“But Rapp played them,” Catherine said. “He captured their operative and used an ambulance to bring him back to the house for interrogation.”
“That’s the most logical conclusion,” Hargrave admitted. “But there wouldn’t be anything to learn. The way Legion operates creates a veil of secrecy that goes both ways.”
“It doesn’t really matter,” Catherine said. “Legion is likely buried under Rapp’s shed. We’re now at war with a man who’s no longer distracted by trying to protect his partner. What do you think, Darren? Should we dredge up another enemy from her past? One that Rapp hasn’t already killed, intimidated, or recruited? Third time’s the charm, right? Isn’t that what they say?”
“I don’t—”
“Where is Rapp now?” Cook said, cutting him off.
“On a commercial aircraft. He’ll be landing at the Entebbe airport in Uganda in less than an hour.”
“Can we get to him there?”
“No, sir. We don’t have sufficient assets on the ground and because of everything he’s done for the Ugandan government, he’s extremely well protected there. If the past is any indication, he’ll be escorted through passport control by the military and taken to a waiting helicopter that will then fly him to Nicholas Ward’s compound.”
“Where we’re even less likely to be able to get to him.”
“That’s correct, sir.”
“Then let’s get a back channel going to the Ugandan president. Ward can throw a lot of money around, but he’s not the United States. What does he want? Weapons? Access to world markets? Help making his political rivals disappear? There’s got to be something.”
“We’ll start working on him, sir.”
Hargrave felt a pang of desperation as Cook turned toward his wife.
“Thoughts?”
She raised an arm and pointed directly at Hargrave. “All of this was about one man. Darren. He needed Mitch Rapp to be a threat in order to push me out. To make you reliant on him. To make you love him. You’ve known who and what he is since we first met him. And despite that, you let him turn the tables on you. You went from being manipulator to the one being manipulated. At the first sign of a problem, you panicked. You allowed yourself to be led into an all-or-nothing scenario and you ended up with noth—”
“Manipulator?” Hargrave said. “What possible incentive do I have? All I’ve ever done is work to help Tony get to this place. And not for myself. For him! I don’t want to be president. Can you say the same?”
“Darren…” the president cautioned.
“No!” he shouted back, startling both of them. Catherine thought the man might physically attack her, but her husband didn’t seem to share her concern. Or he didn’t care.
“If Rapp succeeds, what do you care?” Hargrave continued. “You’ll be out of the White House for a few years and then you’ll ride Tony’s memory right back in. If he doesn’t get reelected, though, you have problems, don’t you? If I keep him safe inside these walls and he loses, you’re done. You’ll never sit behind that desk.”
“Safe inside these walls?” she shot back. “If he doesn’t get reelected three years from now, what happens then? He walks out the gate with a couple of token guards. He’ll be lucky to make it back to California. And even if he does, what happens to you, Darren? Have you thought about that? What will you have when Tony retires to the golf course? When he has no more use for you?”
“Enough!” Cook shouted, slamming both hands down on his desk and leaping to his feet. “I want answers and I want options. From both of you.” He sat again. “Now get out.”
Hargrave gave a jerky nod and hurried for the door while Catherine watched. When she returned her attention to her husband, he was staring directly at her.
“I meant both of you.”
CHAPTER 43
ABOVE SOUTHWESTERN UGANDA
RAPP put a jacket on but refused to retreat farther inside the chopper. He remained in his favored spot on the floor, legs hanging through the open door and taking a beating from rotor wash. To the west he could see the mountaintop that was home to Nicholas Ward’s compound, but for now, he ignored it. Instead he looked toward Lake Edward and the scattered clouds beyond.
This would likely be his last visit to Uganda for a long time. Maybe forever. At this point it was hard to predict what his future held. In Washington, the shit was unquestionably hitting the fan. By now that prick Darren Hargrave would be offering the president of Uganda economic aid, cutting-edge military equipment, and maybe even his daughters in order to get the man to betray Nick Ward. And when that was done, he’d offer the same and more to MI6, the Mossad, SVR, and any other intelligence agency willing to join the hunt.