“Excuse me?” Rapp said, not certain he had heard her right.

“I’m going to give up the Judiciary Committee in exchange for the Intel Committee, if they’ll have me.”

Rapp and Nash were shocked. There wasn’t a senator they could think of that wouldn’t kill to join the Judiciary Committee. “Why would you do that?” Nash asked.

“Call it penance.” Lonsdale half smiled. She saw the look of concern on their faces, so she quickly added, “Don’t worry. I’ve seen the light. As I already said, I was wrong.”

Rapp shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he stared at Lonsdale. “You’ve seen the light?”

“Yes.”

“May I ask about the extent of your conversion?” Rapp inquired.

Lonsdale took a few seconds to consider and then said, “I want you to hunt this Karim and these other two men down, and anyone else who helped him, for that matter, and I want you to kill them.”

“Kill them?” Nash said, not quite believing his ears.

“That’s right. I don’t want to know how you do it… just do it.”

“Kill them.” Nash said again.

“Yes.”

“You don’t mean bring them to trial?”

Lonsdale looked directly at Nash and said, “I mean, kill them. I think we would all be better off if you saved us from a circus trial.”

“And your colleagues?” Rapp asked.

“I have spoken to a handful of the ones who matter. The really important ones are on the Intel Committee. I will make sure you have all the money you need. Anything you ask for, I’ll get it.”

“Senator, you’ll have to excuse me,” Rapp said in his wry tone. “I’ve been doing this for a number of years. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that as the political winds shift in this town, people tend to lose their appetite for stuff like this.”

Lonsdale gave him a curt nod. “Director Kennedy told me to expect this from you. So… as much as I might someday regret this, I have prepared a letter.” Lonsdale slipped her hand into her jacket and retrieved an off-white envelope. She handed it to Rapp and said, “Please put that in a safe place and show it to no one other than Mr. Nash and Director Kennedy.”

Rapp held it in his hands and asked, “What does it say?”

“In short… it says that I offer you and Mr. Nash my full support to use whatever means you deem necessary to hunt down and kill this Karim fellow and his associates. Legally speaking, it offers you no protection.”

Rapp held it up and said, “But it assures your support.”

“And demise, should I fail to protect you from my more politically motivated colleagues. I am offering you cover, gentlemen. I am promising that I will do everything in my power to aid you in bringing these men to justice. And should you fail… I will still protect you.”

Rapp looked at Nash and the two men shared a confident nod. Turning back to Senator Lonsdale, Rapp said, “Senator, we will not fail.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

TO Emily Bestler, my editor, and Sloan Harris, my agent, for your wise council and friendship. To David Brown, for your ideas and humor. To Judith Curr and Louise Burke, for your vision and commitment; I couldn’t be happier that I’m staying put for four more books. To Ian Chapman, Kate Lyall-Grant, and the rest of the Simon amp; Schuster UK family, thank you for the great strides you’ve made in the last few years. To Laura Stern, Kristyn Keene, Niki Castle, and Allie Green, thank you for putting up with me. To Jamie Kimmers, we’re going to miss you. To Ron Bernstein at ICM for sticking with me and selling the movie rights to the Mitch Rapp franchise.

To Paul Evancoe, a fellow author, friend, and a great patriot, for his spot-on advice. To Dr. Jodi Bakkegard, for once again keeping me in line. To Dorothy Wallner, for being so good to my family. And to my wonderful wife, Lysa, who has kept things together during a very hectic year. You’re the best.