Free Executive Power by Vince Flynn Page B

respected person in Washington. She was currently in Greece leading a delegation that was trying to jump-start the Middle East peace talks.
    Kennedy nodded and said, “Valerie, none of us are happy about this.”
    â€œNo,” said Jones in an icy tone. “I’m not talking about the operation. I’m talking about you spying on State. You can’t just go around intercepting State Department cables. I mean, are you insane?” Jones’s face twisted into a scowl as she tried to calculate the damage that would be done if this were leaked to the press.
    â€œMs. Jones,” General Flood gruffly replied. “It is routine business for the NSA to intercept embassy traffic. And beyond that I don’t think the State Department is in much of a position to complain about anything.”
    â€œGeneral, I don’t like this any more than you do,” the president’s chief of staff said a little defensively, “but the State Department will not take kindly to being spied on by the CIA, the NSA or whoever.”
    â€œTough shit,” answered Rapp before Flood or Kennedy could say a word.
    All eyes turned to Rapp, who was sitting on the opposite side of the desk. Jones, not one to be intimidated easily, said, “I beg your pardon?”
    Rapp’s dark penetrating eyes were locked on to the president’s chief of staff. “Two sailors are dead and at least two more have had their careers ended due to the injuries they’ve suffered. Lives have been destroyed, Valerie. Children will never see their fathers again, two women have been widowed, and we still have an entire family of Americans held hostage in the Philippines, all because a couple of diplomats couldn’t keep their mouths shut.”
    Jones snatched one of the pieces of paper from the president’s desk and defiantly shook it. “This is not conclusive.”
    Rather than waste his time screaming at Jones, Rapp looked to Kennedy, anticipating the evidence that would silence the president’s right-hand woman.
    Calmly, Kennedy said, “Sir, there’s more. After receiving the heads-up from Assistant Secretary Petry, Ambassador Cox phoned Philippine president Quirino.” Kennedy handed the president a copy of the conversation. “An hour after that conversation took place Ambassador Cox arrived at the presidential palace where he stayed for approximately thirty minutes. We don’t know what was said between the ambassador and President Quirino, but shortly after the ambassador left, President Quirino placed a phone call to General Moro of the Philippine army.
    â€œAs I’m sure you’re aware, General Moro has been in charge of trying to track down Abu Sayyaf for the last year. He has repeatedly promised that he will free the Anderson family and deal harshly with the terrorists. On two separate occasions the general has had Abu Sayyaf cornered only to have them miraculously escape. Our military advisors in the region began to smell a rat and the DOD asked us to put the general under surveillance. This was over five months ago.”
    Kennedy opened the second folder and handed the president a fresh set of documents. “It turns out General Moro is not such a good ally after all. We didn’t know it at the time, but he was a very active advocate of kicking the U.S. Navy out of Subic Bay. He wields great influence in a country where bribes are a way of life. We found several bank accounts, one in Hong Kong and the other in Jakarta. It looks like the general has been in the pocket of the Chinese for the better part of the last decade, and more recently we think he began extorting protection money from Abu Sayyaf.”
    Jones scoffed at the idea. “You mean to tell me that a bunch of peasants running around in the jungles over there can scrape up enough money to bribe a general in the Philippine army?”
    â€œThat’s exactly what I’m saying,” replied an