Page 19 of Shadow Target
A couple of laughs broke out.
Losing his smile, Luke said, “We’ll be having five people on and five off, twelve-hour days for our security team. We will be roving around the areas where the charities are located, as well as where all of you will be housed for the duration of this project.”
“Which is where?” Charlie asked. “I thought we were gettin’ tents.”
More laughter.
Willow touched Luke’s arm. He turned.
“Let me handle the logistics?”
“Gladly,” and he handed her the remote.
For the next hour, Willow went through all the daily things that were important for a group like this. There was an old barracks that had been kept up by the Ethiopian Army until five years ago. Then it had been turned into a cheap hotel. Dev and Willow had dealt with the owner and, over the last couple of months, upgrades, new mattresses, sheets, towels and other amenities of civilization, had flowed in. Delos had paid for all of them. The hotel owner was very happy because he would receive a monthly check from Delos for the forty people who would be sleeping there.
The barracks also had a large, working kitchen and Willow had hired six women to be there to cook three meals a day for the hard-working group. Some of the food would be Ethiopian. Other meals, more American, like hamburgers with fries. There was a lot of head-nodding on that one, and Willow grinned. Charlie was the supervisor for one of the construction teams. He’d already asked George to be the logistics manager having anything to do with bed and food.
“Hey,” Charlie called out, not bothering to raise his hand because he was now on a roll, “tell me Willow, is Delos gonna fly pizza in from time to time for us?” He grinned hugely.
Everyone was nodding like bobble head dolls.
Willow broke out in laughter and so did Shep, Dev and Luke.
“I dunno,” she deadpanned. “If Delos doesn’t come through, what will you do, Charlie?”
“Well,” he blustered, good naturedly, lifting his brown cap with the Delos logo on the front, “I guess we’re gonna have to teach those nice ladies how to make pizza dough and find the right ingredients and have ’em make ’em.”
“Oh,” Willow murmured, “I don’t think you’ll have to go that far.” She held up a list from her folder. “George? Since you’re the hotelier for this motley crew? Do you want to look in your file? There’s a monthly menu there.”
George, who was in his forties and lean as a rail, dug quickly around in his kit. He found the menu, rapidly read down it, then yelled, “Hot damn! Pizza once a week! Hamburgers once a week! Holy shit! We’re gonna get STEAK once a week!” He looked up, grinning like a wolf. “This is better vittles than my wife, Linda, makes when I’m back home!”
The room burst into laughter, hoots, hollers and plenty of clapping. Willow had never worked with Seebee construction or security crews before, but she liked their easy-going spirit. This was a group that, if they didn’t have what they wanted, they’d scrounge it up from somewhere. She had a good feeling about the men and women in the crew, some of them in their mid-twenties. Charlie, who was fifty, was the oldest, and his red hair had streaks of silver in it, making him the boss for sure.
“Okay,” Shep called over the tumult, “Charlie? Next time something goes south? I’m gonna go email Linda and tell her what you said.”
“Oh,” Charlie said, chuckling deeply, “you’ve never worked with me and my crew, Mr. Porter. You’ll find out right quick we’re the best at what we do. You aren’t gonna have to email my wife and tattle on me.”
Shep nodded, trying not to smile. “Well, I wouldn’t do that anyway, but it was sure good for a laugh.”
“Hey,” Charlie said, holding up his hand as if he were standing up in front of a senate hearing, taking an oath on the Bible, “this is the best damned menu I’ve ever seen. Delos has fed us well before, but this one is the ace.”
“Good,” Willow called out, “because, even though it’s winter here in Ethiopia, you are all going to be sweating out there while you work. By the time you get trucked back to the hotel, you’ll be starving big time.”
“That’s okay,” Charlie said, becoming serious. “We’ll work hard, and we’ll play hard.”
CHAPTER 6
“What do you think of this mission so far?” Shep asked Willow.
“I think the move to Addis Zemen went well.” Willow set a casserole of wat, an Ethiopian staple, on the kitchen counter. It was a stew with chicken, mixed herbs and vegetables. Along with the ingredients for it, she had purchased injera, a spongy, flat bread made from a millet-like grain called teff, from a woman vendor in the market, after she’d flown back into Bahir Dar. The mix of spices she used in the dish was called ‘berbere’, and included chili peppers, garlic, ginger, basil and other more local herbs such as rue and fenugreek. The scents in her kitchen made Willow’s own stomach growl. She’d invited Shep down for an evening meal with her. Dev, herself and Shep had flown back into the airport around midday. She’d had time to throw the wat together in her Crockpot.
“I think we’ve got a very seasoned crew, almost as much as the way this food’s starting to smell,” he agreed, smiling. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
The setting sun’s rays slanted through the western window of her condo, illuminating the sheer, gauzy cream-colored drapes. She didn’t look too closely at why she’d invited Shep to eat with her. Maybe because he wasn’t very good at cooking, and would enjoy the stout Ethiopian meal? Maybe that was it? If she squinted? She brought over glasses of iced tea with thick wedges of lemon floating among the ice cubes. “No, just sit and relax. You still have major jet lag, just like everyone else.” She pulled white linen napkins from a cabinet and walked over to hand him one.
“Did you take pity on me?” Shep teased, spreading the napkin across his lap.
“What do you mean?” Willow asked, sitting down at his right elbow, ladling the fragrant stew out of the casserole and into a large soup bowl then handing it to him.