tc.thebearandthedragon-第24部分

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　〃How　do　you　say；　wheels　within　wheels？〃
　Reilly　nodded。　〃That's　how　we　say　it。　Well；　at　least　it　gives　you　some　more　leads　to　run　down。　Maybe　your　two　shooters　talked　to　somebody。　Hell；　maybe　they　even　kept　a　diary。〃　It　was　like　tossing　a　rock　into　a　pond；　Reilly　thought。　The　ripples　just　kept　expanding　in　a　case　like　this。　Unlike　a　nice　domestic　murder；　where　a　guy　whacked　his　wife　for　fucking　around；　or　serving　dinner　late；　and　then　confessed　while　crying　his　eyes　out　at　what　he'd　done。　But　by　the　same　token；　it　was　an　awfully　loud　crime；　and　those；　more　often　than　not；　were　the　ones　you　broke　because　people　mented　on　the　noise；　and　some　of　those　people　knew　things　that　you　could　use。　It　was　just　a　matter　of　getting　people　out　on　the　street；　rattling　doorknobs　and　wearing　out　shoes；　until　you　got　what　you　needed。　These　Russian　cops　weren't　dumb。　They　lacked　some　of　the　training　that　Reilly　took　for　granted；　but　for　all　that；　they　had　the　proper　cop　instincts；　and　the　fact　of　the　matter　was　that　if　you　followed　the　proper　procedures；　you'd　break　your　cases；　because　the　other　side　wasn't　all　that　smart。　The　smart　ones　didn't　break　the　law　in　so　egregious　a　way。　No；　the　perfect　crime　was　the　one　you　never　discovered；　the　murder　victim　you　never　found；　the　stolen　funds　missed　by　bad　accounting　procedures；　the　espionage　never　discovered。　Once　you　knew　a　crime　had　been　mitted；　you　had　a　starting　place；　and　it　was　like　unraveling　a　sweater。　There　wasn't　all　that　much　holding　the　wool　together　if　you　just　kept　picking　at　it。
　〃Tell　me；　Mishka；　how　worthy　were　your　Mafia　adversaries　in　New　York？〃　Provalov　asked　after　sipping　his　second　drink。
　Reilly　did　the　same。　〃It's　not　like　the　movies；　Oleg。　Except　maybe　Goodfellas。　They're　cheap　hoods。　They're　not　educated。　Some　of　them　are　pretty　damned　dumb。　Their　cachet　was　that　once　upon　a　time　they　didn't　talk；　omertà　they　used　to　call　it；　the　Law　of　Silence。　I　mean；　they'd　take　the　fall　and　never　cooperate。　But　that　changed　over　time。　The　people　from　the　Old　Country　died　out　and　the　new　generation　was　softer　…　and　we　got　tougher。　It's　a　lot　easier　to　laugh　your　way　through　three　years　than　it　is　to　handle　ten；　and　on　top　of　that　the　organization　broke　down。　They　stopped　taking　care　of　the　families　while　the　dad　was　in　the　slammer；　and　that　was　real　bad　for　morale。　So；　they　started　talking　to　us。　And　we　got　smarter；　too；　with　electronic　surveillance　…　now　it's　called　'special　operations'；　back　then　it　was　a　'black　bag　job'　…　and　we　weren't　always　very　careful　about　getting　a　warrant。　I　mean；　back　in　the　'60s；　a　Mafia　don　couldn't　take　a　leak　without　us　knowing　what　color　it　was。〃
　〃And　they　never　fought　back？〃
　〃You　mean　fuck　with　us？　Mess　with　an　FBI　agent？〃　Reilly　grinned　at　the　very　thought。　〃Oleg；　nobody　ever　messes　with　the　FBI。　Back　then；　and　still　somewhat　to　this　day；　we　are　the　Right　Hand　of　God　Himself；　and　if　you　mess　with　us；　some　really　bad　things　are　going　to　happen。　The　truth　of　the　matter　is　that　nothing　like　that　has　ever　happened；　but　the　bad　guys　worry　that　it　might。　The　rules　get　bent　some；　but；　no；　we　never　really　break　them　…　at　least　not　that　I　know　about。　But　if　you　threaten　a　hood　with　serious　consequences　for　stepping　over　the　line；　chances　are　he'll　take　you　seriously。〃
　〃Not　here。　They　do　not　respect　us　that　much　yet。〃
　〃Well；　then　you　have　to　generate　that　respect；　Oleg。〃　And　it　really　was　about　that　simple　in　concept；　though　bringing　it　about；　Reilly　knew；　would　not　be　all　that　easy。　Would　it　take　having　the　local　cops　go　off　the　reservation　once　in　a　while；　to　show　the　hoods　the　price　of　lèse…majesté？　That　was　part　of　American　history；　Reilly　thought。　Town　sheriffs　like　Wyatt　Earp；　Bat　Masterson；　and　Wild　Bill　Hickock；　Lone　Wolf　Gonzales　of　the　Texas　Rangers；　Bill　Tilghman　and　Billy　Threepersons　of　the　U。S。　Marshal　Service；　the　cops　of　their　time　who　didn't　so　much　enforce　the　law　as　embody　it　in　the　way　they　walked　down　the　street。　There　was　no　corresponding　Russian　lawman　of　legend。　Maybe　they　needed　one。　It　was　part　of　the　heritage　of　every　American　cop；　and　from　watching　movies　and　TV　westerns；　American　citizens　grew　up　with　the　expectation　that　breaking　the　law　would　bring　such　a　man　into　your　life；　and　not　to　your　personal　profit。　The　FBI　had　grown　up　in　an　era　of　increased　crime　during　the　Great　Depression；　and　had　exploited　the　existing　Western　tradition　with　modern　technology　and　procedures　to　create　its　own　institutional　mystique。　To　do　that　had　meant　convicting　a　lot　of　criminals；　and　killing　a　few　on　the　street　as　well。　In　America　there　was　the　expectation　that　cops　were　heroic　figures　who　didn't　merely　enforce　the　law；　but　who　protected　the　innocent　as　well。　There　was　no　such　tradition　here。　Growing　it　would　solve　many　of　the　problems　in　the　former　Soviet　Union；　where　the　lingering　tradition　was　of　oppression　rather　than　protection。　No　John　Wayne；　no　Melvin　Purvis　in　Russian　movies；　and　this　nation　was　the　poorer　for　it。　As　much　as　Reilly　liked　working　here；　and　as　much　as　he'd　e　to　like　and　respect　his　Russian　counterparts；　it　was　much　like　being　dumped　into　a　trash　heap　with　instructions　to　make　it　as　orderly　as　Bergdorf…Goodman's　in　New　York。　All　the　proper　things　were　there；　but　organizing　them　made　Hercules'　task　in　the　Augean　stables　seem　trivial　in　parison。　Oleg　had　the　right　motivation；　and　the　right　set　of　skills；　but　it　was　some　job　he　had　ahead　of　him。　Reilly　didn't　envy　him　the　task；　but　he　had　to　help　as　best　he　could。
　〃I　do　not　envy　you　very　much；　Mishka；　but　your　organization's　status　in　your　country　is　something　I　would　like　to　have。〃
　〃It　didn't　just　happen；　Oleg。　It's　the　product　of　many　years　and　a　lot　of　good　men。　Maybe　I　should　show　you　a　Clint　Eastwood　movie。〃
　〃Dirty　Harry？　I　have　seen　it。〃　Entertaining；　the　Russian　thought；　but　not　overly　realistic。
　〃No；　Hang　Em　High；　about　the　Marshal　Service；　back　in　the　Old　West；　when　men　were　men　and　women　were　grateful。　Actually　it's　not　true　in　the　usual　sense。　There　wasn't　much　crime　in　the　Old　West。〃
　That　made　the　Russian　look　up　from　his　drink　in　surprise。　〃Then　why　do　all　the　movies　say　otherwise？〃
　〃Oleg；　movies　have　to　be　exciting；　and　there　isn't　much　exciting　about　raising　wheat　or　punching　cattle。　The　American　West　was　mainly　settled　by　veterans　of　our　Civil　War。　That　was　a　hard　and　cruel　conflict；　but　no　man　who'd　survived　the　Battle　of　Shiloh　was　likely　to　be　intimidated　by　some　bozo　on　a　horse；　gun　or　not。　A　professor　at　Oklahoma　State　University　did　a　book　on　this　subject　twenty　or　so　years　ago。　He　checked　court　records　and　such；　and　found　out　that　except　for　saloon　shootings　…　guns　and　whiskey　make　a　crummy　mix；　right？　…　there　wasn't　a　hell　of　a　lot　of　crime　in　the　West。　The　citizens　could　look　after　themselves；　and　the　laws　they　had　were　pretty　tough　…　not　a　hell　of　a　lot　of　repeat　offenders　…　but　what　it　really　came　down　to　was　that　the　citizens　all　had　guns　and　all　pretty　much　knew　how　to　use　them；　and　that　is　a　big　deterrent　for　the　bad　guys。　A　cop's　less　likely　to　shoot　you　than　an　aroused　citizen；　when　you　get　down　to　it。　He　doesn't　want　to　do　all　the　paperwork　if　he　can　avoid　it；　right？〃　A　sip　and　a　chuckle　from　the　American。
　〃In　that　we　are　the　same；　Mishka；〃　Provalov　agreed。
　〃And；　by　the　way；　all　this　quick…draw　stuff　in　the　movies。　If　it　ever　happened　for　real；　I've　never　heard　of　such　a　case。　No；　that's　all　Hollywood　bullshit。　You　can't　draw　and　fire　accurately　that　way。　If　you　could；　they　would　have　trained　us　to　do　it　that　way　at　Quantico。　But　except　for　people　who　practice　for　special　performances　and　tournaments　and　stuff；　and　that's　always　at　the　same　angle　and　the　same　distance；　it　just　can't　be　done。〃
　〃You're　sure　of　that？〃　Legends　die　hard；　especially　for　an　otherwise　pretty　smart　cop　who　had；　however；　seen　his　share　of　Westerns。
　〃I　was　a　Principal　Instructor　in　my　Field　Division；　and　damned　if　I　can　do　it。〃
　〃You　are　good　shot；　eh？〃
　Reilly　nodded　with　uncharacteristic　modesty　on　this　particular　issue。　〃Fair；〃　he　allowed。　〃Pretty　fair。〃　There　were　less　than　three　hundred　names　on　the　FBI　Academy's　〃Possible　Board；〃　identifying　those　who'd　fired　a　perfect　qualifying　course　on　graduating。　Mike　Reilly　was　one　of　them。　He'd　also　been　assistant　head　of　the　SWAT　team　in　his　first　field　division　in　Kansas　City　before　moving　over　to　the　chess　players　in　the　OC　…　Organized　Crime　…　department。　It　made　him　feel　a　little　naked　to　walk　around　without　his　trusty　S&W　1076　automatic；　but　that　was　life　in　the　FBI's　diplomatic　service；　the　agent　told　himself。　What　the　hell；　the　vodka　was　good　here；　and　he　was　developing　a　taste　for　it。　For　that　his　diplomatic　license　plates　helped。　The　local　cops　were　pretty　serious　about　giving　tickets　out。　It　was　a　pity　they　still　had　so　much　to　learn　about　major　criminal　investigations。
　〃So；　our　pimp　friend　was　probably　the　primary　target；　Oleg？〃
　〃Yes；　I　think　that　is　likely；　but　not　entirely　certain　yet。〃　He　shrugged。　〃But　we'll　keep　the　Golovko　angle　open。　After　all；〃　Provalov　added；　after　a　long　sip　of　his　glass；　〃it　will　get　us　lots　of　powerful　cooperation　from　other　agencies。〃
　Reilly　had　to　laugh　at　that。　〃Oleg　Gregoriyevich；　you　know　how　to　handle　the　bureaucratic　part　of　the　job。　I　couldn't　do　that　better　myself！〃　Then　he　waved　to　the　bartender。　He'd　spring　for　the　next　round。
　
　
　The　Internet　had　to　be　the　best　espionage　invention　ever　made；　Mary　Patricia　Foley　thought。　She　also　blessed　the　day　that　she'd　personally　remended　Chester　Nomuri　to　the　Directorate　of　Operations。　That　little　Nisei　had　some　beautiful　moves　for　an　officer　still　on　the　short　side　of　thirty。　He'd　done　superb　work　in　Japan；　and　had　volunteered　in　a　heartbeat　for　Operation　GENGHIS　in　Beijing。　His　cover　job　at　Nippon　Electric　pany　could　hardly　have　been　better　suited　to　the　mission　requirements；　and　it　seemed　that　he'd　waltzed　into　his　niche　like　Fred　Astaire　on　a　particularly　good　day。　The　easiest　part　of　all；　it　seemed；　was　getting　the　data　out。
　Six　years　before；　CIA　had　gone　to　Silicon　Valley　…　undercover；　of　course　…　and　missioned　a　modern　manufacturer　to　set　up　a　brief　production　run　of　a　very　special　modem。　In　fact；　it　seemed　to　many　to　be　a　sloppy　one；　since　the　linkup　time　it　used　was　four　or　f