Separation of Power

Rapp shook Coleman's hand and said, "Thanks for helping out. Be really careful with her, Scott. She's frightened right now and you know what frightened animals do."

Coleman nodded. "Do I need to worry about her taking off?"

After thinking about it, Rapp said, "No. As long as she feels safe, she'll stay put."

"We'll have to make sure she stays safe, then."

"Where are you taking her?"

"Eastern shore of the bay. Irene has all the info."

It was just like the old SEAL to pick a spot on the Chesapeake. Rapp held up his phone. "You've got the number for this, right?"

"Yep."

"All right, call me if you need anything."

"Don't worry, Mitch. I won't let anything happen to her."

Rapp slapped Coleman on the arm and said, "I know you won't."

He walked with Ke

"She's fine. She stayed at the Four Seasons last night." Before leaving Italy, Rapp had asked Ke

"She left the hotel and went to the Duomo." Ke

Rapp dropped his head into his hands. He did not like to hear that she was in pain, but at least she still cared enough to cry.

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

He shook his head slowly.

"I think you might have to."

"Why?"

"I need to know what she knows."

"Irene, A

"I disagree, but my real concern is what Ben Freidman will do when he discovers his men have gone missing."

Rapp thought of the three dead bodies in Donatella's apartment. "Did you get that taken care of?" "I've been told it's no longer a problem." Ke

Rapp thought he would too, but was reluctant to put any pressure on her. She had said some very hurtful things, and although they were spoken in the heat of the moment, they all had a ring of truth to them. In a solemn voice he said, "I can't ask her to come back."

"Why?"

"I don't want to get into it."

"Is there anything I need to know?"

Rapp shook his head.

"What happened between you and A

"I don't want to talk about it."

Ke

That I wanted to ask her to marry me. That I wanted to get out of this shitty thankless job before it sucked all normalcy from me. I was thinking all of that and much more, thought Rapp. He couldn't say it to Ke

Embarrassed that his personal life had interfered with his professional life, Rapp was determined to put an end to this line. of discussion and get down to business. "I don't want to talk about A

"Well, I would like to know--" Rapp cut her off. "I said I'm not going to talk about it, Irene. I made some bad decisions. It's over. Let's move on."

Rapp's words gave Ke

"That's exactly what I mean."

Rapp replied with an intensity that told Ke

CHAPTER THIRTY.

The Pentagon, Friday morning

General Flood's office was located in the E Ring of the Pentagon on the second floor. He'd arrived at work well before sunup. He didn't usually come in so early, but the Iraqi problem was weighing heavily on his mind. The President had made it very clear that he wanted to keep a tight lid on the recent developments with Iraq. If Saddam got even the slightest whiff that they were on to him the nukes would be moved, and their chances of ever finding them would vanish. This presented one hell of a problem for General Flood and his people. How do you prepare to wage war without telling your own people? In this regard Saddam had done the U. S. military a great service. He had provided them with the best peacetime live-fire training ground the U. S. had ever seen.

Since the end of the Gulf War the U. S. military's Southern Command had kept a very active presence in the region. Most notably they enforced the northern and southern "no fly zones." On a lesser note, the army and Marine Corps regularly conducted exercises in the deserts of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

On the clandestine front, the air force and navy conducted almost nonstop photographic and electronic aerial surveillance of Saddam's kingdom. In addition to the military intelligence that was gathered, the National Security Agency and the National Reco

Back on the ground a full time contingent of Delta Force commandos and Green Berets had been added to the region. They trained regularly with the Special Air Service, Britain's elite commando unit. The American and British commando units had made a habit of ignoring the Iraqi border and ru

It was all part of a coordinated strategy, to keep the U. S. troops sharp and the enemy wary. The men ma

In essence. Flood did not need to let a half million American troops in on the secret. All he needed to do was tell the Joint Chiefs that the President wanted options. That Saddam had once again pissed off President Hayes. None of this was unusual. Since the Gulf War a single year hadn't passed without some type of military action being leveled against Baghdad's Bad Man. Flood could tell the Southern Command that he wanted them to put together a comprehensive bombing plan, and he would have a preliminary report on his desk within the hour. The whole force would be ready to strike in a day or less. General Flood wielded a mighty stick.