Robert Ludlum's the Bourne Evolution - Brian Freeman Page 0,57
his phone. “Show me.”
The man tapped on the phone with one finger to unlock it, and he selected an app that opened with a black screen and a close-up photograph of a human eye. Inside the iris, a single gold word appeared letter by letter.
PRESCIX
When the intro screen dissolved, Jason saw a local map and a list of users scrolling down the right side of the phone. In the news timeline was a photograph of Carson Gattor, with a flashing message in red below the picture.
Action Alert! Fascist Lawyer in the Village!
“You attacked a stranger because an app told you to?”
“Hey, you bring that white-power shit around here, you pay the price,” the man said.
“Did you know any of the others who were with you?” Jason asked.
“Nah. Just their profiles.”
Bourne shook his head. He still had nothing.
He heard screaming behind him as a train unloaded at the station and the arriving passengers spotted the bodies on the platform. It was time to go. With a quick snap of his gun, he knocked out the man on the steps, and then he climbed over him and took the stairs back to the station, which was a frenzy of panic. He calmly pulled his Islanders jersey over his head and stuffed it into a trash can.
Then he left the station into the rain just as he saw the first of the police cars arriving.
NINETEEN
JASON slid into a seat across from Abbey at the all-night bistro near Gramercy Park. She had a plate of eggs in front of her, but she’d left it untouched. Her face bloomed with relief when she saw him.
“Oh, my God! I was so worried!” She looked around the mostly empty restaurant and lowered her voice. “I heard people talking about a shooting at the subway in the Village. Was that you?”
“Let’s not talk about it here.”
He twisted his head to check the street, and a shiver of pain shot up his neck. Abbey noticed the grimace on his face.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, but we need to get out of sight. There’s a safe house a block away we can use. It’s run by the British. Nova knew about it.”
“Okay.”
“Put your hoodie up when we go. I don’t want your face on any street cameras.”
She nodded quietly. Before pulling up the hood, she combed her fingers through her hair in a gesture that was unconsciously sensual. The look she achieved was messy and perfect. Her black bangs dipped over her forehead, and he could see hints of red among the black. Her mouth was serious now, just her lips pressed softly together. Her wide dark eyes stared across the table at him, and he found it hard to look away from her face.
Then she brought the hood gently over her head. “That okay?”
“Yes. Fine.”
The two of them left the restaurant and walked down Twentieth Street in the rain. Neither one of them said a word, but he could feel something strange happening between them. The narrow street was dark, but lights glowed in the apartments overhead. A car passed, kicking up spray without slowing down. When they reached the park, he steered her next to the wrought-iron fence. Trees covered them and held back some of the downpour. Parked cars filled every spot, and he watched for any sign that someone was watching the area. He didn’t think that anyone at Treadstone knew about this safe house, but he couldn’t be sure.
The twenty-story building was at the end of the block.
“Keep your head down when we go inside,” Bourne told her. “Don’t look at the man at the desk.”
He buzzed for entry. When the guard came on the intercom to query him, he used a name that was supposed to give him access to the building, any day, any time. After a tense moment of waiting, the door opened. Jason slipped inside, keeping Abbey behind him, and went over to the man at the desk. He repeated the name and laid out three thousand dollars in cash, which he hoped would buy them anonymity.
“No records,” Jason told him. “We’re not here. Okay?”
The man said nothing, but he took the money and handed over a key. Jason pocketed it and guided Abbey to the elevator. No one else was in the lobby. When the elevator doors opened, he went first, conscious of the camera looking down at them. He kept his head down and turned around, only to see Abbey raising her hands toward her hoodie to