He’s an unreasonable son of a bitch!” “I think...
He’s an unreasonable son of a bitch!”
“I think he wanted to be reasonable,” said Conklin“He knows what you’re going through, what
you’ve been through, but after seven o’clock last night he closed the doors
“Why?”
“Armbruster was shot to death outside his houseThey’re calling it a Georgetown robbery,
which, of course, it isn’t and wasn’t
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
196
“Oh, Jesus!”
“There are a couple of other things you ought to knowTo begin with, we’re releasing Swayne’s
‘suicide ”
“For God’s sake, why?”
“To let whoever killed him think he’s off the hook, and, more important, to see who shows up
during the next week or so
“At the funeral?”
“No, that’s a ‘closed family affair,’ no guests, no formal ceremony
“Then who’s going to show up where?
“At the estate, in one form or anotherWe checked with Swayne’s attorney, very officially, of
course, and he confirmed what Swayne’s wife told you about his leaving the whole place to a
foundation
“Which one?” asked Bourne
“One you’ve never heard of, gucci online funded privately a few years ago by wealthy close friends of the
august ‘wealthy’ generalIt’s as touching as can beIt goes under the title of the Soldiers, Sailors
and Marines Retreat; the board of directors is already in place
“Or their surrogates
“Alex, what about the names I gave you, the six or seven names Flannagan gave me? And that
slew of license plate numbers from their meetings?”
“Cute, real cute,” said Conklin enigmatically
“What’s cute?”
“Take the names—they’re the dregs of the wing-ding social set, no relation to the Georgetown
upper crustThey’re out of the National Enquirer, not The Washington Post
“But the licenses, the meetings! That’s got to be the ball of wax
“Even cuter,” observed AlexEvery one of those licenses is registered to
a limousine company, read that companiesI don’t have to tell you how authentic the names would
be even if we had the dates to trace them
“There’s a cemetery out there!”
“Where is it? How big, how small? There are twenty-eight acres—”
“Start looking!”
“And hermes birkin large advertise what we know?”
“You’re right; you’re playing it rightAlex, tell Holland you couldn’t reach meI’ve got the concierge, I can coverGive Holland the hotel and the name and tell
him to call himself, or send over whoever he likes from the embassy to verifyThe concierge will
swear I checked in yesterday and he hasn’t seen me sinceEven the switchboard will confirm it
Buy me a few days, please
“Holland could still pull all the plugs and probably will
“He won’t if he thinks I’ll come back when you find meI just want him to keep looking for Mo
and keep my name out of ParisGood or bad, no Webb, no Simon, no Bourne!”
“I’ll try
“Was there anything else? I’ve got a lot to doCasset is flying over to Brussels in the morningHe’s going to nail Teagarten—him we
can’t allow and it won’t touch you
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
197
On a side street in Anderlecht, three miles south of Brussels, a military sedan bearing the flags
of a four-star general officer pulled up to the curb in front of a sidewalk louis vuitton denim bags caféGeneral James
Teagarten, commander of NATO, his tunic emblazoned with five rows of ribbons, stepped gingerly
out of the car into the bright early afternoon sunlightHe turned and offered his hand to a stunning
WAC major, who smiled her thanks as she climbed out after himGallantly, with military
authority, Teagarten released the woman’s hand and took her elbow; he escorted her across the
wide pavement toward a cluster of umbrella-topped tables behind a row of flowering planter boxes
that was the alfresco section of the caféThey reached the entrance, a latticework archway
profusely covered with baby roses, and walked insideAll the tables were occupied save one at the
far end of the enclosed pavement; the hum of luncheon conversation was punctuated by the tinkling
of wine bottles gently touching wineglasses and the delicate clatter of utensils lowered on china
platesThe decibel level of the conversation was suddenly reduced, and the general, aware that his
presence inevitably brought stares, amiable waves and not chanel jewelry for sale infrequently mild applause, smiled
benignly at no one in particular and yet at everyone as he guided his lady to the deserted table
where a small folded card read Réservé
The owner, with two waiters trailing behind him like anxious egrets, practically flew between
the tables to greet his distinguished guestWhen the commander was seated, a chilled bottle of
Corton-Charlemagne was presented and the menu discussedA young Belgian child, a boy of five
or six, walked shyly up to the table and brought his hand to his forehead; he smiled and saluted the
generalTeagarten rose to his feet, standing erect, and saluted the child back
“Vous êtes un soldat distingué, mon camarade,” said the general, his commanding voice ringing
through the sidewalk café, his bright smile winning the crowd, who responded with appreciative
applauseThe child retreated and the meal continued
A leisurely hour later, Teagarten and his lady were interrupted by the general’s chauffeur, a
middle-aged army sergeant whose expression conveyed his gucci replica anxi