tc.redrabbit-第12节

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　least…unreliable。　Like　the　stuff　we　get　on　their　economy…〃
　　　〃James　lets　you　into　that？〃　Basil　was　surprised。
　　　〃The　Admiral　sent　me　all　around　the　barn　the　first　couple　of　months。　My　first　degree　was　economics　from　Boston　College。　I　passed　my　CPA　exam　before　I　went　away　with　the　Marine　Corps…certified　public　accountant。　You　call　it　something　different　over　here。　Then；　after　I　left　the　Corps；　I　did　okay　in　the　stock…and…bond　business　before　I　finished　up　my　doctorate　and　went　into　teaching。〃
　　　〃Exactly　how　much　did　you　make　on　Wall　Street？〃
　　　〃While　I　was　at　Merrill　Lynch？　Oh；　between　six　and　seven　million。　A　lot　of　that　was　the　Chicago　and　North　Western　Railroad。　My　uncle　Mario…my　mom's　brother…told　me　that　the　employees　were　going　to　buy　out　the　stock　and　try　to　get　the　railroad　profitable　again。　I　took　a　look　at　it　and　liked　what　I　saw。　It　paid　off　a　net　of　twenty…three　to　one　on　my　investment。　I　ought　to　have　dropped　more　into　it；　but　they　taught　me　to　be　conservative　at　Merrill　Lynch。　Never　worked　in　New　York；　by　the　way。　I　was　in　the　Baltimore　office。　Anyway；　the　money's　still　in　stocks；　and　the　market　looks　pretty　healthy　at　the　moment。　I　still　dabble　in　it。　You　never　know　when　you're　going　to　stumble　across　a　winner；　and　it's　still　an　interesting　hobby。〃
　　　〃Indeed。　If　you　see　anything　promising；　do　let　me　know。〃
　　　〃No　fees…but　no　guarantees；　either；〃　Ryan　joked。
　　　〃I'm　not　accustomed　to　those；　Jack；　not　in　this　bloody　business。　I'm　going　to　assign　you　to　our　Russian　working　group　with　Simon　Harding。　Oxford　graduate；　doctorate　in　Russian　literature。　You'll　see　just　about　everything　he　sees…everything　but　source　information…〃　Ryan　stopped　him　with　two　raised　hands。
　　　〃Sir　Basil；　I　do　not　want　to　know　that　stuff。　I　don't　need　it；　and　knowing　it　would　keep　me　awake　at　night。　Just　so　I　see　the　raw。　I　prefer　to　do　my　own　analysis。　This　Harding　guy　is　smart？〃　Ryan　asked　with　deliberate　artlessness。
　　　〃Very　much　so。　You've　probably　seen　his　product　before。　He　did　the　personal　evaluation　on　Yuriy　Andropov　we　turned　out　two　years　ago。〃
　　　〃I　did　read　that。　Yeah；　that　was　good　work。　I　figured　he　was　a　pshrink。〃
　　　〃He's　read　psychology；　but　not　quite　enough　for　a　degree。　Simon's　a　clever　lad。　Wife　is　an　artist；　painter；　lovely　lady。〃
　　　〃Right　now？〃
　　　〃Why　not？　I　must　get　back　to　my　work。　e；　I'll　walk　you　down。〃
　　　It　wasn't　far。　Ryan　immediately　learned　that　he'd　be　sharing　an　office　right　here　on　the　top　floor。　This　came　as　a　surprise。　Getting　to　the　Seventh　Floor　at　Langley　took　years；　and　often　meant　climbing　over　bloody　bodies。　Somebody；　Jack　speculated；　must　have　thought　he　was　smart。
　　　Simon　Harding's　office　was　not　overly　impressive。　The　two　windows　overlooked　the　upriver　side　of　the　building；　mainly　two…　and　three…story　brick　structures　of　indeterminate　occupancy。　Harding　himself　was　crowding　forty；　pale　and　fair…haired　with　china…blue　eyes。　He　wore　an　unbuttoned　vest…waistcoat　locally…and　a　drab　tie。　His　desk　was　covered　with　folders　trimmed　in　striped　tape；　the　universal　coding　for　secret　material。
　　　〃You　must　be　Sir　John；〃　Harding　said；　setting　down　his　briar　pipe。
　　　〃The　name's　Jack；〃　Ryan　corrected　him。　〃I'm　really　not　allowed　to　pretend　I'm　a　knight。　Besides；　I　don't　own　a　horse　or　a　steel　shirt。　〃　Jack　shook　hands　with　his　workmate。　Harding　had　small；　bony　hands；　but　those　blue　eyes　looked　smart。
　　　〃Take　good　care　of　him；　Simon。〃　Sir　Basil　immediately　took　his　leave。
　　　There　was　already　a　swivel　chair　in　place　at　a　suspiciously　clean　desk。　Jack　tried　it　out。　The　room　was　going　to　be　a　little　crowded；　but　not　too　badly　so。　His　desk　phone　had　a　scrambler　under　it　for　making　secure　calls；　Ryan　wondered　if　it　worked　as　well　as　the　STU　he'd　had　at　Langley。　GCHQ　out　at　Cheltenham　worked　closely　with　NSA；　and　maybe　it　was　the　same　innards　with　a　different　plastic　case。　He'd　have　to　keep　reminding　himself　that　he　was　in　a　foreign　country。　That　ought　not　to　be　too　hard；　Ryan　hoped。　People　did　talk　funny　here：　grahss；　rahsberry　and　cahstle；　for　example；　though　the　effect　of　American　movies　and　global　television　was　perverting　the　English　language　to　the　American　version　slowly　but　surely。
　　　〃Did　Bas　talk　to　you　about　the　Pope？〃　Simon　asked。
　　　〃Yeah。　That　letter　could　be　a　bombshell。　He's　wondering　how　Ivan's　going　to　react　to　it。〃
　　　〃We　all　are；　Jack。　You　have　any　ideas？〃
　　　〃I　just　told　your　boss；　if　Stalin　was　sitting　there；　he　might　want　to　shorten　the　Pope's　life；　but　that　would　be　a　hell　of　a　big　gamble。〃
　　　〃The　problem；　I　think；　is　that　although　they　are　rather　collegial　in　their　decision…making；　Andropov　is　in　the　ascendancy；　and　he　might　be　less　reticent　than　the　rest　of　them。〃
　　　Jack　settled　back　in　to　his　chair。　〃You　know；　my　wife's　friends　at　Hopkins　flew　over　there　a　couple　of　years　ago。　Mikhail　Suslov　had　diabetic　retinopathy　of　the　eyes…he　was　also　a　high　myope；　very　nearsighted…and　they　went　over　to　fix　it；　and　to　teach　some　Russian　docs　how　to　do　the　procedure。　Cathy　was　just　a　resident　then。　But　Bernie　Katz　was　on　the　fly　team。　He's　the　director　at　Wilmer。　Super　eye　surgeon；　hell　of　a　good　guy。　The　Agency　interviewed　him　and　the　others　after　they　came　back。　Ever　see　that　document？〃
　　　There　was　interest　in　his　eyes　now：　〃No。　Is　it　any　good？〃
　　　〃One　of　the　things　I've　learned　being　married　to　a　doc　is　that　I　listen　to　what　she　says　about　people。　I'd　damned　sure　listen　to　Bernie。　It's　worth　reading。　There's　a　universal　tendency　for　people　to　talk　straight　to　surgeons　and；　like　I　said；　docs　are　good　for　seeing　things　that　most　of　us　miss。　They　said　Suslov　was　smart；　courteous；　businesslike；　but　underneath　he　was　the　sort　of　guy　you　wouldn't　trust　with　a　gun　in　his　hand…or　more　likely　a　knife。　He　really　didn't　like　the　fact　that　he　needed　Americans　to　save　his　sight　for　him。　It　didn't　tickle　his　fancy　that　no　Russians　were　able　to　do　what　he　needed　done。　On　the　other　hand；　they　said　that　the　hospitality　was　Olympic…class　once　they　did　the　job。　So　they're　not　plete　barbarians；　which　Bernie　halfway　expected…he's　Jewish；　family　from　Poland；　back　when　it　belonged　to　the　czar；　I　think。　Want　me　to　have　the　Agency　send　that　one　over？〃
　　　Harding　waved　a　match　over　his　pipe。　〃Yes；　I　would　like　to　see　that。　The　Russians…they're　a　rum　lot；　you　know。　In　some　ways；　wonderfully　cultured。　Russia　is　the　last　place　in　the　world　where　a　man　can　make　a　decent　living　as　a　poet。　They　revere　their　poets；　and　I　rather　admire　that　about　them；　but　at　the　same　time。。。　you　know；　Stalin　himself　was　reticent　about　going　after　artists…the　writing　sort；　that　is。　I　remember　one　chap　who　lived　years　longer　than　one　would　have　expected。。。　Even　so；　he　eventually　died　in　the　Gulag。　So；　their　civilization　has　its　limits。〃
　　　〃You　speak　the　language？　I　never　learned　it。〃
　　　The　Brit　analyst　nodded。　〃It　can　be　a　wonderful　language　for　literature；　rather　like　Attic　Greek。　It　lends　itself　to　poetry；　but　it　masks　a　capacity　for　barbarism　that　makes　the　blood　run　cold。　They　are　a　fairly　predictable　people　in　many　ways；　especially　their　political　decisions；　within　limits。　Their　unpredictability　lies　in　playing　off　their　inherent　conservatism　against　their　dogmatic　political　outlook。　Our　friend　Suslov　is　seriously　ill；　heart　problems…from　the　diabetes；　I　suppose…but　the　chap　behind　him　is　Mikhail　Yevgeniyevich　Alexandrov；　equal　parts　Russian　and　Marxist；　with　the　morals　of　Lavrenti　Beria。　He　bloody　hates　the　West。　I　expect　he　counseled　Suslov…they　are　old；　old　friends…to　accept　blindness　rather　than　submit　to　American　physicians。　And　if　this　Katz　chap　is　Jewish；　you　said？　That　would　not　have　helped；　either。　Not　an　attractive　chap　at　all。　When　Suslov　departs…a　few　months；　we　think…he'll　be　the　new　ideologue　on　the　Politburo。　He　will　back　Yuriy　Vladimirovich　on　anything　he　wishes　to　do；　even　if　it　means　a　physical　attack　on　His　Holiness。〃
　　　〃You　really　think　it　could　go　that　far？〃　Jack　asked。
　　　〃Could　it？　Possibly；　yes。〃
　　　〃Okay；　has　this　letter　been　sent　to　Langley？〃
　　　Harding　nodded。　〃Your　local　Station　Chief　came　over　to　collect　it　today。　I　would　expect　your　chaps　have　their　own　sources；　but　there's　no　sense　taking　chances。〃
　　　〃Agreed。　You　know；　if　Ivan　does　anything　that　extreme；　there's　going　to　be　hell　to　pay。〃
　　　〃Perhaps　so；　but　they　do　not　see　things　in　the　same　way　we　do；　Jack。〃
　　　〃I　know。　Hard　to　make　the　full　leap　of　imagination；　however。〃
　　　〃It　does　take　time；〃　Simon　agreed。
　　　〃Does　reading　their　poetry　help？〃　Ryan　wondered。　He'd　only　seen　a　little　of　it；　and　only　in　translation；　which　was　not　how　one　read　poetry。
　　　Harding　shook　his　head。　〃Not　really。　That's　how　some　of　them　protest。　The　protests　have　to　be　sufficiently　roundabout　that　the　more　obtuse　of　their　readers　can　just　enjoy　the　lyrical　tribute　to　a　particular　girl's　figure　without　noticing　the　cry　for　freedom　of　expression。　There　must　be　a　whole　section　of　KGB　that　analyzes　the　poems　for　the　hidden　political　content；　to　which　no　one　pays　particular　attention　until　the　Politburo　members　notice　that　the　sexual　content　is　a　little　too　explicit。　They　are　a　bunch　of　prudes；　you　know。。。　How　very　odd　of　them　to　have　that　sort　of　morality　and　no　other。〃
　　　〃Well；　one　can　hardly　knock　them　for　disapproving　Debbie　Does　Dallas；〃　Ryan　s