“How did he find us, find me?... “How did he find us, find me? Everything,
everything, was under a black drapeMcAllister and I made sure of it!”
“I can think of several ways, but that’s a question we can postpone, we haven’t time for it now
We have to move now on what we know Carlos knows
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
35
“What? Move how?”
“If Bourne was plucked from Medusa, it has to follow that our covert operations were working
with it—with themOtherwise, how could the Bourne switch be created? What the Jackal doesn’t
know or hasn’t put together yet is how far this government—especially certain people in this
government—will go to keep Medusa in its black holeAs you pointed out, some very important
men in the White House and the State Department could get burned, a lot of nasty labels branded
on the foreheads of global power brokers, I think you called them
“And suddenly we’ve got a few Waldheims of our own
omega planet ocean watches Conklin nodded, frowning and looking
down, his thoughts obviously racing
“Nuy Dap Ranh,” said Webb, barely above a whisperAt the sound of the Oriental words,
Alex’s eyes snapped back up at David“That’s the key, isn’t it?” continued Webb“Nuy Dap
Ranh—Snake Lady
“Just this morning,” replied Jason Bourne, his eyes cold“When Marie and the kids were
airborne, the plane disappeared into the mists over Boston harbor and suddenly I was thereIn
another plane, in another time, the words crackling out of a radio through the static‘Snake Lady,
Snake Lady, abortSnake Lady, do you read me? Abort!’ I responded by turning the damn thing
off and looked around at the men in the cabin, which seemed ready to break apart in the turbulence
I studied each man, wondering, I guess, whether this one or that one would come out alive, whether
I’d come out alive, and if we didn’t, how we would dieThen I saw two of the men rolling
torebki louis vuitton up
their sleeves, comparing those small ugly tattoos on their forearms, those lousy little emblems that
obsessed them—”
“Nuy Dap Ranh,” said Conklin flatly“A woman’s face with snakes for strands of hairYou refused to have one done on you—”
“I never considered it a mark of distinction,” interrupted Webb-Bourne, blinking“Somewhat
the reverse, in fact
“Initially it was meant for identification, not a standard or a banner of any distinction one way or
the otherAn intricate tattoo on the underside of the forearm, the design and the colors produced by
only one artist in SaigonNo one else could duplicate it
“That old man made a lot of money during those years; he was special
“Every officer in Command Headquarters who was connected to Medusa had oneThey were
like manic kids who’d found secret code rings in cereal boxes
“They weren’t kids, AlexManic, you can bet your ass on it, but not kidsThey were
chanel quilted bags infected
with a rotten virus called unaccountability, and more than a few millionaires were made in the
ubiquitous Command SaigonThe real kids were being maimed and killed in the jungles while a lot
of pressed khaki in the South had personal couriers routed through Switzerland and the banks on
Zurich’s BahnhofstrasseYou could be speaking of some very important people in our government
“Who are they?” asked Webb quietly, his glass poised in front of him
“The ones I knew who were up to their necks in garbage I made damn sure faded after Saigon
fellBut I was out of the field a couple of years before then, and nobody talks very much about
those months and nothing at all about Snake Lady
“Still, you’ve got to have some ideas
“Sure, but nothing concrete, nothing even close to proofJust possibilities based on life-styles,
on real estate they shouldn’t have or places they go they shouldn’t be able to
fendi b bag afford or the positions
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
36
some hold or held in corporations justifying salaries and stock options when nothing in their
backgrounds justified the jobs
“You’re describing a network,” said David, his voice now tight, the voice of Jason Bourne
“If it is, it’s very tight,” agreed Conklin
“Draw up a list, Alex
“It’d be filled with holes
“Then keep it at first to those important people in our government who were attached to
Command SaigonMaybe even further to the ones who have real estate they shouldn’t have or who
held high-paying jobs in the private sector they shouldn’t have gotten
“I repeat, any such list could be worthless
“Not with your instincts
“David, what the hell has any of this to do with Carlos?”
“Part of the truth, AlexA dangerous part, I grant you, but foolproof and irresistible to the
Jackal
Stunned, the former field officer stared at his
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