Robert Ludlum's the Bourne Evolution - Brian Freeman Page 0,95
to be all experienced players, but they’re hiding some very questionable investors. I think we have to conclude that Medusa is behind the takeover.”
“Which means if the deal closes, Prescix is in their hands,” Scott added. “Combine that with the data hack, and I don’t see how we stop them. The cabal needs a plan, either to make a competing bid and hope Gabriel is willing to consider it, or to have a strategy for what action we can take if the deal goes through. As much as we hate it, maybe we should get behind the regulatory moves in Congress.”
Priest came away from the window and poured himself a glass of twenty-eight-year-old Laphroaig whisky. “No, the whole point of the legislation is to tie our hands and hobble us from fighting back. That’s why Medusa had Bourne kill Ortiz, to move the new regulatory framework forward. Meanwhile, they play their little games behind the scenes. If we support it, we play right into their hands.”
“Then what do you suggest, Miles?” Nelly asked.
Priest frowned, because he had no solutions. He’d spent his career finding solutions, first in law enforcement, then in technology. In his mind, there was no such thing as an insoluble problem. It only took creativity, courage, and resourcefulness to find an answer. But it seemed as if Medusa had found a way to outmaneuver him at every turn, as if the group could get inside his head and know what he was thinking.
“What about this Miss Shirley?” he asked. “What do we know about her?”
Nelly offered a cynical chuckle. “Well, much of her background is a mystery, but what we do know makes her out to be quite the dangerous adversary. As Gabriel told us, she’s Czech. Mid-thirties, we think. She was a swimmer in the Summer Olympics when she was nineteen and likely would have medaled, but she was disqualified for stabbing an opponent’s coach.”
“Stabbing?” Priest asked.
“Oh, yes. The coach nearly died. After that, Miss Shirley spent a few years doing Czech porn, dominatrix hardcore, not the kind of thing you want to watch on an empty stomach. Then she vanished. She’s essentially been a ghost since then. We got a few hits on facial recognition from social media sites across Europe. She mostly appears to hang out with extremely rich men who like to be treated roughly.”
“Well, that sounds like Gabriel.”
“There’s also an interesting coincidence with regard to some of the locations where we’ve identified her. I’d have to say she’s a wet agent. She’s been in several cities at the same time as a couple dozen high-profile assassinations.”
Priest shook his head. “Definitely Medusa.”
“It seems that way.”
The CEO of Carillon gave a long sigh. “All right, I agree with you. We need to get the cabal together. Let’s make it in two days. Nelly, go to the island and get everything ready. Issue the invitations, and don’t accept any whining about the short timeline. Scott and I will take the helicopter from Nassau once we’re ready to get underway.”
Nelly got to her feet and shivered a little as she stepped out of the warming circle of the fire. “I’ll head out immediately. I know you love it here, Miles, but the Caribbean sounds quite a bit better than this drafty old castle.”
Priest smiled at her. “I’m a drafty old castle myself.”
“We both are.”
Nelly left the room, and Priest was alone with Scott. “Do we know anything more about Bourne?” he asked quietly, sipping his whisky.
“No. We’re not sure where he and the Canadian woman went after New York.”
“You haven’t talked to him?”
Scott gave him a quizzical look. “Of course not.”
Priest took his glass of Laphroaig across the room, and he opened up his phone to show Scott a photograph. It was a picture taken in New York’s Central Park, showing Scott and Jason Bourne together near the boat pond.
“Anything you want to tell me?” Priest asked.
Scott didn’t apologize. “He’s my oldest friend, Miles. He came to me for help.”
“He’s also a liability to the whole tech cabal. What did he want?”
“Access to facial recognition databases. He wanted to identify someone. I put him in touch with one of our people at Carillon. It was a one-time offer of assistance. For what it’s worth, by the way, Jason says he didn’t murder Ortiz. He claims he’s still chasing Medusa.”
“He’s manipulating you, Scott. He did it when you hired him, and he’s still doing it now. And candidly, even if it were true, we’re way beyond guilt