Page 21 of Rising Tiger

Suddenly all of the pieces in her brain tumbled into place. “You think the Chinese killed Ritter.”

“We do,” said Gupta. “We just can’t prove it yet.”

“What happens when you can?”

“That’s a decision that gets made at desks much bigger than ours.”

“There’s also another, very serious development that has taken place,” interjected Raj, bringing the focus back to his PowerPoint. He advanced to the next slide. “Two hours ago, a military transport helicopter crashed in Coonoor.”

Asha held members of the Indian Armed Forces in very high esteem. She knew the critical role they played in the country’s survival. Any loss of personnel, for any reason, was tragic. “That’s terrible. I saw something about it on my way here. But the reports didn’t identify the aircraft as military.”

“Because the press doesn’t know—at least not yet. For the time being, all of the details, including the manifest, are being withheld.”

“Including the manifest?Who was on board?”

“General Mehra,” said Raj, breaking the news.

“The chief of Defense Staff?” Asha asked. “ThatGeneral Mehra?”

Both men nodded.

“Do we have any reason to believe the crash was deliberate?”

“We do,” Gupta replied. “General Mehra, who is close to the prime minister, was very much in favor of the U.S. proposal. He and several members of the senior staff were en route to the Defense Services Staff College, where they were going to be discussing it with colleagues, when the helicopter went down.”

“Do you have any direct proof of sabotage?”

“Not at this moment,” Raj responded. “That’s why I’m sending you to investigate.”

“Me? In what capacity? I don’t work for RAW anymore.”

“You still work for RAW. You just no longer workatRAW.”

Asha had no idea what he was talking about. “Meaning?”

“Because RAW is a ‘wing’ of the cabinet secretariat and not an ‘agency,’ it enjoys a certain unorthodox legal status.”

“Meaning?” she pressed.

“Meaning,” Gupta clarified, “that RAW is not answerable to Parliament and can, within reason, carry out black operations at will.”

“Is that what this is?” she asked, sweeping her hand in front of her as she took in the room again.

“Yes,” said Raj.

“And its objective is?”

“Stopping the Chinese,” Gupta stated. “No matter who in the Indian government we have to burn down to do it.”

“Whoa. Wait a minute,” Asha balked. “What are you talking about?”

Raj gestured for his colleague to pause and took over the conversation. “We believe that the Chinese not only know about the proposal, but are actively working from inside our own government to kill it.”

“As well as anyone associated with it,” she said, chilled by the thought.

“It’s very much looking that way. Which is why we needed to set up things here. It’s of the utmost importance that we remain unseen by both the Chinese and any elements within the Indian government that have been co-opted.”

“In this place,” offered Gupta, “no one sees us.”