tc.redrabbit-第18节

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found　that　his　creative　times　of　day　tended　to　divide　themselves　into　two　parts。　Mornings　were　best　for　digesting　information；　but　later　afternoons　were　better　for　contemplation。　Admiral　Greer　tended　to　be　the　same　way；　and　so　Jack　would　find　himself　disconnected　from　his　boss's　work　routine；　which　wasn't　good。　He　also　had　to　get　used　to　the　mechanics　of　handling　documents。　He'd　been　in　government　service　long　enough　to　know　that　it　would　never　be　as　easy　as　he　expected；　nor　as　simple　as　it　ought　to　be。
　　　〃Greer；〃　a　voice　said；　after　the　secure　link　was　established。
　　　〃Ryan　here；　sir。〃
　　　〃How's　England；　Jack？〃
　　　〃Haven't　seen　it　rain　yet。　Cathy　starts　her　new　job　tomorrow　morning。〃
　　　〃How's　Basil？〃
　　　〃I　can't　plain　about　the　hospitality；　sir。〃
　　　〃Where　are　you　now？〃
　　　〃Century　House。　They　gave　me　an　office　on　the　top　floor　with　a　guy　in　their　Russian　section。〃
　　　〃I　bet　you　want　an　STU　for　your　home。〃
　　　〃Good　call；　sir。〃　The　old　bastard　was　pretty　good　at　reading　minds。
　　　〃What　else？〃
　　　〃Nothing　es　immediately　to　mind；　Admiral。〃
　　　〃Anything　interesting　yet？〃
　　　〃Just　settling　in；　sir。　Their　Russian　section　looks　smart。　The　guy　I'm　working　with；　Simon　Harding；　reads　the　tea　leaves　pretty　well；〃　Ryan　said；　glad　that　Simon　was　off　at　the　moment。　Of　course；　maybe　the　phone　was　bugged。。。　nah。。。　not　for　a　Knight　mander　of　the　Victorian　Order。。。　or　would　they？
　　　〃Kids　okay？〃
　　　〃Yes；　sir。　Sally's　trying　to　figure　out　the　local　TV。〃
　　　〃Kids　adapt　pretty　well。〃
　　　Better　than　adults　do。　〃I'll　let　you　know；　Admiral。〃
　　　〃The　Hopkins　document　ought　to　be　on　your　desk　tomorrow。〃
　　　〃Thanks。　I　think　they'll　like　it。　Bernie　said　some　interesting　things。　This　other　thing　with　the　Pope。。。〃
　　　〃What　are　our　cousins　saying？〃
　　　〃They're　concerned。　So　am　I。　I　think　His　Holiness　has　rattled　their　cage　pretty　hard；　and　I　think　Ivan's　going　to　notice。〃
　　　〃What's　Basil　saying？〃
　　　〃Not　much。　I　do　not　know　what　assets　they　have　on　site。　I　imagine　they're　waiting　to　see　what　they　can　find　out。〃　Jack　paused。　〃Anything　from　our　end？〃
　　　〃Not　yet〃　was　the　terse　reply。　It　was　a　step　up　from　nothing　I　can　talk　to　you　about。　Does　Admiral　Greer　really　trust　me　now？　Jack　wondered。　Sure；　Greer　liked　him；　but　did　he　really　trust　him　to　be　a　good　analyst？　Perhaps　this　London　sojourn　was；　if　not　boot　camp；　then　maybe　a　second　trip　through　the　Basic　School。　That　was　where　the　Marine　Corps　made　sure　that　young　men　with　lieutenant's　bars　really　had　the　right　stuff　to　lead　Marines　in　the　field。　It　was　reputed　to　be　the　hardest　school　in　the　Corps。　It　hadn't　been　especially　easy　for　Ryan；　but　he　had　graduated　at　the　top　of　his　class。　Maybe　he'd　just　been　lucky。。。？　He　hadn't　served　long　enough　to　find　out；　courtesy　of　a　broken　CH…46　over　the　island　of　Crete；　an　event　that　still　visited　him　in　the　occasional　nightmare。
　　　Fortunately；　his　gunnery　sergeant　and　a　navy　corpsman　had　stabilized　him；　but　Jack　still　got　a　chill　even　thinking　about　helicopters。　〃Tell　me　what　you　think；　Jack。〃
　　　〃If　my　job　were　to　keep　the　Pope　alive；　I'd　be　a　little　nervous。　The　Russians　can　play　rough　when　they　want　to。　What　I　cannot　evaluate　is　how　the　Politburo　might　react…I　mean；　how　much　starch　they　might　have　in　their　backbone。　When　I　talked　to　Basil；　I　said　it　es　down　to　how　scared　they　are　by　his　threat；　if　you　call　it　a　threat。〃
　　　〃What　would　you　call　it；　Jack？〃　the　DDI　asked　from　3；400　miles　away。
　　　〃Yes；　sir；　you　have　me　there。　I　suppose　it　is　a　threat　of　sorts　to　their　way　of　thinking。〃
　　　〃Of　sorts？　How　does　it　look　to　them？〃　Jim　Greer　would　have　been　one　tough　son　of　a　bitch　teaching　graduate…level　history　or　political　science。　Right　up　there　with　Father　Tim　at　Georgetown。
　　　〃Noted；　Admiral。　It's　a　threat。　And　they　will　see　it　as　such。　I　am　not　sure；　however；　how　serious　a　threat　they　will　take　it　to　be。　It's　not　as　though　they　believe　in　God。　To　them；　'God'　is　politics；　and　politics　is　just　a　process；　not　a　belief　system　as　we　understand　the　term。〃
　　　〃Jack；　you　need　to　learn　to　see　reality　through　the　eyes　of　your　adversary。　Your　analytical　ability　is　first…rate；　but　you　have　to　work　on　perception。　This　isn't　stocks　and　bonds；　where　you　dealt　with　hard　numbers；　not　perceptions　of　numbers。　They　say　El　Greco　had　a　stigmatism　in　his　eyes　that　gave　everything　a　visual　slant。　They　see　reality　through　a　different　lens；　too。　If　you　can　replicate　that；　you'll　be　one　of　the　best　around；　but　you　have　to　make　that　leap　of　imagination。　Harding's　pretty　good　at　that。　Learn　from　him　to　see　the　inside　of　their　heads。〃
　　　〃You　know　Simon？〃　Jack　asked。
　　　〃I've　been　reading　his　analyses　for　years。〃
　　　None　of　this　is　an　accident；　Jack；　he　told　himself；　with　more　surprise　than　there　ought　to　have　been。　His　second　important　lesson　of　the　day。　〃Understood；　sir。〃
　　　〃Don't　sound　too　surprised；　my　boy。〃
　　　〃Aye…aye；　sir；〃　Ryan　responded　like　a　Marine　shavetail。　I　won't　make　that　mistake　again；　Admiral。　And　in　that　moment；　John　Patrick　Ryan　became　a　real　intelligence　analyst。
　　　〃I'll　have　the　embassy　deliver　the　STU　to　you。　You　know　about　keeping　it　secure；〃　the　DDI　added　as　a　cautionary　note。
　　　〃Yes；　sir。　I　can　do　that。〃
　　　〃Good。　Lunchtime　here。〃
　　　〃Yes；　sir。　Talk　to　you　tomorrow。〃　Ryan　replaced　the　receiver　in　the　cradle　and　then　extracted　the　plastic　key　from　the　slot　in　the　phone　set。　That　went　into　his　pocket。　He　checked　his　watch。　Time　to　close　up　shop。　He'd　already　cleared　his　desk　of　classified　folders。　A　woman　came　around　about　4：30　with　a　shopping　cart　to　take　them　back　to　central…records　storage。　Right　on　cue；　Simon　came　back　in。
　　　〃What　time's　your　train？〃
　　　〃Six…ten。〃
　　　〃Time　for　a　beer；　Jack。　Interested？〃
　　　〃Works　for　me；　Simon。〃　He　rose　and　followed　his　roommate　out　the　door。
　　　It　was　only　a　four…minute　walk　to　the　Fox　and　Cock；　a　very　traditional　pub　a　block　from　Century　House。　A　little　too　traditional：　It　looked　like　a　relic　from　Shakespeare's　time；　with　massive　wooden　timbers　and　plaster　walls。　It　had　to　be　for　architectural　effect；　no　real　building　could　have　survived　that　long；　could　it？　Inside　was　a　cloud　of　tobacco　smoke　and　a　lot　of　people　wearing　jackets　and　ties。　Clearly　an　upscale　pub；　a　lot　of　the　patrons　were　probably　from　Century　House。　Harding　confirmed　it。
　　　〃It's　our　watering　hole。　The　publican　used　to　be　one　of　us；　probably　makes　more　here　than　he　ever　did　at　the　shop。〃　Without　being　bidden；　Harding　ordered　two　pints　of　Tetley's　bitter；　which　arrived　quickly。　Then　he　ushered　Jack　to　a　corner　booth。
　　　〃So；　Sir　John；　how　do　you　like　it　here？〃
　　　〃No　plaints　so　far。〃　He　took　a　sip。　〃Admiral　Greer　thinks　you're　pretty　smart。〃
　　　〃And　Basil　thinks　he's　rather　bright　as　well。　Good　chap　to　work　for？〃　Harding　asked。
　　　〃Yeah；　big…time。　He　listens　and　helps　you　think。　Doesn't　stomp　on　you　when　you　goof。　He'd　rather　teach　than　embarrass　you…that's　my　experience；　anyway。　Some　of　the　more　senior　analysts　have　had　him　tear　a　stripe　off　their　ass。　I　guess　I'm　not　senior　enough　for　that　yet。〃　Ryan　paused。　〃You　supposed　to　be　my　training　officer　over　here；　Simon？〃
　　　The　directness　of　the　question　surprised　his　host。　〃I　wouldn't　say　that　exactly。　I'm　a　Soviet　specialist。　You're　more　a　generalist；　I　take　it？〃
　　　〃Try　'apprentice；'　〃　Ryan　suggested。
　　　〃Very　well。　What　do　you　want　to　know？〃
　　　〃How　to　think　like　a　Russian。〃
　　　Harding　laughed　into　his　beer。　〃That's　something　we　all　learn　every　day。　The　key　is　to　remember　that　to　them　everything　is　politics；　and　politics；　remember；　is　all　about　nebulous　ideas；　aesthetics。　Especially　in　Russia；　Jack。　They　can't　deliver　real　products　like　automobiles　and　television　sets；　so　they　have　to　concentrate　on　everything　fitting　into　their　political　theory；　the　sayings　of　Marx　and　Lenin。　And；　of　course；　Lenin　and　Marx　knew　sod…all　about　doing　real　things　in　the　real　world。　It's　like　a　religion　gone　mad；　but　instead　of　thunderbolts　or　biblical　plagues；　they　kill　their　apostates　with　firing　squads。　In　their　world　outlook；　everything　that　goes　wrong　is　the　result　of　political　apostasy。　Their　political　theory　ignores　human　nature；　and　since　their　political　theory　is　Holy　Writ；　and　therefore　is　never　wrong；　it　must　be　human　nature　that's　wrong。　It's　not　logically　consistent；　you　see。　Ever　study　metaphysics？〃
　　　〃Boston　College；　second　year。　The　Jesuits　make　you　spend　a　semester　on　it；〃　Ryan　confirmed；　taking　a　long　sip。　〃Whether　you　want　to　or　not。〃
　　　〃Well；　munism　is　metaphysics　applied　ruthlessly　to　the　real　world；　and　when　things　don't　fit；　it's　the　fault　of　the　square　sods　who　don't　fit　into　their　round　bloody　holes。　That　can　be　rather　hard　on　the　poor　sods；　you　see。　And　so；　Joe　Stalin　murdered　roughly　twenty　million　of　them；　partly　because　of　political　theory；　partly　because　of　his　own　mental　illness　and　bloody…mindedness。　That　insane　bugger　defined　paranoia。　One　pays　a　price　for　being　ruled　by　a　madman　with　a　twisted　book　of　rules；　you　see。〃
　　　〃But　how　faithful　is　the　current　political　leadership　to　Marxist　theory？〃
　　　A　thoughtful　nod。　〃That's　the　question；　Jack。　The　answer　is；　we　don't　bloody　know。　They　all　claim　to　be　true　believers；　but　are　they？〃　Harding　paused　for　a　contemplative　sip　of　his　own。　〃Only　when　it　suits　them；　I　think。　But　that　depends　on　who　one　is　ta