tc.redrabbit-第96部分

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　　　〃Well；　we'll　just　have　to　hope　for　good　luck；　and　if　it　doesn't　happen；　then　it　simply　does　not　happen。〃　That　would　be　an　inconvenience。　Perhaps　it　would　be　better　to　enlist　the　help　of　the　Americans。　They　killed　at　least　fifty　thousand　people　per　year　on　their　highways。　He'd　suggest　that　to　Sir　Basil　in　the　morning；　Kingshot　decided。
　　　〃Good　luck？　Not　sure　I'd　call　it　that；　Alan；〃　Nolan　pointed　out。
　　　〃You　know　what　I　mean；　Tiny。　All　I　can　say　is　that　it's　bloody　important。〃
　　　〃And　if　it　happens　out　on　the　M4；　then　what？〃
　　　〃We　collect　the　bodies…〃
　　　〃And　the　survivors　of　the　deceased？〃　Nolan　asked。
　　　〃We　substitute　weighted　bags　for　the　bodies。　The　condition　of　the　corpses　will　preclude　an　open…casket　ceremony；　won't　it？〃
　　　〃Yes；　there　is　that。　Then　what？〃
　　　〃We'll　have　our　people　deal　with　the　bodies。　You　really　do　not　need　to　know　the　details。〃　The　SIS　had　a　close　and　cordial　relationship　with　the　Metropolitan　Police；　but　it　went　only　so　far。
　　　Nolan　finished　his　pint。　〃Yes；　I'll　leave　the　nightmares　to　you；　Alan。〃　He　managed　not　to　shiver。　〃I　should　start　keeping　my　eyes　open　at　once；　is　it？〃
　　　〃Immediately。〃
　　　〃And　we　should　consider　taking　the　leavings　from　more　than　one　such　incident？〃
　　　〃Obviously。〃　Kingshot　nodded。　〃Another　round？〃
　　　〃Good　idea；　Alan；〃　Nolan　agreed。　And　his　host　waved　to　the　barman。　〃You　know；　someday　I'd　love　to　know　what　you　are　using　me　for。〃
　　　〃Someday　after　we're　both　retired；　Patrick。　You'll　be　pleased　to　know　what　you　are　helping　with。　That　I　can　promise　you；　old　man。〃
　　　〃If　you　say　so；　Alan。〃　Nolan　conceded　the　point。　For　now。
　　　〃What　the　hell？〃　Judge　Moore　observed；　reading　the　latest　dispatch　from　Moscow。　He　handed　the　fresh　copy　over　to　Greer；　who　scanned　it　and　passed　it　along　to　Mike　Bostock。
　　　〃Mike；　your　boy　Foley　has　a　lively　imagination；〃　the　Admiral　mented。
　　　〃This　sounds　more　like　Mary　Pat。　She's　the　cowboy…well；　cowgirl；　I　suppose　you'd　say。　It　is　original；　guys。〃
　　　〃Original　isn't　the　word；〃　the　DCI　said；　rolling　his　eyes　somewhat。　〃Okay；　Mike；　is　it　doable？〃
　　　〃Theoretically；　yes…and　I　like　the　operational　concept。　To　get　a　defector　and　keep　Ivan　ignorant　of　the　fact。　That's　style；　gentlemen；〃　Bostock　said　admiringly。　〃The　ugly　part　is　that　you　need　three　bodies；　one　of　them　a　child。〃
　　　The　three　intelligence　executives　managed　not　to　shudder　at　the　thought。　It　was　easiest；　oddly；　for　Judge　Moore；　who'd　managed　to　get　his　hands　wet　thirty　years　earlier。　But　that　had　been　in　time　of　war；　when　the　rules　were　a　lot　looser。　But　not　loose　enough　for　him　to　keep　from　having　regrets。　That　was　what　had　gotten　him　back　into　the　law。　He　couldn't　take　back　the　things　he'd　done　wrong；　but　he　could　make　sure　they　wouldn't　happen　again。　Or　something　like　that；　he　told　himself　now。　Something　like　that。
　　　〃Why　a　car　crash？〃　Moore　asked。　〃Why　not　a　house　fire？　Doesn't　that　suit　the　tactical　purposes　better？〃
　　　〃Good　point；〃　Bostock　agreed　at　once。　〃Less　physical　trauma　to　have　to　explain　away。〃
　　　〃I'll　shoot　that　off　to　Basil。〃　Even　the　most　brilliant　of　people；　Moore　realized；　could　be　limited　in　their　thinking。　Well；　that　was　why　he　kept　telling　people　to　think　outside　the　box。　And　every　so　often；　someone　managed　to　do　that。　Just　not　often　enough。
　　　〃You　know；〃　Mike　Bostock　said；　after　a　little　thinking。　〃This　will　be　something　if　we　can　pull　it　off。〃
　　　〃'If　can　be　a　very　large　word；　Mike；〃　Greer　cautioned。
　　　〃Well；　maybe　this　time　the　glass　is　half　full；〃　the　Deputy　DDO　suggested。　〃Fine。　The　main　mission　is　getting　this　guy　out；　but　the　goose　can　use　a　little　sauce　once　in　a　while。〃
　　　〃Hmph；〃　Greer　observed　dubiously。
　　　〃Well；　I'll　call　Emil　over　at　the　Bureau　and　see　what　he　has　to　say　about　this；〃　Moore　said。　〃More　his　turf　than　ours。〃
　　　〃And　if　some　lawyer　gets　hold　of　it；　then　what；　Arthur？〃
　　　〃James；　there　are　ways　of　dealing　with　lawyers。〃
　　　A　pistol　is　often　useful；　Greer　didn't　say。　He　nodded　concurrence。　One　bridge　to　cross　at　a　time　was　always　a　good　rule；　especially　in　this　crazy　business。
　　　〃How　did　things　go　today；　honey？〃　Mary　Pat　asked。
　　　〃Oh；　the　usual〃　was　the　reply　for　the　microphones　in　the　ceiling。　More　significant　was　the　double　thumbs…up；　followed　by　the　pass　of　the　note　from　his　coat　pocket。　They　had　a　meeting　place　and　a　time。　MP　would　handle　that。　She　read　the　note　and　nodded。　She　and　Eddie　would　take　another　walk　to　meet　little　Svetlana；　the　zaichik。　Then　it　was　just　a　matter　of　getting　the　Rabbit　out　of　town；　and　since　he　was　KGB；　it　ought　not　to　be　overly　hard。　That　was　one　advantage　of　having　him　work　at　The　Centre。　They　were　taking　out　a　minor　nobleman；　after　all；　not　just　another　muzhik　from　the　widget　factory。
　　　Dinner；　he　saw；　was　steak；　the　usual　celebratory　meal。　MP　was　as　psyched　about　this　as　he　was…probably　more　so。　With　just　a　little　luck；　this　Operation　BEATRIX　would　make　their　reputation；　and　a　good　field　rep　was　something　they　both　wanted。
　　　Ryan　took　the　usual　train　back　to　Chatham。　He'd　missed　his　wife　again；　but　she'd　had　a　routine　day；　so　she'd　probably　left　early；　like　all　the　government…employed　docs　with　whom　she　worked。　He　wondered　if　this　bad　habit　would　carry　over　when　they　went　home　to　Peregrine　Cliff。　Probably　not。　Bernie　Katz　liked　to　have　his　desk　clean；　and　waiting　lists　at　zero；　and　the　local　work　habits　were　driving　his　wife　to　drink。　The　good　news　was　that；　with　no　surgery　scheduled　this　week；　they'd　be　able　to　have　wine　that　evening　with　dinner。
　　　He　wondered　how　long　he'd　be　away　from　home。　It　wasn't　something　he　was　used　to。　One　advantage　of　being　an　analyst　was　that　he　did　all　of　his　work　at　the　office；　then　drove　home。　He'd　rarely　slept　away　from　his　wife　in　all　the　time　they'd　been　married；　a　rule　almost　sacred　in　their　marriage。　He　liked　it　when　he　woke　up　at　three　in　the　morning　and　could　roll　over　and　kiss　her　in　mid…dream；　then　see　her　smile　in　her　sleep。　His　marriage　to　Cathy　was　the　anchor　to　his　life；　the　very　center　of　his　universe。　But　now　duty　would　take　him　away　from　her　for　several　days…not　something　he　looked　forward　to。　Nor　did　he　look　forward　to　flying　on　another　goddamned　airplane　into　a　munist　country　with　false　identity　papers　and　overseeing　a　black　operation　there…he　didn't　know　shit　about　them；　just　what　he'd　picked　up　talking　to　the　occasional　field　spook　at　Langley。。。　and　from　his　own　experiences　here　in　London；　and　at　home　over　the　Chesapeake；　when　Sean　Miller　and　his　terrorists　had　e　to　his　house　with　guns　blazing。　It　was　something　he　tried　very　hard　to　forget。　It　might　have　been　different　had　he　stayed　in　the　Marine　Corps；　but　there　he　would　have　been　surrounded　by　fellow　warriors。　He'd　have　been　able　to　bathe　in　their　respect；　to　remember　his　feat　of　arms　with　pride　at　having　done　the　right　thing　at　the　right　time；　to　recount　his　deeds　to　the　interested；　to　pass　along　the　tactical　lessons　learned　the　hard　way　on　the　field　of　demibattle　over　beers　at　the　O…club；　even　to　smile　about　something　that　one　didn't　ordinarily　smile　about。　But　he'd　left　the　Marine　Corps　with　a　bad　back；　and　had　had　to　endure　his　bat　as　a　very　frightened　civilian。　Courage；　though；　he'd　once　been　told；　was　being　the　only　one　who　knew　how　terrified　you　were。　And；　yeah；　he　supposed；　he'd　shown　that　quality　when　it　had　counted。　And　his　job　in　Hungary　would　be　only　to　watch；　and　then；　the　important　part；　to　sit　in　while　Sir　Basil's　boys　interviewed　the　Rabbit　at　some　safe　house　in　London；　or　wherever；　before　the　Air　Force；　probably；　flew　them　to　Washington　in　their　own　special…mission　KC…135　out　of　RAF　Bentwaters；　with　nice　food　and　plenty　of　liquor　to　ease　the　flight　fright。
　　　He　walked　off　the　train　and　up　the　steps；　and　caught　a　cab　for　Grizedale　Close；　where　he　found　that　Cathy　had　sent　Miss　Margaret　away　and　was　busy　in　the　kitchen；　assisted；　he　saw；　by　Sally。
　　　〃Hey；　babe。〃　Kiss。　He　lifted　Sally　for　the　usual　hug。　Little　girls　give　the　best　hugs。
　　　〃So；　what　was　the　important　message　about？〃　Cathy　asked。
　　　〃No　big　deal。　Kinda　disappointing；　actually。〃
　　　Cathy　turned　to　look　her　husband　in　the　eye。　Jack　couldn't　lie　worth　a　damn。　It　was　one　of　the　things　she　liked　about　him；　actually。　〃Uh…huh。〃
　　　〃Honest；　babe；〃　Ryan　said；　knowing　the　look；　and　then