The Bourne Betrayal by Eric Van Lustbader

Author:Eric Van Lustbader [VAN LUSTBADER, ERIC]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC000000
ISBN: 9780446196321
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2011-03-31T23:00:00+00:00

Twenty

MATTHEW LERNER and Jon Mueller had met ten years ago by fortuitous accident in a whorehouse in Bangkok. The two men had a lot in common besides whoring, drinking, and killing. Like Lerner, Mueller was a loner, a self-taught genius at tactical operation and strategic analysis. The moment they met, they recognized something in each other that drew them, even though Lerner was CI and Mueller, at the time, NSA.

Lerner, walking through the air terminal in Odessa, moving closer to his target, had cause to think of Jon Mueller and all Mueller had taught him when his cell phone rang. It was Weller at D.C. Metro Police, where Lerner had a number of men on his payroll.

“What’s up?” Lerner asked as soon as he’d recognized the desk sergeant’s voice.

“I thought you’d want to know. Overton’s missing.”

Lerner stood still, jostled as other arriving and departing passengers strode by him. “What?”

“Didn’t show for his shift. Not answering his cell. Hasn’t been home. He’s dead gone, Matt.”

Lerner, his mind churning, watched a pair of policemen pass. They stopped for a moment to talk to a comrade who was coming in the opposite direction, then moved on, their eyes alert.

Into the significant silence, Weller ventured a postscript. “Overton was working on a case for you, wasn’t he?”

“That was a while ago,” Lerner lied. What Overton was doing for him was none of Weller’s business. “Hey, thanks for the heads-up.”

“It’s what you pay me for,” Weller said before hanging up.

Lerner grabbed his small suitcase and moved to the side of the terminal passageway. Instinct told him that Overton was more than missing—he was dead. The question he asked himself now was: How had Anne Held had him killed? Because he knew as sure as he was standing in the Odessa air terminal that Held was behind Overton’s death.

Perhaps he’d seriously underestimated the bitch. Clearly she hadn’t been intimidated by Overton’s house break-in. Just as clearly, she had decided to fight back. Too bad he was so far away. He’d relish butting heads with her. But at the moment, he had bigger fish to fillet.

He opened his cell, dialed an unlisted Washington number. He waited while the call went through the usual security switching. Then a familiar voice answered.

“Hey, Matt.”

“Hey, Jon. I’ve got an interesting one for you.”

Jon Mueller laughed. “All your jobs are interesting, Matt.”

That was true. Briefly, Lerner described Anne Held, bringing Mueller up to date on the situation.

“The escalation caught you by surprise, didn’t it?”

“I underestimated her,” Lerner admitted. He and Jon had no secrets from each other. “Don’t you do the same.”

“Gotcha. I’ll take her out.”

“I mean it, Jon. This is one serious bitch. She’s got resources I know nothing about. I never imagined she could have Overton offed. But don’t make a move before you talk to the secretary. This is his game, it’s his decision whether or not to roll the dice.”

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