tc.redrabbit-第69节

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　tersely。
　　　〃But　doable；〃　she　countered。
　　　〃Honey；　that's　a　big　thought。〃　But　he　was　thinking　about　it；　Mary　Pat　saw　in　his　eyes。
　　　〃Yeah；　but　if　we　can　pull　it　off；　what　a　coup；〃　she　said；　getting　under　the　sofa。　Eddie　slid　himself　closer　to　the　TV　so　that　he　could　hear　what　the　Transformer　robots　were　saying。　A　good　sign。　If　Eddie　couldn't　hear；　then　neither　would　the　KGB　microphones。
　　　〃It's　worth　thinking　about；〃　Ed　conceded。　〃But　doing　it…damn。〃
　　　〃Well；　they　pay　us　to　be　creative；　don't　they？〃
　　　〃No　way　in　hell　we　could　pull　that　one　off　here〃…not　without　involving　a　whole　lot　of　assets；　some　of　whom　might　not　be　entirely　reliable；　which　was；　of　course；　their　greatest　fear；　and　one　they　couldn't　easily　defend　against。　That　was　one　of　the　problems　in　the　spook　business。　If　the　counterspies　in　KGB　ID'd　one　of　their　assets；　they　were　very　often　clever　about　how　they　handled　it。　They　could；　for　example；　have　a　little　chat　with　the　guy　and　tell　him　to　keep　operating；　and　then；　maybe；　he'd　live　to　the　end　of　the　year。　Their　agents　were　trained　to　give　a　danger…wave…off　signal；　but　who　was　to　say　that　the　agent　would　do　it？　It　demanded　a　lot　from　the　supposed　dedication　of　their　assets；　more　than　some…most…of　them　would　probably　give。
　　　〃So；　there　are　other　places　they　can　go。　Eastern　Europe；　for　example。　Get　them　out　that　way；〃　she　suggested。
　　　〃I　suppose　it's　possible；〃　he　conceded　again。　〃But　the　mission　here　is　to　get　them　out；　not　score　style　points　from　the　East　German　judge。〃
　　　〃I　know；　but　think　about　it。　If　we　can　get　him　away　from　Moscow；　that　gives　us　a　lot　more　flexibility　in　our　options；　doesn't　it？〃
　　　〃Yes；　honey。　It　also　means　munications　problems。〃　And　that　meant　the　risk　of　screwing　everything　up。　The　KISS　principle…〃keep　it　simple；　stupid〃…was　as　much　a　part　of　the　CIA　ethos　as　the　trench　coat　and　fedora　hat　that　people　used　in　bad　movies。　Too　many　cooks　fucked　up　the　soup。
　　　Yet　what　she'd　suggested　had　real　merit。　Getting　the　Rabbit　out　in　a　way　that　made　the　Soviets　think　him　dead　would　mean　that　they'd　take　no　precautions。　It　would　be　like　sending　Captain　Kirk　into　KGB　headquarters　by　transporter…and　invisible…and　extracting　him　without　anyone　knowing　he'd　been　there；　along　with　tons　of　hot　information。　It　would　be　as　close　to　the　perfect　play　as　anything　that　had　ever　happened。　Hell；　Ed　thought；　as　perfect　a　play　as　never　happened　in　the　real　world。　He　reflected　for　a　moment　that　he　was　blessed　to　have　a　wife　as　creative　in　her　work　as　she　was　in　bed。
　　　And　that　was　pretty　damned　good。
　　　Mary　Pat　saw　her　husband's　face；　and　she　knew　how　to　read　his　mind。　He　was　a　cautious　player；　but　she'd　pushed　a　very　sensitive　button；　and　he　was　smart　enough　to　see　the　merit　in　it。　Her　idea　was　a　plication。。。　but　maybe　not　that　great　of　one。　Getting　the　package　out　of　Moscow　would　be　no　day　at　the　beach　under　the　best　of　circumstances。　The　hard　part　would　be　in　crossing　the　Finnish　border…it　was　always　Finland；　and　everyone　knew　it。　There　were　ways　to　do　it；　and　it　mostly　involved　trick　cars　with　hidden　passenger　acmodations。　The　Russians　had　trouble　countering　that　tactic；　because　if　the　driver　of　the　car　had　diplomatic　credentials；　then　international　convention　limited　their　search　options。　Any　diplomat　who　wanted　to　make　fast　money　could　make　a　small　pile　by　smuggling　drugs…and　some　did；　she　was　sure；　and　few　of　them　ever　got　caught。　With　a　get…out…of…jail…free　card；　you　could　acplish　a　lot。　But　even　that　was　not　an　entirely　free　pass。　If　the　Soviets　knew　this　guy　was　missing；　then　rules　might　get　broken　because　the　data　inside　his　head　was　so　valuable。　The　other　side　of　the　diplomatic…rules　violation　was　that　it　would　result　only　in　a　protest；　muddled　up　by　the　public　disclosure　that　an　accredited　foreign　diplomat　was　spying…and　if　some　of　their　diplomats　got　roughed　up　in　the　process；　well；　the　Soviets　had　been　known　to　sacrifice　large　numbers　of　military　forces　for　a　political　end　and　just　think　of　it　as　a　price　of　doing　business。　For　the　information　the　Rabbit　had；　they'd　gladly　shed　blood…including　some　of　their　own。　Mary　Pat　wondered　how　well　this　guy　understood　the　danger　he　was　in；　and　how　formidable　the　forces　were　arrayed　against　him。　What　it　came　down　to　was　whether　or　not　the　Sovs　knew　something　was　afoot。　If　not；　their　routine　surveillance　procedures；　no　matter　how　thorough；　were　predictable。　If　alerted；　however；　they　could　put　the　entire　city　of　Moscow　under　lockdown。
　　　But　everything　they　did　in　the　CIA's　Clandestine　Service　was　done　carefully；　and　there　were　backup　procedures　for　when　things　went　wrong；　as　well　as　other　measures；　some　desperate；　that　had　proven　to　be　effective　when　you　put　them　in　play。　You　just　tried　to　avoid　doing　that。
　　　〃Finishing　up；〃　she　warned　her　husband。
　　　〃Okay；　Mary　Pat；　you　have　me　thinking。〃　And　with　that　his　formidable　mind　started　sifting　through　ideas。　Sometimes　he　needs　a　little　push；　Mary　Pat　thought；　but　once　you　had　him　going　in　the　right　direction；　he　was　like　George　Patton　with　the　bit　in　his　teeth。　She　wondered　how　much　sleeping　Ed　would　be　doing　tonight。　Well；　she'd　be　able　to　tell；　wouldn't　she？
　　　Basil　likes　you；　Murray　said。　The　womenfolk　were　in　the　kitchen。　Jack　and　Dan　were　out　in　the　garden；　pretending　to　inspect　the　roses。
　　　〃Really？〃
　　　〃Yeah；　a　lot。〃
　　　〃Damned　if　I　know　why；〃　Ryan　said。　〃I　haven't　turned　much　work　out　yet。〃
　　　〃Your　roomie　reports　to　him　about　you　every　day。　Simon　Harding　is　a　er；　in　case　nobody　told　you。　That's　why　he　went　with　Bas　to　Number　Ten。〃
　　　〃Dan；　I　thought　you　were　Bureau；　not　Agency；〃　Jack　noted；　wondering　just　how　far　the　Legal　Attache　spread　himself。
　　　〃Well；　the　guys　down　the　hall　are　pals；　and　I　interface　with　the　local　spooks　some。〃　The　guys　down　the　hall　was　Dan's　way　of　saying　CIA　people。　Yet　again　Jack　wondered　just　which　branch　of　the　government　Murray　actually　belonged　to。　But　everything　about　him　said　〃cop〃　to　one　who　knew　what　to　look　for。　Was　this　some　elaborate　kind　of　disguise；　too？　No；　not　possible。　Dan　had　been　the　personal　troubleshooter　for　Emil　Jacobs；　the　quiet；　petent　FBI　Director；　and　that　was　far　too　elaborate　for　a　government　cover。　Besides；　Murray　didn't　run　agents　in　London；　did　he？
　　　Did　he？　Nothing　was　ever　what　it　seemed　to　be。　Ryan　hated　that　aspect　of　his　CIA　job；　but　he　had　to　admit　that　it　kept　his　mind　fully　awake。　Even　drinking　a　beer　in　his　backyard。
　　　〃Well；　nice　to　hear；　I　suppose。〃
　　　〃Basil's　hard　to　impress；　my　boy。　But　he　and　Judge　Moore　like　each　other。　Jim　Greer；　too。　Basil　just　plain　loves　his　analytical　ability。〃
　　　〃He's　pretty　smart；〃　Ryan　agreed。　〃I've　learned　a　lot　from　him。〃
　　　〃He's　making　you　one　of　his　stars。〃
　　　〃Really？〃　It　didn't　always　seem　that　way　to　Ryan。
　　　〃Haven't　you　noticed　how　quick　he's　moving　you　up？　Like　you　were　a　professor　from　Harvard　or　something；　fella。〃
　　　〃Boston　College　and　Georgetown；　remember？〃
　　　〃Yeah；　well；　us　Jesuit　products　run　the　world…we're　just　humble　about　it。　They　don't　teach　'humble'　at　Harvard。〃
　　　For　sure　they　don't　encourage　their　graduates　to　do　anything　as　plebeian　as　police　work；　Ryan　thought。　He　remembered　the　Harvard　kids　in　Boston；　many　of　whom　thought　they　owned　the　world…because　daddy　had　bought　it　for　them。　Ryan　preferred　to　make　the　purchase　himself；　doubtless　because　of　his　working…class　background。　But　Cathy　wasn't　like　those　upper…class　snots；　and　she　had　been　born　with　a　golden　spoon　in　her　mouth。　Of　course；　nobody　was　ever　disgraced　to　point　to　his　son　or　daughter　the　doctor；　and　certainly　not　to　a　graduate　of　Johns　Hopkins。　Maybe　Joe　Muller　wasn't　so　bad　a　guy　after　all；　Ryan　thought　briefly。　He'd　helped　raise　a　pretty　good　daughter。　Too　bad　he　was　an　overbearing　asshole　to　his　son…in…law。
　　　〃So；　you　like　it　at　Century　House？〃
　　　〃Better　than　Langley。　Too　much　like　a　monastery　out　there。　At　least　in　London　you　live　in　a　city。　You　can　step　out　for　a　beer　or　do　some　shopping　over　lunch。〃
　　　〃Shame　the　building's　ing　apart。　It's　the　same　trouble　they've　had　in　some　other　buildings　in　London…the　mortar　or　grout；　whatever　you　call　it；　it's　defective。　So　the　facade's　peeling　off。　Embarrassing；　but　the　contractor's　gotta　be　long　dead。　Can't　take　a　corpse　to　court。〃
　　　〃You　never　have？〃　Jack　asked；　lightheartedly。
　　　Murray　shook　his　head。　〃No；　I've　never　popped　a　cap　on　anyone。　Came　close　once；　but　stopped　short。　Good　thing；　too。　Turned　out　the　mutt　wasn't　armed。　Would　have　been　embarrassing　to　explain　that　to　the　judge；〃　he　added；　sipping　his　beer。
　　　〃So；　how　are　the　local　cops　doing？〃　It　was　Murray's　job　to　interface　with　them　after　all。
　　　〃They're　pretty　good；　really。　Well　organized；　good　investigators　for　the　major　stuff。　Not　much　street　crime　for　them　to　worry　about。〃
　　　〃Not　like　New　York　or　B。C。〃
　　　〃Not　hardly。　So；　anything　interesting　shaking　at　Century　House？〃　he　asked。
　　　〃Not　really。　Mainly；　I've　been　looking　over　old　stuff；　back…checking　old　analysis　against　newly　developed　data。　Nothing　worth　writing　home　about…but　I　have　to　do　that　anyway。　The　Admiral　is　keeping　me　on　a　long　leash；　but　it's　still　a　leash。〃
　　　〃What　do　you　think　of　our　cousins？〃
　　　〃Basil　is　pretty　smart；〃　Ryan　observed。　〃But　he's　careful　about　what　he　shows　me。　That's　fair；　I　sup