State nodded sympathetically. 'Yes, I was told. But don't you see, if the killings are perceived as political and powerful figures - let's say the Crown governor, or a PRC negotiator, anyone like that - is assassinated, the whole colony is in an uproar.' McAllister paused, shaking his head in weary dismissal. 'However, this is our concern, not yours, and I can tell you we have the best men in the intelligence community working on it. Your concern is yourself, Mr Webb. And right now, as a matter of conscience, it's mine. You have to be protected. '
That file,' said Marie coldly, 'should never have been given to anyone?
'We had no choice. We work closely with the British; we had to prove that Treadstone was over, finished. That your husband was thousands of miles away from Hong Kong. '
'You told them where he was?' shouted Webb's wife. 'How dare you?" 'We had no choice,' repeated McAllister, again rubbing his forehead. 'We have to co-operate when certain crises arise.
Surely you can understand that. '
'What I can't understand is why there ever was a file on my husband!' said Marie, furious. 'It was deep, deep, cover?
'Congressional funding of intelligence operations demanded it. It's the law. '
'Get off it!' said David angrily. 'Since you're so up on me, you know where I come from. Tell me, where are all those records on Medusa?
'I can't answer that,' replied McAllister.
'You just did,' said Webb.
'Dr Panov pleaded with you people to destroy all the Treadstone records,' insisted Marie. 'Or at the very least to use false names, but you wouldn't even do that. What kind of men are you?
'I would have agreed to both? said McAllister with sudden, surprising force. 'I'm sorry, Mrs Webb. Forgive me. It was before my time... Like you, I'm offended. You may be right, perhaps there never should have been a file. There are ways-'
'Bullshit,' broke in David, his voice hollow. 'It's part of another strategy, another trap. You want Carlos, and you don't care how you get him. '
'I care, Mr Webb, and you don't have to believe that, either. What's the Jackal to me - or the Far East Section? He's a European problem. '
'Are you telling me I spent three years of my life hunting a man who didn't mean a goddamned thing?5
'No, of course not. Times change, perspectives change. It's all so futile sometimes. '
'Jesus Christ!'
'Loosen up, David,' said Marie, her attention briefly on the man from State, who sat pale in his chair, his hands gripping the arms. 'Let's all loosen up.' Then she held her husband's eyes with her own. 'Something happened this afternoon, didn't it?
'I'll tell you later, '
'Of course.' Marie looked at McAllister as David sank back in his chair, his face lined and tired, older than it had been only minutes ago. 'Everything you've told us is leading up to something, isn't it?' she said to the man from State. There's something else you want us to know. '
'Yes, and it's not easy for me. Please bear in mind that I've only recently been assigned, with full clearance, to Mr Webb's classified dossier. '
'Including his wife and children in Cambodia?'
'Yes. '
'Then say what you have to say, please. '
McAllister once again extended his thin fingers and nervously massaged his forehead. 'From what we've learned -what London confirmed five hours ago - it's possible that your husband is a target. A man wants him killed. '
'But not Carlos, not the Jackal,' said Webb, sitting forward.
'No. At least we can't see a connection.' i 'What do you see?' asked Marie, sitting on the arm of David's chair. 'What have you learned?'
The MI6 officer in Kowloon had a great many sensitive papers in his office, any number of which would have brought high prices in Hong Kong. However, only the Treadstone file - the file on Jason Bourne - was taken. That was the confirmation London gave us. It's as though a signal was sent: He's the man we want, only Jason Bourne. '
'But why?' cried Marie, her hand gripping David's wrist. 'Because someone was killed,' answered Webb quietly. 'And someone else wants the account settled. '
That's what we've been working on,' agreed McAllister, nodding. 'We've made some progress. '
'Who was killed?' asked the former Jason Bourne.
'Before I answer, you should know that all we've got is what our people in Hong Kong could dig up by themselves. By and large it's speculation; there's no proof. '