Covert One 3 - The Paris Option by Robert Ludlum Read Free Book Online Page B

for the bombing?”
    “Not yet.”
    “There won't,” Smith decided.
    Klein gave a cold chuckle. “I always thought you were wasted in medicine and research, Jon. Very well, we think the same, but so far everyone else is whistling in the dark in hopes Chambord's death was collateral to the bombing, an accident.” There was a deep sigh at the far end. “But that part's my job. Yours is to dig deeper and turn up those notes and any type of prototype computer he developed.” His voice grew hard. “And if you can't grab them, you've got to destroy them. Those are your orders. We can't run the risk of that kind of power staying in the wrong hands.”
    “I understand.”
    “How's Zellerbach doing? Any change in his condition?”
    Smith reported the improvement. “It's good, but there's still no guarantee it means a full recovery.”
    “Then we'll hope.”
    “If he knows anything, or took notes, he could've stored the data on his mainframe back in D.C. You'd better send a Covert-One computer expert.”
    “Already did, Colonel. Had a hell of a time getting in, and when he did, he found nothing. If Zellerbach kept notes, he followed Chambord's lead and didn't put them into his computer.”
    “It was an idea.”
    “Appreciated. What do you plan next?”
    “I'm going to the Pasteur. There's an American biochemist I've worked with there. I'll see what he can tell me about Chambord.”
    “Be careful. Remember, you have no official position in this. Covert-One has to remain hidden.”
    “It's just friend going to friend, nothing more,” Smith reassured him.
    “All right. Another thinghellip;I want you to meet General Carlos Henze, the American who commands NATO forces in Europe. He's the only person over there who knows you're assigned to investigate, but he thinks you're working for army intelligence. The president called him personally to set this up. Henze's got his contacts at work, and he'll fill you in on what he's found out over there. He doesn't know anything about me or Covert-One, of course. Memorize this: Pension Ceacute;zanne, two p.m. sharp. Ask for M. Werner. The password is Loki.”

Covert One 3 - The Paris Option

Chapter Five
    Washington, D.C.
    It was early morning, and a spring breeze blew the scent of cherry blossoms across the Tidal Basin and in through the open French doors of the Oval Office, but President Samuel Adams Castilla was too distracted to notice or care. He stood up behind the heavy pine table he used as a desk and glared at the three people who sat waiting for him to continue. He was just a year into his second term, and the last thing Castilla needed was a military crisis. Now was the time to solidify his accomplishments, get the rest of his programs through a fractious Congress, and build his historical image.
    “So this is the situation,” he rumbled. “We haven't got enough evidence yet to determine whether a molecular computer actually exists, and if it does, who has it. What we do know is that it's not in our hands, dammit.” He was a big man with thick shoulders and a waist that had spread as wide as Albuquerque. Usually genial, he glared through his titanium glasses and worked at controlling his frustration. “The air force and my computer experts tell me they have no other explanation for what happened on Diego Garcia. My science adviser says he's consulted top people in the field, and they claim there could be many reasons for the blip in communications out there, starting with some rare atmospheric anomaly. I hope the science folks are right.”
    “So do I,” Admiral Stevens Brose agreed promptly.
    “So do all of us,” added National Security Adviser Emily Powell-Hill.
    “Amen,” said Chief of Staff Charles Ouray from where he leaned against the wall near the fireplace.
    Admiral Brose and National Security Adviser Powell-Hill were sitting in leather chairs facing the president's desk, which he had brought with him from Santa Fe. Like all presidents, he had chosen