"Clancy, Tom - Jack Ryan 02 - Patriot Games" - читать интересную книгу автора (Clancy Tom)

Patriot Games
By Tom Clancy

Copyright 1987

When bad men combine, the good must associate;
else they will fall one by one, an
unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.

-EDMUND BURKE

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Behind all the political rhetoric being hurled at us from abroad, we
are bringing home one unassailable fact -- [terrorism is] a crime by any
civilized standard, committed against innocent people, away from the scene
of political conflict, and must be dealt with as a crime . . .
[I]n our recognition of the nature of terrorism as a crime lies our
best hope of dealing with it . . .
[L]et us use the tools that we have. Let us invoke the cooperation we
have the right to expect around the world, and with that cooperation let
us shrink the dark and dank areas of sanctuary until these cowardly
marauders are held to answer as criminals in an open and public trial for
the crimes they have committed, and receive the punishment they so richly
deserve.

-WILLIAM H. WEBSTER, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation,
October 15,1985

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Chapter 1
A Sunny Day in Londontown

Ryan was nearly killed twice in half an hour. He left the taxi a few
blocks short of his destination. It was a fine, clear day, the sun already
low in the blue sky. Ryan had been sitting for hours in a series of
straight-back wooden chairs, and he wanted to walk a bit to work the kinks
out. Traffic was relatively light on the streets and sidewalks. That
surprised him, but he looked forward to the evening rush hour. Clearly
these streets had not been laid out with automobiles in mind, and he was
sure that the afternoon chaos would be something to behold. Jack's first
impression of London was that it would be a fine town to walk in, and he
moved at his usual brisk pace, unchanged since his stint in the Marine
Corps, marking time unconsciously by tapping the edge of his clipboard
against his leg.
Just short of the corner the traffic disappeared, and he moved to
cross the street early. He automatically looked left, right, then left
again as he had since childhood, and stepped off the curb --
And was nearly crushed by a two-story red bus that screeched past him
with a bare two feet to spare.