CHAPTER 4
"Ryan Thompson, wait one minute," Ethan Blackwood told without lifting his gaze.
His head engineer hesitated with a comical, half-out-of-the-chair look. The remaining members of the team gazed at him sympathetically. He actually swallowed hard before resuming his seat.
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad.” His wolf hated the soft tone he used as he spoke to Ryan Thompson. “I was hoping to get some fresh eyes on a potential situation.”
“I’m here to help, sir.” His shoulders sagged in relief, and he leaned back in his chair.
We've been approached by an unusual party interested in our new system." Ethan Blackwood pushed back from the table and rose, eyes out the window and on the distant green rectangle of Prospect Park. It always calmed the wolf.
"Okay, I don't know what you want me to do." Ryan Thompson's incredulous voice placated the wolf. "Who is the unusual party?"
"The Holy See.".
"Is that a church?" He nodded his head and frowned. "That doesn't make sense. Why would they need facial recognition tracking?"
"That's the same question I had and what I'd like for you to find out, if you can." Ethan Blackwood moved away from the window and glared down at the lanky man. "Could you investigate?"
"Can't make no guarantees, sir, but I'll do my best." He bit his lip and scowled as he considered the question. "I'll get to it in a rush."
"Good." Ethan Blackwood nodded. "Keep it under wraps."
His fingers coursed over his closed mouth and acted as though he was disposing of the key and sat back from the table and left. Ethan Blackwood stared out of the window until his assistant opened the door behind him after she had caught wind of the perfume.
"Mr. Blackwood, I have Mr. Langley on line four," she whispered. "Would you have it sent here or taken back in your office?
"Here will be okay," replied Ethan Blackwood, having not looked around.
He drew a breath to calm himself before he confronted Victor Langley. He'd first called his attention to The Holy See's interest. Maybe now he'd find out more about it. His venture capital firm invested most of the project financing, so the call today might have nothing to do with The Holy See, though. Because the money man was so important, he had to glad-hand the son of a bitch even though his wolf was irritated. Business was not something that animals could understand.
"Victor Langley, hope everything's all right," Ethan Blackwood said into the phone, using his salesman voice which annoyed his own nerves.
“Absolutely. I’m really looking forward to that demonstration next month,” his gregarious voice answered, though Ethan Blackwood knew he faked the emotion. “I’ve got a couple of ex-girlfriends I’d loved to find.”
"We are on schedule." His wolf growled at his words within. As if he didn't have enough doubt about the system. He'd already misused it, he thought, but he wasn't a psychopath like Victor Langley. He'd steal from a person dying of thirst everything they possessed before offering them a drink.
"Fan-fucking-tastic, my man.". That father I interviewed at the archdiocese benefit called me today." He blinked slowly, and Ethan Blackwood took another deep breath to calm the wolf. He'd caught his scent the first time they'd ever met face-to-face. As a psychopath, his own scent never changed. The emotions of people did. He'd taken advantage of that in almost every negotiation he'd ever conducted, except Victor Langley. He didn't feel anything, he just pretended to because he was supposed to. It might have succeeded on others, but definitely not his nose.
"What did the good Father want?"
"Everyone in the Holy See would like to have the program up and running. He suggested that they would like to have the system in all of their properties." He feigned a laugh, very well. "You know how many hospitals and schools and churches they own? It's in the mid-six figures, Wikipedia states. And they're wealthy. They could be our one biggest client, even bigger than the federal government."
That doesn't make sense," Ethan Blackwood growled before he tempered his tone. "There are dozens of cheaper face-recognition systems available. They don't necessarily need the additional bells and whistles.".
"Who cares, as long as they pay?" Victor Langley had said the same thing when Ethan Blackwood first complained. "They need to see it in order to buy. The Father's sending one of his men to confirm it and to make sure it will work for them. Look forward to having them tomorrow. He told this person he would oversee the production for the church."
The phone receiver snapped in Ethan Blackwood's fingers when he clenched it too hard. He had to glad-hand the son of a bitch because he funded the project, but that was no reason to be taking in free agents. Still, maybe he could extract some information out of whoever they sent to him.
I've got to go. My flight is about to depart, and the stewardess is shooting me the stink-eye. You know this is my flight, woman?" Victor Langley spoke the final words away from the phone before coming back to their conversation. "Keep me posted.".
The line rang. Ethan Blackwood allowed the receiver drop to the base and stared out into the park. How many times could he do that with the churchman nosing about?