Oath of Loyalty (Mitch Rapp #21)(69)
Rapp held out a hand, silencing her. The images were causing a constriction in his chest that was starting to feel vaguely dangerous. “Let’s back-burner this for the moment. I think we can do better.”
Sadie just shrugged.
“What do you have in mind?” Bebe said.
“No big moves that could be noticeable. We’ll let you create an extremely predictable routine and see if you can identify anyone watching you. You’re better at that than anyone and they won’t be prepared for someone who’s incapable of forgetting a face. In the meantime, we need to figure out how to create an opportunity for Legion and funnel them into it. Maybe through Bebe, maybe through the architect or construction people. Even Anna’s not completely off the table as long as we can be sure they never get anywhere near her. We’ve got to put ourselves in a position where we don’t just have the ability to predict their moves, we have the ability to control them. Because without a face or a name, that’s the only way we’re going to identify them. Remember, they have no idea we know they’re out there. That gives us an edge.”
“What about me?” Sadie said. “What’s my role?”
“For now? Staying out of sight inside the wall. You’ve got Claudia down pretty well, but you’re not her twin. If Legion figures out we’ve pulled a switch, this whole thing is blown.”
“That’s it?” she said, folding her arms and staring straight forward. “So, endless boredom.”
“But since you’re the target, boredom is good,” Bebe pointed out.
“Not if I die of it.”
Rapp grabbed his pillow off the bed, tossing it and a blanket onto the sofa beneath the window. The house’s master bedroom was large enough that Claudia had put a sectional in one corner. Until now, it had largely served to cause arguments about him using it as a receptacle for laundry.
With no strong sense of Legion’s surveillance capability, it made sense to keep things as natural as possible. Unfortunately, that precluded him moving into the guest bedroom. With Guatemala, the new housekeeper, and the sudden reappearance of Claudia, there was already too much unusual activity. Not that he thought Legion could be spooked in the normal sense of the word, but they could be made more cautious. And what he didn’t need was for this to turn into an endless staring contest.
The only light in the room was coming from the partially open door to the bathroom. Rapp used the tenuous illumination to pour a small glass of bourbon. He dropped onto the sofa and put his feet on the coffee table before taking a cautious sip. While the idea of dulling his senses became more appealing with every minute Sadie was in the house, it wasn’t in the cards. When all this was over, though, he promised himself a proper binge.
The shower was running, and he watched the steam flow into the room. It swirled hypnotically, as though it was trying to reveal something to him. But what? Any way he looked at it, there wasn’t much time left. Every year his world felt like it got a little smaller. Maybe that was just the way things went as people aged. For him, though, it didn’t have anything to do with fear. More like a tighter focus on what was important. And at this point the list was pretty short. One: kill Legion. Two: get rid of the Cooks. Three: find a sustainable way forward.
He heard the shower go off and a moment later Sadie appeared in the doorway. She was backlit but he could see that she’d removed her brown contacts, revealing bright, strangely dead blue eyes. Her naked body was still wet enough to glisten, highlighting a series of long, thin scars next to her meticulously groomed pubic area. Unquestionably self-inflicted.
“What’s that?” she said, pointing to the pillow next to him. The French accent was fully part of her now.
“I was planning on sleeping in here. It’ll look more natural.”
“Even more natural in the bed. And I can personally guarantee it’ll be more comfortable than the sofa.”
He mentally reeled through a list of potential responses. Everything with her was a delicate balancing act. Finally, he affected a grin. “With Legion after you, I’d rather keep a little distance between us.”
She ran a hand through her wet hair but didn’t move from her position in the doorway. “You’re not going to let me have any fun at all, are you?”
CHAPTER 32
FRANSCHHOEK
SOUTH AFRICA THE words safe room had taken on a completely new meaning. Rapp was closed up in his, sitting with a cold beer in his hand and two more in a bucket of ice near his feet. He’d repurposed one of the security monitors as a television and was tuned into a mountain bike race. The audio didn’t work for some reason, but it didn’t matter. In fact, the quiet was welcome.
Outside the locked door lurked his increasingly chaotic world. That morning, he’d gone out to his gym and discovered that Bebe had rearranged all his tools by color. And based on the dull whine barely audible through the walls, she was now brandishing her new favorite weapon: his Shop-Vac.
More pronounced than the sound was the smell of a soufflé baking in the oven. When he’d gone to the kitchen for the beer, Sadie had accused him of clomping around like a drunken horse, speculating that it was going to cause a catastrophic failure in her dessert. He’d beat a hasty, light-footed retreat.
She was losing herself in the role more and more every day, making it impossible to know who he was talking to. Clues were visible only in her eyes, partially obscured by brown contacts. He seemed to be dealing with a hybrid now—a pendulum that swung in an ever-narrowing band.