Page 54 of Into the Gray Zone (Pike Logan #19)

Kamal awoke on the outskirts of Mumbai, the roads becoming more and more congested. He looked at Manjit behind the wheel and

said, “Where are we?”

“About thirty minutes out from the city center. You’d better hope our safe house is good to go. Are you sure we can use the

beds in that place?”

“Yes. It’s in the heart of the Dharavi slum. Nobody will be looking for us there. It’s all Muslims.”

Manjit turned to him and said, “ We’re Muslims according to the police!”

“Not anymore. We’re the Khalistan Commando Force now. I published the webpage.”

Manjit continued driving for a moment, then said, “So we’re now wanted men?”

“We were wanted before that webpage went live. Now they just know why. What time is it?”

Manjit glanced at the Garmin watch on his wrist and said, “A little after seven p.m. We’ve been on the road for close to a day.”

Now fully awake, Kamal said, “You’re still wearing that watch? Why didn’t you toss it like Randeep and I did?”

Manjit looked a little embarrassed, then said, “Because it’s an expensive watch and it might come in handy sometime. We hit the kill switch. Nobody can see what it does.”

Kamal let it ride, having more pressing issues to worry about. They entered the cloistered traffic of Mumbai, the honking

horns becoming the norm, the vehicles all jockeying for position. Manjit said, “What do you want to do with the car? We can’t

take it into the slum.”

“We’ll park it outside. Go to the Mahim Junction railway station. We’ll leave it there.”

From the back, Jaiden said, “They’ll find it and know where we are.”

“They aren’t that good. It’ll take them weeks to find it. And what will they know? That we entered the slum? They have no

control inside there.”

Manjit said, “I’m not so sure of that. They have abilities we can’t comprehend.”

“People leave cars in train stations all the time. It’ll take them a month to figure that out.”

Manjit said, “The follow car is mine. I don’t want it near this van.”

Aggravated, Kamal said, “Then we’ll park it somewhere else. I’m not worried about the cars. I’m worried about the packages.”

From the back, Jaiden said, “Who have you coordinated with for the safe house? How secure is this location?”

“They aren’t Muslim, if that’s what you’re asking. It’s a factory owner from my village. He uses illegals—mostly Muslims—to

take the plastic off wrecked cars and make it into luggage.”

Jaiden said, “What’s his name?”

Too late, Kamal realized that Jaiden himself was from the same village. He said, “Look, you need to trust me on this. I’m not going to tell you his name, and we’ll never meet him. He has a tiny factory and he’s agreed to let us stay. Trust me, he’s with us, but he doesn’t want to get involved. He continues his work and we hold the hostages in his factory. Everyone there is illegal and won’t want to turn us in.”

Jaiden said, “How do you intend to get the hostages into the slum? You want to just walk them in?”

“Yes.”

“You think that’s smart? What if they decide to run?”

Kamal looked back into the van and saw the hostages listening. He said, “Because I’ll kill them if they try anything.”

Manjit pulled into a parking area across the street from the rail station, a bridge across the tracks leading to the slum.

He said, “You want to just leave the vehicle here?”

“For the time being. We need to calculate the government response. They’re going to come at us with everything they have,

and we need a means of escape.”

The sedan following them pulled adjacent in a parking spot three vehicles away, the two drivers still wearing their red and

black uniforms, complete with dastaars. Kamal said, “We need to get them out of those uniforms before we enter.”

Jaiden glanced at them, then turned to Kamal. Kamal saw in his eyes that something had shifted during the drive to Mumbai.

Jaiden said, “Get out of the van.” He flicked his eyes to the hostages and said, “We need to talk.”

Kamal did so, remembering Manjit’s warning about Jaiden’s propensity for wanting to take control. He met Jaiden at the front

bumper and said, “What?”

Jaiden looked left and right, making sure they were alone, then said, “You take the American to the slum. I’m going to take

the women.”

“Wait, that’s not the plan. We’re going to hold them until the government reads my manifesto on television, or until we’re

forced to kill them.”

“You can’t hold them all in the slum. The only security you have is your anonymity. Once that’s gone, you’re dead.”

Kamal grew angry, wanting to put a stop to any mutiny before it began. “We knew that before we came here. Nothing’s changed

in the plan since the sun’s come up, and let me be clear: I’m the one who’s in charge.”

Jaiden said, “Calm down. I’m not trying to usurp your plan. Trust me, from what I saw last night, you’re the right man for

this. You have the courage of your father.”

The comment surprised Kamal. He had been expecting a fight, but maybe having to be forced at gunpoint to return to the mission

while Kamal’s men went willingly had caused Jaiden to reflect on the meaning of courage.

Kamal said, “What’s my father have to do with this?”

“You never asked me why I agreed to do this.”

Now confused, Kamal said, “I just assumed you believed as we do.”

Jaiden smiled and said, “What did your mother tell you about your father’s death?”

“He died in a car wreck. Nothing special.”

“Your father was a member of the Khalistan Commando Force, as was both Rakesh and myself. He was a cell leader, and he was

murdered by the government. He didn’t die in a car crash.”

Shocked, Kamal said, “That’s impossible. I would know. My mother would have known.”

“She did know. After he was killed, she insulated you from any talk of Sikh nationalism. It’s why she hated you hanging around with

Rakesh and me. After the loss of your father our cell dissolved. Rakesh and I went into the Army, but we never lost faith

in the cause. When you appeared out of nowhere, hired by Mr.Chin, it was like something sent from beyond the grave. It was

a sign from your father.”

He put his hands on Kamal’s shoulders and said, “You are the heir of the KCF, and that’s why I’m following you.”

His mind reeling at the revelations, Kamal stuttered for words, but none came out.

Jaiden continued, “Your father would be proud, and that’s precisely why I’m taking the women with me. To ensure your plan

succeeds.”

Kamal simply nodded, deciding to refocus on the mission, leaving Jaiden’s words about his heritage behind for later reflection.

He said, “But why do you need us to separate?”

Jaiden said, “I’ve been giving it some thought. The workers at that little factory are all going to be illegals, and possibly

all Muslim. Maybe one of them wants to get on the good side of the authorities.”

Kamal held that fear himself, but said, “They’ve been well paid to stay quiet. They’ll make more in the next week than they

will all year.”

Jaiden continued, “That may be true, but where is the most secure spot in Mumbai? Where we can control everything? It’s not

in the slum.”

Kamal said, “I don’t know. The police station? What do you mean, ‘most secure’?”

“I mean Riva Thakkar’s house here in Mumbai.”

Flabbergasted, Kamal said, “The mansion? That’s insane.”

Riva Thakkar was one of the richest men in the world and was known for a multitude of different business accomplishments, but his home outshone everything. Outside of Buckingham Palace, it was the most expensive residential building in the world, costing more than two billion dollars to build. Located on Altamount Road—colloquially known as Billionaires’ Row—it was twenty-seven stories tall, with three helipads, a private car garage with 168 spaces, a fifty-person theater, two floors of workout equipment, a room that literally rained snow during the summer heat, and a permanent staff of more than three hundred. It was all to service only three people—Riva Thakkar, his wife, and his daughter—and was the ultimate example of the difference between the haves and have-nots in India.

Jaiden said, “It’s not insane. I can get in there because I’m the head of security, and then I can lock it down. We could

stay there for days, with all of the amenities you won’t have in the slum.”

“You’re on the news. If you show up there, it’ll raise questions. There’s no way they’ll let you in.”

“I’ll be with Thakkar’s daughter, and I’ve watched the news reports on my phone during the drive here. Right now everyone’s

reporting that I’m a hostage, not a hostage taker. I’ll tell the staff we escaped and need shelter. Like I said, I’m the head

of Thakkar’s security. Nobody is going to question me, and I can control everything they do and say.”

Kamal remained silent, and Jaiden said, “Look, taking Annaka works for me, because she’ll back up my story just by her presence.

If she gets recognized with you in the slum, you’re dead. Nobody knows the American, but everyone in Mumbai knows Thakkar’s

daughter. She’s a liability to you.”

Kamal said, “But either her or the other woman will tell the staff what’s happening. They aren’t going to sit still while

you hold them hostage. It’s her staff, after all.”

“I can handle that. I’ll implement a quarantine like we did when COVID was here. With Riva out conducting the pre-wedding

celebrations, they’re at a skeleton staff anyway. During COVID they were locked into the staff apartments for months on end,

and I was responsible for the protocol. Nobody was allowed to interface with the Thakkar family at all, except for the security

element. We’ll do the same here, only I’ll convince them it’s for Annaka’s safety. She’ll not have the chance to talk to anyone,

except through me.”

“And then what? You’ll have to contact Thakkar and say you’re ‘okay’ or something. The staff is going to wonder what the hell you’re doing there while the press goes crazy about the kidnappings. You can’t keep that secret.”

“I’ll keep the staff from contacting anybody by saying our location must remain secret. I’ll take their cell phones and cut

the landline. They’ll believe me, but you miss the point. I won’t keep it secret from Thakkar or the RAW. I’ll fortify the

building and contact Thakkar myself. It will be our final grand event. They will publish the manifesto, or we kill them.”

Kamal thought about it, running the ramifications through his mind like he was worrying a piece of meat in his teeth. He finally

said, “That will be Thakkar’s ultimate insult. First we attack his wedding party, then we capture his famous house? He’ll

be so embarrassed that he’ll destroy the entire building just to prove a point, with his daughter in it.”

“Yes, I know. It’ll make worldwide news, which is exactly what we want. It’ll cause so much traffic to your webpage it might

crash. Look, I know all the ways in and out of the building, as well as how the security systems work. I’ll know when they’re

coming, and I’ll let him do his worst, killing his own daughter. It’ll be just like the attack on the Golden Temple, when

the Army killed our Sikh brethren. It will galvanize our people now just like it did then, and galvanize the world in our

favor. We won’t kill her—the government will.”

“But they’ll slaughter everyone in the building and we’ll lose our leverage in days instead of weeks.”

“The slaughter will be a good thing, and as for the leverage, we will still have the American, which means exposure of the

Sikh abuses by the United States press. If you’ve managed to avoid the authorities—which you will because I’m going to take

the heat off of you—you’ll still have him. Hit one goes down, and when they’re celebrating the success of taking down the

tower, I’ll come back here to you, and we’ll use him for further leverage.”

Kamal remained silent, thinking through what Jaiden had described. Jaiden finally said, “And we won’t have to change the other security men out of their red uniforms. I can use them as they are.”

Kamal nodded, finally won over. He said, “So Manjit and I take the American into the slum, and you take the van with those

two to Thakkar’s place?”

“Yes, and with your leadership, the Khalistan Commando Force will rise again, just as your father led us before you.”

Kamal said, “My father was a good man. A strong man, but let’s hope this doesn’t end the same way it did for him.”