Vince Flynn - Act of Treason

“I suppose you guys will want to take this from me.” Rapp’s eyes darted back and forth between the two men. Both of them were frozen by the sight of the knife. Neither saw the pistol. Rapp fired from the hip. Two shots in under one second. The man in the chair was hit in the exact middle of his forehead. The man standing was hit just under his right eyebrow. He took one step forward and started to fall. Rapp moved quickly to try to break his fall. With the knife still in his right hand he reached out and tried to slow the man just enough to keep him from hitting the floor too hard. The guy thudded to his knees and then fell onto his left side. Rapp put one more in each guy’s head and stuffed the knife back in his pocket.

“Let’s go.” Rapp grabbed the back of Speyer ’s coat and propelled him down the hall.

They made it to the big living room and turned left. Everything was exactly as Speyer said it would be. The double doors to the library and billiard room were straight ahead. Rapp could see shadows and hear voices. He drove Speyer forward, keeping him where he could see him. They reached the doorway. The room ran to the right. Rapp turned Speyer that way and then continued straight so he could gain a full field of fire. He was more exposed than he would have liked, but he didn’t want Speyer making some unpredictable move that might screw up a shot.

Gordievsky was at the far end of the table getting ready to break, his bald head shining from the overhead light. His mouth started to form a word, but the sound never made it out. The bullet hit him in the top of his forehead, forming a red dot the size of a dime. Gordievsky’s knees gave way, and his chin slid down and bounced off the end of the table. Just like that he was gone. Green stood on the far side of the table, both hands gripping his cue, the tip in front of his chin. All his weight was back and his posture slouched. Here was a man who paid others to do his dirty work.

Green looked at Rapp and without blinking said, “Whatever they’re paying you, I’ll double it.”

Rapp laughed and said, “I’m not for sale. This is courtesy of the U.S. government, you piece of shit.” Rapp squeezed off a round. It struck Green right between his eyes and the billionaire fell over with pool cue in hand. Rapp walked over to him and put three more rounds into the right center of his chest.

Rapp pressed the transmit button and said, “Everything is secure up here. I’ll send the elevator down. Remember, we want all the garbage packed up and out of here within an hour.”

The banker’s face was white and he was shaking uncontrollably. Rapp walked over to him and said, “Let this be a lesson, Joseph. As long as you’re honest with me, and you don’t do anything to harm me or my country, this will never happen to you. But so help me god, if you fuck me over just once, you’ll end up just like these greedy assholes.”

Kennedy clutched her purse in one hand and the President’s Daily Brief in the other. She’d lost count how many times she’d delivered the PDB to President Hayes, but it probably averaged out to four days a week for the past two years. The PDB was essentially a highly classified newspaper that was prepared by the CIA’s Office of Current Production and Analytical Support. President Hayes read the document every morning, as well as several newspapers.

Kennedy stopped outside the president’s private dining room and smiled at the Secret Service agent standing post. The director of the CIA had not slept well, and it had absolutely nothing to do with Rapp. By the time she went to bed, he was at the airport preparing to take off. Green’s penthouse had been scrubbed clean and the bodies disposed of. She had other things on her mind. Everything had to work perfectly or she could make an already pathetic situation worse. The hardest part had been placing her trust in several individuals. Individuals who carried badges and had sworn an oath to uphold the law and protect and defend the constitution. What she had to offer them was justice. There was no doubt about it. The alternative was to go public and watch America descend into suspicion and chaos.

Kennedy knocked on the door once and entered. President Hayes was sitting at his private dining table. He was in a white dress shirt and tie, reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. As always he had his four newspapers: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, andUSA Today. Each paper was folded in quarters, two on the left and two on the right. Carl, the president’s Navy steward, arranged them just so, every morning.

“Irene,” the president said, rising slowly, “I think this is going to be one of the things I’ll miss most about this job.”

Irene could hear someone working in the pantry right around the corner. “You mean Carl’s cooking?”

The president laughed. “What’s so hard about a bowl of blueberries and half a grapefruit?”

Carl came around the corner with a plate in hand and said, “It is not my fault you have turned into a health nut.” He set the plate down in-between the president’s perfectly folded newspapers. Then, ignoring the commander in chief, he turned to Kennedy and in a much nicer tone asked, “How are you doing this morning, Director Kennedy?”

“Fine, Carl, and you?”

“Counting the minutes until he is gone.” The Filipino steward jerked his head toward Hayes.

“It won’t be the same, will it?”

“Yes, very sad. I remember once I had an abscessed tooth pulled. I was equally upset to see it go.”

The president laughed. He loved ribbing and being ribbed by Carl.

“What would you like to eat this morning?” Carl asked Kennedy. “And please don’t order the other half of his grapefruit.”

That was exactly what Kennedy had been about to do, but she didn’t want to disappoint Carl. “How about an omelet?”

“The best you have ever had.”

Carl disappeared down the hall and into the pantry. Kennedy turned to face the president. She handed him the PDB.

Hayes took it, and held it for a second. Then looking at Kennedy he said, “I’ve never been one to live life with regrets. Even more so since the Parkinson’s.”

“It is one of your most admirable qualities, sir.”

“Well, as Carl said, the minutes are ticking away, and they’ve got me running crazy today so I don’t want to forget to tell you how much you’ve meant to me.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I mean it, Irene. You have given me nothing but wise and measured council during some very difficult times. I’m going to miss having breakfast with you every morning.” Hayes opened his arms and gave Kennedy a big hug.

When they parted she said, “I’ll have to visit you in Ohio. Maybe I can bring Carl.”

They both laughed while they took their seats at the table. Carl brought Kennedy some tea and refilled the president’s coffee. The president skimmed the PDB, but his heart wasn’t in it. With a little more than a day left in office there wasn’t much he could do. Besides, there was something else on his mind.

“So, you’re sure it was Ross and Garret who planted that smear piece with theTimes?”

“Yes,” Kennedy said with absolute confidence.

“He called late yesterday.”

“Who?” Kennedy asked even though she knew.

“Ross. He said he’d like to bury the hatchet with me.”

“That’s good?”

“I don’t trust him.”

“You should follow your instincts.”

Hayes looked out the window with a troubled expression.

“What does he want to talk about?”

“A pardon of some sort.” Hayes turned his attention back to Kennedy and said, “And you.”