tc.redrabbit-第123节

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　　　Ritter's　head　snapped　around。　〃How　solid　is　that？〃
　　　〃It's　what　made　the　Rabbit　decide　to　take　a　walk；〃　the　DCI　said。　〃He's　a　conscience　defector；　and　that　set　him　off。〃
　　　〃Okay；　good。　What　does　he　know？〃　the　DDO　asked。
　　　〃Bob；　it　seems　that　this　defector…his　name　is　Oleg　Ivanovich　Zaitzev；　by　the　way…was　a　senior　watch　officer　in　The　Centre's　munications；　their　version　of　our　MERCURY。〃
　　　〃Shit；〃　Ritter　observed　an　instant　later。　〃This　is　for　real？〃
　　　〃You　know；　sometimes　a　guy　puts　a　quarter　in　the　slot　and　pulls　the　handle　and　he　really　does　get　the　jackpot；〃　Moore　told　his　subordinate。
　　　〃Well；　damn。〃
　　　〃I　didn't　think　you'd　object。　And　the　good　part；〃　the　DCI　went　on；　〃is　that　Ivan　doesn't　know　he's　gone。〃
　　　〃How　the　hell　did　we　do　that？〃
　　　〃It　was　Ed　and　Mary　Pat　who　twigged　to　that　possibility。〃　Then　Judge　Moore　explained　how　it　had　been　carried　out。　〃They　both　deserve　a　nice　Pat　on　the　head；　Bob。〃
　　　〃And　all　while　I　was　out　of　town；〃　Ritter　breathed。　〃Well；　I'll　be　damned。〃
　　　〃Yes；　there's　a　bunch　of　attaboy　letters　to　be　drawn　up；〃　Greer　said　next。　〃Including　one　for　Jack。〃
　　　〃I　suppose；〃　the　DDO　conceded。　He　went　quiet　for　a　moment；　thinking　over　the　possibilities　of　Operation　BEATRIX。　〃Anything　good　so　far？〃
　　　〃Aside　from　the　plot　against　the　Pope？　Two　code　names　of　penetration　agents　they　have　working：　NEPTUNE…he　sounds　like　somebody　working　in　the　Navy…and　CASSIUS。　He's　probably　on　The　Hill。　More　to　e；　I　expect。〃
　　　〃I　talked　to　Ryan　a　few　minutes　ago。　He's　pretty　excited　about　this　guy；　says　his　knowledge　is　encyclopedic；　says　there's　gold　in　these　hills；　to　quote　the　boy。〃
　　　〃Ryan　does　know　a　thing　or　two　about　gold；〃　Moore　thought　out　loud。
　　　〃Fine；　we'll　make　him　our　portfolio　manager；　but　he　isn't　a　field　officer；〃　Ritter　groused。
　　　〃Bob；　he　succeeded。　We　don't　punish　people　for　that；　do　we？〃　the　DCI　asked。　This　had　gone　far　enough。　It　was　time　for　Moore　to　act　like　the　appeals…court　judge　he　had　been　until　a　couple　years　before：　the　Voice　of　God。
　　　〃Fine；　Arthur。　You　want　me　to　sign　the　letter　of　mendation？〃　Ritter　saw　the　freight　train　ing；　and　there　was　no　sense　in　standing　in　its　way。　What　the　hell；　it　would　just　go　into　the　files　anyway。　CIA　mendations　almost　never　saw　the　light　of　day。　The　Agency　even　classified　the　names　of　field　officers　who'd　died　heroically　thirty　years　before。　It　was　like　a　back　door　into　heaven；　CIA　style。
　　　〃Okay；　gentlemen；　now　that　we've　settled　the　administrative　issues；　what　about　the　plot　to　kill　the　Pope？〃　Greer　asked；　trying　to　bring　order　back　to　the　meeting　of　supposed　sober　senior　executives。
　　　〃How　solid　is　the　information？〃　Ritter　wanted　to　know。
　　　〃I　talked　to　Basil　a　few　minutes　ago。　He　thinks　we　need　to　take　it　seriously；　but　I　think　we　need　to　talk　to　this　Rabbit　ourselves　to　quantify　the　danger　to　our　Polish　friend。〃
　　　〃Tell　the　President？〃
　　　Moore　shook　his　head。　〃He's　tied　up　all　day　today　with　legislative　business；　and　he's　flying　out　to　California　late　this　afternoon。　Sunday　and　Monday；　he'll　be　giving　speeches　in　Oregon　and　Colorado。　I'll　see　him　Tuesday　afternoon；　about　four。〃　Moore　could　have　asked　for　an　urgent　meeting…he　could　break　into　the　President's　schedule　on　really　vital　matters…but　until　they　had　the　chance　to　speak　face…to…face　with　the　Rabbit；　that　was　out　of　the　question。　The　President　might　even　want　to　speak　to　the　guy　himself。　He　was　like　that。
　　　〃What　kind　of　shape　is　Station　Rome　in？〃　Greer　asked　Ritter。
　　　〃The　Chief　of　Station　is　Rick　Nolfi。　Good　guy；　but　he　retires　in　three　months。　Rome's　his　sunset　post。　He　asked　for　it。　His　wife；　Anne；　likes　Italy。　Six　officers　there；　mainly　working　on　NATO　stuff…two　pretty　experienced；　four　rookies；〃　Ritter　reported。　〃But　before　we　get　them　alerted　we　need　to　think　this　threat　through；　and　a　little　Presidential　guidance　won't　hurt。　The　problem　is；　how　the　hell　do　we　tell　people　about　this　in　such　a　way　as　not　to　promise　the　source？　Guys；〃　Ritter　pointed　out；　〃if　we　went　to　all　the　trouble　of　concealing　the　defection；　it　doesn't　make　much　sense　to　broadcast　the　information　we　get　from　him　out　to　the　four　winds；　y'know？〃
　　　〃That　is　the　problem；〃　Moore　was　forced　to　agree。
　　　〃The　Pope　doubtless　has　a　protective　detail；〃　Ritter　went　on。　〃But　they　can't　have　the　same　latitude　that　the　Secret　Service　does；　can　they？　And　we　don't　know　how　secure　they　are。〃
　　　Its　the　old　story；　Ryan　was　saying　at　the　same　time　in　Manchester。　〃If　we　use　the　information　too　freely；　we　promise　the　source　and　lose　all　of　its　utility。　But　if　we　don't　use　it　for　fear　of　promising　it；　then　we　might　as　well　not　have　the　fucking　source　to　begin　with。〃　Jack　finished　off　his　wine　and　poured　another　glass。　〃There's　a　book　on　this；　you　know。〃
　　　〃What's　that？〃
　　　〃Double…Edged　Secrets。　A　guy　named　Jasper　Holmes　wrote　it。　He　was　a　U。S。　Navy　crippie　in　World　War　Two；　worked　signals　intelligence　in　FRUPAC　with　Joe　Rochefort　and　his　bunch。　It's　a　pretty　good　book　on　how　the　intelligence　business　works　down　where　the　rubber　meets　the　road。〃
　　　Kingshot　made　a　mental　note　to　look　that　book　up。　Zaitzev　was　out　on　the　lawn…a　very　plush　one…with　his　wife　and　daughter　at　the　moment。　Mrs。　Thompson　wanted　to　take　them　all　shopping。　They　had　to　have　their　private　time…their　bedroom　suite　was　thoroughly　bugged；　of　course；　plete　to　a　white…noise　filter　in　the　bathroom…and　keeping　the　wife　and　kid　happy　was　crucial　to　the　entire　operation。
　　　〃Well；　Jack；　whatever　the　opposition　has　planned；　it　will　take　time　for　them　to　set　it　up。　The　bureaucracies　over　there　are　even　more　moribund　than　ours；　you　know。〃
　　　〃KGB；　too；　Al？〃　Ryan　wondered。　〃I　think　that's　the　one　part　of　their　system　that　actually　works；　and　Yuriy　Andropov　isn't　known　for　his　patience；　is　he？　Hell；　he　was　their　ambassador　in　Budapest　in　1956；　remember？　The　Russians　worked　pretty　decisively　back　then；　didn't　they？〃
　　　〃That　was　a　serious　political　threat　to　their　entire　system；〃　Kingshot　pointed　out。
　　　〃And　the　Pope　isn't？〃　Ryan　fired　back。
　　　〃You　have　me　there；〃　the　field　spook　admitted。
　　　〃Wednesday。　That's　what　Dan　told　me。　He's　all　the　way　in　the　open　every　Wednesday。　Okay；　the　Pope　can　appear　at　that　porch　he　uses　to　give　blessings　and　stuff；　and　a　halfway　good　man　with　a　rifle　can　pop　him　doing　that；　but　a　man　with　a　rifle　is　too　visible　to　even　a　casual　observer；　and　a　rifle　says　'military'　to　people；　and　'military'　says　'government'　to　everybody。　But　those　probably　aren't　scheduled　very　far　in　advance…at　least　they're　irregular；　but　every　damned　Wednesday　afternoon　he　hops　in　his　jeep　and　parades　around　the　Piazza　San　Pietro　right　in　the　middle　of　the　assembled　multitude；　Al；　and　that's　pistol　range。〃　Ryan　sat　back　in　his　chair　and　took　another　sip　of　the　French　white。
　　　〃I　am　not　sure　I'd　want　to　fire　a　pistol　at　that　close　a　range。〃
　　　〃Al；　once　upon　a　time　they　got　a　guy　to　do　Leon　Trotsky　with　an　ice　axe…engagement　range　maybe　two　feet；〃　Ryan　reminded　him。　〃Sure；　different　situation　now；　but　since　when　have　the　Russians　been　reticent　about　risking　their　troops…and　this　will　be　that　Bulgarian　bastard；　remember？　Your　guy　called　him　an　expert　killer。　It's　amazing　what　a　real　expert　can　do。　I　saw　a　gunnery　sergeant　at　Quantico…that　guy　could　write　his　name　with　a　forty…five　at　fifty　feet。　I　watched　him　do　it　once。〃　Ryan　had　never　really　mastered　the　big　Colt　automatic；　but　that　gunny　sure　as　hell　had。
　　　〃You're　probably　being　overly　concerned。〃
　　　〃Maybe；〃　Jack　admitted。　〃But　I'd　feel　a　hell　of　a　lot　better　if　His　Holiness　wore　a　Kevlar　jacket　under　his　vestments。〃　He　wouldn't；　of　course。　People　like　that　didn't　scare　the　way　civilians　did。　It　wasn't　the　sense　of　invincibility　that　some　professional　soldiers　had。　It　was　just　that　to　them　death　wasn't　something　to　be　afraid　of。　Any　really　observant　Catholic　was　supposed　to　feel　that　way；　but　Jack　wasn't　one　of　those。　Not　quite。
　　　〃As　a　practical　matter；　what　can　one　do？　Look　for　one　face　in　a　crowd；　and　who's　to　say　it's　the　right　face？〃　Kingshot　asked。　〃Who's　to　say　Strokov　hasn't　hired　someone　else　to　do　the　actual　shooting？　I　can　see　myself　shooting　someone；　but　not　in　a　crowd。〃
　　　〃So；　you　use　a　suppressed　weapon；　a　big　can…type　silencer。　Cut　down　the　noise；　and　you　remove　a　lot　of　the　danger　of　being　identified。　All　the　eyes　are　going　to　be　on　the　target；　remember；　not　looking　sideways　into　the　crowd。〃
　　　〃True；〃　Al　conceded。
　　　〃You　know；　it's　too　damned　easy　to　find　reasons　to　do　nothing。　Didn't　Dr。　Johnson　say　that　doing　nothing　is　in　every　man's　power？〃　Ryan　asked　forlornly。　〃That's　what　we're　doing；　Al；　finding　reasons　not　to　do　anything。　Can　we　let　the　guy　die？　Can　we　just　sit　here　and　drink　our　wine　and　let　the　Russians　kill　the　man？〃
　　　〃No；　Jack；　but　we　cannot　go　off　like　a　loose　hand　grenade；　either。　Field　operations　have　to　be　planned。　You　need　professionals　to　think　things　through　in　a　professional　way。　There　are　many　things　professionals　can　do；　but　first　they　have　orders　to　do　them。〃
　　　But　that　was　being　decided　elsewhere。
　　　〃Prime　minister；　we　have　reason　to　believe　that　the　KGB　has　an　operation　under　way　to　assassinate　the　Pope　of　Rome；〃　C　reported。　He'd　e　over　on　short　notice；　interrupting　her　afternoon　political　business。
　　　〃Really？〃　sh