tc.redrabbit-第23部分

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　　　〃How　well　does　he　know　the　Vatican？〃
　　　That　made　Rozhdestvenskiy　blink。　〃There　is　not　much　to　be　learned　there。　We　do　have　some　contacts；　yes；　but　it　has　never　been　a　matter　of　great　emphasis。　The　Catholic　Church　is　a　difficult　target　to　infiltrate；　for　the　obvious　reasons。〃
　　　〃What　about　through　the　Orthodox　Church？〃　Andropov　asked。
　　　〃There　are　some　contacts　there；　yes；　and　we　have　had　some　feedback；　but　rarely　anything　of　value。　More　along　the　line　of　gossip　and；　even　then；　nothing　we　cannot　get　through　other　channels。〃
　　　〃How　good　is　security　around　the　Pope？〃
　　　〃Physical　security？〃　Rozhdestvenskiy　asked；　wondering　where　this　was　going。
　　　〃Precisely；〃　the　Chairman　confirmed。
　　　Rozhdestvenskiy　felt　his　blood　temperature　drop　a　few　degrees。　〃rade　Chairman；　the　Pope　does　have　some　protection　about　him；　mainly　of　the　passive　sort。　His　bodyguards　are　Swiss；　in　plainclothes…that　ic…opera　group　that　parades　around　in　striped　jumpsuits　is　mostly　for　show。　They　occasionally　have　to　grab　a　believer　overe　by　his　proximity　to　the　head　priest；　that　sort　of　thing。　I　am　not　even　sure　if　they　carry　weapons；　though　I　must　assume　that　they　do。〃
　　　〃Very　well。　I　want　to　know　how　difficult　it　might　be　to　get　physically　close　to　the　Pope。　Do　you　have　any　ideas？〃
　　　Ah；　Rozhdestvenskiy　thought。　〃Personal　knowledge？　No；　rade。　I　visited　Vatican　City　several　times　when　I　was　in　Rome。　The　art　collection　there；　as　you　may　imagine；　is　impressive；　and　my　wife　is　interested　in　such　things。　I　took　her　there　perhaps　half　a　dozen　times。　The　area　crawls　with　priests　and　nuns。　I　confess　I　never　looked　about　for　security　provisions；　but　nothing　was　readily　apparent；　aside　from　what　you'd　expect…measures　against　thefts　and　vandalism；　that　sort　of　thing。　There　are　the　usual　museum　guards；　whose　main　function　seems　to　be　to　tell　people　where　the　lavatories　are。
　　　〃The　Pope　lives　in　the　Papal　Apartments；　which　adjoin　the　church　of　St。　Peter's。　I　have　never　been　there。　It　is　not　the　sort　of　place　in　which　I　had　any　professional　interest。　I　know　our　ambassador　is　there　occasionally　for　diplomatic　functions；　but　I　was　not　invited…my　posting　was　that　of　Assistant　mercial　Attache；　you　see；　rade　Chairman；　and　I　was　too　junior；〃　Rozhdestvenskiy　went　on。　〃You　say　you　wish　to　know　about　getting　close　to　the　Pope。　I　presume　by　that　you　mean。。。？〃
　　　〃Five　meters；　closer　if　possible；　but　certainly　five　meters。〃
　　　Pistol　range；　Rozhdestvenskiy　grasped　at　once。　〃I　don't　know　enough　myself。　That　would　be　a　job　for　Colonel　Goderenko　and　his　people。　The　Pope　gives　audiences　for　the　faithful。　How　you　get　into　those；　I　do　not　know。　He　also　appears　in　public　for　various　purposes。　I　do　not　know　how　such　things　are　scheduled。〃
　　　〃Let's　find　out；〃　Andropov　suggested　lightly。　〃Report　directly　to　me。　Do　not　discuss　this　with　anyone　else。〃
　　　〃Yes；　rade　Chairman；〃　the　colonel　said；　ing　to　attention　with　the　receipt　of　the　order。　〃The　priority？〃
　　　〃Immediate；〃　Andropov　replied；　in　the　most　casual　of　voices。
　　　〃I　shall　see　to　it　myself；　rade　Chairman；〃　Colonel　Rozhdestvenskiy　promised。　His　face　revealed　nothing　of　his　feelings。　Indeed；　he　had　few　of　those。　KGB　officers　were　not　trained　to　have　much　in　the　way　of　scruples；　at　least　outside　politics；　in　which　they　were　supposed　to　have　a　great　deal　of　faith。　Orders　from　above　carried　the　force　of　Divine　Will。　Aleksey　Nikolay'ch's　only　concerns　at　the　moment　were　centered　on　the　potential　political　fallout　to　be　had　from　dropping　this　particular　nuclear　device。　Rome　was　more　than　a　thousand　kilometers　from　Moscow；　but　that　would　probably　not　be　far　enough。　However；　political　questions　were　not　his　to　ask；　and　he　scrubbed　the　matter　from　his　mind…for　the　moment；　anyway。　While　he　did　so；　the　inter　box　on　the　Chairman's　desk　buzzed。　Andropov　flipped　the　top…right　switch。
　　　〃Yes？〃
　　　〃Your　first　appointment　is　here；　rade　Chairman。〃　His　secretary　announced。
　　　〃How　long　will　this　take；　Aleksey；　do　you　suppose？〃
　　　〃Several　days；　probably。　You　want　an　immediate　assessment；　I　assume；　followed　by　what　sort　of　specific　data？〃
　　　〃Correct。　For　the　moment；　just　a　general　assessment；〃　Yuriy　Vladimirovich　said；　〃We're　not　planning　any　sort　of　operation　just　yet。〃
　　　〃By　your　order；　rade　Chairman。　I'll　go　down　to　the　munications　center　directly。〃
　　　〃Excellent。　Thank　you；　Aleksey。〃
　　　〃I　serve　the　Soviet　Union〃　was　the　automatic　reply。　Colonel　Rozhdestvenskiy　came　to　attention　again；　then　left…faced　for　the　door。　He　had　to　duck　his　head　going　out　into　the　secretary's　room；　as　most　men　did；　and　from　there　he　turned　right　and　out　into　the　corridor。
　　　So；　how　does　one　get　close　to　the　Pope；　this　Polish　priest？　Rozhdestvenskiy　wondered。　It　was；　at　least；　an　interesting　theoretical　question。　KGB　abounded　with　theoreticians　and　academics　who　examined　everything；　from　how　to　assassinate　chiefs　of　foreign　governments…useful　in　the　event　that　a　major　war　was　about　to　be　undertaken…to　the　best　way　to　steal　and　interpret　medical　records　from　hospitals。　The　broad　scope　of　KGB　field　operations　knew　few　limitations。
　　　One　could　not　have　guessed　much　from　the　colonel's　face　as　he　walked　to　the　elevator　bank。　He　pushed　the　button　and　waited　for　forty　seconds　until　the　doors　opened。
　　　〃Basement；〃　he　told　the　operator。　The　elevators　all　had　operators。　Elevators　were　too　good　a　potential　dead…drop　location　to　leave　unattended。　Even　then；　the　operators　were　trained　to　look　for　brush…passes。　Nobody　was　trusted　in　this　building。　There　were　too　many　secrets　to　be　had。　If　there　were　one　single　place　in　the　Soviet　Union　in　which　an　enemy　would　want　to　place　a　penetration　agent；　this　building　was　it；　and　so　everyone　looked　at　everyone　else　in　some　sort　of　black　game；　always　watching；　measuring　every　conversation　for　an　inner　meaning。　Men　made　friends　here　as　they　did　in　every　walk　of　life。　They　chatted　about　their　wives　and　children；　about　sports　and　weather；　about　whether　to　buy　a　car　or　not；　about　getting　a　dacha　in　the　country　for　the　lucky　ones　with　seniority。　But　rarely　did　men　chat　about　work；　except　with　their　immediate　workmates；　and　then　only　in　conference　rooms　where　such　things　were　supposed　to　be　discussed。　It　never　occurred　to　Rozhdestvenskiy　that　these　institutional　restrictions　reduced　productivity　and　might　actually　hinder　the　efficiency　of　his　agency。　That　circumscription　was　just　part　of　the　institutional　religion　of　the　mittee　for　State　Security。
　　　He　had　to　pass　a　security　checkpoint　to　enter　the　munications　room。　The　watch　NCO　checked　his　photo　pass　and　waved　him　through　without　much　in　the　way　of　acknowledgment。
　　　Rozhdestvenskiy　had　been　here　before；　of　course；　often　enough　that　he　was　known　by　face　and　name　to　the　senior　operators；　and　he　knew　them。　The　desks　were　arranged　with　a　lot　of　space　between　them；　and　the　background　noise　of　the　teleprinters　prevented　ordinary　conversation　from　being　overheard　at　a　distance　of　more　than　three　or　four　meters；　even　by　the　most　sensitive　ears。　This；　and　nearly　everything　else　about　the　arrangement　of　the　room；　had　evolved　over　the　years　until　the　security　provisions　were　as　close　to　perfect　as　anyone　could　imagine；　though　that　didn't　keep　the　efficiency　experts　on　the　third　floor　from　wandering　about　with　their　scowls；　always　looking　for　something　wrong。　He　walked　to　the　desk　of　the　senior　munications　watch　。officer。
　　　〃Oleg　Ivanovich；〃　he　said　in　greeting。
　　　Zaitzev　looked　up　to　see　his　fifth　visitor　of　the　young　day；　the　fifth　visitor　and　the　fifth　interruption。　It　was　often　a　curse　being　the　senior　watch　officer　here；　especially　on　the　morning　shift。　The　overnight　watch　was　boring；　but　at　least　you　could　work　in　a　straight　line。
　　　〃Yes；　Colonel；　what　can　I　do　for　you　this　morning？〃　he　asked　pleasantly；　junior　officer　to　senior。
　　　〃A　special　message　to　Station　Rome；　personal　to　the　rezident。　I　think　a　one…time　pad　for　this　one。　I'd　prefer　that　you　handle　it　yourself。〃　Instead　of　having　a　cipher　clerk　do　the　encryption；　he　didn't　say。　This　was　somewhat　unusual；　and　it　pricked　Zaitzev's　interest。　He　would　have　to　see　it　anyway。　Eliminating　the　cipher　clerk　just　halved　the　number　of　people　that　would　see　this　particular　message。
　　　〃Very　well。〃　Captain　Zaitzev　took　up　a　pad　and　pencil。　〃Go　on。〃
　　　〃Most　Secret。　IMMEDIATE　AND　URGENT。　
　　　FROM　Moscow　CENTRE；　OFFICE　OF　CHAIRMAN。
　　　To　COLONEL　RUSLAN　BORISSOVICH　GODERENKO；　REZIDENT；　ROME。
MESSAGE　FOLLOWS：　ASCERTAIN　AND　REPORT　MEANS　OF　GETTING　PHYSICALLY　CLOSE　TO　THE　POPE。　ENDS。〃

　　　〃That's　all？〃　Zaitzev　asked；　surprised。　〃And　if　he　asks　what　that　means？　It's　not　very　clear　in　its　intent。〃
　　　〃Ruslan　Borissovich　will　understand　what　it　means；〃　Rozhdestvenskiy　assured　him。　He　knew　that　Zaitzev　wasn't　asking　anything　he　shouldn't。　One…time　cipher　pads　were　a　nuisance　to　use；　and　so　messages　sent　that　way　were　supposed　to　be　explicit　in　all　details；　lest　the　back…and…forth　clarification　messages　promise　the　munications　links。　As　it　was；　this　message　would　be　telexed；　and　so　was　certain　to　be　intercepted；　and　equally　certain　to　be　recognized　by　its　formatting　as　a　one…time…pad　encipherment；　hence　a　message　of　some　importance。　American　and　British　code…breakers　would　probably　attack　it；　and　everyone　was　wary　of　them　and　their