thrown a military cordon around the country and reportedly are killing and burning with flamethrowers anyone attempting to enter.”
“So much murder,” Godelinsky murmured.
“I heard about Brittany,” Lepikov said. “Is that the trouble you mention in France?”
“There is more,” Danzas said. “Certain prefectures are isolating themselves in the Swiss manner. Units of the military have defected from Central Authority to support the… uhhhhh…”
“Fragmentation,” Hupp said.
“Washington, D.C., did the same thing and so did New York,” Beckett said. “It’s ruthless but it seems to be effective.” He looked at Lepikov. “What’s happening in the Soviet Union?”
“They do not inform us,” Lepikov said. “They ask that we search diligently for the Madman.”
“And what do we do if we find him?” Godelinsky asked.
“I’m sure Sergei refers to the search for the Madman’s persona,” Hupp said, trying to set a new tone of familiarity.
“We must know him as we know ourselves,” Lepikov said.
“Oh, better than that, I hope,” Foss said. Her bosom quivered as she chuckled.
Lepikov forgot himself and stared at her breasts, fascinated. A magnificent giantess!
In Russian, Foss said: “Sergei Alexandrovich, you presume on my maternal instincts.”
Godelinsky sneezed to cover a laugh.
Beckett, who sensed a return of open animosity between Foss and Lepikov, said: “Knock it off, Ari. We have work to do. I want us to examine the terrorist references in the Madman’s letters. If it’s O’Neill, that’s where we’ll find the most heat.”
“My colleague and I have extracted those references,” Hupp said. “Bill is right. The passages are significant.”
“Let’s hear it, Joe,” Beckett said.
Hupp smiled. This was exactly the tone he wanted. Bill and Joe. It should become Ari, Sergei and Dorena. He glanced at Godelinsky. Dorie, perhaps? No, the Godelinsky was not a Dorie, except, perhaps, in bed.
Danzas slipped a blue folder from the stack in front of him. “This is the gist,” he said.
Lepikov raised an eyebrow at the thickness of the folder and murmured: “Gist?”
Danzas ignored him. “We take the original words out of context for the purposes of our analysis.” He cleared his throat, adjusted a pair of glasses to his nose and bent forward to read in a clear voice with just a trace of British accent to betray where he had learned his English.
“Their cowardice is masked in lies and guile.” Danzas raised his head. “That is from his second letter. We juxtapose a passage from his third letter where he says” – again, Danzas lowered his attention to the page – “They (the terrorists) seduce the people into belief in violence, then abandon the people to every retaliation that such blind and random action can attract.”
“Accent on cowardice,” Hupp said. “Interesting. Does the Madman think his own revenge cowardly? Does he employ guile and tell us lies? Does he even consider himself a terrorist?”
“I recall a number of places where he refers to cowardice,” Foss said. “Could his own conscience be speaking to us there?”
“Here is another quotation,” Danzas said. “They (the terrorists) commit only crimes that require no true courage. Terrorists are like bomber pilots who need never look upon their tortured victims, never see the faces of people who pay in anguish. Terrorists are kin to the rack-renting landlords who – “
“What is that?” Godelinsky interrupted. “What is a rack-renting landlord?”
“An interesting bit of Irishness,” Hupp said. “It’s from the early days of English domination there. The choicest lands were given to English landlords, who appointed overseers to squeeze as much rent out of the peasants as possible. Rack-renting.”
“I see,” Godelinsky said. “Excuse the interruption.”
“But the Madman knows his Irish history,” Beckett said.
Danzas bent over once more to his pages: “. . . the
“So much murder,” Godelinsky murmured.
“I heard about Brittany,” Lepikov said. “Is that the trouble you mention in France?”
“There is more,” Danzas said. “Certain prefectures are isolating themselves in the Swiss manner. Units of the military have defected from Central Authority to support the… uhhhhh…”
“Fragmentation,” Hupp said.
“Washington, D.C., did the same thing and so did New York,” Beckett said. “It’s ruthless but it seems to be effective.” He looked at Lepikov. “What’s happening in the Soviet Union?”
“They do not inform us,” Lepikov said. “They ask that we search diligently for the Madman.”
“And what do we do if we find him?” Godelinsky asked.
“I’m sure Sergei refers to the search for the Madman’s persona,” Hupp said, trying to set a new tone of familiarity.
“We must know him as we know ourselves,” Lepikov said.
“Oh, better than that, I hope,” Foss said. Her bosom quivered as she chuckled.
Lepikov forgot himself and stared at her breasts, fascinated. A magnificent giantess!
In Russian, Foss said: “Sergei Alexandrovich, you presume on my maternal instincts.”
Godelinsky sneezed to cover a laugh.
Beckett, who sensed a return of open animosity between Foss and Lepikov, said: “Knock it off, Ari. We have work to do. I want us to examine the terrorist references in the Madman’s letters. If it’s O’Neill, that’s where we’ll find the most heat.”
“My colleague and I have extracted those references,” Hupp said. “Bill is right. The passages are significant.”
“Let’s hear it, Joe,” Beckett said.
Hupp smiled. This was exactly the tone he wanted. Bill and Joe. It should become Ari, Sergei and Dorena. He glanced at Godelinsky. Dorie, perhaps? No, the Godelinsky was not a Dorie, except, perhaps, in bed.
Danzas slipped a blue folder from the stack in front of him. “This is the gist,” he said.
Lepikov raised an eyebrow at the thickness of the folder and murmured: “Gist?”
Danzas ignored him. “We take the original words out of context for the purposes of our analysis.” He cleared his throat, adjusted a pair of glasses to his nose and bent forward to read in a clear voice with just a trace of British accent to betray where he had learned his English.
“Their cowardice is masked in lies and guile.” Danzas raised his head. “That is from his second letter. We juxtapose a passage from his third letter where he says” – again, Danzas lowered his attention to the page – “They (the terrorists) seduce the people into belief in violence, then abandon the people to every retaliation that such blind and random action can attract.”
“Accent on cowardice,” Hupp said. “Interesting. Does the Madman think his own revenge cowardly? Does he employ guile and tell us lies? Does he even consider himself a terrorist?”
“I recall a number of places where he refers to cowardice,” Foss said. “Could his own conscience be speaking to us there?”
“Here is another quotation,” Danzas said. “They (the terrorists) commit only crimes that require no true courage. Terrorists are like bomber pilots who need never look upon their tortured victims, never see the faces of people who pay in anguish. Terrorists are kin to the rack-renting landlords who – “
“What is that?” Godelinsky interrupted. “What is a rack-renting landlord?”
“An interesting bit of Irishness,” Hupp said. “It’s from the early days of English domination there. The choicest lands were given to English landlords, who appointed overseers to squeeze as much rent out of the peasants as possible. Rack-renting.”
“I see,” Godelinsky said. “Excuse the interruption.”
“But the Madman knows his Irish history,” Beckett said.
Danzas bent over once more to his pages: “. . . the
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