by Alex Lukeman
"Lots of people don't like Pakistan." Elizabeth looked at them. "There's one obvious answer."
"India," Selena said.
Elizabeth said, "Lots of things seem off about this. Two days before they're supposed to mastermind an attack on our embassy, ISOK blows up the Indian Embassy in Manila. Why? Manila is a long way from Kashmir and there are plenty of prime targets closer to home. Attacking the Indian Embassy in another country would be a major operation in itself. It's a real stretch for an organization that's basically local. Then two days later they get their good friends in Abu Sayyaf to take us on? I don't think so."
"You think the Indian Embassy explosion was part of a set up as well?" Selena said.
"I think it could be."
"Are you saying that the same person or persons is behind both attacks?" Nick asked.
"If I'm right, that's the only explanation that fits."
"What's the payoff?" Nick tugged on his ear. "Being pissed at Pakistan isn't enough of a reason. There has to be more to it than that."
"Why don't we do the assumption thing?" Selena said. "Brainstorm it."
Elizabeth put her pen down. "It's worked before. What's our first assumption?"
Stephanie had been quiet. Now she said, "That it's a set up, like you said. A false flag operation to make us and everyone else think Pakistan is responsible."
"We're back to who benefits," Selena said.
"Does Pakistan gain anything from this?" Lamont asked.
"I don't see how," Harker said. "On the contrary."
"Then assumption number two has to be that the Pakis aren't behind it. If not them, who is it?"
"Someone who wants us to think Pakistan killed our ambassador," Nick said.
Selena heard the energy in his voice and smiled to herself. It was the first time he'd sounded normal since Ronnie had been hit.
"Don't forget the Indian Embassy bombing," Lamont said. "They want us to think Pakistan is behind that too."
"This is a real can of worms," Selena said. "It's making my head spin."
"Yeah," Lamont said.
Elizabeth glanced at her watch. "Let's take a break."
There was a refrigerator and a kitchen on the floor below Harker's office. Nick, Selena and Lamont went down a spiral staircase to what had once been a large living room when the house had been in civilian hands. It was now the operations center. Lamont headed for the bathroom. Nick and Selena went into the kitchen. Nick reached into the refrigerator and grabbed two bottles of water and handed one to Selena. He opened his bottle and took a drink.
Selena said, "If Elizabeth is right, whoever is behind this wasn't killed at the embassy. He's still out there."
Nick's expression was grim. Selena had only seen that look a few times before. It meant he'd made a decision and nothing would stop him from following through on it. She had an idea about what he was going to say next.
"I don't care who's behind it," Nick said. "Ronnie's hanging by a thread because of this asshole, whoever he is. When I find him, I'm going to kill him. If there's more than one, I'll kill them too."
"What if Elizabeth doesn't send us after him? Or them, as the case may be?"
"Then I'll do it on my own."
"Do what on your own?" Lamont came over. He took a bottle of juice from the refrigerator.
Selena said, "Find whoever set up the attack and kill him."
"Might not be easy," Lamont said. "Harker may have other ideas."
"I'll cross that bridge if I come to it," Nick said.
"You can't do it alone."
"It could turn out to somebody protected," Nick said.
"What do you mean, protected?" Selena sipped her water.
"Somebody high up in the Pakistani government. Or in India."
"That could be a problem," Lamont said.
Nick said nothing.
"We're good at solving problems," Selena said.
"That's right," Lamont said.
Nick looked at them. "What are you saying?"
Lamont finished his juice and set the empty bottle in a case stacked by the refrigerator.
"Like I said, you can't do it alone."
"And three are better than one at solving problems," Selena said.
"You know what you're saying? We could get killed. We could get thrown in a federal Super Max for the rest of our lives."
"What else is new?" Lamont said.
"We can't let whoever it is get away with it," Selena said. "Besides Ronnie, there are those dead Marines. And Margaret. I didn't know her well but I liked her."
Nick looked at them. "Am I right in thinking this? Whatever else happens, we find out who did this, we take him down?"
"Agreed," Selena said.
"I'm in," Lamont said.
Nick held out his hand, palm down. Lamont placed his hand over Nick's. Selena placed hers over both of theirs.
"For Ronnie," Nick said.
Selena and Lamont both spoke at once.
"For Ronnie."
CHAPTER 29
"Where were we?" Elizabeth said.
"That it's a set up. An unknown person or persons with resources wants us to think Pakistan is behind the attacks on the embassies," Stephanie said.
"Not just any resources," Nick said. "Who has the ability to manipulate cell phone intercepts and conversations?"
"That's easy," Lamont said. "An intelligence agency. Like NSA or Langley."
"They're not behind it," Elizabeth said.
"I didn't say they were. There are plenty of others who could do it."
Harker toyed with her pen. "I think you're right."
"Who are we talking about?" Nick asked. "China? Russia?"
Selena brushed the back of her hand across her forehead. "Remember I asked earlier who benefits? We haven't answered that question. What will happen because of the attacks? What's the benefit and to whom? That could tell us who's behind it."
Elizabeth said, "Blowing up the embassies doesn't accomplish anything except get a lot of people angry. It's like poking a stick in the eye of India and America. Both countries have to respond and they have to do it soon. The public is screaming for someone to blame. They want revenge."
So do I, Selena thought. Lamont was looking at his fingernails. Nick was silent. All of them were thinking the same thing. For Ronnie.
Stephanie's computer beeped. She looked at the screen.
"Oh, oh."
"I don't like it when you say that," Elizabeth said. "What's happening?"
"The NSA report's been leaked. It's gone viral."
Elizabeth picked up the report and set it back down again. "This report makes it look like Pakistan is to blame. It's going to create a lot of pressure on Rice to strike at them. The sabers are going to come out."
"This can't be a coincidence," Selena said. "Now we know who benefits. Someone who wants to make a lot of trouble for Pakistan, even start a war."
"It can't be the Indian government," Elizabeth said. "Their Prime Minister has gone out of the way to avoid provoking Pakistan. It's made him unpopular and it's probably going to cost him the next election."
"Who's the opposition over there?" Nick wanted to know.
"The right wing. It's Hindu and nationalistic and bitterly opposed to Pakistan."
"It might not be the government," Selena said, "but it could be a group inside the government. We said it could be an agency. How about India's intelligence agency?"
"You're talking about a right wing conspiracy to drag India into a war," Stephanie said.
Selena nodded. "And us right along with it."
"Déjà vu all over again," Elizabeth said. "We've been here before."
"Why is there always some lunatic who wants to start a war?" Nick said.
"If there wasn't one, we'd all be out of a job," Elizabeth said.
"What's the next step?" Selena asked.
"I have the records of the intercepted calls," Steph said. "I've been developing a program to pinpoint where a call comes from when it's enc
rypted in a microburst or there's no GPS info. It's got some bugs but I might be able to narrow down the source some more."
"Outstanding," Nick said. "Nail the bastard down."
"I'll try. I can't guarantee anything."
"All right," Elizabeth said. "Steph, see what you can find out. We can't do anything without more information."
She picked up the report again and set it off to the side.
Steph cleared her throat. "About that coin Nick found in the Philippines," she said. "I did some research on it."
"Go on," Elizabeth said.
"It comes from the early sixteenth century. It's rare, worth thousands. Coincidentally, three of them turned up at an auction in Hong Kong two weeks ago. They went for 22K as a lot."
"I don't believe in coincidences," Elizabeth said.
"Abu Sayyaf had a dozen more besides the one I brought back," Nick said. "Some were bigger. They'd be worth more than a hundred grand."
"That would buy a lot of things that go boom," Lamont said.
"It's strange that a bunch of rare coins like those would turn up in the hands of terrorists," Nick said. "Where would they come from?"
Selena looked thoughtful. "There's one possibility that would explain it," she said. It's pretty far-fetched, though."
"What's that?"
"Who is it that runs ISOK again?" Selena asked.
"Abdul Afridi," Elizabeth said.
"Afridi could have stumbled on some of the lost treasure of the Mughal emperors."
Nick raised an eyebrow. "What lost treasure?"
"I never heard about a Mughal treasure," Steph said.
"The Mughals again," Lamont said.
"The Mughal Empire was richer than Rome," Selena said. "In 1739 a Persian king named Nader Shah invaded India and sacked the treasury at Delhi. Accounts from the time say he set off for home with a train of elephants and pack animals that stretched for a hundred miles. All loaded down with treasure."
Lamont whistled. "You're making it up."
"No, it's true. After he got back home, no one had to pay taxes for three years."
"Too bad that guy's dead," Lamont said. "He'd make a good president."
"Are you done?" Elizabeth said.
"Sorry."
"How do we know the treasure really existed?" Nick said.
"Because of the Peacock Throne and the Koh-I-Noor diamond. They were part of the Mughal treasury. The diamond is one of the British crown jewels. That's the reason we know the treasure is real and not a myth. The throne was made of solid gold and decorated with diamonds, pearls, rubies and sapphires. One of the stones on the throne was known as the Timur ruby. That's another one of the crown jewels. A second large ruby was called the Eye of Shiva by the Hindus. It was supposed to have sacred powers. That's lost."
"Where's the throne now?"
"Nobody knows," Selena said. "Nader Shah started back with it toward Persia and that's the last anyone saw of it. The treasure caravan got caught in an early winter storm somewhere in Afghanistan. There's one account that claims the throne and several pack animals bearing chests of gold and jewels were swept over the side of a mountain by an avalanche. People have been looking for it ever since. It's worth hundreds of millions of dollars, if it still exists."
"That's a great story but what does it have to do with the coins I found in the Philippines?" Nick said.
"What are the chances of more than a dozen valuable coins from the sixteenth century turning up in the hands of a bunch of terrorists?" Selena said.
"Slim to none," Stephanie said.
Selena nodded. "What if that story is true and Afridi found some of the gold that was swept away? The coins are almost unheard of and they're from the right time frame. If Afridi found that treasure, the coins make sense. Maybe that should be our next assumption."
"We're getting off the track," Nick said. "The coins don't explain the attacks, or why someone would want to start a war."
Elizabeth looked at Stephanie. "Steph, this program you're working on. How soon can you get it working on those calls between Abu Sayyaf and Afridi?"
"It's hard to say. I need time to tweak it. It might only take a few hours but it could be longer."
"Then you'd better get going," Elizabeth said.
CHAPTER 30
Morning sun streamed through the windows of Ashok Rao's office. Rao sat at his desk, reading the morning briefs. The military had gone to high alert. Troop buildups had begun along the border. It looked more and more as if war was coming. His plan was working.
The NSA memo had been a godsend. Rao had leaked it to the Indian press with predictable results. The Prime Minister had been forced to make a public statement blaming Pakistan for the bombing of the embassy in Manila. Islamabad denied involvement with ISOK or any other terrorist group and accused India of trying to provoke a war. Since everyone knew Pakistan's intelligence services backed the Islamic State of Kashmir, every denial reinforced the idea that they were responsible.
Rao pulled open a desk drawer, took out two of Krivi's tablets and swallowed them dry. He rubbed his hand across the top of his head. The headaches were happening more often but the pills helped. Krivi had called yesterday and asked for a meeting today in the park near the temple.
Rao had gathered information about Krivi. He'd come up with a reclusive, self-made billionaire, a successful business man from Mumbai who controlled a global pharmaceutical empire based in Switzerland. That explained the pills and it explained the money. Rao always felt better if he had an explanation.
On the other hand, he'd found no information about a society called the Eye of Shiva. That was odd. Right wing groups and secret societies were popular in India and watched as a matter of policy. No group could remain hidden from the kind of scrutiny Rao could bring to bear. Yet he'd found nothing.
Rao had hoped to meet others in the group. When he'd asked about it, Krivi had reminded him of the need for secrecy. It was like the old Communist model, Krivi had said, each cell isolated so no one person could betray more than a few members of the movement. Rao was too important, Krivi had said. It was better if he remained in the shadows.
Rao had stopped looking. There were bigger things to occupy his attention. Until war started, chance and circumstance could derail the plan. No matter how well an operation had been thought out or executed there were always unknown factors that caused problems.
Like the Project, for one thing. Most people had never heard of Elizabeth Harker's unit but Rao was a high-ranking intelligence officer. It was his job to know about things like that. He had no reason to think they suspected what he was doing. All the same, he wasn't going to make the mistake of underestimating them.
He had to keep an eye on them. Harker's people had almost screwed everything up at the embassy. One of her men had been badly wounded and Rao's sources said he was going to die. His comrades would look for vengeance. Rao understood vengeance. If Harker learned of his involvement it would create a complication he didn't need.
Then there were those gold coins found during that raid in the Philippines.
I don't know enough about the coins, he thought.
He called Prakash Khanna in Manila on his encrypted satellite phone.
"I want to talk about the gold recovered from the Abu Sayyaf camp," Rao said.
"Everyone has been curious about that."
"Tell me about the coins."
"They're unusual," Khanna said.
"You've seen them?".
"Not the coins themselves. I have a contact inside Philippines special operations. He obtained pictures for me."
"What can you tell me about them?"
"They're from the Mughal Empire, minted during the sixteenth century," Khanna said. "I'm told they're quite rare and in excellent condition. Uncirculated."
"How could they be that old and be uncirculated?"
"If they'd been minted and immediately set aside, it's possible."
Rao felt a surge of adrenaline. There was on
ly one place where an emperor's coinage could be set aside.
The treasury.
Rao kept his voice calm. Inside, he was shaking.
"It's certain they are authentic?"
"Yes. Why are you asking?"
"ISOK had to get them from somewhere. I want to follow the money trail."
Rao wasn't going to tell Khanna he suspected the coins might have come from the Mughal hoard, or that they might lead him to the Eye. He changed the subject.
"What is Manila doing about the attack?"
"President Navarro is demanding more American aid to fight the Muslim insurgency in Mindanao," Khanna said. "The Americans are unhappy with him. They've given him millions of dollars to fight Abu Sayyaf and all they've got to show for it is the ruins of their embassy. Rice is playing hardball. If Navarro wants more money, he's going to have to make concessions about American bases here."
"That's about what I'd expected," Rao said.
"Is there anything else?" Khanna asked.
Khanna had initiative and intelligence and he knew how to follow orders. Rao decided that he'd be more useful here in India.
"You've done well, Prakash. Come home. I'll send your replacement."
"I won't be sorry to leave," Khanna said. "It's become an uncomfortable country for foreigners."
Rao ended the call. His pulse pounded as he thought about the coins and what it might mean.
History recorded that the treasure had been loaded on the backs of elephants and other beasts for transport back to Persia. Most of the treasure had reached its destination. The key word was most. No record existed of the throne ever reaching Persia. Some famous gems from the treasury had never resurfaced, among them the Eye of Shiva. Somewhere between India and Persia, the throne and the gems had disappeared. There was a discredited account from the time that claimed the throne and several chests of gold and jewels had been lost in the mountains between Afghanistan and what was now Pakistan.
What if the account is true? Rao thought. If Afridi found some of the coins lost when the trail collapsed he might have found the jewel as well.
Only Afridi knew where he'd gotten the coins. The only way to find out where they were was to interrogate him. It would be difficult to capture Afridi but not impossible. An opportunity would arise.
