Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM 404 “I...
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
404
“I was very fast, Doctor, and so was your comradeWe saw that son of a bitch running out
toward us, so we locked the doors and kept moving in the seats and firing at him as he tried to get
close enough to put us away, which he damn near didI’m sorry about the driver; he was a brave
young man
“He was an angry young man as well, Aleksei,” broke in Krupkin from the other table“Those
first shots from the doorway sent him into that bus
The door of the infirmary burst open, which was to say it was not opened so much as it was
invaded, submitting to the august presence of the KGB commissar from the flat in SlavyanskyThe
blunt-featured, blunt-spoken Komitet officer in the disheveled uniform lived up to his appearance
“You,” he said to the doctor, “I’ve spoken to your associates outsideYou rolex oyster perpetual date are finished here, they
say
“Not entirely, comradeThere are minor items to attend to, such as therapeutical—”
“Later,” interrupted the commissar
“The Komitet speaks?” asked the surgeon, his contempt minor but evident
“Sometimes too often
“What?”
“You heard me,” replied the doctor, heading for the doorThe KGB man shrugged and waited
for the infirmary door to closeHe then walked to the foot of both examining tables, his squinting
flesh-encased eyes darting between the two wounded men, and spat out one word?”
The responses were simultaneous; even Bourne snapped himself away from the wall
“You,” he added, switching to his limited English“Understand I say?”
“If you said what I think you said, I think I do, but only the name
“I explain good enoughWe question the nine men women he locked in weapons storageHe
kill two guards who do most wanted chloe bag not stop him, okay? He take automobile keys from four men but uses no
automobiles, okay?”
“I saw him head for the cars!”
“Which? Three other people at Kubinka shot dead, automobile papers takenWhich?”
“For Christ’s sake, check with your vehicle bureau, or whatever you call it!”
“Take timeAlso in Moskva, automobiles under different names, different tag plates—
Leningrad, Smolensk, who knows—all to not look for automobile laws broken
“What the hell is he talking about?” shouted Jason
“Automobile ownership is regulated by the state,” explained Krupkin weakly from the table
“Each major center has its own registration and is frequently reluctant to cooperate with another
center
“Why?”
“Individual ownership under different family names—even nonfamily names
There are only so many vehicles available for purchase
“So?”
“Local fake chanel bribery is a fact of lifeNo one in Leningrad wants a finger pointed at him from a
bureaucrat in MoscowHe’s telling you that it could take several days to learn what automobile the
Jackal’s driving
“That’s crazy!”
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
405
“You said it, MrI’m an upstanding citizen of the Soviet Union, please
remember that
“But what’s it all got to do with Novgorod—that is what he said, isn’t it?”
“NovgorodShto eto znachit?” said Krupkin to the KGB officialIn rapid, clipped Russian, the
peasant commissar gave the pertinent details to his colleague from ParisKrupkin turned his head
on the table and translated in English“Try to follow this, Jason,” he said, his voice intermittently
fading, his breathing becoming increasingly more labored“Apparently there is a walk-around
gallery above the armory’s arenaHe used it gucci tote bags and saw you through a window on the road by the
hedges and came back to the weapons room screaming like the maniac he isHe shouted to his
bound hostages that you were his and you were deadAnd there was only one last thing he had to
accomplish
“Novgorod,” interrupted Conklin, whispering, his head rigid, staring at the ceiling
“Precisely,” said Krupkin, his eyes focused on Alex’s profile beside him“He’s going back to
the place of his birth where Ilich Ramirez Sanchez became Carlos the Jackal because he was
disinherited, marked for execution as a madmanHe held his gun against everyone’s throat, quietly
demanding to know the best roads to Novgorod, threatening to kill whoever gave him the wrong
answerNone did, of course, and all who knew told him it was five to six hundred kilometers away,
a full day’s drive
“Drive?” interjected balenciaga bags in black Bou