tc.patriotgames-第89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！


at　the　moment　　interview　one　of　Watkins's　mates。　Had　a　platoon　in　the　same　pany；　the　chap's　a　half…colonel　now。　He　said　that　Geoff　took　it　quite　hard；　that　he　was　quite　vociferous　on　the　point　that　they　were　in　the　wrong　place；　doing　the　wrong　thing；　and　losing　people　in　the　process。　Rather　puts　a　different　spin　on　things；　doesn't　it？〃
　　　　〃Another　lieutenant　with　the　solution　to　the　problem。〃　Owens　snorted。
　　　　〃Yes　　we　leave　and　let　the　bloody　Irish　sort　things　out。　That's　not　exactly　a　rare　sentiment　in　the　Army；　you　know。〃　
　　　　It　wasn't　exactly　a　rare　sentiment　throughout　England；　mander　Owens　knew。　〃Even　so；　it's　not　much　of　a　basis　for　motive；　is　it？〃　
　　　　〃Better　than　nothing　at　all。〃
　　　　The　cop　grunted　agreement。　〃What　else　did　the　Colonel　tell　your　chap？〃
　　　　〃Obviously　Geoff　had　a　rather　busy　tour　of　duty　in　the　Belfast　area。　He　and　his　men　saw　a　lot。　They　were　there　when　the　Army　was　weled　in　by　the　Catholics；　and　they　were　there　when　the　situation　reversed。　It　was　a　bad　time　for　everyone；〃　Ashley　added　unnecessarily。
　　　　〃It's　still　not　very　much。　We　have　a　former　subaltern；　now　in　the　striped…pants　brigade；　who　didn't　like　being　in　Northern　Ireland；　he　happens　to　buy　rare　books　from　a　chap　who　grew　up　there　and　now　runs　a　pletely　legitimate　business　in　central　London。　You　know　what　any　solicitor　would　say：　pure　coincidence。　We　don't　have　one　single　thing　that　can　remotely　be　called　evidence。　The　background　of　each　man　is　pure　enough　to　qualify　him　for　sainthood。〃
　　　　〃These　are　the　people　we've　been　looking　for；〃　Ashley　insisted。
　　　　〃I　know　that。〃　Owens　almost　surprised　himself　when　he　said　it　for　the　first　time。　His　professionalism　told　him　that　this　was　a　mistake；　but　his　instincts　told　him　otherwise。　It　wasn't　a　new　feeling　for　the　mander　of　C…13；　but　one　that　always　made　him　uneasy。　If　his　instincts　were　wrong；　he　was　looking　in　the　wrong　place；　at　the　wrong　people。　But　his　instincts　were　almost　never　wrong。　〃You　know　the　rules　of　the　game；　and　by　those　rules；　I　don't　even　have　enough　to　go　to　the　missioner。　He'd　boot　me　out　of　the　office；　and　be　right　to　do　so。　We　have　nothing　but　unsupported　suspicions。〃　The　two　men　stared　at　each　other　for　several　seconds。
　　　　〃I　never　wanted　to　be　a　policeman。〃　Ashley　smiled　and　shook　his　head。
　　　　〃I　didn't　get　my　wish；　either。　I　wanted　to　be　an　engine　driver　when　I　was　six；　but　my　father　said　there　were　enough　railway　people　in　the　family。　So　I　became　a　copper。〃　Both　men　laughed。　There　wasn't　anything　else　to　do。
　　　　〃I'll　increase　the　surveillance　on　Cooley's　trips　abroad。　I　don't　think　there's　much　more　to　be　done　on　your　side；〃　Ashley　said　finally。
　　　　〃We　have　to　wait　for　them　to　make　a　mistake。　Sooner　or　later　they　all　do；　you　know。〃　
　　　　〃But　soon　enough？〃　That　was　the　question。

　　　　〃Here　we　are；〃　Alex　said。
　　　　〃How　did　you　get　these？〃　Miller　asked　in　amazement。
　　　　〃Routine；　man。　Power　panies　shoot　aerial　photographs　of　their　territory　all　the　time。　They　help　us　plan　the　surveys　we　have　to　do。　And　here〃　　he　reached　into　his　briefcase　　〃is　a　topographic　map。　There's　your　target；　boy。〃　Alex　handed　him　a　magnifying　glass　borrowed　from　his　pany。　It　was　a　color　shot；　taken　on　a　bright　sunny　day。　You　could　tell　the　makes　of　the　cars。　It　must　have　been　done　the　previous　summer　　the　grass　had　just　been　cut　。　。　。　
　　　　〃How　tall　is　the　cliff？〃
　　　　〃Enough　that　you　don't　want　to　fall　off　it。　Tricky；　too。　I　forget　what　it's　made　of；　sandstone　or　something　crumbly；　but　you　want　to　be　careful　with　it。　See　that　fence　here？　The　man　knows　to　keep　away　from　the　edge。　We　have　the　same　problem　at　our　reactor　plant　at　Calvert　Cliff。　It's　the　same　geological　structure；　and　a　lot　of　work　went　into　giving　the　plant　a　solid　foundation。〃　
　　　　〃Only　one　road　in；〃　Miller　noted。　　　　　〃Dead　end；　too。　That　is　a　problem。　We　have　these　gullies　here　and　here。　Notice　that　the　power　line　es　in　cross…country；　from　this　road　over　here。　It　looks　like　there　was　an　old　farm　road　that　connected　with　this　one；　but　they　let　it　go　to　seed。　That's　going　to　be　helpful。〃　
　　　　〃How？　No　one　can　use　it。〃　
　　　　〃I'll　tell　you　later。　Friday；　you　and　me　are　going　fishing。〃
　　　　〃What？〃　Miller　looked　up　in　surprise。
　　　　〃You　want　to　eyeball　the　cliff；　right？　Besides；　the　blues　are　running。　I　love　bluefish。〃

　　　　Breckenridge　had　silhouette　targets　up；　finally。　Jack's　trips　to　the　range　were　less　frequent　now；　mainly　in　the　mornings　before　class。　If　nothing　else；　the　incident　outside　the　gate　had　told　the　Marine　and　civilian　guards　that　their　jobs　were　valuable。　Two　Marines　and　one　of　the　civilians　were　also　firing　their　service　pieces。　They　didn't　just　shoot　to　qualify　now。　They　were　all　shooting　for　scores。　Jack　hit　the　button　to　reel　his　target　in。　His　rounds　were　all　clustered　in　the　center　of　the　target。
　　　　〃Pretty　good；　Doc。〃　The　Sergeant　Major　was　standing　behind　him。　〃If　you　want；　we　can　run　a　petition　string。　I　figure　you'll　qualify　for　a　medal　now。〃
　　　　Ryan　shook　his　head。　He　still　had　to　shower　after　his　morning　jog。　〃I'm　not　doing　this　for　score；　Gunny。〃　
　　　　〃When　does　the　little　girl　e　home？〃　
　　　　〃Next　Wednesday；　I　hope。〃　
　　　　〃That's　good；　sir。　Who's　going　to　look　after　her？〃　
　　　　〃Cathy's　taking　a　few　weeks　off。〃
　　　　〃My　wife　asked　if　y'all　might　need　any　help；〃　Breckenridge　said。
　　　　Jack　turned　in　surprise。　〃Sissy　　mander　Jackson's　wife　　will　be　over　most　of　the　time。　Please　thank　your　wife　for　us；　Gunny；　that's　damned　nice　of　her。〃
　　　　〃No　big　deal。　Any　luck　finding　the　bastards？〃　Ryan's　day…hops　to　CIA　were　not　much　of　a　secret。　
　　　　〃Not　yet。〃

　　　　〃Good　morning；　Alex；〃　the　field　superintendent　said。　〃You're　staying　in　a　little　late。　What　can　I　do　for　you？〃　Bert　Griffin　was　always　in　early；　but　he　rarely　saw　Dobbens　before　he　went　home　at　seven　every　morning。
　　　　〃I've　been　looking　over　the　specifications　on　that　new　Westinghouse　transformer。〃
　　　　〃Getting　dull　working　nights？〃　Griffin　asked　with　a　smile。　This　was　a　fairly　easy　time　of　year　for　the　utility　pany。　In　the　summer；　with　all　the　air　conditioners　up　and　running；　things　would　be　different；　of　course。　Spring　was　the　time　of　year　for　new　ideas。
　　　　〃I　think　we're　ready　to　give　it　a　try。〃　
　　　　〃Have　they　ironed　the　bugs　out？〃
　　　　〃Pretty　much；　enough　for　a　field　test；　I　think。〃　
　　　　〃Okay。〃　Griffin　sat　back　in　his　chair。　〃Tell　me　about　it。〃　
　　　　〃Mainly；　sir。　I'm　worried　about　the　old　ones。　The　problem's　only　going　to　get　worse　as　we　start　retiring　the　old　units。　We　had　that　chemical　spill　last　month　〃
　　　　〃Oh；　yeah。〃　Griffin　rolled　his　eyes。　Most　of　the　units　in　use　contained　PBBs；　polybrominated　biphenyls；　as　a　cooling　element　within　the　power　transformer。　These　were　dangerous　to　the　linemen；　who　were　supposed　to　wear　protective　clothing　when　working　on　them；　but；　despite　pany　rules；　often　didn't　bother。　PBBs　were　a　serious　health　hazard　to　the　men。　Even　worse；　the　pany　had　to　dispose　of　the　toxic　liquid　periodically。　It　was　expensive　and　ran　the　risk　of　spills；　the　paperwork　for　which　was　rapidly　being　as　time…consuming　as　that　associated　with　the　pany's　nuclear　reactor　plant。　Westinghouse　was　experimenting　with　a　transformer　that　used　a　pletely　inert　chemical　in　place　of　the　PBBs。　Though　expensive；　it　held　great　promise　for　long…term　economies　　and　would　help　get　the　environmentalists　off　their　backs；　which　was　even　more　attractive　than　the　monetary　savings。　〃Alex；　if　you　can　get　those　babies　up　and　working；　I　will　personally　get　you　a　new　pany　car！〃
　　　　〃Well；　I　want　to　try　one　out。　Westinghouse　will　lend　us　one　for　free。〃
　　　　〃This　is　really　starting　to　sound　good；〃　Griffin　noted。　〃But　have　they　really　ironed　the　bugs　out　yet？〃
　　　　〃They　say　so；　except　for　some　occasional　voltage　fluctuations。　They're　not　sure　what　causes　that；　and　they　want　to　do　some　field　tests。〃　
　　　　〃How　bad　are　the　fluctuations？〃
　　　　〃Marginal。〃　Alex　pulled　out　a　pad　and　read　off　the　numbers。　〃It　seems　to　be　an　environmental　problem。　Looks　like　it　only　happens　when　the　ambient　air　temperature　changes　rapidly。　If　that's　the　real　cause；　it　shouldn't　be　too　hard　to　beat。〃　
　　　　Griffin　considered　that　for　a　few　seconds。　〃Okay；　where　do　you　want　to　set　it　up？〃
　　　　〃I　have　a　spot　picked　out　down　in　Anne　Arundel　County；　south　of　Annapolis。〃　
　　　　〃That's　a　long　ways　away。　Why　there？〃
　　　　〃It's　a　dead…end　line。　If　the　transformer　goes　bad；　it　won't　hurt　many　houses。　The　other　thing　is；　one　of　my　crews　is　only　twenty　miles　away；　and　I've　been　training　them　on　the　new　unit。　We'll　set　up　the　test　instrumentation；　and　I　can　have　them　check　it　every　day　for　the　first　few　months。　If　it　works　out；　we　can　make　our　purchase　order　in　the　fall　and　start　setting　them　up　next　spring。〃　
　　　　〃Okay。　Where　exactly　is　this？〃　
　　　　Dobbens　unfolded　his　map　on　Griffin's　table。　〃Right　here。〃　
　　　　〃Expensive　neighborhood；〃　the　field　superintendent　said　dubiously。
　　　　〃Aw；　e　on；　boss！〃　Alex　snorted。　〃How　would　it　look　in　the　papers　if　we　did　all　our　experiments　on　poor　folk？　Besides〃　　he　smiled　　〃all　those　environmental　freaks　are　rich；　aren't　they？〃
　　　　Dobbens　had　chosen　his　remark　with　care。　One　of　Griffin's　personal；　hobbyhorses　was　the　〃Park　Avenue　Environmentalist。〃　The　field　superintendent　owned　a　small　farm；　and　didn't　like　having　some