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Nash concurred. “Irene agrees. We all know the score and know what has to be done.”
Rapp was suspicious that the higher-ups in D.C. were of a single mind. “Listen, I’ve seen this movie before. They say all kinds of shit, talk tough, and demand results, and then we run off and start kicking in doors and knocking heads and then a year from now, if things start to leak, they’ll act all shocked and demand we swing from the mast.”
“I don’t disagree, but at least this time, Irene says DOD, State, and the White House are all on board.”
Rapp still wasn’t buying it. “That’s what they say now, but I’m telling you . . . down the road they’ll bail on our asses so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
“You’re probably right, but what in the hell are we going to do about it? We either play by the book and watch it all fall apart or we get rough and hope we get him back before he spills the family jewels.”
“I know what we have to do, and I’m willing to do it, but you’re not going to convince me that those clowns in D.C. will support us for a second.”
Nash didn’t have much faith in his fellow bureaucrats and even less in the politicians who ran the city, but they had more leverage than Rapp was giving them credit for. “Did you know Rick became the de facto paymaster for this reintegration program?”
Rapp was surprised by the news. “I thought State was running that cluster fuck.”
“They were the lead agency, but they didn’t have the wherewithal, or I suspect the guts to actually shake hands with this collection of misfits, so the president asked Irene if we could help out.”
“And she said yes.”
“That’s correct, so Irene has a little more leverage on all of them this time around since they all signed on. Maybe they’ll be more cooperative.”
“I won’t hold my breath.”
“None of us expect you to, which is what we need to talk about. This meeting that’s about to take place . . . Irene wants you to keep a low profile.”
“Why?”
“She’s working directly with the Sec Def and the Sec State to keep their people in line. The White House is helping out and she thinks she can get all of them to basically close their eyes and cover their ears for the next seventy-two hours.”
“Fine by me.”
Nash pressed. “She doesn’t want you to pick any fights.”
Rapp scoffed and shook his head. “With who?”
“With anyone.”
“What about that Sickles dumbass?”
“She wants me to handle him.”
“Really,” Rapp said with a raised brow, “then you’d better keep him away from me.”
Nash knew this wouldn’t be easy and dancing around the issue would only make it worse. “Listen . . . everyone knows you’re point on this, but you have a history of not playing nice on the playground with the other kids.”
Rapp heard the first MRAP roll through the gate, shook his head in frustration, and said, “Spit it out. I’m not in the most patient mood this morning.”
“You’re never in a patient mood, so I need you to slow down for a second . . . hear me out. There’s going to be a woman in this meeting . . . Arianna Vinter . . . have you heard of her?”
“No.”
“She’s from State . . . she’s the one who came up with this whole reintegration business. Apparently she’s a real ball buster . . . very connected and she’s not afraid to chew ass.”
“Wonderful.”
“Yeah . . . well, Irene thinks you two are going to have a problem.”
“Why would you guys want to put me in a room with this woman?”
