tc.redrabbit-第132节

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　　　〃CIA　operation？〃　This　was　Sharp。
　　　Jack　nodded。　〃Correct。　We　had　an　operational　problem；　and　you　guys　were　kind　enough　to　help　us　out。　I'm　not　cleared　to　say　much　more；　sorry。〃
　　　They　all　understood。　They　didn't　want　their　asses　exposed　by　loose　talk　about　a　black　operation。
　　　〃This　must　go　to　Andropov　himself…the　Pope's　giving　them　trouble　in　Poland；　is　it？〃
　　　〃It　would　seem　so。　Maybe　he　has　mand　of　more　divisions　than　they　appreciate。〃
　　　〃Even　so；　this　seems　a　little　extreme…how　will　the　world　see　the　assassination　of　His　Holiness？〃　King　wondered　aloud。
　　　〃Evidently；　they　fear　that　less　than　a　total　political　collapse　in　Poland；　Mick；〃　Stones　thought　out　loud。　〃And　they're　afraid　that　he　might　be　able　to　bring　that　about。　The　sword　and　the　spirit；　as　Napoleon　said；　Mick。　The　spirit　always　wins　in　the　end。〃
　　　〃Yes；　I　reckon　so；　and　here　we　are　at　the　epicenter　of　the　world　of　the　spirit。〃
　　　〃My　first　time　here；〃　Stones　said。　〃It　is　bloody　impressive。　I　must　bring　the　family　down　here　sometime。〃
　　　〃They　do　know　their　food　and　wine；〃　Sparrow　observed；　going　through　his　veal。　〃What　about　the　local　police？〃
　　　〃Rather　good；　actually；〃　Sharp　told　him。　〃Pity　we　can't　enlist　their　assistance。　They　know　the　territory…it　is　their　patch；　after　all。〃
　　　But　these　guys　are　the　pros　from　Dover；　Ryan　thought；　with　some　degree　of　hope。　Just　that　there　weren't　enough　of　them。　〃Tom；　you　talk　to　London　about　the　radios？〃
　　　〃Ah；　yes；　Jack。　They're　sending　us　ten。　Earpieces　and　lapel　microphones　to　speak　into。　Sideband；　rather　like　what　the　army　use。　I　don't　know　if　they're　encrypted；　but　fairly　secure　in　any　case；　and　we'll　use　proper　radio　discipline。　So　at　least　we'll　be　able　to　municate　clearly。　We'll　practice　with　them　tomorrow　afternoon。〃
　　　〃And　Wednesday？〃
　　　〃We'll　arrive　about　nine　in　the　morning；　pick　our　individual　surveillance　areas；　and　mill　about　while　the　crowd　arrives。〃
　　　〃This　isn't　what　they　trained　me　for　in　the　Corps；〃　Ryan　thought　aloud。
　　　〃Sir　John；〃　Mick　King　responded；　〃this　isn't　what　they　trained　any　of　us　for。　Yes；　we　are　all　experienced　intelligence　officers；　but　this　really　is　a　job　for　someone　in　the　protective　services；　like　the　police　constables　who　guard　Her　Majesty　and　the　PM　or　your　Secret　Service　chaps。　Hell　of　a　way　to　earn　a　living；　this　is。〃
　　　〃Yes；　Mick；　I　expect　we'll　all　appreciate　them　a　little　more　after　this　lot；〃　Ray　Stones　observed；　to　general　agreement　around　the　table。
　　　〃John。〃　Ryan　turned　to　Sparrow。　〃You've　got　the　most　important　job；　spotting　this　motherfucker　for　the　rest　of　us。〃
　　　〃Lovely；〃　Sparrow　replied。　〃All　I　have　to　do　is　examine　five…thousand…plus　faces　for　the　one　that　might　or　might　not　be　there。　Lovely；〃　the　spook　repeated。
　　　〃What　will　you　be　using？〃
　　　〃I　have　three　Nikon　cameras　and　a　good　assortment　of　lenses。　I　think　tomorrow　I　might　buy　some　seven…by…fifty　binoculars　also。　I　just　hope　I　can　find　a　good　perch　to　scan　from。　The　height　of　the　parapet　worries　me。　There's　a　dead　space　extending　out　from　the　base　of　the　columns　about　thirty　yards　or　so　that　I　can't　see　at　all。　That　limits　what　I　can　do；　lads。〃
　　　〃Not　much　choice；〃　Jack　thought　out　loud。　〃You　can't　see　shit　from　ground　level。〃
　　　〃That　is　the　problem　we　have；〃　Sparrow　agreed。　〃Our　best　choice　would　be　two　men；　one…actually；　more　than　one…on　each　side　with　good　spotting　glasses。　But　we　lack　the　manpower；　and　we'd　have　to　get　permission　from　the　Pope's　own　security　people；　which　is；　I　gather；　quite　out　of　the　question。〃
　　　〃Getting　them　involved　would　be　useful；　but…〃
　　　〃But　we　can't　let　the　whole　world　know　about　the　Rabbit。　Yeah；　I　know。　The　Pope's　life　is　secondary　to　that　consideration。　Isn't　that　just　great？〃　Ryan　growled。
　　　〃What　is　the　security　of　your　country　worth；　Sir　John；　and　ours　also？〃　King　asked　rhetorically。
　　　〃More　than　his　life；〃　Ryan　answered。　〃Yeah；　I　know；　but　that　doesn't　mean　I　have　to　like　it。〃
　　　〃Has　any　Pope　ever　been　murdered？〃　Sharp　asked。　Nobody　knew　the　answer。
　　　〃Somebody　tried　once。　The　Swiss　Guards　fought　a　stonewall　action　to　protect　his　retreat。　Most　of　them　went　down　hard；　but　the　Pope　escaped　alive；〃　Ryan　said；　remembering　something　from　a　ic　book　he'd　read　at　St。　Matthew's　in　the…what　was　it？　Fourth　grade　or　so？
　　　〃I　wonder　how　good　they　are；　those　Swiss　chaps？〃　Stones　asked。
　　　〃They're　pretty　enough　in　the　striped　uniforms。　Probably　well　motivated。　Question　of　training；　really；〃　Sharp　observed。　〃That's　the　difference　between　a　civilian　and　a　soldier…training。　The　chaps　in　plainclothes　are　probably　well　briefed；　but　if　they　carry　pistols；　are　they　allowed　to　use　them？　They　work　for　a　church；　after　all。　Probably　not　trained　to　shoot　people　outright。〃
　　　〃You　had　that　guy　jump　out　from　a　crowd　and　fire　off　a　starter　pistol　at　the　Queen…on　the　way　to　Parliament；　wasn't　it？〃　Ryan　remembered。　〃There　was　a　cavalry　officer　on　a　horse　right　there。　I　was　surprised　he　didn't　cut　the　asshole　in　half　with　his　sabre…that　would　have　been　my　instinct…but　he　didn't。〃
　　　〃Parade　sword；　just　for　ceremonial　occasions。　You　probably　couldn't　cut　cold　butter　with　it；〃　Sparrow　said。　〃Nearly　trampled　the　bastard　with　his　horse；　though。〃
　　　〃The　Secret　Service　would　have　dropped　him　on　the　spot。　Sure；　the　gun　was　loaded　with　blanks；〃　Ryan　said；　〃but　it　damned　sure　looked　and　sounded　like　the　real　thing。　Her　Majesty　kept　her　head　screwed　on　pretty　tight。　I　would　have　shit　myself。〃
　　　〃I'm　sure　Her　Majesty　availed　herself　of　the　proper　facilities　at　Westminster　Palace。　She　has　her　own　loo　there；　you　know；〃　King　told　the　American。
　　　〃In　the　event；　he　was　some　disturbed　fellow；　doubtless　cutting　out　paper　dolls　in　a　mental　hospital　now；〃　Sharp　said；　but；　like　every　other　British　subject；　his　heart　had　stopped　cold　watching　the　incident　on　TV；　and　he；　too；　had　been　surprised　that　the　lunatic　had　survived　the　event。　Had　one　of　the　Yeomen　of　the　Tower　been　there　with　his　ceremonial　fighting　spear…called　a　partisan…he　surely　would　have　been　pinned　to　the　pavement　like　a　butterfly　in　a　collection　box。　Perhaps　God　did　look　after　fools；　drunks；　and　little　children　after　all。　〃So；　if　Strokov　does　show　up；　and　does　take　his　shot；　you　suppose　the　local　Italians　will　do　for　him？〃
　　　〃One　can　hope；〃　King　said。
　　　Wouldn't　that　be　just　great？　Jack　thought。　The　professionals　can't　protect　the　Pope；　but　local　waiters　and　clothing　salesmen　beat　the　fucker　to　death。　That'll　look　great　on　NBC　Nightly　News。
　　　Back　in　Manchester；　the　Rabbit　and　his　family　finished　yet　another　superb　dinner　from　Mrs。　Thompson。
　　　〃What　does　an　ordinary　English　worker　eat？〃　Zaitzev　asked。
　　　〃Not　quite　this　well；〃　Kingshot　admitted。　He　sure　as　hell　didn't。　〃But　we　try　to　take　decent　care　of　our　guests；　Oleg。〃
　　　〃Have　I　told　you　enough　about　MINISTER？〃　he　asked　next。　〃Is　all　I　know。〃　The　Security　Service　had　picked　his　brain　pretty　thoroughly　on　the　subject　that　afternoon；　going　over　every　single　fact　at　least　five　times。
　　　〃You've　been　most　helpful；　Oleg　Ivan'ch。　Thank　you。〃　In　fact；　he'd　given　the　Security　Service　quite　a　lot。　Most　often；　the　way　you　caught　such　penetration　agents　was　by　identifying　the　information　he'd　transferred。　Only　a　limited　number　of　people　would　have　access　to　all　of　it；　and　the　〃Five〃　people　would　observe　all　of　them　until　one　did　something　difficult　to　explain。　Then　they　would　see　who　arrived　at　the　dead…drop　site　to　retrieve　the　package；　and　from　that　they'd　get　the　bonus　of　identifying　his　KGB　control　officer；　and　get　two　breaks　for　the　price　of　one…or　perhaps　even　more；　because　the　case　officer　would　be　working　more　than　one　agent；　and　the　discoveries　could　branch　out　like　the　limbs　of　a　tree。　Then　you　tried　to　arrest　a　peripheral　agent　before　going　after　the　main　target；　because　then　the　KGB　could　not　know　how　their　main　penetration　agent　had　been　exposed；　and　that　would　protect　the　primary　source；　Oleg　Zaitzev；　from　discovery。　The　counterintelligence　business　was　as　baroque　as　medieval…court　intrigue　and　was　both　loved　and　hated　by　the　players　for　its　intricacy；　but　that　just　made　the　apprehension　of　a　real　Bad　Guy　that　much　more　rewarding。
　　　〃And　what　of　the　Pope？〃
　　　〃As　I　said　the　other　day；　we　have　a　team　in　Rome　right　now　to　look　into　the　matter；〃　Kingshot　answered。　〃Not　much　we　can　say…in　fact；　not　much　we　can　really　do；　but　we　are　taking　action　based　on　your　information；　Oleg。〃
　　　〃That　is　good；〃　the　defector　thought　out　loud；　hoping　it　hadn't　all　been　for　nothing。　He'd　not　really　looked　forward　to　exposing　Soviet　agents　throughout　the　West。　He'd　do　that；　to　safeguard　his　own　position　in　his　new　home；　of　course；　and　for　the　money　he'd　get　for　turning　traitor　to　his　Motherland；　but　his　highest　concern　was　in　saving　that　one　life。
　　　Tuesday　morning；　Ryan　slept　later　than　usual；　arising　just　after　eight；　figuring　he'd　need　to　bankroll　his　rest　for　the　following　day。　He'd　sure　as　hell　need　it　then。
　　　Sharp　and　the　rest　of　the　team　were　already　up。
　　　〃Anything　new？〃　Jack　asked；　ing　into　the　dining　room。
　　　〃We　have　the　radios；〃　Sharp　reported。　There　was；　indeed；　one　at　every　place　at　the　table。　〃They're　excellent…the　very　same　sort　your　Secret　Service　use…same　manufacturer；　Motorola。　Brand　new；　and　they　are　encrypted。　Lapel　microphones　and