So now, instead of tolerating her mental problems, he was feeding them. But what choice did he have? Legion was still out there and the wheels were falling off this operation at an ever-increasing rate. The more Sadie transformed into Claudia, the more afraid Bebe became of her. To the point that she’d actually cut back on her relentless cleaning in favor of sequestering herself in her room.
And they weren’t the only problem. A critical skill for staying alive in this business was being able to honestly evaluate your own psychological condition. His was deteriorating. He was cooped up here with no idea when or from what direction Legion was going to attack and trying to manage two teammates who were far from the squared-away operators who normally backed him up. He occasionally found himself lying awake at night, fantasizing about Legion succeeding. With Sadie dead, the job would be done and he, Claudia, and Anna could disappear into a new life and identity. Obviously, the Cook issue would still be hanging out there, but he’d burn that bridge when he got to it.
How twisted was that? While Sadie might not care much about whether she lived or died, he had an obligation to every member of his team. Crazy or not, Sadie was his responsibility. Why was he having to remind himself of that? He’d always worried about his body going, but maybe that wasn’t the problem. Maybe he was getting soft in the head.
Rapp dropped off the bar, turning reluctantly. The afternoon feeding was done and Sadie was looking right at him.
“You seem lost in thought, Mitch.”
“Do I?”
She nodded. “What about?”
“My back,” he lied.
At first, his imaginary bad back had been a joke that they’d both more or less been in on—a way to clarify that their relationship was all business without putting too fine a point on it. Now, though, it had taken its place in the alternate reality they were spinning.
“Still bothering you?”
“Yeah. I’ve been laying off it, but I think it’s getting worse.”
“You should let me rub it for you.”
“Thanks, but it’s a disk. Won’t help. If it doesn’t get better soon, I might try a cycle of prednisone. But that’s a last resort. I’ve popped way too many of those in my lifetime.”
He reached for the bar and made a show of using it to stretch his spine. She walked behind him and wrapped her arms around his stomach, leaning a cheek against his back. He’d been ready for it and managed not to stiffen.
“You’re not as young as you used to be, Mitch. But you always bounce back. Once all this is over, you can finish getting in shape and do your big race. Anna can’t wait to stand by the side of the trail and cheer you on. Who knows, maybe one day you two will do it together.”
The phone he’d left on his workbench began to ring and she released him so he could pick up.
“Hello?” he said and then mouthed “Irene” as Sadie continued to stare enigmatically at him.
She broke into a smile and mouthed back, “Say hi.”
Rapp made a beeline for the door, the sense of relief surprisingly powerful as he exited into the yard. Kennedy still hadn’t said anything, though, and he thought he might have lost the connection.
“Irene? Are you there?”
“How exactly did you think that would be productive?” she said, undoubtedly referring to the little prank he’d had Joe Maslick pull.
“Not productive,” Rapp said. “Just fun.”
“You made the Secret Service drag him out of a public appearance. Why in God’s name would you throw gas on this fire, Mitch? Particularly in your current situation.”
“Too much slinking around, Irene. I don’t like it. Now everyone’s on the same page.”
“You just basically told him the war between you is back on.”
“It was never off. And not only that, he didn’t come after me, he came after Claudia. I won’t tolerate that kind of behavior.”
“Before we had some room to maneuver. Now we have nothing.”
“Maybe. But now Cook’s even more scared. And he’s all over TV looking like the punk we both know he is.”
“Are you sure you want him this scared? Are you sure you want the president of the United States backed into a corner?”
“Yeah, Irene. I do. And you know why? Because I’m scared and backed into a corner. I’m afraid I’ve missed something that’s going to get Sadie killed. I’m afraid Cook’s going to grow a pair and come after you and the guys individually. I’m afraid he’s going to decide his administration can deal with the blowback from vaporizing Nick’s compound. And there’s nothing I can do about any of that right now. But what I can do is make sure he feels my breath down the back of his fucking neck.”