Robert Ludlum's the Bourne Evolution - Brian Freeman Page 0,92
floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the Mesquite Mountains.
A short, thin Asian man got up from behind the desk and approached him. “Cain,” the man said. “Or do you prefer I use the name Jason Bourne? Regardless, you honor us with your presence.”
“My apologies for arriving unannounced. It couldn’t be helped.”
“So I’m led to understand. Well, you are always welcome. I am Andrew Yee. I run the casino here.”
Among other things, Jason thought.
Yee didn’t look more than thirty years old. He wore a royal-blue suit with a narrow striped tie, and his leather shoes were polished to a bright shine. His black hair was shaved very short on the sides and left long on top, with a gold earring in one ear. He had thick, angled eyebrows above round spectacles, a long face, and a dimpled chin. His expression was respectful but nervous. Yee wasn’t accustomed to freelance killers showing up in his office.
“May I offer you something?” Yee asked. “Spirits? Food?”
“No.”
Yee waved at the leather chair in front of his desk. “Please, sit.”
Jason did, and Yee returned to the other side of the desk and sat down, too. His desk had little on it except a phone and a twenty-seven-inch iMac Pro. He was a neat, organized man. Yee sat straight up in his chair and adjusted his tiny glasses uncomfortably as he studied Bourne.
“Friends like you are always welcome, but it is a surprise to see you here. I do have some concerns.”
“Such as?”
“Well, to be candid with you, Cain is a wanted man. If your presence here were to become known to the authorities, it might provoke scrutiny we would rather avoid. As I’m sure you’re aware, we are … fanatical … about protecting the privacy of everyone associated with this operation. It would have been better had you called first, and we could have arranged a discreet entrance.”
“In this case, it couldn’t be helped,” Jason replied.
“Yes, I heard what you told Shay. You say you have urgent information, and I’m anxious to explore this with you. However, you also said a very strange thing.”
“Oh?”
“You said your information was above her pay grade. If that’s true, it’s certainly above mine, too.”
Bourne smiled. “Obviously, that was a test. I wasn’t sure who I was dealing with.”
“I understand. But then why not reach out to Miss Shirley directly? She does not appreciate interference in her affairs by those of us who are not in the inner circle.”
Miss Shirley.
A name. A contact. Someone in the upper echelon of Medusa.
“It may be time to bring you into that circle, Mr. Yee,” Jason said.
“You flatter me, but I don’t have the skills that she does. Or you, for that matter. Cain is a legend. I’m no more than a casino executive. A businessman. My role is limited, and I have never complained about that.”
“Regardless, we have a problem, and I need your help,” Bourne told him, inventing a new story on the fly. “I’d rather not involve Miss Shirley unless we can’t resolve it here.”
Yee frowned. “What is it?”
“I was nearly killed in New York. My security has been compromised.”
“That’s very distressing to hear.”
“Someone talked. A Treadstone agent knew how to find me.” Bourne gave the man a cold stare. “The leak came from here at the casino.”
Yee leaned forward in his chair. “Impossible!”
“It’s true. I’ve gone off the grid in response to the threat. No electronic contact whatsoever. I can’t afford to put Miss Shirley at risk. It’s one thing for me to be in danger, but obviously, we can’t take a chance on exposing her. That’s why I had to approach you directly. I don’t suspect you, Mr. Yee. Your loyalty is beyond question. But others can be influenced all too easily. A dealer, a waitress, a guard hears a conversation and passes it along.”
The casino manager shook his head fiercely. “That cannot happen. I make every hire personally. They are all monitored. All under constant surveillance. Personal behavior, finances, family. I know every aspect of their lives.”
“Regardless, you missed something. I interrogated the Treadstone agent before I executed him. He knew about the Three Mountains. The feds are watching this place, Mr. Yee. They must have someone on the inside.”
“No! I refuse to believe that. No one gets into the private casino who hasn’t been vetted. They would never breathe a word.”
“It may not necessarily be one of your people. It could be an outsider, deliberately trying to get inside the organization. The way Nova did. You remember what a catastrophe that