The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

eport. 'Read.'
'Why me, and why did you say –'
'I also said you did a nice job predicting the breakup of the Pact. It was
better than anything we did in-house, by the way.'
'You mind if I say that you're a strange guy to work with?'
'How do you mean that?' Jack asked.
'You don't like my attitude, but you commend my work.'
Ryan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. 'Ben, believe it or not, I am
not always right. I make mistakes. I've made some whoppers even, but I am smart
enough to know that, and because I'm that smart, I look for people with opposing
views to backstop me. That's a good habit to get into. I learned it from Admiral
Greer. If you learn anything from your time here, Dr Goodley, learn that. We
can't afford fuckups here. They happen anyway, but we still can't afford them.
That paper you did at Kennedy was better than what I did. It's theoretically
possible that you might again one day be right when I am wrong. Fair enough?'
'Yes, sir,' Goodley replied quietly, surprised at the statement. Of course he'd
be right when Ryan was wrong. That's why he was here.
'Read.'
'Mind if I smoke?'
Jack's eyes opened. 'You a smoker?'
'I quit a couple of years ago, but since I've been here . . .'
'Try to break that habit, but before you do, give me one.'
They both lit up and puffed away in silence, Goodley reading over the report,
Ryan watching his eyes. The Presidential Fellow looked up.
'Damn.'
'Good first reaction. Now, what do you think?'
'It's plausible.'
Ryan shook his head. 'That's what I just told the President an hour ago. I'm not
sure, but I had to take it to him.'
'What do you want me to do?'
'I want to play on this a little. The DI's Russian people will chew on it for a
couple of days. I want you and me to do our own analysis, but I want a different
spin on it.'
'Meaning what?'
'Meaning that you think it's plausible, and I have my doubts. Therefore, you
will look for reasons it might not be true, and I'll look for reasons that it
is.' Jack paused. 'The Intelligence Directorate will play this conventionally.
They're too organized down there. I don't want that.'
'But you want me to – '
'I want you to exercise that brain. I think you're smart, Ben. I want you to
prove it. That's an order, by the way.'
Goodley considered that. He wasn't accustomed to getting or taking orders. 'I
don't know that I can do that.'
'Why not?'
'It's contrary to my views. It's not the way I see this, it's . . .'
'Your beef with me and a lot of people here is the corporate mind of CIA, right?
Part of that is correct, we do have a corporate mind, and there are drawbacks to