AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s their strongest instinct.”
Rapp thought about that for a moment. Politicians were an amazingly resilient breed. He supposed on some Darwinian level she was absolutely correct. “Whatever works. I just want them one hundred percent on board.”
“So what do you think of their proposal?” Kennedy picked up her cup for another sip.
“It’s basically an expansion of the Orion Team. Which as we’ve discussed has been greatly underused.”
The Orion Team was a covert operations unit that had been founded by Kennedy’s predecessor, Thomas Stansfield, some twenty years ago. The idea was that the unit would operate in secret, independent of the CIA or the rest of the national security apparatus. The team allowed Stansfield to circumvent the leviathan of politics and get around small impediments like the executive order banning assassinations. It allowed him to do things that the more civilized crowd didn’t have the stomach for. Rapp had been the group’s star operative almost from the day he started at the age of twenty-two. He’d spent significant amounts of time in Europe, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia collecting intel and when the situation called for it, dealing with threats in a more final manner.
“Except this time we wo
uld have them on our side.” By them Kennedy meant Hartsburg and Walsh.
“I might be missing something here, but explain to me why that’s a good thing.”
“I was part of the Orion Team,” Kennedy began, “for eighteen years. Six of which I spent running it.” She gave him a forced smile. “In addition to spending most of my time trying to keep you out of trouble, the next most difficult task was trying to scrape together the money to sufficiently fund the operations. With Hartsburg and Walsh on board the funding will no longer be an issue, and more importantly, we won’t have to worry about them launching any investigations. Your job will be much easier.”
Rap nodded. “I see your point. I just want to make sure they are beholden to us, and not the other way around.”
“Absolutely.” Kennedy brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear. “Any ideas?”
“Yeah, one.” Rapp held up his BlackBerry. “Mutually assured destruction.”
“MAD.”
“Exactly.” Rapp pressed a few buttons and began replaying the conversation that had taken place in the Congressional Library. After a few seconds he stopped the recording and smiled. “I hope you’re not disappointed?”
“I would have been disappointed in you if you hadn’t.”
Rapp snapped the BlackBerry back onto his belt clip. “And I don’t want any armchair quarterbacking.”
“I already explained that to them.”
“And how did they take it?”
“Listen, Mitch, you have a certain reputation in this town that has grown beyond even your own remarkable achievements. The secrecy regarding your past, the untimely death of two politicians who were involved in blowing your cover…it has all added up to an almost mythical reputation. When people mention your name they do so in whispers, and then only after they’ve looked over both shoulders. You get credit for things I know for a fact you had nothing to do with.”
“How can you be so sure?” Rapp gave her a devious look.
“Because I know you weren’t even on the same continent let alone in the same city when some of this stuff happened. But nonetheless people like a good conspiracy and you play into that perfectly.” Kennedy rolled her eyes. “Rugged good looks, a beautiful wife who works for NBC, and none other than the president of the United States as your biggest champion. Add to that the aforementioned deceased politicians and what they leaked to the press, the press referring to you as an assassin…our first line of defense…and there isn’t a person on Capitol Hill who doesn’t get a little nervous around you.”
“Good.” Rapp far preferred his old anonymity, but if some of the less-than-savory politicians in this town were afraid of him, that wasn’t such a bad thing. “Here’s the bottom line. I’ll do this, but I’m going to do it my way. I’m going to pick the targets of opportunity, and I’ll take suggestions from you and only you. If they have any suggestions of their own they can give them to you and I’ll take them under advisement, but I will hold veto power. If I think something is too risky or not important enough…I’ll pull the plug.”
“I can make them live with that. What else?”
“I’m going to handpick all my people.”
Kennedy nodded. She had assumed he would make both requests.
“And we’re going to do more than just take out known terrorists.”
“How so?” Kennedy asked curiously.
Rapp smiled. “I’ve been working on something, but I’m not ready to show you yet.”
“Would you like to give me a hint?”
“Let’s just say that I’m planning on fighting this war on more than one front, and I don’t plan on playing by anyone’s rules.”
