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　　　It　was　a　sign　of　the　Chairman's　intelligence　that　he　didn't　lash　out　with　a　scorching　reply；　to　put　the　Rome　rezident　back　in　his　place。　Only　a　fool　stomped　on　his　senior　subordinates。
　　　〃He　asks　for　guidance…the　scope　of　the　operation　and　so　forth。　We　should　give　it　to　him。　This　brings　into　question　exactly　what　you　are　contemplating；　rade　Chairman。　Have　you　thought　it　through　to　that　point？〃
　　　〃Very　well；　Colonel；　what　do　you　think　we　should　do？〃
　　　〃rade　Chairman；　there　is　an　expression　the　Americans　use　which　I　have　learned　to　respect：　That　is　above　my　pay　grade。〃
　　　〃Are　you　telling　me　that　you　do　not　play　Chairman　yourself…in　your　own　mind？〃　Yuriy　Vladimirovich　asked；　rather　pointedly。
　　　〃Honestly；　no；　I　limit　my　thinking　to　that　which　I　understand…operational　questions。　I　am　not　petent　to　trespass　into　high　political　confines；　rade。〃
　　　A　clever　answer；　if　not　a　truthful　one；　Andropov　noted。　But　Rozhdestvenskiy　would　be　unable　to　discuss　whatever　high…level　thoughts　he　might　have；　because　no　one　else　at　KGB　was　cleared　to　discuss　such　things。　Now；　he　might　be　interviewed　by　some　very　senior　member　of　the　Party's　Central　mittee；　on　orders　from　the　Politburo；　but　such　an　order　would　almost　have　to　e　from　Brezhnev　himself。　And　that；　Yuriy　Vladimirovich　thought；　was　not　likely　at　this　time。　So；　yes；　the　colonel　would　think　about　it　in　the　privacy　of　his　own　mind；　as　all　subordinates　did；　but　as　a　professional　KGB　officer；　rather　than　a　Party　flack；　he　would　leave　such　thoughts　right　there。
　　　〃Very　well；　we　will　dispense　with　the　political　considerations　entirely。　Consider　this　a　theoretical　question：　How　would　one　kill　this　priest？〃
　　　Rozhdestvenskiy　looked　uneasy。
　　　〃Sit；〃　the　Chairman　told　his　subordinate。　〃You　have　planned　plex　operations　before。　Take　your　time　to　walk　through　this　one。〃
　　　Rozhdestvenskiy　took　his　seat　before　speaking。　〃First　of　all；　I　would　ask　for　assistance　from　someone　better…versed　in　such　things。　We　have　several　such　officers　here　in　The　Centre。　But。。。　since　you　ask　me　to　think　about　it　in　theoretical　terms。。。〃　The　colonel's　voice　trailed　off　and　his　eyes　went　up　and　to　the　left。　When　he　started　speaking　again；　his　words　came　slowly。
　　　〃First　of　all；　we　would　use　Goderenko's　station　only　for　information…reconnaissance　of　the　target；　that　sort　of　thing。　We　would　not　want　to　use　Station　Rome's　people　in　any　active　way。。。　In　fact；　I　would　advise　against　using　Soviet　personnel　at　all　for　the　active　parts　of　the　operation。〃
　　　〃Why？〃　Andropov　asked。
　　　〃The　Italian　police　are　professionally　trained；　and　for　an　investigation　of　this　magnitude；　they　would　throw　people　into　it；　assign　their　very　best　men。　At　any　event　like　this；　there　will　be　witnesses。　Everyone　on　earth　has　two　eyes　and　a　memory。　Some　have　intelligence。　That　sort　of　thing　cannot　be　predicted。　While　on　the　one　hand；　this　militates　in　favor　of；　let　us　say；　a　sniper　and　a　long…range　shot；　such　a　methodology　would　point　to　a　state…level　operation。　Such　a　sniper　would　have　to　be　well…trained　and　properly　equipped。　That　would　mean　a　soldier。　A　soldier　means　an　army。　An　army　means　a　nation…state…and　which　nation…state　would　wish　to　kill　the　Pope？〃　Colonel　Rozhdestvenskiy　asked。　〃A　truly　black　operation　cannot　be　traced　back　to　its　point　of　origin。〃
　　　Andropov　lit　a　cigarette　and　nodded。　He'd　chosen　well。　This　colonel　was　no　man's　fool。　〃Go　on。〃
　　　〃Ideally；　the　shooter　would　have　no　ties　whatsoever　to　the　Soviet　Union。　We　must　be　sure　of　that　because　we　cannot　ignore　the　possibility　that　he　will　be　arrested。　If　he　is　arrested；　he　will　be　questioned。　Most　men　talk　under　questioning；　either　for　psychological　or　physical　reasons。〃　Rozhdestvenskiy　reached　into　his　pocket　and　pulled　out　his　own　cigarette。　〃I　remember　reading　about　a　Mafia　killing　in　America。。。〃　Again；　the　voice　tailed　off　and　his　eyes　fixed　on　the　far　wall　while　examining　something　in　the　past。
　　　〃Yes？〃　the　Chairman　prompted。
　　　〃A　killing　in　New　York　City。　One　of　their　senior　people　was　at　odds　with　his　peers；　and　they　decided　to　not　merely　kill　him；　but　to　do　so　with　some　degree　of　ignominy。　They　had　him　killed　by　a　black　man。　To　the　Mafia；　that　is　particularly　disgraceful；〃　Rozhdestvenskiy　explained。　〃In　any　case；　the　shooter　was　immediately　thereafter　killed　by　another　man；　presumably　a　Mafia　assassin　who　then　made　a　successful　escape…no　doubt　he　had　assistance；　which　proves　that　it　was　a　carefully　planned　exercise。　The　crime　was　never　solved。　It　was　a　perfect　technical　exercise。　The　target　was　killed　and　so　was　the　assassin。　The　true　killers…those　who　had　planned　the　exercise…acplished　their　mission；　and　gained　prestige　within　their　organization；　but　were　never　punished　for　it。〃
　　　〃Criminal　thugs；〃　Andropov　snorted。
　　　〃Yes；　rade　Chairman；　but　a　properly　carried…out　mission　is　worthy　of　study；　even　so。　It　does　not　pletely　apply　to　our　task　at　hand；　because　it　was　supposed　to　look　like　a　well…executed　Mafia　murder。　But　the　shooter　got　close　to　his　target　because　he　was　manifestly　not　a　member　of　a　Mafia　gang　and　could　not　later　implicate　or　identify　those　who　paid　him　to　mit　the　act。　That　is　precisely　what　we　would　wish　to　achieve。　Of　course；　we　cannot　copy　this　operation　in　full…for　example；　killing　off　our　shooter　would　point　directly　to　us。　This　cannot　be　like　the　elimination　of　Leon　Trotsky。　In　that　case；　the　origin　of　the　operation　was　not　really　concealed。　As　with　the　Mafia　killing　I　just　cited；　it　was　supposed　to　be　something　of　a　public　announcement。〃　That　a　Soviet　state　action　was　a　direct　parallel　to　this　New　York　City　gangster　rubout　did　not　need　much　elaboration　in　Rozhdestvenskiy's　eyes。　But　in　his　operational　brain；　the　Trotsky　killing　and　the　Mafia　assassination　were　an　interesting　confluence　of　tactics　and　objectives。
　　　〃rade；　I　need　some　time　to　consider　this　fully。〃
　　　〃I'll　give　you　two　hours；〃　Chairman　Andropov　responded　generously。
　　　Rozhdestvenskiy　stood；　came　to　attention；　and　walked　out　through　the　clothes　dresser　into　the　secretary's　room。
　　　Rozhdestvenskiy's　own　office　was　small；　of　course；　but　it　was　private　and　on　the　same　floor　as　the　Chairman's。　A　window　overlooked　Dzerzhinskiy　Square；　with　all　its　traffic　and　the　statue　of　Iron　Feliks。　His　swivel　chair　was　fortable；　and　his　desk　had　three　telephones　because　the　Soviet　Union　had　somehow　failed　to　master　multiline　phones。　He　had　a　typewriter　of　his　own；　which　he　rarely　used；　preferring　to　have　a　secretary　e　in　from　the　executive　pool。　There　was　talk　that　Yuriy　Vladimirovich　used　one　of　them　for　something　other　than　taking　dicta　tion；　but　Rozhdestvenskiy　did　not　believe　it。　The　Chairman　was　too　much　of　an　aesthete　for　that。　Corruption　just　wasn't　his　way；　which　appealed　to　him。　It　was　hard　to　feel　loyal　to　a　man　such　as　Brezhnev。　Rozhdestvenskiy　took　the　Sword　and　Shield　motto　of　his　agency　seriously。　It　was　his　job　to　protect　his　country　and　its　people；　and　they　needed　protecting…sometimes　from　the　members　of　their　own　Politburo。
　　　But　why　did　they　need　protection　from　this　priest？　he　asked　himself。
　　　He　shook　his　head　and　applied　his　mind　to　the　exercise。　He　tended　to　think　with　his　eyes　open；　examining　his　thoughts　like　a　film　on　an　invisible　screen。
　　　The　first　consideration　was　the　nature　of　the　target。　The　Pope　seemed　to　be　a　tall　man　in　the　pictures；　and　he　usually　dressed　in　white。　One　could　scarcely　ask　for　a　finer　shooting　target　than　that。　He　rode　about　in　an　open　vehicle；　which　made　him　an　even　better　target；　because　it　drove　about　slowly；　so　that　the　faithful　could　see　him　well。
　　　But　who　would　be　the　shooter？　Not　a　KGB　officer。　Not　even　a　Soviet　citizen。　A　Russian　exile；　perhaps。　KGB　had　them　throughout　the　West；　many　of　them　sleeper　agents；　living　their　lives　and　awaiting　their　activation　calls。。。　But　the　problem　was；　so　many　of　them　went　native　and　ignored　their　activation　notices；　or　called　the　counterintelligence　service　in　their　country　of　residence。　Rozhdestvenskiy　didn't　like　that　sort　of　long…term　assignment。　It　was　too　easy　for　an　officer　to　forget　who　he　was　and　bee　what　his　cover　said　he　was　supposed　to　be。
　　　No；　the　shooter　had　to　be　an　outsider；　not　a　Russian　national；　not　a　non…Russian　former　Soviet　citizen；　not　even　a　foreigner　trained　by　KGB。　Best　of　all　would　be　a　renegade　priest　or　nun；　but　people　like　that　didn't　just　fall　into　your　lap；　except　in　Western　spy　fiction　and　TV　shows。　The　real　world　of　intelligence　operations　was　rarely　that　convenient。
　　　So；　what　sort　of　shooter　did　he　need？　A　non…Christian？　A　Jew？　A　Muslim？　An　atheist　would　be　too　easy　to　associate　with　the　Soviet　Union；　so　no；　not　one　of　those。　To　get　a　Jew　to　do　it…that　would　be　rich！　One　of　the　Chosen　People。　Best　of　all；　an　Israeli。　Israel　had　its　fair　share　of　religious　fanatics。　It　was　possible。。。　but　unlikely。　KGB　had　assets　in　Israel…many　of　the　Soviet　citizens　who　emigrated　there　were　KGB　sleepers…but　Israeli　counterintelligence　was　notoriously　efficient。　The　possibility　of　such　an　operation　being　blown　was　too　high；　and　this　was　one　operation　that　could　not　be　blown。　So　that　left　Jews　out。
　　　Maybe　a　madman　from　Northern　Ireland。　Certainly　the　Protestants　there　loathed　the　Catholic　Church；　and　one　of　their　chieftains…Rozhdestvenskiy　couldn't　remember　his　name；　but　he　looked　like　an　advertisement　for　a　brewery…had　said　he　wished　the　Pope　dead。　The　man　was　even　supposed　to　be　a　minister　himself。　But；　sadly；　such　people　hated　the　Soviet　Union　even　more；　because　their　IRA　adversaries　claimed　to　be　Marxists…something　Colonel　Rozhdestvenskiy　had　trouble　accepting。　If　they　were　truly　Marxists；　he　could　have　used　Party　discipline　to　get　one　of　them　to　undertake　the　operation。。。　but　no。　What　little　he　knew　of　Irish　terrorists　told　him　that　getting　one　to　put　Party　discipline　above　his　ethnic　beliefs　was　far　too　much　to　ask。　Attractive　as　it　might　be　in　a　theoretical　sense；　it　would　be　too　hard　to　arrange。
　　　That　left　Muslims。　A　lot　of　them　were　fanatics；　with　as　little　to　do　with　the　core　beliefs　of　their　religion　as　the　Pope　did　with　Karl　Marx。　Islam　was　just　too　big；　and　it　suffered　from　the　diseases　of　bigness。　But　if　he　wanted　a　Muslim；　where　to　get　him？　KGB　did　have　operations　in　many　countries；　with　Islamic　populations；　as　did　other　Marxist　nations。　Hmm；　he　th