@@@@@Noting that the Jackal’s van was now a
@@@@@Noting 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 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 Deuxième 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 Deuxième 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 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 Deuxième
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 the north end of the row of stone houses
He was partially right, but he had not anticipated an embarrassment of personnel and
conveyance