Consent To Kill_ A Thriller Part 38

"You're a busy man, Mark. I didn't want to bother you."

"Not a good move."

Kennedy shrugged.

Ross was visibly irritated by her casual att.i.tude. "Do you have any idea the problems you've caused today? The Swiss foreign minister called Beatrice this morning," Ross pointed to the Secretary of State, "and raised holy h.e.l.l over your unannounced visit."

"What did he want?"

"He wanted to know what in the h.e.l.l you were doing in his country meeting privately with five of his top bankers."

Attorney General Stokes leaned forward. "I have a major case pending in front of the Swiss courts right now. We have been working on it for years. So help me G.o.d, if you've screwed it up, you and I are going to have some big problems."

Stokes was clearly upset. Kennedy figured he and Ross had been feeding off of each other's anger. They were the two career politicians, and next to the vice president the two men who would more than likely run for president at some point. Kennedy found it interesting that Secretary of State Berg was sitting out the first round.

"Do you know what happened in Riyadh today?" Ross asked.

"Yes."

"Do you know anything about it?"

"That's a pretty open-ended question."

"Do you know who was responsible?"

"Maybe."

"Would you care to share?"

"No."

"Dammit, Irene," Ross snapped, "do you think this is some game?" Ross flipped open a folder he had on the coffee table. There was a black and white, eight-by-ten surveillance photo inside. "This was sent to me by Prince Muhammad."

Ross spun the photo around so Kennedy could see it. There was a man dressed in traditional Saudi garb walking down a street. Someone had drawn a red circle around him. His arm was extended and he was flipping the surveillance camera the bird. The photo was pretty grainy. Kennedy studied it. He was about the right size, but other than that it was impossible to tell who it was.

"Any idea who that is?"

Kennedy shook her head.

Ross angrily tossed another photo her way. This one showed two men about to embrace. "The man on the left is Waheed Ahmed Abdullah. I a.s.sume you know who he is, at least?"

Kennedy nodded.

"Why did we tell the Saudi government that he was dead six months ago?"

"Is this the same Waheed Ahmed Abdullah who was a top lieutenant for al-Qaeda?" Kennedy's tone was one of false confusion. "The same Waheed Ahmed Abdullah that helped finance and plan a terrorist attack earlier this year? An attack that involved smuggling two nuclear weapons into this country?" She studied the photo. "The same Waheed Ahmed Abdullah who wanted to vaporize Washington, DC, and New York City?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"And you didn't answer mine. Have you read the file on Waheed?"

"I don't need to. I want to know why we're lying to one of our staunchest allies."

"If you think Saudi Arabia is one of our staunchest allies, I humbly suggest that you offer your resignation to the president immediately."

Ross's face flushed with anger. "And I suggest you watch your step, Dr. Kennedy. You are on very thin ice." Ross glanced at the president once again, as if to say, I told you so. He looked back at Kennedy and asked, "Where is Mitch Rapp?"

"I don't know."

"You're lying," barked Ross as he stabbed his finger at the first surveillance photo. "That's him right there. What did we tell you? There was a right way to handle this and a wrong way. Having a vigilante on the loose setting off bombs in Saudi Arabia is most definitely the wrong way."

Kennedy grabbed the third and last surveillance photo. She held it up for Ross and the others. "Who is this man right here? The one Waheed is about to hug?"

"That is Saeed Ahmed Abdullah," Ross answered angrily. "Waheed's father and one of Prince Muhammad bin Rashid's closest friends."

"Really," Kennedy said with feigned surprise. Ross had just put his nuts on the chopping block. She opened her own folder and displayed a series of financial transactions. "Is this the same Saeed Ahmed Abdullah who earlier this month paid a former East German Stasi officer twenty million dollars to have Mitch Rapp killed?" Kennedy let the multiple sheets spill forth onto the coffee table. "I'm pretty sure we're talking about the same guy."

Ross, Berg, and Stokes all leaned forward to take a page.

Kennedy looked to the president. "The bankers were actually quite cooperative. Several of them told me in the future they would prefer to handle things this way rather than waging these public battles in the courts." Kennedy turned to Attorney General Stokes. "Battles that take a lot of time, resources, and money. By the time we get the information we're after, the money has all been moved and the information is so old it is all but useless."

Stokes was about to offer a lame protest, but Kennedy cut him off. "The information I was given today is generating other results. My cyber people have begun looking into other Swiss accounts used by Saeed Ahmed Abdullah. In just eight hours' time we have identified over one hundred million dollars that he has given to al-Qaeda and other terrorist accounts in the past year alone."

"One hundred million dollars," was all Attorney General Stokes could think to say.

"Beatrice," Kennedy said to Secretary of State Berg, "the next time you talk to the Swiss foreign minister tell him that I will pa.s.s on his complaint to Mitch Rapp. Tell him that Mitch would be more than happy to fly to Bern and sit down with any Swiss official and listen to them explain why they feel it is so important to protect the confidentiality of terrorists like Waheed and his father."

"And, Mark," Kennedy said to Ross, "when you had breakfast with Prince Muhammad bin Rashid the other day, did you happen to mention that Mitch Rapp was still alive?"

Ross started shaking his head before he had time to think about the question.

"You didn't say anything about him convalescing at a CIA safe house?" Kennedy acted like she had some proof, but in truth she was operating off of a hunch.

"I didn't talk to him about anything like that."

"Well, when you speak with him again, ask him if he knew his closest friend took out a twenty-million-dollar bounty on my top counterterrorism official. And while you're at it, ask him how he feels about Saeed Ahmed Abdullah giving over a hundred million dollars to terrorist organizations in the last year."

"Are you trying to say he's involved in this?"

Kennedy shook her head and stood. "Not yet, but trust me, the man is rotten. He is no ally of ours." Kennedy picked up her folder. "The next time you talk to him, tell him that I have a feeling he had a hand in this somehow, and that if I can prove it, he can expect a visit from Mitch Rapp." Kennedy started for the door.

"Wait a second." Ross shot up out of his chair. "We're not finished here."

Kennedy paused and looked over her shoulder with utter confidence. "Yes, we are. I'm exhausted. While the three of you were busy trying to appease questionable allies, I flew halfway around the world and accomplished in one morning what a hundred lawyers from the Justice Department and another hundred State Department officials have been trying to do for the past two years. I'm going home, and I'm going to bed."

"Stop," Ross said. "You need to bring him in."

"Sorry...can't do it. He's out of my control."

"That's a lie! You don't want to bring him in."

Kennedy stopped with her hand on the doork.n.o.b. She turned slowly and said, "Mark, Mitch Rapp has done more to secure this country against terrorism than everyone in this room combined, and if you ask the president he will tell you the same thing. Maybe you should start helping him or at a bare minimum get out of his way."

"The man is reckless, Irene. He needs to be brought under control."

"Good luck...but while you're at it you might want to think about whether or not you want to be on Mitch Rapp's bad side."

"Is that a threat?"

Kennedy shrugged. "It's a fact. They killed his wife. There's no controlling him. He's going to kill anyone who had anything to do with this and if he finds out that you're siding with the Saudis while we have clear evidence that Saeed paid twenty million dollars to have him killed...well...let's just say I wouldn't want to be on your security detail."

Kennedy opened the door and left.

70.

N o one moved. Ross stood like a statue in front of the couch and just in front of the president. His cheeks were red and his fists balled up tight. He blinked several times, as he struggled with whether or not to take Irene's threat seriously. o one moved. Ross stood like a statue in front of the couch and just in front of the president. His cheeks were red and his fists balled up tight. He blinked several times, as he struggled with whether or not to take Irene's threat seriously.

"She just threatened me! She can't do that."

Everyone in the room had a law degree. Such was the state of politics. Attorney General Stokes, however, was the only one who had seen the inside of a courtroom. He shook his head and said, "She gave you an opinion as to what Rapp might do. It wasn't a threat."

That was not the answer or support that Ross expected from his friend. He turned to the president and said, "I can't work with her anymore. Something has to be done."

"Sit down, Mark." President Hayes crossed his legs and looked at his newest Cabinet member. The onset of his illness had given Hayes cause to become more reflective. Gone was his yearning desire to drive and shape the debate. It had been replaced by a tactic that he found far more productive. He would sit back and listen. Let the monumental egos of his advisors battle it out. Over the last forty-eight hours he had come to the conclusion that Ross was in fact the wrong man for the job, but replacing him was pretty much a nonstarter. A man like Ross would not go quietly. He would leak to the press like a sieve. He would make it his personal mission to destroy Kennedy. She didn't deserve that, and Hayes didn't want her distracted. Her job was too important. It was time to rein in the egos and remind them who they worked for.

Hayes cleared his throat and said, "I'd like to be very clear on something. If it wasn't for Mitch Rapp, I believe this city would have been destroyed by a nuclear explosion six months ago. That means pretty much everybody in this room would have been killed." Hayes took a moment to make eye contact with each person. "The lengths to which he went to stop that terrorist attack..." Hayes shook his head and his voice trailed off. "You don't even want to know what he had to do, but let's just say it wasn't pretty. We owe the man our lives, and that is no small thing."

"I know that, but..."

The president held up his hand and in a firm voice said to Ross, "Don't interrupt me. All of us are either elected or appointed. That means our time in our particular position is limited. Cabinet members last on average about three years. Presidents and VPs, we get four, and we're really lucky if we get eight. People like Kennedy and Rapp, they've devoted their entire lives to the war on terror. They were fighting it before most of us even knew there was a war." Hayes paused and folded his hands over his knee. "I for one think they deserve our support on this one."

"But, Bob," Ross said, "it's more complicated than that. We have alliances and relationships that are at stake here. We cannot have an employee of the CIA running around blowing people up."

"We can't?" Hayes asked provocatively, with an arched brow.

"No!" answered an appalled Ross.

Hayes sized up Ross while he slowly nodded his head. He stopped, pursed his lips, and said, "Do you know what I think....I think we are the United States of America and we need to start acting like it."

The three Cabinet members stared back at him not sure what to say. The vice president knew better than to speak.

"If the Saudis want to make an issue out of this, they will lose. Mark, I want you to call Prince Rashid, and tell him that I'm extremely upset. You may tell him exactly what Irene said. If we find that he had any knowledge of his friend placing a bounty on one of my top counterterrorism people, I will personally sign the executive order that authorizes his a.s.sa.s.sination."

"Mr. President," said an uneasy secretary of state, "he is a member of the royal family. The king would be extremely upset."

"The king hates his half brother," the president said with a frown. "He knows Rashid would love nothing more than to become king and undo everything he has worked for. I will call the king myself and discuss the situation. I will guarantee by tomorrow all of this will be a nonissue."

Hayes stood and b.u.t.toned his coat. Everyone jumped to their feet, Ross a little slower than the rest, Hayes noticed.

"Mark, do you have a problem with any of this?"

"No, sir," he replied without enthusiasm.

"Good. And, Bea," Hayes said to his secretary of state, "when you talk to the Swiss foreign minister, tell him I appreciate his cooperation on this issue. If he persists in raising a stink, tell him I'm going to make it my personal goal in life to call every billionaire I know and tell them to divest any holdings they have in the Swiss banking industry."

The secretary of state swallowed hard and nodded.

Hayes walked over to his desk and checked his appointment book. He glanced up. No one had moved. He picked up the handset of his secure phone and said, "If you'll excuse me, I need to make a call to the king."

71.

VIENNA, AUSTRIA.

I t was Tuesday morning, and the surveillance team had been in place for a little less than twenty-four hours. So far there was no sign of Erich Abel. They'd spent most of Monday trying to get a better feel for just who the man was and watching the apartment. That's what they were best at-waiting and watching, and of course not being noticed. They obtained an updated photo off his driver's registration as well as twelve years of driving history. Not a single ticket or parking violation in all that time, which said a lot about the man. They ran his credit report and found out where he banked in Vienna, and what credit cards he used. The credit cards were checked for activity and to no one's surprise they hadn't been used in nearly two weeks. They checked phone records, for the apartment, the office, and any mobile phones they could link to him. Back at Langley a team of specialists were poring over the numbers he'd called, trying to connect them to a company or a person. There were a lot of Saudis on the list. t was Tuesday morning, and the surveillance team had been in place for a little less than twenty-four hours. So far there was no sign of Erich Abel. They'd spent most of Monday trying to get a better feel for just who the man was and watching the apartment. That's what they were best at-waiting and watching, and of course not being noticed. They obtained an updated photo off his driver's registration as well as twelve years of driving history. Not a single ticket or parking violation in all that time, which said a lot about the man. They ran his credit report and found out where he banked in Vienna, and what credit cards he used. The credit cards were checked for activity and to no one's surprise they hadn't been used in nearly two weeks. They checked phone records, for the apartment, the office, and any mobile phones they could link to him. Back at Langley a team of specialists were poring over the numbers he'd called, trying to connect them to a company or a person. There were a lot of Saudis on the list.

Late Monday afternoon they'd sent a man into the apartment. It was a nice building that fronted Stadt Park just south of old Vienna's inner ring, no more than a mile from his office. There were fifty-two units in the building. It didn't totally reek of money, but it was definitely high-end. There was a doorman and security cameras, so they had to be creative. They sent two agents through the front door posing as a couple. They were lost, and looking for an old friend who they thought lived in the building. Thirty seconds into the charade the male agent remembered the correct name of the building they were looking for. A name that just happened to sound like this one, but was in fact the name of a building three blocks away. When the doorman stepped outside to point them in the right direction, two men with a lock pick went through the back door.

They didn't bother planting bugs to start with. Abel had gone underground, and it was highly unlikely that he would be returning anytime soon. This was an information grab. The agents spent nine hours going through every square inch of the two-bedroom apartment. They took nothing, but photographed anything that might be of consequence; old address books, handwritten notes, files, and photographs. Then everything was downloaded onto a laptop and relayed to the team for immediate a.n.a.lysis. They opened every book and leafed through them page by page. Every appliance was pulled out and inspected, every sc.r.a.p of food, dry, frozen, or refrigerated, was checked to make sure it was real. Then they went room by room checking the floor, walls, and ceiling for hidden compartments.

They'd done this many times before. Where and how a person lived said a lot about them. These agents, in their fifteen plus years with the CIA, had rarely seen a place so clean, so organized, and so sanitized. There was no doubt about it, this Abel was a professional with obsessive-compulsive tendencies. They'd suspected thirty minutes into the sweep that they wouldn't find any bombsh.e.l.l. Subjects like this were too cautious to keep the important stuff at home. They used safe deposit boxes, or other offsite storage that would be hard to link to them. Shortly past midnight one of them left through the front door while the other stayed and planted a few bugs just in case. He waited twenty minutes and also left through the front door. There was a new doorman on duty. He would think they'd been visiting one of the owners.

Rapp, Coleman, and the guys got to the hotel a little before eleven in the evening. The drive from Riyadh to Qatar had been uneventful. The plane had been waiting, fueled, and ready to go. They were wheels up by six in the evening and on their way to Vienna. Through a fronted travel agency that was actually owned by the CIA six separate rooms had been booked at the Europa. The two connecting rooms were held under a single reservation and were being used as the command post. The other four rooms were under separate bookings that coincided with the fake pa.s.sports used by the surveillance team. These rooms were used for sleeping.

Milt Johnson was the team leader. Now in his sixties, he was no longer an in-house employee of the CIA. He was a civilian contractor, which for him was just fine, because it meant he collected his full pension plus a salary that was thirty percent more than what he'd made during his last year. Milt typically ran his team in three eight-hour shifts, or two twelve-hour shifts to start with. If things got really hairy, which they usually did, he needed his people rested, because he would have to put them all into the field. The tricks of Milt's craft were fairly standard. They rented the most common cars they could find in the host country, they kept them filled with gas at all times, and he always had at least one man on a scooter or motorcycle. Unless the situation called for it, he never hired people who were too tall or too short, or too pretty or too handsome. His people carried things like reversible jackets, hats, and sungla.s.ses or clear eyegla.s.ses. He always had a makeup artist on hand and he never let his people drink coffee. Coffee meant bathroom breaks and too many bathroom breaks could lead to losing the target. Milt knew firsthand because he'd blown a major surveillance operation one time.

It had been during the mid-seventies, and the United States had had a mole in the Berlin emba.s.sy. Milt was part of a team that had zeroed in on the deputy amba.s.sador. He was on the night shift all by himself, drinking coffee like a fiend so he could stay awake. Every hour on the hour he was getting out of the car and ducking into the alley to relieve himself. In the morning, the deputy amba.s.sador was gone, and Milt was left having to explain how the man had slipped out from under his nose. He hadn't had a cup of coffee since.

Milt had worked with Rapp a lot over the years, but until just a few years ago he'd never known his real name. He'd read about the explosion at the house and the death of Rapp's wife. He had been very sorry about it. When Rapp arrived in the hotel room with Coleman, Milt casually took Rapp by the elbow and led him into the connecting room. The rooms were sizable and elegant. It was a turn-of-the-previous-century hotel that had either been kept up remarkably well or completely renovated. There were two double beds, an antique desk, and a ma.s.sive armoire that doubled as an entertainment center, dresser, and in-room refrigerator.

Milt closed the connecting door and said to Rapp in a somber voice, "I'm very sorry about your wife."

Rapp nodded. He appreciated the sentiment, but didn't want to talk about it. "Thanks, Milt. I appreciate you getting on this so quick."

Milt nodded. He was four inches shorter than Rapp and had gray wispy hair that had receded at least a quarter of the way back from its youthful starting point. "We'll find this guy. Don't worry."

"Anything so far?"