LITMIR.BIZ

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the assignment, he became embroiled in a scandal after he published a controversial investigation on the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Trevor was one of the first to reveal that the alliance had used cluster bombs prohibited by the Geneva Convention. Despite the pressure and criticism by military experts and politicians, the young journalist was noticed and recognized.

      In the fall of 1999, Trevor was sent to West Africa together with a group from the BBC to prepare an investigative report on war crimes committed by Foday Sankoh, former leader of the Revolutionary United Front, who was appointed vice president of Sierra Leone in 1997, and his ties to another infamous war criminal, then president of Liberia Charles McArthur Taylor, who was later indicted for crimes against humanity thanks to the materials collected and published by Trevor. In 2000, Sankoh was also accused of being a war criminal and indicted, while Charles Taylor was apprehended and held at the International Criminal Court in 2006.

      From then on, Trevor was the top journalist covering the majority of military conflicts. His insightful reports and uncompromising articles were published by most of the European press.

      In 2007, Trevor was covering wars in Afghanistan, Angola, Congo, and Sierra Leone, where he investigated Viktor Woud, an arms dealer from Russia, who was suspected of illegally selling arms and munitions to the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and UN-embargoed countries.

      Trevor’s colleagues from Russia had told him that Woud could be a secret dealer for the Russian state arms export agency and a big player in Russia. They warned Trevor about investigating this story, as Woud’s operations were directly linked to the newly emerging Russian mafia, which had global aspirations.

      Nevertheless, he probed and published, and some of his reports were aired by top European channels.

      Viktor Woud was arrested in 2008 in Thailand and extradited to the U.S. on November 16, 2010, where he was indicted. Finally, on November 2, 2011, a jury unanimously found him guilty of illegal arms dealing.

      All these events were well covered by Trevor from the start of the investigation in 2007, although due to another trip to a collapsing Libya, he could only follow the trial of Woud online and through the reports of his colleagues.

      His track record included reports from Baghdad during the Iraq War, Gaza Strip during the Gaza War and the Libyan cities of Benghazi and Misrata, which were nearly leveled by NATO airstrikes.

      That is why Trevor was considered to be one of the most experienced journalists, the lead expert on Africa and the Middle East.

      Working in the most unstable countries, Trevor needed trustworthy and reliable friends and partners.

      Kate, a twenty-eight-year old journalist from Australia, was one person Trevor fully trusted. Kate was a graceful and sweet blonde with short tousled hair, a cheerful smile full of even white teeth, beautiful, full lips, as if painted by a master artist, and big green eyes. Despite appearing delicate, she always wore a light uniform and a felt hat.

      Kate was one of those women who, despite approaching the age of forty, remained cute and cheery, like a teenager in appearance and behavior.

      They met in early 2007 in Afghanistan.

      A few days earlier, Trevor was captured by the Taliban in Musa Qala, Helmand Province. The abduction had been planned, even though he was on his way to meet one of their leaders for a special story.

      There was a young blonde woman and two men, tired by the heat and hunger, already in the house where the bound prisoners were brought. Trevor gathered from the conversations he overheard that they were all journalists and that they had been held there by the militants for over a month.

      A local driver and an Afghani reporter were captured together with Trevor. The next day, to intimidate others, two Afghanis were publicly executed in front of the prisoners. The Taliban were planning to demand a ransom for him and the other journalists.

      For three days Trevor was brutally beaten in an attempt to break his will, but on the fourth day Mullah Saddam, a prominent Taliban field commander, arrived at the camp.

***

      Musa Qala, Helmand, Afghanistan

      22 February 2007 15:35

      «Well, well, well. The big infidel is on his knees before the little Afghani mujahedeen?» Mullah taunted in bad English as he approached Trevor, who was lying helplessly, tied up in the dust.

      «I am not a soldier; I am a journalist. And I am French,» replied Trevor, despite the agony of the ropes.

      «Press?» The militant said with unconcealed malice, grabbing Trevor by the shoulder with one hand and striking his face loudly with the other. «I not ask you, dog, who you are.»

      He took Trevor’s plastic ID card in his hands and inspected it with a satisfied smirk.

      «Press is good. We need press, very need.»

      «What do you want from me?»

      «Nothing from you. What can you? You are weak and sick. You can’t anything. Your master can! He pay me. Pay a lot.»

      «Nobody will pay you a dime for me. I’m not important,» Trevor said quietly. He spat blood.

      «Pay, pay a lot. You make video tomorrow. You ask him to pay,» hissed the Mullah, pressing his foot against Trevor’s face. «If not pay, you go home to Paris in pieces, we send to your office.»

      The Mullah gave some instructions in Pashto to some militants. Trevor was lifted and dragged not to the pit, where he was held earlier, but to a clay shed, where the other prisoners were now being kept. It was at least dry there. He was thrown into a small room, separated from the rest of the prisoners by a double plank wall. They put shackles on his wrists and ankles, chained him to a wooden beam and gave him some food and a mug of water. To the militants, Trevor seemed broken and not dangerous.

      And that was the opportunity he was waiting for. The Taliban were convinced that a chained, starved, exhausted, beaten prisoner would only dream about getting some sleep, so they carelessly left only one armed mujahedeen near the shed, who as soon as it turned dark smoked some local weed and fell asleep against the wall.

      Trevor had learned how to escape from any restraints during his service in the Legion. When he was sure that the camp was settled for the night, he easily freed himself from the shackles and climbed outside through a hole in the roof.

      After taking out the guard and grabbing his assault rifle and grenade pouch, Trevor opened the other door of the shed and quietly ordered: «Come on out! Quick!»

      However, only the girl rose and resolutely headed towards the exit.

      From the darkness of the stuffy room came a coarse voice of a man: «Kate, think about it, you will be caught and executed. Don’t do it.»

      But Kate confidently took a step towards the opened door and took Trevor firmly by the arm.

      «Can you drive?» Trevor asked as they left the shed. He pointed to a white pickup truck and whispered, «Usually they leave the keys in the armrest. Turn on the engine and wait for me. If something goes wrong, the road to freedom is just behind that wall.»

      Kate ran to the truck while Trevor poured gasoline over the other two vehicles and ammunition boxes stacked near a small tent. Alerted by the sound of the running engine, two militants rushed from a building only to be met with the blast of a grenade Trevor had thrown at their feet. Chaotic shooting burst from the building’s windows. Trevor lobbed two grenades at the building and fired at the gasoline. In an instant, everything around him lit up. After unloading a full clip at the building, Trevor threw another grenade towards the ammo boxes, jumped into the open car door and shouted: «Go!»

      «Where to?» Kate asked. Her hands were shaking as she grabbed the steering wheel.

      «There!» Trevor yelled. He grabbed the wheel with one hand and pressed gas pedal with his left foot together with Kate’s foot, directing the vehicle

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