SyndicationAug112010
?Not at all,? protested Bernardine as the firemen...
?Not at all,? protested Bernardine as the firemen hosed down the flames of the van, their efforts
augmented by giant extinguishers?Send your people into each building, inquiring if everything is
all right, explaining that the authorities have determined the terrible events on the boulevard were
criminally orientedThe crisis has passed; there is no further alarm
?But is that true??
?It?s what we want them to believe An ambulance stormed into the street followed by two
additional patrol cars, all the sirens at maximum volumeFrom the rue d?Al?sia, apartment dwellers
had gathered at both corners, many in hastily pulled?on street attire?trousers and undershirts?
while others were in night clothes?frayed bathrobes and worn slippersNoting that the Jackal?s
van was now a smoldering mass of twisted steel and shattered glass, Bernardine continued: ?Give
the crowds time to satisfy their morbid viewing, then send men to disperse themIn an hour or so,
when the rubble is under control and the bodies carted away, proclaim loudly to your police
detachment that the emergency is over, ordering all but one man back to the precinctThat man is
to remain here on duty until the debris is cleared from the boulevardHe is also to be instructed not
to interfere with gucci watches for women anyone leaving the buildings, is that clear??
?Not for a momentYou said that someone might be hiding??
?I know what I said,? pressed the former Deuxi?me consultant
?You will stay here, then??
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
274
?YesI will move slowly, inconspicuously, around the areaWhat about the police report? And my report??
?Use some of the truth, not all of it, of courseWord was passed to you?informer?s name
withheld?that an act of violence related to the Bureau?s narcotics division was to take place on the
boulevard Lefebvre at precisely this hourYou commandeered a police contingent and found
nothing, but shortly thereafter your highly professional instincts sent you back beyond the time
span, unfortunately too late to stop the carnage
?I might even be commended,? said the associate, suddenly frowning, wary?And your report??
he asked quietly
?We?ll see if one is necessary, won?t we?? replied the newly reinstated Deuxi?me consultant
The medical team wrapped the bodies of the victims and placed them in the ambulance as a
wrecker hoisted what was left of the destroyed vehicle into the huge attached dumpsterThe crew
swept the street, several remarking that they should not sweep too thoroughly or no one would
recognize the LefebvreA chloe dior quarter of an hour later the job was finished; the wrecker departed, the
lone patrolman joining the crew to be dropped off at the nearest police phone several blocks away
It was well past four o?clock in the morning, and soon the dawn would light up the sky over Paris,
preceding the boisterous human carnival belowNow, however, the only signs of life on the
boulevard Lefebvre were five lighted windows in the row of stone buildings controlled by Carlos
the JackalInside those rooms were men and women for whom sleep was not permittedThey had
work to do for their monseigneur
Bourne sat on the pavement, his legs outstretched, his back against the inside wall of a storefront
across from the building where the frightened yet argumentative baker and the indignant nun had
confronted the policeBernardine was in a similar recess several hundred feet away, opposite the
first building where the Jackal?s van had stopped for its condemned cargoTheir agreement was
firm: Jason would follow and take by force whoever left first from any building; the old Deuxi?me
veteran would follow whoever left second, ascertain his or her destination, but make no contact
Bourne?s judgment was that either the baker or the nun would be the assassin?s messenger, so he
had selected men's omega watch the north end of the row of stone houses
He was partially right, but he had not anticipated an embarrassment of personnel and
conveyancesAt 5:17, two bicycles ridden by nuns in full habits and white hats wheeled up from
the south side of the boulevard, ringing the muted bells on their handlebars as they stopped in front
of the house that was supposedly the quarters of the Magdalen Sisters of CharityThe door opened
and three additional nuns, each carrying a bicycle, walked out and down the brick steps to join their
charitable sistersThey discreetly mounted their saddles and the procession started up the street; the
one consoling fact for Jason was that Carlos?s indignant nun took up the single rear positionNot
knowing how it would happen, knowing only that it would happen, Bourne lurched out of the
storefront and ran across the dark boulevardAs he reached the shadows of the deserted lot adjacent
to the Jackal?s house, another door openedHe crouched, watching the overweight irate baker
waddle rapidly down his brick steps and head southBernardine had his work cut out for him, too,
thought Jason as he got to his feet and ran after his procession of cycling nuns
Paris traffic is an endless enigma regardless of the hour of day or nightIt also cartier pasha watch provides palpable
excuses for anyone wishing to be early or late, or having arrived at the right destination or the
wrong oneIn a phrase, Parisians behind a steering wheel embody the last civilized vestiges of
lethal abandon?possibly outdone by their counterparts in Rome or AthensAnd so it was for the
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
275
Magdalen Sisters of Charity, especially for the officious superior hen on the single rear pointAt an
intersection of the rue Lecourbe in Montparnasse, a congestion of produce trucks prevented her
from keeping up with her religious colleaguesBenignly she waved them on and abruptly turned
into a narrow side street, suddenly pedaling faster than beforeBourne, his wound from Tranquility
Isle now pulsating throughout his neck, did not increase his pace; he did not have toThe whitelettered
blue sign on the building fronting the street read IMPASSE, a dead end; there was no other
way out
He found the bicycle chained to an extinguished street lamp and waited in the darkness of a
doorway no more than fifteen feet awayHe raised his hand and touched the warm moistness of the
bandage around his neck; the bleeding was slightWith luck, no more than one suture had burst
Oh, Christ, his legs were tired?no, ?tired? was omega olympic watch inadequat
?Not at all,? protested Bernardine as the firemen hosed down the flames of the van, their efforts
augmented by giant extinguishers?Send your people into each building, inquiring if everything is
all right, explaining that the authorities have determined the terrible events on the boulevard were
criminally orientedThe crisis has passed; there is no further alarm
?But is that true??
?It?s what we want them to believe An ambulance stormed into the street followed by two
additional patrol cars, all the sirens at maximum volumeFrom the rue d?Al?sia, apartment dwellers
had gathered at both corners, many in hastily pulled?on street attire?trousers and undershirts?
while others were in night clothes?frayed bathrobes and worn slippersNoting that the Jackal?s
van was now a smoldering mass of twisted steel and shattered glass, Bernardine continued: ?Give
the crowds time to satisfy their morbid viewing, then send men to disperse themIn an hour or so,
when the rubble is under control and the bodies carted away, proclaim loudly to your police
detachment that the emergency is over, ordering all but one man back to the precinctThat man is
to remain here on duty until the debris is cleared from the boulevardHe is also to be instructed not
to interfere with gucci watches for women anyone leaving the buildings, is that clear??
?Not for a momentYou said that someone might be hiding??
?I know what I said,? pressed the former Deuxi?me consultant
?You will stay here, then??
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
274
?YesI will move slowly, inconspicuously, around the areaWhat about the police report? And my report??
?Use some of the truth, not all of it, of courseWord was passed to you?informer?s name
withheld?that an act of violence related to the Bureau?s narcotics division was to take place on the
boulevard Lefebvre at precisely this hourYou commandeered a police contingent and found
nothing, but shortly thereafter your highly professional instincts sent you back beyond the time
span, unfortunately too late to stop the carnage
?I might even be commended,? said the associate, suddenly frowning, wary?And your report??
he asked quietly
?We?ll see if one is necessary, won?t we?? replied the newly reinstated Deuxi?me consultant
The medical team wrapped the bodies of the victims and placed them in the ambulance as a
wrecker hoisted what was left of the destroyed vehicle into the huge attached dumpsterThe crew
swept the street, several remarking that they should not sweep too thoroughly or no one would
recognize the LefebvreA chloe dior quarter of an hour later the job was finished; the wrecker departed, the
lone patrolman joining the crew to be dropped off at the nearest police phone several blocks away
It was well past four o?clock in the morning, and soon the dawn would light up the sky over Paris,
preceding the boisterous human carnival belowNow, however, the only signs of life on the
boulevard Lefebvre were five lighted windows in the row of stone buildings controlled by Carlos
the JackalInside those rooms were men and women for whom sleep was not permittedThey had
work to do for their monseigneur
Bourne sat on the pavement, his legs outstretched, his back against the inside wall of a storefront
across from the building where the frightened yet argumentative baker and the indignant nun had
confronted the policeBernardine was in a similar recess several hundred feet away, opposite the
first building where the Jackal?s van had stopped for its condemned cargoTheir agreement was
firm: Jason would follow and take by force whoever left first from any building; the old Deuxi?me
veteran would follow whoever left second, ascertain his or her destination, but make no contact
Bourne?s judgment was that either the baker or the nun would be the assassin?s messenger, so he
had selected men's omega watch the north end of the row of stone houses
He was partially right, but he had not anticipated an embarrassment of personnel and
conveyancesAt 5:17, two bicycles ridden by nuns in full habits and white hats wheeled up from
the south side of the boulevard, ringing the muted bells on their handlebars as they stopped in front
of the house that was supposedly the quarters of the Magdalen Sisters of CharityThe door opened
and three additional nuns, each carrying a bicycle, walked out and down the brick steps to join their
charitable sistersThey discreetly mounted their saddles and the procession started up the street; the
one consoling fact for Jason was that Carlos?s indignant nun took up the single rear positionNot
knowing how it would happen, knowing only that it would happen, Bourne lurched out of the
storefront and ran across the dark boulevardAs he reached the shadows of the deserted lot adjacent
to the Jackal?s house, another door openedHe crouched, watching the overweight irate baker
waddle rapidly down his brick steps and head southBernardine had his work cut out for him, too,
thought Jason as he got to his feet and ran after his procession of cycling nuns
Paris traffic is an endless enigma regardless of the hour of day or nightIt also cartier pasha watch provides palpable
excuses for anyone wishing to be early or late, or having arrived at the right destination or the
wrong oneIn a phrase, Parisians behind a steering wheel embody the last civilized vestiges of
lethal abandon?possibly outdone by their counterparts in Rome or AthensAnd so it was for the
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
275
Magdalen Sisters of Charity, especially for the officious superior hen on the single rear pointAt an
intersection of the rue Lecourbe in Montparnasse, a congestion of produce trucks prevented her
from keeping up with her religious colleaguesBenignly she waved them on and abruptly turned
into a narrow side street, suddenly pedaling faster than beforeBourne, his wound from Tranquility
Isle now pulsating throughout his neck, did not increase his pace; he did not have toThe whitelettered
blue sign on the building fronting the street read IMPASSE, a dead end; there was no other
way out
He found the bicycle chained to an extinguished street lamp and waited in the darkness of a
doorway no more than fifteen feet awayHe raised his hand and touched the warm moistness of the
bandage around his neck; the bleeding was slightWith luck, no more than one suture had burst
Oh, Christ, his legs were tired?no, ?tired? was omega olympic watch inadequat