tc.redrabbit-第39章

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ow　to　set　up　a　good　field　operation；　despite　having　bee　a　headquarters　drone。　He　smiled　as　he　stubbed　out　his　smoke。　Then　he　lifted　his　white　phone　and　dialed　111　for　the　Chairman's　office。
　　　
　　　CHAPTER　8　…　THE　DISH
　　　〃Thank　you；　Aleksey　Nikolay'ch。That　is　a　most　interesting　concept。　So；　how　do　we　move　forward；　then？〃
　　　〃rade　Chairman；　we　have　Rome　keep　us　updated　on　the　Pope's　schedule…as　far　in　advance　as　possible。　We　do　not　let　them　know　of　the　existence　of　any　operation。　They　are　merely　a　source　of　information。　When　the　time　es；　we　might　wish　for　one　of　their　officers　to　be　in　the　area　merely　to　observe；　but　it　is　better　for　all　concerned　that　Goderenko　knows　as　little　as　possible。〃
　　　〃You　do　not　trust　him？〃
　　　〃No；　rade　Chairman。　Excuse　me；　I　did　not　mean　to　give　that　impression。　But　the　less　he　knows；　the　less　he　might　ask　questions　or　inadvertently　ask　things　of　his　personnel　that　might　tip　matters　off；　even　innocently。　We　choose　our　Chiefs　of　Station　for　their　intelligence；　for　their　ability　to　see　things　where　others　do　not。　Should　he　sense　that　something　is　happening；　his　professional　expertise　might　pel　him　at　least　to　keep　watch…and　that　might　impede　the　operation。〃
　　　〃Freethinkers；〃　Andropov　snorted。
　　　〃Can　it　be　any　other　way？〃　Rozhdestvenskiy　asked　reasonably。　〃There　is　always　that　price　when　you　hire　men　of　intelligence。〃
　　　Andropov　nodded。　He　was　not　so　much　a　fool　as　to　ignore　the　lesson。
　　　〃Good　work；　Colonel。　What　else？〃
　　　〃Timing　is　crucial；　rade　Chairman。〃
　　　〃How　long　to　set　something　like　this　up？〃　Andropov　asked。
　　　〃Certainly　a　month；　likely　more。　Unless　you　have　people　already　in　place；　these　things　always　take　longer　than　you　hope　or　expect；〃　Rozhdestvenskiy　explained。
　　　〃I　shall　need　that　much　time　to　get　approval　for　this。　But　we　will　go　forward　with　operational　planning；　so　that　when　approval　es；　we　can　execute　as　rapidly　as　possible。〃
　　　Execute；　Rozhdestvenskiy　thought；　was　the　right　choice　of　words；　but　even　he　found　it　cold。　And　he　had　said　when　approval　es；　not　if；　the　colonel　noted。　Well；　Yuriy　Vladimirovich　was　supposed　to　be　the　most　powerful　man　on　the　Politburo　now；　and　that　suited　Aleksey　Nikolay'ch。　What　was　good　for　his　agency　was　also　good　for　him；　especially　in　his　new　job。　There　might　be　general's　stars　at　the　end　of　this　professional　rainbow；　and　that　possibility　suited　him　as　well。
　　　〃How　would　you　proceed？〃　the　Chairman　asked。
　　　〃I　should　cable　Rome　to　assuage　Goderenko's　fears　and　tell　him　that　his　tasking　for　the　moment　is　to　ascertain　the　Pope's　schedule　for　traveling；　appearances；　and　so　forth。　Next；　I　will　cable　Ilya　Bubovoy。　He's　our　rezident　in　Sofia。　Have　you　met　him；　rade　Chairman？〃
　　　Andropov　searched　his　memory。　〃Yes；　at　a　reception。　He's　overweight；　isn't　he？〃
　　　Rozhdestvenskiy　smiled。　〃Yes；　Ilya　Fedorovich　has　always　fought　that；　but　he's　a　good　officer。　He's　been　there　for　four　years；　and　he　enjoys　good　relations　with　the　Dirzhavna　Sugurnost。〃
　　　〃Grown　a　mustache；　has　he？〃　Andropov　asked；　with　a　rare　hint　of　humor。　Russians　often　chided　their　neighbors　for　facial　hair；　which　seemed　to　be　a　national　characteristic　of　Bulgarians。
　　　〃That　I　do　not　know；〃　the　colonel　admitted。　He　was　not　yet　so　obsequious　as　to　promise　to　find　out。
　　　〃What　will　your　cable　to　Sofia　say？〃
　　　〃That　we　have　an　operational　requirement　for…〃
　　　The　Chairman　cut　him　off：　〃Not　in　a　cable。　Fly　him　here。　I　want　security　very　tight　on　this；　and　flying　him　back　and　forth　from　Sofia　will　raise　few　eyebrows。〃
　　　〃By　your　order。　Immediately？〃　Rozhdestvenskiy　asked。
　　　〃Da。　Yes；　at　once。〃
　　　The　colonel　came　to　his　feet。　〃Right　away；　rade　Chairman。　I　will　go　to　munications　directly。〃
　　　Chairman　Andropov　watched　him　leave。　One　nice　thing　about　KGB；　Yuriy　Vladimirovich　thought；　when　you　gave　orders　here；　things　actually　happened。　Unlike　the　Party　Secretariat。
　　　Colonel　rozhdestvenskiy　took　the　elevator　back　down　to　the　basement　and　headed　for　munications。　Captain　Zaitzev　was　back　at　his　desk；　doing　his　paperwork　as　usual…that's　all　he　had；　really…and　the　colonel　went　right　up　to　him。
　　　〃I　have　two　more　dispatches　for　you。〃
　　　〃Very　well；　rade　Colonel。〃　Oleg　Ivan'ch　held　out　his　hand。
　　　〃I　have　to　write　them　out；〃　Rozhdestvenskiy　clarified。
　　　〃You　can　use　that　desk　right　there；　rade。〃　The　municator　pointed。　〃Same　security　as　before？〃
　　　〃Yes；　one…time　pad　for　both。　One　more　for　Rome；　and　the　other　for　Station　Sofia。　Immediate　priority；〃　he　added。
　　　〃That　is　fine。〃　Zaitzev　handed　him　the　message　form　blanks　and　turned　back　to　his　work；　hoping　the　dispatches　wouldn't　be　too　lengthy。　They　had　to　be　pretty　important　for　the　colonel　to　e　down　here　even　before　they　were　drafted。　Andropov　must　have　a　real　bug　up　his　rectum。　Colonel　Rozhdestvenskiy　was　the　Chairman's　personal　gofer。　It　had　to　be　kind　of　demeaning　for　someone　with　the　skills　to　be　a　rezident　somewhere　interesting。　Travel；　after　all；　was　the　one　real　perk　KGB　offered　its　employees。
　　　Not　that　Zaitzev　got　to　travel。　Oleg　Ivanovich　knew　too　much　to　be　allowed　in　a　Western　country。　After　all；　he　might　not　e　back…KGB　always　worried　about　that。　And　for　the　first　time；　he　wondered　why。　That　was　the　kind　of　day　it　had　been。　Why　did　KGB　worry　so　much　about　possible　defections？　He'd　seen　dispatches　openly　discussing　the　troublesome　possibility；　and　he'd　seen　officers　who　had　been　brought　home　to　〃talk〃　about　it　here　in　The　Centre　and　often　never　returned　to　the　field。　He'd　always　known　about　it；　but　he'd　never　actually　thought　about　it　for　as　much　as　thirty　seconds。
　　　They　left　because…because　they　thought　their　state　was　wrong？　Could　they　actually　think　it　was　so　bad　they　would　do　something　so　drastic　as　betray　their　Motherland？　That；　Zaitzev　belatedly　realized；　was　a　very　big　thought。
　　　And　yet；　what　was　KGB　but　an　agency　that　lived　on　betrayal？　How　many　hundreds…thousands…of　dispatches　had　he　read　about　just　that？　Those　were　Westerners…Americans；　Britons；　Germans；　Frenchmen…all　used　by　KGB　to　find　out　things　that　his　country　wanted　to　know…and　they　were　all　traitors　to　their　mother　countries；　weren't　they？　They　did　it　mainly　for　money。　He'd　seen　a　lot　of　those　messages；　too；　discussions　between　The　Centre　and　the　rezidenturas　discussing　the　amounts　of　payment。　He　knew　that　The　Centre　was　always　niggardly　with　the　money　it　paid　out；　which　was　to　be　expected。　The　agents　wanted　American　dollars；　British　pounds　sterling；　Swiss　francs。　And　cash；　real　paper　money…they　always　wanted　to　be　paid　in　cash。　Never　rubles　or　even　certificate　rubles。　It　was　the　only　money　they　trusted；　clearly　enough。　They　betrayed　their　country　for　money；　but　only　for　their　own　money。　Some　of　them　even　demanded　millions　of　dollars；　not　that　they　ever　got　it。　The　most　he'd　ever　seen　authorized　was　？50；000；　paid　out　for　information　about　British　and　American　naval　ciphers。　What　would　the　Western　powers　not　pay　for　the　munications　information　in　his　mind？　Zaitzev　thought　idly。　It　was　a　question　with　no　answer。　He　did　not　really　have　the　ability　to　frame　the　question　properly；　much　less　consider　the　answer　seriously。
　　　〃Here　you　go；〃　Rozhdestvenskiy　said；　handing　over　the　message　blanks。　〃Send　them　out　at　once。〃
　　　〃As　soon　as　I　get　them　enciphered；〃　the　municator　promised。
　　　〃And　the　same　security　as　before；〃　the　colonel　added。
　　　〃Certainly。　Same　identifier　tag　on　both？〃　Oleg　Ivanovich　asked。
　　　〃Correct；　all　with　this　number；〃　he　replied；　tapping　the　666　in　the　upper…right　corner。
　　　〃By　your　order；　rade　Colonel。　I'll　see　to　it　right　now。〃
　　　〃And　call　me　when　they　go　out。〃
　　　〃Yes；　rade　Colonel。　I　have　your　office　number；〃　Zaitzev　assured　him。
　　　There　was　more　to　it　than　the　mere　words；　Oleg　knew。　The　tone　of　his　voice　had　told　him　much。　This　was　going　out　under　the　direct　order　of　the　Chairman；　and　all　this　attention　made　it　a　matter　of　the　highest　priority；　not　just　something　of　routine　interest　to　an　important　man。　This　wasn't　about　ordering　pantyhose　for　some　bigwig's　teenage　daughter。　
　　　He　walked　to　the　cipher…book　storage　room　to　get　two　books；　the　ones　for　Rome　and　Sofia；　and　then　he　pulled　out　his　cipher　wheel　and　laboriously　encrypted　both　messages。　All　in　all；　it　took　forty　minutes。　The　message　to　Colo