The two men settled back in the rear seat of the...
The two men settled back in the rear seat of the limousine, but there was no lack of tension
Armbruster glanced at the mafioso as the chauffeur, beyond the glass partition, turned on the
ignition“Where’s the other car?”
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The Italian switched on the reading light and looked at his watch“By now he’s parked less than
a mile down the road from the gas stationHe’ll pick up DeSole on his way back and stay with him
until the circumstances are right
“Your man knows exactly what to do?”
“Come on, a virgin he’s notHe’s got a searchlight mounted on that car so powerful it can be
seen in MiamiHe comes alongside, switches it on high, and wiggles the handleYour two milliondollar
flunky is blinded and out of business, and we’re only charging a quarter of that amount for
the job
The chairman of the Federal cheap chanel handbags for sale Trade Commission sat back in the shadows of the left rear seat and
stared out the window at the dark, rushing images beyond the smoked glass“You know,” he said
quietly, “if anyone had ever told me twenty years ago that I’d be sitting in this car with someone
like you, saying what I’m saying, I would’ve told him it was impossible
“Oh, that’s what we like about you class-act charactersYou look down your noses and drip
your snot on us until you need usThen all of a sudden we’re ‘associates Live and be well, Alby,
we’re eliminating another problem for youGo back to your big federal commission and decide
which companies are clean and which aren’t—decisions not necessarily based on soap, right?”
“Shut up!” roared Armbruster, pounding his hand on the armrest“This Simon—this Webb!
Where’s he coming from? What’s he on our case for? What’s he knock off chanel handbag china want?”
“Something to do with that Jackal character maybe
“That doesn’t make senseWe don’t have anything to do with the Jackal
“Why should you?” asked the mafioso, grinning“You got us, right?”
“It’s a very loose association and don’t you forget itWebb—Simon, goddamn it, whoever he
is, we’ve got to find him! With what he already knew, plus what I told him, he’s a fucking
menace!”
“He’s a real major item, isn’t he?”
“A major item,” agreed the chairman, again staring out the window, his right fist clenched, the
fingers of his left hand drumming furiously on the armrest
“You want to negotiate?”
“What?” snapped Armbruster, turning and looking at the calm Sicilian face of his companion
“You heard me, only I used the wrong word and I apologize for thatI’ll give you a
nonnegotiable figure and you can either accept it or reject itcontract? On lady dior bag Simon—Webb?”
“No,” replied the mafioso, slowly shaking his head“On a character named Jason BourneIt’s
cleaner to kill someone who’s already dead, isn’t it? Since we just saved you one and a half mill,
the price of the contract is five
“Five million?”
“The cost of eliminating problems in the category of major items is highMenaces are even
higherFive million, Alby, half on acceptance within the usual twenty-four hours
“That’s outrageous!”
“Then turn me downYou come back, it’s seven-fifty; and if you come back again, it’s double
that
“What guarantee do we have that you can even find him? You heard DeSoleHe’s Four Zero,
which means he’s out of reach, buried
“Oh, we’ll dig him up just so we can replant him
“How? Two and a half million is a lot to pay on your wordHow?”
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Again smiling, the Mafia supremo fake chanel reached into his pocket and pulled out the small notebook
Steven DeSole had returned to him“Close friends are the best sources, AlbyAsk the sleazes who
write all those gossip books
“You won’t get near themYou think you’re dealing with old Chicago and the animals? With Mad Dog
Capone and Nitti, the nervous fingerWe got sophisticated people on the payroll these daysScientists, electronics whiz kids—doctorsBy the time we get finished with the spook
and the yid, they won’t know what happenedBut we’ll have Jason Bourne, the character who
doesn’t exist because he’s already dead
Albert Armbruster nodded once and turned to the window in silence
“I’ll close up for six months, change the name, then start a promotional campaign in the
magazines before reopening,” said John StJacques, standing by the window as the doctor worked
on his repica rolex watches brother-in-law