Page 59 of Into the Gray Zone (Pike Logan #19)

Mr.Chin pulled into the parking lot for the Amber Palace, surreptitiously attempting to spot the countersurveillance element

protecting him. He knew he wouldn’t find the men conducting it precisely because their entire purpose was to identify someone

following him without being spotted themselves. He tried anyway purely out of habit, but the growing twilight from the fading

sun made the task all but impossible.

The Ministry of State Security had authorized him to execute the mission against Kamal’s men, but in so doing had become unreasonably

strict on how Mr.Chin would conduct himself. The leash was growing tighter, and he wondered if he’d be sacrificed. He didn’t

want to believe it, but having worked in this world for most of his adult life, he couldn’t help considering that the only

reason he was still walking around was that he had the information on the men they were tracking. Once he passed that to the

Condor team, he would become just another loose end with information that could implicate the Chinese Communist Party in one

of the most spectacular terrorist attacks on Indian soil in a generation.

He’d suggested conducting the meeting at his hotel or in a restaurant in Jaipur, but the MSS chief had demanded he conduct a long surveillance detection route out of the city, using a preplanned course. The chief said it was a precaution against the Americans, and given that, Mr. Chin also suggested the meeting occur in the midst of some local establishment to highlight any Westerners who might attempt to intervene, but once again he was overruled. The MSS chief wanted the meeting in an open area, with enough tourists to allow the Condor countersurveillance team to blend in, which was why he was now sitting in the Amber Palace parking lot.

Built in the sixteenth century, the fortress was a majestic construct of marble and sandstone stretching along a hill overlooking

a man-made lake, a smaller stone fort providing overwatch on a higher peak behind it. Once the seat of the regional government

for the Mughal empire, it was now known more for its light and sound show, a nightly occurrence that drew foreigners of all

stripes, and the location for Mr.Chin’s meeting.

The viewing platform for the show was on a spit of land jutting out into the lake just below the imposing facade of the palace.

Called the Saffron Gardens, it had once been the crown jewel of the Amber Palace. Now it was simply a location large enough

for the tourism bureau to plop down chairs for foreigners to sit, enamored by the various colored lights spilling across the

front of the palace while an announcer elaborated on the history and Bollywood performers sang and danced in the background.

Mr.Chin had tickets to both the interior of the palace and light show, courtesy of the MSS, but had no intention of exploring

either one. He was to meet the Condor team at a small food kiosk situated right in front of the viewing platform.

He checked his watch, seeing he had seven minutes until he had to walk to the meeting sight. He had been given specific parameters for the meet, such as the route he should take and the pace of his walk, and knew the standard was to arrive at the meeting site plus or minus thirty seconds. Anything outside of that, and his contact would be gone.

He studied a map to his destination, determining if there was anything outside of his control that could hinder his timing.

He wanted to be on the far side of such an obstacle to ensure his plus or minus. There was a primary entrance that everyone

coming to the palace had to go through, followed by various kiosks selling tourist trinkets, then the path split, with a road

going up the hill to the main gate of the palace, and a smaller path staying low, circling the lake until it reached the viewing

platform. According to the instructions he’d been given, that path should take four minutes at a normal walking pace.

He saw the line for the show starting to form up at the main entrance and decided he’d join them. He could burn off time after

that point if necessary, but didn’t want to be caught short if the line took longer than predicted.

He locked up his car and followed other arriving customers to the entrance. The line went swiftly, and he showed his ticket,

then passed through a metal detector and had his small knapsack searched, and was finally set free with about a minute to

spare before he needed to start on the path. He burned off the sixty seconds looking at tourism brochures, then began his

walk.

He split off the main thoroughfare and took the small path snaking around the lake. Right at the juncture of the split were

two Chinese men taking pictures of the front of the palace, ostensibly fascinated by the spotlights illuminating the ancient

structure. They paid him no mind, but he knew who they were.

He continued on, crossing over to the Saffron Gardens among a group of seventy-year-old Europeans. A man was directing traffic to the stairs leading to the viewing platform but Mr. Chin ignored him, instead going left around the platform to an Indian food kiosk. He got in line for a cup of tea and casually glanced around. He saw six wooden tables, most with two or three people, then found the one closest to the lake occupied by a single man.

He recognized the leader of the Condor team talking on a cell phone. He paid for his tea and went to the table, patiently

waiting until the team leader was off the call. He pulled out a chair and said, “May I?”

The man nodded his head and said, “You’re clean.”

Mr.Chin took a seat, saying, “I knew I would be. We could have conducted the meeting in Jaipur instead of doing this complicated

dance.”

“After what happened in Agra I was taking no chances.”

“You called for this?”

“Yes. Well, the chief thought it prudent, and I did the planning.”

“I’m sorry about your team members. I tried to convey that the Americans are dangerous.”

The team leader waved his hand and said, “They knew the risks. It was combat. I don’t blame you, and I have two new men. If

we meet the Americans again, it will be different.”

Mr.Chin was surprised at the response. The chief had told him the Condor team leader was incensed about the deaths of his

members. A primordial part of his brain wondered why he would be so forgiving.

Mr.Chin said, “I don’t think you’ll see them again. Like everyone else here, I’m sure they’re now trying to find the American

hostage.”

“I’m told you know where he is. Is this true?”

“I know the location of one of the watches I modified. It’s still transmitting.”

“But you don’t know if the terrorist you’ve hired is wearing it?”

Mr.Chin pulled out a mini tablet, turned it on, and slid it across the table, saying, “It’s watch number two, and it’s tied

to a new phone, but the malware the MSS used to modify the watches is still working.”

Illuminated by the glow of the tablet, the team leader said, “How do you know this isn’t some false image?”

Mr.Chin said, “I don’t. The terrorists tricked me before and somehow managed to spoof their location through a single phone,

so it might be a mirage, but it’s all we have.”

“Do you know the phone the watch is tethered to?”

“No, I don’t. I gave them watches and phones tethered together. They ditched the phones and hit the kill switch on the watches,

which theoretically reverts the watch back to factory settings. For some reason, the malware in this watch came back to life.

I don’t know why, and I’m not questioning it. He tethered it to a new phone, and the malware invaded that phone. It’s now

transmitting to this tablet. I’m sure some tech people could decipher the IMEI of the cell phone tied to the watch, but we

don’t have time for that. It’s irrelevant with the position.”

“What’s this heart with a number?”

“It’s his heartbeat. It means a living human is wearing it and it’s not just sitting in a field somewhere.”

The team leader smiled and said, “You can see his heartbeat on this tablet?”

“Yes.”

“That’s devious.” He tapped the screen and said, “The Dharavi slum. That will be hard to penetrate.”

“Nobody’s going to stop you from walking in there. It’s not like there’s a gate or anything. Plenty of people go in there

to hide from the authorities.”

“Plenty of Indians go in there to hide. I doubt many Chinese. Getting in and out could be difficult. If the terrorists have any security, it’ll

be a gunfight, and I’m sure anyone in this slum is going to side with them.”

“The residents will flee before they engage. Remember, most do not want to get involved in anything because they’re illegal. If you wear police uniforms—even as a Chinese—they’ll assume you’re the authority. At the worst, it’ll cause confusion. Trust me, they’ll run.”

“What about the hostages?”

“We don’t care about the hostages. All we care about is eliminating the terrorists who know of our involvement. If they’re

captured by the RAW, it will be a mess.”

“I mean, do you want them eliminated along with the terrorists?”

“If they can identify you as Chinese, then yes. If it’s night, and they don’t know what happened, then no. Only eliminate

them if they pose a threat of exposure.”

The team leader nodded and pointed at the tablet, saying, “Who else has this information?”

“Nobody. I have it on my phone, but nobody else knows it exists.”

The team leader said, “Let’s keep it that way.”

They heard music begin to play and saw the front of the palace bathed in a purple light. An announcer began talking, and Mr.Chin

said, “Looks like the show is beginning. Do you need anything else?”

“No, this should do, but you’re not going to the show.”

Mr.Chin smiled and said, “I had no intention of attending. I’m going back to Jaipur.”

The team leader slid across a slip of paper and said, “No, you’re meeting the chief’s men.”

Mr.Chin took the paper and said, “Where?”

“In the palace. The area’s already been cleared.”

Mr.Chin opened the paper, seeing instructions to go to the bottom level of the palace at the ancient water-lifting system.

“Why don’t they come up here? Why am I going there?”

The team leader stood and said, “I don’t know. This doesn’t involve Condor and has nothing to do with my mission. I’m just

passing the information. I’m taking my team and leaving.”

He walked away without another word. In seconds, he was off the island and striding back to the entrance, gathering his men as he went. Mr. Chin looked at the map he’d been given, wondering about the change in plans. It was highly unusual. There was no good reason for him to conduct two separate meetings at different locations. In fact, it broke just about every rule for clandestine operations. Once a site was secure, that was it. You never left one site and went to another, giving the enemy a second shot at you.

He felt the unease rise and thought about fleeing. If he were being paranoid, he could blame the Condor team leader for confusing

instructions when questioned after the fact. He thought about it, and realized if the chief did plan something nefarious, he could have simply ordered Mr.Chin to fly home. Or kill him when he returned to his Jaipur hotel.

The chief knew where he was staying. Resigned, he realized that missing the meeting here would simply be delaying the inevitable.

He memorized the map, wadded it up, and threw it in the trash, then returned to the lakeside path.