The Bear and the Dragon - Tom Clancy [118]
"I was disappointed to see the small number of Catholics here—not counting foreigners and diplomats, of course. How bad is the persecution?"
Yu shrugged. "It depends on where you are, and the political climate, and the personality of the local party leadership. Sometimes they leave us alone—especially when foreigners are here, with their TV cameras. Sometimes they can become very strict, and sometimes they can harass us directly. I have been questioned many times, and been subjected to political counseling." He looked up and smiled. "Its like having a dog bark at you, Eminence. You need not answer back. Of course, you will be spared any of that," the Baptist pointed out, noting DiMilos diplomatic status, and his resulting personal inviolability.
The cardinal caught that reference, somewhat to his discomfort. He didnt see his life as any more valuable than anyone elses. Nor did he wish his faith to appear less sincere than this Chinese Protestants, whod been educated at some pretentious pseudo-university in the American prairie, whereas he had acquired his knowledge in some of the most ancient and honored institutions of higher learning on the planet, whose antecedents went back to the Roman empire, and beyond that, to the chambers of Aristotle himself. If there was one vanity Renato Cardinal DiMilo possessed, it was in his education. Hed been superbly educated, and he knew it. He could discuss Platos Republic in Attic Greek, or the law cases of Marcus Tullius Cicero in Imperial Latin. He could debate a committed Marxist on the attributes of that political philosophy in the same language the German Marx himself had spoken—and win, because Marx had left a lot of unfilled holes in the walls of his political theories. Hed forgotten more about human nature than some psychologists knew. He was in the Vaticans diplomatic service because he could read minds—better than that, he could read the minds of politicians and diplomats highly skilled in concealing their thoughts. He could have been a gambler of talent and riches with these skills, but instead he applied them for the Greater Glory of God.
His only failing was that, like all men, he could not predict the future, and thus could not see the world war that this meeting would ultimately bring about.
"So, does the government harass you?" the Cardinal asked his host.
A shrug. "Occasionally. I propose to hold a prayer service in public to test their willingness to interfere with my human rights. There is some danger involved, of course."
It was a challenge skillfully delivered, and the elderly Catholic cleric rose to it: "Keep Franz and me informed, if you would."
"SONGBIRD?" Ryan asked. "What can you tell me about him?"
"Do you really want to know, Jack?" Ed Foley asked, somewhat pointedly.
"You telling me I ought not to know?" Ryan responded. Then he realized that Robby Jackson and Ben Goodley were here as well, and he could know things which they could not. Even at this level, there were rules of classification. The President nodded. "Okay, well let that one go for now."
"The overall operation is called SORGE. Thatll change periodically," Mary Pat told the assembled audience. Unusually, the Secret Service had been hustled out of the Oval Office for this briefing—which told the USSS a lot more than CIA would have liked—and also a special jamming system had been switched on. It would interfere with any electronic device in the room. You could see that from the TV set to the left of the Presidents desk, tuned to CNN. The screen was now full of snow, but with the sound turned all the way down, there was no annoying noise to disturb the meeting. The possibility of a bug in this most secure of rooms was slight, but so great was the value of SORGE that this card was being played as well. The briefing folders had already been passed out. Robby looked up from his.
"Notes from the Chinese Politburo? Lordy," Vice President Jackson breathed. "Okay, no sources and methods. Thats cool with me, guys. Now, how reliable