tc.redstormrising-第126部分

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nother　month　before　I　was　back　working　full　time。　The　members　of　the　Defense　Council　had　no　wish　to　impede　my　recovery；　and　so　young；　ambitious　Josef　was　called　in　to　give　KGB's　official　intelligence　assessment。　As　you　might　imagine；　we　have　many　schools　of　thought　in　the　intelligence　services…it　is　not　like　your　precious　engineering　where　all　things　are　broken　into　neat　little　numbers　and　graphs。　We　have　to　look　inside　the　heads　of　men　who　often　as　not　do　not　themselves　know　what　they　think　on　an　issue。　Sometimes　I　wonder　why　we　do　not　employ　gypsy　fortune…tellers　。　。　。　but　I　digress。
〃KGB　maintains　what　we　call　the　Strategic　Intelligence　Estimate。　This　is　a　document　updated　on　a　daily　basis　which　gives　our　assessment　of　the　political　and　military　strength　of　our　adversaries。　Because　of　the　nature　of　our　work；　and　because　of　serious　mistakes　made　in　the　past；　we　have　three　assessment　teams　who　make　the　estimate：　Best　Case；　Worst　Case；　and　Middle　Case。　The　terms　are　self…explanatory；　are　they　not？　When　we　make　a　presentation　to　the　Politburo；　we　generally　use　the　Middle　Case　estimate；　and　for　the　obvious　reasons　we　annotate　our　estimates　with　data　from　the　other　two。〃
〃So　when　he　was　called　in　to　give　his　assessment　to　the　Politburo…〃
〃Yes。　Young　Josef；　the　ambitious　little　bastard　who　wants　my　job　as　a　wolf　wants　a　sheep；　was　clever　enough　to　bring　all　three　with　him。　When　he　saw　what　they　wanted；　he　gave　them　what　they　wanted。〃
〃But　when　you　returned；　why　didn't　you　correct　the　mistake？〃
Kosov　gave　his　panion　an　ironic　smile。　〃Misha；　Misha；　sometimes　you　can　be　most　engagingly　naive。　I　should　have　killed　the　son　of　a　bitch；　but　this　was　not　possible。　Josef　suffers　from　poor　health；　though　he　is　not　aware　of　it。　The　time　is　not　yet　right；〃　Kosov　said；　as　though　discussing　a　vacation。　〃KGB　is　split　into　several　factions　at　the　moment。　Josef　controls　one。　I　control　another。　Mine　is　larger；　but　not　decisively　so。　He　has　the　ear　of　the　General　Secretary　and　the　Defense　Minister。　I　am　a　sick　old　man…they　have　told　me　this。　Except　for　the　war　I　would　have　been　replaced　already。〃
〃But　he　lied　to　the　Politburo！〃　Sergetov　nearly　shouted。
〃Not　at　all。　You　think　Josef　is　foolish？　He　handed　over　an　official　KGB　intelligence　estimate　drawn　up　under　my　chairmanship；　by　my　department　heads。〃
Why　is　he　telling　me　all　this？　He　fears　losing　his　post；　and　he　wants　support　with　other　Politburo　members。　Is　that　all？
〃You're　telling　me　that　this　is　all　a　mistake。〃
〃Exactly；〃　Kosov　answered。　〃Bad　luck　and　poor　judgment　in　our　oil　industry…not　your　fault；　of　course。　Add　some　fear　in　the　hearts　of　our　Party　hierarchy；　some　ambition　in　one　of　my　subordinates；　the　Defense　Minister's　sense　of　importance；　and　outright　stupidity　on　the　part　of　the　West；　and　here　we　are　today。〃
〃So；　what　do　you　think　we　should　do？〃　Sergetov　asked　warily。
〃Nothing。　I　ask　that　you　keep　in　mind；　however；　that　the　next　week　will　probably　decide　the　oute　of　our　war。　Ah！〃　he　exclaimed。　〃Look；　my　car　has　been　repaired。　You　may　pull　over　here；　Vitaly。　Thank　you　for　the　ride；　Misha。　Good　day。〃　Kosov　retrieved　his　jamming　device　and　stepped　out　of　the　car。
Mikhail　Eduardovich　Sergetov　watched　the　KGB　limousine　pull　away　and　disappear　around　the　er。　He　had　played　many　power　games　in　his　life。　Sergetov's　climb　up　the　Party　ladder　had　been　more　than　an　exercise　in　efficiency。　Men　had　stood　in　his　way；　and　needed　brushing　aside。　Promising　careers　had　been　broken　so　that　he　could　sit　in　this　Zil　automobile　and　aspire　to　real　power　in　his　country。　But　never　had　the　game　been　this　dangerous。　He　didn't　know　the　rules；　was　not　sure　what　Kosov　was　really　up　to。　Was　his　story　even　true？　Might　he　be　trying　to　cover　his　own　flanks　for　errors　he　had　made　and　blame　it　all　on　Josef　Larionov？　Sergetov　could　not　recall　ever　meeting　the　First　Deputy　Chairman。
〃Straight　to　the　office；　Vitaly；〃　Sergetov　ordered。　He　was　too　deep　in　thought　to　worry　about　his　driver's　other　activities。

NORTHWOOD；　ENGLAND
Toland　scanned　the　satellite　photographs　with　great　interest。　The　KH…11　satellite　had　passed　over　Kirovsk　four　hours　after　the　missile　attack　and　the　signals　sent　by　real…time　link　to　the　NATO　mand　center。　There　were　three　frames　for　each　of　the　Backfire　bases。　The　intelligence　officer　took　out　a　pad　and　started　his　tally；　manding　himself　to　be　conservative。　The　only　aircraft　he　counted　as　destroyed　were　those　with　large　pieces　broken　or　burned　off。
〃We　figured　a　total　force　of　about　eighty…five　aircraft。　Looks　to　me　like　twenty…one　totally　destroyed；　and　another　thirty　or　so　damaged。　The　base　facilities　took　a　real　beating。　The　only　other　thing　I'd　like　to　know　is　how　hard　their　personnel　were　hit。　If　we　killed　a　lot　of　crews；　too…the　Backfires　are　out　of　business　for　at　least　a　week。　They　still　have　the　Badgers；　but　those　birds　have　shorter　legs；　they're　a　lot　easier　to　kill。　Admiral；　it's　a　new　ball　game。〃
Admiral　Sir　Charles　Beattie　smiled。　His　intelligence　chief　had　said　almost　exactly　the　same　thing。

LANGLEY　AIR　FORCE　BASE；　VIRGINIA
The　F…15　interceptor　streaked　over　the　runway　at　a　height　of　one　hundred　feet。　As　she　passed　the　tower；　Major　Nakamura　threw　her　fighter　into　a　slow　roll；　then　turned　around　for　a　more　sedate　landing。　She　was　an　Ace！　Three　Badger　bombers　and　two　satellites！　The　first　female　Ace　in　the　history　of　the　U。S。　Air　Force。　The　first　Space　Ace。
She　rolled　to　a　stop　at　the　ready　shelter；　jumped　off　the　ladder；　and　ran　to　the　reception　mittee。　The　deputy　mander　of　Tactical　Air　mand　was　red…faced　with　anger。
〃Major；　if　you　ever　pull　something　like　that　again　I'll　bust　your　ass　back　to　doolie！〃
〃Yes；　sir。　Sorry；　sir。〃　She　grinned。　Nothing　was　going　to　spoil　today。　〃Won't　ever　happen　again；　sir。　You　only　make　Ace　once；　sir。〃
〃Intelligence　says　Ivan　has　one　more　RORSAT　ready　to　use。　Probably　they'll　think　it　over　some　before　launching；〃　the　General　said；　calming　down　somewhat。
〃Have　they　put　any　more　birds　together？〃　Buns　asked。
〃They're　working　on　two；　and　we　might　have　them　by　the　end　of　the　week。　If　we　get　them；　your　next　target　will　be　their　real…time　photo　reconnaissance　satellite。　Until　then　the　RORSATs　have　highest　priority。〃　The　General　smiled　briefly。　〃Don't　forget　to　paint　that　fifth　star　on　the　bird；　Major。〃

NORFOLK；　VIRGINIA
They　would　have　sailed　anyway。　The　destruction　of　the　Soviet　RORSAT　merely　made　it　safer。　First　came　the　destroyers　and　frigates；　fanning　out；　looking　for　submarines　under　an　umbrella　of　patrol　aircraft。　Then　the　cruisers　and　carriers。　Last　of　all　came　the　ships　from　Little　Creek；　Tarawa；　Guam；　Nassau；　Inchon；　and　twenty　more。　Over　sixty　ships　in　all；　they　formed　into　three　groups　and　steamed　northeast　at　twenty　knots。　It　would　be　a　six…day　trip。

USNS　PREVAIL
Even　at　three　knots　she　didn't　ride　well。　The　ship　was　just　over　two　hundred　feet　long；　and　she　responded　to　every　wave　like　a　horse　to　a　fence。　She　had　a　mixed　crew；　not　really　Navy；　not　really　civilian。　The　civilians　ran　the　ship。　The　naval　personnel　ran　the　electronics　gear。　The　really　amazing　thing；　everyone　agreed；　was　that　they　were　still　alive。
Prevail　was　an　adaptation　of　a　blue…water　fishing　boat。　Instead　of　a　trawl；　she　pulled　a　sonar　array　at　the　end　of　a　six…thousand…foot　cable　filled　with　sonar　sensors。　The　signals　received　were　pre…processed　by　onboard　puters；　then　sent　via　satellite　to　Norfolk　at　a　rate　of　thirty…two　thousand　bits　of　data　per　second。　The　ship　was　driven　by　quiet　electric　motors；　and　her　hull　had　been　installed　with　the　Prairie/Masker　system　to　eliminate　even　her　tiny　amount　of　machinery　noise。　Her　topsides　were　made　of　fiberglass　to　reduce　her　radar　signature。　In　a　very　real　sense　she　was　one　of　the　first　Stealth　ships；　and　despite　the　fact　that　she　carried　no　weapon　other　than　a　rifle　for　dealing　with　sharks；　she　was　also　the　most　dangerous　antisubmarine　platform　ever　made。　Prevail　and　three　sister　ships　were　cruising　the　North　Atlantic　on　the　great　circle　route　between　Newfoundland　and　Ireland；　listening　for　the　telltale　noise　of　a　submarine　in　transit。　Two　already　had　kills　painted　up　on　their　bridges　since　each　had　an　Orion　patrol　aircraft　in　constant　attendance；　and　Soviet　submarines　had　twice　had　the　misfortune　to　approach　one　of　them。　But　their　job　was　not　to　kill　submarines。　It　was　to　warn　others　of　them；　far　away。
In　the　midships　operations　center　of　Prevail；　a　team　of　oceanographic　technicians　watched　a　bank　of　TV…type　display　tubes；　while　others　worked　up　tracks　of　anything　that　might　be　close　enough　to　be　a　direct　threat。
A　petty　officer　ran　his　finger　down　a　fuzzy　line　on　the　display。　〃That　must　be　the　convoy　from　New　York。〃
〃Yeah；〃　said　the　technician　next　to　him。　〃And　there're　the　folks　who　want　to　meet　them。〃

USS　REUBEN　JAMES
〃At　least　we're　not　going　to　be　lonely；〃　O'Malley　observed。
〃You　always　have　such　a　positive　attitude？〃　Frank　Ernst　inquired。
〃Our　Russian　friends　must　have　excellent　intelligence。　I　mean；　your　Air　Force　chaps　did　kill　their　satellite。〃　Captain　Perrin　set　his　coffee　down　on　the　table。　The　five　officers　conferred　in　Morris's　stateroom。　Perrin　had　flown　over　by　helicopter　from　Battleaxe。
〃Yeah；　so　they　know　our　position；〃　Morris　said。　〃And　they'll　want　to　cut　this　bunch　down　to　size。〃
The　messa