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Mitch Rapp

Titles/Positions:

At the young age of twenty-two, Mitch Rapp began “unofficially” working for the CIA. He was recruited for the newly assembled Orion Team, designed to take the fight to the Islamic terrorists on their soil. Rapp quickly became the teams most decorated and successful asset.

His cover story, and explanation for traveling overseas to the few people he allowed to be close to him, was that he owned a computer software/consulting business. The company, which was ran by the CIA, was legitimate. His exact role varies throughout the series.

He’s been called both a software salesmen, and a computer consultant. However after the book Separation of Power, the computer business cover story isn’t mentioned again for two main reasons.

First, Rapp’s cover was blown when Congressman Albert Rudin leaked his name and information to the media. Rapp’s photo ended up in magazines, newspapers, etc. A cover was no longer needed.

Secondly, Rapp does end up working for the CIA, officially.

At thirty-two Rapp accepted an offer from CIA Director Dr. Irene Kennedy to become a special assistant to the director of the Central Intelligence on counterterrorism.

According to Vince Flynn, on his website (during an October, 2012 Q&A with fans) Rapp fell into the SIS 4 pay grade. Chapter four of Separation of Power states that Rapp will earn sixty thousand dollars a year for this position.

Additionally, at the same time he accepts the official position of special assistant, Dr. Kennedy makes him a second job offer, to run the Orion team, “unofficially”. For this Mitch is paid one hundred and fifty thousand annually, tax free.

Physical Features:

Mitch Rapp stands 6′ – 6’1″ and 185-190 pounds (he is 190 pounds in Transfer of Power, 185 in Executive Power) with olive skin, brown (almost black) eyes and black hair. Rapp keeps himself in top athletic shape dating back to his days as an All-American Lacrosse player. He’s also a two-time winner (along with three other top-five finishes) of the Ironman triathlon event in Hawaii. He has several scars, most notably a long thin scar (from a knife) running from his ear to his jawline on the left side of his face. He also has a separate knife wound on his right side, and at least five bullet scars on his body. He’s been shot in his shoulder, twice in the stomach, once in the leg and once in the buttocks.

Name/Codename(s) or Aliases:

• Mitch Rapp
• Mitch Kruse (Separation of Power, and others)
• Iron Man
• Angel of Death
• Paul Girard (American Assassin)
  • Rapp received several fake identities, birth certificates, drivers licenses, various documents, bank accounts (all with at least $20,000 in them) and matching passports from a Swiss banker named Kyle Ohlmeyer. (American Assassin)
• Bill Johnson (Kill Shot)
• Carl (The Third Option)

Family/Relationships:

• Parents
  • His father, a former real estate attorney, died of a heart attack
  • His father was fond of the phrase “suck it up” (Transfer of Power)
  • Both parents are deceased
• Steven Rapp, brother
  • Steven in the younger brother of Mitch Rapp. He’s 5’6″ tall and weighs around 135 pounds with fair-skin, blonde hair and has blue eyes.
  • Steven possesses a genius level IQ, and holds a master’s degree in quantum theory from MIT. He runs a hedge fund department for Salomon Brothers in New York City. Steven is very wealthy and once received an annual bonus for twenty-seven million dollars from his employer. He’s also invested money for his brother, turning several hundred thousand dollars into greater than four million. (Consent to Kill)
• Anna Rielly/Rapp
  • Growing up in Chicago, her mother was a social worker and her father was a police officer. Her parents have a summer cottage on lake Poygan in Wisconsin, where Rielly enjoys water skiing.
  • One of four children. Two brothers followed their fathers footsteps to become police officers in Chicago, her other brother is an attorney.
  • Anna is of Irish heritage. She has emerald green eyes, dark brown hair and a slim, but fit, body. To keep in shape she avoids all junk food, and works out three or four times a week (The Third Option)
  • She attended the University of Michigan, where she played volleyball.
  • Anna was a White House Correspondent for NBC
  • She drove a custom BMW fitted with special shred proof tires, bullet proof glass and a Kevlar lining. (Executive Power, page 7)
  • Mitch and Anna got married between Separation of Power and Executive Power, their marriage is first confirmed in chapter one of Executive Power (page 5)
  • In Consent to Kill it’s revealed that Anna is expecting, this would have been the first child for both her and Mitch. However she, and the baby, are killed in an explosion meant to take out Mitch. (Consent to Kill, page 248-249)
  • Mitch learns of Anna’s death directly from Irene Kennedy. “She was killed in an explosion” – Consent to Kill, page 251
• Maureen “The Dream” Elliot
  • Maureen was Rapp’s high school sweetheart whom he planned to marry. They both attended college at Syracuse University before Maureen was killed in a terrorist attack on December 21, 1988 while returning from a semester abroad. She was on board Pan Am flight 103, along with 34 other classmates from Syracuse University, when it exploded, killing all 259 passengers. (Consent to Kill, pages 94-95)
• Greta Ohlmeyer
  • Greta, the granddaughter of Swiss banker Carl Ohlmeyer, has blue eyes, prominent cheekbones and platinum blonde hair that she typically wears in a high ponytail. She’s said to be extremely beautiful, on par with a Nordic goddess. (American Assassin)
  • Rapp first meets Greta at her Grandfather’s home in Zurich, Switzerland. Hurley had taken him to meet Carl Ohlmeyer after the completion of the “hamburg operation”. (American Assassin)
  • Rapp and Greta both have an instant attraction to one another and end up sleeping together.
  • At the end of American Assassin Rapp decides to stay in Zurich with the intention of spending more time with Greta, covertly.
  • When Rapp is setup while on a job in Paris he contacts Greta after being shot in the shoulder. She then comes to his aid and both helps him recover, and is a witness to Victor’s (Chet Bramble) attempt to kill Rapp. At that point Thomas Stansfield learns of their romantic involvement, and tells Mitch that he can tell Greta obviously loves him. Rapp admits they have been seeing each other for about a year, but never says he loves her.
  • Rapp and Gretta’s relationship is left open, though there is the potential for them to meetup in a later book. (She’s never again mentioned after Kill Shot)

Education:

• Mitch Rapp holds a degree in International Business (with a minor in French) from Syracuse University – where he attended on a lacrosse scholarship. (Memorial Day, page 90 and Consent to Kill, page 95)
  • Rapp also had a scholarship offer from the University of North Carolina, but chose to attend Syracuse to follow his high school sweetheart (Maureen) who was pursuing a career in broadcasting. (Consent to Kill, page 94)

Career with the CIA:

• Roughly one year after the death of Maureen, Rapp was approached by Irene Kennedy – who was at that time the Director of Counter-Terrorism Center (a position she held In American Assassin, Kill Shot, Transfer of Power, and The Third Option) – at the age of twenty two. (American Assassin, page 4)
  • Rapp was specially recruited by the CIA, specifically for a team Kennedy was heading up called “The Orion Team” designed to be a “small footprint” that “would cut though all the bureaucratic BS and get tings done in a expeditious manner” (American Assassin, page 152)
  • Kennedy and her boss, Thomas Stansfield, were intrigued about the possibility of having a recruit with no military experience or formal training that could be molded into exactly what they needed by veteran operative, Stan Hurley. (American Assassin, page 12)
  • Hurley was initially reluctant to take on Rapp as a recruit at his facilities because of his lack of training. Sensing this, Rapp challenged him to a sparing session within minutes of meeting him. Hurley agreed, setting the rules for the match – only to then break his own rules when he found himself dangerously close to being choked out by Rapp (who had his legs wrapped around Hurley’s neck). HE grabbed Rapp by the “gonads” (a direct violation of this rules he set before the match began) and squeezed – forcing Rapp to release his hold, thus making Hurley the “winner”. (American Assassin, page 34)
  • After passing all the necessary tests Hurley finally revealed his real name to Rapp, and one other recruit. (American Assassin, page 34)
• Rapp’s training (overseen by Stan Hurley) involved learning to shoot, expertly, with both hands. While at Hurley’s place recruits, including Rapp, were only allowed to speak Arabic. Rapp’s fighting skills were honed as they “focused on knives and guns” and were taught to “inventory every room they entered for objects that could be used to defend or kill” (American Assassin, passe 138). Additionally, Rapp was also taught “escape and evasion techniques, explosives, and the tricks of the counter surveillance trade”. (American Assassin, page 138)