tc.thebearandthedragon-第58部分

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　〃That　big？〃
　〃Admiral；　they've　been　on　an　increased　training　regimen　for　almost　three　years　now。　Nothing　frantic　or　anything；　but　they've　been　spending　money　to　get　the　PLA　up　to　speed。　This　one's　heavy　with　tanks　and　APCs。　Lots　of　artillery　live…fire　exercises。　That's　a　good　training　area　for　them；　not　much　in　the　way　of　civilians；　kinda　like　Nevada　but　not　as　flat。　At　first　when　they　started　this　we　kept　a　close　eye　on　it；　but　it's　fairly　routine　now。〃
　〃Oh；　yeah？　What　do　the　Russians　think　about　it？〃
　Lahr　stretched　in　his　chair。　〃Sir；　that's　probably　why　Bondarenko　drew　this　assignment。　This　is　backward　from　how　the　Russians　trained　to　fight。　The　Chinese　have　them　heavily　outnumbered　in　theater；　but　nobody　sees　hostilities　happening。　The　politics　are　pretty　smooth　at　the　moment。〃
　〃Uh…huh；〃　CINCPAC　grunted　behind　his　desk。　〃And　Taiwan？〃
　〃Some　increased　training　near　the　strait；　but　those　are　mainly　infantry　formations；　and　nothing　even　vaguely　like　amphibious　exercises。　We　keep　a　close　eye　on　that；　with　help　from　our　ROC　friends。〃
　Mancuso　nodded。　He　had　a　filing　cabinet　full　of　plans　to　send　7th　Fleet　west；　and　there　was　almost　always　one　of　his　surface　ships　making　a　〃courtesy　call〃　to　that　island。　For　his　sailors；　the　Republic　of　China　was　one　hell　of　a　good　liberty　port；　with　lots　of　women　whose　services　were　subject　to　mercial　negotiations。　And　having　a　gray　U。S。　Navy　warship　tied　alongside　pretty　well　put　that　city　off…limits　for　a　missile　attack。　Even　scratching　an　American　warship　was　classified　delicately　as　a　casus　belli；　a　reason　for　war。　And　nobody　thought　the　Chims　were　ready　for　that　sort　of　thing　yet。　To　keep　things　that　way；　Mancuso　had　his　carriers　doing　constant　workups；　exercising　their　interceptor　and　strike…fighter　forces　in　the　manner　of　the　1980s。　He　always　had　at　least　one　fast…attack　or　boomer　slow…attack　submarine　in　the　Formosa　Strait；　too；　something　that　was　advertised　only　by　casual　references　allowed　to　leak　to　the　media　from　time　to　time。　Only　very　rarely　would　a　submarine　make　a　local　port　call；　however。　They　were　more　effective　when　not　seen。　But　in　another　filing　cabinet　he　had　lots　of　periscope　photos　of　Chinese　warships；　and　some　〃hull　shots；〃　photos　made　from　directly　underneath；　which　was　mainly　good　for　testing　the　nerve　of　his　submarine　drivers。
　He　also　occasionally　had　his　people　track　Chim　submarines；　much　as　he'd　done　in　Dallas　against　the　former　Soviet　navy。　But　this　was　much　easier。　The　Chinese　nuclear…power　plants　were　so　noisy　that　fish　avoided　them　to　prevent　damage　to　their　ears；　or　so　his　sonarmen　joked。　As　much　as　the　PRC　had　rattled　its　saber　at　Taiwan；　an　actual　attack；　if　opposed　by　his　7th　Fleet；　would　rapidly　turn　into　a　bloody　shambles；　and　he　hoped　Beijing　knew　that。　If　they　didn't；　finding　out　would　be　a　messy　and　expensive　exercise。　But　the　Chims　didn't　have　much　in　the　way　of　amphibious　capability　yet；　and　showed　no　signs　of　building　it。
　〃So；　looks　like　a　routine　day　in　theater？〃　Mancuso　asked；　as　the　briefing　wound　down。
　〃Pretty　much；〃　General　Lahr　confirmed。
　〃What　sort　of　assets　do　we　have　tasked　to　keep　an　eye　on　our　Chinese　friends？〃
　〃Mainly　overheads；〃　the　J…2　replied。　〃We've　never　had　much　in　the　way　of　human　intelligence　in　the　PRC…at　least　not　that　I　ever　heard　about。〃
　〃Why　is　that？〃
　〃Well；　in　simplest　terms　it　would　be　kind　of　hard　for　you　or　me　to　disappear　into　their　society；　and　most　of　our　Asian　citizens　work　for　puter…software　panies；　last　time　I　checked。〃
　〃Not　many　of　them　in　the　Navy。　How　about　the　Army？〃
　〃Not　many；　sir。　They're　pretty　underrepresented。〃
　〃I　wonder　why。〃
　〃Sir；　I'm　an　intelligence　officer；　not　a　demographer；〃　Lahr　pointed　out。
　〃I　guess　that　job　is　hard　enough；　Mike。　Okay；　if　anything　interesting　happens；　let　me　know。〃
　〃You　bet；　sir。〃　Lahr　headed　out　the　door；　to　be　replaced　by　Mancuso's　J…3　operations　officer；　who　would　tell　him　what　all　his　theater　assets　were　up　to　this　fine　day；　plus　which　ships　and　airplanes　were　broken　and　needed　fixing。
　She　hadn't　gotten　any　less　attractive；　though　getting　her　here　had　proven　difficult。　Tanya　Bogdanova　hadn't　avoided　anything；　but　she'd　been　unreachable　for　several　days。
　〃You've　been　busy？〃　Provalov　asked。
　〃Da；　a　special　client；〃　she　said　with　a　nod。　〃We　spent　time　together　in　St。　Petersburg。　I　didn't　bring　my　beeper。　He　dislikes　interruptions；〃　she　explained；　without　showing　much　in　the　way　of　remorse。
　Provalov　could　have　asked　the　cost　of　several　days　in　this　woman's　pany；　and　she　would　probably　have　told　him；　but　he　decided　that　he　didn't　need　to　know　all　that　badly。　She　remained　a　vision；　lacking　only　the　white　feathery　wings　to　be　an　angel。　Except　for　the　eyes　and　the　heart；　of　course。　The　former　cold；　and　the　latter　nonexistent。
　〃I　have　a　question；〃　the　police　lieutenant　told　her。
　〃Yes？〃
　'A　name。　Do　you　know　it？　Klementi　Ivan'ch　Suvorov。〃
　Her　eyes　showed　some　amusement。　〃Oh；　yes。　I　know　him　well。〃　She　didn't　have　to　elaborate　on　what　〃well〃　meant。
　〃What　can　you　tell　me　about　him？〃
　〃What　do　you　wish　to　know？〃
　〃His　address；　for　starters。〃
　〃He　lives　outside　Moscow。〃
　〃Under　what　name？〃
　〃He　does　not　know　that　I　know；　but　I　saw　his　papers　once。　Ivan　Yurievich　Koniev。〃
　〃How　do　you　know　this？〃　Provalov　asked。
　〃He　was　asleep；　of　course；　and　I　went　through　his　clothes；〃　she　replied；　as　matter…of…factly　as　if　she'd　told　the　militia　lieutenant　where　she　shopped　for　bread。
　So；　he　fucked　you；　and　you；　in　turn；　fucked　him；　Provalov　didn't　say。　〃Do　you　remember　his　address？〃
　She　shook　her　head。　〃No；　but　it's　one　of　the　new　munities　off　the　outer　ring　road。〃
　〃When　did　you　last　see　him？〃
　〃It　was　a　week　before　Gregoriy　Filipovich　died；〃　she　answered　at　once。
　It　was　then　that　Provalov　had　a　flash：　〃Tanya；　the　night　before　Gregoriy　died；　whom　did　you　see？〃
　〃He　was　a　former　soldier　or　something；　let　me　think。　Pyotr　Alekseyevich。。。　something。。
　〃Amalrik？〃　Provalov　asked；　almost　ing　off　his　seat。
　〃Yes；　something　like　that。　He　had　a　tattoo　on　his　arm；　the　Spetsnaz　tattoo　a　lot　of　them　got　in　Afghanistan。　He　thought　very　highly　of　himself；　but　he　wasn't　a　very　good　lover；〃　Tanya　added　dismissively。
　And　he　never　will　be；　Provalov　could　have　said　then；　but　didn't。　〃Who　set　up　that；　ah；　appointment？〃
　〃Oh；　that　was　Klementi　Ivan'ch。　He　had　an　arrangement　with　Gregoriy。　They　knew　each　other；　evidently　for　a　long　time。　Gregoriy　often　made　special　appointments　for　Kiementi's　friends。〃
　Suvorov　had　one　or　both　of　his　killers　fuck　the　whores　belonging　to　the　man　they　would　kill　the　next　day。　。　。　Whoever　Suvorov　was；　he　had　an　active　sense　of　humor。。；　or　the　real　target　actually　had　been　Sergey　Nikolay'ch。　Provalov　had　just　turned　up　an　important　piece　of　information；　but　it　didn't　seem　to　illuminate　his　criminal　case　at　all。　Another　fact　which　only　made　his　job　harder；　not　easier。　He　was　back　to　the　same　two　possibilities：　This　Suvorov　had　contracted　the　two　Spetsnaz　soldiers　to　kill　Rasputin；　and　then　had　them　killed　as　〃insurance〃　to　avoid　repercussions。　Or　he'd　contracted　them　to　eliminate　Golovko；　and　then　killed　them　for　making　a　serious　error。　Which？　He'd　have　to　find　this　Suvorov　to　find　out。　But　now　he　had　a　name　and　a　probable　location。　And　that　was　something　he　could　work　on。
　
　
　
　
　CHAPTER　19
　Manhunting
　
　Things　had　quieted　down　at　RAINBOW　headquarters　in　Hereford；　England；　to　the　point　that　both　John　Clark　and　Ding　Chavez　were　starting　to　show　the　symptoms　of　restlessness。　The　training　regimen　was　as　demanding　as　ever；　but　nobody　had　ever　drowned　in　sweat；　and　the　targets；　paper　and　electronic　were…well；　if　not　as　satisfying　as　a　real　human　miscreant　wasn't　the　best　way　to　put　it；　then　maybe　not　as　exciting　was　the　right　phrase。　But　the　RAINBOW　team　members　didn't　say　that；　even　among　themselves；　for　fear　of　appearing　bloodthirsty　and　unprofessional。　To　them　the　studied　mental　posture　was　that　it　was　all　the　same。　Practice　was　bloodless　battle；　and　battle　was　bloody　drill。　And　certainly　by　taking　their　training　so　seriously；　they　were　still　holding　a　very　fine　edge。　Fine　enough　to　shave　the　fuzz　off　a　baby's　face。
　The　team　had　never　gone　public；　at　least　not　per　se。　But　the　word　had　leaked　out　somehow。　Not　in　Washington；　and　not　in　London；　but　somewhere　on　the　continent；　the　word　had　gotten　out　that　NATO　now　had　a　very　special　and　very　capable　counterterrorist　team　that　had　raped　and　pillaged　its　way　through　several　high…profile　missions；　and　only　once　taken　any　lumps；　at　the　hands　of　Irish　terrorists　who　had；　however；　paid　a　bitter　price　for　their　misjudgment。　The　European　papers　called　them　the　〃Men　of　Black〃　for　their　assault　uniforms；　and　in　their　relative　ignorance　the　European　newsies　had　somehow　made　RAINBOW　even　more　fierce　than　reality　justified。　Enough　so　that　the　team　had　deployed　to　the　Netherlands　for　a　mission　seven　months　before；　a　few　weeks　after　the　first　news　coverage　had　broken；　and　when　the　bad　guys　at　the　grammar　school　had　found　there　were　new　folks　in　the　neighborhood；　they'd　stumbled　through　a　negotiating　session　with　Dr。　Paul　Bellow　and　cut　a　deal　before　hostilities　had　to　be　initiated；　which　was　pleasing　for　everyone。　The　idea　of　a　shoot…out　in　a　school　full　of　kids　hadn't　even　appealed　to　the　Men　of　Black。
　Over　the　last　several　months；　some　members　had　been　hurt　or　rotated　back　to　their　parent　services；　and　new　members　had　replaced　them。　One　of　these　was　Ettore　Falcone；　a　former　member　of　the　Carabinieri　sent　to　Hereford　as　much　for　his　own　protection　as　to　assist　the　NATO　team。　Falcone　had　been　walking　the　streets　of　Palermo　in　Sicily　with　his　wife　and　infant　son　one　pleasant　spring　evening　when　a　shoot…out　had　erupted　right　before　his　eyes。　Three　criminals　were　hosing　a　pedestrian；　his　wife；　and　their　police　bodyguard　with　submachine　guns；　and　in　an　instant　Falcone　had　pulled　out　his　Beretta　and　dropped　all　three　with　head　shots　from　ten　meters　away。　His　action　had　been　too　late　to　save　the　victims；　but　not　too　late　to　incur　the　wrath　of　a　capo　mafioso；　two　of　whose　sons　had　been　involved　in　the　hit。　Falcone　had　publicly　spat　upon　the　threat；　but　cooler　heads　had　prevailed　in　Rome…the　Italian　government　did　not　want　a　blood　feud　to　erupt　bet