Not Gonna Die // Mitch Rapp

04

The location Mitch had been told to meet was in Libya.

He rode a boat to an island. As soon as it docked, he got off and paid the driver. He put on his sunglasses and walked down a path, wary of his surroundings. Anything could happen and he had to be prepared for whatever it might be.

Mitch came upon two men standing near a green door and followed them as they led him to another man who greeted, "Assalam-alaikum."

"Walaikum-assalam," Mitch returned.

Mitch gave the man his sunglasses and the man took his backpack. He began patting Mitch down then said in his language, "If it were up to me, I would not have chosen you. But others have decided differently."

In the same language, Mitch answered, "Whomsoever Allah guides there is none to misguide."

The man nodded and Mitch's head was covered. Mitch tried fighting against them, but it did nothing.

Mitch was taken into a room and tied to a chair. The same man he'd just spoken to said, "What is the name of the sister of the Prophet, peace be upon him."

"Huzafa bint Al-Haarith."

"Wrong. She was not the prophet's sister."

"She is honored as the sister of the Prophet, peace be upon him... because both suckled from her blood mother, Halimah al-Sa'diyah."

Mitch heard footsteps as he attempted to uncuff himself. The sheet was removed from his head and two more men entered the room.

After a brief moment, the man Mitch had first spoken to asked in English, "Why have you come?"

"To help Adnan al-Mansur achieve his people's destiny," Mitch replied. "Inshallah."

"I wanted to look into your eyes. I don't trust you."

"I'm prepared to die a martyr. What can I do to earn your trust?"

All fell deadly silent and the man Mitch was talking to was shot in the back of the head, dead center, and he fell to the ground. Soon, gunshots and explosions rang out. Mitch fell to the ground as well.

After a moment, he crawled up to the guy he was talking to and flipped him over and cried, "No!"

"Step away, now!" someone ordered. "Come on!"

Mitch began stabbing the guy even though he was already dead. Someone tried to pull him away and Mitch yelled, "The fuck off me!"

He resumed stabbing the man and was put in a headlock as another person said, "He's dead, it's over."

Another guy added, "Easy. Easy. Take it easy. Area's secure."

Mitch was taken to a secluded room and had a clean shave before his interrogation. He glanced around the room impatiently. He wasn't sure how long he'd been there and had more important matters to tend to and being detained by what he guessed to be government employees didn't help.

The man opposite him said, "You wanted to kill them all, and then go on killing. Pretty extreme, don't you think?"

Mitch shook his head. "No, I don't think that's extreme at all. I think people like that deserve to die in the worst ways you can imagine."

"What do you remember about your parents' death?"

Mitch's expression remained blank. "Car crash. I was in Massachusetts. They were in Tunisia at the time. I was 14. That's what I remember."

"You started having discipline problems. Got yourself kicked out of three boarding schools. Got better when you met someone."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I wonder what that was about." The nerve of this man bringing Heidi into the conversation nearly made him lose it. Mitch clenched his jaw and balled his fists.

"Let's talk about what happened after the woman you'd just proposed to was taken."

Mitch let out an irritated groan. "Oh, Jesus Christ. Again? Are you kidding me?" The last thing he wanted to do was remember that night. In a matter of seconds, his whole life had turned upside down in the worst way imaginable.

"Yeah, again. You gave up everything after that, didn't you? Your grad studies at Brown University."

"I must have lost interest."

"In everything?"

Mitch met his eyes. "No, not everything." He looked at the camera, knowing he was being watched. He'd noticed it when he'd first gotten there, but didn't deem it worthy of much thought.

The door opened and a woman walked in. The doctor stood as the woman said, "See you later, Dr. Frain. See you tomorrow, same time?"

The woman sat and said, "I like the new look. Irene Kennedy, CIA Deputy Director in charge of Counterterrorism."

"I know who you are," Mitch told her.

"Any idea how long you been here?" Mitch shook his head. "30 days. Enough time for you to figure out a couple things."

"Yeah, yeah. I've figured out a lot about myself. It's been a very reflective time. Thank you." He had to get out of the room. Revenge was a more important matter than detainment.

"You wouldn't have made it through the next 20 seconds there alive."

"I guess we'll never know now, will we?"

"You told Dr. Frain you thought you were gonna kill Mansur and wipe out his whole cell."

"For starters."

"Mmm-hmm. You have an even bigger agenda, didn't you, Mitch? What did you think, that you were gonna jump from cell to cell taking out terrorists? Right the world's wrongs?"

"Got to Mansur, didn't I? I mean, it's more than you accomplished."

"I'm gonna let you in on something. Our people here, they don't know what to do with you. A lot of them think we should just throw you in a supermax. Me? I like your agenda, Mitch. I can help you with it, if you throw in with us. We can teach you how to play with the big boys."

"Yeah, let me stop you right there. You don't think I considered that 18 months ago? Joining the CIA? I made the decision to pursue Mansur on my own cause I knew I could get it done."

"What I need to understand is that I'm the only way. To get what you want."

"Why the hell would I trust you?"

"Because I believe in you. And I'm all you've got."

The woman left and Mitch was left to sit in the room. Did he believe the woman? Being honest, no. Was it the best way to get out of the room? Likely yes.