“You look better without the hair and the hippie whiskers, I will say,” John P. added.

“Bite me,” Jerry said without heat. “You came here to talk about how I wear my hair, you can goddamn well leave.”

“Do you have any idea how much damage you’ve caused your country? I mean, any idea at all?” the CIA man demanded as his muscular henchman closed the door.

“No. Neither do you, unless your people have got a lot further with figuring out how Humpty Dumpty works than I think they have.”

John P. waved that aside. “We did the heavy lifting. Literally—we did. Why do you think the fucking Russians deserve a piece of the pie?”

“They’re human beings?” Jerry suggested. “They have scientists? Smart scientists, even? Plus the big one, of course—you assholes were gonna rub me out. Your turn now. How come you don’t think they deserve it?”

“They’re Russians. They’re a pack of murderous Commie bastards.” To John P., it was as obvious as The sun will come up tomorrow. He added, “If I had my druthers, we’d fry you like a pork chop, the way they did with the Rosenbergs.”

Jerry just barely knew who the Rosenbergs were. Spies for the Russians, who’d been executed when he was tiny; that was about all. “Why don’t you ask Steve Dole how he feels about it?” he said.

“I had nothing to do with Steve Dole’s death. The Agency had nothing to do with it,” the CIA man said quickly.

“My ass. If you mean you didn’t pull the trigger yourself, okay, I believe that much. The rest is just crap. He and I talked about what it would mean if one of us came down with a sudden case of loss of life. You think I couldn’t read the signs, man? I was next, first chance you found. So don’t talk to me about how murderous the Russians are, okay?”

John P. just glared at him. The younger man who’d come into Jerry’s room with the CIA bigwig shifted his feet, ever so slightly. Jerry didn’t know he was tacitly admitting anything, but would have bet that way.

He went on, “This is bigger than countries. It’ll change the whole world.”

“Exactly,” John P. said. “It will change the whole world. And the United States needs to set the agenda on how.”

“We haven’t done so real great at that, have we? How long do you think Saigon’s gonna last?”

“Not very long.” The CIA man’s admission surprised Jerry. John P. went on, “And what happens afterward, there and in Cambodia and Laos, will be one of the ugliest things since Mao won in China.”