Chapters (57)
“Are you sure? I see that as a lack of imagination. You have more money than a lot of countries. You are the undisputed master of technology. And you have Scott Coleman, the most talented private contractor in the world, on your payroll. The reality is there’s nothing you can’t do. And that scares the shit out of you.”
Ward went back to his food, falling silent for almost a minute before speaking again. “It does scare the shit out of me.”
“Don’t live your life in fear, Nick. You’ve got an opportunity to dip your toe in the water here. I find my mole. You get miraculously rescued. And Gideon Auma’s entire organization goes up in a fireball.”
Ward looked a bit dejected as he stabbed at the vegetables on his plate. “Can I think about it?”
Normally, Rapp would have said no, but he still hadn’t questioned Auma. Until then, he really didn’t even know what he needed from Ward.
“Sure. Sleep on it. We’ll talk in the morning.”
30
THE game trail turned steep enough that Rapp had to grab at trees to slow his descent. The backpack he wore contained an assortment of implements that wouldn’t normally be carried by the ecotourists who eagerly flocked to this region. Nor the former CIA operative who’d come so reluctantly.
Thanks to a combination of exhaustion, luxurious bed linens, and the hum of jungle insects, he’d slept like a rock the night before. By the time he’d staggered to the shower, though, his mind was already consumed. Not by Gideon Auma, though. By Nicholas Ward.
Of course, he’d read what the Agency had on the man, but it was mostly just mundane factoids and columns of shockingly large numbers. In truth, his background was largely what would be expected. Top of his class at MIT until he dropped out. Various tech start-ups, a number of which had shot straight into the stratosphere. Finally, investments in cutting-edge technology and controlling interests in companies that largely enjoyed similar trajectories. He seemed to be a man who could see the future and take advantage of that vision on pretty much every level.
But now he’d backed away from his empire to focus on saving the world. Rapp could understand the instinct—it wasn’t that different from his own motivation. What was different, though, was the scale. There was no question that he’d put out a lot of raging fires during his career, but Ward wanted to take away the fuel that allowed them to burn.