Bodyguard: Ransom (Book 2) (4 page)

‘Operation Gemini commences in two weeks,’ announced Colonel Black. ‘I trust you’ve all done your homework.’

The colonel stood, arms behind his back, at the front of Alpha team’s briefing room. His broad shoulders, chiselled jaw and silver-grey crew cut were highlighted by the glow of the projector screen. As founder and commander of the Buddyguard organization, the ex-SAS soldier took a personal interest in every assignment and made certain he attended every operational briefing. On the screen behind him, spinning in 3D, was Buddyguard’s official logo: a silver winged shield.

Connor swiped a finger across his new tablet computer and prepared to take notes. The next few hours would be an onslaught of information from each Alpha team member regarding different aspects of the operation: Principal profile, location intel, threat assessments, security requirements, ‘actions on’ procedures, role assignment and logistical support, to name but a few. Each element was crucial to the success of the mission and all team members were required to have a working
knowledge in case of role swaps or last-minute replacements.

Colonel Black stepped aside to allow Charley to the front. As Alpha team’s operations leader and most experienced buddyguard, she always led the briefing.

‘On this assignment, there are
two
Principals needing our protection,’ she explained, clicking the projector’s handheld remote. A photograph of two young girls, virtually identical in looks, flashed up on the screen. ‘These are the twin daughters of Mr Maddox Sterling, the Australian media mogul and billionaire.’

‘They look like the Valley Sisters,’ cracked Richie with an approving grin, referring to the famous teenage TV pop duo.

‘Got all their albums, have you?’ teased Ling.

‘No! Of course not. I have musical taste … unlike you. I mean, Black Sabbath. Talk about morbid.’

Ling narrowed her eyes at him. ‘You haven’t
lived
until you’ve listened to
Paranoid
.’

Tuning out his teammates’ bickering, Connor carefully studied the photograph. The twins had matching straw-blonde hair, sea-green eyes and well-defined cheekbones. They could very easily pass as pop stars – and equally as one another. It would be hard to tell them apart.

Pointing to the girl on the right, Charley continued with the Principal profile. ‘Chloe is the eldest by twelve minutes. Aged fifteen, she’s outgoing, sociable and intelligent; though, word has it, she can be a bit of a princess.’ Charley shrugged her shoulders as if to imply that came with being the daughter of a billionaire. ‘Emily, on the other hand, is quieter
and more introvert. She favours reading, nature and walking in contrast to Chloe’s love of netball, sunbathing and partying. But that isn’t surprising. Last year she was the victim of a kidnapping.’

‘Sounds like they hired us too late,’ quipped Amir, looking round at the others to join in his joke.

However, a stern glance from the colonel’s flint-grey eyes swiftly ended Amir’s attempt at humour. ‘Tragically, that’s often the case. Hindsight brings wisdom.’

On the screen, Charley flicked to a composite image of various newspaper clippings. The headlines bullet-pointed the distressing progress of the kidnap:
STERLING GIRL MISSING … HAVE YOU SEEN EMILY? … MEDIA MOGUL’S MULTIMILLION DOLLAR RANSOM DEMAND … HOSTAGE GIRL NEGOTIATIONS STALL … IS EMILY DEAD? … STERLING SISTER RELEASED.

‘Emily was snatched while on a family vacation in the Côte d’Azur,’ Charley explained. ‘The Corsican Mafia was the suspected organization behind the kidnapping, although this wasn’t proven. She was held in the Algerian desert for several months, before eventually being released following lengthy negotiations over the ransom payment.’

Ling held up a hand to ask a question. ‘If the father’s so wealthy, what took so long?’

Colonel Black replied, ‘Ransom negotiations are rarely straightforward. There’s a great deal of bluff and counter-bluff, rejected offers and impossible demands. The most important thing is that the hostage was released, unharmed.’

‘So, how’s Emily doing now?’ asked Connor.

‘Surprisingly well,’ Charley revealed, pulling a medical report from her file. ‘Physically she is fit and healthy, no lasting after-effects. Her psychological report indicates the occasional mood swing, withdrawal and a fear of the dark and confined spaces. Emily’s been prescribed medication to help her cope with the anxiety attacks – but it can have side effects of drowsiness, confusion and impaired thinking. However, that’s all to be expected considering her ordeal. Alpha team’s task is to ensure that such a tragedy doesn’t happen again.’

Clicking her remote, Charley pulled up a map of the Indian Ocean. ‘We’re to provide low-profile protection for the Sterling sisters during their forthcoming holiday in the Seychelles and the Maldives.’ She indicated the two tiny clusters of tropical islands amid the vast blue swathe of ocean separating Africa and India. ‘The operation will last a month and be based on Mr Sterling’s yacht.’

A sleek fifty-metre, multidecked super-yacht filled the display.

‘Wow!’ exclaimed Amir, his coffee-brown eyes widening in amazement. ‘That’s
some
boat.’

‘That’s no boat; it’s a floating palace,’ Marc corrected, as he squinted at the yacht’s top deck. ‘It’s even got a
jacuzzi
.’

Jason shot Connor an envious glance. ‘You’ve landed a cushy assignment,’ he said. ‘Must be your reward for saving the President’s daughter.’

‘You think so?’ replied Connor, recalling the difficulties he’d faced protecting just one Principal. ‘I reckon twins mean twice the trouble.’

‘You have to be careful with female Principals, don’t you, Connor?’ said Charley, glancing meaningfully in his direction.

Her comment went over the heads of the others, but Connor knew Charley was referring to the time she’d caught him and Alicia kissing. As a buddyguard that was a line never to be crossed – although strictly speaking he’d no longer been protecting Alicia at that intimate moment. But Charley clearly wasn’t going to let him forget it.

‘And for that reason,’ Charley continued, ignoring the team’s bemused expressions, ‘Colonel Black has decided there’ll be
two
buddyguards on this operation.’

The room went quiet as this new information sank in. No one had anticipated the need for a
second
operative. Yet, with two Principals to look after, a dual protection unit was logical for effective security.

All eyes turned to the colonel. Jason straightened himself in expectation. Marc, in inverse proportion to his eagerness, leant casually back in his chair. Ling tensely bit her lower lip, while Amir was so on the edge of his seat that he was
in danger of falling off. Richie simply chewed on a fingernail, aware that he was out of the running having only just returned from an assignment. As much as Connor respected the others on his team, he hoped that the colonel would select Amir. He knew his friend was desperate to go on his first assignment and earn his winged badge.

Colonel Black only held them in suspense for a few seconds. ‘Ling, you’ll be buddyguard 2 i/c.’

‘Yes!’ said Ling, clenching her fist in delight.

Jason bumped fists with Ling in respect. ‘Congratulations, captain, best get your bikini ready.’

‘Oh, and I thought I could borrow
yours
,’ she said, winking at him playfully.

Meanwhile, Amir quietly deflated like a punctured balloon.

Connor offered his friend an encouraging smile. ‘Don’t worry, there’s always next time,’ he whispered.

Amir gave a half-hearted nod by way of reply.

But as the colonel’s exact words registered with Ling her delight turned to a frown. ‘2 i/c?
Second
-in-charge?’

The colonel raised an eyebrow. ‘You’ve a problem with that?’

‘Of course not,’ said Ling, offering an amiable smile at Connor. ‘It’s just that this being my third mission, I thought –’

‘You’ll both have
equal
responsibilities when it comes to protecting your Principals,’ cut in the colonel. ‘But there must always be a clear chain of command on the ground. Now, Amir, brief the team on the threat situation … Amir?’

Amir looked up. Rousing himself from his disheartened daze, he headed over to the lectern and busied himself connecting his tablet PC to the projector, taking a little longer than necessary in an attempt to hide his disappointment. Clearing his throat, he began to read direct from his notes, barely glancing up.

‘I’ll start with the Principals’ father: Maddox Sterling. Fifty years old, he’s the founder and chairman of Fourth Estate Corporation, Australia’s largest media company.’

A suave silver-haired man in a well-cut suit appeared on the screen.

‘The corporation’s interests include newspaper and magazine publishing, internet, Pay TV, and film and television production. Fourth Estate essentially owns and controls Australia’s national media.’

Amir clicked through a series of images showing various newspapers, movie posters and television channels.

‘Because of this, Mr Sterling has many powerful allies in both government and industry. Equally he has made many enemies – either as a result of his aggressive business tactics, or due to his newspapers’ controversial style of investigative journalism. For example –’ a slide of a slim dark-haired lady popped up – ‘the former government opposition leader Kelly Brocker was forced to resign last year following revelations about her private life.’

Amir switched to an image of a tanned middle-aged man with auburn hair.

‘This is Joseph Ward, the former CEO of Ward Enterprises, who was jailed for ten years for corporate fraud. The
financial scandal was exposed by
Insider
, a current affairs programme on one of Mr Sterling’s TV networks. As a result, Mr Ward, a business rival of Mr Sterling, was declared bankrupt and the media arm of his company was absorbed by none other than Fourth Estate.’ Amir raised his eyebrows at the significance of this coincidence. ‘At the time of his arrest, Mr Ward publicly vowed revenge on Mr Sterling. Although presently Mr Ward remains in jail.

‘Then the most recent case is the exposure of a high-level Australian politician, Harry Gibb, who has been accused of financial mis-dealings over the country’s mining rights.’

A front page from the
Australian Daily
flashed up, the headline declaring ‘
GREEDY GIBB MUST GO!
’ This statement was supported by an unflattering photo of a portly gentleman with thinning hair and a ruddy complexion, caught at the moment he was stuffing a large burger into his mouth.

‘While none of these people are a direct threat to our two Principals,’ explained Amir, ‘any enemy of the father must be considered a potential enemy of the daughters. So I’ve included full background intel on each of them in your operation folders.’

‘What about their mother?’ asked Ling. ‘What’s her story?’

‘Sadly,’ said Amir, ‘the mother died in a car crash when the girls were only eight years old.’

Connor felt his throat tighten at the news. Having lost his father around the same age, he felt an immediate empathy with the girls.

‘Recently, however, their father became engaged.’ Amir pressed the remote a few times to bring up a picture of the new fiancée: a glamorous and unexpectedly youthful woman in a figure-hugging red dress. ‘Amanda Ryder is a twenty-nine-year-old swimsuit model, who is a regular on the Sydney socialite circuit. As a future member of the family, she’ll be joining you on the yacht.’

‘Should make for an
entertaining
holiday,’ said Marc, with a sly grin at Connor. ‘At least the views will be good.’

Connor stifled a snigger at his friend’s remark.

‘Get your minds out of the gutter and focus on the mission!’ snapped Colonel Black.

His stern tone wiped the smiles off both their faces in an instant.

Amir quickly resumed his report. ‘In terms of threat level, Ms Ryder appears to have more admirers than enemies. It’s really Mr Sterling’s immense wealth – estimated at one and a half billion dollars – that makes him and his family a vulnerable target. Emily’s kidnapping has already proved that the daughters are a tempting prize for any criminal organization. And, while the Corsican Mafia shouldn’t be on the radar in the Indian Ocean, a secondary kidnapping attempt by extreme terrorists like the Seven Sabres of Somalia or an international crime syndicate, such as the Russian Bratva or the Chinese Triads, is a definite risk to consider.’

‘Any other potential threats?’ asked Connor, very much aware that the colonel’s frosty glare was still on him and Marc.

Amir nodded. ‘Like any tourist resort, robbery and theft
are common in the Seychelles and the Maldives, especially around the harbours. Such crime tends to be opportunistic, so you’ll have to stay alert. There’s also the chance of harassment: the Sterling sisters are well recognized by the paparazzi, even more so since the kidnapping. But, surprisingly, Mr Sterling’s request for privacy has been honoured. So far.’

Amir paused in his threat report and finally looked up.

‘Of course, there is one obvious danger when sailing the Indian Ocean.’ He brought up a photo of the skull-and-crossbones. ‘Pirates.’