Page 29 of Into the Gray Zone (Pike Logan #19)

Jianhong Zhang—aka Mr.Chin—walked into the lobby of the Mumbai Four Seasons hotel and went immediately toward the elevator,

pressing the button to go up. He had a room in the Four Seasons, though he had no time to go to it. His meeting was at 5 p.m. sharp, and it had taken him longer to return to Mumbai from New Delhi than he had planned. After meeting Kamal at the mosque

the day before, he’d toyed with immediately returning, but decided he had all the next day to travel and had chosen to relax

in New Dehli for the night. That had proven to be a mistake, as his flight was delayed long enough that he barely had enough

time to make the designated update with his control in the Ministry of State Security.

He entered the elevator with two Englishmen, both discussing some business meeting or other. He gave a perfunctory smile and

pushed the button for the thirty-fourth floor, looking at his watch. They pushed the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth, one man

saying, “I guess it’s close enough to five to go topside.”

Mr.Chin smiled and said, “I want to go early enough to get a seat for the sunset.”

The other man said, “That’s the ticket. Save us a seat.”

They exited and Mr. Chin continued to ride to the rooftop. He ex ited into a narrow, unassuming hallway, following the light from the windows on the far side.

AER was known as one of the best rooftop bars in all of South Asia, with spectacular views of the Mumbai cityscape and the

coast, the scenery marred only by the ubiquitous blue tarps of the slums sprinkled throughout the landscape. Mr.Chin had

picked the location. If he was to meet his masters, he’d rather do it there than in some dark alley.

He went to the hostess and asked for a table for three, peeking beyond her shoulder and relieved to see the bar was fairly

empty, with only a smattering of people. That would change when the monsoon season officially ended and the glass roof and

walls opened up. At that point, there would be a line to get onto the rooftop, the bar open to the air and filled with those

who wanted to see or be seen. Now, with the rains still threatening, its retractable roof was in place, with no open-air ambiance,

a chrysalis that would evolve into a butterfly in a month, something the Mumbai jet set would demand to experience.

But the chrysalis stage suited Mr.Chin, as crowds always represented a threat to his operations.

The hostess led him to a curved couch right next to the glass overlooking Mumbai, a small table in front and a single chair

on the opposite side. He took the chair, facing the entrance, leaving the couch for the men he was meeting, reviewing in his

mind what he would say. So far, the mission had been a mess. Salvageable, but a mess.

He caught movement at the door and saw his control enter. Two Chinese men, one tall, close to six feet, the other shorter,

both with close-cropped bristle hair and wearing business suits. Because they supposedly worked for the same mining conglomerate

as Mr.Chin.

He stood and waved his hand at the couch. They sat and he took the chair, wanting to project confidence. He said, “Thank you for the meeting. I know it’s unorthodox, but I wanted to convey the danger we are in for completion of the mission and ask for some additional assets.”

The taller man said, “I don’t understand how this hasn’t been accomplished already. It was a simple task, and you were given

incredible backstopping to execute it. All you had to do was capture a man or kill him. That’s it. Kill him and stop the mining

of rare earth elements in India. You didn’t even have to make sure anyone on the team survived, as you were going to eliminate

the ones who did it as well. How difficult is that?”

Mr.Chin realized this was going to be harder than he wanted, but he’d been in such situations in the past. These clods had

never been at the sharp end of the spear. Party functionaries who spent their time kissing the CCP ring to get ahead, all

they wanted was a win in their column and they had no ability to articulate what that win would mean to China. He had little

time for them, but realized they held the fate of his mission in their hands.

He said, “We were blocked from our first attempt by a penetration from the RAW. They captured my mole. I could not predict

that. I did manage to cauterize the damage and continue.”

The shorter one said, “But the second attempt—”

A waitress arrived and he ceased talking. Mr.Chin understood why, but also knew that the chance of anyone in this bar speaking

Mandarin Chinese was about as likely as getting struck by lightning. Even so, people did get struck by lightning, so he remained mute as well. They gave their drink orders in English, waited for her to leave earshot,

and the man continued, saying, “But your second attempt was thwarted as well. It doesn’t bode well for your acumen. It was

a simple mission.”

“Yes, it was, which is why I contacted you. The mission was simple, but I believe the forces who thwarted it are not. Did

you trace the company I gave you?”

“Yes, we did. It appears to be a real company, with concrete results. A niche American archeological firm that’s worked all over the world.”

“Did you trace the travel of the company personnel after I left Goa? Did they fly to Delhi?”

“Why are you tracking Americans? We do not want to involve the United States in this operation. Your mission is Indian only,

understand?”

Mr.Chin knew that the “we” in that statement meant the Chinese Communist Party. For all of its bluster, it was very reticent

about upsetting the status quo between China and the United States.

Mr.Chin said, “I believe they are already involved, and that company—Grolier Recovery Services—is a front. I don’t know who

they work for, but I believe they are the reason we haven’t succeeded so far.”

The shorter man leaned forward, now interested. “Why do you say that?”

Mr.Chin said, “The GRS personnel are the ones who stopped the attack at the resort. They just happened to be at the right

place at the right time. It was too convenient to be true.”

“That’s it? They happened to be at the right place and time, and your attack was stalled? Given your plan, it could have been

anyone who did it.”

“No, my men were trained and ready to kill with weapons out. Those men had some type of early warning and were waiting. I’m

sure of it. If it had been just a bunch of tourists, they’d all be dead.”

“That doesn’t prove they were actively targeting anything. It could have been just dumb luck, and it would be a mistake to

do something against them if you’re wrong. Every action leaves a trail and we don’t want an attack against a civilian company

from the United States to lead back to us. Maybe your men weren’t as trained as you say.”

Mr. Chin leaned back, choosing his next words carefully. “It wasn’t dumb luck. I already took the liberty of using local talent against them, and the local talent failed as well.”

The tall man looked shocked, saying, “You did what? You had no authority for that. Especially against a different foreign asset.”

“My authority was to accomplish the mission by any means necessary, as long as it didn’t reflect on our organization. I hired

some local talent to simply rob them, maybe rough them up a little, in order to get them tangled with the local police. It

would have been—in fact is being—treated as a local crime problem. If they were truly an American company, they’d just get an experience to tell their

co-workers, or maybe become tied up with the police or hospital. Neither happened, which is why I’m more convinced than ever

that they’re not just a U.S. company but are an intelligence asset targeting our mission.”

“What did happen?”

“Three men were annihilated by those Grolier people, just like what occurred at the resort. Three rough men, I might add.

Recruited from the largest criminal organization in India. They weren’t local muggers. Their specialty is intimidation and

neutralization of opponents, and all three were sent to the hospital. I’m telling you, Grolier Recovery Services is not just

a typical U.S. company.”

The short man, whom Mr.Chin took to be the one in charge, said, “Maybe they’re just good at fighting.”

Mr.Chin said, “One of the targets was a woman. And yes, she was good at fighting, and she didn’t learn that getting an archeological

degree. But you might be correct, if they’re still in Goa or have flown home. Where are they now?”

Mr.Chin saw a flicker of belief in the short one’s face. He said, “They went to Delhi. They’re at a hotel in New Delhi. How

did you know that’s where they’d be?”

“Because that’s where my team is. Somehow, they’re following my team. I don’t know how they tracked them, but they did.”

Now convinced, the short one said, “So what do you want from us?”

“I need a Condor team from the MSS. Experts at interdiction. I know you have one stationed in Delhi, and I don’t want to rely

on the local talent anymore.”

The short man looked at the taller one, then said, “Okay. That can be arranged, but I don’t want them executing unless you’re

certain the Americans are interfering. Right now, I don’t see enough evidence of that, but I’ll release a team. What is the

status of the mission and your team?”

“Luckily, the RAW is still focused on Islamic terrorists. The pocket litter and phone numbers seemed to have worked. They’re

still clean.”

“You’ll have to ensure they get killed in the attack or kill them later to keep that cover. You know that, right?”

“Yes. I have a plan in place for that. They want to get paid, and when they show up for their money, I’ll give them something

else. I’ll leave more evidence with the bodies pointing to Pakistan and Muslims. That won’t be a problem.”

“What are they doing now?”

“I gave them instructions for the mission, and they’re practicing with the drones. Thakkar is taking selected VIPs to the

Taj Mahal for a pre-wedding event tomorrow. That’s where the attack will be.”

The taller man said, “How do you know they’re following your instructions? Do you trust them?”

“No, I don’t trust them, but I can follow what they’re doing.”

He withdrew a small tablet, then tapped on it for a moment until a satellite map appeared, showing a field with four icons.

He laid it on the table and said, “They’re currently south of Delhi right now, practicing for the mission.”