Oath of Loyalty (Mitch Rapp #21)(59)
“But without having reliable eyes on Rapp, there’s no way to prove that he wasn’t responsible. It’s possible that he slipped out of Ward’s compound, flew to Spain, interrogated Ruiz, and found out about the dossier we sent.”
“Anything’s possible,” Hargrave agreed. “But plausible? What you’re talking about here is that, based on an attack by Gustavo Marroqui, Rapp’s embarked on a campaign of wiping out Claudia Gould’s enemies. Then he just walked into a guarded compound and extracted information from a brutal drug lord who wouldn’t survive any kind of coercion. And if that’s not far-fetched enough, he then killed the man in a way that fooled both his security detail and the authorities.”
Cook leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “I agree that it’s improbable, Darren. But I want to make sure we’re not taking anything for granted. Where Rapp is concerned, getting complacent isn’t an option.”
Hargrave nodded silently, reluctant to respond with anything more. In fact, Rapp’s involvement in Enzo Ruiz’s death wasn’t as far-fetched as he was making it out to be. Initial reports were coming in that another one of Claudia’s enemies—a Czech assassin named Josef Svoboda—had died in what was being called an accident by authorities. It was a worrying coincidence, but not one that the president needed to know about at this point. It would only make the situation more stressful and could shake his trust in the CIA. That was something that had to be prevented at all costs. The spell his wife had cast on him was weakening but not yet broken. She couldn’t be allowed information like this while she was still strong enough to weaponize it.
“But your plan seems to be falling apart,” the first lady said. “It revolves around keeping Rapp off balance and focused elsewhere. How does the Legion contract accomplish that if he doesn’t know anything about it?”
Hargrave grinned. “Actually, the situation couldn’t be more perfect.”
Watching the subtle change in the woman’s expression and body language was like electricity running up his spine. Her normal condescension and disgust had become tinged with fear. She knew that her ability to use her husband for her own ends was slipping away. That Anthony Cook was finally starting to see her for what she was.
“Perfect?” the president said. “How?”
“We’ll warn Rapp that we picked up chatter about Legion being contracted to kill Claudia Gould. It works on every level for us. Not only does it appear to be an act of good faith on our part—”
“But it puts him in panic mode,” Cook said, finishing Hargrave’s thought. “Now he’s not facing a bunch of incompetent cartel enforcers. He’s facing one of the most successful and relentless killers in the world.”
“Exactly. And after Claudia dies—which she almost certainly will—Rapp will spend the rest of his life trying to find Legion and exact revenge. Then, at some point during all that, he’ll make himself vulnerable and we’ll put an end to this once and for all.”
With Hargrave finally gone, Catherine was alone in the Oval Office with her husband. She watched him pace and, for one of the first times in her life, had no idea what he was thinking. Every day she became more convinced that he was misjudging Mitch Rapp on virtually every level. Most notably the belief that he hadn’t intended to live up to their truce, but more crucially that he was an easily manipulated thug fueled by instinct and rage. A man like that would have been dead a long time ago.
She was also concerned that Hargrave was downplaying the possibility that Rapp had discovered the existence of the dossier on Claudia Gould. How hard would it be for Claudia to identify and locate her surviving enemies? Once done, Rapp could either kill—like he perhaps had done with Enzo Ruiz—or subvert them with threats. While these kinds of people might have a heightened thirst for revenge, they possessed an equally heightened survival instinct. Defying Mitch Rapp wasn’t the path to a long life.
Finally, the idea of Rapp becoming obsessed with Legion after Claudia’s death seemed overly optimistic. Would a man like him even give Legion a second thought? There was nothing personal there—just a business providing a service for payment. Much more likely, Rapp would focus his substantial energy and resources on finding out who had written the check. Technically Enzo Ruiz, but would he be satisfied with that? Or would he be motivated to look deeper?
She squinted into the sunlight coming through the windows and the figure moving through it. Her husband wasn’t a brilliant man in the normal sense, but he’d also never been a stupid one. Along with his gift for connecting with the common man, he’d always had a natural intuition for who to trust, who to subvert, and who to destroy. Now he seemed to be hanging on Darren Hargrave’s every word. He’d become so desperate for protection against Mitch Rapp that he’d actually convinced himself that Hargrave was capable of providing it.
Could a man who had become defined by doubt and fear win a second term in the White House? Realistically, they needed four full terms to achieve the kind of power necessary to perpetuate it indefinitely. Losing would be the end of everything they’d dreamed of.
“Things aren’t going well,” she said finally.
“We’ll find Rapp.”
“I’m not talking about him, Tony. I’m talking about your poll numbers. You look weak and ineffective. We didn’t run on an ambitious legislative platform. We ran on the force of your personality. Your ability to make your constituents feel like they have power and a voice. The longer you stay behind these walls, the more that fades.”