Pledging not to interfere in their assassination plot had been risky, but also potentially very rewarding. The Saudis had unlimited financial resources, penetration into terrorist groups throughout the world, and a power structure that allowed them to move decisively. Most important, though, was their refreshing lack of pretense when it came to moral norms and international law. They were simple creatures who sought power and wealth. Period.

“How hard will it be to close out our positions?”

“Hard,” she responded. “I made these investments very carefully and over a fairly long period of time. If I were to suddenly reverse all of them, it’d be noticeable. The question is, does it matter? Your supporters in the general public don’t seem to care what we do as long as you tell them what they want to hear. Our senators and congressmen certainly won’t object as long as you help them stay in power. If the other party were to find out, though, it could cause legal problems that we’re not powerful enough to just make disappear. Not yet.”

“Would they get traction, though? We have majorities in both houses and complicated financial transactions don’t make good TV. Too hard to understand.”

“Maybe. Or maybe not. It’s hard to say what the press will be interested in.”

“But if we don’t close out those positions, we lose the twenty-three million we’ve gained?”

“Plus more. I’d say we’d take a thirty-five-million-dollar hit before I can completely extricate us.”

“Thirty-five million,” he repeated, confident that it would be almost exactly that. The icy analysis of probabilities, alternatives, and pitfalls was very much her realm. “And the Saudis’ debt to us isn’t going to be as great.”

“Why not? We promised them that we wouldn’t make any real effort to save Chism—not that we’d actively block a private rescue effort if they screwed up. This isn’t our fault.”

“It doesn’t matter. We were involved and there’s nothing human beings are better at than sharing the blame for their failures. And Mitch Rapp’s involvement makes it that much worse. We can say whatever we want about him working independently but no one’s going to believe it. He has too long a history with the US government.”

She sighed quietly. “It’s a brave new world.”

That was something they both agreed on. In fact, it was the shared belief that had brought them together. They’d come to power in an environment of massive international corporations and billionaires. Of strongmen in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa. Of constantly evolving technologies and a media that became more pervasive and malleable with every passing day.