The sum of all fears - Tom Clancy [86]
"That must have embarrassed the hell out of somebody!" Clark laughed aloud, thinking the same as his boss. It was still dark, and the one good thing about the early days was that the roads were empty. "You really liked the Saudis, didn't you?"
"Ever been over there?"
"Aside from the war, you mean? Lots of times, Jack. I staged into Iran from there back in '79 and '80, spent a lot of time with the Saudis, learned the language."
"What did you think of the place?" Jack asked.
"I liked it there. Got to know one guy pretty well, a major in their army - spook really, like me. Not much field experience, but a lot of book-learning. He was smart enough to know that he had a lot to learn, and he listened when I told him stuff. Got invited to his house a coupla-three times. He had two sons, nice little kids. One's flying fighters now. Funny how they treat their women, though. Sandy'd never go for it." Clark paused as he changed lanes to pass a truck. "Professionally speaking, they were cooperative as hell. Anyway, what I saw I sort of liked. They're different from us, but so what? World ain't full of Americans."
"What about the Israelis?" Jack asked as he closed the document case.
"I've worked with them once or twice - well, more than that, Doc, mainly in Lebanon. Their intelligence guys are real pros, cocky, arrogant bastards, but the ones I met had a lot to be cocky about. Fortress mentality, like - us-and-them mentality, y'know? Also understandable." Clark turned. "That's the big hang-up, isn't it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Weaning them away from that. It can't be easy."
"It isn't. I wish they'd wake up to the way the world is now," Ryan growled.
"Doc, you have to understand. They all think like front-line grunts. What do you expect? Hell, man, their whole country is like a free-fire zone for the other side. They have the same way of thinking that us line-animals had in 'Nam. There are two kinds of people - your people, and everybody else." John Clark shook his head. "You know how many times I've tried to explain that to kids at The Farm? Basic survival mentality. The Israelis think that way 'cause they can't think any other way. The Nazis killed millions of Jews and we didn't do dick about it - well, okay, maybe we couldn't have done anything 'cause of the way things were at the time. Then again, I wonder if Hitler was all that hard a target if we woulda ever got serious about doing his ass.
"Anyway, I agree with you that they have to look beyond all that, but you gotta remember that we're asking one hell of a lot."
"Maybe you should have been along when I met with Avi," Jack observed with a yawn.
"General Ben Jakob? Supposed to be one tough, serious son of a bitch. His troops respect the man. That says a lot. Sorry I wasn't there, boss, but that two weeks of fishing was just about what I needed." Even line-animals got vacations.
"I hear you, Mr Clark."
"Hey, I gotta go down to Quantico this afternoon to re-qualify on pistol. If you don't mind me saying so, you look like you could use a little stress-relief, man. Why not come on down? I'll get a nice little Beretta for you to play with."
Jack thought about that. It sounded nice. In fact, it sounded great. But. But he had too much work to do.
"No time, John."
"Aye aye, sir. You're not getting your exercise, you're drinking too goddamned much, and you look like shit, Dr Ryan. That is my professional opinion."
About what Cathy told me last night, but Clark doesn't know just how bad it is. Jack stared out the window at the lights of houses whose government-worker occupants were just waking up.
"You're right. I have to do something about it, but today I just don't have the time."
"How about tomorrow at lunch we take a little run?"
"Lunch with the directorate chiefs," Jack evaded.
Clark shut up and concentrated on his driving. When would the poor, dumb bastard learn? Smart guy as he was,