Bourne 7 – The Bourne Deception

15

THE BULL LURCHED FORWARD, covering Bourne‘s face with a spray of hot mist. The beast‘s eyes rolled up and its massive head hit the floor at Bourne‘s feet with a heavy thud. Bourne, struggling with clearing his fuzzy brain, wiped his eyes with his forearm, put his head back against the barrier, and saw the guard he had taken out and dragged into the anteroom.

He stood in the classic marksman‘s pose, legs spread, feet planted firmly, one hand cupping the butt of the pistol with which he‘d shot the bull twice and which, now that it was dead, was aimed squarely at Bourne.

– Ä’Levantese! he ordered. -Stand up and show me your hands.

— All right, Bourne said. -One moment. Using one hand on top of the barrier to brace himself, he struggled to his feet. Placing Scarface‘s knife carefully on top of the barrier, he raised his hands, palms outward.

— What are you doing here? The guard was livid with rage. -Son of a bitch, look what you made me do. Have you any idea what that bull cost?

Bourne pointed to the ripped-apart body of Scarface. -I‘m nothing. It was this man, a professional assassin, I was trying to get away from.

The guard frowned deeply. -Who? Who do you mean? He took several tentative steps toward Bourne, then he saw what was left of Scarface. — Madre de Dios! he cried.

Bourne leapt across the barrier into the bull pen and the guard toppled backward. For a moment, the two men grappled for the gun, then Bourne chopped down on the side of the guard‘s neck and his body went limp.

Before rolling off him, he checked the guard to make sure his pulse was steady, then climbed back over the barrier and put his head under the tap over the soapstone sink, using the cold water to sluice away the remainder of the bull‘s blood as well as to revive himself. Using the cleanest of the rags under the sink, he wiped himself dry, then-still slightly dizzy-retraced his steps up the ramp into the colored dazzle of the corrida, where the triumphant matador was slowly and majestically parading around the perimeter of the ring with the bull‘s ears held high to the screaming throng.

The bull itself lay near the center of the corrida, mutilated, forgotten, flies buzzing around its immobile head.

Soraya felt Amun beside her as if he were a small nuclear plant. How many lies had he told her, she wondered. Did he have powerful enemies high up in the Egyptian government, or were these the same people who had given him the order to barter a Kowsar 3 missile and bring down the American jet?

— What is particularly troubling, he said, breaking the short silence,

— is that the Iranians had to have help getting here. It would be easy enough to pass through the chaos in Iraq, but after that what choice did they have?

They wouldn‘t have taken the northern route, crossing into Jordan and the Sinai, because it‘s too risky. The Jordanians would have shot them dead and the Sinai is too open, too heavily patrolled. He shook his head. -No, they had to have come here via Saudi and the Red Sea, which means the most logical landfall was Al Ghardaqah.

Soraya was aware of this tourist city on the Red Sea, a relaxed, sundrenched mecca for the overly stressed not unlike Miami Beach. Amun was right: Its laid-back, carnival atmosphere would make it an ideal landing place for a small terrorist group, passing as tourists or better yet Egyptian fishermen, to arrive and depart unrecognized.

Amun floored the gas pedal, streaking past cars and trucks alike. -I‘ve arranged for a small plane to take us to Al Ghardaqah as soon as we arrive at the airfield. Breakfast will be served on board. We can strategize while we eat.

Soraya called Veronica Hart, who answered immediately.

When she had been updated, Hart said, — The president is addressing the UN

Security Council tomorrow morning. He‘ll be asking for a formal condemnation of Iran.

— Without definitive proof?

— Halliday and his NSA people have convinced the president that their written report is all the proof we need.

— I take it you don‘t agree, Soraya said drily.

— I most certainly don‘t. If we go out on a limb like we did with the WMDs in Iraq and are subsequently proven wrong it will be an un-mitigated disaster, both politically and militarily, because we‘ll have enmeshed the world in a wider war than anyone can currently handle, and that includes us, no matter what Halliday says. You‘ve got to find me definitive proof of Iranian involvement.

— That‘s just what Chalthoum and I are working on, but the situation has become more complicated.

— What do you mean?

— Chalthoum theorizes that the Iranians must have had help in transshipping the missile, and I agree. She repeated the logistics that Amun had given her. -Many of the people who took part in the nine-eleven disaster were Saudis. If the same group is now involved with an Iranian terrorist network or, far more ominously, the Iranian government itself, the implications are far reaching because the Iranians are Shi‘a and the overwhelming majority of Saudis are Wahhib, a branch of the Sunni sect. As you know, Shi‘a and Sunni are blood enemies. This raises the possibility that they have somehow entered into either a temporary truce or an alliance of shared purpose.

Hart sucked in her breath. -God in heaven, we‘re talking about a nightmare scenario that‘s frankly terrified us and the European intelligence community for years.

— With good reason, Soraya said, — because it means that a united Islam is girding itself for an all-out war with the West.

Bourne felt the wound near his heart throbbing so badly, he feared it might have reopened. Exiting the pen, he headed for the toilets where he could at least get the remainder of the blood off his clothes, but halfway there he saw two police rounding the corridor, heading toward the pens. Had someone in the corrida seen something and raised the alarm? Or perhaps the guard had regained consciousness. There was no time for speculation as he reversed course and headed, somewhat unsteadily, up the ramp into the spangled Seville twilight. Behind him, he heard someone calling. Was it to him? Without a backward glance, he turned to look for Tracy, but as if intuiting the increasing danger of the situation, she was already out of her seat, searching for him. The moment they saw each other, she headed not toward him but toward the nearest exit, leading him there by example.

The clamor around the corrida was of a more general nature as the crowd stood, stretched, milled, and talked among themselves or headed for the refreshment stands and the toilets. In the ring men dragged the fallen bull‘s carcass away, raked over the dirt to cover the fresh blood, and generally prepared for the next bull.

Bourne felt the pain in his chest detonate like a bomb. He staggered and fell against two women, who turned back to glare at him as he righted himself. But even in his debilitated state he was conscious of a proliferation of police entering the stadium. There was no doubt now that the alarm had been sounded.

One of the police officers he‘d seen coming toward him in the bowels of the corrida had emerged, looking around for him. He eeled his way through the crowd, thankful that virtually everyone was on the move, making it easier for him to lose himself as he made his way toward the exit where Tracy was waiting for him.

But the police officer must have caught a glimpse of him, because he was hurrying after Bourne, expertly threading his way through the people. Bourne tried to judge the distance to the exit and wondered whether he was going to make it, because the officer was closing fast. A moment later he saw Tracy appear out of the throng. Without a glance at him, she rushed past him, heading in the opposite direction. What was she doing?

Still picking his way forward, he risked a glance over his shoulder and saw her confront the police officer. In snatches he heard her voice, raised and plaintive, complaining of having her cell phone snatched from her handbag. The officer was understandably impatient with her, but when he tried to brush her off Tracy‘s voice rose to such a pitch that everyone around her turned to stare and the officer was forced to deal with her.

Through his growing pain Bourne managed a small smile. Three strides later he came to the exit, but as soon as he turned into it, he felt a deeper stab of pain in his chest and fell against the rough concrete wall, gasping for breath as people pushed past him, coming and going.

— Come on, Tracy urged in his ear as she slid her arm through his and drew him into the flow of the crowd, down the ramp, and into the enormous vestibule, where a mass of people were smoking and chattering away about the merits of the matador. Beyond the crowd, the glass doors to the street were directly ahead.

Somehow she‘d disentangled herself from the officer to find him. It took all his concentration to breathe deeply, to breathe through the pain.

— Christ, what happened to you in there? she said. -How badly are you hurt?

— Not badly.

— Really? You look like you‘re already dead.

At that moment, three police came crashing through the corrida‘s front doors.

Moira and Veronica Hart decided to take the sedan Moira had rented, since the white Buick was as anonymous a car as possible. They found Humphry Bamber, the late Undersecretary Stevenson‘s closest friend, at his health club. He had just finished his workout, and one of the attendants had fetched him from the sauna. He padded out in sky-blue flip-flops, a towel wrapped around his waist and another, smaller one around his neck, which he used to wipe sweat off his face.

Really, Moira thought, he had no reason to wear anything more. His body was rock-hard, as well formed as a professional athlete‘s. In fact, he looked as if he spent the majority of his time in the gym maintaining his washboard abs and hillock biceps.

He greeted them with a quizzical smile. He had thick blond hair that fell over his forehead, making him seem boyish. His wide-apart, clear eyes took them in with a cool precision that seemed oddly neutral to Moira.

— Ladies, he said, — what can I do for you? Marty said it was urgent. He meant the attendant.

— It is urgent, Hart said. -Is there somewhere private we can talk?

Bamber‘s expression sobered. -Are you cops?

— What if we are?

He shrugged. -I‘d be more curious than I am now.

Hart flashed her credentials, which sent his eyebrows up.

— Do you suspect me of passing secrets to the enemy?

— Which enemy? Moira said.

He laughed. -I like you, he said. -What‘s your name?

— Moira Trevor.

— Uh-oh. At once, Bamber‘s expression grew dark. -I was warned about you.

— Warned? Moira said. -By whom? But she thought she already knew.

— A man named Noah Petersen.

Moira recalled Noah taking Jay Weston‘s cell phone from her at the scene of the killing. It was a sure bet that‘s how he found Bamber.

— He said-

— His real name‘s Perlis, Moira interrupted. -Noah Perlis. You shouldn‘t trust anything he told you.

— He said you‘d say that.

Moira laughed bitterly. Hart said, — A private place, Mr. Bamber. Please.

He nodded and walked them to an unused office. They went in and he closed the door. When they were all seated, Hart said, — I‘m afraid we have some bad news. Steve Stevenson is dead.

Bamber looked stricken. -What?

Hart continued: — Did Mr. Peter-Perlis tell you that?

Bamber shook his head. He put the smaller towel around his shoulders as if he‘d suddenly grown cold. Moira couldn‘t blame him.

— My God. He shook his head in disbelief, then he looked at them in a kind of pleading way. -It must be a mistake of some kind, one of those idiotic bureaucratic snafus Steve was always complaining about.

— I‘m afraid not, Hart said.

— Noah-one of Mr. Perlis‘s people-killed your friend, making it look like an accident, Moira said in a rush of emotion. Ignoring Hart‘s warning glare, she continued: — Mr. Perlis is a dangerous man working for a dangerous organization.

— I- Bamber ran a hand distractedly through his hair. -Shit, I don‘t know what to believe. He looked from one of them to the other. -Can I see Steve‘s body?

Hart nodded. -That can be arranged, as soon as we‘re through here.

— Ah. Bamber gave her a rueful smile. -Like a reward, is that it? Hart said nothing.

He nodded in capitulation. -Okay, how can I help you?

— I don‘t know if you can, Hart said with a significant glance at Moira.

— Because if you could, Mr. Perlis wouldn‘t have left you alive.

For the first time Bamber looked truly alarmed. -What the hell is this?

he said with understandable indignation. -Steve and I have been close friends since college, that‘s it.

Ever since Bamber had appeared Moira had been wondering about this aging jock‘s decades-long friendship with Steve Stevenson, a man who didn‘t know a softball from a football and, furthermore, didn‘t care. Now something Bamber just said caused a number of small anomalies to click into place.

— I think there‘s another reason Noah felt confident in leaving you with a warning, Mr. Bamber, she said, — am I right?

Bamber frowned. -I don‘t know what you‘re talking about.

— What would frighten you so much that Noah could be assured that you wouldn‘t talk?

He stood up abruptly. -I‘ve had just about enough of this badgering.

— Sit back down, Mr. Bamber, Hart said.

— You and Undersecretary Stevenson were more than roommates at college,

Moira pressed on. -Just as you were more than good friends. Isn‘t that right?

Bamber sat down as if all the strength had gone out of his legs. -I want protection from Noah and his people.

— You have it, Hart said.

He looked at her steadily. -I‘m not kidding.

Pulling out her cell, she punched in a number. -Tommy, she said into the phone, — I need a security detail in double-quick time. She gave her assistant the address of the health club. -And Tommy, not a word of this to anyone outside the detail, is that clear? Good.

She tucked away her phone, said to Bamber, — Neither am I.

— Good. He sighed in relief. Then, turning to Moira, he smiled bleakly.

— You‘re not wrong about Steve and me, and Noah knew neither of us could survive if the true nature of our relationship was made public.

Moira felt the breath rush out of her. -You called him Noah. Do you mean to tell us you know him?

— In a way, I work for him. That‘s the other, more important, reason he couldn‘t touch me. You see, I created a custom software program for him. It‘s still got some minor bugs and I‘m the only one who can work them out.

— Funny, Hart said, — you don‘t look like a tech geek.

— Yeah, well, Steve used to say that was one of my charms. I never looked anything like what I really am.

— What does this software program do? Moira said.

— It‘s a highly sophisticated statistical analysis program that can take into account millions of factors. What he‘s doing with it I don‘t know. He made sure I was locked out of that side of it, that was part of our agreement, the reason I asked for and got a higher fee.

— But you said you‘re working on fixes.

— That‘s right, Bamber said, nodding, — but it‘s necessary that I work on a clean copy of the program. When I‘m finished I electronically transfer it to Noah‘s laptop. What happens after that is anyone‘s guess.

— Let‘s hear your guess, Moira said.

He sighed again. -Okay, here‘s my best shot. The level of complexity of the program makes it almost a sure bet that he‘s using it on a real-world basis.

— Translation, please.

— There are lab scenarios and real-world scenarios, Bamber said. -As you can imagine, anything that tries to figure out what would happen during certain real-life situations has to be incredibly complex because of all the factors involved.

— Millions of factors.

He nodded. -Which my program provides.

A possibility hit Moira between the eyes and for a moment she sat back, dazzled. Then she said, — Have you given this program a name?

— In fact, I did. Bamber seemed a bit embarrassed. -It‘s a private joke between Steve and me. His use of the present tense brought the news of his friend and lover‘s death back to him, and he stopped, put his head down, moaning low in his throat, — Jesus, Jesus, Steve.

Moira waited a moment, then cleared her throat. -Mr. Bamber, we‘re truly sorry for your loss. I knew Undersecretary Stevenson, I did business with him. He always helped me, even if it meant going out on a limb.

Bamber‘s head came up, his eyes red-rimmed. -Yeah, that was Steve, all right.

— The name you gave the program you created for Noah Perlis?

— Oh, that. It‘s nothing, as I said, a joke because Steve and I both like-

liked-Javier-

— Bardem, Moira said.

Bamber looked surprised. -Yes, how did you know?

And Moira thought, Pinprickbardem.