璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第169章

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‘Look；　sir；　when　you‘re　out　there　and　things　happen；　somebody　has　to　get　it　done。‘
‘Not　everybody　sees　things　that　way。　Kelly；　there‘s　two　kinds　of　people　in　the　world；　the　ones　who　need　to　be　told　and　the　ones　who　figure　it　out　all　by　themselves；‘　Greer　pronounced。
The　highway　sign　said　something　that　Kelly　didn‘t　catch；　but　it　wasn‘t　anything　about　CIA。　He　didn‘t　tumble　to　it　until　he　saw　the　oversized　guardhouse。
‘Did　you　ever　interact　with　Agency　people　while　you　were　over　there？‘
Kelly　nodded。　‘Some。　We　were　…　well；　you　know　about　it；　Project　PHOENIX；　right？　We　were　part　of　that；　a　small　part。‘
‘What　did　you　think　of　them？‘
‘Two　or　three　of　them　were　pretty　good。　The　rest　…　you　want　it　straight？‘
‘That‘s　exactly　what　I　want；‘　Greer　assured　him。
‘The　rest　are　probably　real　good　mixing　martinis；　shaken　not　stirred；‘　Kelly　said　evenly。　That　earned　him　a　rueful　laugh。
‘Yeah；　people　here　do　like　to　watch　the　movies！‘　Greer　found　his　parking　place　and　popped　his　door　open。　‘e　with　me；　Chief。‘　The　out…of…uniform　admiral　led　Kelly　in　the　front　door　and　got　him　a　special　visitor‘s　pass；　the　kind　that　required　an　escort。
For　his　part；　Kelly　felt　like　a　tourist　in　a　strange　and　foreign　land。　The　very　normality　of　the　building　gave　it　a　sinister　edge。　Though　an　ordinary；　and　rather　new；　government　office　building；　CIA　headquarters　had　some　sort　of　aura。　It　wasn‘t　like　the　real　world　somehow。　Greer　caught　the　look　and　chuckled；　leading　Kelly　to　an　elevator；　then　to　his　sixth…floor　office。　Only　when　they　were　behind　the　closed　wooden　door　did　he　speak。
‘How‘s　your　schedule　for　the　next　week？‘
‘Flexible。　I　don‘t　have　anything　tying　me　down；‘　Kelly　answered　cautiously。
James　Greer　nodded　soberly。　‘Dutch　told　me　about　that；　too。　I‘m　very　sorry；　Chief；　but　my　job　right　now　concerns　twenty　good　men　who　probably　won‘t　see　their　families　again　unless　we　do　something。‘　He　reached　into　his　desk　drawer。
‘Sir；　I‘m　real　confused　right　now。‘
‘Well；　we　can　do　it　hard　or　easy。　The　hard　way　is　that　Dutch　makes　a　phone　call　and　you　get　recalled　to　active　duty；‘　Greer　said　sternly。　The　easy　way　is；　you　e　to　work　for　me　as　a　civilian　consultant。　We　pay　you　a　per…diem　that‘s　a　whole　lot　more　than　chief‘s　pay。‘
‘Doing　what？‘
‘You　fly　down　to　Eglin　Air　Force　Base；　via　New　Orleans　and　Avis；　I　suppose。　This‘　…　Greer　tossed　a　billfold…like　ID　in　Kelly‘s　lap　…　‘gives　you　access　to　their　records。　I　want　you　to　go　over　the　operations　plans　as　a　model　for　what　we　want　to　do。‘　Kelly　looked　at　the　photo…Ю。　It　even　had　his　old　Navy　photograph；　which　showed　only　his　head；　as　in　a　passport。
‘Wait　a　minute；　sir。　I　am　not　qualified　…‘
‘As　a　matter　of　fact　I　think　you　are；　but　from　the　outside　it　will　look　like　you‘re　not。　No；　you‘re　just　a　very　junior　consultant　gathering　information　for　a　low…level　report　that　nobody　important　will　ever　read。　Half　the　money　we　spend　in　this　damned　agency　goes　out　the　door　that　way；　in　case　nobody　ever　told　you；‘　Greer　said；　his　irritation　with　the　Agency　giving　flight　to　mild　exaggeration。　That‘s　how　routine　and　pointless　we　want　it　to　look。‘
‘Are　you　really　serious　about　this？‘
‘Chief；　Dutch　Maxwell　is　willing　to　sacrifice　his　career　for　those　men。　So　am　I。　If　there‘s　a　way　to　get　them　out—‘
‘What　about　the　peace　talks？‘
How　do　I　explain　that　to　this　kid？　Greer　asked　himself。　‘Colonel　Zacharias　is　officially　dead。　The　other　side　said　so；　even　published　a　photo　of　a　body。　Somebody　went　to　visit　his　wife；　along　with　the　base　chaplain　and　another　Air　Force　wife　to　make　things　easier。　Then　they　gave　her　a　week　to　vacate　the　official　quarters；　just　to　make　things　official；‘　Greer　added。　‘He‘s　officially　dead。　I‘ve　had　some　very　careful　talks　with　some　people；　and　we‘　…　this　part　came　very　hard　…　‘our　country　will　not　screw　up　the　peace　talks　over　something　like　this。　The　photo　we　have；　enhancement　and　all；　isn‘t　good　enough　for　a　court　of　law；　and　that‘s　the　standard　that　is　being　used。　That‘s　a　standard　of　proof　that　we　can‘t　possibly　meet；　and　the　people　who　made　the　decision　know　it。　They　don‘t　want　the　peace　talks　sidetracked；　and　if　the　lives　of　twenty　more　men　are　necessary　to　end　the　goddamned　war；　then　that‘s　what　it　takes。　Those　men　are　being　written　off。‘
It　was　almost　too　much　for　Kelly　to　believe。　How　many　people　did　America　write　off　every　year？　And　not　all　were　in　uniform；　were　they？　Some　were　right　at　home；　in　American　cities。
‘It‘s　really　that　bad？‘
The　fatigue　on　Greer‘s　face　was　unmistakable。　‘You　know　why　I　took　this　job？　I　was　ready　to　retire。　I‘ve　served　my　time；　manded　my　ships；　done　my　work。　I‘m　ready　for　a　nice　house　and　playing　golf　twice　a　week　and　doing　a　little　consulting　on　the　side；　okay？　Chief；　too　many　people　e　to　places　like　this；　and　reality　to　them　is　a　memo。　They　focus　in　on　"；process"；　and　forget　that　there‘s　a　human　being　at　the　far　end　of　the　paper　chain。　That‘s　why　I　re…upped。　Somebody　has　to　try　and　put　a　little　reality　back　into　the　process。　We‘re　handling　this　as　a　"；black"；　project。　Do　you　know　what　that　means？‘
‘No；　sir；　I　don‘t。‘
‘It‘s　a　new　term　that‘s　cropped　up。　That　means　it　doesn‘t　exist。　It‘s　crazy。　It　shouldn‘t　be　that　way；　but　it　is。　Are　you　on　the　team　or　not？‘
New　Orleans　。。。　Kelly‘s　eyes　narrowed　for　a　moment　that　lingered　into　fifteen　seconds　and　a　slow　nod。　‘If　you　think　I　can　help；　sir；　then　I　will。　How　much　time　do　I　have？‘
Greer　managed　a　smile　and　tossed　a　ticket　folder　into　Kelly‘s　lap。　‘Your　ID　is　in　the　name　of　John　Clark；　should　be　easy　to　remember。　You　fly　down　tomorrow　afternoon。　The　return　ticket　is　open；　but　I　want　to　see　you　next　Friday。　I　expect　good　work　out　of　you。　My　card　and　private　line　are　in　there。　Get　packed；　son。‘
‘Aye　aye；　sir。‘
Greer　rose　and　walked　Kelly　to　the　door。　‘And　get　receipts　for　everything。　When　you　work　for　Uncle　Sam　yon　have　to　make　sure　everyone　gets　paid　off　properly。‘
‘I　will　do　that；　sir。‘　Kelly　smiled。
‘You　can　catch　the　blue　bus　back　to　the　Pentagon　outside。‘　Greer　went　back　to　work　as　Kelly　left　the　office。
The　blue　shuttle　bus　arrived　moments　after　he　walked　up　to　the　covered　pickup　point。　It　was　a　curious　ride。　About　half　the　people　who　boarded　were　uniformed；　and　the　other　half　civilians。　Nobody　talked　to　anyone；　as　though　merely　exchanging　a　pleasantry　or　a　ment　on　the　Washington　Senators‘　continuing　residency　at　the　bottom　of　the　American　League　would　violate　security。　He　smiled　and　shook　his　head　until　he　reflected　on　his　own　secrets　and　intentions。　And　yet　…　Greer　had　given　him　an　opportunity　that　he‘d　not　considered。　Kelly　leaned　back　in　his　seat　and　looked　out　the　window　while　the　other　passengers　on　the　bus　stared　fixedly　forward。
‘They‘re　real　happy；‘　Piaggi　said。　
‘I　told　you　all　along；　man。　It　helps　to　have　the　best　product　on　the　street。‘
‘Not　everybody‘s　happy。　Some　people　are　sitting　on　a　couple　hundred　keys　of　French　stuff；　and　we‘ve　knocked　the　price　down　with　our　special　introductory　offer。‘　
Tucker　allowed　himself　a　good　laugh。　The　‘old　guard‘　had　been　overcharging　for　years。　That　was　monopoly　pricing　for　you。　Anyone　would　have　taken　the　two　of　them　for　businessmen；　or　perhaps　lawyers；　since　there　were　lots　of　both　in　this　restaurant　two　blocks　from　the　new　Garmatz　courthouse。　Piaggi　was　somewhat　better　dressed；　in　Italian　silk；　and　he　made　a　mental　note　to　introduce　Henry　to　his　tailor。　At　least　the　guy　had　learned　how　to　groom　himself。　Next　he　had　to　learn　not　to　dress　too　flashy：　Respectable　was　the　word。　Just　enough　that　people　treated　you　with　deference。　The　flashy　ones；　like　the　pimps；　were　playing　a　dangerous　game　that　they　were　too　dumb　to　understand。
‘Next　shipment；　twice　as　much。　Can　your　friends　handle　it？‘
‘Easy。　The　people　in　Philly　are　especially　happy。　Their　main　supplier　had　a　little　accident‘
‘Yeah；　I　saw　the　paper　yesterday。　Sloppy。　Too　many　people　in　the　crew；　right？‘
‘Henry；　you　just　keep　getting　smarter　and　smarter。　Don‘t　get　too　smart；　okay？　Good　advice；‘　Piaggi　said　with　quiet　emphasis。
‘That‘s　cool；　Tony。　What　I‘m　saying　is；　let‘s　not　make　that　kind　of　mistake　ourselves；　okay？‘
Piaggi　relaxed；　sippin