“To what end? Whoever picks up the messages does... “To what end? Whoever picks up the messages does it by remote, and if he or she has half a
brain, it’s done from a public phoneThe relay is not only untraceable but capable of erasing all
other messages, so we can’t tap in
“You’re not very into high tech, are you, Field Man?”
“Let’s put it this way,” replied Conklin“I bought one of those VCRs so I could watch old
movies, and I can’t figure out how to turn off the goddamn blinking clockI called the dealer and
he said, ‘Read the instructions on the interior panel I can’t find the interior panel
“Then let me explain what we can do to an answering machineWe can jam it externally
“Gee willikers, Sandy, what’s next for Orphan Annie? What the hell is that going to do? Other
than kill the sourceWe have the location from the numbers
“Oh?”
“Someone has to come and repair the machine
“We take him and
authentic hermes find out who sent him there
“You know, Peter, you’ve got possibilitiesFor a neophyte, you understand, your current
outrageously undeserved position notwithstanding
“Sorry I can’t offer you a drink
Bryce Ogilvie, of the law firm Ogilvie, Spofford, Crawford and Cohen, was dictating a highly
complex reply to the Justice Department’s antitrust division when his very private telephone line
rang; it rang only at his deskHe picked up the phone, pressed the green button and spoke rapidly
“Hold on,” he ordered, looking up at his secretary“Would you excuse me, please?”
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
249
“Certainly, sir The secretary got out of her chair, walked across the large impressive office and
disappeared beyond the door
“Yes, what is it?” asked Ogilvie, returning to the phone
“The machine isn’t working,” said the voice on the sacrosanct
mulberry leather line
“What happened?”
“I don’t knowAll I get is a busy signal
“That’s the best equipment availablePerhaps someone was calling in when you called
“I’ve been trying for the past two hoursEven the best machines break down
“All right, send someone up to check it outUse one of the niggersNo white man would go up there
Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
250
25
It was shortly past midnight when Bourne got off the métro in ArgenteuilHe had divided the day
into segments, splitting the hours between the arrangements he had to make and looking for Marie,
going from one arrondissement to another, scouting every café, every shop, every large and small
hotel he could recall having been a part of their fugitive nightmare thirteen years agoMore than
once he had gasped, seeing a woman in the distance or across a café—the back of a head, a quick
profile, and twice
hermes borse a crown of dark red hair, any of which from a distance or in a café’s dim light
might have belonged to his wifeNone of these had turned out to be Marie, but he began to
understand his own anxiety and, by understanding it, was better able to control itThese were the
most impossible parts of the day; the rest was merely filled with difficulty and frustration
Alex! Where the hell was Conklin? He could not reach him in Virginia! Because of the time
difference, he had counted on Alex to take care of the details, swiftly expediting the transfer of
funds, primarilyThe business day on the eastern seaboard of the United States began at four
o’clock, Paris time, and the business day in Paris stopped at five o’clock or before, Paris timeThat
left barely an hour to release and transfer over a million American dollars to one MrSimon at his
chosen bank in
black and white chanel Paris, and that meant said MrSimon had to make himself known to the
aforementioned, as yet unchosen, Paris bankBernardine had been helpfulHelpful, hell! He had
made it possible
“There’s a bank on the rue de Grenelle that the Deuxième frequently usesThey can be
accommodating in terms of hours and the absence of an authentic signature or two, but they give
nothing for nothing, and they trust no one, especially anyone associated with our benevolent
socialist government
“You mean regardless of the teletypes, if the money’s not there you don’t get itThe president, himself, could call and he would be told to pick it up in Moscow,
where they firmly believe he belongs
“Since I can’t reach Alex, I’ve bypassed the bank in Boston and called our man in the Cayman
Islands, where Marie put the bulk of the moneyHe’s Canadian and so’s the bankHe’s waiting
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