The Bear and the Dragon - Tom Clancy [164]
"So, you are not from the American State Department?" the Chinese man asked.
"No. Im in the Department of the Treasury. I work directly for Secretary Winston."
"Ah, then you are from the trading business?"
So, the little bastards been briefed … But that was to be expected. At this level of government you didnt freelance things. Everyone would be thoroughly briefed. Everyone would have read the book on the Americans. The State Department members of the American crew had done the same. Gant, however, had not, since he wasnt really a player per se, and had only been told what he needed to know. That gave him an advantage over the Chinese assigned to look after him. He was not State Department, hence should not have been regarded as important—but he was the personal representative of a very senior American official, known to be part of that mans inner circle, and that made him very important indeed. Perhaps he was even a principal adviser to the Rutledge man—and in a Chinese context, that might even mean that he, Gant, was the man actually running the negotiations rather than the titular chief diplomat, because the Chinese often ran things that way. It occurred to Gant that maybe he could fuck with their minds a little bit … but how to go about it?
"Oh, yes, Ive been a capitalist all my life," Gant said, deciding to play it cool and just talk to the guy as though he were a human being and not a fucking communist diplomat. "So has Secretary Winston, and so has our President, you know."
"But he was mainly an intelligence officer, or so I have been told."
Time to stick the needle: "I suppose thats partly true, but his heart is in business, I think. After he leaves government service, he and George will probably go into business together and really take the world over." Which was almost true, Gant thought, remembering that the best lies usually were.
"And you have worked some years with Secretary Winston." A statement rather than a question, Gant noted. How to answer it? How much did they really know about him … or was he a man of mystery to the ChiComms? If so, could he make that work for him … ?
A gentle, knowing smile. "Well, yeah, George and I made a little money together. When Jack brought him into the cabinet, George decided that he wanted me to come down with him and help make a little government policy. Especially tax policy. Thats been a real mess, and George turned me loose on it. And you know? We just might get all of that changed. It looks as though Congress is going to do what we told them to do, and thats not bad, making those idiots do what we want them to do," Gant observed, looking rather deliberately at the carved ivory fixture on the wooden display cabinet. Some craftsman with a sharp knife had spent a lot of time to get that thing just right … So, Mr. Chinaman, do I look important now? One thing about this guy. He would have been a pretty good poker player. His eyes told you nothing at all. Not a fucking thing. Gant looked down at the guy again. "Excuse me. I talk too much."
The official smiled. "There is much of that at times like this. Why do you suppose everyone gets something to drink?" Amusement in his voice, letting Gant know, perhaps, who was really running this affair … ?
"I suppose," Gant observed diffidently and wandered off with the junior—or was he?—official in tow.
For his part, Rutledge was trying to decide if the opposition knew what his instructions were. There had been a few leaked hints in the media, but Adler had arranged the leaks with skill, so that even a careful observer—and the PRC ambassador in Washington was one of those—might have trouble deciding who was leaking what, and to what purpose. The Ryan administration had utilized the press with a fair degree of skill, probably, Rutledge thought, because the cabinet officers mainly took their lead from Ryans chief of staff, Arnie van Damm, who was a very skillful political