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Rapp nodded. “That leaves you, Donatella.”
“Me?”
“You think the Mossad isn’t going to recognize you?”
“Of course they will. I’ve hardly aged a day. But the people I worked for are dead or retired. There would be no profit in moving against me.”
“And if the video goes public?”
“Then some people from my past will know I’m alive. Not ideal, but manageable with your help.”
Rapp turned to Claudia. “We’ll stay at the safari hotel and see how much shit hits the fan over the next few days. But I need you to work out an alternate location for us.”
“I’ll have it taken care of by tomorrow night.”
Rapp folded his arms across his chest and scanned the faces staring back at him. Claudia was right. He was moving into uncharted territory with a group of misfits whose motivations were all over the place. It was a problem that needed to be acknowledged before they continued.
“This job was about getting Talal bin Musaid and transporting him to a location where I could question him. We’ve now moved well outside of those operational parameters. It appears that the Saudi intelligence chief, Aali Nassar, is the one calling the shots. Now he’s killing the people close to him and doing a pretty good job of framing me for it. I don’t have to tell you that politicians don’t like these kinds of scenarios. The amount of money, influence, and potential embarrassment we’re talking about is going to make them scramble for cover.”
“What does that mean, exactly?” Black said.
Donatella answered. “It means that all of the people who used to be Mitch’s friends are now his enemies. We’re about to have the CIA, the U.S. military, MI6, Saudi intelligence, and the Mossad come down on us like a ton of bricks.”
“That’s pretty accurate,” Rapp said. “At the scale we’re talking about now, I become expendable.”
“And if you’re expendable,” Donatella continued, “then we’re just bugs to be stepped on without second thought.”
Rapp nodded. “Look, it wasn’t my intention to sign you on for anything like this, and if you want to walk away, I’ll understand. You’ll be paid whatever we agreed on and I’ll never give up your names.”
“When you say ‘walk away,’ ” Azarov said, “walk away from what? What do you plan to do?”
“Deal with Nassar. He’s been busy cleaning up after himself, but now he’s going to turn his attention to me.”
“So you wa
nt to kill him,” Azarov said.
“I definitely want to kill him. But it’s going to be complicated.”
“Complicated how?” Black said. “Why don’t I just fly to Saudi Arabia and put a bullet in him from half a mile away?”
“I don’t think he’s going to make it that easy,” Rapp said.
“And it would blow back against Mitch,” Claudia added. “So far, he actually is innocent. Executing the Saudi intelligence chief would very much alter the chessboard.”
“Then what?” Azarov said.
“I’m still working on that.”
“How confidence inspiring,” Donatella said.
The Russian disagreed. “I’ve been involved in a number of these kinds of operations, and acting rashly is a recipe for disaster. Mitch is right to consider every possibility before making a move. Aali Nassar isn’t a Taliban enforcer or suicide bomber. He’s a brilliant man with virtually unlimited resources.”
“So who’s in and who’s out?” Rapp said.
Donatella was the first to speak. “After everything we’ve been through, I’d never abandon you.”
The implication was clear—that he’d abandoned her. And maybe it was true. But that was a reflection for another time.
