Chapter 4 third chapter

CIA headquarters stands in Langley, Virginia, seven miles southwest of Washington, DC.A road leads directly to the gate of the headquarters. There is a flashing red light on the top of the gate, and the gate is guarded day and night.Visitors who are approved to enter, although issued with a colored badge, can only enter the departments related to their business at most.The headquarters is a seven-story gray building nicknamed the "Toy Factory".There is a large statue of Nathan Hale on the outside of the building.On the ground floor of the building, a glass gallery wall separates a large garden with a pleasant view and shaded by trees.Above the reception table, there is a piece of marble engraved with a poem:

The public is not allowed inside, and there is nothing to see inside.To sneak into headquarters without being seen, the only entrance is the tunnel, which leads to a lounge that faces the mahogany elevator doors.Here, a team of guards in gray flannel uniforms are still guarding the place 24 hours a day. The guards in the conference room on the seventh floor were wearing suits, each carrying a 38 Snose revolver. The Monday routine meeting of the operatives was in progress. Around a large oak table, the participants were: Director Ned Tillinghass Special, Army Chief of Staff General Oliver Brooks, Secretary of State Floyd Baker, Chief of Counterintelligence Peter Connors, and Stanton Rogers.

CIA director Ned Tillinghast is in his sixties, with a gloomy appearance and a serious expression, as if he is overwhelmed by the evil secrets all over his body.The CIA has overt and covert divisions, with covert operations being the responsibility of the undisclosed division.For the past seven years, Tillinghast has worked in this department, commanding 4,500 burglars. Oliver Brooks, a West Point graduate, lived by the code of conduct both in his personal life and in his professional life.He devoted himself to the U.S. Army. Floyd Baker was an anachronism.He is a veteran of the former dynasty, and can be compared to an ancient pastoral song in the south.He was tall, with curly hair like frost, with a dignified appearance and a heroic air.This industry veteran holds a large number of influential newspapers all over the country, and enjoys the reputation of being the richest in the world.In Washington, his political acuity was unmatched.His "antenna" extends into Congress at any time to listen to signals of political changes.

Peter Connors was a black Irishman, a savage and stubborn fellow.He loves to drink strong alcohol, and he is a character who is not afraid of heaven and earth, ghosts and gods.This was his last year at the CIA, and he was due to reach mandatory retirement in June.The Counterintelligence Service under his leadership is the most secret and independent department of the CIA.He has worked in various departments of the Intelligence Bureau, and has been mixed until he has become famous today.In the CIA, the agent is the pride of heaven, and he is also called a hero.He participated in the coup that restored the Shah of Iran and regained the Peacock throne. He was involved in the "Mongoose" operation in 1961 in an attempt to overthrow the Castro government.

"After the Bay of Pigs incident, the situation changed drastically." Peter was heartbroken.His complaints vary depending on his level of inebriation: "On the front pages of newspapers around the world, sympathizers curse us at length. They call us liars, sneaky country bumpkins, and fools with few tricks. Worse yet are those who Anti-CIA bastards blatantly publishing the names of our agents and getting our Athens station chief Dick Welch under the radar." Due to the pressure and the need for secrecy, Peter Connors experienced three difficult marriages.But in his opinion, serving the country is above all else.

Halfway through the meeting, his face turned pale with anger. "If the president's shitty people-to-people exchanges plan is implemented, our country will be auctioned off by him. He must be stopped, and he will never be allowed..." Floyd interjected: "The President has been in office for less than a week, and everyone in this room should implement his policies..." "I don't want to give away my country. Gentlemen, the President never mentioned this plan before his speech, and he thrust it on us so suddenly that we didn't even have time to debate it."

"Maybe this is just his good intentions." Baker hinted. Peter Connors stared at Baker, "God, so you can say that too." "He's my president," Floyd Baker said firmly, "and your president." Ned Tillinghast turned to Stanton Rogers and said, "Connors has a point. The president is opening the door for spies to come in with great fanfare from countries A, B, C and others." America, cultural attachés, chauffeurs, secretaries, servants, etc. We spend billions of dollars keeping the back door open while the president opens the front door wide."

General Brooks nodded in agreement: "He also came to give me a briefing. I think the president's plan will destroy our country." Stanton Rogers said, "Gentlemen, you can disagree here, but don't forget that the people elected Paul Ellison to run this country." He glanced around at those sitting around him. "Everyone here is a member of the president's team. We must accept his leadership and try our best to support him in all aspects." His words restrained everyone a little. "Okay, the president is eager to understand the current situation in country A. Please speak freely."

"Should we also talk about secret material?" Peter Connors asked. "All the materials can be told to me directly, what is the situation of the president of country A?" "Sit tight," Ned Tillinghast replied. "What are the prospects for disruption?" Tillinghast said: "Ha, that's funny, remember two years ago? Marin Grossa almost dropped the country A presidential crown." "Of course I remember, Grosha abandoned his armor and dropped his troops, and almost died by accident." "It's up to us to help. Now, the intelligence we've gathered shows that the time has come for him to return to Country A. We'll only benefit from Grossa coming to power and power. We're monitoring the situation closely."

Stanton Rogers asked the Secretary of State: "Do you have a list of people who will serve in Country A?" Floyd Baker opened the leather briefcase, took out some documents, and handed them to Rogers. "These are the best candidates. They are all qualified professional diplomats. They have all gone through strict scrutiny. There are no doubts, no economic problems, and no problems of stealing money and jade." Stanton Rodgers takes over the roster.The Secretary of State added: "Of course, the State Department is in favor of sending career diplomats to serve, and does not want to appoint candidates out of partisan needs. The people here have all undergone special job training. Under the current circumstances, country A is particularly sensitive, and this matter must be Take it seriously."

"I fully agree," said Stanton Rogers, standing up. "I'll discuss it with the President before I get back to you. He wants to get the head as soon as possible." As the others were about to leave, Ned Tillinghast stopped Peter Connors and said, "Please stay, I want to talk to you." When they were alone in the room, Tillinghast said, "Peter, you're tough enough." "Because I am justified." Peter Connors said stubbornly: "The president wants to betray the country, what can we do?" "Shut your stinky mouth!" "Ned, our mission is to find the enemy and destroy them. What if the enemy goes deep behind us—like sitting in the Oval Office?" "Be careful, be careful." Tillinghast had more seniority in the Intelligence Service.He was part of Wilder Bill Donovan when he presided over the predecessor of the CIA, the Office of Strategic Intelligence (OSS).He also hated the way hypocrites in Congress persecuted intelligence organizations, and indeed, the CIA hawks fought fiercely with doves.Could Tillinghast be angry that the doves thought the Russian bear could be tamed into a harmless critter?We fight for every dollar allocated, and the KGB in Moscow can train a thousand agents at a time. Peter Connors was recruited by Ned Tillinghast in college.Connors lived up to high expectations and eventually became a master.But in recent years, he's become a cowboy -- uninhibited and prone to outbursts.Too dangerous. "Peter, have you heard of an underground organization calling itself the 'Patriot Freedom League'?" Tillinghast asked. Connors frowned: "No, what do they do?" "So far, it's just rumors, and I'm confused. Can you find any clues?" "Try it." An hour later, Peter Connors called from a public phone booth in Cape Hain: "Odin listens to the phone." "I'm Odin." Oliver Brooks picked up the receiver and said. On the drive back to his office, Stanton Rogers opened his briefcase and researched the list of ambassador candidates. The names on the list were all excellent, and the Secretary of State worked overtime to complete the task.These men have all served in Eastern and Western European countries, and several have even spent time in the Far East and Africa.The President must be very pleased.Stanton thought happily. "Old dinosaurs every one!" Paul Ellison pointedly commented, throwing the list on the table, "without exception!" "Paul," Stanton retorted, "they're both seasoned career diplomats!" "State Department stereotypes. Do you remember how we lost Country A three years ago? Our career diplomats messed things up in the capital of Country A and disgraced us. I'm really worried about these guys in striped suits Dude, everyone turns out to be a guy who covers his own ass and doesn't let others kick him. When I talk about people-to-people diplomacy, I mean doing people-to-people diplomacy. Make a good impression next time." "If you send a non-career diplomat there, you're taking a huge risk because of your inexperience." "What we need is someone with a different kind of experience. Stan (Stanton's nickname), country A is a pilot. You can say that this person will lead my overall plan." He paused, "Not myself Bully, I'm pinning my hopes on the route, and I know a lot of powerful people would love this route to go wrong. If it fails, my knees will be shattered, and then I will have to fight with countries B, C, D China and other countries have no relationship with each other, but I don't want that to happen." "I can look it up and find out if any of the party appointees are competent..." President Ellison shook his head straight: "It's the same with minor differences. The person I want must have a new concept. He can melt ice and snow, completely different from the ugly image of Americans." Stanton Rogers looked at the President, bewildered: "Paul—I have this hunch: you've got a plan for who you want?" Paul Ellison took a cigar from the case on the table, lit it, and said, "Probably." "Who is he?" "It's a woman. Have you read this issue of Foreign Affairs? There's an article in it called 'Détente Now.'" "Read." "How about the article?" "Quite interesting. The author believes that we can use economic aid to ease relations with some countries," he suddenly stopped talking. "It's roughly the same as your speech." "The difference is that her opinion was formed six months before mine. She has published a series of excellent articles in the Review and Public Affairs. Last year, I also read her book on Eastern European politics. book. I must admit that many of the points in this book opened my eyes.” "Okay, even if she agrees with your theory, there is no good reason to put her in such an important position." "Stan, she has a better theory than I do. She details a fascinatingly promising plan to unite the four major economic blocs." "How about us?..." "Of course, it didn't happen overnight. But it's totally doable. You see, in 1949, the Eastern bloc established an economic mutual aid organization called the Council for Mutual Economic Aid. And in 1958, the Western European countries formed the European Economic Community -- the Common Market. .” "indeed." "We have established the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which includes the United States, the Western European Bloc, and Yugoslavia. You probably won't forget that there is a non-aligned movement in the third world countries that rejects us." The president's voice was full of excitement. "Think of the possibilities. If we merged all our organizations into one giant market, God, what a feat! That would be true global trade, and that would be peace!" Stanton Rogers said with reservations: "This point of view is very meaningful, but it is too far away." "There is an old Chinese proverb, 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step'..." "She's an amateur after all, Paul." "Some of our famous ambassadors are also non-career diplomats. Ambassador to England Anne Armstrong is a schoolteacher with no political experience! Bury Macita in Denmark; Claire Bush Luce in Italy; Who is Gavien? An actor. To use your words, one-third of the current ambassadors are 'laymen'." "But you don't know this woman well." "All I know is that she is extremely intelligent, and I am on the same wavelength as her. I would like to ask you to do your best to collect materials about her." He took out "Foreign Affairs", browsed the catalog, and said, "Her name is Mary Ash. profit." Two days later, President Ellison had breakfast with Stanton Rogers. "I got the information you want." Stanton Rogers took out a document from his pocket and read: "Mary Ashley lives at 27 Old Malford Road, Junction City, Kansas, and is thirty-five years old. Husband Edward Ashley is a doctor. They have two children, Beth is twelve years old and Tim is ten years old. Chairman of the League of Women Voters Junction City branch; associate professor of Eastern European political science at Kansas State University, whose grandfather was born in country A." He raised his head and said, "The more I think about it, the more I think this person is ideal. She must have a better understanding of country A than most professional diplomats." "It's a real pleasure that you recognize that too. Now, please give her a national screening right now." "I urge it to be done."