The Bourne Supremacy jb-2

by Robert Ludlum

  McAllister looked at Jason. 'You did that on purpose, didn't you? You prodded me into remembering something -anything – knowing I'd concentrate and not panic. '

  Bourne did not answer; he simply made a statement . 'Another hundred feet and you keep going by yourself. '

  'What! You're leaving me?

  'For about ten, maybe fifteen, minutes. Here, keep walking and angle your arm up so I can put my briefcase on it and open the damn thing. '

  'Where are you going? asked the undersecretary as the attaché case rested awkwardly on his left arm. Jason opened it, took out a long-bladed knife, and closed the case. 'You can't leave me alone!'

  'You'll be all right, nobody wants to stop you – us. If they did, it would have been done. '

  'You mean that could have been an ambush?'

  'I was counting on your analytical mind that it wasn't. Take the case. '

  'But what are you-'

  'I have to see what's back there. Keep walking. ' The man from Medusa spun off to his left and entered the woods at a turn in the road. Running rapidly, silently, instinctively avoiding the tangled underbrush at the first touch of resistance, he moved to his right in a wide semicircle. Minutes later he saw the glow of cigarettes, and moving like a forest cat, crept closer and closer until he was within ten feet of the group of men. The intermittent moonlight, filtered through the massive trees, provided enough illumination for him to count the number. There were six, each armed with a lightweight machine gun strapped over his shoulders... And there was something else, something that was strikingly inconsistent. Each of the men wore the four-buttoned, tailored uniforms of high officers in the army of the People's Republic. And from the snatches of conversation that he could hear, they spoke Mandarin, not Cantonese, which was the normal dialect for soldiers, even officers, of the Guangdong garrison. These men were not from Guangdong. Sheng had flown in his own elite guard.

  Suddenly, one of the officers snapped his lighter and looked at his watch. Bourne studied the face above the flame. He knew it, and seeing it confirmed his judgement. It was the face of the man who had tried to trap Echo by posing as a prisoner on the truck that terrible night, the officer Sheng treated with a degree of deference. A thinking killer with a soft voice.

  'Xian zai,' said the man, stating that the moment had come. He picked up a hand-held radio and spoke. 'Da li shi, da li shir he barked, raising his party by the code name marble. 'They are alone, there is no one else. We will proceed as instructed. Prepare for the signal. '

  The six officers rose together, adjusted their weapons and extinguished their cigarettes by grinding them under their boots. They started rapidly for the back country road.

  Bourne scrambled round on his hands and knees, got to his feet and raced through the woods. He had to reach McAllister before Sheng's contingent closed in on him and saw through the sporadic moonlight that he was alone. Should the guards become alarmed they might send a different 'signal' – conference aborted. He reached the turn in the road and ran faster, jumping over fallen branches other men would not see, slithering through vines and linked foliage others would not anticipate. In less than two minutes he sprang silently out of the woods at McAllister's side.

  'Good God!' gasped the undersecretary of state.

  'Be quiet!'

  'You're a maniac!'

  Tell me about it. '

  'It would take hours. ' With trembling hands, McAllister handed Jason his attaché case. 'At least this didn't explode. '

  'I should have told you not to drop it or jar it too much. '

  'Oh, Jesus I... Isn't it time to get off the road? Wong said-'

  'Forget it. We're staying in plain view until we reach the field on the second hill, then you'll be more in view than me. Hurry up. Some kind of signal's going to be given, which means you were right again. A pilot's going to get clearance to land – no radio communication, just a light. '

  'We're to meet Wong somewhere. At the base of the first hill, I think he said. '

  'We'll give him a couple of minutes but I think we can forget him, too. He'll see what I saw and if it were me I'd head back to Macao and twenty thousand American, and say I lost my way. '

  'What did you see?'

  'Six men armed with enough firepower to defoliate one of the hills here. '

  'Oh, my God, we'll never get out I'

  'Don't give up yet. That's one of the things fve been thinking about. ' Bourne turned to McAllister, quickening their pace. 'On the other hand,' he added, his voice deadly serious. 'The risk was always there – doing things your way. '

  'Yes, I know. I won't panic. I will not panic. ' The woods were suddenly gone; the dirt road now cut a path through fields of tall grass. 'What do you think those men are here for?' asked the analyst.

  'Back-ups in case of a trap, which any low-life in this business would think it was. I told you that and you didn't want to believe me. But if something you said is accurate, and I think it is, they'll stay far out of sight – to make sure you won't panic and run. If that's the case, it'll be our way out. '

  'How?'

  'Head to the right, through the field,' replied Jason without answering the question. 'I'll give Wong five minutes, unless we spot a signal somewhere or hear a plane, but no more. And that long only because I really want the pair of eyes I paid for. '

  'Could he get around those men without being sent?' He can if he's not on his way back to Macao. ' They reached the end of the field of high grass and the base of the first hill where trees rose out of the ascending ground. Bourne looked at his watch, then at McAllister. 'Let's get up there, out of sight,' he said, gesturing at the trees above them. 'I'll stay here; you go up farther but don't walk out on that field, don't expose yourself, stay at the edge. If you see any lights or hear a plane, whistle. You can whistle, can't you?' 'Actually, not very well. When the children were younger and we had a dog, a golden retriever-'

  'Oh, for Christ's sake! Throw rocks down through the trees, I'll hear them. Go on!' 'Yes, I understand. Move. '

  Delta – for he was Delta now – began his vigil. The moonlight was constantly intercepted by the drifting, low-flying clouds and he kept straining his eyes, scanning the field of tall grass, looking for a break in the monotonous pattern, for bent reeds moving towards the base of the hill, towards him. Three minutes passed, and he had nearly decided it was a waste of time when a man suddenly lurched out of the grass on his right and plunged up into the foliage. Bourne lowered his attache case and pulled the long knife from his belt . 'Kam Pek!' whispered the man. 'Wong?'

  'Yes, sir,' said the conduit, walking around the trunks of trees, approaching Jason. 'I am greeted with a knife?'

  There are a few other people back there and, frankly, I didn't think you'd show up. I told you, you could get out if the risks looked too great. I didn't think it'd happen so early on but I would have accepted it. Those are impressive weapons they're carrying. '

  'I might have taken advantage of the situation but, added to the money, you afforded me an act of immense gratification. For many others as well. More people than you can imagine will give thanks. '

  'Soo the Pig?'

  'Yes, sir. '

  'Wait a minute,' said Bourne, alarmed. 'Why are you so sure they'll think one of those men did it?'

  'What men?'

  That patrol of machine guns back there! They're not from Guangdong, not from the garrison. They're from Beijing?

  The act took place in Zhuhai Shi. At the gate. '

  'Goddamn you! You've blown everything. They were waiting for Soo!'

  'If they were, sir, he never would have arrived. '

  'What?

  'He was getting drunk with the prefect of the gate. He went to relieve himself which was where I confronted him. He is now next door, lying in a soiled female commode, his throat slit, his genitals removed. '

  'Good God... Then he didn't follow us?'

  'Nor did he show any indication of doing so. '

  'I see – no,
I don't see. He was cut out of tonight. It's strictly a Beijing operation. Yet he was the primary contact down here-'

  T would know nothing of such matters,' broke in Wong defensively.

  'Oh, sorry. No you wouldn't. '

  'Here are the eyes you hired, sir. Where do you wish me to look and what do you want me to do?'

  'Did you have any trouble getting by that patrol in the road?'

  'None. I saw them, they did not see me. They are now sitting in the woods at the edge of the field. If it would be of help to you, the man with the radio instructed the one he reached to leave once the "signal" was given. I don't know what that means but I presume it concerns a helicopter. '

  'You presume?'

  The Frenchman and I followed the English major here one night. It's how I knew where to take you before. A helicopter landed and men came out to meet the Englishman. '

  'That's what he told me. '

  'Told you, sir?

  'Never mind. Stay here. If that patrol across the field starts coming over I want to know about it. I'll be up in the field before the second hill, on the right. The same field where you and Echo saw the helicopter. '

  'Echo?

  'The Frenchman. ' Delta paused, thinking quickly. 'You can't light a match, you can't draw attention to yourself-'

  Suddenly, there were the sharp but muted sounds of objects striking other objects. Treesl Rocks! McAllister was signalling!

  'Grab stones, pieces of wood or rocks, and keep throwing them into the woods on the right. I'll hear them. '

  'I will fill my pockets with some now. '

  'I have no right to ask you this,' said Delta, picking up the attache case, 'but do you have a weapon?

  'A three-fifty-seven-calibre magnum with a belt full of ammunition, courtesy of my cousin on my mother's side, may she rest with the holy Jesus. '

  'I hope I don't see you, and if I don't, good-bye, Wong. Another part of me may not approve of you, but you're a hell of a man. And believe me, you really did beat me last time. '

  'No, sir, you bested me. But I would like to try again. '

  'Forget it!' cried the man from Medusa, racing up the hill.

  Like a giant, monstrous bird, its lower body pulsating with blinding light, the helicopter descended onto the field. As arranged, McAllister stood in full view and, as expected, the chopper's searchlight zeroed in on him. Also as arranged, Jason Bourne was forty-odd yards away, in the shadows of the woods – visible, bujt not clearly. The rotors wound down to a grinding, abrasive halt. The silence was emphatic. The door opened, the stairs sprang out, and the slender, grey– haired Sheng Chou Yang walked down the steps, carrying a briefcase.

  'So good to see you after all these years, Edward,' called out a taipan's first son. 'Would you care to inspect the aircraft? As you requested, there is no one but myself and my most trusted pilot. '

  'No, Sheng, you can do it for me!' yelled McAllister, several hundred feet away, pulling a canister from inside his jacket and throwing it towards the helicopter. 'Tell the pilot to step outside for a few minutes and spray the cabin. If there's anyone inside he – or they – will come out quickly. '

  'This is so unlike you, Edward. Men like us know when to trust one another. We're not fools. '

  'Do it, Sheng!'

  'Of course I will' under orders, the pilot stepped out of the aircraft. Sheng Chou Yang picked up the canister and sprayed the immobilizing fog into the helicopter. Several minutes elapsed; no one came out . 'Are you satisfied, or should I blow the damn thing up, which would serve neither of us. Come, my friend, we're beyond these games. We always were. '

  'But you became what you are. I remained what I was. '

  'We can correct that, Edward! I can demand your presence at all our conferences. I can elevate you to a position of prominence You'll be a star in the foreign service firmament. '

  'It's true then, isn't it? Everything in the file. You're back. The Kuomintang is back in China-'

  'Let's talk quietly together, Edward. ' Sheng glanced at Bourne in the shadows, then gestured to his right . 'This is a private matter. '

  Jason moved quickly; he raced to the aircraft while the two negotiators were standing with their backs to him. As the pilot climbed into the chopper and reached his seat, the man from Medusa was behind him.

  'An jing!' whispered Jason, ordering the man to keep silent, his machine pistol reinforcing the command. Before the stunned pilot could react, Bourne whipped a strip of heavy cloth over the man's head, bridling it across the shocked, open mouth and yanked it taut. Then, pulling a long thin nylon cord from his pocket, he lashed the man to the seat, pinning his arms. There would be no sudden lift-off.

  Returning his weapon to the belt under his jacket, Bourne crawled out of the helicopter. The huge machine blocked his view of McAllister and Sheng Chou Yang, which meant that it blocked theirs of him. He walked rapidly back to his previous position, constantly turning his head, prepared to change direction if the two men emerged on either side of the aircraft; the chopper was his visual shield. He stopped; he was near enough; it was time to appear casual. He took out a cigarette and struck a match, lighting it. He then strolled aimlessly to his left, to where he could just barely see the two figures on the other side of the helicopter. He wondered what was being said between the enemies. He wondered what McAllister was waiting for.

  Do it, analyst. Do it now! It's your maximum opportunity. Every moment you delay you give away time, and time holds complications! Goddamn it, do it!

  Bourne froze. He heard the sound of a stone hitting a tree close to where he had walked out on the field. Then another much nearer and another quickly following. It was Wong's warning! Sheng's patrol was crossing the field below!

  Analyst, you'll get us killed! If I run over and shoot, the sound will bring six men rushing us with more firepower than we can handle! For Christ's sake, do it!

  The man from Medusa stared at Sheng and McAllister, his self-hatred rising, close to exploding. He never should have let it happen this way. Death by the hands of an amateur, an embittered bureaucrat who wanted his moment in the sun.

  'Kam Pek!' It was Wong! He had crossed through the woods on the second level and was behind him, concealed in the trees.

  'Yes? I heard the stones. '

  'You will not like what you hear now, sir. '

  'What is it?

  'The patrol crawls up the hill. '

  'It's a protective action,' said Jason, his eyes riveted on the two figures in the field. 'We may still be all right. They can't see a hell of a lot. '

  'I am not sure that matters, sir. They prepare themselves. I heard them – they've locked their weapons into firing positions. '

  Bourne swallowed, a sense of futility spreading over him. For reasons he could not fathom, it was a reverse trap. 'You'd better get out of here, Wong. '

  'May I ask? Are these the people who killed the Frenchman?

  'Yes. '

  'And for whom the Pig, Soo Jiang, has worked so obscenely these past four years?

  'Yes. '

  'I believe I will stay, sir. '

  Without saying a word, the man from Medusa walked back to his attache case. He picked it up and threw it into the woods. 'Open it,' he said. 'If we get out of this, you can spend your days at the casino without picking up messages. '

  'I do not gamble. '

  'You're gambling now, Wong. '

  'Did you really think that we, the great warlords of the most ancient and cultured empire the world has ever known, would leave it to unwashed peasants and their ill-born offspring, schooled in the discredited theories of egalitarianism?' Sheng stood in front of McAllister; he held his briefcase across his chest with both hands. 'They should be our slaves, not our rulers. '

  'It was that kind of thinking that lost you the country – you, the leaders, not the people. They weren't consulted. If they were, there might have been accommodations, compromises, and you would have it still. '

  'One does not compromis
e with Marxist animals – or with liars. As I will not compromise with you, Edward. '

  'What was that?'

  With his left hand Sheng snapped his briefcase open and pulled out the file stolen from Victoria Peak. 'Do you recognize it?' he asked calmly.

  'I don't believe it!'

  'Believe, my old adversary. A little ingenuity can produce anything. '

  'It's impossible?

  'It's here. In my hand and the opening page clearly states that there is only one copy, to be sent by military escort under Ultra Maximum Security wherever it goes. Quite correctly, in my judgement, for your appraisal was accurate when we spoke over the telephone. The contents would inflame the Far East – make war unavoidable. The right-wingers in Beijing would march on Hong Kong – right-wingers there, you'd call them left on your side of the world. Foolish, isn't it?

  'I had a copy made and sent to Washington,' broke in the undersecretary, quickly, quietly, firmly.

  'I don't believe that,' said Sheng. 'All diplomatic transmissions, by telephone-computer or by pouch, must be cleared by the highest superior officer. The notorious Ambassador Havilland wouldn't permit it, and the consulate wouldn't touch it without his authorization. '

  'I sent a copy to the Chinese consulate!' shouted McAllister. 'You're finished, Sheng!'

  'Really? Who do you think receives all communications from all outside sources at our consulate in Hong Kong? Don't bother to answer, I'll do it for you. One of our people. ' Sheng paused, his messianic eyes suddenly on fire. 'We are everywhere, Edward! We will not be denied! We will have our nation back, our empire!'

  'You're insane. It can't work. You'll start a war!' Then it will be a just war! Governments across the world will have to choose. Individual rule or state rule. Freedom or tyranny!'

  'Too few of you gave freedom and too many of you were tyrants. '

  'We will prevail – one way or the other. ' 'My God, that's what you want! You want to push the world to the brink, force it to choose between annihilation and survival! That's how you think you'll get what you want, that the choice of survival will win out! This economic commission, your whole Hong Kong strategy, is just a beginning. You want to spread your poison to the whole Far East! You're a zealot, you're blind! Can't you see the tragic consequences-'