Page 72 of Into the Gray Zone (Pike Logan #19)

Driving our vehicle, I had Brett in the passenger seat download all the data on Riva Thakkar’s residence. Knuckles was behind

the wheel of the follow vehicle, getting the same download, with Jennifer guarding the terrorist and working the tablet.

Brett started swiping through the data, saying, “Pike, this place is huge. Nine elevators, twenty-seven floors, bedrooms out

the ass. No way are we going to be able to clear it all.”

“We don’t have to. Find the sniper reports. Nadia and Thakkar’s daughter are on a specific floor. That’s where we’re going.”

He continued flipping through the reports and diagrams, then stopped, saying, “Our analysts think Nadia was right, and Jaiden’s

rigged the place with explosives. This just gets better and better.”

I said, “What do you care? You’re not going in. You’re the exfil.”

He chuckled and said, “Nothing like getting shot to save my ass. What are you going to do about the possible IEDs?”

“I’m thinking of sending Jennifer up the outside to the balcony. Let her get eyes on and see what’s what. Do you think she

can do it?”

He flipped through various documents until he had a three-dimensional image of the outside of the residence. He said, “Yeah,

I think she can. This structure is built like a kid’s LEGO set.”

He turned the picture to me and I saw a tall skyscraper, but, outside of the lower six floors, most of it was some artsy-fartsy construct, with various ledges, balconies, and outside fixtures all the way up. It did look like something a kid built with a LEGO set.

I said, “What’s that on the lower six floor walls?”

“Those floors are apparently a parking garage for his car collection.”

“Great, so we won’t have to clear that. What I meant was what’s on the outside walls? Can Jennifer get up that?”

He zoomed in and said, “Believe it or not, it’s foliage. The lower six floors have threaded vines all the way up.”

Perfect. Well, maybe not for Jennifer.

Brett said, “What was that about a Trojan horse?”

“Well, we sure as shit can’t fight our way in. Not with those odds. I’m going to put Knuckles and me in the back of the Rover

and have Manjit call Jaiden, giving him a song and dance about how the Chinese found them and he escaped. When they let us

in, I’m going to start slaying.”

“The hostages are on the twenty-second floor. You think you and Knuckles can fight your way up twenty-two floors?”

“No. I think we can fight our way to an elevator, then ride up twenty-two floors.”

“You don’t think you’ll be stopped by the police on the way in? At a checkpoint or something?”

“No. Veep says this entire residence thing is close hold. The Black Cat spotters might report us arriving, but they won’t

stop us.”

We were driving down the shore, a smattering of beaches to our right, and I looked at our GPS, seeing we were about ten minutes

away from the famous Altamount Billionaires’ Row. The road left the shore, cutting into the peninsula, and I pulled into a

parking lot full of rickshaws, Knuckles right behind me.

I had Brett set the tablet on the hood and they gathered around. I told them my assault plan, and they were suitably unimpressed. Jennifer said, “What if we get into the garage with your Trojan horse and we find thirty security men with their guns aimed at us?”

I said, “Then Knuckles and I will have to go out in a blaze of glory, but that’s not going to happen. They’ll have security

on the gate that we’ll pass through, and security up on the roof looking for helicopters, with more security on the floor

with the hostages, but they aren’t going to swarm the parking garage just because Manjit calls Jaiden. At most, there will

be four or five guns—hopefully with Jaiden himself—and they’ll relax when they see it’s only Manjit.”

She missed the “Knuckles and I” part of the statement. She said, “That’s a big wish instead of a plan, and it’s going to be

hard for all three of us to get out of that vehicle synchronized.”

I said, “Two. Two of us can do it. Just Knuckles and me.”

She gave me a puzzled look, and I said, “Taskforce intelligence thinks they’ve wired the living space the hostages are in

with explosives. We need to know if that’s true before we assault. If it is, we need someone focused on that while we’re killing

bad guys.”

She said, “I don’t understand. While you’re assaulting, you want me to run past you to see if there are IEDs all over the

room?”

“No, I mean before we assault.”

“How?”

I flipped to a three-dimensional picture of the residence and pointed at the large balcony jutting out over the Mumbai skyline

on the twenty-second floor. “This is where the hostages are. I need you to take a look from the balcony.”

I rotated the picture until the northeast corner was facing us and said, “The snipers have a view of the building exterior

from this angle.”

I rotated it the other way, until the southeast corner was showing, and said, “But they can’t see anybody going up this side. The vehicle entrance is also covered by a sniper team, but you won’t have to worry about them. That’s our problem.”

It took a minute for that to settle, and then she understood. Her eyes flew open and she said, “Pike, no way. I can’t climb

up twenty-two stories. That’s not possible.”

I said, “Wait a minute, hang on, I’m not talking about scaling plate glass. Take a look at the picture. This thing is like

a Lincoln Log climbing wall. Once you’re past the first six floors, it has approaches that are almost walking. You just need

to be sure you’re out of view of the Black Cat snipers.”

She said, “Pike, forget about the snipers, six floors is a fucking lot.”

Jennifer never cursed unless she was under extreme duress, so I knew she was really uncomfortable with what I was asking.

I wasn’t sure if it was the risk of the climb, or the weight of the mission I was placing on her shoulders.

I said again, “Take a look at the picture. They laced the first six floors with greenery. It’s like they built a ladder to

the first residential section. From there, it’s an easy climb. Yeah, it’s high, but it’s easy.”

She locked eyes with me, and I could see the hesitation. I said, “Just look at it. Study the pictures. If you can’t do it,

you can’t do it, but at least look.”

She took the tablet with the pictures and I went back to Knuckles and Brett, studying the street entrance of the compound

on his tablet. I said, “There are guard towers on the wall surrounding the place, but there’s an alley that goes up the north

side of the compound. It’s open to the public. Brett, if Jennifer agrees, you’ll take the sedan and drop her there, then position

yourself where you can see activity coming from the ground.”

He nodded, and I said, “Knuckles, we’ll take the Range Rover. We’ll wait for Jennifer’s call, then go in right through the front gate. They’ll obviously have cameras on the vehicle when Manjit makes the call, so that should help our cover. Once we’re past that security gate, we’ll be inside the garage.”

Knuckles said, “What if Manjit does something crazy once we’re in, while we’re still hiding in the back like a couple of kids

sneaking into a concert?”

“He won’t. I’ll make sure he knows his life is on the line if he does.”

Jennifer came back to the vehicle. We all waited expectantly, and she said, “Can I speak to you a second?”

I said, “Sure,” following her away from the vehicle. I thought she wanted to tell me in private she couldn’t make the climb,

but that wasn’t it at all.

“I don’t think you’re on an even keel for this one.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“You were going to kill that guy Manjit in the slum. I know it, and you know it. You lose your judgment when the beast is

out running amok, and he’s out tonight. I need to know you’re not letting your bloodlust overwhelm your critical thinking

here.”

Questioning my leadership abilities was a sure way to set me off, but I knew she was at least partially right, but not in

the way she thought. I understood what had happened in the slum, and it embarrassed me. I also realized—in that moment—that

I didn’t need to succumb to it. Jennifer had broken the rage, and I could do the same, internally. I just needed to learn

how, and this assault might show me that. It wasn’t bloodlust that was driving me toward the residence, it was the opposite.

I said, “Jennifer, I stopped when you told me to. I didn’t kill him. I can control the beast.”

“You stopped because I told you to, but I’m not going to be with you, and Knuckles doesn’t understand the beast.”

“I can control it. I have to, because this isn’t about me. It’s about Nadia and Annaka. I can’t allow anything to cause me to lose focus on that, and I won’t. We’re all they have at this point.”

She locked eyes with me, judging whether I was speaking the truth or just trying to placate her. She said, “This plan isn’t

what I would call a well-oiled machine. It’s verging on insane. The team will follow you into hell if you order them to, but

maybe you should ask this time.”

I had won the battle about my psyche, but she was right about the mission. I said, “Okay, I’ll ask, but I’ll start with you,

because if you can’t get to the balcony, it’s all off anyway.”

She pursed her lips, considering what I’d said, still judging me. Finally, she said, “I can climb it.”

“You sure?”

She said, “No, but it’ll be safer than what you idiots are planning.”

I smiled and walked back to the vehicle, Brett and Knuckles waiting expectantly. I said, “Jennifer’s good to go, but she’s

informed me that my plan is a little loonier than normal.”

I looked each of them in the eye and said, “So if you have any hesitation—if you think we should leave this to the Black Cats—say

so now.”

Brett said, “I’m just an infil platform. All I’m doing is dropping off Jennifer and then parking for early warning. Not my

call.”

I turned to Knuckles, and as expected, he said, “This isn’t any stupider than sliding three stories down a rope that was probably

last used in the sixteenth century. If you’re having second thoughts, just say so. I’m not leaving Nadia’s fate to the Black

Cats. I’ll take Manjit and go by myself if you’re that concerned.”

I turned to Jennifer and said, “Apparently, it’s not that stupid a plan after all. After hearing they want to continue, do

you stlll think you can climb?”

She said, “Yeah, I can climb it.”

“Perfect.” I looked at my watch, saying, “We’ve got about an hour before the Black Cats hit the place, forty minutes worst

case. Brett, you and Jennifer in our car. Knuckles and I will take the Rover.”

I turned off the tablet, then said, “I know this sounds like a dumb-ass plan, but it’s all that’s standing between Nadia’s

and Annaka’s death.”

Brett said, “That’s it? That’s your inspirational war speech? Man, I feel pumped.”

I shook my head and said, “Get Manjit. It’s time for him to make a call.”