Robert Ludlum's the Bourne Evolution - Brian Freeman Page 0,98
the raw instincts of a spy. He kept a close eye on the Volvo, wondering if it would exit the freeway soon, but the SUV stayed on I-15 past Nellis Air Force Base and the northern suburbs, continuing into the heart of Las Vegas. They passed the towers of the Strip hotels from north to south, and finally he saw the SUV take the sweeping exit that led them onto the eastbound section of I-215. They were heading to the city of Henderson.
The Volvo left the freeway in the Green Valley area, in a densely commercial section of town. Jason and Abbey kept it in sight through a series of stoplights, but then the SUV turned toward the MacDonald hills, climbing sharply into an area of million-dollar estates carved out of the mountains on terraced stretches of land. He could see the lights of the properties above them, widely spread across vast lots.
“Guard gate,” Abbey said, slowing the Land Rover.
Two blocks ahead of them, Jason saw the SUV pull to a stop at a gated access to an exclusive neighborhood called Sensara, monitored by guards who looked like ex-military. That was as far as they could follow. They watched the gates swing wide to allow the SUV to climb higher into the hills, and then the gates closed again, cutting them off. Jason motioned Abbey to turn the Land Rover around and head back down the hill, and once they were out of sight of the gates, they pulled to the curb on the steep access road. She turned off the engine.
“Medusa’s up there?” she asked.
He nodded. “Either that, or someone high up in the organization lives there.”
“But we don’t know where if we can’t follow them.”
“We’ll research the area tomorrow and see what we can find out.”
“What do we do now?” Abbey asked. “Do we leave?”
“No, we wait, just in case the Volvo comes back. Why don’t you try to sleep, and I’ll keep an eye on the road.”
“Why don’t you sleep? Looks like you could use it.”
Jason smiled. “Yeah. Okay.”
She was right. He was exhausted. He reclined the seat in the Land Rover and closed his eyes. Over the years, he’d mastered the art of sleeping in almost any condition, and he was out in seconds. He dreamed the way he always did, in photographs, the same way he remembered his life. Images passed through his head, of Nova, of Benoit, of Scott, of people from the past who he had known at some point and long since forgotten. He dreamed of Abbey, too, her deep red hair, her eyes wide as she stared at him, her face so close to his that he could see every lovely imperfection.
He started awake.
“Jason,” Abbey said. Her hand was on his shoulder. “The Volvo just passed us.”
He shook away his dreams and noticed the clock. Not even an hour had passed. They were still more than an hour from dawn.
“Did they see you?”
“I don’t think so. I ducked down when I saw headlights. Do you think they’re heading back to Mesquite?”
“Go after them, and we’ll see. If that’s where they head, we’ll let them go. We don’t need to go all the way back there.”
But when they caught up with the Volvo, the vehicle headed in a different direction into the hills that led toward Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. Traffic was light on this stretch of two-lane road, and without Jason telling her what to do, Abbey held back, keeping distance between the two cars. Rocky hills loomed like silhouettes in the darkness on both sides. Jason kept an eye on the SUV’s taillights ahead of them, but then the lights abruptly disappeared. He saw no evidence of where the armored vehicle had turned.
Abbey saw it, too. “Where did they go?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Do I keep going?”
“Yes, keep the same pace.”
She drove for another mile, but the SUV had vanished from the road. Somehow they’d passed it. Jason told Abbey to pull to the dusty shoulder, and he got out of the Land Rover and studied the land behind them. On the slope of one of the dark hills, he spotted the pinpoint glow of a flashlight moving up and down. Not long after, headlights bloomed to life, and he saw the Volvo inching back down a steep slope toward the road. When it got to the highway, it turned toward Las Vegas.
Jason got back in the Land Rover. “Turn around, go slowly.”