tc.redrabbit-第125节

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　　　〃Seriously；　ma'am；　this　is　wonderful。〃
　　　〃You're　very　kind。〃
　　　Jack　wondered　if　she'd　like　his　steaks　on　the　grill　and　Cathy's　spinach　salad。　The　key　was　getting　good　corn…gorged　Iowa　beef；　which　wasn't　easy　here；　though　he　could　try　the　Air　Force　missary　at　Greenham　mons。。。
　　　It　took　nearly　an　hour　to　finish　dinner；　and　the　after…dinner　drinks　were　excellent。　They　even　served　Starka　vodka；　in　a　gesture　of　additional　hospitality　to　their　Russian　guests。　Oleg；　Jack　saw；　really　gunned　it　down。
　　　〃Even　the　Politburo　does　not　eat　so　well；〃　the　Rabbit　observed；　as　dinner　broke　up。
　　　〃Well；　we　raise　good　beef　in　Scotland。　This　was　Aberdeen　Angus；〃　Nick　Thompson　advised；　as　he　collected　the　plates。
　　　〃Fed　on　corn？〃　Ryan　asked。　They　didn't　have　that　much　corn　over　here；　did　they？
　　　〃I　do　not　know。　The　Japanese　feed　beer　to　their　Kobe　beef；〃　the　former　cop　observed。　〃Perhaps　they　do　that　up　in　Scotland。〃
　　　〃That　would　explain　the　quality；〃　Jack　replied　with　a　chuckle。　〃Oleg　Ivan'ch；　you　must　learn　about　British　beer。　It's　the　best　in　the　world。〃
　　　〃Not　American？〃　the　Russian　asked。
　　　Ryan　shook　his　head。　〃Nope。　That's　one　of　the　things　they　do　better　than　us。〃
　　　〃Truly？〃
　　　〃Truly；〃　Kingshot　confirmed。　〃But　the　Irish　are　quite　good　as　well。　I　do　love　my　Guinness；　though　it's　better　in　Dublin　than　in　London。〃
　　　〃Why　waste　the　good　stuff　on　you　guys？〃　Jack　asked。
　　　〃Once　a　bloody　Irishman；　always　a　bloody　Irishman；〃　Kingshot　observed。
　　　〃So；　Oleg；〃　Ryan　asked；　lighting　up　an　after…dinner　smoke；　〃is　there　anything　different　we　ought　to　be　doing…to　make　you　fortable；　I　mean？〃
　　　〃I　have　no　plaints；　but　I　expect　CIA　will　not　give　me　so　fine　a　house　as　this　one。〃
　　　〃Oleg；　I　am　a　millionaire　and　don't　live　in　a　house　this　nice；〃　Ryan　confirmed　with　a　laugh。　〃But　your　home　in　America　will　be　more　fortable　than　your　apartment　in　Moscow。〃
　　　〃Will　I　get　car？〃
　　　〃Sure。〃
　　　〃Wait　how　long？〃　Zaitzev　asked。
　　　〃Wait　for　what？　To　buy　a　car？〃
　　　Zaitzev　nodded。
　　　〃Oleg；　you　can　pick　from　any　of　hundreds　of　car　dealerships；　pick　the　car　you　like；　pay　for　it；　and　drive　it　home…we　usually　let　our　wives　pick　the　color；〃　Jack　added。
　　　The　Rabbit　was　incredulous。　〃So　easy？〃
　　　〃Yep。　I　used　to　drive　a　Volkswagen　Rabbit；　but　I　kinda　like　the　Jaguar　now。　I　might　get　one　when　I　get　home。　Nice　engine。　Cathy　likes　it；　but　she　might　go　back　to　a　Porsche。　She's　been　driving　them　since　she　was　a　teenager。　Of　course；　it's　not　real　practical　with　two　kids；〃　Ryan　added　hopefully。　He　didn't　like　the　German　two…seater　that　much。　Mercedes　seemed　to　him　a　much　safer　design。
　　　〃And　buy　house；　also　easy？〃
　　　〃Depends。　If　you　buy　a　new　house；　yes；　it's　pretty　easy。　To　buy　a　house　that　somebody　already　owns；　first　you　have　to　meet　the　owner　and　make　an　offer；　but　the　Agency　will　probably　help　you　with　that。〃
　　　〃Where　will　we　live？〃
　　　〃Anywhere　you　want。〃　After　we　pick　your　brain　clean；　Ryan　didn't　add。　〃There's　a　saying　in　America：　'It's　a　free　country。'　It's　also　a　big　country。　You　can　find　a　place　you　like　and　move　there。　A　lot　of　defectors　live　in　the　Washington　area。　I　don't　know　why。　I　don't　much　like　it。　The　summers　can　be　miserable。〃
　　　〃Beastly　hot；〃　Kingshot　agreed。　〃And　the　humidity　is　awful。〃
　　　〃You　think　it's　bad　there；　try　Florida；〃　Jack　suggested。　〃But　a　lot　of　people　love　it　down　there。〃
　　　〃And　travel　from　one　part　to　another；　no　papers？〃　Zaitzev　asked。
　　　For　a　KGB　puke；　this　guy　doesn't　know　shit；　Jack　thought。　〃No　papers；〃　Ryan　assured　him。　〃We'll　get　you　an　American　Express　card　to　make　that　easy。〃　Then　he　had　to　explain　credit　cards　to　the　Rabbit。　It　took　ten　minutes；　it　was　so　alien　a　concept　to　a　Soviet　citizen。　By　the　end；　Zaitzev's　head　was　visibly　swimming。
　　　〃You　do　have　to　pay　the　bill　at　the　end　of　the　month；〃　Kingshot　warned　him。　〃Some　people　forget　that；　and　they　can　get　into　serious　financial　trouble　as　a　result。〃
　　　C　was　in　his　Belgravia　townhouse；　sipping　some　Louis　XIII　brandy　and　chatting　with　a　friend。　Sir　George　Hendley　was　a　colleague　of　thirty　years'　standing。　By　profession　a　solicitor；　he'd　worked　closely　with　the　British　government　for　most　of　his　life；　often　consulting　quietly　with　the　Security　Service　and　the　Foreign　Office。　He　had　a　〃Most　Secret〃　clearance；　plus　one　into　partmented　information。　He'd　been　a　confidant　of　several　prime　ministers　over　the　years；　and　was　considered　as　reliable　as　the　Queen　herself。　He　thought　it　just　came　along　with　the　Winchester　school　tie。
　　　〃The　Pope；　eh？〃
　　　〃Yes；　George；〃　Charleston　confirmed。　〃The　PM　wants　us　to　look　into　protecting　the　man。　Trouble　is；　I　haven't　a　clue　at　the　moment。　We　can't　contact　the　Vatican　directly　about　it。〃
　　　〃Quite　so；　Basil。　One　can　trust　their　loyalty；　but　not　their　politics。　Tell　me；　how　good　do　you　suppose　their　own　intelligence　service　is？〃
　　　〃I'd　have　to　say　it's　top…drawer　in　many　areas。　What　better　confidant　than　a　priest；　after　all；　and　what　better　way　to　transfer　information　than　inside　the　confessional？　Plus　all　the　other　techniques　that　one　can　use。　Their　political　intelligence　is　probably　as　good　as　ours…perhaps　even　better。　I　would　imagine　they　know　everything　that　happens　in　Poland；　for　example。　And　Eastern　Europe　probably　has　few　secrets　from　them　as　well。　One　cannot　underestimate　their　ability　to　call　on　a　man's　highest　loyalty；　after　all。　We've　kept　an　ear　on　their　munications　for　decades。〃
　　　〃Is　that　so？〃　Hendley　asked。
　　　〃Oh；　yes。　During　World　War　Two；　they　were　very　valuable　to　us。　There　was　a　German　cardinal　in　the　Vatican　back　then；　chap　named　Mansdorf…odd；　isn't　it？　Sounds　like　a　Jewish　name。　First　name　Dieter；　archbishop　of　Mannheim；　then　promoted　to　the　Vatican　diplomatic　service。　Traveled　a　lot。　Kept　us　posted　on　the　inner　secrets　of　the　Nazi　Party　from　1938　through　to　the　end　of　the　war。　He　didn't　much　care　for　Hitler；　you　see。〃
　　　〃And　their　munications？〃
　　　〃Mansdorf　actually　gave　us　his　own　cipher　book　to　copy。　They　changed　it　after　the　war；　of　course；　and　so　we　got　little　more　in　the　way　of　their　private　mail　later　on；　but　they　never　changed　their　cipher　system；　and　the　chaps　at　GCHQ　have　occasional　success　listening　in。　Good　man；　Dieter　Cardinal　Mansdorf。　Never　got　recognized　for　his　service；　of　course。　Died　in　'fifty…nine；　I　think。〃
　　　〃So　how　do　we　know　that　the　Romans　don't　know　about　this　operation　already？〃　Not　a　bad　question；　Charleston　thought；　but　he'd　long　since　considered　that　one。
　　　〃It　is　being　held　very　closely；　our　defector　tells　us。　Hand…delivered　messages；　not　going　out　on　their　machine　ciphers；　that　sort　of　thing。　And　a　bare　handful　of　people　involved。　The　one　important　name　we　do　know　is　a　Bulgarian　field　officer；　Boris　Strokov；　colonel　in　the　DS。　We　suspect　he's　the　chap　who　killed　Georgiy　Markov　just　up　the　road　from　my　office。〃　Which　Charleston　considered　an　act　of　lese…majeste；　perhaps　even　executed　as　a　direct　challenge　to　the　Secret　Intelligence　Service。　CIA　and　KGB　had　an　informal　covenant：　Neither　service　ever　killed　in　the　other's　capital。　SIS　had　no　such　agreement　with　anyone；　a　fact　that　might　have　cost　Georgiy　Markov　his　life。
　　　〃So；　you　think　he　might　be　the　prospective　assassin？〃
　　　C　waved　his　hands。　〃It's　all　we　have；　George。〃
　　　〃Not　much；〃　Hendley　observed。
　　　〃Too　thin　for　fort；　but　it's　better　than　nothing。　We　have　numerous　photos　of　this　Strokov　fellow。　The　Yard　was　close　to　arresting　him　when　he　flew　out　of　Heathrow…for　Paris；　actually；　and　from　there　on　to　Sofia。〃
　　　〃Perhaps　he　was　in　a　hurry　to　leave？〃　Hendley　suggested。
　　　〃He's　a　professional；　George。　How　many　chances　do　such　people　take？　In　retrospect；　it's　rather　amazing　that　the　Yard　got　a　line　on　him　at　all。〃
　　　〃So；　you　think　he　might　be　in　Italy。〃　A　statement；　not　a　question。
　　　〃It's　a　possibility；　but　whom　can　we　tell？〃　C　asked。　〃The　Italians　have　criminal　jurisdiction　to　a　point。　The　Lateran　Treaty　gives　them　discretionary　jurisdiction；　subject　to　a　Vatican　veto；〃　Charleston　explained。　He'd　had　to　look　into　the　legalities　of　the　situation。　〃The　Vatican　has　its　own　security　service…the　Swiss　Guards；　you　know…but　however　good　the　men　are；　it's　necessarily　a　thin　reed；　what　with　the　restrictions　imposed　on　them　from　above。　And　the　Italian　authorities　cannot　flood　the　area　with　their　own　security　forces；　for　obvious　reasons。〃
　　　〃So；　the　PM　has　saddled　you　with　an　impossible　task。〃
　　　〃Yes；　again；　George；〃　Sir　Basil　had　to　agree。
　　　〃So；　what　can　you　do？〃
　　　〃All　I　can　really　e　up　with　is　to　put　some　officers　in　the　crowd　and　look　for　this　Markov　fellow。〃
　　　〃And　if　they　see　him？〃
　　　〃Ask　him　politely　to　depart　the　area？〃　Basil　wondered　aloud。　〃It　would　work；　probably。　He　is　a　professional；　and　being　spotted…I　suppose　we'd　ostentatiously　take　photographs　of　him…would　give　him　serious　pause；　perhaps　enough　to　abandon　the　mission。〃
　　　〃Thin。〃　Hendley　thought　of　that　idea。
　　　〃Yes；　it　is；〃　C　had　to　agree。　But　it　would　at　least　give　him　something　to　tell　the　Prime　Minister。
　　　〃Whom　to　send？〃
　　　〃We　have　a　good　Station　Chief　in　Rome；　Tom　Sharp。　He　has　four　officers　in　his　shop；　plus　we　could　send　a　few　more　from　Century　House；　I　suppose。〃
　　　〃Sounds　reasonable；　Basil。　Why　did　you　call　me　over？〃
　　　〃I　was　hoping　you'd　have　an　idea　that's　eluded　me；　George。〃　A