“Who are you?” she asked.
“My name is Gabriel Malinov. I am a United Global Defence agent and I’m here to protect you. You aren’t alone anymore, Antonia. I will take care of you.”
She didn’t say another word and he didn’t ask any questions. There would be plenty of them later. For now, he just wanted to make her feel safe. The Russian agent believed it was a feeling she hadn’t felt for a long time and he was honoured to be the one giving it to her.
Antonia King was the only woman who could identify the IS jihadist fighter, masquerading as a refugee, co-ordinating a group of terrorists to suicide bomb European cities and Gabriel had to keep her alive. She’d run across the jihadist almost by accident when she had been investigating the kidnapping of women for a sexual slavery ring operated by the Mafia. She’d discovered refugee women were being abducted from the camp and forced to become brides for rich businessmen, for jihadist fighters in Syria, Derna in Libya and other IS strongholds and sold to brothels and for online sex.
Her investigation had inadvertently led to the uncovering of the organized radicalization of men in the camp. She had written about an operation in which an IS operative was radicalizing young disenfranchised men in the refugee camp to build an army of suicide bombers. The two girls she had been protecting in the camp had been taken from her and hidden with a family by the Mafia to stop her from pursuing the story. She would get the girls back if she dropped her investigation and stopped trying to involve the police. But the journalist refused to give up hope of finding the girls and exposing the Mafia and the bomber. The Oracle newspaper had given her a break and immediately ran her freelance story.
Antonia was back in London determined to hunt down the manager of the camp who she suspected had known more about the abductions and the IS involvement in the camp then she had previously led Antonia to believe. Antonia suspected Adalina Morelli was involved with the Mafia. She had hypothesized in her article that the woman was so distraught at the conditions in the camp she was taking payments from the Mafia to help obtain food and tents for the refugees under her care. She’d also indicated it was possible the woman felt the only way to keep numbers down in the camp and help others survive was to allow the Mafia to abduct some of the women for sexual slavery.
The words were harsh and to the point. But her interviews with Adalina Morelli demonstrated a woman distraught with her work. The abductions could not have taken place without her turning a blind eye. The camp had been too strongly fortified for a group to simply just walk in and take the women. Antonia finished her article in The Oracle newspaper in England by suggesting that Adalina Morelli had agreed to the journalist going undercover in the camp because she wanted to be found out and caught. Guilt was getting the better of her.
The Mafia clearly had an objection to Morelli being caught and were now protecting her. When reading the brief and speaking to his supervisor at United Global Defence, Gabriel considered Morelli might have contacts in other camps around Europe who were allowing the Mafia to kidnap women and IS to operate. Morelli had knowingly facilitated the abductions and allowed the radicalization of young men to continue in the camp.
Morelli had family in London and when Antonia’s article was published Adalina had gone into hiding. But United Global Defence hadn’t been able to locate her in London and the belief now was that she was hiding out in Venice with an old boyfriend.
Due to the failure of the Italian police to take Antonia’s claim seriously, Morelli had escaped capture. An investigation by United Global Defence had concluded there was truth and relevance to Antonia’s claims and now she was a valuable witness with information. Antonia believed someone very well connected in the Italian government had allowed Morelli to carry on her criminal activity. But more importantly, Antonia was the only one who could identify the terrorist from the camp. Chasing the terrorist had to come first.
Gabriel’s job was simple. He was to protect this beautiful, reckless, feisty journalist and bring her in. She had to understand she couldn’t do this on her own anymore. She wasn’t going to bring down an IS plot, rescue the two girls she had vowed to protect and bring Adalina Morelli to justice on her own. He was calling the shots now and he was going to make sure she learnt this fast so he could keep her safe from harm.
After what seemed like an age, the wheel finally reached the ground. United Global Defence and the police stormed the capsule. Gabriel waved them away and lifted Antonia up into his arms with ease. She clung to him as he carried her out of the capsule and to the waiting air ambulance that was parked next to the black United Global
