if.thunderball-第15节

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　M　said；　〃So　does　the　War　Cabinet。　So　do　I。〃　He　paused。　〃Yes；　the　plane　with　the　bombs　is　missing。　And　the　stock　numbers　on　the　bombs　are　correct。〃
　
　8。　〃Big　Fleas　Have　Little　Fleas　。　。　。〃
　
　Bond　said；　〃What　is　there　to　go　on；　sir？〃
　
　〃Damned　little；　practically　speaking　nothing。　Nobody's　ever　heard　of　these　SPECTRE　people。　We　know　there's　some　kind　of　independent　unit　working　in　Europe…we've　bought　some　stuff　from　them；　so　have　the　Americans；　and　Mathis　admits　now　that　Goltz；　that　French　heavy…water　scientist　who　went　over　last　year；　was　assassinated　by　them；　for　big　money；　as　a　result　of　an　offer　he　got　out　of　the　blue。　No　names　were　mentioned。　It　was　all　done　on　the　radio；　the　same　16　megacycles　that's　mentioned　in　the　letter。　To　the　Deuxième　munications　section。　Mathis　accepted　on　the　off…chance。　They　did　a　neat　job。　Mathis　paid　up…a　suitcase　full　of　money　left　at　a　Michelin　road　sign　on　N1。　But　no　one　can　tie　them　in　with　these　SPECTRE　people。　When　we　and　the　Americans　dealt；　there　were　endless　cutouts；　really　professional　ones；　and　anyway　we　were　more　interested　in　the　end　product　than　the　people　involved。　We　both　paid　a　lot　of　money；　but　it　was　worth　it。　If　it's　the　same　group　working　this；　they're　a　serious　outfit　and　I've　told　the　P。M。　so。　But　that's　not　the　point。　The　plane　is　missing　and　the　two　bombs；　just　as　the　letter　says。　All　details　exactly　correct。　The　Vindicator　was　on　a　NATO　training　flight　south　of　Ireland　and　out　into　the　Atlantic。〃　M　reached　for　a　bulky　folder　and　turned　over　some　pages。　He　found　what　he　wanted。　〃Yes；　it　was　to　be　a　six…hour　flight　leaving　Bosbe　Down　at　eight　p。m。　and　due　back　at　two　a。m。　There　was　an　R。A。F。　crew　of　five　and　a　NATO　observer；　an　Italian；　man　called　Petacchi；　Giuseppi　Petacchi；　squadron　leader　in　the　Italian　Air　Force；　seconded　to　NATO。　Fine　flyer；　apparently；　but　they're　checking　on　his　background　now。　He　was　sent　over　here　on　a　normal　tour　of　duty。　The　top　pilots　from　NATO　have　been　ing　over　for　months　to　get　used　to　the　Vindicator　and　the　bomb…release　routines。　This　plane's　apparently　going　to　be　used　for　the　NATO　long…range　striking　force。　Anyway〃…M　turned　over　a　page…〃the　plane　was　watched　on　the　screen　as　usual　and　all　went　well　until　it　was　west　of　Ireland　at　about　forty　thousand　feet。　Then；　contrary　to　the　drill；　it　came　down　to　around　thirty　thousand　and　got　lost　in　the　transatlantic　air　traffic。　Bomber　mand　tried　to　get　in　touch；　but　the　radio　couldn't　or　wouldn't　answer。　The　immediate　reaction　was　that　the　Vindicator　had　hit　one　of　the　transatlantic　planes　and　there　was　something　of　a　panic。　But　none　of　the　panies　reported　any　trouble　or　even　a　sighting。〃　M　looked　across　at　Bond。　〃And　that　was　the　end　of　it。　The　plane　just　vanished。〃
　
　Bond　said；　〃Did　the　American　DEW　line　pick　it　up…their　Defense　Early　Warning　system？〃
　
　〃There's　a　query　on　that。　The　only　grain　of　evidence　we've　got。　Ap〃　parently　about　five　hundred　miles　east　of　Boston　there　was　some　evidence　that　a　plane　had　peeled　off　the　inward　route　to　Idlewild　and　turned　south。　But　that's　another　big　traffic　lane…for　the　northern　traffic　from　Montreal　and　Gander　down　to　Bermuda　and　the　Bahamas　and　South　America。　So　these　DEW　operators　just　put　it　down　as　a　B。O。A。C。　or　Trans…Canada　plane。〃　〃It　certainly　sounds　as　if　they've　got　the　whole　thing　worked　out　pretty　well；　hiding　in　these　traffic　lanes。　Could　the　plane　have　turned　northwards　in　the　middle　of　the　Atlantic　and　made　for　Russia？〃
　
　〃Yes；　or　southwards。　There's　a　big　block　of　space　about　five　hundred　miles　out　from　both　shores　that's　out　of　radar　range。　Better　still；　it　could　have　turned　on　its　tracks　and　e　back　in　to　Europe　on　any　of　two　or　three　air　lanes。　In　fact　it　could　be　almost　anywhere　in　the　world　by　now。　That's　the　point。〃
　
　〃But　it's　a　huge　plane。　It　must　need　special　runways　and　so　on。　It　must　have　e　down　somewhere。　You　can't　hide　a　plane　of　that　size。〃
　
　〃Just　so。　All　these　things　are　obvious。　By　midnight　last　night　the　R。A。F。　had　checked　with　every　single　airport；　every　one　in　the　world　that　could　have　taken　it。　Negative。　But　the　C。A。S。　says　of　course　it　could　be　crash…landed　in　the　Sahara；　for　instance；　or　on　some　other　desert；　or　in　the　sea；　in　shallow　water。〃
　
　〃Wouldn't　that　explode　the　bombs？〃
　
　〃No。　They're　absolutely　safe　until　they're　armed。　Apparently　even　a　direct　drop；　like　that　one　from　the　B…47　over　North　Carolina　in　1958；　would　only　explode　the　T。N。T。　trigger　to　the　thing。　Not　the　plutonium。〃
　
　〃How　are　these　SPECTRE　people　going　to　explode　them；　then？〃
　
　M　spread　his　hands。　〃They　explained　all　this　at　the　War　Cabinet　meeting。　I　don't　understand　it　all；　but　apparently　an　atomic　bomb　looks　just　like　any　other　bomb。　The　way　it　works　is　that　the　nose　is　full　of　ordinary　T。N。T。　with　the　plutonium　in　the　tail。　Between　the　two　there's　a　hole　into　which　you　screw　some　sort　of　a　detonator；　a　kind　of　plug。　When　the　bomb　hits；　the　T。N。T。　ignites　the　detonator　and　the　detonator　sets　off　the　plutonium。〃
　
　〃So　these　people　would　have　to　drop　the　bomb　to　set　it　off？〃　Apparently　not。　They　would　need　a　man　with　good　physics　knowledge　who　understood　the　thing；　but　then　all　he'd　have　to　do　would　be　to　unscrew　the　nose　cone　on　the　bomb…the　ordinary　detonator　that　sets　off　the　T。N。T。…and　fix　on　some　kind　of　time　fuse　that　would　ignite　the　T。N。T。　without　it　being　dropped。　That　would　set　the　thing　off。　And　it's　not　a　very　bulky　affair。　You　could　get　the　whole　thing　into　something　only　about　twice　the　size　of　a　big　golf　bag。　Very　heavy；　of　course。　But　you　could　put　it　into　the　back　of　a　big　car；　for　instance；　and　just　run　the　car　into　a　town　and　leave　it　parked　with　the　time　fuse　switched　on。　Give　yourself　a　couple　of　hours'　start　to　get　out　of　range…at　least　a　hundred　miles　away…and　that　would　be　that。〃
　
　Bond　reached　in　his　pocket　for　another　cigarette。　It　couldn't　be；　yet　it　was　so。　Just　what　his　Service　and　all　the　other　intelligence　services　in　the　world　had　been　expecting　to　happen。　The　anonymous　little　man　in　the　raincoat　with　a　heavy　suitcase…or　golf　bag；　if　you　like。　The　left　luggage　office；　the　parked　car；　the　clump　of　bushes　in　a　park　in　the　center　of　a　big　town。　And　there　was　no　answer　to　it。　In　a　few　years'　time；　if　the　experts　were　right；　there　would　be　even　less　answer　to　it。　Every　tin…pot　little　nation　would　be　making　atomic　bombs　in　their　backyards；　so　to　speak。　Apparently　there　was　no　secret　now　about　the　things。　It　had　only　been　the　prototypes　that　had　been　difficult…like　the　first　gunpowder　weapons　for　instance；　or　machine　guns　or　tanks。　Today　these　were　everybody's　bows　and　arrows。　Tomorrow；　or　the　day　after；　the　bows　and　arrows　would　be　atomic　bombs。　And　this　was　the　first　blackmail　case。　Unless　SPECTRE　was　stopped；　the　word　would　get　round　and　soon　every　criminal　scientist　with　a　chemical　set　and　some　scrap　iron　would　be　doing　it。　If　they　couldn't　be　stopped　in　time　there　would　be　nothing　for　it　but　to　pay　up。　Bond　said　so。
　
　〃That's　about　it；〃　mented　M。　〃From　every　point　of　view；　including　politics；　not　that　they　matter　all　that　much。　But　neither　the　P。M。　nor　the　President　would　last　five　minutes　if　anything　went　wrong。　But　whether　we　pay　or　don't　pay；　the　consequences　will　be　endless…and　all　bad。　That's　why　absolutely　everything　has　got　to　be　done　to　find　these　people　and　the　plane　and　stop　the　thing　in　time。　The　P。M。　and　the　President　are　entirely　agreed。　Every　intelligence　man　all　over　the　world　who's　on　our　side　is　being　put　on　to　this　operation…Operation　Thunderball　they're　calling　it。　Planes；　ships；　submarines…and　of　course　money's　no　object。　We　can　have　everything；　whenever　we　want　it。　The　Cabinet　have　already　set　up　a　special　staff　and　a　war　room。　Every　scrap　of　information　will　be　fed　into　it。　The　Americans　have　done　the　same。　Some　kind　of　a　leak　can't　be　helped。　It's　being　put　about　that　all　the　panic；　and　it　is　panic；　is　because　of　the　loss　of　the　Vindicator…bombs　included；　whatever　fuss　that　may　cause　politically。　Only　the　letter　will　be　absolutely　secret。　All　the　usual　detective　work…fingerprints；　Brighton；　writing　paper…these'll　be　looked　after　by　Scotland　Yard　with　the　F。B。I。；　Interpol；　and　all　the　NATO　intelligence　organizations；　helping　where　they　can。　Only　a　segment　of　the　paper　and　the　typing　will　be　used…a　few　innocent　words。　This　will　all　be　quite　separate　from　the　search　for　the　plane。　That'll　be　handled　as　a　top　espionage　matter。　No　one　should　be　able　to　connect　the　two　investigations。　M。I。5　will　handle　the　background　to　all　the　crew　members　and　the　Italian　observer。　That　will　be　a　natural　part　of　the　search　for　the　plane。　As　for　the　Service；　we've　teamed　up　with　the　C。I。A。　to　cover　the　world。　Alien　Dulles　is　putting　every　man　he's　got　onto　it　and　so　am　I。　Just　sent　out　a　General　Call。　Now　all　we　can　do　is　sit　back　and　wait。〃
　
　Bond　lit　another　cigarette；　his　sinful　third　in　one　hour。　He　said；　putting　unconcern　into　his　voice；　〃Where　do　I　e　in；　sir？〃
　
　M　looked　vaguely　at　Bond；　as　if　seeing　him　for　the　first　time。　Then　he　swiveled　his　chair　and　gazed　again　through　the　window　at　nothing。　finally　he　said；　in　a　conversational　tone　of　voice；　〃I　have　mitted　a　breach　of　faith　with　the　P。M。　in　telling　you　all　this；　007。　I　was　und