tc.redrabbit-第29章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


nd　the　colonel　went　right　up　to　him。
　　　〃I　have　two　more　dispatches　for　you。〃
　　　〃Very　well；　rade　Colonel。〃　Oleg　Ivan'ch　held　out　his　hand。
　　　〃I　have　to　write　them　out；〃　Rozhdestvenskiy　clarified。
　　　〃You　can　use　that　desk　right　there；　rade。〃　The　municator　pointed。　〃Same　security　as　before？〃
　　　〃Yes；　one…time　pad　for　both。　One　more　for　Rome；　and　the　other　for　Station　Sofia。　Immediate　priority；〃　he　added。
　　　〃That　is　fine。〃　Zaitzev　handed　him　the　message　form　blanks　and　turned　back　to　his　work；　hoping　the　dispatches　wouldn't　be　too　lengthy。　They　had　to　be　pretty　important　for　the　colonel　to　e　down　here　even　before　they　were　drafted。　Andropov　must　have　a　real　bug　up　his　rectum。　Colonel　Rozhdestvenskiy　was　the　Chairman's　personal　gofer。　It　had　to　be　kind　of　demeaning　for　someone　with　the　skills　to　be　a　rezident　somewhere　interesting。　Travel；　after　all；　was　the　one　real　perk　KGB　offered　its　employees。
　　　Not　that　Zaitzev　got　to　travel。　Oleg　Ivanovich　knew　too　much　to　be　allowed　in　a　Western　country。　After　all；　he　might　not　e　back…KGB　always　worried　about　that。　And　for　the　first　time；　he　wondered　why。　That　was　the　kind　of　day　it　had　been。　Why　did　KGB　worry　so　much　about　possible　defections？　He'd　seen　dispatches　openly　discussing　the　troublesome　possibility；　and　he'd　seen　officers　who　had　been　brought　home　to　〃talk〃　about　it　here　in　The　Centre　and　often　never　returned　to　the　field。　He'd　always　known　about　it；　but　he'd　never　actually　thought　about　it　for　as　much　as　thirty　seconds。
　　　They　left　because…because　they　thought　their　state　was　wrong？　Could　they　actually　think　it　was　so　bad　they　would　do　something　so　drastic　as　betray　their　Motherland？　That；　Zaitzev　belatedly　realized；　was　a　very　big　thought。
　　　And　yet；　what　was　KGB　but　an　agency　that　lived　on　betrayal？　How　many　hundreds…thousands…of　dispatches　had　he　read　about　just　that？　Those　were　Westerners…Americans；　Britons；　Germans；　Frenchmen…all　used　by　KGB　to　find　out　things　that　his　country　wanted　to　know…and　they　were　all　traitors　to　their　mother　countries；　weren't　they？　They　did　it　mainly　for　money。　He'd　seen　a　lot　of　those　messages；　too；　discussions　between　The　Centre　and　the　rezidenturas　discussing　the　amounts　of　payment。　He　knew　that　The　Centre　was　always　niggardly　with　the　money　it　paid　out；　which　was　to　be　expected。　The　agents　wanted　American　dollars；　British　pounds　sterling；　Swiss　francs。　And　cash；　real　paper　money…they　always　wanted　to　be　paid　in　cash。　Never　rubles　or　even　certificate　rubles。　It　was　the　only　money　they　trusted；　clearly　enough。　They　betrayed　their　country　for　money；　but　only　for　their　own　money。　Some　of　them　even　demanded　millions　of　dollars；　not　that　they　ever　got　it。　The　most　he'd　ever　seen　authorized　was　？50；000；　paid　out　for　information　about　British　and　American　naval　ciphers。　What　would　the　Western　powers　not　pay　for　the　munications　information　in　his　mind？　Zaitzev　thought　idly。　It　was　a　question　with　no　answer。　He　did　not　really　have　the　ability　to　frame　the　question　properly；　much　less　consider　the　answer　seriously。
　　　〃Here　you　go；〃　Rozhdestvenskiy　said；　handing　over　the　message　blanks。　〃Send　them　out　at　once。〃
　　　〃As　soon　as　I　get　them　enciphered；〃　the　municator　promised。
　　　〃And　the　same　security　as　before；〃　the　colonel　added。
　　　〃Certainly。　Same　identifier　tag　on　both？〃　Oleg　Ivanovich　asked。
　　　〃Correct；　all　with　this　number；〃　he　replied；　tapping　the　666　in　the　upper…right　corner。
　　　〃By　your　order；　rade　Colonel。　I'll　see　to　it　right　now。〃
　　　〃And　call　me　when　they　go　out。〃
　　　〃Yes；　rade　Colonel。　I　have　your　office　number；〃　Zaitzev　assured　him。
　　　There　was　more　to　it　than　the　mere　words；　Oleg　knew。　The　tone　of　his　voice　had　told　him　much。　This　was　going　out　under　the　direct　order　of　the　Chairman；　and　all　this　attention　made　it　a　matter　of　the　highest　priority；　not　just　something　of　routine　interest　to　an　important　man。　This　wasn't　about　ordering　pantyhose　for　some　bigwig's　teenage　daughter。　
　　　He　walked　to　the　cipher…book　storage　room　to　get　two　books；　the　ones　for　Rome　and　Sofia；　and　then　he　pulled　out　his　cipher　wheel　and　laboriously　encrypted　both　messages。　All　in　all；　it　took　forty　minutes。　The　message　to　Colonel　Bubovoy　in　Sofia　was　a　simple　one：　Fly　to　Moscow　immediately　for　consultations。　Zaitzev　wondered　if　that　would　make　the　rezident's；　knees　wobble　a　little。　Colonel　Bubovoy　could　not　know　what　the　numerical　identifier　meant；　of　course。　He'd　find　out　soon　enough。
　　　The　rest　of　Zaitzev's　day　went　routinely。　He　managed　to　lock　up　his　confidential　papers　and　walk　out　before　six　in　the　evening。
　　　Lunch　at　century　house　was　good；　but　British…eccentric。　Ryan　had　learned　to　enjoy　the　British　Ploughman's　Lunch；　mainly　because　the　bread　was　so　uniformly　excellent　over　here。
　　　〃So；　your　wife's　a　surgeon？〃
　　　Jack　nodded。　〃Yeah；　eye　cutter。　She's　actually　starting　to　use　lasers　for　some　things　now。　She's　hoping　to　be　a　pioneer　in　that　stuff。〃
　　　〃Lasers？　What　for？〃　Harding　asked。
　　　〃Some　of　it's　like　welding。　They　use　a　laser　to　cauterize　a　leaky　blood　vessel；　for　instance…they　did　it　with　Suslov。　Blood　leaked　inside　the　eye；　so　they　drilled　into　the　eyeball　and　drained　out　all　the　fluid…aqueous　humor；　I　think　they　call　it…and　then　used　lasers　to　weld　shut　the　leaky　vessels。　Sounds　pretty　yucky；　doesn't　it？〃
　　　Harding　shuddered　at　the　thought。　〃I　suppose　it's　better　than　being　blind。〃
　　　〃Yeah；　I　know　what　you　mean。　Like　when　Sally　was　in　shock…trauma。　The　idea　of　somebody　carving　up　my　little　girl　didn't　exactly　thrill　me。〃　Ryan　remembered　how　fucking　awful　that　had　been；　in　fact。　Sally　still　had　the　scars　on　her　chest　and　abdomen　from　it；　though　they　were　fading。
　　　〃What　about　you；　Jack？　You've　been　under　the　knife　before；〃　Simon　observed。
　　　〃I　was　asleep；　and　they　didn't　make　videos　of　the　operations…but　you　know；　Cathy　would　probably　be　interested　in　seeing　all　three　of　them。〃
　　　〃Three？〃
　　　〃Yeah；　two　when　I　was　in　the　Marines。　They　stabilized　me　on　the　ship；　then　flew　me　to　Bethesda　for　the　rest　of　it…I　was　asleep　practically　the　whole　time；　thank　God；　but　the　neurosurgeons　there　weren't　quite　good　enough；　and　that　left　me　with　a　bad　back。　Then；　when　Cathy　and　I　were　dating…no；　we　were　engaged　then…my　back　blew　up　again　over　dinner　in　Little　Italy；　and　she　took　me　into　Hopkins　and　had　Sam　Rosen　take　a　look　at　me。　Sam　fixed　it　all　up。　Good　guy；　and　a　hell　of　a　doc。　You　know；　sometimes　it's　nice　to　be　married　to　a　doctor。　She　knows　some　of　the　best　people　in　the　world。〃　Ryan　took　a　big　bite　of　turkey　and　baguette。　It　was　better　than　the　burgers　in　the　CIA　cafeteria。　〃Anyway；　that's　the　short　version　of　a　three…year　adventure　that　started　with　a　broke　helicopter　on　Crete。　It　ended　up　with　me　being　married；　so　I　guess　it　all　worked　out　okay。〃
　　　Harding　filled　his　pipe　out　of　a　leather　pouch　and　lit　it。　〃So；　how's　your　report　ing　on　Soviet　management　and　practices？〃
　　　Jack　set　his　beer　down。　〃It's　amazing　how　screwed　up　they　are；　especially　when　you　pare　their　internal　documents　with　the　hard　data　we　learn　when　our　guys　get　hands…on　with　their　gear。　What　they　call　quality　control；　we　call　a　dog's　breakfast。　At　Langley；　I　saw　some　stuff　on　their　fighter　planes　that　the　Air　Force　got；　mainly　through　the　Israelis。　The　goddamned　parts　don't　fit　together！　They　can't　even　cut　aluminum　sheets　into　regular　shapes。　I　mean；　a　high…school　kid　in　shop　class　would　have　to　do　better　or　flunk　out　of　school。　We　know　they　have　petent　engineers；　especially　the　guys　who　work　in　theoretical　stuff；　but　their　manufacturing　practices　are　so　primitive　that　you'd　expect　better　from　third…graders。〃
　　　〃Not　in　all　areas；　Jack；〃　Harding　cautioned。
　　　〃And　not　all　the　Pacific　Ocean's　blue；　Simon。　There　are　islands　and　volcanoes；　sure。　I　know　that。　But　the　rule　is　the　ocean　is　blue；　and　the　rule　in　the　Soviet　Union　is　shitty　work。　The　problem　is　that　their　economic　system　doesn't　reward　people　for　doing　good　work。　There's　a　saying　in　economics：　'Bad　money　drives　out　good。'　That　means　poor　performance　will　take　over　if　good　performance　isn't　recognized。　Well；　over　there；　mainly　it　isn't；　and　for　their　economy　it's　like　cancer。　What　happens　in　one　place　gradually　carries　over　to　the　whole　system。〃
　　　〃There　are　some　things　at　which　they　are　very　good　indeed；〃　Harding　persisted。
　　　〃Simon；　the　Bolshoi　Ballet　isn't　going　to　attack　into　West　Germany。　Neither　is　their　Olympic　team；〃　Jack　retorted。　〃Their　military　may　be　petently　led　at　the　higher　levels；　but　their　equipment　is　crummy；　and　the　middle…level　management　is　practically　nonexistent。　Without　my　gunnery　sergeant　and　my　squad　leaders；　I　could　not　have　used　my　platoon　of　Marines　efficiently；　but　the　Red　Army　doesn't　have　sergeants　as　we　understand　them。　They　have　petent　officers…and；　again；　some　of　their　theoretical　people　are　world…　class…and　their　soldiers　are　probably　patriotic　Russians　and　all　that；　but　without　proper　training　at　the　tactical　level；　they're　like　a　beautiful　car　with　flat　tires。　The　engine　might　turn　over　and　the　paint　job　might　shine；　but　the　car　isn't　going　anywhere。〃
　　　Harding　took　a　few　contemplative　puffs。　〃Then　what　are　we　worried　about？〃
　　　Jack　shrugged。　〃There's　a　hell　of　a　lot　of　them；　and　quantity　does　have　a　quality　all　its　own。　If　we　go　forward　with　our　defense　buildup；　however；　we　can　stop　anything　they　try。　A　Russian　tank　regiment　is　just　a　collection　of　targets　if　we　have　the　right　equipment　and　our　guys　are　properly　trained　and　led。　Anyway；　that's　what　my　report　is　probably　going　to　say。〃
　　　〃It's　a　little　early　for　a　conclusion；〃　Simon　told　his　new　American　friend。　Ryan　hadn't　yet　learned　how　a　bureaucracy　was　supposed　to　work。
　　　〃Simon；　I　used　to　make　my　money　in　trading。　You　succeed　in　that　business　by　seeing　things　a　little　faster　than　the　next　guy；　and　that　means　you　don't　wait　until　you　have　every　last　little　crumb　of　information。　I　can　see　where　this　information　is　pointing　me。　It's　bad　over　there；　and　it's　getting　worse。　Their　military　is　a　distillation　of　what　is　good　and　bad　in　their　society。　Look　at　how　badly　they're　doing　in　Afghanistan。　I　haven't　seen　your　data；　but　I've　seen　what　they　have　at　Langley；　and　it　isn't　pretty。　Their　military　is　performing　very　poorly　in　that　rockpile。〃　
　　　〃I　think　they　will　ultimately　succeed。〃
　　　〃It's　possible；〃　Jack　conceded；　〃but　it'll　be　an　ugly　win。　We　did　a　lot　better　in　Vietnam。〃　He　paused。　〃You　guys　have　ugly　memories　of　Afghanistan；　don't　you？〃
　　　〃My　great…uncle　was　therein　1919。　He　said　it　was　worse　than　the　Battle　of　the　Somme。　Kipling　did　a　poem　that　ends　with　an　instruction　to　a　soldier　to　blow　his　brains　out　rather　than　be　captured　there。　I'm　afraid　some　Russians　have　learned　that　lesson；　to　their　sorrow。〃
　　　〃Yeah；　the　Afghans　are　courageous；　but　not　overly　civilized；〃　Jack　agreed。　〃But　I　think　they're　going　to　win。　There's　talk　at　home　about　giving　them　the　Stinger　SAM。　That　would　neutralize　the　helicopters　the　Russians　are　using；　and　without　those；　Ivan's　got　a　problem。〃
　　　〃Is　the　Stinger　that　good？〃
　　　〃Never　used　it　myself；　but　I've　heard　some　nice　things　about　it。〃
　　　〃And　the　Russian　SAM…seven？〃
　　　〃They　kind　of　invented　the　idea　of　a　man…portable　SAM；　didn't　they？　But　we　got　a　bunch　through　the　Israelis　in　seventy…three；　and　our　guys　weren't　all　that　impressed。　Again；　Ivan　ha