'No, Alfred,' replied the European, looking at his watch, 'I don't know why.'
'Because they don't have the patience to spend hours poring over thousands of resumes and dossiers. They'd rather be dining at Sans Souci, or preening in front of Senate committees, reading from pages prepared by others – by those unseen, unnamed "damn fine staffs".'
'You're a bitter man,' said the European.
'More than you'll know. A lifetime doing the work those bastards should have done for themselves. And for what? A title and an occasional lunch where my brains are picked between the shrimps and the entree. By men like the supremely arrogant David Abbott; they're nothing without people like me.'
'Don't underestimate the Monk. Carlos doesn't
'How could he? He doesn't know what to evaluate. Everything Abbott does is shrouded in secrecy; no one knows how many mistakes he's made. And if any come to light, men like me are blamed for them.'
The European shifted his gaze from the window to Gillette. 'You're very emotional, Alfred,' he said coldly, 'You must be careful about that'
The bureaucrat smiled. 'It never gets in the way, I believe my contributions to Carlos bear that out. Let's say I'm preparing myself for a confrontation I wouldn't avoid for anything in the world.'
'An honest statement,' said the heavy-shouldered man.
'What about you? You found me.'
'I knew what to look for.' The European returned to the window. 'I mean you. The work you do. For Carlos.'
'I have no such complicated reasoning. I come out of a country where educated men are promoted at the whim of morons who recite Marxist litany by rote. Carlos, too, knew what to look for.'
Gillette laughed, his fiat eyes close to shining. 'We're not so different after all. Change the bloodlines of our eastern establishment for Marx and there's a distinct parallel.'
'Perhaps,' agreed the European, looking again at his watch. 'It shouldn't be long now. Abbott always catches the midnight shuttle, his every hour accounted for in Washington.' 'You're sure he'll come out alone?' 'He always does, and he certainly wouldn't be seen with Elliot Stevens. Webb and Stevens will also leave separately; twenty-minute intervals is standard for those called in.' 'How did you find Treadstone?'
'It wasn't so difficult You contributed, Alfred; you were part of a damn fine staff.' The man laughed, his eyes on the brownstone. 'Cain was out of Medusa, you told us that, and if Carlos's suspicions are accurate, that meant the Monk, we knew that; it tied him to Bourne. Carlos instructed us to keep Abbott under twenty-four-hour surveillance; something had gone wrong. When the gunshots in Zurich were heard in Washington, Abbott got careless. We followed him here. It was merely a question of persistence.' 'That led you to Canada? To the man in Ottawa?' 'The man in Ottawa revealed himself by looking for Tread-stone. When we learned who the girl was we had the Department of Finance watched, her section watched. A call came from Paris; it was she, telling him to start a search. We don't know why, but we suspect Bourne may be trying to blow Treadstone apart. If he's turned, it's one way to get out and keep the money. It doesn't matter. Suddenly, this section head no one outside the Canadian government had ever heard of was transformed into a problem of the highest priority. Intelligence communique's were burning the wires. It meant Carlos was right; you were right, Alfred. There is no Cain. He's an invention, a trap.' 'From the beginning,' insisted Gillette. 'I told you that
Three years of false reports, sources unverified. It was all there!'
'From the beginning,' mused the European. 'Undoubtedly the Monk's finest creation... until something happened and the creation turned. Everything's turning; it's all coming apart at the seams.'
'Stevens's being here confirms that. The President insists on knowing.'
'He has to. There's a nagging suspicion in Ottawa that a section head at the Department of Finance was killed by American Intelligence.' The European turned from the window and looked at the bureaucrat. 'Remember, Alfred, we simply want to know what happened. I've given you the facts as we've learned them; they're irrefutable and Abbott cannot deny them. But they must be presented as having been obtained independently by your own sources. You're appalled. You demand an accounting; the entire intelligence community has been duped.'
'It has,' exclaimed Gillette. 'Duped and used. No one in Washington knows about Bourne, about Treadstone. They've excluded everyone; it is appalling. I don't have to pretend. Arrogant bastards'.'
'Alfred,' cautioned the European, holding up his hand in the shadows, 'do remember whom you're working for. The threat cannot be based on emotion, but on cold professional outrage. He'll suspect you instantly; you must dispel those suspicions just as swiftly. You are the accuser, not him.'
I'll remember.'
'Good.' Headlight beams bounced through the glass. 'Abbott's taxi is here. I'll take care of the driver.' The European reached to his right and flipped a switch beneath the armrest. I'll be in my car across the street, listening.' He spoke to the chauffeur. 'Abbott will be coming out any moment now. You know what to do.'
The chauffeur nodded. Both men got out of the limousine simultaneously. The driver walked around the bonnet as if to escort a wealthy employer to the south side of the street. Gillette watched through the rear window; the two men stayed together for several seconds, then separated, the European heading for the approaching cab, his hand held up, a note between his fingers. The taxi would be sent away; the caller's plans had changed. The chauffeur had raced to the north side of the street and was now concealed in the shadows of a staircase two doors away from Treadstone Seventy-one.
Thirty seconds later Gillette's eyes were drawn to the door of the brownstone. Light spilled through as an impatient David Abbott came outside, looking up and down the street, glancing at his watch, obviously annoyed. The taxi was late and he had a plane to catch; precise schedules had to be followed. Abbott walked down the steps, turning left on the pavement, looking for the cab, expecting it. In seconds he would pass the chauffeur. He did, both men well out of camera range.
The interception was quick, the discussion rapid. In moments, a bewildered David Abbott climbed inside the limousine, and the chauffeur walked away into the shadows.
'You!' said the Monk, anger and disgust in his voice. 'Of all people, you.'
'I don't think you're in any position to be disdainful... much less arrogant.'
'What you've done I How dare you? Zurich. The Medusa records. It was you!'
'The Medusa records, yes. Zurich, yes. But it's not a question of what I've done; it's what you've done. We sent our own men to Zurich, telling them what to look for. We found it. His name is Bourne, isn't it? He's the man you call Cain. The man you invented!'
Abbott kept himself in check. 'How did you find this house?'
'Persistence. I had you followed.'
'You had me followed? What the hell did you think you were doing?'
Trying to set a record straight. A record you've warped and lied about, keeping the truth from the rest of us. What did you think you were doing?'
'Oh, my God, you damn fool!' Abbott inhaled deeply. 'Why did you do it? Why didn't you come to me yourself?'
'Because you'd have done nothing. You've manipulated the entire intelligence community. Millions of dollars, untold thousands of man hours, embassies and stations fed lies and distortions about a killer that never existed. Oh, I recall your words; what a challenge to Carles. What an irresistible trap it was! Only we were your pawns too, and as a responsible member of the Security Council I resent it deeply! You're all alike. Who elected you God so you could break the rules -no, not just the rules, the laws – and make us look like fools?'
"There was no other way,' said the old man wearily, his face a drawn mass of crevices in the dim light. 'How many know? Tell me the truth.'
'I've contained it. I gave you that.'
'It may not be enough. Oh, Christ!'
'It may not last, period,' said the bureaucrat emphatically. "I want to know what happened.'
'What happened?'
To this grand strategy of yours. It seems to be... falling apart at the seams.'
'Why do you say that?'
'It's perfectly obvious. You've lost Bourne, you can't find him. Your Cain has disappeared with a fortune banked for him in Zurich.'
Abbott was silent for a moment. 'Wait a minute. What put you onto it?'
'You,' said Gillette quickly, the prudent man rising to the baited question. 'I must say I admired your control when that ass from the Pentagon spoke so knowingly of Operation Medusa... sitting directly across from the man who created it.'
'History.' The old man's voice was strong now. "That wouldn't have told you anything.'
'Let's say it was rather unusual for you not to say anything. I mean, who at that table knew more About Medusa than you? But you didn't say a word and that started me thinking. So I objected strenuously to the attention being paid to this assassin, Cain. You couldn't resist, David. You had to offer a very plausible reason to continue the search for Cain. You threw Carlos into the hunt.'
'It was the truth,' interrupted Abbott.
'Certainly it was; you knew when to use it, and I knew when to spot it. Ingenious. A snake pulled out of Medusa's head, groomed for a mythical title. The contender jumps into the champion's ring to draw the champion out of his corner.'
'It was sound, sound from the beginning.'
'Why not? As I say, it was ingenious, even down to every move made by his own people against Cam. Who better to relay those moves to Cain than the one man on the Forty Committee who is given reports on every covert operations conference. You used us all!'
The Monk nodded. "Very well. To a point you're right, there've been degrees of abuse – in my opinion, totally justified – but it's not what you think. There are checks and balances; there always are, I wouldn't have it any other way. Treadstone is comprised of a small group of men among the most trustworthy in the government. They range from Army G-Two to the Senate, from the C.I.A. to Naval Intelligence, and now, frankly, the White House. Should there be any true abuse, there's not one of them that would hesitate to put a stop to the operation. None has ever seen fit to do so, and I beg you not to do so, either.'
'Would I be made part of Treadstone?'
'You are part of it now.'
'I see. What happened? Where is Bourne?'
'I wish to God we knew. We're not even sure it is Bourne.'
'You're not even sure of what?'
I see. What happened? Where is Bourne?'
I wish to God we knew. We're not even sure it is Bourne.'
'You're not even sure of what?'
The European reached for the switch on the dashboard and snapped it off. 'That's it,' he said. That's what we had to know.' He turned to the chauffeur beside him. 'Quickly, now. Get back behind the staircase. Remember, if one of them comes out, you have precisely three seconds before the door is closed. Work fast.'
The uniformed man got out first; he walked up the pavement towards Treadstone Seventy-one. From one of the adjacent brownstones, a middle-aged couple were saying loud good-byes to their hosts, the chauffeur slowed down, reached into his pocket for a cigarette and stopped to light it He was now a bored driver, whiling away the hours of a tedious vigil. The European watched, then unbuttoned his raincoat and withdrew a long, thin revolver, its barrel enlarged by a silencer. He released the safety catch, shoved the weapon back into his holster, got out of the car and walked across the street towards the limousine. The mirrors had been angled so that, by staying in the blind spot, there was no way either man inside could see him approach. The European paused briefly beside the boot, then swiftly, hand extended, lunged for the right front door, opened it and spun inside, levelling his weapon over the seat.
Alfred Gillette gasped, his left hand surging for the door handle; the European snapped the four-way lock. David Abbott remained immobile, staring at the invader.
'Good evening, Monk,' said the European. 'Another, whom I'm told often assumes a religious habit, sends you his congratulations. Not only for Cain, but for your household personnel at Treadstone. The Yachtsman, for instance. Once a superior agent.'
Gillette found his voice; it was a mixture of a scream and a whisper. 'What is this? Who are you?' he cried, feigning ignorance.
'Oh come now, old friend. That's not necessary,' said the man with the gun. 'I can see by the expression on Mr. Abbott's face that he realizes his initial doubts about you were accurate. One should always trust one's first instincts, shouldn't one, Monk...? You were right, of course. We found another discontented man; your system reproduces them with alarming rapidity. He, indeed, gave us the Medusa files, and they did, indeed, lead us to Bourne.'
'What are you doing?!' screamed Gillette. 'What are you saying?'
'You're a bore, Alfred. But you were always part of a damn fine staff. It's too bad you didn't know which staff to stay with; your kind never do."
'You!...' Gillette rose bodily off the seat, his face contorted.
The European fired his weapon, the spit echoing briefly in the soft interior of the limousine. The bureaucrat slumped over, his body crumbling to the floor against the door, owl-eyes wide in death.
'I don't think you mourn him,' said the European.
'I don't,' said the Monk.
'It is Bourne out there, you know. Cain turned; he broke. The long period of silence is over. The snake from Medusa's head decided to strike out on his own. Or perhaps he was bought That's possible too, isn't it? Carlos buys many men, the one at your feet now, for example.'
'You'll learn nothing from me. Don't try.' There's nothing to learn. We know it all. Delta, Carlos... Cain. But the names aren't important any longer; they never were, really. All that remains is the final isolation – removing the man-monk who makes the decisions. You. Bourne is trapped. He's finished.'
There are others who make decisions. He'll reach them.' 'If he does, they'll kill him on sight There's nothing more despicable than a man who's turned, but in order for a man to turn there has to be irrefutable proof that he was yours to begin with. Carlos has the proof; he -was yours, his origins as sensitive as anything in the Medusa files.'
The old man frowned; he was frightened, not for his life, but for something infinitely more indispensable. 'You're out of your mind,' he said. There is no proof.'
That was the flaw, your flaw. Carlos is thorough; his tentacles reach into all manner of hidden recesses. You needed a man from Medusa, someone who had lived and disappeared. You chose a man named Bourne because the circumstances of his disappearance had been obliterated, eliminated from every existing record – or so you believed. But you didn't consider Hanoi's own field, personnel who had infiltrated Medusa; those records exist. On 25 March 1968, Jason Bourne was executed by an American Intelligence officer in the jungles of Tarn Quan.'
The Monk lunged forward; there was nothing left but a final gesture, a final defiance. The European fired.
The door of the brownstone opened. From the shadows beneath the staircase, the chauffeur smiled. The White House aide was being escorted out by the Yachtsman, and the killer knew that meant the primary alarms were off. The three-second span was eliminated. 'So good of you to drop by,' said the Yachtsman shaking hands.
Thank you very much, sir."
These were the last words either man spoke. The chauffeur aimed above the brick-walled railing, pulling the trigger twice, the muffled reports indistinguishable from the myriad if distant sounds of the city. The Yachtsman fell back inside; the White House aide clutched his upper chest, reeling into the door frame. The chauffeur spun around the wall and raced up the steps, catching Stevens's body as it plummeted down. With bullet-like strength, the killer lifted the White House man off his feet, hurling him back through the door into the foyer beyond the Yachtsman. Then he turned to the interior border of the heavy, steel-plated door. He knew what to look for; he found it. Along the upper moulding, disappearing into the wall, was a thick cable, stained the colour of the doorframe. He closed the door part way, raised his gun and fired into the cable. The spit was followed by an eruption of static and sparks; the security cameras were blown out, screens everywhere now dark.
He opened the door to signal; it was not necessary. The European was walking rapidly across the quiet street. Within seconds he had climbed the steps and was inside, glancing around the foyer and the hallway – and at the door at the end of the hall. Together both men lifted a rug from the foyer floor, the European closing the door on its edge, welding cloth and steel together so that a two-inch space remained, the security bolts still in place. No back-up alarms could be raised.
They stood erect in silence; both knew that if the discovery was going to be made, it would be made quickly. It came with the sound of an upstairs door opening, followed by footsteps and words that floated down the staircase in a cultured female voice.
'Darling! I just noticed, the damn camera's on the fritz. Would you check it, please?' There was a pause; then the woman spoke again. 'On second thought why not tell the Jesuit?' Again the pause, again with precise timing. 'Don't bother then, darling. I'll tell David)'
Two footsteps. Silence. A rustle of cloth. The European studied the stairwell. A light went out. David. Jesuit".. Monk!
'Get her!' he roared at the chauffeur, spinning around, his weapon levelled at the door at the end of the hallway.
The Uniformed man raced up the staircase; there was a gunshot; it came from a powerful weapon – unmuffled, un-silenced. The European looked up; the chauffeur was holding his shoulder, his coat drenched with blood, his pistol held out, spitting repeatedly up the well of the stairs.
The door at the end of the hallway was yanked open, the major standing there in shock, a file folder in his hand. The European fired twice; Gordon Webb arched backwards, his throat torn open, the papers in the folder flying out behind him. The man in the raincoat raced up the steps to the chauffeur; above, over the railing, was the grey-haired woman, dead, blood spilling out of her head and neck. 'Are you all right? Can you move?' asked the European.
The chauffeur nodded. "The bitch blew half my shoulder off, but I can manage.'
'You have to!' commanded his superior, ripping off his raincoat. 'Put on my coat I want the Monk in here! Quickly!'
'Jesus!..."
'Carlos wants the Monk in here!'
Awkwardly the wounded man put on the black raincoat and made his way down the staircase around the bodies of the Yachtsman and the White House aide. Carefully, in pain, he let himself out of the door and down the front steps.
The European watched him, holding the door, making sure the man was sufficiently mobile for the task. He was; he was a bull whose every appetite was satisfied by Carlos. The chauffeur would carry David Abbott's corpse back into the brown-stone, no doubt supporting it as though helping an ageing drunk for the benefit of anyone in the street; and then he would somehow contain his bleeding long enough to drive Alfred Gillette's body across the river, burying him in a swamp. Carlos's men were capable of such things; they were all bulls. Discontented bulls who had found their own causes in a single man.
The European turned and started down the hall; there was work to do. The final isolation of the man called Jason Bourne.
It was more than could be hoped for, the exposed files a gift beyond belief. Included were folders containing every code and method of communication ever used by the mythical Cain. Now not so mythical, thought the European, as he gathered the papers together. The scene was set, the four corpses in position in the peaceful, elegant library. David Abbott was arched in a chair, his dead eyes in shock, Elliot Stevens at his feet; the Yachtsman was slumped over the hatch table, an overturned bottle of whisky in his hand, while Gordon Webb sprawled on the floor, clutching his briefcase. Whatever violence had taken place, the setting indicated that it had been unexpected; conversations interrupted by abrupt gunfire.
The European walked around in suede gloves, appraising his artistry, and it was artistry. He had dismissed the chauffeur, wiped every door handle, every knob, every gleaming surface of wood. It was time for the final touch. He walked to a table where there were brandy glasses on a silver tray, picked one up and held it to the light; as he expected; it was spotless. He put it down, and took out a small, flat, plastic case from his pocket. He opened it and removed a strip of transparent tape, holding it, too, up to the light There they were, as clear as portraits – for they were portraits, as undeniable as any photograph.
They had been taken off a glass of Perrier, removed from an office at the Gemeinschaft Bank in Zurich. They were the fingerprints of Jason Bourne's right hand.
The European picked up the brandy glass and, with the patience of the artist he was, pressed the tape around the lower surface, then gently peeled it off. Again he held the glass up; the prints were seen in dull perfection against the light of the table lamp.
The European carried the glass over to a corner of the parquet floor and dropped it He knelt down, studied the fragments, removed several, and brushed the rest under the curtain.
They were enough.
'Later,' said Bourne, throwing their suitcases on the bed. 'We've got to get out of here.'
Marie sat in the armchair. She had read the newspaper article again, selecting phrases, repeating them. Her concentration was absolute; she was consumed, more and more confident of her analysis.
"I'm right, Jason. Someone is sending us a message!'
'We'll talk about it later; we've stayed here too long as it is. That newspaper'll be all over this hotel in an hour and the morning papers may be worse. It's no time for modesty; you stand out in a hotel lobby, and you've been seen in this one by too many people. Get your things.'
Marie stood up, but made no other move. Instead, she held her place and forced him to look at her. 'We'll talk about several things later,' she said firmly. 'You were leaving me, Jason, and I want to know why.'
'I told you I'd tell you,' he answered, without evasion, 'because you have to know and I mean that. But right now I want to get out of here. Get your things, goddamn it!'
She blinked, his sudden anger having its effect. 'Yes, of course,' she whispered.
They took the lift down to the lobby. As the worn marble floor came into view, Bourne had the feeling they were in a cage, exposed and vulnerable; if the machine stopped, they would be taken. Then he understood why the feeling was so strong. Below on the left was the front desk, the concierge sitting behind it, a pile of newspapers on the counter to his right. They were copies of the same tabloid Jason had put in the attach case Marie was now carrying. The concierge had taken one; he was reading it avidly; poking a toothpick between his teeth, oblivious to everything but the nouvelles scandaleuses.
'Walk straight through,' said Jason. 'Don't stop, just go right to the door. I'll meet you outside.'
'Oh, my God!...' she whispered, seeing the concierge.
'I'll pay him as quickly as I can.'
The sound of Marie's heels on the marble floor was a distraction Bourne did not want. The concierge looked up as Jason moved in front of him, blocking his view.
'It's been very pleasant,' he said in French, 'but I'm in a great hurry. I have to drive to Lyons tonight. Just round out the figure to the nearest five hundred francs. I haven't had time to leave gratuities.'
The financial distraction accomplished its purpose. The concierge reached his totals quickly; he presented the bill. Jason paid it and bent down for the suitcases, glancing up at the sound of surprise that exploded from the concierge's gaping mouth. The man was staring at the pile of newspapers on his right, his eyes on the photograph of Marie St Jacques. He looked over at the glass doors of the entrance; Marie stood on the pavement. The concierge shifted his astonished gaze to Bourne; the connection was made, the man inhibited by sudden fear.
Jason walked rapidly towards the glass doors, angling his shoulder to push them open, glancing back at the front desk. The concierge was reaching for a telephone.
'Let's go!' he cried to Marie. 'Look for a cab!'
They found one on rue Lecourbe, five blocks from the hotel. Bourne feigned the role of an inexperienced American tourist, employing the inadequate French that had served him so well at the Valois Bank. He explained to the driver that he and his belle amie wanted to get out of central Paris for a day or so, somewhere they could be alone. Perhaps the driver could suggest several places and they would choose one.
The driver could and did. 'There's a small inn outside Les Moulineux Billancourt, called Maison Quadrillage,' he said.
'Another in Ivry-sur-Seine, you might like. It's very private, Monsieur, Or perhaps the Auberge du Coin in Montrouge; it's between the two and very discreet.'
'Let's take the first,' said Jason. 'It's the first that came to your mind. How long will it take?'
'No more than fifteen, twenty minutes, Monsieur.'
'Good.' Bourne turned to Marie and spoke softly. 'Change your hair."
'What?'
'Change your hair. Pull it up or push it back, I don't care, but change it. Move out of sight of his mirror. Hurry up!'
Several moments later Marie's long auburn hair was pulled severely back, away from her face and neck, fastened with the aid of a mirror and hairpins into a tight chignon. Jason looked at her in the dim light.
'Wipe off your lipstick. All of it.'
She took out a tissue and did so. 'All right?'
'Yes. Have you got an eyebrow pencil?'
'Of course."
'Thicken your eyebrows; just a little bit. Extend them about a quarter of an inch; curve the ends down just a touch."
Again she followed his instructions. 'Now?' she asked.
'That's better," he replied, studying her. The changes were minor but the effect major. She had been subtly transformed from a softly elegant, striking woman into a harsher image. At the least, she was not on first sight the woman in the newspaper photograph and that was all that mattered.
'When we reach Billancourt,' he whispered, 'get out quickly, and turn your back. Don't let the driver see you.'
'It's a little late for that, isn't it?'
'Just do as I say."
Listen to me. I am a chameleon called Cain and I can teach you many things I do not care to teach you, but at the moment I must. I can change my colour to accommodate any backdrop in the forest, I can shift with the wind by smelling it. I can find my way through the natural and man-made jungles. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta... Delta is for Charlie and Charlie is for Cain. I am Cain. I am death. And I must tell you who I am and lose you.
'My darling, what is it?"
'What?'
'You're looking at me; you're not breathing. Are you all right?'
'Sorry,' he said, glancing away, breathing again. 'I'm working out our moves. I'll know better what to do when we get there.'
They arrived at the inn. There was a parking area bordered by a post-and-rail fence on the right; several late diners came out of the lattice-framed entrance in front. Bourne leaned forward in the seat.
'Let us off inside the parking area, if you don't mind,' he ordered, offering no explanation for the odd request.
'Certainly, Monsieur,' said the driver, nodding his head, then shrugging, his movements conveying the fact that his passengers were, indeed, a cautious couple.
The rain had subsided, returning to a mistlike drizzle. The taxi drove off. Bourne and Marie remained in the shadows of the foliage at the side of the Inn until it disappeared. Jason put the suitcases down on the wet ground. 'Wait here,' he said.
'Where are you going?'
To phone for a taxi.'
The second taxi took them west into the Montrouge district. This driver was singularly unimpressed by the stern-faced couple who were obviously from the provinces, and probably seeking cheaper lodgings. When and if he picked up a newspaper and saw a photograph of a French-Canadian involved with murder and theft in Zurich, the woman in his back seat now would not come to mind.
The Auberge du Coin did not live up to its name. It was not a quaint village inn situated in a secluded nook of the countryside. Instead, it was a large, flat, two-storey structure a quarter of a mile off the main road. If anything, it was reminiscent of motels that blight the outskirts of cities the world over; commercially guaranteeing the anonymity of their guests. It was not hard to imagine weekly appointments by the score that were best attributed to erroneous registrations.
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