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By Root 1087 0

be noticed by the right political hopeful. But that was pure luck. Rutledge had come further than actual merit could justify, but with it came a comfortable salary and a lot of prestige on the Washington cocktail-party circuit, where he was on most of the A lists. And that meant that when he left government service, hed increase his income by an order of magnitude or so with some consulting firm or other. Adler knew he could do the same, but probably wouldnt. Hed probably take over the Fletcher School at Tufts and try to pass along what hed learned to a new generation of would-be diplomats. He was too young for real retirement, though there was little in the way of a government afterlife from being Secretary of State, and academia wouldnt be too bad. Besides, hed get to do the odd consulting job, and do op-ed pieces for the newspapers, where he would assume the role of elder-statesman sage.

"Okay, let me get to work." Rutledge walked out and turned left to head to his seventh-floor office.

Well, this was a plum, the Assistant Secretary thought, even if it was the wrong plum. The Ryan guy was not what he thought a president should be. He thought international discourse was about pointing guns at peoples heads and making demands, instead of reasoning with them. Rutledges way took longer, but was a lot safer. You had to give something to get something. Well, sure, there wasnt much left to give the PRC, except maybe renouncing Americas diplomatic recognition of Taiwan. It wasnt hard to understand the reason theyd done it, but it had still been a mistake. It made the PRC unhappy, and you couldnt let some damned-fool "principle" get in the way of international reality. Diplomacy, like politics—another area in which Ryan was sadly lacking—was a practical business. There were a billion people in the Peoples Republic, and you had to respect that. Sure, Taiwan had a democratically elected government and all that, but it was still a breakaway province of China, and that made it an internal matter. Their civil war was a fifty-plus-year affair, but Asia was a place where people took the long-term view.

Hmm, he thought, sitting down at his desk. We want what we want, and we re going to get what we want … Rutledge took out a legal pad and leaned back in his chair to make some notes. It might be the wrong policy. It might be dumb policy. It might be policy he disagreed with. But it was policy, and if he ever wanted to be kicked upstairs—actually to a different office on the same floor—to Undersecretary of State, he had to present the policy as though it were his own personal passion. It was like being a lawyer, Rutledge thought. They had to argue dumb cases all the time, didnt they? That didnt make them mercenaries. It made them professionals, and he was a professional.

And besides, hed never been caught. One thing about Ed Kealty, hed never told anybody how Rutledge had tried to help him be President. Duplicitous he might have been toward the President, but hed been loyal to his own people about it, as a politician was supposed to be. And that Ryan guy, smart as he might have been, hed never caught on. So there, Mr. President, Rutledge thought. You may be smart, you think, but you need me to formulate your policy for you. Ha!

"This is a pleasant change, Comrade Minister," on Bondarenko observed on coming in. Golovko waved him to a chair, and poured him a small glass of vodka, the fuel of a Russian business meeting. The visiting general-lieutenant took the obligatory sip and expressed his thanks for the formal hospitality. He most often came here after normal working hours, but this time hed been summoned officially, and right after lunch. It would have made him uneasy—once upon a time, such an invitation to KGB headquarters would involve a quick trip to the mens room—except for his cordial relationship with Russias chief spy.

"Well, Gennady Iosifovich, Ive talked you and your ideas over with President Grushavoy, and youve had three stars for a long time. It is time, the president and I agreed, for you to have another, and a new assignment."