Read them carefully, Counselor, then render me...
Read them carefully, Counselor, then render
me your legal opinion
The celebrated attorney, the Ice-Cold Ogilvie, grabbed the papers and with swift, practiced eyes
began readingAs he flipped from one page to another, the blood drained from his face to the pallor
of death“My God, they know it allMy offices are wired! How? Why? It’s insane! We’re
impenetrable!”
“Again, I suggest you tell that to Jason Bourne and his old friend and station chief from Saigon,
Alexander Conklin
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“They couldn’t have!” roared Ogilvie“We paid off or eliminated everyone in Snake Lady who
even suspected the extent of our activitiesJesus, there weren’t that many and goddamned few in
the field! I told you, they were scum and we knew better—they were the thieves of the world and
wanted for crimes all over Australia and the Far EastThe ones in combat we knew and we
reached!”
“You missed saddle handbags a couple, I believe,” observed Sulikov
The lawyer returned to the typed pages, beads of sweat rolling down his temples“God in
heaven, I’m ruined,” he whispered, choking
“The thought occurred to me,” said the Soviet consul general of New York, “but then, there are
always options, aren’t there? Naturally, there’s only one course of action for usLike much of
the continent, we were taken in by ruthless capitalist privateersLambs led to the slaughter on the
altars of greed as this American cartel of financial plunderers cornered markets, selling inferior
goods and services at inflated prices, claiming by way of false documents to have Washington’s
approval to deliver thousands of restricted items to us and our satellites
“You son of a bitch!” exploded Ogilvie“You—all of you—cooperated every step of the way
You brokered millions for us out of the bloc countries, rerouted, renamed—Christ, repainted—
ships silver chanel throughout the Mediterranean, the Aegean, up the Bosporus and into Marmara, to say nothing
about ports in the Baltic!”
“Prove it, Counselor,” said Sulikov, laughing quietly“If you wish, I could make a laudable case
for your defectionMoscow would welcome your expertise
“What?” cried the attorney as panic spread across his face
“Well, you certainly can’t stay here an hour longer than absolutely necessaryRead those words,
MrYou’re in the last stages of electronic surveillance before being picked up by the
authorities
“Oh, my God—”
“You might try to operate from Hong Kong or Macao—they’d welcome your money, but with
the problems they currently have with the Mainland’s markets and the Sino-British Treaty of ’97,
they’d probably frown on your indictmentsI’d say Switzerland’s out; the reciprocal laws are so
narrow these days, as Vesco found outYou could join him in Cuba
“Stop it!” yelled Ogilvie
“Then again you balenciaga designer could turn state’s evidence; there’s so much to unravelThey might even take,
say, ten years off your thirty-year sentence
“Goddamn it, I’ll kill you!”
The bedroom door suddenly opened as a consulate guard appeared, his hand menacingly under
his jacketThe attorney had lurched to his feet; trembling helplessly, he returned to the chair and
leaned forward, his head in his hands
“Such behavior would not be looked upon favorably,” said Sulikov“Come, Counselor, it’s a
time for cool heads, not emotional outbursts
“How the hell can you say that?” asked Ogilvie, a catch in his voice, a prelude to tears
“That’s a harsh judgment from such a resourceful man as youIt’s true you can’t
remain here, but still your resources are immenseAct from that position of strengthForce
concessions; it’s the art of survivalEventually the authorities will see the value of your
contributions as they did with Boesky, Levine and see by chloe bag several dozen others who endure their minimal
sentences playing tennis and backgammon while still possessing fortunes
“How?” said the lawyer, looking up at the Russian, his eyes red, pleading
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“The where comes first,” explained Sulikov“Find a neutral country that has no extradition
treaty with Washington, one where there are officials who can be persuaded to grant you temporary
residence so you can carry on your business activities—the term ‘temporary’ is extremely elastic,
of courseBahrain, the Emirates, Morocco, Turkey, Greece—there’s no lack of attractive
possibilitiesAll with rich English-speaking settlementsWe might even be able to help you,
very quietly
“Why would you?”
“Your blindness returns, MrFor a price, naturallyYou have an extraordinary
operation in EuropeIt’s in place and functioning, and under our control we could derive
considerable benefits from cartier ronde i