She saw his dark eyes scrutinizing her expression. He knows, she thought. But what exactly?
She brought a smile to her lips. “I don’t drink alcohol.”
“Neither do I.” He set the brandy aside. “Are you a Muslim?”
She nodded. “I am.”
“Arab.”
She looked at him steadily. He tapped one long forefinger rhythmically against his lips. Slowly. One, two, three, like a hypnotist’s metronome.
“That excludes Iranian, and you’re not Syrian, surely.” His eyebrows rose. “Egyptian?”
Soraya felt the need to gain some control over the conversation. “Where is your family from?”
“The desert.”
“That could be almost anywhere,” Soraya said, “even the Gobi.”
El-Arian smiled like an indulgent uncle. “Hardly.” A soft chime. “Excuse me.” He rose and, digging out his cell phone, stepped out of the office.
Soraya rose and a wave of vertigo caused her to clutch the armrest of the sofa in order to steady herself. Ignoring the continued pounding in her head, she crossed quickly to M. Sigismond’s desk, scanning the contents scattered across the top. Letters and files. Using the knuckle of her forefinger, she moved a sheet of paper slightly so she could read what was on the pages underneath. Her head came up as she heard El-Arian’s voice briefly; when it faded away, accompanied by footfalls, she continued poking around. There were no photos, no mementos, nothing by way of a personal nature. The office was perfectly anonymous, as if it was used only sporadically. She started on the drawers. Wrapping a tissue from a box on the desktop around the handle of a letter opener, she used the blade to open each drawer and survey the contents. She was looking for some evidence that would link M. Marchand’s traitorous dealings with the bank.
A moment later she heard El-Arian’s voice approaching. She closed the drawer, dropped the letter opener, and was back at the sofa, using the tissue to blow her nose when he reappeared, M. Sigismond on his heels.
“My dear Mademoiselle Gobelins, my sincerest apologies for interrupting our meeting.”
“It’s quite all right,” she said, stuffing the tissue away in her pocket.
“Ah, but first impressions are so important, don’t you think?”
“I do.”
He held out his hand and she took it, rising off the cushion.
“M. Sigismond has an appointment. In any event, I believe you will find my office more conducive to concluding our business.”
He led the way down the hall and into a large office suite, this one furnished completely in a modern style. He stepped behind his desk, which held only an old-fashioned blotter, a set of fountain pens, a cut-crystal paperweight with the name of the bank engraved in gold, an ashtray filled with butts, and a multi-line phone. He gestured for her to stand beside him. “Please. I’m having papers drawn up for your intended deposit.” He pulled out a printed card from a drawer. “But first, we must gather some basic information.”
When she was at his side, he pressed a button and a video picture bloomed on the flat-screen panel across the room. Soraya saw herself in M. Sigismond’s office as she rose from the sofa and almost staggered. Her eyes followed herself as she crossed to M. Sigismond’s desk and began her clandestine work.
“I wonder,” El-Arian said, “what you were looking for?”
His hand clamped her wrist in an iron grip and did not let go.
Ivan Volkin was your friend for, what? Thirty years?”
“Longer,” Boris said.
Cherkesov nodded. “And when the time was right, he sold you out.” Some color had returned to his face, and though he was still kneeling, he was breathing more easily. “That’s the way it is in our world. There’s room for comradeship and alliances, but not loyalty. In our world loyalty is too costly. It’s not worth the price.” He tried to shift to get the pressure off his skinned knees. “You think it’s any different with Jason Bourne? The man’s a natural-born killer. What does he know about friendship.”
“More than you.”
“Which is nothing.” Cherkesov shook his head. “I never had a friend in my life—not the way you figure it, anyway. How could I? It would leave me in a vulnerable position.”
Boris turned the knife point slightly. “What the fuck do you call this?”
Cherkesov licked his lips. When he spoke, he words tumbled out, faster and faster. “Don’t you understand what a favor I’ve done you? I’ve given you the opportunity to kill Bourne before he has a chance to betray you the way your friend of over thirty years, Ivan Volkin, has.” Some words seemed to catch in his throat and he coughed, his eyes tearing with the effort. “Volkin has been advising the Domna ever since his so-called retirement from the grupperovka world. In fact, I’ll tell you a secret: It was the Domna that put the idea of retirement into his head. Who knows how much the Domna paid him to come work for them?”
Boris sat back on his heels, considering the implications of what Cherkesov had just said.
Sensing an opening, Cherkesov pressed on. “Listen to me, Boris. I’m of more use to you alive than dead. You and me, we form an alliance. I tell you what the Domna is planning and you use the power of FSB-2 to take Beria and his people down. We can then merge FSB-2 with SVR with you at the head and me advising you. Boris, think of the possibilities of being in charge of clandestine services both inside and outside Russia. The entire world will open up for us!”
“Viktor, you surprise me,” Boris said. “Beneath that thick crust of cynicism, you have a streak of positivity.”
Cherkesov’s fist connected with Karpov’s jaw, knocking him to one side so that the knife pulled away from Cherkesov’s flesh. Cherkesov grabbed for it, splitting a finger open on the edge. Using the spray of blood to blind Boris, he wrenched the knife away and jabbed it hilt-deep into Boris’s belly.
28
BOURNE ROSE AND made his way through the darkened cabin to the first-class galley. He found Rebeka leafing through the latest issue of Der Spiegel as she stood against the stainless-steel counter. She turned when she became aware of him, a smile blooming on her face.
“Good evening, Mr. Childress, what can I get for you?”
“A macchiato, please.”
“Can’t sleep?”
“Bad dreams.”
“Sadly, I know that scenario.” She set aside the magazine. “I’ll bring it to your seat as soon as I’ve brewed it.”
“I’d rather stay here,” he said. “I need to stretch my legs.”
A slight flush ruddied her cheeks just before she turned away. “Of course.” The scent of rose attar lifted off her. “Whatever you fancy.” Her eyes were the color and shape of ripe olives, unexpectedly exotic against her Mediterranean skin and black hair. Like an Egyptian of ancient Alexandria, she had a Roman nose and delicate cheekbones, and stood very tall even in her flats. Perhaps as a child she had studied ballet.
Bourne watched her deftly making the macchiato. “Are you based out of Madrid?”
“Oh, no. Damascus.” She produced a tiny cup, which she placed on the diminutive saucer. “I’ve been living there for the past six years.”
“Do you like it?”
“It’s difficult to make friends.” She shrugged. “But it pays for me to be there. I get a yearly bonus.”
“I haven’t been back to Damascus in some time,” he said truthfully. “I suppose there will be a lot of changes.”
She pulled the espresso and slid it across the counter to him. It had just the right amount of foam. “Yes and no. The modern parts are terribly congested, the traffic is a nightmare, the polluted air stifling, but the Old City is still filled with the gorgeous covered arcades, the leafy squares, and, of course, space around the great mosques.” She frowned. “But there are troubling aspects.”
“The state sponsorship of Hezbollah, for one.”
She nodded, her gaze falling gravely on him. “Also in the last year or so there’s a growing conservative segment of th
e population that looks favorably on Iran.”
Bourne seized the opening. “So there must be more in the way of security all over the city, starting with the airport.”
Rebeka gave him a rueful smile. “I’m afraid so. The airport, especially. Al-Assad has clamped down at entry points, partly due to pressure from the West.”
“There won’t be any difficulties, will there?”
She laughed softly. “Not for you. Anyway, there’s always a senior security official on hand when passengers deplane to guide you and answer questions.”
Having gotten what he wanted, Bourne threw back his macchiato. Rebeka tore off part of a page from her magazine and wrote on it. As he turned to go, she slid it over to him.
“I’m off for the next three days.” Her warm smile returned. “My number, in case you lose your way.”
Instead of piercing Boris’s flesh, the knife blade retracted into its handle. Laughing, Boris slammed the heel of his hand into Cherkesov’s nose. Blood gouted, the cartilage cracked, and Cherkesov fell onto his backside.
Boris took back the knife. He pressed a hidden button on the handle and the blade popped out. He pressed the button again, locking the blade in place so it would not retract.
He knelt beside Cherkesov. “Now we get to it, Viktor.” He shoved the tip of the blade into Cherkesov’s right nostril. “There are many things, precious to you, I’m sure, you will give up before you tell me what I want to know.”
Cherkesov stared up at him with reddened eyes. “I’ll die first.”
“You’re a liar, kitty cat,” Boris said.
“Huh?” Cherkesov looked up at him.
“You know what happens to liars? No? Wanna guess? No? Okay, they lose their noses.”
With one flick of Boris’s wrist, the blade slit open Cherkesov’s already bloody nose. Cherkesov arched up; Boris shoved him back down with the flat of his hand.
“Let me the fuck up!”
“Forget it, Viktor, it’s Chinatown.”
“Fuck you, you cocksucker. I’m not telling you a thing.”
“It’s not a question of pain, Viktor, but you already knew that.” Boris wiped the blade on Cherkesov’s trouser leg. “It’s a question of what you can tolerate living without.” He smiled, almost benignly. “Not to worry, I won’t let you die. There’s no escape.” The knife blade made a circuit of Cherkesov’s face. “I mean what I say; I’m an expert, and I have all night long.”
Hendricks was in his office, poring over the file of the three men found dead in Room 916 of the Lincoln Square Hotel. None of them was a guest, none had any identification on him. Their fingerprints had yielded nothing, and now their dental records were being sought, though this would probably be a dead end as well. According to the FBI, who had taken over the case from Metro Homicide, the dental work was definitely not American. Eastern European was the best they could do at the moment, but that covered a lot of territory.
Hendricks paused to drink some ice water.
The one strange thing about all of the victims was the suicide pill—the hollow tooth that contained liquid hydrogen cyanide, an old NKVD marker. Were these men Russians and, if so, what the hell were they doing in Room 916 of the Lincoln Square Hotel?
Hendricks turned the page. Room 916 was on a long-term lease through ServicesSolutions, a company with phantom headquarters in the Caymans. Hendricks had no doubt that ServicesSolutions was a shell corporation for God alone knew who. He rubbed his forehead. Whoever owned ServicesSolutions had some very nasty enemies. He called a colleague in Treasury, gave him what info he had on ServicesSolutions, and asked him to find out who actually owned it. Then he called the head of the task force he had assigned to find Peter Marks. Following the bombing of Peter’s car in the Treadstone garage, the whole building was in lockdown. Everyone who worked or had recently worked in the building was being run down and questioned, but nothing so far. Hendricks had been extremely relieved to learn that no human remains had been found in the car. On the other hand, this concerned him, given Sal’s testimony that he and Peter had been in the same elevator minutes before the explosion. The night watchman had exited at the lobby level, but he was certain Peter had continued down to the garage. So chances were good that Peter was in the garage when the car bomb was detonated, but had not been in the vehicle. What had happened; where was he? Had he gone to ground? That would be a reasonable assumption.
Hendricks rose and crossed the office to fetch more ice for his water pitcher. He stopped stock-still as something occurred to him. What if Peter had been injured? Back at his desk, he asked one of his assistants to call around to every hospital in the Greater DC area, starting with the ones closest to the Treadstone building. Then, as another thought occurred to him, he ordered the assistant to include all EMS and private ambulance services.
“Put every available person on it,” he concluded.
He sat back, swiveled his chair around, and stared out the window. It was a dreary, windswept day. Beads of rain slid down the panes of glass, and, beyond, on the street, people in shiny raincoats were hunched over, umbrellas trembling like leaves, as they slogged their way to and from work.
At the sound of his intercom, he turned back.
“What?” His mind was buzzing with a thousand possibilities.
“Package just arrived for you, sir. It’s been vetted by security.”
“What’s in it?”
“A DVD, sir.”
Hendricks frowned. “Bring it in.”
A moment later, one of his assistants placed the DVD on his desk. Hendricks looked up. “That’s it? No note?”
“Nothing, sir. But it was addressed to you and was stamped PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL.”
Hendricks waved the assistant out, put the DVD aside, and returned to the case of the three dead men in Room 916. He studied the crime scene photos of their faces and bodies, noting that there were no tattoos, which ruled out the Russian mob. So who were these jamokes? They were armed, but that could mean anything. It certainly gave no clue as to their country of origin, let alone their affiliation. The FBI had concluded, however, that they constituted a hit team. Did that mean the team’s target was more than one person? And where was he/she/they now? He turned another page. The FBI had questioned everyone who worked in the hotel, as well as all the guests on the ninth floor. No one had seen or heard anything. Possibly someone was lying, but the FBI report stated its operatives didn’t think so. That left the other possibility: Whoever had been in that room knew how to get into and out of a public building without being spotted. All of this was interesting speculation, but Hendricks couldn’t see how it would help them find out who these people were and who their target was. It was imperative that he find the answers to those questions ASAP. The threat of terrorism overhung them all.
He needed something to make his day. He called a contact of his at CI.
“How are the plans proceeding with security at Indigo Ridge?”
“The place is in a fucking uproar.” The disgust in his voice was evident. “This isn’t our thing and no one knows how best to go about it.” He took a breath. “We sure could use your help, Mr. Secretary.”
“You want help, talk to Director Danziger,” Hendricks said with a poisoned glee. “That’s why he gets to sit in the big chair.”
His contact chuckled. “You’re killing us, Mr. Secretary.”
“Not me.”
“By the way, there’s a minor buzz around here concerning your new co-director of Treadstone, Peter Marks.”
Hendricks caught his breath. “What about him?”
“Word is he’s missing.”
Hendricks said nothing.
“Peter still has a lot of friends here, Mr. Secretary. If there’s anything we can do.”
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” Hendricks said before he disconnected.
He thought about how right Maggie had been in suggesting this course of action with Danziger. Phoning his Indigo Ridge security group, he tol
d them they were back on standby. He could allow Danziger’s fucking up to go only so far. Indigo Ridge needed to be secured.
But his pleasure at the prospect of riding to the rescue was short-lived, what with an attempt on Peter’s life, Peter missing, and the FBI material on the triple homicide at the Lincoln Square Hotel staring him in the face. Then his phone rang.
“No luck with any of the hospitals,” his assistant said, “and we went all the way out to Virginia and Maryland. Same with EMS.”
Hendricks closed his eyes. A headache was starting way back behind his left eye. “Have you any good news?”
“Well, that depends. One of the private ambulance companies reported a stolen vehicle not long ago.”
“Has it been found?”
“No, sir.”
“Well, dammit, find the fucking thing!”
He slammed down the phone so hard the DVD jumped off the desk. He looked at it, then picked it up, watching the rainbow rise and fall on its metallic surface. Opening the tray on his computer tower, he settled the DVD and slid the tray home. He heard the mechanism spinning up, then his video software program appeared full-screen and the DVD began to play. Out of the black screen, Maggie’s face appeared like a vision from a nighttime mist.
Christopher, by the time you see this I will be long gone. Please don’t try to contact me.”
She paused, as if knowing Hendricks had reached for his cell phone, which he had. He felt his fingers tremble with the slender weight of it, as if he were touching the nape of her neck.
“My name isn’t Margaret Penrod and my profession isn’t landscape architecture. Almost nothing I told you is true, though the truth began to leak out despite myself.”
Her eyes glittered, and even though Hendricks felt a fiery demon clawing at the lining of his gut, he was powerless to look away from her image, which shimmered like sunlight on water on the flat screen of his computer.
“You must hate me now, which I suppose is inevitable. But before you judge me, you must understand something.”
Robert Ludlum’sTM The Bourne Dominion Page 34