tc.redrabbit-第28节

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n't　know　good　from　bad；　so　even　if　we　can　figure　it　out；　we　can't　predict　what　it　means　because　they　can't　decide　for　themselves　what　the　hell　to　do　with　it…even　if　they　know　what　the　hell　it　is　in　the　first　place。　We　here　have　to　analyze　faulty　information　that　will　probably　be　incorrectly　implemented　by　the　people　to　whom　it's　supposed　to　go。　So；　how　the　hell　do　we　predict　what　they　will　do　when　they　themselves　don't　know　the　right　thing　to　do？〃
　　　That　was　worth　a　grin　around　the　pipe　stem。　〃Very　good；　Jack。　You're　starting　to　catch　on。　Very　little　they　do　makes　any　bloody　sense；　objectively　speaking。　However；　it　isn't　all　that　hard　to　predict　their　behavior。　You　decide　for　yourself　what　the　intelligent　action　is；　and　then　reverse　it。　Works　every　time；〃　Harding　laughed。
　　　〃But　the　other　thing　Sol　said　that　worries　me　is　that　people　like　that　who　have　power　in　their　hands　can　be　dangerous　sons…of…bitches。　They　don't　know　when　to　stop；　and　they　don't　know　how　to　use　their　power　intelligently。　I　guess　that's　how　Afghanistan　got　started。〃
　　　〃Correct。〃　Simon　nodded　seriously。　〃They　are　captured　by　their　own　ideological　illusions；　and　they　can't　see　their　way　clear　of　it。　And　the　real　problem　is；　they　do　control　a　bloody　great　lot　of　power。〃
　　　〃I'm　missing　something　in　the　equation；〃　Ryan　said。
　　　〃We　all　are；　Jack。　That's　part　of　the　job。〃
　　　It　was　time　to　change　subjects：　〃Anything　new　on　the　Pope？〃
　　　〃Nothing　yet　today。　If　Basil　has　anything；　I　ought　to　hear　about　it　before　lunch。　Worried　about　that？〃
　　　Jack　nodded　soberly。　〃Yeah。　The　problem　is；　if　we　do　see　a　real　threat；　what　the　hell　can　we　do　about　it？　It's　not　like　we　can　put　a　pany　of　Marines　around　him；　is　it？　Exposed　as　he　is…I　mean；　he's　in　public　so　much　that　you　can't　protect　him。〃
　　　〃And　people　like　him　don't　shrink　from　danger；　do　they？〃
　　　〃I　remember　when　Martin　Luther　King　got　whacked。　Hell；　he　knew…he　must　have　known…there　were　guns　out　there　with　his　name　on　them。　But　he　never　backed　away。　It　just　wasn't　part　of　his　ethos　to　run　and　hide。　Won't　be　any　different　in　Rome；　buddy；　and　every　other　place　he　goes。〃
　　　〃Moving　targets　are　supposed　to　be　harder　to　hit；〃　Simon　observed　halfheartedly。
　　　〃Not　when　you　know　where　he's　moving　to　a　month　or　two　in　advance。　If　KGB　decides　to　put　a　hit　on　the　guy；　damn；　I　don't　see　much　we　can　do　about　it。〃
　　　〃Except　perhaps　to　warn　him。〃
　　　〃Great。　So　he　can　laugh　about　it。　He　probably　would；　you　know。　He's　been　through　Nazis　and　munists　for　the　past　forty　years。　What　the　hell　is　left　to　scare　the　guy　with？〃　Ryan　paused。　〃If　they　decide　to　do　it；　who　pushes　the　button？〃
　　　〃I　should　think　it　would　have　to　be　voted　on　by　the　Politburo　itself　in　plenary　session。　The　political　implications　are　too　severe　for　any　one　member；　however　senior；　to　try　something　like　this　on　his　own　authority；　and　remember　how　collegial　they　are…no　one　moves　anywhere　by　himself；　even　Andropov；　who's　the　most　independent…minded　of　the　lot。〃
　　　〃Okay；　that's…what？　Fifteen　guys　have　to　vote　up　or　down　on　it。　Fifteen　mouths；　plus　staffs　and　family　members　to　talk　to　about　it。　How　good　are　our　sources？　Will　we　hear　about　it？〃
　　　〃Sensitive　question；　Jack。　I　cannot　answer　that　one；　I'm　afraid。〃
　　　〃Can't…can't　or　can't…I'm…not…allowed…to？〃　Jack　asked　more　pointedly。
　　　〃Jack；　yes；　we　have　sources　of　which　I　am　aware；　but　which　I　cannot　discuss　with　you。〃　Harding　actually　seemed　embarrassed　to　say　it。
　　　〃Hey；　I　understand；　Simon。〃　Jack　had　some　of　those　himself。　For　instance；　he　couldn't　even　speak　the　words　TALENT　KEYHOLE　here；　for　which　he　was　cleared；　but　which　was　NOFORN；　no　talking　about　this　one　to　a　foreigner…even　though　Simon　and　certainly　Sir　Basil　knew　quite　a　bit　about　it。　It　was　so　perverse；　because　it　mainly　denied　information　to　people　who　might　have　made　good　use　of　it。　If　Wall　Street　acted　this　way；　all　of　America　would　be　under　the　poverty　line；　Jack　groused。　Either　people　were　trustworthy　or　they　were　not。　But　the　game　had　its　rules；　and　Ryan　played　by　those　rules。　That　was　the　cost　of　admittance　into　this　particular　club。
　　　〃This　is　bloody　good　stuff；〃　Harding　said；　flipping　to　page　three　of　Bernie　Katz's　debriefing。
　　　〃Bernie's　smart；〃　Ryan　confirmed。　〃That's　why　Cathy　likes　working　for　him。〃
　　　〃But　he's　an　eye　doctor；　not　a　psychiatrist；　correct？〃
　　　〃Simon；　at　that　level　of　medicine；　everybody　is　a　little　bit　of　everything。　I　asked　Cathy：　The　diabetic　retinopathy　Suslov　had　is　indicative　of　a　major　health　problem。　The　diabetes　messes　up　the　little　blood　vessels　in　the　back　of　the　eye；　and　you　can　see　it　when　you　do　an　examination。　Bernie　and　his　team　fixed　it　partway…you　can't　fix　it　all　the　way…and　gave　him　back　about；　oh；　seventy…five　to　eighty　percent　of　his　sight；　good　enough　to　drive　a　car　in　daylight；　anyway；　but　the　underlying　health　problem　is　a　mother。　It　isn't　just　the　small　blood　vessels　in　the　eye；　right？　He's　got　that　problem　all　over　his　body。　Figure　Red　Mike　will　croak　from；　kidney　failure　or　heart　disease　in　the　next　two　years　at　the　outside。〃　
　　　〃Our　chaps　think　he's　got　five　years　or　so；〃　Harding　offered。
　　　〃Well；　I'm　not　a　doc。　You　can　have　some　people　talk　to　Bernie　about　it　if　you　want；　but　everything　is　right　there。　Cathy　says　you　can　tell　a　lot　about　diabetes　from　looking　at　the　eyeball。〃
　　　〃Does　Suslov　know　that？〃
　　　Ryan　shrugged。　〃That　is　a　good　question；　Simon。　Docs　don't　always　tell　their　patients；　probably　less　so　over　there。　Figure　Suslov's　being　treated　by　a　politically　reliable　doctor　of　professorial　rank。　Here；　that　would　mean　a　top…drawer　guy　who　really　knows　his　stuff。　Over　there。。。？〃
　　　Harding　nodded。　〃Correct。　He　may　know　his　Lenin　more　than　his　Pasteur。　Did　you　ever　hear　about　Sergey　Korolev；　their　chief　rocket　designer？　That　was　a　particularly　ugly　incident。　The　poor　bugger　was　essentially　murdered　on　the　table　because　two　senior　surgeons　didn't　like　each　other；　and　one　wouldn't　bail　the　other　out　when　the　boat　began　to　leak　badly。　It　was　probably　good　for　the　West；　but　he　was　a　fine　engineer；　and　he　was　killed　by　medical　inpetence。〃
　　　〃Anybody　pay　up　for　that　one？〃　Ryan　asked。
　　　〃Oh；　no。　They　were　both　too　politically　important；　lots　of　patrons　in　high　places。　They're　safe；　until　they　kill　one　of　their　friends；　and　that　won't　happen。　I'm　sure　they　both　have　petent　young　people　under　them　to　cover　their　backsides。〃
　　　〃You　know　what　they　need　in　Russia？　Lawyers。　I　don't　like　ambulance…chasers；　but　I　guess　they　do　keep　people　on　their　toes。〃
　　　〃In　any　case；　no；　Suslov　probably　does　not　know　the　gravity　of　his　condition。　At　least　that's　what　our　medical　consultants　think。　He　still　drinks　his　vodka　according　to　HUMINT　reports；　and　that　is　definitely　contra…indicated。〃　Harding　grimaced。　〃And　his　replacement　will　be　Alexandrov；　every　bit　as　unpleasant　a　chap　as　his　mentor。　I'll　have　to　see　about　updating　his　dossier。〃　He　made　a　note。
　　　As　for　Ryan；　he　turned　back　to　his　morning　briefing　pages　before　starting　on　his　official　project。　Greer　wanted　Ryan　to　work　on　a　study　of　management　practices　in　the　Soviet　armament　industry；　to　see　how…and　if…that　segment　of　the　Soviet　economy　worked。　Ryan　and　Harding　would　be　cooperating　on　the　study；　which　would　use　both　British　and　American　data。　It　was　something　that　suited　Ryan's　academic　background。　It　might　even　get　him　noticed　high　up。
　　　The　return　message　came　in　at　11：32　hours。　Fast　work　in　Rome；　Zaitzev　thought；　as　he　began　the　decryption。　He'd　call　Colonel　Rozhdestvenskiy　as　soon　as　he　got　through　it；　but　it　was　going　to　take　a　while。　The　captain　checked　the　wall　clock。　It　would　delay　his　lunch；　too；　but　the　priority　condemned　him　to　some　stomach　growls。　About　the　only　good　news　was　that　Colonel　Goderenko　had　started　his　encipherment　sequence　at　the　top　of　page　285。
　　　MOST　SECRET　IMMEDIATE　AND　URGENT
　　　FROM：　REZIDENT　ROME
　　　To：　OFFICE　OF　CHAIRMAN；　Moscow　CENTRE
　　　REFERENCE：　YOUR　OP　DISPATCH　15…8…82…666
GETTING　CLOSE　TO　THE　PRIEST　is　NOT　DIFFICULT　WITHOUT　FIXED　TIME　CONSTRAINTS。　GUIDANCE　WILL　BE　NEEDED　FOR　A　FULL　EVALUATION　OF　YOUR　REQUEST。　PRIEST　ENGAGES　IN　PREDICTABLE　PUBLIC　AUDIENCES　AND　APPEARANCES　WHICH　ARE　KNOWN　WELL　IN　ADVANCE。　To　MAKE　USE　OF　THIS　OPPORTUNITY　WILL　NOT　RPT　NOT　BE　EASY　DUE　TO　LARGE　CROWDS　ATTENDING　FUNCTIONS。　SECURITY　ARRANGEMENTS　FOR　HIM　DIFFICULT　TO　ASSESS　WITHOUT　FURTHER　GUIDANCE。　REMEND　AGAINST　PHYSICAL　ACTION　TO　BE　TAKEN　AGAINST　PRIEST　DUE　TO　EXPECTED　ADVERSE　POLITICAL　CONSEQUENCES。　DIFFICULT　TO　HIDE　ORIGIN　OF　AN　OPERATION　AGAINST　PRIEST。　ENDS。

　　　Well；　Zaitzev　thought；　the　rezident　didn't　like　this　idea　very　much。　Would　Yuriy　Vladimirovich　listen　to　this　bit　of　advice　from　the　field？　That；　Zaitzev　knew；　was　far　above　his　pay　grade。　He　lifted　his　phone　and　dialed。
　　　〃Colonel　Rozhdestvenskiy；〃　the　brusque　voice　answered。
　　　〃Captain　Zaitzev　in　munications　Central。　I　have　a　reply　to　your　six…six…six；　rade　Colonel。〃
　　　〃On　my　way；〃　Rozhdestvenskiy　responded。
　　　The　colonel　was　as　good　as　his　word；　passing　through　the　control　point　three　minutes　later。　By　that　time；　Zaitzev　had　returned　the　cipher　book　to　central　storage　and　slipped　the　message　form；　plus　the　translation；　into　a　brown　envelope；　which　he　handed　to　the　colonel。
　　　〃Has　anyone　seen　this？〃　Rozhdestvenskiy　aske