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knew the differences in the charters of the CIA and the FBI and he was not shy. Even if his task was quietly to turn Langley into a research center, he would fight to the bitter end. He said reprovingly, ''Marshall is just doing the job that the President gave him to do. It is not for us to fault that." |
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Fisk leaned forward in his chair. "That's well and good, provided we live in the best of all possible worldsBut I came from, how shall I put it, a harsher environment than either Marsh Gray or the President" |
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"You said it, I didn't. Bedford-Stuyvesant is a good proving ground for sons of bitches." Fisk's brown eyes were no longer soft; they were sharp and predatory. "People learned to cover their backs there." A thin smile appeared on his face. It did nothing to warm his expression. ''Not unlike Washington, Vincent." |
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"Point taken," Kellner murmured. |
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"We've seen a sudden flurry of Russian agents lately, in Washington and New York, after several years of low to moderate effort. Almost as if they were just doing busy work. But now we see some new faces on the scene, and some old faces have returned, quietly. So I commissioned a report on the Russian situation," Fisk said. "I was going to keep it in-house. But with the fuss going on over there, and since Marko Galitzin is the third Soyuz, as opposed to Russian, ambassador, I think it needs wider distribution." |
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"The President?" Kellner asked dubiously. |
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"Yes. No question. The conclusion my brain trust draws from its investigation is that Cherny is in deep trouble. What the President chooses to call Cherny's flexibility, my boys see as sheer weakness. We estimate the chances of a right-wing coup in Russia are one in five between now and the new year. And there's a dissenting minority report that says the odds are shorter than that." |
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As he spoke, Frisk studied Kellner's face closely. He wondered how frank he should be, not only about the dangers |
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