The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

'I am not impressed.' Golovko looked around disapprovingly at the painted
gypsum-board drywall. Ryan did have a single decent painting borrowed from a
government warehouse, and, of course, the not-exactlyrequired photo of President
Fowler over by the clothes tree on which Jack hung his coat.
'I do have a nicer view, Sergey Nikolayevich. Tell me, is the statue of Iron
Feliks still in the middle of the square?'
'For the moment.' Golovko smiled. 'Your Director is out of town, I gather.'
'Yes, the President decided that he needed some advice.'
'On what?' Golovko asked with a crooked smile.
'Damned if I know,' Ryan answered with a laugh. Lots of things, he didn't say.
'Difficult, is it not? For both of us.' The new KGB Chairman was not a
professional spook either – in fact, that was not unusual. More often than not,
the director of that grim agency had been a Party man, but the Party was
becoming a thing of history also, and Narmonov had selected a computer expert
who was supposed to bring new ideas into the Soviet Union's chief spy agency.
That would make it more efficient. Ryan knew that Golovko had an IBM PC behind
his desk in Moscow now.
'Sergey, I always used to say that if the world made sense, I'd be out of a job.
So, look what's happening. Want some coffee?'
'I would like that, Jack.' A moment later he expressed approval of the brew.
'Nancy sets it up for me every morning. So. What can I do for you?'
'I have often heard that question, but never in such surroundings as this.'
There was a rumbling laugh from Ryan's guest. 'My God, Jack, do you ever wonder
if this is all the result of some drug-induced dream?'
'Can't be. I cut myself shaving the other day, and I didn't wake up.'
Golovko muttered something in Russian that Jack didn't catch, though his
translators would when they went over the tapes.
'I am the one who reports to our parliamentarians on our activities. Your
Director was kind enough to respond favorably to our request for advice.'
Ryan couldn't resist that opening: 'No problem, Sergey Nikolayevich. You can
screen all your information through me. I'd be delighted to tell you how to
present it.' Golovko took it like a man.
'Thank you, but the Chairman might not understand.' With jokes aside, it was
time for business.
'We want a quid pro quo.' The fencing began.
'And that is?'
'Information on the terrorists you guys used to support.'
'We cannot do that,' Golovko said flatly.
'Sure you can.'
Next Golovko waved the flag: 'An intelligence service cannot betray confidences
and continue to function.'
'Really? Tell Castro that next time you see him,' Ryan suggested.
'You're getting better at this, Jack.'
'Thank you, Sergey. My government is most gratified indeed for your President's
recent statement on terrorism. Hell, I like the guy personally. You know that.
We're changing the world, man. Let's clean a few more messes up. You never
approved of your government's support for those creeps.'