@@@@@ Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE
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Robert Ludlum ?? THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
26
“Oh, that? That was merely obsessive manic-depression bordering on dementia praecoxThis is
nuts! It’s nearly four o’clock in the morningPeople who aren’t nuts do not play games at four
o’clock in the morning
Alex watched Panov in the dim wash of a distant Smithsonian floodlight that illuminated the
massive stone structure“You said you weren’t sureWhat does that mean?”
“I’m almost embarrassed to say—I’ve told too many patients that they invent uncomfortable
images to rationalize their panic, justify their fears
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It’s a form of transference—”
“Come on, Mo!” interrupted Conklin“What bothered you? What did you see?”
“Figures some bent over, walking slowly, awkwardly—not like you, Alex, incapacitated not
by injuries but by ageWorn out and old and staying in the darkness of storefronts and side streets
It happened four or five times between my apartment house and hereTwice I almost stopped and
called out for one of your men, and then I thought to myself, My God, Doctor, you’re overreacting,
mistaking a few pathetic homeless people for what they’re not, seeing things that aren’t there
“Right on!” Conklin whispered emphatically“You saw exactly what was there, MoBecause I
saw the same, the same kind of old people you saw, and they were pathetic, mostly in beat up
clothes and who moved slower than I moveWhat does it mean? What do they mean? Who are
they?”
FootstepsSlow, hesitant, and through the shadows of the deserted path walked two short men—
old menAt first glance they, indeed, appeared to be part of the swelling army of indigent
homeless, yet there was something different about them, a sense of purpose, perhapsThey stopped
nearly twenty feet away from the bench, their faces in darknessThe old man on the left spoke, his
voice thin, his accent strange“It is an odd hour and an unusual place for two such well-dressed
gentlemen to meetIs it fair for you to occupy a place of rest that should be for others not so well
off as you?”
“There are a number of unoccupied benches,” said Alex pleasantly“Is this one reserved?”
“There are no reserved seats here,” replied the second old man, his English clear but not native
to him“But why are you here?”
“What’s it to you?” asked Conklin“This is a private meeting and none of your busin