The Bourne Dominion by Robert & Lustbader Ludlum Read Free Book Online

it’s only the beginning.”
    “I assume Plan B will have the same dire consequences.”
    “Possibly, or it could be worse.” He shrugged.
    There ensued a strangled silence, at the end of which Bourne said, “You’re telling me you don’t know what Plan B is.”
    “Other than that it will extend the length and breadth of the Domna’s dominion into the United States, no.” He smashed a mosquito against his forearm and wiped away the resulting drop of blood. “I can see the disappointment on your face.”
    “
Disappointment
hardly covers it. I can’t imagine why you wanted to talk with me.”
    As he began to rise, Essai said, “The Domna has put out a sanction on you.”
    “It won’t be the first, and it won’t be the last,” Bourne said, unimpressed. “I’ll survive.”
    “No, you don’t understand.” Now Essai stood, too. “In the Domna’s world, a sanction is never undertaken lightly. Never simply doled out to the highest bidder. It is sacred.”
    Bourne watched Essai levelly. “Meaning?”
    “Meaning the death blow will come at a time and a place even you will find surprising.” He lifted a forefinger. “And it will be dealt by someone…”
    “Yes?”
    Essai took a breath. “The fact is, I need you, Mr. Bourne.”
    Bourne just managed not to laugh in his face. He did shake his head, though.
    “I know, it’s difficult to fathom—for me as well, believe me.” He took a step toward Bourne. “But it’s true what they say: Reality makes strange bedfellows, and, frankly, I cannot imagine stranger bedfellows than the two of us.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Nevertheless…”
    Bourne waited. He wasn’t going to do Essai any favors; he wasn’t going to keep the strange conversation going. But the fact was he didn’t dislike Essai, and he hadn’t liked his original assignment of breaking into his house. This mortal transgression he couldn’t put off on Alex Conklin,even though the order originated with his late boss. Conklin either had had no inkling what the consequences of Bourne’s assignment would be, or didn’t care. But Bourne had—he knew how a Muslim would react to his home being invaded—and still he had obeyed orders. The fact was, he owed Essai. It was this debt that was keeping him here now.
    “How long have you been siding against the Domna?” This was a crucial question.
    “Many years,” Essai replied without hesitation. “But it was only last year that I decided to break with them openly.”
    “What were you going to do with the information on the laptop I stole from your house all those years ago?”
    “I was planning to take it and make my escape,” Essai said. “But you put an end to that.”
    A silence engulfed them so stifling it seemed to silence even the insects and the haunting birdcalls.
    Essai spread his hands, palms up. “So here we are, in the godforsaken jungle, being eaten alive by mosquitoes and green-headed flies.”
    He stepped away from the now drunken Corellos, who was clutching the near-empty tequila bottle like it was a ten-dollar whore. Bourne followed him into the dense undergrowth. A couple of Corellos’s men eyed them with ill-disguised contempt, then, growing bored, spat and went to get beers out of a cooler.
    “These Colombians,” Essai said in that conspiratorial tone he could turn on and off at the drop of a hat. That’s all he said, as if those two words spoke volumes, and they did. Bourne was aware that Essai felt he was better than these people, and maybe he was right. He was certainly better educated, more aware of the outside world, but perhaps that was missing the point. These Colombians, even the least educated of the lot, possessed a concentration of energy that, like a cyclone, could leave devastation in its wake in a heartbeat. Death cared nothing for education or self-awareness; it was the great leveler.
    There was something crucial Bourne needed to know. “I was under the impression that once you were in Severus