Though the situation was grave, Colonel van Eyck was pleased by the number of questions and discussion his briefing had generated. Good. The team was interested and already committing themselves to the problem. One of the scientific staff- Glasgow, was it?- was even leaving the room already, hopefully to pack a bag. That was the kind of enthusiasm he appreciated.
First things, though, he had to deal with the men and women in the room. Walters, for one. While the man's combat record was excellent, his discipline was appalling, which seemed to extend to the rest of his firm. If the man couldn't be bothered to even address him properly, what assurance did Van Eyck have that Walters would follow an order given in combat?
Still, the mercenary's offer was tempting. Granted, the boats he was pushing were probably just some rusty Vietnam-era PBRs, but it would help pad out their scanty resources. If they even existed. If Walters could come up with the crews, fuel, and ammunition for them. If the money he wanted didn't just end up in a Grand Caymans account. There were a lot of "ifs" involved when dealing with Silver Talon, it seemed. But ultimately, lives were at stake and the man was offering to help. That outweighed the alarm bells going off in his mind. "Very well, Mr. Walters. You will be paid on delivery of these craft. Not before. I do intend to deduct the price of a soldier's manual from your fee, however."
He opened his mouth to address Rio Toma, but then allowed Diakopi to answer, far better than he ever could. "Thank you for your analysis, Professor, it may give us the knowledge we need to handle this situation. Everything seems to indicate a creature that is primarily aquatic but comfortable operating outside the water for short periods. It is worth noting that one of the dead farmhands was completely bisected, almost like with a huge knife blade- something straight, not serrated or jagged like teeth would be. Possibly sharp talons, we do not know for sure. I hope that may help you form an idea of what we're up against."
"As for your question, Warrant Officer, our preliminary reports mention no prints. I will relay a request to the Kenya Police Service to send us more photographs of the scene. Alternately, we could take care to inspect it ourselves upon our arrival."
He looked around the room. "United Nations aircraft are ready and waiting to fly us out. We will be setting up our base at Entebbe Airport, outside Kampala. If there is no further business. . ."