“The Sixth Fleet, as you call him, calls the... “The Sixth Fleet, as you call him, calls the shots only here and only because it’s convenientHe’s a
blood-and-guts admiral with a whiz-bang record and a lot of clout where we want it, but that’s in
Washington, not anywhere else!”
“I know that and you know it,” said Jason emphatically, the emphasis covering his
bewilderment, “but someone who’s been in a protection program for over fifteen years is putting
together his own scenario and that comes out of Saigon—Command Saigon
“It may have come out of Saigon but it sure as hell didn’t stay thereThe soldier boys couldn’t
run with it, we all know thatBut I see what you meanYou tie in Pentagon brass with anything
like us, the freaks are in the streets and the bleeding-heart fairies in Congress have a field day
Suddenly a dozen subcommittees are in
dolce purse session
“Which we can’t tolerate,” added Bourne
“Agreed,” said Armbruster“Are we any closer to learning the name of the bastard who’s
putting this scenario together?”
“Closer, not closeHe’s been in contact with Langley but on what level we don’t know
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
75
“Langley? For Christ’s sake, we’ve got someone over thereHe can squelch it and find out who
the son of a bitch is!”
“DeSole?” offered the Cobra simply Armbruster leaned forward“There is very little you don’t knowThat
connection’s very quietWhat does DeSole say?”
“Nothing, we can’t touch him,” replied Jason, suddenly, frantically reaching for a credible
answerHe had been David Webb too long! Conklin was right; he wasn’t thinking fast enough
Then the words came part of the truth, a dangerous part, but credible, and he could not
chanel earings lose
credibility“He thinks he’s being watched and we’re to stay away from him, no contact whatsoever
until he says otherwise
“What happened?” The chairman gripped his glass, his eyes rigid, bulging
“Someone in the cellars learned that Teagarten in Brussels has an access fax code directly to
DeSole bypassing routine confidential traffic
“Stupid goddamned soldier boys!” spat out Armbruster“Give ’em gold braid and they prance
around like debutantes and want every new toy in town! Faxes, access codes! Jesus, he probably
punched the wrong numbers and got the NAACP
“DeSole says he’s building a cover and can handle it, but it’s no time for him to go around
asking questions, especially in this areaHe’ll check quietly on everything he can, and if he learns
something he’ll reach us, but we’re not to reach
black chanel handbags him
“Wouldn’t you know it’d be a lousy soldier boy who puts us out on a limb? If it wasn’t for that
jackass with his access code, we wouldn’t have a problemEverything would be taken care of
“But he does exist, and the problem—the crisis—won’t go away,” said Bourne flatly“I repeat,
we have to cover ourselvesSome of us will have to leave—disappear at least for a whileFor the
good of all of us
The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission leaned back in the booth, his expression
pensively disagreeable“Yeah, well let me tell you something, Simon, or whatever your name is
You’re checking out the wrong peopleWe’re businessmen, some of us rich enough or egotistical
enough or for other reasons willing to work for government pay, but first we’re businessmen with
investments all over the placeWe’re also appointed, not
gucci faux elected, and that means nobody expects
full financial disclosuresDo you see what I’m driving at?”
“I’m not sure,” said Jason, instantly concerned that he was losing control, losing the threatI’ve
been away too long and Albert Armbruster was not a foolHe was given to first-level panic, but
the second level was colder, far more analytical“What are you driving at?”
“Get rid of our soldier boysBuy them villas or a couple of Caribbean islands and put them out
of reachGive ’em their own little courts and let ’em play kings; that’s what they’re all about
anyway
“Operate without them?” asked Bourne, trying to conceal his astonishment
“You said it and I agreeAny hint of big brass and we’re in big troubleIt goes under the
heading of ‘military industrial complex,’ which freely translated means
chanel classic bag military-industrial
collu