The sum of all fears - Tom Clancy [153]
Well. Clark recorded the face, and it went into the memory hopper with all the hundreds of others.
Ghosn continued his own patrol. He'd purchased all the books he needed, and was now observing the Swiss troops, how they moved, how tough they looked. Avi Ben Jakob, he thought. Missed opportunity. Targets like that one didn't appear every day. He continued down the rough, cobbled street, his eyes vacant as they appeared to scan at random. He'd take the next right, increase his pace, and try to get ahead of the Swiss before they made it to the next cross street. He both admired what he saw in them and regretted that he saw it.
"Nicely done," Ben Jakob observed to Clark. "Your subordinate is well-trained."
"He shows promise." As Clark watched, Ding Chavez looped back to his lookout point across the street. "You know the face?"
"No. My people probably got a photograph. We'll check it out, but it was probably a young man with normal sexual drives," Ben Jakob jerked his head towards the Dutch girl, if that's what she was.
Clark was surprised the Israelis hadn't made a move. A shopping bag could contain anything. And 'anything' had generally negative connotations in this environment. God, he hated this job. Looking out for himself was one thing. He typically used mobility, random paths, irregular pacing, always keeping an eye out for escape routes or ambush opportunities. But Ryan, while he might have had similar instincts - tactically speaking, the DDCI was pretty swift, Clark judged - had an over-developed sense of faith in the competence of his two bodyguards.
"So, Avi?" Ryan asked.
"Well, the first echelon of your cavalry troops is settling in. Our tank people like your Colonel Diggs. I must say I find their regimental crest rather odd - a bison is just a kind of wild cow, after all." Avi chuckled.
"As with a tank, Avi, you probably don't want to stand in front of one." Ryan wondered what would happen when the 10th Cav ran its first full-up training exercise with the Israelis. It was widely believed in the U.S. Army that the Israelis were overrated, and Diggs had a big reputation as a kick-ass tactician. "It looks like I can report to the President that the local situation is showing real signs of promise."
"There will be difficulties."
"Of course there will. Avi, the millennium doesn't arrive for a few more years," Jack noted. "But did you think things would go so smoothly so fast?"
"No, I didn't," Ben Jakob admitted. He fished out the cash to pay the check, and both men rose. Clark took his cue and went over to Chavez.
"Well?"
"Just that one guy. Heavy shopping bag, but it looked like books - textbooks, matter of fact. There was a sales slip still in one. Would you believe books on nuclear physics? The one title I saw was, anyway. Big, thick, heavy mother. Maybe he's a grad student or something, and that is one pretty lady over there, man."
"Let's keep our minds on business, Mr Chavez."
"She's not my type, Mr Clark."
"What do you think of the Swiss guys?"
"They look awful pretty for track-toads. I wouldn't want to play with them unless I picked the turf and the time, man." Chavez paused. "You notice the guy I frisked eyeballed them real hard?"
"No."
"He did looked like he knew what he was -" Domingo Chavez paused. "I suppose people around here seen a lot of soldiers. Anyway, he gave 'em a professional sorta look. That's what I noticed first, not the way he eyeballed you and the doc. The guy had smart eyes, y'know what I mean?"
"What else?"
"Moved good, decent shape. Hands looked soft, though, not hard like a soldier. Too old for a college kid, but maybe not for a grad student." Chavez paused again. "Jesucristo! this is a paranoid business we're in, man. He was not carrying a weapon. His hands didn't look like he was a martial-arts type. He just came down the street looking at those Swiss grunts, eyeballed over where the doc and his friend were, then he just kept going. End of story." There were times when Chavez wished he'd opted to remain in the Army. He would