tc.patriotgames-第56节

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！


ntalized：　known　only　to　those　who　really　needed　to　know。　〃Need…to…know〃　was　the　catch　phrase　in　any　intelligence　agency。
　　　　Therefore；　if　the　details　of　an　operation　are　widely　known；　the　report　argued；　it　can　only　be　because　it　was　not　a　PIRA　op。　Otherwise　they　would　not　have　known　or　talked　about　the　details；　even　among　themselves。　This　was　twisted　logic。　Jack　thought；　but　fairly　convincing　nonetheless。　The　theory　held　insofar　as　the　PIRA's　main　rival；　the　less　well　organized　Irish　National　Liberation　Army；　the　gang　that　had　killed　Lord　Louis　Mountbatten；　had　often　had　its　operations　identified　in　the　same　way。　The　rivalry　between　PIRA　and　INLA　had　turned　vicious　often　enough；　though　the　latter；　with　its　lack　of　internal　unity　and　generally　amateurish　organization；　was　not　nearly　as　effective。
　　　　It　was　barely　a　year　since　the　ULA　had　emerged　from　the　shadows　to　take　some　kind　of　shape。　For　the　first　year　they'd　operated；　it　was　thought　by　the　British　that　they　were　a　PIRA　Special　Action　Group；　a　Provo　hit　squad；　a　theory　broken　when　a　captured　PIRA　member　had　indignantly　denied　plicity　in　what　had　turned　out　to　be　a　ULA　assassination。　The　authors　of　the　report　then　examined　suspected　ULA　operations；　pointing　to　operational　patterns。　These；　Ryan　saw；　were　quite　real。　For　one　thing；　they　involved　more　people；　on　average；　than　PIRA　ops。
　　　　That's　interesting　。　。　。　Ryan　walked　out　of　the　room；　heading　down　the　corridor　to　the　kiosk；　where　he　bought　a　pack　of　cigarettes。　In　under　a　minute　he　was　back　to　his　office；　fumbling　with　the　cipher　lock　on　the　door。
　　　　More　people　per　operation。　Ryan　lit　one　of　the　low…tar　smokes。　That　was　a　violation　of　ordinary　security　procedures。　The　more　people　involved　in　an　operation；　the　greater　the　risk　of　its　being　blown。　What　did　this　mean？　Ryan　examined　three　separate　operations；　looking　for　his　own　patterns。
　　　　It　was　clear　after　ten　minutes　of　examination。　The　ULA　was　more　of　a　military　organization　than　PIRA。　Instead　of　the　small；　independent　groups　typical　of　urban　terrorists；　the　ULA　organized　itself　more　on　classic　military　lines。　The　PIRA　often　depended　on　a　single　〃cowboy〃　assassin；　less　often　on　the　special　action　groups。　There　were　many　cases　Ryan　knew　of；　where　the　one　〃designated　bitter〃　　a　term　popular　in　CIA　the　previous　year　　had　his　own　special　gun；　and　lay　in　wait　like　a　deer　hunter；　often　for　days；　to　kill　a　specific　target。　But　the　ULA　was　different。　For　one　thing　they　didn't　generally　go　for　individual　targets。　They　relied；　it　seemed；　on　a　reconnaissance　team　and　an　assault　team　that　worked　in　close　cooperation　　the　operative　word　here　was　〃seemed；〃　Ryan　read；　since　this；　again；　was　something　inferred　from　scanty　evidence。　When　they　did　something；　they　usually　got　away　cleanly。　Planning　and　resources。
　　　　Classic　military　lines。　That　implied　a　great　deal　of　confidence　by　the　ULA　in　its　people　　and　in　its　security。　Jack　started　making　notes。　The　actual　facts　in　the　report　were　thin　　he　counted　six　　but　the　analysis　was　interesting。　The　ULA　showed　a　very　high　degree　of　professionalism　in　its　planning　and　execution　of　operations；　more　so　than　the　PIRA；　which　was　itself　proficient　enough。　Instead　of　a　small　number　of　really　sharp　operatives；　it　appeared　that　weapons　expertise　was　uniform　throughout　the　small　organization。　The　uniformity　of　expertise　was　interesting。
　　　　Military　training？　Ryan　wrote　down。　How　good？　Where　done？　What　source？　He　looked　at　the　next　report。　It　was　dated　some　months　after　〃Genesis〃　and　showed　a　greater　degree　of　institutional　interest。　CIA　had　begun　to　take　a　closer　look　at　the　ULA；　starting　seven　months　previously。　Right　after　I　left　here；　Jack　noted。　Coincidence。
　　　　This　one　Concentrated　on　Kevin　O'Donnell；　the　suspected　leader　of　the　ULA。　The　first　thing　Ryan　saw　was　a　photograph　taken　from　a　British　intelligence…gathering　team。　The　man　was　fairly　tall；　but　otherwise　ordinary。　The　photo　was　dated　years　before；　and　the　next　thing　Jack　read　was　that　the　man　had　reportedly　had　plastic　surgery　to　change　his　face。　Jack　studied　the　photo　anyway。　He'd　been　at　a　funeral　for　a　PIRA　member　killed　by　the　Ulster　Defense　Regiment。　The　face　was　solemn　enough；　with　a　hardness　around　the　eyes。　He　wondered　how　much　he　could　draw　from　a　single　photo　of　a　man　at　a　funeral　for　a　rade；　and　set　the　picture　aside　to　read　the　biography　of　the　man。
　　　　A　working…class　background。　His　father　had　been　a　truck　driver。　His　mother　had　died　when　he　was　nine。　Catholic　schools；　of　course。　A　copy　of　his　college　transcript　showed　him　to　be　bright　enough。　O'Donnell　had　graduated　from　university　with　honors；　and　his　degree　was　in　political　science。　He'd　taken　every　course　on　Marxism　that　the　institution　had　offered；　and　been　involved　on　the　fringes　of　civil…rights　groups　in　the　late　sixties　and　early　seventies。　This　had　earned　him　attention　from　the　RUC　and　British　intelligence　agencies。　Then；　after　graduating；　he'd　dropped　out　of　sight　for　a　year；　reappearing　in　1972　after　the　Bloody　Sunday　fiasco　when　British　Army　paratroopers　had　gotten　out　of　control　and　fired　into　a　crowd　of　demonstrators；　killing　fourteen　people；　none　of　whom　had　been　proven　to　have　a　gun。
　　　　〃There's　a　coincidence；〃　Ryan　whispered　to　himself。　The　paratroopers　still　claimed　that　they'd　been　fired　upon　from　someone　in　the　crowd　and　merely　returned　fire　to　defend　themselves。　An　official　government　report　done　by　the　British　backed　this　up　　of　course；　what　else　could　they　say？　Ryan　shrugged。　It　might　even　have　been　true。　The　biggest　mistake　the　English　had　ever　made　was　to　send　troops　into　Northern　Ireland。　What　they'd　needed　were　good　cops　to　reestablish　law　and　order；　not　an　army　of　occupation。　But　with　the　RUC　out　of　control　then；　and　supplemented　by　the　B…Special　thugs；　there　hadn't　been　a　real　alternative。　So　soldiers　had　been　sent　in；　to　a　situation　for　which　they　were　unsuited　by　training　。　。　。　and　vulnerable　to　provocation。　
　　　　Ryan's　antennae　twitched　at　that。
　　　　Political…science　major；　heavy　course…load　in　Marxism。　O'Donnell　had　dropped　out　of　sight；　then　reappeared　about　a　year　later　immediately　after　the　Bloody　Sunday　disaster；　and　soon　thereafter　was　identified　by　an　informer　as　the　PIRA's　chief　of　internal　security。　He　didn't　get　that　job　on　the　basis　of　college　classwork。　He'd　had　to　work　to　earn　that。　Terrorism；　like　any　other　profession；　has　its　apprenticeship。　Somehow　this　Kevin　Joseph　O'Donnell　had　earned　his　spurs。　How　did　you　do　that？　Were　you　one　of　the　guys　who　stage…managed　the　provocations？　If　so；　where　did　you　learn　how；　and　does　that　missing　year　have　anything　to　do　with　it？　Were　you　trained　in　urban　insurgency　tactics　。　。　。　in　the　Crimea　maybe　。　。　。？
　　　　Too　much　of　a　coincidence；　Jack　told　himself。　The　idea　of　Soviet　training　for　the　hard…core　members　of　the　PIRA　and　INLA　had　been　bandied　about　so　much　that　it　had　lost　credibility。　Besides；　it　didn't　have　to　be　something　that　dramatic。　They　might　just　have　figured　out　the　proper　tactics　for　themselves；　or　read　them　in　books。　There　were　plenty　of　books　on　the　subject　of　how　to　be　an　urban　guerrilla。　Jack　had　read　several　of　them。
　　　　He　flipped　forward　in　time　to　O'Donnell's　second　disappearance。　Here　the　information　from　British　sources　was　fairly　plete　for　once。　O'Donnell　had　been　remarkably　effective　as　chief　of　internal　security。　Nearly　half　the　people　he'd　killed　really　had　been　informers　of　one　sort　or　another；　not　a　bad　percentage　in　this　sort　of　business。　He　found　a　couple　of　new　pages　at　the　end　of　the　report；　and　read　the　information　that　David　Ashley　had　gathered　a　few　months　before　in　Dublin　。　。　。　He　got　a　little　carried　away　。　。　。　O'Donnell　had　used　his　position　to　eliminate　Proves　whose　politics　didn't　quite　agree　with　his。　It　had　been　discovered；　and　he'd　vanished　for　a　second　time。　Again　the　data　was　speculative；　but　it　tracked　with　what　Murray　had　told　him　in　London。　O'Donnell　had　gone　somewhere。
　　　　Surely　he'd　convinced　someone　to　provide　his　nascent　organization　with　financing；　training；　and　support。　His　nascent　organization；　Ryan　thought。　Where　had　it　e　from？　There　was　a　lapse　of　two　years　before　O'Donnell's　disappearance　from　Ulster　and　the　first　positively　identified　operation　of　the　ULA。　Two　plete　years。　The　Brit　intel　data　suggested　plastic　surgery。　Where？　Who　paid　for　it？　He　didn't　do　that　in　some　jerkwater　third…world　country；　Ryan　told　himself。　He　wondered　if　Cathy　could　ask　her　colleagues　at　Hopkins　about　the　availability　of　good　face…cutters。　Two　years　to　change　his　face；　get　financial　backing；　recruit　his　troops；　establish　a　base　of　operations；　and　begin　to　make　his　impact　。　。　。　Not　bad；　Ryan　thought　with　grudging　admiration。　All　that　in　two　years。
　　　　Another　year　before　the　name　of　the　outfit　surfaces　。　。　。　
　　　　Ryan　turned　when　he　heard　someone　working　the　lock　on　his　office　door。　It　was　Marty　Cantor。
　　　　〃I　thought　you　stopped　smoking。〃　He　pointed　at　the　cigarette。
　　　　Ryan　crushed　it　out。　〃So　does　my　wife。　Have　you　seen　all　this　stuff？〃
　　　　〃Yeah。〃　Cantor　nodded。　〃The　boss　had　me　run　through　it　over　the　weekend。　What　do　you　think？〃
　　　　〃I　think　this　O'Donnell　character　is　one　formidable　son　of　a　bitch。　He's　got　his　outfit　organized　and　trained　like　a　real　army。　It's　small　enough　th