| Jacques had stationed a guard there to prevent entrance into the demolished
chapelThere would be no contact hereThen Bourne heard the words over the radio?the words
that would send the false nurse racing away from her false charge
?Get away from me!? yelled FontaineWhere is our regular nurse? What have
you done with her??
Up ahead, the two commandos were side by side, crouching below the wallThey turned and
looked at Jason, their expressions in the eerie wash of colored lights telling him what he knew only
too wellFrom that moment on, all decisions were his; they had led him, escorted him, to his
enemyThe rest was up to him
The unexpected rarely disturbed Bourne; it did nowHad Fontaine made a mistake? Had the old
man forgotten about the inn?s guard and erroneously presumed he was the Jackal?s contact? In his
aged eyes had an understandably surprised reaction on the guard?s part been misinterpreted as an
approach? Anything was possible, but considering the Frenchman?s background?the life of a
survivor?and the state of his alert mind, such a mistake was not realistic
Then the possibility of another reality came into focus and it was sickeningHad the guard been
killed or bribed, replaced by another? Carlos was a master of the turn-aroundIt was said he had
fulfilled a contract on the assassination of Anwar Sadat without firing a weapon, by merely
replacing the Egyptian president?s security detail with inexperienced recruits?money dispersed in
Cairo returned a hundredfold by the anti-Israel brotherhoods in the Middle balenciaga magenta giant work EastIf it were true, the
exercise on Tranquility Isle was child?s play
Jason rose to his feet, gripped the top of the coastal wall, and slowly, painfully, his neck causing
agony, pulled himself up over the ledge, again slowly, inch by inch, sending one arm after the other
across the surface to grab the opposing edge for supportWhat he saw stunned him!
Fontaine was immobile, his mouth gaped in shock, his wide eyes disbelieving, as another old
man in a tan gabardine suit approached him and threw his arms around the aged hero of France
Fontaine pushed the man away in panic and bewildermentThe words erupted out of the radio in
Bourne?s pocket?Claude! Quelle secousse! Vous ?tes ici!?
The ancient friend replied in a tremulous voice, speaking French?It is a privilege our
monseigneur permitted meTo see for a final time my sister, and to give comfort to my friend, her
husbandI am here and I am with you!?
?With me? He brought you here? But, of course, he did!?
?I am to take you to himThe great man wishes to speak with you
?Do you know what you?re doing?what you?ve done??
?I am with you, with herWhat else matters??
?She?s dead! She took her own life last night! He intended to kill us both
Shut off your radio! screamed Bourne in the silence of his thoughtsKill the radio! It was too
lateThe left door of the chapel opened and the silhouetted figure of a man walked out into the
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
169
floodlit corridor of colored lightsHe was young, muscular and blond, with blunt features and rigid
postureWas the rolex swiss watch Jackal training someone else to take his place?
?Come with me, please,? said the blond man, his French gentle but icily commanding?You,?
he added, addressing the old man in the tan gabardine suitAt the slightest
sound, fire your gun
Jason watched helplessly as Fontaine was escorted through the door of the chapelFrom the
pocket of his jacket there was an eruption of static followed by a snap; the Frenchman?s radio had
been found and destroyedYet something was wrong, off center, out of balance?or perhaps too
symmetricalIt made no sense for Carlos to use the location of a failed trap a second time, no sense
at all! The appearance of the brother of Fontaine?s wife was an exceptional move, worthy of the
Jackal, a truly unexpected move within the swirling winds of confusion, but not this, not again
Tranquility Inn?s superfluous chapelIt was too orderly, too repetitive, too obvious
And therefore right? considered BourneWas it the illogical logic of the assassin who had
eluded a hundred special branches of the international intelligence community for nearly thirty
years? ?He wouldn?t do that?it?s crazy!? ?Oh, yes, he might because he knows we think it?s
crazy Was the Jackal in the chapel or wasn?t he? If not, where was he? Where had he set his trap?
The lethal chess game was not only supremely intricate, it was sublimely intimateOthers might
die, but only one of them would liveIt was the only way it could endDeath to the seller of death
or death to the challenger, one seeking the preservation of a legend, the other seeking cartier santos 100 xl men watch the
preservation of his family and himselfCarlos had the advantage; ultimately he would risk
everything, for, as Fontaine revealed, he was a dying man and he did not careBourne had
everything to live for, a middle-aged hunter whose life was indelibly marked, split in two by the
death of a vaguely remembered wife and children long ago in far-off CambodiaIt could not, would
not, happen again!
Jason slid down off the coastal wall to the slanting precipice at its baseHe crawled forward to
the two former commandos and whispered, ?They?ve taken Fontaine inside
?Where is the guard?? asked the man nearest Bourne, confusion and anger in his whisper?I
myself placed him here with specific instructionsNo one was permitted insideHe was to be on the
radio the instant he saw anyone!?
?Then I?m afraid he didn?t see him
?Who??
?A blond man who speaks French
Both commandos whipped their heads toward each other, exchanging glances as the second
guard instantly looked at Jason and spoke quietly?Describe him, please,? he said
?Medium height, large chest and shoulders??
?Enough,? interrupted the first guard?Our man saw him, sirHe is third provost of the
government police, an officer who speaks several languages and is chief of drug investigations
?But why is he here, mon?? the second commando asked his colleagueSaint Jay said the
Crown police are not told everything, they are not part of usHe has Crown boats, six or seven, running back and forth with orders to stop
anyone leaving TranquilityThey are drug boats, monSir Henry calls it a chanel replica bag free shipping patrol exercise, so
naturally the chief of investigations must be?? The lilting whisper of the West Indian trailed off in
midsentence as he looked at his companionThen why isn?t he out on the water, mon? On the
lead boat, mon??
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
170
?Do you like him?? asked Bourne instinctively, surprising himself by his own question?I mean,
do you respect him? I could be wrong but I seem to sense something??
?You are not wrong, sir,? answered the first guard, interrupting?The provost is a cruel man and
he doesn?t like the ?Punjabis,? as he calls usHe?s very quick to accuse us, and many have lost work
because of his rash accusations
?Why don?t you complain, get rid of him? The British will listen to you
?The Crown governor will not, sir,? explained the second guard?He?s very partial to his strict
chief of narcoticsThey are good friends and often go out after the big fish together Jason did see and was suddenly alarmed, very alarmed?Saint Jay told me there used to
be a path behind the chapelHe said it might be overgrown, but he thought it was still there
?It is,? confirmed the first commando?The help still use it to go down to the water on their off
times
?How long is it??
?Thirty-five, forty metersIt leads to an incline where steps have been cut out of the rocks that
take one down to the beach
?Which of you is faster?? asked Bourne, reaching into his pocket and taking out the reel of
fishing line
?I am!?
?I choose you,? said Jason, nodding his head at the shorter first guard, handing him the dior messanger bag reel |
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