FIFTY TWO.

    Mitch Rapp had seen the President in various states of anger, but this morning he appeared to be especially upset.

    Michael Haik, the President's National Security Advisor, had put out the word. President Hayes wanted everyone at the White House by 7:00 A.M. sharp. Kennedy had brought along Rapp and CTC Director Jake Turbes. She made it clear to both of them that she wanted them to keep a low profile during the initial meeting with the President's national security team. The information that the CTC had collected would be discussed later when the group was of a more manageable size.

    The large conference table in the Cabinet Room was surrounded by brown leather chairs, each of them exactly alike with the exception of one. The President's chair had a higher back and was placed in the middle of the table so that he was the focus of attention. This morning, with his strained face and clenched jaw, he was very much the center of attention. Bloodshed in the Middle East was one thing, it wasn't good, it wasn't acceptable, but it wasn't a surprise either. The assassination of a foreign Ambassador in New York City along with two of his bodyguards was absolutely shocking and unacceptable.

    President Hayes listened to FBI Director Roach relay the facts surrounding the assassination of the Ambassador. When Roach was done the President tapped his pen on a legal pad for a few seconds and then asked in a very disappointed tone, "That's all we know?"

    Director Roach, the consummate professional, looked back at the President stoically and admitted, "For now, that's all we have, sir."

    In an unusually testy tone Hayes replied, "I learned that much reading the Post this morning." Dismissing the FBI director with a shake of his head, Hayes looked one person over to Roach's boss, Attorney General Richard Lloyd.

    "Dick, I want this case solved, and I want it solved in a timely manner." The President stared at his old friend and added, "I don't care what it takes. Find out who did this and put them on trial and do it quickly."

    The President then shifted his gaze back in the other direction and settled on Irene Kennedy. Rapp watched all of this from a few chairs down. The President was sitting with his back to the window; his national security advisor, Michael Haik, on his left and his chief of staff, Valerie Jones, on his right. Across the table and next to the attorney general were Secretary of State Beatrice Berg and Secretary of Defense Rick Culbertson.

    Hayes kept his eyes fixed on Kennedy, his agitation clearly visible in the way he tensed his jaw.

    "What have the Israelis had to say about this?"

    Kennedy was prepared for the question. If the President wanted to know what the Israeli response was to the killings, he would have asked Secretary of State Berg. Instead he'd asked the director of the CIA, which meant he wanted to know what Mossad had to say about the assassination. She'd already spoken to Ben Freidman three times, and on each occasion he had vociferously denied having had anything to do with it.

    "Sir, Director General Freidman denies categorically that Mossad had a hand in what happened last night."

    The President looked doubtful.

    "Why should I believe him?"

    The question could be answered in many ways, none of them good. Freidman had wasted what little trust the President had in him, and Kennedy doubted there was anything she could say or do that could rebuild the damage. She would have preferred to stay quiet on the issue, but the President wanted an answer.

    "I don't think Mossad would risk doing something this brazen."

    "And why's that?" asked Hayes.

    "Simple cost-benefit, sir. Killing Ambassador Ali gains them very little and as we are sure to see as the day progresses… it will cost them greatly in the international community."

    "That line of reasoning would work if they actually gave a rat's ass what the international community thought, but as we saw with the attack on Hebron over the weekend… I'm not so sure they much care what the rest of the world thinks."

    Valerie Jones nodded.

    "I would agree."

    Several other people seconded her opinion. Secretary of State Beatrice Berg, however, dissented.

    "I don't see it that way. They might think very little of the UN, but they certainly care what we think."

    The President immediately turned his attention back to Kennedy.

    "Everyone here is familiar with what Israel says took place in Hebron over the weekend, correct?" All the attendees nodded. Hayes turned his gaze on Kennedy.

    "Now, Irene, would you please share with the rest of group what really happened."

    Kennedy sighed ever so slightly. This was compartmentalized information and she had no desire to disseminate it to the various agencies represented in the room. She knew, though, that any attempt to try to convince the President otherwise would be useless. Reluctantly, she began.

    "Through assets on the ground and reconnaissance photographs we have discovered that there was no bomb-making factory in Hebron."

    Kennedy looked through her glasses at the confused expressions of the other high-level officials.

    "The damage that was done was not caused by a secondary explosion."

    "Then what in the hell was it caused by?" asked Secretary of Defense Culbertson.

    After a brief hesitation, Kennedy said, "Sixteen Hellfire missiles were fired into the neighborhood."

    With a confused frown on his face Culbertson asked, "Why?"

    "That's the million-dollar question," replied the President in an unfriendly tone.

    "Well… what does Freidman have to say about all of this?"

    The President leaned back in his chair and looked to Kennedy for the answer.

    "He's sticking with their story that there was a bomb-making factory."

    "How sure are we," asked Secretary of State Berg, "that there was no bomb factory… that all of the damage was caused by the missiles?"

    "The evidence is pretty clear-cut."

    "How clear-cut?"

    Kennedy thought about the satellite images and the reports she'd received from their people on the ground. She normally preferred to avoid going too far out on a limb but on this one she felt confident.

    "I'd say the evidence we have convincingly contradicts the story that is being put out by the Israeli government."

    "So what you're telling us," interjected Culbertson, "is that we can't trust what our only ally in the region is telling us."

    The President nodded.

    "That about sums it up. Beatrice, what does the Israeli Ambassador have to say about last night?"

    Berg had not called Prime Minister Goldberg nor had she called the Israeli Ambassador. In the skilled game of diplomacy the higher-ups avoided asking questions of each other that might force lies to be told.

    So one of Berg's underlings had called the deputy chief of mission for an unofficial response to the assassination of the Palestinian Ambassador.

    The Ambassador's number-two man had dismissed any involvement by Israel as ludicrous. This was only the first round and the answer was expected. As the drama unfolded, tougher questions would be put to people with more weighty tides.

    "The embassy," started Berg, "is saying exactly what we'd expect them to say."

    "That they had no involvement," answered the President.

    Berg nodded.

    "Irene," asked the President, "what do we know about Ali? Is there any reason that we know of why the Israelis would want him killed, or more precisely why Ben Freidman would want him killed?"

    "As with all things between the Israelis and the Palestinians, there is ample motive. Ali grew up in Gaza and was an active member in the terrorist group Force 17 and then later with the PLO. The Israelis claim that like Arafat, he was a terrorist and still is a terrorist. More recently there have been accusations of fund-raising for the martyr brigades and some questionable acquaintances with people who run in the wrong circles."

    "What kind of circles?" asked Hayes.

    "People who deal in arms trafficking."

    Valerie Jones, who had been quiet up until now, asked, "Is that information we collected on our own, or intelligence that was provided by the Israelis?"

    "That's information we gathered through our own sources."

    "So," began the President, "do you see anything in Ali's recent history that would warrant Mossad wanting to kill him?"

    The President was fixated on Freidman, and Kennedy couldn't really blame him. Despite Freidman's denials, Kennedy had been thinking quite a bit about the possibility that he had ordered the assassination of Ali. There were many logical reasons why Freidman should not have ordered such a bold move, but on the other hand, recently he had proven to be increasingly unpredictable and brazen. The President was looking to Kennedy for an answer and she settled on an honest if somewhat cautious course.

    "A year ago, sir, I would have not thought Ben Freidman capable of such a drastic move, but today I'm not so sure." Kennedy hesitated for a moment as if she were about to say something else and then stopped.

    The President picked up on this and said, "What is it?"

    "I'm trying to step back and see the big picture from the Israelis' point of view. It's been a bloody couple of years for them. The homicide bombers have taken a massive toll in both life and morale. Israel already receives almost no support from the international community, so in that regard they risk almost nothing. They could be expanding the war… an extension of their attitude that if you hit them they will hit you back even harder."

    President Hayes nodded.

    "Hit the Palestinians where they feel safest, and keep them off balance."

    Kennedy shrugged.

    "It's a possibility. One that I think is a bit of a stretch, but a possibility."

    Hayes seemed to like this line of thinking. It gave him something he could get his hands around to explain why Freidman would do something so reckless. In a final effort to draw out any disagreement, Hayes asked, "Can anyone right now come up with a suspect other than Mossad?"

    Rapp had been listening keenly to the discussion, and despite his complete lack of faith in Ben Freidman, he thought there were quite a few other possibilities that should be explored. He also knew a few things that the others didn't, but under orders from Kennedy he was to keep his opinions to himself until they were alone with the President.