The Bear and the Dragon - Tom Clancy [162]
His left hand stroked her body gently. "Do any of the other girls in the office use their computers to surf the Net?"
"Only Chai. Fang uses her as he uses me. In fact, he likes her better. He thinks she has a better mouth."
"Oh?" Nomuri asked, softening the question with a smile.
"I told you, Minister Fang is an old man. Sometimes he needs special encouragement, and Chai doesnt mind so much. Fang reminds her of her grandfather, she says," Ming told him.
Which was good in the Americans mind for a Yuck! and little else. "So, all the girls in the office trade notes on your minister?"
Ming laughed. It was pretty funny. "Of course. We all do."
Damn, Nomuri thought. Hed always thought that women would be more … discreet, that it was just the men who bragged in the locker room over their sweat socks.
"The first time he did me," she went on, "I didnt know what to do, so I talked with Chai for advice. Shes been there the longest, you see. She just said to enjoy it, and try to make him happy, and I might get a nice office chair out of it, like she did. Chai must be very good to him. She got a new bicycle last November. Me, well, I think he only likes me because Im a little different to look at. Chai has bigger breasts than I do, and I think Im prettier, but she has a sweet disposition, and she likes the old man. More than I do, anyway." She paused. "I dont want a new bicycle enough for that."
"What does this mean?" Robby Jackson asked.
"Well, were not sure," the DCI admitted. "This Fang guy had a long talk with our old friend Zhang Han San. Theyre talking about the meeting with our trade team that starts tomorrow. Hell"—Ed Foley looked at his watch—"call that fourteen hours from now. And it looks as though they want concessions from us instead of offering any to us. Theyre even angrier over our recognition of Taiwan than wed anticipated."
"Tough shit" Ryan observed.
"Jack, I agree with your sentiment, but lets try not to be over-cavalier about their opinions, shall we?" Foley suggested.
"Youre starting to sound like Scott," the President said.
"So? You want a yes-man handling Langley, you got the wrong guy," the DCI countered.
"Fair enough, Ed," Jack conceded. "Go on."
"Jack, we need to warn Rutledge that the PRC isnt going to like what he has to say. They may not be in a mood to make many trade concessions."
"Well, neither is the United States of America," Ryan told his Director of Central Intelligence. "And we come back to the fact that they need our money more than we need their trade goods."
"Whats the chance that this is a setup, this information I mean?" Vice President Jackson asked.
"You mean that theyre using this source as a conduit to get back-channel information to us?" Mary Patricia Foley asked. "I evaluate that chance as practically zero. As close to zero as something in the real world can be."
"MP, how can you be that confident?" President Ryan asked.
"Not here, Jack, but I am that confident," Mary Pat said, somewhat to the discomfort of her husband, Ryan saw. It was rare in the intelligence community for anyone to feel that confident about anything, but Ed had always been the careful one, and Mary Pat had always been the cowgirl. She was as loyal to her people as a mother was to her infant, and Ryan admired that, even though he also had to remind himself that it wasnt always realistic.
"Ed?" Ryan asked, just to see.
"I back Mary up on this one. This source appears to be gold-plated and copper-bottomed."
"So, this document represents the view of their government?" TOMCAT asked.
Foley surprised the Vice President by shaking his head. "No, it represents the view of this Zhang Han San guy. Hes a powerful and influential minister, but he doesnt speak for their government per se. Note that the text here doesnt say what their official position is. Zhang probably does represent a view, and a powerful view, inside their Politburo. There are also moderates whose position this document does not address."
"Okay, great," Robby said, shifting in his seat, "so why are you taking up our time with this stuff,