ample space between the bed and the door. The script was nearly identical every time; the wild arms swinging, the body twisting, both hands clutching to pry his hands loose and then one hand dropping as fatigue set in, and then the other until the victim was spent and simply collapsed.
Kassar lowered Lee to the floor gently, as if he was laying him down for a long nap. He knelt beside the body and kept the bag tight for a ten count. When he was confident that Lee wasn’t about to jerk back to life, he yanked on the two red strings, tied them off and stood.
“Well done,” Durrani said with respect.
“Thank you.” Kassar was pleased with his steady heart rate.
“What do you think?” Durrani said, turning to Rickman.
Rickman was no stranger to murder, but this little orchestrated event seemed particularly absurd to him. He stifled a cough and said, “I have no idea what you are up to.”
“He is a gift to you. He is your new identity. Look at him.” Durrani pointed at the floor.
Rickman didn’t bother lifting his head. “He has a bag over his head.”
“Hmm,” Durrani rubbed his upper lip and then said, “Never mind. He is the same height as you and he has same hair color. I found him over a year ago and made him a business partner on several very lucrative deals. I am building him a house on the property next to this one. It is beautiful. It is where you will stay.”
Rickman’s head hurt and he could sense that OxyContin he’d taken four hours ago was beginning to wear off. “So I will assume this man’s identity?”
Durrani clapped his hands together. “Exactly! You will have to hide. You will have a life and you will be hiding in plain sight. The Americans will never figure it out.”
“The plastic surgeon?”
“He will be here in two days.”
The scope of Durrani’s new twist was starting to sink in. “You will make me look like him?”
“Yes,” Durrani said excitedly. “You will study his past. I have compiled a detailed dossier for you, with photographs and every imaginable detail. His parents are dead and his only relative is a sister in Hawaii whom he has no contact with. He is, what do you call a fellow American who leaves your country?”
“An expatriate.”
“Yes… that is it. He is an expatriate. For the few people who know him I will let them know that he was set upon by thieves in Rawalpindi and suffered a savage beating. It will explain your surgery and the swelling for the next few months, but best of all you will now have a past.”
“A legend.”
“Excuse me?”
Rickman was thinking. “In the business, we call it a legend.”
“Yes… well, whatever you call it, this will give you more freedom, and if your former employers ever digs into your new identity, they won’t find anything suspicious.”
Rickman had to admit that it was a very good tweak to their plan. The plan had been for him to get a new face and take on a fake name. They reasoned if he kept a low-enough profile the CIA would never notice, but this was even better. “I must applaud you, General. This is an improvement.”
“You are welcome,” Durrani said with a short bow. Then, directing his attention to Kassar, he said, “Bring him through the tunnels to the garage and then when it’s dark out, take him to the incinerator.”
“Hold on a minute,” Rickman said with a sinking feeling. “I thought Vazir was supposed to be handling my problem in Zurich.”
“He is. He will leave first thing in the morning.”
Rickman was gripped with panic and began cursing himself for taking the pain pills. “I told you the banker had to be dealt with immediately.”
“Calm down. Vazir needed to take care of this first, and now he is going to rid you of your problem.”
“But I told you it had to happen immediately. If Rapp discovers him, we are going to have some serious problems.”
“I have heard that Mr. Rapp has some other problems he is dealing with.” Durrani sounded very pleased. “That information you sent the FBI agent has worked. The agent is running an investigation on Rapp. Now when Vazir kills the banker it will make Rapp and the CIA look that much more guilty. I have instructed Vazir to make the murder look sensational.”
“Bad idea.” Rickman suddenly felt as if he was dealing with an amateur. “If you want it to look like Rapp, put a single bullet in Obrecht’s head.”
“Front or back?” Kassar asked.
“Doesn’t matter, just so long as Obrecht is dead.”
“Nine-millimeter, 40, Sig, 45?” Kassar asked, wondering what caliber gun was Rapp’s preference.
“For something close like this he’d use a nine millimeter.”
Kassar nodded with confidence.
Rickman was suddenly back in operation mode, wishing he was healthy enough to go along and direct Kassar and his men. “How many people are you bringing?”
“I was planning on handling it myself. Smaller footprint. Easier to move.”
That was how Rapp liked to operate. “And on the off chance you run into Rapp while you are dealing with Obrecht?”
Kassar’s expression remained unreadable. “It depends on where I see him, but I assume I will have the advantage, as I know what he looks like but he doesn’t know me.”
A small laugh passed through Rickman’s battered lips. “It doesn’t matter. He will sense you. He’ll smell you from a mile away. I can’t explain how he does it. Must be some kind of genetic survival instinct going back to when his ancestors were running from dinosaurs and shit.” Rickman wished he could use his old contacts to find out what Rapp was up to.
Durrani folded his arms across his chest and flexed his knees. “I think you give this Mr. Rapp too much credit. You have built him into some mythical character.”
Rickman knew where this was coming from. “General, you are allowing your ego to interfere with reality. As much as I would like to see Rapp dead, I do not want your talented friend tangling with him.”
The general snorted. “Nonsense.” Turning to Kassar, he ordered, “If you run into Mr. Rapp I want you to kill him.”
Kassar accepted the order with a nod even though he was fairly certain he would disregard it. It was easy to kill a common fool like the one who was now lying at his feet, but a man like Mitch Rapp was an entirely different matter. A man like Rapp would be aware and he would fight back. Kassar looked at Rickman and said, “Maybe I should bring some backup.”
Rickman thought about that for a moment while Durrani stewed over the fact that his man was asking Rickman how to run his operation. Rickman slowly lifted a hand and scratched his chin. “I think that’s a good idea. Probably three men.”
Kassar turned to Durrani. “May I choose the men?”
“Yes,” Durrani said, even though he didn’t want to.
“And,” Rickman added, “if you see Rapp I want you to think seriously about aborting the operation. Especially if you have already taken care of Obrecht.”
“Nonsense,” Durrani scoffed. “If you see Rapp, I want him dead. Do you understand me? I am sick of this man. Rid me of this problem and I will reward you handsomely.”
Rickman was tired of all the bravado, and being relegated to the role of cripple only made it worse. Not being able to stand and argue his point was extremely frustrating. “Kassar, all the money in the world won’t mean a thing if you’re dead. Use your judgment and don’t underestimate Rapp. The man’s at the top of the food chain. If you have a clean shot and he doesn’t see you, go ahead and try your best, but if he gets even the slightest whiff of you, you need to run.” Rickman looked at Kassar through his slitted eyes. “You are a smart man, Vazir. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Kassar replied in his standard dispassionate voice. He did understand. Men like Rapp were exceedingly dangerous, not just because of their talent and instincts. The most impressive thing about Rapp was that he was still alive after everything that had been thrown at him. “What about the assassin… Gould?”
Rickman had been wondering how to handle that problem. He knew a great deal about the man, but Gould
