The sum of all fears - Tom Clancy [261]
"Possibly the factory was designed with - what do you call it? Creative incompetence."
"What's the Agency say?" Holtzman asked, scribbling his notes just as fast as he could.
"They gave us the initial report, but so far they've been unable to get us a real opinion."
"What about Ryan? He's pretty good on the Soviets."
"Ryan's turning into a disappointment," Liz said. "As a matter of fact - and this is.something you can't say, you can't use his name - we have a little investigation going that's turned up some disturbing data."
"Like?"
"Like, I think we're getting skewed data. Like, I think a senior Agency official is having an affair with a person of foreign birth, and there may be a child involved."
"Ryan?"
The National Security Advisor shook her head. "Can't confirm or deny. Remember the rules."
"I won't forget." Holtzman replied, hiding his annoyance. Did she think she was dealing with Jimmy Olsen?
"The problem is, it looks like he knows we don't like what he's telling us, and as a result he's trying to put a spin on the data to please us. This is a time when we really need good stuff from Langley, but we're not getting it."
Holtzman nodded thoughtfully. That was not exactly a new problem at Langley, but Ryan wasn't that sort, was he? The reporter set that aside. "And Narmonov?"
"If what we're getting is in any way correct, he may be on the way out, whether from the right or the left, we can't say. It may be that he's losing it."
"That's solid?"
"It appears so. The part about blackmail from his security forces is very disturbing. But with our problems at Langley " Liz held up her hands.
"Just when things were going so well, too. I guess you're having problems with Cabot?"
"He's learning his job pretty well. If he had better support, he'd be okay."
"How worried are you?" Holtzman asked.
"Very much so. This is a time when we need good intel, but we're not getting it. How the hell can we figure out what to do about Narmonov unless we get good information? So, what do we get?" Liz asked in exasperation. "Our hero is running around doing stuff that really doesn't concern his agency - he's gone over people's heads to The Hill on some things - doing a Chicken Little act on one thing while at the same time he's not getting Cabot good analysis on what appears to be a major issue. Of course, he has his distractions "
Our hero, Holtzman thought. What an interesting choice of words. She really hates the guy, doesn't she? Holtzman knew the fact, but not the reason. There was no reason for her to be jealous of him. Ryan had never shown great ambition, at least not in a political sense. He was a pretty good man, by all accounts. The reporter remembered his one public faux pas, a confrontation with Al Trent which, Holtzman was certain, must have been staged. Ryan and Trent got along very well now by all accounts. What could possibly have been important enough to stage something like that? Ryan had two intelligence stars - what for, Holtzman had never been able to find out. Just rumors, five different versions of four different stories, probably all of them false. Ryan wasn't all that popular with the press. The reason was that he had never really leaked anything. He took secrecy a little too seriously. On the other hand, he didn't try to curry favor either, and Holtzman respected anyone who avoided that. Of one thing he was sure: he had gravely underestimated the antipathy for Ryan in the Fowler Administration.
I'm being manipulated. That was as obvious as a peacock in a barnyard. Very cleverly, of course. The bit about the Russians was probably genuine. The Central Intelligence Agency's inability to get vital information to the White House wasn't exactly new either, was it? That was probably true also. So, where was the lie? Or was there a lie at all? Maybe they just wanted to get truthful but sensitive information out in the normal way. It wasn't the first time