Chapter 10 Chapter 6 Garp and Rainbird

On the twenty-fourth of March, Charlie McGee's birthday, Cap Hollinster sat behind his desk with great and inarticulate unease.But the cause of his uneasiness was clear; he knew that John Rainbird would be in his office within the hour, and it was like waiting for a demon to appear.But at least it was possible to bargain with the devil, and Cap always felt that there was something utterly uncontrollable in John Rainbird's character.At the end of the day he is nothing more than a hit man, and hit men are self-destructing sooner or later.Garp felt that when Rain Bird took that step, it must have been accompanied by an earth-shattering bang.How much did he really know about Operation McGee?Only what he had to know, of course, but... he was always uneasy.He wondered more than once, after the McGee incident, should an accident be arranged for this big Indian?In the memorable words of Cap's father, Rainbird was like a rat-eating lunatic who could call it caviar.

He sighed.Outside, a gust of wind whipped a cold rain against the windows.Offices that were once bright and cheery in the summer are now filled with shadows of ever-moving gray. The shadows looked oppressive as he sat behind his desk with the McGee files stacked on a trolley to his left.Winter had aged him; he was no longer the radiant man who rode his bicycle to work that October day (the day the McGeees fled again, leaving a trail of flames in their wake).Wrinkles, which were not so noticeable at the time, have now become narrow, deep cracks.He had already had to wear spectacles—a humiliating sign of old age—and at first he was sick for six weeks trying to get used to them.These were little things, external signs that things were impossibly wrong; things he could only curse privately, because he had been trained and bred not to curse the great things that lay beneath the surface.

This little girl is like a very ominous person.Two of the women he cared about most after his mother died of cancer this winter—his wife, Georgia, three days after Christmas; his personal secretary, Rachel, just over a month earlier. Of course he had known for a long time that Georgia was very ill; she had had a mastectomy fourteen months before her death, but the operation had delayed rather than stopped the disease.But Rachel's death was a relentless and sudden blow.He later remembered joking that she had to get fatter; how unforgivable we were sometimes looking back. Now he was left with Ita—maybe not even that for long.An insidious cancer has also eaten into Cap himself.what do you call itTrust cancer?Pretty much that, and in leadership the disease is almost always fatal.Nixon, Lance.Helms...all victims of a cancer of trust.

He opened the McGee file and pulled out the latest information—the six letters from Andy less than two weeks ago.He flipped back and forth, but didn't read.They're pretty much the same, Cap can almost memorize them, and below the letter are some blurry photographs, some by Charles Payson, some by other agents around Tasmore Pond: Andy is walking On the high street in Bradford; Andy is shopping and paying at the department store; Andy and Charlie are standing by the camp houseboat with Yves Mendes' snow-covered jeep behind them; Charlie is sitting Sliding down the solid slope of a snowdrift on a crushed cardboard box, hair flying under a hat too big for her.In the last photo, her father is standing behind her with his hands on his hips and laughing.Cap often stared at the picture for a long time, and then put it aside with trembling hands. He wanted so strongly to grasp the father and daughter.

He stood up and went to the window.There was no Rich McCann mowing the lawn outside today.Kaimu has lost all its leaves, leaving only dry trunks, and the goose pond between the two houses is lifeless, like a stone slab. Dozens of important things were on Ita's agenda this early spring; but for Cap, only one mattered - the failure of Andy McGee and his daughter Charlein Mendes Farm caused a lot of damage.Although Ita and himself have managed to pull through, the crisis that this incident has sparked will come sooner or later.And the crux of this crisis is the arrest of the McGee father and daughter and the kidnapping of the daughter after Victoria McGee was killed - albeit for a short time.Much of the criticism has centered on the fact that a college English teacher who never served in the military was able to snatch his daughter from two highly trained Itah agents and leave one insane and the other in a coma for six months state.

This second agent has no use value; as long as he hears someone say "sleep", he will immediately fall down and lie down for four hours, or even a whole day.It was both scary and funny. Another major point of criticism was how the McGees managed to get away with it for so long.This greatly affected Ita's image, making them appear slow and unworkable. But the main point of criticism was the Manders Farm affair itself, which exposed almost the entire institution to the public.Ita knew there had been some rumors.Discuss in private.Memos, and maybe testimony from congressional hearings.We don't want him to stay in office for as long as Hoover did.The Cuban turnaround this time was because he was so absorbed in the damn McGee file that his wife's recent death had hit him hard.

The whole McGee affair is nothing more than a series of records of poor work.Maybe a younger person... But these people don't understand what they're dealing with.They think they know, but they don't.Time and time again, he saw those who refused to acknowledge the simple fact that the little girl could cause spontaneous combustion—a fire starter.In fact, dozens of reports have speculated that the Manders Farm Fire started either from a gasoline spill, or from the rancher's wife breaking a kerosene lamp, or something spontaneously combusting, and lots of other nonsense Gossip.And some of the reports come from people who were there.

Garp stood at the window, suddenly finding himself wishing ridiculously that Varys would be here now.Varys understood all this.He could talk to Varys about this... this dangerous ignorance. He returns to the table.It is useless to deceive oneself and others; once the process of destruction has begun, it cannot be stopped.It really is like a cancer.You can rely on the favor of your boss to delay its development; you can even force it to temporarily stop.But one day it will happen and you're done.He figured he could stay in the job until July if he played by the book, or until November if he got tough and kept digging.

But that would risk tearing apart an already divided institution, which he doesn't want to do.He didn't want to destroy with his own hands what he had devoted most of his life to.But if it was his own life or death that was at stake, he would do it: he must see it through. The main reason he kept his seat was that they found the McGeees again very quickly.Karp was more than happy to accept the credit for these contributions because it helped improve his status, but it was really all computer credit. They have been in charge of the McGee incident for a long time, and have conducted extensive and in-depth research on the McGee files. The computer stores more than 200 relatives and more than 400 friends of the McGee-Tomlinson family. information.These friends even included Vicky's best friend from first grade, a little girl named Kathy Smith.She is now the wife of Mr. Frank Worthy, and lives in Cabal City, California.For more than twenty years she had probably never thought of Vicky Tomlinson.

They fed a series of recent data into the computer and quickly had a table of possible events.The first name on the list was Andy's deceased grandfather. He owned a camp at Tasmore Pond in Vermont; ownership of the camp later passed to Andy.The McGees had vacationed there before; and it wasn't very far from Menders Farm, if you took the by-path.The computer figured that if Andy and Charlie were going anywhere, it would be their first choice. Andy and Charlie hadn't been at Grandpa's cottage for a week before Cap knew they were there.Some agents have been sent to the camp to monitor them.Because if they were going to buy anything it was likely to be in Bradford, so Ita bought the Idea Store again.

They are just passively monitored, that's all.All those pictures were taken with telephoto lenses when the concealment was at its best.Cap didn't want to risk another fire. They could have caught Andy quietly as he crossed the ice one time.They could have shot them both—as easy as taking that picture of Charlie sitting on a cardboard box skiing.But Cap wanted the girl, and he was now beginning to believe that if they wanted to really keep the girl under control, they needed the father as much. Once you find them, the most important thing is to keep them quiet.Karp knew that Andy was more afraid without using a computer.The more likely he is to seek outside help. They were also able to control or deal with leaks in the press prior to the events at Menders Farm.And after that, the involvement of the press is a whole other story.What would happen if The New York Times got hold of the truth about this matter?Just thinking about the possibility of this happening is what keeps Cap having nightmares. In the brief chaos that followed the Manders Farm fire, Andy would have been able to post the letter.But it was clear at the time that the McGees were also living in their own turmoil.They send letters.Golden opportunities to make phone calls slip by...but even if they do, it probably won't come to fruition.Thinkers are everywhere these days, and journalists are cynical skeptics like everyone else.Journalists are now a hot job, and they prefer to write about insurance. Now the two are put in a cage.Throughout the winter, Karp has been thinking about countermeasures.Even at his wife's funeral, he didn't stop thinking.Gradually, he decided on a course of action; now he is ready to put it into practice.Their Bradford man, Payson, said that the ice on Lake Tasmore had begun to melt, and that Andy had sent his letter.He might have grown impatient with the wait by now—perhaps begun to doubt whether the letters had really reached their destination.They were probably ready to leave; but Cap wanted them to just stay there. Beneath the photograph was a typewritten report of more than three hundred pages, contained in a blue folder marked "Top Secret."This is the comprehensive report and outlook of eleven doctors and psychologists, chaired by Dr. Patrick Hawksdanler, a psychologist and psychiatrist.In Karp's eyes, Dr. Hawksdanner was one of the ten or so sharpest men under Ita's command.The report cost taxpayers $80,000, and for that matter, so should he.Garp was flipping through the report now, and he couldn't help but wonder what the doomsday seer Varys would do with it. He thinks Ita needs Andy alive.Now, his hunch is confirmed in this report.The basis of the Hawksteeler group's argument is the assumption that the forces in which they are interested occur voluntarily, depending on the willingness of the possessor to use them...   The key word is "will". Passive heat splitting is the most important part of the many powers that the little girl possesses.These forces may get out of control, and may exceed the boundaries of her will control.But this research report, which brings together all that is known, states that) it is the little girl herself who decides whether to use these abilities - as she did at Menders Farm when she realized that agents of Itar were trying to kill her father. everything of. He flipped through the original report of the Destiny Six experiment.All the charts and computer reads point to the same fact: Will is the primary cause. Based on this, the Hawkes-Butler team tested countless medicines, and finally prepared chlorpromazine for Andy, and a new drug called Orison for Charlie.The report, in seventy pages of cryptic language, states that these two drugs can render them disorientated and unconscious; they will no longer be able to tell the difference between milk with chocolate and milk without it, without talking about igniting or convincing others Is blind. They can keep Andy in a drugged state.Andy wasn't much use to them; both the report and Cap's gut feeling that he was a dead end, not much use.It was the little girl that fascinated them.Karp thought: Give me six months and we'll get enough.Just give us time to record the details of what's going on in that amazing little brain.No House or Senate subcommittee could resist the temptation to chemically produce psychic abilities.And if Varys' speculation about her is even half true, her impact on the global arms race would be enormous. There are other possibilities, but they are not included in this report - because their possible explosive results are beyond the category of "top secret".As the context of the whole incident became clearer, Dr. Hawksdanner became more and more excited.He had mentioned one of those possibilities to Karp just a week earlier. "This—the Z gene," said Hawksdanler. "Have you ever considered what mutations would occur if the child reproduced?" Karp thought about it, but he didn't say so to Hawksdanner.It's a matter of racial improvement...reminiscent of Nazism and the racial reformation of master races...which the American people fought to undo in World War II.But it's one thing to dig a philosophical well and produce some metaphysical theories about grabbing God's right to create humans, and quite another to come up with experimental evidence that children born to parents who take Destiny Six may be human torches.Any idea is cheap unless there is a strong counterargument.If so, what would it be?Human breeding farm?As absurd as it sounds, Cap can imagine it.This may be the key to everything.If you master the art of rhetoric and grandiosity, isn't world peace and world domination the same thing? A series of troublesome questions.These possibilities will continue into the next decade or so. Karp knows he may only have six months in the job, but that might allow him to strategize -- to look across the field and see where paths should be opened and where bridges should be built.This can be his legacy to the country and the world.Compared with this, what is the life of a fugitive university teacher and his daughter?Worse than a speck of dust in the wind. If the girl had been kept drugged, no credible experiments and observations could be made on her; but her father would be their hostage.If once in a while they were to experiment with him, the daughter was held hostage.This is a simple leverage structure.And as Archimedes said, as long as there is a fulcrum, a long enough lever can move the earth. The intercom rang. "John, here comes the rainbird," said the new girl.Her normally emotionless receptionist tone was now palpable with fear. At this point, I don't blame you, dear.Karp thought. "Please let him in." Still the same old Rainbird. Rainbird walked slowly into the house.He wears a burnished brown leather jacket over a faded checked shirt and faded straight-leg jeans; his massive head seems to be scraping the ceiling.Looking at the scars in his empty eye sockets, Garp couldn't help but shudder in his heart. "Karp," Rainbird said, sitting down, "I've been forgotten for too long." "I've heard about your house in Flagstaff," Cap said, "and your shoe collection." john.Rain Bird just looked at Cap without blinking with his good eye. "Why do I only see you in these battered sneakers?" Cap asked. Rain Bird smiled and did not answer.The old uneasiness haunted Cap again; he found himself again wondering how much Rainbird knew the truth, and he didn't understand why it made him so uneasy. "I have a task for you," he said. "Okay. Is it the one I was hoping for?" Cap looked at him in surprise, thought for a while and said, "I think so." "Then tell me, Cap." Cap outlined his plan to bring Andy and Charlie McGee to Longmont.It didn't take long. "Do you know how to use that gun?" he asked when he was finished. "I'll use all my guns. You've got a good plan. It's going to work." "It's an honor to be commended," Karp said.He meant to be sarcastic, but he sounded bitter.In any case, he loathed the man. "I accept the mission." Rain Bird said, "but there is one condition." Cap stood up, resting his hands on the desk piled with McGee's files, and leaned over to stare at Rainbird. "No." He said, "You are not allowed to make conditions with me." "But this time I will mention it." Rain Bird said, "But I think you will find that this is a very simple condition." "No," Garp said again.Suddenly his heart was beating violently in his chest, but he didn't know whether it was from anger or fear, "You misunderstood. I am the head of this agency. I am your superior. I think you stay in the army. The time is not short, and you should understand what a superior officer is." "Yes." Rainbird said with a smile, "and I have slaughtered one or two. Once it was directly ordered by Ita. Your order, Garp." "Is this a threat?" Garp called. He was vaguely aware that he had gone too far, but he couldn't help himself. "Bastard, are you a threat?"If yes, then I think you must be crazy!If I decide never to let you out of this house, I just turn off the button!I've got thirty men who can use this gun—" "But none of them will be as accurate as this one-eyed red man." Rainbird said still in a soft voice. "Now you think you've got them, Cap, but they're still getting away with it. No matter what God, maybe they don't want you to catch these two. Maybe they don't want you to lock them up in the dark room. You thought you could catch them before." He pointed to the files stacked on the small cart file, and then pointed to the top-secret report on the blue cover, "I have read the file. I have also read the report of Dr. Hawksdan Le." "Fuck!" Garp yelled, but he could see the truth in Rainbird's face.He has seen it.Somehow he had seen it.Who gave it to him?He was furious.who? "Oh yes," Rainbird said. "What I want: I get it. People give me what I want. I think... it must be because of my pretty face." He smiled even more happily; suddenly the smiling face became very vicious, and the good eye rolled in its socket. "What are you talking about?" Cap asked.He suddenly felt dry mouth. "Just to tell you that I spent a lot of time walking in Arizona to feel the wind... and to you, Cap, the wind seemed unforgiving. I had plenty of time to read and think. And I came to the conclusion that I'm probably the only one in the world who can bring these two to you. And the only one who can make that girl do something when she gets here is your report, your chlorpromazine and Ori Sen - drugs alone are far from enough. Things are much more dangerous than you think., Listening to Rainbird is like listening to the ghost of Varys; He was speechless. "I can do all this," said Rainbird kindly. "I'll bring them here and you can do your experiments." He was like a father who allows a child to play with a new toy. , "As long as you finish the experiment and hand over the girl to me." "You're crazy," Garp murmured. "You're so right." Rain Bird laughed and said, "You are the same. You're sitting here trying to control a power that you don't even understand. A power that belongs only to the gods...and this little girl." "Why don't I destroy you? Right here and now?" "I said," Rainbird said, "that if I disappeared, public discontent and anger would sweep the country within a month, making Watergate seem like petty theft by comparison. I said that if I disappeared, Iran would In six weeks the Tower will cease to exist and you will be standing before a judge for a crime that will keep you in prison for the rest of your life." He smiled again, showing crooked teeth like tombstones. "Trust me, Cap. I've spent a lot of time in this rotten, smelly vineyard, and the wine here is really sour." Cap tried to laugh, but what came out was a strangled growl. "I've been hoarding my nuts and fodder for over ten years," Rainbird said serenely, "like any cruel animal that has gone through a harsh winter without forgetting it. I have a big potpourri, a photo of Karp , tapes, and photocopies of documents that would send shudders to our dear friends, the American public." "That's impossible," Garp said, but he knew Rainbird wasn't bragging; he felt for a moment a cold, invisible hand pressing down on his chest. "Oh, that's very possible," Rainbird said, "for the past three years, I've been like a clearinghouse, because during those three years, I've been able to access your computer system at any time.On a time-sharing basis, of course.So it's expensive, but I've always been able to afford it.My salary has always been high, because the investment has become even higher.I stand in front of you—or sit in front of you, which is true but not so nice— A successful example of American free enterprise in action. " "No," Cap said. "Yes," Rainbird replied, "my name is John Rainbird, but I'm also USGS. Look it up if you want. My computer code is AXON. Look it up on your console terminal. Check the time-sharing code. Go take the elevator. I'll wait for you." Rain Bird crossed his legs, and the trousers of his right leg were stretched up, revealing a tear at the seam of his boots.He looked as though he could wait a lifetime if he had to. Cap felt dizzy. "Maybe you can get into the system on a timeshare basis. But you still can't get into my account—" Finally, Karp said: "Haukestenler and his colleagues believe that it may take two years for the girl to fully cooperate. It depends on the strength of her protective psychological barrier." "And you're leaving within four to six months." Cap shrugged. Rain Bird tilted his head and rubbed his nose with his index finger—a typical gesture of a devil in myths and legends: "I think we can let you stay in your seat longer, Garp said privately, most of the things we know and we know where hundreds of bodies are buried: square - both literally and figuratively.And I guess it might not take that long.In the end we all get what we want.what do you think. Cap muses. He's tired and overwhelmed. He's old: "Well, I think you've made the deal." " "Great." Rainbird said briskly, "I think I can be that girl's handyman. Don't appear in this role in the existing plan. This is very important. Of course, never let her know that I drove it." Gun. That's dangerous, isn't it? Very dangerous." "Why?" Garp finally asked, "Why did you do such a crazy thing?" "Do you think that's crazy?" Rainbird asked lightly. He stood up and picked up a photo from Cap's desk. It showed Charlie sitting on a cardboard box laughing as she slid down a snowdrift. "Fuck us." The party must have nuts and hay for the winter, Cap.Hoover did it, and so did countless CIA officers.You are no exception, otherwise you would be on a pension by now.Charlene McGee wasn't born when I started preparing.And I'm just preparing myself for the back road. " "But why are you so interested in this girl?" Rain Bird did not answer for a long time.He carefully.Look at that picture almost tenderly.He stroked it gently. "She's beautiful," he said, "and very young. And she has your Z gene in her, the power of God. We'll be very close." His eyes dimmed. "Yes, we'll be very close." .”