carelessness met with the girl’s disapproval. Car accidents earned him admonishments about seat belts. Falls down stairs brought on scolding about proper lighting and sensible shoes. Now he was going to get the vaccine lecture.
“Maybe I need to start going to class with you,” he said, thankful that the microphone made his voice sound stronger than it really was.
“You’re older than my teacher! Can you play a game, Mitch? We brought an Xbox and they said they’d hook it up, but it might take a few days because of the Internet and stuff.”
“Sure.”
“What do you want to play?”
“How about one of those zombie games?”
“You always want to play the shooters because you always win!”
“This could be your year.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Let’s not badger Mitch, okay, sweetie? He isn’t feeling well and he’s always nice to you when you’re sick.”
“Okay,” she said, sounding a little guilty. Her eyes disappeared as she dropped from her tiptoes, leaving only the top of her head visible.
A long silence stretched out as Claudia stared through the glass. She’d never seen him like this and it appeared to terrify her. He’d have said something to reassure her but he was still recovering from his extended conversation with Anna.
“Scott’s here to see you. Should I tell him no? That you need to rest?”
Rapp shook his head. “I’m okay.”
“Irene said she’d come tomorrow, when you’re feeling a little stronger. She’s working on a project she says you’re going to like.” Claudia patted her daughter’s head. “Say good-bye.”
“Bye, Mitch! I’ll tell them to hurry with that Xbox!”
They disappeared and were quickly replaced by the slightly sunburned face of Scott Coleman. He’d been in a similar hospital bed after his run-in with Grisha Azarov and he seemed to be enjoying the tables being turned.
“You look like shit.”
“Fuck you. How are the guys?”
“Good. Wick’s just down the hall bouncing off the walls. He didn’t catch it, but they want to keep him for another week to make sure. Mas made it over the border and he’s home with a broken hand and a dislocated shoulder. Bruno’s still in Mexican prison, but the diplomats say they’ll spring him in the next couple of days. Doesn’t really matter. The head of the most powerful gang there died in a freak drowning accident involving a toilet and Bruno’s hands around his throat. Word is he’s pretty much running the place.”
Rapp just nodded as a broad grin spread across Coleman’s face.
“He was there, you know.”
“Who was where?”
“We tracked those calls from Halabi to somewhere near Hargeisa. They’d been holed up in a cave system there. By the time we found it they’d already taken off, but we had heavy overhead coverage and the Agency guys were able to run the timeline backward and piece together their movements from satellite photos. It wasn’t easy. The weather was crap and the convoy kept breaking up and reforming.
“Is this story going somewhere?”
Coleman’s grin widened further and he slapped a color eight-by-ten against the glass. The lighting was garish, a powerful flash in the darkness that illuminated a bearded man with part of his head missing. Rapp lifted himself off the pillows, forgetting the lines attached to him and locking on the image of Sayid Halabi.
“Don’t worry,” Coleman said. “I told him it was from you.”
EPILOGUE
ARLINGTON
VIRGINIA
USA
CHRISTINE Barnett used a key to unlock the office she kept in the southern wing of her Georgetown home. It was her private sanctum—a place that even her husband was prohibited from entering on the rare occasion he was in town. And now she needed it more than ever.
Barnett had barely slept in weeks, instead lying in bed hovering somewhere between dream and reality. Endless scenarios, dangers, and opportunities raced through her mind. The faces of allies and enemies floated in the darkness. She had lost control of her universe for the first time in her career and didn’t know how to get it back.
Over the past weeks her poll numbers had plummeted enough to put her in a dead heat with her nearest primary challenger. Dramatic video of Mitch Rapp fighting his way across the border and then being surrounded by the army was still on every channel. The homeland security agencies she’d spent so much time railing against were now being deified by the American public.
Suddenly heroism and patriotism were generating better ratings than personal attacks and partisanship. The rage and negativity that she’d used to fuel her rise through the political ranks was faltering. The American people were looking for something new.