Shadow of the Condor Read Online Free PDF

an ambiguous portfolio, lost his struggle with the bullheaded and powerful White House aide who told him, "I can't get a handle on you people if you don't have a name."
    The Liaison Group director decided not to try to revert to the old days of anonymity after the White House aide vacated his seat of power. Us "quasi-formal" status did not greatly hinder the director. The reversion might also call too much attention to L Group and was not worth the trouble.
    The old man whom General Roth visited that morning directs L Group.
    Kevin Powell sat in the same chair the general had occupied four hours earlier. Kevin didn't share the general's paranoia. He looked forward to visiting the old man again. Kevin thought he liked the old man, as much as you could like anybody in the business. To really like someone, to feel unequivocal affection, you have to trust the other person, to think that the person you perceive is the person who really exists, not a deliberately -adopted character. 146, matter how much Kevin’s emotions told him that the kindly old man was his friend, was trustworthy, was basically what he seemed, Kevin's mind told him to be careful. But Kevin thought he liked the old man.
    Kevin knew he didn't like Carl. He also knew it was foolish to trust Carl outside of the limits the old man established. Carl's pervasive asexuality caused much of Kevin's antipathy, but Carl's asexuality was only a symptom of even more disgusting attributes Kevin couldn’t label. There was just something innately repulsive about Carl. Kevin was glad when the secretary closed the door after admitting him to the old man's presence.
    "Kevin, so good of you to come." The old man rose and shook Kevin’s hand.
    "I'm glad to be here, sir."
    "Sit down, Kevin, sit down'."
    The two men exchanged pleasantries for several minutes before the old man inquired, "And what do you have lined up for the near future, Kevin my boy?"
    Kevin smiled. The old man knew that Kevin was between assignments, but Kevin allowed him the opening. "Oh, nothing much, sir."
    "Would you mind helping me out with a little project?"
    As if I have any choice, thought Kevin, even though it probably would be interesting to work for the old man again. He said, "No, sir, not at all. What do we do?"
    The old man smiled. "Do you know General Arnold Roth?"
    “No sir” replied Kevin, “although the name rings a bell.”
    "General Arnold Roth is a large pain in the Air Forces ass," explained the old man. "As you know, Air Force
    Intelligence is massive. With its National Reconnaissance Office, Air Force Intelligence is the largest intelligence agency we have. But most of its efforts and manpower are devoted to aerial and technical intelligence. Computer and camera spying, I like to call it. Compared to the CIA, AF1 has few actual intelligence operatives in the field. They rightly don't consider classic espionage part of their primary function. About half of the field agents they do have are commanded by General Roth.
    "The general has a very influential Congressman for a brother-in-law. The general thinks he commands a crack intelligence team, and so does his brother-in-law. Rather than offend a vote on the House Ways and Means Committee, the Air Force lets General Roth play spy master, within limits, of course.
    "Most of the general's men are bunglers, romantics looking for Mata Hari. They flit through Europe and Central Asia , hanging out in bars, monitoring meetings, running minor security errands, making innocuous contacts. The agency keeps tabs on them to make sure they don't get in over their heads. The general thinks he's another Gehlen, the Congressman is pleased, the funds keep coming in, and everybody's happy.
    "Every once in a while one of the general's men stumbles into something too big for him to handle, too-big for the general's Air Force amateurs. Usually the general's superiors let the agency take over right away, but every now and then something snafus and there is one