tc.patriotgames-第42部分

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　　　　〃That's　two　breaks　you　have；　Jimmy；〃　Murray　said　after　reading　his　friend's　mind。　It　wasn't　hard　to　do。　Both　men　had　handled　hard　cases；　and　police　differ　little　over　the　world。
　　　　〃Indeed；〃　Owens　said；　almost　smiling。　〃They　ought　not　to　have　tipped　their　hand。　They　should　have　bent　every　effort　to　protect　their　source。　We　can　pare　the　lists　of　who　knew　that　His　Highness　was　ing　in　that　afternoon；　and　who　knew　that　young　Mr。　Miller　was　going　to　Lymington。〃
　　　　〃And　the　telephone　operators　who　put　the　calls　through；〃　Murray　reminded　him。　〃And　the　secretaries　and　co…workers　who　might　have　overheard；　and　the　girlfriends；　or　boyfriends；　who　might　have　heard　during　some　horizontal　conversation。〃　
　　　　〃Thank　you　ever　so　much　for　that；　Dan。　One　needs　encouragement　at　a　time　like　this。〃　The　Englishman　walked　over　to　Murray's　cabinet　and　found　a　bottle　of　whiskey　　a　Christmas　present；　still　unopened　on　New　Year's　Eve。
　　　　〃You're　right　that　they　should　have　protected　their　intel　source。　I　know　you'll　get　him；　Jimmy。　I　will　put　some　money　down　on　that。〃
　　　　Owens　poured　the　drinks。　It　was　gratifying　to　see　that　the　American　had　finally　learned　to　drink　his　whiskey　decently。　In　the　past　year　Owens　had　broken　Murray　of　the　need　to　put　ice　in　everything。　It　was　shameful　to　contaminate　single…malt　Scotch　whiskey。　He　frowned　at　another　recurring　thought。　〃What　does　that　tell　us　about　Sean　Miller？〃
　　　　Murray　stretched　his　arms　out。　〃More　important　than　you　thought；　maybe？　Maybe　they　were　afraid　you'd　break　information　out　of　him。　Maybe　they　just　wanted　to　keep　their　perfect　record。　Maybe　something　else？〃
　　　　Owens　nodded。　In　addition　to　the　close　working　relationship　Scotland　Yard　had　with　the　FBI；　Owens　valued　the　opinions　of　his　colleague。　Though　both　were　experienced　cops；　Murray　could　always　be　trusted　to　have　a　slightly　different　slant　on　things。　Two　years　before　Owens　had　been　surprised　to　learn　how　valuable　this　might　be。　Though　he　never　had　thought　about　it；　Murray　had　used　his　colleague's　brain　the　same　way　on　several　occasions。　
　　　　〃So　what　might　that　make　Miller？〃　Owens　wondered　aloud。　
　　　　〃Who　can　say？　Chief　of　operations？〃　Murray　waved　his　glass。
　　　　〃Awfully　young　for　that。〃
　　　　〃Jimmy；　the　guy　who　dropped　the　atomic　bomb　on　Hiroshima　was　a　full　colonel　in　the　Air　Force；　and　twenty…nine　years　old。　Hell；　how　old　is　this　O'Donnell　character？〃
　　　　〃That's　what　Bob　Highland　thinks。〃　Owens　stared　into　his　glass　for　a　moment；　frowning　again。
　　　　〃Bob's　a　smart　kid；　too。　God；　I　hope　you　can　put　him　back　on　the　street。〃
　　　　〃If　not；　we　can　still　use　him　in　the　office；〃　mander　Owens　said　positively。　〃He　does　have　a　fine　brain　for　the　business　of　investigations　　too　good　to　be　lost　now。　Well；　I　must　be　off。　New　Year's　Eve；　Dan。　What　do　we　drink　to？〃
　　　　〃That's　obvious。　A　successful　investigation。　You're　going　to　get　that　source；　Jimmy；　and　he's　going　to　give　you　the　information　you　need。〃　Murray　held　his　glass　up。　〃To　a　closed　case。〃　〃Yes。〃　Both　men　emptied　their　glasses。
　　　　〃Jimmy；　do　yourself　a　favor　and　give　it　a　night　off。　Clear　the　old　head　out　and　start　fresh　in　the　morning。〃
　　　　Owens　smiled。　〃I'll　try。〃　He　picked　up　his　overcoat　and　walked　toward　the　door。　〃One　last　thing。　It　hit　me　on　the　drive　over。　These　chaps；　the　ULA；　have　broken　all　the　rules；　haven't　they？〃
　　　　〃That's　true　enough；〃　Murray　replied　as　he　locked　up　his　files。　
　　　　〃There's　only　one　rule　they　haven't　broken。〃　
　　　　Murray　turned。　〃Oh？　What's　that？〃　
　　　　〃They've　never　done　anything　in　America。〃　
　　　　〃None　of　them　do　that。〃　Murray　dismissed　the　idea。　
　　　　〃None　have　had　much　of　a　reason　before。〃　
　　　　〃So？〃
　　　　〃Dan；　the　ULA　might　have　a　reason　now　　and　they've　never　been　reticent　about　breaking　the　rules。　It's　just　a　feeling；　no　more　than　that。〃　Owens　shrugged。　〃Well。　Good　night；　and　a　happy　new　year　to　you。　Special　Agent　Murray。〃
　　　　They　shook　hands　ceremonially。　〃And　to　you；　mander　Owens。　Give　my　love　to　Emily。〃
　　　　Dan　saw　him　to　the　door；　locked　it；　and　returned　to　his　office　to　make　sure　all　his　secure　files　were　locked　up　properly。　It　was　pitch　dark　outside　at　　he　checked　his　watch　　quarter　to　six。
　　　　〃Jimmy；　why　did　you　say　that？〃　Murray　asked　the　darkness。　He　sat　back　down　in　his　swivel　chair。
　　　　No　Irish　terrorist　group　had　ever　operated　in　the　United　States。　Sure；　they　raised　money　there；　in　the　Irish　neighborhoods　and　saloons　of　Boston　and　New　York；　made　the　odd　speech　about　their　vision　for　the　future　of　a　free；　united　Ireland　　never　bothering　to　say　that　as　mitted　Marxist…Leninists；　their　vision　of　Ireland　was　of　another　Cuba。　They　had　always　been　shrewd　enough　to　know　that　Irish…Americans　might　not　feel　fortable　with　that　little　detail。　And　there　was　the　gun…running。　That　was　largely　something　in　the　past。　The　PIRA　and　INLA　currently　got　most　of　their　weapons　on　the　open　world　market。　There　were　also　reports　that　some　of　their　people　had　gotten　training　in　Soviet　military　camps　　you　couldn't　tell　a　man's　nationality　from　a　satellite　photograph；　nor　could　you　recognize　a　specific　face。　These　reports　had　never　been　confirmed　sufficiently　to　be　released　to　the　press。　The　same　was　true　of　the　camps　in　Libya；　and　Syria；　and　Lebanon。　Some　people；　fair…skinned　people；　were　being　trained　there　　but　who？　The　intelligence　got　a　little　confused　on　this　point。　It　was　different　with　the　European　terrorists。　The　Arabs　who　got　caught　often　sang　like　canaries；　but　the　captured　members　of　the　PIRA　and　INLA；　and　the　Red　Army　Faction；　and　Action…Directe　of　France；　and　all　the　other　shadowy　groups　gave　up　their　information　far　more　grudgingly。　A　cultural　thing；　or　maybe　they　could　simply　be　more　certain　that　their　captors　would　not　　could　not　　use　interrogation　measures　still　mon　in　the　Middle　East。　They'd　all　been　raised　under　democratic　rules；　and　knew　precisely　the　weaknesses　of　the　societies　they　sought　to　topple。　Murray　thought　of　them　as　strengths；　but　recognized　the　inconveniences　that　they　imposed　on　law…enforcement　professionals　。　。　。　
　　　　The　bottom　line　was　still　that　PIRA　and　INLA　had　never　mitted　a　violent　crime　in　America。　Never。　Not　once。
　　　　But　Jimmy's　right。　The　ULA　has　never　hesitated　to　break　a　rule。　The　Royal　Family　was　off…limits　to　everyone　else；　but　not　the　ULA。　The　PIRA　and　INLA　never　hesitated　to　advertise　its　operations　　every　terrorist　group　advertises　its　operations。　But　not　the　ULA。　He　shook　his　head。　There　wasn't　any　evidence　to　suggest　that　they'd　break　this　rule。　It　was　simply　the　one　thing　that　they　hadn't　done　。　。　。　yet。　Not　the　sort　of　thing　to　start　an　investigation　with。
　　　　〃But　what　are　they　up　to？〃　he　said　aloud。　Nobody　knew　that。　Even　their　name　was　an　anomaly。　Why　did　they　call　themselves　the　Ulster　Liberation　Army？　The　nationalist　movement　always　focused　on　its　Irishness；　it　was　an　Irish　nationalist　movement；　but　the　ULA's　very　name　was　a　regional　expression。　〃Ulster〃　was　invariably　the　prefix　of　the　reactionary　Protestant　groups。　Terrorists　didn't　have　to　make　all　that　much　sense　in　what　they　did；　but　they　did　have　to　make　some　sense。　Everything　about　the　ULA　was　an　anomaly。　They　did　the　things　no　one　else　would　do；　called　themselves　something　no　else　would。
　　　　They　did　the　things　no　one　else　would。　That's　what　was　chewing　on　Jimmy；　Murray　knew。　Why　did　they　operate　that　way？　There　had　to　be　a　reason。　For　all　the　madness　of　their　actions；　terrorists　were　rational　by　their　own　standards。　However　twisted　their　reasoning　appeared　to　an　outsider；　it　did　have　its　own　internal　logic。　The　PIRA　and　INLA　had　such　logic。　They　had　even　announced　their　rationales；　and　their　actions　could　be　seen　to　fit　with　what　they　said：　To　make　Northern　Ireland　ungovernable。　If　they　succeeded；　the　British　would　finally　have　enough　of　it　and　leave。　Their　objective；　therefore；　was　to　sustain　a　low…level　conflict　indefinitely　and　wait　for　the　other　side　to　walk　away。　It　did　make　conceptual　sense。
　　　　But　the　ULA　has　never　said　what　it's　up　to。　Why　not？　Why　should　their　objective　be　a　secret？　Hell；　why　should　the　existence　of　a　terrorist　group　be　a　secret　　if　they're　running　operations；　how　can　it　be　a　secret；　then　why　have　they　never　even　announced　their　existence；　except　within　the　PIRA/INLA　munity　itself？　This　can't　be　pletely　unreasoned　action；　he　reminded　himself。　They　can't　be　acting　pletely　without　reason　and　still　be　as　effective　as　they've　been。
　　　　〃Damn！〃　The　answer　was　there。　Murray　could　feel　it　floating　at　the　edge　of　his　consciousness；　but　his　mind　couldn't　quite　reach　that　far。　The　agent　left　his　office。　Two　Marines　were　already　patrolling　the　corridors；　checking　that　the　doors　were　locked。　Dan　waved　to　them　on　the　way　to　the　elevator；　his　mind　still　trying　to　assemble　the　pieces　into　a　unified　picture。　He　wished　that　Owens　hadn't　left　so　soon。　He　wanted　to　talk　this　one　over　with　Jimmy。　Maybe　the　two　of　them　could　make　sense　of　it　all。　No；　he　told　himself；　not　〃maybe。〃　They'd　find　it。　It　was　there；　waiting　to　be　found。
　　　　I　bet　Miller　knew；　Murray　thought。

　　　　〃What　a　dreadful　place；〃　Sean　Miller　said。　The　sunset　was　magnificent；　almost　like　one　at　sea。　The　sky　was　clear　of　the　usual　urban　pollution；　and　the　distant　dunes　gave　a　crisp；　if　crenelated；　line　for　the　sun　to　slide　behind。　The　odd　thing　was　the　temperature　range；　of　course。　The　noon　temperature　had　reached　ninety…two　　and　the　locals　thought　of　this　as　a　cool　day！　　but　now　as　the　sun　sank；　a　cool　wind　came　up；　and　soon　the　temperature　would　drop　to　freezing。　The　sand　couldn't　hold　the　heat；　and　with　the　clear；　dry　air；　it　would　just　radiate　away；　back　to　the　stars。
　　　　Miller　was　tired。　It　had　been　that　sort　of　day：　refresher　training。　He　hadn't　touched　a　weapon　in　nearly　two　months。　His　reactions　were　off；　his　marksmanship　abysmal；　his　physical　condition　little　better。　He'd　actually　gained　a　few　pounds　on　prison　food；　something　that　had　e　as　quite　a　surprise。　In　a　week　he'd　have　that　run　off。　The　desert　was　good　for　that。　Like　most　men　born　in　the　higher　latitudes。　Miller　had　trouble　tolerating　this　sort　of　climate。　His　physical　activity　made　him　thirsty；　but　he　found　it　difficult　to　eat　when　it　was　so　hot。　So　he　drank　water　and　allowed　his　body　to　turn　in　on　itself。　He'd　lose　the　weight　and　harden　his　body　more　quickly　here　than　anywher