6

“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 guardian, he knew 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 guardians 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, having 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, leaned back casually in his chair. Ling tensely bit her lower lip, and 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 the colonel would select Amir. He knew his friend was desperate to go on his first assignment and earn his winged badge.

Colonel Black held them in suspense for only a few seconds. “Ling, you’ll be guardian two 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 halfhearted nod by way of reply.

But as the colonel’s exact words registered with Ling, her delight turned to a frown. “Two i/c? Second in charge?”

The colonel raised an eyebrow. “You have 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 to the projector, taking a little longer than necessary in an attempt to hide his disappointment. Clearing his throat, he began to read directly 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, cable 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 TV channels.

“Because of this, Mr. Sterling has many powerful allies in both government and industry. Equally he has made many enemies—as a result of his aggressive business tactics or his newspapers’ controversial style of investigative journalism. For example”—a slide of a slim, dark-haired woman popped up—“the former government opposition leader Kelly Brocker was forced to resign last year after 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 true crime show on one of Mr. Sterling’s TV networks. As a result, Mr. Ward, a business rival of Mr. Sterling, has declared bankruptcy, 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 currently 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 misconduct 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.

“Although 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 could understand what life must be like for the girls.

“Recently, however, their father got 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 vacation,” said Marc, with a sly grin at Connor.

Connor stifled a snigger at his friend’s remark.

“Boys, 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, although the Corsican Mafia shouldn’t be on the radar in the Indian Ocean, a secondary kidnapping attempt by extreme terrorists like the Seven Sabers 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. “Just as in any tourist resort, robbery and theft are common in the Seychelles and the Maldives, especially around the harbors. 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 honored. 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 a skull and crossbones. “Pirates.”