The Bear and the Dragon - Tom Clancy [126]
This was not a problem for the National Security Agency. NSA has stations worldwide, and the one located at Chicksands in England took the feed of the Russian satellite and instantly cross-loaded it to an American military-communications satellite, which dispatched the signal to Fort Meade, Maryland. Agreeably, the signal was not encrypted and so could be immediately forwarded to Russian linguists for translation, and then off it went to CIA and other national assets for evaluation. As it played out, the President of the United States would see the footage a week before the average Russian citizen.
"Damn, who is that guy, Jim Bridger?" Jack asked.
"His name is Pavel Petrovich Gogol. Hes the guy credited with discovering the gold deposit. See," Ben Goodley said. The camera took in the row of gilded wolf pelts.
"Damn, those could be hung in the Smithsonian … like something out of a George Lucas movie … SWORDSMAN observed.
"Or you could buy one for your wife," Goodley suggested.
POTUS shook his head. "Nah … but.., maybe if it was a gilded sable coat.., you think the voters could handle it?"
"I think I defer on such questions to Mr. van Damm," the National Security Adviser said after a moments consideration.
"Yeah, might be fun to see him have a cow right here in the Oval Office. This tape isnt classified, is it?"
"Yes, it is, but only confidential."
"Okay, I want to show this one to Cathy tonight." That level of classification wouldnt faze anybody, not even a major city newspaper.
"You want one with subtitles or a voice-over translation?"
"We both hate subtitles," Jack informed his aide, with a look.
"Ill have Langley get it done for you, then," Goodley promised.
"Shell flip out when she sees that pelt." With the money from his investment portfolio, Ryan had become a connoisseur of fine jewelry and furs. For the former, he had an arrangement with Blickmans, a very special firm in Rockefeller Center. Two weeks before the previous Christmas, one of their salespeople had come by train to Washington, accompanied by two armed guards, who hadnt been allowed into the White House proper—the outside guards had gone slightly nuts on learning that armed men were on campus, but Andrea Price-ODay had smoothed that over—and shown the President about five million dollars worth of estate jewelry, and some pieces newly made just across the street from their office, some of which Ryan had purchased. His reward had been to see Cathys eyes pop nearly out of her head under the Christmas tree, and lament the fact that all shed gotten him was a nice set of Taylor golf clubs. But that was fine with SWORDSMAN. To see his wife smile on Christmas morning was as fine a prize as he expected in life. Besides, it was proof that he had taste in jewelry, one of the better things for a man to have—at least in his womans eyes. But damn, if he could have gotten her one of those wolf-fur coats … could he cut a deal with Sergey Golovko? Jack wondered briefly. But where the hell could you wear such a thing? He had to be practical.
"Would look nice in the closet," Goodley agreed, seeing the distant look in his bosss eyes.
Color would go so nice with her butter-blond hair ... Ryan mused on for a few more seconds, then shook his head to dismiss the thought.
"What else today?"
"SORGE has developed new information. Its being couriered down even as we speak."
"Important?"
"Mrs. Foley didnt say so, but you know how it works."
"Oh, yeah, even the minor stuff fits together into a real pretty picture when you need it." The major download still sat in his private safe. The sad truth was that while he did, technically, have the time to read it, that would have entailed taking time away from his family, and it would have had to have been really important for the President to do that.
"So, what will the Americans do?" Fang asked Zhang.
"On the trade issue? They will, finally, bow to the inevitable, and grant us most-favored-nation status and remove