to ring continuously. Under the circumstances Conklin would be unlikely to indulge in a loud, heated argument. Their discussion might be charged, but it would be quiet; the ambassador could make his case better under those conditions.
'Bourne's made contact,' said Havilland.
'Let's go outside,' said Conklin.
'We can't,' replied the diplomat. 'Lin is in grave danger but we may be able to see him any minute. We can't miss that opportunity and the doctor knows we're here.'
'Then let's go back inside.'
'There are five other people in the emergency room. You don't want them overhearing us any more than I do.'
'Christ, you cover your ass, don't you?
'I have to think of all of us. Not one or two or three of us, but all of us.'
'What do you want from me?'
The woman, of course. You know that.'
'I know that - of course. What are you prepared to offer?
'My God, Jason Bourne?
'I want David Webb. I want Marie's husband. I want to know that he's alive and well in Hong Kong. I want to see him with my own eyes.' 'That's impossible.' 'Then you'd better tell me why.'
'Before he shows himself he expects to speak with his wife within thirty seconds of contact. That's the agreement.' 'But you just said he made contact!' 'He did. We didn't. We couldn't afford to without having Marie Webb near the phone.' 'You've lost me!' said Conklin angrily. 'He had his own conditions, not unlike yours, which is certainly understandable. You were both-' 'What were they?' broke in the CIA man. 'If he made the call, it meant that he had the impostor - it was the bilateral agreement.' 'Jesus! "Bilateral" 'Both sides agreed to it.' 'I know what it means! You just send me into space, that's all.' 'Keep your voice down ... His condition was that if we did not produce his wife within thirty seconds, whoever was on the phone would hear a gunshot, meaning that the assassin was dead, that Bourne had killed him.'
'Good old Delta.' Conklin's lips formed a thin, half-smile. 'He never missed a trick. And I suspect he had a follow-up, right?
'Yes,' said Havilland grimly. 'A point of exchange is to be mutually agreed upon-'
'Not bilaterally?'
'Shut up! ... He'll be able to see his wife walking alone, under her own power. When he's satisfied, he'll come out with his prisoner, under a gun we presume, and the exchange will be made. From the initial contact to the switch, everything is to take place in a matter of minutes, certainly no more than half an hour.'
'Double time with no one orchestrating any extraneous moves.' Conklin nodded. 'But if you didn't respond, how do you know he made contact?'
'Lin put a flag on the telephone number with a second relay to Victoria Peak. Bourne was told that the line was temporarily out of service, and when he tried to get a verification - which under the circumstances he had to do -he was relayed to the Peak. We kept him on the line long enough to trace the location of the pay phone he was using. We know where he is. Our people are on the way there now with orders to stay out of sight. If he smells or sees anything, he'll kill our man.'
'A trace? Alex studied the diplomat's face, not kindly. 'He let you keep him talking long enough for that?'
'He's in a state of extreme anxiety, we counted on it.'
'Webb, maybe,' said Conklin. 'Not Delta. Not when he thinks about it.'
'He'll keep calling,' insisted Havilland. 'He has no choice.'
'Maybe, maybe not. How long has it been since his last call?
Twelve minutes,' answered the ambassador looking at his watch.
'And the first one?'
'About a half hour.'
'And every time he calls you know about it?
'Yes. The information's relayed to McAllister.'
'Phone him and see if Bourne's tried again.'
'Why?
'Because, as you put it, he's in a state of extreme anxiety and will keep calling. He can't help himself.'
'What are you trying to say?'
That you may have made a mistake.'
'Where? How?
'I don't know, but I do know Delta.'
'What could he do without reaching us?
'Kill,' said Alex, simply.
Havilland turned, looked down the busy hallway, and started walking towards the floor's reception desk. He spoke briefly to a nurse; she nodded and he picked up a telephone. He talked for a moment and hung up. He returned to Conklin, frowning. 'It's odd,' he remarked. 'McAllister feels the way you do. Edward expected Bourne to call every five minutes, if he waited that long.'