Divide and conquer - Tom Clancy [46]
"The only two possibilities are delusions of reference and delusions of persecution," she went on.
"Delusions of reference is actually a mild form of delusions of persecution, in which innocent remarks are deemed to be critical. That doesn't seem to apply here. But I can't be as quick to rule out persecution delusions."
"Why not?" Hood asked.
"Because the sufferer will go to great pains to conceal them," she said.
"He or she believes that others are trying to stop them or hurt them in some way. They often imagine a conspiracy of some kind. If the president fears that people are out to get him, he won't want to confide in anyone."
"But the stress might come out in little bursts," Rodgers said.
"Exactly," Gordon told him.
"Crying, withdrawal, distraction, temper-all of the things Paul described."
"He seemed to want to trust me," Hood said.
"That's true and also characteristic of the illness," Gordon said.
"Delusions of persecution is a form of para noia. But as a sage once said, "Sometimes even paranoids have enemies."
"Is there something we should do?" Hood asked.
"The First Lady's feelings notwithstanding, we have to do something if the president can't continue to function under these circumstances."
"Whatever is going on sounds like it's in an advanced-early stage,"
Gordon said.
"The effects are unlikely to be permanent." Hood's phone beeped.
"If there is a conspiracy, and you can expose it quickly," Gordon went on, "there is every reason to believe the president can stay on the job after a short rest. Whatever has happened probably wouldn't have any effects, long-term or short." Hood nodded as he answered the phone.
"Yes?"
"Paul, it's Bob," said Herbert.
"What's up?"
"A major situation," he said.
"I just got a call from the CIA suit who relayed Tom Moore's request to me from Baku. Moore and the CIA guy from Moscow, Pat Thomas, were just wasted. They were taking David Battat to the hospital-the guy the Harpooner attacked during the stakeout. Moore was tagged by a sniper outside the hospital, and Thomas had his throat cut in the lobby."
"By who?" Hood asked.
"We don't know."
"No one saw him?" Hood asked.
"Apparently not," Herbert replied.
"Or if they did, they didn't see him again."
"Where is Battat?"
"He's still at the hospital, which is why the suit called me," Herbert said.
"The embassy called for police protection, but we don't know whether they've been compromised or not. The CIA is out of people, and they're afraid Battat will be next, and soon. We don't have anyone in Baku, but I thought-"
"Orlov," Hood said urgently.
"I'll call him now."
Khachmas, Azerbaijan Tuesday, 4:44 a.m.
Maurice Charles did not like to repeat himself. If he arrived someplace by car, he liked to leave by bus or rail. If he went west by air, he liked to go east by car or bus. If he wore a hat in the morning, he took it off in the afternoon. Or else he wore a different one or dyed his hair. If he destroyed a car with a pipe bomb, he attacked the next target with C-4. If he had done surveillance along a coastline, he retreated inland for a short time. Repetition was the means by which entrepreneurs in any field were undone. Patterns enabled lesser thinkers to anticipate you. The only exceptions were densely populated cities where he might be seen. If he found a relatively obscure route through a place like that, he would use it more than once. The risk of being spotted and identified was greater than the risk of refusing an out-of-the-way road or tunnel. Because Charles had surveyed the Caspian oil drilling site by plane, he decided to return