tc.thebearandthedragon-第69部分

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ouldn't；　he　thought。　His　last　thought　before　retiring　was　to　wonder　how　the　new　software　was　working　on　Chai's　puter；　and　if　Ming　had　actually　installed　it　or　not。　Then　he　decided　to　check。
　Rising　from　bed；　he　switched　his　laptop　on　and。。；　yes！　Chai's　system　lacked　Ming's　transcription　software；　but　it。　was　transmitting　what　it　had。　Okay；　fine；　they　had　linguists　at　Langley　to　fiddle　with　that。　He　didn't　have　the　desire　to　do　so；　and　just　uploaded　it　and　headed　back　to　bed。
　
　〃Damn！〃　Mary　Pat　observed。　Nearly　all　of　it　was　unreadable　but　this　was　a　second　SORGE　source。　That　was　evident　from　the　pathway　it　had　taken　through　the　'Net。　She　wondered　if　Nomuri　was　showing　off；　or　had　somehow　managed　to　get　in　the　pants　of　a　second　high…ranking　Chinese　government　secretary。　It　wouldn't　exactly　be　a　first　for　a　field　officer　to　have　that　active　a　sex　life；　but　it　wasn't　all　that　mon；　either。　She　printed　it　up；　saved　it　to　disk；　and　called　for　a　linguist　to　e　up　and　translate。　Then　she　downloaded　SONGBIRD'S　current　take。　It　was　being　as　regular　as　The　Washington　Post；　and　a　lot　more　interesting。　She　settled　back　in　her　chair　and　started　reading　the　translation　of　Ming's　latest　notes　from　Minister　Fang　Gan。　He'd　be　talking　about　the　trade　negotiations；　she　hoped；　then　to　see　that；　sure　enough；　he　was。。。　This　would　be　important；　the　DDO　thought。　She'd　soon　be　surprised　to　find　out　how　wrong　that　impression　was。
　
　
　
　
　CHAPTER　23
　Down　to　Business
　
　Bacon　and　eggs；　toast　and　hash…brown　potatoes；　plus　some　Colombian　…bean　coffee。　Gant　was　Jewish　but　not　observant；　and　he　loved　his　bacon。　Everyone　was　up　and　looking　pretty　good；　he　thought。　The　government…issued　black　capsule　（they　all　called　it　that；　evidently　some　sort　of　tradition　that　he　didn't　know　about）　had　worked　for　all　of　them；　and　the　cookie…pushers　were　all　bright…eyed　and　bushy…tailed。　Most　of　the　talk；　he　noted；　was　about　the　NBA。　The　Lakers　were　looking　tough　again。　Rutledge；　Gant　saw；　was　at　the　head　of　the　table　chatting　amiably　with　Ambassador　Hitch；　who　seemed　a　solid　citizen。　Then　a　more　ruffled　employee　of　the　embassy　came　in　with　a　manila　folder　whose　borders　were　lined　with　striped　red…and…white　tape。　This　he　handed　to　Ambassador　Hitch；　who　opened　it　at　once。
　Gant　realized　at　once　that　it　was　classified　material。　There　wasn't　much　of　that　to　be　seen　at　Treasury；　but　there　was　some；　and　he'd　been　screened　for　a　Top　Secret/Special　Access　clearance　as　part　of　his　employment　on　Secretary　Winston's　personal　staff。　So；　there　was　intel　ing　in　from　Washington　for　the　negotiations。　Exactly　what　it　was　about；　he　couldn't　see；　and　didn't　know　if　he　would　see　it。　He　wondered　if　he　could　flex　his　institutional　muscles　on　this　one；　but　Rutledge　would　be　the　one　who　decided　if　he　got　to　see　it　or　not；　and　he　didn't　want　to　give　the　State　Department　puke　the　excuse　to　show　who　was　the　he…bull　in　this　herd。　Patience　was　a　virtue　he'd　long　had；　and　this　was　just　one　more　chance　to　exercise　it。　He　returned　to　his　breakfast；　then　decided　to　stand　and　get　more　off　the　buffet。　Lunch　in　Beijing　probably　wouldn't　be　very　appealing；　even　at　their　Foreign　Ministry　Building；　where　they　would　feel　constrained　to　show　off　their　most　exotic　national　dishes；　and　Fried　Panda　Penis　with　candied　bamboo　roots　wasn't　exactly　to　his　taste。　At　least　the　tea　they　served　was　acceptable；　but　even　at　its　best；　tea　wasn't　coffee。
　〃Mark？〃　Rutledge　looked　up　from　his　seat　and　waved　the　Treasury　guy　over。　Gant　walked　over　with　his　refilled　plate　of　eggs　and　bacon。
　〃Yeah；　Cliff？〃
　Ambassador　Hitch　made　room　for　Gant　to　sit　down；　and　a　steward　arrived　with　fresh　silverware。　The　government　could　make　one　fortable　when　it　wanted。　He　asked　the　guy　for　more　hash　browns　and　toast。　Fresh　coffee　arrived　seemingly　of　its　own　volition。
　〃Mark；　this　just　came　in　from　Washington。　This　is　codeword　material…〃
　〃Yeah；　I　know。　I　can't　even　see　it　now；　and　I　am　not　allowed　to　have　any　memory　of　it。　So；　can　I　see　it　now？〃
　Rutledge　nodded　and　slipped　the　papers　across。　〃What　do　you　make　of　these　foreign…exchange　figures？〃
　Gant　took　a　bite　of　bacon　and　stopped　chewing　almost　at　once。　〃Damn；　they're　that　low？　What　have　they　been　pissing　their　money　away　on？〃
　〃What　does　this　mean？〃
　〃Cliff；　once　upon　a　time；　Dr。　Samuel　Johnson　put　it　this　way：　'Whatever　you　have；　spend　less。'　Well；　the　Chinese　didn't　listen　to　that　advice。〃　Gant　flipped　the　pages。　〃It　doesn't　say　what　they've　been　spending　it　on。〃
　〃Mainly　military　stuff；　so　I　am　told；〃　Ambassador　Hitch　replied。　〃Or　things　that　can　be　applied　to　military　applications；　especially　electronics。　Both　finished　goods　and　the　machinery　with　which　to　make　electronic　stuff。　I　gather　it's　expensive　to　invest　in　such　things。〃
　〃It　can　be；〃　Gant　agreed。　He　turned　the　pages　back　to　start　from　the　beginning。　He　saw　it　was　transmitted　with　the　TAPDANCE　encryption　system。　That　made　it　hot。　TAPDANCE　was　only　used　for　the　most　sensitive　material　because　of　some　technical　inconveniences　in　its　use　。　。　。　so　this　was　some　really　hot　intelligence；　TELESCOPE　thought。　Then　he　saw　why。　Somebody　must　have　bugged　the　offices　of　some　very　senior　Chinese　officials　to　get　this　stuff。。。　〃Jesus。〃
　〃What　does　this　mean；　Mark？〃
　〃It　means　they've　been　spending　money　faster　than　it's　ing　in；　and　investing　it　in　nonmercial　areas　for　the　most　part。　Hell；　it　means　they're　acting　like　some　of　the　idiots　we　have　in　our　government。　They　think　money　is　just　something　that　appears　when　you　snap　your　fingers；　and　then　you　can　spend　it　as　fast　as　you　want　and　just　snap　your　fingers　to　get　some　more。　。　。　These　people　don't　live　in　the　real　world；　Cliff。　They　have　no　idea　how　and　why　the　money　appears。〃　He　paused。　He'd　gone　too　far。　A　Wall　Street　person　would　understand　his　language；　but　this　Rutledge　guy　probably　didn't。　〃Let　me　rephrase。　They　know　that　the　money　es　from　their　trade　imbalance　with　the　United　States；　and　it　appears　that　they　believe　the　imbalance　to　be　a　natural　phenomenon；　something　they　can　essentially　dictate　because　of　who　they　are。　They　think　the　rest　of　the　world　owes　it　to　them。　In　other　words；　if　they　believe　that；　negotiating　with　them　is　going　to　be　hard。〃
　〃Why？〃　Rutledge　asked。　Ambassador　Hitch；　he　saw；　was　already　nodding。　He　must　have　understood　these　Chinese　barbarians　better。
　〃People　who　think　this　way　do　not　understand　that　negotiations　mean　give　and　take。　Whoever's　talking　here　thinks　that　he　just　gets　whatever　the　hell　he　wants　because　everybody　owes　it　to　him。　It's　like　what　Hitler　must　have　thought　at　Munich。　I　want；　you　give；　and　then　I　am　happy。　We're　not　going　to　cave　for　these　bastards；　are　we？〃
　〃Those　are　not　my　instructions；〃　Rutledge　replied。
　〃Well；　guess　what？　Those　are　the　instructions　your　Chinese　counterpart　has。　Moreover；　their　economic　position　is　evidently　a　lot　more　precarious　than　what　we've　been　given　to　expect。　Tell　CIA　they　need　better　people　in　their　financial…intelligence　department；〃　Gant　observed。　Then　Hitch　shifted　his　glance　across　the　table　to　the　guy　who　must　have　run　the　local　CIA　office。
　〃Do　they　appreciate　how　serious　their　position　is？〃　Rutledge　asked。
　〃Yes　and　no。　Yes；　they　know　they　need　the　hard　currency　to　do　the　business　they　want　to　do。　No；　they　think　they　can　continue　this　way　indefinitely；　that　an　imbalance　is　natural　in　their　case　because…because　why？　Because　they　think　they're　the　fucking　master　race？〃　Gant　asked。
　Again　it　was　Ambassador　Hitch　who　nodded。　〃It's　called　the　Middle　Kingdom　plex。　Yes；　Mr。　Gant；　they　really　do　think　of　themselves　in　those　terms；　and　they　expect　people　to　e　to　them　and　give；　not　for　themselves　to　go　to　other　people　as　supplicants。　Someday　that　will　be　their　downfall。　There's　an　institutional。。；　maybe　a　racial　arrogance　here　that's　hard　to　describe　and　harder　to　quantify。〃　Then　Hitch　looked　over　to　Rutledge。　〃Cliff；　you're　going　to　have　an　interesting　day。〃
　Gant　realized　at　once　that　this　was　not　a　blessing　for　the　Assistant　Secretary　of　State　for　Policy。
　
　〃They　should　be　eating　breakfast　right　about　now；〃
　Secretary　Adler　said　over　his　Hennessey　in　the　East　Room。
　The　reception　had　gone　well…actually　Jack　and　Cathy　Ryan　found　these　things　about　as　boring　as　reruns　of　Gilligan's　Island；　but　they　were　as　much　a　part　of　the　Presidency　as　the　State　of　the　Union　speech。　At　least　the　dinner　had　been　good…one　thing　you　could　depend　on　at　the　White　House　was　the　quality　of　the　food…but　the　people　had　been　Washington　people。　Even　that；　Ryan　did　not　appreciate；　had　been　greatly　improved　from　previous　years。　Once　Congress　had　largely　been　populated　with　people　whose　life's　ambition　was　〃public　service；〃　a　phrase　whose　noble　intent　had　been　usurped　by　those　who　viewed　130；000　per　year　as　a　princely　salary　（it　was　far　less　than　a　college　dropout　could　earn　doing　software　for　a　puter…game　pany；　and　a　hell　of　a　lot　less　than　one　could　make　working　on　Wall　Street）；　and　whose　real　ambition　was　to　apply　their　will　to　the　laws　of　their　nation。　Many　of　them　now；　mainly　because　of　speeches　the　President　had　made　all　over　the　country；　were　people　who　actually　had　served　the　public　by　doing　useful　work　until；　fed　up　with　the　machinations　of　government；　they　had　decided　to　take　a　few　years　off　to　repair　the　train　wreck　Washington　had　bee；　before　escaping　back　to　the　real　world　of　productive　work。　The　First　Lady　had　spent　much　of　the　evening　talking　with　the　junior　senator　from　Indiana；　who　in　real　life　was　a　pediatric　SURGEON　of　good　reputation　and　whose　current　efforts　were　centered　on　straightening　out　government　health…care　programs　before　they　killed　too　many　of　the　citizens　they　supposedly　wanted　to　assist。　His　greatest　task　was　to　persuade　the　media　that　a　physician　might　know　as　much　about　making　sick　people　well　as　Washington　lobbyists　did；　something　he'd　been　bending　SURGEON'S　ear　about　most　of　the　night。
　〃That　stuff　we　got　from　Mary　Pat　ought　to　help　Rutledge。〃
　〃I'm　glad　that　Gant　guy　is　there　to　translate　it　for　him。　Cliff　is　going　to　have　a　lively　day　while　we　sleep　off　the　food　and　the　booze；　Jack。〃
　〃Is　he　good　enough　for　the　job？　I　know　he　was　tight　with　Ed　Kealty。　That　does　not　speak　well　for　the　guy's　character。〃
　〃Cliff's　a　fine　technician；〃　Ad