　to　look　into　protecting　the　man。　Trouble　is；　I　haven't　a　clue　at　the　moment。　We　can't　contact　the　Vatican　directly　about　it。〃
　　　〃Quite　so；　Basil。　One　can　trust　their　loyalty；　but　not　their　politics。　Tell　me；　how　good　do　you　suppose　their　own　intelligence　service　is？〃
　　　〃I'd　have　to　say　it's　top…drawer　in　many　areas。　What　better　confidant　than　a　priest；　after　all；　and　what　better　way　to　transfer　information　than　inside　the　confessional？　Plus　all　the　other　techniques　that　one　can　use。　Their　political　intelligence　is　probably　as　good　as　ours…perhaps　even　better。　I　would　imagine　they　know　everything　that　happens　in　Poland；　for　example。　And　Eastern　Europe　probably　has　few　secrets　from　them　as　well。　One　cannot　underestimate　their　ability　to　call　on　a　man's　highest　loyalty；　after　all。　We've　kept　an　ear　on　their　munications　for　decades。〃
　　　〃Is　that　so？〃　Hendley　asked。
　　　〃Oh；　yes。　During　World　War　Two；　they　were　very　valuable　to　us。　There　was　a　German　cardinal　in　the　Vatican　back　then；　chap　named　Mansdorf…odd；　isn't　it？　Sounds　like　a　Jewish　name。　First　name　Dieter；　archbishop　of　Mannheim；　then　promoted　to　the　Vatican　diplomatic　service。　Traveled　a　lot。　Kept　us　posted　on　the　inner　secrets　of　the　Nazi　Party　from　1938　through　to　the　end　of　the　war。　He　didn't　much　care　for　Hitler；　you　see。〃
　　　〃And　their　munications？〃
　　　〃Mansdorf　actually　gave　us　his　own　cipher　book　to　copy。　They　changed　it　after　the　war；　of　course；　and　so　we　got　little　more　in　the　way　of　their　private　mail　later　on；　but　they　never　changed　their　cipher　system；　and　the　chaps　at　GCHQ　have　occasional　success　listening　in。　Good　man；　Dieter　Cardinal　Mansdorf。　Never　got　recognized　for　his　service；　of　course。　Died　in　'fifty…nine；　I　think。〃
　　　〃So　how　do　we　know　that　the　Romans　don't　know　about　this　operation　already？〃　Not　a　bad　question；　Charleston　thought；　but　he'd　long　since　considered　that　one。
　　　〃It　is　being　held　very　closely；　our　defector　tells　us。　Hand…delivered　messages；　not　going　out　on　their　machine　ciphers；　that　sort　of　thing。　And　a　bare　handful　of　people　involved。　The　one　important　name　we　do　know　is　a　Bulgarian　field　officer；　Boris　Strokov；　colonel　in　the　DS。　We　suspect　he's　the　chap　who　killed　Georgiy　Markov　just　up　the　road　from　my　office。〃　Which　Charleston　considered　an　act　of　lese…majeste；　perhaps　even　executed　as　a　direct　challenge　to　the　Secret　Intelligence　Service。　CIA　and　KGB　had　an　informal　covenant：　Neither　service　ever　killed　in　the　other's　capital。　SIS　had　no　such　agreement　with　anyone；　a　fact　that　might　have　cost　Georgiy　Markov　his　life。
　　　〃So；　you　think　he　might　be　the　prospective　assassin？〃
　　　C　waved　his　hands。　〃It's　all　we　have；　George。〃
　　　〃Not　much；〃　Hendley　observed。
　　　〃Too　thin　for　fort；　but　it's　better　than　nothing。　We　have　numerous　photos　of　this　Strokov　fellow。　The　Yard　was　close　to　arresting　him　when　he　flew　out　of　Heathrow…for　Paris；　actually；　and　from　there　on　to　Sofia。〃
　　　〃Perhaps　he　was　in　a　hurry　to　leave？〃　Hendley　suggested。
　　　〃He's　a　professional；　George。　How　many　chances　do　such　people　take？　In　retrospect；　it's　rather　amazing　that　the　Yard　got　a　line　on　him　at　all。〃
　　　〃So；　you　think　he　might　be　in　Italy。〃　A　statement；　not　a　question。
　　　〃It's　a　possibility；　but　whom　can　we　tell？〃　C　asked。　〃The　Italians　have　criminal　jurisdiction　to　a　point。　The　Lateran　Treaty　gives　them　discretionary　jurisdiction；　subject　to　a　Vatican　veto；〃　Charleston　explained。　He'd　had　to　look　into　the　legalities　of　the　situation。　〃The　Vatican　has　its　own　security　service…the　Swiss　Guards；　you　know…but　however　good　the　men　are；　it's　necessarily　a　thin　reed；　what　with　the　restrictions　imposed　on　them　from　above。　And　the　Italian　authorities　cannot　flood　the　area　with　their　own　security　forces；　for　obvious　reasons。〃
　　　〃So；　the　PM　has　saddled　you　with　an　impossible　task。〃
　　　〃Yes；　again；　George；〃　Sir　Basil　had　to　agree。
　　　〃So；　what　can　you　do？〃
　　　〃All　I　can　really　e　up　with　is　to　put　some　officers　in　the　crowd　and　look　for　this　Markov　fellow。〃
　　　〃And　if　they　see　him？〃
　　　〃Ask　him　politely　to　depart　the　area？〃　Basil　wondered　aloud。　〃It　would　work；　probably。　He　is　a　professional；　and　being　spotted…I　suppose　we'd　ostentatiously　take　photographs　of　him…would　give　him　serious　pause；　perhaps　enough　to　abandon　the　mission。〃
　　　〃Thin。〃　Hendley　thought　of　that　idea。
　　　〃Yes；　it　is；〃　C　had　to　agree。　But　it　would　at　least　give　him　something　to　tell　the　Prime　Minister。
　　　〃Whom　to　send？〃
　　　〃We　have　a　good　Station　Chief　in　Rome；　Tom　Sharp。　He　has　four　officers　in　his　shop；　plus　we　could　send　a　few　more　from　Century　House；　I　suppose。〃
　　　〃Sounds　reasonable；　Basil。　Why　did　you　call　me　over？〃
　　　〃I　was　hoping　you'd　have　an　idea　that's　eluded　me；　George。〃　A　final　sip　from　the　snifter。　As　much　as　he　felt　like　some　more　brandy　for　the　night；　he　demurred。
　　　〃One　can　only　do　what　one　can；〃　Hendley　sympathized。
　　　〃He's　too　good　a　man　to　be　cut　down　this　way…at　the　hands　of　the　bloody　Russians。　And　for　what？　For　standing　up　for　his　own　people。　That　sort　of　loyalty　is　supposed　to　be　rewarded；　not　murdered　in　public。〃
　　　〃And　the　PM　feels　the　same　way。〃
　　　〃She　is　fortable　taking　a　stand。〃　For　which　the　PM　was　famous　throughout　the　world。
　　　〃The　Americans？〃　Hendley　asked。
　　　Charleston　shrugged。　〃They　haven't　had　a　chance　to　speak　to　the　defector　yet。　They　trust　us；　George；　but　not　that　much。〃
　　　〃Well；　do　what　you　can。　This　KGB　operation　probably　will　not　happen　in　the　immediate　future；　anyway。　How　efficient　are　the　Soviets；　anyway？〃
　　　〃We　shall　see〃　was　all　C　had　to　say。
　　　It　was　quieter　here　than　in　his　own　house；　despite　the　nearby　presence　of　the　motorway；　Ryan　thought；　rolling　out　of　bed　at　6：50。　The　sink　continued　the　eccentric　British　way　of　having　two　faucets；　one　hot　and　one　cold；　making　sure　that　your　left　hand　boiled　while　the　right　one　froze　when　you　washed　your　hands。　As　usual；　it　felt　good　to　shave　and　brush　and　otherwise　get　yourself　ready　for　the　day；　even　if　you　had　to　start　it　with　Taster's　Choice。
　　　Kingshot　was　already　in　the　kitchen　when　Jack　got　there。　Funny　how　people　slept　late　on　Sunday　but　frequently　not　on　Saturday。
　　　〃Message　from　London；〃　Al　said　by　way　of　greeting。
　　　〃What's　that？〃
　　　〃A　question。　How　would　you　feel　about　a　flight　to　Rome　this　afternoon？〃
　　　〃What's　up？〃
　　　〃Sir　Basil　is　sending　some　people　to　the　Vatican　to　suss　things　out。　He　wants　to　know　if　you　want　to　go。　It's　a　CIA　op；　after　all。〃
　　　〃Tell　him　yes；〃　Jack　said　without　a　moment's　thought。　〃When？〃　Then　he　realized　he　was　being　impetuous　again。　Damn。
　　　〃Noon　flight　out　of　Heathrow。　You　ought　to　have　time　to　go　home　and　change　clothes。〃
　　　〃Car？〃
　　　〃Nick　will　drive　you　over；〃　Kingshot　told　him。
　　　〃What　are　you　going　to　tell　Oleg？〃
　　　〃The　truth。　It　ought　to　make　him　feel　more　important；〃　Al　thought　aloud。　It　was　always　a　good　thing　for　defectors。
　　　Ryan　and　Thompson　left　within　the　hour；　with　Jack's　bags　in　the　〃boot。〃
　　　〃This　Zaitzev　chap；〃　Nick　said　out　on　the　motorway。　〃He　seems　rather　an　important　defector。〃
　　　〃Bet　your　ass；　Nick。　He's　got　all　kinds　of　hot　information　between　his　ears。　We're　going　to　treat　him　like　a　hod　full　of　gold　bricks。〃
　　　〃Good　of　CIA　to　let　us　talk　to　him。〃
　　　〃It'd　be　kinda　churlish　not　to。　You　guys　got　him　out　for　us；　and　covering　the　defection　up　was　pretty　slick。〃　Jack　couldn't　say　too　much　more。　As　trusted　as　Nick　Thompson　was；　Jack　couldn't　know　how　much　clearance　he　had。
　　　The　good　news　was　that　Thompson　knew　what　not　to　ask。　〃So；　your　father　was　a　police　officer？〃
　　　〃Detective；　yeah。　Mainly　homicide。　Did　that　more　than　twenty　years。　He　topped　out　at　lieutenant。　Said　captains　never　got　to　do　anything　more　than　administrative　stuff；　and　dad　wasn't　into　that。　He　liked　busting　bad　guys　and　sending　them　to　the　joint。〃
　　　〃The　what？〃
　　　〃Prison。　The　Maryland　State　Prison　is　one