tc.redrabbit-第143章

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　　　With　that　done；　he　retrieved　his　bags　off　the　carousel　and　headed　out。　A　man　with　a　gray　and　brown　beard　seemed　to　be　eyeballing　him。
　　　〃You're　Jack　Ryan？〃
　　　〃You　must　be　Tom　Sharp。〃
　　　〃Correct。　Let　me　help　you　with　your　bags。〃　Why　people　did　this；　Ryan　didn't　know；　though　on　reflection；　he'd　done　it　himself　often　enough；　and　the　Brits　were　the　world　champions　at　good　manners。
　　　〃And　you　are？〃　Ryan　asked。
　　　〃Station　Chief　Rome；〃　Sharp　replied。　〃C　called　to　say　you　were　ing　in；　Sir　John；　and　that　I　ought　to　meet　you　personally。〃
　　　〃Good　of　Basil；〃　Jack　thought　out　loud。
　　　Sharp's　car　was；　in　this　case；　a　Bentley　sedan；　bronze　in　color；　with　left…hand　driver's　seat　in　deference　to　the　fact　that　they　were　in　a　barbarian　country。
　　　〃Nice　wheels；　fella。〃
　　　〃My　cover　is　Deputy　Chief　of　Mission；〃　Sharp　explained。　〃I　could　have　had　a　Ferrari；　but　it　seemed　a　little　too　ostentatious。　I　do　little　actual　field　work；　you　see；　just　administrative　things。　I　actually　am　the　DCM　of　the　embassy。　Too　much　diplomatic　work…that　can　drive　one　mad。〃
　　　〃How's　Italy？〃
　　　〃Lovely　place；　lovely　people。　Not　terribly　well　organized。　They　say　we　Brits　muddle　through　things；　but　we're　bloody　Prussians　pared　to　this　lot。〃
　　　〃Their　cops？〃
　　　〃Quite　good；　actually。　Several　different　police　forces。　Best　of　the　lot　are　the　Carabinieri；　paramilitary　police　of　the　central　government。　Some　of　them　are　excellent。　Down　in　Sicily　they're　trying　to　get　a　handle　on　the　Mafia…pig　of　a　job　that　is；　but；　you　know；　eventually　I　think　they　will　succeed。〃
　　　〃You　briefed　in　on　why　they　sent　me　down？〃
　　　〃Some　people　think　Yuriy　Vladimirovich　wants　to　kill　the　Pope？　That's　what　my　telex　said。〃
　　　〃Yeah。　We　just　got　a　defector　out　who　says　so；　and　we　think　he's　giving　us　the　real　shit。〃
　　　〃Any　details？〃
　　　〃'Fraid　not。　I　think　they　sent　me　down　here　to　work　with　you　until　somebody　figures　out　the　right　thing　to　do。　Looks　to　me　like　an　attempt　might　be　made　Wednesday。〃
　　　〃The　weekly　appearance　in　the　square？〃
　　　Jack　nodded。　〃Yep。〃　They　were　on　the　highway　from　the　airport　to　Rome。　The　country　looked　odd　to　Ryan；　but　it　took　a　minute　to　figure　out　why。　Then　he　got　it。　The　pitch　of　the　roofs　was　different…shallower　than　what　he　was　used　to。　They　probably　didn't　get　much　snow　here　in　winter。　Otherwise　the　houses　looked　rather　like　sugar　cubes；　painted　white　to　reject　the　heat　of　the　Italian　sun。　Well；　every　country　had　its　unique　architecture。
　　　〃Wednesday；　eh？〃
　　　〃Yeah。　We're　also　looking　for　a　guy　named　Boris　Strokov；　colonel　in　the　Bulgarian　DS。　Sounds　like　a　professional　killer。〃
　　　Sharp　concentrated　on　the　road。　〃I've　heard　the　name。　Wasn't　he　a　suspect　in　the　Georgiy　Markov　killing？〃
　　　〃That's　the　guy。　They　ought　to　be　sending　some　photos　of　him。〃
　　　〃Courier　on　your　flight；〃　Sharp　reported。　〃Taking　a　different　way　into　the　city。〃
　　　〃Any　ideas　on　what　the　hell　to　do？〃
　　　〃We'll　get　you　settled　at　the　embassy…my　house；　actually；　two　blocks　away。　It's　rather　nice。　Then　we'll　drive　down　to　Saint　Peter's　and　look　around；　get　a　feel　for　things。　I've　been　there　to　see　the　artwork　and　such…the　Vatican　art　collection　is　on　a　par　with　the　Queen's…but　I've　never　worked　there　per　se。　Ever　been　to　Rome？〃
　　　〃Never。〃
　　　〃Very　well；　let's　take　a　drive…about　first　instead；　give　you　a　quick　feel　for　the　place。〃
　　　Rome　seemed　a　remarkably　disorganized　place…but　so　did　a　street　map　of　London；　whose　city　fathers　had　evidently　not　been　married　to　the　city　mothers。　And　Rome　was　older　by　a　thousand　years　or　so；　built　when　the　fastest　thing　going　was　a　horse；　and　they　were　slower　in　real　life　than　in　a　John　Ford　Western。　Not　many　straight　lines　for　the　roads；　and　a　meandering　river　in　the　middle。　Everything　looked　old　to　Ryan…no；　not　old　but　old；　as　though　dinosaurs　had　once　walked　the　streets。　That　was　a　little　hard　to　reconcile　with　the　automobile　traffic；　of　course。
　　　〃That's　the　Flavian　Amphitheater。　It　was　called　the　Coliseum　because　the　Emperor　Nero　had　built　a　large　statue　of　himself　right　there〃…Sharp　pointed…〃and　the　people　took　to　calling　the　stadium　by　that　name；　rather　to　the　annoyance　of　the　Flavian　family；　which　built　the　place　out　of　proceeds　from　the　Jewish　rebellion　that　Josephus　wrote　about。〃
　　　Jack　had　seen　it　on　TV　and　in　the　movies；　but　that　wasn't　quite　the　same　as　driving　past　it。　Men　had　built　that　with　nothing　more　than　sweat　power　and　hemp　ropes。　Its　shape　was　strangely　reminiscent　of　Yankee　Stadium　in　New　York。　But　Babe　Ruth　had　never　spilled　a　guy's　guts　out　in　the　Bronx。　A　lot　of　that　had　happened　here。　It　was　time　for　Ryan　to　make　an　admission。
　　　〃You　know；　if　they　ever　invent　a　time　machine；　I　think　I　might　like　to　e　back　and　see　what　it　was　like。　Makes　me　a　barbarian；　doesn't　it？〃
　　　〃Just　their　version　of　rugby；〃　Sharp　said。　〃And　the　football　here　can　be　pretty　tough。〃
　　　〃Soccer　is　a　girl's　game；〃　Jack　snorted。
　　　〃You　are　a　barbarian；　Sir　John。　Soccer；〃　he　explained　in　his　best　accent；　〃is　a　gentleman's　game　played　by　thugs；　while　rugby　is　a　thug's　game　played　by　gentlemen。〃
　　　〃I'll　take　your　word　for　it。　I　just　want　to　see　the　International　Tribune。　My　baseball　team's　in　the　World　Series；　and　I　don't　even　know　how　it's　going。〃
　　　〃Baseball？　Oh；　you　mean　rounders。　Yes；　that　is　a　girl's　game；〃　Sharp　announced。
　　　〃I've　had　this　talk　before。　You　Brits　just　don't　understand。〃
　　　〃As　you　do　not　understand　proper　football；　Sir　John。　In　Italy　it's　even　more　a　national　passion　than　at　home。　They　tend　to　play　a　fiery　game；　rather　different　from　the　Germans；　for　example；　who　play　like　great　bloody　machines。〃
　　　It　was　like　listening　to　the　distinction　between　a　curveball　and　a　slider　or　a　screwball　and　a　forkball。　Ryan　wasn't　all　that　good　a　baseball　fan　to　be　able　to　grasp　all　the　distinctions；　it　depended　on　the　TV　announcer；　who　probably　just　made　it　up　anyway。　But　he　knew　that　there　wasn't　a　player　in　baseball　who　could　smack　a　good　curveball　on　the　outside　corner。
　　　Saint　Peter's　Basilica　was　five　minutes　after　that。
　　　〃Damn！〃　Jack　breathed。
　　　〃Big；　isn't　it？〃
　　　It　wasn't　big；　it　was　vast。
　　　Sharp　went　to　the　left　side　of　the　cathedral；　ending　up　in　what　looked　like　an　area　of　shops…jewelry；　it　seemed…where　he　parked。
　　　〃Let's　take　a　look；　shall　we？〃
　　　Ryan　took　the　chance　to　leave　the　car　and　stretch　his　legs；　and　he　had　to　remind　himself　that　he　was　not　here　to　admire　the　architecture　of　Bramante　and　Michelangelo。　He　was　here　to　scout　the　terrain　for　a　mission；　as　he　had　been　taught　to　plan　for　at　Quantico。　It　wasn't　really　all　that　hard　if　you　spoke　the　language。
　　　From　above；　it　must　have　looked　like　an　old…fashioned　basketball　key。　The　circular　part　of　the　piazza　looked　to　be　a　good　two　hundred　yards　in　diameter；　then　narrowed　down　to　perhaps　a　third　of　that　as　you　got　away　from　the　monstrous　bronze　doors　to　the　church　itself。
　　　〃When　he　sees　the　crowd；　he　boards　his　car…rather　like　a　cross　between　a　jeep　and　a　golf　trolley…just　there；　and　he　follows　a　cleared　path　in　the　crowd　along　this　way；〃　Sharp　explained；　〃around　there；　and　back。　Takes　about；　oh；　twenty　minutes　or　so；　depending　on　whether　he　stops　the　car　for…what　you　Americans　call　pressing　the　flesh。　I　suppose　I　shouldn't　pare　him　to　a　politician。　He　seems　a　very　decent　chap；　a　genuinely　good　man。　Not　all　the　popes　have　been　so；　but　this　one　is。　And　he's　no　coward。　He's　had　to　live　through　the　Nazis　and　the　munists；　and　that　never　turned　him　a　single　degree　from　his　path。〃
　　　〃Yeah；　he　must　like　riding　the　point　of　the　lance；〃　Ryan　murmured　in　reply。　There　was　just　one　thing　occupying　his　mind　now。　〃Where's　the　sun　going　to　be？〃
　　　〃Just　at　our　backs。〃
　　　〃So；　if　there's　a　bad　guy；　he'll　stand　just　about　here；　sun　behind　him；　not　in　his　eyes。　People　looking　that　way　from　the　other　side　have　the　sun　in　their　eyes。　Maybe　it's　not　all　that　much；　but　when　your　ass　is　on　the　line；　you　play　every　card　in　your　hand。　Ever　been　in　uniform；　Tom？〃
　　　〃Coldstream　Guards；　leftenant　through　a　captaincy。　Saw　some　action　in　Aden；　but　mainly　served　in　the　BOAR。　I　agree　with　your　estimate　of　the　situation；〃　Sharp　said；　turning　to　do　his　own　evaluation。　〃And　professionals　are　somewhat　predictable；　since　they　all　study　out　of　the　same　syllabus