Robert Ludlum's (TM) The Bourne Initiative (Jason Bourne series)(98)

“Okay. Let’s say you’re right. I can’t go to the higher-ups and tell them that based on what you’ve said. Fulmer will swat me down like a gnat. I just got this position; until I prove myself I’ve got to watch my p’s and q’s. I can’t rock the boat.”

“Then don’t tell anyone. We’ll act together.”

“The two of us won’t be enough.”

“Working alone is essential in this instance.”

“So you’ve said. You sound like the one person I believe can help us without physically interfering with whatever you have in mind with Gora. And he knows Gora. Though he knew his father even better. In fact, he was involved with General Karpov in killing Dimitri Maslov.”

“Who are we talking about?”

“Jason Bourne.”

Morgana looked around, as if they had just now entered top-secret territory. The interior of the plane was still and serene, no one in her vicinity to overhear her end of the conversation. She returned her attention to Soraya half a world away. “I don’t understand.”

“Remember a few years back when Bourne was accused of trying to assassinate the former president, and it turned out he’d saved him instead?”

“Sure.”

“That was because of me—Sonya and I, who were being held captive.”

Morgana gave a gasp. “When your husband was killed.”

A small hesitation. “Yes.”

“I’m so sorry, Soraya. All over again so sorry.”

“Thank you. But to get back to Bourne, he and I go way back. We were in the field together.”

“So you’re former colleagues.”

“More than that. Let’s just say I know him more than well.”

“Huh!”

Soraya laughed, dry and rough as sand. “Well put.”

“I’ve been wanting to speak with him ever since Mac sent me the first fragment of Initiative code. If anyone knows about the Initiative it’s got to be Bourne.” Morgana’s excitement was ramping up. “You know how to get in touch with him?”

“No, but I know someone who does. A man right here in D.C. by the name of Deron.”

“Do you have Deron’s number? I’ll call him the moment we hang up.”

“Deron won’t talk to you, let alone tell you how to get in touch with Bourne,” Soraya said. “No, Deron knows me. I’ll call him.”

“I’ll sit tight, then.”

“Back to the Initiative itself. You don’t know what it’s meant to do?”

“No.”

“Do you know when the zero-day trigger is set for?”

“Yes. Forty hours from now.” Morgana took a breath. “Another reason why I need to stay here.”

“Bourne may not know this. He needs to.”

“Yes.”

“Now tell me what you have in mind.” Soraya’s voice was sharp and clear, which told Morgana a great deal about her. Unlike the other mandarins who ran various clandestine services whom she had met or had to deal with, Soraya was flexible. As a former field agent, she knew that you were sometimes required, or forced, to pivot on a dime in order to react to or take advantage of the changing situation in the field.

Morgana had had all night to think about a plan and Natalie to talk it over with. She knew she couldn’t get to Gora Maslov on her own. “Maslov must be involved in the Bourne Initiative. That’s why Alyosha went to see him. Why else would he be here in this Swedish backwater at the same time as Alyosha and Nikolay, with them presumably helping me break the code? And if I’m right and they are all in it together, then he is our chance to get to the Initiative before its inner clock detonates.”

Silence on the line, just the hollowness, the faint arrhythmic clicking of the security programs that shielded their conversation from electronic spying.

“All of this tracks,” Soraya said. “The bits of mysterious code you’ve pulled off the dark web could be enticements—coming attractions, you might say. In that event, the Bourne Initiative is going to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, imminently.”

“And I believe Gora will be one of the bidders. Now you can see why physical backup is the last thing I need. The more of our people here, the better the chance of Gora becoming suspicious.”

“Lord, what have I unleashed in you?”

“The law of unintended consequences, that’s what,” Morgana said. “And it’s not your doing. Sooner or later I think this was bound to happen.”

“I think it’s my good luck, then.” The sound of what might be Soraya shuffling papers. “You’ll need some form of backup, Morgana.”

“I’ve got you. You’re all I need.”

Soraya laughed. “You’re really a piece of work.”

“It’s the only way I know how to be now. And for better or for worse, I have you to thank for that.”

Soraya sighed. “Hold on.” Several moments passed with only the hollowness and the electronic clicking. When she returned, she said, “Give me three hours. I’ll have a secured Bluetooth earwig and a pair of earrings couriered to you from our Stockholm office.”

“Earrings?”

Soraya laughed again. “The transmitter for the earwig is in one of them. Don’t lose it.”