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“You’re hurt?” Anna looked confused. “Why didn’t you say something to me … what’s wrong?”
The questions kept coming, as she moved closer and he backed away, in a weak attempt to buy some time. “Honey, it’s not a big deal … I just suffered a little injury while I was in the Philippines.”
“What kind of injury … let me see it.”
Rapp held on to her hands. “No … you don’t need to see it. It’s no big deal.”
Anna detected the look of guilt on his face and seized upon it. “What do you mean I don’t need to see it? I’m your wife.”
“Honey,” Rapp said in a lame attempt to calm her, “it’s really no big deal.”
Anna released him and took a step back, placing her hands on her hips. With a menacing look she stared him right in his face and said, “You are trying to hide something from me, Mitchell Rapp, and you’d better come clean right now, or we are going to have serious trouble.”
Rapp let out a nervous sigh. He was boxed in with nowhere to go. Defeated and embarrassed he said, “I was shot during a hostage rescue and—”
“Shot!” screamed Anna. “Oh my God, where? Are you all right?”
“Yeah … yeah, I’m fine.”
Concerned and puzzled, Anna asked, “So where were you shot?”
“Um …” Rapp hesitated and then in a slightly embarrassed tone said, “In the ass, but don’t worry, I’ll be fine … it just hurts a lot.”
Confusion spread across her face. “How did you get shot?”
“I can’t talk about that,” Rapp replied with as much confidence as he could muster. “It’s classified.”
Anna placed her hands on her hips and looked angrily at her husband. “Classified my ass! You’re my damn husband for a week, you come home one night and tell me you have to leave town on an urgent matter and that, oh by the way, you won’t be doing any more of that James Bond stuff that you used to do.” She stabbed a finger at his chest, backing him into the corner. “You lied to me, Mitchell.”
“No”—Rapp kept his hands out in front of him—“that’s not true, honey.”
“Don’t bullshit me, Mitchell! And then to add insult to injury I run into your boss at the White House on Friday night and she tells me you’re over in the Philippines supervising the rescue of that family of Americans. Irene told me you were on some ship and out of harm’s way.” Folding her arms tightly across her chest she added, “I can’t believe I w
as dumb enough to trust her.”
Rapp was completely caught off guard that his boss had confided in his wife. Shocked, he asked, “Irene told you about the mission?”
“Yes.” Anna got right in his face. “And don’t try to change the subject, or hide behind all that national security crap. If you want this marriage to survive you’d better come clean with me right now. How in the hell did you get shot?”
There was no more room to maneuver. “I was shot during the hostage rescue.”
“So you weren’t on the ship, you were right there in the thick of it?”
After hesitating for a second he said, “Yes.”
Anna began shaking her head. Through clenched teeth she snarled, “That bitch. She lied to me.” Looking her husband in the eye, she said, “Your boss sat there and lied to me at the White House. She ordered you to lead this hostage rescue, and then had the audacity to tell me you were safe.” She clenched her fists and let out an angry scream.
“You’re done working for her, and when I see her … boy, am I going to let her have it.”
Rapp held up his hands in an effort to calm his wife. Caring too much for Irene to let her take the heat for something she didn’t do wasn’t his style, and in addition, something told him that when the two most important women in his life got together and compared notes they would discover that it was not Irene’s fault.
“Anna, don’t blame this on Irene.”
“Why shouldn’t I?” she snapped.
“Because … as far as she knew I was not directly involved in the operation.”
Anna took a moment to try to decipher the importance of what her husband had just said. “What do you mean? She’s your boss!”
