Free The Devil's Handshake by Michael Reagan Page B

ear?”
she asked referring to the piece of shrived up anatomy that was
lying next to a knife that she had instantly recognized as
belonging to Yuri.
    “ Seniň mertebe bolmak meniň
mertebe,” Thomas said quietly in Turkmen, which meant, “Your fate
is my honor.” He kissed her forehead beneath him ignoring her
question.
    Immediately, tears arrived in Nara’s eyes as
she began to comprehend the enormity what her love had done in her
name.

6
    Africa Two Weeks Ago
    The meetings in Borama, a city that for some
unknown reason is twinned with Henley-on-Thames in England, but
more importantly is the capital of a new country born out of the
ashes of Somalia, and known as Adwalland, had been both trying and
complicated for Thomas over the last few days.
    Much more difficult to that of a typical
natural resources deal with a host country he usually experienced
because of the additional intricacies of the wider issues of
superpower politics and global dominance were brought into
play.
    Adwalland, the world’s newest country was
situated right in the middle of a plan that would see Russia’s
re-emergence on the world stage as a military power with Thomas
acting as the point of the sword as the country’s lead proxy
investor.
    As to why Thomas had been drawn into this
position was complicated. Due initially, to TLH’s (Thomas’s Holding
Company) strong ties with Russia through its present control of one
of Siberia’s major Oil and Gas fields but primarily it was due to
the close personal relationship Thomas had with the young President
of the country. A former mailroom employee whom Thomas had
befriended five years ago when he had contacted TLH offering
exploration rights in Awdalland in an attempt to try to raise funds
for a permanent diplomatic mission in London so they could build
the momentum of their country’s right to exist as a legitimate
State.
    A buccaneer at heart, Thomas knew that the
only way to get TLH into point position for the area’s rich natural
resources was to ensure his young friend got a seat at the
negotiating table, especially as Somalia had already previously
granted the same rights to the U.S. Oil exploration companies main
competitors of TLH in the business of exploration rights. Although
skeptical at first, it wasn’t until he had visited the little
self-governing area when he was impressed by the shared
determination of all the tribal leaders to bring the rule of law to
this small desperate area of Africa, did he take the initiative to
set the ball in motion.
    Thomas provided the struggling little
organization with the five million U.S. dollars they needed for
their Missions in London and New York and then placed TLH Public
Relations teams at their disposal so they could build the necessary
momentum to ensure this dream they held came to fruition.
    Although it was incredibly difficult with the
United States of America opposing the break-up of Somalia all the
way, seeing it as a threat to their national security objectives
related to the defeat of Al-Qaeda and because of their
determination to protect their leading oil companies existing
rights in the area, the end result was eventually achieved.
    The little country now included at the
negotiating table, with the support of Russia and China and much to
the disgust of the US Oil explorers, who had lost their exploration
rights in the process, became Africa’s newest state.
    Unfortunately, like all young states born out
of years of struggle and pain, not all of the Adwallians shared the
elders’ vision for a respectful, peaceful country.
    One such opportunist was a
forty-five-year-old former pirate named Wasir Osman Hassan.
    By using the money he had earned from the
payment of ransoms in the lawless days of 1990s, Hassan had bought
himself the post of the Interior Minister and staffed the Ministry
with those loyal to his tribe to ensure he kept everybody in place
with a “rod of iron” in the process.
    It was this man who had given Thomas the