You won?t, you?re too soft, too young Carlos whipped the man to the
ground, the tall grass bending under the fallHe withdrew his flashlight and knelt beside his
captive, the knife going toward the agent?s eyes
The bloodied, lifeless figure below had spoken his last words, and they were words that
reverberated like kettledrums in the ears of Ilich Ramirez SanchezJason Bourne was in Moscow! It
had to be Bourne, for the terrified, youthful KGB surveillant had blurted out the information in a
gushing, panicked stream of phrases and half phrases, saying anything and everything that might
possibly save his lifeComrade Krupkin?two Americans, one tall, the other with a limp! We took
them to the hotel, then to the Sadovaya for a conference
Krupkin and the hated Bourne had turned his people in Paris?in Paris, his impenetrable armed
camp!?and had traced him to MoscowIt did not matter nowAll that mattered
was that the Chameleon himself was at the Metropole; the traitors in Paris could waitAt the
Metropole! His enemy of enemies was barely an hour away back in Moscow, no doubt sleeping the
night away, without any idea that Carlos the Jackal knew he was thereThe assassin felt the
exhilaration of triumph?over life and deathThe doctors said he was dying, but doctors were as
often wrong as http://www.enluxury.com/scategory_21_Tiffany-Jewelry.html" target="_blank they were right, and at this moment they were wrong! The death of Jason Bourne
would renew his life
However, the hour was not rightThree o?clock in the morning was not the time to be seen
prowling the streets or the hotels in search of a kill in Moscow, a city in the grip of permanent
suspicion, darkness itself contributing to its warinessIt was common knowledge that the nightfloor
stewards in the major hotels were armed, selected as much for their marksmanship as for their
aptitude for serviceDaylight brought a relaxation of the night?s concerns; the bustling activity of
the early morning was the time to strike?and strike he would
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
381
But the hour was right for another kind of strike, at least the prelude to itThe time had come to
call together his disciples in the Soviet government and let them know the monseigneur had
arrived, that their personal messiah was here to set them freeBefore leaving Paris he had collected
the dossiers, and the dossiers behind those dossiers, all seemingly innocuous pages of blank paper
in file folders until they were exposed to infrared light, the heat waves bringing up the typewritten
scriptHe had selected a small deserted store in the Vavilova for his meeting groundHe would
reach each of his people by http://www.culuxury.com/category_1_Balenciaga_1.html" target="_blank public telephone and instruct them to be there by 5:30, all taking back
streets and alleyways to the rendezvousBy 6:30 his task would be finished, each disciple armed
with the information that would elevate him?and her?to the highest ranks of Moscow?s eliteIt
was one more invisible army, far smaller than Paris, but equally effective and as dedicated to
Carlos, the unseen monseigneur who made life infinitely more comfortable for his convertsAnd by
7:30, the mighty Jackal would be in place at the Metropole, ready for the early movements of
awakening guests, the time for the rushing trays and tables of room-service waiters and the hectic
confusion of a lobby alive with chatter, anxiety and bureaucracyIt was at the Metropole where he
would be ready for Jason Bourne
One by one, like wary stragglers in the early light, the five men and three women arrived at the
run-down entrance of the abandoned store in the back street known only as the VavilovaTheir
caution was understandable; it was a district to be avoided, although not necessarily because of
unsavory inhabitants, for the Moscow police were ruthlessly thorough in such areas, but because of
the stretch of decrepit buildingsThe area was in the process of renovation; however, like similar
projects in urban blights the world over, http://www.ooluxury.com/scategory_30_Cartier-Watches.html" target="_blank the progress had two speeds: slow and stopThe only
constant, which was at best a dangerous convenience, was the existence of electricity, and Carlos
used it to his advantage
He stood at the far end of the bare concrete room, a lamp on the floor behind him, silhouetting
him, leaving his features undefined and further obscured by the upturned collar of his black suitTo
his right was a wreck of a low wooden table with file folders spread across the top, and to his left,
under a pile of newspapers, unseen by his ?disciples,? was a cut-down Type 56, AK-47 assault
weaponA forty-round magazine was inserted, a second magazine in the Jackal?s beltThe only
reason for the weapon was the normal custom of his trade; he expected no difficulty whatsoever
He surveyed his audience, noting that all eight kept glancing furtively at one anotherNo one
talked; the dank air in the eerily lit abandoned store was tense with apprehensionCarlos
understood that he had to dispel that fear, that furtiveness, as rapidly as possible, which was why he
had gathered eight distressed chairs from the various deserted office rooms in the rear of the store
Seated, people were less tense; it was a truismHowever, none of the chairs was being used
?Thank you for coming here this morning,? said the Jackal in Russian, http://www.ooluxury.com/search_0_0_0_louis vuitton pink_1.html" target="_blank raising his voice?Please,
each of you take a chair and sit downOur discussion will not be long, but will require the utmost
concentrationWould the comrade nearest the door close it, please
The old, heavy door was creaked shut by a stiffly walking bureaucrat as the rest reached for
chairs, each distancing his and hers from others that were nearbyCarlos waited until the scraping
sounds of wood against cement subsided and all were seatedThen, like a practiced orator-actor,
the Jackal paused before formally addressing his captive audienceHe looked briefly at each person
with his penetrating dark eyes as if conveying to each that he or she was special to himThere were
short, successive hand movements, mostly female, as those he gazed at in turn smoothed their
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
382
respective garmentsThe clothes they wore were characteristic of the ranks of upper-level
government officials?in the main drab and conservative, but well pressed and spotless
?I am the monseigneur from Paris,? began the assassin in priestly garb?I am he who has spent
several years seeking each of you out?with the assistance of comrades here in Moscow and
beyond?and sent you large sums of money, asking only that you silently await my arrival and
render me the loyalty I have shown to http://www.ooluxury.com/categorys_94_Chanel-Purse_1.html" target="_blank you