The Bourne Deception

Book One



1


Three Months Later



IN AN UPPER-CLASS SUBURB of Munich, two young bodyguards with gimlet eyes and holstered 9mm Glocks in their armpits flanked a thin, hyperactive man as he emerged from a house. An older man with dark skin and grave lines reaching down from either corner of his mouth, like mustaches, emerged from the shadowed refuge to briefly shake the hyperactive mans hand. Then the three men trotted down the stairs and entered a waiting car: one of the bodyguards riding shotgun, the other one with the hyperactive man in back. The meeting had been intense but brief, and the engine was already running, purring like a well-fed cat. His mind was filled with how he was going to structure the debriefing he would give his boss, Abdulla Khoury, on the rapidly changing face of the Turkish situation as it had just been outlined to him.

The newborn morning lay drowsing, barely awake, and utterly silent. The trees, well manicured and leafy, dappled the sidewalks in inky shade. The air was soft and cool, as yet innocent of the harsh sun that would turn the sky white in a few hours time. The early hour had been deliberately chosen. As expected, there was no traffic to speak of, just a young boy at the far end of the block teaching himself to ride a bicycle. A sanitation truck lumbered around the corner at the opposite end of the block, its huge brushes beginning to spin whatever dirt there might be on the nearly immaculate street into the trucks belly. Again, the sight was utterly normal; the residents of this neighborhood all had pull with the municipal government, and they were proud of the fact that their streets were always the first to be cleaned each day.

As the car gathered speed, making its way down the street, the huge truck turned so that it was sideways to the oncoming vehicle, blocking the road. Without an instants hesitation the cars driver threw the vehicle into reverse and stepped on the gas. With a screech of tires the car shot backward, away from the truck. At the sound, the boy looked up. He was standing, straddling the bike, appearing to get his wind back. But at the last moment, as the oncoming car neared him, he reached into the bikes wicker basket and drew out an odd-looking weapon with an unnaturally long barrel. The rocket-launched grenade shattered the cars rear window and the car burst apart in an oily orange-and-black fireball. By this time the boy, hunched over the handlebars of his bike, was pedaling expertly away, a satisfied smile on his face.


Just past noon that same day, Leonid Arkadin was sitting in a Munich beer hall surrounded by oompah music and drunken Germans when his cell phone buzzed. Recognizing the callers phone number, he walked out into the street, where it was slightly less noisy, and grunted a wordless greeting.

Like the others, your latest attempt to destroy the Eastern Brotherhood has failed. Abdulla Khourys ugly voice buzzed in his ear like an angry wasp. You killed my finance minister this morning, thats all. Ive already appointed another.

You misunderstand me, I dont mean to destroy the Eastern Brotherhood, Arkadin said. I mean to take it over.

The response was a harsh laugh devoid of all humor, or even human emotion. No matter how many of my associates you kill, Arkadin, this I assure you: I will always survive.


Moira Trevor was sitting behind her sparkling new chrome-and-glass desk, in the sparkling new offices of Heartland Risk Management, LLC, her brand-new company, occupying two floors of a post-modern building in the heart of Northwest Washington, DC. She was on the phone with Steve Stevenson, one of her contacts in the Department of Defense, being briefed on a lucrative job her new company had been hired to do, one of half a dozen that had rolled in over the past five weeks, and simultaneously running through sets of daily intelligence reports on her computer terminal. Beside it was a snapshot of her and Jason Bourne, the Bali sun on their faces. In the background was Mount Agung, the islands sacred volcano, up whose spine they had trekked early one morning before sunlight kissed the eastern horizon. Her face was completely relaxed; she looked ten years younger. As for Bourne, he was smiling in that enigmatic way she loved. She used to trace the line of his lips when he smiled like that, as if she were a blind woman able to glean a hidden meaning with her fingertip.

When her intercom sounded, she started, realizing shed been gazing at the photo, her thoughts wandering back, as they often did these days, to those golden days on Bali before Bourne was gunned down in the dirt of Tenganan. Glancing at the electronic clock on her desk, she gathered herself, finished up her call, and said Send him in into the intercom speaker.

A moment later Noah Perlis entered. He was her former handler at Black River, a private mercenary army used by the United States in Middle East hot spots. Moiras firm was now in direct competition with Black River. Noahs narrow face was more sallow than ever, his hair flecked with more gray. His long nose swept out like a sword-stroke above a mouth that had forgotten how to laugh or even smile. He prided himself on his keen insight into other people, which was ironic considering he was so heavily defended he was cut off even from himself.

She gestured at one of the contemporary chrome and black-strap chairs facing her desk. Take a seat.

He remained standing, as if he already had one foot out the door. Ive come to tell you to stop raiding our personnel.

You mean youve been sent like a common messenger. Moira looked up, smiled with a warmth she didnt feel. Her uptilted brown eyes, wide apart and inquiring, betrayed none of her feelings. Her face was uncommonly strong or intimidating, depending on your point of view. Nevertheless, she possessed a serenity that served her well in stressful situations such as this one.

Bourne had warned her even before she set up Heartland almost three months ago that this moment was going to come. Something inside her had been looking forward to it. Noah had come to personify Black River, and shed been under his boot heel for too long.

Taking several steps toward her, he plucked the framed photograph off her desk, then turned it to gaze down at the image.

Too bad about your boyfriend, he said. Got gunned down in a stinking village in the middle of nowhere. You must have been broken up.

Moira had no intention of allowing him to upset her. Its nice to see you, Noah.

He sneered as he replaced the photo. Nice is a word people use when they politely lie.

Her face held its innocent expression, a form of armor against his slings and arrows. Why shouldnt we continue to be polite to each other

Noah returned to stand with his fingers curled hard into his palms. His knuckles were white with the force he used to make his fists, and Moira couldnt help but wonder whether he wished he had his hands around her neck rather than hanging at his sides.

Im very f*cking serious, Moira. His eyes engaged hers. Noah could be a scary individual when he put his mind to it. Theres no turning back for you, but as for going forward in the way you have He shook his head in warning.

Moira shrugged. No problem. The fact is, you have no people left who meet my ethical requirements.

Her words had the effect of relaxing him enough to say in an entirely different tone, Why are you doing this

Why are you asking me a question to which you already know the answer

He stared at her, keeping silent, until she continued, There needs to be a legitimate alternative to Black River, one whose members dont skate at the edge of legality, then regularly cross over.

This is a dirty business. You of all people know that.

Of course I know it. Thats why I started this company. She rose, leaned across her desk. Iran is now on everyones radar. Im not going to sit back and let the same thing happen there thats happened in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Noah turned on his heel and crossed to the door. With his hand on the knob he looked back at her with a cold intensity, an old trick of his. You know you cant hold back the flood of filthy water. Dont be a hypocrite, Moira. You want to wade in the muck like the rest of us because its all about the money. His eyes glittered darkly. Billions of dollars to be made off a war in a new theater of operations.