Crimes of Passion

By Barbara Vaka

Crimes of Passion, the latest novel from author Barbara Vaka, is an intriguing blend of mystery, revenge, romance, and mayhem taking readers on a round-the-world action adventure.

Crimes of Passion explores crimes against women. Human Trafficking affects thousands of women and children every year. A large number of the workers in this multi-billion dollar shadow market are ensnared in the web of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. It is difficult to determine the actual number of women who have fallen victim to this illegal industry; the trade is highly secretive, the traffickers behind it are dangerous and the incidents under-reported. Gleaning from this unbecoming global phenomenon, author Barbara Vaka pens Crimes of Passion, a novel that gives voice to the thousands of women embroiled in a life of slavery.

The story picks up where it left off in Pretty Maids with Alex MacKay, an MI6 agent and his partner Asad al-Katib, a former trafficker, who put their lives on the line to rescue unsuspecting women who have fallen prey to human traffickers. In Crimes of Passion they face a new challenge when confronted with an underground ring of fanatical criminals profiting from the illegal practice of circumcising girls as young as two with the willing help of their mothers and relatives.  Alex takes the law into his own hands vowing to save as many children as possible and to avenge the death of one of the small victims.

Crimes of Passion is a fictional story based on the truth about the exploitation of unsuspecting women by human traffickers. It also touches on the horrific practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) formally known as circumcision of women. Crimes of Passion takes the reader from the streets of London, to the deserts of Egypt, and the great forbidden kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Barbara Vaka conducted actual research to expose the true horrors of human trafficking, particularly the incidents involving groups controlled by the elusive Russian Mafia. She also explores the contradictions of a modern society that is still bound by its past and gives readers an insightful look at modern Islamic culture. Her novel is set in the Middle East and unravels into a gripping tale of crime, corruption and raw passion. The story is based on the plight of thousands of young women from all over the world who have been lured and fallen prey to slavery and the horrific practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483635934

Barbara Vaka

Barbara Vaka has led an adventurous life traveling around the globe recording her experiences. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida with her husband of 42 years. Throughout her life, she has mingled with the rich and famous including Jerry Lewis with whom she appeared in his 1980 film HARDLY WORKING. Other celebrities include Danny Kaye, Susan Oliver, Steve Franken, and Harold J. Stone. She retired in 2008 from a position with the government as technical writer. HANK’S MOUNTAIN, her first novel, is a story set in Colorado near where she and her husband lived for twelve years, raising horses and their three children. It is a tale of a young Colorado rancher, Hank, who finds himself fighting for the one thing his father treasured most, a ski resort located on what becomes known as Hank’s Mountain following the tragic death of his parents in a car accident. In an inexplicable twist, a young woman from Philadelphia travels to Colorado to decide whether she wants the resort left to her by the young Rancher’s mother and a romance ensues. A New York billionaire wants the property, and will kill to get it. Mystery, revenge, romance, and mayhem fill the pages of this novel. Her next novel, PRETTY MAIDS is scheduled to be released in 2011 and is a story set in the Middle East based on the plight of thousands of young women who are lured into a life of slavery throughout the world. It is a tale of crime and raw passion that explores the contradictions of a modern society still living in the past professing the emancipation of women when in reality it is quite the opposite. Her insightful look at Islamic culture is worth the read alone.

Book preview

Crimes of Passion

Barbara Vaka

Copyright © 2013 by Barbara Vaka.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 05/10/2013

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

92651

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Acknowledgments

A book is a team effort. Without the tireless work of my husband; my best friend, and a terrific editor, this book would never have happened.

This book is dedicated to my husband, Peter, my children; Nicholas, Nicole, and Christian; my daughters-in-law, Stacy and Krystal, my grandson Nathan, and my granddaughter Lucy. They have always given me their love and support. I also want to give a special thanks to my talented son Nicholas for the extraordinary cover design.

Cover Art

Nick Vaka is my oldest son and took time away from his busy schedule to help with the cover design of my third novel, Crimes of Passion.

Nick is a full-time freelance motion graphics artist and has created content for a wide-variety of clients in the D.C.-metro area, Chicago IL, Los Angeles CA, and beyond.

Nick resides in Northern Virginia within practically walking distance of the nation’s capital. Right now he’s available to work on projects, and would love to hear from you.

Nick may be contacted at [e-mail]

www.nickvaka.com

•

Previous Novels

HANK’S MOUNTAIN 2010

PRETTY MAIDS 2011

Introduction

CRIMES of PASSION is a fictional story based on the truth about the exploitation of unsuspecting women by human traffickers. It also touches on the horrific practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) formally known as circumcision of women.

FGM is a procedure that alters or causes injury to female genital organs. It is not performed for medical reasons. There are no health benefits from the procedure. Severe bleeding and urination problems result along with cysts, severe infections, and complications of childbirth. Infant mortality results with still born babies. According to information I discovered in my research, over 140 million young girls are living with the consequences of this procedure. The age of the girls is between two months and age fifteen. On the continent of Africa over 101 million girls age ten and above have suffered from this cultural practice. It is considered a violation of human rights of girls and women and has been outlawed in many countries. Despite this it continues.

There are officially four levels of this practice:

Level 1—Cliteridectomy. It is the partial or total removal of the clitoris. In some cases when the man wants the woman to respond more to his sexual advances, only the prepuce surrounding the clitoris is removed.

Level 2—Excision. It is the partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, and includes the excision of the labia majora.

Level 3—Infibulation. This is a narrowing of the vaginal opening by cutting and repositioning the inner, outer, labia with removal of the clitoris. The girl is sewn together leaving a small opening a little larger than a soda straw to allow for menstrual flow and urination. When the girl marries, the husband cuts her open to have sex. Unfortunately this type 3 is prevalent in the countries of Somalia and Ethiopia where over ninety percent of females are cut in this manner. It is referred to as Pharonic Circumcision.

Level 4. This is harmful and the procedure may include, pricking, piercing, incising and cauterizing the genital area.

All of these procedures if not performed by a doctor may result in complications including severe pain, hemorrhage, tetanus, infections, open sores, and severe injury. Recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections may result.

In some countries women relatives restrain the child, and the procedure is carried out without benefit of an anesthetic of any kind. The women use anything from razor blades to broken glass. If type 3 is performed, the child is sewn with household thread, thorns from bushes, and sometimes caked with mud and excrement. They bind child’s legs together for up to a month to make sure the area is sealed.

Doctors faced with performing surgeries on these young victims discover horrific mutilation. Each time a woman is impregnated if type 3 was performed; she is cut open and after the child is born, sewn back together to stop her from being promiscuous.

Some estimates state that over three million girls are at risk of FGM every year on the continent of Africa. The practice is most common in western, eastern, and north-eastern Africa. Some countries in Asia and the Middle East the practice is also prevalent. When traveling in Egypt several years ago, I was told that over eighty percent of Egyptian women suffer from this procedure. Immigrants from these countries bring this practice with them. The practice exists in any country where immigrants from the parts of the world where FGM is a cultural practice. These immigrants bring their culture with them. Victims of this practice are found on six continents.

The causes of female genital mutilation are mainly cultural. In countries such as Ethiopia and Somalia there is social pressure and superstition that if a woman is not cut, the man can suffer great harm. Some cultures feel it is necessary to prevent a girl from growing up and being promiscuous. If type 3 is performed, it guarantees virginity. Some cultures believe it adds to the cleanliness and beauty of the woman. If the woman is not cut, she is considered unclean. There is no religion associated with FGM. Depending on the religion and the country, some religious leaders preach against it and in others they actually promote the practice.

In remote villages those in power and authority demand the practice continue. It is cultural and dates back to the ancient Egyptians.

In December 2012, the UN General Assembly accepted a resolution on the elimination of female genital mutilation.

FGM does have a place in the history of the U.S. In the 1950s, and earlier, clitoridectomies were practiced in the United States and Western Europe to treat women for hysteria, insanity, seizures, epilepsy, emaciation, mental disorders, masturbation, falling of the womb, floating womb, nymphomania, melancholia and lesbianism. J. Marion Sims, the father of modern gynecology, and Sigmund Freud were advocates for female circumcision. Freud was quoted as saying, elimination of clitoral sexuality is a necessary precondition for the development of femininity.

American doctors treat women and little girls that have suffered from FGM. Most of these little girls and women are victims of families that have immigrated to the United States. On April 26, 2010, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a controversial statement. The AAP said that American doctors should be able to offer a ritual nick as a possible compromise to avoid greater harm to girls, and this may save some girls from undergoing disfiguring and life-threatening procedures in their native countries, and play a role in the eventual eradication of FGM.

For more information on this heinous practice, go to the internet and search for Female Genital Mutilation, or FGM.

CRIMES OF PASSION

Chapter 1

On board the cruise ship Apollo, docked at Piraeus, Greece, the bouzouki music playing throughout the ship suddenly stopped. Attention all passengers leaving for the night tour of Athens, including dinner at a Greek restaurant, and tour of the Plaka, your buses are waiting. The announcement repeated in three languages, Arabic, French, and English.

Please take your boarding passes, passports, and trip vouchers with you. Be back onboard at midnight and the ladies will be waiting for you at 10:00.

All of the sixty-three male passengers left for the tour; the Captain and his first officer went below to a cabin on the lower deck where an officer of the ship’s security force was interrogating a woman accused of stabbing a passenger on the previous cruise.

Captain Melanthius Barberis, hired by the Greek and Russian partners that owned the Apollo, had earned a reputation based on his many nefarious exploits. Being captain of a cruise ship that held captive up to seventy-five young women available to the clientele to use in any perverse way they wished, was a perfect fit for him. Barberis enjoyed torturing and brutalizing any woman that was not submissive thus causing his passengers to complain.

At first glance, some would say Captain Barberis, a man in his mid fifties, was handsome, if not for the coldness in his eyes that betrayed his evil nature. He entered a cabin marked private where a young woman sat strapped to a chair, naked, her long blonde hair tangled, tears streaming down her face, both eyes blackened and swollen from a beating. A well-muscled crewman, perspiration streaming down his body, naked except for a black thong swimsuit stood over her as an officer was shouting at her. Captain Barberis bellowed at his officer, I will take over, good job in preparing her for her punishment.

Barberis leaned over the battered women, her eyes closed.

Look at me, he demanded. You stabbed a very wealthy client on my ship. Killing you quickly is not an option; you would not suffer any pain. You will be an example to the other women as to the price paid for treachery such as yours.

The woman screamed, That man took me to the dungeon every day and bound and whipped me. My body was racked… .

Captain Barberis slapped her hard in the face with the back of his hand with such force that the chair fell over and two of her front teeth fell onto the floor.

He never permanently marked your body. We monitor the dungeon and he was within his rights to do what he did. I have seen women treated worse and they never stabbed anyone.

The captain turned to the naked crewman that had been beating her, Take this bitch to the cell room and hang her from the wrist cuffs. Do not let her feet touch the floor. Allow the other women to observe what happens to a whore that treats our clientele badly.

The crewman unstrapped the petite twenty-year-old blonde woman, slapped her several times in the face, threw her over his shoulder and carried her to the cell room where over sixty naked women peered through the bars from cells along each wall. Each cell held four women.

Bitches, roared the captain as he entered, This whore stabbed a passenger during our previous cruise. Observe what happens to a treacherous harlot.

Captain Barberis turned to the crewman that had been beating her, When her punishment is concluded, bind her in heavy chains, sew her into a canvas bag, and toss the bag overboard later tonight when we reach open water on the way to Crete. When you are finished, leave the bag on the floor so the others can hear her whimpering and watch the bag move as her body twitches.

Despite her desperate effort to get free, the crewman managed to suspend her above the floor. Captain Barberis turned to the crewman, Begin her punishment. Do not kill her. I want her to suffer as her body sinks into the sea in the dark of night.

The crewman began to lash her slender body raising high red welts that soon covered her bare chest and back as she thrashed from side to side, her legs kicking wildly. Blood began to seep from the swollen wounds on her back as the lashes danced across her naked flesh. Her screams filled the room as lash after lash ripped at her body.

Enough, shouted the captain. I don’t want her to die yet. Force her mouth open and pull her teeth. If she is found, I want no one to be able to identify her.

The women in the cells turned away and curled in fetal positions on their beds holding their hands over their ears to block the terrifying screams.

The captain walked by the cells banging on each one with a heavy wrench, Your job is to be congenial to our clientele, do whatever they request and offer no complaints. This woman stabbed one of our passengers and it cost me a lot of Euros to settle the matter.

Captain Barberis and his first officer left the room. The thong-clad crewman took the limp body of the woman, bound her in heavy chains, with the help of three other crewmen slipped her barely conscious body into a canvas bag, and sewed the top closed. They left the bag in the middle of the room and departed. Moans from inside the bag broke the silence in the room as the bag moved back and forth on the floor. The caged women were silent and looked away from the bag in the middle of the room knowing that it could be one of them headed for a watery grave and the terror the young woman would soon experience.

The captain and his officers met in the boardroom of the ship. We have sixty-three passengers this cruise and sixty-seven women. I received word this afternoon we have one more woman arriving in the morning just before we sail. Six of these women are new and must receive their initial training before we offer them to the passengers. It should be a quiet cruise after witnessing the punishment of that bitch. Relax, enjoy the rest of the day, the passengers return after midnight and we sail at 06:30. I need three volunteers, one officer, and two crewmen to come by my office. These three men will indoctrinate the woman coming on board this morning into some sex play. We will drug her first so she will not offer any resistance or try to stop you from giving her a taste of what the passengers may do to her later. Wear protection and remember no lasting marks on her body.

The captain returned to his quarters, poured a tall glass of whiskey, lit a cigar, put his feet on his desk, and leaned back in his chair with a satisfied look on his face as he placed a call to the owners of the ship. The officers talked among themselves before leaving for their quarters. One officer and two crewmen walked to the captain’s office.

London

Henry Ewing, head of a special section of MI6 that dealt with trafficking of women, was in the middle of his morning five-kilometer run when his encrypted satellite phone rang. Henry stopped next to the path, breathing rapidly as the first three kilometers were up hill, and answered.

A deep voice he had not heard before addressed him, Good morning Mr. Ewing, I am Brandon Hershaw, assigned to your section this morning. We have not met.

Someone should have informed you that I run at this time every morning. What is so God damn important you could not wait an hour until I am in the office? Henry responded in a gruff tone of voice.

"My apology, but I received a call from doctor Jameel al-Basara volunteering the use of his thirty-five meter yacht and his crew for the Apollo mission. He went on to explain that Hassan al-Gafaar would also help. Who are these men?"

Mr. Hershaw, how do I know you are who you say you are? No one notified me that they assigned anyone new to my team. Who assigned you?

Henry’s phone began to vibrate indicating a text message. It was form the Home Secretary, Sending over Brandon Hershaw from Section D to help. I have already briefed him on the mission.

Unaware that Henry had received confirmation of his identity he replied, I was transferred from Section D in MI5 by the Home Secretary. Human trafficking is getting a lot of media attention and has placed your section on their political radar. They do not want to seem ambivalent to the problem especially after the Lord Cavendish affair.

Henry paused before responding. That is a mission I would prefer to forget. His daughter ended up marrying her abuser, an Egyptian doctor. In answer to your question, Al-Basara is a surgeon from Cairo, a very wealthy man that has helped us in the past to stop the trafficking of women through Egypt. An interesting story I must tell you sometime. Al-Gafaar, owner of five hotels in Egypt helps his father Sabir, a surgeon in Cairo’s largest hospital, tracking down sex-traffickers in Egypt. Hassan works with MI6 and I have known him for five years.

"Thank you for that information; my first assignment was to arrange for a yacht to shadow that cruise ship Apollo."

Henry replied, Forgot you are new to the office and have not been fully briefed on previous missions. I will arrange for you to see the files. It is good news that we have a yacht for the mission. Al-Gafaar has already fought alongside our agents on one other occasion. Henry continued, Alex MacKay and Asad al-Katib, assigned to this mission, are due in the office this afternoon and will be briefed before flying to Athens and boarding Jameel’s yacht in Piraeus. I will finish my run and see you in an hour. A memo concerning Alex MacKay and his partner Asad al-Katib will be forwarded to you.

Henry ended the call, ran the last two kilometers, and without changing, got into his car, and drove to the London office of MI6, 85 Vauxhall Cross on the South Bank of the Themes. When he arrived, he sent Brandon Hershaw a memo concerning his agents MacKay and al-Katib.

Ewing, head of MI6 special section handling cases related to the trafficking of women, was a man in his middle fifties, stocky build, with graying hair. Despite his age, he was still muscular and a capable adversary in a fight. He married young and tragically, two years later his wife and child died of complications in childbirth. Henry never remarried, but was often in the company of Kathy Huntington, a widow with two grown children. He had rescued Kathy from human traffickers twenty-five years ago on one of his first missions with MI6.

Henry greeted Alex MacKay and Asad al-Katib as they entered his office. MacKay had been with Henry’s section for five years, but only worked for four of those years because of a personal tragedy that forced him to take a year’s sabbatical. Asad al-Katib, formerly a trafficker brought down by Alex McKay, was turned and joined MI6 a short time ago. Given a new identity to protect him from reprisals by the Russian mob, he was now MacKay’s partner. Hassan al-Gafaar, an agent for MI6 in Cairo, had arrived an hour earlier. A twenty-four year old female agent, Bridget Marshfield was the last to arrive for the scheduled meeting in Ewing’s office.

Henry introduced the young female agent, This is Bridget Marshfield who has a great incentive to succeed with this assignment. Her older sister, Elizabeth, kidnapped five years ago in Turkey while on vacation, was found murdered; it was determined she had been a victim of the sex trade. Bridget joined MI6 after she dropped out of the Royal College of Music in London. Her father worked for Harrods in London as a tailor in the menswear department. Marshfield, known for his quality tailoring, knew many influential men in government that shopped at Harrods. When the older sister was murdered, her mother Ileen, who was a hair stylist, had a nervous breakdown.

Until she boards the ship, Bridget will communicate by an encrypted satellite phone. Henry continued, "A ship named the Apollo has sixty-three passengers onboard consisting of business executives looking for fun and depravity. Bridget’s assignment is to go undercover, find out the facts surrounding the women on board reportedly employed as sex slaves on the cruise ship, and to discover the identity of the owners. She has a tracking device implanted under her skin so that we will know where she is at all times."

Bridget greeted the three men. I am aware of the danger, but I want to stop the traffickers that murdered my sister. It has been my goal since the tragic and premature death of Elizabeth. My family is ruined; Father is abusive and drinks too much and Mother lives in her own mind. This is retribution for the death of my sister. I am prepared to endure whatever necessary, even at the risk of my own life to find her killers and bring them to justice.

"Thank you Bridget, we all share your desire to bring down this sex trafficking ring and save others from suffering the fate of your sister. It is our job to keep you safe if something goes wrong.

"Three trained former members of the Egyptian military are trying to join the crew of the Apollo. If they are not successful, they will join the three of you on Jameel’s yacht. These men work under Hassan’s father Sabir. Sabir heads up an independent group of former military that investigate human trafficking in Egypt. Hassan, Alex, and Asad you will keep watch on the ship and if Miss Marshfield needs extraction for any reason, will expedite her rescue."

Alex interrupted, Is there any way she will be able to contact us from the ship?

Henry continued, No, if she goes ashore with a man, follow her and try to make contact. The ship makes stops at several ports throughout the Greek Islands and spends three nights in Istanbul during its two-week cruise. We have been working with the Turkish authorities, and will make our move in Istanbul.

"Where do these men reside that are registered to sail on the Apollo?" Asad asked.

Sixty-three men have booked passage and come from various countries. They are on this cruise ship because they enjoy the sex and perversion. They will be no help in rescuing these women.

Hassan added to the conversation, "Anne, a kidnapped American I rescued in Rhodes when she escaped from the Apollo, thought there were about forty or fifty crewmembers and eight or ten officers in charge of the operation. I think her estimate of the number of crew is low; should be at minimum a crew of a hundred or more."

Hassan’s estimate of more than one hundred crewmen meant that without considerable help from the Turkish authorities the mission was doomed to failure. A ship of this size provided many hiding places. If they could locate and take down the officers, they might persuade the crew to surrender.

When the ship docks in Istanbul, the passengers always disembark and spend three nights at the Istanbul Hilton. Anne said the man that chose her had taken the cruise before, and even though he was taking her ashore in Rhodes for shopping, no women could leave the ship in Istanbul. The women on the ship told her that they had learned from the passengers that the crew sometimes abused the women when they left the ship to go ashore. A select few had the privilege of beating and torturing any women they deemed uncooperative. The remainder of the crew and officers were free to enjoy the women as their reward for keeping silent about the ship. The crew bound, gagged, and nailed uncooperative women into crates to be off loaded at the port of Kusadasi. They sold disobedient women to Gypsies who trafficked them for sex. One of the crew bragged to Anne that some of these women were so badly beaten they required medical treatment. If a man wanted to purchase a woman he particularly liked, they locked her in a cell and gave the crew instructions not to touch her while the ship was in Istanbul. On the ship’s return to Piraeus, the chosen woman would leave with the man that bought her. The exchange of money for any woman had to be made prior to the ship arriving in Istanbul. When the passengers re-boarded the ship after spending three nights in Istanbul the ship proceeded to Kusadasi. The purchased women returned to their new owner for the remainder of the cruise. They had three days’ rest and were off limits except for the troublemakers. After ten hours in Kusadasi, the ship sailed for Piraeus and the passengers went their way. Very few women were ever purchased by these men, and the ones that remained on board had time to rest in their cells until the next cruise.

If I understand you correctly, Rhodes will be the best place to extract Miss Marshfield since the women are not allowed off the ship in Istanbul, Alex asked.

That is correct. If she goes ashore in Rhodes, try to separate her from whomever she goes ashore with at that time. If she does not go ashore in Rhodes, we will have to wait until Istanbul. Once we take out the officers in Istanbul, the crew will be vulnerable and we will be able to take them without much trouble. The Turkish authorities have only one requirement; the crew be handed over to Turkish officials, and the ship awarded to the Turkish government. They will fine the passengers, all influential and wealthy businessmen, and not release them until they pay a huge fine. Those who do not pay the fine immediately, will be sentenced to ten years in a Turkish jail or until the fine is paid, Henry continued his briefing.

I think these men will gladly pay, rather than face the embarrassment of their actions made public, and the thought of spending ten years in a Turkish prison is a great incentive. Asad added.

"Alex, you will fly to Athens with Bridget this afternoon along with Asad and Hassan. Once there, rent a car and drive to Piraeus where you will board Jameel’s yacht early tomorrow morning. Bridget will take a taxi from the airport to her hotel. Your assignment is to shadow the Apollo aboard Jameel’s yacht once Bridget is on board."

Brandon Hershaw received the memo and the information on Alex MacKay and Asad al-Katib. "Alex MacKay lives in Scotland. He is easily recognizable from a scar that runs from just over his left eye down the side of his face the result of trying to rescue a kidnapped woman that did not want rescuing. Following the tragic and premature death of his wife Catherine, I helped Alex pull himself back from depression. Her death was ruled a homicide. Alex joined MI6 special section several years ago and operates primarily in the Middle East tracking down human sex traffickers and freeing their victims many of whom are trafficked for sex and sold into slavery to the brothels of Tel Aviv, Cairo, Athens, and other European countries including the United Kingdom. Alex met his fiancée Magdalena while on just such a mission, and rescued her from a shipment of women bound for Tel Aviv. Alex and Magdalena plan to marry after this two-week Apollo mission.

Alex MacKay and his partner, Asad al-Katib, destroyed a trafficking group working inside Mossad led by two Russian Jews, Boris and Mikhail Schochat that were members of the Russian mafia. Discovering their treachery, Mossad sent orders worldwide to kill Boris and Mikhail Schochat. Alex, Hassan, Sabir, and Asad led the unit that eventually exposed and brought down this group of traffickers. The only member of the team led by Schochat to survive is his fraternal twin brother Mikhail who it is rumored, has plans to revenge his brother’s death by destroying Alex MacKay.

Asad al-Katib, birth name Yuri Berezovsky, had a history of working for the Russian mob under Boris Schochat for four years before becoming Alex’s partner. At eighteen, Yuri traveled on holiday to Singapore where met and solicited a young girl from Singapore in the red light district who lied about being eighteen. Before he even got her to his room, she began to scream for help and even though he had not raped the young woman, the judge sentenced him to three years and ten strokes of a canning rod that scared his body. Working for a human trafficking mob was his revenge against women. While working for the mob, Yuri had a side business seducing alluring women and then selling them to wealthy men. One of those women was Cassandra Cavendish, Lord Cavendish’s daughter who he sold to Jameel al Basara, a surgeon in Cairo. He was on assignment in Egypt, when Magdalena, a woman destined for the brothels of Tel Aviv, revealed to him that she was pregnant. Yuri, having no desire to abuse a pregnant woman, rescued her, but when Alex MacKay and an Egyptian group chasing the traffickers arrived, Alex shot Yuri in the arm and leg while trying to escape with Magdalena. Faced with a long prison sentence or worse, the threat of exposing him to the mob as a collaborator, Yuri decided to cooperate with MI6 and in return for the information he gave them, they granted him immunity from all charges and gave him a new identity. Alex MacKay requested that they make Yuri an MI6 agent and his partner. While recuperating in hospital, Yuri fell in love with his nurse Helen, and married her. Asad, as he is now known, is a linguist and fluent in several languages."

Brandon finished reading the memo and called Henry Ewing on the phone.

I read the memo that you sent. MacKay and al-Katib are an interesting duo. I look forward to meeting them some time.

Henry laughed, Come over to my office, Brandon. We will share a shot of brandy and a good cigar. I will answer any other questions concerning the Apollo Mission and who we suspect are involved.

Chapter 2

The next day after Alex, Asad, and Hassan drove to Piraeus from the airport in Athens. Bridget called a taxi and arrived at the Olimpia Hotel in Athens wearing a V-neck green colored jersey dress with chic long flaring sleeves that almost matched her green eyes. Wearing glimmer drop earrings, expensive designer suede and leather shoes that had a high wedge that made her a little over 182 centimeters tall, Bridget looked like a model that had stepped off the pages of a high fashion magazine. Her long blonde hair hung loose and fell half way down her back. When she walked into the lobby of the hotel pulling a large suitcase, there was not a man did not watch her every step from the door to the reception desk.

May I see your passport? asked the young man at the desk. Miss Marshfield, welcome to Athens. Are you traveling alone? The reservation clerk asked as he smiled at Bridget.

Traveling on a cruise ship, I will never be lonely.

I am sure you will enjoy your cruise. It is a shame you will not be spending time in Athens.

Athens is a wonderful city. I visited two years ago, but I have never seen the Greek islands and this cruise will take me to the islands that are of most interest to me.

We recommend the Neptune Restaurant specializing in Greek and Lebanese food located on the top floor with a scenic, panoramic view of the city for dinner this evening. It is not recommended for a lovely lady to walk the streets of Athens alone at night.

I plan to do a little shopping for friends and go to bed early. Can you arrange for a taxi to the port by nine in the morning?

It would be my pleasure. A porter will bring your bags to your room. Here is your key.

Bridget took the magnetic key and went to her room on the seventh floor. When her luggage arrived, she showered, changed clothes, and left the hotel to visit the nearby shops. She had a request from a friend to buy Greek dolls for her daughter that collected international dolls and a reproduction amphora. Bridget bought two dolls, an amphora with a painting of a scene from Greek mythology, and left the shop. Walking along the busy street, phone in hand, she contacted Henry.

I checked into the hotel and the first question the receptionist asked was if I was traveling alone. When I return from shopping, if they plan to kidnap me, the hotel will inform me of a change in cruise ship reservations.

"Call as soon as they inform you of a change. Be careful. As soon as you have the information on the Apollo and the time of departure, notify me. You will be on your own; I trust you have not changed your mind. Henry asked in a concerned tone of voice. The tracking device is working; we will know where you are at all times."

I am doing this for my sister and my parents. Following the death of my brother in Afghanistan, they were devastated. My mother fell into deep depression, and was never able to work again following the death of my sister. My father was enraged over her death and began drinking heavily. I feel that Elizabeth’s death was my fault because I did not travel with her.

Henry assured her, You may have been killed along with your sister. It was not your fault.

When Bridget returned to the hotel from shopping, the concierge called to her.

"Miss Marshfield, you have an important message. The Oceanic Cruise Line called; your reservation is now on another ship, the Apollo with the same itinerary. They upgraded your reservation to a private stateroom with a sea view. The change was made because Oceanic’s ship the Neptune was overbooked."

They