Vince Flynn: Consent To Kill

Coleman called him up straight away, introduced himself, and gave the commando his military credentials. Higsby had heard of him. By the tone of his voice, Coleman got the idea that this was not good. Coleman saw no point in bullshitting the guy, so he came straight out and asked him if he was in Spain. The dead silence on the line said it all.

"Granada," Coleman said.

The man still didn't answer.

"We need to meet," Coleman told him. "Face to face. As soon as possible."

"Why?"

"You ever heard of a guy named Mitch Rapp?"

"Most certainly. I was just given a picture of him and told to shoot him on sight."

"How do you feel about that?"

"Wasn't exactly thrilled. It was dropped on me after I took the job."

"Well…like I said. We need to meet. I think we can help each other out."

They agreed on a place in the Albaicin neighborhood and set a time.

Rapp had been watching them for the better part of an hour and was starting to get frustrated. It appeared to be going well, but enough already. Finally, the two shook hands, and Coleman got up and walked down the street. Rapp watched the Brit head the other way. Coleman got in the van and gave Rapp the thumbs-up.

"It's all taken care of."

"It was that easy?" Rapp asked, surprised.

"Higsby had read about your wife. He offers his condolences."

Rapp started the car and said nothing.

"He received a call on Monday and was offered fifty thousand to do five days of security. He's got an eight-man team, and Rashid sent a plane for them. The job was five days in southern Spain babysitting some Saudi billionaire. He takes ten grand off the top and the rest of them get five grand apiece for what they thought was going to be a cakewalk. Then they got here and the head of Rashid's security detail showed them a picture of you and told them to shoot you on sight."

"How'd they like that?" Rapp asked as he pulled out into traffic.

"They didn't. Some of these guys have served over in the sandbox, and they've had friends killed by Saudi suicide bombers. They consider you an ally and Rashid the enemy. Higsby told me he practically had a mutiny on his hands."

"So did he agree to play ball?"

"Yeah, he was a little worried about what this might do to his reputation. None of us like to lose a protectee. It's not exactly good for business."

"Did you offer him the cash?" Rapp was referring to the money they'd taken from Abel's Alpine house.

"One hundred thousand euros. Plus I told him I'd make sure the U.S. government sent some contracts his way. I'll leave it up to you to tell Irene."

Rapp nodded. "No problem. I'll take care of it. What's the plan?"

"He's eating dinner tonight with the mayor. Up at the house. Seven o'clock. Higsby said he went to bed at nine last night so he doesn't expect him to stay up late." Coleman unfolded a piece of paper. "He gave me a layout of the place and showed me where he sleeps. He also offered a uniform."

"Good." Rapp stared straight ahead. "I'll go in alone as soon as the mayor leaves."

They sat and waited. They watched the mayor arrive, or at least they assumed it was him. Who else would travel with a local police escort? The cars pulled up to the main gate just before seven in the evening, just as the sun was disappearing and the light was fading. The temperature began to drop like a stone. They knew it would be a while so they got something to eat and went over the plan one more time. All the gear was stowed and Hackett was sent to the airport to get the plane ready in case they needed to make a hasty departure.

The mayor left shortly after nine, and they roused Tayyib from his drug-induced slumber. He'd already been cleaned up, and put in a fresh set of clothes and a new suit. His blindfold remained on and he was placed in the back of the van with Stroble. Rapp sat in the front passenger seat. Rapp had shaved his beard and cut his thick black hair down to a bristly flattop. He was wearing blue coveralls and a beret. The same as Higsby and his men. Coleman and Stroble were dressed in the same manner.

Rapp turned around and looked at Tayyib as the van wound its way through the narrow streets. He didn't look too bad considering what he'd been through, but most of his wounds were covered by his clothes. In addition to the shattered right elbow and the nerve damage done to his right foot, Rapp had also sliced all the tendons on Tayyib's left wrist, rendering his hand useless, and leaving him with only one fully operational limb-his left leg. People reacted differently to drugs and this guy was pretty big. If he came out of it too quick, Rapp didn't want to have to wrestle with him.

Coleman pulled over before reaching the road that led to the hilltop estate. He pulled out his mobile phone and called Higsby. The Brit answered and Coleman listened to him for fifteen seconds and then said, "We'll be right there."

Coleman hung up and looked at Rapp. "He's praying."

"Good. Let's go."

They'd gone over it all in the plan. There was a small mosque on the property, located closer to the main gate than the residence. Rashid had anywhere from three to six of his own bodyguards near him at all times. Rapp hoped they were all with him. It would make things easier.

"What about the bodyguards?"

"Three of them are standing outside the mosque. The other three he's not sure about."

Rapp frowned. He turned around and looked at Stroble, silently communicating that it was Stroble's job to make sure the other three bodyguards didn't show up unexpectedly. Stroble nodded. They'd gone over it all in the permission briefing. Wicker was already on site. He'd scaled one of the perimeter walls and had slithered onto the rooftop of the tallest building. From his perch he could cover the entire length of the inner courtyard that led from the main gate to the three-story main house.

The engine groaned as the van continued up the steep hill. Suddenly, Higsby and one of his men were visible in their headlights standing in front of the main gate. Coleman pulled over and turned off the van. Everyone got out, including Tayyib, who practically had to be carried, which was just fine. Stroble got under one arm and Coleman the other. Rapp led the way past Higsby and his man without a word.

The three of them plus Tayyib went through the main gate and took the walkway to the left. Up ahead on the left side of the open-air court Rapp sighted three men in suits. They were all smoking.

Rapp headed straight for them, stopped ten feet away, and in his best British accent said, "This man just showed up at the main gate asking to see Prince Muhammad. He said his name is Nawaf Tayyib."

The men froze for a moment, their cigarettes dangling in their mouths.

"He keeps saying that the Malik al-Mawt is here." Angel of death. "The man named Mitch Rapp that you spoke of."

One cigarette fell to the ground and the other two were thrown. All three men grabbed their guns. Two of them ran forward to grab Tayyib, and the third went into the small mosque to get Rashid. The blindfold was yanked from Tayyib's eyes and he howled in pain as one of the men grabbed him by his right elbow.

Coleman and Stroble were already retreating, their silenced MP-5 submachine guns aimed down but gripped firmly in both hands. Rapp had only his silenced 9mm Glock and a knife, which were both still holstered. He too began to retreat. His whole plan could fall apart any second and if that happened, the shooting would start and Higsby and his men would be forced to answer some very difficult questions.

Rapp started to step back. One of the men holding Tayyib got on a radio and started yelling in Arabic. Rapp took another step back slowly. Tayyib was trying to talk. Rapp heard his own name mentioned. Five seconds later three men burst through a door on the opposite side of the court and dashed across a path lined with sculpted cypress trees.