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“Is that what they tried?” Kennedy glanced at Stansfield. At least they had been right about that. “Mitch, I gave them no such order. I’m afraid we were compromised. By whom we do not know.”
Rapp wanted to believe her, but he needed some proof. “The way I see it, Irene, there were only three people who were in a position to set me up. Director Stansfield, you, and the president. Now, which one of you was it?”
“Mitch, I would never do that to you…nor would Thomas or the president.”
“Why were you acting so strange when I talked to you about it being my last job? Was it because you didn’t want me walking around with all of your dirty little secrets? Did you want to end it nice and clean?” Rapp raised an eyebrow.
Kennedy shook her head sadly. She looked offended by the accusation. “You know me better than that. I would never harm you. I was acting strange when we last talked because of Thomas.” Kennedy gestured to the director. “He’s dying of cancer. You didn’t know that, did you?”
“No.” Rapp looked down at Stansfield. Come to think of it, he did look frail.
“All of the vultures are circling, and they’re getting ready for their next meal. There’s pressure coming from all sides.” Kennedy paused and then added, “Look me in the eye, Mitch, and tell me you really think I could have done such a thing.”
If Rapp had learned one thing in the last ten years, it was that people were capable of almost anything. Despite all of that, though, Kennedy had always been the one person he could depend on. The person who was supposed to watch his back. “If it wasn’t you, then who was it?”
“That’s what we’ve been trying to figure out.”
“Just put me in a room alone with the team you sent to Germany, and I’ll take care of it.”
Kennedy blinked. “That’s going to be a problem.”
“Oh, let me guess,” said Rapp with feigned surprise. “They’ve disappeared.”
“No, worse.”
“They’re dead.”
“Yes.”
“How convenient.”
“Believe me, no one wanted to talk to them more than me.”
Rapp grunted. “Actually, I’m at the top of that list.” He aimed the gun at Kennedy. “She didn’t try to pump two rounds into your chest.”
“What exactly happened in Germany?”
“I have a few more questions before we get to that. How is it that you happen to know they’re dead?”
Kennedy looked at Coleman. The former SEAL Team commander said, “I witnessed it.”
“You saw it, or you pulled the trigger?”
Coleman shook his head. “I didn’t kill them.”
“Scott, no offense, but what in the hell are you doing in the middle of this?”
Stansfield coughed and raised his right hand. “That would be my doing, Mitchell. We received one communiqué from the Jansens—you knew them as the Hoffmans—after the mission. They stated that the count had been eliminated, but you’d been lost in the process. As we followed developments, it became apparent that the Jansens may have been wrong. There were reports that someone fitting your description was seen leaving the count’s estate five to ten minutes after the Jansens left. Then there was the fire. The Jansens had said nothing about that. We became suspicious, and I asked Scott to go to Colorado and bring the Jansens back for a thorough debriefing.”
Kennedy inched forward. “Mitch, what happened in Germany?”
“In a minute.” Looking to Coleman, he asked, “Tell me about Colorado.”
“I went out there with a few men to retrieve them.”
“When was this?”
“Saturday night. The Jansens had a place west of Denver in a little town called Evergreen. We put them under surveillance and were getting ready to move in on Sunday morning when another group showed up and took them out.”
