Kidnap (The Billionaire Series)

Part One

Chapter 2

Fourteen years earlier

“Zulu…come in Zulu.”

“Zulu here…Alpha, are
you in position?”

“Yes and the targets
have arrived...I repeat, the targets have arrived.”

“Roger that Alpha…the
targets have arrived. Confirm final location before pulling out… Zulu out.”

“Roger...Alpha out.”

Zulu switched off the
radio and looked at his team - Bravo, Charlie and Delta. They were all highly
skilled and experienced ex-special forces personnel, with only one allegiance: money.
Of course, those were not their real names. Only Zulu, the Team Leader, knew
everybody’s real name. He liked to keep things on a need-to-know basis and his
team didn’t need to know. They didn’t need to know about the client and they
most definitely did not need to know that they would all soon be dead. Zulu
picked up the satellite phone next to the radio and dialled his client. The
phone rang once.

“What
?!
”
barked the client.

“The targets are in
position. We will attack in 9 hours, at exactly 04.00 hours.”

“Excellent. And
remember, I do not tolerate failure.”

“Nor do I,” replied
Zulu.

“Good and don’t forget,
no loose ends.”

Zulu thought about
arguing the point once again but decided not to. The idea of killing his team
after they had completed the mission did not sit well with him but whatever the
client wanted, Zulu would deliver.

“ARE WE CLEAR
??!!
” shouted the client, impatient at Zulu’s silence.

“Of course,” replied
Zulu quickly.

“Good. Call me when
it’s done.” The client hung up, no goodbyes, no pleasantries.

After a few seconds,
Zulu lowered the phone and considered whether he should opt out of the mission.
From the first contact, Zulu’s mysterious client had unnerved him, a feeling so
alien to Zulu that he wasn’t sure how to deal with it.

He walked back to his
doomed team and ran through the plan again. Alpha arrived half way through the
briefing but rather than risk any confusion, Zulu started the briefing again.
The team listened to their instructions intently. They were all terrified of
Zulu.

Zulu was an imposing
figure. He was six foot four, made of solid muscle and almost as broad as he
was tall. Despite his massive stature, his most imposing features were his
eyes. Anyone who had ever met him and was fortunate enough to live to tell the
tale,
remembered his eyes above everything else. They stared
relentlessly, unblinkingly at anything that crossed their path, boring into the
soul and threatening imminent death. Anyone caught by their mesmerising gaze
would swear they had looked into the eyes of the devil himself. Hence Zulu’s
real name, Reaper.

As the briefing ended
and the men started to filter away to check their equipment, Zulu called Alpha
over to him.

“Anything else to
report?” asked Zulu, suspiciously.

Alpha was certain he
had told him everything but as Zulu’s eyes burned into him he began to doubt
himself. Zulu had shadowed other members of the team over the last few days and
had picked up on a number of errors and omissions from their reports. Although
Alpha was certain Zulu hadn’t shadowed him, he couldn’t be certain.

“Hmm, I don’t’ believe
so.”

Zulu just stared at him
unblinkingly for a few seconds. When he was sure Alpha had not missed anything,
he produced a photo and pointed to the bride and groom in the wedding photo.

“And it was definitely
them?”

“Yes, one hundred and
ten
percent
, Sir”

“Good. Dismissed,”
barked Zulu, his gaze returning to the photo. Only he knew who they were. He’d
spotted the headline in the papers a few weeks before. ‘Billionaire Businessman
to wed his childhood sweetheart.’ He’d thought nothing of it at the time but
when the photo came through from the client, a few hours earlier, he
immediately remembered the headline. Zulu never forgot a face. Up until the
photo arrived, all he knew was that the targets were scheduled to arrive at the
small guesthouse located on the edge of the jungle in Sabah, a Malaysian
province located on the island of Borneo in the South China Sea.

Zulu wondered what
Donald Kennedy had done to upset the client but only out of interest; a job was
a job and this was an exceptionally
well paid
one.
Whatever he had done, the whizz kid
businessman,
destined to be the richest man in the world, was soon to be one of the deadest.
And there was nothing anyone could do about it. The first night of the
Kennedys’ honeymoon was also going to be their last. Zulu looked again at the
picture. It was a shame. The wife was very beautiful, a doctor, a paediatrician
named Rachel, if he remembered correctly.
Brains and beauty.

Zulu turned as he heard
footsteps approaching.

“Sir, there was one
thing, I’ve just remembered. Probably totally unnecessary,” stammered Alpha
nervously. “But another couple arrived at the same time as the targets. I think
they were locals but I’m not really sure. They might have looked a bit more
Japanese, come to think of it. Anyway, the local woman was pregnant and the
female target was helping her.”

“But the targets
checked into their room OK?”

“Yes, Sir, just as I
reported. I just hadn’t mentioned the pregnant woman as I thought it was
irrelevant but that I guess is for you to decide.”

“No, that’s fine,”
responded Zulu calmly, much to Alpha’s relief. Zulu thought it was quite
natural for a doctor to help a pregnant woman. Everything would proceed as
planned.

Chapter 3

Donald and Rachel
Kennedy had arrived on schedule for the first night of their honeymoon. After a
long and tiring journey, Donald was looking forward to the total relaxation
that
lay
ahead, a two week break, something he hadn’t
had for years. Alba Corporation, for once, was taking second place. The
location of their honeymoon had been chosen carefully. There were absolutely no
phone lines, computer terminals or mobile phone masts anywhere for miles.
Donald was effectively cut off and had no option but to relax and enjoy quality
time with his new wife, something he was still having difficulty getting used
to.

It was everything they
had envisaged, the forest opened up as the guesthouse came into view, the trees
giving way to a large well kept lawn which itself gave way to a stunning beach
with gentle waves lapping against the pristine sands. After checking in, they
were shown to their room, housed in a new annex, the room had a spectacular
terrace that opened directly onto the beach. Within a minute, Donald was cracking
open the champagne and toasting his new wife.

“Mrs Donald Kennedy,”
he announced turning to face Rachel and finding nothing but an empty room. The
door to their room stood wide open and Donald could just see the back of his
wife rushing across the driveway towards a battered old taxi. As he rushed
after her, the full picture came into view. She wasn’t running to grab the
taxi,
she was running to help a young man who was struggling
to help his pregnant companion from the taxi. Although relieved his wife wasn’t
‘doing a runner’, Donald had the feeling that he was going to be the only one
giving up work during their honeymoon.

As he approached the
car, Rachel was in full flow. Orders were being barked to the young man and the
guesthouse staff as Rachel helped the young woman into the reception area,
sitting her in a chair before grilling the young man who confirmed his name was
Saki and informed her that his wife,
Tylanni
, was due
to give birth in less than a week.

“OK, Donald, where are
you?”

“I’m here,” replied
Donald standing in the doorway behind Rachel.

“Find out what room
they’re booked into and make sure it’s a cool one.”

As Donald went to check
the room with the receptionist, Saki followed.

“Excuse me but who is
that woman?” he whispered quietly, ensuring Rachel didn’t here him.

Donald stifled a laugh
but smiled.

“She’s my wife, well I
think she is. When it comes to being a doctor, she’s extremely... how can I put
it... efficient. And unless you’re her patient, she’s even a little scary.”

“Hmm yes,” agreed Saki.
“But she is a Doctor!” he repeated excitedly.