tc.redrabbit-第117节

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　　　Half　an　hour　later；　Lucas　congratulated　himself。　〃There　it　is。　Just　on　time。〃
　　　Airports　are　airports　all　over　the　world。　The　same　architect　probably　designed　them　all；　Ryan　thought。　The　only　differences　were　the　signs　for　the　rest　rooms。　In　England　they　called　them　toilets；　which　had　always　struck　him　as　a　little　crude　in　an　otherwise　gentle　country。　Then　he　got　a　surprise。　Instead　of　driving　to　the　terminal；　Lucas　took　the　path　through　the　open　gate　right　onto　the　flight　line。
　　　〃I　have　an　arrangement　with　the　airport　manager；〃　he　explained。　〃He　likes　single　malts。〃　Still　and　all；　Lucas　stayed　on　the　yellow…lined　car　path；　right　to　a　lonely　aircraft　jetway　with　an　airliner　parked　next　to　it。　〃Here　we　are；〃　the　Brit　spook　announced。
　　　They　all　stepped　out　of　the　car；　this　time　with　Mrs。　Rabbit　holding　the　Bunny。　Lucas　led　them　up　the　exterior　stairs　into　the　jetway's　control　booth；　and　from　there　right　into　the　aircraft's　open　door。
　　　The　captain；　hatless　but　wearing　four　stripes　on　his　shoulders；　was　standing　right　there。　〃You're　Mr。　Lucas？〃
　　　〃That　is　correct；　Captain　Rogers。　And　here　are　your　extra　passengers。〃　He　pointed　to　Ryan　and　the　Rabbit　family。
　　　〃Excellent。〃　Captain　Rogers　turned　to　his　lead　stew。　〃We　can　board　the　aircraft　now。〃
　　　The　second…ranking　flight　attendant　took　them　to　the　four　front…row　first…class　seats；　where　Ryan　was　singularly　surprised　to　be　happy　belting　himself　in　to　1…B；　the　aisle　seat　just　behind　the　front　bulkhead。　He　watched　thirty　or　so　working…class　passengers　e　aboard　after　sunning　themselves　on　the　Dalmatian　Coast…a　favorite　for　Brits　of　late…none　of　them　looking　very　happy　for　the　three…hour　delay　on　what　was　already　supposed　to　be　the　day's　last　flight　to　Manchester。　Things　happened　quickly　after　that。　He　heard　both　engines　start　up；　and　then　the　BAC…111…the　British　counterpart　to　the　Douglas　DC…9…backed　away　from　the　jetway　and　taxied　out　on　the　ramp。
　　　〃What　now？〃　Oleg　asked；　in　what　was　almost　a　normal　voice。
　　　〃We　fly　to　England；〃　Ryan　replied。　〃Two　hours　or　so；　I　guess；　and　we'll　be　there。〃
　　　〃So　easy？〃
　　　〃You　think　this　was　easy？〃　Ryan　asked；　with　no　small　amount　of　incredulity　in　his　voice。　Then　the　inter　turned　on。
　　　〃Ladies　and　gentlemen；　this　is　Captain　Rogers　speaking。　I　am　glad　to　say　that　we　finally　got　the　electronic　problem　repaired。　Thank　you　ever　so　much　for　your　patience；　and　after　we　lift　off；　the　drinks　will　be　free　to　all　passengers。〃　That　evoked　a　cheer　from　the　back　of　the　aircraft。　〃For　the　moment；　please　pay　attention　to　the　flight　attendants　for　your　safety　message。〃
　　　Put　your　seat　belts　on；　dummies；　and　they　work　like　this；　for　those　of　you　stupid　enough　not　to　notice　that　you　have　the　fucking　things　in　your　personal　automobiles；　too。　And　then　in　three　more　minutes　the　British　Midlands　airliner　clawed　its　way　into　the　sky。
　　　As　promised；　before　they'd　gotten　to　ten　thousand　feet；　the　no…smoking　light　dinged　off　and　the　drink　cart　arrived。　The　Russian　asked　for　vodka　and　got　three　miniatures　of　Finlandia。　Ryan　got　himself　a　glass　of　wine　and　the　promise　of　more。　He　wouldn't　sleep　on　this　flight；　but　he　wouldn't　worry　as　much　as　usual；　either。　He　was　leaving　the　munist　world　behind　at　five　hundred　miles　per　hour；　and　that　was　probably　the　best　way　to　do　it。
　　　Oleg　Ivan'ch；　he　saw；　drank　vodka　as　though　it　were　water　after　a　hot　day　of　cutting　the　grass。　His　wife；　over　in　1…C；　was　doing　the　same。　Ryan　felt　positively　virtuous　sipping　gently　at　his　French　wine。
　　　〃Signal　in　from　Basil；〃　Bostock　reported　over　the　phone。　〃The　Rabbit　is　in　the　air。　ETA　Manchester　in　ninety　minutes。〃
　　　〃Great；〃　Judge　Moore　breathed；　relieved　as　always　when　a　black　operation　worked　out　as　planned。　Better　still；　they'd　run　it　without　Bob　Ritter；　who；　though　a　good　man；　was　not　entirely　indispensable。
　　　〃Three　more　days　and　we　can　debrief　him；〃　Bostock　said　next。　〃The　nice　house　out　by　Winchester？〃
　　　〃Yeah；　we'll　see　if　he　likes　horse　country。〃　The　house　even　had　a　Steinway　piano　for　Mrs。　Rabbit　to　play　and　lots　of　green　for　the　kid　to　run　around　on。
　　　Alan　Kingshot　was　just　pulling　into　the　parking　area　at　the　Manchester　airport；　along　with　two　subordinates。　There　would　be　a　large　back　Daimler　automobile　to　take　the　arriving　defectors　out　to　Somerset　in　the　morning。　He　hoped　they　didn't　mind　driving。　It　would　be　nearly　a　two…hour　drive。
　　　For　the　moment；　they'd　be　quartering　at　a　nice　country　house　just　a　few　minutes　from　the　airport。　They'd　probably　done　quite　enough　traveling　for　the　moment；　with　still　more　to　e　before　the　end　of　the　week。　But　then　he　started　thinking　about　it。　Might　that　be　too　hard　on　them？　The　question　gave　him　something　to　ponder　at　one　of　the　airport's　bars。
　　　Ryan　was　pretty　well　potted。　Maybe　alcohol　interacted　with　anxiety；　he　thought；　taking　a　moment　to　go　to　the　forward　rest　room　on　the　airliner；　and　feeling　better　when　he　got　back　and　was　strapped　in。　He　almost　never　took　his　seat　belt　off。　The　food　served　was　just　sandwiches…English　ones；　with　their　unnatural　affection　for　a　weed　called　watercress。　What　he　really　wanted　now　was　a　good　corned　beef；　but　the　Brits　didn't　even　know　what　corned　beef　was；　thinking　it　the　canned　junk　that　looked　like　dog　food　to　most　Americans。　In　fact；　the　Brits　probably　fed　better　stuff　to　their　dogs；　as　enthralled　as　they　were　with　their　pets。　The　lights　passing　underneath　the　airliner　proved　that　they　were　overflying　Western　Europe。　The　Eastern　part　was　never　well　lit；　as　he'd　learned　ing　south　from　Budapest。
　　　But　Zaitzev　wasn't　sure。　What　if　this　was　a　very　elaborate　ruse　to　get　him　to　spill　the　beans？　What　if　the　Second　Chief　Directorate　had　staged　a　huge　maskirovka　village　for　his　brief　benefit？
　　　〃Ryan？〃
　　　Jack　turned。　〃Yes？〃
　　　〃What　will　I　see　in　England　when　we　get　there？〃
　　　〃I　don't　know　what　the　plan　is　after　we　get　to　Manchester；〃　Ryan　reported。
　　　〃You　are　CIA？〃　the　Rabbit　asked　again。
　　　〃Yes。〃　Jack　nodded。
　　　〃How　can　I　be　sure　of　this？〃
　　　〃Well。。。〃　Ryan　fished　out　his　wallet。　〃Here　are　my　driver's　license；　credit　cards；　some　cash。　My　passport　is　fake；　of　course。　I'm　an　American；　but　they　fixed　me　up　with　a　British　one。　Oh；〃　Ryan　realized；　〃you're　worried　that　this　is　all　faked？〃
　　　〃How　can　I　be　sure？〃
　　　〃My　friend；　in　less　than　an　hour；　you　will　be　certain　it　is　not。　Here…〃　He　opened　his　wallet　again。　〃This　is　my　wife；　my　daughter；　and　our　new　son。　My　address　at　home…in　America；　that　is…is　here　on　my　driver's　license；　5000　Peregrine　Cliff　Road；　Anne　Arundel　County；　Maryland。　That　is　right　on　the　Chesapeake　Bay。　It　takes　me　about　an　hour　to　drive　from　there　to　CIA　Headquarters　at　Langley。　My　wife　is　an　eye　surgeon　at　Johns　Hopkins　Hospital　in　Baltimore。　It　is　world…famous。　You　must　have　heard　of　it。〃
　　　Zaitzev　just　shook　his　head。
　　　〃Well；　a　couple　years　ago；　three　docs　from　Hopkins　fixed　the　eyes　of　Mikhail　Suslov。　I　understand　he　just　died。　His　replacement；　we　think；　will　be　Mikhail　Yevgeniyevich　Alexandrov。　We　know　a　little　about　him；　but　not　enough。　In　fact；　we　don't　know　enough　about　Yuriy　Vladimirovich。〃
　　　〃What　do　you　not　know？〃
　　　〃Is　he　married？　We've　never　seen　a　picture　of　his　wife；　if　any。〃
　　　〃Yes；　everyone　knows　this。　His　wife　is　Tatiana；　elegant　woman；　my　wife　says　she　has　noble　features。　But　no　children　for　them；〃　Oleg　concluded。
　　　Well；　there's　factoid'　#1　from　the　Rabbit；　Ryan　thought。
　　　〃How　is　it　possible　that　you　do　not　know　this？〃　Zaitzev　demanded。
　　　〃Oleg　Ivan'ch；　there　are　many　things　we　do　not　know　about　the　Soviet　Union；〃　Jack　admitted。　〃Some　are　important；　and　some　are　not。〃
　　　〃Is　this　true？〃
　　　〃Yes；　it　is。〃
　　　Something　rattled　loose　in　Zaitzev's　head。　〃You　say　your　name　Ryan？〃
　　　〃That's　right。〃
　　　〃Your　father　policeman？〃
　　　〃How　did　you　know　that？〃　Ryan　asked　in　some　surprise。
　　　〃We　have　small　dossier　on　you。　Washington　rezidentura　do　it。　Your　family　attacked　by　hooligans；　yes？〃
　　　〃Correct。〃　KGB　is　interested　in　me；　eh？　Jack　thought。　〃Terrorists；　they　tried　to　kill　me　and　my　family。　My　son　was　born　that　night。〃
　　　〃And　you　join　CIA　after　that？〃
　　　〃Again；　yes…officially；　anyway。　I've　done　work　for　the　Agency　for　several　years。〃　Then　curiosity　took　full　hold。　〃What　does　my　dossier　say　about　me？〃
　　　〃It　say　you　are　rich　fool。　You　were　officer　in　naval　infantry；　and　your　wife　is　rich　and　you　marry　her　for　that　reason。　To　get　more　money　for　self。〃
　　　So；　even　the　KGB　is　a　prisoner　of　its　own　political　prejudices；　Jack　thought。　Interesting。
　　　〃I　am　not　poor；〃　Jack　told　the　Rabbit。　〃But　I　married　my　wife　for　love；　not　money。　Only　a　fool　does　that。〃
　　　〃How　many　capitalists　are　fools？〃
　　　Ryan　had　himself　a　good　laugh。　〃A　lot　more　than　you　might　think。　You　do　not　need　to　be　very　smart　in　America　to　bee　rich。〃　New　York　and　Washington　in　particular　were　full　of　rich　idiots；　but　Ryan　thought　the　Rabbit　needed　a　little　while　before　he　learned　that　lesson。　〃Who　did　the　dossier　on　me？〃
　　　〃Reporter　in　Washington　resydentura　of　Izvestia　is　junior　KGB　officer。　He　do　it　last　summer。〃
　　　〃And　how　did　you　e　to　know　about　it？〃
　　　〃His　dispatch　e　to　my　desk；　and　I　forward　to　America…Canada　Institute…is　KGB　office。　You　know　that；　yes？〃
　　　〃Yes；〃　Jack　confirmed。　〃That　is　one　we　do　know。〃　That　was　when　his　ears　p