Page 67

“It could be, but I’m not so sure.” Stansfield was speaking with a slight lisp. He was back on the morphine.
“Secretary Midleton has never been a big fan of the Agency,” added Kennedy.
Stansfield looked over at Coleman. “What do you think, Scott?”
The former Navy SEAL thought it over and then said, “We don’t have enough information.”
“We rarely do in this business,” said Rapp.
“I’ve gone back and looked at the map of that area where the cell tower is located.” Coleman shook his head. “The State Department isn’t the only organization around there that has a beef with the CIA.”
“True, but they are the strongest candidate,” Stansfield said.
“We need to find out who this Professor is.” Coleman looked from Stansfield to Rapp. “He is the key to this whole thing.”
“I agree, but he’s not answering his phone, and right now that’s the only link we have to him.”
“How is Marcus coming along with the search through the State Department files?” Kennedy asked.
“We looked at photos for almost three hours tonight,” said Coleman. “And we came up blank. When we’re finished here, I’m going to go back to look at more.”
“This is the key,” said Stansfield. “You have to keep looking for this Professor. He has to have a past. People don’t just fall into this line of work with no prior experience.” Everyone nodded in agreement.
“What about Secretary Midleton?” asked Rapp. “From the get-go, he was sticking his nose in this thing.” Rapp looked at Kennedy. “He called you the very next day after I hit Hagenmiller and wanted to know if the CIA had any involvement. Isn’t that jumping the gun just a bit?”
“That’s why I don’t think it’s him,” Stansfield said.
“Why?”
“Because it’s too obvious. Charles Midleton is a very subtle person. If he knew the real facts behind what had happened in Germany, he would not have been so eager to call Irene.”
“I don’t know. There’s something about the man I don’t trust.”
A rare smile creased Stansfield’s face. It must have been the morphine. “Mitchell, how many people do you trust?”
Rapp smiled. “Not many.”
“Exactly. That is why you are still alive, despite multiple attempts on your life.” Stansfield paused for a moment, then looked at Coleman and back to Rapp. “I want you two to do whatever it takes to find out who this Professor is, and then you must take him alive. If need be, we’ll have Dr. Hornig go to work on him.”
Rapp grimaced at the thought of getting Dr. Hornig involved. The woman was a complete sadist, skilled in the art of physical and mental torture. “You’re setting no boundaries for us.”
“There are always boundaries, Mitchell. Just use your best judgment, get results, and don’t get caught.”
“I might have to turn Marcus loose inside the NSA’s computer system.” Rapp checked to see how Kennedy was reacting to this piece of news.
Kennedy looked less than pleased, but before she could respond, Stansfield said, “Just make sure he doesn’t get caught. There is more at stake here than I fear any of you realize. No offense, Mitchell, but you were not their end game. Whoever is behind all of this has much bigger plans.”
“What do you think they’re after?”
Stansfield looked into the fire. “I’m not sure yet, but I’m beginning to see a few things…a few possibilities.” Looking back to Rapp, he said, “You two need to get moving, but before you go, there is one more thing we need to discuss. I want both of you to go pay Congressman O’Rourke a visit. It appears that you sent him an e-mail, Mitchell, that has him a little upset.” Stansfield looked at Kennedy.
The director of the Counterterrorism Center turned to Rapp. “Why didn’t you tell me about the e-mail?”
Rapp shrugged. “I didn’t think it was important.”
“Congressman O’Rourke is very important to me,” Stansfield said. “And it is my hope that in my absence, he will be very useful to Irene.”
“I don’t see what the problem is.”