tc.thebearandthedragon-第122部分

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　〃What　is　it　about　you　guys？　You　strut　like　roosters；　but　we　have　to　do　all　the　work！〃
　〃Andrea；　I　would　gladly　switch　jobs　with　you！〃　Ryan　joked。　He'd　had　this　discussion　with　Cathy　often　enough；　claiming　that　having　a　baby　couldn't　be　all　that　hard…men　had　to　do　almost　all　of　the　tough　work　in　life。　But　he　couldn't　joke　with　someone　else's　wife　that　way。
　
　Nomuri　heard　his　puter　beep　in　the　distance；　meaning　it　had　received　and　was　now　automatically　encrypting　and　retransmitting　the　date　e…mailed　from　Ming's　desktop。　It　made　an　entertaining　interruption　to　his　current　activity。　It　had　been　five　days　since　their　last　tryst；　and　that　was　a　long　enough　wait　for　him　。　。　。　and　evidently　for　her　as　well；　judging　by　the　passion　in　her　kisses。　In　due　course；　it　was　over；　and　they　both　rolled　over　for　a　smoke。
　〃How　is　the　office？〃　Nomuri　asked；　with　the　answer　to　his　question　now　residing　in　a　server　in　Wisconsin。
　〃The　Politburo　is　debating　great　finance。　Qian；　the　minister　in　charge　of　our　money；　is　trying　to　persuade　the　Politburo　to　change　its　ways；　but　they're　not　listening　as　Minister　Fang　thinks　they　ought。〃
　〃Oh？〃
　〃He's　rather　angry　with　his　old　rades　for　their　lack　of　flexibility。〃　Then　Ming　giggled。　〃Chai　said　the　minister　was　very　flexible　with　her　two　nights　ago。〃
　〃Not　a　nice　thing　to　say　about　a　man；　Ming；〃　Nomuri　chided。
　〃I　would　never　say　it　about　you　and　your　jade　sausage；　shin　gan；〃　she　said；　turning　for　a　kiss。
　　〃Do　they　argue　often　there？　In　the　Politburo；　I　mean？〃
　〃There　are　frequent　disagreements；　but　this　is　the　first　time　in　months　that　the　matter　has　not　been　resolved　to　Fang's　satisfaction。　They　are　usually　collegial；　but　this　is　a　disagreement　over　ideology。　Those　can　be　violent…at　least　in　intellectual　terms。〃　Obviously；　the　Politburo　members　were　too　old　to　do　much　more　than　smack　an　enemy　over　the　head　with　their　canes。
　〃And　this　one？〃
　〃Minister　Qian　says　the　country　may　soon　be　out　of　money。　The　other　ministers　say　that　is　nonsense。　Qian　says　we　must　acmodate　the　Western　countries。　Zhang　and　the　others　like　him　say　we　cannot　show　weakness　after　all　they…especially　the　Americans…have　done　to　us　lately。〃
　〃Don't　they　see　that　killing　that　Italian　priest　was　a　bad　thing？〃
　〃They　see　it　as　an　unfortunate　accident；　and　besides；　he　was　breaking　our　laws。〃
　Jesus；　Nomuri　thought；　they　really　do　think　they're　god…kings；　don't　they？　〃Bao　bei；　that　is　a　mistake　on　their　part。〃
　〃You　think　so？〃
　〃I　have　been　to　America；　remember？　I　lived　there　for　a　time。　Americans　are　very　solicitous　to　their　clergy；　and　they　place　a　high　value　on　religion。　Spitting　on　it　angers　them　greatly。〃
　〃You　think　Qian　is　right；　then？〃　she　asked。　〃You　think　America　will　deny　us　money　for　this　foolish　action？〃
　〃I　think　it　is　possible；　yes。　Very　possible；　Ming。〃
　〃Minister　Fang　thinks　we　should　take　a　more　moderate　course；　to　acmodate　the　Americans　somewhat；　but　he　did　not　say　so　at　the　meeting。〃
　〃Oh？　Why？〃
　〃He　does　not　wish　to　depart　too　greatly　from　the　path　of　the　other　ministers。　You　say　that　in　Japan　people　fear　not　being　elected。　Here；　well；　the　Politburo　elects　its　own；　and　it　can　expel　those　who　no　longer　fit　in。　Fang　does　not　wish　to　lose　his　own　status；　obviously；　and　to　make　sure　that　doesn't　happen；　he　takes　a　cautious　line。〃
　〃This　is　hard　for　me　to　understand；　Ming。　How　do　they　select　their　members？　How　do　the　'princes'　choose　the　new　'prince'？〃
　〃Oh；　there　are　party　members　who　have　distinguished　themselves　ideologically；　or　sometimes　from　work　in　the　field。　Minister　Qian；　for　example；　used　to　be　chief　of　railroad　construction；　and　was　promoted　for　that　reason；　but　mainly　they　are　picked　for　political　reasons。〃
　〃And　Fang？〃
　〃My　minister　is　an　old　rade。　His　father　was　one　of　Mao's　faithful　lieutenants；　and　Fang　has　always　been　politically　reliable；　but　in　recent　years　he　has　taken　note　of　the　new　industries　and　seen　how　well　they　function；　and　he　admires　some　of　the　people　who　operate　them。　He　even　has　some　into　his　office　from　time　to　time　for　tea　and　talk。〃
　So；　the　old　pervert　is　a　progressive　here？　Nomuri　wondered。　Well；　the　bar　for　that　was　pretty　low　in　China。　You　didn't　have　to　jump　real　high；　but　that　put　him　in　advance　of　the　ones　who　dug　a　trench　under　it；　didn't　it？
　〃Ah；　so　the　people　have　no　voice　at　all；　do　they？〃
　Ming　laughed　at　that。　〃Only　at　party　meetings；　and　there　you　guard　your　voice。〃
　〃Are　you　a　member？〃
　〃Oh；　yes。　I　go　to　meetings　once　a　month。　I　sit　in　the　back。　I　nod　when　others　nod；　and　applaud　when　they　applaud；　and　I　pretend　to　listen。　Others　probably　listen　better。　It　is　not　a　small　thing　to　be　a　party　member；　but　my　membership　is　because　of　my　job　at　the　ministry。　I　am　here　because　they　needed　my　language　and　puter　skills…and　besides；　the　ministers　like　to　have　young　women　under　them；〃　she　added。
　〃You're　never　on　top　of　him；　eh？〃
　〃He　prefers　the　ordinary　position；　but　it　is　hard　on　his　arms。〃　Ming　giggled。
　
　Ryan　was　glad　to　see　that　he　was　brushing　enough。　The　dentist　told　him　to　floss；　as　he　always　did；　and　Ryan　nodded；　as　he　always　did；　and　he'd　never　bought　floss　in　his　life　and　wasn't　going　to　start　now。　But　at　least　he'd　undergone　nothing　more　invasive　than　a　couple　of　X　rays；　for　which；　of　course；　he'd　gotten　the　leather　apron。　On　the　whole；　it　had　been　ninety　minutes　torn　off　the　front　of　his　day。　Back　in　the　Oval　Office；　he　had　the　latest　SORGE；　which　was　good　enough　for　a　whispered　〃damn。〃　He　lifted　the　phone　for　Mary　Pat　at　Langley。
　〃They're　dense；〃　Ryan　observed。
　〃Well；　they　sure　as　hell　don't　know　high　finance。　Even　I　know　better　than　this。〃
　〃TRADER　has　to　see　this。　Put　him　on　the　SORGE　list；〃　POTUS　ordered。
　〃With　your　day…to…day　approval　only；〃　the　DDO　hedged。　〃Maybe　he　has　a　need…to…know　on　economics；　but　nothing　else；　okay？〃
　〃Okay；　for　now；〃　Jack　agreed。　But　George　was　ing　along　nicely　on　strategic　matters；　and　might　turn　into　a　good　policy　adviser。　He　understood　high…stress　psychology　better　than　most；　and　that　was　the　name　of　the　game。　Jack　broke　the　connection　and　had　Ellen　Sumter　call　the　SecTreas　over　from　across　the　street。
　
　So；　what　else　do　they　worry　about？〃　Chester　asked。　〃They're　concerned　that　some　of　the　workers　and　peasants　are　not　as　happy　as　they　should　be。　You　know　about　the　riots　they　had　in　the　coal　region。〃
　〃Oh？〃
　〃Yes；　the　miners　rioted　last　year。　The　PLA　went　in　to　settle　things　down。　Several　hundred　people　were　shot；　and　three　thousand　arrested。〃　She　shrugged　while　putting　her　bra　back　on。　〃There　is　unrest；　but　that　is　nothing　especially　new。　The　army　keeps　control　of　things　in　the　outlying　regions。　That's　why　they　spend　so　much　money；　to　keep　the　army　reliable。　The　generals　run　the　PLA's　economic　empire…all　the　factories　and　things…and　they're　good　at　keeping　a　lid　on　things。　The　ordinary　soldiers　are　just　workers　and　peasants；　but　the　officers　are　all　party　members；　and　they　are　reliable；　or　so　the　Politburo　thinks。　It's　probably　true；〃　Ming　concluded。　She　hadn't　seen　her　minister　worry　all　that　much　about　it。　Power　in　the　People's　Republic　decidedly　grew　from　the　barrel　of　a　gun；　and　the　Politburo　owned　all　the　guns。　That　made　things　simple；　didn't　it？
　For　his　part；　Nomuri　had　just　learned　things　he'd　never　thought　about　before。　He　might　want　to　make　his　own　report　on　this　stuff。　Ming　probably　knew　a　lot　of　things　that　didn't　go　out　as　SONGBIRD　material；　and　he'd　be　remiss　not　to　send　that　to　Langley；　too。
　
　It's　like　a　five…year…old　in　a　gun　store；〃　Secretary　Winston　observed。　〃These　people　have　no　business　making　economic　decisions　for　a　city　government；　much　less　a　major　country。　I　mean；　hell；　as　stupid　as　the　Japanese　were　a　few　years　ago；　at　least　they　know　to　listen　to　the　coaches。〃
　〃And？〃
　〃And　when　they　run　into　the　brick　wall；　their　eyes'll　still　be　closed。　That　can　smart　some；　Jack。　They're　going　to　get　bit　on　the　ass；　and　they　don't　see　it　ing。〃　Winston　could　mix　metaphors　with　the　best　of　'em；　Ryan　saw。
　〃When？〃　SWORDSMAN　asked。
　〃Depends　on　how　many　panies　do　what　Butterfly　did。　We'll　know　more　in　a　few　days。　The　fashion　business　will　be　the　lead　indicator；　of　all　things。〃
　〃Really？〃
　〃Surprised　me；　too；　but　this　is　the　time　for　them　to　mit　to　the　next　season；　and　there's　a　ton　of　money　in　that　business　going　on　over　there；　man。　Toss　in　all　the　toys　for　next　Christmas。　There's　seventeen　billion…plus　just　in　that；　Mark　Gant　tells　me。〃
　〃Damn。〃
　〃Yeah；　I　didn't　know　Santa's　reindeer　had　slanted　eyes　either；　Jack。　At　least　not　to　that　extent。〃
　〃What　about　Taiwan？〃　Ryan　wondered。
　〃You're　not　kidding。　They're　jumping　into　the　growing　gap　with　both　feet。　Figure　they　pick　up　a　quarter；　maybe　a　third；　of　what　the　PRC　is　going　to　lose。　Singapore's　going　to　be　next。　And　the　Thais。　This　little　bump　in　the　road　will　go　a　long　way　to　restore　the　damage　done　to　their　economy　a　few　years　back。　In　fact；　the　PRC's　troubles　might　rebuild　the　whole　South　Asian　economy。　It　could　be　a　swing　of　fifty　billion　dollars　out　of　China；　and　it　has　to　go　somewhere。　We're　starting　to　take　bids；　Jack。　It　won't　be　a　bad　deal　for　our　consumers；　and　I'll　bet　those　countries　learn　from　Beijing's　example；　and　kick　their　doors　open　a　notch　or　so。　So；　our　workers　will　profit　from　it；　too…somewhat；　anyway。〃
　〃Downside？〃
　〃Boeing's　squealing　some。　They　wanted　that　triple…seven　order；　but　you　wait　an'　see。　Somebody's　going　to　take　up　that　slack；　too。　One　other　thing。〃
　〃Yeah？〃　Ryan　asked。
　〃It's　not　just　American　panies　hailing　out　on　them。　Two　big　Italian　places；　and　Siemens　in　Germany；　they've　announced　termination　of　some　business　with　their　Chinese　partners；〃　TRADER　said。
　〃Will　it　turn　into　a　general　movement　。　。　。　？〃
　〃Too　soon　to　say；　but　if　I　were　these　guys〃…Winston　shook　the　fax　from　CIA…〃I'd　be　thinking　about　fence…mending　real　soon。〃
　〃They　won't　do　it；　George。〃
　〃Then　they're　going　to　learn　a　nasty　lesson。〃
　
　
　
　
　CHAPTER　39
　The　Other　Question
　
　〃No　action　with　our　friend？〃　Reilly　asked。
　〃Well；　he　continues　his　sexual　adventures；〃　Provalov　answered。
　〃Talk　to　any　of　the　girls　yet？〃
　〃Earlier　today；　two　of　them。　He　pays　them　well；　in　euros　or　d…marks；　and　doesn't　request　any；　uh；　'exotic'　services　from