tc.redrabbit-第11节

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ation。　One　thing　about　reporters；　they　are　not　ungracious　if　you　give　them　the　odd　decent　story。〃
　　　〃At　Langley；　they　hate　the　press；　Sir　Basil。　And　I　do　mean　hate。〃
　　　〃Rather　backward　of　them。　But；　then；　we　can　exercise　more　control　over　the　press　here　than　you　can　in　America；　I　suppose。　Still　and　all；　it's　not　that　hard　to　outsmart　them；　is　it？〃
　　　〃I've　never　tried。　Admiral　Greer　says　that　talking　to　a　reporter　is　like　dancing　with　a　rottweiler。　You　can't　be　sure　if　he's　going　to　lick　your　face　or　rip　your　throat　out。〃
　　　〃They're　not　bad　dogs　at　all；　you　know。　You　just　need　to　train　them　properly。〃
　　　Brits　and　their　dogs；　Ryan　reflected。　They　like　their　pets　more　than　their　kids。　He　didn't　care　for　big　dogs　all　that　much。　A　Labrador　like　Ernie　was　different。　Labs　had　a　soft　mouth。　Sally　really　missed　him。
　　　〃So；　what's　your　take　on　Poland；　Jack？〃
　　　〃I　think　the　pot's　going　to　simmer　until　the　lid　slides　off；　and　then　when　it　boils　over；　there's　going　to　be　a　hell　of　a　mess。　The　Poles　haven't　really　bought　into　munism　all　that　well。　Their　army　has　chaplains；　for　Christ's　sake。　A　lot　of　their　farmers　operate　on　a　free…agent　basis；　selling　hams　and　stuff。　The　most　popular　TV　show　over　there　is　Kojak；　they　even　show　it　on　Sunday　morning　to　draw　people　away　from　going　to　church。　That　shows　two　things。　The　people　there　like　American　culture；　and　the　government　is　still　afraid　of　the　Catholic　Church。　The　Polish　government　is　unstable；　and　they　know　they're　unstable。　Allowing　a　little　wiggle　room　is　probably　smart；　at　least　in　the　short　term；　but　the　fundamental　problem　is　that　they　operate　a　fundamentally　unjust　regime。　Unjust　countries　are　not　stable；　sir。　However　strong　they　appear；　they're　rotten　underneath。〃
　　　Charleston　nodded　thoughtfully。　〃I　briefed　the　PM　just　three　days　ago　out　at　Chequers；　and　told　her　much　the　same　thing。〃　The　Director　General　paused　for　a　moment；　then　decided。　He　lifted　a　file　folder　from　the　pile　on　his　desk　and　handed　it　across。
　　　The　cover　read　MOST　SECRET。　So；　Jack　thought；　now　it　starts。　He　wondered　if　Basil　had　learned　to　swim　by　falling　into　the　Thames；　and　thought　everyone　should　learn　the　same　way。
　　　Flipping　the　cover　open；　he　saw　that　this　information　came　from　a　source　called　WREN。　He　was　clearly　Polish；　and　by　the　look　of　the　report；　well　placed；　and　what　he　said…
　　　〃Damn；〃　Ryan　observed。　〃This　is　reliable？〃
　　　〃Very　much　so。　It's　a　five…five；　Jack。〃　By　that　he　meant　that　the　source　was　rated　5　on　a　scale　of　5　for　reliability；　and　the　importance　of　the　information　reported　was　graded　the　same　way。　〃You're　Catholic；　I　think。〃　He　knew；　of　course。　It　was　just　the　English　way　of　talking。
　　　〃Jesuits　at　high　school；　Boston　College；　and　Georgetown；　plus　the　nuns　at　Saint　Matthew's。　I'd　better　be。〃
　　　〃What　do　you　think　of　your　new　Pope？〃
　　　〃First　non…Italian　in　four　centuries；　maybe　more：　That's　saying　something　right　there。　When　I　heard　the　new　one　was　Polish；　I　expected　it　to　be　Cardinal　Wiszynski　from　Warsaw…guy's　got　the　brains　of　a　genius　and　the　cunning　of　a　fox。　This　guy；　I　didn't　know　beans　about；　but　from　what　I've　read　since；　he's　a　very　solid　citizen。　Good　parish　priest；　good　administrator；　politically　very　astute。。。〃　Ryan　paused。　He　was　discussing　the　head　of　his　church　as　though　he　were　a　political　candidate；　and　he　was　damned　sure　there　was　more　substance　to　him　than　that。　This　had　to　be　a　man　of　deep　faith；　with　the　sort　of　core　convictions　that　an　earthquake　couldn't　budge　or　crack。　He'd　been　chosen　by　other　such　men　to　be　the　leader　and　spokesman　for　the　world's　largest　church；　which；　by　the　way；　also　happened　to　be　Ryan's　church。　He'd　be　a　man　who　didn't　fear　much　of　anything；　a　man　for　whom　a　bullet　was　his　get…out…of…jail…free　card；　a　key　to　God's　own　presence。　And　he'd　be　a　man　who　felt　God's　presence　in　everything　he　did。　He　was　not　someone　you　could　scare；　not　someone　you　could　turn　away　from　what　he　deemed　the　right　thing。
　　　〃If　he　wrote　this　letter；　Sir　Basil；　it's　not　a　bluff。　When　was　it　delivered？〃
　　　〃Less　than　four　days　ago。　Our　chap　broke　a　rule　getting　it　to　us　so　quickly；　but　its　importance　is　patently　clear；　is　it　not？〃
　　　Wele　to　London；　Jack；　Ryan　thought。　He'd　just　fallen　into　the　soup。　A　big　pot；　like　they　used　to　boil　missionaries　in　the　cartoons。
　　　〃Okay；　it's　been　forwarded　to　Moscow；　right？〃
　　　〃So　our　chap　tells　us。　So；　Sir　John；　what　will　Ivan　have　to　say　about　this？〃　And　with　that　question；　Sir　Basil　Charleston　lit　the　fire　under　Jack's　personal　cauldron。
　　　〃That's　a　multifaceted　question；〃　Ryan　said；　dodging　as　artfully　as　the　situation　allowed。
　　　It　wasn't　very　far：　〃He　will　say　something；〃　Charleston　observed；　leveling　his　hazel　eyes　at　Ryan。
　　　〃Okay；　they　won't　like　it。　They　will　see　it　as　a　threat。　The　questions　are　how　seriously　they　will　take　it　and　how　much　credence　they　will　attach　to　it。　Stalin　might　have　laughed　it　off。。。　or　maybe　not。　Stalin　defined　paranoia；　didn't　he？〃　Ryan　paused　and　looked　out　the　windows。　Was　that　a　rain　cloud　blowing　in？　〃No；　Stalin　would　have　acted　somehow。〃
　　　〃Think　so？〃　Charleston　was　evaluating　him；　Jack　knew。　This　was　like　the　orals　for　his　doctorate　at　Georgetown。　Father　Tim　Riley's　rapier　wit　and　needlepoint　questions。　Sir　Basil　was　more　civilized　than　the　acerbic　priest；　but　this　exam　was　not　going　to　be　an　easy　one。
　　　〃Leon　Trotsky　was　no　threat　to　him。　That　assassination　came　from　a　bination　of　paranoia　and　pure　meanness。　It　was　a　personal　thing。　Stalin　made　enemies；　and　he　never　forgot　them。　But　the　current　Soviet　leadership　doesn't　have　the　guts　to　do　the　stuff　he　did。〃
　　　Charleston　pointed　out　the　plate　glass　window　toward　Westminster　Bridge。　〃My　lad；　the　Russians　had　the　intestinal　fortitude　to　kill　a　man　right　on　that　bridge；　less　than　five　years　ago…〃
　　　〃And　got　blamed　for　it；〃　Ryan　reminded　his　host。　It　had　been　a　bination　of　good　luck　and　a　very　smart　British　doctor；　and　it　hadn't　been　worth　a　damn　in　saving　the　poor　bastard's　life。　They　had　identified　the　cause　of　death；　though；　and　it　hadn't　resulted　from　a　street　hood。
　　　〃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　wa