People Trafficker Read Free Page A

a boyfriend?” one of the junior officers asked.
    Karen liked the fishing question; after all she’d really laid it on today, so she began to think about what sort of lad she was looking for as she sipped her coffee.
    “I don’t know really. He’d have to be quite tall; after all I’m close to six feet in heels. Not so bothered about him being really good looking, it’d be a bonus for any girl, but I’d rather have someone with a sense of humour, great personality and who’s able to control me. I prefer a man to take the lead. I’m not some background control freak.”
    Karen had lied in her last sentence; she would always be in control of her destiny and never the man.
    “There you are then, Karen, the forces are for you. There are strappingly fit and tall commandos, well educated officers trained to lead and most have great personalities, besides being up for a laugh,” the Medical Officer added.
    Karen looked at him with mischief in her eyes. “You know you could be right there, I never looked at it that way before. I’ll have to seriously think about it. What do you think, Captain, should I become a soldier?”
    He smiled. “I’d keep to the civilian bit, Karen. You’d be a disturbing influence with the troops. They’d all want to go partying with you every night, you’d wreck discipline.”
    Karen grinned at the thought. At that moment brandy was brought round.
    The Captain stood. “Gentlemen, I propose a toast.”
    They all stood holding their glasses.
    “To Karen. A remarkable and very brave young lady.”

CHAPTER 2
     
    Sirec, a gunrunner based in the Lebanon, had arrived in Italy only two hours ago. Holding a large whisky on the rocks, he was standing watching a satellite news channel with great interest. Live from Cyprus, the news was covering the arrival of Karen.
    Karen for him was very special. Following telephone calls with a people trafficker who was seeking offers for Karen, he’d outbid other interested parties and secured her for himself. However he never met Karen, because at the time she’d been taken to his home, to await his return from an overseas sales trip, she had been snatched back by the British SAS, currently in the Lebanon on a covert operation to destroy his warehouses containing weapons destined for an African state. While both Karen, and then the SAS who’d destroyed his warehouses, were in the Lebanon he’d put up huge rewards for their capture, in particular Karen, as he considered he now owned her and wanted her back.
    Watching the television coverage, he was surprised just how much media interest had been generated. Although he was convinced much of it was from the tabloid industry. Human interest stories were always top, but when you had a girl as attractive and photogenic as Karen, rivalry between the papers could be manic. The value of landing an exclusive story could be worth many hundreds of thousands in extra paper sales and this girl, with her remarkable story, had it all.
    However, up to this moment most of the talk from the television reporter was speculation, as she still hadn’t arrived. Then the speculation suddenly stopped, the cameras turned away from the reporter and were redirected at a car that had just drawn up outside the military headquarters. Halif, his friend and right-hand man for a number of years, entered the room and was just about to speak, but Sirec raised his hand, his eyes glued to the television.
    Then he saw Karen climb out of the car. This was the first time he’d actually seen her in the flesh and he was impressed. Dressed in tight hipster jeans and t-shirt, her hair hanging down freely, she looked particularly sexy with her choice of clothes and unbelievably fit, after being on the run for nearly a week and going through what she had.
    The press surged forward, cameras flashed constantly and she paused for a moment, looking towards them with a smile.
    “How are you feeling, Karen?” a reporter shouted.
    “Very well thank you,