rl.thebourneidentity-第40节

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ictim　to　die　in　excruciating　pain。　It　is　reserved　for　those　who　break　the　Code　of　silence　or　loyalty　demanded　by　the　assassin；　or　others　who　have　refused　to　divulge　information〃。。。'　Marie　stopped；　incapable　of　reading　further。　She　lay　back　and　closed　her　eyes。　'He　wouldn't　tell　them　and　he　was　killed　for　it　Oh；　my　God。。。'
　'He　couldn't　tell　them　what　he　didn't　know；'　said　Bourne。
　'But　you　knew！'　Marie　sat　up　again；　her　eyes　open。　'You　knew　about　a　gunshot　in　the　throat　I　You　said　it！'
　'I　said　it。　I　knew　it。　That's　all　I　can　tell　you。'
　'How？'
　'I　wish　I　could　answer　that。　I　can't。'
　'May　I　have　a　drink？'
　'Certainly。'　Jason　got　up　and　went　to　the　bureau。　He　poured　two　small　glasses　of　whisky　and　looked　over　at　her。　'Do　you　want　me　to　call　for　some　ice？　Herve's　on；　it'll　be　quick。
　'No。　It　won't　be　quick　enough。'　She　slammed　the　magazine　down　on　the　bed　and　turned　to　him。　On　him；　perhaps。　'I'm　going　crazy！'
　'Join　the　party　of　two。！
　'I　want　to　believe　you；　I　do　believe　you。　But　I。。。　I。。。！
　'You　can't　be　sure；〃　pleted　Bourne。　'Any　more　than　I　can。'　He　brought　her　the　glass。　'What　do　you　want　me　to　say？　What　can　I　say？　Am　I　one　of　Carlos's　soldiers？　Did　I　break
　the　Code　of　silence　or　loyalty？　Is　that　why　I　knew　the　method　of　execution？'
　'Stop　it！'
　'I　say　that　a　lot　to　myself。　〃Stop　it。〃　Don't　think；　try　to　remember　but　somewhere　along　the　line　put　the　brakes　on。　Don't　go　too　far；　too　deep。　One　lie　can　be　exposed　only　to　raise　ten　other　questions　intrinsic　to　that　lie。　Maybe　it's　like　waking　up　after　a　long　drunk；　not　sure　whom　you　fought　with　or　slept　with；　or。。。　Goddamn　it。。。　killed。'
　'No！。。。'　Marie　drew　out　the　word。　'You　are　you。　Don't　take　that　away　from　me。'
　'I　don't　want　to。　I　don't　want　to　take　it　away　from　myself。'　Jason　went　back　to　the　chair　and　sat　down；　his　face　turned　to　the　window。　'You　found。。。　a　method　of　execution。　I　found　something　else。　I　knew　it；　just　as　I　knew　about　Howard　Leland。　I　didn't　even　have　to　read　it'
　'Read　what？'
　Bourne　reached　down　and　picked　up　the　four…year…old　issue　of　Time。　The　magazine　was　folded　open　to　a　page　on　which　there　was　a　sketch　of　a　bearded　man；　the　lines　rough；　inconclusive；　as　if　drawn　from　an　obscure　description。　He　held　it　out　for　her。
　'Read　it；'　he　said。　'It　starts　on　the　left；　under　the　heading；　〃Myth　or　Monster〃。　Then　I　want　to　play　a　game。'
　'A　game？'
　'Yes。　I've　read　only　the　first　two　paragraphs；　you'll　have　to　take　my　word　for　that。'
　'All　right。'　Marie　watched　him；　bewildered。　She　lowered　the　magazine　into　the　light　and　read。
　MYTH　OR　MONSTER
　For　over　a　decade；　the　name　'Carlos'　has　been　whispered　in　the　back　streets　of　such　diverse　cities　as　Paris；　Tehran；　Beirut；　London；　Cairo　and　Amsterdam。　He　is　said　to　be　the　supreme　terrorist　in　the　sense　that　his　mitment　is　to　murder　and　assassination　in　themselves；　with　no　apparent　political　ideology。　Yet　there　is　concrete　evidence　that　he　has　undertaken　profitable　executions　for　such　extremist　radical　groups　as　the　PLO　and　Baader…Meinhof；　both　as　teacher　and　profiteer。　Indeed；　it　is　through　his　infrequent　gravitation　to；　and　the　internal　conflicts
　within；　such　terrorist　organizations　that　a　clearer　picture　of　'Carlos'　is　beginning　to　emerge。　Informers　are　ing　out　of　the　bloodied　spleens　and　they　talk。
　Whereas　tales　of　his　exploits　give　rise　to　images　of　a　world　filled　with　violence　and　conspiracy；　high…explosives　and　higher　intrigues；　fast　cars　and　faster　women；　the　facts　would　seem　to　indicate　at　least　as　much　Adam　Smith　as　I　an　Fleming。　'Carlos'　is　reduced　to　human　proportions　and　in　the　pression　a　truly　frightening　man　es　into　focus。　The　sado…romantic　myth　turns　into　a　brilliant；　blood…soaked　monster　who　brokers　assassination　with　the　expertise　of　a　market　analyst；　fully　aware　of　wages；　costs；　distribution　and　the　divisions　of　underworld　labour。　It　is　a　plicated　business　and　'Carlos'　is　the　master　of　its　dollar　value。
　The　portrait　starts　with　a　reputed　name；　as　odd　in　its　way　as　the　owner's　profession。　Ilyich　Ramirez　Sanchet。　He　is　said　to　be　a　Venezuelan；　the　son　of　a　fanatically　devoted　but　not　very　prominent　Marxist　attorney　（the　Ilyich　is　the　father's　salute　to　Vladimir　Ilyich　Lenin　and　partially　explains　'Carlos''　forays　into　extremist　terrorism）　who　sent　the　young　boy　to　Russia　for　the　major　part　of　his　education；　which　included　espionage　training　at　the　Soviet　pound　in　Novgorod。　It　is　here　that　the　portrait　fades　briefly；　rumour　and　speculation　now　the　artists。　According　to　these；　one　or　another　mittee　in　the　Kremlin　that　regularly　monitors　foreign　students　for　future　infiltration　purposes　saw　what　they　had　in　Ilyich　Sanchez　and　wanted　no　part　of　him。　He　was　a　paranoid　who　saw　all　solutions　in　terms　of　a　well…placed　bullet　or　bomb；　the　remendation　was　to　send　the　youth　back　to　Caracas　and　disassociate　any　and　all　Soviet　ties　with　the　family。　Thus　rejected　by　Moscow；　and　deeply　antithetical　to　western　society；　…　Sanchez　went　about　building　his　own　world；　one　in　which　he　was　the　supreme　leader。　What　better　way　than　to　bee　the　apolitical　assassin　whose　services　could　be　contracted　for　by　the　widest　range　of　political　and　philosophical　clients？
　The　portrait　bees　clearer　again。　Fluent　in　numerous　languages　including　his　native　Spanish　as　well　as　Russian；　French　and　English；　Sanchez　used　his　Soviet　training　as　a　springboard　for　refining　his　techniques。　Months　of　concentrated　study　followed　his　expulsion　from　Moscow；　some　say　under　the　tutelage　of　the　Cubans；　Che　Guevara　in　particular。　He　mastered　the　science　and　handling　of　all　manner　of　weaponry　and　explosives；　there　was　no　gun　he　could　not　break　down　and　reassemble　blindfolded；　no　explosive　he　could　not　analyse　by　smell　and　touch　and　know　how　to　detonate　in　a　dozen　different　ways。　He　was　ready；　he　chose　Paris　as　his　base　of　operations　and　the　word　went　out。　A　man　was　for　hire　who　would　kill　where　others　dared　not。
　Once　again　the　portrait　dims　as　much　for　lack　of　birth　records　as　anything　else。　Just　how　old　is　'Carlos'？　How　many　targets　can　be　attributed　to　him　and　how　many　are　myth　…self…proclaimed　or　otherwise？　Correspondents　based　in　Caracas　have　been　unable　to　unearth　any　birth　certificates　anywhere　in　the　country　for　an　Ilyich　Ramirez　Sanchez。　On　the　other　hand；　there　are　thousands　upon　thousands　of　Sanchezes　in　Venezuela；　hundreds　with　Ramirez　attached；　but　none　with　an　Ilyich　in　front。　Was　it　added　later；　or　is　the　omission　simply　further　proof　of　'Carlos''　thoroughness？　The　consensus　is　that　the　assassin　is　between　thirty…five　and　forty　years　of　age。　No　one　really　knows。
　A　GRASSY　KNOLL　IN　DALLAS？
　But　one　fact　not　disputed　is　that　the　profits　from　his　first　several　kills　enabled　the　assassin　to　set　up　an　organization　that　might　be　envied　by　an　operations　analyst　of　General　Motors。　It　is　capitalism　at　its　most　efficient；　loyalty　and　service　extracted　by　equal　parts　fear　and　reward。　The　consequences　of　disloyalty　are　swift　in　ing　…　death　…　but　so；　too；　are　the　benefits　of　service　…　generous　bonuses　and　huge　expense　allowances。　The　organization　seems　to　have　hand…picked　executives　everywhere；　and　this　well…founded　rumor　leads　to　the　obvious　question。　Where　did　the　profits　initially　e　from？　Who　were　the　original　kills？
　The　one　most　often　speculated　upon　took　place　thirteen　years　ago　in　Dallas。　No　matter　how　many　times　the　murder　of　John　F。　Kennedy　is　debated；　no　one　has　ever　satisfactorily　explained　a　burst　of　smoke　from　a　grassy　knoll　three　hundred　yards　away　from　the　motorcade。　The　smoke　was　caught　on　camera；　two　open　police　radios　on　motorcycles　recorded　noise's。　Yet　neither　shell　casings　nor　footprints　were　found。　In　fact；　the　only　information　about　the　so…called　grassy　knoll　at　that　moment　was　considered　so　irrelevant　that　it　was　buried　in　the　FBI…Dallas　investigation　and　never　included　in　the　Warren　mission　Report。　It　was　provided　by　a　bystander；　K。　M。　Wright　of　North　Dallas；　who　when　questioned　made　the　following　statement：
　'Hell；　the　only　son　of　a　bitch　near　there　was　old　Burlap　Billy；　and　he　was　a　couple　of　hundred　yards　away。'
　The　'Billy'　referred　to　was　an　aged　Dallas　tramp　seen　frequently　panhandling　in　the　tourist　areas；　the　'Burlap'　defined　his　penchant　for　wrapping　his　shoes　in　coarse　cloth　to　play　upon　the　sympathies　of　his　marks。　According　to　our　correspondents；　Wrights　statement　was　never　made　public。
　Yet　six　weeks　ago　a　captured　Lebanese　terrorist　broke　under　questioning　in　Tel　Aviv。　Pleading　to　be　spared　execution；　he　claimed　to　possess　extraordinary　information　about　the　assassin　'Carlos'。　Israeli　intelligence　forwarded　the　report　to　Washington；　our　Capitol　correspondents　obtained　excerpts。
　Statement：　'Carlos　was　in　Dallas　in　November　1963。　He　pretended　to　be　Cuban　and　programmed　Oswald。　He　was　the　back…up。　It　was　his　operation。'
　Question：　'What　proof　do　you　have？'
　…　Statement：　'I　heard　him　say　it。　He　was　on　a　small　embankment　of　grass　beyond　a　ledge。　His　rifle　had　a　wire　shell…trap　attached。'
　Question：　'It　was　never　reported；　why　wasn't　he　seen？'
　Statement：　'He　may　have　been；　but　no　one　would　have　known　it。　He　was　dressed　as　an　old　man；　with　a　shabby　overcoat；　and　his　shoes　were　wrapped　in　canvas　to　avoid　footprints。〃
　A　terrorist's　information　is　clea