Rapp nodded. Steven was a financial genius who hadn’t made a mathematical error since he was seven years old. And as an added bonus, he liked his big brother and would be disappointed to see him made into hamburger patties.
“Mitch, I still think we should bring Irene in on this. With her power and experience we could be much more thorough.”
“No. She’d shut us down the minute she heard the plan. And even if she didn’t, she’d be obligated to tell the president. With everything that’s going on in Washington, I don’t trust him. We’ll hold her in reserve. Nothing we do is going to fool her. She’ll know what’s going on and she’ll be there for us if we need her.”
“What about Scott and his men? We need them to get talk going in the spec ops rumor mill.”
“No problem. Tell them whatever you need to.”
Coleman and his boys were one hundred percent loyal and none of them gave a flying fuck about what was going on in Washington. They’d gun down everyone in Congress before they left him hanging.
“Even if everything goes right, Mitch . . .” Her voice faltered.
“It’ll be fine. All I have to do is be convincing.”
When she came back on she spoke so softly he could barely make out her words. “Not too convincing, though, right, Mitch? Not too convincing.”
CHAPTER 24
THE CAPITOL COMPLEX
WASHINGTON, D.C.
USA
“IF I didn’t know better, I’d think there was a god,” Senator Christine Barnett said.
Her campaign manager looked up at her with a deep frown.
“What?” she said.
“I’ve warned you about this before, Senator. . . . If you ever slip and someone records you—”
“It wouldn’t matter.”
“You’re not bulletproof.”
“Pull your head out of your ass, Kevin. I hired you for your cynicism and now you’re finding Jesus on me?”
“I’m not finding Jesus. But there are people out there who have. And you need their votes.”
She smirked and started pacing around her office again. “You’re thirty-five years old and already living in the past. The American people don’t give a shit about God. They don’t care about the environment or the deficit or health care. And they couldn’t find Iraq or Yemen on a map.”
“What do they care about?” Gray said coldly.
“Should it worry me that I’m having to tell you?”
“Anytime you think you can find someone better, I’ll be happy to step down.”
Barnett was always on the lookout, but the truth was that there wasn’t anyone even close. She wasn’t sure if that spoke to Gray’s brilliance or the fact that everyone else out there was a drooling idiot, but at this point it didn’t matter.
“What they want—what they thirst for—is to hurt the people they hate. They don’t want a politician droning on about unemployment. They want a general. They want to blindly follow someone who can provide them an enemy and lead them to victory against that enemy. Someone who can give their lives purpose.” She leaned back against her desk and glared down at him. “If you spend your time and my money finding ways to help people, we’re going to lose this election. But if you can find me ways to inflict damage, we’re going to run away with it.”
“And you think making anthrax your signature issue is the right weapon?”
“I’m not sure yet. It has potential, but like all good weapons it’s dangerous if you don’t use it right.” She smiled, recalling yesterday’s meeting. “You should have seen Irene Kennedy. She was sweating bullets. And Alexander just looked lost. He’s done and just wants to avoid any fireworks on the way out. The DEA head, though . . .”
“Woodman?” Gray said.
She nodded. “He doesn’t seem stupid. We should be reaching out to him and letting him know there’s a place for him in my administration if he plays ball.”
“Agreed. I’ll take care of it.”
“The question is whether we leak the fact that the anthrax made it across the border. Then we’d have a clear message: Sayid Halabi isn’t bluffing and we can’t keep counting on blind luck and NASA. Next time this administration lets someone stroll over the border with a bioweapon, people are going to die.”
“I’d advise caution, Senator. If that leak were ever traced back to you—”
“Then we’d have to make sure that doesn’t happen. It’s not the first time we’ve leaked something and it’s never been tracked back to us before.”
“What about the fact that we’d be jeopardizing an ongoing terrorism investigation? ISIS will pull back if they know we’re onto