Free A King's Ransom by James Grippando

of us surprised to see that Alex was a her, not a him. I'd expected someone like Agent Nettles, but in walked a striking Latina woman with big brown eyes. She was dressed in a fitted gray business suit that was conservative only in color, as it did little to hide the fact that she took very good care of her body. I probably looked a split second longer than I should have. Any man would have done the same, and notwithstanding the one-two punch of Jenna and her dive-bombing seagull on the beach, I was, after all, still a man.
    Alexandra Cabrera, she said. Call me Alex.
    My pleasure, I said, as we shook hands.
    I'm with Crowell Associates.
    A fine organization, said Duncan. I've used your investigators for litigation support. He glanced at me and added, They're one of the largest private investigative and security firms in the world.
    Actually, you're thinking of Kroll Associates. I said Crowell. She spelled it.
    Oh. Sorry.
    A lot of firms in this business have similar-sounding names. It gets confusing.
    So you're based here in Miami? I asked.
    For the past two years. I spent seven years doing the same kind of work in BogotA.
    Well, you come very highly recommended by our partner in New York. She says you're an expert on kidnapping and business extortion.
    Solving and preventing it, she said, not committing it.
    We shared a little smile over her joke, and then she turned serious. I'm very sorry about your father. But you've come to the right place for help.
    Duncan's secretary brought us fresh coffee. We took our seats, Duncan behind his desk, Alex and I in the wing chairs that faced him.
    Where do we begin? I said.
    I want to hear your whole story, but I should tell you a little about myself, just so you know you're not wasting your breath. I was born in BogotA. My mother was Colombian, and I'm told my father was from Italy. I won't burden you with the details of my childhood, but suffice it to say I grew up very fast. By the time I was a young teenager, I was already caught up in antigovernment activities. At age sixteen I joined Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia. FARC for short.
    That might be the group that has my father.
    It's one of the largest and last remaining Marxist guerrilla armies on earth. More to the point, it's probably the biggest kidnapping enterprise that has ever existed. FARC and organizations like it account for over sixty percent of the kidnappings in Colombia.
    That's a lot of kidnappings.
    You have no idea. The more you analyze the numbers, the more ridiculous they seem. One out of every five kidnappings for ransom in the entire world happens in Colombia.
    How long were you with FARC? I asked.
    Less than two years. Long enough to learn the kidnapping trade.
    Duncan said, I don't suppose you'd find many FBI stiffs with those kinds of credentials.
    You won't find any, said Alex. I once thought of applying to the FBI, but with my past connection to FARC, I was told not to bother. It's their loss. My other life is exactly the reason I can help you in ways they can't.
    Don't be offended, I said. But I have to be honest. I was expecting my negotiator to be a former law enforcement officer. Not a former member of FARC.
    First of all, I was sixteen years old when I left FARC. Second, you won't find a former FBI agent or Scotland Yard negotiator with more experience in Colombia or a better success record than mine.
    Have you negotiated the release of an American before? asked Duncan.
    Yes, and some Canadians as well. But if you're thinking it's any easier to negotiate for the release of a Colombian, you're wrong. Generally, these aren't politically motivated kidnappings. They're financially motivated. The nationality of the victim is relevant, if at all, only to the extent that it might affect the amount of ransom demanded.
    You certainly seem to know your stuff, I said.
    The most important thing is that you have confidence in your negotiator. Under your father's policy, the insurance company pays