The Bourne Deception

10





AS MOIRA LAUNCHED HERSELF out of the booth, she pulled the thumb drive out of the USB slot. By this time shed taken off through the coffee shop, down the narrow, dingy hallway that led to the toilets and the kitchen.

Turning left into the kitchen, she was engulfed by a surge of heat, steam, and raised voices. She was heading for the pantry when the delivery entrance at the rear burst open, and an NSA agent came through the doorway. As he did so, she pressed her thumb into the reader twice in succession even though the computer was still on. Then she threw it at him. He raised his arms reflexively to catch it and she raced into the small pantry cubicle. Kneeling, she pulled the ring on the trapdoor. As she was raising it from its mount flush in the floor, she heard the laptops incendiary device explode. Shouts and the confusion caused by a fire in a confined space came to her as she slipped down the ladder, closing the trapdoor behind her. The device was a last-ditch security measure shed had her techs install in all Heartland laptops. Pressing the thumb reader twice while the laptop was on activated the device on a ten-second delay.

At the bottom of the ladder, she found herself in the basement, where bulk deliveries were stored. She felt above her head until she found the cord and pulled it. A bare bulb illuminated her surroundings in chiaroscuro starkness. She saw the metal doors leading to street level and opened them. There was a metal ramp used to slide the cartons of canned goods into the basement. She scrambled up this, bending almost double to hold on to the sides so as not to slip on the smooth surface. To do this, she had to slip the thumb drive, which shed been clutching for dear life, into her pocket. As she did so, the back of her hand brushed against what felt like a stiff card. Gaining the street, she found herself directly to the right of the entrance to the coffee shop, where people were piling out like boiling water. As she walked away she could hear the klaxon call of fire engines. She walked away from the melee, her hand in her pocket to check that she still had the thumb drive, and she felt again the presence of the card. Drawing it out, she saw that it had the EMS logo on it and Daves name. Below, hed handwritten a cell phone number. Then she remembered him brushing by her and knew hed slipped her the card then. Any port in a storm, she thought. Flipping open the burner, she punched in the number.

Just then, glancing over her shoulder, she saw one of the NSA agents spill out of the entrance and she walked faster. But hed already spotted her and took off after her.

Rounding the corner, she put her phone to her ear.

Yes She was relieved to hear Daves familiar voice.

Im in trouble. She gave him her approximate location. Ill be at Fort Myer Drive and Seventeenth Street North in three minutes.

Wait for us, he said.

Easy for you to say, she replied and raced around the corner onto North Nash Street.


Watching Maslov and his slope-shouldered Neanderthals climb back into their vehicle and head out, Arkadin suppressed a spasm of murderous rage. It was all he could do to stop himself from grabbing a semi-automatic off one of the stacks and spraying the vehicle with bullets until all four people inside were dead. Luckily, what was left of the rational part of his brain prevented him from making such a foolish move. He might feel better for the moment but in the larger scheme of things he would regret Maslovs premature demise. As long as the head of the Kazanskaya was useful to him hed allow him to live.

But not a moment longer.

He wouldnt make the same mistake with Maslov hed made with Stas Kuzin, the mob boss in Nizhny Tagil hed partnered with, then killed. In those days Arkadin was young and inexperienced; hed allowed Kuzin to live too long. Long enough to torture and kill the woman Arkadin was sleeping with. Of course, the young Arkadin hadnt considered what would happen in the aftermath of Kuzins death and the death of a third of his depraved crew.

With the rest of Kuzins murderers out for his blood he was forced to go to ground. Since they had all the avenues out of the city covered and had turned all the terrified citizens into informers, it was imperative to find a haven as quickly as possible, which unfortunately meant inside Nizhny Tagil, somewhere theyd never find him, where theyd never even think to look. Hed shot Kuzin in the building he and Kuzin owned jointly, where Kuzin had his headquarters, where he kept the young girls Arkadin had swept off the streets for him. Of course, he found the perfect spot, one even Dimitri Maslov wouldnt have been clever enough to think of.

Abruptly Arkadins mind switched gears to more immediate concerns. The phone call from Willard was very much on his mind as he walked back to where his Black Legion recruits were waiting for him outside the tents erected on the edge of the Azerbaijani plain. Hed relied on that idiot Wayan, who had recommended Ian Bowles. Hiring Bowles clearly had been a mistake.

But now even Bowles was driven out of his mind as he addressed his troops. They were not nearly as well prepared for a coordinated raid as hed hoped. But then these men had been trained and used in solo missions. Many of them had been waiting for the orders to strap on their C-4 vests, infiltrate a market, a police station, or a school, and press the detonator. Their minds were already halfway to Paradise, and almost immediately Arkadin understood that it was his job as well as his duty as the head of the Eastern Brotherhood, the Black Legions legitimate umbrella organization, to shape them into a unit, men who could rely on one anothersacrifice for one another if need bewithout a seconds hesitation.

The group of menhardy, physically and mentally fitstood arrayed in front of him, uncomfortable because hed ordered them to shave their heads and their beards, both of which were against both custom and their Islamic teachings. Not a one of them wasnt wondering how on earth they were going to infiltrate anywhere in the Islamic world looking as they now did.

One man, Farid, chose to voice their concern. He did it forcefully, believing he was speaking for the other ninety-nine recruits, not just himself.

What was that Arkadins head snapped so hard a vertebra in his neck cracked like a rifle shot. What did you say, Farid

Had he known Arkadin at all, Farid would have kept his mouth shut. But he didnt, and there was no one in the godforsaken land to teach him. So he repeated his question.

Sir, were wondering why you ordered us to shave the hair that Allah dictates we must have. Were wondering what your motive could possibly be. We demand an answer because you have shamed us.

Without a word, Arkadin pulled out the baton from his belt, slammed it into the side of Farids head, driving him down. As he knelt, swaying with pain and dismay, Arkadin drew his Colt and shot Farid point-blank through his right eye. The man was driven back, his knees cracking, and there he lay in the sandy dirt, mute and inert.


Just around the corner Moira stopped and pressed herself against the wall of the office building. She raised her right elbow and, as the NSA agent came racing around the corner, slammed it into his chest. Shed been aiming for his throat but missed, and though he rocked back against the wall, he immediately came at her, threw a punch that she blocked.

But it was only a feint and he grabbed her left arm from the under-side and applied pressure in an attempt to break it at the elbow. Moira, pinioned, trod hard on his instep, but his grip didnt loosen. He applied more pressure until a yelp of pain escaped her throat. Then he came in with the heel of his hand, a blow aimed at the point of her nose.

She let him commit himself completely to the blow, then dodged her head to one side. At the same time, gathering all her strength into her lower belly, she jammed her flexed right knee into his groin. His arms opened wide, his grip on her began to slip, and he went down.

Moira snatched her arm away, but he managed to grasp her wrist, bringing her down to him as he fell to his knees. His eyes were watering and he was clearly struggling not to pant, to deepen his breathing, work through the excruciating pain. But Moira wasnt about to let him. She drove her knuckles into his throat and, as he gagged, she freed herself. Then she struck the left side of his head, slamming it against the buildings stonework. His eyes rolled up and he slid to the pavement. Quickly she took his weapon and his ID and took off through the growing crowd of gawking people, drawn to the scuffle like dogs scenting blood, saying, That man mugged me. Someone call the police!

On the corner of Fort Myer Drive and 17th Street North she brought herself up short. She was breathing heavily, her pulse rate accelerated. Adrenaline was burning through her like a river of fire, but she managed to slow to a walk, moving against the tide of people who were following the sound of the sirens on the police cruisers, quickening from more than one direction. One was coming directly at her, but, no, it was an EMS ambulance.

Dave had arrived, not a moment too soon. The ambulance slowed and she saw Earl behind the wheel. As the vehicle came abreast of her the back doors banged open and Dave leaned out. As he grabbed her left hand to swing her aboard she gasped. When shed navigated the metal step Dave, lunging past her, swung the doors shut and said, Go!

Earl stepped on the gas. Moira swung around as the ambulance hit a corner at speed. Dave put his arms around her to steady her, led her to one of the benches.

You okay he asked.

She nodded, but winced as she bent her left arm.

Let me see that, Dave said, pushed back the sleeve of her blouse. Nice, he said and started to work on the bruised and puffy joint.

At that point, Moira knew she was nearing the end of her rope. One of her operatives had stumbled on a secret so important that either Black River, the NSA, or both working in concert had killed him. Now they were after her. Her fledgling company had just over a hundred operatives, more than half of them recruited from Black River. Any one of them could be a traitor, because of one thing she was absolutely certain: Someone inside Heartland had tracked her ISP address to the Wi-Fi network at the Shade Grown Café and had given it to the NSA. That was the only explanation for them showing up so quickly.

Now she was out of options. She had no one to trust. Except, she thought bleakly, one person. The person shed vowed never to see or speak to again, not after what had happened between them, which was unforgivable.

Moira closed her eyes, swaying slightly with the motion of the speeding ambulance. While now was not the time for forgiveness, maybe it was time for a truce. Who else could she call Who else could she trust She gave a little gasp of despair. If it werent so sad it would be funny, really, turning for help to the last person shed ever accept anything from. But that was then, she told herself grimly, and this is now.

With a silent curse, she used her burner to dial a local number. When the male voice answered, she took a deep breath and said, Veronica Hart, please.

Who shall I say is calling

Oh, the hell with it, she thought. Moira.

Moira Maam, shell need your last name.

No, she wont, Moira said. Just tell her Moira, and be damn quick about it!


The moon is out. Amun Chalthoum checked his watch. Its time we talked.

Soraya had been on her satellite phone with her local Typhon agents in place. They were all running down leads on the new Iranian MIG, but so far none of them had made any progress. It was as if the group was so far underground their contacts had come up empty. Whether this was because their contacts knew nothing or were too afraid to divulge the groups existence was anyones guess. If it was the latter, she had to admire the level of their security.

She decided to agree to Amuns suggestion, but not in the way he wanted. As he held the tent flap back for her, she said, Leave your firearm here.

Is this really necessary he said. When she didnt reply he narrowed his eyes for a moment to show his displeasure then, sighing, took his pistol from its polished leather holster and set it down on a field desk.

Satisfied

She passed out of the relative warmth of the interior into the chill night. Some distance away the American task force was busy sifting through the wreckage for clues, but as yet Delia hadnt given her another update, althoughas Veronica had saidthe downed plane wasnt her primary mission. She shivered in the ascetic chill of the desert air. The moon was immense, lent a kind of grandeur by the eternal and seemingly endless sea of sand.

They began heading for the bare perimeter, where Chalthoums guards should have been posted, but she saw no one, and she stopped. Though he was a pace ahead of her, he sensed something amiss, and turned back.

What is it he said.

I wont go another step in that direction, she said. I want to be in shouting distance. She indicated the constellation of lights on the other side of the site, safely beyond the perimeter dictated by Chalthoum, the glowing encampment of the international news media, somehow alien in the ominous night, as if it were a ship that had come to ruin on the teeth of the reef of the downed plane.

They he scoffed. They cant protect you. My people wont let them past the perimeter.

She gestured. But where are your people, Amun I dont see them.

I made certain of that. He lifted an arm. Come, we have very little time.

She was going to refuse but something in his voice caused her to relent. She thought again about the tension shed first sensed in him, the leashed rage. What, really, was going on here Now hed piqued her curiosity. Had he done that deliberately Was he leading her into a trap But to what end Unconsciously, her hand patted her back pocket where the ceramic switchblade rested, waiting to protect her.

They walked on in silence. The desert seemed to whisper around them, restlessly shifting, filtering between clothes and skin. The sheen of civilization ground down until only a hard nub was left, rough and primitive. Chalthoum reveled in his element. He was larger than life, which was of course why hed taken her out here years ago, why they were here now. The farther they moved away from the others the more he seemed to grow both in stature and in power, until he towered over her. Turning, his eyes glittered, reflecting the blue-white moonlight.

I need your help, he said with his usual bluntness.

She almost laughed. You need my help

He looked away for a moment. Youre about the last person Id think of asking for help.

And with that one statement she understood how dire his circumstances must be. What if I refuse

He pointed to the satellite phone in her hand. Do you think I dont know who you were calling with that The whites of his eyes looked eerily blue in the monochrome light. Do you think I dont know why youre really here It isnt about this air disaster; its about this new Iranian MIG.