Beneath the cover of the table, Gator wrapped his arm around her waist to give her comfort.
Lily inspected her hands before speaking. “My father was a man who believed in having as many controls as possible. I wasn’t enhanced physically, so I’m the control for that experiment. Briony was enhanced both physically and psychically, and he chose the parents he wanted for her, a circus family living in Europe. The father was a United States citizen and the mother was Italian. They already had four boys and wanted a daughter desperately. They were also in need of a lot of cash to buy in as partners for the circus.”
Lily looked around the room. “Flame and Dahlia were raised in a closed environment. Briony was raised with a family, although her training was directly overseen by my father. Detailed reports were sent weekly of Briony’s physical and psychic training. It was rigorous, although certainly she didn’t suffer from the training, but there were huge problems. Her family believed her to be autistic because she couldn’t function around people. She isn’t an anchor, and the toll on her not being able to filter out sound and emotion from those around her must have made her life hell. It’s obvious from his notes, Whitney wanted to see if, after being raised in a loving environment, Briony would have the same abilities as Flame and Dahlia. He feels a child raised by loving parents may lack determination. He deliberately sent a child, who wasn’t capable of living in close proximity to others without suffering severe pain, into a very crowded and public environment to see if she was tough enough. Whitney has many notations saying she surprised him with her abilities in the face of continual pain. From what I’ve read, in spite of numerous physical problems, she performs with her family, is extremely intelligent, and every bit as well trained as any GhostWalker. And he provided his own doctor for her care and designed her education, which her parents agreed to follow to the letter.”
Lily’s eyes glistened with tears for a moment. “I think he had her parents murdered when they objected to his sending her to Colombia. Jack Norton was in Colombia at the time. The parents were beginning to object to Whitney’s continual interference in their lives now that she was grown, and he wrote that they were in the way. Later he wrote: problem solved.”
Flame pressed her fingers against her mouth, her hand visibly shaking. “We have to find her, Lily. What does Whitney want from her?”
“He wants a baby. He wants the child to be a product of Jack Norton and Briony Jenkins. He’s spent millions maneuvering behind the scenes in order to bring them together. Right at this very moment, she’s in Kinshasa. She and her brothers were paid an exorbitant fee in order to get them to perform in a music festival there.”
There was another small silence. Logan broke it. “You’re saying Whitney was behind the senator’s plane going down in the Congo? That he tipped off General Ekabela that Ken Norton was leading a rescue mission?”
“Jack was supposed to lead the rescue, remember?” Lily corrected. “Ken stepped in when Jack couldn’t get back from Colombia in time. This was all about watching Jack perform. Was he worthy of donating the sperm? Jack is one of the more powerful GhostWalkers. We all know that. He has extreme talents, and I’m willing to bet Briony matches him in every way. Jack was the one meant to be captured. He was the one meant to escape and make his way to Kinshasa. Ken was used to draw him to the Congo, that’s why Ekabela didn’t have Ken killed immediately.”
“Kinshasa is no small place,” Kadan pointed out.
“Briony’s brother is a former Navy SEAL and served with Jack. They have a history. Jack saved his life. I’d say the setup is more than perfect. Jack is going to go straight to him if he’s escaped.”
Kadan shook his head. “I can’t see Ekabela letting him get away no matter how much money Whitney pays him. Ekabela has wanted Jack for a long time. He knows Jack is capable of taking him out and would if the order came down. The general is going to kill him.”
“Certainly Whitney expects him to try. Whitney created the ultimate weapons. What’s the use if he can’t see them perform?” Ryland asked.
Logan swore softly under his breath. “Can we get to Jack?”
“We’ve tried. We hit two different camps where he was reputed to have been held. They were long gone. In the last one, it looked as if a fight had taken place. There were bodies and a lot of blood, but no Ekabela and no Jack.”
“What about Briony Jenkins? Can you get to her?”
“We need a way to extract Jack. If we warn her… ”
“So you’re using her as bait.” Flame’s head snapped up, her eyes stormy. “Is that what we are to you, Kadan? Is that what she is? Something to use so you can get your GhostWalker back?”
Gator put a restraining hand on her arm, but she shrugged it off, glaring at the other man across the table.
Kadan shrugged with his usual calm. “We’re all GhostWalkers, Flame. Neither Norton nor Briony is expendable as far as I’m concerned. If Whitney has targeted Briony, he’ll eventually try to reacquire her. Jack Norton is her best bet for protection. I’m not willing to give up either one of them. Even if we did manage to send word to Kinshasa, and the chance of getting there before this is over is not good, why would she even believe us?”
“But she isn’t an anchor?” Ian asked.
Lily shook her head. “No, and it’s surprising that she’s managed to exist in the environment she has. My father has written copious notes about her ability to withstand pain and carry out her mission. In this case, performing with her family in front of so many people. She’s a strong telepath as are both Jack and Ken Norton. She has the same abilities that both of them have.”
“Which are?” Kadan prompted.
“Which brings us back to mosquitoes,” Lily said. “Mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid up to one hundred feet away. When we breathe, humans, along with other mammals and even birds, give off these gases. The chemicals in sweat also attract mosquitoes.”
“Are you saying Jack and this woman, Briony, can do that as well? Scent people by breathing and sweat?” Ian asked.
“Yes. Absolutely they can. They were born with the same olfactory system in their noses, as we all were. Mosquitoes have receptors that allow them to use that system efficiently. Briony and Jack both have receptors.” A small smile escaped. “Although their receptors are not in antennae. Mosquitoes also have heat sensors, as do Briony and Jack. And last, but not least, mosquitoes have visual sensors.”