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? ?Course you didn?tI know you from back to the old days, Br?er, and I never heard of you asking anyone to risk anything for youIt?s always been the other way around ?I?m going to pull you over,? interrupted Jason, tugging on the rug, maneuvering Cactus to the right side of the desk, the old man?s left hand close enough to reach the auxiliary alarm?If you hear anything or see anything or feel anything, turn on the siren ?Where are you going? I mean how?? ?Another room Bourne crept across the floor to the mutilated door, lurched through it and ran into the living roomAt the far end was a pair of French doors that led to an outside patio; he recalled seeing white wrought-iron lawn furniture on the south end of the house when he was with the guardsHe twisted the knob and slipped outside, pulling the automatic from his belt, shutting the right door, and crouching, making his way to the shrubbery at the edge of the grassHe had to move quickly Not only was there a third life in the balance, a third unrelated, unwarranted death, but a killer who could be his shortcut to the crimes of the new Medusa, and replicas bolsas those crimes were his bait for the Jackal! A diversion, a magnet, a trap the flares?part of the equipment he had brought with him to ManassasThe two emergency ?candles? were in his left rear pocket, each six inches long and bright enough to be seen for miles; ignited together yet spaced apart they would light up Swayne?s property like two searchlightsOne in the south drive, the other by the kennels, possibly waking the drugged dogs, bewildering them, infuriating them?Do it! Hurry Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM 135 Jason scrambled across the lawn, his eyes darting everywhere, wondering where the stalking killer was and how the innocent quarry that Cactus had enlisted was evading himOne was experienced, the other not, and Bourne could not permit the latter?s life to be wasted It happened! He had been spotted! Two cracks on either side of him, bullets from a silenced pistol slicing the airHe reached the south leg of the paved drive and, racing across it, dived into the foliageRipping a flare from his pocket, he put down the weapon, snapped up the flame of his lighter, ignited the fuse and threw the chanel handbags collection sizzling candle to his rightIt landed on the road; in seconds it would spew out the blinding fireHe ran to his left beneath the pine trees toward the rear of the estate, his lighter and the second flare in one hand, the automatic in the otherHe was parallel to the kennels; the flare in the road exploded into bluish-white flamesHe ignited the second and threw it end over end, arcing it forty yards away to the front of the kennels The second flare burst into sputtering fire, two balls of blinding white light eerily illuminating the house and grounds of the estate?s south sideThree of the dogs began to wail, then made feeble attempts to howl; soon their confused anger would be heardAgainst the west wall of the white house?it moved, caught in the light between the flare by the kennels and the houseThe figure darted for the protection of the shrubbery; it crouched, an immobile but intrusive part of the silhouetted foliageWas it the killer or the killer?s target, the last ?brother? recruited by Cactus? There was one way to find out, and if it was the former and he was a decent marksman, it was not the best 925 tiffany's necklace tactic, but still it was the quickest Bourne leaped up from the underbrush, yelling in full view as he lunged to his right, at the last half second plunging his foot into the soft dirt and pivoting, lowering his body and diving to his left?Head for the cabin!? he roaredAnd he got his answerTwo more spits, two more cracks in the air, the bullets digging up the earth to his rightThe killer was good; perhaps not an expert but good enough57 held six shells; five had been fired, but there had been sufficient time to reload the emptied cylinderAnother strategy?quickly! Suddenly another figure appeared, a man running up the road toward the rear of Flannagan?s cabinHe was in the open?he could be killed! ?Over here, you bastard!? screamed Jason, jumping up and firing his automatic blindly into the shrubbery by the houseAnd then he got another answer, a welcome oneThere was a single spit, a single crack in the air and then no moreThe killer had not reloaded! Perhaps he had no more shells?whatever, the primary target was now on the high groundBourne raced out of the bushes and across the lawn through the opposing light chanel shopping bags of the flares; the dogs were now really aroused, the yelps and throated growls of attack becoming louderThe killer ran out of the shrubbery and into the road, racing through shadows toward the front gatesJason had the bastard, he knew itThe gates were closed, the Medusan was corneredBourne roared: ?There?s no way out, Snake Lady! Make it easy on yourself?? A spit, a crackThe man had reloaded while running! Jason fired; the man fell in the roadAnd as he did so, the intermittent silence of the night was ripped open by the sound of a powerful, racing engine, the vehicle in question speeding up the outside road, its flashing red and blue lights signifying the policeThe police! The alarm must have been wired into the Manassas headquarters, a fact that had never occurred to Bourne; he had assumed that such a measure was impossible where Medusa was concernedIt wasn?t logical; the security was internal; no external force could be permitted for Snake LadyThere was too much to learn, too much that had to be kept secret?a cemetery! The killer writhed in the road, rolling over and over toward the bordering pine chanel reporter bag tre