@@@@@His assailant fell to the floor of the 802
@@@@@His assailant fell to the floor of
the soiled lobby
?I caught a ricochet in my leg!? cried the agent?But he?s down?deep dead or not I can?t tell
Sweep up the vehicle and get us both outStay put!?
It was shortly past eight o?clock the next morning when Alex Conklin limped into Peter
Holland?s officeThe guards at the CIA gates were impressed with his immediate access to the
director
?Anything?? asked the DCI, looking up from the papers on his desk
?Nothing,? answered the retired field officer angrily, heading for the couch against the wall
rather than a chair?Not a goddamned thingJesus, what a fucked-up day and it hasn?t even begun!
Casset and Valentino are down in the cellars sending out queries all over the Paris sewers but so far
nothingChrist, look at the scenario and find me a thread! Swayne, Armbruster, DeSole?our
mute son of a bitch, the moleThen for God?s sake, Teagarten with Bourne?s calling card, when we
know damned well it?s a trap for Jason set by the JackalBut there?s no logic anywhere that ties
Carlos to Teagarten and by extension to MedusaNothing makes sense, PeterWe?ve lost the
spine?everything?s gone off the wire!?
?Calm down,? said Holland gently
?How the hell can I? Bourne?s disappeared-I mean really disappeared, if he isn?t deadAnd
there?s no trace of Marie, no word from her, and then we learn that Bernardine was killed in a
shoot-out only hours ago on the Rivoli?Christ, shot in broad daylight! And that means Jason was
there?he had to be there!?
?But since none of the dead or wounded fits his description, we can assume he got away, can?t
we??
?We can hope, yes
?You asked for a thread,? mused the DCI?I?m not sure I can actually provide one, but I can
give you something like it
?New York?? Conklin sat forward on the couch?The answering machine? That DeFazio hood in
Brooklyn Heights??
?We?ll get to New York, to all of that?themRight now let?s concentrate on that thread of
yours, that spine you mentioned
?I?m not the slowest kid on the block, but where is it??
Holland leaned back in his chair, gazing first at the papers on his desk and then up at Alex
?Seventy-two hours ago, when you decided to come clean with me about everything, you said that
the idea behind Bourne?s strategy was to persuade the Jackal and this latter-day Medusa to join
forces, with Bourne as the common target, one feeding the otherWasn?t that basically the premise?
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
294
Both sides wanted him kille
