The Third Option

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The Third Option is a political thriller by Vince Flynn featuring Mitch Rapp, a CIA operative in a covert counterterrorism unit called the Orion Team. In northern Germany, Rapp is sent to kill Count Heinrich Hagenmiller V, a powerful arms dealer supplying enemies of the United States. He succeeds, but his mission is betrayed by two colleagues, Jane and Tom Hoffman, who shoot him. Rapp survives thanks to a kevlar jacket, sets the room on fire to destroy evidence, and escapes.

Back in Washington, the fallout is chaotic. A Democrat, Congressman Albert Rudin, and a Republican Senator, Hank Clark, team up with Secretary of State Charles Middleton to stop Dr. Irene Kennedy, the head of the CIA’s counterterrorism center, from taking over as director. Unknown to them, Clark also orders a broader blood purge through a man named Peter Cameron to erase any link to him.

Rapp goes into hiding in France, convinced that Kennedy may have ordered the Hoffmans’ hit to cover up something. He returns to confront Kennedy and the aging CIA Director Thomas Stansfield, but learns they had nothing to do with the attack. Meanwhile his girlfriend, Anna Rielly, is kidnapped to lure him into a trap. The Hoffmans are killed outside their home by Cameron’s men, but Rapp and ally Scott Coleman rescue Anna and kill the attackers. Cameron is killed by an Italian assassin hired by Clark.

As the president learns of the conspiracy, Rudin and Middleton face consequences; Middleton’s death is ruled a suicide. Clark keeps silent about his role, even as Kennedy’s nomination faces a tough confirmation fight.