Read The Bourne Identity for Free Online

sledgehammer, catching the crewman with the broken wrist at the midpoint of his throat. The man somersaulted off his feet and collapsed on the deck.
    "Kwa-sah!" The whisper echoed in the patient's ears.
    The fourth man backed away, staring at the maniac who simply looked at him. It was over. Three of Lamouche's crew were unconscious, severely punished for what they had done. It was doubtful that any would be capable of coming down to the docks at four o'clock in the morning. Lamouche's words were uttered in equal parts, astonishment and contempt "Where you come from I don't know, but you will get off this boat."
    The man with no memory understood the unintentional irony of the captain's words. I don't know where I came from, either .

    "You can't stay here now," said Geoffrey Washburn, coming into the darkened bedroom. "I honestly believed I could prevent any serious assault on you. But I can't protect you when you've done the damage."
    "It was provoked."
    "To the extent it was inflicted? A broken wrist and lacerations requiring sutures on a man's throat and face, and another's skull. A severe concussion, and an undetermined injury to a kidney? To say nothing of a blow to the groin that's caused a swelling of the testicles? I believe the word is overkill."
    "It would have been just plain 'kill,' and I would have been the dead man, if it'd happened any other way." The patient paused, but spoke again before the doctor could interrupt. "I think we should talk. Several things happened; other words came to me. We should talk."
    "We should, but we can't. There isn't time. You've got to leave now. I've made arrangements."
    "Now?"
    "Yes. I told them you went into the village, probably to get drunk. The families will go looking for you. Every able-bodied brother, cousin, and in-law. They'll have knives, hooks, perhaps a gun or two. When they can't find you, they'll come back here. They won't stop until they do find you."
    "Because of a fight I didn't start?"
    "Because you've injured three men who will lose at least a month's wages between them. And Page 24
    Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    something else that's infinitely more important."
    "What's that?"
    "The insult. An off-islander proved himself more than a match for not one, but three respected fishermen of Port Noir."
    "Respected?"
    "In the physical sense. Lamouche's crew is considered the roughest on the waterfront."
    "That's ridiculous."
    "Not to them. It's their honor. ... Now hurry--get your things together. There's a boat in from Marseilles; the captain's agreed to stow you, and drop you a half-mile offshore north of La Ciotat."
    The man with no memory held his breath. "Then it's time," he said quietly.
    "It's time," replied Washburn. "I think I know what's going through your mind. A sense of helplessness, of drifting without a rudder to put you on a course. I've been your rudder, and I won't be with you; there's nothing I can do about that. But believe me when I tell you, you are not helpless. You will find your way."
    "To Zurich," added the patient.
    "To Zurich," agreed the doctor. "Here. I've wrapped some things together for you in this oilcloth. Strap it around your waist."
    "What is it?"
    "All the money I have, some two thousand francs. It's not much, but it will help you get started. And my passport, for whatever good it will do. We're about the same age and it's eight years old; people change. Don't let anyone study it. It's merely an official paper."
    "What will you do?"
    "I won't ever need it if I don't hear from you."
    "You're a decent man."
    "I think you are, too. ... As I've known you. But then I didn't know you before. So I can't vouch for that man. I wish I could, but there's no way I can."

    The man leaned against the railing, watching the lights of Ile de Port Noir recede in the distance. The fishing boat was heading into darkness, as he had plunged into darkness nearly five months ago. As he was plunging into