Executive Power

Rapp knew she was probably right, but it didn't mean he had to like it. If the Philippines had proved anything to him, it was that he wasn't ready to call it quits. Somehow he would have to sort all this out before another assignment came up, or he would make the same mistakes.

A

"Rapp speaking." He listened for a moment and then said, "Jesus Christ. You can't be serious." After listening again for a few seconds he said, "All right. I'll be there as soon as I can," and then hung up the phone.

"What is it?" asked A

"Someone just assassinated the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN."

FIFTY ONE.

The last train for Washington D.C. left Pe

After leaving the armory, David had calmly walked back to the Sheraton Hotel on Seventh Avenue, just a few blocks south of the Park.

He had chosen the hotel for its proximity to the theater district, the main hub of tourist activity for New York. With so many visitors from all over America, and the rest of the world, it was effortless to come and go u

Once up in his room David had sanitized the rifle one last time even though he had never touched the weapon without wearing gloves. Each piece was placed individually in large green garbage bags, wrapped tightly and then packed in the outside compartments of his wheeled suitcase. At 8:30 he left the hotel without bothering to check out. The room was under a credit card and would be billed automatically.

He'd spied several construction Dumpsters on 52nd Street earlier in the day and he headed west in search of them.

As he approached the first Dumpster he checked to see who was about and then casually unzipped one of the outer compartments of the black wheeled case. When he passed under the scaffolding that protected pedestrians from falling debris he found himself alone. David hurriedly threw two of the plastic bags into the cavernous receptacle.

A moment later he found himself standing next to the second Dumpster.

Quickly he chucked the other two bags up and over the side, where they landed with a thud at the bottom.

David continued west and caught a cab on Ninth Avenue. He placed his suitcase in the trunk and then settled into the cramped backseat.

The cabbie asked him where to and was visibly disappointed when David told him Pe

David settled in for the short ride and ignored the recorded voice of some celebrity he'd never heard of telling him to buckle his seat belt.

The easy part was over. Now he had to go to Washington and execute the most difficult aspect of his plan.

FIFTY TWO.

Mitch Rapp had seen the President in various states of anger, but this morning he appeared to be especially upset.

Michael Haik, the President's National Security Advisor, had put out the word. President Hayes wanted everyone at the White House by 7:00 A.M. sharp. Ke

The large conference table in the Cabinet Room was surrounded by brown leather chairs, each of them exactly alike with the exception of one. The President's chair had a higher back and was placed in the middle of the table so that he was the focus of attention. This morning, with his strained face and clenched jaw, he was very much the center of attention. Bloodshed in the Middle East was one thing, it wasn't good, it wasn't acceptable, but it wasn't a surprise either. The assassination of a foreign Ambassador in New York City along with two of his bodyguards was absolutely shocking and unacceptable.

President Hayes listened to FBI Director Roach relay the facts surrounding the assassination of the Ambassador. When Roach was done the President tapped his pen on a legal pad for a few seconds and then asked in a very disappointed tone, "That's all we know?"

Director Roach, the consummate professional, looked back at the President stoically and admitted, "For now, that's all we have, sir."

In an unusually testy tone Hayes replied, "I learned that much reading the Post this morning." Dismissing the FBI director with a shake of his head, Hayes looked one person over to Roach's boss, Attorney General Richard Lloyd.

"Dick, I want this case solved, and I want it solved in a timely ma

The President then shifted his gaze back in the other direction and settled on Irene Ke

Hayes kept his eyes fixed on Ke

"What have the Israelis had to say about this?"

Ke

"Sir, Director General Freidman denies categorically that Mossad had a hand in what happened last night."

The President looked doubtful.

"Why should I believe him?"

The question could be answered in many ways, none of them good. Freidman had wasted what little trust the President had in him, and Ke

"I don't think Mossad would risk doing something this brazen."

"And why's that?" asked Hayes.

"Simple cost-benefit, sir. Killing Ambassador Ali gains them very little and as we are sure to see as the day progresses… it will cost them greatly in the international community."

"That line of reasoning would work if they actually gave a rat's ass what the international community thought, but as we saw with the attack on Hebron over the weekend… I'm not so sure they much care what the rest of the world thinks."

Valerie Jones nodded.

"I would agree."

Several other people seconded her opinion. Secretary of State Beatrice Berg, however, dissented.

"I don't see it that way. They might think very little of the UN, but they certainly care what we think."

The President immediately turned his attention back to Ke

"Everyone here is familiar with what Israel says took place in Hebron over the weekend, correct?" All the attendees nodded. Hayes turned his gaze on Ke