Read Online The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Robert Ludlum
Ads: Link
'
'Yes, and it's not easy for me. Please bear in mind that I've only recently been assigned, with full clearance, to Mr Webb's classified dossier. '
'Including his wife and children in Cambodia?'
'Yes. '
'Then say what you have to say, please. '
McAllister once again extended his thin fingers and nervously massaged his forehead. 'From what we've learned -what London confirmed five hours ago - it's possible that your husband is a target. A man wants him killed. '
'But not Carlos, not the Jackal,' said Webb, sitting forward.
'No. At least we can't see a connection.' i 'What do you see?' asked Marie, sitting on the arm of David's chair. 'What have you learned?'
The MI6 officer in Kowloon had a great many sensitive papers in his office, any number of which would have brought high prices in Hong Kong. However, only the Treadstone file - the file on Jason Bourne - was taken. That was the confirmation London gave us. It's as though a signal was sent: He's the man we want, only Jason Bourne. '
'But why?' cried Marie, her hand gripping David's wrist.
'Because someone was killed,' answered Webb quietly. 'And someone else wants the account settled. '
That's what we've been working on,' agreed McAllister, nodding. 'We've made some progress. '
'Who was killed?' asked the former Jason Bourne.
'Before I answer, you should know that all we've got is what our people in Hong Kong could dig up by themselves. By and large it's speculation; there's no proof. '
'What do you mean "by themselves"? Where the hell were the British? You gave them the Treadstone file!'
'Because they gave us proof that a man has killed in the name of Treadstone's creation, our creation - you. They weren't about to identify MI6's sources any more than we would turn over our contacts to them. Our people have worked around the clock, probing every possibility, trying to find out who the dead Sixer's main sources were on the assumption that one of them was responsible for his death. They ran down a rumour in Macao, only it turned out to be more than a rumour. '
'I repeat,' said Webb. 'Who was killed?'
'A woman,' answered the man from State. The wife of a Hong Kong banker named Yao Ming, a taipan whose bank is only a fraction of his wealth. His holdings are so extensive he's been re-welcomed in Beijing as an investor and consultant. He's influential, powerful, beyond reach. '
'Circumstances?'
'Ugly but not unusual. His wife was a minor actress who appeared in a number of locally made films and quite a bit younger than her husband. She was also about as faithful as a mink in season, if you'll excuse-'
'Please,' said Marie, 'go on. '
'Nevertheless, he looked the other way; she was his young, beautiful trophy. She was also part of the colony's jet set, which has its share of unsavoury characters. One weekend it's gambling for extraordinary stakes in Macao, next the races in Singapore or flying over to the Pescadores for the pistol games in backwater opium houses, betting thousands on who will be killed as men face one another across tables, spinning chambers and aiming at each other. And, of course, there's a widespread use of drugs. Her last lover was a distributor. His suppliers were in Guangzhou - Canton - his routes up the Deep Bay waterways east of the Lok Ma Chau border. '
'According to reports, it's a wide avenue with lots of traffic,' interrupted Webb. 'Why did your people concentrate on him - on his operation?'
'Because his operation, as you so aptly term it, was rapidly becoming the only one in town, or on that avenue. He was systematically cutting out his competitors, bribing the Chinese marine patrols to sink their boats and dispose of the crews. Apparently they were effective; a great many bodies riddled with bullets ended up floating onto the mud flats and into the river banks. The factions were at war and the distributor - the young wife's lover - was marked for execution. '
'Under the circumstances, he had to have been aware of the
'Yes, and it's not easy for me. Please bear in mind that I've only recently been assigned, with full clearance, to Mr Webb's classified dossier. '
'Including his wife and children in Cambodia?'
'Yes. '
'Then say what you have to say, please. '
McAllister once again extended his thin fingers and nervously massaged his forehead. 'From what we've learned -what London confirmed five hours ago - it's possible that your husband is a target. A man wants him killed. '
'But not Carlos, not the Jackal,' said Webb, sitting forward.
'No. At least we can't see a connection.' i 'What do you see?' asked Marie, sitting on the arm of David's chair. 'What have you learned?'
The MI6 officer in Kowloon had a great many sensitive papers in his office, any number of which would have brought high prices in Hong Kong. However, only the Treadstone file - the file on Jason Bourne - was taken. That was the confirmation London gave us. It's as though a signal was sent: He's the man we want, only Jason Bourne. '
'But why?' cried Marie, her hand gripping David's wrist.
'Because someone was killed,' answered Webb quietly. 'And someone else wants the account settled. '
That's what we've been working on,' agreed McAllister, nodding. 'We've made some progress. '
'Who was killed?' asked the former Jason Bourne.
'Before I answer, you should know that all we've got is what our people in Hong Kong could dig up by themselves. By and large it's speculation; there's no proof. '
'What do you mean "by themselves"? Where the hell were the British? You gave them the Treadstone file!'
'Because they gave us proof that a man has killed in the name of Treadstone's creation, our creation - you. They weren't about to identify MI6's sources any more than we would turn over our contacts to them. Our people have worked around the clock, probing every possibility, trying to find out who the dead Sixer's main sources were on the assumption that one of them was responsible for his death. They ran down a rumour in Macao, only it turned out to be more than a rumour. '
'I repeat,' said Webb. 'Who was killed?'
'A woman,' answered the man from State. The wife of a Hong Kong banker named Yao Ming, a taipan whose bank is only a fraction of his wealth. His holdings are so extensive he's been re-welcomed in Beijing as an investor and consultant. He's influential, powerful, beyond reach. '
'Circumstances?'
'Ugly but not unusual. His wife was a minor actress who appeared in a number of locally made films and quite a bit younger than her husband. She was also about as faithful as a mink in season, if you'll excuse-'
'Please,' said Marie, 'go on. '
'Nevertheless, he looked the other way; she was his young, beautiful trophy. She was also part of the colony's jet set, which has its share of unsavoury characters. One weekend it's gambling for extraordinary stakes in Macao, next the races in Singapore or flying over to the Pescadores for the pistol games in backwater opium houses, betting thousands on who will be killed as men face one another across tables, spinning chambers and aiming at each other. And, of course, there's a widespread use of drugs. Her last lover was a distributor. His suppliers were in Guangzhou - Canton - his routes up the Deep Bay waterways east of the Lok Ma Chau border. '
'According to reports, it's a wide avenue with lots of traffic,' interrupted Webb. 'Why did your people concentrate on him - on his operation?'
'Because his operation, as you so aptly term it, was rapidly becoming the only one in town, or on that avenue. He was systematically cutting out his competitors, bribing the Chinese marine patrols to sink their boats and dispose of the crews. Apparently they were effective; a great many bodies riddled with bullets ended up floating onto the mud flats and into the river banks. The factions were at war and the distributor - the young wife's lover - was marked for execution. '
'Under the circumstances, he had to have been aware of the
Similar Books
