tc.thebearandthedragon-第10部分

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　feet。
　〃Boring；　isn't　it？〃
　〃Just　another　word　for　safe；　sir；〃　the　USAF　officer　replied。
　Fucking　trash…hauler；　Jackson　thought。　No　fighter　pilot　would　say　something　like　that　out　loud。　Since　when　was　flying　supposed　to　be。。。　well；　Robby　had　to　admit　to　himself；　he　always　buckled　his　seat　belt　before　starting　his　car；　and　never　did　anything　reckless；　even　with　a　fighter　plane。　But　it　offended　him　that　this　aircraft；　like　almost　all　of　the　new　ones；　did　so　much　of　the　work　that　he'd　been　trained　to　do　himself。　It　would　even　land　itself。。。　well；　the　Navy　had　such　systems　aboard　its　carrier　aircraft；　but　no　proper　naval　aviator　ever　used　it　unless　ordered　to；　something　Robert　Jefferson　Jackson　had　always　managed　to　avoid。　This　trip　would　go　into　his　logbook　as　time　in　mand；　but　it　really　wasn't。　Instead　it　was　a　microchip　in　mand；　and　his　real　function　was　to　be　there　to　take　proper　action　in　case　something　broke。　But　nothing　ever　did。　Even　the　damned　engines。　Once　turbojets　had　lasted　a　mere　nine　or　ten　hours　before　having　to　be　replaced。　Now　there　were　Spey　engines　on　the　G　fleet　that　had　twelve　thousand　hours。　There　was　one　out　there　with　over　thirty　thousand　that　Rolls…Royce　wanted　back；　offering　a　free　brand…new　replacement　because　its　engineers　wanted　to　tear　that　one　apart　to　learn　what　they'd　done　so　right；　but　the　owner；　perversely　and　predictably；　refused　to　part　with　it。　The　rest　of　the　Gulfstream　airframe　was　about　that　reliable；　and　the　electronics　were　utterly　state…of…the…art；　Jackson　knew；　looking　down　at　the　color　display　from　the　weather…radar。　It　was　a　clear　and　friendly　black　at　the　moment；　showing　what　was　probably　smooth　air　all　the　way　to　Andrews。　There　was　as　yet　no　instrument　that　detected　turbulence；　but　up　here　at　flight　level　three…niner…zero；　that　was　a　pretty　rare　occurrence；　and　Jackson　wasn't　often　susceptible　to　airsickness；　and　his　hand　was　inches　from　the　yoke　in　case　something　unexpected　happened。　Jackson　occasionally　hoped　that　something　would　happen；　since　it　would　allow　him　to　show　just　how　good　an　aviator　he　was。。。　but　it　never　did。　Flying　had　bee　too　routine　since　his　childhood　in　the　F…4N　Phantom　and　his　emerging　manhood　in　the　F…14A　TOMCAT。　And　maybe　it　was　better　that　way。　Yeah；　he　thought；　sure。
　〃Mr。　Vice　President？〃　It　was　the　voice　of　the　USAF　munications　sergeant　aboard　the　VC…20。　Robby　turned　to　see　her　with　a　sheaf　of　papers。
　〃Yeah；　Sarge？〃
　〃Flash　traffic　just　came　in　on　the　printer。〃　She　extended　her　hand；　and　Robby　took　the　paper。
　〃Colonel；　your　airplane　for　a　while；〃　the　VP　told　the　lieutenant　colonel　in　the　left　seat。
　〃Pilot's　airplane；〃　the　colonel　agreed；　while　Robby　started　reading。
　It　was　always　the　same；　even　though　it　was　also　always　different。　The　cover　sheet　had　the　usual　classification　formatting。　It　had　once　impressed　Jackson　that　the　act　of　showing　a　sheet　of　paper　to　the　wrong　person　could　land　him　in　Leavenworth　Federal　Penitentiary　…　at　the　time；　actually；　the　since…closed　Portsmouth　Naval　Prison　in　New　Hampshire　…　but　now　as　a　senior　government　official　in　Washington；　D。C。；　he　knew　he　could　show　damned　near　anything　to　a　reporter　from　The　Washington　Post　and　not　be　touched　for　it。　It　wasn't　so　much　that　he　was　above　the　law　as　he　was　one　of　the　people　who　decided　what　the　law　meant。　What　was　so　damned　secret　and　sensitive　in　this　case　was　that　CIA　didn't　know　shit　about　the　possible　attempt　on　the　life　of　Russia's　chief　spymaster。。。　which　meant　nobody　else　in　Washington　did；　either。。。。
　
　
　
　
　　CHAPTER　3
　　The　Problems　with　Riches
　　
　The　issue　was　trade；　not　exactly　the　President's　favorite；　but　then；　at　this　level；　every　issue　took　on　sufficient　twists　that　even　the　ones　you　thought　you　knew　about　became　strange　at　best；　unknown　and　alien　at　worst。
　〃George？〃　Ryan　said　to　his　Secretary　of　the　Treasury；　George　Winston。
　〃Mr。　Pres　…〃
　〃Goddammit；　George！〃　The　President　nearly　spilled　his　coffee　with　the　outburst。
　〃Okay。〃　SecTreas　nodded　submission。　〃It's　hard　to　make　the　adjustment。。。　Jack。〃　Ryan　was　getting　tired　of　the　Presidential　trappings；　and　his　rule　was　that　here；　in　the　Oval　Office；　his　name　was　Jack；　at　least　for　his　inner　circle；　of　which　Winston　was　one。　After　all；　Ryan　had　joked　a　few　times；　after　leaving　this　marble　prison；　he　might　be　working　for　TRADER；　as　the　Secret　Service　knew　him；　back　in　New　York　on　The　Street；　instead　of　the　other　way　'round。　After　leaving　the　Presidency；　something　for　which　Jack　prostrated　himself　before　God　every　night　…　or　so　the　stories　went　…　he'd　have　to　find　gainful　employment　somewhere；　and　the　trading　business　beckoned。　Ryan　had　shown　a　rare　gift　for　it；　Winston　reminded　himself。　His　last　such　effort　had　been　a　California　pany　called　Silicon　Alchemy；　just　one　of　many　puter　outfits；　but　the　only　one　in　which　Ryan　had　taken　an　interest。　So　skillfully　had　he　brought　that　firm　to　IPO　that　his　own　stock　holdings　in　SALC　…　its　symbol　on　the　big　board　…　were　now　valued　at　just　over　eighty　million　dollars；　making　Ryan　by　far　the　wealthiest　American　President　in　history。　It　was　something　his　politically　astute　Chief　of　Staff；　Arnold　van　Damm；　did　not　advertise　to　the　news　media；　who　typically　regarded　every　wealthy　man　as　a　robber　baron；　excepting；　of　course；　the　owners　of　the　papers　and　TV　stations　themselves；　who　were；　of　course；　the　best　of　public…spirited　citizens。　None　of　this　was　widely　known；　even　in　the　tight　munity　of　Wall　Street　big…hitters；　which　was　remarkable　enough。　Should　he　ever　return　to　The　Street；　Ryan's　prestige　would　be　sufficient　to　earn　money　while　he　slept　in　his　bed　at　home　And　that；　Winston　freely　admitted；　was　something　well　and　truly　earned；　and　be　damned　to　whatever　the　media　hounds　thought　of　it。
　〃It's　China？〃　Jack　asked。
　〃That's　right；　Boss；〃　Winston　confirmed　with　a　nod。　〃Boss〃　was　a　term　Ryan　could　stomach；　as　it　was　also　the　in…house　term　the　Secret　Service　…　which　was　part　of　Winston's　Department　of　the　Treasury　…　used　to　identify　the　man　they　were　sworn　to　protect。　〃They're　having　a　little　cash…shortfall　problem；　and　they're　looking　to　make　it　up　with　us。〃
　〃How　little？〃　POTUS　asked。
　〃It　looks　as　though　it　will　annualize　out　to；　oh；　seventy　billion　or　so。〃
　〃That　is；　as　we　say；　real　money。〃
　George　Winston　nodded。　〃Anything　that　starts　with　a　'B'　is　real　enough；　and　this　is　a　little　better　than　six　'Bs'　a　month。〃
　〃Spending　it　for　what？〃
　〃Not　entirely　sure；　but　a　lot　of　it　has　to　be　military…related。　The　French　arms　industries　are　tight　with　them　now；　since　the　Brits　kiboshed　the　jet…engine　deal　from　Rolls…Royce。〃
　The　President　nodded；　looking　down　at　the　briefing　papers。　〃Yeah；　Basil　talked　the　PM　out　of　it。〃　That　was　Sir　Basil　Charleston；　chief　of　the　British　Secret　Intelligence　Service；　sometimes　called　（erroneously）　MI6。　Basil　was　an　old　friend　of　Ryan's；　going　back　to　his　CIA　days。　〃It　was　a　remarkably　stand…up　thing　to　do。〃
　〃Well；　our　friends　in　Paris　don't　seem　to　think　the　same　way。〃
　〃They　usually　don't；〃　Ryan　agreed。　The　odd　thing　was　the　dichotomy　inherent　in　dealing　with　the　French。　In　some　things；　they　weren't　so　much　allies　as　blood　brothers；　but　in　others　they　were　less　than　mere　associates；　and　Ryan　had　trouble　figuring　out　the　logic　by　which　the　French　changed　their　minds。　Well；　the　President　thought；　that's　what　I　have　a　State　Department　for。。。。　〃So；　you　think　the　PRC　is　building　up　its　military　again？〃
　〃Big　time；　but　not　so　much　their　navy；　which　makes　our　friends　in　Taiwan　feel　a　little　better。〃
　That　had　been　one　of　President　Ryan's　foreign…policy　initiatives　after　concluding　hostilities　with　the　defunct　United　Islamic　Republic；　now　restored　to　the　separate　nations　of　Iran　and　Iraq；　which　were　at　least　at　peace　with　each　other。　The　real　reasons　for　the　recognition　of　Taiwan　had　never　been　made　known　to　the　public。　It　looked　pretty　clear　to　Ryan　and　his　Secretary　of　State；　Scott　Adler；　that　the　People's　Republic　of　China　had　played　a　role　in　the　Second　Persian　Gulf　War；　and　probably　in　the　preceding　conflict　with　Japan；　as　well。　Exactly　why？　Well；　some　in　CIA　thought　that　China　lusted　after　the　mineral　riches　in　eastern　Siberia　…　this　was　suggested　by　intercepts　and　other　access　to　the　electronic　mail　of　the　Japanese　industrialists　who'd　twisted　their　nation's　path　into　a　not…quite…open　clash　with　America。　They'd　referred　to　Siberia　as　the　〃Northern　Resource　Area；〃　harkening　back　to　when　an　earlier　generation　of　Japanese　strategists　had　called　South　Asia　the　〃Southern　Resource　Area。〃　That　had　been　part　of　another　conflict；　one　known　to　history　as　the　Second　World　War。　In　any　case；　the　plicity　of　the　PRC　with　America's　enemies　had　merited　a　countermove；　Ryan　and　Adler　had　agreed；　and　besides；　the　Republic　of　China　on　Taiwan　was　a　democracy；　with　government　officials　elected　by　the　people　of　that　nation　island　…　and　that　was　something　America　was　supposed　to　respect。
　〃You　know；　it　would　be　better　if　they　started　working　their　navy　and　threatening　Taiwan。　We　are　in　a　better　position　to　forestall　that　than　…〃
　〃You　really　think　so？〃　SecTreas　asked；　cutting　his　President　off。
　〃The　Russians　do；〃　Jack　confirmed。
　〃Then　why　are　the　Russians　selling　the　Chinese　so　much　hardware？〃　Winston　demanded。　〃That　doesn't　make　sense！〃
　〃George；　there　is　no　rule　demanding　that　the　world　has　to　make　sense。〃　That　was　one　of　Ryan's　favorite　aphorisms。　〃That's　one　of　the　things　you　learn　in　the　intelligence　business。　In　1938；　guess　who　was　Germany's　number　one　trading　partner？〃
　SecTreas　saw　that　sandbag　ing　before　it　struck。　〃France？〃
　〃You　got　it。〃　Ryan　nodded。　〃Then；　in　'40　and　'41；　they　did　a　lot　of　trade　with　the　Russians。　That　didn't　work　out　so　well　either；　did　it？〃
　〃And　everyone　always　told　me　that　trade　was　a　moderating　influence；〃　the　Secretary　observed。
　〃Maybe　it　is　among　people；　but　remember　that　governments　don't　have　principles　so　much　as　interests　…　at　least　the　primitive　ones；　the　ones　who　haven't　figured　it　all　out　yet。。。〃
　〃Like　the　PRC？〃
　It　was　Ryan's　turn　to　nod。　〃Yeah；　George；　like　those　little　bastards　in　Beijing。　They　rule　a　nation　of　a　billion　people；　but　they　do　it　as　though　they　were　the　new　ing　of　Caligula。　Nobody　ever　told　them　that　they　have　a　positive　duty　to　look　after