Chapter One
Gwen Jacobs answered the knock at her door and c ame face to face with the worst mistake of her life.
The dark , piercing eyes of Michael Garrison scanned the length of her body before meeting her glare. “Hi, Gwen.”
It took every ounce of her restraint not to slap the smile off his face. “I was just on my way out.”
“This won’t take long.” He brushed past her.
Gwen closed the door, leaning against it for support. She hadn’t seen Michael since their last assignment together for the BBC. Both journalists, they’d met in the states four years ago on assignment. After a year of dating, he’d asked her to move to London with him and like an idiot she did.
He scanned the modest living room. “Nice place.”
The simple one bedroom flat was the only thing she could find within her budget, her landlord’s generosity and leniency making up for its lack of comfort and style.
“What do you want Michael?”
“I have a job offer if you’re interested.”
She immediately turned and opened the door. “No thank you. I’m freelance now, remember?”
“Yeah , I’ve seen your editorials. Cute photo by the way.” His smile widened. “Face it, Gwen. You’re not cut out for human interest stories. You were born for the frontline. Besides, from what I hear, the pay isn’t so good.”
“The pay is fine. Now, if you don’t mind I’m late for an interview.”
He walked to t he door, but instead of exiting, he nudged her aside, closed the door, and took hold of her hand. “Please, just hear me out.”
She jerked loose, leveling her glare on him. “I said I wasn’t interested.”
“You’ve been hoping to go to Lerato, am I right?”
“You’re offering me an assignment in Dewana?” she asked somewhat leery. For months, she had wanted to go to the small country located in West Africa to expose the atrocities taking place in the midst of their civil war.
“According to a reliable source in Chizoba, the RFAGC is planning to take Lerato in the next couple of weeks unless their demands are met, including the release of Chidike. I’ve set up a meeting on the 20 th .”
It wasn’t exactly the assignment she’d been hoping for. The Revolutionary Front Against Government Corruption, under the leadership of Akua Chidike, was responsible for much of the mayhem in the poverty stricken country. Committing some of the worst war crimes ever reported. “I thought international travel into the country had been suspended?”
“I got you a seat on a private charter with an American businessman by the name of Peterson. He’s with some religious organization. They’re going in on a humanitarian mission. They leave day after tomorrow.”
That meant she would have complete access to the victims themselves. She sensed something very foul about his offer though. “Wait a minute. They think I’m going along only to do a story on them?” His grin made her sick to the stomach. He hadn’t changed a bit. “That’s low, Michael, even for you.”
“Don’t go getting sanctimonious on me, Gwen. We both know you’ve no morals when it comes to getting a story, especially one as big as this.”
“I’d never risk human life to further my career, unlike other people I know.”
“You had just as much to do with Kirabo as I did.”
She fell silent at his accusation, knowing in her heart it was true. They’d both left Liberia with blood on their hands. What started as an exposé to clue the world in on Liberia’s support of the RFAGC movement ended in the massacre of an entire village. They had barely escaped with their own lives.
“According to my source , the rebels are within fifty miles of the city. Not only that; he can get you an interview with a senior officer. General Abdul Kabassa, he’s Chidike’s senior commander. So what do you say?”
She considered his offer. No journalist had ever gotten inside the RFAGC and lived to tell about it. It was even rumored they had hit lists
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