Steal The Sun(战争间谍)-第43部分

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Franco　pulled　out　a　flashlight　that　he　had　taped　until　only　a　pencil　of　light　shone　out。　He　swept
the　light　around；　but　there　was　no　one　and　nothing　he　had　not　expected　to　see。
“Over　there；”　whispered　Griego；　pulling　on　Franco’s　hand。
The　flashlight　wobbled；　then　fixed　on　an　old　wine…bottling　machine。　Empty　bottles；　metal
pincers　and　bottle　holders　gleamed　dully　in　the　light。　A　roll　of　scarlet　foil　and　a　roll　of　bright　red
labels　dangled　overhead。　A　half…filled　case　of　burgundy　sat　at　the　end　of　the　conveyor　belt。
Franco　went　quickly　to　the　conveyor　belt。　With　a　muttered　curse；　he　grabbed　Griego　by　the
arm。
“Where’s　the　rest　of　it？”　he　snarled。
Griego　cringed　away　from　the　fingers。　He　gestured　at　the　cartons　of　burgundy　that　had　been
filled　in　the　last　few　days。　“There！　On　the　bottles！”
Griego’s　gestures　knocked　the　half…filled　carton　of　wine　off　the　conveyor　belt。　With　a　sound　like
the　end　of　the　world；　bottles　exploded　against　the　floor。　The　reek　of　green　wine　rose　from
curved　shards　of　glass。
On　the　hill；　the　dog　barked　again；　urgently。
Franco　grabbed　what　he　had　come　for　and　headed　out　of　the　bottling　room。　Griego　hesitated；
picked　up　a　full　case　of　burgundy　and　followed　Franco’s　flashlight。
The　two　men　hurried　awkwardly　out　of　the　winery；　across　the　dirt　farm…road　and　into　the
concealment　of　chest…high　rows　of　vines。　At　a　clumsy　trot；　Franco　crossed　the　sandy　vineyard　to
another　dirt　road　where　his　car　was　parked　beneath　a　tree。
The　dog’s　bark　continued　sporadically；　then　faded　into　a　silence　disturbed　only　by　the　faint
sound　of　a　car　receding　into　the　distance；　leaving　a　thin　wake　of　dust　beneath　the　moon。
San　Francisco
25　Hours　31　Minutes　After　Trinity
The　restaurant　on　Market　Street　catered　to　the　all…night　crowd　from　the　Tenderloin　district。
Riley　toyed　with　the　limp　strands　of　pasta　coated　with　tomato　sauce　and　olive　oil。　He　took　a
tentative　bite。　Finn　ate　hungrily。　Riley　put　down　his　fork。
“How　the　hell　did　I　let　you　talk　me　into　this？”　said　Riley。
“There　was　nothing　else　left　to　do。　The　FBI　is　watching　every　known　or　suspected　communist
agent；　one　of　them　has　been　approached　by　a　blond　woman　with　a　British　accent。　We　put　out
grab　notices　on　Refugio　and　a　Jap　spy；　and　what　did　we　get？”
“Eight　Mexicans；　three　Chinese　and　a　Korean。　Drunks。”
“We　put　four　bodies　through　a　FBI　sieve。　What　did　we　find　out？”
“We　found　out　they’re　dead；”　said　Riley。
“The　weapons　and　the　laundry　van　and　the　laundry　and　–　“
“Nothing！”
“As　for　the　lead；”　said　Finn；　‘‘we　now　know　that　in　the　Bay　Area；　no　new　orders　for　lead　have
Page　105
been　processed　in　the　last　twenty…four　hours。　Nobody　has　bought　a　pile　of　toy　soldiers；　religious
statues；　frogs　–　“
“Frogs？”　yelped　Riley。　“What　the　hell　do　frogs　have　to　do　with　this？”
“Flower　holders；”　explained　Finn；　then　continued　with　his　list。　“Old　batteries；　scrap；　new
batteries　–　I　forgot　something。”
“Coffins；”　said　Riley　after　a　moment。
“Yeah。　Coffins。　All　the　lead…lined　luxury　models　sold　recently　are　wrapped　around　dead
customers。”　Finn　stopped　abruptly。　“In　short；　we　seem　to　be　fishing　in　the　dark　with　a　broken
hook。”　He　returned　his　attention　to　his　food。
“The　problem　with　fishing　in　the　dark；”　said　Riley；　“is　that　the　damned　hooks　have　a　way　of
ending　up　in　the　wrong　places。　A　man　could　hurt　himself　fishing　in　the　dark。”
Frowning；　Finn；　picked　up　the　empty　wine　bottle。　He　turned　it　around　in　his　hands；　staring　at　it
as　though　the　answer　to　his　problem　were　concealed　in　the　green　glass　curves。　He　liked　Riley。
Even　worse；　he　felt　responsible　for　the　young　agent。　Finn　did　not　want　to　be　responsible　for　any
life　except　his　own。　But　there　Riley　sat；　too　young；　too　kind。　Green　on　green；　like　the　glass
turning　between　his　hands。　Abruptly；　Finn’s　fingers　closed　around　the　neck　of　the　bottle。　“You
ever　take　any　physics　in　college？”
Riley’s　face　showed　his　surprise。　He　nodded　his　head　and　waited。
“You　know　about　radioactivity？”
“Some。”
“What　we’re　looking　for　is　two　pieces　of　white；　radioactive　metal。　Alone；　each　piece　is　hot；　but
not　dangerously　so。　If　you　get　the　pieces　too　close；　they　can　get　hot　enough　to　kill。”
Riley　stared　at　the　empty　green　bottle　that　was　again　rolling　between　Finn’s　lean　hands。　“What
exactly　does　that　mean？”
“It　means　that　the　thieves　really　fucked　up　when　they　left　behind　the　lead　shipping　canister。
They’re　playing　with　fire。　Problem　is；　they　can’t　see　the　flames　or　feel　the　heat。　And　neither　can
we。”
Riley　sighed。　“At　least　I　understand　now　why　you　have　a　hundred　agents　scouring　the　Bay　Area
for　lead。　You　figure　the　thieves　will　have　to　use　it　as　a　shield　or　wrapper　to　absorb　the　radiation
from　the　stolen　stuff　–　whatever　that　is。”
“Uranium；”　said　Finn。　“Pure　uranium…235。”
“How　many　micrograms　were　stolen？”
“Try　kilograms。　Close　to　ten。”
Riley’s　mouth　opened　and　closed　soundlessly。　He　licked　his　lips　and　tried　again。　“I　didn’t　know
there　was　that　much　U…235　on　the　whole　planet。　How　did　we　ever　get　that　much　all　in　one
place？”
“I　don’t　know。　It　cost　around　one　billion　bucks；　if　that　gives　you　a　clue。”
Riley　sat　without　moving；　chewing　on　the　information　like　under…cooked　sphagetti。　“Well；”　he
said　at　last；　“thank　God　all　the　lead　in　northern　California　is　accounted　for。”
“Wrong；”　said　Finn　flatly。　“All　the　lead　in　all　the　places　we’ve　thought　to　look　is　accounted　for。”
Finn　paused；　staring　at　the　wine　bottle　rolling　between　his　palms。　Then　he　put　down　the　bottle
and　fingered　the　thick　metal　foil　that　covered　the　neck。　The　foil　peeled　off　easily。　He　rolled　a
long　strip　of　it　between　his　fingers。　It　made　a　hard；　heavy　ball　the　size　of　a　pea。　“Lead；”　breathed
Riley。　“By　God；　lead！”
“How　many　wineries　are　there　in　northern　California？”
“Can’t　be　more　than　fifty；”　said　Riley。　Then；　hastily；　“Pray　to　God　no　more　than　fifty。”
“That’s　twenty…five　apiece；”　said　Finn；　standing　up
and　throwing　money　on　the　table。　“Any　more　than　that　and　they’re　all　yours；　Riley。”
San　Francisco
26　Hours　38　Minutes　After　Trinity
Page　106
Vanessa　twitched　aside　the　white　curtain；　a　gesture　that　had　become　almost　automatic。　The　long
night　had　given　her　too　much　time　to　think；　and　her　thoughts　had　been　as　gloomy　as　San
Francisco’s　fog。
Failure　was　a　death　sentence　for　her。　At　some　unknown；　but　not　far　distant　moment；　Beria
would　decide　that　the　chance　that　Vanessa　would　recover　the　uranium　was　smaller　than　the
chance　that　Stalin　would　discover　her　secret　assignment。　At　that　moment；　an　NKVD　assassin
would　be　given　Vanessa’s　name。
She　looked　through　the　glass　as　she　had　all　night。　No　lights　had　shown　in　the　Fragrant　Petal；　no
cars　had　parked　nearby；　no　one　had　gone　into　the　shop　since　the　Japanese　soldier　yesterday
afternoon。　She　had　not　seen　him　come　out。
The　appearance　of　a　Nisei　officer　at　a　flower　shop　owned　by　the　cousin　of　the　man　who　had
betrayed　her　and　killed　Masarek　was　too　remarkable　to　be　taken　for　mere　coincidence。　She　had
immediately　tried　to　find　reinforcements　but　the　two　numbers　she　had　called　were　answered　by
people　who　gave　her　coded　warnings　instead　of　recognition　signals。　A　third　call；　to　a　safe　house
in　Los　Angeles；　had　been　properly　answered。　She　was　told　that　the　FBI　was　openly　watching
every　known　or　suspected　agent　in　the　Bay　Area。
One　of　the　Los　Angeles　agents　was　on　his　way　to　San　Francisco　to　help　her；　but　until　he　arrived；
Hecht　was　all　she　had。　The　thought　both　angered　and　depressed　her。
A　light　knock　on　the　door　brought　her　out　of　the　chair。　With　her　silenced　pistol　in　one　hand；　she
opened　the　door　a　crack；　then　admitted　Hecht。
“Are　you　armed？”　said　Vanessa　before　he　could　speak。
“Armed？”　asked　Hecht；　his　voice　rising。　“You　mean　a　gun？”　He　looked　confused　and　tired；　as
though　he　had　not　slept　well。
“This　is　an　armed　struggle；　comrade；”　said　Vanessa。　“Surely　even　you　understand　that　much。
You’re　a　communist；　aren’t　you？”
“Of　course；”　replied　Hecht。　“I’ve　read　all　of　Marx　and　Lenin　and　Stalin。”　The　litany　of　names
seemed　to　comfort　him。　His　voice　became　more　calm。　“It’s　just　that　we’re　not　used　to　the　armed
struggle　here　in　the　United　States。　We’re　not　as　advanced　morally　as　our　Soviet　comrades。”
There　was　no　derision　in　his　voice；　only　self…pity。
“Pistols　don’t　recognize　advancement　in　revolution　or　morality。　Are　you　armed？”
Hecht　shook　his　head。　“I　don’t　even　know　how　to　use　a　gun。”
For　an　instant；　Vanessa　pitied　Hecht　almost　as　much　as　she　despised　him。　There　were　many
American　communists　like　him；　naive　idealists　playing　at　revolution。　They　hated；　but　only
weakly。　Few　of　them　had　the　toughness　of　mind　or　body　to　bring　down　a　government。
But　Hecht　was　all　she　had　to　work　with　right　now。　She　would　use　him　until　a　real　agent　arrived；
and　then　she　would　kill　him。
“ple；”　she　said。　“You　will　go　buy　a　wreath　for　your　father’s
funeral。”
Sonoma　County
26　Hours　59　Minutes　After　Trinity
The　Sonoma　County　sheriffs　office　was　nearly　as　old　as　the　middle…aged　deputy　who　was　typing
up　a　burglary　report。　The　typewriter　he　used　stuck　with　monotonous　regularity；　impeding　a
process　already　slowed　by　the　deputy’s　lack　of　skill　and　inter