tc.thebearandthedragon-第116部分

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　〃Not　so　good　as　you；　Falcone；〃　the　Russian　responded。
　The　Italian　cop　shrugged。　〃I　had　a　lucky　day。〃
　〃Sure；　guy；〃　Clark　reacted；　as　he　handed　Falcone　a　shot　glass。
　〃I've　e　to　like　this　vodka；〃　Falcone　said　on　gunning　it　down。　〃But　it　affects　my　aim　somewhat。〃
　〃Yeah；　Ettore。〃　Chavez　chuckled。　〃The　general　told　us　you　blew　four　points　in　the　match。〃
　〃You　mean　you　have　done　better　than　this？〃　Kirillin　demanded。
　〃He　has；〃　Clark　answered。　〃I　watched　him　shoot　a　possible　three　weeks　ago。　That　was　five　hundred　points；　too。〃
　〃That　was　a　good　day；〃　Falcone　agreed。　〃I　had　a　good　night's　sleep　beforehand　and　no　hangover　at　all。〃
　Clark　had　himself　a　good　chuckle　and　turned　to　look　around　the　room。　Just　then；　another　uniform　entered　the　room　and　looked　around。　He　spotted　General　Kirillin　and　walked　over。
　〃Damn；　who's　this　recruiting　poster？〃　Ding　wondered　aloud　as　he　approached。
　〃Tovarisch　General；〃　the　man　said　by　way　of　greeting。
　〃Anatoliy　Ivan'ch；〃　Kirillin　responded。　〃How　are　things　at　the　Center？〃
　Then　the　guy　turned。　〃You　are　John　Clark？〃
　〃That's　me；〃　the　American　confirmed。　〃Who　are　you？〃
　〃This　is　Major　Anatoliy　Shelepin；〃　General　Kirillin　answered。　〃He's　chief　of　personal　security　for　Sergey　Golovko。〃
　〃We　know　your　boss。〃　Ding　held　out　his　hand。　〃Howdy。　I'm　Domingo　Chavez。〃
　Handshakes　were　exchanged　all　around。
　〃Could　we　speak　in　a　quieter　place？〃　Shelepin　asked。　The　four　men　took　over　a　corner　booth　in　the　club。　Falcone　remained　at　the　bar。
　〃Sergey　Nikolay'ch　sent　you　over？〃　the　Russian　general　asked。
　〃You　haven't　heard；〃　Major　Shelepin　answered。　It　was　the　way　he　said　it　that　got　everyone's　attention。　He　spoke　in　Russian；　which　Clark　and　Chavez　understood　well　enough。　〃I　want　my　people　to　train　with　you。〃
　〃Haven't　heard　what？〃　Kirillin　asked。
　〃We　found　out　who　tried　to　kill　the　Chairman；〃　Shelepin　announced。
　〃Oh；　he　was　the　target？　I　thought　they　were　after　the　pimp；〃　Kirillin　objected。
　〃You　guys　want　to　tell　us　what　you're　talking　about？〃　Clark　asked。
　〃A　few　weeks　ago；　there　was　an　assassination　attempt　in　Dzerzhinskiy　Square；〃　Shelepin　responded；　explaining　what　they'd　thought　at　the　time。　〃But　now　it　appears　they　hit　the　wrong　target。〃
　〃Somebody　tried　to　waste　Golovko？〃　Domingo　asked。　〃Damn。〃
　〃Who　was　it？〃
　〃The　man　who　arranged　it　was　a　former　KGB　officer　named　Suvorov…so　we　believe；　that　is。　He　used　two　ex…Spetsnaz　soldiers。　They　have　both　been　murdered；　probably　to　conceal　their　involvement；　or　at　least　to　prevent　them　from　discussing　it　with　anyone。〃　Shelepin　didn't　add　anything　else。　〃In　any　case；　we　have　heard　good　things　about　your　RAINBOW　troops；　and　we　want　you　to　help　train　my　protective　detail。〃
　〃It's　okay　with　me；　so　long　as　it's　okay　with　Washington。〃　Clark　stared　hard　into　the　bodyguard's　eyes。　He　looked　damned　serious；　but　not　very　happy　with　the　world　at　the　moment。
　〃We　will　make　the　formal　request　tomorrow。〃
　〃They　are　excellent；　these　RAINBOW　people；〃　Kirillin　assured　him。　〃We're　getting　along　well　with　them。　Anatoliy　used　to　work　for　me；　back　when　I　was　a　colonel。〃　The　tone　of　voice　told　what　he　thought　of　the　younger　man。
　There　was　more　to　this；　Clark　thought。　A　senior　Russian　official　didn't　just　ask　a　former　CIA　officer　for　help　with　something　related　to　his　personal　safety　out　of　the　clear　blue。　He　caught　Ding's　eye　and　saw　the　same　thought。　Suddenly　both　were　back　in　the　spook　business。
　〃Okay；〃　John　said。　〃I'll　call　home　tonight　if　you　want。〃　He'd　do　that　from　the　American　Embassy；　probably　on　the　STU…6　in　the　station　chief's　office。
　
　
　
　
　CHAPTER　37
　Fallout
　
　The　VC…137　landed　without　fanfare　at　Andrews　Air　Force　Base。　The　base　lacked　a　proper　terminal　and　the　attendant　jetways；　and　so　the　passengers　debarked　on　stairs　grafted　onto　a　flatbed　truck。　Cars　waited　at　the　bottom　to　take　them　into　Washington。　Mark　Gant　was　met　by　two　Secret　Service　agents　who　drove　him　at　once　to　the　Treasury　Department　building　across　the　street　from　the　White　House。　He'd　barely　gotten　used　to　being　on　the　ground　when　he　found　himself　in　the　Secretary's　office。
　〃How'd　it　go？〃　George　Winston　asked。
　〃Interesting；　to　say　the　least；〃　Gant　said；　his　mind　trying　to　get　used　to　the　fact　that　his　body　didn't　have　a　clue　where　it　was　at　the　moment。　〃I　thought　I'd　be　going　home　to　sleep　it　off。〃
　〃Ryan's　invoking　the　Trade　Recovery　Act　against　the　Chinese。〃
　〃Oh？　Well；　that's　not　all　that　much　of　a　surprise；　is　it？〃
　〃Look　at　this；〃　SecTreas　manded；　handing　over　a　recently　produced　printout。　〃This〃　was　a　report　on　the　current　cash　holdings　of　the　People's　Republic　of　China。
　〃How　solid　is　this　information？〃　TELESCOPE　asked　TRADER。
　The　report　was　an　intelligence　estimate　in　all　but　name。　Employees　within　the　Treasury　Department　routinely　kept　track　of　international　monetary　transactions　as　a　means　of　determining　the　day…to…day　strength　of　the　dollar　and　other　internationally　traded　currencies。　That　included　the　Chinese　yuan；　which　had　been　having　a　slightly　bad　time　of　late。
　〃They're　this　thin？〃　Gant　asked。　〃I　thought　they　were　running　short　of　cash；　but　I　didn't　know　it　was　quite　this　bad　。。。〃
　〃It　surprised　me；　too；〃　SecTreas　admitted。　〃It　appears　that　they've　been　purchasing　a　lot　of　things　on　the　international　market　lately；　especially　jet　engines　from　France；　and　because　they're　late　paying　for　the　last　round；　the　French　pany　has　decided　to　take　a　harder　line…they're　the　only　game　in　town。　We　won't　let　GE　or　Pratt　and　Whitney　bid　on　the　order；　and　the　Brits　have　similarly　forbidden　Rolls…Royce。　That　makes　the　French　the　sole　source；　which　isn't　so　bad　for　the　French；　is　it？　They've　jacked　up　the　price　about　fifteen　percent；　and　they're　asking　for　cash　up　front。〃
　〃The　yuan's　going　to　take　a　hit；〃　Gant　predicted。　〃They've　been　trying　to　cover　this　up；　eh？〃
　〃Yeah；　and　fairly　successfully。〃
　〃That's　why　they　were　hitting　us　so　hard　on　the　trade　deal。　They　saw　this　one　ing；　and　they　wanted　a　favorable　announcement　to　bail　them　out。　But　they　sure　didn't　play　it　very　smart。　Damn；　you　have　this　sort　of　a　problem；　you　learn　to　crawl　a　little。〃
　〃I　thought　so；　too。　Why；　do　you　think？〃
　〃They're　proud；　George。　Very；　very　proud。　Like　a　rich　family　that's　lost　its　money　but　not　it's　social　position；　and　tries　to　make　up　for　the　one　with　the　other。　But　it　doesn't　work。　Sooner　or　later；　people　find　out　that　you're　not　paying　your　bills；　and　then　the　whole　world　es　crashing　in　on　you。　You　can　put　it　off　for　a　while；　which　makes　sense　if　you　have　something　ing　in；　but　if　the　ship　don't　dock；　you　sink。〃　Gant　flipped　some　pages；　thinking：　The　other　problem　is　that　countries　are　run　by　politicians；　people　with　no　real　understanding　of　money；　who　figure　they　can　always　maneuver　their　way　out　of　whatever　es　up。　They're　so　used　to　having　their　own　way　that　they　never　really　think　they　can't　have　it　that　way　all　the　time。　One　of　the　things　Gant　had　learned　working　in　D。C。　was　that　politics　was　just　as　much　about　illusion　as　the　motion…picture　business　was；　which　perhaps　explained　the　affinity　the　two　munities　had　for　each　other。　But　even　in　Hollywood　you　had　to　pay　the　bills；　and　you　had　to　show　a　profit。　Politicians　always　had　the　option　of　using　T…bills　to　finance　their　accounts；　and　they　also　printed　the　money。　Nobody　expected　the　government　to　show　a　profit；　and　the　board　of　directors　was　the　voters；　the　people　whom　politicians　conned　as　a　way　of　life。　It　was　all　crazy；　but　that　was　the　political　game。
　That's　probably　what　the　PRC　leaders　were　thinking；　Gant　surmised。
　But　sooner　or　later；　reality　raised　its　ugly　head；　and　when　it　did　all　the　time　spent　trying　to　avoid　it　was　what　really　bit　you　on　the　ass。　That　was　when　the　whole　world　said　gotcha。　And　then　you　were　well　and　truly　got。　In　this　case；　the　gotcha　could　be　the　collapse　of　the　Chinese　economy；　and　it　would　happen　virtually　overnight。
　〃George；　I　think　State　and　CIA　need　to　see　this；　and　the　President；　too。〃
　
　〃Lord。〃　The　President　was　sitting　in　the　Oval　Office；　smoking　one　of　Ellen　Sumter's　Virginia　Slims　and　watching　TV。　This　time　it　was　C…SPAN。　Members　of　the　United　States　House　of　Representatives　were　speaking　in　the　well　about　China。　The　content　of　the　speeches　was　not　plimentary；　and　the　tone　was　decidedly　inflammatory。　All　were　speaking　in　favor　of　a　resolution　to　condemn　the　People's　Republic　of　China。　C…SPAN2　was　covering　much　the　same　verbiage　in　the　Senate。　Though　the　language　was　a　touch　milder；　the　import　of　the　words　was　not。　Labor　unions　were　united　with　churches；　liberals　with　conservatives；　even　free…TRADERs　with　protectionists。
　More　to　the　point；　CNN　and　the　other　networks　showed　demonstrations　in　the　streets；　and　it　appeared　that　Taiwan's　〃We're　the　Good　Guys〃　campaign　had　taken　hold。　Somebody　（nobody　was　sure　who　yet）　had　even　printed　up　stickers　of　the　Red　Chinese　flag　with　the　caption　〃We　Kill　Babies　and　Ministers。〃　They　were　being　attached　to　products　imported　from　China；　and　the　protesters　were　also　busy　identifying　the　American　firms　that　did　a　lot　of　business　on　the　Chinese　mainland；　with　the　aim　of　boycotting　them。
　Ryan's　head　turned。　〃Talk　to　me；　Arnie。〃
　〃This　looks　serious；　Jack；〃　van　Damm　said。
　〃Gee；　Arnie；　I　can　see　that。　How　serious？〃
　〃Enough　that　I'd　sell　stock　in　those　panies。　They're　going　to　take　a　hit。　And　this　movement　may　have　legs　。。。〃
　〃What？〃
　〃I　mean　it　might　not　go　away　real　soon。　Next　you're　going　to　see　posters　with　stills　from　the　TV　coverage　of　those　two　clerics　being　murdered。　That's　an　image　that　doesn't　go　away。　If　there's　any　product　the　Chinese　sell　here　that　we　can　get　elsewhere；　then　a　lot　of　Americans　will　start　buying　it　elsewhere。〃
　The　picture　on　CNN　changed　to　live　coverage　of　a　demonstration　outside　the　PRC　Embassy　in　Washington。　The　signs　said　things　like　MURDERERS；　KILLERS；　and　BARBARIANS！
　〃I　wonder　if　Taiwan　is　helping　to　organize　this　。　。　。〃
　〃Probably　not…at　least　not　yet；〃　van　Damm　thought。　〃If　I　were　they；　I　wouldn't　exactly　mind；　but　I　wouldn't　need　to　play　with　this。　They'll　probably　increase　their　efforts　to　distinguish　themselves　from　the　mainland…and　that　amounts　to　the　same　thing。　Look　for　the　networks　to　do　stories　about　the　Republic　of　China；