The general’s hands clenched in his lap.
“It’s okay. I’ll have someone deal with this,” Danvers said.
“You’ve dealt with enough,” the general ground out through clenched teeth. He couldn’t believe this was happening to him.
He couldn’t believe that after a career of following the laws and serving his country, just one occasion of bending the rules could lead to this. He was neck deep in a shit show and he couldn’t see a way out. And now TechGen-One had Eleanor in their sights. If she was still alive. Emotion choked him, and he had to concentrate to breathe.
“I told you not to allow your daughter to fly at Red Flag. I knew it would be a needless complication. I told you that, didn’t I?” Danvers said, slowly walking to the front of his desk, picking up things from his desk and looking at them, as if he owned them. Owned him.
He did.
“She deserved it. She worked hard for this,” he said. It was true she was the best, most instinctive pilot he’d ever seen fly. But his attempt to maybe make her not hate him as much had all but signed her death warrant.
“Well, I think it’s clear now who the boss of Red Flag is. You do what I say or suffer the consequences. You can’t touch me without ruining yourself. If you decide to talk, I will take you down with me. There’s nothing noble about a maximum-security prison. And don’t think for a moment I will be joining you. My support network goes right up to the West Wing. Does yours?”
Daniels couldn’t believe that he had let himself get caught in the crosshairs of this monster. He thought he was going to be seen as a hero when a business associate offered to pay the operational costs of Red Flag. Then he’d stupidly accepted some company shares and an interest-free loan to pay for a large, secure beach house. And at no point had he thought that it was too good to be true. He had served his country for thirty years; he deserved it. He deserved the good luck, the recognition, the vacations, share portfolio, and the villa by the sea.
And it wasn’t until three weeks previously, when he had been asked to secretly allow modifications on certain aircraft, that he realized he could not get out of the noose that Danvers and TechGen-One had around his neck. He was in too deep.
“You see what you’ve done? Your daughter told Missy about your conversation. She is now a loose end, like Eleanor was. You’ve left me with another mess to take care of. You want to be careful, General, because if you cause too many problems, you, too, will be a loose end.”
He didn’t reply.
“I suggest you plan on returning to the Pentagon. And leave me here to tidy up.”
The general knew it wasn’t a suggestion. And he knew that by leaving, he would be casting suspicion on himself. It was Danvers’s way of showing him the slippery slope he was teetering at the top of right now.