Oath of Loyalty (Mitch Rapp #21)(89)

“I’d take a beer,” Rapp said.

Claudia just shook her head.

Kennedy pulled out a bottle for him and poured herself a glass of white wine.

“You seem comfortable here,” he observed, dropping onto a stool in front of the kitchen island.

“Do I?”

“I take it you’ve decided to get in bed with Nick?”

She smiled. “Intentional?”

“I was being clever.”

“It’s complicated. Do I want to have a professional relationship with Nick or a personal one? I don’t think both is workable.”

“Are you sure?” Claudia said. “It can be, you know. There’s such a thing as too much caution where relationships are concerned.”

“You’re probably right but I’ve lived my life by the philosophy that there’s no such thing as too much caution.”

“I’m with Claudia,” Rapp said. “You’re retired now. What better time to close your eyes and leap?”

“Old habits die hard,” Kennedy said, taking a sip from her glass. “For instance, being able to overlook the fact that you’re both avoiding the subject of Legion.”

He picked up the beer but didn’t drink. “They’re taken care of and Bebe and Sadie are fine.”

Kennedy sat, keeping the island between them. Her unwavering gaze suggested that she expected a more detailed explanation. Claudia was the first to fold under its intensity.

“Legion is made up of three women trained by the Iranians to infiltrate Israel. The program got canceled when the new government came in and they escaped.”

“Mitch, you said they were taken care of, but you didn’t say they were dead. Could you clarify?”

“I caught the woman who handles the operations end, but there was no way to use her to find her people. She didn’t know where they were.”

“I still don’t have a clear picture of what happened,” Kennedy pointed out.

“There didn’t seem to be any reason to kill her.”

“Really? Because I can think of quite a few.”

Claudia commandeered his beer and took a nervous sip.

“You’re probably right. But if I’d killed her, I wouldn’t have been able to hire her to take out Anthony Cook.”

Kennedy’s face went blank. It was something he’d only seen a handful of times in their long relationship. Basically, she was so pissed that she couldn’t conjure up a cover expression and just went with nothing.

“You did what?”

“It seemed fair. And the vice president is a little soft, but not too bad for a politician.”

She fell silent for a long time. Probably a good minute with no sound at all other than the breeze coming through the louvers and the hum of the pool motor.

“Do you have a way of contacting them?”

“Sure. They’ve dropped their normal secrecy protocols.”

“Then you have the ability to call them off.”

“I suppose. But I’m not going to.”

Kennedy spun her glass on the granite countertop, staring into it. “I’m furious, too, Mitch. And not just about the Cooks’ behavior toward you. I blame them for what happened to Mike. They lit a fuse and when he discovered he couldn’t put it out, he was forced to try to minimize the damage. Sometimes there’s no way to win. The only thing you can do is manage your losses.”

“Then we’re in agreement,” Rapp said. “We sit back and let Legion do what they do.”

“No. We’re not in agreement. As bad as Cook is for the country, his death could be worse. America’s too fragile right now. Too divided. If he were to die, the conspiracy theories that he rode into the White House would explode. I’m not exaggerating when I say I think we could be dragged into another civil war. But even if we aren’t, the unrest would cause our allies to turn away from us and look for leadership in places like China. I believe in America, just like you do. I think we’re a little lost right now but given time, we’ll find our way back.”

“Nice speech, Irene, but a little too lofty for my current mood. I’m not living my life on the run because people will throw a fit on Facebook if something happens to him. I want him dead. And the sooner the better.”

“What if I can guarantee your safety?”

“You’re a magician, Irene. You’ve proved that more times than I can count. But some things can’t be fixed.”

“But what if I can fix it? Would you let me?”

He didn’t answer, instead taking a pull from his beer.

“I’m not asking this for the Cooks, Mitch. Or even for America. This is for me. I’m asking you for a personal favor.”

“Are you really going to play that card?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Fine. If you can fix this and convince me it’s fixed, then I’ll call off Legion.”

Kennedy gave him a grateful nod. “Thank you.”

“How,” Claudia said, breaking her silence. “How are you going to do it?”

Kennedy lifted her glass to her mouth. “I have absolutely no idea.”





CHAPTER 44


SOUTHWESTERN UGANDA IRENE Kennedy started up a set of earthen steps that climbed the compound’s defensive wall. When she reached the top, she gazed silently over the forest rolling out in front of her. Mitch, Claudia, and Anna had left less than an hour ago. They’d literally headed off into the sunset with nothing but a machete and the packs on their backs. No ticker-tape parade. No eternal gratitude from the country he’d sacrificed so much for. Not even her well wishes for whatever his future held.