Street Game

CHAPTER 17

Gideon eased the ache in his leg with the smallest of stretches. “No movement yet, boss, he’s still in there sitting by his fireplace with a drink as if he has all the time in the world.”

Mack glanced at his watch. The lights in Jefferson’s house had been on for hours. He wasn’t retiring anytime soon. He seemed to be waiting for someone-or something. There was no way he could possibly know he was a target. The three had slipped from the warehouse unseen and boarded a military flight. Tucked in the trees, they’d already spent enough hours to be getting cramps, waiting for Jefferson to go to bed.

“Well, he doesn’t have all the time in the world, Gideon, and you’re right, he’s waiting for someone.”

The tree they’d set up in was enormous. The great sprawling branches were thick, and they dipped and twisted, giving them a tremendous platform to work from. Phillip Thornton’s house had been modest, in a quiet neighborhood at the end of a cul-de-sac. As James Bradley Jefferson the third, the man had treated himself to a home he felt he deserved. The long drive led to a two-story brick estate. Tall pillars rose around the wide verandah, a proud Southern home, surrounded by shrubbery and rolling lawns. The property was nestled in thick trees, an old growth of evergreens, one of the few stands left in the area. The terrain lent the estate a natural seclusion.

“Any phone calls?”

“One, boss, from Senator Romney. But he’s definitely waiting for someone. He’s checked his watch at least three times. The directional mike is working perfectly. If he does have a visitor, we’ll be able to hear every word.”

“I want it recorded,” Mack said. “We need everything we can get on him. And no evidence left behind. Not so much as a scrape on a tree. When we take him down, no matter how natural his death appears, there will be an investigation.”

“He the one after Kane and Brian?” Javier asked, bringing his travel mug to his mouth. The hot coffee warmed his insides. There was malice in his voice.

“Jefferson has a hard-on for both of them,” Mack said. “Sergeant Major turned his report over to General Chilton and I’m guessing Chilton turned it over to Jefferson. Either way, all the evidence they gathered is now destroyed. And Jefferson sent those killers after Jaimie.”

Gideon and Javier exchanged a long, knowing look.

“We know he’s working at Langley, we’ve watched him come and go,” Javier said. “I could have taken out the bastard a hundred times already.”

Mack shook his head. “It has to be a natural death or an accident no one can dispute. If I can get close enough to him, I can kill him and everyone will think he’s had a heart attack.”

Again Gideon and Javier exchanged a long look. Mack almost never mentioned his psychic abilities. His was a rare talent. Mack always played things close to his chest and when he’d filled out the forms, he had never revealed his ability to manipulate electrical energy. They’d heard the rumor that one of the GhostWalkers’ wives from Team Two could do the same, but they’d never met her and the rumor wasn’t confirmed. Mack’s talent made him invaluable to the team and the fact that no one, not even Whitney, knew he had the ability, made him the perfect assassin. Getting up close to Jefferson was another matter. He’d proved to be very cautious. Years with the agency and working with Whitney had made him wary of everyone. He changed his route at a moment’s notice. Few knew his schedule ahead of time. It was impossible to know which car he would be using. When a car was summoned, it was gone over meticulously for bombs. He had to be taken in his home. Mack watched Jefferson through the bulletproof glass of his study. “He’s waiting for a woman.”

Gideon turned his head back toward the house, narrowing his eyes. Jefferson used a remote to light a fire in his fireplace. He poured two drinks from a Waterford decanter on the table beside the sofa. He pointed the remote again and music flooded the room.

“Very high-class seduction scene,” Javier said. “Where’s the caviar?”

“He’s setting the scene, all right,” Mack said, “but I don’t believe he’s in love with this woman. Look at him. He’s setting a seduction scene, but he’s after something else besides sex.”

“He’s got something in his hand,” Gideon said. “Can you make it out, Mack?”

Mack watched the man put the object in a small, decorative box. Jefferson moved the box twice and then shook his head and took it back out again. He crossed to the floor-to-ceiling bookcase, removed a book, opened it, and thrust the small object into the hollowed-out pages.

“It’s got to be a recorder,” Gideon said.

“He’s an arrogant son of a bitch,” Javier observed. “No guards. He doesn’t believe anyone would dare retaliate against him. He has to know Sergeant Major’s gone off the grid.”

Mack’s smile held no humor. “Men like Jefferson come to believe they’re above the law. He makes his own laws.” He looked at Javier. “There has to be a code of honor. We make the same kinds of decisions he makes. We have to make absolutely certain we’re doing it for the right reasons. This can’t be about power or personal gain, or we’re just like him.”

“I get what you’re saying, Top,” Javier said.

“Or the rush, Javier,” Mack counseled.

“It’s never been about the rush, Mack,” Javier said. “It’s about running from myself.”

Their eyes met-held complete understanding.

“Car’s coming up the drive,” Gideon reported.

The Escalade had tinted windows. It slid noiselessly up the drive and a woman got out. She was tall and blond, her hair up in a sophisticated twist that made her look especially elegant. She wore a pencil-thin skirt and a silk blouse with matching jacket that should have made her look all business, but she managed to look sexy instead. Diamonds clung to her ears and a single teardrop necklace glittered at her throat. No one move. No communication. Mack sent the warning, careful to keep his energy low, to keep it from spilling out into the open where the woman might have a chance to feel it. Get her picture and send it to Jaimie for positive ID. The woman stepped away from the car and looked carefully around, her gaze quartering the area, and then turned her attention to the house. She moved with unhurried, fluid steps up the walkway to the door. Jefferson greeted her before she could ring the doorbell. He waved her inside and only then did Mack let out his breath.

“She looks familiar,” Gideon said. “Like I’ve seen her before, but I’ve never really met a female GhostWalker other than Jaimie.”

“And Rhianna,” Javier supplied. He glanced down at his phone. “Jaimie’s on it, boss.”

“Shit,” Mack said. “That’s Senator Ed Freeman’s wife, Violet. I remember seeing her picture in the news right after her husband was shot. I forget the story. How the hell did a GhostWalker hook up with a senator?”

“And what the hell is she doing here?” Javier asked.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll assassinate him for us,” Gideon said. Mack directed their attention to the couple in the house. Violet leaned in to brush a barely there kiss along Jefferson’s cheek. “If Jefferson thought he was going to seduce, he’s wrong. She’s deliberately tempting him, but that kiss was a definite signal to back off.”

“Maybe she’s wired too,” Javier ventured. “It would be pretty funny if they were bugging each other.”

“I don’t doubt for a minute she’s wired,” Mack said. “She’s exuding confidence and if Jefferson has a brain in his head, he’ll be very, very careful.”

“Kind of like entertaining a cobra in your home,” Javier said and smirked. He knew he looked like the boy next door. “Glad she’s one of us.”

“Data coming in,” Mack said, frowning down at the small phone in his hand.

“Never make the mistake of thinking Violet Smythe-Freeman is one of us. She sold out the women in Whitney’s compound. Kane warned Jaimie about her. She was raised with those women, one of the orphans Whitney acquired, and they all believed in her.”

“She turned on them?” Gideon asked as if disbelieving. “That would be like one of us turning on the others. We were raised together, a family, like those women. That’s just…” He cast around searching for the right words to express his disgust.

“The word’s gone out to all the GhostWalker teams that she’s a traitor,” Mack read on. “She was at the compound to make an alliance with Whitney when everything went to hell. She was going to help suppress evidence on the breeding program if he backed her husband’s bid for the vice presidency. She and her husband are the ones who sent Team Two to the Congo and tipped off the rebels where they were going to be.”

There was a small silence while they absorbed the treachery of the woman’s actions. There were very few GhostWalkers and all of them knew just how difficult one another’s lives were. Violet had been raised with Whitney’s youngest, earliest victims, yet she appeared not to have any loyalty to them at all.

“I could take her out when she comes out, boss,” Gideon reminded.

“She’s not the objective,” Mack said. “We’re here to protect Kane and Brian and to get Jefferson off Sergeant Major.”

“I could stop the car down the road,” Javier offered.

“Too dangerous. Jefferson’s death has to look like a legitimate heart attack. If we take out a GhostWalker, they’re going to know someone was in the area.”

Gideon swore under his breath. “We have to just let her walk?”

Mack shrugged. “There’ll be another time and another place. There always is. Right now, we’re here for Jefferson. We know he’s after Kane and Brian and he’s certainly the one who ordered the hit on Sergeant Major when they lost track of him. We’ve got to look after our own first.”

Violet sank into a chair, accepting the crystal glass Jefferson handed her. “How’s the senator?” he asked as he gave the drink to her.

The voices sounded tinny through the recorder. Javier adjusted something Mack couldn’t see, frowning as he did so.

Violet, her eyes on Jefferson’s face, held the glass under her nose and inhaled.

“We’re on the same side, Violet,” Jefferson reminded.

“Anyone in my position can’t be too careful, and Whitney and I didn’t part on the best of terms. He had my husband shot.”

“He saved his life. No one else could have done that operation,” Jefferson pointed out.

“He wouldn’t have needed the operation if Whitney hadn’t arranged for an assassination.” She put her drink down and leaned forward. “Let’s quit playing games, Jefferson. I want Whitney off our backs.”

“It isn’t going to happen, Violet. You can join the other side and try to wipe out all the GhostWalkers or you can come back to the fold where you belong. Without us, your husband has no career and without Whitney, he’s a dead man.”

Mack was watching the woman’s face closely. Jefferson was a man in extreme danger. He thought he was holding all the cards, but she was weighing whether or not to kill him. She looked cool and composed, but Mack knew exactly what was going on in her mind.

Jefferson appeared confident, but he must have felt death in her silence. He set his drink aside and shook his head. “What good would it do you to kill me, Violet? Whitney would retaliate against you by letting Ed die. This is about him, isn’t it? Your husband? You want him alive. Only Whitney can keep him alive.”

“As a puppet,” she snapped. “We both will have to do his bidding.”

“Without Whitney, neither of you would have a decent life. It’s time to pay the piper, Violet,” Jefferson said. “It isn’t like Ed is a viable candidate for the vice presidency. Whitney had to practically replace his brain.”

“My husband can still have a political career.”

Jefferson sat back in his chair and once again picked up his glass, regarding her over the top of it. “Now we come to the real reason you’re here. What exactly do you want and what are you offering?”

“I can find the missing women for Whitney. They escaped. Whitney wants them back. I can get them for him. I have the resources. And I can tap into the women’s networks better than anyone else. In return, I want Ed completely well.”

“He was brain-dead, Violet.”

“Not anymore. Not with this new technology. Get him up and running and put him back in the political arena. I can handle everything else. No one will ever get close enough to know he’s not all human.”

“You’re asking a lot,” Jefferson said, and took a sip of his brandy.

“One of the women is pregnant. The father is a GhostWalker. She has extraordinary talents, as does he. Their child alone will be worth what I’m asking. You and your friends back Ed’s career and we’re back on track. Whitney will have a friend in the White House for life.”

Gideon gasped. “That bitch. She’d sell out her own mother.”

“Just make certain you’ve got this all recorded,” Mack said.

Jefferson’s smile turned malicious. “He’s already got friends in the White House.”

“He has enemies too. I can find them for you. You know I’ll do it too. I keep my promises.”

“Do you?” Jefferson asked. “You turned on Whitney before and you have no problems turning on the women who regard you as their sister.”

Violet tapped her perfectly manicured nails on the arm of her chair. “Don’t judge a woman in love, James. I would do anything for my husband.”

“Or for the power. We both know who’s behind the proverbial throne, Violet, so don’t play the loving wife to me. You were prepared to sleep with me if that’s what it took, but you knew the moment you looked into my mind that wouldn’t serve your purpose,” Jefferson said shrewdly.

Javier growled deep in his throat. “She really is a cobra.”

Violet shrugged her shoulders. “Why should I deny it? I am prepared to pay whatever price Whitney wants from me.”

“And if he demands a fail-safe?”

She sucked in her breath, for the first time her composure shaken. She recovered very quickly. “He’s put a fail-safe program in Ed?”

“Of course he did, my dear, and he’s prepared to use it. You not only will deliver the women to us, but you’ll find whoever in the White House is going against the GhostWalker program and you’ll deliver them as well. If we decide to put Ed back into position to use him, believe me, Violet, it will be our decision without coercion.”

Even from his position a distance away, Mack could see the woman’s eyes glittering with malicious intent as she rose. “I would be very careful of threatening me, Jefferson. You may hold all the cards, but if you push too far, you’ll find out just what a woman will really do when you’ve put a bullet in her husband’s head.”

Her voice was utterly cold. Deliberately spiteful. Mack swore under his breath. Jefferson would know exactly what she meant and he would take her threat seriously. That would make it doubly difficult to kill him.

“You’re getting him back,” Jefferson reminded. “A new, improved model, wholly devoted to you. There won’t be any chasing skirts, or aides under his desk; he’ll live for you.”

Mack inhaled sharply. “Whitney paired her with him, but didn’t bother pairing Freeman with her. Whitney sold her into service with Freeman to aid his political career.”

“He couldn’t know the monster he was creating,” Gideon said.

“I can’t even feel sorry for her,” Javier said. “She’s willing to give up the other women to a breeding program, knowing what happened to them in that compound.”

“She’d kill all of us if it got her husband one step closer to the presidency,” Mack said, watching with a small frown. “He’s glanced at his watch again. You think he’s got more than one visitor coming tonight?”

“Maybe it will be Whitney and we can blow them both to kingdom come.” Javier sounded hopeful, eager even.

“You’re so bloodthirsty tonight,” Mack reprimanded.

Javier shot him a grin. “Must be the company. Bad influence and all.”

Violet put down her drink and stood up, drawing their attention back to the scene in the house. “I have to go, Jefferson. You’ve given me quite a bit to think about.”

Jefferson rose with her. “I hope you’ll give me your answer soon, Violet. I don’t think Ed has long, hanging in limbo. You want him up and running around, you commit to Whitney’s program and work for us, not yourself.”

She said nothing at all, but walked, head up, out to her waiting car. Jefferson watched the vehicle pull down the long drive before he snapped open his cell phone.

“She was here. She’s going to come on board, but she’ll turn on us the moment she thinks she has an out. She’s ambitious. You might think about getting rid of her before she causes any more trouble.”

“You getting this, Jaimie?” Mack asked.

“I’m running a trace,” she answered. “I think he’s talking to Whitney. I’ve got a voice analysis program and it should give me a match any second. Yep. Whitney.”

Jefferson snapped his phone off and went back into the house after one more long look after his parting guest. He shook his head, disgusted, and slammed his door.

“I’m sorry, Mack, he didn’t stay on long enough,” Jaimie said.

Mack didn’t take his eyes from Jefferson. The man took meticulous care to clean up after his guest. Several times he looked at the clock. They weren’t at all surprised when a second car came up the drive.

“He’s busy tonight,” Mack said, watching the dark car pull up to the house.

“What’s behind door number two?”

The driver jumped out and opened the door behind his seat. An older man emerged. Mack concentrated on getting as good a picture as possible. There was only a profile available; the man kept his hat low and his head turned away from them. He looked older, and walked with a cane and a bit of a limp. He was a big man. A trench coat covered his very expensive business suit. He went straight up to the house. Jefferson met him at the door and clapped him on the shoulder, his manner familiar.

“We’ve got company, boss,” Gideon hissed. “I think Violet’s come back.”

Javier touched the knife in his scabbard. “I need to be on the ground to protect the operation, Mack,” he said. “If she spots us, we’re finished.”

“She can’t spot you, Javier. I’m giving you a direct order. Do not engage unless she finds us.”

Javier sent a cocky grin over his shoulder at Mack. “I’m hearing every word, Top.”

“Before you go, tell Jaimie I need everything she’s got on that man now. Right now. Tell her to move it.”

“It’s not like we gave her much to go on,” Javier pointed out, but dutifully sent the text. “Oh, yeah, she’s not happy with you and said to remind you that she’s not a miracle worker.”

Mack glared at him. “Tell her I expect results, not a lot of excuses.”

“Oh, sure, boss, I’ll just send that to Jaimie. We’ll feel the volcano blast all the way from San Francisco.”

“I gotta agree with Javier on this one, boss. Give her a few minutes.”

Mack scowled at them and turned his attention back to the house.

“Going silent, Mack,” Javier said. He sent Gideon a quick, sympathetic grin and hastily made his way to the ground.

“Keep an eye on them, Gideon,” Mack ordered.

“You got it, boss.”

Mack knew Gideon didn’t have to use night goggles or any equipment that might tip off a GhostWalker to their presence. He was the most difficult of all of them to spot. Javier was a ghost, a phantom, stalking the night. Violet could walk right up to him and not know he was there. She’d be uneasy, but she wouldn’t find him. Even so, Gideon would ensure that Javier was safe at all times if there was any slipup. He put the headphones on to listen to the conversation taking place in Jefferson’s home.

“What’d she want?” the newcomer demanded.

“The same thing her father-in-law wanted. Of course Andrew thinks his son is intact. Whitney says we’re nearly ready for the trial run. If we can fool Andrew, we can fool everyone,” Jefferson said.

“I’m not entirely easy about this. Andrew’s been a good friend for years.”

Mack knew Andrew Freeman was Senator Freeman’s father. He had gone to school with Whitney and Jefferson when Jefferson was Phillip Thornton.

“Okay,” Jaimie’s voice whispered in his ear. “You’ve got Jacob Abrams there. He’s been best friends with Senator Freeman’s father for forty years or more. Billionaire. A genius. Banker. He and Whitney and Freeman were all part of a club at their university for very smart students. The club is still shrouded in secrecy. I’m working on more data for you. Abrams controls a great deal in the market and some say he’s part of the real power in the world, not necessarily the leaders of the countries. He’s a very big fish, Mack.”

“Thanks, Jaimie.” Mack switched back to the conversation in the house. Jefferson poured a drink for Abrams and handed it to him. “At least he has his son, Jacob. Ed was brain-dead. Anyone else would have pulled the plug on him. Violet and Andrew had given up and were going to tell the world he’d been killed when Whitney made his proposal to try to save him. He didn’t do it for Andrew.”

“Enhancing psychic ability is one thing, but stimulating a dead brain with whatever the hell he does makes Ed part machine, doesn’t it?” Jefferson sighed and sat back in his chair. “Whitney has no fear of trying anything.”

“Ed was dead already,” Abrams pointed out. “It wasn’t as if Peter did anything wrong. I just don’t think fooling Andrew into believing Ed’s still Ed is ethical.”

Jefferson snorted. Coughed. “That’s rich coming from you, Jacob.”

Mack leaned into his mouthpiece. “You getting this, Jaimie? Is it making any sense to you? How the hell could he stimulate a brain that’s dead?”

“I’m getting it. Paul might be able to help.”

Mack glanced out over the thick stand of trees. Violet was making her way toward the window, moving from shadow to shadow. Gideon.

I see her, boss. Javier’s keeping pace with her.

It was impossible for Mack to spot Javier, although he didn’t doubt that Gideon knew exactly where the man was. He sent up a silent prayer that Javier understood he was playing ghost with another GhostWalker. They knew little about Violet’s abilities.

Jacob Abrams sighed heavily and walked to the window to stare out, swirling the brandy in his glass. “Is she going to give us trouble?”

“She offered to bring in our missing women, including the pregnant one.”

Abrams whirled around. “Do you think she can do it?”

“Violet pointed out she can do a lot from her position as a senator’s wife for the women’s underground. She’ll be a saint to them while she’s searching. I’d put my money on her. She wants the presidency, Jacob. And she’ll do anything to keep Ed alive, even if it’s just his body.”

“It’s a big undertaking,” Abrams said, his voice thoughtful. “I’d like to see one baby before we’re dead and gone, Phillip, just to see if we accomplished what we set out to do.”

“James. Never forget I’m James,” Jefferson responded. “In any case, a couple of the GhostWalker couples have babies.”

“Yeah, they do, but we don’t have them.” Abrams turned back to face his old friend. “Is Theodore Griffen giving you trouble?”

There was an inflection. A casual note that was anything but casual. Jefferson visibly stiffened. “Why do you ask?”

“Rumors, Jefferson. I heard you sent a team to San Francisco and one of them didn’t come back. Whitney doesn’t want the girl killed. He said to tell you to leave her alone.”

“Did he even pay any attention to the evidence that’s been collected against him? If I hadn’t persuaded Chilton to let me handle it, the committee might have shut him down. We got lucky.”

“You’re afraid the trail leads back to you.”

“And you, Jacob. Your reputation is on the line as well. A breeding program and experimenting on children, even orphans, will cause a worldwide uproar, and you know it,” Jefferson said. “If we have to sacrifice a couple of his precious soldiers to keep the programs intact, then it’s a small price to pay.”

“Whitney makes a bitter enemy, James,” Jacob said. “Find some other way of dealing with this woman. Bring her in. Get her back under control. Hell, put her in Whitney’s breeding program. I don’t care, but don’t kill her. Get your men to pick her up.”

Mack waited, but Jefferson didn’t confirm to Abrams that he’d sent the two men to kill Jaimie, but they’d failed and hadn’t returned. He didn’t answer one way or the other. Apparently there were things Jefferson didn’t want to share with his old friend. Or maybe he was afraid. Could the tight-knit friends be splintering? Violet crept toward the house, coming in from the south side. She took out an aerosol can and sprayed into the slight breeze moving out over the sweeping lawn. Bright beams leapt into the air. Mack could see them without the spray and he was fairly certain Javier could as well. The enhancements Whitney had given them evidently weren’t part of Violet’s arsenal.

She glanced upward, her gaze sweeping the surrounding trees, looking for cameras, before inspecting the roof. Mack could have told her where every one of them was located. She didn’t hurry, but slid under the beams, taking care not to disturb them. Mack was a little surprised that Jefferson had used something so easy to defeat. The beams were crisscrossed, but still a good foot from the ground where someone as limber as Violet could slide beneath them. The woman used her elbows and knees to propel herself forward. She had shed the elegance of her former appearance and wore a black jumpsuit. Her hair was covered with a tight cap and there were no diamonds glittering anywhere on her body.

Mack caught a brief glimpse of a shadow sliding along the lawn, very low, not ten feet from Violet. He held his breath as Javier rolled clear of the beams and into the thick hedge that ran around the house. Violet wasn’t as confident, propelling her body forward with painstaking slowness.

Jacob’s voice brought Mack’s attention back to the house. “Griffen is no danger to us, James. The GhostWalkers are like his kids. He doesn’t want to lose them any more than Whitney does. Once you explain to him that we’re all on the same side, he’ll understand.”

“He’s arrogant.” Dislike was evident in Jefferson’s voice.

Jacob laughed harshly. “Now we’re getting to the real reason you’re upset. You don’t like Griffen.”

“He rubs me the wrong way.”

Violet was at the window now. She reached her arm up and pressed a small object into the frame. Another piece went into her ear.

Jacob helped himself to more brandy. “He rubs you the wrong way because he doesn’t like spooks. You’re recruiting his men for your dirty work.”

“He doesn’t have the balls to make this country strong. We need strong leaders,”

Jefferson said. “Griffen’s thinking is linear. Black and white.”

“Still, he not only believes in the GhostWalker program, but he runs one of the teams,” Jacob pointed out.

“He’s squeamish. He talked about women’s rights for God’s sake. Who gives a fuck? Really, Jacob. We’re talking about having the greatest soldiers in the world and he wants to spout off about women’s rights. We have a chance to make the United States the most powerful country in the world. Imagine if we could send a lone soldier into an enemy camp undetected and he could assassinate their greatest general and no one would be the wiser because the death looks natural. We could change entire governments, put people in office friendly to our country and no one, no one, would be the wiser. Whitney is a man of great vision…”

“Yet you don’t listen when he tells you he has plans for one of his GhostWalkers.”

“He has to be protected, even from himself. And Jacob.” Jefferson looked up to meet Jacob’s eyes over his drink. “So does Andrew. His daughter-in-law is as cold as ice. She can’t be trusted. Whitney chose her to be the senator’s wife because she had the least ability to be a soldier, but she has no loyalty.”

Mack watched Violet’s face carefully. There was no change of expression. None. She might have been listening to a bedtime story. She might not have as many psychic talents as the other GhostWalkers, but he doubted if Whitney had sold her to Freeman because of her lack of talent; more likely he recognized her amoral nature. Whitney would have slated her for termination. He couldn’t control her through her affinity for others. If she was loyal to Freeman, it was because Whitney had bound them in some way. Mack would never believe the woman had a genuine care for anyone.

“She’s loyal to Ed,” Jacob pointed out. “And that’s good enough for me.”

“She’s sleeping with Andrew,” Jefferson said. “She controls him as totally as she does Ed. He’ll do anything she wants. And she wants Whitney to back Ed so Andrew will bring his full weight behind what she wants.”

Jacob sucked in his breath. “Are you sure? That can’t be true. Andrew loves his son.”

“Andrew’s a man. Violet was trained to seduce men. It was part of her ‘wifely’ duties. Sleeping with Andrew keeps him in line. She has his ear, and he feeds her the information she wants, so be very careful of what you tell him. She does whatever it takes to further Ed’s career, including fucking anyone he wants her to. Hell, Ed likes to watch. I’ve got tapes, Jacob. He’s just as sick as she is. Whitney programmed her that way and she’s very single-minded. She came here prepared to sleep with me to get her way.”

“But you didn’t.”

Jefferson shuddered. “I’d sooner sleep with a snake. She’d smile at you while she cut your balls off, Jacob. Don’t ever trust her.”

Abrams regarded Jefferson over the rim of his glass. “I don’t trust anyone anymore, James. We live in shifting times.” He put down his glass. “I’m an old man and need my sleep. Think about what I said about that girl in San Francisco. Leave her to Whitney. And as for Violet, let’s see how it goes with Andrew, whether or not he notices anything different about Ed. Whitney swears he’s the same, just more malleable. If Ed passes the test with Andrew, Whitney may want to strike a bargain with Violet and bring those women in. Especially the one he knows is pregnant. I think he’d do just about anything, including making a deal with that she-devil, if it meant getting his hands on the pregnant woman.”

Mack cursed softly under his breath. He was fairly certain the pregnant woman they were referring to was the woman Kane was searching for.

“You know one of the GhostWalkers who turned in evidence against Whitney was the one who impregnated her. He’s searching for her and Griffen is helping him, using all of his sources.”

“You have a line to Griffen. Let them search. As soon as they know where she is, we’ll know and we can snatch her first,” Abrams said. “Use both of them to get what we want. You can always have the bastard killed on a mission later if he gives you any more trouble.”

Jefferson didn’t bother to mention he’d tried it several times already.

Abrams put down his glass and picked up his coat. “I’ve seen Ed Freeman, James. I don’t think his own father or anyone else will ever be able to tell the difference.”

“Can we trust Violet?”

“We don’t have to. If she tries to destroy Whitney or any of us, Ed will die. It’s that simple. Whitney has a protection built into the program and there is no way Violet is going to let Ed die. She’ll ride him all the way to the presidency.”

“And we’ll control both of them.” Satisfaction purred in Jefferson’s voice.

“A triumph beyond measure,” Abrams agreed.

Violet swiftly pocketed her listening device and rolled under the beams back toward the safety of the groves of trees. Javier had already anticipated her departure and moved before her, sliding into the shadows just parallel to her, escorting her back to where she’d left her car, just to make certain she didn’t backtrack and surprise them.

James Bradley Jefferson cleaned up the glasses, carrying them carefully through to his kitchen, where he washed them thoroughly and put them away. The small recorder he’d secreted in the book was removed and taken with him to his bedroom. One by one the lights in the house went out until only a single lamp shone in the bedroom.

Mack waited until the moon moved across the sky and the sounds of the night had resumed a loud chorus. The slightest thing could alert a pro, including the sounds of insects. As he descended he made certain his energy was suppressed, that he moved with the night itself, keeping the natural rhythm.

Gideon’s sole job was to protect him, and Mack couldn’t imagine a better backup. Gideon never missed. Javier waited by the house. “He’s got two cameras in the back. That’s our best bet, boss,” Javier said. “Both are on five-second sweeps. You should be able to move through the two of them if you watch each lens, and use that weirdass teleportation thing you’ve got. No one will ever know you were in the house.”

Mack scowled at him. “I told you, it isn’t exactly teleportation.”

“Whatever. Just do it and watch where you position yourself.” Javier glanced at his watch. “Counting down now.”

Mack crouched low, leapt over the high back fence-probably the reason there were only two cameras. He landed just to the right of the house and moved with blurring speed, his body looking to the naked eyes like a shadow made of dust, a blur, and then forming from one spot after another until he crossed the open yard to the back door. He couldn’t teleport anywhere he wanted, he could only use short bursts of speed, moving his mass small distances, rather than one long one. He’d found a few uses for his particular talent, but not many, and it took a lot out of him. It wasn’t difficult to bypass the alarm on the door. The box was located on the roof and easy enough to access. Mack slipped into Jefferson’s house and padded silently through the kitchen, down the hall, to the bedroom. The door was ajar. A fireplace cast a small glow over the room, illuminating the man reading in bed. Jefferson wore a pair of glasses and lounged with his robe tied loosely over a striped pajama shirt. The covers were pulled up to his waist. Beside his bed was a cigar in an ashtray and a drink. Mack moved with his blurring speed, looking like a dark shadow materializing beside the bed.

Jefferson dropped his book, his hand sliding toward his pillow.

“Don’t,” Mack said softly as he removed one glove. “I just wanted to give you a chance to realize you’ve already accomplished what you set out to do.”

Jefferson relaxed. “And what would that be?”

“You wanted to create an assassin who could go into an enemy camp undetected, kill the general, and walk out with no one the wiser.”

“You’re a GhostWalker.”

“How else could I have gotten in without detection?” Mack leaned down and laid his palm very gently over Jefferson’s heart. He moved without aggression, utterly calm, almost tranquil, so Jefferson was without alarm.

“You overheard my conversation.” He winced. Looked up at Mack. “Oh, fuck.”

“No,” Mack corrected softly. “You’re fucked. You shouldn’t have been so stupid as to come after us. What did you think would happen?”

Jefferson slumped back on the pillow, his mouth open, his eyes wide and staring, one arm flung out as if toward the phone, reaching for help.

Mack waited until he was certain the man was dead before he pulled on his glove and exited, turning on the alarm and once more moving undetected through the cameras.