Chapter 15

As the man entered, he looked very nervous.

"Mr. And Mrs. De Pietro, I am from Russia. I had the great pleasure to meet your daughter Daphne and I cannot get her out of my mind. With your permission I would like to court her and see if she and I might have a future together?"

Paul and Gina looked at each other and knowing glances were exchanged.

They now may have someone to look after the family interests in Monte Carlo.

Corsica and the waters around it were pretty much secure. Recruits had been coming into the training center, but instead of retired SAS and SBS troops, Trisha was sending not only more South Africans, but also many more Japanese and Russian personnel.

It seemed an opportune time for a family meeting. Daphne was still too young to run an independent operation. She was not as strong a personality as Trish, nor was she as integrated into society connections as Pamela was. Daphne, however, was going to exhibit some traits that would serve the family extremely well. She could delegate and manage far better than any of the others.

Another outstanding trait Daphne had was planning. This was a missing element since Nicco had decided to take over his enemies by using allies. Daphne's plan, though, was a bit bolder. She saw the entire world as a huge chessboard. If she could place her pieces in the right places, no one could win but her.

She considered the family, but felt she would have to prove herself before others would listen to her. She was, after all, very young; and the others had all been successes.

Andre was certain he had found his soul mate, but Daphne had a plan, and no time to indulge in personal pleasures. She wanted ... no, she needed people around her that told her the truth. Good or bad, she needed to assess and adjust in order to orchestrate her plans to success.

Like a commander of troops she wanted generals who would argue their points, say what they needed to do the job, then execute to that plan. Personal glory and fame be damned, boys who would lick her boots was not what she wanted. Battle hardened leaders who could think for themselves, adjust to the conditions they found, yet remain loyal to her were who she would choose.

To do this, Daphne began to recruit. What she said she wanted was not what she was really after. Soon, several recruiting efforts were finalized. Military forces always had people either ready to re-enlist or retire.

Daphne made this one request to every base that was selected for recruitment: "I want to meet and speak with the Base Commander, before selecting any troops." Since most of the Commanders wanted more for the men who had fought for them than a simple goodbye, they all agreed.

Here is where the brilliance of Daphne would shine. When her entourage entered the Base, each Commander saw only a very young, and naïve little girl. They all took her by the arm and started to lead her into their nice, big, important office.

Daphne merely said to them, "General, I came here to find good men, not drink tea. Walk with me."

She started to ask her questions. One very simple question was asked of each Commander. "General, when you send your many fine troops into combat, who leads them?" When most gave an honest answer, Daphne said, "Please have him join us."

Most meetings ended with three friends walking along some dusty track. If there was an agreement reached, it was nearly the same. "I want your best, I will treat them better than anyone else and pay far more than any other." She then looked at the selected leader and said, "You are to select 100 men. You, and they, are to report to our training facility. If more than 50 complete the training, this will be repeated every month, you will be in-charge of them and I shall discuss with you each assignment.

After one year, several opportunities will present themselves. Travel, adventure and enough excitement to make what they have been doing here seem like a child's playground. The incentive for you, General, is to be able to place 1,000 or more of your finest troops, each year, into stable and secure positions. When you retire you will once again join them."