The Eye of Shiva

by Alex Lukeman

  It would be difficult to get the information out without being discovered. Wahid had no radio. A radio could be found and implicate him. He would have to find a way to leave the compound without being caught and questioned.

  Inside his house, Afridi unrolled his prayer rug and turned toward Mecca. He longed to make the Hajj and circle the sacred Kaaba. Until that time came, he would fulfill his vow to visit the relic of the Prophet.

  Outside, dark clouds were forming over the mountains. A storm was coming.

  CHAPTER 33

  Nick looked through the glass of the cubicle in ICU and felt his stomach clench. Ronnie's skin was a pale yellow-brown, like weak sun on a desert plain. A bank of monitors over his head traced the electronic fragility of his life. A bag of clear liquid hung from a rack, feeding into his veins.

  "It's a miracle he's still alive."

  The speaker was Ronnie's doctor. She was a tall redhead with clear blue eyes and pale skin. Nick guessed her age at around forty. The name tag on her white lab coat identified her as Evelyn Fairchild, M.D.

  "Were you with him when he was shot?" she said. "If you're the one who kept him from bleeding out, you saved his life."

  "I was there. It wasn't me that saved him."

  "One of the bullets just missed the heart and exited his back. A little to the left and that would've been it. Another round destroyed his spleen. We removed that."

  "You took out his spleen?"

  "What was left of it," she said. "He can live without it."

  She waited to see if Nick was going to say anything else. When he didn't, she continued.

  "A third bullet perforated the lower abdomen. We had to go in and clean him out. He lost about a foot of intestine but we were able to reattach the two ends. If he recovers, he'll have normal intestinal function."

  "If he recovers?" Nick said.

  "I won't kid you," she said. "It could go either way. We were able to repair the injuries but his body was badly traumatized. We're keeping him sedated to help the natural healing process."

  "Shit," Nick said.

  "Yes." She waited for the question she knew was coming.

  "When will we know?" Nick asked.

  "I can't say. He's stable and his EEG is normal. That's good. He's in excellent condition, aside from his injuries. I don't think there's any neurological damage from hydrostatic shock but we won't know for sure until he wakes up. That's one of the major concerns. I think there's every reason to be hopeful but that's all I can tell you."

  Hydrostatic shock was bad news. When a bullet struck a living body, it sent pressure waves throughout the fluid in the tissues. It was hydrostatic shock that knocked down big game when shot. It could scramble the brain.

  "Thanks for not sugarcoating it. Can I go in and talk to him?"

  Doctor Fairchild nodded. "You can, but he won't respond. Five minutes, no more." She reached into a box on the nurse's station and took out a disposable face mask. "Wear this," she said.

  Nick put on the mask and entered the cubicle. It was quiet there, except for the monotonous hum of air conditioning and the beeping of the machines monitoring Ronnie's vital signs. Green and red and yellow digital blips moved across the screens above Ronnie's head.

  "Hey, amigo," Nick said.

  His stomach twisted into knots as he looked at his friend. He'd never felt so helpless.

  "You gotta quit laying around like this. Everybody misses you. Selena said for me to give you a kiss for her but I figured you wouldn't mind if I just told you about it instead."

  Nick reached out and took Ronnie's hand in both of his, careful not to disturb the IV needle taped to his arm. The skin was cool, unresponsive to his touch.

  "The guy who shot you is history," Nick said. "It turns out somebody else set the whole thing up. We're going to find out who it is and then we're going after him. I wish you could go with us. I wanted you to know we're going to get the bastard."

  He squeezed the limp hand. "Stay with us, Ronnie. We need you. We miss you."

  Nick felt moisture on his cheek. He wiped it away with the back of his hand.

  "I have to go. I'll come back as soon as I can."

  Nick got up and left the room. He tossed the mask in a wastebasket as he went out.

  He didn't look back.

  CHAPTER 34

  In Virginia, Stephanie studied the latest satellite intelligence from Pakistan. The troop buildup on both sides of the border with India had increased since the last overpass. The main concentration of Indian forces was in Kashmir. A drive west from Kashmir would threaten Islamabad. Both sides were moving heavy armor to the border. The largest tank battle since World War II had been fought between Pakistan and India in 1965. Three of the four wars the two nations had fought since the partition of India had begun in Kashmir. History seemed ready to repeat itself. What was different this time was that both sides had nuclear weapons.

  Stephanie's computer alerted her to a call from Cobra's encrypted phone. An automatic recording began. She picked up her laptop and went into Elizabeth's office.

  "Cobra is making a call."

  "Let's hear it," Elizabeth said.

  Stephanie pressed a key. The sound of the call being dialed came through the speakers. The tone sounded distant. Atmospherics hissed around it. Someone answered.

  "What language is that?" Elizabeth asked.

  "Hindi, I think. We'll have Selena listen to it."

  It was frustrating to hear and not understand what was being said. The conversation lasted less than a minute before Cobra disconnected.

  "There were a couple of words I understood," Elizabeth said. "Afridi and Srinagar."

  "I heard them too."

  "Where's Selena?"

  "Everyone's downstairs," Steph said. "I'll go get them."

  She got up and went down the spiral stair to the lower level. The stairs opened onto the ops center. To the left were the computers, given a room of their own. To the right were the gym, the armory and the shooting range. Steph heard gunfire and headed to the right.

  Nick, Selena and Lamont stood at separate firing stations, practicing with their pistols. Steph picked up plugs from a bucket near the door and stuck them in her ears. Three Sig .40 caliber pistols firing at once made a lot of noise. All three shooters wore noise canceling ear protectors and tinted shooting glasses.

  Steph looked down range. The targets were man sized silhouettes. On all three, neat groups of bullet holes had punched through the head and heart areas. The slide on Nick's pistol locked back and he ejected the magazine. As he reached for another, he saw Steph standing by the entrance. She pointed at the ceiling. He waited until the others finished firing.

  "Cease-fire," he said in a loud voice. He took off the ear protectors. Selena and Lamont followed suit.

  "Elizabeth wants us upstairs," Steph said. "Cobra used his phone. We need Selena to tell us what he said."

  "Secure the weapons," Nick said. "We'll clean them later. Let's go hear what this creep says."

  Fresh mags went in the guns from force of habit. An empty gun was no more useful than a baseball and harder to throw. The pistols went into their holsters. Everyone went back upstairs.

  When they were settled in front of her desk, Elizabeth played the recording.

  "Cobra is talking with a man named Ijay. He's giving him orders," Selena said. She listened to the recording, face tight with concentration. No one interrupted. It came to the end.

  "Play it again. I think I've got it but my Hindi is a little rusty."

  Stephanie played the recording again.

  "Oh, boy," Selena said.

  "I think he mentioned Afridi," Elizabeth said.

  "He did. He told Ijay, whoever he is, that Afridi is planning to visit a mosque in Srinagar next week. Cobra wants Ijay to kidnap him and take him to a safe house."

  "How does he know about the visit?"

  "Afridi has a viper in his little terrorist band of brothers. Someone betrayed him."

  "Why
does Cobra want him?" Nick asked.

  "He wants to question him. Then he's going to kill him."

  "Mm." Harker picked up her pen. "Tells us something about Cobra. Question Afridi about what? Did he say?"

  "He wants to know where Afridi got the gold to support Abu Sayyaf."

  "The gold?" Nick said. "Not many people even know about that. Did you get Cobra's name?"

  "No," Selena said. "Ijay never mentioned it. Anyone Cobra calls on that phone must know who he is. But I have an idea how we might ID him."

  "What do you have in mind?"

  "Cobra wants to question Afridi in person. He's going to meet Ijay after he grabs him."

  "When?" Nick asked.

  Selena smiled. "Three days from now."

  "You're thinking we spot Afridi and watch for Cobra to try and grab him."

  "Yes."

  "Why don't we turn the tables on them?" Lamont said. "When Cobra shows up, we do the grabbing. Him and Afridi too."

  "Two for the price of one," Nick said. "I like it. What do you think, Director?"

  "It has possibilities," Elizabeth said, "but there are two problems that I can see. Afridi is one of them. Our primary objective is Cobra. Afridi isn't the one who put Ronnie in a hospital. As much as I'd like to get rid of him, he's a secondary target and he's bound to have bodyguards. He'll be at a mosque. You go after him there and you run the risk of setting off a riot. Kashmir is always on edge. The whole area could explode with very little provocation."

  Nick said, "You said two problems. What's the other?"

  "We have to consider the political implications. All we know about Cobra is that he's high up in India's intelligence agency. What do you think will happen if you grab him and he turns out to be important, like Langley's deputy director?"

  "That's easy. The shit will hit the fan."

  "It will. And eventually it will all land right here, on us."

  Nick threw up his hands in frustration. "So what do you want us to do?"

  "I want you to observe what happens between him and Afridi. I want you to get pictures so we can find out who he is. Then I can decide the next step."

  "He said he was going to kill Afridi," Selena said.

  Elizabeth looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Your point being?"

  "You don't have a problem with that?"

  There was a note of surprise in Selena's voice.

  "Why should I? Afridi's group has killed hundreds of innocent people. He's a jihadist who wants to establish an Islamic state in Kashmir. He's demonstrated that he'll do anything to achieve that end. Don't forget, the explosives that blew up the embassy and the AK that shot Ronnie were probably purchased with money that came from him."

  "I still think we should at least try for Cobra," Nick said. "He wants to know where Afridi got the money and so do we. If we can take him without a problem, we ought to do it. Cobra's gone rogue. He gave up his protection when he set up those attacks in the Philippines."

  Harker considered. "What would you do with him?"

  "We need a safe house in Srinagar," Nick said. "A nice quiet place where we can ask him a few questions. He doesn't have to know who's doing the asking."

  There was a hard quality in his voice that made Selena glad it wasn't her he was talking about.

  "There's no time to set that up," Lamont said.

  "Lucas could help." The bracelets on Stephanie's wrist made tiny metallic sounds as she twisted them.

  Lucas Monroe worked for the Director of the CIA and was Stephanie's lover. If Langley had a safe house in Srinagar, Lucas could find out where it was. Elizabeth had a good relationship with DCI Clarence Hood. Revealing the safe house location would require his okay. He didn't have to know exactly why she needed the house. In fact, he would probably prefer not to know. Elizabeth made a decision.

  "That's a good idea, Steph. You talk with Lucas and I'll call Hood. I'd be surprised if Langley doesn't have a safe location over there."

  "Then it's a go," Nick said.

  Elizabeth nodded. "Be careful, Nick. Don't create a problem for us. If you succeed in getting Cobra, try not to hurt him."

  "What about transportation?"

  "I'll get you a Gulfstream. You can take weapons and fly right into Srinagar."

  "What's our cover when the Indians want to know what we're doing there?" Lamont asked.

  Elizabeth thought for a moment. "We could use the film company ploy."

  "Cool," Lamont said. "I always wanted to be in movies."

  CHAPTER 35

  Hood gave them use of a CIA safe house in Srinagar. The team would pose as a Canadian film company making a PBS documentary about Kashmir. Their Canadian passports were real. The names on the passports were not.

  Their ride was a Gulfstream V, courtesy of a DEA seizure from one of the Colombian drug cartels. The interior of the plane was decorated with hand-painted murals of happy workers harvesting coca leaves under a sunny sky. Dominating the forward bulkhead was a panel picturing a stocky man with a white shirt and a black mustache. He had a broad smile, large square teeth and black eyes that reminded Nick of a snake. He stood next to a silver Bentley parked in front of a palatial mansion, handing out candy to a flock of excited children. Nick figured it was a portrait of the plane's previous owner.

  It was a big plane for just three passengers, but it had the range and speed they needed. Inside, it was like a luxury hotel. The seats were wide and comfortable. There were beds in the rear cabin. The center cabin sported a dining table, couch and bar. Polished rosewood accents were everywhere.

  They took seats in the front cabin. The flight plan called for refueling in Anchorage and then a direct shot over the North Pole. Arrival in Srinagar was set for some time the next afternoon.

  Two hours into the flight, Lamont headed to the back of the plane and lay down on one of the comfortable beds. In a little while, they heard him snoring.

  Selena sat next to Nick. She was doing her best to read an article about the Mongolian language in the time of Genghis Khan but her mind kept wandering. A lot had changed over the past months. Before joining the Project she would have found the paper stimulating. Not today, though. Today the paper seemed to her as dead as the great Khan. She found herself looking at the painting on the cockpit bulkhead, where the mustachioed drug lord leered at her.

  "That man's picture gives me the creeps," she said.

  "Not exactly Santa Claus, is he?" Nick said.

  "I wonder what happened to him?"

  "El Patron used to run one of the big cartels down in Columbia."

  "Used to?"

  "One of his rivals put a bomb under that fancy car."

  "Whoever it was, I think they did everyone a favor," she said.

  Nick looked out the window. There was nothing to see but an ocean of cloud passing beneath them. His mind drifted with the drone of the engines. He thought about Selena. Both of them had been keeping away from talk about marriage. The more they avoided the subject, the more it occupied his mind. He was tired of thinking about it.

  "How do you think it's going to play out?" she asked.

  "Are you talking about Cobra?"

  "What else would I be talking about?"

  "I can think of several things," Nick said. "The conversation we haven't been having, for one."

  "Which conversation is that?"

  "How many of them are there?"

  "I don't know, why don't you tell me?"

  Nick felt himself starting to get angry. Why couldn't she just give him a straight answer?

  "Damn it, Selena. You know which one. The one about how we are or we aren't engaged."

  "Oh. That one."

  "Yes, that one."

  "When I asked how you thought it was going to play out, I was thinking about Srinagar," she said. "But since you brought up the other conversation, I suppose we can talk about that."

  Nick's face closed down. Selena knew she was being bitchy. She could feel the urge to start an argument with him. They
hadn't talked about getting married since it came up in their hotel room in Manila. They'd left it hanging. Then Ronnie had been wounded and she'd gotten angry at Nick in the hospital. Since then Nick had been keeping to himself in his apartment. Most of the time they only saw each other at work.

  Damn it, she thought, why do I always end up in this place when I think about getting married to him?

  She loved him. But that day in the jewelry store she'd backed off, fast. She still hadn't figured out why she was pushing him away. It was as if something was knocking on a door inside her mind, demanding attention. She didn't want to open the door.

  She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that."

  "Why did you say yes when we were on that island? Since then it seems like you really meant no."

  She heard a new tone of resignation in his voice. It made her uneasy.

  "I said yes because it seemed right."

  "So what changed? It sounds like you don't think it's right anymore."

  "No, I don't think that," she said. "I mean, I still think it's right. Something keeps getting in the way, but I'm not sure what it is. We talked about one of us getting killed, but I don't think that's it, not anymore. I don't know."

  "It feels like you're always trying to pick a fight," he said.

  Selena decided to say nothing.

  "You have to stop doing that," he said. "I really hate it."

  She started to get angry again. Who the hell was he to tell her that she had to do anything?

  "I think that can be arranged."

  Selena got up and moved to an empty seat across the aisle and began reading her article. She couldn't concentrate. After a few minutes she gave up pretending to read and stared out the window.

  A half hour before they were due to land in Anchorage, Lamont emerged from the rear of the plane yawning and stretching. He looked at Nick and Selena sitting apart. The feeling of tension in the cabin was like a cloud.