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Marie looked at her husband, his suddenly passive face outlined in the dim wash of the
dashboard lightsWhat she saw frightened her far more than the specter of the JackalShe was not
looking at David Webb the soft-spoken scholarShe was staring at a man they both thought had
disappeared from their lives forever
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Alexander Conklin gripped his cane as he limped into the conference room at the Central
Intelligence Agency in Langley, VirginiaHe stood facing a long impressive table, large enough to
seat thirty people, but instead there were only three, the man at the head the gray-haired DCI,
director of Central IntelligenceNeither he nor his two highest-ranking deputy directors appeared
pleased to see ConklinThe greetings were perfunctory, and rather than taking his obviously
assigned seat next to the CIA official on the DCI?s left, Conklin pulled out the chair at the far end
of the table, sat down, and with a sharp noise slapped his cane against the edge
?Now that we?ve said hello, can we cut the crap, gentlemen??
?That?s hardly a courteous or an amiable way to tiffany necklace begin, MrConklin,? observed the director
?Neither courtesy nor amiability is on my mind just now, sirI just want to know why airtight
Four Zero regulations were ignored and maximum-classified information was released that
endangers a number of lives, including mine!?
?That?s outrageous, Alex!? interrupted one of the two associates
?Totally inaccurate!? added the other?It couldn?t happen and you know it!?
?I don?t know it and it did happen and I?ll tell you what?s outrageously accurate,? said Conklin
angrily?A man?s out there with a wife and two children, a man this country and a large part of the
world owe more to than anyone could ever repay, and he?s running, hiding, frightened out of his
mind that he and his family are targetsWe gave that man our word, all of us, that no part of the
official record would ever see the light of day until it was confirmed beyond doubt that Rich
Ramirez Sanchez, also known as Carlos the Jackal, was deadAll right, I?ve heard the same
rumors you have, probably from the same or much better sources, that the Jackal was killed here or
executed there, but no one?repeat no chanel bags one?has come forward with indisputable proofYet a
part of that file was leaked, a very vital part, and it concerns me deeply because my name is thereMorris Panov, the chief psychiatrist of recordWe were the only?repeat only?
two individuals acknowledged to have been close associates of the unknown man who assumed the
name of Jason Bourne, considered in more sectors than we can count to be the rival of Carlos in the
killing gameBut that information is buried in the vaults here in LangleyHow did it get out?
According to the rules, if anyone wants any part of that record?from the White House to the State
Department to the holy Joint Chiefs?he has to go through the offices of the director and his chief
analysts right here at LangleyThey have to be briefed on all the details of the request, and even if
they?re satisfied as to the legitimacy, there?s a final stepBefore a release is signed, I?m to be
contacted, and in the event I?m not around any longer, DrPanov is to be reached, either one of us
legally empowered to turn the request down flatThat?s the way it is, gentlemen, and no one
knows the rules better rolex watches for sale than I do because I?m the one who wrote them?again right here at Langley,
because this was the place I knew bestAfter twenty-eight years in this corkscrew business, it was
my final contribution?with the full authority of the president of the United States and the consent
of Congress through the select committees on intelligence in the House and the Senate
?That?s heavy artillery, MrConklin,? commented the gray-haired director, sitting motionless,
his voice flat, neutral
?There were heavy reasons for pulling out the cannonsOne of the sixteen-inchers reached me
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?You?re damned right he didNow, there?s the question of accountabilityI want to know how
that information surfaced and, most important, who got it
Both deputy directors began talking at once, as angrily as Alex, but they were stopped by the
DCI, who touched their arms, a pipe in one hand, a lighter in the other?Slow down and back up,
MrConklin,? said the director gently, lighting his pipe?It?s obvious that you know my two
associates, but you and I never met, have we??
?NoI resigned four and a half years omega automatic seamaster watch ago, and you were appointed a year after that
?Like many others?quite justifiably, I think?did you consider me a crony appointment??
?You obviously were, but I had no trouble with thatAs far as I could
tell, you were an apolitical Annapolis admiral who ran naval intelligence and who just happened to
work with an FMF marine colonel during the Vietnam war who became presidentOthers were
passed over, but that happensBut do you have any ?sweat? with my two deputy directors??
?It?s history, but I can?t say either one of them was considered the best friend an agent in the
field ever hadThey were analysts, not field men
?Isn?t that a natural aversion, a conventional hostility??
?Of course it isThey analyzed situations from thousands of miles away with computers we
didn?t know who programmed and with data we hadn?t passed onYou?re damned right it?s a
natural aversionWe dealt with human quotients; they didn?tThey dealt with little green letters on
a computer screen and made decisions they frequently shouldn?t have made
?Because people like you had to be controlled,? interjected the deputy on the director?s hermes bag r |
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