hope so, too,” Jason replied.
“Fortune favors the risk-taker.”
“Sometimes.”
“Shall we play?”
“Let’s.”
Bourne found himself playing five thousand dollars a hand, and his luck did continue. Within a few minutes, he was thirty thousand dollars ahead. As they played, he tried to read the dealer’s face, and he could see that Shay knew exactly who he was. He’d been put at this table, with this dealer, for a reason.
“People seem surprised to see me here,” he said finally. “Why would that be, Shay?”
She dealt him another winning hand. “I couldn’t say, sir.”
“Something tells me you could say.”
She manipulated the cards and chips and showed nothing on her pretty face. “Perhaps because some of us wondered if you were still alive. It isn’t often we’re visited by a ghost, Jason Bourne.”
“I’m very much alive,” he told her.
“We’re all pleased to know that. Your work in New York was … impressive.”
“Thank you.”
“However, it isn’t a wise thing to show up here where you could be seen. Some of our players have government connections. It’s possible someone might know who you are.”
“Your security seems up to the task,” Bourne said.
“Even so.”
The two of them went silent. Bourne began a losing streak across several hands. He dropped nearly back to even before pulling ahead again.
“You must have a reason for coming here,” Shay said. “Would you like to tell me what it is?”
“Maybe I’m just looking for a good time.”
“In which case, you’re very welcome. Stay. Gamble. Drink. If you want companionship, you have many options.”
“Including you?” Bourne asked.
This time, Shay’s eyes grazed across his. “If you wish.”
“Actually, I’m here for another reason. I have urgent information to pass along to Medusa. It can’t wait.”
Shay’s hand froze over the cards. “Some words are not to be spoken here.”
“I understand, but I told you. This is urgent.”
“If you have information, it should be passed on to your contact. There is protocol. Why come here to deliver your message?”
“Maybe my Prescix account told me I was going to pay you a visit.”
Shay’s lips turned downward. “You’re not funny, Mr. Bourne. Again, I would encourage you to bring your concerns to your contact.”
Bourne remembered Carson Gattor talking about his Medusa contact. A woman. “What I have to say is above her pay grade.”
He saw surprise on Shay’s face. And a little suspicion. “Very little is above her pay grade. Certainly no one at the Three Mountains.”
“Who’s in charge here?” Bourne asked.
“That would be Mr. Yee. He is upstairs.”
“I’d like to see him.”
Shay hesitated. He watched her face and realized she wore a small earpiece, in which she was obviously receiving instructions. “If you wish to speak to Mr. Yee, he would be honored to make your acquaintance.”
“Thank you.”
Shay looked over his shoulder and sent a message with a single blink. Like phantoms, two security guards in suits arrived, one on either side of Bourne. “These men will take you to him,” she said. “Shall I cash out your winnings? It’s fifteen thousand dollars.”
“Keep it for yourself, Shay.”
“That’s very generous of you.” She scooped up the chips and gestured to the two guards, who waited with stoic faces as Bourne got out of the chair. “One word of warning, Jason Bourne.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re very good at what you do, but so are these men. Please don’t give them a reason to kill you.”
THIRTY-ONE
AS soon as the guards led Bourne off the casino floor, they searched him and took his gun. Holding his arms tightly on both sides, they guided him to a keycard elevator and stayed with him on the ride to the top of the tower. The elevator opened onto a lushly decorated hallway that ended at double doors covered with red silk, on which had been painted an elaborate Chinese landscape. Bourne suspected that behind the expensive cloth, the doors were made of bulletproof steel.
He noticed a camera observing their arrival. He also assumed he was being scanned for electronic listening devices and other weapons and his identity confirmed through facial recognition. A few seconds later, a click sounded, and the doors both swung inward automatically. The guards let go of his elbows, and Bourne walked alone into a large office that hummed with white noise. Behind him, the doors swung shut and the locks clicked back into place.
High-definition video screens took up one wall of the office, and he could see views of the high-roller casino alternating every few seconds among the screens. The rest of the office was decorated with gold leaf and jade. Behind the cherrywood desk,