Page 46 of Into the Gray Zone (Pike Logan #19)

Kamal tossed his half-filled plastic bowl to the concrete floor, took a drink from a water bottle, and said, “Maybe we should

have waited for that final meal at the hostel. Beef curry and melon slices from a roadside stand isn’t what I wanted for our

victory dinner.”

Manjit chuckled and said, “You’re the one who said we had to come out here this early. We could have waited.”

On Kamal’s orders, they’d driven both his sedan and the van back to the abandoned building they’d parked next to earlier in

the day. Kamal had no idea what it had been in the past, but now it was just a hollowed-out concrete husk, two stories of

empty rooms full of trash, with a one-story garage large enough for four vehicles.

All three of them were on the second floor, sitting on their haunches using an old wooden crate as a table. Manjit and Randeep

still wore their body armor. Kamal had taken his off, finding it stifling.

They’d been out in the house since just before sundown, checking out the weapons, loading magazines, and fiddling with the

body armor. They adjusted the fit, loosening and tightening the Velcro straps and playing around with the pouches. The only

snag was Manjit. He refused to load his four grenades into his vest.

Kamal said, “Manjit, that’s the way we’re announcing ourselves. We throw two when we enter and we’ll shock the security with the explosion, then we throw two when we leave to keep them from following. We talked about this.”

Manjit said, “I’ll kill if I have to. If someone is charging me, shooting at me, or trying to stop us, but I’m not throwing

a hand grenade into a pre-wedding party. I’m just not.”

“You said you agreed they were the enemy. Agam agreed for his mission.”

“Agam was going to hit a piece of carved rock at the Taj Mahal. It’s not the same thing.”

Manjit saw Kamal’s expression and said, “He was going to hit the stone, not human beings. Right?”

“No. He was going to strike a blow for the Sikh people, just like you.”

Manjit’s expression clouded over, his eyes squeezing shut. He said, “You were going to have Agam kill innocents? People just

visiting?”

Kamal stood up and said, “We agreed that there are no innocents in this fight.”

Manjit rose as well, saying, “What has happened to you?”

Randeep looked between them like a child deciding between his parents. He said, “Hey, hey, come on. If he doesn’t want the

grenades, I’ll take them.”

Kamal ignored him, locking eyes with Manjit. He said, “This fight is not going to be without sacrifice. Some of us sacrifice

our lives, like Sidak and Agam. Some of us sacrifice a piece of our soul. But we’re all going to sacrifice.”

Manjit broke eye contact first, spitting on the ground and saying, “I’ll do this mission for Sidak and Agam, but I’m not going

to hell by murdering women and children. If someone from Thakkar’s security threatens us, I’ll kill him. And that’s it.”

Kamal nodded, putting his hands around Manjit’s neck and bringing him so close their foreheads touched. He said, “You and I have seen the injustice, and I’m proud that you maintain your honor. Khalistan needs people like me, but more so people like you. We will do the distasteful work. You are my brother, as you were in prison. Follow me now and I’ll follow you when we build Khalistan. When your honor will matter.”

Manjit looked him in the eye and nodded, saying, “So be it.”

They broke the embrace and Randeep relaxed, saying, “If we have to sit here for another four hours, we’re going to go crazy.”

Kamal smiled for confidence, feeling the stress of the mission straining the seams of his team. He said, “We’re just waiting

on the call. Waiting on them to finish dinner and move to the open area, when the rest of the guests arrive. Once they’re

watching the show by the pool, that’s when we go in. Shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours.”

He felt Jaiden’s contact phone vibrate in his pocket, the sensation no less startling than if it had been hooked to an electric

current. He snatched it out, looked at the screen in confusion, then answered.

“This is Kamal.”

“You need to come, right now.”

“What? Are they done with dinner? Are they out in the open?”

“No. They’re still eating dinner. They’re in the first building you will see on the back of the compound. It’s split into

three sections, two rooms with an outdoor patio between them. Thakkar will be in the room on the right. You come in from the

patio, killing the patrons. I will take Thakkar out from the right as if I’m trying to protect him. You keep killing, moving

to the left room, then out the side door. I’ll meet you at the back of the building on the way to the gate. No more than a

minute on target.”

“Wait, wait, what? That’s not the plan. We were going to wait for them to finish dinner precisely because it’s in a building, with security arming the strong points. And it’s only half the guests. You told me the size of the target would double by the pool because not everyone was invited to dinner.”

“They know you’re coming.”

That caused Kamal’s head to spin. “They know? They know what?”

“They know there’s an attack planned. They told me as the head of security, and now I have to tell everyone else on protective

duty here, to include the celebrities who brought their own security. I can’t sit on the information for long. You need to

come now, before the security posture here is heightened.”

Now afraid, Kamal said, “How do they know? What do they know?”

“Look, it’s just a general thing. I was told that an attack was possibly imminent, and that it was possibly tied into the

attack at the Agra Fort. They have no specifics, but I’m supposed to get everyone on a war footing. You have about ten minutes

before I’m questioned. Get your ass here. Now is the time.”

“But we don’t know anything about that building. We’ve planned everything on the pool and temple grounds. We’d studied the

maps, looked at Google Earth, seen all the pictures, and planned the route in and out. We didn’t focus on that building. I

was supposed to come in and go straight to the pool area after the other guests arrived, and I’m prepared for that. I’m not

prepared for this.”

“This is even easier. The building is the closest one to the back gate. I’ll send you pictures. I’ll go around on a security

check and take them. You get them, and you come here. My men are waiting at the gate.”

“Pictures? I’m supposed to look at them for five seconds and assault?”

“I have to go. It’s too late. Either commit, or back off, but I can’t stay on the phone.”

And he hung up.

Manjit said, “What was that all about?”

Kamal picked up his body armor and put it on, cinching the Velcro cummerbund tight. He picked up his grenades and began shoving them into individual pouches, saying, “We have to attack now.”

Randeep began stowing magazines in his pouches, but Manjit said, “Why? What’s the change?”

“Somehow there’s been an alert. Jaiden was told to increase security for a possible attack. He hasn’t done that yet, because

he’s waiting on us, but he can’t wait forever.”

Randeep stopped loading his kit, saying, “An alert? For us?”

Kamal said, “Yes, well, maybe. It might just be because of the attack in Agra and it’s a general thing, but right now it’s

like nobody knows, because the head of security is Jaiden. He’s responsible for giving everyone the word to increase their

security posture, and he hasn’t. Which is why we need to go now.”

Manjit said, “But the plan is the same?”

Kamal began shoving AK-47 magazines in his pouches and said, “No. We attack them at dinner. In the first building.”

Randeep said, “During dinner? Only half the guests will be there, and we didn’t plan for that. We don’t know that building.”

“We will soon. Jaiden’s sending pictures.”

They finished loading their vests in silence, and then the pictures came in. It was just like Jaiden had said, a U-shaped

building with a patio and two large rooms left and right, split by a center area with a bar. Both rooms were crowded with

people, all wearing traditional Indian dress and all clearly having a good time. Kamal could see the bride in the room on

the left talking to some celebrity or other, and the photo sent from the right room showed Riva Thakkar talking to someone

of importance, the security man with the milky eye named Rakesh dutifully standing behind him.

Another load of pictures arrived, showing the outdoor patio and the route in from the gate, followed by a text saying, “Now.”

Kamal said, “We’ll enter the patio, causing destruction, and move to the left room when everyone starts running. Jaiden and

Rakesh will take Thakkar from the right room out the side door, ostensibly to protect him, but really to get him to the van.

We’re in for thirty seconds, one minute max, and we leave, collapsing back to the van. Understood?”

Randeep nodded and Manjit said, “How will we start the attack?”

Kamal said, “I’m sorry, but we’re going to lead with hand grenades. Once those go off, we’ll follow onto the patio.”

Manjit turned away, thinking. He turned back and simply nodded, saying, “Okay.”

Kamal said, “It’s necessary. This is for what the state did to us. What the prison guards did to you. If I could do it to

them, I would, but this is for them and the government that paid them. For the RAW.”

Manjit began shoving in his own magazines, saying, “I know. I don’t like it, but I understand.”

Forty seconds later they were pulling out of the garage, Kamal and Manjit in the van and Randeep in Kamal’s sedan. It took

less than a minute to reach the gate, Kamal slowing down when he saw it. He pulled up to the edge and flashed his lights,

waiting. Halfway hoping nobody showed up.

He saw a light flash from behind the fence and tensed, knowing it was time. He looked at Manjit and said, “Are you ready?”

Manjit nodded and Kamal rolled down the window, waving his arm for Randeep to come forward. He saw the headlights turn off

and the door open. Randeep jogged forward and entered the back of the van just as the chain-link gate opened.

Kamal turned off his own lights and rolled forward with the parking lights alone. He passed a man in a dastaar and red uniform

and slowed. The man said, “Turn it around and aim it back this way. We’ll protect it.”

Kamal nodded and did as he was told, turning off the ignition and sitting, the engine ticking in the darkness. Manjit said, “What’s wrong?”

Staring out the windshield, Kamal said, “Nothing. Just enjoying the quiet. But the clock continues ticking, doesn’t it.”

Manjit said, “It’s too late for regret. That was spent when we sent Agam on his way. Let’s go.”

He flung open the door and stepped out, surprising Kamal. Manjit turned back to the driver’s seat and said, “This is our path

now. No turning back.”

Manjit’s words gave him confidence. If Manjit was committed, they would succeed.

Kamal exited, met him and Randeep in the back, and they each put a magazine in their respective weapons, racking a round.

Kamal waved over the gate security and said, “We’ll be coming back on the run. You two will be driving the car outside.”

“Jaiden said we’d get in the van.”

“No. Randeep, give them the keys.”

Randeep did so, and Kamal said, “When you hear the explosions, open the gate and go to the car. When we leave, you follow.”

“What if you don’t come back?”

“Then take the car wherever you want. It won’t matter, but they’ll know you let us in.”

Kamal turned without another word and led his men through the darkness, the laughter and tinkling of glasses faint in the

distance. He could see the light of the building no more than fifty meters away, imagining the celebration he was about to

destroy.