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O'Rourke rated his decision to tell Coleman the identity of his betrayer as one of the worst in his life. Roughly a year after telling him about Senator Fitzgerald's role in the disaster, O'Rourke awoke to the startling news that Fitzgerald had been assassinated along with two other prominent Washington politicians. In the bloodbath that played itself out over the next week, more people were killed, including Senator Olson and the president's national security advisor. The most damaging piece of information was that O'Rourke's grandfather had been directly involved with Coleman and his team of disgruntled former Navy SEALs. He had funded their mini-revolution and helped them plan it.
Congressman O'Rourke had been assured by Director Stansfield that the involvement of Scott Coleman and Seamus O'Rourke would never be made public. Not even President Hayes or his predecessor, President Stevens, knew the whole story.
O'Rourke decided that the best way to handle Ke
«Of course.»
«Do you know that she dates Mitch Rapp?»
«If you say so.»
«Come on, Irene. Don't play these games with me. I need an answer.»
«I'm not playing games with you, Michael. You refused to answer my question.»
«What question?» asked O'Rourke with a frown.
Calmly, Ke
«I don't see what Mitch Rapp has to do with my grandfather.»
Ke
«Yeah… yeah… I know. I've heard it all before, but this is different. You can trust me.»
«Can I?» asked Ke
«You know you can. You have a gun to my head. If you wanted to, you could end my career tomorrow.»
«Something tells me you wouldn't mind that, Michael.»
«Yeah, well, you might be right, but you're still the one holding the gun. Maybe you should put me out of my misery. It'd give me a good excuse to get out of this town.»
«Don't say that. I have no desire to cause you any harm. We need more people like you on the Hill.»
O'Rourke ignored the compliment, not sure if it was sincere or self-serving. «Here's my problem, Irene. My wife's best friend is A
Ke
«Michael, all I can tell you is that your secret is safe with me.»
«The hell it is,» replied O'Rourke with a bit of an edge to his voice. «How did Mitch Rapp find out about it, then?»
«I can look into that if you'd like.»
«Come on, Irene.» O'Rourke was mad. «You can better than that, and if you can't, you're not going to like my next move.»
«And what would that be?»
«I'll call my contacts at me FBI, the NSA, and Pentagon, and I'll have them do a little digging. I'll call your deputy director of Admin and have him rattle some cages. Hell, I might even call a very unconventional asset Israel and ask him to see what he can come up with.»
Ke
«That's not good enough.»
«I'm afraid it's going to have to be.»
«No, it isn't.» O'Rourke leaned forward. «I want to know how in the hell he knows about Seamus, Scott, and myself.»
Ke
28
It took Gus Villaume less than two hours to decide on a course of action. Despite Mario's death, he felt almost himself again. There was a chance that Iron Man was working for the Professor, but Villaume doubted it. The assassin he had seen operate in Paris could not tolerate a man as amateurish as the Professor. No, Villaume had decided, Iron Man wanted the Professor as much or even more than he did.
And what sweet justice it would be to point Iron Man in the direction of that phony, smug double-crosser. If the man was as co
Villaume caught the city bus on New York Avenue and 11th Street near the convention center and found a seat near the back. He counted seven other riders. Rush hour wouldn't start for another hour. When the bus started moving, Villaume punched in the number. After three rings, a deep voice said hello.
«Iron Man?»
«Yes.»
«Do you have something to write with?»
«Yes.»
Villaume hunched over and spoke in a soft tone. «The man's called the Professor. He's about five eleven, and I'd guess he weighs around two thirty. Hazel eyes, black hair and beard… probably around fifty, give or take a couple of years. I'd guess from his accent that he grew up around D.C. Probably on the Virginia side but definitely not as far south as Richmond.»
«What else?»
«I've got a number.» Villaume gave Rapp the number he used to contact the Professor.
«Anything else?»
Villaume thought about it for a second. «Up until Colorado, I would have guessed that he had never got his hands dirty before, but he insisted on taking them out himself.»
There was a moment of hesitation on the other end. «From how far?»
«About two hundred meters. He had a really unique piece of hardware.»
«What was it?»
Villaume looked up. No one was paying any attention to him. «A Stoner SR-25.»
«Anything else?»
«Unfortunately, no.»
«Come on. You can do better than this!»
«I'm sorry, but it's all I've got for you. Believe me, I wish I knew more.»
«How am I going to get hold of you?»
«You aren't going to.»
«Come on, Gus, I need your help.»
«I'm sorry, but I need to disappear for a while.»