“The rooms and the equipment proved secureCasset...
“The rooms and the equipment proved secureCasset told me later that the Agency doesn’t want
any traceable records of anything that takes place over there, and that’s the best guarantee you can
ask forNo bugs, no phone intercepts, nothingBelieve me, I breathed a lot easier when I heard
that
“Then what’s the problem? Why are you stopping
“Because I have to figure out another admiral before I move any further into Medusa territory
Atkinson, our impeccable WASP ambassador to the Court of StJames’s in London, was very
clearIn his panic, he pulled the masks off Burton and Teagarten in Brussels
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
56
“So?”
“He said Teagarten could handle the Agency if anything about the old Saigon surfaced—
because he was very tight with the top max at Langley
“And?”
“ ‘Top max’ is the Washington euphemism for maximum-classified security, and where Langley
is concerned that’s the director of Central IntelligenceThat’s also Peter Holland
“You told me this morning he’d have no problem wasting any member of Medusa
“Anyone can say anythingBut would he?”
Across the Atlantic, replica chanel earrings in the old Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, an old man in a dark
threadbare suit trudged up the concrete path toward the entrance of the sixteenth-century cathedral
known as the Church of the Blessed SacramentThe bells in the tower above tolled the first
Angelus and the man stopped in the morning sunlight, blessing himself and whispering to the sky
“Angelus domini nuntiavit Mariae With his right hand he blew a kiss to the bas-relief crucifix
atop the stone archway and proceeded up the steps and through the huge doors of the cathedral,
aware that two robed priests eyed him with distasteI apologize for defiling your rich parish, you
tight-assed snobs, he thought as he lit a candle and placed it in the prayer rack, but Christ made it
clear that he preferred me to you‘The meek shall inherit the earth’—what you haven’t stolen of it
The old man moved cautiously down the center aisle, his right hand gripping the backs of
successive pews for balance, his left fingering the rim of his outsized collar and slipping down to
his tie so as to make sure the knot had not somehow come apartHis woman was chanel bags collection so weak now that
she could barely fold the damn thing together, but, as in the old days, she insisted on putting the
finishing touches on his appearance before he went to workShe was still a good woman; they had
both laughed, remembering the time she swore at his cuff links over forty years ago because she
had put too much starch in his shirtThat night, so long ago, she had wanted him to look the proper
bureaucrat when he went to the whore-mongering Oberführer’s headquarters on the rue StLazare
carrying a briefcase—a briefcase that, left behind, had blown up half the blockAnd twenty years
later, one winter afternoon she’d had trouble making his stolen expensive overcoat hang properly
on his shoulders before he set off to rob the Grande Banque Louis IX on the Madeleine, run by an
educated but unappreciative former member of the Résistance who refused him a loanThose were
the good times, followed by bad times and bad health, which led to worse times—in truth, destitute
timesUntil a man came along, a strange man with an odd calling and an even odder unwritten
contractAfter that, respect louis vuitton wien returned in the form of sufficient money for decent food and acceptable
wine, for clothes that fit, making his woman look pretty again, and, most important, for the doctors
who made his woman feel betterThe suit and shirt he wore today had been dug out of a closetIn
many ways he and his woman were like the actors in a provincial touring companyThey had
costumes for their various rolesIt was their businessThis morning, with
the bells of the Angelus, was business
The old man awkwardly, only partially, genuflected in front of the holy cross and knelt down in
the first seat of the sixth row from the altar, his eyes on his watchTwo and a half minutes later he
raised his head and, as unobtrusively as possible, glanced aroundHis weakened sight had adjusted
to the dim light of the cathedral; he could see, not well but clearly enoughThere were no more
than twenty worshipers scattered about, most in prayer, the others staring in meditation at the
enormous gold crucifix on the altarYet these were not what he was looking for; and then he saw
what he was seeking and knew that everything was on scheduleA chanel jewelry necklace priest in a priestly black suit
walked down the far left aisle and disappeared beyond the dark red drapes of the apse
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
57
The old man again looked at his watch, for everything now was timing; that was the way of the
monseigneur—that was the way of the JackalAgain two minutes passed and the aged courier got
unsteadily up from his pew, sidestepped into the aisle, genuflected as best his body would permit,
and made his way, step by imperfect step, to the second confessional booth on the leftHe pulled
back the curtain and went inside
“Angelus Domini,” he whispered, kneeling and repeating the words he had spoken several
hundred times over the past fifteen years
“Angelus Domini, child of God,” replied the unseen figure behind the black latticeworkThe
blessing was accompanied by a low rattling cough“Are your days comfortable?”
“Made more so by an unknown friend
“What does the doctor say about your woman?”
“He says to me what he does not say to her, thanks be for the mercy of ChristIt appears that
against the odds I will outlive herThe wasting sickness is prada bags online spread