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13
AIR FORCE ONE
The president’s office on Air Force One was right next to the conference room, just a few steps away. The proximity left Rapp only a few seconds to ponder the commander in chief’s character and why he had taken such a sudden interest in him. At forty-six Alexander ranked as one of the youngest men elected to the top office. He was easy to like, but Rapp had a deep-seated distrust of all politicians. Too often their party and their own political careers took a front seat to national security. Agencies like the CIA were a dumping
ground for problems, regularly used as a pawn in the game played by the two parties. If something went right it was the politician who took credit, but if something bad happened they were quick to lay the blame at the feet of Langley. They weren’t all that way, of course. Rapp knew of a handful of senators and congressmen who could be counted on. Men and women who knew what was at stake. Men and women who knew how to provide oversight and keep their mouths shut.
Rapp followed the president into his office. At six-two Alexander was an inch taller than Rapp. He was thin, maybe 190 pounds, with a full head of sandy brown hair. His hazel eyes had an alertness that stopped just short of being overly intense. Alexander walked straight across the room between his desk and credenza. He sat in a fixed, high-back leather chair identical to the one in the conference room. The chair could be swiveled and moved as well as locked into position for takeoffs and landings. An identical chair sat across from the desk up against the starboard side of the craft. Rapp eyed the long leather couch and decided it looked less confining. He plopped down, spread his arms out across the back and crossed his left leg over his right.
Alexander eyed a piece of paper on his desk. When he was done reading it, he tore it in half and fed it into a shredder. “You’re probably wondering why I asked you to join me on the trip back to Washington.”
“When presidents call on me, I assume I’ve done something to piss them off.”
Alexander smiled, producing a set of elongated dimples. “I wouldn’t know about that. My immediate predecessor holds you in very high regard.”
Rapp nodded. There had been some rough patches, but for the most part he had gotten along very well with President Hayes. “Did he also tell you I can be a real pain in the ass?”
The smile stayed on Alexander’s face. “He didn’t have to. In that regard your reputation precedes you.” Alexander pushed a button on the side of his chair and the back reclined. He spun the chair and put his feet up on the corner of his desk. “You are very good at what you do, Mitch. One of the last things President Hayes told me before leaving office was to use you wisely.”
“Use?” Rapp repeated the word, vaguely amused that Alexander had chosen it.
“Maybe deploy is a better choice. Maybe cut loose is even better. The point is, I’m not foolish enough to think we live in a world where violence is never the answer. There are moments when force will have to be met with force.”
Rapp liked what he was hearing. “I couldn’t agree more.”
“You have many talents, Mitch. What would you say is your greatest asset?”
“I’m the wrong guy to ask, sir.”
“So we can add modesty to your long list of strengths. Well, I’m a politician, so I can’t really say being humble is part of my job description. Having said that, though, I do think we have something in common.”
Rapp raised one of his thick black eyebrows in a manner that said he was intrigued. Internally he wondered what attributes he could possibly share with a refined, calculating politician like Alexander.
“I read the report you prepared last year. The one that outlined how Iran would react if we took out their nuclear program.”
Rapp nodded. He had written the report before Alexander had taken office. Due to the sensitivity of the subject matter, the distribution was very limited. Rapp was more than a little surprised that Alexander had both gotten his hands on a copy and that he had taken the time to read it.
“In light of recent events, are you still willing to stand by what you wrote?”
Rapp took a second to recall the specifics of the report. “Since we didn’t actually bomb them, it’s less clear-cut, but for the most part I think they will react the way I predicted.”
“They’ll use Hezbollah and its affiliates to launch a series of terrorist attacks and conduct kidnappings of Americans abroad.”
“They’ll hit Israel first, and then they’ll come after us.”
“You’re sure?”
“Ninety-nine percent. It’s not in their character to do nothing.”
The president thought about Rapp’s comment and then asked, “So you think Israel was behind this?”
“I’ve known Ben Freidman for a long time, sir. I’ve worked very closely with the Mossad. They have a track record of conducting extremely audacious operations. Operations that we would never dream of.”
“Why is that?”
“Survival. They’re a lot closer to it than we are.”
“It?” the president asked.
