‘I’m on a six-month sabbatical. After seven straight years, I needed a break.’

‘Seven years? I don’t believe it. You haven’t aged a bit.’ The smooth operator ensured their fingers touched when he passed her the chilled glass. ‘So, what’s this about, Sura? Why come all this way in the middle of the night to see little old me? Not that I’m unhappy about it, of course.’

She batted her eyelashes seductively. Little was not a word you associated with this man. The low rank of kapten was nominal, designed to keep him under the radar. But those in the know were aware that Alatas was the second most powerful man in Kopassus, and that his boss, Major General Suparman Herianto, aka ‘Superman’ to his followers, was one of her father’s chief rivals for the leadership of Golkar.

‘You know that I’ve always struggled to get along with my father. He’s always been so busy with matters of state.’

Alatas raised his glass in a sardonic toast. ‘A true nationalist.’

Sura bared her teeth. ‘A ruthless, self-aggrandising plutocrat who treats his daughter like a chattel.’

The sudden edge in her voice made him uncomfortable and he pursed his neat lips.

‘I imagine it was difficult growing up in such a milieu.’

‘Are you becoming a politician, too, Alatas?’

He laughed. ‘Oh, please.’

Sura crossed her legs and let the sarong ride a little further up her thigh.

‘What would you say if I told you my father was planning to swindle over 200 million US dollars from Kopassus territory with the help of a foreign power?’

‘I’d say you were telling fibs.’ His eyes were glued to her legs. ‘We don’t have that kind of money, and he wouldn’t dare.’

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the Ford diary translation and put it on the table.

‘What if I told you that as well as embarrassing him, half of it could be yours in the next three weeks?’

‘I’d say, tell me what you’re offering.’

Later, grinding her pussy into his face, she reflected on the aphrodisiacal nature of power. With a hundred million dollars – and the potential scalp of the second most powerful man in Indonesia – lending fervour to his lust, Alatas was as horny as a man half his age. It was easy for men, though. They could dream and scheme, and if they were strong-willed and wealthy enough, achieve their ambitions. For a woman in her country, though, power and wealth could only be enjoyed vicariously, which is why she was prepared to risk it all to escape.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Nullarbor Plain, Western Australia