Robert Ludlum's the Bourne Evolution - Brian Freeman Page 0,115
slash. Bourne checked for a pulse and found none, but the body was still warm. The assault had been recent.
Medusa was already making its way into the heart of the tech cabal.
Still crouched by the body, Bourne looked up sharply as he heard the crack of gunfire from the eastern side of the island.
He got to his feet and ran through the jungle.
THIRTY-NINE
MISS Shirley perched on the white-sand beach with her hands on her hips. Gabriel Fox stood next to her, in a red Chinese silk robe decorated with a fierce dragon. From behind her sunglasses, she watched the posse of the tech cabal arrive to greet them. Five of the group’s CEOs piled out of a Jeep, and two others exited a second Jeep, along with two security guards in uniform. Seeing the guards, Miss Shirley casually tapped two fingers on her hip in a wordless signal to the Medusa operatives standing next to the artillery crates stacked on the pier. She saw the leader of the team acknowledge the signal with the barest of nods, and her men began using crowbars to loosen the lids.
She’d long ago memorized the names, biographies, and corporate histories of the CEOs who met on the island. Tyler Wall led the group, his hair and beard nearly to his waist. He was dressed as he always was, in a flowing gown with a staff that made him look like Moses returning from the mountain. Hon Xiu-Le, the diminutive social messaging wizard from Shanghai, walked beside him, dressed in black despite the warm day. The two appeared to be the appointed spokespeople for the cabal, with the other five executives hanging back beside the security guards. Four were men; one was a woman. They were all Americans.
Miles Priest wasn’t among the welcoming party, which likely meant that the Carillon CEO hadn’t yet arrived on the island. That was a setback, but she couldn’t let it delay their plans.
“Gabriel!” Tyler Wall announced in a booming voice, striding up to them and extending his hand. “How are you, man? Good to see you. Welcome to the island. You’ll love it here. I may not always see eye to eye with Miles about things, but he and Nelly don’t skimp when it comes to entertaining.”
Gabriel stepped forward to let his fingers get wrapped up in Wall’s burly hand. “Tyler, how goes the world of microrobotics? I heard a doctor at Mayo took one of your latest critters on a test-drive through somebody’s innards. No more cameras up your ass, just swallow a robot and let it cruise through your colon.”
“Good to see you keep up on my work, Gabe,” Wall replied.
“Oh, trust me, I keep up on everybody’s work.”
“Well, that’s what partnership is all about, buddy. Hey, have you met Hon Xiu-Le?”
“I haven’t, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Xiu-Le stepped forward and made a slight bow. Miss Shirley noticed the jaundiced look the Shanghai entrepreneur gave Gabriel’s robe, which was tied loosely with a sash over his ample waist and only dropped to his mid-thighs. “Mr. Fox, we are honored by your presence at long last. I hope this is the beginning of a close and trusting relationship among our various companies.”
Gabriel winked. “Your messaging data, Hon, and my behavioral algorithms. Now, that’s a marriage made in heaven. Oh, and speaking of marriage, I need to introduce you folks to my wife and business partner. Me, I’m just the eye candy around here. She’s the one with the brains and the balls. Gents, this is Miss Shirley.”
Miss Shirley gave the two CEOs a frigid smile and offered up one hand to be kissed. Their eyes traveled over her body, which was barely contained by a Brazilian bikini tied with the skimpiest of white strings. Wall didn’t hide his hunger as he looked at her. Hon Xiu-Le was more discreet, but he made a deep bow, with his face close enough that he could have licked her breasts like an ice cream cone.
“I’ve heard stories about you, Shirley, but they don’t do you justice,” Wall told her, shaking his head in awe.
“It’s Miss Shirley,” she instructed him.
“Well, isn’t it really Mrs. Shirley, now that you two have tied the knot?” the CEO replied with a chuckle.
“No,” she said in a tone that broached no argument.
Wall laughed again, but he looked uncomfortable when he realized that she wasn’t joking.
“You’re going to want to remember what she says about that, Tyler,” Gabriel warned him. “Miss Shirley is particular about how