tc.thebearandthedragon-第158部分

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　〃Here　are　the　faces。〃　Yefremov　handed　over　the　photos　from　the　Leningrad　Militia。　〃They　are　not　pleasant　to　look　upon。〃
　Maximov　didn't　blanch；　but　he　didn't　look　at　the　photos　with　affection　either。　〃What　happened　to　them？〃
　〃They　did　a　job　for　your　rade；　Suvorov；　but　he　was　evidently　displeased　with　how　they　went　about　it；　and　so；　they　went　swimming　in　the　River　Neva。　Maximov；　we　know　that　you　were　Spetsnaz。　We　know　that　you　earn　your　living　today　doing　illegal　things；　but　that　is　not　a　matter　of　concern　to　us　at　the　moment。　We　want　to　know　exactly　what　was　said　at　the　coffee　shop。　You　will　tell　us　this；　the　easy　way　or　the　hard　way。　The　choice　is　yours。〃　When　he　wanted　to；　Yefrernov　could　e　on　very　hard　to　his　official　guests。　In　this　case；　it　wasn't　difficult。　Maximov　was　not　a　stranger　to　violence；　at　least　on　the　giving　side。　The　receiving　side　was　something　he　had　no　wish　to　learn　about。
　〃What　do　you　offer　me？〃
　〃I　offer　you　your　freedom　in　return　for　your　cooperation。　You　left　the　meeting　before　any　conclusions　were　reached。　That　is　why　you　are　here。　So；　do　you　wish　to　speak　now；　or　shall　we　wait　a　few　hours　for　you　to　change　your　mind？〃
　Maximov　was　not　a　coward…Spetsnaz　didn't　have　many　of　those；　in　Yefremov's　experience…but　he　was　a　realist；　and　realism　told　him　that　he　had　nothing　to　gain　by　noncooperation。
　〃He　asked　me　and　the　others　to　participate　in　a　murder。　I　presume　it　will　be　a　difficult　operation；　otherwise　why　would　he　need　so　many　men？　He　offers　for　this　twenty　thousand　euros　each。　I　decided　that　my　time　is　more　valuable　than　that。〃
　〃Do　you　know　the　name　of　the　target？〃
　Maximov　shook　his　head。　〃No。　He　did　not　say。　I　did　not　ask。〃
　〃That　is　good。　You　see；　the　target　is　President　Grushavoy。〃　That　got　a　reaction；　as　Maximov's　eyes　flared。
　〃That　is　state　treason；〃　the　former　Spetsnaz　sergeant　breathed；　hoping　to　convey　the　idea　that　he'd　never　do　such　a　thing。　He　learned　fast。
　〃Yes。　Tell　me；　is　twenty　thousand　euros　a　good　price　for　a　murder？〃
　〃I　would　not　know。　If　you　want　me　to　tell　you　that　I　have　killed　for　money；　no；　rade　Yefremov；　I　will　not　say　that。〃
　But　you　have；　and　you'd　probably　participate　in　this　one　if　the　price　went　high　enough。　In　Russia；　E20；000　was　a　considerable　sum。　But　Yefremov　had　much　bigger　fish　to　fry。　〃The　others　at　the　meeting；　what　do　you　know　of　them？〃
　〃All　are　Spetsnaz　veterans。　Ilya　Suslov　and　I　served　together　east　of　Qandahar。　He's　a　sniper；　a　very　good　one。　The　others；　I　know　them　casually；　but　I　never　served　with　them。〃　Sniper。　Well；　those　were　useful；　and　President　Grushavoy　appeared　in　public　a　lot。　He　was　scheduled　to　have　an　outdoor　rally　the　very　next　day；　in　fact。　It　was　time　to　wrap　this　up。
　〃So；　Suvorov　spoke　of　a　murder　for　hire？〃
　〃Yes；　he　did。〃
　〃Good。　We　will　take　your　statement。　You　were　wise　to　cooperate；　Igor　Il'ych。〃　Yefremov　had　a　junior　officer　lead　him　away。　Then　he　lifted　his　phone。　〃Arrest　them　all；〃　he　told　the　field　mander。
　〃The　meeting　broke　up。　We　have　all　of　them　under　surveillance。　Suvorov　is　en　route　back　to　his　flat　with　one　of　the　three。〃
　〃Well；　assemble　the　team　and　arrest　them　both。〃
　
　〃Feeling　better？〃　Colonel　Aliyev　asked。　〃What　time　is　it？〃
　〃Fifteen…forty；　rade　General；〃　Colonel　Aliyev　replied。　〃You　slept　for　thirteen　hours。　Here　are　some　dispatches　from　Moscow。〃
　〃You　let　me　sleep　that　long？〃　the　general　demanded；　instantly　angry。
　〃The　war　has　not　begun。　Our　preparations；　such　as　they　are；　are　progressing；　and　there　seemed　no　sense　in　waking　you。　Oh；　we　have　our　first　set　of　reconnaissance　photos。　Not　much　better　than　the　American　ones　we　had　faxed　to　us。　Intelligence　has　firmed　up　its　estimate。　It's　not　getting　any　better。　We　have　support　now　from　an　American　ELINT　aircraft；　but　they　tell　us　that　the　Chinese　aren't　using　their　radios；　which　is　not　a　surprise。〃
　〃God　damn　it；　Audrey！〃　the　general　responded；　rubbing　his　unshaven　face　with　both　hands。
　〃So；　court…martial　me　after　you've　had　your　coffee。　I　got　some　sleep；　too。　You　have　a　staff。　I　have　a　staff；　and　I　decided　to　let　them　do　their　jobs　while　we　slept；〃　the　operations　officer　said　defiantly。
　〃What　of　the　Never　Depot？〃
　〃We　have　a　total　of　one　hundred　eighty　tanks　operating　with　full　crews。　Shorter　on　the　infantry　ponent　and　artillery；　but　the　reservists　seem　to　be　functioning　with　some　degree　of　enthusiasm；　and　the　265th
　Motor　Rifle　is　starting　to　act　like　a　real　division　for　the　first　time。〃　Aliyev　walked　over　a　mug　of　coffee　with　milk　and　sugar；　the　way　Bondarenko　preferred　it。　〃Drink；　Gennady　Iosifovich。〃　Then　he　pointed　to　a　table　piled　with　buttered　bread　and　bacon。
　〃If　we　live；　I　will　see　you　promoted；　Colonel。〃
　〃I've　always　wanted　to　be　a　general　officer。　But　I　want　to　see　my　children　enter　university；　too。　So；　let's　try　to　stay　alive。〃
　〃What　of　the　border　troops？〃
　〃I　have　transport　assigned　to　each　post…where　possible；　two　sets　of　transport。　I've　sent　some　of　the　reservists　in　BTRs　to　make　sure　they　have　a　little　protection　against　the　artillery　fire　when　they　pull　out。　We　have　a　lot　of　guns　in　the　photos　from　the　M…5；　rade　General。　And　fucking　mountains　of　shells。　But　the　border　troops　have　ample　protection；　and　the　orders　have　gone　out　so　that　they　will　not　need　permission　to　leave　their　posts　when　the　situation　bees　untenable…at　the　pany…officer　level；　that　is；〃　Aliyev　added。　missioned　officers　were　less　likely　to　bug　out　than　enlisted　men。
　〃No　word　on　when？〃
　The　G…3　shook　his　head。　〃Nothing　helpful　from　Intelligence。　The　Chinese　are　still　moving　trucks　and　such　around；　from　what　we　can　tell。　I'd　say　another　day；　maybe　as　many　as　three。〃
　
　〃So？〃　Ryan　asked。　〃So；　the　overheads　show　they're　still　moving　the　chess　pieces　on　the　board；〃　Foley　answered。　〃But　most　of　them　are　in　place。〃
　〃What　about　Moscow？〃
　〃They're　going　to　arrest　their　suspects　soon。　Probably　going　to　pick　up　the　control　officer　in　Moscow；　too。　They'll　sweat　him　some；　but　he　does　have　diplomatic　immunity；　and　you　can't　squeeze　him　much。〃　Ed　Foley　remembered　when　KGB　had　arrested　his　wife　in　Moscow。　It　hadn't　been　pleasant　for　her…and　less　so　for　him…but　they　hadn't　roughed　her　up；　either。　Messing　with　people　who　traveled　on　diplomatic　passports　didn't　happen　often；　despite　what　they'd　seen　on　TV　a　few　weeks　before。　And　the　Chinese　probably　regretted　that　one　a　lot；　pronouncements　on　the　SORGE　feeds　to　the　contrary　notwithstanding。
　〃Nothing　from　inside　to　encourage　us？〃
　〃Nope。〃　The　DCI　shook　his　head。
　〃We　ought　to　start　moving　the　Air　Force；〃　Vice　President　Jackson　urged。
　〃But　then　it　could　be　seen　as　a　provocation；〃　Secretary　Adler　pointed　out。　〃We　can't　give　them　any　excuse。〃
　〃We　can　move　First　Armored　into　Russia；　say　it's　a　joint　training　exercise　with　our　new　NATO　allies；〃　TOMCAT　said。　〃That　could　buy　us　a　few　days。〃
　Ryan　weighed　that　and　looked　over　at　the　Chairman　of　the　Joint　Chiefs。　〃Well；　General？〃
　〃It　can't　hurt　all　that　much。　They're　already　working　with　Deutsche　Rail　to　get　the　move　organized。〃
　〃Then　do　it；〃　the　President　ordered。
　〃Yes；　sir。〃　General　Moore　moved　to　make　the　call。
　Ryan　checked　his　watch。　〃I　have　a　reporter　to　talk　to。〃

　〃Have　fun；〃　Robby　told　his　friend。
　
　Zhigansk；　on　the　west　side　of　the　Lena　River；　had　once　been　a　major　regional　air　defense　center　for　the　old　Soviet　PVO　Strany；　the　Russian　air…defense　mand。　It　had　a　larger…than…average　airfield　with　barracks　and　hangars；　and　had　been　largely　abandoned　by　the　new　Russian　military；　with　just　a　caretaker　staff　to　maintain　the　facility　in　case　it　might　be　needed　someday。　This　turned　out　to　be　a　piece　of　lucky　foresight；　because　the　United　States　Air　Force　started　moving　in　that　day；　mainly　transport　aircraft　from　the　central　part　of　America　that　had　staged　through　Alaska　and　flown　over　the　North　Pole　to　get　there。　The　first　of　thirty　C…5　Galaxy　transports　landed　at　ten　in　the　morning　local　time；　taxiing　to　the　capacious　but　vacant　ramps　to　offload　their　cargo　under　the　direction　of　ground　crewmen　who'd　ridden　in　the　large　passenger　area　aft　of　the　wing　box　in　the　huge　transports。　The　first　things　wheeled　off　were　the　Dark　Star　UAVs。　They　looked　like　loaves　of　French　bread　copulating　atop　slender　wings；　and　were　long…endurance；　stealthy　reconnaissance　drones　that　took　six　hours　to　assemble　for　flight。　The　crews　got　immediately　to　work；　using　mobile　equipment　shipped　on　the　same　aircraft。
　Fighter　and　attack　aircraft　came　into　Suntar；　far　closer　to　the　Chinese　border；　with　tankers　and　other　support　aircraft…including　the　American　E…3　Sentry　AWACS　birds…just　west　of　there　at　Mirnyy。　At　these　two　air　bases；　the　arriving　Americans　found　their　Russian　counterparts；　and　immediately　the　various　staffs　started　working　together。　American　tankers　could　not　refuel　Russian　aircraft；　but　to　everyone's　relief　the　nozzles　for　ground　fueling　were　identical；　and　so　the　American　aircraft　could　make　use　of　the　take　fuel　from　the　Russian　JP　storage　tanks；　which；　they　found；　were　huge；　and　mainly　underground　to　be　protected　against　nuclear　airbursts。　The　most　important　element　of　cooperation　was　the　assignment　of　Russian　controllers　to　the　American　AWACS；　so　that　Russian　fighters　could　be　controlled　from　the　American　radar　aircraft。　Almost　at　once；　some　E…3s　lifted　off　to　test　this　capability；　using　arriving　American　fighters　as　practice　targets　for　controlled　intercepts。　They　found　immediately　that　the　Russian　fighter　pilots　reacted　well　to　the　directions；　to　the　pleased　surprise　of　the　American　controllers。
　They　also　found　almost　immediately　that　the　American　attack　aircraft　couldn't　use　Russian　bombs　and　other　ordnance。　Even　if　the　shackle　points　had　been　the　same　（they　weren't）；　the　Russian　bombs　had　different　aerodynamics　from　their　American　counterparts；　and　so　the　puter　software　on　the　American　aircraft　could　not　hit　targets　with　them…it　would　have　been　like　trying　to　jam　the　wrong　cartridge　into　a　rifle：　even　if　you　could　fire　the　round；　the　sights　would　send　it　to　the　wrong　point　of　impact。　So；　the　Americans　would　have　to　fly　in　the　bombs　to　be　dropped；　and　shipping　bombs　by　air　was　about　as　efficient　as　flying　in　gravel　to　build　roads。　Bombs　came　to　fighter　bases　by　ship；　train；　truck；　and　forklift；　not　by　ai