The Bourne Deception - By Robert Ludlum & Eric van Lustbader Page 0,120
?You?ve no blood in your face.?
?It?s nothing.? Soraya breathed deeply and slowly in an attempt to calm herself. But since the new DCI had called and summarily ordered her back to DC without giving her a chance to explain the situation, nothing could calm her now. And then she saw Jason Bourne walking along the tarmac at a military airport outside Cairo. At first she thought, It can?t be him. It must be someone else. But as he neared her and his features became more detailed, she realized there could be no doubt.
My God, my God, she thought. What?s happening? How could Jason be alive?
She had to restrain herself from calling out his name, from rushing up to him and embracing him. He hadn?t contacted her, so there must be a reason?a damn good one, she suspected?he didn?t want her to know that he was alive. He was talking intently with his companion and so hadn?t yet seen her?or if he had, he was pretending that he hadn?t.
On the other hand, she had to find a way to get him the number of her satellite phone. But how to do it without either Amun or Jason?s companion knowing?
Your silence is painful,? Tracy said.
?It?s that bad?? Bourne didn?t look at her, but rather stared straight ahead at the red-and-white fuselage of the Air Afrika jet, waiting like a large and dangerous cat just off the head of the main runway of the military airstrip. He?d spotted Soraya the moment she and the tall, lanky Egyptian had passed through security and come onto the tarmac, and he was trying to ignore her because the last thing he wanted now was for someone from CI?even Soraya?to see him.
?You haven?t said a word for hours.? Tracy sounded genuinely hurt. ?It?s as if there?s a glass wall around you.?
?I?ve been trying to figure out the best way of protecting you once we arrive in Khartoum.?
?Protect me from what??
?Not what. Who,? Bourne said. ?Don Hererra lied about the photos and the audio, so who knows what else he?s lied about??
?Whatever you have going doesn?t have anything to do with me,? Tracy said. ?I?m going to stay as far away from your business as I can because, quite frankly, it scares the hell out of me.?
Bourne nodded. ?I understand.?
She had the carefully packed Goya safely tucked under her arm. ?The difficult part of my job is finished. All that?s left to do now is to deliver the Goya, collect the remainder of my fee from Noah, and fly home.?
It was at that precise moment that Tracy looked up and said, ?That exotic-looking woman keeps staring at you. Do you know her??
25
THERE WAS NO HELP for it, Bourne thought, now that Tracy had noticed. Soraya and the Egyptian were only paces away, so Bourne strode up to Soraya.
?Hello, sis,? he said, kissing her warmly on both cheeks. Then, before she had time to respond, he turned to her companion and held out his hand. ?Adam Stone. I?m Soraya?s half brother.?
The Egyptian shook his hand briefly. ?Amun Chalthoum.? But his eyebrows shot up. ?I didn?t know Soraya had a brother.?
Bourne?s laugh was easy. ?I?m the black sheep, I?m afraid. No one in the family likes to talk about me.?
By this time Tracy had come up beside him, and he introduced everyone.
Taking him up on his cue, Soraya said to him, ?There?s a problem with Mom?s health I think you ought to know about.?
?Excuse us a moment, would you?? Bourne said to Tracy and Chalthoum.
When the two of them were far enough away to afford them ade-quate privacy, Soraya said, ?Jason, what the hell?? She was still looking at him as if she couldn?t quite believe what her eyes were telling her.
?It?s a long story,? he said, ?and we don?t have the time now.? He led Soraya a few more paces away from the other two. ?Arkadin is still alive. He almost succeeded in killing me on Bali.?
?No wonder you don?t want anyone to know you?re still alive.?
Bourne glanced at Chalthoum. ?What are you doing here with that Egyptian??
?Amun?s with Egyptian intelligence. We?re trying to find out who actually shot down the American jet.?
?I thought the Iranians??
?Our forensics team determined that it was an Iranian Kowsar 3 missile that brought down the plane,? Soraya said, ?but now, inexplicably, it looks as if a cadre of four American military men might have brought it into Egypt through Sudan. That?s why we?re on our way to Khartoum.?