by Vince Flynn
“Would you please send the attorney general and Vice President–elect Ross in.”
Kennedy went back into the Oval Office. The setup was always the same. Two arm chairs were in front of the fireplace and two long sofas stretched out taking up the majority of that side of the room. In between the sofas was a fairly large glass coffee table. There was a pecking order when it came to the seating arrangement in the Oval Office. The president always sat in the chair to the right of the fireplace. The chair to the left was reserved for the vice president, a visiting head of state, or in a less formal setting, anyone the president offered the chair to. Kennedy doubted the president would offer the chair to Ross. He simply didn’t like the man well enough. That meant Ross would sit on the couch closest to the president. Stokes would likely sit next to him.
Carl appeared with the coffee service and set it in the middle of the glass table.
“I’ll be back with the water in a moment.”
“Thank you.” Kennedy was wearing a black pant suit. The jacket had three buttons down the front and two small pockets on either side. Kennedy tugged on the bottom of the jacket to straighten it and patted each pocket for a last check.
Ross entered the office first. There was a flash of surprise on his face, but he quickly covered it up with a phony smile.
“Irene,” he said as he walked across the room, “what a pleasant surprise.” The vice president–elect extended his hand across the coffee table.
Kennedy took it. “Good morning, Mr. Vice President.”
“Not for another day.” Ross wagged his finger playfully at Kennedy.
“Irene,” Attorney General Stokes said.
“Good morning, Martin.”
“I didn’t expect to see you here this morning,” Ross said, his voice void of any obvious malice.
“I was having breakfast with the president. He got hung up with something, so he asked me to keep you two company for a few minutes.” Kennedy pointed at the couch behind the two men. “Sit. May I get either of you coffee?” Kennedy had sat through countless meetings with both men and she couldn’t remember a time where either had said no.
“Sure,” said Ross as he lowered himself into the spot closest to the president’s chair.
Stokes set his briefcase on the floor and said, “Please.”
Kennedy reached out to grab a cup, her hand hovering over the top of it for a second. Looking across at Ross she said, “Cream and sugar, right?”
“Yes.”
Kennedy placed the cup on top of a saucer and filled it three quarters to the top with coffee. She then added cream and a cube of sugar before stirring it thoroughly. She set the spoon on the tray and placed the cup and saucer directly into Ross’s hands.
“Thank you.” Ross blew on the coffee for a second and then took a sip.
Kennedy poured Stokes a cup and slid it across as Carl returned with a crystal pitcher of water and four glasses. He set them on the table next to the coffee service and left.
Kennedy looked at Stokes and said, “I assume your people are happy with the information we put together on Gazich?” She took an empty glass of water and filled it to the top.
“Are you kidding me? The guy is as good as fried.”
“Good.”
Ross took another drink of coffee and said, “Any luck running down the financial leads?”
“No.” Kennedy frowned. “I’m afraid we ran into a wall there.”
“I thought you were pretty confident that you were going to make a connection?” Ross sounded a bit let down.
It took all the composure Kennedy could marshal just to sit in the same room with the man. To have to watch him fake concern was nearly unbearable. “More than anything, we floated that to see if we could spook some potential suspects into making a stupid move.” She took another sip of her water and then placed it on the table with both hands.
“That’s too bad,” Ross said with a disappointed voice. “But great work on tracking that other guy down.”
President Hayes entered the room with his suit jacket on. Carl closed the door behind him, and the other door to where the administrative assistants sat was also closed. “Sorry I’m late, gentlemen.”
Ross, Stokes, and Kennedy stood. Hayes marched over with his large coffee mug in hand.
“So how is everyone feeling today?” Hayes asked in an upbeat voice.
“Fine, sir,” Ross answered.
Kennedy kept her focus on Ross as the president and Stokes exchanged pleasantries. Hayes extended his coffee mug and asked Kennedy to top him off. She picked up the pot and filled his mug.
“Sit,” Hayes said. “So what can I help you gentlemen with this morning? Let me guess. Someone wants a pardon.”
“You are very astute, Mr. President,” Ross said with a big smile.
Kennedy saw perspiration beginning to form on Ross’s forehead.
“Before we get to that, though, I would like to apologize to Irene.”
Kennedy wondered where the snake could possibly be going with this.
Ross looked directly across the table at her. “I was wrong to doubt you over an article written by a reporter with an obvious ax to grind.”
“Thank you,” Kennedy lied in her most congenial tone.
“And I have spoken to Josh, and he has agreed that it would be a good idea for you to stay on as director of the CIA for as long as you’d like.”
“That’s great news,” President Hayes said with genuine relief.
Kennedy watched Ross reach up and tug on his shirt collar. His forehead was really beginning to shine, just as Juarez had told her it would.
“Irene,” President Hayes said, “do you have anything you’d like to say?”
Kennedy had a lot she’d like to say, but she didn’t want to spoil her very well rehearsed plan. Continuing the charade, she said, “I would be honored to serve your administration, Vice President Ross.”
“Good,” Ross said as he tugged at his collar. He blinked once and gave his head a quick shake. “Now about this pardon business.” He shook his head again and rubbed his eyes. “We have managed to get everybody at Justice who matters to sign off on this thing, which will really help insulate you from any fallout.” Ross stopped abruptly and took in a deep breath.
“Are you feeling all right?” asked Hayes.
“I’m not sure.”
Kennedy seized her opportunity. She reached across the table and handed Ross her glass. “Here, have some water.”
Ross eagerly grabbed the glass and took several large gulps.
Kennedy watched with a kind of analytical detachment. Juarez had explained how it would work. The drug that she had dropped into his coffee was designed to increase heart rate and bring on nausea, but more importantly it was designed to mask the second drug. The one that she had slipped into her own water glass after taking several sips. Unknown to all but a few, the Secret Service had a tiny camera in the ceiling of the Oval Office. It was for security reasons. Everything was taped unless the president specifically asked for the system to be turned off. This morning Kennedy wanted it on.
Ross took a few more sips of water and then looked at the president. His breathing seemed labored. “I think it’s my heart. I have a bad heart.” Suddenly he seemed to wilt. The water glass dropped from his hands, tumbling to the carpeted floor and spilling.
The president was out of his chair, coming to Ross’s aid. He grabbed him by the shoulders.
Ross looked across at Kennedy. His breathing was really shallow. “No one knows. I have a bad heart.”
I do, Kennedy thought to herself without an ounce of guilt. She stood and moved quickly to the door, fully aware that she must keep up the proper appearance. She yanked it open and yelled, “We have a medical emergency! Get the doctor up here and grab the defibrillator!”
Kennedy hustled back to the sitting area. Ross was slumped forward in Hayes’s arms. “Let’s get him on the floor,” Kennedy yelled as she grabbed the end of the coffee
table and dragged it from between the two couches.
Hayes and Stokes grabbed Ross and laid him on the floor. Kennedy picked up the fallen water glass and stood over the vice president–elect for a moment until she was forced to back away as the first agents arrived. The room was filling up with people fast. Kennedy looked over and saw Carl standing in the doorway that led to the president’s private dining room. Special Agent Warch appeared at his side just as they had planned. He pointed at the coffee table and said something to Carl. The fastidious Navy steward hurried over to the table and began clearing the dishes as more and more bodies piled into the room. With a steady hand Kennedy set the water glass on Carl’s tray and walked around the couch on the left to retrieve her purse. The doctor arrived a half minute later and yelled for everyone to clear the room. Kennedy took one last look at Ross’s pale face and left the Oval Office.
55
LANGLEY, VIRGINIA
R app stood in front of Kennedy’s desk. He was wearing the same clothes that he’d had on in Geneva. He was exhausted and in desperate need of sleep, but he was even more desperate to find out just how in the hell Mark Ross ended up dead in the Oval Office. They’d landed shortly after 10:00 a.m., when one of the mechanics at the hangar told them about Ross. Rapp tried for close to an hour to get ahold of Kennedy but she wouldn’t pick up. Finally, one of her secretaries told him she was on her way back to Langley. Rapp made a beeline for CIA headquarters and found Kennedy sitting alone in her office, writing in a file.
“I see you didn’t bother to wait for me,” Rapp said.
Kennedy finished writing a note and closed the file. “Jose said we needed to handle this one with a deft touch.”
“What in the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Kennedy didn’t want to argue with him. “An opportunity presented itself.”
“I see that. A fucking heart attack in the Oval Office. Whoever pulled that one off has got a gigantic set of balls.”
Kennedy took off her reading glasses and leaned back in her chair.
“What did you guys do, poison him?”
She nodded.
“Jose likes that sneaky stuff. I heard on the radio that he had some heart problem that ran in the family.”
“Yes. A reporter uncovered it during the campaign, but I already knew about it.”
“How?”
“When he applied here after college he wanted Operations.”
“Doesn’t everyone.”
“He failed his physical. They discovered that he had mitral valve prolapse.”
“What in the hell is that?”
“Basically a heart murmur.”
“So who the hell poisoned him? Jose?”
Kennedy looked at Rapp for a long moment and calmly said, “I did.”
Rapp couldn’t speak at first. He stood there dumbfounded. Eventually he whispered, “You poisoned him?”
“Yes.”
“Are you all right?”
She nodded. “I’m fine.”
Rapp studied her. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. You should also know that I had to bring Jack Warch, Maria Rivera, and Skip in on it.”
Rapp thought about it for a second and said, “You needed their help.”
“Yes.”
“What about an autopsy?”
“With the existing heart condition Skip doesn’t think Ross’s wife will ask for one. Plus the Secret Service has the whole thing on tape. Warch already looked at it. He says there’s nothing suspicious.”
“What if the widow wants an autopsy?”
“Rivera planted some Viagra in Ross’s shaving kit this morning. One of the poisons was also heavily laced with the drug.”
Rapp looked skeptical.
“Politicians’ wives know how to keep things quiet. He wasn’t sleeping with her, so she’s going to assume he was using the Viagra with other women. Trust me, she will not want to open that can of worms.”
“What if she does?”
“Jose says even if they do an autopsy, this stuff won’t show up on a toxicology report.”
Rapp considered how she was handling all of this. Some people could kill and go through life as if nothing had happened. For Rapp it depended on whom he killed. He was happy to get the chance to kill Green and Gordievsky. Proud that they were no longer part of the human race. The two bodyguards he was less excited about. They were foot soldiers who had chosen the wrong side, that was all, and he felt no pride in killing them.
“So you’re okay?” Rapp asked.
“I wasn’t sure how I’d handle it, but so far so good. The man had to be dealt with, and putting him on trial was not a good option.”
“I agree.” Rapp looked away from Kennedy, feeling slightly awkward. He would have never guessed that she had it in her.
Almost as if she could read his mind Kennedy said, “You know, Mitch, this morning wasn’t that big of a stretch for me.”
“What do you mean?”
“All the times I’ve ordered you to kill. It’s really not all that different than slipping some poison in a man’s drink.”
Rapp saw her point. “You don’t get your hands dirty, but you’re involved.”
“I got them a little dirtier than I would have preferred this morning,” she said wryly.
Rapp smiled. “I’m proud of you. You did a good job. You executed a traitor this morning. Ross chose his path. You have any problem sleeping, just think of those nineteen people who were killed last October. Ross got exactly what he deserved.”
“That’s good advice. Thank you.”
Rapp covered his mouth and yawned. “God, I need to get some sleep.”
“Why don’t you go home? You look tired.”
Rapp looked at his watch and shook the sleep from his head. “How long do I have to wait before I kill Garret?”
“I think at least a year.”
“Come on,” Rapp’s voice was full of disappointment.
“Mitch.”
“A year is a long time.”
“Think of it this way. Word will eventually get out that Green and Gordievsky are missing. With Ross’s sudden departure Garret is bound to get a little paranoid.”
“Probably just the opposite. Knowing Garret, he’s halfway to Los Angeles by now, all smug, thinking he’s the luckiest man on the planet. I can’t wait to be the one to tell him he’s not.”
“Mitch,” Kennedy cautioned, “stay away from him until I say the time is right.”
“Fine, but we are going to kill him, aren’t we?”
“Yes, we are.”
Table of Contents
1
WASHINGTON, DC
JANUARY
2
3
LIMASSOL, CYPRUS
4
ZERMATT, SWITZERLAND
5
LIMASSOL, CYPRUS
6
ZERMATT, SWITZERLAND
7
LIMASSOL, CYPRUS
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
WASHINGTON, DC
17
41,000 FEET, NORTH ATLANTIC
18
19
OVAL OFFICE, WASHINGTON, DC
20
41,000 FEET, NORTH ATLANTIC
21
22
BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
23
DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
24
WASHINGTON, DC
25
CIA HEADQUARTERS, LANGLEY, VIRGINIA
26
WASHINGTON, DC
27
LANGLEY, VIRGINIA
28
WASHINGTON, DC
29
LANGLEY, VIRGINIA
30
WASHINGTON, DC
31
32
33
GENEVA, SWITZE
RLAND
34
WASHINGTON, DC
35
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
36
WASHINGTON, DC
37
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
38
WASHINGTON, DC
39
LANGLEY, VIRGINIA
40
41
WASHINGTON, DC
42
LANGLEY, VIRGINIA
43
WASHINGTON, DC
44
45
WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON, DC
46
WILLARD HOTEL, WASHINGTON, DC
47
POTOMAC PALISADES, WASHINGTON, DC
48
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
49
50
51
52
53
54
WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON, DC
55
LANGLEY, VIRGINIA
Table of Contents
1
WASHINGTON, DC
JANUARY
2
3
LIMASSOL, CYPRUS
4
ZERMATT, SWITZERLAND
5
LIMASSOL, CYPRUS
6
ZERMATT, SWITZERLAND
7
LIMASSOL, CYPRUS
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
WASHINGTON, DC
17
41,000 FEET, NORTH ATLANTIC
18
19
OVAL OFFICE, WASHINGTON, DC
20
41,000 FEET, NORTH ATLANTIC
21
22
BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
23
DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
24
WASHINGTON, DC
25
CIA HEADQUARTERS, LANGLEY, VIRGINIA