Whitney gave the girls clean beds and food. Most were grown now, and Patterson had seen the facilities once where they were housed, and the conditions were very nice.
The women were all educated and spoke multiple languages, had all been trained as soldiers and shaped into useful members of society. The general loved his GhostWalker program and fought for it with every breath in his body, but he blamed Whitney for tainting its reputation. No one wanted the experiments to come to light, but they’d been necessary and Patterson believed in what Whitney was doing 100 percent.
The major parked in the second-story parking garage at the mall. He rarely went to malls, but Sheila had insisted they be out in the open, in a very public place. She seemed far more nervous than usual, which was unlike her. He whistled as he made his way to the escalator to take it down to the first floor where he was meeting her in the little French coffee shop. At least the coffee was good.
She was already sitting at a small table in a corner, which afforded them a little privacy. She was dressed in her usual style, that pencil-thin skirt that showed off her hips and long legs, so elegant in stockings and high heels. There was nothing cheap about Sheila Benet. She was class all the way. He liked sitting across from her in any public situation. She was a woman who turned heads with her hair in the upswept twist and her prim-and-proper short suit jacket that hugged the full curves of her breasts and small waist. She reminded him of the pinup girls from the forties with her red lipstick and shapely figure.
He bent to brush a kiss along her temple in greeting. He was always careful when he touched her never to take it too far that she could object. He wanted her always wanting that little bit more from him. She was the type of woman who could never fully be in the seat of power or her man would lose her. He wasn’t a permanent kind of man, but the affair was fun and ensured his favor with Whitney. He often idly wondered if Whitney slept with her, but she was very closemouthed on the subject.
“You usually prefer to meet in dark places,” he greeted. “What’s up, Sheila? You said it was urgent and you wanted to come somewhere very public. Is there some problem?”
“I don’t know,” she replied in a low voice. Behind her sunglasses her eyes moved restlessly, surveying the crowded shop. “Maybe. There have been unexplained accidents lately, and I don’t want to take a chance that you might be one of them.”
He had never seen Sheila shaken or he wouldn’t have taken the threat seriously. “I can take care of myself, honey, but thanks for the heads-up. I’ll be careful.”
She looked up as the waitress approached the major. He asked for coffee. Sheila waited until he’d been served before she leaned toward him again. “This is huge, Art, really huge. Orders are going to come down soon to send a team back into the Congo. The president has been asked to help get rid of the rebel problems of the current regime.”
Patterson sat up straight, a frown on his face. “How would Whitney know that?
“He’s got ears everywhere, Art. He’s a very trusted man in many circles, and for them, his security clearance is still at the highest level. Until we prove his soldiers are the answer we’ve all been looking for, there will be skeptics and jealous enemies looking to bring him down. You know that. Look at your boss. He runs a GhostWalker team and yet he despises the man who created them.”
Art shrugged, in no way concerned. As long as Rainer didn’t approve of Whitney and his ongoing experiments with the women and soldiers, it meant a hefty paycheck for him at the end of the day. The major wanted Whitney beholden to him. Whitney still carried a lot of political clout in some circles and he could help further his career. The women always had been and always would be expendable. They had no families, Whitney made certain of that. As long as they were fed and clothed, who cared? Hell, no one even knew-or cared-that they existed. The sacrifices they made definitely enlightened the scientists, allowing great strides in the medical and military fields. Their lives had purpose, when, if not for Whitney, they would be useless to society, little leeches living off men.
Art took a slow sip of his coffee, savoring the taste, waiting for Sheila to make her bid. It was going to be good, whatever it was, he could tell. She was overly nervous and uncertain of how to present to him what Whitney required of him, which meant much more money than usual. He stayed quiet, allowing her to squirm, drawing out the silence between them.
Sheila cleared her throat. “One mine in the world produces a certain type of diamond and only once in a great while is one found. Whitney needs that diamond for a new weapon he’s working on for defending our troops. It’s an amazing weapon but not yet finished. Without that diamond, he can’t complete the project.” She leaned close, her blue eyes steady on his, very earnest. “He tried buying it, offered millions, but Ezekial Ekabela has the diamond. He took over that region of the Congo some time ago after his brother was killed.”
Art steepled his fingers and looked at her over them. “His brother was General Eudes Ekabela, the man who had both Jack and Ken Norton tortured. He was killed by a member of the first GhostWalker team. And I believe General Armine took over, not Ezekial.”
“That’s right,” Sheila said, but she squirmed and Patterson knew she was hoping he didn’t have that exact information in his head. “General Armine took over the rebel army before Ezekial could get into power, but he has a small group still loyal to him and he still holds that mine. He’s trying to cement his position as the leader of the army. Under Armine’s leadership, they’ve been pushed back. Ezekial Ekabela wants his army back and he wants the territory they lost back. He’s gotten his hands on a diamond that Dr. Whitney needs.”
“I don’t understand what you need from me.”
“The president of the Congo has asked our president for help.” She held up her hand. “
Patterson shook his head. He was always astounded by how much information Whitney managed to intercept.
“Whitney has been supplying arms and money to Ekabela, not a lot, but enough to keep him hungry and enable him to defend the mine against both Armine and the president. If the president gets that land back with the mines, we’ll never finish this weapon.” She leaned toward Patterson. “This one is important, Art. Really important. Ekabela is willing to trade the diamond to be put back in power. Along with that, he wants a GhostWalker. He wants revenge. He preferred one of the Norton brothers from GhostWalker Team Two-mainly, I suspect, because he couldn’t identify the one who killed his brother and Jack Norton wreaked havoc on his army, but Dr. Whitney persuaded him that was impossible.”
“I don’t understand,” Patterson said with a small frown. “What difference does it make to Whitney which GhostWalker he gives up if he’s giving one to Ekabela?”
“The Nortons are no longer expendable,
“No doubt,” Patterson agreed, trying to look very sincere.
“We need a hero in the program and Dr. Whitney has selected Sam ‘Knight?? Johnson. It’s a terrible sacrifice he doesn’t want to make and, of course, it deeply saddens him, but in order to keep the program moving forward, sacrifices do have to be made. Of all the GhostWalkers, Sam is the most expendable. He can’t provide us with a child, and the children are more important than the soldiers.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“Johnson is paired with a woman of no use to the program. Unless Whitney can get him back, which is highly improbable, he will not accept another mate, so he’ll never produce a much-needed child.” She shrugged. “In any case, it was easy to persuade Ekabela that Sam Johnson was the man who killed his brother.”
Patterson stretched his legs out and took a casual look around the coffee shop. As usual, this popular cafe was packed. His hungry gaze automatically noted the women surrounding him. A harried mother who looked as if she needed a man to make her feel beautiful; a little mouse of an Asian woman who sipped tea and studiously read a book on Zen as she listened to music with an earpiece in her ear and tapped her foot to the beat; two middle-aged animated friends having fun, laughing together… so many types. He loved that about women-that there were so many to choose from and right here in this room there was a good cross-section. He turned his head to smile at Sheila. The conversation was going along very nicely.
Did he really care that Sam Johnson was paired with a useless woman? Not really, but what was important, of course, was the fact that the renowned infallible Dr. Whitney had made a mistake or it wouldn’t have happened.
