Gould was keenly aware of the GPS tracker and followed the progress of the vehicle closely. When they were two miles away, Gould turned the device off and picked up the handheld remote for the switch. It was a small black device similar in looks and size to the keyless door remotes sold with cars. Gould was careful not to press the b.u.t.ton. He held the device gently in his right hand and focused on his breathing.

A short while later he heard a car approaching. He closed his eyes and listened intently. It had to be them. The noise grew and he looked to his left to get a glimpse of the vehicle but the woods were too thick. Gould held his position and waited. Patience was an integral part of any ambush. It would all be over in a minute as long as he held still. Rapp would walk in the house and he would die. No American would ever know he'd been here, and although they might suspect foul play, there would be no way to prove it. Rapp's enemies were terrorists, men who were not known for their subtle skills. What terrorist would ever go to the effort to make Rapp's death look like an accident? The answer was none. If it was a terrorist group, they would have driven a car bomb right through the front door and then called every media outlet available and taken credit for the death of Mitch Rapp. As much as they would hate the fact that their great counterterrorist operative had been killed by a gas explosion, a mere accident, the Americans would have no choice but to believe it, no matter the suspicions they harbored.

The car approached from the left and was almost even with his position when he got his first glimpse of it. The BMW slowed and then turned into the driveway. Gould caught a quick glimpse of Rapp's profile, and the hair on his arms rose. He forced himself to stay put for a little longer. He watched the car as it came to a stop in front of the garage and then rose up on one knee. Even though it was doubtful that Rapp would ever look in this direction, Gould was careful to keep most of his body behind a tree. The driver's side door opened first. Rapp's wife hopped out and Gould watched her with complete detachment. He'd already rationalized it away. She was well aware of who her husband was. She was what the Americans liked to call collateral damage. In the larger scope of the mission she was an acceptable loss. Gould had no doubt that Rapp would feel the same way if the roles were reversed.

Anna hurried around to the pa.s.senger side and opened the back door. She bent in and came out with a pair of crutches. The front door opened and a leg swung out. Gould tensed only slightly. Rapp grabbed the door frame and pulled himself from the car. The dog that had followed Gould around earlier came running up. They appeared to be more concerned with getting Rapp in the house than saying h.e.l.lo to the dog, so Gould couldn't tell if the dog was theirs or the neighbors'. Gould noted that Rapp didn't look very good. It was probably from the surgery. Rapp hopped on one leg, got the crutches right, and then the two of them started down the sidewalk. The dog followed them. They now had their backs to his position. Gould got to his feet and kept the poncho over his head and shoulders. He stayed in a crouch and began quietly working his way to the road. There were no other noises. No cars, only a few birds chirping.

He reached the edge of the woods as she slid the key into the door. Gould dropped the poncho and extended the small black handheld remote. He was ready to sprint across the street if the distance was too great. The door opened and she stepped in first. Rapp remained on the threshold for an excruciating second and then he followed her in. Gould pressed the remote and there was nothing. He pressed it again, and began walking across the road. He pointed the device toward the garage. Still nothing happened. Gould had reached the start of their driveway and he was about to press the b.u.t.ton yet again when he realized they had left the car door open. He paused for a split second and realized Rielly would have to come back out and close the door. His thumb remained poised above the b.u.t.ton. He heard Claudia's words, asking him to not harm the wife. Gould swore to himself.

Straight ahead there was no cover, only the openness of the driveway and their front lawn. To the left there were trees and a few bushes. Gould broke into a sprint and started counting. He knew the house door could remain open for easily a minute if not longer, but he wasn't going to wait anywhere near that long. He would give her ten seconds and that was all. When he reached the clump of light blue hydrangeas he was at five seconds and a good twenty feet closer to the house than where he'd tested it from this morning. It was then that Gould realized the weather had changed. The air was heavier. Instead of hiding behind the hydrangeas he started moving again and kept his eyes on the front door. At eight seconds he heard her voice from inside the house. His arm was still extended. When he finished his count he pressed the b.u.t.ton. At exactly the same moment she appeared in the doorway. Gould swore that for the briefest of moments they made eye contact, and then the explosion tore through the still afternoon air. An orange fireball burst from the house, sending gla.s.s, splintered wood, and Rapp's wife flying.

Gould dropped to a knee and buried his head between his arms. He wasn't overly worried about the first explosion. It was the big propane tank that gave him the greatest concern, and he was right. The second explosion, far more violent than the first, let loose a concussive blast that hit Gould with a heat wave that knocked him from his crouched position to the ground. Debris rained down all around him and he struggled to get to his feet. His gla.s.ses and bike helmet were still on but knocked askew. He straightened them and noticed a stinging sensation on his left arm. He looked down to find the hair on his forearm gone and his skin turning a bright pink. His ears were ringing, and he felt a bit disoriented. He remembered there was one thing left that he had to do. He ignored the pain and took a step toward the BMW. He wanted to get the bug and tracking device from the vehicle. He didn't make it more than a step. The vehicle was on fire. He hesitated for a second and a voice told him to get the h.e.l.l out of there.

Gould ran back into the woods, picking up the poncho and stuffing it in his backpack. He picked up the bike and hustled back to the road. Before coming out he looked both ways to see if anyone was coming. The street was still empty. He wheeled the bike up onto the road and looked at the house, or what little was left of it. The roof and most of the garage were gone. Trees were on fire, as was the BMW, and none of it showed any signs of slowing. Gould started pedaling. He swerved to miss a chunk of wood with shingles still attached. The entire lawn was littered with junk. Next to a tree about thirty feet from the front door Gould saw two legs sticking out beneath a pile of debris. She had been in the doorway when the blast occurred and that would have been about where she'd landed. Gould didn't give it much thought, but it was possible that she was still alive. The important thing now, though, was to get as far away from here as quickly as possible. The blast would have been heard for miles around and it was sure to attract people. Gould raised his b.u.t.t off the seat, put his head down, and started pedaling as fast as he could.

40.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

R app's eyes fluttered and then opened. He looked up at the faint light and the acoustic ceiling tiles. app's eyes fluttered and then opened. He looked up at the faint light and the acoustic ceiling tiles. Where the h.e.l.l am I? Where the h.e.l.l am I? he thought to himself. He tried to lift his head, but his body wouldn't cooperate with his brain. He lay there completely still for a long moment. Nothing made sense. Finally, with what seemed like a monumental effort he got his head to roll to the left. There was a window with the shades drawn. There was no light around the edges so he a.s.sumed it was nighttime. There was an empty chair and railing on the side of the bed. Things were looking vaguely familiar. He blinked and looked at his arm. An IV was inserted in the back of his hand. he thought to himself. He tried to lift his head, but his body wouldn't cooperate with his brain. He lay there completely still for a long moment. Nothing made sense. Finally, with what seemed like a monumental effort he got his head to roll to the left. There was a window with the shades drawn. There was no light around the edges so he a.s.sumed it was nighttime. There was an empty chair and railing on the side of the bed. Things were looking vaguely familiar. He blinked and looked at his arm. An IV was inserted in the back of his hand. I'm in a hospital. I'm in a hospital. He remembered his knee surgery and for a second everything made sense. Then an unsettling feeling of deja vu rolled over his body. Things weren't adding up. He'd already left the hospital. He remembered his knee surgery and for a second everything made sense. Then an unsettling feeling of deja vu rolled over his body. Things weren't adding up. He'd already left the hospital.

What in the h.e.l.l am I doing back here?

He rolled his head to the other side and saw that his right arm was in a cast. His brow furrowed. Nothing was making sense. He looked up at the door and something clicked. He had left the hospital. He remembered driving home with his wife. He remembered coming in the house and not feeling well. He remembered being on crutches and going for the back door, feeling that a little fresh air might help. He'd just gotten the door open and hopped onto the deck when he...he couldn't remember anything after that. Rapp looked up at the ceiling again, and wondered if he'd blacked out. He tried to lift his right arm to scratch his face, but it didn't cooperate. He remembered the cast. For a split second he thought he was paralyzed, and then he was able to wiggle his fingers.

I must have blacked out. It's the only thing that makes sense.

Rapp had never done well with drugs before. He went back to his last memory of standing on the deck, leaning against the railing and taking some gulps of air. There was no denying it; the fast food he had devoured was not helpful. Rapp thought of the steep stairs that led down to the dock and the crutches.

I must have lost my balance and fallen. That's how I broke my arm.

There was movement near the door, and Rapp turned his head to see who it was. Just that small effort sent pain screaming up his neck to his forehead. Rapp winced as his head began to throb. That pain led to the realization that more than just his head hurt. He took a deep breath and suddenly felt as if someone was sticking a knife into his side. A figure came through the door, but his eyes couldn't focus. He thought it was his wife for a second, but as the form stepped from the shadows into the faint circle of light that surrounded the bed, he realized it was Irene Kennedy. As she came closer, Rapp realized she'd been crying. It occurred to him that his injuries must be pretty serious.

She placed a hand on his cheek and said, "You had us worried there for a while."

"Where am I?" Rapp whispered.

"You're at Johns Hopkins."

A second person entered the room. It was a man Rapp did not recognize. "Where is Anna?"

Kennedy started to say something and then stopped. Her eyes filled with tears, and she said, "Mitch, there was an explosion."

"Where's Anna?" he asked in a much louder voice. Suddenly two more people entered the room. They were big guys wearing surgical scrubs. Rapp looked at Kennedy, panic in his eyes. The tears were now rolling down her cheeks and her bottom lip was trembling.

"Dammit!" he yelled. "Where is Anna?"

Kennedy lowered her eyes and said, "She was killed in the explosion."

Rapp's entire body tensed as he let loose an agonizing scream. With anger, shock, fear, and misery coursing through his body, he somehow managed to jerk himself halfway out of the bed before the two large orderlies and the doctor could wrestle him back down.

Kennedy had warned the doctor there was a good chance Rapp would need to be restrained when he came to. The doctor listed off the injuries: two broken ribs, a broken right arm, a deep contusion on the right thigh, a left knee that had just been operated on, and swelling on the back of the brain. He a.s.sured Kennedy that the patient wouldn't be going anywhere for some time.

As the orderlies held him down, the doctor jabbed a needle in his thigh and hit the plunger. After about ten seconds the fight was out of Rapp. The orderlies released him and took a step back. Rapp lay there motionless, staring up at the ceiling, a single tear moving slowly from the corner of his right eye and tracing a path down his cheek.

THERE WASN'T MUCH left of the house other than the reinforced steel door frames, the chimney, a small section of the staircase, and a few charred studs that jutted up from the smoking hulk of the first floor. The entire scene was illuminated with portable floodlights. Gas-powered electric generators hummed in the night air while firefighters picked through the rubble with axes and long crowbars. Skip McMahon surveyed the scene from the end of the driveway. He was a big man, over six feet tall and closer to 250 pounds than he was to 200. He'd been with the FBI thirty-five years and this one hit close to home. He knew both Rapp and his wife and liked them. Kennedy had called McMahon and asked him to treat the house as a potential crime scene even though the sheriff for Anne Arundel County was calling it an accidental explosion. left of the house other than the reinforced steel door frames, the chimney, a small section of the staircase, and a few charred studs that jutted up from the smoking hulk of the first floor. The entire scene was illuminated with portable floodlights. Gas-powered electric generators hummed in the night air while firefighters picked through the rubble with axes and long crowbars. Skip McMahon surveyed the scene from the end of the driveway. He was a big man, over six feet tall and closer to 250 pounds than he was to 200. He'd been with the FBI thirty-five years and this one hit close to home. He knew both Rapp and his wife and liked them. Kennedy had called McMahon and asked him to treat the house as a potential crime scene even though the sheriff for Anne Arundel County was calling it an accidental explosion.

Normally the FBI would have no jurisdiction over something like this, but Rapp was a federal agent, and if it turned out the explosion was intentional, they would take over the investigation. For now, though, McMahon and the agents he'd brought from the Washington Field Office were there to watch and try not to upset the apple cart. The Anne Arundel sheriff's department was well funded and professional. McMahon had worked with local law enforcement enough over the years to know that coming in and acting like you were hot s.h.i.t did nothing but aggravate an already difficult situation.

McMahon leaned against his government-issue sedan and took a swig of lukewarm coffee. The sheriff approached and stopped a few paces away. He knew the Anne Arundel County sheriff from the DC-Baltimore Joint Terrorism Task Force. The man started talking, and despite the fact that McMahon disagreed with him he listened patiently.

"I'm telling you, Skip, I know it's hard to believe, but we get one of these explosions every year or so. Usually no one's home, but it happens."

McMahon looked at the smoking pile of debris that was once Rapp's house. "Pat, I'm only going to say it one more time. Guys like Mitch Rapp don't get blown up by accident."

"And terrorists don't fake explosions. You said it yourself. They like machine guns, they like suicide bombers, they like headlines. They don't kill people and try to make it look like an accident."

McMahon had to admit he was having a hard time squaring this one glaring inconsistency. The sheriff was right; terrorists liked big explosions. That's what got them news coverage. McMahon didn't know a lot about the forensics of bombs, but so far the local experts were saying all evidence pointed to a propane explosion. McMahon wanted to be sure, so he'd put a call into headquarters and asked for them to send the bureau's forensic bomb people out here. They were the best in the world, and if they couldn't find anything, he doubted they could prove it wasn't an accident. If that was the case the FBI would pack up its bags and head back to DC. The only thing left to take care of would be the insurance.

"Has anyone taken credit for the explosion?" the sheriff asked.

McMahon shook his head. The agents back at the Joint Counterterrorism Center were monitoring all news outlets for mention of the attack. McMahon had been tempted to pa.s.s on what Kennedy had told him about the threat on Rapp's life that had come in the week before, but for now he decided to withhold the information. Investigations were always tricky when they involved multiple jurisdictions, but they were never more complicated than when they involved the CIA. For good reason, the CIA didn't like sharing its sources and methods. Especially when judges ordered them to hand such information over to lawyers who represented suspected terrorists.

The sheriff was hammering his point home to McMahon when one of his deputies came up. Two men in street clothes were following him.

"Boss," the deputy said to the sheriff, "these two guys say they're here to see a Special Agent McMahon."

The sheriff jerked his thumb toward McMahon. "Here he is."

"There's also a news van at the checkpoint."

"c.r.a.p," said the sheriff.

"It's the NBC affiliate from Baltimore," the deputy offered. "They know the wife died. They said the network sent them down to get some footage for a tribute they're going to run in the morning."

"What do you think?" the sheriff asked McMahon.

One of the men who had come up with the deputy looked at McMahon and shook his head. McMahon was not surprised that the man did not want cameras around. He looked over at the smoking house and turned to the deputy. "Tell them we're checking for gas leaks. It'll be about another hour."

The sheriff nodded his consent and the deputy left.

"Sheriff," said McMahon, "if you'll excuse me for a minute, I need to talk to these gentlemen."

"I'll go make sure the TV crew doesn't weasel their way in here."

"Good idea." When the sheriff was gone, McMahon looked at the two men. He knew the blond-haired man, but had never met the other guy. He could tell a great deal, though, by taking a quick inventory of him. He was wearing jeans, hiking boots, and a black Mountain Hard-wear fleece jacket. He had a large black rubber dive watch on his right wrist, his hair was dark and s.h.a.ggy, and although he was a good seventy-five pounds lighter than the FBI agent, McMahon had no doubt the little sc.r.a.pper could kill him without breaking a sweat. The guy was Special Forces from head to toe.

All of this was easy to surmise since he already knew for a fact that the other man had indeed been Special Forces. McMahon turned his attention back to the taller of the two. "Scott Coleman," he said, "I was about to say you're the last person I expected to see, but now that I think about it I should have expected you."

"Irene called me." The former SEAL was all business. "She wanted us to take a look around."

McMahon thought about that for a second. He wasn't so sure he agreed with the director of the CIA. "Who's your friend?"

Coleman started to answer, and then McMahon put his hand out and cut him off. "Never mind," the agent said. "I don't want to know. Do I?"

Coleman shrugged. "It wasn't like I was going to give you his real name."

McMahon shook his head and turned toward the house. "You ever been here before?"

Coleman nodded.

"I suppose you and Mitch are pretty tight."

"Yeah." Coleman looked at the other man he'd come with and made a slight gesture with his head. "You know what to look for."

The man looked each way down the road, nodded, and was gone.

"They're saying it's a gas explosion."

McMahon nodded. "Propane."

"Who?"

"The sheriff and the fire chief."

"Can I talk to the fire chief?"

"Sure, follow me." They walked roughly halfway down the driveway and found the county fire chief nudging a piece of debris with his boot. The man had gotten rid of his jacket, but he was still wearing his heavy boots, helmet, and fire-resistant overalls. McMahon made a quick introduction, telling the chief Coleman's first name and nothing more.

The fire chief started by pointing back toward the left side of the charred house. "We found some traces of an accelerant over there where the garage used to be and near where the propane tank used to sit."

McMahon gave the fire chief a quick "See, I told you so" look and said, "So it isn't an accident after all."

"I wouldn't say that."

"I thought you said you found traces of an accelerant."

"I did, but it's not unusual to find traces like that in and around the garage. I see he has a couple of boats, it's a pretty big yard to mow...I'm sure he stored gas in the garage. He may have even had one of those gas caddies with a long hose. They're real popular around here. You save about fifty cents a gallon if you buy it at a gas station rather than filling up at the marinas."

Coleman nodded.

"A gas caddie?" asked McMahon.

"Yeah...they're a cross between a two-wheeler and big gas can." The chief gestured with his hands to show McMahon the approximate size. "They usually hold between twenty-five and fifty gallons. They're red, they have a hand pump, a hose, and a nozzle. You can wheel them around, but you'd never want to take it down stairs like the ones going down to the dock here. You'd just walk the hose down, leave the caddie up at the top, and fill the boats."

McMahon got the picture. "Can you tell if the accelerant was gas?"

"Pretty sure."

"How sure?"

"Ninety percent," answered the chief.

"Can you tell how much was used?"

"I'm not sure any was used," the fire chief said cautiously. "I'm just telling you it's pretty common for people to keep gas in their garage, especially around here, and when there's an explosion like this one, the gas goes up just like everything else."

"Can you show me where you found the traces?" Coleman asked.

"Follow me." The chief led them past the charred hulk of a burned-out car and pointed at the ground. "This is where the outer wall of the garage used to sit. You can see here where the slab starts." The chief kicked at the ground with his boot.

"Where did you find the traces of accelerant?"

The chief stepped over some debris and said, "It was concentrated in this area right here. From the outer wall of the garage to roughly over here."

Coleman remembered where the propane tank used to sit.

"My guess is," the chief pointed at the ground, "he had a small utility shed right there where he kept the gas. We think this might have been a two-banger. The first explosion came from the gas that had leaked into the house, and then the second explosion was the tank itself touching off a short while later."

"Any other hot spots?"

"We got a couple reads in the garage, but relatively small compared to this one."

The former SEAL nodded and said, "Thanks, Chief." He took McMahon by the elbow and led him back toward the road. When they were far enough away he said, "Mitch never had one of those gas caddies. At least not that I ever saw, and I can guarantee you, he didn't keep gas stored in a shed outside the garage a few feet from his propane tank."

"You know that for a fact."

"I know how the man thinks. He was very careful. There was no way in h.e.l.l he would have stored gas in an outdoor shed, let alone that close to a propane tank."

"So what are you telling me?"

"I'm telling you Mitch didn't leave any gas outside his garage. You can figure the rest out on your own."

When they reached the street, Coleman looked back toward the house and beyond. He could see a few navigation lights out on the bay. "Irene tells me a fisherman pulled Mitch from the water."

"Yeah." McMahon pulled a small notebook from his suit coat pocket. "A local guy from Shady Side. Harold S. c.o.x." McMahon pointed north. "He was only a couple hundred yards away when the explosion happened. He says he literally saw Mitch flying through the air. He saw him hit the dock and then roll into the water. If the guy hadn't been there Mitch probably would have drowned."

Coleman was putting himself in the shoes of whoever it was who had tried to kill his friend. As a former SEAL he was drawn to the water. "Any other boats?"

"Two. They both called nine-one-one and helped Mr. c.o.x give CPR."