Chapter 1
The Sahel lies south of the Sahara Desert and north of the African savannas—a zone of transition—exactly what the doctor ordered. After the brutal murder of my fiancée, Dominic Rinquet, I needed to get away, clear my head, and re-boot my life. My old pal Gordon Watson offered me a solution: come to Mali and help him explore a gold concession.
I had to admit, Mali satisfied the getaway criteria. And sub-Saharan West Africa seemed, at first glance, a good place to put one’s life back in order. The concession, known as the Medinandi License, was owned by a Russian mining company. But true to form, the Ruskies were short of cash and had leased the concession to the company Gordon was working for: Sahel Exploration Corp (SEC). And, yes, I liked the acronym. SEC was owned by a Canadian, Charles
The Medinandi License Description:
Geologist Trace Brandon has been in Mali less than two months. He’s nearly been killed twice, lost a drilling rig to a well-placed RPG, and fallen for Peace Corps volunteer Molly Wainwright. All pretty much SOP for West Africa, until his friend Gordon Watson is brutally kidnapped by Al Qaeda. Running out of time to meet the ransom demands, Trace turns to a Malian arms dealer and a French-Canadian ex-mobster for help. Together, they come up with a risky, highly illegal scheme to rescue Gordon. If the plan goes south, Trace knows he could end up in prison—or the Bamako expatriate cemetery on Rue de Dakar . . .
