The prometheus deception.., p.119
The Prometheus Deception / The Sigma Protocol,
p.119
“My father was a strong man, the strongest man I’ve ever known. But the world is powerful, too, more powerful than any man, however bold and determined he may be. Max Hartman lived through the darkest years of the twentieth century. He lived through a time when mankind revealed how very black its heart could be. In his mind, I think, the knowledge defiled him. I know that he had to live with that knowledge, and make a life and raise a family, and pray that his knowledge would not shadow our lives as it did his own. After such knowledge, what forgiveness?” Again Ben paused, took a deep breath, and pressed on.
“My father was a complicated man, the most complicated man I have ever known. He lived through a history of astonishing complexity. A poet wrote:
“Think now
History has many cunning passages, contrived corridors
And issues, deceives with whispering ambitions,
Guides us by vanities.
“My father liked to say that he only looked forward, never behind. That was a lie, a brave, defiant lie. History was what my father was shaped by, and what he would always struggle to overcome. A history that was anything but black and white. The eyesight of children is very sharp. It dims with age. And yet there is something that children really don’t see too well: the intermediate tones. Shades of gray. Youth is pure of heart, right? Youth is uncompromising, resolute, zealous. That is the privilege of inexperience. That is the privilege of a moral cleanliness untested and untroubled by the messiness of the real world.
“What if you have no choice but to deal with evil in order to fight evil? Do you save those you love, those you can, or do keep yourself pure and unsullied? I know I never had to make that call. And I know something else. A hero’s hands are chapped, scuffed, chafed and callused, and only rarely are they clean. My father’s were not. He lived with the sense that, in fighting the enemy, he had also done work that served their purposes. In the end, his broad shoulders would be bowed with a sense of guilt that none of his good deeds could ever erase. He could never forget that he had survived when so many he had cherished did not. Again: After such knowledge what forgiveness? The effect was that he redoubled his efforts to do what was right. Only recently have I come to understand that I was never truer to him and his own sense of mission than when I thought I was rebelling against him, and his expectations for me. A father wants, above all, to keep his children safe. But that is the one thing that no father can do.”
Ben’s eyes met Anna’s for a long, lingering moment, and he found solace in the steady, answering gaze of her liquid brown eyes.
“One day, God willing, I will be a father, and no doubt I will forget this lesson and have to relearn it. Max Hartman was a philanthropist—in the root sense of the word, he loved people—and yet he was not an easy man to love. Every day, his children would ask themselves whether they made him proud or ashamed. Now I see that he was burdened by this question, too: would he make us, his children, proud or ashamed?
“Peter, above all else, I wish you were here with me at this very moment, to listen and to talk.” Now his eyes welled. “But, Peter, this you’ve got to file under ‘strange but true,’ as you used to say. Dad lived in fear of our judgment.”
Ben bowed his head for a moment. “I say my father lived in fear that I would judge him—and yet it seems incredible. He feared that a child bred of luxury and indolence would judge a man who had to endure the annihilation of everything he held dear.”
Ben squared his shoulders, and, his voice hoarse and thickened with sadness, spoke a little louder. “He lived in fear that I would judge him. And I do. I judge him mortal. I judge him imperfect. I judge him a man who was mulish and complicated and hard to love and forever scarred by a history that left its mark on everything it touched.
“And I judge him a hero.
“I judge him a good man.
“And because he was hard to love, I loved him all the harder …”
Ben broke off, the words strangled in his throat. He could say no more, and perhaps there was nothing more that needed to be said. He looked at Anna’s face, saw her cheeks glistening with tears, saw her weeping for them both, and he slowly walked away from the rostrum, and toward the back of the hall. Soon Anna joined him, standing by his side while countless guests shook his hand as they filed out through the hall and talked among themselves in an adjoining room. There were words of condolence and of affectionate reminiscence. Kindly old men squeezed his shoulder, clearly remembering him as a child, one half of the adorable Hartman twins. Ben steadily regained his composure. He’d felt wrung out, but part of what had been wrung out of him was the heaviness of grief.
Ten minutes later, when someone—the head of the tax division at HCM-told a fond, funny anecdote about his father, Ben found himself laughing out loud. Somehow he felt lighter than he had in weeks, maybe years. As the crowd thinned, a tall, square-jawed, sandy-haired man clasped his hand.
“We’ve never properly met,” the man said, and then he glanced at Anna.
“Ben, this is someone who has been a good friend to us both,” Anna said warmly. “I’d like you to meet the new director of the Internal Compliance Unit, at Justice—David Denneen.”
Ben shook his hand vigorously. “I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said. “And can I say thanks for saving our ass? Or is that just part of your job description?” Ben knew that Denneen had been chiefly responsible for clearing Anna’s name; the word had been artfully “leaked” that she’d been working for a sting operation, those reports of her misdeeds faked in order to draw out some genuine malefactors. Anna had even received an official governmental letter of thanks for her “dedicated service and valor,” although the letter discreetly left the circumstances of that valor unspecified. Still, it served a turn in helping her land a job as vice president in charge of risk-avoidance at Knapp Incorporated.
Now Denneen bent down and kissed Anna on the cheek. “The debt runs the other way,” he said, turning back to Ben. “As you very well know. Anyway, these days at the ICU I’m in the downsizing business. Someday, when my mother asks me what I do for a living, I’d like to be able to tell her.”
“And Ben?” Anna presented the diminutive, brown-skinned man accompanying Denneen. “One more dear friend of mine I’d like you to meet: Ramon Perez.”
Another vigorous handshake. Ramon smiled, showing very white teeth. “An honor,” he said, bobbing his head a little.
He was still smiling when he and Anna drifted off to a corner to talk.
“You look like the cat that ate the canary,” Anna said. “What is it? What’s so funny?” Her moist eyes gleamed with amusement.
Ramon just shook his head. He glanced at her fiance across the room and then at her, and still he was smiling.
“Ah,” she said at last. “I know what you’re thinking. ‘What a waste,’ right?”
Ramon shrugged but didn’t deny it.
Anna looked over toward Ben until their eyes met. “Well, let me tell you something,” she said. “He ain’t wasted on me.”
Afterward, Ben and Anna found a HCM Lincoln Town Car waiting for them in front of the Metropolis; the driver, seeing them emerge, stood stiffly in front of the car, ready to open the rear door. Ben held Anna’s hand in his gently as the two walked toward the vehicle that would take them away. A faint drizzle made the streets gleam in the evening dusk.
Then Ben started, felt a twinge of adrenaline: the driver looked curiously youthful, almost adolescent, yet compactly, powerfully built. A kaleidoscope flashed before his mind, nightmarish images from a time not long in the past. Ben grasped Anna’s hand fiercely.
The driver turned to face Ben, and the glow from the arched windows of the Metropolis illuminated his face. It was Gianni, Max’s driver for the last two years of his life, a gap-toothed, boyish, high-spirited fellow. Gianni took off his taupe cap, waved it.
“Mr. Hartman,” he called out.
Ben and Anna entered the car, and Gianni closed the door with an efficient thunk before settling into the driver’s seat.
“Where to, Mr. Hartman?” Gianni asked.
Ben glanced at his watch. The night was young, and tomorrow wasn’t a school day, anyway. He turned to Anna. “Where to, Ms. Navarro?” Ben asked.
“Anywhere at all,” she said. “As long as it’s with you.” Her hand found his again, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
Ben inhaled deeply, sensed the warmth of her face next to his, and felt at peace. It was an odd, unaccustomed feeling.
“Just drive,” Ben said. “All right, Gianni? Anywhere, nowhere—just drive.”
CHAPTER FIFTY
USA TODAY
INSIDERS SPECULATE ABOUT NEXT SUPREME COURT NOMINEE
Declaring that he “deeply regretted but fully understood” Justice Miriam Bateman’s decision to step down from the U.S. Supreme Court at the conclusion of the spring term, President Maxwell said that he and his advisers would take their time and make a “considered, deliberate” decision about who would be proposed as her successor. “Living up to Justice Bateman’s probity and wisdom will be a heavy burden on any nominee, and we approach this task with humility and with open minds,” the President said in a press conference. However, insiders have already produced a short list of names believed to be under active consideration …
ALSO BY ROBERT LUDLUM
The Ambler Warning
The Tristan Betrayal
The Janson Directive
The Matarese Countdown
The Apocalypse Watch
The Road to Omaha
The Scorpio Illusion
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Icarus Agenda
The Bourne Supremacy
The Aquitaine Progression
The Parsifal Mosaic
The Bourne Identity
The Matarese Circle
The Gemini Contenders
The Holcroft Covenant
The Chancellor Manuscript
The Road to Gandolfo
The Rhinemann Exchange
The Cry of the Halidon
Trevayne
The Matlock Paper
The Osterman Weekend
The Scarlatti Inheritance
EXPLOSIVE PRAISE FOR ROBERT LUDLUM’S
THE SIGMA PROTOCOL
“Perfectly executed … . Packed with all the classic Ludlum elements … thunders forward at breakneck pace.”
—People
“[A] triumph … . Harkens back to the roller-coaster ride/thrill-a-minute Bourne Identity.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Ludlum at his best.”
—Sullivan County Democrat
“Vintage Ludlum.”
—Houston Chronicle
“Dazzling …a clean launch of the ’80s spy novel into a thrilling action/adventure web of intrigue meant for the twenty-first century.”
—Publishers Weekly
“It’s amazing that ten pages before the end of the book, you still can’t figure out how he’s going to resolve the complex plot he’s presented. Yet he does, and pretty satisfactorily.”
—Colorado Springs Gazette
“[Ludlum] shows that …his storytelling skill was still at an all-time high …provides no less suspense than his die-hard fans would expect.”
—Bookreporter.com
“An accomplished novel …classic Ludlum …moves at breakneck speed …with well-developed players and a fascinating stage, Ludlum has risen to some of his finest work in this clever and enjoyable novel.”
—Chattanooga Times Free Press
“Better than anything [Ludlum’s] done in nearly twenty years …here is vintage Ludlum …the plot is rich with new insight.”
—Gannett Newspapers
“Ludlum keeps things moving with plenty of gunplay and running about …quite good.”
—Booklist
THE PROMETHEUS DECEPTION
“His best thriller yet.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Ludlum’s latest is a spy thriller that should keep even the most experienced readers guessing … .The pace is fast, the action plentiful … . A must-read.”
—Booklist
THE AMBLER WARNING
“Serves as a fine introduction for those unfamiliar with those works written by Ludlum during his lifetime.”
—Bookreporter.com
“An intense, powerful novel, rich in detail, complex plotting, and characterization …chilling …the rapid pace of this book and the exhilarating twists to the story make it next to impossible to put down …excellent”
—Affaire de Coeur
THE MOSCOW VECTOR
“Plenty of excellent shootouts.”
—Publishers Weekly
THE LAZARUS VENDETTA
“A fast read and sure to delight fans of both espionage and the technothriller.”
—Booklist
“A solid intelligence, some really scary nanotechnology, and a writing style that always gets the job done.”
—Publishers Weekly
THE ALTMAN CODE
“Neat subplots …plenty of action and intrigue.”
—Publishers Weekly
“The hero is brilliant, strong, and stoic …the international settings are spectacular.”
—reviewingtheevidence.com
“Expert.”
—Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine
THE PARIS OPTION
“Tops in the series.”
—Kirkus Reviews
THE JANSON DIRECTIVE
“One heck of a thriller …loaded with all the intrigue, paranoia, and real-life parallels that made Ludlum famous.”
—People
“Ludlum’s best since his masterpiece The Bourne Identity.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Finely crafted …the novel’s action scenes are as thrillingly staged on the page as they’ll inevitably be on the big screen.”
—Entertainment Weekly
CRITICAL PRAISE FOR ROBERT LUDLUM
“Ludlum stuffs more surprises into his novels than any other six-pack of thriller writers combined.”
—The New York Times
“Ludlum pulls out all the stops and dazzles his readers.”
—Chicago Tribune
THE FINANCIAL TIMES
MERGER TALKS BETWEEN ARMAKON, TECHNOCORP
In what would be an unusual pairing of two New Economy powerhouses, officials at both the Vienna-based agricultural and biotechnology giant Armakon and the Seattle-based software giant Technocorp acknowledged that the corporations had entered into preliminary merger negotiations. “Biotech is increasingly about computing, and software is increasingly about applications,” Arnold Carr, Technocorp’s CEO, told reporters. “We’ve been strategic partners in the past, but a more formal consolidation would, we believe, ensure the long-term growth of both our companies.” One prominent member of Technocorp’s board of directors, former Secretary of State Dr. Walter Reisinger, said that the boards of both companies fully supported management in the decision. According to Reinhard Wolff, the managing director of Armakon, the merger would obviate the need for costly outsourcing of programming and potentially represent billions in savings. He credited the “truly wise and distinguished directors” of both companies with having facilitated the negotiations.
Large shareholders in both companies seemed to approve of the merger talks. “There is strength in unity,” Ross Cameron, whose Sante Fe Group holds 12.5 percent of Technocorp’s series A stock, said in a prepared statement, “and we believe that together these companies have a tremendous amount to offer the world.”
A joint press release issued by the companies said that the combined corporation would be able to take a position of leadership in the health sciences.
“Given Armakon’s record of extensive research in biotechnology, and Technocorp’s enormous resources,” Wolff stated, “the merged companies will be able to push back the frontiers of the life sciences in ways we cannot simply foresee.”
On Wall Street, analysts had sharply divided reactions to the proposed merger …
THE PROMETHEUS DECEPTION Copyright © 2000 by Myn Pyn LLC and THE SIGMA PROTOCOL Copyright © 2001 by Myn Pyn LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
The Prometheus Deception was originally published
by St. Martin’s Press in 2000.
The Sigma Protocol was originally published
by St. Martin’s Press in 2001.
eISBN 9781429993739
First eBook Edition : June 2011
First St. Martin’s Griffin Edition: September 2006
Robert Ludlum, The Prometheus Deception / The Sigma Protocol
