by Alex Archer
Dunraj fell silent and leaned against the dump truck, a sullen expression on his face.
“I’m sorry you got wrapped up in all of this,” Pradesh told her. “It’s gone from chaos to worse than chaos. But I’ll try to explain it as best I can.”
Annja held up her hand. “Let me see if I can put it together. It’s not my first time in the company of spooks.”
Pradesh’s eyes widened. He was clearly impressed. “It’s not?”
“Unfortunately, no. You all seem to have the bad habit of springing up like weeds when least desired. Honestly, the intelligence world seems to bank on its ability to take a situation and completely ruin any chance of normalcy.” She sighed. “So, you must be with, what—NIA?”
Pradesh shook his head. “Not even close. Research and Analysis Wing, actually.”
“Never heard of it.”
“Good. Not many people have unless you keep your finger on the pulse of the intel community.”
“You’re new?”
“No. We’ve been around for a while. In the shadows, where all the successful spooks live.”
Annja indicated Dunraj. “And him? Is he with your organization, too?”
Pradesh sniffed. “Hardly. He does what we tell him to do, and that’s it.”
“Oh, goody. Another convenient relationship between an intelligence agency and a less-then-desirable individual. Let me guess—you knew all about his twin brother.”
“His late twin brother, you mean.”
“Whatever.”
Pradesh grew somber. “Yes, we knew about him. It was how we cemented our relationship with Dunraj.”
“And you put up with the fact that you had not one but two monsters on your payroll—why?”
Pradesh sighed. “The problem with criticizing intelligence agencies is that everyone always takes such a shortsighted view of things. And that’s a direct contradiction to what intelligence is. It’s long-term. You’re thinking about Friday night, and we’re thinking about Friday night ten years from now. Our worldview is so different that criticisms inevitably falter because by the time any judgment gets levied against us, we’ve proven our case over time.”
“This whole thing was an operation?”
“Part of it. The rest was just what it should be to convince our targets it’s real.”
“And Dunraj. Explain how he became a part of it.”
Pradesh relaxed his stance. “We knew that Dunraj had skeletons. And we also knew that he was hungry for success. That success couldn’t possibly come without competition. So we entered into a relationship to facilitate his ascent into the richest segment of society. We got his hands wet with money. And naturally, he quite liked the lifestyle.”
“Of course. He’s narcissistic.”
Dunraj snorted but Pradesh ignored him. “We had a plan, of course. Dunraj’s wealth would naturally put him into conflict with others. It’s inevitable. Developers try to outdo one another. The rich like to play their money games.”
“But?”
“No buts. We knew a man like Dunraj would eventually have enemies. And he would need a means to deal with those enemies. The logical tool would be outside help. One way or another, his success would bring him into close proximity to a number of India’s enemies. And that is exactly what we wanted.”
“But you had no idea how long it would take. Or even who it might be. How could you afford to play that game?”
Pradesh looked at her. “You said that you’ve dealt with spies before. You’re surprised by this?”
Annja wasn’t. “I guess not. I just find the entire business unpalatable. The people you’re forced to deal with. The alliances you make.”
Pradesh gestured to where the statue had fallen. “Our goal was to track the Tigers back to their operations base—presumably in Sri Lanka, but we’d had reports of them having a forward operating base in southern India somewhere. Once we had the location, we were going in.”
“To arrest them?”
Pradesh shook his head. “To wipe them out. You can’t take a chance that they’d get out of prison and come back for vengeance. The best way to deal with terrorists is to put them down like animals.”
“Charming,” she said.
“None of this was ever supposed to be seen by civilians.”
Annja rolled her eyes. “And what about the innocent people killed by Dunraj’s crazy brother?”
“Unfortunate,” Pradesh said. “But within the scope of the operation, acceptable.”
“Not to their families.”
“Their families will be well compensated by the government in some form. Dunraj’s company will no doubt pay damages. My people will sort it all out and ensure that the families are taken care of. Money is the best way to ease the grief.”
“Says you,” Annja scoffed. “Some of those people would have been fathers or mothers or sons. No money will ever bring that back.”
Pradesh frowned. “Annja, I told you it was a regrettable part of this affair. But we have to move beyond that. Once we figured out that Dunraj’s brother was out of control, we sent Dunraj in to straighten him out, but by that point, you and Frank had already blundered in. Since then on, we’ve been scrambling to make sure the operation didn’t fall apart.”
Annja took in the chaos of the scene around them. “Oops.”
“Yes, it’s all bunged up now, isn’t it?” He sighed. “We’ve had this in motion for over a month now.”
“Just a month? I thought you got to Dunraj ages ago.”
“Oh, we did. But the Tiger connection only started about a month ago. As I said, we think long-term. Try to fake something like Dunraj having competition and it looks fake a mile away. But when you get media coverage backing it up, and certain projects get derailed, and even sprinkle in some shadowy skeletons into his past…”
Dunraj shuffled a few feet away, his hands in his pockets. Annja nodded at him. “He doesn’t like being talked about like that.”
“He’s an asset. They never like hearing about their status as a pawn in a larger game. He’ll be all right.”
“So, what happens now? The Tiger operation is blown, but you can’t put Dunraj back out into the cold again, can you? The other Tigers will come looking for him.”
“We’ll roll this up in such a way that he’s still viable. I’ve done things like this before.”
“Does it always work out?”
“Usually.”
“Usually?”
Pradesh shrugged. “Sometimes it doesn’t. And our assets become…negligible.”
“Which means what—you yank support?”
“We have no choice,” Pradesh said, lowering his voice so Dunraj wouldn’t hear. “We can’t risk exposure. Our mandate is that we only answer to the prime minister. And that’s caused us problems in the past. The less the Indian people know of our activities, the better.”
Annja shook her head. “You’re not quite the police officer I thought you were.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I started out as a cop. That’s why the cover fits me so well.”
“Your poor mother,” Annja said. “If she only knew what things you get up to in the name of your country.”
Pradesh chuckled. “My mother’s dead, Annja. I’m an orphan.”
“You took us out to dinner! That place!”
“That woman is part of my cover. Legending, we call it. A little more in-depth than your usual backstopping material like fake credit cards. But effective at selling a story. She’s a wonderful old actress in our employ, and she does a very respectable job at cooking, too.”
“Why would she agree to stay there?”
“She gets a great salary from us, plus whatever her business makes. It’s all hers tax-free. When we need her, she’s there to supply a convincing story and that’s it. She’s never in danger and she likes the thrill of it.”
“You guys have this country sewn up pretty well, don’t you?”
“It’s not about sewing
anything up,” Pradesh denied. “It’s about protecting our interests. Surely you have some sense of nationalistic pride? You wave the flag for America, don’t you?”
“I’m a patriot,” she confirmed. “But being a patriot doesn’t mean I blindly follow whatever my government does. America was founded because people questioned authority. The way to a better, more perfect union is through constant debate and evolution—not the absence of it.”
“I agree.”
“But you tow the party line.”
Pradesh shrugged. “I see things a little differently because of my job.”
Annja sighed. “Can we go collect Frank and Kormi and get out of here? I’m a little worried about where Dunraj has gone.”
“Absolutely.”
A gunshot interrupted their conversation.
Annja and Pradesh sprinted toward the trucks.
Chapter 37
Annja rounded the corner first, her sword held high, ready to strike down whoever was threatening. What she saw when she got there wasn’t what she expected.
Kormi lay in a pool of blood.
Frank was next to him, trying to stem the flow, but even from a distance, Annja could tell it was going to be a losing battle.
“What the hell happened?”
“Dunraj!” Frank cried. “He pulled out a gun and shot Kormi.”
Kormi grimaced through the pain. “I’ll be fine.”
Annja looked at Frank and saw the concern etched on his face. Kormi had been shot in the upper abdomen, and the bullet had likely punched into his heart. The blood flow, typical of an abdominal wound, was tremendous. She knelt next to him.
“I owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude, Kormi. You saved my life. And Frank’s. And you kept watch over him. You lived up to your pledge.”
He smiled, but she could see him weakening by the second. “I have done my best. I only hope it is enough to outweigh the bad in this lifetime.”
“You should be proud,” Annja said. “I’m certain you will be properly rewarded.”
Kormi gestured for Frank to stop. “My time is here. Allow me to go with dignity.”
Frank pulled his bloody hands away. “Kormi, I can—”
Kormi shook his head. “No. You can’t. My heart…” He smiled. “It’s all right. I die happy.”
Annja watched as his eyes closed and Kormi slumped to one side. Frank turned to Annja. “What the hell did Dunraj shoot him for? And how come he didn’t shoot me?”
“I don’t know.” She glanced at Pradesh. “Still think your asset is under your control?”
Pradesh checked his pistol. “I told you I had to roll this operation up. Well, I think the time has come to do just that.”
“And Dunraj?”
Pradesh stared into her eyes. “It’s a terrible thing when unlicensed construction projects suffer tragic mishap. You never know who could be buried under all the debris.”
“We find him,” Annja said, “and then we take him to the police. The real ones.” She glanced at Frank, who looked very confused. “You need to get the hell out of here.” She held up a hand as he started to protest. “I don’t want to hear it. I know Kormi liked you and thought it was his duty to protect you. Well, it’s my duty now. And you work for me on this assignment. So do as I say, grab a truck and leave. Head for Hyderabad, go to the hotel and order room service. Get drunk or something. Find a cute waitress. I don’t care. Just get gone from this mountain.”
Frank started to say something and then stopped. He took a breath. “Yeah. All right.”
He went to wipe his hands in the dirt of the ground. “No sense heading through the lobby with hands that look like I committed murder.”
“Good plan.”
“What about you guys?”
“Don’t worry about us,” Annja said. “We’ll find Dunraj.”
“All right—”
A volley of automatic gunfire raked the area. Annja bent and twisted as she dropped. Pradesh scrambled for cover.
But a round caught Frank.
“Annja!” Frank rolled over and squirmed his way next to a thick rubber tire for cover. “He got me!”
Not Frank. She’d never forgive herself if Frank didn’t come through alive.
She dashed over and crouched near where Frank was clutching his thigh. “Is it bad?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Annja pried his hand away and sagged in relief. The bullet had grazed the outside of his thigh. There was blood and probably a lot of pain. But Frank would survive.
Well, provided she and Pradesh could find Dunraj before this got any worse.
“How’s Frank?” Pradesh called.
“He’ll live.”
“Dunraj has got to be around somewhere.” Pradesh stuck his head up and instantly another volley of automatic gunfire sprayed the area. He ducked as several rounds caught the windshield of the truck closest to him and showered the agent with glass.
“You’re right. He’s out of control.”
“You think?” She frowned. Damned spies and their games. She turned back to Frank. “All right, when Pradesh and I figure out where Dunraj is, you’re only going to have a limited time to get a truck and head for the tunnel. If he figures out that you’re escaping, then he’ll shoot you.”
Frank bit his lip. “Yeah, okay. I got it.”
“Get in the cab and wait until you hear me shout for you to go and then hit the gas and do not stop until you’re clear of this mountain. I’ll come find you later, all right?”
“Take care of yourself, Annja.”
“You, too.”
Annja scurried over to Pradesh. Another few bullets whizzed by overhead.
“What’s he waiting for?” she asked. “He could charge us with the AK and kill us before we knew what hit us.”
Pradesh shook his head. “He’s not a soldier. It’s one thing being up close with a pistol on Kormi. But using an assault rifle is quite another. And he knows we’re armed.” Pradesh frowned. “No, he’s up to something—I just don’t know what.”
Annja took a breath. “The explosives.”
“Huh?”
“Explosives. When Anup had the drop on him, Dunraj mentioned he’d had this place wired to blow.”
Pradesh sighed. “I’m going to need a serious vacation after this.”
“Me first,” Annja said. “Where do you think he is?”
Pradesh nodded ahead of them. “There’s a small dirt pile beyond that last truck there. It would give him the tactical advantage of higher ground. The gunfire seems to be coming from that direction.”
“Then we’ll need to hit him from two sides.”
“I’ll go left,” Pradesh said. “Give me thirty seconds to get into position and then we hit at the same time.”
“You’ll need to start since you’ve got the gun. Distract him with a few shots and then I’ll move in close.”
“You sure?”
Annja’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah. I’m sure. I’m not going to hurt him unless I absolutely have to. It’s long past time this guy was in custody.”
Annja threaded her way through one of the tires and then got low to the ground. She figured the lower her profile, the less chance of Dunraj seeing her.
Across the way, Pradesh had the same idea. He snaked along the ground, trying to cut the distance to where they thought Dunraj was hiding.
Annja tasted dirt in her mouth, crunching in the back of her teeth. She spat and kept slithering along the dirt track. The trucks loomed over her but provided excellent cover.
Unless, of course, Dunraj wasn’t where they thought he was.
Let’s not think about that. She took a moment to look back at where she’d left Frank, but he was gone from his spot. He would be climbing into a truck cab right then, waiting for her to shout to move out.
Annja drew closer to the hill of dirt and rocks.
Was Dunraj there?
Was he wiring up his bomb to go off?
Out
of the corner of her eye, she spotted movement and knew it would be Pradesh squirming along at about the same pace as her. It was critical they reach their staging points at the same time.
Annja kept moving, breathing and sweating. She blinked and felt sweat run into her eyes but she quelled the sting by blinking some more.
Her heart thundered into the ground.
Directly ahead of her, she saw the base of the pile of dirt and rocks. She was coming to the last cover the trucks afforded her.
This was it.
She steeled herself and bunched her legs under her, set to sprint for the base of the hill and to try to cover the open ground as quickly as possible. The less time she was exposed, the less chance Dunraj would have of squeezing off a shot.
Or fifty.
She took a breath.
Flexed her legs.
Now!
Annja dashed from cover at the exact same moment as Pradesh, yelling for Frank to leave as she did. They hit the base of the hill at the same time. Annja looked down the way, and Pradesh gave her a thumbs-up.
She nodded.
Okay, Dunraj, she thought, here we come.
Pradesh checked his pistol.
Annja reached for the sword, feeling its power in her hands. In her body. She pulsed with the energy of the blade.
Annja took a breath. And then started clambering up the hill.
Chapter 38
Pradesh reached the top first and let loose two shots. Annja heard an engine start up across the way and knew Frank had heard. Then she was already coming over the top of the hill, with her sword at the ready.
But Dunraj was nowhere to be seen.
Annja stumbled in the loose dirt and rocks. Pradesh caught up with her, the look on his face more annoyed than anything else. “Where the hell did he go?”
Annja shook her head. “Damned if I know. I could have sworn he was here. After all, the shots came from this area, didn’t they?”
Pradesh nodded. “Yes, so I thought. But if he’s not here, then where would he be?”
Dunraj’s voice boomed out from somewhere across the work site. “Haven’t found me yet, have you?” He laughed. “I’m having a lot of fun with this now. Imagine, the intrepid intelligence agent and the fearless archaeologist with the sword being unable to locate one man. I love it.”
