tc.patriotgames-第19部分

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　　　　Jack　laughed　　and　grabbed。
　　　　〃I've　been　over　here　three　years；〃　Murray　said。　〃Every　so　often　I　have　to　hit　the　fast…food　joints　to　remind　myself　where　I　e　from。　You　can　get　tired　of　lamb。　The　local　beer's　pretty　good；　though。　I'd　have　brought　a　few　of　those　but　　well；　you　know。〃
　　　　〃You　just　made　a　friend　for　life；　Mr。　Murray；　even　without　the　beer。〃　
　　　　〃Dan。〃
　　　　〃Jack。〃　Ryan　was　tempted　to　wolf　down　the　burger　for　fear　of　having　a　nurse　e　through　the　door　and　throw　an　immediate　institutional　fit。　No；　he　decided；　I'll　enjoy　this　one。　He　selected　the　vanilla　shake。　〃The　local　guys　say　you　broke　records　identifying　me。〃
　　　　〃No　big　deal。〃　Murray　poked　a　straw　into　the　chocolate　one。　〃By　the　way；　I　bring　you　greetings　from　the　Ambassador　　he　wanted　to　e　over；　but　they　have　a　big…time　party　for　later　tonight。　And　my　friends　down　the　hall　send　their　regards；　too。〃　
　　　　〃Who　down　the　hall？〃
　　　　〃The　people　you　have　never　worked　for。〃　The　FBI　agent　raised　his　eyebrows。
　　　　〃Oh。〃　Jack　swallowed　a　few　fries。　〃Who　the　hell　broke　that　story？〃
　　　　〃Washington。　Some　reporter　was　having　lunch　with　somebody's　aide　　doesn't　really　matter　whose；　does　it？　They　all　talk　too　much。　Evidently　he　remembered　your　name　in　the　back　of　the　final　report　and　couldn't　keep　his　trap　shut。　Apologies　from　Langley；　they　told　me　to　tell　you。　I　saw　the　TV　stuff。　You　dodged　that　pretty　good。〃
　　　　〃I　told　the　truth　　barely。　All　my　checks　came　through　Mitre　Corporation。　Some　sort　of　bookkeeping　thing；　and　Mitre　had　the　consulting　contract。〃　
　　　　〃I　understand　all　your　time　was　at　Langley；　though。〃　
　　　　〃Yeah；　a　little　cubbyhole　on　the　third　floor　with　a　desk；　a　puter　terminal；　and　a　scratchpad。　Ever　been　there？〃　
　　　　Murray　smiled。　〃Once　or　twice。　I'm　in　the　terrorism　business；　too。　The　Bureau　has　a　much　nicer　decorator。　Helps　to　have　a　PR　department；　don't　you　know？〃　Murray　affected　a　caricatured　London　accent。　〃I　saw　a　copy　of　the　report。　Nice　work。　How　much　of　it　did　you　do？〃
　　　　〃Most。　It　wasn't　all　that　hard。　I　just　came　up　with　a　new　angle　to　look　at　it　from。〃
　　　　〃It's　been　passed　along　to　the　Brits　　I　mean；　it　came　over　here　two　months　ago　for　the　Secret　Intelligence　Service。　I　understand　they　liked　it。〃　
　　　　〃So　their　cops　know。〃
　　　　〃I'm　not　sure　　well；　you　can　probably　assume　they　do　now。　Owens　is　cleared　all　the　way　on　this　stuff。〃　
　　　　〃And　so's　Ashley。〃
　　　　〃He's　a　little　on　the　snotty　side；　but　he's　damned　smart。　He's　'Five。'　〃
　　　　〃What？〃　Ryan　didn't　know　that　one。
　　　　〃He's　in　MI…5；　the　Security　Service。　We　just　call　it　Five。　Has　a　nice　insider　feel　that　way。〃　Murray　chuckled。
　　　　〃I　figured　him　for　something　like　that。　The　other　two　started　as　street　cops。　It　shows。〃
　　　　〃It　struck　a　few　people　as　slightly　curious　　the　guy　who　wrote　Agents　and　Agencies　gets　stuck　in　the　middle　of　a　terrorist　op。　That's　why　Ashley　showed　up。〃　Murray　shook　his　head。　〃You　wouldn't　believe　all　the　coincidences　you　run　into　in　my　business。　Like　you　and　me。〃
　　　　〃I　know　you　e　from　New　England　　oh；　don't　tell　me。　Boston　College？〃
　　　　〃Hey；　I　always　wanted　to　be　an　FBI　agent。　It　was　either　BC　or　Holy　Cross；　right？〃　Murray　grinned。　That　in…house　FBI　joke　went　back　two　generations；　and　was　not　without　a　few　grains　of　truth。　Ryan　leaned　back　and　sucked　the　shake　up　the　straw。　It　tasted　wonderful。
　　　　〃How　much　do　we　know　about　these　ULA　guys？〃　Jack　asked。　〃I　never　saw　very　much　at　Langley。〃
　　　　〃Not　a　hell　of　a　lot。　The　boss…man's　a　chap　named　Kevin　O'Donnell。　He　used　to　be　in　the　PIRA。　He　started　throwing　rocks　in　the　streets　and　supposedly　worked　his　way　up　to　head　counterintelligence　man。　The　Provos　are　pretty　good　at　that。　Have　to　be。　The　Brits　are　always　working　to　infiltrate　the　Organization。　The　word　is　that　he　got　a　little　carried　away　cleansing　the　ranks；　and　barely　managed　to　skip　out　before　they　gave　him　Excedrin　Headache　number　three…five…seven。　Just　plain　disappeared　and　hasn't　been　spotted　since。　A　few　sketchy　reports；　like　maybe　he　spent　some　time　in　Libya；　like　maybe　he's　back　in　Ulster　with　a　new　face；　like　maybe　he　has　a　lot　of　money　　want　to　guess　where　from？　　to　throw　around。　All　we　know　for　sure　is　that　he's　one　malignant　son　of　a　bitch。
　　　　〃His　organization？〃　Murray　set　the　milkshake　down。　〃It's　gotta　be　small；　probably　less　than　thirty。　We　think　he　had　part　of　the　breakout　from　Long　Kesh　last　summer。　Eleven　hard…core　Provos　got　out。　The　RUC　bagged　one　of　'em　two　days　later　and　he　said　that　six　of　the　eleven　went　south；　probably　to　Kevin's　outfit。　He　was　a　little　pissed　by　that。　They　were　supposed　to　e　back　to　the　PIRA　fold；　but　somebody　convinced　them　to　try　something　different。　Some　very　bad　boys　　they　had　a　total　of　fifteen　murders　among　them。　The　one　you　killed　is　the　only　one　to　show　up　since。〃　
　　　　〃Are　they　that　good？〃　Ryan　asked。
　　　　〃Hey；　the　PIRA　are　the　best　terrorists　in　the　world；　unless　you　count　those　bastards　in　Lebanon；　and　those　are　mostly　family　groups。　Hell　of　a　way　to　describe　them；　isn't　it？　But　they　are　the　best。　Well　organized；　well　trained；　and　they　believe；　if　you　know　what　I　mean。　They　really　care　about　what　they're　doing。　The　level　of　mitment　these　characters　have　to　the　Cause　is　something　you　have　to　see　to　believe。〃　
　　　　〃You've　been　in　on　it？〃
　　　　〃Some。　I've　been　able　to　sit　in　on　interrogations　　the　other　side　of　the　two…way　mirror；　I　mean。　One　of　these　guys　wouldn't　talk　　wouldn't　even　give　'em　his　name！　　for　a　week。　Just　sat　there　like　a　sphinx。　Hey；　I've　chased　after　bank　robbers；　kidnappers；　mob　guys；　spies；　you　name　it。　These　fellows　are　real　pros　　and　that's　the　PIRA；　maybe　five　hundred　real　members；　not　even　as　big　as　a　New　York　Mafia　family；　and　the　RUC　　that's　the　Royal　Ulster　Constabulary；　the　local　cops　　is　lucky　to　convict　a　handful　in　a　year。　They　have　a　law　of　omerta　up　there　that　would　impress　the　old…time　Sicilians。　But　at　least　the　cops　have　a　handle　on　who　the　bastards　are。　The　ULA　　we　got　a　couple　of　names；　a　few　pictures；　and　that's　it。　It's　almost　like　the　Islamic　Jihad　bums。　You　only　know　them　from　what　they　do。〃　
　　　　〃What　do　they　do？〃　Ryan　asked。
　　　　〃They　seem　to　specialize　in　high…risk；　high…profile　operations。　It　took　over　a　year　to　confirm　that　they　exist　at　all；　we　thought　they　were　a　special…action　group　of　the　PIRA。　They're　an　anomaly　within　the　terrorist　munity。　They　don't　make　press　releases；　they　don't　take　public　credit　for　what　they　do。　They　go　for　the　big…time　stuff　and　they　cover　their　tracks　like　you　wouldn't　believe。　It　takes　resources　to　do　that。　Somebody　is　bankrolling　them　in　a　pretty　big　way。　They've　been　identified　for　nine　jobs　we're　sure　of；　maybe　two　others。　They've　only　had　three　operations　go　bad　　quite　a　track　record。　They　missed　killing　a　judge　in　Londonderry　because　the　RPG　round　was　a　dud　　it　still　took　his　bodyguard　out。　They　tried　to　hit　a　police　barracks　last　February。　Somebody　saw　them　setting　up　and　phoned　in　　but　the　bastards　must　have　been　monitoring　the　police　radio。　They　skipped　before　the　cavalry　arrived。　The　cops　found　an　eighty…two…millimeter　mortar　and　a　box　of　rounds　　high…explosive　and　white　phosphorus；　to　be　exact。　And　you　got　in　the　way　of　the　last　one。
　　　　〃These　suckers　are　getting　pretty　bold；〃　Murray　said。　〃On　the　other　hand；　we　got　one　now。〃　
　　　　〃We？〃　Ryan　said　curiously。　〃It's　not　our　fight。〃　
　　　　〃We're　talking　terrorists。　Jack。　Everybody　wants　them。　We　swap　information　back　and　forth　with　the　Yard　every　day。　Anyway；　the　guy　they　have　in　the　can　right　now；　they'll　keep　talking　at　him。　They　have　a　hook　on　this　one。　The　ULA　is　an　outcast　outfit。　He　is　going　to　be　a　pariah　and　he　knows　it。　His　colleagues　from　PIRA　and　INLA　won't　circle　wagons　around　him。　He'll　go　to　a　maximum…security　prison；　probably　to　one　on　the　Isle　of　Wight；　populated　with　some　real　bad　boys。　Not　all　of　them　are　political　types；　and　the　ordinary　robbers　and　murderers　will　probably　　well；　it's　funny　how　patriotic　these　guys　are。　Spies；　for　example；　have　about　as　much　fun　in　the　joint　as　child　molesters。　This　guy　went　after　the　Royal　Family；　the　one　thing　over　here　that　everybody　loves。　We're　talking　some　serious　hard　time　with　this　kid。　You　think　the　guards　are　going　to　bust　their　ass　looking　out　for　his　well…being？　He's　going　to　learn　a　whole　new　sport。　It's　called　survival。　After　he　has　a　taste　of　it；　people　will　talk　to　him。　Sooner　or　later　that　kid's　going　to　have　to　decide　just　how　mitted　he　is。　He　just　might　break　down　a　little。　Some　have。　That's　what　we　play　for；　anyway。　The　bad　guys　have　the　initiative；　we　have　organization　and　procedures。　If　they　make　a　mistake；　give　us　an　opportunity；　we　can　act　on　it。〃　
　　　　Ryan　nodded。　〃Yeah；　it's　all　intelligence。〃　
　　　　〃That's　right。　Without　the　right　information　we're　crippled。　All　we　can　do　is　plod　along　and　hope　for　a　break。　But　give　us　one　solid　fact　and　we'll　bring　the　whole　friggin'　world　down　on　'em。　It's　like　taking　down　a　brick　wall。　The　hard　part's　getting　that　first　brick　loose。〃　
　　　　〃And　where　do　they　get　their　information？〃
　　　　〃They　told　me　you　tumbled　to　that；〃　Murray　observed　with　a　smile。
　　　　〃I　don't　think　it　was　a　chance　encounter。　Somebody　had　to　tip　them。　They　hit　a　moving　target　making　an　unscheduled　trip。〃　
　　　　〃How　the　hell　did　you　know　that？〃　the　agent　demanded。