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Then?and this?ll test the talents of the old Saint Alex we all knew and revered?word is passed on that there?s someone who wants this dangerous, disgruntled turncoat more than they do ?Ilich Ramirez Sanchez,? supplied Conklin softlyAnd what follows is equally impossible: Somehow?only God knows how?word gets out calling for a meeting between the two interested partiesThat is to say, interested in a joint assassination, the parties of the first part unable to participate actively, due to the sensitive nature of their high official positions, is that about it?? ?Just about, except that these same powerful men in Washington can gain access to the identity and the whereabouts of this much desired corpse-to-be ?Naturally,? agreed Alex, nodding in disbelief?They simply wave a wand and all the restrictions applicable to maximum-classified files are lifted and they?re given the information ?Exactly,? said David firmly?Because whoever rolex swiss watch meets with Carlos?s emissaries has to be so high up, so authentic, that the Jackal has no choice but to accept him or themHe can?t have any doubts, all thoughts of a trap gone with their coming forward ?Would you also like me to make baby roses bloom during a January blizzard in Montana?? ?Close to itEverything?s got to happen within the next day or two while Carlos is still stinging from what happened at the SmithsonianI?ll set up shop here and have Langley send me what I need Four Zero security, of courseI hate like hell to lose whoever it is at the Mayflower ?We may not,? said Webb?Whoever it is won?t fold so fastIt?s not like the Jackal to leave an obvious hole like that ?The Jackal? You think it?s Carlos himself?? ?Not him, of course, but someone on his payroll, someone so unlikely he could carry a sign around his neck with the Jackal?s name on it and we wouldn?t believe him ?Chinese?? Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE chanel quilted bag knock off ULTIMATUM 37 ?MaybeHe might play that out and then he might notHe?s geometric; whatever he does is logical, even his logic seems illogical ?I hear a man from the past, a man who never was Conklin looked toward the door of the apartment, David?s words suddenly provoking another thought?Where?s your suitcase?? he asked?You brought some clothes, didn?t you?? ?No clothes, and these will be dropped in a Washington sewer once I have othersBut first I have to see another old friend of mine, another genius who lives in the wrong section of town ?Let me guess,? said the retired agent?An elderly black man with the improbable name of Cactus, a genius where false papers such as passports and driver?s licenses and credit cards are concerned ?The Agency could do it all ?Not as well and too bureaucraticallyI want nothing traceable, even with Four Zero securityThen what?? ?You get to work, field manBy tomorrow morning I want a lot of people in this d

Jared had come back through the main entranceIt had taken so very little time?perhaps he'd just driven the jeep around to the north side and hidden it under the overhang there I heard their voices coming, subdued, serious, low, and knew from their tone that the Seeker was with themKnew that the time had come for the first stage of my deathYou're going to have to help them do this when I'm ? No! But she wasn't protesting my instruction, just the conclusion of my thought Jared was the one who carried the Seeker into the roomHe came first, the others behind Aaron and Brandt both had the guns ready?in case she was only feigning unconsciousness, perhaps, and about to jump up and attack them with her cheap chanel handbags for sale tiny handsJeb and Doc came last, and I knew Jeb's canny eyes would be on my faceHow much had he figured out already with his crazy, insightful shrewdness? I kept myself focused on the task at hand Jared laid the Seeker's inert form on the cot with exceptional gentlenessThis might have bothered me before, but now it touched meI understood that he did this for me, wishing that he could have treated me this way in the beginning ?Doc, where's the No Pain?? ?I'll get it for you,? he murmured I stared at the Seeker's face while I waited, wondering what it would look like when her host was freeWould anything be left? Would the host be empty or would the rightful owner reassert herself? Would the face be real black and white chanel purse less repugnant to me when another awareness looked out of those eyes? ?Here you go Doc put the canister in my hand I pulled out one thin tissue square and handed the container back to him I found myself reluctant to touch the Seeker, but I made my hands move swiftly and purposefully as I pulled her chin down and put the No Pain on her tongueHer face was very small?it made my hands feel bigHer tiny size always threw me offIt seemed so inappropriate I closed her mouth againIt was moist?the medicine would dissolve quickly ?Jared, could you please roll her onto her stomach?? I asked He did as I asked?again, gentlyJust then, the propane lantern flared to lifeThe cave was suddenly bright, almost like gucci handbags cheap daylightI glanced up instinctively and saw that Doc had covered the big holes in the roof with tarps to keep our light from escapingHe'd done a lot of preparation in our absenceI could hear the Seeker breathing evenly in and outI could hear the faster, tenser breathing of the men in the room with meSomeone shifted from one foot to the other, and sand ground against rock under his heelTheir stares had a physical weight on my skin I swallowed, hoping I could keep my voice normal?Doc, I need Heal, Clean, Seal, and Smooth I brushed the Seeker's coarse black hair out of the way, exposing the little pink line at the base of her skullI stared at her olive tan skin and hesitated ?Would you cut, Doc? I don't? chanel large cambon tote bag I don't want to I saw only his hands as he came to stand across from meHe set a little row of white cylinders on the cot next to the Seeker's shoulderThe scalpel winked in the bright light, flashing across my face ?Hold her hair out of the way I used both hands to clear her neck ?Wish I could scrub up,? Doc muttered to himself, obviously feeling underprepared ?It's not really necessaryWhat he really wanted was the routine, the mental cleansing that the old habits had given him ?How much room do you need?? he asked, hesitating with the point of the blade an inch from her skin I could feel the heat of the other bodies behind me, squeezing in to get a better viewThey were careful not to touch either tiffany jewelry imitation o

He had used it only once before, but he would use it nowHe studied the international codes, picked up the phone and dialedAfter the better part of two minutes, a voice answered ?Le Coeur du Soldat,? said a flat male voice, martial music in the background ?I must reach a blackbird,? said Fontaine in French?My identity is Paris Five ?If such a request is possible, where can such a bird reach you?? ?In the Caribbean Fontaine gave the area code, the telephone number and the extension to Villa ElevenHe hung up the phone and sat despondent on the edge of the bedIn his soul he knew that this might be his and his woman?s last few hours on earthIf so, he and his woman could face their God and speak the truthHe had killed, no question about that, but he had never harmed or taken the life of a person who had not committed greater crimes against others?with a few minor exceptions that might be called innocent bystanders caught in the heat of fire or in an explosionAll life was pain, did not the Scriptures tell us that? On the other hand, what kind of God allowed such brutalities? Merde! Do not think about such things! They are beyond your understanding The telephone rang and Fontaine grabbed it, pulling it to his ear?This is Paris Five,? he said ?Child of God, what can be so extreme that you would use a number you have called only once before in our relationship?? ?Your generosity has been absolute, monseigneur, but I feel we must redefine our contract ?In what way?? ?My life is yours to do with as you will, as mercifully as you will, but it does not include my woman ?What?? Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM 88 ?A man is here, a learned man from the city of Boston who studies me with curious eyes, eyes that tell me he has other purposes in mind ?That arrogant fool flew down to Montserrat himself? He knows nothing!? ?Obviously he rolex swiss watch does, and I beg you, I shall do as you order me to do, but let us go back to Paris I will ask no more of you ?You ask of me? I?ve given you my word!? ?Then why is this learned man from America here following me with a blank face and inquisitive eyes, monseigneur?? The deep, hollow roll of a throated cough filled the silence, and then the Jackal spoke?The great professor of law has transgressed, inserted himself where he should not be Edith Gates, wife of the celebrated attorney and professor of law, silently opened the door of the private study in their elegant town house on Louisburg SquareHer husband sat motion less in his heavy leather armchair staring at the crackling fire, a fire he insisted upon despite the warm Boston night outside and the central air conditioning inside As she watched him, MrsGates was once again struck by the painful realization that there were about her husband she would never understandGaps in his life she could never fill, leaps in his thinking she could not comprehendShe only knew that there were times when he felt a terrible pain and would not share it, when by sharing it he would lessen the burden on himself Thirty-three years ago a passably attractive young woman of average wealth had married an extremely tall, gangling, brilliant but impoverished law school graduate whose anxiety and eagerness to please had turned off the major firms in those days of the cool, restrained late fifties The veneer of sophistication and the pursuit of security were valued over a smoldering, wandering first-rate mind of unsure direction, especially a mind inside a head of unkempt hair and a body dressed in clothes that were cheap imitations of JPress and Brooks Brothers, which appeared even worse because his bank account precluded any additional expenses for alterations and few discount stores carried his sizeGates, gucci tote bags however, had several ideas that would improve the prospects of their life togetherAmong them was to lay aside an immediate law career?better none than with an inferior firm, or, God forbid, a private practice with the sort of clients he was bound to attract, namely, those who could not afford established attorneysBetter to use his natural endowments, which were his impressive height and a quick, sponge-like intelligence that, combined with his drive, disposed of heavy academic workloads with easeUsing her modest trust fund, Edith shaped the externals of her man, buying the correct clothes and hiring a theatrical voice coach who instructed his student in the ways of dramatic delivery and effective stage presenceThe gangling graduate soon took on a Lincolnesque quality with subtle flashes of John BrownToo, he was on his way to becoming a legal expert, remaining in the milieu of the university, piling one degree upon another while teaching at the graduate level until the sheer depth of his expertise in specific areas was incontestableAnd he found himself sought after by the prominent firms that had rejected him earlier The strategy took nearly ten years before concrete results appeared, and while the early returns were not earthshaking, still they represented progressLaw reviews, first minor and then major, began publishing his semi-controversial articles as much for their style as for their content, for the young associate professor had a seductive way with the written word, at once riveting and arcane, by turns flowery and incisiveBut it was his opinions, latently emerging, that made segments of the financial community take noticeThe mood of the nation was changing, the crust of the benevolent Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM 89 Great Society beginning to crack, the lesions initiated with code words coined by the Nixon louis vuitton metallic bags boys, such as the Silent Majority and Bums-on-Welfare and the pejorative themA meanness was rising out of the ground and spreading, and it was more than the perceptive, decent Ford could stop, weakened as he was by the wounds of Watergate; and too much as well for the brilliant Carter, too consumed by minutiae to exercise compassionate leadershipwhat you can do for your country? was out of fashion, replaced by ?what I can do for meRandolph Gates found a relentless wave on which to ride, a mellifluous voice with which to speak, and a growing acerbic vocabulary to match the dawning new eraIn his now refined scholarly opinion?legally, economically and socially?bigger was better, and more far preferable to lessThe laws that supported competition in the marketplace he attacked as stifling to the larger agenda of industrial growth from which would flow all manner of benefits for everyone?well, practically everyoneIt was, after all, a Darwinian world and, like it or not, the fittest would always surviveThe drums went bang and the cymbals clanged and the financial manipulators found a champion, a legal scholar who lent respectability to their righteous dreams of merger and consolidation; buy out, take over and sell off, all for the good of the many, of course Randolph Gates was summoned, and he ran into their arms with alacrity, stunning one courtroom after another with his elocutionary gymnasticsHe had made it, but Edith Gates was not sure what it all meantShe had envisioned a comfortable living, naturally, but not millions, not the private jets flying all over the world, from Palm Springs to the South of FranceNor was she comfortable when her husband?s articles and lectures were used to support causes that struck her as unrelated or patently unfair; he waved her arguments aside, stating that the cases in point were legitimate intellectual omega watch replica parallelsAbove everything, she had not shared a bed or a bedroom with her husband in over six years She walked into the study, abruptly stopping as he gasped, swerving his head around, his eyes glazed and filled with alarm ?I?m sorry, I didn?t mean to startle youWhy didn?t you knock? You know how it is when I?m concentratingSomething?s on my mind and I wasn?t thinking ?That?s a contradiction ?Thinking about knocking, I mean ?What?s on your mind,? asked the celebrated attorney as if he doubted his wife had one ?Please don?t be clever with me ?What is it, Edith?? ?Where were you last night?? Gates arched his brows in mock surprise?My God, are you suspicious? I told you where I wasIn conference with someone I knew years ago, someone I did not care to have at my houseIf, at your age, you want confirmation, call the Ritz Edith Gates was silent for a moment; she simply looked at her husband?My dear,? she said, ?I don?t give a damn if you had an assignation with the most voluptuous whore in the Combat Zone Somebody would probably have to give her a few drinks to restore her confidence ?In that department you?re not exactly a stud, bastard ?Is there a point to this colloquy?? ?I think soAbout an hour ago, just before you came home from your office, a man was at the doorDenise was doing the silver, so I answered itI must say he looked impressive; his clothes were terribly expensive and his car was a black Porsche?? Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM 90 ?And?? broke in Gates, lurching forward in the chair, his eyes suddenly wide, rigid ?He said to tell you that le grand professeur owed him twenty thousand dollars and ?he? wasn?t where he was supposed to be last night, which I assumed was the RitzOh, Christ, he doesn?t understandWhat did you say?? ?I didn?t like his language or his attitudeI told him I hadn?t the vaguest idea where you gucci handbags cheap w

?I could kill ?a few??more than a few! You?re crazy!? ?At this moment I?m the most rational man you?ve ever met,? interrupted Jason harshly, rapidly, as the panicked residents of Novgorod kept rushing by?There?s not a sane general in the Soviet army?the same army that retook Stalingrad?who wouldn?t agree with meIt?s called the ?calculated estimate of losses,? and there?s a very good reason for that lousy verbiageIt simply means you?re paying a lot less for what you?re getting now than you?d pay later ?You?re asking too much! These people are my comrades, my friends; they?re RussiansWould you fire into a crowd of Americans? One recoil of my hands?an inch, two inches with a ?fortyseven?? and I could maim or kill half a dozen people! The risk?s too great!? ?You don?t have a choiceIf the Jackal gets by me?and I?ll know it if he does?I?ll throw in a grenade and kill twenty ?You son of a bitch!? ?Believe it, BenWhere Carlos is concerned I?m a son of a bitchI can?t afford him any longer, the world can?t afford himMove!? The trainer named Benjamin spat in Bourne?s face, then turned and began fighting his way to the guardhouse and the unseen corpse of the colonel beyondAlmost unconsciously Jason wiped his face with the back of his hand, his concentration solely on the fenced parking area, his eyes darting from one pocket of shadows to another, trying to center in on the origins of the automatic gunfire, yet knowing it was pointless; the Jackal had changed position by thenHe counted the other vehicles in addition to the fuel truck; there were nine parked by the fence?two station wagons, four sedans and three suburban vans, all American-made or simulated as suchCarlos was Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM 432 concealed beyond one of them or possibly the fuel truck, the last unlikely as it was the farthest away from the open gate in the fence that permitted access to the guardhouse and thus to the tunnel Jason crouched and crawled forward; he reached the waist-high fence, the pandemonium behind him continuous, deafeningEvery muscle and joint in his legs and arms pounded with pain; cramps were developing everywhere, everywhere! Don?t think about them, don?t acknowledge them You?re too close, David! Keep see by chloe bag goingJason Bourne knows what to doTrust him! Aaughh! He spun his body over the fence; the handle of his sheathed bayonet embedded itself in his kidneyThere is no pain! You?re too close, David?JasonListen to Jason! The searchlights?someone had pressed something and they went crazy, spinning around in circles, abrupt, blinding, out of control! Where would Carlos go? Where could he hide? The beams were erratically piercing everywhere! Then, from an opening that he could not see from across the fenced-in area, two police cars raced inside, their sirens blaringUniformed men leaped out from every door, and contrary to anything he expected to see, each scrambled to the borders of the fence, behind the cars and the vans, one after another dashing from one vehicle to another to the open gate that led to the guardhouse and the tunnel There was a break in space, in timeIn men! The last four escapees from the second car were suddenly three?and only moments later did the fourth appear-but he was not the same?the uniform was not the same! There were specks of orange and red, and the visored officer?s cap was laced with gold ribbing, the visor itself too prominent for the American army, the crown of the cap too pointedAnd, suddenly, Bourne understoodFragments of his memories spiraled back years to Madrid or Casavieja, when he was tracing the Jackal?s contracts with the FalangistsIt was a Spanish uniform! That was it! Carlos had infiltrated through the Spanish compound, and as his Russian was fluent, he was using the high-ranking uniform to make his escape from Novgorod Jason lurched to his feet, his automatic drawn, and ran across the graveled lot, his left hand reaching into his field jacket pocket for his second-to-last flareHe pulled the release and hurled the fired stalk above the cars, beyond the fenceBenjamin would not see it from the guardhouse and mistake it for the signal to close the gates of the tunnel; that signal would come shortly?in seconds, perhaps?but at the moment it was premature, again perhaps by seconds ?Eto srochno!? roared one of the escaping men, spinning around and panicked at the sight of the hissing, blinding flare ?Skoryeye!? shouted another, passing three companions and racing toward the open chanel cabas python bag section of the fenceAs the whirling searchlights continued their maniacal spinning, Bourne counted the seven figures as one by one they dashed away from the last car and passed through the opening, joining the excited crowds at the mouth of the tunnelThe eighth man did not appear; the highranking Spanish uniform was nowhere in sightThe Jackal was trapped! Now! Jason whipped out his last flare, yanked the release, and threw it with all his strength over the stream of rushing men and women at the guardhouseDo it, Ben! he screamed in silence as he removed the next-to-last grenade from the pocket of his field jacketDo it now! As if in answer to his fevered plea, a thunderous roar came from the tunnel, round after round of hysterical protestations punctuated by screams and shrieks and wailing chaosTwo rapid, deafening bursts of automatic gunfire preceded unintelligible commands over the speakers, shouted in RussianAnother burst and the same voice continued, louder, even more authoritative, as the crowd momentarily but perceptibly quieted down, only to suddenly resume screaming at full volumeBourne glanced over, astonished to see through the beams of the spinning searchlights the figure of Benjamin now standing on the roof of the concrete guardhouseThe young trainer was Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM 433 shouting into the microphone, exhorting the crowd to follow his instructions, whatever they wereAnd whatever they were, they were being obeyed! The multitude gradually, then gathering momentum, began reversing direction?then, as a single unit, started racing back into the street! Benjamin ignited his flare and waved it, pointing to the northHe was sending Jason his own signalNot only was the tunnel shut down but the crowds were being dispersed without anyone being shot with the AK-47There had been a better way Bourne dropped to the ground, his eyes scanning the under sides of the stationary vehicles, the spewing flame beyond lighting up the open spacesA pair of legs?in boots! Behind the third automobile on the left, no more than twenty yards from the break in the fence that led to the tunnel Carlos was his! The end was at last in sight! No time! Do what you have to do and do it quickly! He dropped his men's omega watch weapon on the gravel, gripped the grenade in his right hand, pulled the pin, grabbed the 5 with his left hand and lurched off the ground, racing forwardRoughly thirty feet from the car he dived back down into the gravel, turned sideways and heaved the grenade under the automobile?only at the last instant, the small bomb having left his hand, realizing that he had made a terrible error! The legs behind the car did not move?the boots remained in place, for they were just that, boots! He lunged to his right, rolling furiously over the sharp stones, shielding his face, curling his body into the smallest mass he could manage The explosion was deafening, the lethal debris joining the whirling beams of the searchlights in the night sky, fragments of metal and glass stinging Jason?s back and legsMove, move! screamed the voice in his mind?s ears as he lurched to his knees, then to his feet in the smoke and fire of the burning automobileAs he did so the gravel erupted all around him; he zigzagged wildly toward the protection of the nearest vehicle, a square-shaped vanHe was hit twice, in his shoulder and thigh! He spun around the wall of the van at the precise moment when the large windshield was blown away ?You?re no match for me, Jason Bourne!? screamed Carlos the Jackal, his automatic weapon on rapid fire?You never were! You are a pretender, a fraud!? ?So be it,? roared Bourne?Then come and get me!? Jason raced to the driver?s door, yanked it open, then ran to the back of the vehicle where he crouched, his face to the edge, his Colt 5 angled straight up next to his cheekWith a final hissing expulsion, the flare beyond the fence burned itself out as the Jackal stopped his continuous fireCarlos faced the open door, unsure, indecisive Metal against metal; a gun barrel was rammed against the door, slamming it shutNow! Jason spun around the edge of the van, his weapon exploding, firing into the Spanish uniform, blowing the gun out of the Jackal?s handsOne, two, three; the shells flew in the air?and then they stopped! They stopped, the explosions replaced by a sickening, jamming click as the round in the chamber failed to ejectCarlos lurched to the ground for his weapon, his left arm limp and bleeding but his right replica gucci bag hand still strong, clutching the gun like the claw of a crazed animal Bourne whipped his bayonet out of its scabbard- and sprang forward, slicing the blade down toward the Jackal?s forearmHe was too late! Carlos held the weapon! Jason lunged up, his left hand clasping the hot barrel?hold on, hold on! You can?t let it go! Twist it! Clockwise! Use the bayonet?no, don?t! Drop it! Use both hands! The conflicting commands clashed in his head, madnessHe had no breath, no strength; his eyes could not focus?the shoulderLike Bourne himself, the Jackal was wounded in his right shoulder! Hold on! Reach the shoulder but hold on! With a last, gasping final surge, Bourne shot up and crashed Carlos back into the side of the van, pummeling the wounded areaThe Jackal screamed, dropping the weapon, then kicked it under the vehicle Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM 434 Where the blow came from, Jason at first did not know; he only knew that the left side of his skull seemed suddenly split in twoThen he realized that he had done it to himself! He had slipped on the blood-covered gravel, and had crashed into the metal grille of the vanIt did not matter? nothing mattered! Carlos the Jackal was racing away! With the rampant confusion everywhere, there were a hundred ways he could get out of NovgorodIt had all been for nothing! Still, there was his last grenadeWhy not? Bourne removed it, pulled the pin, and threw it over the van into the center of the parking areaThe explosion followed and Jason got to his feet; perhaps the grenade would tell Benjamin something, warn him to keep his eyes on the area Staggering and barely able to walk, Jason started for the break in the fence that led to the guardhouse and the tunnel Oh, God, Marie, I failed! I?m so sorryNothing! It was for nothing! And then, as if all Novgorod were having a final laugh at his expense, he saw that someone had opened the iron gates to the tunnel, giving the Jackal his invitation to freedom?? Benjamin?s astonished voice floated over the sounds of the river, followed by the sight of the young Soviet running out of the guardhouse toward Bourne?Christ almighty, I thought you were dead!? ?So you opened the gates and let my executioner walk away,? yelled Jason tiffany heart drop earrings weakly