tc.thebearandthedragon-第47部分

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　〃Evaluation？〃
　〃It　feels　right；〃　the　analyst　said；　reading　over　the　page　again。　〃It　sounds　like　conversation。　I　mean；　it's　unguarded；　not　official　diplomatic…speak　or　even　inside…minister…speak。　So；　it　sounds　like　what　it　purports　to　be；　the　notes　of　a　private；　informal　policy　discussion　between　two　senior　colleagues。〃
　〃Any　way　to　cross…check　it？〃　MP　asked　next。
　An　immediate　shake　of　the　head。　〃No。　We　don't　know　much　about　either　one　of　these　guys。　Zhang；　well；　we　have　the　evaluation　from　Secretary　Adler…you　know；　from　the　shuttle　diplomacy　after　the　Airbus　shoot…down；　which　pretty　well　confirms　what　that　Yamata　guy　told　the　Japanese　police　and　our　FBI　guys　about　how　the　Chinese　nudged　them　into　the　conflict　with　us；　and　what　for。　The　PRC　looks　on　eastern　Siberia　with　covetous　eyes；〃　Sears　reminded　her；　showing　his　knowledge　of　the　PRC　policies　and　objectives。　〃For　Fang　Gan；　we　have　photos　of　him　sipping　mao…tai　at　receptions　in　his　Mao　jacket　and　smiling　benignly；　like　they　all　do。　We　know　he's　tight　with　Xu；　there　are　stories　that　he　likes　to　play　with　the　office　help…but　a　lot　of　them　do　that…and　that's　about　it。〃
　It　was　good　of　Sears　not　to　remind　her　that　playing　with　the　office　help　wasn't　a　character　defect　limited　to　China。
　〃So；　what　do　we　think　about　them？〃
　〃Fang　and　Zhang？　Well；　both　are　Ministers　Without　Portfolio。　So；　they're　utility　infielders；　maybe　even　assistant　coaches。　Premier　Xu　trusts　their　judgment。　They　get　to　sit　in　at　the　Politburo　as　full　voting　members。　They　get　to　hear　everything　and　cast　votes　on　everything。　They　influence　policy　not　so　much　by　making　it　as　shaping　it。　Every　minister　knows　them。　These　two　know　all　the　others。　They've　both　been　around　a　long　time。　Both　are　well　into　their　sixties　or　seventies；　but　people　over　there　don't　mellow　with　age　like　they　do　in　America。　Both　will　be　ideologically　sound；　meaning　they're　both　probably　solid　munists。　That　implies　a　certain　ruthlessness；　and　you　can　add　to　that　their　age。　At　seventy…five；　death　starts　being　a　very　real　thing。　You　don't　know　how　much　time　you　have　left；　and　these　guys　don't　believe　in　an　afterlife。　So；　whatever　goals　they　have；　they　have　to　address　pretty　quick　at　that　age；　don't　they？〃
　〃Marxism　doesn't　mix　well　with　humanity；　does　it？〃
　Sears　shook　his　head。　〃Not　hardly；　and　toss　in　a　culture　that　places　a　much　lower　value　on　human　life　than　ours　does。〃
　〃Okay。　Good　brief。　Here；〃　she　said；　handing　over　ten　printed　pages。　〃I　want　a　written　evaluation　after　lunch。　Whatever　you　might　be　working　on　now；　SORGE　is　more　important。〃
　That　meant　a　〃seventh…floor　tasking〃　to　Dr。　Sears。　He'd　be　working　directly　for　the　Directors。　Well；　he　had　a　private　office　already；　and　a　puter　that　wasn't　hooked　into　any　telephone　lines；　even　a　local　area　network；　as　many　of　the
　
　CIA's　'puters　were。　Sears　tucked　the　papers　into　a　coat　pocket　and　departed；　leaving　Mary　Pat　to　look　out　her　floor…to…ceiling　windows　and　contemplate　her　next　move。　Really　it　was　Ed's　call；　but　things　like　this　were　decided　collegially；　especially　when　the　DCI　was　your　husband。　This　time　she'd　wander　over　to　see　him。
　The　DCI's　office　is　long　and　relatively　narrow；　with　the　director's　office　near　the　door；　well　away　from　the　sitting　area。　Mary　Pat　took　the　easy　chair　across　from　the　desk。
　〃How　good　is　it？〃　Ed　asked；　knowing　the　reason　for　her　visit。
　〃Calling　this　SORGE　was　unusually　prescient　for　us。　It's　at　least　that　good。〃
　Since　Richard　SORGE　dispatches　from　Tokyo　to　Moscow　might　have　saved　the　Soviet　Union　in　1941；　that　got　Ed　Foley's　eyes　to　widen　some。　〃Who　looked　at　it？〃
　〃Sears。　He　seems　pretty　smart；　by　the　way。　I've　never　really　talked　to　him　before。〃
　〃Harry　likes　him；〃　Ed　noted；　referring　to　Harry　Hall；　the　current　Deputy　Director　（Intelligence）；　who　was　in　Europe　at　the　moment。　〃Okay；　so　he　says　it　looks　pretty　good；　eh？〃
　A　serious　nod。　〃Oh；　yeah；　Eddie。〃
　〃Take　it　to　see　Jack？〃　They　could　not　not　take　this　to　the　President；　could　they？
　〃Tomorrow；　maybe？〃
　〃Works　for　me。〃　Just　about　any　government　employee　can　find　space　in　his　or　her　day　for　a　drive　to　the　White　House。　〃Eddie；　how　far　can　this　one　spread？〃
　〃Good　question。　Jack；　of　course。　Maybe　the　Vice　President。　I　like　the　guy；〃　the　DCI　said；　〃but　usually　the　veep　doesn't　get　into　stuff　like　this。　SecState；　SecDef；　both　are　maybes。　Ben　Goodley；　again　a　maybe。　Mary；　you　know　the　problem　with　this。〃
　It　was　the　oldest　and　most　frequent　problem　with　really　valuable　high…level　intelligence　information。　If　you　spread　it　too　far；　you　ran　the　risk　of　promising　the　information…which　also　meant　getting　the　source　killed…and　that　killed　the　goose　laying　the　golden　eggs。　On　the　other　hand；　if　you　didn't　make　some　use　of　the　information；　then　you　might　as　well　not　have　the　eggs　anyway。　Drawing　the　line　was　the　most　delicate　operation　in　the　field　of　intelligence；　and　you　never　knew　where　the　right　place　was　to　draw　it。　You　also　had　to　worry　about　methods　of　spreading　it　around。　If　you　sent　it　encrypted　from　one　place　to　another；　what　if　the　bad　guys　had　cracked　your　encryption　system？　NSA　swore　that　its　systems；　especially　TAPDANCE；　could　not　be　broken；　but　the　Germans　had　thought　ENIGMA　crack…proof；　too。
　Almost　as　dangerous　was　giving　the　information；　even　by　hand；　to　a　senior　government　official。　The　bastards　talked　too　much。　They　lived　by　talking。　They　lived　by　leaking。　They　lived　by　showing　people　how　important　they　were；　and　importance　in　D。C。　meant　knowing　what　other　people　didn't　know。　Information　was　the　coin　of　the　realm　in　this　part　of　America。　The　good　news　here　was　that　President　Ryan　understood　about　that。　He'd　been　CIA；　as　high　as　Deputy　Director；　and　so　he　knew　about　the　value　of　security。　The　same　was　probably　true　of　Vice　President　Jackson；　former　naval　aviator。　He'd　probably　seen　lives　lost　because　of　bad　intelligence。　Scott　Adler　was　a　diplomat；　and　he　probably　knew　as　well。　Tony　Bretano；　the　well…regarded　SecDef；　worked　closely　with　CIA；　as　all　Secretaries　of　Defense　had　to　do；　and　he　could　probably　be　trusted　as　well。　Ben　Goodley　was　the　President's　National　Security　Advisor；　and　thus　couldn't　easily　be　excluded。　So；　what　did　that　total　up　to？　Two　in　Beijing。　At　Langley；　the　DCI；　DDCI；　DDI；　and　DDO；　plus　Sears　from　inside　the　DI。　That　made　seven。　Then　the　President；　Vice　President；　SecState；　SecDef；　and　Ben　Goodley。　That　made　twelve。　And　twelve　was　plenty　for　the　moment；　especially　in　a　town　where　the　saying　went；　If　two　people　know　it；　it's　not　a　secret。　But　the　entire　reason　for　having　CIA　was　this　sort　of　information。
　〃Pick　a　name　for　the　source；〃　Foley　instructed　his　wife。
　〃SONGBIRD　will　do　for　now。〃　It　was　a　sentimental　thing　for　MP；　naming　agents　for　birds。　It　dated　back　to　CARDINAL。
　〃Fair　enough。　Let　me　see　the　translations　you　get；　okay？〃
　
　
　〃You　bet；　honey…bunny。〃　Mary　Pat　leaned　over　her　husband's　desk　to　deliver　a　kiss；　before　heading　back　to　her　own　office。
　On　arriving　there；　MP　checked　her　puter　for　the　SORGE　file。　She'd　have　to　change　that；　MP　realized。　Even　the　name　of　this　special…access　partment　would　be　classified　top　secret　or　higher。　Then　she　did　a　page　count；　making　a　note　on　a　paper　pad　next　to　the　screen。
　ALL　1；349　PAGES　OF　RECIPES　RECEIVED；　she　wrote　as　a　reply　to　cgood@jadecastle。　WILL　LOOK　THE　RECIPES　OVER。　THANKS　A　BUNCH。　MARY。　She　hit　the　RETURN　key；　and　off　the　letter　went；　through　the　electronic　maze　called　the　Internet。　One　thousand；　three　hundred　and　forty…nine　pages；　the　DDO　thought。　It　would　keep　the　analysts　busy　for　quite　a　while。　Inside　the　Old　Headquarters　Building；　analysts　would　see　bits　and　pieces　of　SORGE　material；　covered　under　other　transitory　code　names　randomly　chosen　by　a　puter　in　the　basement；　but　only　Sears　would　know　the　whole　story…and；　in　fact；　he　didn't　even　know　that；　did　he？　What　he　knew　might…probably　would…be　enough　to　get　this　Ming　woman　killed；　once　the　MSS　realized　who'd　had　access　to　the　information。　They　could　do　some　things　in　Washington　to　protect　her；　but　not　much。
　
　Nomuri　rose　early　in　his　Beijing　apartment；　and　the　second　thing　he　did　was　to　log　on　to　check　his　e…mail。　There　it　was；　number　seven　in　the　list；　one　from　patsbakery@brownienet。　He　selected　the　decryption　system　and　typed　in　the　key。。；　so；　the　pages　had　all　been　received。　That　was　good。　Nomuri　dragged　the　message　he'd　dispatched　to　the　〃wipe…info〃　bin；　where　Norton　Utilities　not　only　deleted　the　file；　but　also　five　times　electronically　scrubbed　the　disk　segments　where　they'd　briefly　resided；　so　that　the　files　could　never　be　recovered　by　any　attempt；　no　matter　how　skilled。　Next　he　eliminated　the　record　of　having　sent　any　e…mail　to　brownienet。　Now　there　was　no　record　whatever　of　his　having　done　anything；　unless　his　telephone　line　was　tapped；　which　he　didn't　really　suspect。　And　even　then　the　data　was　scrambled；　fully　encrypted；　and　thus　not　recoverable。　No；　the　only　dangers　in　the　operation　now　attached　to　Ming。　His　part　of　it；　being　the　spymaster；　was　protected　by　the　method　in　which　her　desktop　puter　called　him；　and　from　now　on　those　messages　would　be　sent　out　to　brownienet　automatically；　and　erased　the　same　way；　in　a　matter　of　seconds。　It　would　take　a　very　clever　counterintelligence　operation　to　hurt　Nomuri　now。
　
　
　
　
　CHAPTER　15
　Exploitation
　
　
　〃What's　this　mean；　Ben？〃　Ryan　asked；　seeing　a　change　in　his　morning　schedule。
　〃Ed　and　Mary　Pat　want　to　talk　something　over　with　you。　They　didn't　say　what　it　was；〃　Goodley　replied。　〃The　Vice　President　can　be　here；　too；　and　me；　but　that's　it；　they　requested。〃
　〃Some　new　kind　of　toilet　paper　in　the　Kremlin；　I　suppose；〃　POTUS　said。　It　was　a　long…standing　CIA　joke　from　Ryan's　time　in　the　Bad　Old　Days　of　the　Cold　War。　He　stirred　his　coffee　and　leaned　back　in　his　fortable　chair。　〃Okay；　what　else　is　happening　in　the　world；　Ben？〃
　
　
　〃So；　this　is　mao…tai？〃　Cardinal　DiMilo　asked。　He　didn't　add　that　he'd　been　given　to　understand　that　Baptists　didn't　drink　alcoholic　beverages。　Odd；　considering　that　Jesus'　first　public　miracle　had　been　to　change　water　into　wine　at　the　marriage　feast　at　Cana。　But　Christianity　had　many　faces。　In　any　case；　the　mao…tai　was　vile；　worse　than　the　cheapest　grappa。　With　advancing　years；　the　Cardinal　preferred　g